The Fluff Gang and the New Neighbour
By
Rosemary J Peel
Copyright 2013 Rosemary J. Peel
Acknowledgement
Many thanks to my dear cousin, Barbara, for editorial assistance given.
The Fluff Gang and the New Neighbour
The Fluff Gang
Nelliphant’s an elephant,
But then perhaps you guessed;
Peebee is a polar bear,
She mothers all the rest.
Squiggle is a squirrel
Whose coat is red not grey,
And Kerry the Koala
Has come from far away.
Rhinos in the wild are large
But Nosirus is small;
She’s blue and very fluffy,
While Fang is green and tall;
His fine white teeth are gleaming,
He has a fearful smile,
Though he isn’t really fierce at all,
Just a friendly crocodile.
Puscus Cat he loves to sing,
Though it may sound like a wail;
Tuppy Puppy’s very young
And loves to chase his tail.
Pengi is a penguin;
He’s very far from home
But wants to stay at Nelliphant’s
And never more to roam.
Herbert Hippopotamus
Adores his garden hollow;
That’s always kept filled up with mud
So perfect for a wallow.
New Neighbours
Squiggle is very excited,
She has some news to share;
It seems they’re getting new neighbours,
Tuppy runs to the window to stare.
A van is parked in the driveway
Of the house that stands next to theirs;
Two men are bringing in boxes;
A huge bed, a table and chairs.
The Gang all crowd round the window,
“That place had been empty for years.
“Suppose we get someone horrid,”
It’s Peebee who voices their fears,
“That bed is simply enormous;
It’s made for a giant to sleep.”
Pengi and Kerry look frightened;
Poor Squiggle’s about to weep.
“We mustn’t get all hot and bothered,”
Says Nelliphant with a big grin,
“We should all stop being silly
And wait ‘til we see who moves in.”
A Shock for Puscus
The neighbour was quite forgotten
When Puscus set off that night.
He liked to have a nice wander
When the moon was big and bright.
He sauntered around for some minutes
’Til he reached the tall garden wall,
Then he jumped up swiftly and sat there
And sang out his splendid cat call.
He was so pleased with his singing,
That he thought he’d do it again,
When a heavy object hit him
And he fell to the ground in some pain.
A voice boomed out of the darkness;
It was growly and angry and deep,
“Stop that noise you noisy cat;
There’s people here trying to sleep!”
Poor Puscus ran home in a hurry,
Feeling so dreadfully down,
’Til his friends there all assured him
He was still the best singer in town.
Nosirus Makes a Discovery
The sun was shining brightly;
The garden looked a treat.
Nosirus gazed with pleasure
At the view from her favourite seat.
Just a short way from Herbert’s hollow,
Not far from Squiggle’s tree,
She spied an unusual object
And wondered just what it could be.
While she sat there still in a ponder,
Young Tuppy ran into sight,
He grabbed up the object and shook it,
Began digging with all of his might.
“Stop Tuppy, don’t dig up my seedlings;
I’ve told you about that before!
If you let me see what you’ve got there,
Then I won’t be cross anymore.”
The puppy he thought for a moment,
Then started off at a run,
Nosirus chased after.
Thought Tuppy, “Wow, this is fun!”
Had the rhino not run out of puff
Then Herbert stepped out of his hollow,
“Hold fast there, young feller, enough!”
As the puppy was grabbed by the hippo
The object fell to the ground
The three friends stood in amazement
Staring at it, making no sound.
Then Nosirus spoke in a whisper,
“That’s never a slipper,” she said,
“If it is, it belongs to a giant,
And do you remember that bed?”
Nelliphant Gets Her Way
Peebee called a conference
As the slipper caused a stir
When Puscus he informed them
That was his walloper!
Herbert got very angry
And so indeed did Fang
They wanted to go round at once
With a message from all of the gang.
“That really isn’t the answer,”
Nelliphant meant to be heard,
“We need to make friends with our neighbour
To fall out this way is absurd.”
Kerry agreed and suggested
She bake him a cake after tea
Then they could take it round together
And see what they could see.
“If you’re baking a cake, make a big one,
Said Pengi, “And best make it sweet
For we really do need to please him,
If his mouth is as big as his feet!”
Tuppy Has a Fright
“Tuppy, stay out of the kitchen,”
Peebee warned, “Kerry is busy today
She’ll not want you running about there,
Or pestering her to play.”
Tuppy sniffed the air for a moment
A lovely smell met his nose
Which made him feel ever so hungry
From the tip of his head to his toes
He stretched and walked out to the garden
He’d think of a way to get in
For Kerry often let him
Have a lick from the used baking tin
But what to do in the meanwhile
Perhaps he’d dig up a bone
He’d a store of them that he buried
In the patch next door overgrown
He trotted away, tail a-wagging
Squeezed under the gate in a trice
He’d just begun to start digging
When a voice yelled “Stop! That’s not nice!”
A huge bear towered above him,
Reducing poor Tuppy to tears
“How dare you dig up my garden,
I’ve a mind to box both of your ears,”
He grabbed Tuppy tight by his collar,
“You should be taught better than that
I’m off to complain to your people
About you and that night yowling cat.”
Herbert Stands His Ground
“Wake up, Herbert!” cried Squiggle.
He sleepily yawned, “Hey, what’s up?”
“A terrible thing has just happened
A giant bear’s got Tuppy Pup!
I saw him from
up in my tree top,
And, Herbert, he’s coming this way!”
The hippo climbed out of his hollow
“Go tell the others, I’ll stay.”
As Squiggle tore off in a hurry,
From the gate came the sound of a thud
Herbert’s heart beat fast but he stood there,
Though shaking and dripping with mud
When he heard Tuppy cry, “Herbert save me!”
His mouth opened wide for to bite
No matter how big was the giant
He was ready and willing to fight.
The large bear came closer and closer
With Tuppy held fast all the while
As Herbert was joined by the others
Including a cross crocodile.
The bear stopped still, gazing at them
Young Tuppy pulled free of his grip
And Peebee stepped forward to hug him
Her voice cracked out loud like a whip,
“You’re just a big, cruel bully
To pick on someone so small
He’s only a tiny puppy
While you’re a mile or so tall!”
The bear looked from one to another
His face in a mighty frown
“He shouldn’t have been in my garden
I’ve only just moved into town.”
Nelliphant stepped forward,
“But that’s just the trouble you see;
Your place has been empty for ever.
Now that you’ve moved in we promise
That Tuppy won’t trespass again.”
“Perhaps,” growled the bear, “that might happen,
If you don’t let that cat be a pain!.”
The Decision
The friends all sat in the kitchen
Deciding just what they should do
None of them liked their new neighbour
Thought him grumpy and old, that was true.
But should they still send him a present
To welcome him into their street.
The koala had worked all the morning
And her baking now looked a treat.
“He’s nasty and mean, so why should he
Be treated to Kerry’s fine cake?”
Puscus felt quite unforgiving,
“To waste it on him’s a mistake.”
“That’s just because of your singing.”
Pengi said, as the cat stalked away.
And Nelliphant turned to the others,
To hear what each had to say.
“Fang dear, you haven’t said much,
Won’t you tell us just what’s on your mind?”
The crocodile smiled as he answered,
“I think that we’re being unkind;
Kerry baked the cake for our neighbour,
To show kindness, that’s for sure,
Let me take it around, on my own like
‘Cause I think that I’ve seen him before!”
Sqiggle and the Three Bears
Whilst waiting for news of Fang’s visit
Squiggle wandered back out to her tree,
And from up in the branches she spied them;
A group of young bears, numbered three.
They were playing in next door’s garden,
And looked like they hadn’t a care.
She really felt she must warn them
Of the big angry bear who lived there.
When she opened the gate she felt frightened,
But the youngsters all beckoned her in.
When she warned of the huge bear they giggled,
And their faces broke into a grin.
“He’s our grandpa,” they said, still laughing,
“And in fact he’s ever so kind,
But he sometimes comes over grumpy
Don’t worry, we really don’t mind.”
Squiggle’s face glowed bright from her blushes,
Although she is always quite red
From her big bushy tail, to her four paws
And the ear-tufts on top of her head.
The bears were all different colours;
One yellow, one white and one green
And Squiggle she liked them immensely
And to make friends she really was keen.
“My name’s Hamish McHaggis,”
We’ve only just come to stay,
These two are Bandit and Irish,
We’d love it if with us you’d play.”
Squiggle smiled, “I’d be very glad to,
But won’t your Grandpa be mad?
If he finds one of us in his garden
I’m sure it would make him so sad.
Perhaps we should go round to our place,
We all like to play Hide and Seek?,
And I’ll fetch Tuppy to join us,”
Said Squiggle with excited squeak.
The Mystery
Fang returned from next door saying nothing;
The others, they felt mystified,
Especially when they saw him
Going back there again, from the side.
He’d taken his golf bag with him
His clubs peeping out all agleam
Whatever could he be up to?
“I’ll find out” Puscus said with esteem
He stalked off, his long tail a twitching,
Head held high; a frown on his face
“I know where I can see in there,
From my special, well hidden place”
But try as he would, Puscus failed them
Though day after day he did try
“We’ll just have to wait ‘til he tells us,”
Said Nelliphant with a big sigh.
Concern for Fang
Fang was an avid golf player
Though he wasn’t terribly good
When a tournament he entered
His friends weren’t at all sure he should.
He laughed at their frowns as he left them
Competitors must go ahead.
“If you all come along and support me
I may well surprise you,” he said.
The Tournament
The friends stood anxiously watching
As Fang approached the first tee
He looked calm as he took out his driver,
Played the stroke with precise certainty.
The ball it flew straight down the fairway
From the best swing they ever had seen
Up, up it flew, then it landed
Not far from the hole on the green.
“If he putts it from there, it’s an Eagle!”
Cried Herbert, “that’ll put him ahead.”
“Would that make him two under” asked Pengi
Grumbled Herbert, “Isn’t that what I said?”
Tuppy and Squggle were restless
They wanted to go off and play
But Peebee thought it too busy
And insisted that by her they stay
“I’ve just seen that bear,” mewled Puscus,
“Over there, with three small ones in tow.”
“They’re our friends; we said that we’d meet them,”
Cried Tuppy, “So now can we go?”
Peebee sighed and Nelliphant nudged her,
“Let them go, we can watch them from here.”
“And I’ll keep a look out,” said Herbert,
Whilst drinking his large ginger beer.
The small bears pulled off from their grandpa,
“Don’t go far,” he warned as they fled.
“We’re meeting our friends by the bushes.”
“Don’t get into mischief,” he said.
Squiggle and Tuppy were waiting
By the side of the fourteenth green
“Come friends, I’ve something to show you.
Then I’ll buy us some lovely ice cream.”
“Oh Tuppy, how can you buy ices?
You know you’ve no money to pay.”
Off he ran through the hedge, where he scrabbled
“Come friends, I’ll show you the way.”
The Fluff Gang were highly delighted
At the way Fang played his game,
He was up there now with the leaders,
To come out on top was his aim.
“Come on Fang!” called a deep voice behind them.
The friends all stared in surprise,
There stood their new next door neighbour,
With a grin in his big smiling eyes
“He’s remembering all that I’ve taught him,
In the lessons I gave at my place,
I used to be a top golfer,”
He explained with a grin on his face.
The watchers gathered excited
As the golfers teed off the last hole
When a great commotion erupted
To the side of the final flagpole
People were shouting and yelling
Their golf balls had all disappeared
When they’d landed out in the rough ground
Cried Peebee, “Tis just what I feared,
Young Tuppy has got into mischief,
He and Squiggle are running this way,
And so indeed are the golfers,
What have they been up to today?”
Nelliphant grabbed little Squiggle
As Peebee caught Tuppy pup
The big bear held on to his grandsons
As Fang called, “Whatever is up?”
“It’s alright, Fang, don’t you bother;
Don’t let it throw you off stroke.”
“We thought that we’d found lots of lost balls,”
Squiggle, sobbed and almost did choke.
The big bear smiled, “Don’t you worry,
They know Titch McHaggis, you see
I used to be a pro-golfer,
Just leave The Committee to me.”
Applause broke out as Fang putted
From the edge of the eighteenth green
The Albatross that he potted
Was simply the best ever seen.
Titch McHaggis presented the big cup
Even Puscus managed a smile,
The crowd went mad as they cheered on
The tall, grinning, green crocodile.
The tournament was over
They’d come to the end of the match,
“Thanks to you Titch,” Fang said with a big grin
My handicape’s now down to scratch!”
A Problem Solved
On Sunday the Gang threw a party
To celebrate Fang’s big win
The neighbours they invited
And were happy to welcome them in.
Kerry had spent all the morning
Preparing some wonderful food
Nosirus had brought in some flowers
Only Puscus appeared so subdued
He hadn’t forgiven the cross bear
For grumbling over his voice
He wouldn’t have sent him an invite
If they had given him any choice.
Nelliphant, she was bothered
She didn’t know what they could do
To help ease the situation
And bring peace between the two.