Sheep Worship: A Pun In There Somewhere

Flap...flap...flap.

Mango flies over Laggan, a small village.

Lights, says Mango. See that. That must be Laggan.

Baby B-B peers out through gold feathers and into the darkness.

Laggan looks tiny. He hopes they don't land there.

I'm not going to land there, says Mango. I wouldn't. Want to know why? Course you do.

Flap...flap...flap.

Why doesn't she tell him?

Eh? squeaks baby B-B.

Ask me WHY, says Mango.

Wah? says baby B-B.

Good try, says Mango. It's time you learned another impression. I do mobile phones.

Wah? says baby B-B.

No, wait till I do it, says Mango. Briiiing! Briiiing! Of course there are many different ring tones. But I prefer that one.

Baby B-B is confused. Why aren't they stopping in Laggan?

He determines to practice his ring tones. Maybe then he'll find out.

Flap...flap...flap.

The moon has gone now.

The sky is rose pink at the edges.

Mango flies steadily towards Boorowa.

Baby B-B, safe in his leather contraption, is saying over and over: Biiing! Biiing!

What's that? says Mango. A cash register?

Baby B-B falls silent. Mobile phones are too hard.

I'm going to land in Boorowa, says Mango. I want your opinion. Up to you to let me know what it is.

She lands on a painted sign at the side of the road just outside Boorowa.

The dawn light reveals it.

WELCOME TO BOOROWA

Superb Parrots, Superb Country.

And a painted Superb Parrot, in all its glory. (Blue, green, red, yellow.)

Look at that? says Mango. What do you think?

Baby B-B can't see, at that angle.

He looks up into the big beady eyes of Mango, with his small beady eyes.

Silent messages pass between them.

You are more beautiful!

Of course. You are a good little learner.

Now will you tell me why we weren't stopping in Laggan?

Has that been worrying you, all this time?

Yes, is it something terrible? Like a predator?

No, nothing like that. Goodness me, I'd almost forgotten. It's not even important.

It is to me.

Okay. We didn't stop because it's weird there. There's a church....

What's a church, Mango?

I haven't finished, baby B-B. A church is a place of worship.

Worship.

Yes, and this church has been converted into a shearing shed. For shearing sheep.

Sheep!

Yes there's a pun in there somewhere. Shall we be going?

Baby B-B nods. There's a PUN back there, in Laggan. And Mango has saved them, by not stopping.