Other Worlds Brief Glimpses

What a shemozzle! How did it happen that only Gaius was where we expected?

Why was he left in charge of the parrot?

Why was Terence without supervision in the Dinosaur Gallery?

Where are Arthur and Sweezus?

And will that nice little girl wake up with a beak tomorrow?

Let me answer question four first.

Arthur and Sweezus had been crossing Lygon Street on the way to the Museum.

And got distracted.

As for the beak, who knows? Strange things happen.

She may think she has a beak. She may ask for birdseed for breakfast.

Her daddy (let us suppose it is her daddy who produces her breakfast) may go along with it.

Or not. How should we know? We can't follow everyone.

He might try her with chia, or quinoa.

To return to the rest of the questions:

Gaius, the ladies, Terence and the Elegant Parrot had arrived at the Dinosaur Gallery. Terence had run in at once, and joined a group of children. The Elegant Parrot was prevented from entering by Patrick Honan, manager of Live Exhibits.

Come with me! Patrick Honan had beamed. He was excited to see a live Elegant Parrot ( so-named by John Gould) from the Coorong.

Immediately, he knew it.

The ladies had hesitated. They knew it was not worth crossing Terence by giving up the Parrot.

Regretfully, (said Katherine), this parrot is destined for Top Designs. Not Live Exhibits.

No way! Patrick Honan had cried. It looks so realistic!

To its credit, the Elegant Parrot was doing an excellent job of looking realistic.

Leaving Patrick Honan scratching his head, Gaius and the ladies, with the Elegant Parrot, had proceeded to the Top Designs Gallery.

It occurred at that moment to both of the ladies that they did not wish to traipse around the exhibition bearing a Parrot.

Would you mind very much taking charge of the Parrot? Grizel had wheedled.

We won't be long, Katherine had added.

Very well, said Gaius, who we already know had been in a good mood this morning, in spite of losing Sweezus and Arthur on the way to the Melbourne Museum.

Thank you, Gaius, said Katherine. We owe you a coffee.

And perhaps a wee cake, said Grizel. Later. At the Museum Café.

And with that they had disappeared into the Top Design Gallery.

After which followed all that we know.

But where does that leave us? Only right here, at the present moment, in which:

Sir Frederick, Gaius, the Elegant Parrot and an unrepentant Terence, with dinosaur teeth in his pocket, are entering the Top Design Exhibition to look for the ladies, in order to resolve one or two unresolved questions.

They spot the two ladies, looking at a folio, beside which is a loaf of crisp bread wrapped in colourful paper labelled Milly's Bread Packaging.

The folio explains the procedure of inventing and designing and surmounting various difficulties to finally produce the colourful wrapping paper in which the bread is now hardening.

Well done, Year 12 student artificer!