The Dumpling Short Story & Audiobook Series: Episode 11 - A Pillow Problem

A Pillow Problem

​​*Slurrrrrp!*

Sylvie Fields drank up the last drops of the warm soymilk in her cup. Bonnie hadn’t touched hers yet.

“Gracious!” said their mum, getting ready to turn off the bedroom light. “You must have been thirsty.”

“No,” said Sylvie, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “It’s just that you said drinking it would make me grow. I’m tired of being shorter than Bonnie, so tomorrow I want to wake up taller!”

“That’s not how it works,” said Bonnie.

“Well, just to be sure, can I drink yours?” asked Sylvie, who started getting out of bed.

“Mum!” said Bonnie, picking up her cup protectively. “Make her stop!”

“Alright, you two,” said their mum. “Enough! Say goodnight.”

“Goodnight!” said the two sisters.

The bedroom went dark and soon Sylvie was out, just like the light. Bonnie heard the sound of a small tongue lapping from her cup.

*Slurp-slurp!*

“Thank you for saving your soymilk,” said a voice that Bonnie recognised.

“I’m happy to save it for you, Dumpling,” Bonnie said.

“Besides, I don’t want Sylvie to grow too fast.”

“Well, funnily enough, ‘growing too fast’ is the reason you’re wanted in Fluffland.”

“Oh? How so?” asked Bonnie.

In response, her shaggy toy friend began to glow. Before she knew it, Bonnie was flying with Dumpling over the white, frosting-topped fields of Fluffland.

“We have a bit of a pillow problem,” Dumpling explained, as they flew into a fluffy cloud.

“Oh! The geese aren’t upset again, are they?” said Bonnie. “I thought all the pillows are stuffed with dandelion fluff instead of goose feathers.”

“No,” answered Dumpling, “it’s a bigger problem.”

As they emerged from the cloud, Bonnie instantly saw the “bigger” problem. An enormous pillow was towering over everything. It wasn’t just taller than the trees, it was taller than a mountain. Bonnie was speechless.

Dumpling delivered Bonnie to Whistlecrisp’s front garden. Bonnie had to adjust her eyes. Normally, the garden sparkled with white sugar pearls and gleamed with meringue and whipped cream. Today, however, the garden was dark.

“Ah, the amazing Bonnie Fields!” Whistlecrisp said. “We shouldn’t have waited this long to call you.”

The silver-haired deer-like leader of Fluffland pointed up. “That, unfortunately, has grown so tall it’s blocking the sun and leaving most of the land in shadow.”

“I didn’t know pillows could grow!” said Bonnie.

“Well,” said Whistlecrisp, “it’s not technically a pillow. It’s a pillow flower.”

“A what?”

“Dumpling will explain. Before he does, perhaps you should choose a tool to help you.”

Whistlecrisp presented Bonnie with a mallet, a wheelbarrow, a shovel and a whirligig.

“Hmm,” Bonnie mused. “I like the look of this shovel. I hope it’s not too heavy, Dumpling.”

“I think we can manage. Hang on!”

Dumpling and Bonnie took to the sky. As they got nearer to the giant pillow, Bonnie saw several furry flying fish and a flock of snow birds crash with a soft *PLUMF!* into the pillow.

“Yes,” said Dumpling. “It’s a hazard.”

All over the pillow, Bonnie saw Fluffland creatures curled up or stretched out, taking naps.

“I hear it’s very comfortable,” reported Dumpling. “Now, look over here.”

Dumpling was flying Bonnie over a field covered in what looked like tiny pillows.

“This is a field of pillow flowers in bloom,” explained Dumpling.

“They’re so small!” observed Bonnie.

“Yes,” said Dumpling. “Lots of creatures bring them back to their homes because the larger blooms make a perfect pillow if you’re a rabbit or a fox, and, if you’re a mouse, the smaller blooms are very nice.”

They landed near a clump of flowers. Dumpling pointed to a flower.

“When the pillow bloom gets big enough for a human — like this one — watch what happens.”

*POOF!*

A cloud of pillow fluff was sent into the air.

“The fluff is carried by the wind, until it lands in another field to make new pillow flowers,” said Dumpling.

“Hmm,” said Bonnie. “But why has the one pillow flower grown so large without poofing? Can you take me to it?”

When they arrived at the base of the giant pillow, Bonnie began investigating. First, she touched it.

“Oo!” she exclaimed. “It’s so soft and spongy.” She laid her head against it. “I could fall asleep right now.”

“Bonnie!” Dumpling shouted. “Focus!”

Bonnie shook the sleep from her eyes and began walking around the pillow. “Why is it sticky here? And look!”

Bonnie was pointing to markings in the soft ground.

“I think these are tyre treads. Come on,” Bonnie beckoned. “Let’s see where they lead!”

Bonnie and Dumpling followed the tracks all the way to a garage topped with a dome that looked like a dollop of vanilla ice cream. Inside, they found a large tanker. On top of the tanker, they saw a ferret-like creature with milk-white fur using a blowtorch to repair a hole.

“Bonnie Fields!” said the mechanic, taking off his safety goggles. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“This tanker truck. I’m guessing it had an accident in the field where the giant pillow flower is now?”

“It did!” confirmed the ferret. “Every last drop in the tanker got spilled. Why? Does it have something to do with the growth of the flower?”

“Well,” said Bonnie, “what was in the tanker?”

“Marshmallow milkshake!” said the ferret.

“Of course!” Bonnie said, as she and Dumpling hurried back to the giant pillow. “Marshmallows are so pillowy! The roots of the flower must be slurping it up!”

“What do we do?” asked Dumpling.

Using the shovel, Bonnie dug a trench around the base of the pillow. 

“This will stop the milkshake underground, so the flower won’t get any bigger. Now we must round up everyone in the land!”

From rabbits to bridgegators to giraffes, Fluffland citizens were carried to the top of the pillow by a tall escalator on wheels, normally used for folks wanting to enjoy the view from the top of Wedding Cake Cliff without having to climb it.

“Now,” directed Bonnie from the top of the pillow, “everyone jump!”

All of Fluffland jumped up and down on the pillow. 

*POOOOFFF*

Huge plumes of pillow fluff were released with every jump. Meanwhile, Bonnie recruited a large flock of geese to fly near the pillow. When the fluff began floating out, Bonnie directed the geese to flap their wings as hard and fast as they could. The flapping made a breeze that carried the fluff far away. Lower and lower the Fluffland creatures descended as the fluff left the flower. Before long, the giant pillow flower was its proper size again.

“You’ve done it again, Bonnie,” said Whistlecrisp. “We can’t thank you enough!”

Dumpling began to glow as Bonnie yawned. She blinked twice and found herself back in her bed, with her head resting on a pillow that was just the right size. And it smelled, just a little bit, like marshmallows.

The End