The Hoozles Read online

  The Big Parade

  By Jessie Little

  Illustrated by Penny Dann

  Contents

  Title Page

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Copyright

  ‘Willow! Willow! Wake up!’

  Seven-year-old Willow Thompson opened a sleepy eye at the voice – then jerked wide awake as she realised that Toby, her cuddly blue Hoozle bear, was standing by the pillow, prodding her. It was still something of a surprise that he could come to life and talk to her, but then again, this summer had been full of surprises so far!

  ‘What’s up?’ she asked. ‘Are you OK?’

  ‘I’m too excited to stay in bed,’ Toby replied, bouncing up and down. ‘It’s the Summertown Spectacular today!’

  Willow sat up. Of course! She and Toby had been looking forward to this day ever since they’d come to stay with Auntie Suzy for the summer holidays. Summertown was the friendly seaside resort where Auntie Suzy lived above her toy shop, and every year, the whole town got together with a parade to celebrate everything that made Summertown such a special place to live.

  ‘Are you ready for your starring role in the parade, then?’ Willow asked, hugging Toby. ‘Won’t it be fun?’

  The Hoozles were cuddly soft toys, hand-made by Auntie Suzy and sold in the shop. This summer Willow had discovered something very special about the Hoozles – they were all alive, and could walk and talk, just like she did. They were such lovely friendly creatures, too! Well, most of them, anyway. It was a shame about Croc, the mean orange crocodile Hoozle, but the less said about him the better, in Willow’s opinion.

  Because the Hoozles were so well-loved in Summertown, the town’s Mayor himself would be carrying Wizard, an owl-shaped Hoozle, on the first float of the parade. Auntie Suzy, Willow and her brother Freddie would walk in front, carrying the other Hoozles. It was just going to be so exciting!

  Willow quickly put on her best summer dress and ran along to the kitchen where Auntie Suzy was making breakfast. Freddie was there too with Wobbly, his lion Hoozle. He looked up eagerly as Willow came in. ‘Look, I’ve combed Wobbly’s mane especially,’ he said, showing Willow. ‘Doesn’t he look smart?’

  ‘He looks brilliant,’ Willow agreed, then turned to her aunt. ‘What time will the Mayor get here?’

  Auntie Suzy glanced up at the big wall-clock. ‘Well, he should have been here ten minutes ago actually,’ she said with a frown. ‘I’m sure he’s on his way, though. Once he’s picked up Wizard and we’ve finished breakfast, we can make our way down to the starting line with the other Hoozles.’ She peered out of the window. ‘It’s stopped raining, thank goodness. It was pouring all night so let’s hope it stays dry today.’

  While Auntie Suzy put some toast on, Willow decided to pop down to the toy shop with Toby. She wanted to wish Wizard luck in private before he was whisked away by the Mayor.

  ‘Back in a minute,’ she called, hurrying downstairs. Three Hoozles lived in the shop, and they were known as the Hoozle Council. There was Wizard, of course, who was the first Hoozle Suzy had ever made and the group leader. Then there was Lovely, a pink and purple pony Hoozle, who’d once belonged to Willow’s mum, and finally, Grouchy, a cute penguin Hoozle.

  ‘Hi, guys,’ Willow said softly as she pushed open the shop door. ‘Are you all OK?’

  The Hoozles were up on their shelf as usual and they all turned towards her as she came in. ‘Where is he?’ Wizard burst out anxiously. ‘He’s never usually late.’

  Willow blinked in surprise. ‘Um … Auntie Suzy said she thinks he must be on his way,’ she replied.

  ‘He should have been here ages ago,’ Grouchy grumbled. ‘What’s keeping him?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Willow said. ‘I’m sure he’ll be here soon, though.’

  ‘Maybe we should go and look for him?’ Toby suggested.

  ‘Yes, do,’ Lovely urged, tossing her mane out of her eyes. She stamped a foot impatiently. ‘Come on, Mr Mayor! Hurry up!’

  Willow ran back upstairs. ‘Shall I nip to the Mayor’s house?’ she asked, gobbling her toast quickly. ‘It’s only down the road, isn’t it? Just in case he’s forgotten or something.’

  ‘Would you mind? That would be really helpful,’ Auntie Suzy replied. ‘If he’s running late, just tell him I’ll meet him – and you – at the start of the parade. I’ll keep the Hoozles with me in case he’s already on his way.’

  As soon as Willow had finished her breakfast and brushed her teeth, she put Toby into her backpack with his head peeping out, and set off for the Mayor’s house.

  It didn’t take them long to walk along the sea front and up the road where he lived. The pavement was filled with puddles from the heavy rain the night before, and the Mayor’s garden looked positively squelchy with mud as Willow made her way along the front path. She knocked on his door and waited. Nothing happened.

  She knocked again, louder this time, but the house remained quiet. ‘Looks like he’s already left,’ she said to Toby after a few seconds. ‘He must have gone to Auntie Suzy’s a different way, and we’ve missed him.’

  ‘I’m not so sure,’ Toby said from where he was in the backpack. ‘Look what’s on that holly bush by the door, there. Orange fluff!’

  Willow saw where Toby was pointing, and her heart sank. It was a shade of orange that she recognised straight away … exactly the same as Croc’s fur. ‘Oh no,’ she said. ‘If Croc’s been here, that only means one thing – trouble!’

  ‘What’s he up to now, I wonder?’ Willow muttered, glancing around. ‘Do you think he’s trying to spoil the parade?’

  Toby shrugged his soft blue shoulders. ‘Probably, knowing him,’ he replied. ‘Maybe he’s lying in wait, so that he can kidnap Wizard?’

  ‘We can’t let that happen,’ Willow said at once. ‘Come on, let’s see if we can find him.’

  She and Toby looked all around the soggy front garden in search of Croc, or further clues. ‘Over here!’ Toby hissed after a few moments, and Willow saw that he’d spotted some large, man-sized muddy footprints on the front path.

  ‘These must be the Mayor’s footprints,’ Willow said, feeling excited at the discovery. ‘So he’s gone out, at least – but did he get away before Croc could play one of his horrid tricks?’

  ‘Let’s follow the footprints,’ Toby suggested. ‘I know we haven’t found Croc, but I think it’s more important to find the Mayor first and make sure the parade goes ahead, don’t you?’

  ‘I agree,’ Willow said, picking him up and murmured. ‘Why would he want an ice cream so early in the morning when he had the parade to get to?’

  ‘They do sell tea and coffee as well in there,’ sharp-eyed Toby whispered, noticing the sign in the window. ‘Maybe that’s why he came in?’

  ‘Only one way to find out,’ Willow said, and walked into the shop. ‘Hi,’ she said to the lady behind the counter. ‘Has the Mayor been in today?’

  ‘The Mayor? No,’ the lady replied, shaking her head. ‘I haven’t seen him, and I’ve been here all morning.’

  ‘Oh,’ Willow said, feeling baffled.Why would the Mayor come to the ice-cream shop and not go in, she wondered. It didn’t make sense. ‘Thanks anyway,’ she remembered to say, wandering out again.

  ‘I think we should go back to the toy shop to see if the Mayor’s turned up there yet,’ she said to Toby as she walked away.

  She hadn’t gone very far from the ice-cream shop, when all of a sudden, Croc popped out from an alleyway. ‘Well, what do we have here?’ he sneered. ‘Goody Two-Shoes and her tiresome teddy! I should have known you two would be meddling … but gu
ess what? You’re too late. The big parade won’t be taking place today now.’

  ‘What do you mean? What have you done?’ Willow asked, rounding on him, but Croc merely laughed.

  ‘Let’s just say the Mayor’s fate is sealed,’ he said, his eyes glittering with mischief.

  Croc said this so meaningfully, Willow could tell he was dropping some kind of hint. He must have plotted something to keep the Mayor away from the toy shop and the parade … but what?

  ‘Hi, Willow!’ came a voice just then and Willow whirled around. There was Jack, the boy she’d met a few weeks ago with his elephant Hoozle, Bouncer. Nice as it was to see Jack again, she really hoped he hadn’t just seen her talking to Croc – after all, nobody else was meant to know the Hoozles’ secret. Willow’s heart thumped uncomfortably. Had she just been found out?

  ‘Hi,’ she said, swallowing hard and trying to appear normal. Jack was making Bouncer wave his arm to Toby, so Willow made Toby wave back, even though Toby could wave his arm perfectly well on his own of course. Phew, Jack hadn’t noticed her talking to Croc, after all.

  She quickly glanced down at where Croc had been standing but he’d vanished, thank goodness. ‘How are you, Jack?’ she asked, her heart slowing in relief.

  ‘Good,’ he said. ‘Can’t wait for the Summer Spectacular!’ Then he looked puzzled. ‘Wait – I thought you and your aunt were leading the parade,’ he said. ‘Shouldn’t you be over there by now?’

  ‘Well …’ Willow began, not quite sure how to explain. ‘Um … it’s a kind of game,’ she improvised after a moment. ‘The Mayor’s hidden somewhere and he’s left a strange clue. I’ve got to find him before the parade goes ahead.’

  ‘Wow,’ Jack said. ‘That sounds like fun. Can I help?’

  Again, Willow hesitated. But maybe it was a good idea – two heads were better than one, weren’t they? ‘Sure,’ she said. ‘The clue is that the Mayor’s fate is sealed. Any ideas?’

  ‘The Mayor’s fate is sealed,’ Jack repeated, thinking hard. ‘Well, it could mean that the Mayor is sealed up somewhere –as in locked in.’ Locked in! It would be just like horrid Croc to trap the Mayor somewhere so that he couldn’t take part in the parade.

  ‘I bet you’re right,’ Willow said. ‘Great thinking, Jack. Now all we need to do is find out where he’s locked in.’

  ‘Hmmm,’ said Jack thoughtfully. ‘Well, whenever I lose something, I go back to the last place I saw it,’ he reasoned. ‘So why don’t we go back to the last place the Mayor was, then look for more clues.’

  ‘Let’s head back towards his house, then,’ Willow said. ‘Maybe Toby and I missed something when we were there.’

  They started walking away from the seafront and back towards the Mayor’s house. Willow was still carrying Toby and after a while, she decided to put him in her backpack again. She opened the bag and popped him in, then zipped a little way up to stop him falling out. Unfortunately, she pulled the zip a tiny bit too far and it caught Toby’s furry neck.

  ‘Oh! Sorry!’ Willow gasped at once, yanking the zip back again. ‘Are you OK?’ Toby didn’t reply, and it took Willow a moment to realise why. Jack was staring at her as if she were mad and she blushed bright red. No wonder Toby hadn’t said anything – Jack was right there next to her. So much for keeping the Hoozle secret! she thought, feeling hot and flustered. She’d nearly given the game away completely! She faked a laugh. ‘Just ignore me,’ she said to Jack. ‘I always talk to Toby. Anyway. Clues. Let’s keep hunting for clues.’

  Jack was still looking at her a bit oddly but Willow busied herself peering down at the ground, the nearby gardens, the roadside – anything, in fact, other than Jack’s face. They were nearing the Mayor’s house again and Willow stiffened with excitement as she noticed another set of muddy footprints leading away from the house – this time in the direction of the town centre. She was sure they hadn’t been there before. Had the Mayor come back to the house for something and gone out again?

  ‘Look!’ she cried, pointing at the pavement ahead. ‘The Mayor’s footprints!’

  Jack looked puzzled. ‘How can he be leaving footprints if he’s locked in somewhere?’ he asked.

  Good question. Willow had been wondering the same thing. Maybe they were wrong about the Mayor being locked in? ‘I don’t know,’ she confessed. ‘But I really think we should follow those footprints. They’re another clue, and with a bit of luck, they’ll lead us right to the Mayor!’

  Willow and Jack followed the footprint trail along the high street. Flags and bunting had been tied along the roadside, and lots of shops had posters up advertising the Summertown Spectacular. Balloons bobbed and swayed where they’d been tied to lampposts, and the road had been emptied of all traffic. Everything was in place for the parade to begin – apart from the Mayor himself!

  Willow hoped more than ever that they’d be able to find him soon. There was less than an hour now before the parade was due to start. What had Croc done?

  The footprints came to a sudden stop outside the Summertown bookshop. ‘Oh,’ said Jack, scratching his head. ‘What now?’

  ‘Let’s go and ask if he’s been in here,’ Willow said, pushing open the shop door and walking in. ‘Come on.’

  She and Jack went up to the counter where a friendly-looking man was unpacking a huge box of colourful books. ‘Can I help you?’ he asked.

  ‘We’re looking for the Mayor,’ Willow said politely. ‘Has he been in here today?’

  ‘Not today, no,’ the man said. ‘Sorry.’

  ‘Thanks,’ Willow said, trying to hide her disappointment.

  A sales assistant staggered by with a towering pile of books just then, and a few picture books slid off the top and fell to the floor, pages fluttering. ‘Let me help,’ Jack said, passing Bouncer to Willow and crouching down to gather them up.

  Willow perched on a sofa near a display cabinet as she waited for Jack, drumming her fingers impatiently while he followed the sales assistant with the books. It was very nice of him to help but they didn’t have time to hang around here! She needed to solve the mystery of the missing Mayor. It really was strange that his footprints had led them here, yet nobody had seen him –just like at the ice-cream shop earlier.

  ‘Where can he be?’ Toby cried, from where he was sitting on the back of the couch with Bouncer.

  Bouncer twirled his soft velvety trunk. ‘I’m getting worried,’ he said, his voice low and rumbly.

  But before Willow could speak, a blur of orange appeared from behind the couch. Croc! And his mouth was open in a toothy grin.

  ‘Worried?’ he taunted. ‘So you should be! Not long till the parade starts, after all … but oh dear, the Mayor’s a bit tied up right now!’ He chortled and then narrowed his eyes at Bouncer. ‘Ahh,’ he said. ‘So there’s a new kid in town. Hasn’t anyone warned you about me yet?’

  And with that, he made a dive for Bouncer. Willow knew exactly what Croc was up to – he was trying to steal Bouncer’s pocket heart, just as he’d stolen Wobbly’s. Every Hoozle had a little pocket stitched on to them, and their owner was asked to put a special toy or thing inside the pocket, which became the Hoozle’s heart. The pocket heart was a symbol of the love between the child and their Hoozle, and without it, Hoozles felt very unwell. Luckily for Wobbly, Willow and Toby had managed to get his pocket heart back to him, but they knew that Croc couldn’t be trusted.

  ‘Get off him!’ Willow hissed now, trying to stop Croc from attacking Bouncer. Toby, too, leaped in to protect the cuddly elephant and pushed Croc away. Unfortunately, as he shoved Croc, the orange Hoozle fell backwards, knocking a glass vase off the display cabinet behind them.

  Willow could hardly breathe with fright – she was going to get in so much trouble if that vase smashed! – but luckily, quick-thinking Bouncer lunged for the vase and just managed to catch it in time.

  ‘Well done,’ Willow said in relief, taking the vase and standing it up again.

  ‘Yeah, well caught, Bouncer,
’ she heard Jack say, and turned to see him standing there looking bewildered. ‘Did that really just happen?’ he asked, his eyes wide and disbelieving. ‘Did I really just see Bouncer moving?’

  Willow nodded. ‘Yes,’ she said uncertainly. ‘But humans aren’t supposed to know, so—’

  ‘Ha!’ Croc interrupted with a sneer. ‘I don’t care how many stupid humans see me, I’m still stopping the soppy parade.’ And before Willow could grab him, he’d darted away through a side door.

  Jack was still looking completely stunned, but Willow knew she had to react fast. ‘Come on, Jack,’ she cried, grabbing Toby and running after Croc. ‘Follow me!’

  She rushed out of the side door, just in time to see Croc snatching up two sticks and pelting away with them. She stared, her mind whirring as she realised that the sticks had cardboard feet stuck to the bottom of them. ‘Hold on a minute,’ she said to Jack. ‘Those footprints we were following weren’t made by the Mayor after all. Croc must have made them to fool us!’

  ‘He must have dipped the cardboard feet in mud and used them to print the trail,’ Jack realised. ‘But why would he do such a thing?’ He rubbed his eyes. ‘Willow, am I in a really weird dream, or is this actually happening?’

  ‘It’s happening,’ Willow replied, as Croc dodged around a corner and disappeared from view. ‘And now I’m more confused than ever.’

  She sighed and Toby snuggled himself against her. ‘Let’s think about the clues again,’ he said. ‘The Mayor’s locked in and “a bit tied up”, according to Croc. We know now that those footprints were just a false trail made by Croc, to throw us off the scent. Which means …’