Bennie Barrier Returns In A Brand New Adventure!!
Bennie Barrier Returns In A Brand New Adventure!!
A SPECIAL HALF TERM TREAT FROM CINNAMON CONE - THE NEW CORNELIUS CONE ADVENTURE!!
Cornelius Cone: The Tale Of The Troublesome Teenagers
It was a wet and rainy Monday Morning at the supermarket when Tricia Trolley lined up in her bay with the other trolleys. Today was a very special day and Wet Floor had come into work extra early to make sure he had all of his jobs completed before the two work experience cones arrived.
Driver Dave drove his Maintenance Truck into the supermarket car park before parking near to the store entrance. Cornelius Cone and Bennie Barrier jumped down from the back of the truck before helping Chloe Cone and Wet Floor Junior climb down to join them.
“Good morning Corny!” Tricia Trolley beamed. “Oooh they look so grown up in their uniforms today!”
Wet Floor Junior blushed whilst Chloe Cone smiled. Mr Mullet, the supermarket manager, came out to join them with Wet Floor following closely behind him.
“Ah yes, Chloe and Junior, if you could follow Wet Floor, he will show you what needs to be done,” Mr Mullet stated before walking over towards the petrol station.
“We’ll pick you up at five o clock!” Cornelius Cone called out.
“Where are you off to today Corny? Somewhere exciting?” Tricia Trolley asked.
“It is very exciting Tricia, today we’re helping Jaxon The Juggler and Colin The Clown!” Cornelius Cone replied.
“Who are they?”
“They work at the circus. We’re helping them set up everything ready for the opening night,” Bennie Barrier explained.
“Oh I used to love the circus when I was younger!” Wet Floor added.
“You still do Dad,” Wet Floor Junior laughed.
At that moment, a red van stopped alongside them and Postman Pete stepped out from the driver’s seat.
“Hello Postman Pete!” Tricia Trolley beamed.
“Hello Tricia, hello everyone. My, you two cones look very smart. I’m guessing you’re not working with Uncle Cornelius today!” Postman Pete replied.
“No, we’re on work experience in the supermarket this week. Dad’s meant to be showing us around,” Wet Floor Junior explained.
“Watch out for your Dad in there,” Postman Pete teased as he handed some letters to Wet Floor. “He was involved in a fight at the fish and chip shop last week.”
Chloe Cone and Wet Floor Junior gasped.
“You didn’t tell me!” Wet Floor Junior protested.
“Oh yeah, you should’ve seen it. The fish got battered and even a few sausages were battered too!” Postman Pete laughed.
“I almost believed you then!” Tricia Trolley replied before being pushed into the supermarket by her next customer.
“Do you have anyone working with you for work experience Pete?” Chloe Cone asked.
“No, unfortunately you need to be over 18 years old to be a postie,” Postman Pete replied.
“Why?”
“Because sometimes we have to deliver things that you can only buy if you are an adult and you have to be able to drive our vans.”
“I saw you pushing one of those big trollies around when we were working on the railway station. You don’t need to be able to drive to use that!”
“That’s true but you don’t know what’s inside that big trolley,” Postman Pete teased.
“What did you have inside the trolley?” Wet Floor Junior asked.
“All kinds of things go in there with all of the mail and parcels. Sometimes I’m pushing around horse shoes, rabbit’s feet, four leaf clovers ....”
“You’re pushing your luck there,” Cornelius Cone replied.
“Hey, that was my line,” Postman Pete laughed.
“No time for chatting, some of us have work to do!” Mr Mullet called out as he walked back into the supermarket.
“We’d better go, see you soon,” Cornelius Cone said as he watched Chloe Cone and Wet Floor Junior follow Wet Floor and Mr Mullet into the supermarket.
“They grow up so fast,” Caroline Cone sighed as Cornelius and Bennie Barrier climbed back into the truck.
“Let’s hope the circus can keep them as children for a bit longer yet,” Driver Dave added as he started up the Maintenance Truck’s engine and drove away.
Inside the supermarket, Checkout Charlie was filling the promotional end of one of the aisles with sweets and chocolate.
“Hello Chloe, could you help me level this shelf for the chocolate promotion?” Checkout Charlie asked.
Chloe Cone held one end of the shelf and Charlie held the other end.
“Now we need to move the arms up six spaces from the shelf below,” Charlie explained.
Chloe counted six gaps on the metal bar that held the back of the shelf in place and placed the arm of the shelf in the sixth space. They both then sat the shelf on to the arms again and it held itself in place.
“Well done, now I need to get some more chocolate from the warehouse to put on these shelves, come on!”
Chloe Cone rushed off with Checkout Charlie towards the warehouse whilst Wet Floor Junior followed Wet Floor into the bakery.
Meanwhile, at Gang Warily fields in Blackfield, the maintenance team arrived just in time. Highway Harry was emptying some gravel from a truck to make a temporary road for the circus vehicles to drive on. Driver Dave parked his truck at the side of the road and Cornelius Cone, Bennie Barrier and the rest of the team jumped down from the back of the truck. The grass was already turning into muddy slush as the circus owners began arriving before the gravel tracks were ready.
“Thank goodness you’re here!” Highway Harry called out. “Cornelius, can you and Bennie organise your teams to keep the traffic off of the grass!”
Cornelius Cone called everyone across and together they made a line along the edge of the newly laid gravel track. Bennie and Bryony Barrier blocked off any exits towards the open fields and Beatrice and Bernard Barrier diverted any other traffic back towards the gravel track. Within minutes, the gravel tracks were ready and the container lorries were ready to arrive with their cargo.
“Anyone would think you do this everyday!” One of the circus staff called out to Driver Dave.
“Well Cornelius Cone at the front of the line has a very organised team that works with him. I’m Dave, head of the maintenance team,” Driver Dave smiled.
“Ted, Ted Thompson, site manager,” Ted replied.
“No! No! No! No! I said to the left!” A man called out from behind them.
“Who’s that?” Driver Dave asked.
“That’s Carlton, the circus manager. Grumpy fella. Better off steering clear of him if you can.”
Driver Dave watched as the tent pole at the centre of the circus tent was carefully lifted into its place by a small crane.
“No, No, No, left a bit more! No, that’s too much!” Carlton called out.
“It’s going to be a long day,” Ted laughed as he walked away.
At the supermarket, Chloe Cone was refilling the shelves with chocolate and sweets whilst Wet Floor Junior was helping Warehouse Wayne unload a delivery lorry.
“Now remember what I said Junior!” Wet Floor shouted as he pushed the cage full of bottles of drink towards him.
“Yes Dad, soft drinks in lane one, biscuits in lane three, crisps in lane five and alcohol in lane ten!” Wet Floor Junior replied as he moved the cage into its correct line.
“You’re getting good at this Junior!” Warehouse Wayne called out. “Maybe you can replace your Dad when he retires.”
“Hey, I’m not that old yet!” Wet Floor replied.
BING! BONG! BOOP! “Can Wet Floor please attend a spillage in the wine aisle!” the tannoy announced.
“Sorry guys, you’ll have to finish the delivery without me!” Wet Floor smiled as he scooted out of the warehouse towards the shop floor.
Wet Floor Junior watched as Warehouse Wayne signed all of the paperwork and handed it all back to the lorry driver. Wayne then handed Wet Floor Junior a high visibility vest.
“What do I need this for?” Wet Floor Junior asked.
“We need to go out into the yard and help this driver leave the supermarket and the next lorry driver needs to reverse back in. If you wear one of these then the driver can see you when you help to direct him into the yard,” Warehouse Wayne explained.
“Cool!” Wet Floor Junior replied as he slipped the vest on. “Fits perfectly too.”
The two friends walked out into the supermarket backyard and opened up the large metal gates. The lorry that they had just finished unloading drove out of the yard and disappeared down the road and into the distance. Another lorry driver who was parked outside the supermarket backyard started his engine and drove into the entrance of the petrol station before reversing back towards the yard gates. Warehouse Wayne stood in the middle of the road holding his hand up in the air to stop any cars from entering the petrol station whilst the lorry was reversing. Wet Floor Junior watched as the huge lorry manoeuvred around the corner.
“Hey Wayne, Trudy said someone has scratched your car!” Tricia Trolley called out from the car park.
“What?!” Warehouse Wayne replied before rushing over towards his car.
At that moment, the queue of cars began moving towards the petrol station and the lorry driver had to react quickly to avoid hitting one of the cars as he reversed.
“Stop! Stop!” Wet Floor Junior shouted before a loud crunch and a crash echoed around the supermarket car park.
Meanwhile, at the circus, the main tent poles were now in place and Driver Dave and his team helped to move all of the landing mats and nets inside. The rain was falling heavier and Caroline Cone and Christopher Cone were struggling to stand in the muddy field as the wind blew harder. Inside the tent, Cornelius Cone and Bennie Barrier helped the circus team roll some large heavy cages off of the back of one of the lorries.
“Why do they have huge blankets covering them?” Bennie Barrier asked.
“It’s so the animals can rest and sleep whilst they travel. They need their energy for the shows,” Ted, the site manager explained.
Bennie Barrier watched Ted walk away before rushing over towards Cornelius.
“Did he say animals?” Bennie Barrier asked. “What kind of animals?”
“Sometimes circuses have animals who can perform tricks, Bennie. They look after them like they do in zoos and train them to do things.”
Bennie Barrier looked confused.
“Remember Max, the dachshund that sometimes follows Postman Pete around,” Cornelius Cone continued. “He can sit, roll over, fetch a ball and walk on his back legs for a treat. It’s the same thing with these animals but they’re much bigger.”
Bennie Barrier looked over at the safety mats that had been placed in the centre of the tent. There were metal poles which looked like huge swings hanging from the roof of the tent and someone was now trying to lift up a metal frame that held a tightrope in place.
“How do the children get all the way up there to sit on those swings? That doesn’t look safe to me,” Bennie Barrier asked as Cornelius pushed the next covered trolley towards him.
“That’s for the acrobats,” Cornelius laughed. “Children won’t go up there. The people performing tricks too.”
“Bats? Where?” Bennie Barrier panicked.
“Relax, acrobats are what we call people in the circus who do amazing things in the air. Like gymnasts who hang from rings and climb onto benches.”
“Like the olympics?”
“Kind of, yes,” Cornelius Cone replied. “Now help me move this one over towards the back. It’s quite heavy.”
The two friends pushed as hard as they could to move the last covered trolley into position.
“Look out!” A voice called out as a loud ping, ping, ping sound was heard.
“Bennie!” Cornelius Cone shouted as he tried to grab Bennie Barrier’s arm but it was too late.
The metal pole that was being raised for the tightrope had slipped and fell. The top platform landed on Bennie Barrier who was now crushed under its weight. Cornelius Cone pulled all of the metal and broken pieces of wood away from his friend. Driver Dave heard the shouting and rushed over to see what had happened.
“We need to get him to the recycling plant now!” Cornelius Cone shouted.
Meanwhile at the supermarket, Mr Mullet, Checkout Charlie, Chloe Cone, Wet Floor and Wet Floor Junior were standing in the car park looking at the damage caused by the reversing lorry. When Warehouse Wayne was distracted, the lorry driver had reversed into the side of the supermarket breaking a window and part of the wall.
“I’m sorry Mr Mullet, it was my fault, I called Wayne away from what he was doing,” Tricia Trolley confessed.
“This whole work experience plan has ruined everything. Charles, put these cones to work in the supermarket and I will be looking to have them removed at the end of the day,” Mr Mullet snapped.
“It really wasn’t their fault…” Warehouse Wayne began but Mr Mullet raised his hand.
“Just get this mess cleaned up!” Mr Mullet replied before walking away.
Wet Floor Junior and Chloe Cone followed Checkout Charlie as they walked back into the supermarket. Wet Floor, Warehouse Wayne and Tricia Trolley began clearing up the broken glass and bricks whilst the lorry driver spoke to Mr Mullet about the damage.
“I knew this was a bad idea,” Wet Floor Junior sighed.
“You tried to warn them Junior. Mr Mullet will calm down later. You didn’t do anything wrong,” Checkout Charlie explained. “Let’s get those chocolates filled up on the end of the aisle.”
Later that day, the maintenance team had finished setting up the circus and Driver Dave went back to the supermarket to pick up Chloe Cone before taking everyone back to The Maintenance Yard. Driver Dave then drove himself to the recycling plant. As he entered, he saw lots of people rushing around.
“Rupert!” Driver Dave called out.
Rupert, the repair man at the recycling plant walked over to him.
“Where’s Bennie Barrier?”
“He’s in room fifteen with Cornelius. He had a lucky escape. If that pole hit him a few inches further along we wouldn’t have been able to help him,” Rupert explained.
“Can I see him?”
“Of course, he’s fractured his humerus bone so he’s going to be out of action for a few weeks but with plenty of rest, he should make a full recovery.”
Driver Dave walked down to room fifteen and saw Cornelius Cone sitting in a chair next to Bennie Barrier who was asleep in the bed next to him. Dave quietly opened the door and stepped inside before closing it again.
“How is he?” Driver Dave asked.
“They’ve fixed what they can but it will be a while before he can get out of bed,” Cornelius Cone sighed.
“Do you want me to sit with him for a while?”
“No, no, I want to stay,” Cornelius sighed.
“Are you ok?”
“All he ever wanted was to be made into a Cheese And Onion crisp packet. They made him into a barrier…”
“And he became your friend,” Driver Dave added. “Rupert said he should make a full recovery. He just needs to rest for a while.”
“How did Chloe’s first day in the supermarket go?”
“They got fired.”
Cornelius Cone shook his head in disbelief.
“It wasn’t their fault. I told Wet Floor that they can both work for us for the rest of the week instead.”
“Be careful at the circus,” Cornelius Cone warned.
“Did Bennie say something?”
“Before his accident, he was concerned about the animals and was asking a lot of questions that they didn’t like.”
“Do you think someone did this deliberately?”
“Maybe. I don’t know,” Cornelius Cone sighed.
Driver Dave and Cornelius Cone sat beside Bennie Barrier for a while until Rupert came in to check on him. He promised to look after Bennie Barrier and he would call them if anything happened. It was just after midnight when they left the recycling plant and Driver Dave didn’t want to wake up everyone at the yard. The front cab of the maintenance truck had a sleeping cabin behind the front seats. Driver Dave laid down on one side and Cornelius Cone laid on the other side. Soon they were both asleep as the full moon lit up the clear night sky.
The following morning, the doorbell rang at The Maintenance Yard and Larry Ladder opened the side gate.
“Oh, hello Wet Floor. Hello Junior,” Larry Ladder said. “I’m sorry but Driver Dave hasn’t arrived yet.”
“It’s ok, let them in!” Caroline Cone called out.
Wet Floor and Wet Floor Junior walked across the yard towards the cones and barrier’s living area.
“Thank you all for letting Junior come along with you,” Wet Floor said as they sat down at one of the picnic tables at the far side of the yard with Caroline and Christopher Cone.
“Chloe told me all about it. You have nothing to be sorry for Junior. Mr Mullet should be the one apologising. I’m not sure how long Dave is going to be,” Caroline Cone replied.
“Is he ok?”
“He is but Bennie Barrier isn’t,” Christopher Cone added.
Caroline and Christopher Cone explained what had happened and Wet Floor listened.
“I have to go. Will Junior be ok to wait with you until Dave arrives?” Wet Floor asked.
“Of course. Stay safe out there,” Caroline Cone replied as Wet Floor rushed out of the gate.
“Is your dad ok?” Chloe Cone asked.
“Yeh, he gets a bit weird like that sometimes and has to rush off somewhere,” Wet Floor Junior replied.
“Come on, I’ll race you to the big oak tree!” Chloe Cone teased.
“Don’t go too far, we need to go to work soon!” Caroline Cone called out as the two friends rushed off into the woods behind the yard.
Wet Floor ran as fast as he could down Applemore Hill and into the supermarket car park.
“Tricia! Tricia! We have... to go... quickly!” Wet Floor gasped.
“Where? What happened?” Tricia Trolley asked.
“I’ll explain on the way!”
Wet Floor took hold of Tricia Trolley and rushed off towards the woods and back up the hill towards the recycling plant.
“Mrs Quilliam will be waiting for me! We always have scones with jam and fresh cream on Tuesdays. What is going on?” Tricia Trolley protested.
As they came to a clearing in the woods, Wet Floor slowed down to catch his breath.
“The cones are working with the circus to prepare everything for the opening night.”
“Yes, I know. Corny told us yesterday.”
“Bennie Barrier was crushed in an accident inside one of the tents and is recovering in the recycling plant.”
Tricia Trolley gasped.
“Caroline Cone heard that Bennie Barrier was asking questions about the animals in the circus before his accident.”
“Do you think that someone hurt Bennie on purpose?” Tricia Trolley asked.
“That’s what we need to find out!”
“We? We have a shift to work at the supermarket!”
“We also need to help our friends. What’s more important?”
Tricia Trolley paused for a moment and then sighed. “Let’s go!”
The morning sun shone through the front windscreen of The Maintenance Truck and woke up Driver Dave and Cornelius Cone. They both ached from sleeping in a tight space and they climbed out of the truck to stretch and breathe some fresh air. As Cornelius began to enter the recycling plant, he heard someone call his name.
“Tricia, Wet Floor, what are you doing here?” Driver Dave asked.
“We heard about what happened to Bennie Barrier. Is he ok?” Tricia Trolley asked.
“He’s fine. He just needs to rest as he’s broken his humerus bone,” Cornelius Cone explained as he walked over to join them.
“Wet Floor seems to think that it was done deliberately,” Tricia Trolley added.
Cornelius Cone and Driver Dave both looked at Wet Floor.
“Before I started working at the supermarket, many years ago, I worked with the carnival that travelled all over the country. Carlton Collins used to manage the animals that performed and was made to leave when they discovered he wasn’t looking after the animals,” Wet Floor explained.
“What was he doing?” Tricia Trolley Asked.
“He wasn’t feeding them or cleaning them. The worst one was his dancing chicken routine where he would warm up a hot plate and make a chicken walk on it. When he played the music, he would make the hot plate hotter so it looked like the chicken was dancing on it but really it was burning its feet!”
“Ted, the site manager mentioned someone called Carlton to me yesterday. Said he was best avoided,” Driver Dave added. “Thank you for letting us know, Wet Floor. We need to get back to that circus.”
“What about Bennie Barrier?” Cornelius Cone asked.
“We’ll stay with him,” Tricia Trolley replied.
“Don’t you need to be at the supermarket?”
“Friends are more important than rolling around a supermarket. They won’t miss me for one day.”
Cornelius Cone and Driver Dave thanked them both and climbed back into the Maintenance Truck & headed to the yard to pick up the rest of the team before going back to the circus. As they arrived, they saw Carlton talking to one of the animal trainers as they led one of the donkeys into the circus tent. Driver Dave noticed Highway Harry was waving them over towards the opposite side of the tent. Dave parked The Maintenance Truck and all of the barriers and cones climbed down and followed him over to where Harry and his team were working.
“Good morning, how’s Bennie?” Harry asked.
“He’s ok, just needs to rest for a while but we have Wet Floor Junior and Chloe Cone to help us whilst he’s away,” Driver Dave replied.
“Perfect, they can help Barry Barrow feed the animals in the stables out the back.”
Chloe Cone and Wet Floor Junior followed Highway Harry to the stables whilst Cornelius Cone and Christopher Cone organised the rest of the team to finish building a gravel path into the circus tent.
“Do you think they’ll be ok?” Christopher Cone asked.
“Bubbles is smart. She won’t let anything go wrong,” Cornelius Cone reassured him.
When they were inside the temporary stables at the back of the circus tent, Jaxon The Juggler was juggling bananas before throwing them into the cage where the monkeys were kept inside. The two monkeys climbed down and picked up the bananas before rushing off to eat in opposite corners.
“Oh wow, I’ve never been so close to monkeys before!” Wet Floor Junior gasped.
“Ah Jaxon, these are the two cones I was telling you about,” Highway Harry said.
“Nice to meet you both. Think fast…” Jaxon said as he threw a ball towards Chloe Cone who managed to catch it.
“Good reflexes, how about now…” Jaxon continued as he threw a second ball to her quickly followed by a third and a fourth before she dropped them all.
“Not bad, most people fail at three.”
“Ah there you are Jaxon,” Carlton said as he wandered through the stables. “The clowns need you in rehearsal.”
“Ok, let me..”
“Now,” Carlton ordered before looking over at Chloe Cone and Wet Floor Junior. “You’re Walter’s son aren’t you?”
“Yes, I am,” Wet Floor Junior replied.
“Your father cost me a lot of money a few years ago. I hope you’re not going to make the same mistake,” Carlton cussed.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Wet Floor Junior replied.
“He does, come on Jaxon,” Carlton replied before leaving the stables with Jaxon following closely behind.
“Walter?” Chloe Cone asked.
“Walter is my dad’s real name but everyone knows him as Wet Floor.”
“What are we going to do now?”
“You can help me with this bird seed,” a voice called out.
Chloe Cone and Wet Floor Junior looked around but couldn’t see anyone.
“Who, who’s there?” Chloe Cone asked.
At that moment, a wheelbarrow with a large bag of bird seed in it moved forward.
“I’m Barry, Barry Barrow. You must be the cones that Harry said were going to help me.”
“Hello Barry, I’m Wet Floor Junior and this is Chloe Cone. How can we help you?” Wet Floor Junior asked.
“Can you wheel me down to the Avery to feed the birds, then we need to collect some hay and pellets for the donkeys, bananas and vegetables for the monkeys and some meat for the tigers.”
“Wow, that’s a lot of food,” Chloe Cone replied.
“Yes and we don’t have very long to do it. The animal rehearsals start at twelve o’clock so we need to have everybody fed by then.”
Meanwhile back at the Recycling Plant, Victor the vet had joined Tricia Trolley and Wet Floor at Bennie Barrier’s bedside. He had brought Bennie his favourite ginger biscuits with cream in the middle.
“Do you think the animals are in danger?” Victor asked.
“I didn’t see anything but when I was talking to Cornelius about how they are looked after and forced to perform tricks, I saw a couple of the men glaring at me,” Bennie Barrier admitted.
“I hope nobody else gets injured. I’d rather Chloe and Junior were still at the supermarket than working there,” Wet Floor said as he checked his phone.
“If you would feel better, I could call in on my way to the New Forest stables to check on them,” Victor suggested.
“I don’t want Junior to think I’m checking up on him.”
“He won’t, I’m sure if there’s any problem then Cornelius will tell me. I’m changing Harriet Horse’s shoes at 1:30 so I’ll have plenty of time.”
“I didn’t know horses wore shoes. Mrs Floor is always buying new shoes. I keep telling her that she only has one pair of feet but she says she needs a different pair for every occasion,” Wet Floor replied.
“Horse shoes are very different Wet Floor,” Victor laughed. “They need them checked and replaced regularly or their feet can become very painful.”
“Junior has that problem. His feet keep growing all the time. I’m sure he’s growing faster than I did at his age.”
At that moment, Rupert, the recycler, came into Bennie’s room.
“Good news Bennie, you can go back to the yard today. But you need to keep that arm in a sling for 4 weeks and then I’ll need to see you again,” Rupert explained.
Bennie Barrier was overjoyed.
“Oh thank you so much. I’ve missed Mrs Cook’s cooking and seeing all of my friends!”
“That settles it then. We’ll gather all of your things together and I’ll drop you all off at The Maintenance Yard before I visit the circus,” Victor replied.
“Remember, don’t overdo it Bennie or it’ll take longer to make a full recovery,” Rupert added before leaving.
Meanwhile at the circus tent, Cornelius Cone and Christopher Cone had just finished spreading the gravel for the new temporary pathway that everyone would be using to enter the tent for the shows later tonight. Bryony Barrier and Beatrice Barrier helped Driver Dave move the benches into line for the people to sit on whilst the performers rehearsed their routines in the centre. Carlton and Ted were arguing on the opposite side of the tent as the tiger trainer began practising with his hoops. Driver Dave tried to listen to their conversation whilst pretending to adjust one of the benches.
“Get the tigers out!” Carlton demanded.
“But they haven’t had lunch yet!” Ted replied.
“Neither have I and you don’t see me slacking. This routine has to be perfect. I want no mistakes. None!”
The tiger trainer rushed over to Ted as Carlton walked away.
“I can’t work with them if they’re hungry. They won’t respond and I’m putting myself at risk!” The tiger trainer complained.
“I’ll sort it,” Ted replied before chasing after Carlton.
“That doesn’t sound good,” Bryony Barrier said.
“I need to find Chloe and Junior,” Driver Dave replied. “You two, please stay here and finish the benches. I’ll be back soon.”
Driver Dave rushed out to the stables at the back of the circus tent and saw Chloe Cone wheeling a wheelbarrow of red meat down towards the tiger pens.
“Chloe, where’s Junior?” Driver Dave asked.
“Feeding Gerald and Jeremy.”
“Who?”
“The monkeys.”
“This is very important, if Carlton comes down to release the tigers, you need to get back to The Maintenance Truck as fast as you can. Ok?”
Chloe Cone was worried. “Ok, but Barry and I are about to feed the tiger now.”
“Who’s Barry?”
“That’ll be me, Barry Barrow at your service. Come on, we need to empty this yucky stuff quickly. It makes me smell awful for hours after we’ve fed Timmy and Tommy.”
“Who’s Timmy and Tommy?” Driver Dave asked.
“The tigers!” Chloe Cone replied as she continued towards the tiger cages.
Driver Dave followed them as they made their way to the back of the stables. He looked at the animals as they passed. This was no life for them. They should be in the wild or in large enclosures in a zoo. Dave knew he needed to do something but he wasn’t sure what. When they arrived at the tigers cage, the huge tigers were busy pacing around their cage.
“Don’t get too close,” Barry Barrow warned. “Do you see the large metal hook on that wire that runs through their cage?”
Chloe Cone looked up and saw two hooks hanging from a wire. At that moment, Wet Floor Junior came to join them.
“Ah Junior, perfect timing. Can you help Chloe lift up the meat and hook it on to those metal hooks?”
“Eeew, that’s disgusting,” Wet Floor Junior complained.
“I’ll do it,” Driver Dave said as the two cones backed away.
At that moment, Carlton, the circus manager and Ted, the site manager, walked through the stables arguing about the rehearsals.
“I don’t care! It needs to be perfect and you can’t practice without the animals!” Carlton argued.
“I agree but you have to follow procedures. The health and safety of the people is the most important!” Ted replied.
“If the tiger trainer won’t do it then find someone else!”
“There is no one else! If you fire him you won’t have the tiger show in the circus!”
“Nonsense! Anyone can wave and throw hula hoops around the ring!”
Driver Dave lifted the two pieces of meat up onto the metal hooks and then pushed the button for the conveyor to move the hooks through the bars and into the cage. The tigers jumped up at the meat and began ripping it away from the hooks.
“Now what?” Carlton fumed as he wandered over to the tigers cage.
Chloe Cone and Wet Floor Junior rushed over and stood behind Driver Dave.
“You have to let the tigers eat and then digest their food before they will cooperate!” Ted pleaded.
“If you want to keep your job, the tigers go into the rehearsal!” Carlton snapped before heading outside.
Driver Dave walked over towards Ted.
“I’m sorry you had to see that Dave,” Ted said as he wandered back towards the main tent.
“He’s out of control. He needs to be stopped or someone is going to get hurt!” Driver Dave protested.
“I know. I’ve spoken to the union but nobody wants to do anything.”
“Then my team and Harry’s team are leaving. I’m not putting my teams in danger because one person can’t follow the rules.”
“You can’t do that! We need the preparations to be ready for our opening show tonight!” Ted pleaded.
At that moment, they heard a Land Rover pull up outside the tent. Ted rushed over to see who had arrived when suddenly, Barry Barrow rushed past them screaming.
“Get out now!!” Barry Barrow screamed as he zoomed towards the exit.
“Chloe, Junior, get back to the truck now!” Driver Dave said as he wandered back into the stables.
The two cones ran as fast as they could back towards The Maintenance Truck shouting at the rest of the team to join them. When Driver Dave entered the stable, the two tigers were wandering around outside their cage and Carlton was standing on top of the cage holding it open.
“The show must go on Dave!” Carlton laughed.
The two tigers looked at Dave. He slowly moved backwards out of the stables and the two tigers followed him.
Meanwhile outside, Victor, the vet, had arrived to see Driver Dave. He saw The Maintenance Team rushing back towards the truck and quickly climbing up into the back.
“What’s going on?” Victor asked.
“Carlton’s released the tigers!” Barry Barrow shouted. “Help me up! Help me up!”
Bryony Barrier and Caroline Cone reached down and helped Barry Barrow into the back of The Maintenance Truck.
“Cornelius! Where are you going?” Christopher Cone shouted.
“Dave’s in there, I have to help him!” Cornelius Cone replied as he wandered back towards the circus tent.
“It’s all our fault!” Chloe Cone said as she watched Cornelius walk away. “Mr Mullet said we were troublesome teenagers!”
“It’s not your fault,” Barry Barrow replied. “You told Dave what was happening. He can help save the circus!”
Victor, the vet, picked up his equipment bag from the front seat of his Land Rover before catching up with Cornelius.
“You don’t have to do this Victor,” Cornelius Cone said as they entered the circus tent.
“I know but I want to,” Victor replied.
As they entered, they saw the tiger trainer, Ted, the site manager and Driver Dave slowly backing away from the two tigers that had begun circling around the tent. The tiger trainer picked up one of the rings that the tigers usually jumped through and threw it back out towards the stables. The tigers ignored it.
“What now?” Cornelius Cone whispered.
“Now I need your help,” Victor replied as he opened his equipment bag and pulled out two metal guns with a pink liquid capsule in them.
“We’re not going to shoot them!” Cornelius Cone gasped.
“No, no, these are not real guns. They are called tranquiliser guns. They will put the tiger to sleep so we can safely move them back to their cage.”
“So what do you need me to do?”
“If I shoot one of them, the other one might try to attack us. I need to shoot one of them and I need you to shoot the other one at the same time.”
Cornelius Cone thought about that. “I’ve never shot a gun in my life before.”
“Now is a good time to learn,” Victor replied, handing Cornelius one of the tranquiliser guns. “I’ll get the one on the left, you get the one on the right. Ready?”
Cornelius Cone nodded.
“On three, one, two, three!” Victor said and they both fired at the same time.
Both tranquiliser darts flew through the air and landed in each of the tiger’s legs. A loud roar echoed around the tent. Driver Dave, the tiger trainer and Ted all fell backwards onto the floor. The two tigers swayed left, swayed right and then laid down to sleep. Driver Dave stood up and Cornelius Cone noticed his hands and clothes were all red.
“Dave! You’re hurt!” Cornelius Cone shouted as he ran over to him.
“I’m fine, honestly!” Driver Dave reassured him.
“But the…”
“It’s from the meat that we fed the tigers with.”
Cornelius Cone sighed with relief as Victor, the vet, wandered over to join them.
“Thank goodness you came when you did!” Driver Dave said.
“Where’s Carlton!” Ted asked as he rushed out into the stables.
The tiger cage was empty and Carlton had disappeared. As they rushed around to the front of the circus tent, blue flashing lights were reflecting off of the front of the tent and PC Page was clipping some handcuffs onto Carlton’s wrists.
“I’ll get you for this Ted!” Carlton shouted as PC Page pushed him into the back seat of the police car.
The Maintenance Team all rushed over to Cornelius Cone, Driver Dave and Victor, the vet. Chloe Cone walked over and handed Driver Dave his phone.
“I borrowed your phone again. I hope you didn’t mind?” Chloe Cone asked.
Driver Dave lifted Chloe Cone and Wet Floor Junior up into the air.
“Without you two, we would never have known what was happening. Three cheers for our hero cones!” Driver Dave said and they all cheered.
Later that night, Driver Dave reversed The Maintenance Truck into the yard. Bennie Barrier, Susie Suitcase, Tricia Trolley and Wet Floor stood beside a huge table of food that they had helped Mrs Cook prepare in the main food hall. The TV in the corner of the room showed Carlton being taken away by the police, the RSPCA taking the animals into their care and Chloe Cone and Wet Floor Junior’s photo was displayed behind the newsreader.
“I think the troublesome teenagers are now the hero teenagers,” Wet Floor said.
“We were lucky that Victor arrived when he did,” Cornelius Cone added.
“Luckily, we arrived on the tiger’s favourite day,” Wet Floor Junior replied.
“How do you know that?” Caroline Cone asked.
“Everyone knows a tiger’s favourite day is Chews-day!” Chloe Cone replied and they all laughed.
See You In The Next Adventure!!
Hello everyone and welcome to my reading corner. Being new to the team, I would love to hear all of the tales of what Cornelius Cone and our friends have been getting up to. You would too? That's great! Let's dive in and see what happens...
Cornelius Cone: The Tale Of Bertie Bin’s Medallion
It was Saturday morning and Cornelius Cone was taking a stroll through Bluebell Park. The sun was just beginning to break through the trees and he noticed Mr Wallace walking with Pedro, his Pug.
“Good morning Mr Wallace, another lovely day today!!”
“Good morning Cornelius, no work for you today?”
“No, I can enjoy myself in the sun for a change. Enjoy the rest of your day” Cornelius replied.
As he approached the bandstand however , Cornelius heard someone coughing heavily.
“I keep telling you, you need to be more careful about what you eat. I never get myself into this pickle...” Bella Bin stated.
“I’ve never (cough, cough) had anything (cough, cough) like this (cough, cough) before” Bertie Bin replied.
Cornelius Cone walked over to investigate. “Is everything Ok?”
“Morning Cornelius,” Bella Bin replied. “Greedy guts over here has a problem. He’s eaten something that didn’t agree with him and now he’s suffering.”
Cornelius knew how that felt. Last year Driver Dave was given a huge amount of Easter Eggs which he shared with the rest of his colleagues. Cornelius had eaten too many of them and felt very sick for the rest of the day.
“I’m not (cough, cough) greedy. Something (cough, cough) has got stuck (cough, cough) that’s all” Bertie Bin protested.
“Can you help us please Cornelius?” Bella Bin asked.
“Of course, what can I do?”
“Help me move Bertie over to that patch of grass over there and then we need to try and dislodge whatever is making him cough. That noise is driving me crazy!!”
Cornelius Cone and Bella Bin carefully manoeuvred Bertie Bin into the centre of the patch of grass. He was still coughing a lot and needed some help.
“Right, on the count of three we both need to push him over on to the grass to clear his blockage” Bella Bin explained. “Ready, one, two, three!!”
Cornelius Cone and Bella Bin pushed with all of their might.
“Wait, wait, aaaahhhh!! Bertie protested as he hit the ground.
He coughed and let off some wind before a mix of wrappers, bags and a gold circular slab of metal landed on the grass next to him.
“Ah, that’s better” Bertie Bin replied.
“Oh my word, what have you eaten?” Cornelius asked as he backed away from the smell.
“I think it was the remains of somebody’s kebab last night. Lots of chilli sauce, just how I like it.”
Bella Bin laughed. “Well I think we’ve dislodged whatever it was that was blocking you.”
Cornelius Cone and Bella Bin helped Bertie Bin to get back on to his feet again. As Cornelius sorted through the rubbish that was on the floor, he noticed the gold slab of metal.
“Now this is interesting” Cornelius said.
“What is?”
“This, take a look. It’s a gold medallion. They were very popular a long time ago. Men used to wear them like necklaces and there’s some kind of marking on this one. Can you remember who gave you this?”
“He’s too busy munching away to care who gave him his food” Bella Bin explained.
“No, sorry Cornelius. There was a lot of people here last night. It could have been any of them. Why, do you think it’s worth anything?”
“I’m not sure. I’ll need to ask my Driver Dave, I think his brother Alex is an antiques dealer. Maybe he could find out some more about it.”
“Oh this would be amazing” Bertie Bin stated. “Can you imagine Bella, we could have gold plated rims, eat the finest foods, be placed alongside royalty. I’ve always wondered what Caviar tasted like.”
At that moment, Bertie felt a warm liquid spray against the back of his leg.
“Pedro, come on!!” Mr Wallace called out.
“At least you won’t have to put up with that anymore” Bella Bin laughed.
Cornelius Cone took the medallion with him and carefully fed Bertie Bin the remaining rubbish that was on the ground before heading on his way. He continued down the hill towards the supermarket, past the yew trees and round into Cumberland Way. He found Driver Dave’s house in the cul-de-sac opposite Claypits Lane. Dave was outside washing his car when he saw Cornelius approaching.
“Morning Cornelius, it’s another lovely day” he called out. “What are you doing around this way?”
“Morning, I have a question to ask. Do you think your brother could take a look at this for me?”
Cornelius handed over the medallion.
“Lucky for you, he’s here right now sorting out the fence in the back garden. I’ll ask him for you now.”
Cornelius Cone followed Driver Dave inside his house and watched with interest as his brother, Alex, looked over the medallion.
“This is a rare find Cornelius. My best guess is 18th century gold. I think Dave will need to find a new member to lead the Maintenance team if you decide to sell this at auction” Alex explained.
“How much do you think it’s worth?”
“It’s hard to tell but I would expect at least a two or three thousand pounds.”
Cornelius Cone nearly fell over. He couldn’t believe someone would just throw away that amount of money. He thanked Alex and Dave before heading back to Bluebell Park to tell Bertie and Bella Bin about his incredible news.
Cornelius Cone walked back past the supermarket and began to climb the hill back towards Bluebell Park. As he turned the corner, he saw two teenage boys walking towards him.
“Hey Baz, he’d make a great hat don’t you think?” one of the boys said as he picked Cornelius Cone up and placed him on his head.
“Nah Jez, he’d be much better as a trumpet” Baz replied before sounding out a tune through the hole at the top of Cornelius’ Cone.
Cornelius Cone had heard tales about this before. His friend Christopher Cone had gone missing after a friends party one Saturday night and Driver Dave had found him on top of a lamppost.
“I am a working Cone, take your hands off of me right now!!” Cornelius complained.
“Or what little Cone. Are you gonna close my road off?” Baz teased.
“He won’t but I will” another voice called out. “Put him down now!!”
Cornelius turned around and was happy to see Driver Dave taking his Dachshund Dexter for a walk. The two boys put Cornelius down and walked away.
“Are you ok Cornelius? I’ve told you all that you need to remain in pairs for your own safety.”
“I’m fine, thanks Dave” Cornelius replied. “I was in such a rush to get back to Bluebell Park that I stopped being careful.”
“Well we’re heading that way. Why don’t you walk with us?”
Dexter was already climbing on to Cornelius and licking his face.
“I’d love to, thank you.”
When they arrived at Bluebell Park, Dusty Dustcart was emptying Bella and Bertie Bin so he could take all of their litter to the recycling plant.
“Ah there’s nothing better than a good clear out of the system. Makes you feel so much lighter” Bertie Bin said as he returned to his place next to Bella.
“You’re just glad to get rid of that kebab from last night. The amount of gas coming from you today has been awful” Bella complained. “You really should be more picky about what you eat.”
Two more people passed by and dropped some fish and chip papers into Bertie’s mouth. He gladly devoured them as fast as he could.
“Hmm, a little too much salt for my liking” he complained before he saw Driver Dave and Cornelius Cone walking towards them.
A few miles away, a phone call was being made from a phone box near the golf club. The call was answered on the first ring.
“Did you get it?” A man asked.
“No, we had to let him go” Baz replied.
“He’s a cone for goodness sake. How hard can it be. I want that medallion!!”
“Your brother came round the corner just as we were about to take it.”
Alex took a deep breath.
“Find that cone and bring it to the park now!!” he demanded before putting the phone down.
“So?” Bertie asked excitedly as Cornelius approached.
“You are a very lucky bin Bertie, Alex said it’s worth around two or three thousand pounds.”
Bertie Bin started to dance a little happy dance next to Bella Bin.
“What did you say about what I eat? Who’s laughing now” Bertie teased. “I can get an upgrade. I can have some new stilts so the dogs can’t get to me. I can travel to see Grandma Bin at the retirement home. Oh thank you so much Cornelius. Where can I trade it?”
“The auctioneer is open in the town centre Bertie. It may be worth trying there” Driver Dave added.
Cornelius Cone handed the Medallion back to Bertie and he placed it into his pocket.
“Thank you so much. I’ll head down there right after the lunch rush.”
Driver Dave and Cornelius Cone continued on their way. They crossed the road and headed back towards the Maintenance Yard. As they arrived at the Yard, Cornelius went inside whilst Dave and Dexter continued their walk back through the estates to return home.
When Cornelius walked across the yard, he heard a knocking sound coming from the tool shed. He turned around and looked over but couldn’t see anybody. He carried on walking towards the storage room but as he approached, he heard the knocking again. This time he saw Larry Ladder through the small window in the side of the shed. He was waving his arms about something but Cornelius couldn’t understand what he was trying to say.
Cornelius Cone opened the door and walked into the storage room. He saw Bennie and Bryony Barrier being held in the air by one of their legs whilst Baz and Jez questioned them.
“Corny!!” Bennie called out. “Run!!”
Cornelius stopped where he was and slammed the door shut. “Put my friends down! It’s me you want, not them.”
“Where is it?” Jez asked.
“Where’s what?”
“The medallion.”
“What medallion?”
“The one you’re going to make loads of money from.”
“How do you know about the medallion?”
Baz joined in this time. “We know you’ve got it. Tell us where it is and your friends won’t get hurt.”
Cornelius sighed. “I threw it away.”
“You what?” Jez asked disbelievingly.
“I don’t have it. I threw it away” Cornelius replied taking two steps to the left of the door.
“You wouldn’t throw away thousands of pounds worth of gold” Baz replied.
“Then put my friends down and search me. I don’t have it.”
Baz lowered Bennie and Bryony Barrier to the floor and they rushed back to their corner of the yard. As Jez and Baz began to move towards the door, Cornelius jumped as high as he could and using his elbow, he hit the fire alarm button breaking the glass and setting the alarm ringing and the sprinklers sprinkling.
Water came gushing down all over the storage area soaking everybody. Cornelius used the water to run and slide along the floor tripping Baz and Jez up as he slid past them.
“Bennie, Bryony, quick grab that rope and help me tie them up!” Cornelius shouted out.
Within minutes, Police cars and fire engines arrived at the Maintenance Yard. PC Page saw Cornelius stood by the gate.
“Well this better be good” he said as he walked through.
Cornelius Cone explained what had happened and led PC Page into the storage area. The fireman had deactivated the fire alarm and the sprinklers had finally stopped.
“Baz and Jez, we’ve been looking for you two for a long time and it took a Maintenance Team to bring you in” PC Page laughed.
Back in Bluebell Park, Alex, the antique dealer, was getting anxious. Where were they? What was taking so long. He sat down on the park bench and waited. He saw a bin laughing and dancing around in the distance before it started to walk down towards him. The sun shone down through the trees and something metal reflected brightly from the front of the bin.
“It couldn’t be, could it?” Alex said to himself as he stood up and walked towards Bertie.
“If you wanna find gold, go looking in the mountains...” Bertie was singing away to himself. “Good afternoon Sir, lovely day isn’t it.”
As Bertie Bin strolled past, he felt a hard thud against the back of his head and he fell forward on to the floor. The gold medallion fell out of his pocket and across the path. Alex quickly picked it up before running towards the exit. Bella Bin saw what happened and ran towards him to block his path.
“Out of my way!!” Alex shouted as he pushed Bella Bin over and continued running down the hill.
Postman Pete was emptying a post box at the top of Applemore Hill and saw the man running with Bella Bin chasing him. Pete quickly got into his van, turned the engine on and set off after the man.
Blue flashing lights were coming from the Maintenance Yard entrance as Alex ran up the hill. He saw the police leading Baz and Jez into the waiting police cars.
“Stop that man!!” Postman Pete shouted as he sped past in his van.
PC Page chased after Alex as they headed into the woodlands near The Warren. Alex leapt over one of the fences and ran across Lime Kiln Farm and hid inside one of the barns. Postman Pete’s van skidded to a stop on the farm’s driveway and Pete ran around the house, past the stables and into the barn. PC Page arrived at the same time a little out of breath.
“Alex,” PC Page called out. “We know... you’re in there... come out and we can... talk about it.”
Alex found an exit at the back of the barn and ran down the hill towards the mill pond where he and Driver Dave used to play when they were children. Postman Pete and PC Page heard the door close and followed Alex down the hill towards the pond.
There was an old garage with Farmer Fredericks’ old tractor inside. Alex could hear PC Page and Postman Pete running behind him. He climbed up the steep embankment towards the garage and sprinted out into the gravel track. Then he felt something hit him in his ribs and he crashed to the floor. The medallion fell out of his hand and rolled across the gravel and down into an open drain that gushed its water down towards the open sea.
“Noooo!!” Alex shouted as he saw it disappear into the drain.
Driver Dave and Cornelius Cone jumped out of Dave’s car and ran around to see if Alex was ok. He’d run out of the bushes so fast, Dave hit his brakes as hard as he could but he couldn’t stop in time. Alex laid on the ground and looked up at his brother.
“Why Alex?” Driver Dave asked. “I knew you’d come down to the old garage after Cornelius told me what happened.”
PC Page finally caught up with them and arrested Alex. As Cornelius watched him leave with PC Page he looked over at Driver Dave.
“I’m sorry you had to find out that way. I promise we’ll clean up the mess at the yard” Cornelius said.
“The important thing is that you are all safe. When I saw all those fire engines at the yard I was very worried. I guess Bertie Bin will have to wait a bit longer to find his fortune.”
“What was it that he found?” Postman Pete asked.
“A gold medallion. Alex said it would be worth a couple of thousand pounds so Bertie Bin had made plans to upgrade himself but I guess it wasn’t to be” Cornelius explained.
Postman Pete opened the top few buttons of his shirt. “A gold medallion like this?”
Cornelius Cone and Driver Dave both looked at the gold medallion necklace that hung from Pete’s neck.
“That is identical to the one that ended up in the drain! How did you....” Cornelius asked.
“My niece Gloria won it as the funfair a few months ago. I doubt very much if it’s worth anything” Postman Pete admitted.
“So, Alex was wrong?” Cornelius asked confused.
“Wouldn’t be the first time” Driver Dave replied.
Postman Pete headed back to his van at Lime Kiln Farm and Driver Dave and Cornelius headed back to the Maintenance Yard. Bennie Barrier and the rest of the team were mopping up the water and attempting to tidy up the mess caused by the sprinkler system. Francis, the fire marshal was fixing a new alarm in place of the one that Cornelius had broken.
Bertie and Bella Bin both walked up to the Maintenance Yard gate just as Postman Pete arrived in his van. Driver Dave and Cornelius came out to see them.
“Did you find my medallion?” Bertie Bin asked.
“I’m sorry Bertie. The medallion wasn’t worth as much as we thought it was. We caught the man who hit you and pushed Bella over. He’s at the police station now” Cornelius explained.
“So.... so my medallion....” Bertie started before Pete interrupted.
“It’s right here Bertie” Postman Pete said as he took his own Medallion necklace off and gave it to Bertie Bin.
“Oh thank you, thank you so much. I’ll make sure I look after it this time. Thank you Postman Pete!”
Bertie smiled as both he and Bella Bin headed back towards Bluebell Park.
“That was very nice of you Pete” Driver Dave said after the bins had left.
“It’s ok, it was only rubbish anyway” Postman Pete replied and they all laughed.
See you in the next adventure!!
Hello everyone, glad you're still with us. What an amazing story that was. That was so nice of Postman Pete to give Bertie Bin his medallion at the end there. Even though it's worthless, I know Bertie Bin still treasures it today. Now, I heard, in a little village in the middle of The New Forest called Sowley, they had a few dramas with the farmers and an overly enthusiastic barrier recently. Let's find out some more...
Cornelius Cone: The Tale Of Sowley Bridge
The summer sun was shining through the trees as Driver Dave drove the Maintenance Truck through the winding roads of the New Forest as they set off to help Highway Harry build a new bridge over the Sowley river.
Today was the first of September and the acorns were beginning to fall from the trees. Cornelius Cone loved this time of year as it was when the local pig farmers released their pigs across the forest.
“Why are the pigs only allowed out in the forest in September?” Bennie Barrier asked.
“Because that's when most of the acorns fall from the trees and they are toxic to the cows and horses which roam the forest throughout the summer. The pigs love acorns so the farmers let them out so they can eat all of the acorns without any harm and it is less likely that a horse or a cow will eat them if there’s very few left on the ground” Cornelius Cone explained.
“How do you know all of these things?”
“My friend Derek the donkey at Hatchet Pond told me all about it when we went there on our picnic a few months ago.”
At last they finally arrived in Sowley village and were greeted by Farmer Trotter ushering his pigs further down the river to walk over Farmer Shearer’s bridge. Highway Harry already had Tallulah and Tasha Traffic Light controlling the flow of the traffic as the farmers moved their animals to where they needed to be.
The builders had begun constructing the new bridge from Farmer Trotter’s farm and Driver Dave’s Maintenance Team needed to block off the old bridge and divert all animals and people to Farmer Shearer’s bridge. The old bridge had started crumbling into the river over the hot summer months and was finally closed after two young men were hiking through the forest and one of them caused part of the bridge to fall apart and he ended up falling into the river.
Cornelius Cone was very proud of his job. Controlling the traffic flow and keeping the members of his team safe was very important. He called out to Tallulah Traffic Light when he needed her to show her green light and he called out to Tasha Traffic Light to stay on red to let the traffic go through the narrow lanes around the road works. Bennie Barrier blocked any access to the old bridge as Driver Dave and Highway Harry continued to replace the crumbling concrete.
After a busy morning, Bennie Barrier and Cornelius Cone stopped for a lunch break. Cornelius had made his favourite cucumber sandwiches and a cold flask of Orange Juice. As they stood in the shade of one of the trees though, they heard some arguing coming from the roadside. Tallulah and Tasha Traffic Light were both showing their red lights and a car sounded its horn in frustration.
Farmer Shearer, the sheep farmer was crossing the road to lead his sheep towards a smaller field on the other side of the river. Without warning, a motorcyclist sped past the queue of cars, past the arguing traffic lights and weaved between the sheep as they crossed the road and zoomed off into the distance. The noise of the motorbike’s engine made everyone jump. Farmer Shearer’s sheep baaaaa’d and ran off in all different directions.
“Oh no! Not the bridge! It’s not safe!” Bennie Barrier called out as he ran towards the crumbling bridge.
Three of the sheep ran across the old bridge. Parts of the concrete began crumbling into little pieces and the cement on the new pillar was still wet. The new concrete slipped and slided as the pillar toppled over into the river. Bennie Barrier ran on to the bridge to stop the sheep from going any further but he was too late.
“Bennie! Watch out! The bridge is breaking!!” Cornelius Cone shouted as he ran towards the side of the river.
Two of the sheep managed to get to the embankment on the other side of the river but the third sheep and Bennie slid off of the bridge as it splashed down into the Sowley River. The water was flowing at a fast pace and Bennie tried to swim towards the embankment. The sheep had managed to stop itself from getting washed down the river by getting wedged between a broken piece of concrete pillar and the embankment at the side of the river. Highway Harry jumped into the river and swam across towards the sheep. Farmer Shearer ran over his own bridge and helped Harry lift the last sheep on to the embankment at the opposite side of the river.
“Bennie!” Cornelius Cone shouted as he ran down the side of the embankment into Farmer Shearer’s farm.
Cornelius quickly climbed over fences and ran alongside the river for as far as he could but Bennie Barrier bobbed his head up and down, up and down and continued being swept away down the river. Pieces of the broken bridge continued flowing down the river and began getting stuck at the sides of the embankment causing the river to narrow in places and increased the speed of the water.
“Corny!!” Bennie Barrier called out in between spitting out water.
“I can’t keep up with you” Cornelius shouted as he ran alongside the river.
“Get Farmer Quacker!” Bennie shouted before he disappeared through some bushes and into someone else’s land behind the fences at the edge of Farmer Shearer’s land.
Driver Dave finally caught up with Cornelius Cone.
“We have to follow him! Who’s Farmer Quacker?” Cornelius Cone asked.
“He’s the bird farmer on the next piece of land. He has ducks, geese, pigeons, falcons, everything” Driver Dave explained.
“We need to help Bennie!”
“That won’t be easy. Farmer Quacker doesn’t like anyone on his land. The last person caught trespassing got shot in the leg” Driver Dave explained. “What was he doing on that bridge? He knew it was unstable!”
“He tried to save the sheep and now we have to save him.”
Cornelius Cone ran back towards the bridges and the Maintenance Team.
Bennie Barrier tried to swim as much as he could to stay afloat. The flow of the river was very strong as he bopped up and down and side to side. Past Farmer Shearer’s farm, through the bushes and now he saw a huge net tied high up in the trees and birds flying around in shock at the sudden noise he was making. Splishing and splashing. Bennie Barrier had a few swimming lessons when he was in the old Recycling Plant near the docks. Quite often some of the new recruits would fall into the sea and had to be rescued. How he wished he had continued his lessons. Maybe he would be strong enough to swim to the side and pull himself out.
“Who goes there!” an angry voice called out. “If I catch you disturbing my birds, you’ll be sorry!”
Bennie Barrier looked around but he couldn’t see anyone. Then he heard something rumbling up ahead. He knew it wasn’t his tummy as he’d just had some lunch. A large goose suddenly swooped past him, knocking him towards the side of the river. Bennie swam as hard as he could against the river flow and the goose swooped down and pushed him towards the edge of the embankment again.
There was a small wooden house at the side of the river. Two ducks were flapping and quacking at Bennie Barrier as he approached.
“Quack, quack, come inside, quack. Come inside or you’ll end up in the waterfall, quack!” one of the ducks called out.
The goose swooped down again and with one more push, Bennie Barrier managed to reach the river bank. He pulled himself out of the water and laid down on the embankment and closed his eyes for a moment.
“Is he quack ok?”
“Mother goose quack might have hit him quack too hard, quack.”
When Bennie Barrier opened his eyes he saw two ducks looking down on him.
“Where am I?”
“You’re on Farmer Quackers Farm” one of the ducks replied.
“I need to get back to my team” Bennie Barrier replied.
“Quick, get inside, quack. If the farmer sees you, quack, there will be trouble.”
Bennie Barrier managed to get inside the wooden house just before Farmer Quacker and his dog, Dougall, walked past. Bennie watched them walk down to the wooden bridge that crossed the river above the waterfall and then walk back towards the farm house again.
“Phew, quack, that was, quack, close. I’m Dorothy, Dorothy Duck and this is my sister Deirdre Duck. What are you doing on Farmer Quacker’s land?”
“I, I was helping to fix a bridge further up the river” Bennie Barrier explained. “There were sheep running everywhere and as I tried to save them I fell into the river. How do I get out of here? I need to get back up the river. My team will be worried about me.”
“You’ll need some help from Gabby” Dorothy Duck explained.
“Who’s Gabby?”
“Gabby Goose, the one who saved your life. If you’d gone over that waterfall, they would be finding pieces of you out in the ocean. No one has ever come back from going over the edge.”
Farmer Quacker heard Dougall barking and running towards the side gate. Driver Dave and Cornelius Cone were ringing the gold bell that the farmer had hanging from his fence at the front of his property.
“All right, all right, I’m coming!” Farmer Quacker complained. “What do you want?”
“Farmer Quacker?” Driver Dave asked.
“Who wants to know?”
“I’m David Stone, I’m leading the Maintenance Team rebuilding the Sowley Bridge for Farmer Trotter. I believe one of our Barriers has ended up being washed down the river and has ended up on your farm.”
“Is that so? Well this is private land my boy so anything that ends up here is mine. Unless it goes over the waterfall into the enclosure, you’ll have to make do without it.”
“Please Sir,” Cornelius Cone added. “My friend could be in danger and we need to rescue him from the river. If we could just…”
“No, you can’t just… This is my land and I won’t have any trespassers here. It upsets the birds and I can never settle ‘em later.”
Farmer Quacker walked away muttering things that Driver Dave and Cornelius Cone couldn’t hear.
“Now what?” Cornelius asked.
“Now we find where that waterfall is and try to go around the farmer’s land.”
Driver Dave and Cornelius Cone walked past Farmer Quackers land until they found a woodland path with an abandoned pushchair left in the ditch at the side of the path. They heard some coughing and complaining coming from the ditch as they pulled with all of their strength to bring the pushchair back on to the main path.
“Cough, cough, oh thank you so much, the smell down there is horrible, I’ve been stuck in that ditch for days. My name’s Polly, Polly Pushchair. Who are you?”
“I’m Cornelius Cone and this is my driver Dave, do you think you could help us find the waterfall at the back of Farmer Quackers land?”
“Don’t talk to me about Farmer Quacker, he’s tossed me out on to the bonfire before some kids took me for a joy ride and I ended up here. All because I lost one of my back wheels but I can still work as a three wheeled pushchair. I’ve seen cars and vans with three wheels so why not a pushchair? My wheel got caught on the old wooden bridge over the waterfall. The ivy there is very overgrown. Anyone who goes over the waterfall never returns. I am eternally grateful for your help but I don’t think I can go back there again.”
“Polly, we can find you another wheel, fix your other wheels to stop them from being wonky but we need your help first. My friend Bennie Barrier is stuck on Farmer Quacker’s land or worse, he may have gone over the waterfall. We need your help to find him. If you help us, we can help you” Cornelius replied.
Polly Pushchair looked at them both and then began to lead them along the woodland path.
“If he is on Farmer Quacker’s land, you’ll need Gabby’s help.”
“Who’s Gabby?” Driver Dave asked.
“Gabby Goose, she watches over the farm. She collects golden eggs. If you give her a golden egg, she will help your friend escape. If you cross her though, she’ll alert Farmer Quacker and he’ll come out with his shotgun.”
“I thought country folk were friendly” Cornelius added.
They heard a dog barking in the distance and some ducks quacking. Polly Pushchair slowly moved from behind a bush and a dog came charging over almost knocking her over. She put her hand inside her pocket and picked out a tennis ball. She threw it as hard as she could down towards the embankment and the dog ran after it.
“We have two minutes if we’re lucky” she said as she led Driver Dave and Cornelius Cone through some overgrown bushes.
As they came to a clearing, Polly Pushchair’s wheel became stuck in the muddy path again. Driver Dave and Cornelius Cone pushed as hard as they could and with a squelch and squidge, she popped out of the mud and scooted along on to an old wooden bridge. They could hear the rumbling of water cascading down the huge drop on the other side of the bridge into the valley below. Two of the ducks paddled out from what looked like a shed at the side of the embankment and a large goose spread her wings on the opposite side of the river as they approached.
“So where do we find these golden eggs?” Driver Dave asked.
“Watch those ducks” Polly replied.
The ducks paddled side by side and when they arrived at the embankment, the turned and deposited an egg at the side of the river which the goose manoevered with her huge wing into position and then sat on her nest of twigs. The ducks then returned to the shed on the opposite side of the river and the quacking began again.
“Surely a fox or something will attack that nest. It’s so unprotected” Cornelius said.
“Foxes don’t come here. Any who tried to attack his flock, the farmer now has as ornaments in the farmhouse.”
Suddenly, they heard a loud long whistle. The dog sprung up from the overgrown ivy and was face to face with Cornelius Cone, Polly Pushchair and Driver Dave. He was growling fiercely as the whistle sounded again.
“Where’s your tennis ball Dougall?” Polly Pushchair said nervously.
The dog growled and began barking loudly.
“The farmer will hear him. We have to keep him calm!” Cornelius said.
At that moment, the side of the shed where the ducks were hiding opened up and with the light of the sun through the trees, Bennie Barrier used his reflective belt to shine the sunlight into Dougall’s eyes. The dog shook its head and barked as he tried to see what was happening then with a swish, a huge bird flew past almost knocking Driver Dave and Cornelius Cone over. It clattered into Dougall sending him into the river. In a furious doggy paddle, Dougall swam across the river towards the embankment. As he climbed out of the river, he shook the excess water from his fur, stared over at Driver Dave, Cornelius and Polly and then headed off back towards the farmhouse. Gabby Goose settled herself back on to her nest and the ducks followed Bennie Barrier out of their home.
“I see you caught up with me eventually” Bennie Barrier said.
“We need to get out of here fast before the farmer comes back” Polly Pushchair said.
At that moment they heard a shotgun being fired.
“Go! Quack! We’ll slow them, quack, down” Dorothy Duck shouted.
Bennie, Polly, Cornelius and Driver Dave quickly headed off down the woodland path back towards the main road. They could hear ducks quacking, dogs barking and Farmer Quacker whistling loudly.
“Come out! I know you’re on my land!” Farmer Quacker shouted from the side of the river.
Another boom of the farmer’s shotgun echoed around the farm followed by a loud splash as the ducks and geese attacked the farmer. Out of breath, Polly, Cornelius, Bennie and Driver Dave arrived back at the main road just as Farmer Trotter was driving past in his blue truck. He heard all of the noise coming from Farmer Quacker’s farm.
“Do you need a lift?” Farmer Trotter asked.
They all quickly climbed into the back of Farmer Trotter’s truck as a wet and very angry Farmer Quacker came squelching back towards his farmhouse waving his hands around.
When they arrived back at Farmer Trotter’s farm, Highway Harry had almost finished rebuilding the bridge. Bryony Barrier was controlling the flow of animals, people and traffic, Christopher Cone had organised the cone and they noticed a bandage was wrapped around Tallulah and Tasha Traffic Light and Christopher Cone was shouting his directions to them with no reply. Driver Dave helped Farmer Trotter unload the pig food and filled the troughs that were lined up outside his farm. The pigs that were grazing nearby came hurrying over. With a sniff and a snort, they gladly ate their food before heading back out into the forest once again.
Farmer Shearer took Polly Pushchair into his workshop and found a new wheel for her. He realigned her wheels and used some of his sheep wool to patch up some holes in her covers until she looked as good as new.
“Thank you so much Driver Dave and Cornelius. I feel brand new again” she said as she showed off Farmer Shearer’s repairs.
“If you don’t have any other jobs at the moment, my daughter needs a new pushchair for her little one” Highway Harry asked.
“I’d love to help, thank you.”
Bryony Barrier and Christopher Cone secured both sides of the new bridge so nobody could walk on it until it was safe to do so.
“I guess we should be getting the rest of the team home” Driver Dave said.
Bennie Barrier bowed his head.
“What’s wrong Bennie?” Farmer Shearer asked.
“I’m sorry I put everyone in danger. Were your sheep ok?”
“All of my sheep are safely in their new field and with the new Bennie Bridge, we can easily keep all of our animals safe!”
“The Bennie Bridge?” Bennie Barrier asked.
“Yes, we needed a name for it and as you almost destroyed the first one, we thought we should name it after you.”
Bennie Barrier smiled and thanked everyone before Driver Dave loaded them back into his Maintenance Truck to head back to the yard. It had been an eventful day and as the truck rocked and swayed side to side, the cones and barriers began to fall asleep. As Bennie began to make himself comfortable, he felt something inside his pocket. As he reached behind his reflective barrier, he pulled out a golden egg in his hand. He wanted to show his friend Cornelius Cone what he had found but Cornelius was already snoring away in a deep sleep. Bennie smiled. After everything that had happened today, he knew, he really did have the best friends ever.
See you in the next adventure!!
Hello everyone, glad you're still with us. Wow, what an incredible adventure that was! Thank goodness Cornelius and Bennie escaped unharmed. Now I've been hearing a lot about Cornelius and Susie Suitcase but how did they meet? Let's find out...
Cornelius Cone: The Tale Of Susie Suitcase
Driver Dave stopped his maintenance truck outside a tall grey building. He opened up the tailgate and lifted all of the cones and barriers off before driving his truck around to the parking area. Cornelius Cone & Bennie Barrier saw lots of people with bags and suitcases on wheels going in and out of glass doors.
“Where do you think they’re all going?” Bennie asked.
“Somewhere warmer than here” Cornelius complained as he looked up at the dark clouds.
Driver Dave had to set up a diversion as there had been a blockage in the drains and the car park behind the terminal had flooded with all of the recent heavy rain. He placed Bennie Barrier across the path and lined up the other barriers in a rectangular shape to stop anybody from walking through the excess water. He then placed Cornelius at the front of the line of cones and made a curved line around to the right side of the car park to divert the traffic away from the affected area.
“Right, I’m going inside to find out when the drains are getting unblocked. Can I trust you two to keep things safe out here?” Driver Dave asked.
They both nodded in agreement and watched Driver Dave go through the glass doors.
Suddenly there was a really loud noise and a strong breeze coming from behind them. Cornelius Cone and Bennie Barrier turned around and saw a propeller aeroplane lift off of the ground and disappear into the clouds in the sky.
“Wow” said Bennie. “Have you ever seen anything like that?”
“That’s nothing” a voice called out from behind them. “The jumbo jets are much louder.”
Cornelius Cone and Bennie Barrier both turned around to see a grey suitcase on wheels near the entrance to the building.
“Who are you?” Cornelius asked.
The suitcase laughed. “I’m Susie, Susie Suitcase. I haven’t seen you here before. Who are you? Are you lost?”
“I’m Cornelius Cone and this is my friend Bennie Barrier. We are working with the maintenance team to ensure that everyone is kept safe whilst the drains are unblocked and the rain water can be safely drained away” Cornelius explained.
“What are you doing here?” Are you travelling somewhere?” Bennie Barrier asked.
“I’m going to France for some sunshine and to see the sights” Susie Suitcase replied.
“That sounds amazing. I’ve never been to France before” Cornelius added.
“Monsieur Cone, parlez-vous Français?” Susie asked.
Cornelius looked at her confused.
“I asked if you could speak any French” Susie laughed.
At that moment, Driver Dave came back.
“The drainage workers have been delayed. I’ll have to go on to another job. Can I trust you both to keep everything under control here?”
Cornelius Cone and Bennie Barrier agreed to look after the site until Driver Dave came back and they watched him leave in his maintenance truck. The rain was getting heavier as they watched Susie Suitcase go into the airport building.
“It’s not fair” Bennie Barrier complained.
“What isn’t?”
“Susie and all those others get to go on nice holidays whilst we’re stuck out here in the rain.”
“Maybe we can get out of the rain for a while” Cornelius replied.
“Driver Dave is trusting us” Bennie reminded him.
“I know, but he didn’t say anything about staying out of the rain did he? Come on” Cornelius replied before heading inside.
When they entered the airport, they saw lots of screens with writing on, people rushing around in different directions and they spotted Susie Suitcase stepping on to a black belt next to a lady who was typing something on to a computer screen.
“Look, there she is” Cornelius said as he grabbed Bennie Barrier’s hand and led him over towards Susie.
The lady placed a long label around Susie Suitcase’s handle just as Cornelius and Bennie arrived. They stepped on to the belt.
“What are you two doing here?” Susie asked.
“Cornelius wanted to see you...” Bennie replied but before he could finish what he was saying, the belt moved really fast and Susie, Cornelius and Bennie disappeared behind a black curtain before being hit over the head with a metal object.
It was a few hours later when Cornelius & Bennie woke up.
“Oh, I have such a headache” Cornelius complained.
“What happened? I feel like I’ve been asleep for a very long time” Bennie replied.
A loud voice was calling out: “Tous les passagers partent par la sortie principale!”
“Cornelius, I don’t think we’re in England anymore” Bennie stated worriedly.
“Where’s Susie?”
They both looked around.
“She’s gone. We need to find our way out of here” Bennie replied.
They walked out of the building and saw a line of white cars lined up outside.
“Taxi à Paris monsieur” a man asked them.
“Do you speak English?” Cornelius asked.
“Je parle anglais, yes I do” the man replied.
“Oh good, Where are we?”
The man looked confused. “Why monsieur, you are in Paris.”
Cornelius looked at Bennie Barrier. “We are in big trouble now.”
Cornelius and Bennie searches their pockets and found enough money to pay the taxi driver to take them away from the airport and into the city. When they stepped out of the taxi, they looked on with amazement at the huge steel tower in front of them.
“I’ve always wanted to see the Eiffel Tower” Cornelius stated.
“This is no time for sightseeing” Bennie insisted. “We need to go to the embassy and find out how we can get home.”
As they walked towards the embassy, Cornelius stopped and looked around. He thought he heard a voice that he recognised. An English voice.
“So I told him not to eat the French fish as it is Poisson” the voice laughed.
“Is that why we had to have those long sandwiches dad?”
“Yeh, I gave him plenty of stick with that too.”
Cornelius approached the family that were sat at the table outside the cafe.
“I’d recognise those terrible jokes anywhere.”
The man turned around and smiled. “Oh my goodness, my friend Cornelius Cone. What brings you all the way to Paris?”
“A long story Pete but I’m so happy to see a friendly face. Bennie’s gone to get some help from the embassy but we really need to get home. Can you help us?”
Pete looked over at his wife Maddie and his son Tom.
“Well you’re in luck. We’re having breakfast here before driving to Calais and joining the 6pm train back to London. You’ll have to squeeze in the back but I’m sure we can fit you in.”
It was almost midnight by the time Cornelius & Bennie arrived back at the airport. They thanked Pete for the lift and headed around the terminal to find the rest of the team. The cones and barriers had their lights on and had begun to fall asleep. There was a sign posted on the door entering the terminal for missing cones and barriers.
Cornelius laughed. “Well that’s one adventure I’ll never forget.
“Thank goodness we found Postman Pete out there” Bennie added.
Christopher Cone saw them approaching. “Dave wants a word with you two.”
“I can explain...” Cornelius began before he heard some shouting and banging coming from the back of the terminal.
Bennie and Cornelius walked round the corner and noticed a grey suitcase walking around the lost property area looking very wet, tired and angry.
“I should be in a five star apartment with scented candles filling my lungs but no, I’m stuck in a soggy airport because two road workers stole my boarding pass! Grrrrr!!!” Susie complained as she kicked a metal bin.
“You know what they say Cornelius...”
“What’s that Bennie?”
“Chasing after girls will get you into trouble!!”
See you in the next adventure!!
Hello everyone, glad you're still with us. What an amazing story that was. Thank goodness Postman Pete was around to help Cornelius and Bennie get back home again. Now let's bring things right up to date with the first Ebook of 2021, The Tale Of Perry Painter's Purple Park.
Cornelius Cone: The Tale Of Perry Painter’s Purple Park
The sun slowly began to rise across The New Forest as Bertie Bin picked up an orange polystyrene tray before emptying the remains of a chicken kebab into his mouth.
“Paarrrrrppp!”
“Bertie, you really are disgusting!” Bella Bin complained as she turned and walked away towards the opposite side of the park.
“Better out than in, I always say!” Bertie Bin laughed.
“I really don’t know how you can eat that stuff. Have you ever considered going on to a healthier diet?” Rita Red Bin asked.
“No, I enjoy my see food diet Rita. There’s very few limits there. I see food and I eat it!” Bertie Bin replied.
“Good morning” Cornelius Cone called out cheerfully as he jogged through Bluebell Park with Bennie Barrier following closely behind.
“Good morning Cornelius, I apologise for the extra pollution in the air this morning. Bertie can’t seem to control his gas supply” Bella Bin replied.
“He’ll need to control it later,” Rita Red Bin added.
“Oh yes, I heard that the park is getting a makeover!” Bennie Barrier said as the two friends stopped by the park entrance.
“Well I wouldn’t call it a makeover Bennie,” Bella Bin replied. “They’ve got someone from the city coming over to repaint the benches, the bandstand and create a new cycle path alongside the main path. I blame those children at Crazy Cara’s Fishing Protest. If they hadn’t knocked over old Grandma Mullet then we would never have needed these new cycle paths. It’s going to ruin the look of the park for those of us who come here to enjoy nature.”
“Grandma Mullet?” Bennie Barrier asked.
“Yes, Mr Mullet, the supermarket manager’s mum. She was knocked over and broke her arm. Ever since then, Mr Mullet has been nagging the council to do something to separate the people from the cyclists” Cornelius Cone replied.
“So who is doing the job? Dave never mentioned anything last night?” Bennie Barrier asked.
“Someone called Perry” Bella Bin replied.
“Perry Painter?” Rita Red Bin asked.
“Yes, do you know him?” Bella Bin replied.
“Let’s just say I know of him.”
“We’ll leave you to it” Cornelius Cone replied before he continued his run down Purlieu Court with Bennie Barrier following close behind.
Cornelius Cone also knew Perry Painter very well. Only a few weeks ago, Cornelius and his team had been sent into the city to help a new group of bollards create a new cycle path in and out of the city centre. All was fine until Perry firstly arrived on the wrong side of the dual carriageway first and then, after realising his mistake, he went to drive away without locking the tailgate on his truck which led to several containers of red paint spilling all over the road creating a huge traffic jam for Cornelius and the bollards to sort out.
As they continued their run down Purlieu Court, the door to the ice cream parlour opened and a blur of black fur shot out of the door heading straight for Bennie Barrier. Bennie managed to leap into the air just in time before stumbling into the metal railings next to Trevor Traffic Light’s junction.
“Sorry Bennie!” Mr Wallace called out as he rushed over to clip Pedro Pug back on to his lead. “I don’t know what’s got into him lately. Ever since we had that painter over to repaint the park at Gang Warily, Pedro’s become so aggressive.”
“Do you think there’s something in the paint?” Bennie Barrier asked.
“I think Pugs are creatures of habit. Everything at the park is purple now. The railings, the benches, the paths, even the bins. Everything looks the same and anything that’s reflective and attractive, he makes a run for it.”
“Isn’t that the park where Dusty Bin and Bottle Bin live?” Cornelius Cone asked.
“Yes, now nobody knows which one is used for recycling or general waste and bottle bin keeps feeling terribly poorly when she is given the wrong food.”
“What a load of rubbish!” Trevor Traffic Light called out. “When I started out working around here, there was one big bin for everything. Big Bobby they used to call him. Nothing like these days when you need one bin for plastic, one for food, one for glass, one for tins, one for ketchup bottles, one for yoghurt pots. If old Bobby was here, he’d show them bins a thing or two.”
“I never knew you were such an expert on bins Trevor!” Mr Wallace replied.
“Well, I try to keep myself up to date with things in the community” Trevor Traffic Light replied. “You never know when a mere scrap of information could be useful.”
“I heard Troy, the new traffic light helped the residents in Lyndhurst when their power went out over the weekend. He’s a very intelligent young man. Maybe one day he’ll be looking after his own junction too” Cornelius Cone added.
Trevor Traffic Light huffed. “Hmm, too intelligent sometimes.”
At that moment, the paperboy zoomed across Trevor’s pedestrian crossing before skidding his bike to a stop next to the newsagents entrance.
“Oi!” Trevor Traffic Light shouted. “Wait for my signal!”
“Sorry Trev, I’m running late!” the paperboy shouted as he sprinted into the newsagents shop.
“Enjoy the rest of your run,” Mr Wallace said as he began walking away with Pedro Pug close behind him.
Cornelius Cone and Bennie Barrier continued their run down Purlieu Court before turning into Noads Way and then back towards the industrial estate. As they came to the end of Noads Way, they heard a howl echoing from inside the back of a red van.
“Come on Max, it’s not that bad. I’ve shut my fingers in the door before and still finished delivering my round” Postman Pete explained.
“Good morning Pete!” Bennie Barrier called out.
Postman Pete looked up. “Oh, good morning Bennie, good morning Cornelius! Do you have any idea how to help a dachshund with a poorly paw?”
“Grrr,” Max growled. “I wouldn’t have a poorly paw if you hadn’t dropped a parcel on my paw! How can I take Millie to the dog park tonight with only three working paws. They’ll tease me, call me a tripod and say horrible things to me, I know it!”
Postman Pete tried not to laugh. “So, what are you boys up to today?”
“Not much really,” Cornelius Cone replied. “The Maintenance Team doesn't have any work until tomorrow so we’re helping Hugo with a few jobs that need doing around the yard.”
“Ah yes, I heard about him. He’s the one who stole the cake from the hotel.”
“Yes, but he’s replaced it and he did it to try and help some other people who are homeless too. Dave agreed to let him stay with us for a while so he can get a job and find himself somewhere to live” Cornelius Cone explained.
“That’s very kind of you Cornelius” Max replied. “Whenever I steal anything from the washing basket, I get sent outside in the cold and wet weather.”
“That’s because your owners don’t want their underwear ripped or shown off to the neighbours” Postman Pete replied as he picked up a parcel next to where Max was sitting.
“You always tell everyone about that. It was only once after I ate too much at Christmas and became hyperactive.”
“Have you tried exercising that paw Max? We’re having a slow jog back to the yard if you want to join us?” Bennie Barrier asked.
“I can pick you up in about an hour when I start my delivery over there” Postman Pete added.
Max stretched out his paw, twirled it around and then leapt out of the back of the van and on to the path next to Bennie and Cornelius.
“Maximus McWoofington the third is ready for action!” he woofed.
“Thank you both, I’m so far behind this morning but hopefully now I can catch up without Max” Postman Pete replied.
“I thought dogs were meant to be a man’s best friend?” Cornelius Cone said.
“They are, but as my german friend keeps telling me, dachshunds are the wurst” Postman Pete laughed as he closed the back door of his van and walked over to number 39 to deliver a parcel.
Bennie Barrier and Cornelius Cone continued their run back to the yard with Max, the dachshund, following closely behind.
Meanwhile at Bluebell Park, a rusty truck with multicoloured paint splatters all over it had parked on the verge just outside the park entrance causing the traffic to slowly manoeuvre its way around the truck. Perry Painter stepped out of the driver’s seat and opened the tailgate at the back of the truck before lifting two huge containers of paint out of the truck. He walked over to the nearest park bench and placed them on the path in front of it before heading back to his truck for the rest of his equipment. Bertie Bin looked on nervously as he quickly finished the remains of his bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich.
Back at The Maintenance Yard, Hugo was clearing out the contents of Larry Ladder’s shed. There were half filled tins of paint in various colours, paint brushes and rollers, broken spades, two gardening forks with missing parts, the old leaf blower, a toolbox of rusty tools and some old box files filled with paperwork from years of jobs completed by the team.
“Wow, when did you last have any kind of clear out Larry?” Hugo asked. “There’s things in here from the 1990’s!”
“I’ve been meaning to do it for a long time now but I never had the chance until now. The yard gate needs repainting as it’s looking a little flaky these days. Are any of those paints still usable? What colours are they?” Larry Ladder asked.
Hugo opened some of the lids. “We have blue, green, red, black and white.”
“Well at least it’ll be colourful” Larry laughed.
At that moment, Bennie Barrier and Cornelius Cone returned with Max, the dachshund, close behind them.
“New pet Cornelius?” Hugo asked.
“I’m nobody’s pet” Max growled. “My name is Maximus McWoofington the third, named after my great-grandfather you know.”
“Oh right, sorry. I, erm,” Hugo stuttered.
Bennie Barrier and Cornelius Cone laughed.
“Don’t worry about Max,” Bennie Barrier replied. “He’s a friend of our local postie, Postman Pete.”
Christopher, Caroline and Chloe (Bubbles) cone came out into the yard as Cornelius Cone walked over to the leaf blower that Hugo had removed from Larry’s shed.
“Does this thing still work?” Cornelius asked as he climbed up on to the driving seat.
“I think so,” Larry Ladder replied. “It probably needs plugging in to charge the batteries first.”
“Mum, what’s that dirty old thing over there?” Chloe Cone asked.
“That is your uncle Cornelius, Chloe, please show him some respect” Christopher Cone replied before Caroline Cone slapped his arm for being silly.
“It’s a leaf blower,” Caroline Cone explained. “Instead of sweeping up all of the leaves in the autumn, the machine can either blow the leaves away into the ditches or suck them up like a hoover into a huge bag so they can be emptied into the bin. I don’t think that one has been used for years though.”
Christopher Cone walked over and picked up the plug before walking back into the covered area of the yard where the electric sockets were.
“Christopher! I need to check that…” Larry Ladder shouted but it was too late.
With a big flash of orange light and a loud pop, as Christopher turned the plug socket on, the leaf blower short circuited the electricity supply in The Maintenance Yard. Mrs Cook came running out of the kitchen waving her rolling pin in the air to find out what had happened.
“Ooops!” Christopher Cone said before moving away from the plug.
Hugo walked over and switched the plug socket off and removed the leaf blower’s plug from the socket.
“What’s happened? I was baking a chocolate fudge cake and then no power!” Mrs Cook complained.
“Christopher blew a fuse,” Larry Ladder replied as he turned the power back on at the fuse box.
The lights in the covered area of the yard came back on and the whir of the dishwasher could be heard from the kitchen again. Without another word, Mrs Cook turned around and returned to her kitchen.
“Can you fix the leaf blower?” Christopher Cone asked.
“Of course,” Hugo replied. “Do you keep any spare fuses around here?”
“I think there’s some in the cabinet in the back of my shed or Driver Dave will have some in his office” Larry Ladder replied,
Hugo went out to the office to look for a new fuse. At that moment, the doorbell rang at the yard gate. Larry Ladder looked over the top of the gate to see who was there.
“Hello Larry, do you have Max there with you?” Postman Pete asked.
Max, the dachshund, heard Pete’s voice and immediately ran towards the gate. Larry opened the side gate and Cornelius Cone, Bennie Barrier and Max walked out to meet Postman Pete.
“I would stay well clear of Bluebell Park if I were you” Postman Pete chuckled as he handed over the letters for the yard.
“Oh really, why is that?” Cornelius Cone asked.
“The bins are all overflowing and feeling very ill. The men in the dust cart couldn’t work out which ones needed emptying so they’ve been left to sort themselves out.”
“Surely it’s obvious, Bella is green for recycling, Rita is red for dog waste and Bertie is blue for anything else” Bennie Barrier replied.
“They were before Perry Painter arrived.”
“Oh no, what’s he done now?” Cornelius Cone asked.
Meanwhile at Bluebell Park, a freshly purple painted Bertie Bin was picking bags of dog waste and empty water bottles out of his bin. A freshly purple painted Bella Bin was leaning over the freshly purple painted park bench with a very bad stomach ache. The remains of somebody’s curry sauce and chips, Tandoori Chicken sandwich and Hoisin Duck wrap were struggling to settle in her bin. A freshly purple painted Rita was examining the remains of a Cheese and Onion packet of crisps whilst Perry Painter continued painting the new cyclepath on the park’s pathways.
“Excuse me!” Mrs Quilliam called out to Perry Painter.
Perry had his earphones placed in his ears and he didn’t hear Mrs Quilliam calling him.
“Excuse me!” Mrs Quilliam shouted again.
Perry looked over at her and pulled one of his earphones out of his ear.
“Yeh?”
“Which bin is the recycling bin? They all look the same.”
“How should I know? I’m only the painter. Use any of them” Perry snapped before placing his earphones back in his ear.
“How rude,” Mrs Quilliam huffed before walking over to where the three bins were gathered.
Mrs Quilliam noticed a bag of dog waste and some empty bottles in the first bin and she went to add her empty water bottle to it.
“Please, please, no more bottles. I have really bad indigestion” Bertie Bin complained.
“Bertie? Is that you?” Mrs Quilliam asked.
“Yes, please give your bottles to Bella Bin. She’s over by the bench.”
Bella Bin was still leaning over the side of the park bench with a stomach ache. At that moment, there was a loud thud, thud, thud as Perry Painter reloaded his truck with his remaining paint tins and equipment before climbing into his truck and driving away. As they watched Perry leave, they saw a group of cones and barriers walking down the path towards Bluebell Park. As they arrived at the park, Cornelius Cone looked around in disbelief. Christopher Cone, Caroline Cone and Bennie Barrier all carried tins of paint and paint brushes whilst Hugo, Larry Ladder and Cinnamon Cone were wearing rubber gloves and carrying bin bags.
“Please, no more painting today” Bella Bin called out. “We’ve had enough.”
Chloe Cone wandered over towards the path by the bandstand. As she walked across the newly painted cyclepath onto the bandstand, she left a trail of purple footprints behind her.
“Perry didn’t even block it off until it was dry!” Chloe Cone called out.
Caroline Cone walked over with some old rags and wiped the paint off of Chloe’s shoes before telling her to go back to the yard and ask Bryony Barrier to bring some hazard tape and metal poles back to the park. Meanwhile, Hugo moved the three bins on to the grass and the team emptied each of the bins into three separate rubbish bags divided into recycling, animal waste and general waste. All three bins breathed a sigh of relief after the contents of their bins were removed. Christopher Cone then stood in front of Bertie Bin and opened a tin of blue paint. Caroline Cone opened a tin of green paint in front of Bella Bin and Bennie Barrier opened a tin of red paint in front of Rita.
The team worked together to repaint the bins in their correct colours whilst Cornelius Cone, Bryony Barrier and Chloe Cone inserted some metal poles into the ground a few meters apart before tying some red and white hazard tape around each pole and then unrolling the tape to link them together to discourage anyone from walking on the newly painted cyclepaths.
When the repainting was all finished, Bennie, Christopher and Caroline used the remaining paint to cover over Chloe’s footprints from earlier giving the bandstand three decorative red, blue and green steps at its front.
“Thank you so much, all of you” Bella Bin said as someone walked by and placed an empty bottle in her bin.
“I will never tease the children again,” Bertie Bin added.
“What children?” Hugo asked.
“Dusty Bin and Bottle Bin, Bertie and Bella’s younger bins work at Gang Warily Park a few miles from here. Perry Painter did the same thing at their park a few weeks ago” Cornelius Cone explained.
“He really is terrible at his job isn’t he” Chloe Cone giggled.
“He probably thinks everyone wants everything to match. It is a bit too much purple though” Larry Ladder admitted.
“That reminds me Larry, didn’t you volunteer us to Driver Dave to repaint the yard gate this weekend?” Hugo asked.
“You could always ask Perry” Rita Red Bin teased as Larry picked up the rubbish bags to throw into the dumpsters outside the yard.
“I think one painting disaster is enough for one week Rita” Larry replied as he headed back towards the yard with the rest of the team following him.
At that moment, Bertie Bin quickly moved over to the park bench to retrieve the remains of somebody’s chip shop lunch.
“Oh my, I don’t think I could face any more curry sauce and chips today” Bella Bin complained.
“No curry here!” Bertie Bin replied. “Half a Steak and Kidney pie though if you’re interested?”
“An hour ago he was half dying!” Bennie Barrier laughed. “Now look at him…”
“Whatever colour you paint him, Bertie will always follow his stomach” Cornelius Cone added.
PAAARRRRPP!
Bertie Bin looked over at them briefly before devouring the remainder of his pie and chips.
“If only he could brush up on his manners! Whatever colour he is, we could roll with that!” Bella Bin replied and they all laughed.
See you in the next adventure!!
Hello everyone, well that Bertie Bin is a smelly little fellow whatever colour he gets painted. Now I know a lot of us are feeling glum about the lockdowns but how did Cornelius Cone feel when there was no work for them to do in the first lockdown? Let's find out...
Cornelius Cone: The Tale Of The Lockdown
The sun shone through the windows at the back of the Maintenance Yard as Cornelius and the rest of the cones began their morning stroll around the yard.
It had been a strange month. There was no work for anybody. The cones had to stay together on one side of the yard whilst all the barriers and machines stayed on the opposite side. Even when they went outside the yard they were only allowed out for an hour per day.
Cornelius was getting bored but he liked seeing all of the rainbows displayed in the windows of all of the houses as he took his daily stroll. He saw his friend Bennie Barrier taking another wash in the cool off zone before putting on his gloves.
“What are you going to do today Bennie?”
“I have to go to the supermarket to block off a loose drain cover. There’s so many people queuing around the car park, something is bound to happen if we don’t sort it out fast” Bennie Barrier replied.
“I thought Driver Dave was isolating at home so we can’t go out and work anywhere?”
“We can only go out if it’s an emergency and the supermarket think it is an emergency. It’s so strange seeing everyone wearing those silly masks and gloves. I saw one person with her underwear wrapped around her head and face last week!”
“We have to be careful until all this is under control again and we can go back to work” Cornelius replied. “I wish I was needed on an emergency job. It’s getting so boring here.”
“Why don’t you join us? If you leave now we can meet you there.”
Cornelius thought about it before checking that his other cone friends had not overheard their conversation.
“Ok, you’re on. But how can I get out? The gates won’t open until half past ten.”
Bennie smiled. “Bubbles, the baby cone has made a hole in the fence at the top corner of the yard. It’s too small for us barriers but I’m sure you would fit through it. Take a walk down there and see for yourself. I’ll distract the others.”
Cornelius was worried. He had been on many adventures before but this new lockdown had changed everything. He wondered when he would see his friends again. Yes he had the other cones but what about Postman Pete, Lily Lollipop, Bella and Bertie Bin, Tricia Trolley, Wet Floor. He even missed Doorman Dan even if he did act a little strange. Surely it wouldn’t matter if he was only out for a little while. He was working with Bennie. Just like old times. If anyone asked questions he could tell them that.
Cornelius washed his hands, picked up a bottle of hand sanitiser and his gloves and headed off down the yard to where Bennie had told him about the gap in the fence.
Cornelius managed to squeeze through the gap, he walked across the field towards the industrial estate before heading towards Bluebell Park. The whole village seemed too quiet. He saw Mr Wallace walking his Pug Pedro on the opposite side of the road but nobody else was around. He turned right on to Roman Road and continued towards the supermarket.
As he was walking, Cornelius noticed a red van parked half way down the road. He knew it belonged to his friend Postman Pete and he heard a lot of banging and muttering coming from the other side of the van. Cornelius stopped, checked left and right, then left and right again before crossing the road towards the van. He was very careful when crossing the road. His friend Trevor Traffic Light was always reminding him of the rules of the road.
As he approached the van he saw a huge pile of parcels on top of the Postman’s trolley with two overflowing bags strapped to each side.
“Good morning Pete!” Cornelius called out.
Cornelius heard a thud on the roof of the van and the pile of parcels toppled over on to the floor.
“Oh it’s you Cornelius,” Postman Pete gasped. “You scared the life out of me.”
“I’m so sorry Pete, let me help you with all those parcels.”
“No, no, it’s ok. You need to keep two meters away from me so I’ll pick them all up. It’s so busy with everyone using internet shopping it’s hard for us all to keep up with them. What are you doing out and about, I thought you were still isolating at the yard?”
“I, I, I’m helping Bennie Barrier at the supermarket” Cornelius stammered. “There’s a loose drain cover and you know what happens when holes are left unattended. Did you hear about Sam? He fell down a hole in the street then slipped over in the supermarket on the same day as he was looking at his phone instead of where he was going?”
“Does he play golf?” Pete asked.
“No, not that I know of, Why?”
“Well it sounds like he scored a hole in one!”
Cornelius laughed before continuing on his way. As he looked back he noticed Pete was putting on a mask and wearing gloves as he locked his van and started delivering. Yes, things are very different these days.
When Cornelius arrived at the supermarket, he was amazed by what he saw. There was a huge queue of people standing two meters apart with their trollies but the queue was spread all of the way around the car park. There was a man in a yellow high visibility vest directing everybody towards the supermarket entrance.
Cornelius saw Driver Dave’s Maintenance Truck parked near the side of the supermarket and saw Bennie Barrier and his friends being unloaded ready for work.
As Cornelius began to head towards them he felt what he thought was a baseball bat on his shoulder.
“‘Ello, ‘Ello, what do we ‘ave ‘ere then?” a man asked.
As Cornelius turned around he saw his friend PC Page behind him.
“Oh thank goodness it’s you.”
“Cornelius Cone, you know you shouldn’t be in a public place unless you are a key worker” PC Page said.
“I’m working with them” Cornelius pointed towards where Bennie Barrier and the rest of the team were.
“Then please stay with your team and remember to stay two meters apart. If you have to work closer, wear one of these.”
PC Page handed Cornelius a face mask. Cornelius thanked him and continued walking over towards the Maintenance Truck.
“Cornelius,” Driver Dave called out. “What are you doing here?”
“I, I, I thought you might need some help.”
“No we’re almost done here. You’re a long way from the yard. Do you want a lift back?”
Cornelius sighed. “No, it’s ok. I’ll make my own way there.”
“Well don’t stay out too long. We need you to stay fit and healthy in case we have another emergency.”
Cornelius felt a little sad. He wanted to be really useful but there was still nothing left to do. Bennie Barrier watched his friend as he began walking over towards Bluebell Park. If only there was some way that he could make Cornelius feel needed.
Cornelius was just leaving the car park when he heard someone coughing. He looked across towards the supermarket and saw Tricia Trolley being pushed towards the storage sheds around the side of the building. She was still coughing a lot and there was someone wearing a mask, hat, gloves and plastic apron pushing her.
“Hey!! Stop!! Where are you taking her?” Cornelius called out as he headed towards Tricia.
When the man turned around, Cornelius realises he was Checkout Charlie.
“Hello Cornelius, sorry to worry you. Tricia isn’t feeling very well. She has a cough and a high temperature so we need to keep her isolated so she doesn’t make the other trolleys and customers ill” Charlie explained.
“But you can’t keep her in a small dark shed. Let me take her to the recycling plant. They’ll know what to do.”
“No Cornelius (cough, cough)” Tricia replied. “I have to isolate for a week (cough, cough) and if I come with you then I might make you ill too.”
“She’s right Cornelius, go home. We all have to look after ourselves until all this is over and things go back to normal” Checkout Charlie said.
Cornelius Cone felt sad but he understood what Checkout Charlie was saying. He wandered back up Applemore Hill and into Bluebell Park. Even Bertie and Bella Bin were standing at opposite sides of the park. What is happening to everybody? How can everything change so quickly?
Cornelius was getting confused. He quickly made his way out of the park and headed towards Purlieu Court. Maybe Trevor Traffic Light could help explain things a little more. When Cornelius arrived at Purlieu Court though, he noticed that someone had placed yellow spots on the floor and more people were queuing to get into the shops and they were standing on these yellow spots.
Lost in his thoughts, Cornelius wandered on towards the ice cream parlour. The sun was shining and Cornelius was getting hot. He was looking forward to his favourite ice cream, Strawberry Cheesecake flavour.
“STOP!!” Trevor Traffic Light boomed.
Cornelius Cone leapt into the air.
“Cornelius Cone, you should know better than walking out on to a main road when I’m not showing my WALK sign!!” Trevor said.
Cornelius quickly stepped back on to the path and waved his hand to the lady driving the car who had to stop quickly to avoid him.
“Sorry Trevor, I was thinking of my Strawberry Cheesecake ice cream that I’m going to have. It’s so hot today” Cornelius explained.
“I’m afraid your out of luck Cornelius. The ice cream parlour is closed during lockdown. It’s too risky for them to safely work at the moment so the staff are staying home with their families.”
Cornelius sighed. “It’s not fair. None of my friends can see me. I can’t have an ice cream. My job doesn’t have any work for me. Tricia Trolley is locked in a shed. Bertie and Bella Bin are ignoring each other. We’re separated in our yard and I haven’t had a decent adventure for weeks!”
“But feel your chest Cornelius” Trevor said. “Can you feel that? Your heart is beating. You are strong. You are healthy. You are lucky to have what you have. So go back to the yard. Play a game. Read a book. Watch some TV. Listen to some music. This time will pass and when it does, all of your friends will be there to see you. You’ll have your adventures again. Dave will be taking you out on jobs again. You can hug Tricia Trolley again. But for now, go home and stay safe. A lot of people can’t do that. You’re the lucky one.”
“You’re right Trevor. Thank you. I will see my friends again soon. But what about you? You’re staying outside all day everyday? What about Postman Pete? Or Checkout Charlie?”
“We’re key workers Cornelius. We have to stay out and help others. All of the doctors and nurses have to stay out and look after us and make us all better again. Charlie needs to make sure everyone can buy their food in the supermarket. Pete needs to deliver what people can’t get for themselves. Remember what I told my niece Tallulah Traffic Light. If you work as a team, anything is possible. Go home and protect yourself and your friends Cornelius. It will be worth it in the end.”
Cornelius thanked Trevor Traffic Light and when his WALK light was on, he crossed the road, walked down Purlieu Court and headed back towards the industrial estate and his home at the Maintenance Yard.
When he arrived back at the yard, he walked through the main gate and saw Bennie Barrier guiding the rest of the team away from the truck and into the wash down area.
“Come on Cornelius, it’s your turn for a wash down then we have Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream and a film about someone who is left at home when his family go away on holiday!!” Bennie Barrier called out.
“How did you... the ice cream parlour is closed” Cornelius said.
“Checkout Charlie saw how upset you were about Tricia being isolated so he brought out some Strawberry Cheesecake ice cream and gave it to Driver Dave to bring home for us. Tricia told him it was your favourite.”
Cornelius Cone smiled. Even though they had to stay at home for now, he knew his friends would still be there when everything goes back to normal and Tricia Trolley is one of his best friends.
See you in the next adventure!!
Hello everyone, glad you could join me. What an amazing selection of adventures we've had so far. Now this one is the first story that our second author John Roberts wrote and it is the first time Cornelius Cone and Bennie Barrier meet. Interested? Let's take a look inside...
Cornelius Cone: The Tale Of The Missing Cone
The yard lights gave everyone a fright when they shone brightly in the dark night. Cornelius was sleeping and woke up when he heard voices. After a few minutes, the lights were turned off again but as he started to go back to sleep, he could hear someone talking in the distance.
He walked around the corner and noticed a long reflective barrier with red and white stripes. As he walked over, the talking stopped.
“Hello, is anyone there?” Cornelius asked.
“No, nobody here” a voice replied.
“Well there must be or who is talking to me?”
“I have a headache, please don’t talk to me tonight.”
Cornelius was confused. He walked closer and in the light of the moon, he could see the reflective barrier was very upset.
“I’m Cornelius, I haven’t seen you here before. What’s your name?”
“I’m Bennie, Bennie Barrier. I work on the roads like you warning people about any holes that have been made so people don’t fall into them. I was by a playground and some children kept pushing me over. I didn’t mind playing the first few times but they kept pushing me over and over again. It’s not very nice when you don’t want to play that game anymore. Now I have broken parts and I will probably not be allowed out to play any more.”
“Don’t worry, I’m sure there are ways that you can be fixed. There’s never a problem that doesn’t have a solution. My friend Mike Microwave lost his ding and thought he’d never be in a kitchen again. I heard last week that he’s now working in a local cafe in town and enjoying himself again.”
“I don’t want to go back outside again. They will keep pushing me over. Every time I get up they push me down again and laugh” Bennie sighed.
Cornelius thought about his old friend Christopher Cone and how he was found on top of a lamppost after being missing all night long.
“Come with me Bennie, I want to show you something.”
Cornelius and Bennie moved to the other side of the yard. They could hear some soft snoring in the distance. As the moon shone through the tall wire fences at the far side of the yard, Bennie saw two adult cones and one baby cone together in their shed.
“See those three cones there Bennie, that’s my friend Christopher, his wife Caroline and baby Bubbles. Caroline came to me very worried a few weeks ago as Christopher never came home with the rest of us. We thought he had been left behind without a light on his head. All kinds of things can happen to a cone if they’re out on their own at night. Anyway, luckily enough, Dave, our driver, found him on top of a lamp post on his way home after work. If we all stick together we make a great team.”
Bennie thought about what Cornelius had said. “Why did they call their baby cone Bubbles?”
“Because when we were all working on a farm, we all came home very muddy and Driver Dave washed us all off and Bubbles kept blowing soap bubbles from the top of her cone after having a wash so now they call her Bubbles.”
At that point, the lights came on again & Driver Dave was collecting up all of the cones to go on to the maintenance truck. He picked up three barriers and placed them alongside the cones before looking at Bennie. Driver Dave picked Bennie up, clicked a few of his joints back into place & then placed him next to Cornelius in the back of the truck before locking the tailgate and climbing into the truck.
Bennie looked around as they headed out into the night. “I didn’t even have a chance to have some supper.”
“It must be something important. Driver Dave never takes us out this late at night” Cornelius replied.
Soon they stopped outside the supermarket and there was a strange smell in the air.
“I don’t like this Cornelius,” Bennie said nervously.
Driver Dave opened the tailgate and lifted the barriers and cones out.
“Wow, how did the river end up here?” Bennie asked as he was placed across the road to stop the traffic from coming through.
“It’s not the river Bennie, it’s petrol. There’s been a leak from the petrol station over there and it’s spread to the supermarket” Cornelius explained.
Driver Dave placed headlights on to the heads of each cone as they diverted traffic away from the spillage. It was then that Cornelius heard a distant voice calling his name. He looked over towards the trolley bay and saw Tricia Trolley. She looked very worried. Cornelius left his position at the front of the line of cones and walked over towards Tricia.
“Oh Corny, I’m so worried. I haven’t seen Wet Floor since he was called to the petrol station and now there’s all this mess, I hope he’s ok”
“I’m sure he’ll be fine. We’re all here now and everything’s under control. What happened here?” Cornelius asked.
“The tanker came to deliver petrol and one of the connections came loose. Now no one will want to push me around the supermarket with smelly petrol all over my wheels.”
Cornelius tried to calm Tricia but he heard Driver Dave calling him. “I’ll keep a lookout for Wet Floor but I need to go back to my post at the front of the line” he explained.
As night turned into day, everyone worked hard to clean up the spillage. Cornelius watched as Trevor traffic light stopped the cars on their morning journeys into town and allowed people to cross the road safely. Over in the park, he saw Bertie Bin and Bella being fed wrappers and plastic bottles as everyone continued on their daily journeys. He wanted to go and say hello to his old friends but he knew he’d be in trouble if he left his position again.
By the end of the day, the cones and barriers were very tired as Driver Dave collected them all up to take them back to the yard. Tricia called over to Cornelius again but he still hadn’t seen Wet Floor around the petrol station all day. As he ran to catch up with the maintenance truck before it left without him, he promised to keep a lookout on his travels.
When they arrived back at the yard, everyone was very tired & went back into their own corners to have some well-deserved sleep. As the lights went out, Cornelius saw something yellow trembling in the corner. He gave Bennie a nudge. “Bennie, Bennie Barrier, wake up. What’s that in the corner.”
Bennie rubbed his eyes and saw the yellow cone in the corner of the yard. As they slowly approached, they noticed he had a dustpan and a brush in his hands. “Don’t come any closer. I knew I’d be sent away after I missed Sam slipping on aisle eight. Tricia said I was overreacting but...”
“Wet Floor?” Cornelius asked.
The yellow cone stopped and looked at him. “Are you Corny?”
“Corny?” Bennie Barrier asked.
“Tricia Trolley calls me Corny. You must be Wet Floor. What are you doing here?” Cornelius asked.
“I, I, oh dear. It was nearly the end of my shift and I was called to the petrol station for a spillage and and oh there was so much. I was slipping and sliding all over the place and I was so scared that I hid on your truck and I must have fallen asleep and and, oh, I’m in so much trouble” Wet Floor sighed.
“No, you’re not. But Tricia Trolley is very worried about you. We need to get you back to the supermarket tonight” Cornelius explained.
“Tonight, but..” Bennie Barrier protested as Cornelius interrupted him.
“Remember I told you the story about Christopher Cone, we all stick together.”
“But Driver Dave would have gone home by now. How do you think we can make it to the supermarket in the dark?” Bennie Barrier asked.
“With some help from our friends, we can do anything. The supermarket is on the opposite side of town. We need to move across the industrial estate, past the recycling plant, down the hill, across the park and we’ll be on the road to the supermarket. Come on” Cornelius replied.
Bennie, Cornelius and Wet Floor walked over to the shed at the bottom of the yard. Cornelius knocked on the door but nobody answered. Christopher Cone, Caroline Cone and Bubbles were heading back to their corner of the yard.
“Christopher, Caroline, could you please help us. I need to knock on that window and get Larry Ladder’s attention.”
“Of course Cornelius, what do you want us to do?” Christopher replied.
“I need to stand on Bennie Barrier and I need you to lift him up so I can reach the window.”
“Isn’t that dangerous Cornelius?” Bennie asked. “You could fall and hurt yourself.”
Cornelius then noticed that Bubbles was playing with a football. This gave him an idea. He took aim and kicked the ball against the window.
“Hey, who is making all that noise!” Larry Ladder called out as he opened the shed door.
“Larry, we need your help. We need to help our friend get back to the supermarket” Cornelius explained.
Larry leant forward and stepped out of the shed. “I hope you’re not getting yourself into any more trouble Cornelius,” he said as he walked over to the gate.
Larry leant forward and held on to the railings so Cornelius, Bennie and Wet Floor could climb up to the top of the gate. Cornelius led them on to the wall at the side of the gate after thanking Larry. There was a dumpster full of rubbish bags on the other side.
“Come on, this is our way out” Cornelius explained as he jumped down on to the bags and then down on to the ground.
“I’m not sure about this Corny” Wet Floor worried.
“I’ll help you” Bennie replied and he held Wet Floor’s hand as they both jumped together into the rubbish bags and then on to the ground.
At the supermarket, Checkout Charlie was using a hose to wash the petrol off of Tricia Trolley’s wheels.
“Oh Charlie, I’m so worried. I haven’t seen Wet Floor since he went over to the Petrol Station for the spillage last night. What if he’s had an accident, or maybe he’s been taken away. He was so worried about not being in the right place...”
“I’ll put a missing cone notice on the board when I go back into the supermarket Tricia. Don’t you worry, I’m sure there is a simple explanation for why he’s not here” Charlie reassured her.
Tricia sighed. “I guess you’re right. Why are you outside anyway?
“The supermarket has been quiet because of the petrol spillage so we’re all cleaning to pass the time.”
Car headlights and street lamps lit up the industrial estate as Cornelius, Bennie and Wet Floor walked past the offices and the recycling plant. As they reached the main road a car pulled up alongside them and a man wound his window down.
“Hey, where are you three heading off to this time of night?” he asked.
“Just down to....” Bennie started but Cornelius interrupted him.
“Nowhere, just heading home” Cornelius replied.
“Well jump in and I’ll give you a ride.”
Bennie reached out his hand to the car door but Cornelius stopped him again.
“No thank you. We’ll make our own way. Goodnight mister” Cornelius replied before ushering Bennie and Wet Floor further along the path.
They watched the car disappear into the distance.
“Why did you say no to that nice man offering us a lift. We could be at the supermarket in no time then back home to sleep” Bennie complained.
“We don’t know him, Bennie. Remember the story I told you about Christopher Cone. We could all have ended up in that same situation and we might not be as lucky as Christopher” Cornelius explained. “You should never go anywhere with strangers. It’s dangerous.”
They continued down the road and came across the recreation ground. As they walked through the park they heard some grumbling and then a Chomp, Chomp, Burp.
“Bertie Bin, is that you?” Cornelius called out.
As they walked around the corner they saw a huge pile of bottles, wrappers and leftover food spread all over the park.
“Corny! What are you doing out here so late?” Bertie called out.
“We’re on our way to the supermarket so our friend Wet Floor can explain how he went missing earlier today. What happened here?”
“Oh, there was a party but not everyone understands why they should put their rubbish in the bins after they have used it. I feel sorry for the poor animals that might accidentally eat it before we have the chance to clear it all away. Bella is on the other side of the park collecting all the bottles and cardboard for recycling whilst I try and clear up the rest of it. My poor old joints aren’t as flexible as they used to be so I’m a bit slow at all this.”
“We can help you” Wet Floor suggested. “Cleaning up mess is what I do best.”
Between the four of them, they managed to clear up all of the rubbish and feed it to Bertie Bin before heading over to the other side of the park and feeding all of the recycling rubbish to Bella. Both bins were so full by the time that they had finished, they sat together by the park entrance and settled down for a nap.
“Thank you all so much and good luck with your journey back to the supermarket,” Bella said as Bennie, Cornelius and Wet Floor continued on their way.
Wet Floor was looking up at the full moon. He very rarely saw the night sky and was fascinated by the stars and their patterns. Suddenly he heard a voice shout “STOP!!!”
Wet Floor leapt into the air and then realised he had accidentally walked on to a pelican crossing when the traffic light was showing the traffic a green light. Cornelius quickly pulled Wet Floor back on to the path just before a car sped past.
“You must always press my button and wait for the green WALK sign” Trevor Traffic Light explained.
“I’m so sorry Trevor. I was not concentrating on where I was going” Wet Floor replied.
They waited until the green WALK sign was shining and then Bennie, Cornelius and Wet Floor walked across the road watching for any traffic approaching as they headed for the opposite side. They continued down the road, turned right at the junction and then they finally saw the supermarket lights in the distance.
“Oh thank you so much, Corny. I couldn’t have done this without you” Wet Floor said.
As the sun began to rise behind the supermarket, Wet Floor and Tricia headed back inside to start another day leaving Bennie and Cornelius to start their journey home. As they started walking they saw a familiar truck pull up alongside them.
“Have you two been out all night?” Driver Dave asked.
They both nodded as Driver Dave opened the tailgate on his Maintenance Truck so both Bennie and Cornelius could climb in. By the time they reached the yard, they were both asleep dreaming of their next adventure together.
See you in the next adventure!!
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