Nanny Piggins and the Race to Power 8 by R. A. Spratt Read Free Book Online

cried Samantha as they spotted Nanny Piggins at the far end of the High Street on the last straight stretch into town.
    The crowd burst into cheers and applause.
    ‘She’s going to win!’ exclaimed Boris delightedly.
    ‘She’s going to win by a mile!’ said Derrick.
    Indeed, it was only as Nanny Piggins sprinted down the last hundred metres that they saw Nanny Anne appear in the distance at the far end of the street.
    ‘You can do it, Nanny Piggins!’ cried Samantha.
    The official announcer’s voice crackled over the public address system: ‘And here comes Sarah Matahari Lorelai Piggins in the lead.’
    The crowd roared their approval.
    ‘It is the first time we’ve had a woman, and a pig, come in first place,’ continued the announcer. ‘What a wonderful tribute to the power of exercise and healthy living.’
    At that exact moment Nanny Piggins’ legs stopped and she skidded to a halt just five metres short of the line.
    ‘Did he just say I was a tribute to the power of exercise and healthy living?’ asked Nanny Piggins.
    ‘Yes,’ said Derrick.
    ‘That’s the whole point,’ urged Tyler. ‘To win over the healthy vote.’
    ‘I can’t do it,’ said Nanny Piggins.
    ‘Yes you can!’ yelled Tyler. ‘You just need to take a few more steps.’
    ‘Nanny Anne is getting closer,’ cried Samantha.
    ‘I can’t win this race,’ said Nanny Piggins as though awaking from a stupor. ‘To do so would betray everything I believe in. I don’t believe in unnecessary sweating, jogging or organised sport in any of its forms. I certainly don’t believe in role models, health messages or setting a good example.’
    ‘But you’ll never become mayor on that platform,’ wailed Tyler.
    ‘I don’t care. Some things are more important than politics,’ declared Nanny Piggins. ‘Like principles and beliefs. And I believe in cake, fun and more cake!’
    The crowd roared their approval, then swept forward and lifted Nanny Piggins onto their shoulders, chanting ‘We want Piggins! We want Piggins!’
    Nanny Piggins was carried over to the winner’s podium where she took the microphone and broke into an impromptu loser’s acceptance speech.
    ‘I am Nanny Piggins and I am running for mayor,’ declared Nanny Piggins, ‘but I will not go against my principles by jogging to do so.’
    ‘She did run 9.995 kilometres of the 10 km run,’ whispered Derrick.
    ‘A slight technicality,’ dismissed Boris.
    ‘In fact,’ continued Nanny Piggins, ‘the only reason I am here today is because I was tricked by my campaign advisor.’ Nanny Piggins pointed dramatically at Tyler.
    ‘I didn’t trick you,’ said Tyler. ‘I persuaded you using reasoned argument and polling data.’
    ‘The most dangerous type of political trick of all,’ condemned Nanny Piggins, ‘which leads me to wonder, why would a self-proclaimed “professional campaign strategist” try to lure me into a life of deceit and lies?’
    ‘You’re talking about jogging, innocent jogging,’ protested Tyler.
    ‘There is nothing innocent about that much sweating and bouncing up and down,’ condemned Nanny Piggins. ‘You have systematically made me turn my back on everything I believe in. And I know of only one political mastermind morally bankrupt enough to do that – my identical twin sister, Abigail!’
    Everyone in the crowd gasped.
    Tyler (aka Abigail) tried to make a run for it but unfortunately she slammed into Nanny Anne just as she crossed the line. So Abigail fell over and her wig and glasses fell off, revealing herself to be an exact replica of Nanny Piggins (except that she had long red hair and green eyes).
    The crowd gasped again.
    ‘This is as good as The Young and the Irritable ,’ whispered Boris. ‘I wish I’d brought a bowl of popcorn.’
    ‘Yes, it’s me,’ admitted Abigail (formerly known as Tyler), ‘but you had it coming. Remember when we were children and you borrowed my pink cardigan without asking, then got a toffee