Mr Smelleigh looked at the ruins of his cheese empire. He groaned. He moaned. He started to cry.
“Sorry!” came a voice. Mr Smelleigh dabbed his eyes and looked round at the lightly fried figure of Stanley who had climbed out of the crater. “I should have let you eat my socks, shouldn’t I?”
Mr Smelleigh was about to say ‘Yes’, but then he saw something black and glistening at the bottom of the crater. Something thick and sticky was oozing out of the shattered rocks. Was it melted cheese?
Mr Smelleigh looked harder. He stopped snivelling. He started smiling. For that black, sticky stuff was definitely oil. He’d discovered oil! He’d change the family name (again) to Smoil and start a new business of Smoil’s Oil. Smelleigh’s Cheese was a thing of the past. Producing the world’s smelliest cheese had been fun but it was no good if little boys with stinky socks were going to steal the show. Stanley’s socks were probably only the first pair of many smelly socks that would challenge his smelly cheese.
Oil was much less risky and much less smelly — and a lot more profitable.
“Stanley, my boy,” he said, putting his arm around Stanley, “I can honestly say your socks were the best thing that has happened to me in a long, long while. And as for the animal whose milk I used to use in my cheese …”, Mr Smelleigh whispered something into Stanley’s ear. Stanley looked amazed. Stanley looked stunned. Then he giggled.
“Awesome! I’d never have guessed, in a million years!”
Unfortunately, I didn’t catch what Mr Smelleigh said …
A note from the author
I hope you enjoyed this story and that it made you laugh! I wrote it after visiting a smelly cheese factory in France.
I’ve always loved writing. I wrote my first stories when I was about 7, all about Apple and Carrot! English was my favourite subject at school and I went on to study it at Oxford University. I did a postgrad degree in Publishing Studies and Stirling University and then began working as a desk editor. I took a few years out to be an accountant, but when we moved to Ireland from England in 1992, I set myself up as a freelance editor and indexer, and I’ve been doing that ever since. I’m married to Chris, have three children - Benjamin, Caitlin and Ruadhri - and since 2006 we’ve all lived in France on a 75 acre farm. We run a gite and carp and farm llamas, and also edit ebooks.
My first books were published in 1996. I have around 30 to my name now and I’m moving into adult fiction and non-fiction, as well as carrying on writing for children and young adults.
Follow my blog about our life as expats, which is never dull, at https://www.bloginfrance.com and find out about my other books at https://www.booksarecool.com. Follow me on Twitter too: https://www.twitter.com/@booksarecool23
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