Magic Toyshop Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  Map of Summertown

  ‘Meet the Hoozles!’

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Also in the series

  Copyright

  ‘This is so exciting!’ Willow murmured to Toby, her blue teddy bear Hoozle.

  Toby snuggled up to Willow. ‘A brand-new Hoozle doesn’t happen every day,’ he said in a rumbly whisper.

  Last night, Willow had discovered something extraordinary: Toby and the other Hoozles weren’t just soft toys. They were actually alive! They could talk to her and move around on their own. It still gave Willow a special thrill to hear Toby speak.

  And now someone was in the toy shop, wanting Auntie Suzy to make a new Hoozle. Willow was thrilled that she’d get the chance to see one being created.

  ‘We’ve just moved to Summertown,’ the lady at the shop counter was saying to Auntie Suzy, ruffling her son’s dark hair. ‘Our neighbour’s children have a Hoozle each, and Jack really likes them. Don’t you, Jack?’

  Jack nodded and Auntie Suzy asked how they were finding life in their new house. But Jack was hanging back behind his mum, so Willow decided to say hello to him. Her little brother Freddie was playing with one of the train sets, so she took him over too.

  ‘Hi,’ she said. ‘I’m Willow and this is Freddie. We’re staying with Auntie Suzy for the summer while our parents are away.’

  ‘Hi,’ the boy said. ‘I’m Jack.’ Then he looked down at the floor as if he didn’t know what else to say.

  He’s shy, Willow thought. ‘Have you decided what sort of Hoozle you’d like?’ she asked him.

  Jack shook his head.

  ‘Maybe if I show you some of the others, you’ll get a few ideas,’ Willow suggested. ‘This is my Hoozle – he’s called Toby.’

  ‘And this is my Hoozle,’ Freddie said proudly, holding up his lion-shaped toy. ‘His name is Wobbly, and he’s got a football as his pocket heart.’

  ‘His what?’ Jack asked.

  ‘His pocket heart,’ Willow said. She showed Jack the little pocket on Toby’s front. ‘All Hoozles have a pocket like this to keep something special in to show how much you love each other. I keep a heart-shaped shell in Toby’s.’

  Then she pointed at the shelf above them. ‘There are some Hoozles up there, too. The one shaped like an owl is called Wizard, the pony Hoozle is Lovely, and the cute penguin one is Grouchy.’ She smiled up at the three Hoozles, half-expecting one of them to smile back or wave at her. All the Hoozles were so friendly, Willow knew – well, apart from Croc, of course. He was a real trouble-maker, and Willow hoped she wouldn’t have to see him again for a long time.

  ‘They’re great,’ Jack said, gazing up at the Hoozles.

  ‘Did I hear your mum say you’d just moved here?’ Willow asked. ‘You must be excited to be living in Summertown. I love it!’

  Jack nodded. ‘We moved in last week,’ he replied. ‘We haven’t done much exploring yet.’

  ‘Then you must have a look at this,’ Willow said, taking his arm and leading him across the shop. ‘It’s Summertown, in miniature.’ She loved the tiny model village that her aunt’s assistant, Ricky, had made one winter. It had the sea-front, with its small wooden pier edging out into the water, the shops on the high street, the village school and, of course, all the houses.

  ‘That is so cool!’ Jack marvelled, his eyes lighting up as he gazed at the little model buildings. He pointed to an old farmhouse set just outside the village. ‘That must be our house right there.’ He stooped down to peer closer at it.

  ‘Wow – it’s even got our purple front door!’ He grinned at Willow and pointed to the purple T-shirt he was wearing. ‘That’s my favourite colour,’ he said.

  Willow was glad that he seemed more comfortable now.

  ‘Ooh, those wooden animals are fun,’ Jack said.

  ‘Auntie Suzy arranges them differently every week,’ Willow told him. This time, Auntie Suzy had set them up so that it seemed as if the elephants and zebras were putting on a show for an audience of other animals. ‘It really looks as if the monkeys are cheering,’ Willow chuckled, pointing at the way they had their paws in the air.

  ‘And this rabbit is scared,’ Freddie giggled, showing Jack how the little creature had its paws over its eyes.

  ‘And look at this elephant, balancing on one leg!’ Jack said with a smile. ‘I love elephants. They always seem so smiley and jolly, don’t they?’

  ‘Maybe you should get an elephant Hoozle,’ Willow suggested.

  Jack’s face lit up. ‘That’s a great idea,’ he said, and rushed over to the counter, where his mum was still talking to Auntie Suzy. ‘Do you think I could have an elephant Hoozle?’ he asked.

  ‘Of course!’ Auntie Suzy said. ‘I’ve never made an elephant Hoozle before and it’s high time I did. I’ll start work on him immediately. He should be ready to collect by the end of the day; is that okay?’

  ‘That’s wonderful,’ said Jack’s mum. ‘Thanks very much. We’ll see you later.’

  ‘Bye, Jack,’ Willow called as they left, and he waved and smiled at her.

  ‘Right, then,’ Auntie Suzy said, rolling up her sleeves. ‘Let’s get Hoozling!’ She pressed a big button on her counter which was shaped like an owl, and Willow watched as a painted panel on the wall slid open. Out came a shiny pink sewing machine and a red bag, which Auntie Suzy began rummaging through.

  Willow stared in delight at all the different sorts of coloured fabrics in the bag, plus scissors, thread, buttons and needles … everything you needed to make a Hoozle! But Auntie Suzy was frowning. ‘Hmm,’ she said. ‘I’m not sure I’ve got the right material for an elephant Hoozle after all.’ She glanced through the front door at where Ricky was chatting to a passer-by outside the shop. ‘I just need to pop out for a short while, okay?’ she said to Willow. ‘I’ll take Freddie with me, but you can stay here if you’d like. I won’t be long, and Ricky’s there if you need anything.’

  ‘Okay,’ Willow said. When Auntie Suzy had gone, she busied herself down one of the aisles, unpacking a box of teddies which had arrived. Then, all of a sudden, she heard a loud crash which made her jump.

  Willow straightened up at once and looked around the shop … then gasped with horror. There, right in the middle of the model town, was a mean-looking orange crocodile Hoozle, kicking over the buildings. It was Croc!

  Willow gulped. Croc was bad news. ‘Stop that at once!’ she said, picking up Toby and rushing over to the model. Lovely and Grouchy were also leaping down from the shelves, looking anxious.

  Croc sneered at Willow as she approached. ‘I’m not scared of you,’ he scoffed.

  Toby leapt out of Willow’s arms on to the table, fur bristling. ‘Why do you keep hanging around here breaking things? Haven’t you learned your lesson?’ He growled. ‘Go home, before we chase you off there ourselves.’

  Croc leapt off the table. ‘Ha!’ he jeered. ‘You’d never come to where I live; it’s too noisy and smelly for a goody-goody Hoozle like you.’ Then, with a horrible smile, he jumped up to the Hoozle-making station and grabbed Auntie Suzy’s bag. ‘And since you asked, I’m here because I don’t want any more Hoozles to be made,’ he said. ‘So I’ll take this with me!’ He laughed and ran out of the back door with the bag.

  ‘Come back!’ Willow cried, but he was already gone. She scooped up Toby, her heart thumping. ‘We’ve got to get those tools back before we have to explain to Auntie what’s happened.’

  ‘We’ll come with you,’ Lovely whinnied, trotting over to Willow, with Grouchy waddling behind.

  Willow
held her backpack open so that Lovely and Grouchy could jump in. ‘I’ll guard the shop,’ Wizard called from up on the shelf. ‘Good luck – and be careful!’

  Willow put on her backpack and scribbled Ricky a quick note: Back soon. Then she dashed out of the back door, the way Croc had run. There was a trail of white fluff leading through the small garden, and Willow quickly realised it was the stuffing Auntie Suzy put inside the Hoozles to make them so squishy and cuddly. It must have fallen from the bag as Croc ran. ‘At least we know he went this way,’ she said, gathering it up as she went.

  The trail led through the garden and along the alley which ran behind the row of shops. Then, as the alley led into the main street, the trail stopped. Willow looked up and down the road, but there was no more Hoozle fluff – and no sign of Croc.

  She sat down on a bench with her backpack on her lap so that she could talk to her Hoozle friends. ‘What now?’ she hissed. ‘We’ve got to find Croc, otherwise Auntie Suzy won’t be able to make a Hoozle for Jack – or for anybody else!’

  ‘Croc said he lives somewhere noisy and smelly,’ Toby put in thoughtfully.

  Grouchy flapped his wings, looking excited. ‘What about the rubbish dump?’ he suggested. ‘That’s certainly noisy and smelly.’

  ‘Good idea! I’ve seen that on the town model,’ Willow realised. ‘Let me think … Just along the sea-front and left, is that right?’

  Grouchy nodded. ‘Shouldn’t take long to get there. Let’s give it a try.’

  Willow set off and, after just a few minutes’ walking, she found herself at the entrance to the rubbish dump. There were lots of different areas in it – a huge section for broken fridges and freezers, a place for old electrical items, and sections for wood, metal, compost, furniture … all sorts of things. ‘Where would Croc be?’ Willow wondered, wandering past an area labelled ‘General Rubbish’.

  ‘I can see toys!’ said Toby in a low voice just then, and Willow stopped to look. She could see mouldy pillows, bits of an old kitchen unit, a rug with holes in … and yes, toys. A doll with no arms, old board games and jigsaws which had torn boxes.

  But there were other toys there that didn’t seem broken. A teddy who looked perfectly nice was smiling out from the pile. A stuffed dog was there too, paws dirty but otherwise fine. It made Willow feel sad.

  ‘Why would someone throw away a toy if it wasn’t completely broken?’ she wondered.

  Grouchy gave a shrug. ‘That’s just how life goes, I guess,’ he said. ‘Not all toys get to be loved.’ He kicked the ground a little. ‘I never had an owner,’ he said sadly. ‘I was made for a new baby, but then the family moved away before the baby was born.’

  Lovely snuggled against him. ‘You’ve got Wizard and me,’ she reminded him. ‘We’re glad you got to stay with us.’

  Willow cuddled Toby close. Poor Grouchy! She was so lucky to have Toby. ‘I’m sure you’ll find someone to love one day,’ Willow told the little penguin.

  But Grouchy already seemed to have perked up. He was pointing a wing-tip at the ground. ‘Hey, look,’ he said. ‘There are footprints there in the mud!’

  The others all peered down to see. Sure enough, there were three-toed footprints leading away into the dump.

  ‘Croc’s footprints!’ Willow cried.

  Willow followed the strange footprints through to the furniture area of the dump. There was a shabby, upside-down sofa there which made a sort of cave, and the footprints led right inside it. Willow peered in, her heart thumping … then blinked.

  Staring back at her, and looking rather worried, was a black and white bird sitting on a nest.

  ‘They were bird footprints!’ Grouchy said, then hung his head. ‘I should have known that.’

  The bird hopped off the nest and flew away. As it did so, it knocked over a small metal box, and a stream of buttons spilled out on to the ground.

  Lovely wriggled in Willow’s backpack. ‘Ooh, a box of eyes!’ she said excitedly, seeing the buttons.

  Willow smiled. To a Hoozle, she supposed buttons were eyes!

  ‘Those shiny blue ones are nice,’ Toby said, pointing a furry paw at them. ‘They would be perfect on a Hoozle, wouldn’t they? Maybe Jack’s elephant Hoozle could have them.’

  ‘Oh yes,’ Grouchy said, nodding. ‘Just right.’

  Toby jumped out of Willow’s arms and gathered up the two blue buttons, passing them to Willow.

  ‘Good thinking,’ Willow said, putting them in her pocket. She gazed around at the rest of the dump. ‘I don’t think there is anywhere else for Croc to hide here,’ she added. She turned and headed for the way out. ‘Can you think of anywhere else that’s noisy and smelly?’

  The Hoozles thought for a moment and then, just as they were leaving the dump, an animal rescue van drove past.

  Lovely clapped her hooves together. ‘The animal rescue shelter is noisy and smelly,’ she said. ‘And it’s just around the corner.’

  ‘Yes!’ Willow cheered. ‘Let’s try that.’

  They set off up the road. The sun was shining and lots of people were out and about doing their shopping or enjoying the warm weather. ‘Hello, Willow,’ called Mrs Morris, who was wiping tables outside her café. ‘Your Auntie Suzy said you’d be visiting Summertown. It’s lovely to see you! Would you like an ice cream?’

  Willow smiled. ‘Thank you, but I’ll have to come back later,’ she replied.

  ‘Take a left here,’ Grouchy instructed from the backpack, as Willow came to a crossroads. ‘Yes, there it is, just past the post office.’

  The animal rescue shelter was full of cages and very noisy! Dogs barked, cats meowed, and guinea pigs gave high-pitched squeaks. ‘It’s definitely smelly in here, too,’ Grouchy whispered, waving a wing in front of his beak. ‘Ugh!’

  ‘Hi there,’ a friendly lady with curly hair said to Willow as she went in. ‘Looking for a pet? You need to have an adult with you before you can take one home, you know.’

  ‘That’s okay,’ Willow said politely. ‘I’m just looking.’

  She went into the room which housed the dogs first. A black Labrador puppy was bouncing about after a ball in one cage – he was so cute!

  ‘Awww, look at him,’ Lovely cooed. ‘You know, Willow, back when your mum was growing up, she had a puppy. He was always charging around with me in his mouth. Very gentle though, he never bit me.’ She glanced around to make sure nobody could see, then hopped out of Willow’s backpack and waved at the puppy.

  The puppy immediately came over and licked her through the bars, and Lovely burst into giggles. ‘Oooh! That’s so ticklish!’ she cried.

  Willow picked her up. ‘Come on, we need to look for Croc,’ she reminded the pony. ‘Where might he have made a home in this place?’

  They looked all around the room full of dogs but saw no place for a Hoozle home. The next room was full of cats and kittens in cages. Some were curled up asleep on fleecy blankets, others were eating or in their outdoor areas. Again, there wasn’t really anywhere that a Hoozle could make a home – no dark corners or empty spaces.

  ‘Croc must be somewhere else,’ Toby said.

  Willow thought Toby was probably right and turned to go. But just then, she caught a glimpse of a fluffy orange tail as it disappeared around the corner. ‘Hey!’ she hissed, pointing at the doorway. ‘Did you see that?’

  She ran after the creature and was just in time to see a flash of orange as it went into the office. It had to be Croc – they’d found him at last!

  Willow felt her skin prickle with excitement as she tiptoed up to the office and peeped inside. But there, looking lost, was a ginger kitten.

  ‘Meow!’ it said as it saw Willow.

  ‘You’re not Croc,’ Willow said, picking it up. ‘But you’re way cuter than that mean old crocodile. Aren’t you, puss?’

  The kitten rumbled with purrs and butted its head against Toby, who was also in Willow’s arms. Its tiny paws dug into Toby’s tummy, making him giggle. ‘That feels funny,’
he chuckled.

  ‘Come on, you,’ Willow said to the kitten. ‘I don’t think you’re meant to be in here.’

  She took the purring kitten down to the front desk and the curly-haired woman let out a cry when she saw him. ‘Not again!’ she said, laughing. ‘How do you do it, Houdini?’ She gently took the kitten from Willow. ‘Honestly, he manages to get out of his cage every single day, this one. Thank you for finding him!’

  Another member of staff came up to the desk just then with a purple and lilac tartan animal blanket. ‘I’m going to get rid of this,’ she told the curly-haired lady. ‘It’s been torn by the puppies, so—’

  Willow couldn’t stop herself interrupting. Purple was Jack’s favourite colour – the fabric would be perfect for his Hoozle! ‘Excuse me,’ she said quickly. ‘But could I buy that blanket from you?’

  The curly-haired lady smiled. ‘You can have it,’ she said. ‘Call it a thank-you for finding Houdini.’

  Willow beamed as the blanket was put in a bag for her. ‘Thank you very much,’ she said.

  As the woman took Houdini back to his cage, Willow decided to leave the animal shelter. ‘I don’t think Croc lives there,’ she said as she went outside. ‘But we’ve got to find him, and soon!’

  A seagull shrieked overhead, and Grouchy glared at the bird. ‘Seagulls are the most annoying birds ever,’ he muttered. ‘They wake me up every morning with all that squawking – drives me mad!’