December in Horsmarlonerpool was normally a wonderful time of year. Everyone would buy Christmas presents and eat cinnamon buns in the market that was set up in the square where Pepperpot Street meets Candlesmoke Lane. And everyone would ice skate around a special frozen obstacle course on the River Gurgleglug. And people would toboggan down Lomberstack Mountain on the longest and most exciting track in the world.
But this year was very different. A few weeks ago, Pebbles and Crater - the two only really naughty people in town - had invented a dangerous pill that made your right eye blink, and your tummy burp, and your mouth whistle all at the same time. And can you imagine how awful that would make you feel.
WINK. BURP. WHISLTE. All day long!
They needed someone to test their pill on, and decided on Athena Mintsauce - the chief reporter at the Horsmarlonerpool Trumpeter newspaper - because she was always ruining their nasty plans or getting them into trouble. So, they’d dropped the little green pill into Athena’s soup at a cafe in Cherrypie Arcade when she wasn’t looking, and then watched to see what happened…
But nothing did. Athena Mintsauce felt just fine for a few days, until…
WINK. BURP. WHISTLE.
WINK. BURP. WHISTLE.
And then, more and more people around Horsmarlonerpool started to
WINK. BURP. WHISTLE.
And some of them winked and burped and whistled so much that they had to go to bed. Athena Mintsauce was in bed for days, Mister Manhattan was in bed for days, and Farmer Headcorn was in bed for days. And some people even felt so bad that they had to go to Purewell Hospital.
At her desk in the hospital, Professor Renata was trying to figure out what was going on. She had never seen a lurgy like it. She’d seen people whose noses had turned turquoise and whose ears had turned orange, but never people who couldn’t stop winking and burping and whistling.
But then, Athena Mintsauce called Professor Renata on the telephone.
“I think,” said Athena, “that I was the very first person to get the lurgy. And here’s a list of the people I’ve met in the last few weeks.”
Well, being a reporter and always interested in stories, Athena had met a lot of people. And when Professor Renata checked, most of the people she’d met ALSO had the lurgy! And when she telephoned them and asked them to remember all the people that they’d met, and checked her list of who was ill, most of THEM had the lurgy too!
Professor Renata understood! It was VERY INFECTIOUS!
And that meant that soon everyone would be winking and burping and whistling all over town!
Professor Renata dashed to the town hall for an emergency meeting with Mayor Dubbin and Sergeant Handle, the police officer. “If we don’t do something drastic,” Professor Renata explained, “like making sure that no-one comes close to anyone else, soon everyone town will be blinking, burping and whistling and for some people it’s really, really dangerous. For some people, it can even cause them to die.”
Mayor Dubbin looked at Professor Renata in astonishment. “But what can we do to save the town?” he said.
“What we must do,” explained Professor Renata feeling very sad even saying it, “is ask everyone to stay in their houses and not visit anyone. Then, the lurgy can’t spread about. It won’t have anywhere to go.”
“But,” said Sergeant Handle. “It’s nearly Christmas, Professor. That’s when everyone wants to be together.”
Professor Renata hung her head. “But this year,” she said. “They can’t be. Because, it isn’t safe.”
The very next morning, on Christmas Eve - the headline of the Horsmarlonerpool Trumpeter read “Christmas is cancelled.”
At his house, Sebastian went up to bed feeling so sad that tears welled in his eyes as he pulled up the covers. “But,” he explained to his mummy and daddy as they tucked him in, “that means that Granny and Granddad can’t come for Christmas as normal. Or cousin Amy or cousin Leo.”
His mummy and daddy felt sad too. “But we must keep everyone safe, Sebastian,” they said.
Sebastian rolled over. “It isn’t fair to cancel Christmas,” he said as they turned out his yellow bedside lamp.
When the lamp was turned out in Sebastian’s room he often saw two puddles of light in the gloom where the bright light had been. One was red and one was green. The red one was called Tibbaluf, and the green one Noffalous. They were his friends. And here they were again.
“Christmas is cancelled,” whispered Sebastian to Noffalous and Tibbaluf.
“How can Christmas be cancelled?” said Tibbaluf. “Christmas happens whether you like it or not. You can’t stop it being December the 25th. It will always arrive straight after December the 24th.”
“But Christmas is about seeing people,” said Sebastian. “And getting presents.”
“Go to sleep,” said Noffalous. “And when you do, think of the people you love the most, and they’ll be thinking of you, too.”
Sebastian went to sleep thinking of granny and granddad, Amy and Leo, and all his friends.
The next morning, Sebastian woke early and felt a tingle in his tummy. It was Christmas Day! Noffalous and Tibbaluf were right, you couldn’t cancel Christmas Day! He headed straight downstairs and there by the fire were a pile of presents - “Santa!”, he said. “Santa doesn’t worry about the lurgy! He lives in the North Pole! He hasn’t seen anyone from Horsmarlonerpool all year!”
His Mummy and Daddy, still in their dressing gowns, came in and smiled. Then Daddy went to the window. “Come here, you two,” he said.
Sebastian and Mummy came to the front window of their house that looked out onto their street. Even thought it was just getting light, everyone was standing at their windows, too.
There was his friend Vaila. And Wilson and his sister Kennedy. And further down the road Amechi and Asha. Then, they all started waving at each other. And then Daddy went to the light switch and flicked it on and off, and then all the neighbors flicked their lights on and off until the whole street was flashing with colour! Sebastian laughed! They’d never done that before. Then, all the grown ups started waving at each other too. “Merry Christmas,” they all called!
And all across town, people stood at their windows and waved and called "Merry Christmas”. And then Granny and Granddad rang. And then Amy and Leo rang.
But mummy sighed. “Oh, it is still sad that we can’t be together,” she said. Sebastian walked over and held her hand. “But don’t you see, mummy?” he said. “We’re all in the same boat. We are all together. Maybe more together than everyone has EVER been.”
“Happy Christmas, Sebastian,” said Mummy and gave him a huge hug.
And after a while, everything began to get back to normal. And Sebastian went outside, with his new presents - a stunt kite and a remote control submarine - and met his friends in Peacock Park.
But whatever happened to Pebbles and Crater, the naughty people who had caused all this havoc? Well nobody ever knew it was them, because nobody knew that they’d put the green pill in Athena Mintsauce’s soup. But at their little house on the edge of town, things were not going well. They’d tried so many of the ingredients when testing their pill that they had been blinking and burping and whistling for weeks.
Which not only looked and sounded very funny… It served them right.
