day fifty-seven and a big bounce

Benny watched the harpoon and the rope attached to it disappear over the edge of the ledge. Obviously there was something heavy attached to the harpoon. I hope it wasn’t anything important! thought Benny.

He started towards the edge to have a look, but suddenly there was a whoosh! and the giant snowball shot up into the air above and landed with a crunk! on the ledge!

“Fhoof!” said Benny. He was shocked to see Ron’s beak and some boots sticking out of the frozen ball of snow. He rolled the snowball into the Soup Shack and lit a fire and put pans of water on the stove to boil. 

While the shack was warming up, Benny went outside again and looked over the edge of the ledge, where the snowball had shot up from. He could see a large spider-web down there. The next second, Fred and his spider friends appeared at his feet.

“What the... what?!” said Benny, trying to understand.

“We built the web to catch the snowball!” said Fred. “We thought it might drop - but we only just finished the web in time!”

“Bfff... hunh?” said Benny. “How did all your friends get here?”

One of the other spiders, an older-looking one, spoke:

“We eventually found out where Fred was,” said Sir Wellington Moonboots. “A scorpion on the Kola Nut Hotel patio told us he had overheard one of the hotel guests talking about Ron’s airship rescue and the Soup Shack. We got a starling to bring us here. It didn’t come cheap, though, it cost me an arm and a leg!”

© David Severn 2012