Danny Dempsey and the Unlikely Alliance by Denis Byrne Read Free Book Online

shy in approaching Danny with this problem it had been mulling over for weeks. It first nuzzled him in greeting, its big soulful eyes looking into his earnestly, as Danny patted its head and suggested that perhaps a nice silver necklace would do very nicely for its Mother. He’d get one himself in town and be sure to deliver it to the fawn well before the important date came around.
    â€˜Would you really, Danny?’ the fawn asked anxiously, though knowing full well it had nothing to be anxious about once Danny had given his word.
    â€˜Of course, Belinda,’ Danny reassured her. ‘I’ll have it here for you in a couple of day’s time. Don’t worry any more about it.’
    â€˜I’ve been thinking about getting Father a dartboard. Do you think that would be appropriate?’
    â€˜Well, it’s the thought that counts,’ Danny replied diplomatically, trying to recall whether Belinda’s Father was the stag with the new screw-in antlers, then remembering that he most certainly was, having had to come flying out one night about six months ago on his goat to break up a drunken brawl between Belinda’s Father and another tipsy stag, after the pair of them had partaken of a few too many fermenting elderberries. Belinda’s Father had been shorn of his antlers in the melee, and Danny had to fashion him a new set before he’d show his head in the woods again. He’d been holed up in a cave in the hills, too ashamed to be seen without his crowning glory until Danny sorted out his problem for him. ‘But I think maybe he’d appreciate two nice pairs of slippers instead. The last time I saw him, his hooves were badly shredded from all the pawing at the ground he’d been doing that night he was under the weather.’
    â€˜Oh, that’s all over and forgotten about, Danny,’ Belinda laughed. ‘They’re the best of friends again, and Father’s hooves are quite all right now. And nobody even pretends to notice his new antlers. But about his present. You see, he was watching Phil Taylor on the television a while back during the world darts championship, and ever since he’s been saying he’s sure he’d be able to get one hundred and eighty every single time without the slightest bother. That’s why I was thinking of the dartboard.’
    Of course, by this time a queue had formed behind Belinda, all anxious to talk to Danny and seek his advice on this, that and the other. Danny, having told Belinda he thought the dartboard was a splendid idea, then had chats with each of his friends in rotation. When Ollie the otter’s turn came, he was the same as ever. He’d more medical complaints than the entire patient population of the largest hospital in town put together.
    Every time Danny ran into him, it was something new. This time he was sure he’d contracted malaria. Weak as a kitten he was, Ollie moaned, hardly able to make himself a decent cup of tea any more. Danny, as he did on all previous occasions, gave Ollie the remedy to cure his latest ailment. Seventeen slivers of finely chopped moonlight, mixed carefully with half a spoonful of rainbow soup. Ollie thanked him profusely, then rushed off to check on his moonlight trap to ensure it was in perfect working order for tonight. Danny knew the malaria would disappear just as mysteriously as it had come, but also knew that the next time he encountered Ollie, some new, imagined exotic malady would have to be dealt with.
    He was deeply into a debate with Mrs. Vixen regarding whether or not she should allow her cubs to join the scouts this year or the following one, when every single animal Danny had been socializing with vanished as though by magic. One second, they were there, the next, he was standing alone in the clearing, talking to himself, still giving the absent Mrs. Vixen his own view on the matter.
    â€˜Well, the way I see it, Mrs. Vixen,’ he was saying, when he