Patchwork Picnic (9781743583524) (3 page)

‘Without its key,' Felix went on, ‘this soldier will soon wind down. And then I'm going to
throw away
the key, and destroy this enemy toy forever!'

Lola jumped to her feet. ‘No, Felix!' she shouted at the top of her voice. ‘Stop!'

Every single toy in the crowd turned to look at her. Lola felt the blood rushing to her cheeks.

Then a tiny voice beside her said, ‘Oh, Lola, I hope you know what you're doing. By my
zipper
, I do!'

Felix walked towards Lola. Buddy shuffled in closer.

‘Well, well, well,' said Felix darkly. ‘If it isn't my dear
Lola
. How very nice to see you.'

Lola wasn't sure he actually meant that.

‘What are you doing in the Kingdom?' Felix asked. ‘It has been a long,
long
time since we've had a real girl here.'

Then Buddy spoke up.

‘Oh, she's just here with me, Felix,' he said, his voice trembling. ‘For fun. For a picnic. And we were just leaving, actually.'

‘Hello, Buddy,' said Felix quietly. ‘It's been a long time since we've seen you here, too.'

He rubbed his furry chin. He looked at Lola and then Buddy.

‘Lola,' he said, ‘this soldier works for the Plastic Prince, our
enemy
. But you don't think we should destroy it. Why is that?'

The soldier was still quietly nodding its head, up and down, up and down.

The toy was getting slower, and making a quiet humming noise.

Lola took a good look at Felix. He was a very fine bear. He had neat, orange fur and a stern look on his face.

Lola felt a bit nervous. But she also felt sure that Felix shouldn't hurt the poor soldier. She took a deep breath.

‘I don't think we should be
cruel
,' Lola said. ‘To anything or anyone.'

Felix nodded and was silent for a long time.

Finally, in a very
strange
voice, he said, ‘OK. I won't throw the key away. You can keep it. On
one
condition.'

A funny feeling crept into Lola's tummy. But it wasn't a
good
funny feeling.

Felix drew himself up to his full height. ‘The condition is that you first pass a test.'

Buddy sprang forward. ‘Blast my buckle!' he cried. ‘You can't be serious, Felix.'

‘I am the son of the Great High Bear,' said Felix, angrily. ‘Lola has challenged my orders. How do we know we can trust her?'

A whisper ran through the crowd. It sounded like the toys were all saying,
‘Buttons! Buttons! Buttons!'

‘Indeed, she will do the button test!' Felix said loudly. ‘And if she fails, I will destroy this enemy toy – and Lola will
never
be allowed back in the Kingdom!'

Then he turned back to Lola. ‘Do you accept?'

Lola gulped. She knew this test was
very
important.

She had loved coming to the Kingdom. It was amazing seeing all these toys come alive.

She'd never had a
real
adventure like this before. And she'd be sad if she couldn't come back.

But then Lola looked over at the poor toy soldier.
What will happen to him if I say no?

‘I accept,' she said firmly.

A thrill ran through her body as the crowd of toys began cheering.

‘Very well,' Felix said seriously. ‘Let's get ready.'

Felix took a golden button from one pocket and a silver button from the other. Then he turned to Buddy and held out a paw.

Buddy seemed to know what to do. He handed Felix one of his own buttons. It was a very plain, old wooden button.

Felix lined up the buttons on the picnic hamper. Then he handed Lola a rolled up piece of paper. It was tied with a ribbon.

‘If you pass this test, we will know that you can be trusted,' Felix told her.

All the toys were
silent
.

Lola could feel the eyes of every bear and rag doll and cat and monkey and rabbit – on
her
.

She pulled the ribbon and unrolled the paper. Her hands were shaking.

Then she began to read aloud, and her voice was shaking too:

When Lola had finished reading, she looked at the three buttons on top of the picnic hamper. Gold, silver and wood.

Gold
. The gold button looked so beautiful and shiny in the sunlight.

Lola liked the idea of having lots of money. There were loads of things she'd love to buy. New pens. New toys. A new
bike
.

I could have anything I want,
thought Lola.

Silver
. The silver button looked smart, like it was from a uniform. Lola liked the idea of being braver and stronger.

It might help me stand up to Nick,
she thought.

Lastly,
wood
. Next to the gold and silver buttons, Buddy's wooden one looked a bit tatty. It wasn't fancy. But it would last forever. And it came from her favourite toy in the world.

Lola read the poem again.

Then she took a deep breath, grabbed a button, and held it up for all to see.

All the toys stared.

Then there was the very strange sound of hundreds of soft paws and fabric hands
clapping
.

‘Well done, Lola,' said Felix. His whole face had changed. He was smiling and nodding. ‘Well done!'

Lola felt a grin spread across her face. ‘It was easy in the end,' she said, looking at the wooden button in her hand. ‘I don't need riches and shiny new stuff.

And I can be brave and strong all by myself. But
this
button is special to me, because it came from my friend Buddy.'

The crowd of toys whooped and clapped.

‘Hooray!' they cheered. ‘Hooray for Lola!'

Lola laughed and looked around for Buddy. He was busy doing some
very
unsteady cartwheels.

‘I am glad you chose well,' Felix told her. He was still smiling ear to ear.

Then he raised his voice and yelled, ‘Lola will be
forever welcome
in the Kingdom!'

While all the other toys were still eating, Lola and Felix sat back against the big picnic basket. Buddy was swinging from the tree above them.