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  ‘ACH!’ said Le Pig, coming to terms with the loss. ‘Sometimes it is good to be challenged. Without fear there can be no joy. I know my food is the best, and that is all I need.’

  Anna threw both arms round Madame Le Pig, and squeezed her so tight her hat fell off.

  ‘ENOUGH!’ squealed Le Pig, swatting her off with her trotters. ‘GET AWAY!’

  Anna squeezed a little bit tighter, before letting go. ‘Thank you,’ she said.

  As the guests swamped the stage and dug into the food,Toot-Toot stropped out of the ballroom, spitting at the floor.

  ‘I am the best!’ he declared, throwing his hat into Mr Ruffian’s lap before striding from the hotel.

  ‘It’s a fix,’ growled Mr Ruffian, before he too left the building.

  Anna was full of relief that the night had been a success, despite the result. As Madame Le Pig left the ballroom and returned to the sanctuary of her kitchen, Anna knew that everyone would be talking about the Battle of the Chefs and Hotel Flamingo for a long time to come.

  •

  Later that night, Alfonso was sitting in the Piano Lounge listening to Ms Fragranti sing a song about a lonely, blue flamingo. Once the ballroom was tidy, Anna and the rest of the staff filed in to celebrate a job well done.

  Anna took a seat next to Alfonso, who was looking cheerful.

  ‘It’s good to see you with a smile on your face,’ said Anna.

  ‘After that who wouldn’t?! Gee whizz, what a show,’ he replied. ‘How Madame Le Pig got straight back up there on stage to do battle … Amazing, really. She has real guts.’

  ‘Just like you,’ said Anna.

  ‘Oh, I don’t know about that any more, ma’am,’ said Alfonso. ‘Tomorrow, when I leap from Lookout Point, it’ll be just me and the wind.’

  ‘That’s not true,’ said Anna. ‘We’ll be there.’

  ‘You will?’ said Alfonso.

  ‘We all want you to succeed,’ she said.

  ‘But only I can do the jump,’ he said. ‘What if I bottle it again?’

  Anna tapped Alfonso on the chest. ‘You’ve got to take us with you, in your heart,’ she said.

  ‘You think?’ said Alfonso.

  ‘I do,’ said Anna.

  Alfonso cooed and rolled his shoulders, finding his confidence.

  ‘All right, then,’ he said. ‘Tomorrow is a new day. I’m going to face my demons.’

  ‘And we’ll be there cheering you on,’ said Anna. ‘You can do it, Alfonso.’

  20

  Up and Away!

  With the sun rising over the horizon, Anna and her staff from Hotel Flamingo walked along the coastal path towards the base of Lookout Point, the highest cliff on Animal Boulevard. Ms Fragranti and Alphonso Fastbeak had left earlier to make the steep climb and as they appeared at the top, Anna and the others craned their necks back to watch.

  ‘They’re really high up,’ said Lemmy.

  ‘Are you sure this is safe?’ asked T. Bear.

  ‘Ach! It’s nothing,’ said Madame Le Pig, sniffing. ‘I have jumped from higher, and I don’t have wings.’

  At the summit of Lookout Point, Alfonso prepared himself for flight. He zipped up his flight jacket and flipped his goggles down over his eyes.

  ‘Are you ready, darling?’ asked Ms Fragranti.

  ‘You bet,’ said Alfonso, and he shuffled closer to the cliff edge. The wind was strong. He took a deep breath, filling his lungs with fresh air.

  ‘We believe in you,’ said Ms Fragranti. ‘But you must also believe in yourself. You are a bird and you can fly.’

  ‘I’m the best stunt pigeon there has ever been,’ he said.

  ‘That’s it,’ said Ms Fragranti. ‘You can do this!’

  Alfonso stretched out his wings.

  ‘We’re here for you, darling,’ added Ms Fragranti.

  Back down on the ground, Lemmy crossed every finger and toe on every paw.

  ‘What happens if he crashes again?’ he asked.

  ‘He won’t,’ said Anna.

  ‘I’ll catch him if I have to,’ said T. Bear.

  They saw Alfonso ready himself, now just a grey blur on the clifftop.

  ‘There he goes!’ said Anna.

  With three big flaps of his wings Alfonso leapt off the ledge. But he didn’t rise up. He dropped down.

  ‘Good grief!’ said Anna. ‘He’s not flying; he’s falling.’

  ‘Get your arms ready!’ cried Lemmy.

  T. Bear steadied himself, his teeth clenched, paws outstretched.

  Despite everything, Alfonso was smiling as he headed at deadly speed towards the ground. He believed in himself, his wings felt strong, and as soon as he could see the faces of the crowd below, he pulled back. His body soared upwards, and with three flaps of his wings he performed a daring loop-the-loop high above Hotel Flamingo.

  Lemmy collapsed into T. Bear’s arms.

  ‘He did it!’ cheered Anna.

  Ms Fragranti soared from the cliff and joined Alfonso in the sky. They performed a victory lap together, then flew back down to the ground to huge cheers. Alfonso landed with his signature Impossible Twisting Backflip, proving that it was definitely not impossible.

  ‘Congratulations!’ said Anna. ‘You did it!’

  ‘I told you so,’ said Madame Le Pig with a snort.

  ‘Gee whizz, what a ride,’ said Alfonso, resting his wings on his knees.

  ‘You made it, darling!’ said Ms Fragranti. ‘You are back to your best.’

  ‘I really am,’ said Alfonso, wiping his brow, ‘and it’s all thanks to Hotel Flamingo.’

  Anna beamed with pride. ‘That’s what we’re here for,’ she said, smiling.

  A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

  Writing a story about an animal hotel is a dream come true for me. I love learning about animals (my favourites are lemurs!) and I love drawing them, but I particularly love customer service.

  So, as much as I’d like to stay at Hotel Flamingo and eat Madame Le Pig’s amazing food, I would actually really like to work there. Yes, you heard right. Tidying the place up, planning and cooking meals, booking shows, making people happy … oh, that would be better than anything!

  Thank you for choosing a Piccadilly Press book.

  If you would like to know more about our authors, our books or if you’d just like to know what we’re up to, you can find us online.

  www.piccadillypress.co.uk

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  First published in Great Britain in 2020 by

  PICCADILLY PRESS

  80–81 Wimpole St, London W1G 9RE

  www.piccadillypress.co.uk

  Text and illustrations copyright © Alex Milway, 2020

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

  The right of Alex Milway to be identified as author and illustrator of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

  ISBN: 978-1-8481-2838-5

  Piccadilly Press is an imprint of Bonnier Books UK

  www.bonnierbooks.co.uk

 

 

 
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