elevated position. He whispered out of the corner of his mouth, ‘They’re all doing very well, don’t you think?’
Wabbit lifted her chin and slung her shoulders back and said quite regally, ‘Indeed.’
The race was gruelling as only the cross swamp could be, but the hurdles weren’t insurmountable. The red arrow dragonflies rode their dinosaurs above the uneven ground and they laughed together as they traversed the tricky limestone tor forest. The frog army had a battalion of leg strength in its arsenal and together they leaped to the lead flummoxing the rest of the field. Not to be outdone, the eyes and noses, who were the fittest competitors by far, snapped onto the smallest dinosaurs and barrel rolled ahead of the others tripping them up.
It was neck and neck along the home straight; the red arrow dragonfly inched ahead, then a frog leaped to the front by a nose, then an eyes and nose nosed ahead.
Wabbit held her breath and it wasn’t until Dragon offered her carbonated swamp water and hot frogs legs that she realised how caught up she was in the whole affair. It didn’t matter to her who won the race; it was just the excitement of the thing. She sensed the importance of the outcome to the swamp creatures she had come to love as her subjects.
A final push to the finish line saw a tussle between the red arrow dragonfly and the frog, the eyes and nose having rolled a roll too many and not recovered.
‘Come on eyes and nose!’ shouted Alli Gator.
There was much shouting and cheering by the onlookers then a mix of hoorays and heavy sighs as the red arrow dragonfly led his dinosaur to victory.
Clearly it was a shock to the eyes and noses, the oldest, wisest and most feared inhabitants of the swamp, that a red arrow dragonfly should beat them. But they graciously clapped the winning red arrow dragonfly, even presenting him with a garland of fresh trilobite tails.
‘Well that’s a turnip for the books, Wabbit,’ said Dragon.
‘It is,’ Wabbit agreed.
Dragon stood as he addressed the crowd.
‘You have all done very well,’ he said. ‘Wabbit and I congratulate the red arrow dragonfly and his dinosaur on their victory. I proclaim the red dragonfly temporary king of the swamp.’
The crowd roared and there was much back slapping. Dragon watched Alli Gator and Sorry Pod share a cup of carbonated swamp water as they retreated from the celebrations.
‘Come, Wabbit,’ Dragon said slipping his hand into hers. ‘It’s time to go.’
Wabbit climbed aboard, thrilling at the familiar plush pile of her carpet saddle. She gripped the reins and tucked her feet into Dragon’s side. ‘Up, up and away...’
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