Gerald Durrell - The Talking Parcel

Now great cheering broke out in the courtyard, and over the drawbridge rode H.H. on the King of the Unicorns. He passed under the battlements, scarred and battered by the Griffons’ barrage, through the tattered remains of the gate, split to bits by the Unicorns, and into the courtyard where the sad groups of wheezing Cockatrices were guarded by the Weasels. He stopped in the center of the courtyard, and from the dungeons came a procession of Penelope’s Terrifying Toads, carrying be­tween them the three Great Books of Government on their gold and silver stands. At the sight of them, safe and sound, such a cheer went up that it could be heard all over Mythologia.

Then the King of the Unicorns, carrying H.H. with Parrot on his shoulder, set off toward the Crystal Caves. Penelope and the Terrifying Toads followed behind, carrying the Great Books, and behind them came all the Unicorns, the Griffons, Oswald and the Mermaids, Tabitha proudly carrying her bas­ket of eggs, and all the Weasels, while above them flew balloons full of Firedrakes. With this triumphant procession the Great Books of Government were returned to the Crystal Caves and the safekeeping of Hengist Hannibal Junketberry.

There is not very much more to tell. H.H. banished the Cockatrices to a remote island in the Singing Sea until they learnt to be respectable creatures again. Cockatrice Castle was to be repaired and given to Oswald to start a restaurant in, which pleased him immensely. All Tabitha’s eggs hatched out in due course, ensuring that there would always be Dragons in Mythologia.

The day the children were to leave, H.H. held a special farewell and thank-you lunch for them. This took place on a beach by the Singing Sea. Several great tables were arranged, stretching out into the water like piers or jetties, so that the sea creatures could sit at the sea end, and the land creatures could sit at the land end. It was a magnificent banquet cooked espe­cially by Oswald, and many speeches were made and toasts drunk. At the end, H.H. made a speech.

“Dear Penelope, Peter, and Simon,” he said. “It is through your kindness and your intelligence and your bravery that Myth­ologia was saved. We are sorry to see you go, but you know that you will always be welcome to come here at any time in the future.”

At this there were great cries of “Hear, hear.”

“And now,” continued H.H., “from us all I’d like to present you with this gift.”

H.H. handed a beautifully carved box to Penelope, and when she opened it she gasped. Inside were three necklaces for herself—one of pearls, one of rubies, and one of diamonds. There were also pearl, diamond, and ruby cufflinks and tie pins for Peter and Simon. Finally, there were three decorations—the Order of the Cockatrice. These showed a fallen Cockatrice, and all the other creatures of Mythologia triumphant in the back­ground. The decorations had been beautifully executed in mi­nute precious stones, seed pearls, and gold and silver filigree work. The children were overwhelmed. Everyone seeing their delight, burst into “For They Are Jolly Good Fellows,” and Penelope found that her eyes were full of tears. Finally, they embraced all their friends and, last of all, H.H.

“Come back soon,” he said. “We shall be looking forward to it.”

“We will,” the children promised. “We will.”

Then they mounted on three Unicorns, and Ethelred and Parrot mounted on a fourth, to see them off, and they rode away, leaving all their friends happily continuing the party by the shore of the Singing Sea.

After an hour’s stiff gallop they arrived at the same entrance by which they had entered Mythologia.

“ ’Ere, miss,” whispered Ethelred, as they dismounted. “Could I ’ave a word in private with you?”

“Of course,” she said, and she followed him behind the rocks.

“I was wondering, miss, if you’d do something for me, like,” said Ethelred, blushing.

“Anything, Ethelred, you know that,” said Penelope.

“Well, it’s like this,” said Ethelred, getting redder and red­der. “I was . . . reading this ’ere story once about this ’ere Toad, see, and then there was this, er . . . Princess, see, and she sort of kinda . . . she, well, kisses the Toad, like, and cor lummy, he turns into a ’andsome Prince.”

“So, you want me to kiss you?” asked Penelope.

“If you ain’t a Princess, I’ve never seen one,” said Ethelred earnestly. “So, if you wouldn’t mind, miss; I mean just once, as a sort of experiment.”

“Of course,” said Penelope.

So Ethelred closed his eyes tightly and Penelope leant for­ward and kissed him.

“Cor lummy,” said Ethelred, his eyes still closed. “Is there any difference, miss?”

“I'm afraid not,” said Penelope.

Two big tears squeezed out of Ethelred’s eyes and slid slowly down his cheeks.

“And I am very glad,” said Penelope.

Ethelred opened his eyes in astonishment. “Glad, miss?” he said. “Why?”

“I wouldn’t like you as an awful, handsome Prince,” said Penelope. “I like you as the handsome, brave, and kind Toad that you are.”

“Cor, miss, you really mean that?” asked Ethelred, beaming. “ ’Onest, cross your ’eart, and spit on your ’and and ’ope to die?”

“Honest,” said Penelope. And to show that she meant it, she kissed him again.

“Come on, Penny,” yelled Peter, “or we’ll never get home.”

They went to the mouth of the tunnel. There the two boys shook Parrot’s claw and Penelope kissed him on both sides of his beak.

“Good-bye, my kind, brave, and dear friends,” said Parrot. “Please come back soon.”

“Yes, as soon as possible,” said Ethelred.

“We’ll try to come back next year,” said Penelope. “We promise. We’ll send you a message through Madame Hor- tense.”

The children took one last look at Mythologia with its beauti­ful blue forests of cork trees, the purple grass, the glint of the golden Singing Sea in the distance, and the jade green sky with its families of colored clouds. They looked once more at their friends, Ethelred and Parrot, and behind them the lavender and white Unicorns nodding their heads in farewell. Then, with a final wave of their hands, Penelope, Peter, and Simon plunged into the tunnel that was to take them back to the ev­eryday world.

About the Author

GERALD DURRELL was born in India. He grew up on the Greek island Corfu and in England, where he worked as a student animal keeper at the internationally famous Whipsnade Park of the Zoological Society of London. Since the age of 2I he has been making animal collecting expeditions all over the world. As founder and director of the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust on the English Island of Jersey, he has for over fifteen years devoted himself to the study, protection, breeding, and rearing of endangered species. He is also the founder and an active director of the American non-profit organization SAFE (Save the Animals From Extinction).

Beloved by children and adults the world over, books by Gerald Durrell include My Family and Other Animals , Zoo in My Luggage , Me­nagerie Manor , The Donkey Rustlers , and A Bevy of Beasts.

About the Illustrator

PAMELA JOHNSON is a graduate of Wheaton College and has studied at Dartmouth and the Boston Museum School. She and her husband live on a Cape Cod farm in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, where they are caretakers for the local historical society. She frequently uses the animals on the farm as models for her drawings. Among the books she has illustrated are The Year of the Badger , Country Chronicle , and Bi­centennial Philadelphia.

J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY

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