Chapter 17

17 Mickey Lightning Gets a Speech Bubble How does this work? Just say something. I can say anything I want and it turns up in the book? Yes, say anything you want. Anything? Anything. How about if I say pigeon bum? Try it.

You can't say that. That's rude! PIGEON BAM. Doesn't it look good in a speech bubble? It does! It doesn't. It looks very rude. PIGEON BUM. PIGEON BUM. PIGEON BUM. PIGEON BUUUUUM. Hee hee.

Before we left Pawsville, Dave was measured up for a new wing. His prosthetic one had been wrecked during the race and it would be a while before the Vet Man could fix him up with another. But we didn't care. Our Human Lady had come back for us. It had been fun at Pawsville but I was feeling homesick without my Human Lady snuggles and my typewriter. 'Dave! Skipper!' the Human Lady called out as she came through to pick us up. She scooped us into a huge hug and nuzzled the top of our heads with her own.

She then dropped us into the oversized pockets on either side of her raincoat and we discovered we each had a pocket full of jammy biscuits. My favourites. As the Humans discussed Dave's new wing, Jet, Gary, Fluffle and Cricket-Ball Face waved us off. They watched from the window as we climbed back into the box on the Human Lady's bike. I couldn't help but feel grateful that our time at Pawsville was up and we had our own pigeontastic home to return to. 'I can't wait to be back in our shed and tuck into the secret stash of biscuits,' Dave cooed happily on the ride home. 'I've missed my typewriter,' I agreed. 'Wait. What secret stash?'

'Never mind, Skipper,' Dave said. 'I think we're home.' As the bike pulled up at the Human Lady's home, the familiar smell of lawn and brick building came flooding up through my nostrils. We'd invited Mickey to come and stay with us and when he heard about our shed, he leapt at the chance to be in a Human home again even if it was only for a short while. He ooohed and ahhhed over our nest among the paint-tin lids and wonky shelves but he admitted he wanted to find his Human Owner. He'd been away for too long. But there was something else that put him off staying with us. Something that wasn't quite right at the Human Lady's house. It

wasn't the garden. The lawn looked as lawny as ever. And it wasn't the patio. Those paving stones looked as pavy and stony as they always had. But something had changed since we'd been away. It was the back door of the house. There, as it had always been, was Mean Cat's cat flap. But now, alongside it, sat another cat flap. There were two cat flaps. For two cats. Maybe leaving Pawsville wasn't as pigeontastic as I thought.