8 The Green Valleys

Chapter 8 The Green Valleys Kalwidoscoppi!' said Peanut, beaming at the beautiful birds, one gold-crested, one red and one green, as they carved elegant shapes through the sky, their long feathery trains following like kite tails. Kaleidoscoppi were native to Chroma and were said to have the power to inspire amazing ideas in whoever hears their song. Mr White had, of course, ordered their capture and extermination many years ago, but a lucky few still flew free. Suddenly, the gold-crested bird broke away and swooped down towards the mesmerised children, arriving with a rush of air. He hovered in front of Peanut and sang a few bars of his beautiful melody before shooting back up to join the others and leading them in a westerly direction. 'I think they want us to follow them,' said Peanut.

The early evening sun shone over the undulating wolds of the Green Valleys, gilding the patchwork of emerald, lime and ochre fields. Peanut, who had taken the bandolier from her bag and was now proudly wearing it, painted watercolour parasols for herself, Rockwell and Little-Bit. Keeping a careful eye out for patrolling RAZERs, the children followed the kaleidoscoppi as they swooped and soared between the candyfloss clouds. After an hour or so, they found themselves walking along the banks of a winding ribbon of water which sliced through the lush countryside. Over the next thirty minutes, the river's pace slowed as the twists and turns became sharper, and it was almost still by the time they arrived at a pretty red-and-white brick mill situated on a very tight curve.

'Wow,' said Peanut. 'It's so beautiful,' said Little-Bit. 'It reminds me of one of those boxes of chocolates that I get from the petrol station for Mum on Mother's Day,' said Rockwell, not quite managing to embrace the romance of the scene.

The river veered right and then left around the building, like a nimble fly-half avoiding a determined rugby tackle. At this point on its journey, the water was only around thirty centimetres deep, a fact made more obvious by the large wooden wagon sitting, abandoned, right in the middle of the river. Someone had obviously attempted to pull the hay wain from one bank to the other and given up halfway. As they flew over the wagon, the three kaleidoscoppi suddenly moved into a narrow circle formation, descended helter-skelter-style and landed on the riverbank.

They looked directly at the approaching children and sang an impossibly beautiful verse before nodding their heads and taking off again. 'Thank you,' whispered Peanut as the great birds disappeared towards the horizon. ' What now?' asked Little-Bit, looking around. 'You don't think the new Bunker could be near here, do you?' said Rockwell. 'Hang on. I think there's something on that cart.' 'Something, or someone?' said Peanut. Sure enough, standing on the hay wain and looking straight at them was a small scribble of fur with legs and a tail. And it was wagging its tail so hard that the entire wagon was swaying from side to side.