Figaro and Rumba and the Crocodile Cafe

Anna Fienberg &
Stephen Michael King

First published in 2012

Copyright © Text, Anna Fienberg 2012
Copyright © Illustrations, Stephen Michael King 2012

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. The
Australian Copyright Act 1968
(the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or ten per cent of this book, whichever is the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) under the Act.

Allen & Unwin
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Crows Nest NSW 2065
Australia
Phone: (61 2) 8425 0100
Fax:     (61 2) 9906 2218
Email:  [email protected]
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www.allenandunwin.com

A Cataloguing-in-Publication entry is available
from the National Library of Australia
www.trove.nla.gov.au

ISBN 978 174237 311 9

Cover and text design by Sandra Nobes
Set in Berkeley Oldstyle by Sandra Nobes
This book was printed in May 2012 at Everbest Printing Co Ltd
in 334 Huanshi Road South, Nansha, Guangdong, China.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Contents

Chapter 1 The Plan

Chapter 2 The River

Chapter 3 The Bad Dream

Chapter 4 Mrs Foozy and
the Motorbike

Chapter 5 The Very Fast Train

Chapter 6 Crocodile Café

Chapter 1

The Plan

F
igaro woke up on Monday morning and looked out the window. He picked up his phone.

‘Hello, Rumba,' he said.

‘Figaro?' said Rumba. ‘Don't tell me you're ringing from the next room?'

‘Okay,' said Figaro. ‘I won't. But have you looked outside? It's a fabulous day.'

‘How can you see through that window of yours?' asked Rumba. ‘It hasn't been cleaned for five years. Now if
I
had that room, we'd be able to see down to the river and across to the other side. Anyway, it's going to rain.'

Figaro pushed up the window. ‘No, it's just the wind moving the clouds all about. It's a fast, rushy sort of day. I can smell Mrs Foozy and her lamb cutlets coming back from the butcher.'

‘Figaro?'

‘What?'

‘I'm going back to sleep.'

‘No, listen, Rumba, I have a great plan. Have you heard about the Very Fast Train? I want to go on it. Nate said it was the best thing. Like flying, he said.'

‘I know for a fact that thieves and villains ride that train.'