Dumpling Short Story & Audiobook Series: Episode 7 - Mind The Gap

Mind the Gap

“Bonnie’s a monster,” Sylvie giggled from her bed. 

“Am NOT!” Bonnie shouted from across the bedroom.

“Now, be kind, Sylvie,” Mum said to her younger daughter while sitting on the edge of Bonnie’s bed. “Before you know it, you’ll be losing teeth too. And since this is Bonnie’s first tooth out,” Mum leaned in to Bonnie, “I’m guessing the tooth fairy may be very generous.” 

“Jana Mulberry said she got a hundred pounds for her first tooth,” said Bonnie. “She said she was going to spend it all on ice cream!”

“Hmm...I’m not so sure about that,” Mum said. “But I bet the fairy will leave you something.”

Bonnie turned towards Sylvie to give her a cheeky grin, but her sister was already snoring.

“Night, sweet beans,” said Mum.

“Night, Mum.” Bonnie lay in her bed feeling her empty tooth hole with her tongue.

“A hundred pounds...for a tooth?” the shaggy, white toy animal named Dumpling said from the bedside table.

“Imagine how much ice cream you could buy with that,” said Bonnie. Dumpling sipped from Bonnie’s cup. 

“Hey!” said Dumpling, licking his furry lips. “What is this?!”

“Oh, sorry. It’s cashew milk. You don’t like it as much as the usual soymilk?”

“No...I LOVE it.” Dumpling drank more. “Tell your mum to keep getting this.”

Bonnie’s face lit up as Dumpling glowed. Within moments, the two of them were flying through the bright sky of Fluffland.

“Ooh! *sniff* Who’s making popcorn?” Bonnie asked.

“Almost everyone,” Dumpling said. “They’re getting set to watch the Fluffland Olympics today.” 

They flew past a large swarm of silver bumblebees. The bees were humming different notes, like a choir. Bonnie smiled. 

“That’s a beautiful harmony.”

“The bees weren’t always so great,” Dumpling said. “But they’ve been practising.” Bonnie and Dumpling landed upon the sponge-cake garden of Whistlecrisp. The deer-like Fluffland leader stepped out of their meringue dome house.

“Good to see you, Bonnie Fields. We have a mystery in Fluffland and we need you to solve it,” Whistlecrisp said. They held a basket of tools. “Someone is wrecking our ski slopes. Our Olympic games cannot begin until we put a stop to it.” Whistlecrisp’s basket held a giant rubber ball, a squeaky toy hammer, a huge pair of toenail clippers and other bits and bobs. Bonnie had to choose one of these items to use as a tool to solve the mystery.

“Hmm...a mystery? I just have a feeling I’ll need...this,” Bonnie said, choosing a pocket-sized joke book. 

“Good choice,” Dumpling said. He took Bonnie by the hand and lifted them both back into the Fluffland sky. They soared over the bubbling milk river towards the cotton wool mountains. The hills were set up with coloured ropes for the Olympic ski trails. 

“It’s colder in this area,” Bonnie said. A chilly wind made her purple nightgown flutter. “Are those ski ramps made of ice cream?”

“Yes! Good eye, Bonnie,” Dumpling said. 

“Hey, I see Bridgegators!” Bonnie recognised the creatures standing together at the bottom of one of the ski ramps. 

“Good eye again, Bonnie,” Dumpling said as they landed near the ramp. The Bridgegators were wearing special vests decorated with the Fluffland Olympic symbol of three overlapping clouds.

“Oh, dear Bonn-eh! So glad to see yer smilin’ face,” the Bridgegator said. He looked like he was about to cry. “Someone, or someTHIN’, has been takin’ chunks out o’ the ice cream ski ramps. It’s too dangerous to ski like this!”

“What clues do you have so far?” asked Bonnie. “Are there any footprints?” Bonnie looked around. The ground just looked like fluffy balls of cotton.

“None! Besides the ice cream ramps, this area is all cotton wool balls,” said the second Bridgegator. “Ya can’t see footprints in that!” The Bridgegator hung his head. “Sorry to raise my voice, Bonn-eh. I’m so stressed out.” 

“I understand,” said Bonnie, hugging the gator. “It’s hard to tell what might have caused this. Are there any other places I can see?”

Bonnie, Dumpling and the Bridgegators went to the bottom of another ice cream ski ramp. 

“A-ha!” Bonnie’s eyes lit up. “This is surely a bite mark!” Bonnie pointed. “Someone’s been eating the ice cream ramps. Look: you can clearly see the teeth marks in this one.” Bonnie rubbed her chin. 

“Whoever it is, they’re missing a front tooth.” Bonnie crouched down. “There’s a gap in these bite marks. We just have to look for someone with a mouth this size who is missing a front tooth!”

The Bridgegator pointed. “Look, Bonn-eh! Behind that tree!” 

A big, white llama with a very large head was trying to hide behind a white pine tree. Its bottom stuck out. Bonnie, Dumpling and the Bridgegtors could easily see it.

“That’s Lammy Llama!” said a Bridgegator. “She wouldn’t bite any ramp though. She loves the Olympics!” 

The group walked over to the tree. Bonnie spoke first. “Lammy? Lammy Llama?” 

The llama peeked around the tree. Her grumpy eyes stared at Bonnie.

“Mmmmmgh,” Lammy Llama grumbled.

“Can we please speak with you?” Bonnie said gently.

The llama stepped out from behind the tree. She wore a pair of fairy’s wings and a light-blue ballerina tutu.

“Have you been biting the ice cream ramps?” Bonnie asked.

The creature was silent. She turned her head away from Bonnie.

“No one is angry,” Bonnie said. “We all just want the Olympics to go on. Was it you who did the biting?”

The llama only blinked at Bonnie. Bonnie thought for a moment, then pulled the little joke book out of her pocket.  She cleared her throat.

“Ahem. What do you call a flute made from fried potato?”

Lammy Llama stared back.

“A whistle-crisp,” Bonnie said. “Get it? A whistle...crisp!”

The llama blinked for a moment...then burst out laughing! Her huge llama mouth had a very large gap where a front tooth was missing.

“I know you might be chomping the ice cream to soothe the ache from your tooth-hole,” Bonnie smiled. She showed her own new tooth gap. “Let me see if I have something that might put you in a better mood.”

Bonnie reached into her pocket and pulled out a hundred pound note. She handed it to the llama.

“Here. Now you can go buy loads of your own ice cream.” Lammy Llama took the money and smiled a big grin. 

Suddenly, Dumpling began to glow. He lifted Bonnie into the white Fluffland sky again. They waved goodbye to Lammy Llama and the Bridgegators.

Bonnie woke in her bed. It was morning. “Bonnie, did the tooth fairy come?” Sylvie asked.

Bonnie reached under her pillow, felt around then pulled out a shiny one pound coin. 

“It’s tied with a string,” Bonnie said.

The coin was wound with dental floss. A strand of it led from Bonnie’s pillow to under her bed. She followed the floss and found the other end tied around a brand new light-blue ballerina tutu. 

“The tooth fairy knew what I wanted!” Bonnie smiled a huge, gap-toothed grin. 

Sylvie sat up in her bed and put her hand on her hips.

“No fair! I want to lose a tooth!”

The End