Hotel Flamingo Read online

  ‘I’d forgotten that,’ said T. Bear. ‘It’s worth a try.’

  ‘I’ll do just that then,’ said Anna.

  She gave T. Bear the list, before collecting her sun hat. ‘Can you ask Stella to redecorate the Royal Suite?’ she said. ‘And we really need a red carpet.’

  ‘Don’t you worry, miss,’ said T. Bear, waving the list confidently. ‘We definitely have one somewhere.’

  Anna was relieved. ‘Then I’m off to find an iceberg!’ she said.

  •

  Lemmy trundled the wheelbarrow into the lift, passing Mrs Turpington the very old tortoise. She lived in the hotel and was always late for breakfast.

  ‘Morning, young Lemmy,’ she said. ‘Or is it afternoon?’

  ‘Afternoon,’ said Lemmy, smiling.

  ‘Ah,’ she said, chuckling. ‘I hope there’s still some lettuce soup left for me!’

  ‘I’m sure there will be, Mrs Turpington,’ he replied.

  Lemmy travelled upwards to the fourth floor and knocked on Mrs Bamba’s door. ‘Mud delivery!’ he called.

  The door opened and three hoglets raced out, sniffing and snorting and bouncing off the walls.

  ‘Perfect!’ said Mrs Bamba. Her head was wrapped up in a towel. ‘I’ve just had a shower, but it’s really not the same without mud.’

  Lemmy smiled and pushed the wheelbarrow into the room.

  ‘How much do you need?’ he asked.

  ‘All of it,’ said Mrs Bamba.

  Lemmy looked at his pile of mud with a sense of crushing sadness. He’d hoped he’d dug up enough for all the warthogs.

  ‘OK then,’ he said, tipping his wheelbarrow into the bath. ‘I’ll be back soon with the rest.’

  6

  The Port

  Anna left the taxi and approached the quayside. Animal Boulevard faced the sea and its port was always busy. Towering cargo ships overshadowed stylish cruise liners, which looked down on tiny fishing boats bobbing on the waves.

  A welcome breeze almost lifted off Anna’s hat as she pushed through crowds of tourists towards a muscle-bound tiger who was directing the movement of crates and containers.

  ‘Hello,’ said Anna to the tiger. ‘Have there been any shiploads of ice this morning?’

  ‘At this time of the day?’ he said, laughing. ‘You’ve got to get up right early to grab ice round ’ere. With this hot weather everyone’s after it!’

  ‘So no chance of an iceberg then?’

  The tiger almost collapsed with laughter.

  ‘Nah, mate, you’ve got more chance of buying a dinosaur,’ he said.

  The King and Queen Penguin will not be happy, thought Anna.

  The tiger lifted his sunglasses to offer up a secret. ‘I tell you what – and I shouldn’t really be tellin’ you this,’ he said, pointing his paw at Anna, ‘but the last load that came in was snapped up by that Glitz hotel. They bought up enough ice to fill a swimming pool.’

  ‘Did they now,’ grumbled Anna.

  ‘You could try asking them for some?’ said the tiger.

  ‘I don’t think they’d help me,’ she replied. ‘But thank you.’

  Anna slouched all the way home. She suspected Mr Ruffian had bought up all of the ice on purpose. What would he do next?

  •

  Anna spent the rest of the afternoon on the telephone, asking everyone and anyone for help. Every curtain-maker was busy, every rock shop was sold out, every string quartet was booked up, and there was absolutely no ice to be found. Mr Ruffian had bought up everything! She started to think she might never get the hotel ready in time when there came a knock at the door.

  ‘Miss Anna,’ said Hilary Hippo, ‘might I come in?’

  ‘Please do,’ said Anna.

  ‘I may have accidentally overheard a few things while dusting outside,’ said Hilary. ‘Might I be so bold as to suggest we solve these royal problems ourselves?’

  ‘What do you mean?’ asked Anna.

  ‘I could make the curtains for you,’ said Hilary. ‘I’m sure there’s everything we need here in the hotel.’

  Anna’s spirits suddenly lifted. ‘You really mean it?’

  ‘Cleaning is not my only skill,’ said Hilary. ‘I’ve got three degrees. I’ve been a bank manager and a football coach, and I once taught sewing at the Savannah School of Stitching.’

  ‘Wow!’ said Anna. ‘I never knew. If only you’d been to music school as well! Finding a string quartet is proving a real problem.’

  ‘Surely you must know someone musical?’ asked Hilary.

  Anna thought and thought and thought some more. And then the answer presented itself.

  ‘Good grief,’ said Anna. ‘I do know someone musical. Ms Fragranti!’

  ‘The flamingo?’ said Hilary.

  Anna skipped around her office, suddenly feeling as though the tide was turning.

  ‘Yes!’ cried Anna. ‘Her school of flamingos could do anything! Magic, theatre, dance. They are sure to play instruments too! I’ll call her straight away. Mr Ruffian will not get the better of us!’

  Hilary shook her feather duster in excitement and sneezed so hard she blew Anna’s hat off. ‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘I don’t know the strength of my own nose.’

  7

  Carpet Troubles

  T. Bear found the hotel’s red carpet rolled up in a wooden storage shed on the garden terrace. The felted roof had long been in need of repair, and everything inside was damp. T. Bear lifted the carpet on to his shoulder and blanched.

  ‘Pooh!’ said Lemmy, trundling past with another wheelbarrow of mud. ‘What’s that?’

  ‘The red carpet,’ said T. Bear.

  ‘It stinks,’ said Lemmy, hurrying on. ‘No one will want to tread on that!’

  ‘I’d better find Hilary and clean it then,’ T. Bear said gruffly.

  ‘Excuse me,’ said Mr Camou, tapping him on the shoulder.

  T. Bear was startled to find the lizard beside the shed. He was sure he hadn’t been there a second ago, but maybe he had just been too preoccupied with the awful smell of the carpet to notice him. ‘Yes, sir?’

  ‘It’s so hot out here,’ said Mr Camou, ‘and I am so worried about my beautiful skin. Might you have some sunblock I could borrow?’

  ‘I keep it at the front desk,’ said T. Bear. ‘You should ask there.’

  ‘Marvellous,’ said the lizard. ‘Cheerio!’

  T. Bear searched the hotel top and bottom for Hilary. He even started asking guests if they’d seen her, which was terribly unprofessional. Only Ronnie Rathbone offered any help, and on her directions he eventually found the hippo nose-deep in a store cupboard, searching for material.

  ‘Have you got anything to freshen this up?’ asked T. Bear, presenting the carpet.

  Hilary sniffed it and turned up her very large nose. ‘There are two different soap powders in my cleaning cupboard,’ she said. ‘One is weak for use on everything, and the other is super-strong to clean between my toes only. Be sure to use the right one!’

  T. Bear looked worried. ‘How will I know which is the right one?’ he asked.

  ‘Green for weak, red for super-strong,’ she said.

  ‘Right,’ growled T. Bear.

  ‘Now, remember, shake it on, then vacuum it off. And, above all, do not add water.’

  ‘Yes,’ growled T. Bear. He never knew cleaning could be so complicated.

  8

  To the Rescue

  Anna was not one to waste time. An iceberg was always going to be difficult to find, but perhaps rocks would be easier. So she smeared sun cream on her face, grabbed an empty bag and marched out of the hotel towards the sea.

  The coastal path ran along the cliffs and beaches that surrounded Animal Boulevard, and where there were cliffs there were rocks. Anna loved hunting for shells, and this was no different. She just needed to find a selection of softly rounded pebbles fit for the King and Queen Penguin’s bottoms – as well as some for the royal chicks. I can always put the stones back later, she thought.

  Savannah Beach was the closest beach to the hotel, and its vast swathe of bright sand was rippling in the heat and heaving with sun-loving animals. Lizards big and small stretched out, charging themselves with the sun’s rays, and young monkeys hurtled back and forth into the sea’s foaming surf.

  Anna meandered through the towels and deckchairs to where the golden sands butted up against tall grey cliffs. There were rocks everywhere, some smooth, some jagged.

  She began her search, but before her bag was full, a scream rang out from the water’s edge.

  ‘SHARK!’ shouted a young seal, who had been larking about on a surfboard.

  Anna looked up and spotted a fin rising out of the water close to the shore. It was curled and tired-looking.

  It disappeared under the water and surfaced again a few metres further away.

  ‘That doesn’t look like a shark,’ said Anna, running towards the sea.

  ‘Get away from the water!’ cried an elephant lifeguard, urging Anna away. ‘It’s dangerous!’

  ‘It’s not a shark!’ shouted Anna.

  She took off her shoes and socks, dropped her bag on the sand and waded into the water.

  The lifeguard waved furiously. But Anna pushed herself further through the cool water until she was just a few metres from the fin.

  ‘It’s a young blue whale!’ cried Anna. ‘And it needs help!’

  The lifeguard’s ears flapped open, and her trunk blew out a clarion call.

  The elephant stormed up the beach and bounced into the water, soaking Anna from head to toe.

  ‘I should have known better,’ said the elephant, forcing her trunk under the whale to lift it from the water.

  Anna spotted the lifeguard’s name badge. Her name was Liza. r />
  ‘Liza,’ said Anna, ‘this whale is exhausted. We have to get him back out to deeper waters and his parents.’

  ‘I’m on it,’ said Liza, calling for help on her radio.

  As Anna stroked the whale’s head he opened his eyes. ‘Ohhh, Mum will be really mad,’ he whimpered. ‘I thought I was strong enough to go for a swim on my own, but the tide was too much.’

  ‘I’m sure your mum will just be pleased to see you again,’ Anna replied with a smile. ‘Where are you staying?’

  ‘At the Holiday Bay,’ said the whale. ‘We’d only just arrived.’

  Anna was pleased to see a lifeboat powering round the coast towards them.

  ‘Fancy a ride?’ said Liza.

  ‘You bet!’ Anna cried.

  And before she knew it, Anna was strapped into the speedboat, bouncing over the waves, nursing the tired blue whale as they hurried back to its parents.

  They reached the Holiday Bay and its clusters of floating thatched shelters.

  A pod of blue whales swam over to them, spraying fountains of water into the air. They rolled and dipped, breaking the water in joy. The largest whale, easily three times the size of the lifeboat, pushed her head from the water to thank Anna and the elephant for returning her son.

  ‘Oh, my watery eyes! Young Podly has returned!’ she said. ‘We’d just arrived from Antarctica and he was determined to go for a swim. I thought I’d lost him forever!’

  ‘Well, you have Anna to thank for rescuing him,’ said Liza.

  ‘If there’s anything I can do to repay you, please tell me,’ said the whale. ‘Absolutely anything.’

  Anna thought for a moment. ‘Did you mention Antarctica?’ She had heard of the place, and knew it was colder than cold and full of ice.

  ‘That’s right,’ said the whale.

  ‘I don’t suppose you’d know where to find a small iceberg?’ she asked. ‘I’m in need of one at Hotel Flamingo.’

  ‘We passed thousands of them on the way here!’ said the whale, squirting water into the air. ‘I could have one here by tomorrow.’

  ‘Do you mean it?’ said Anna, with a cheer.

  The whale broke the water and slammed on to her side. ‘I will bring you the best, bluest iceberg you ever saw,’ she said.

  9

  Flamingos for Hire

  The day before the king and queen were due to arrive, Anna took in a delivery of flowers and proceeded to display them in the lobby. She wanted to make everything look perfect!

  ‘I can’t believe we’ve beaten Mr Ruffian,’ she said, squeezing a large bunch of daisies into a very small vase. ‘Everything Ms Chinstrap wanted, we’ve got.’

  ‘Probably best to wait and see,’ said Lemmy, who was wiser than he looked. He took a handful of dahlias and fanned them out. ‘They’re already starting to droop,’ he said, annoyed.

  ‘You’ll need to keep them watered,’ said Ronnie Rathbone. She took a sip of an iced coffee.

  ‘It’s so frustrating,’ said Anna. ‘I have enough to deal with already.’

  ‘That’s heatwaves for you,’ said Ronnie. ‘Still, I like the heat.’ She danced away, snatching a flower and threading it behind her ear as she went.

  ‘Why is it so hot?’ asked Anna.

  ‘I saw it on the news,’ said Lemmy. ‘We’re having a proper heatwave, and it’s only going to get hotter.’

  ‘It’s a good thing we have air conditioning then,’ said Anna. ‘Can you make sure it’s turned up full?’

  ‘You bet,’ said Lemmy.

  As he set off, the revolving doors spun and a flash of bright pink caught Anna’s attention. The flamingos had arrived!

  ‘You called, and we came, darling!’ cried Ms Fragranti. ‘So lovely to be back.’

  Mrs Fragranti and her dancing flamings had helped to save Hotel Flamingo once before. Now Anna was hoping they’d do it again. ‘I’m so glad you’re here!’ she said hugging her friend. ‘I don’t know what I’d do without you.’

  T. Bear bundled in through the door, struggling to get a large cello case inside.

  Ms Fragranti frowned. ‘Be careful, Mr Bear.’

  ‘Don’t worry,’ he grumbled. ‘It’s all under control.’

  ‘It looks quite the opposite,’ said Ms Fragranti.

  Four brightly dressed flamingos followed T. Bear inside, suitcases and instruments tucked under their wings.

  ‘Meet our supergroup!’ said Ms Fragranti, ushering her classical music students inside. ‘This is Tutti, Dolce, Largo and Fermata. All wonderful players. All looking forward to playing for royalty!’

  ‘The king and queen arrive tomorrow,’ said Anna. ‘We’re trying to get everything ready, but it’s been a bit of a battle.’

  ‘It’s all looking wonderful, darling!’ exclaimed Ms Fragranti. ‘But then, it could never look any different!’

  Anna loved having Ms Fragranti in the hotel. She was always so supportive and positive about everything. When in doubt, ask a flamingo for help, she thought.

  •

  Later that day, as guests were taking their seats in the restaurant for dinner, Anna heard a loud trumpet from the terrace. She raced out to find Jojo the sea otter watching Liza and two other elephant lifeguards pushing a giant blue iceberg up and over the sand dunes.

  ‘That’s not something you see every day,’ said Jojo.

  ‘This big enough for you?’ shouted Liza.

  It was. Not even a heatwave will melt that iceberg any time soon, thought Anna.

  ‘It’s perfect!’ she cried.

  The elephants hauled the iceberg over the terrace. Then, with a loud sploshy clunk, it slipped into the pool. Gallons of water coursed over the poolside, narrowly missing Mr Camou, who was lounging on a deckchair.

  ‘Swimming lengths is going to be tricky now,’ said Jojo, scratching her head.

  ‘It’s what the penguins wanted,’ said Anna with a shrug.

  ‘What about our other guests, though?’

  ‘They’re going to love it!’ said Anna.

  10

  Last-Minute Preparations

  On the day of the royal visit, alarm clocks were set extra early so that everything would be ready. Lemmy was working the front desk with bigger bags than usual under his eyes. Having hung her new curtains Hilary was engaged in a final spot of dusting, and Eva was tidying the restaurant after a particularly messy breakfast. No matter how fine the dining, warthogs were determined to eat out of troughs!

  Outside the hotel, it was now so hot that everyone was doing their best to keep out of the sun – or cool themselves down. Stella Giraffe had a long hose wrapped round her shoulders and was watering the hanging baskets, making sure she sprayed water over herself at every opportunity. Even T. Bear had smeared his fur with white sunblock to stop himself getting burnt.

  ‘You look more like a polar bear,’ said Stella, laughing.

  ‘Actually, my great-aunt was a polar bear,’ T. Bear revealed, unfurling his freshly cleaned red carpet along the pavement. ‘How does this look?’

  ‘It’s scrubbed up well,’ replied Stella.

  The revolving door spun and Ronnie Rathbone and stepped out onto the red carpet.

  T. Bear leapt to his feet. ‘Sorry, miss!’ he said, frantically shooing her away. ‘This carpet is for royalty only.’

  ‘I thought everyone was welcome here?’ said Ronnie with a huff. ‘No special treatment, you know?’

  ‘Of course everyone’s welcome here, miss,’ said T. Bear, ‘but this carpet has been cleaned especially for the King and Queen Penguin.’

  ‘Suit yourself,’ sniffed Ronnie, stepping away. She pulled her handbag up over her shoulder and walked a short distance down the pavement before stopping. Something had caught her attention.

  ‘Is that cheering?’ said T. Bear. ‘Could it be –’

  ‘It’s them all right,’ said Stella. ‘The royals.’ She wiped her hooves on her overalls and turned off the hose. ‘I’d better go and clean myself up!’