the chicks they were hardly paying attention.
“Happy,” murmured Hatty.
“Families,” sighed Brenda.
Muriel flicked their beaks.
“Don’t go all mumsy on me! Come along, girls. Let’s go and make a Snow-Muriel. I feel like posing… Bloop, you’d better stay there in case Rory comes back… like… never!!”
But Rory did come back. As soon as he’d gone, he’d had second thoughts about it and managed to persuade his friends to let Blue join in. “Blue’s one of the lads,” he insisted. “We can do better stunts with all four of us.” They’d shaken their heads at first, so he’d come up with another tactic.
“I’ll give you two squid at feeding time,” said Rory reluctantly.
“Four squid,” said Clive. “Half for me, half for Eddie.”
“I’d rather have a whole one,” said Eddie.
The deal was done and Rory went back to fetch Blue, hoping that she would let him have some of her squid later.
“You took your time,” she said.
He held out his flippers apologetically.
“That’s Eddie and Clive for you. They never take no for an answer.”
Oo-Chi and Ku-Chi had gone into a deep sleep and were huddled up so tightly that they looked like one big fat chick with four eyes.
“Come and play while they’re sleeping,” suggested Rory. “We might not get snow as good as this again for years.”
Blue checked on the chicks, who showed no sign of waking.
“OK, but not for long – and not too far away.”
“They’ll be fine,” said Rory.
Blue believed him and they hurried off together to join the boys, filled with excitement at the thought of snowboarding down the black ice.
Blue wasn’t disappointed. The speed she reached as she raced down the slide almost took her breath away. Even Clive and Eddie were impressed.
“World speed record or what, Blue!” cheered Rory. “Right, let’s see if I can beat you.”
“Hadn’t we better get back to the chicks?” she asked.
But this was the best snow ever; it would be a crime to waste it.
“Just one more turn,” said Rory.
But he had two more turns. Then three.
Blue didn’t stop him – she didn’t want him to think she was a spoilsport.
By the time they got back, however, the chicks had gone.
Rory and Blue stared at the spot where they had left Oo-Chi and Ku-Chi sleeping, but all that remained of them was a shallow dip where the warmth of their bodies had melted the ice. If the chicks had left any footprints, they had already been wiped out by the fresh snowfall.
“We should never have left them!” wailed Blue. “Big Paulie is going to kill you.”
“And you,” Rory pointed out.
Blue wagged her flipper at him.
“No, just you. Paulie left you in charge, remember? He put all his trust in you.”
Rory ’s stomach churned as if he’d eaten a bucket of rancid pilchards.
“Arghhhh! Paulie’s going to kill me – he really is. He trusted me… What if the chicks were eaten by a killer whale?”
Blue grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him.
“Don’t be silly! How would a killer whale get in here – unless it was dropped by parachute?”
“You never know; they’re very intelligent,” panicked Rory.
Blue made him sit down.
“Rory, shut your beak and do some deep-breathing exercises,” she said, “Breathe in… and out. In… and out. Do you feel calmer now?”
“Erm, let me think about that… Nooooo!” he yelled, pulling his head feathers out. “The chicks can’t have just disappeared into thin air – unless they’ve learnt to fly?”
“Penguins can’t fly,” said Blue. “We don’t have the right sort of wings. Oo-Chi and Ku-chi are probably just playing hide- and-seek behind those rocks.”
They began to search frantically, which immediately drew the attention of the bears.
“What are you looking for?” asked Orson.
“Nothing,” said Rory casually. “Don’t tell them, Blue.”
“Only we might be able to help,” suggested Ursie.
It was most unusual for the bears to be helpful in any way. If anything, they were quite the opposite.
“We’re fine, thank you,” insisted Blue. “Go away, please, bears.”
They looked everywhere – behind every peak on the artificial cliff, behind each penguin hutch and under the slide, but there was no sign of the chicks. Not so much as a piece of fluffy down.
“What if they’re under the snow?” said Rory in alarm. “What if there was an avalanche off Paulie’s roof and they’re buried under it?”
Taking great care not to be seen by the boss, they skidded silently over to the palace to check. Unfortunately, the bears followed and called out to them at the top of their voices.
“Try digging about with a stick!” yelled Orson, throwing an old walking cane into the penguin enclosure.
“Shhhh!” hissed Rory, terrified that Paulie would hear.
He took the stick and prodded miserably at the snowdrift.
“Give it a good poke!” shouted Ursie. “That’s what they do in those murder mystery programmes on TV when they’re looking for a body.”
“Please go away!” begged Blue.
Then Eddie and Clive turned up.
“What
