ABC

Chapter One

IT was a beautiful, bright sunny day in DeliLand. All the kids were out playing. Beebo wanted to join them.

The playground seemed to overflow with little children. OK, so it wasn't exactly overflowing ... but you get the picture. Mothers and fathers had even taken the day off to go on a picnic. On the horizon, Beebo saw a beautiful rainbow.

"Yes," thought Beebo, "this is a day to be in the great outdoors and not stuck here in the house."

Beebo put on his rubber shoes and was just about to run out and play when out of the blue rang a high-pitched voice: "Beeeeeeee-boh! Beeeeeeee-boh!"

Oops! It was Mummy and she would never let Beebo go out now!

"Beebo, come back here. You have to study your A,B,C ..."

"But Mummy! All the other kids are out playing! Why can't I go too?"

"Because I said so, and because you want to grow up to be a smart little boy, don't you? You can go out to play after you have studied your A,B,C ..."

With a sad little face, Beebo Beedle took off his rubber shoes and went back into his room. He was determined not to be delayed for long though.

"A, B, C. A is for apple, B is for ball, C is for cat ..." repeated Beebo feeling restless to do something more exciting.

It wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair. All the other kids were outside playing. He could hear their laughter drift into his room.

Beebo looked out his window. There was Daddy in the garden planting a new shrub. Beezy was in the garden trying to help Daddy but getting more dirt on his shirt and face instead. He could hear Mummy humming in the kitchen as she kept a watchful eye on Milly who was goo-ing and ga-ing as she sat on the kitchen floor.

And here was Beebo, all six years of him, bursting with energy and enthusiasm, being confined to this room. He could almost see the bars at the doorway and on the window.

Looking out into the sitting room, Beebo saw that little black box which Daddy Beedle often spoke into. It was a voice machine that could copy Daddy's voice, much like a parrot.

Beebo creeped out and took the black box. Then he pressed the red button the way he'd seen Daddy do it. He said loudly: "A, B, C, D, E, F, G ...." until he got to the "Z" and then he repeated it over and over again.

Then he pressed another button and his voice could be heard, "A, B, C, D ..."

With the black box playing his voice, Beebo slipped out of the house through the window in Daddy and Mummy's room.

Chapter Two

Beebo ran all the way to the field where all his friends were playing. He found Peeper, his bestest of best pals.

Peeper was not a bit like Beebo. He was quiet and shy and he knew his A,B,C by the time he was 2.

Because Peeper's hair was cut so short, it seemed to stand on end. He had two small dots for eyes, a little pinkish slit for a mouth and a little button nose. He spoke very very quietly in short abrupt sentences.

"What're you playing, Peeper?"

"Nothing."

"You wanna play catching?"

"OK," answered Peeper, looking nervously around.

The sun was out and everybody seemed happy.

Beebo was running after Peeper when he suddenly saw a black cloud. It was no ordinary black cloud, as most things in DeliLand are seldom ever ordinary.

It was large and threatening and it seemed to have an angry frowning face. When it growled, the land felt as if it would crack and everybody would fall in.

The cloud was not very large. Down in the valley where everybody else was, it was still sunny and happy.

But where Beebo and Peeper were, it was getting darker and darker and darker. Beebo was frightened. He looked around for Peeper.

"Peeper? Peeper? Where are you?" whispered Beebo.

"Here," came the whispery reply.

Peeper peeped out from behind a tree.

"Don't be so s-s-s-scared, Peeper. It's only a little storm cloud."

"ONLY A LITTLE STORM CLOUD??!!" came a thunderous voice from the sky.

Up looked Beebo and Peeper as they cringed. It was the storm cloud and it was speaking to them!

"ONLY A LITTLE STORM CLOUD?!!! I'M THE CLOUDMASTER!" boomed the voice and in a poof the cloud disappeared and a little man stood before them.

He was an evil-looking little man with a twirly moustachio, thick eyebrows and sharp pointed ears.

"I am the evil Cloudmaster and I'm here to take away your happy days. I shall make it rain today, tomorrow and everyday," he said laughing. You know, the way all evil witches cackle in cartoons? That's the way the evil Cloudmaster laughed.

"B-b-but you can't!" pleaded Beebo.

"Oh but I can and I will."

Peeper now stepped out from behind the tree and he whispered to Beebo.

"What's all this whispering? I don't like whispering. What are you whispering about?" yelled the Cloudmaster.

"Peeper said you're just a scared little short man who doesn't know very much," answered Beebo.

"Oh he thinks that, does he? I'll show you!" said the evil Cloudmaster stroking his moustachio. He thought for a while as he paced the ground.

Then with a jolt he stopped. "I've got it. Call me stupid will you? Well, I'll make you a promise. If you can solve my puzzle, I'll go away and never ever come back."

What was the puzzle?

"You will break my spell for 40 years of rain if you can tell me what `FN ZVZX' means. You have until 12 o'clock to solve my riddle."

It was a really tough puzzle. Beebo and Peeper sat on the grass and thought and thought and thought.

Rain master? Cloud master? Evil man? What could it possibly mean? Beebo and Peeper could not imagine.

Chapter Three

It was now 11.58am. Beebo and Peeper had just two minutes to break the spell.

Beebo could almost hear the clock ticking.

Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock.

Then Peeper whispered to Beebo.

"Stop whispering. I hate whispering. What are you whispering about?" yelled the evil Cloudmaster.

"Peeper knows what it is! If you follow the next letter in the alphabet, the words FN ZVZX spell Go Away!"

With a poof the evil Cloudmaster disappeared into thin air.

"Peeper, that was very clever of you. How did you know how to solve that puzzle?"

"ABC," answered Peeper. It was as simple as that.

Chapter Four

Beebo and Peeper hurried home. It was time for lunch. Beebo crept back into the house through the window. The little black box was still playing his voice: "X, Y ..."

Nobody else in DeliLand knew of the evil Cloudmaster and how close they all came to having rain for 40 years.

It was a close shave and thanks to Peeper they were all saved. Beebo was very happy and also very proud of his friend.

From that day, Beebo studied his ABC without fail. If he ever met the evil Cloudmaster again, Beebo wanted to be prepared to solve any puzzle.