Playschool by Colin Thompson Read Free Book Online Page B

She had two assistants, Nurse Romeo and Nurse Juliet, who were two large black crows that could sew skin together with stitches so delicate they were impossible for the human eye to see. Because of the physical, hands-on nature of a lot of the classes and some of the unusual sports at Quicklime’s, this was something they did every day. They were also expert at taking people’s temperatures with the thermometer in places that could make your eyes water.
    â€˜How did this happen, dear?’ Matron asked. She had a soft spot for The Toad, having patched him up so often.
    â€˜I’d rather not say, Matron,’ said The Toad. As the wonderful Enchanted Wax soaked into his skin, the pain slowly faded until the poor toad felt himself floating away in a cloud of turpentine.

    â€˜Were you playing with matches again?’
    â€˜No, Matron.’
    â€˜You weren’t up to your old firework-making tricks again, were you?’
    â€˜No, Matron. I have toad’s feet, remember?’said The Toad, adding wistfully, ‘I can’t even light matches any more.’
    â€˜Someone did this to you, didn’t they?’ asked Matron gently.
    The Toad didn’t answer.
    â€˜It was that vile Orkward Warlock, wasn’t it?’ said Matron. ‘It’s all right, you don’t have to say. It’s obvious. You just lie there and rest while I go and get the nasty little devil.’
    As soon as Matron had left, The Toad climbed down off the bed, grabbed the tin of wax and made for the door.
    â€˜Where do you think you’re going, sunshine?’ said Nurse Romeo.

    â€˜I’m better now,’ said The Toad. ‘I should get back to class.’
    â€˜And what do you think you’re doing with Matron’s Enchanted Wax?’ said Nurse Juliet.
    â€˜Umm, oh, I must have picked it up by mistake,’ said The Toad, reaching for the door handle behind his back.
    â€˜Put it down.’
    â€˜I’ll just, erm, er, take it to Matron,’ said The Toad. ‘She might need it.’ And he ran out the door.
    As the two nurses flew after him, he managed to hide behind a statue and give them the slip. When he was sure there was no one about he made his way to the secret place up in the thirteenth clock tower, 19 where Orkward was waiting for him.
    â€˜Brilliant,’ said Orkward. ‘You’re almost useful. Now get lost.’
    â€˜Can I come with you?’ said The Toad. ‘I could carry the polish.’
    â€˜I suppose,’ Orkward agreed. If they got caught at least he could blame it all on The Toad.
    It took a while to slip out of the school without being seen, but finally they reached the path in the dark forest where Orkward had spoken to Narled the day before.
    â€˜Right, we sit here and wait,’ said Orkward.
    â€˜Do you really think he’ll come?’
    â€˜Yes,’ Orkward replied with great confidence. He didn’t actually think Narled was going to come, but sure enough a few minutes later there was a rustling in the bushes and there he was.

    He was not alone.
    There was another suitcase creature with him, slightly smaller than Narled, and around their feet were six little handbags.
    Orkward and The Toad were speechless.
    Narled was not, as everyone assumed, the result of an experiment gone wrong, but a real animal. Sacculus Pluscruris Patagonius was a very rarespecies of creature that only survived in the safety of Quicklime’s remote valley. Once, similar species had lived on every major continent but they had been hunted to extinction everywhere except for this one place. Their skins had been made into suitcases and holdalls, and even their babies had been made into little bags and purses. Nowadays suitcases are usually made of nylon and plastic, but in the past, the more endangered the animal, the more desirable was the luggage.
    â€˜I’ve … I’ve, er, got the polish,’ Orkward mumbled as the tiny