Nanny Piggins and the Rival Ringmaster by R. A. Spratt Read Free Book Online Page A

and built on an island in the middle of the sea. They aren’t going to let us just waltz off with their Princess.’
    Nanny Piggins was rubbing her snout – something she always did when she was thinking hard. ‘Don’t worry, I am having the beginnings of a brilliant idea,’ said Nanny Piggins.

    A short time later, Nanny Piggins was standing toe to toe with Princess Annabelle’s father, yelling at him.
    ‘If you can’t find the Princess, then I’m taking my cake and going home!’ yelled Nanny Piggins.
    ‘The wedding will go ahead as planned and that is an order!’ barked the King.
    ‘Your men have been searching for an hour and they haven’t found the Princess or the baker she fell in love with. I can’t dillydally here all day, I’ve got the Partridge–Dingleberry wedding cake to make back at home,’ said Nanny Piggins.
    ‘Fine,’ said the King. ‘Take your cake and go! I’ve got better things to do than stand around arguingwith a pig.’
    ‘I didn’t know you were arguing with the Duke as well,’ said Nanny Piggins, looking over her shoulder to see if he was there.
    ‘He means you,’ said Derrick.
    ‘He does? Oh yes, of course, even I forget I’m a pig sometimes,’ said Nanny Piggins.
    The King was just leaving the room to find some more people to yell at when Nanny Piggins called after him. ‘May we borrow your biggest helicopter? It’s just that I don’t think the airlines will let us take on a fifteen-metre-tall cake as hand luggage.’
    ‘Do what you like,’ snapped the King.
    Ten minutes later Nanny Piggins, Boris and the children were safely inside the helicopter and flying back home. And as I’m sure you have cleverly figured out, Princess Annabelle and Hans the baker were hidden inside the cake, which was hanging beneath the helicopter as it sped over the ocean.
    ‘Do you think they’re all right down there in the cake?’ asked Samantha.
    ‘Of course they are,’ said Nanny Piggins. ‘They have each other, they have true love, and they have three metric tonnes of octo-choc-chocolate cake. What more could a young couple ask for?’

Nanny Piggins was standing at the bottom of a long trench in Mr Green’s front garden, digging. For once she was not her usual glamorous self. She had mud smeared on her face, hair and Chanel satin dress. She had sweat on her brow. And she was cross.
    ‘Can we get you anything?’ asked Derrick.
    The children were standing at the top of the trench, watching their nanny work. They had offered to help. But Nanny Piggins was such a ferociousdigger that standing anywhere near her when she had a shovel in her hands meant they tended to get showered with dirt.
    ‘You can get me a good stick to hit your father with,’ muttered Nanny Piggins as she kept digging. For it was Mr Green with whom she was cross.
    Earlier that day she had been having a long luxurious bath when inspiration had struck. She suddenly thought of the most delicious way to make orange and poppy-seed cake even yummier (it largely involved leaving out the poppy seeds and replacing them with chocolate chips. But there were other subtle alterations as well). Naturally Nanny Piggins had to write it down immediately, and being in the bathroom the only tools to hand were a mascara brush and toilet paper. Nanny Piggins used up two rolls as she meticulously jotted down all the intricacies of her new recipe. When she got out of the bath Nanny Piggins felt triumphant. Not only did she have a marvellous new recipe that she could not wait to try out, she also looked fabulous (bathing in chocolate milk always did wonders for her complexion).
    But this is where the story takes an unhappy turn. You see, Nanny Piggins rushed to her bedroom to put on her best baking dress, an Yves Saint Laurentcocktail dress. (Nanny Piggins always saved her best clothes for baking. She thought a baking session was a far more important event than a wedding, state dinner or awards night.) But when she returned to the