Llama Drama (6 page)

For weeks, Farmer Palmer's wife had been training Latisha to move chess pieces across a board, to count up to ten, to spell simple words, to pick out cards with the answer to questions such as:
How old are you? What's your name? What day is it?
She could even play a simple tune on a xylophone! Surely, if she won
Most Intelligent Llama,
she'd be the obvious choice for
Best Llama in Show
. Anyone with a brain must see that!

Even though the three didn't entirely deserve his support, Lewie called over, “Hey, guys! Good luck for later. Break a leg!”

Leo and Lamar stopped and turned on Lewie.

“Oh, thanks a lot!” brayed Leo. “I bet you'd love that, if we broke a leg!”

“He'd like us out of the competition,” agreed Lamar.

“Now he's the big
Guard Llama
,” scoffed Latisha.

The three llamas honked and brayed for a few minutes, working off all their own anxiety. When they finally quietened down, Liberty pointed out that Lewie had actually been trying to be nice.

“I really was,” Lewie said, stunned by their reaction. “You're all bound to win. The important thing now is just to relax and …
be yourselves
.”

The three llamas felt a little foolish. They muttered something quietly so that it barely reached Lewie, but Liberty repeated it loudly. “They said, ‘Thanks, Lewie!'”

“Good luck to you too, Liberty!” Lewie added. His sister was entered for
Best Newcomer
. “You'll knock the judge's socks off.”

Farmer Palmer arrived then to give his llamas a final groom.

He led Leo out first and as they passed Lewie's pen, Lewie leaned over and whispered in his brother's ear, “Who's the greatest? Leo's the greatest!”

Leo smiled and walked tall as he strode into the arena. He felt invincible, like a giant. He pulled and pushed weights and carried heavy loads with ease. The judges soon voted him the strongest llama in his category. It was a drag that he would have to wait until the end of the week for
Best Llama in Show
to be judged, but Leo felt confident now that the big prize would be his. He swaggered back to his pen, wearing a huge red rosette.

Lamar was led out next and Lewie gave him a smile too.

“You'll be a sensation,” he told Lamar. “Just remember to keep your head up and your bottom in.”

Lamar's large bottom wasn't his best feature. He tucked it under now and lengthened his neck. He too strode into the arena feeling like a winner. He patiently held his poses while the judges inspected his frame, his fleece and the straightness of his legs. Oh yes, he was a handsome animal all right.

Lamar returned triumphant with his own huge red rosette, his usual high opinion of himself restored. When the others asked how it had gone, Lamar answered dreamily, “Oh, I was
sensational
.”

Lewie smiled fondly; he was pleased to see his brothers' success.

Latisha was next. She was feeling the most nervous of all because she had so much more to remember.

As Latisha passed Lewie's pen she whispered, “Oh, Lewie, what if I forget everything?”

“You
won't
forget,” said Lewie. “Just stay calm and remember not to pull on the halter.”

This was Latisha's weakness – she had a tendency to lead Mrs Palmer instead of the other way around. Although she tried not to, she still tugged at the halter now and then, which lost her a point or two, but she did win
Most Intelligent Llama
.

And Liberty did well too, with all the different tasks she was given: walking backwards and forwards, up and down slopes, through arches, on and off blocks and neatly squeezing through incredibly narrow spaces without touching or knocking anything over. Liberty was awarded
Best Newcomer in Show
and Farmer Palmer told her how proud he was. “Now try not to escape and spoil things,” he added, smiling. Liberty blushed and looked away.

When Lewie saw them all wearing their red rosettes, he felt so proud. He just wished Mama and Papa Llama could have been there to see it all too.

Lewie could hear the cheering and the applause coming from the arena and it made him more excited to get out there himself. But Lewie had to be content for now with helping the sheep and lambs to practise and trying to lift everyone's spirits.

The sheep were still being argumentative and the lambs were getting even more nervous. The moment they attempted the
Lamb Pyramid
they all hesitated, stopped, started again, rushed into their places, then lost their balance until the whole pyramid collapsed. It was as if they'd all developed a
Lamb Pyramid
mental block. Lewie didn't know what to do.

The sheep in the nearby pens tried to be encouraging, but the other Guard Llamas weren't having any of that.

Hadrian shooed his flock away from the fence and hissed nastily in their ears, “No fraternising with the enemy!” He forced his sheep to be mean to Lewie's flock, hoping to distract them from practising.

While the sheep could ignore their remarks, it was harder for the lambs.

Each time Bertie or Shane or Shep lost their balance for a moment, or Sheba or Shah or Shoo overshot in their enthusiasm, the neighbouring sheep bleated nastily.

“Uu-se-le-e-ess!”

“Wha-at a me-ess!”

“Ni-i-il points!”

Lewie knew it was only because Hadrian was standing behind butting them that the sheep were being so nasty. But it made his flock furious, especially Ginger.

“Oh, go boil your wool!” she bleated back. “You might scare your own flock,” she told Hadrian, “but you don't scare us. We don't care what you think. If Lewie says we're OK, we must be, because Lewie's the best Guard Llama in the world!”

“Best Gua-ard Lla-a-ma in the wo-o-rld,” echoed Lewie's sheep and the lambs as well.

In fact, it drowned out all the other sheep and stunned them into silence. For once, even Hadrian was lost for words.

Hearing his flock praising him, Lewie went pink with embarrassment. For a moment he had to turn away to hide a tear. Rather oddly, more than once during the afternoon, Lewie had been surprised to find the gate to his pen open. Farmer Palmer and Millie had been in and out a couple of times, but Lewie knew they were always careful to close it. Thank goodness he'd noticed before any of the lambs had got out. Lewie shook his head and muttered to himself about keeping a careful eye on it from now on.

“What a missed opportunity,” Nelson muttered. “If someone left my gate open I wouldn't ignore it, believe me. I'd be off.”

“But what about your flock?” Lewie asked, surprised.

“Oh, they'd be all right,” Nelson said dismissively. “Farmer Nettles would soon find a new Guard Llama. Nobody's irreplaceable, you know.”

Lewie didn't reply. He was shocked by Nelson's words. He knew he would never do anything to put his flock in danger.

Later, when Farmer Palmer arrived to settle the animals for the night, he seemed in good spirits. It had been a successful day in terms of prizes and he whispered to Lewie, “It all rests on you now. You're my trump card, Lewie. Let's win
Best Guard Llama
and pinch it from under old Hardman's nose.”

Farmer Hardman and his men were standing nearby, watching Lewie's pen, but pretending not to.

“Hardman thinks he's got that prize for life,” said Farmer Palmer, “but let's give him a surprise. In it to win it, eh, Lewie!”

Lewie's heart swelled. He really did want to win the prize, but he couldn't help a slight shudder when he looked over at Bolt and Dolt. He knew they were up to something. He just didn't know what yet.

After Lewie had settled his flock and told the lambs a bedtime story, he was feeling surprisingly tired. He turned to find a generous helping of alfalfa – any llama's absolute favourite food – just inside the gate of the pen. He thought that Millie must have left it. She was always so kind to him. But it was a very large amount of food to digest at this time of night.

Mama Llama had always warned her children about eating rich snacks before bedtime. At first he promised himself he'd just eat the smallest amount and save the rest for tomorrow. But Lewie was young and couldn't resist the treat. The more Lewie ate the more delicious it tasted and somehow he found himself eating it all! With such a full stomach, Lewie soon felt even sleepier. Although he knew it was his job to stay awake and be on guard, he found his eyes closing. In moments, Lewie was in a deep, dreamless sleep.