4 Awooga awooga awooga awooga!

CHAPTER FOUR Awooga awooga awooga awooga! Willow had insisted upon strapping a siren to her head, and was now tearing through Grimwood at high speed, shouting, 'NEE-NAW, NEE-NAW! EMERGENCY, EMERGENCY! STAND BACK!' Behind her trotted everyone else, including Wiggy, who was tenderly cradling Sharon in his big hairy paws.

'Hang on, just let me, um, tidy this up a little bit,' said Titus, hurriedly clearing his bed of scrunched-up tissues, crisp wrappers and hunks of crumbly cheese. He gave his floral duvet a shake and plumped up the pillows before Wiggy gently lay down the stricken bird. Sharon's eyes were open, but she looked far, far away. She was completely still and silent. It was like she was made of stone. If it wasn't for the fact her feathery tummy was slowly rising and falling, you could be forgiven for thinking she was as dead as a doornail.

Why do they say, dead as a doornail? I mean, has anyone ever seen a doornail which is alive? It makes no sense. 'I reckon,' said Willow thoughtfully, 'she has been taken over by aliens. I reckon they took her up to their spaceship, opened up her skull, took out her brain and replaced it with a cauliflower.' Titus nodded sagely. 'It's certainly a theory, young bunny,' he said. 'A ridiculous theory, but a theory nonetheless.' 'For goodness' sake, of course it's not ALIENS!' said Frank, holding his head in his wings. Sometimes the weary owl worried that he was the only sensible creature in Grimwood. Who are we kidding? Frank knew he was the only sensible creature in Grimwood. 'I'm going to get help,' he hooted. 'But please try not to do anything stupid while I'm gone.' 'I ain't makin' promises I can't keep,' shrugged Willow. Titus immediately began clattering around in his kitchen. 'What you doin'?' said Nancy. 'Making chocolate chip cookies, of course,' mumbled Titus. 'He's stress-baking,' said Willow.

Ted, meanwhile, was draping a damp tea towel gently over Sharon's forehead. She blinked slowly. 'There you go, Shaz,' he said, softly. 'You're safe now. We're gonna look after you, aren't we?' 'Absolutely,' said Wiggy, arranging pillows and cushions around the tatty black bird so she felt nested. 'Has anyone told Pamela?' said Nancy. 'They're best mates. Maybe she knows what to do.' Even though Pamela was a wild and murderous eagle, she and Sharon were very good friends. They lived at the top of the Magic Tower, hosted a radio show together and enjoyed causing chaos throughout Grimwood. 'Last time we saw Pamela, she was flying off with a squirrel in her beak,' said Willow. Nancy scratched her ears. She didn't really know what to do with herself. It was freaking her out a bit, seeing Sharon being all quiet and still like that. 'I'll go and find her,' she said. 'Hopefully she's stopped eating Benny by now.' 'I'll come with you,' said Wiggy, who suddenly remembered he'd left his Jeep in the middle of the woods, which meant it was at risk of being stolen by joyriding squirrels. While Titus filled his caravan with sweet, comforting baking smells, Ted and Willow did their best to look after Sharon. They lay on either side of her, and Ted curled his thick tail around her. 'Do you think she can hear us?' he whispered.

Willow shrugged, hopped off the bed and popped more wood in the log burner. 'I reckon so,' she said. 'Why don't you try singing to her?' Ted blushed and stood next to Sharon. He felt a bit shy singing to a poorly crow. But as he gazed into Sharon's glassy deep black eyes, he knew he had to try something. He cleared his throat. 'Hey, little blackbird, Why are you so still? You're normally so noisy So I think that you're quite ill. We really love you, Sharon, It's so sad to see you weak. We want to see you flapping And hear some squawking from your beak.'

Sharon remained motionless, though Titus, overcome with emotion, was now sobbing hysterically at the foot of the bed. While he wasn't looking, Willow took the opportunity to shove her face into the bowl of cookie dough and lick it clean. 'Oh Willow, not the cookie dough!' said Ted, and he threw a pillow at her head. Unfortunately, it was just at this moment that Frank glided back into the caravan, and the pillow hit him full in the face. 'Mmmph!' said Frank, falling with a thunk to the floor. 'Oh dear,' said a pigeon holding a doctor's bag, who delicately hopped over Frank and the pillow and up onto the bed. 'Oh hello, Dr Khan,' said Ted shyly. 'Sorry, that pillow was meant for Willow.' Dr Khan was a pigeon from Twinklenuts Forest, which was a place just next to Grimwood. He was a serious bird, as well as being a qualified medical professional.