Toad Away - Morris Gleitzman [38]
“You're the most pathetic little runt I've ever seen,” jeered Flatface. “I bet boys run a mile when they see you. They probably think you're a toenail that's fallen off a sloth.”
“I'm not listening,” said Charm.
“What?” said Flatface.“Don't you like me calling you names? You'd better spray me then, hadn't you? Come on, midget-features, squirt me with your poison. Squirt me, squirt me, squirt me, I dare you.”
Flatface started dancing around Charm, poking his tongue out at her.
As Limpy hurried closer, he saw to his horror that Flatface had the leaf parcel. He was holding it up so that if Charm squirted him, she'd hit the parcel and give Flatface the missing ingredient he was desperate for.
Limpy was about to yell to Charm not to fire, but before he could, she started squirting.
Not at Flatface, though. Charm aimed her ribbons of poison out over the river, where they fell harmlessly into the water.
Flatface was as stunned by this as Limpy.
He stared at the watery ripples, then his face crumpled.
“This is hopeless,” he wailed. “I give up.”
He threw the leaf parcel onto the ground, turned, and stamped dejectedly away.
Limpy rushed over to Charm.
“Are you OK?” he said.
She stared at him, eyes widening with relief and joy.
“Limpy, Goliath, thank swamp,” she said. “When I heard you were here I panicked. I thought I'd never find you.”
“We came to rescue you,” said Goliath.
Limpy saw Charm frown and open her mouth to tell them both that she didn't need to be rescued, then her face softened and she gave them a big hug instead.
Limpy glowed with love for her.
He remembered the horrible things Flatface had called her.
“Flatface didn't mean those things,” Limpy whispered to Charm. “He just wanted your poison pus for his war plans.”
Charm thought about this.
“I reckoned the poor bloke was just crotchety because of what the humans did to his head,” she said.
“I'd be pretty ratty if I had a face that shape. Didn't seem fair to squirt him. But he was getting on my nerves so I thought I'd better empty my poison sacs before I got tempted to let him have it.”
Limpy gazed at Charm. He'd never felt prouder to have her as a sister.
Goliath was staring at Charm in disbelief.
“So you ditched your ammo in the river?” he said.
“That's right,” said Limpy, giving Goliath a stern look. “I think that makes Charm a war hero.”
Charm looked thoughtful.
“I've been watching the creatures around here,” she said. “How they do awful things to each other all the time. And do you know what I've realized? They can't help it. No matter what they want, food, self-defense, a bigger backyard, they use violence. Their world's a jungle. Snakes, spiders, bloodsucking bats, killer wasps, humans, they're all the same. Only cane toads are different, because we can choose not to be violent.”
Limpy's warts tingled with pride as he looked at his dear, clever sister.
“Is that ancient wisdom?” he asked.
“No,” said Charm. “I only realized it this morning.”
“Yeah, well tomorrow morning,” said Goliath, “you'll realize it's wombat poo. What if cane toads want to be violent?”
Before Charm could reply, Limpy heard a desperate croak in the distance. The croak of a cane toad in distress.
Limpy spun round.
Through the trees he could see Flatface struggling in a net. The net was in the hands of a human.
Limpy peered harder. He recognized the human. It was the pilot from the small plane they'd arrived on.
As the pilot carried the net further into the forest, Flatface's cries were getting fainter.
“Help me. Somebody help me, please.”
“Come on,” said Limpy to Charm and Goliath. “He mightn't be the nicest bloke around, but we can't just let him be kidnapped.”
They set off after the human.
By the time Limpy, Goliath, and Charm caught up with the human, he was loading Flatface into the small plane.
“Oh, no,” said Charm. “This isn't going to be easy.”
Limpy saw what she meant. Flatface was already in a cage.
“Come on,” said Limpy. “We've got to try.”
They hopped across the dry grass of the landing strip. Limpy was used to being