THE GREAT YORKSHIRE PUDDING SHOW
One day last summer, Seb and Gie were invited to be the judges at the Great Yorkshire Pudding contest, that was to be held in the village hall in Little - Puddle - On - The - Moor. They were very excited at this, and got out there best clothes to try on.
When the other teddy's in the "Hug" saw this they asked what was going on, and when they were told about the contest they all started to get excited and asked if they could go with Seb and Gie.
"Of course you can" said Gie.
"EE aye" added Seb "We can't go by ourselves, the more of us there is, the more fun we can have".
"When is it" said Raggy Reg. "Next Saturday" replied Seb, "At two o-clock". A little voice piped up in the background "That is awful, I have to take my little airplane in to get serviced on Saturday. I won't be able to go!" It was Stefan the little pilot, and he looked very sad He never looks really happy, but now he looked really sad.
"Can't you take it in another day" asked Gie.
"No, it is the only day they can do it" replied Stefan, looking so disappointed.
"I will get on the 'phone and see what I can do" said Gie. Stefan's little face lit up with joy, he knew that Gie was called "All Wise And Grand, and that he could fix things.
"Thank you, that will be nice" said Stefan.
The best that Gie could arrange was for Stefan to take his 'plane in early on Saturday morning, then it could be serviced, and he could get home in time to go to the contest. But it would not leave much time to get to Little - Puddle - On - The - Moor.
Stefan the little pilot. He comes from Germany, but he speaks good English.
As the week went on, the "Hug" got more and more excited. They all got out their best clothes in readiness, and tried to guess who, from the villagers would make the best Yorkshire Pudding. Blanche thought that Mrs. Batty would be the winner, but Duncan, the tiny Scottish Piper, said her puddings were too crispy. He said Mrs. Swale made better puddings. because they were more moist, more like the famous "Haggis" from Scotland. Raggy Reg said he didn't care who won, as long as he got to eat some of them!
Some of the "Tiny Teds" of the hug.
THE BIG DAY
Saturday morning came, and Stefan got up very early to get his 'plane ready. Bertie Buzzer helped him, and said he would go with him to keep him company, Bertie knows all about flying because he is a bee. When all was ready, the "Lads" all wished the two flyers a safe trip and hoped that they would be back in time for the contest. Gie said "Do be careful Stefan. Don't go flying too fast and have an accident". But he knew that Stefan was a careful pilot, and he would be safe. Off the little 'plane flew with the rest of the Ted's cheering , waving, and shouting "Don't be late".
When the teds arrived at the village there was all sorts of things going on. There was a coconut shy, where you throw wooden balls at a coconut, but the balls were too heavy for the teds. Seb said "Watch this lads" and Gie and himself tried to lift a ball between them. Gie on one side and Seb on the other, they got hold of it with their paws. "We have no fingers to hold it, so we will have to be careful" said Gie. "Lift" shouted Seb. They both lifted together, but the ball just raised a little bit, and then slipped through their paws and went "Thud" onto the ground, just missing their feet. "By gum Gie! it's a good job we have no toes either" said Seb, and they all laughed.
They all went on the swings, Gie, being the oldest said "Be careful lads. Don't go too high", as he swung higher than anyone else.
After they had had a good time on the swings it was almost time for the judging, so they made their way towards the big tent. As they went, they spotted a stall selling honey. "EE look, best Yorkshire honey!" said Seb "We must have some of that". So Gie got some money out of his pocket and bought a big jar full to share amongst the hug.
At last they got to the big tent. What a sight met them! There was Yorkshire Puddings of all shapes and sizes. A long line of them! There was little ones, big ones, tall ones, flat ones, round ones, square ones, oval ones, there was even one in the shape of a teddy bear!
"Cor, there's a lot of hard work gone into making all of these" were Gie's first words. "We are going to have a hard time judging this lot".
"I don't mind that, as long as I get to eat a few!" was Seb's reply.
All the people left the tent, so that the judging could begin. But they said that all the teddy's could stay in, to make sure that they would not get lost. They sat in front of the long bench that had all the exhibits on, and watched Seb and Gie walk along looking at them all.
"I wish Stefan and Buzzy had got here, they will be so disappointed" said Blanche.
Sweet little Blanche.
"They may still get here in time for the prize giving" Raggy Reg replied. Then all the teddy's kept glancing out of the window to see if there were any signs of the fliers.
THE WINNER.
It didn't take long to pick the winner, a nice large one - not too big - not too small, just a nice family size. Well risen and golden brown, it was by far the bestin the show. Seb and Gie inspected it from every angle. They looked from the side, stretched up to see the top, bent down to see the bottom. Yes! it was a fine pudding!
As Gie was bending down to have a closer look, there was a feint buzzing sound from outside. (Stefan's little airplane sounds like a giant bee) all eyes went up to the window in expectation - all except Gie's, he was too interested in the pudding.
Suddenly, into the window there came the sight of a little airplane! All of the lads jumped up in excitement, shouting "It's Stefan, It's Stefan".
Poor old Gie got a shock when they shouted, he turned around quickly to see what all the noise was about. As he did, he knocked the stand that the pudding stood on.
The stand starts to wobble.
"Heyop Gie, watch what you're doing" said Seb. The stand started to wobble. Gie reached out to steady it, but instead of steadying it he made the pudding fall off. Seb tried to catch it and only made things worse! The pudding rolled off the platform and across the ground, with all the teddy's chasing it. Clunk!, it came to a halt when it ran into a chair leg.
They all stood around and looked at it. A large piece was missing from the top, and there was lotsof dirt stuck to the sides.
"EE Ek! what are we going to do" said Seb.
"We will have to repair it" said Gie. "Give it to me, and fetch that jar of honey".
So Raggy Reg got the honey - he had to role the jar because it was so big - and Blanche gave Gie the piece of pudding. Off came the top of the jar.
"Gie, this is no time to start eating" Seb said.
"I'm not going to eat it Seb. You hold the piece of pudding, and do as I tell you". Reaching into his pocket, Gie pulled out a spoon which he had with him just in case there was honey to be had! He carefully put a coat of honey all along the part of the pudding where it was broken.
"Now put the piece in place" Gie said. Seb did as he was told, and it fit neatly in.
"EE, I wish I was clever like you , - but what about the edges, its all mucky!" moaned Seb. Gie rubbed his chin in thought, "Em, Er, Em!" he said. Then "Cor, I have a good idea! follow me. They all followed Gie, straight into the kitchen. He picked up a pan scrubber and started to clean the sides if the pudding with it.
"This should do the trick" he said.
Oh yes! it did the trick all right! It took the coating of the pudding and left big patches of white showing through!
"Ek no! that's worse than ever" said Seb.
"Don't panic Seb! leave it all to me. I will put it right!" But Seb was getting very worried. The people would be coming in soon to see the exhibits, and what would happen then?
Just then Stefan came in, he had looked all over for the lads and at last he found them.
"Cor! just the bear we need" Gie said to him, "Run to your little airplane and fetch the polish that you use for your flying boots"
"What is going on?" he said.
"No time to tell you Stefan. Please do as Gie asks" Seb chimed in.
So Stefan ran as fast as his little feet would carry him, and came back with the tin of boot polish. Gie took it and, with a cloth, smoothed it all over the white parts of the pudding. Then he wiped it with a clean cloth. Well, it was a bit better! Seb looked at it and said "EE by gum, I hope it belongs to somebody who can take a bit of fun!"
EE by gum, what a mess!.
They got everything tidied up, and the pudding back on it's stand, just in time for the people to come into the tent. Everybody walked along the long row of exhibits. The lads caught sight of nice Mrs. Batty; little Mrs. Smallwood; smiling Mrs. Crow, and , Oh no! not Lady Attle - Baxe! She is always in a bad mood, never smiles, and she doesn't like teddy bears!
"I hope she doesn't come up here" said Seb to Gie. But she did! She walked straight towards the teddy's, who were near the patched up pudding which had been given the first prize. Even though it was in a mess, it was only fair for it to win, because it had been the best!
Nearer and nearer came Lady Attle - Baxe, swinging her umbrella as she walked. She stopped in front of the first prize, and her eyes widened: her face went deep red, and she shouted at the top of her voice
"SEBASTIAN - OF YORK!!! What have you done to my Yorkshire Pudding?"
Seb and Gie tried to hide behind the pudding stand, but she hooked the handle of her umbrella round their necks, and pulled them out.
"EXPLAIN YOURSELVES!!" she screamed.
"Well, Er, Um Er" began Gie.
"EE, we are very sorry" Seb began, very timidly.
"SPEAK UP YOU SCOUNDREL"
"Well it was like this" Seb started to tell her what had happened, shaking in fear. Gie stood next to him and held his paw.
As the story unfolded Lady Attle - Baxe got redder and redder in the face, until she looked like she was going to explode.
When Seb had finished his tale, Lady Attle -Baxe stood for a few seconds, staring at the two teddy's, whilst Gie and Seb didn't dare move in inch.
"BAAAAHHH!!!" she exploded. The lads nearly died!
"BAAAAHHH!" followed by "Ha, Ha, Ha" and she started laughing until she nearly cried.
"I have never heard anything so funny!" she said "Never in my life!" She reached out and took hold of Seb with one hand, Gie with the other, and gave them both a big hug. "You crazy, lovely teddys!" she said.
At first none of the lads dared to move. Then Blanche began to giggle, and Lady Attle - Baxe gave her a big cuddle. That set them off, they all started to laugh, and they laughed and laughed.
The Winner!
The following Saturday, Lady Attle - Baxe was sighted in the town of Whitby, carrying a large, pretty coloured bundle, with two furry paws sticking out of one end, and two furry feet sticking out of the other!
