Don’t be a chicken!’
Rolo bit through the last strands of the string and began to float upwards.
Louise and Squeak waved. Squeak yelled, ‘Come back safely.’
Rolo looked down at the theatre as it disappeared into the distance. Soon he’d floated over the city. He could see for miles and gasped at the buildings that shot up into the sky, the massive parks and the cars way down below looked like little toys. Rolo sensed how small he was. Roger was flying alongside Rolo and smiled. ‘It’s fantastic to be soaring through the sky. Isn’t it?’
Rolo looked down at the city disappearing into the distance as the balloon kept rising. His heart was thumping and his eyes were wide open. ‘This is amazing.’ Then a strong gust of wind hit the balloon and it rocked violently from side to side. Rolo felt decidedly queasy. ‘How do I get down to the ground?’
Roger hovered in the air and looked blank. ‘Good point. What did Squeak say?’
‘He said I have to release some of the balloons. He also warned me to be careful when doing so, I can’t remember why. I’m getting nervous. I’ll release one of the balloons so I fly lower.’ Rolo started to chew through the string that connected one of the balloons to the cup. As he chewed he didn’t noticed he’d drifted out of the city, across a bridge and over a gorge. Suddenly the string snapped and the cup jolted to one side.
The air was filled with a swishing sound and out of nowhere a Sparrow Hawk appeared, it circled Rolo and then hovered. ‘Must be a delivery service - a tasty looking mouse all the way up here.’
Rolo gulped.
The Sparrow Hawk extended its claw and tried to grab Rolo, but the balloons got in the way. It looked at the balloons and then popped two with its claw. The cup lurched again and Rolo found his legs dangling out of the cup. He frantically tried to hold on, but his paws slipped on the smooth surface.
Rolo looked down and saw fast flowing water a thousand feet below. Rolo slipped further and further out of the cup. The Sparrow Hawk reached out its claw. Rolo shouted out, ‘Roger help me!’
Roger flew down, smashed into the Sparrow Hawk with a heavy thud and grabbed hold of Rolo’s tail just as he slipped out of the cup.
Roger flapped his wings as hard as he could, but they both hurtled towards the water. Rolo covered his eyes with his paws. Roger frantically beat his wings and strained with all his might.
The Sparrow Hawk regained its composure. ‘Pigeon and mouse for dinner.’
Rolo peeked out from behind his paws and saw they weren’t heading straight down, but were veering to one side, heading for the bank. ‘Go on Roger you can do it!’
They landed with a thud on the hard concrete next to the river. There was a screaming sound as the Sparrow Hawk dived towards Rolo and Roger.
Suddenly a car horn sounded. Instinctively Roger and Rolo grabbed hold of each other and crouched down. A few Sparrow Hawk feathers floated down to the ground as the car disappeared into the distance.
Roger froze in fear. Rolo grabbed hold of Roger’s wing and led him to safety. They lay on the grass bank. Rolo wiped his forehead. ‘You’re a hero.’
Roger didn’t answer he just lay panting. Eventually he caught his breath. ‘Nothing to it old boy.’ Roger waved his wing. ‘We saved each other.’
Rolo looked around. ‘How are we going to get home? Do you know which way we should go?’
Roger shrugged.
Rolo raised an eyebrow. Then the two of them lay on the grass for a few minutes. Then Rolo saw an open topped bus with CITY TOUR written on the side of it. ‘I recognise that bus. It goes near the theatre.’ The bus stopped at some traffic lights. ‘Come on, let’s jump aboard.’
The two of them raced to the bus. Roger picked up Rolo and put him down on the open doorway at the back of the bus. They made their way down the bus and ended up sat to one side of the driver. They gazed at the sights and sounds of the city, from the old iron bridge and ornate buildings to the beautiful graffiti on some of the new buildings. Eventually Rolo asked, ‘How come you couldn’t figure out which way the theatre was? I thought you said you’d been trained in navigation?’
Roger ruffled his wings. ‘Can’t be back to my best. Must still be recovering from my injuries.’
A few hours later they were back at the theatre. Squeak and Louise ran down to see them. Rolo quickly explained what had happened. Squeak put out his paw, ‘Thank you for saving Rolo. You’re a real hero.’
Roger extended his wing and they shook. Roger smiled, ‘Think nothing of it old man.’
Louise hugged Rolo and Roger. They both squirmed free.
Squeak asked, ‘Will you be heading home now Roger?’
‘Not sure old man. My navigation system seems to be playing up still.’
Squeak thought for a few moments. ‘We can look on the computer. It has aerial maps on it. From that we should be able to figure out how to get you home.’ He motioned to Roger then turned to Louise and Rolo, ‘Why don’t you two get something to eat while I help Roger.’
Louise and Rolo nodded. As they walked away Louise enquired, ‘Did you see Robbie?’
Roger and Squeak made their way to the manager’s office and started his computer. Squeak jumped around on the keyboard and quickly found a map of the local area. ‘So do you know where your base is?’
Roger peered at the screen. ‘Not quite sure old man.’
‘Do I mind if I have a look at your medal?’
Roger looked slightly embarrassed then raised his leg. Squeak read the writing off the tag, typed in a postcode and a route appeared on the screen.
Roger looked at Squeak. ‘You won’t tell Rolo will you?’
Squeak frowned. ‘I won’t tell him, but you should.’
‘You know I made up all the things I told him.’
‘Yes. But why did you do it?’
‘I’m a useless homing pigeon. I’m always getting lost. I was looking for someone to ask for direction when the Alsatian caught me. Talking with Rolo, it’s the first time anyone has looked up to me or even listened to me.’
‘He’s your friend. You should tell him the truth. He’ll understand. Especially as you were a hero in the end.’
‘I suppose your right. I’m sorry I was nasty to you. I could tell you were a mouse of learning and would see through my stories. I was being defensive.’
‘You need to talk to Rolo.’
Later that evening Rolo returned to the den, his shoulders were hunched and he dragged his tail behind him.
Squeak asked, ‘What’s the matter?’
Rolo sighed. ‘I’ve been talking to Roger. He’s never had any adventures, except the one we went on. He’s just a homing pigeon and he’s not very good at that.’
‘Remember he saved your life and got you into shape.’
‘But why did he make up so many stories?’
‘I suppose he just wanted to sound important.’
‘He’s going in the morning. He said you had to give him a map to show him the way home.’
Squeak patted Rolo on the shoulder. ‘Get some sleep and wish him goodbye in the morning.’
Rolo nodded and shuffled to his room.
As the sun came up Squeak made his way up to the roof. Rolo and Roger were talking. He turned to go back to the den, then Roger called out, ‘Squeak. Come and join us.’
Squeak bounced over to them. ‘Are you all set?’
Roger nodded and waved the map. ‘Thanks for all your help.’
Roger and Rolo hugged each other. Rolo said, ‘You’ll come back and see us won’t you?’
Roger smiled. ‘Of course I will old boy. Better get going.’ Then Roger turned, flapped his wings and was gone.
Squeak asked, ‘Fancy some breakfast?’
Rolo shook his head. ‘I’m going for a run first. I need to keep in shape.’
‘See you later.’
A few months after Rolo’s adventure, Roger made one of his mid-race visits. Rolo, Squeak, Louise and Froggy sat in a semi-circle as Roger got i
nto full flow, ‘It was in summer of last year, when I almost got caught by the most ferious animal you’ve ever seen. I was flying over the zoo and thought I stop and see if there were any tasty crumbs on offer. Well I landed in an enclosure that looked empty. No sooner had I started a reconnaissance when I heard a mighty roar and out of nowhere sprang a lion. He was all teeth and claws. Well I had to use all my survival training to quickly do a side step action and throw him over my shoulder. Then, while he was stunned, I made my exit.’
Louise, Squeak and Froggy smiled to each other.
Rolo rubbed his chin. ‘Did it really happen like that?’
Roger flapped his wings and blustered. ‘Well it was something like that.’
Louise, Froggy, Squeak and Rolo laughed. After a few moments even Roger started to chuckle.
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