Nervous, us? Do we look nervous? Well maybe Penelope, slightly – but the rest of us will take good care of her.
We’re leaving the delights of rural Somerset, with its green leafy lanes and pretty stone cottages, and heading for a similarly leafy place in the middle of England somewhere. Unfortunately, though, we don’t have a single method of transportation between us and need to use a mixture of buses, trains and something called a tube to traverse London in order to get there.
Mrs S is being very upbeat about it all. She’s carefully packed us, the room boxes and all the little pieces she makes into a large suitcase and an equally large carrier bag. There’s plenty of padding, so we won’t be knocked about too much. She’s spent hours on the phone to find the easiest route across London – with no staircases. She insists it will be a breeze.
When we finally arrive at the destination – a village called Haddenham in a place called Buckinghamshire – she’s promised us that we will meet other people of a similar size to ourselves.
Some of us may even find new homes to go to. Lord Horatio became rather angry at that.
“Like being at Battersea Dogs’ Home, waiting for an owner,” he growled.
The rest of us would love it, though. So if you happen to live anywhere around this Buckinghamshire place and are free on Saturday 23rd September, do come along to and call by the Steampunk-Shrunk stall.
We’d love to meet you.
Finally I’ve got a job! More than that, it’s the best job in the world, because I get to do what I love doing more than anything else in the world – reading.
I can’t wait to find out what happens next. Luckily, though, I’ll be able to read on, because Mrs Steampunkle said she’d like me to go with her to her market stalls and sit reading her books! That is honestly all I have to do for this job. She said when people see me so engrossed in her stories, they will want to buy them and read them for themselves. She won’t be paying me any wages, but it’s better than that, because in return, she is going to write and print MY STORY!
My pa made the bird. He’s Mister William Forsey and when I grow up, I’m going to be just like him – a tinker as well as a showman. My name is Rufus, by the way. I’m ten years old and I have a very important job. I run the Magical Mechanical Bird Show in the little fairground booth my pa built.
The ticket office is too small for Ma or Pa to get inside, but I fit just fine. When I grow too big, one of my brothers or sisters will have to take over and I’ll get on with learning my pa’s craft. Pa’s proud of me. He wrote ‘Wm. Forsey & Son’ on the poster, so I’d be part of the company. Some day we’ll have a whole load of automatons and people will come from all over the world to watch and wonder at them.
First thing I have to do is wind up the machine and check that it’s all working smoothly. Pa says I’m a natural when it comes to knowing where a lick of oil should go or what bolts to tighten. You see? I’ve got tinker’s blood in me veins. I’ll make wonderful contraptions when I’m older.
Next I pull the curtain across, so the bird’s hidden and go out the front to tout for business. All the ladies love me and they beg their beaus to buy a ticket. Ma says it’s on account of my fair hair and big eyes. I think it’s more likely my witty patter that draws ’em in.
Anyhow, once I’ve got a good crowd, I go into the ticket office and sell them all tickets to watch the show. I have to keep the office locked all day, so no one will steal our takings. Ma took the chain from Grandpa’s old watch and fixed the office key to it, so I can wear it on me waistcoat, just like a toff! Real silk, that waistcoat is, and me trousers are pa’s old moleskins cut down. They’re a bit on the roomy side, but I’ll grow into them.
I call out, very loud, “And now, Ladies and Gentlemen, for your delight and delectation, the Magical Mechanical Bird will come to life before your very eyes and ears.”
Steampunk - Shrunk! 