Otter Chaos! (7 page)

A light breeze was making the tendrils of willow leaves hiss pleasantly as the two young otters glided about in a synchronised water-dance, their heads and floral headdresses remaining firmly above the waterline so they kept dry the whole time.

The dance looked graceful and serene on the surface, but involved a lot of ferocious swimming below.

When it finished, the audience gave a standing ovation and marked their scores in the mud, which showed that Coco was the winner. Berry had no problem with losing to Coco. She knew that her swimming partner had been training her whole life in the art of keeping her head dry.

The next event offered less elegant entertainment than the lily dance, with the two grandpas going head-to-head in a rock-pounding clam-slam! And they were literally head to head, as Grandpa Bruno and Grandpa Jack were both floating on the water, their heads pressed together so neither could see how many clams the other had cracked until the horn-honk signalled the end. This was a rapid game of speed and accuracy, and no one would know who had won until the official clam-count.

“On your marks…” said Grandma Maple, with Woody and Sooty treading water beside their grandpas, each holding a floating basket full of clams. “Rocks at the ready…” she added as her husband and his rival positioned flat rocks on their bellies.

HOOOOOONK!

With the signal, Grandpa Bruno and Grandpa Jack each grabbed a clam from their basket, gripped it in two paws and began whacking it on the flat stone until the shell broke open.

CRACK!

CRACK!

They popped the clam meat in the baskets and tossed the shells back into the river. Everything was so fast and furious it needed a lot of concentration, but that didn't stop the old otters hurling insults along the way.

CRACK!

“Have you done any yet?” asked Grandpa Bruno, throwing another clam into his basket. “No one will think any the worse of you if you're too old and feeble.”

CRACK!

“Don't mistake that cracking noise for your rickety old joints,” said Grandpa Jack, tossing more broken shells into the water. “It was the sound of another clam surrendering to my awesome paws!”

CRACK!

“More like snoresome paws!” scoffed Grandpa Bruno.

CRACK!

“And there goes another one!” mocked Jack.

“You probably weakened them all in advance,” said Bruno, hammering away at a particularly stubborn clam. “I know you don't like to leave too much to chance.”

CRACK!

“Me?” growled Jack. “You're a fine one to talk!”

And with this, Grandma Maple honked on the shell-horn and brought a swift end to the event before things got out of hand. The clams were counted and Grandpa Jack had cracked almost twice as many as Grandpa Bruno. The old enemies only snorted at each other and swam back to their families. Sooty and Woody were left behind, feeling bad.

They knew that their grandpas had been the very best of friends, just like them, but now they couldn't even bear being in the same section of river at the same time.

“I was hoping the river races would revive their friendship,” sighed Woody. “That they would remember why they liked each other before and forget all about their silly feud.”

“Me too,” said Sooty. “But they really can't stand each other.”

“I've never seen my grandpa so grumpy before,” added Woody.

“Mine neither,” said Sooty. “He keeps scowling.”

“Don't worry, young pups,” Grandma Maple consoled them as she helped the two little ones back to the bank with their baskets. “Those two were not always so crabby, and there may yet be hope for them.”

It was time for what was probably the least exciting event, but it was the one Woody most wanted the Browns to win. And it had nothing to do with Cottonwood Lodge. This was Beanie's event and he wanted her to show Coco and the twins how brilliant she was. He got to his sister just in time.

“… so if you lose, we'll all be homeless,” Chestnut said to Beanie.

“We might as well start packing now!” added Nutmeg.

“Leave her alone,” said Woody.

“But they're right,” whispered Beanie. “If you add up the scores of the teams so far, the Blacks have won three events and we've only won two.”

“But there's still Sooty's and my underwater obstacle race to come,” said Woody, who had already counted and knew there were seven events in total. “It's not over yet.”

“But if Beanie loses this one, it'll be four wins to two, so even if you win the last one, we'll still lose Cottonwood Lodge,” said Coco, fiddling with her lily headdress. She liked it so much she had decided to keep it on.

“It's a shame she's not competing in a ‘Huge Tail' event,” said Chestnut. “She'd probably win that.”

“Or eating,” said Nutmeg. “She'd win at eating.”

“I won my event,” said Coco, just in case anyone had forgotten.

“It doesn't matter who wins,” said Woody, getting cross with his older siblings. “And it won't be Beanie's fault if we lose. We're competing as a family and we're all doing our best.”

“But—” said the twins.

“Beanie was cheering more loudly than anyone during the volleyball,” Woody interrupted. “And she carried on cheering even when you didn't win, because that's what families do!”

He braced himself, ready for the twins and his big sister to pounce on him, as they usually did when he argued with them, but this time they did something completely unexpected.

“Sorry, Beanie,” said the twins, looking genuinely apologetic.

“Yeah, I'm sorry too,” added Coco, patting her little sister's head. “And we promise not to blame you when you don't win.”

“Oh, shut up, stinky bottom!” said Woody, and he grabbed Beanie's paw and ran off towards the pool for her event, shouting over his shoulder, “Beanie is going to win!”

“Ooo, you little…!” shrieked Coco, chasing after him.

At the pool, Coal was already in the water, so Beanie jumped in too. Woody joined the other brown otters, keeping his distance from Coco, who had arrived with the twins just in time.

“This event is to see who can hold their breath underwater for the longest time,” said Grandma Maple, standing on the edge of the pool as she introduced the two shy contestants. “Are you both ready to begin?”