Badger the Mystical Mutt and the Barking Boogie (6 page)

As the crystals of the cave opening dazzled and shimmered, Cheryl gasped.

“A stage! Spotlights! This is my moment.”

She waltzed ahead, completely fearless and enchanted. Badger ran after her.

“Hold on, Cheryl. Baby Unicorn must enter ahead of us.”

Cheryl stopped and curtsied to Baby Unicorn, who was just behind her.

“I do apologise, your royal unicorniness. I just see lights and want to dance.”

Baby Unicorn bowed and carried on into the cave, with Cheryl and Badger close behind.

As Cheryl weaved her way through the crystal cave, its stalagmites and stalactites glinted and glittered around her, and she could not resist a little groove on the most dazzling dance floor she had ever seen.

Her paws tapped and her hips swayed as Badger thumped his tail on the cave floor beside her. He picked up some rocks and shook them in his paws to Cheryl's beat. Baby Unicorn's horn flashed as he wriggled his rump to the rhythm of her rumba.

As she finished with a stunning fandango, Baby Unicorn clicked his hooves and swished his tail. Badger gave her a heartfelt round of up-paws and shouted “Bravo!”

Cheryl curtsied and beamed with pride.

“You see, I
have
to dance. The rhythm runs through my blood like the very breath I breathe.”

“I understand your passion now, Cheryl with a C. You must follow me and I will do my very best to cure you of your smelliness,” said Baby Unicorn, his flanks still twitching with the rhythm and the beat.

Baby Unicorn turned towards the back of the cave wall where the rock was flat and smooth.

A blast of light surged from his horn and lit up the cave wall. An image appeared.

“Ooooh, a movie screen!” Cheryl squealed in delight.

“Let's watch,” said Badger.

In front of them, they saw a hazy scene of a pup playing and dancing with a much older dog, who looked a lot like Dodgy Dave.

“Come on, son,” said the older dog. “You're nearly there. Maybe one day you can win a rosette like this.”

The older dog handed a shiny red rosette to the pup which had the words ‘Greatest Dancer' printed on it.

“I want you to have this as a reminder of how good you are.”

“Wow. Thanks, Grandpa. But do you really think I could ever be as good as you?”

“Just keep practising, son. Believe you can, and you will!”

The screen on the cave wall went blank, then burst back into action with a picture of Dodgy Dave dancing an intricate step pattern.

“It's Dodgy Dave!” gasped Cheryl. “I told you he could dance. Oh, what's that he's holding?”

Baby Unicorn, Cheryl and Badger all watched in horror as Dodgy Dave ducked and stumbled, as he was pelted by a torrent of tomatoes. He fell to the ground in a heap, covered in slushy red pulp, scrambling round in a panic to find the tatty red rosette he had dropped. Just as he laid his paw on it, a voice snarled from the side:

“Let this be a lesson to you, Dodgy Dave. Dogs don't dance! And certainly not dogs like us.”

“We're fighting dogs, not performing pets. If we ever catch you dancing again, there will be one almighty brouhaha,” growled a voice from the other side.

“And as for this …” snapped another voice. Cheryl gasped as the faded rosette was snatched from Dodgy Dave's grasp. “Tacky trash should be in the bin,” the voice continued.

Dodgy Dave watched in misery as his attackers tossed his grandfather's precious keepsake into a nearby wheelie bin.

“Good luck with trying to find that!” the voice cackled.

Dodgy Dave walked off with his head hung low and his tail between his legs.

The screen went blank again.

Cheryl was speechless. Her big eyes brimmed with tears.

Badger looked at her kindly and said, “Now, I think we understand why Dodgy Dave has kept his talents hidden. He's a proud dog. Perhaps, Cheryl, you can help him find the confidence to dance again.”

“But he runs away whenever he sees me,” fretted Cheryl.

“Ah, yes, but that's also why we're here,” said Badger. “I think Baby Unicorn may be able to help us out with that. Watch!”

Badger and Cheryl turned their gaze back towards the cave wall.

A new image sprang to life in front of them and Cheryl immediately recognised herself on the screen.

“Goodness, it's me. I've always wanted to be up there on the silver screen. Look!”

The film showed Cheryl standing by her dinner bowl surrounded by tins of
Super Tangy Chilli Beans
, packets of
Nicy Spicy Fajita Mix
and tubs of green
Wacky Moly
.

In the cave, Badger turned to Cheryl and frowned: “Erm, is
that
what you eat
every
day, for dinner?”

Cheryl nodded enthusiastically. “Yes. I love it. My Big Folks like sizzling spicy hot dishes and I eat what they have.”

“Oh dear, Cheryl. Dogs should never eat spicy food. I think we've just discovered the reason for your stinkiness,” said Badger.

They looked back at the screen, but it had already fizzled out.

“Is that all I can see of Cheryl with a C?” pouted Cheryl, fluttering her big long eyelashes.

“That is all we need to see,” said Badger. “I think I've got an idea to get you eating a healthy dog food plan, and save you from the Pong Police.”

“But I like my food!”

“Cheryl, do you want to dance?” asked Badger in exasperation. “Do you want Dodgy Dave to dance with you?”

“Of course, it's my dream.”

“Then trust me. We need to call in some Badgical Magical help. Let's get to the Wim-Wim.”

A rumbling hum shuddered through the cave.

“Our lift has arrived,” said Badger turning to Baby Unicorn and bowing his thanks.

Badger and Cheryl ran to the mouth of the cave and jumped into the waiting Wim-Wim.

Once they had both uttered the magical rhyme, “
Open our hearts with our eyes closed tight …
”, they found themselves back in Badger's garden, next to the sundial, near the crack in the fence.

“Wow, what a swell journey, Badger! I really did trip the light fantastic there.” Cheryl sighed. “I'm famished now, after all that excitement.”

“Ahem! Cheryl?” said Badger .“Do you need to have the spicy stuff today?”

“Well, what else could I have?”

“Leave it with me,” replied the Mystical Mutt, as sparkles of light twinkled around him.

“Thank you so much, Badger. I'll see you later.” And, with that, Cheryl skipped through the crack in the fence and into the lane.

The Pong Police were nowhere to be seen and there were still traces of treacle on the ground.

Cheryl hummed a happy tune and danced along. Suddenly, she heard a rumpus ahead. It was Dodgy Dave and the gang rummaging in the bins. She ran to catch them up.

“Dodgy Dave, Dodgy Dave. Wait for me. I have something to tell you!”

The Gang looked up, startled, as Cheryl marched up to Dodgy Dave.

“I saw your rosette. It was so pretty. What a shame those horrible dogs took it away from you,” said Cheryl innocently.

“What?” shouted Dodgy Dave angrily “How do you know about that?”

“Badger showed me,” she said.

“What's this about rosettes Dodgy Dave?” snarled Snif, who emerged from behind the wheelie bins, followed by Pickle, Pogo Paws and Lennie.

Dodgy Dave looked sheepishly at his gang, and said, “I don't know what she's talking about. The smell must be making her delirious.”

“But I saw it … you with your grandfather. He gave you his winning rosette,” she blurted out, remembering too late Badger's warning to keep Dodgy Dave's secret.

“Shut up, Cheryl. Go away and leave me alone!” As he turned his back on her to face the gang, he snarled, “I think it's time I paid a visit to Badger the Mystical Mutt.”

Dodgy Dave sped off in the direction of Badger's garden, and the gang sped off in any direction … away from Cheryl. She was left all alone, worrying about what Dodgy Dave would do to her new friend Badger.

Dodgy Dave raced down the lane and barged through the crack in the fence of Badger's garden.