“Anyway,” said Martha, “the good news is that you have won this round. Let us celebrate this and wait and see what will happen.”
Chapter 21 I Have Been Watching You
One whole year before these events Mrs Hurray-Bill had called Mr Clogs into her office.
“I have been watching you, Mr Clogs,” she said. Mr Clogs stiffened not sure what was going to be said next but his experience of the phrase ‘I have been watching you’ came from television and it generally meant trouble for the person being spoken to.
Mrs Hurray-Bill continued, “And you are quite simply one of the best teachers I have come across.”
Mr Clogs did not show his relief. He did not even listen very carefully to what the headmistress was saying. He left her office understanding that she had a lot of faith in him. However, if she had asked him to do anything specific he had not heard. He had been so relieved that the ‘I have been watching you’ was not the start of her saying something very bad.
Six months later Mrs Hurray-Bill had again called Mr Clogs into office and again started with the phrase ‘I have been watching you’. This time Mr Clogs was able to keep his wits about him and left with a very clear understanding of what was said. Mrs Hurray-Bill had told him that she will be retiring in four or five years and will do everything in her power to make him headmaster when she retires. Mr Clogs was and is very ambitious. Although he knew things could change between this time and when Mrs Hurray-Bill left, he was happy to think he was being thought of as the new headmaster.
Three weeks ago, Mr Clogs had again been called in to the headmistress’ office. I am not sure whether she said ‘I have been watching you’ on this occasion but Mrs Hurray-Bill did ask Mr Clogs for his help.
“You were the only one who said that allowing a wolf to enrol might not be in the school’s best interest,” said Mrs Hurray-Bill.
Mr Clogs was not the sort of person who liked to say ‘I told you so’. He just nodded to acknowledge that what she said was true.
“It seems you were right and everyone else was wrong,” said Mrs Hurray-Bill. “There are parents who are very annoyed with the school allowing this wolf in. They are influential parents. Friends of my husband, the Mayor. We need to figure out some way we can get rid of this wolf.”
Mr Clogs said the fairest and quickest thing would be to admit that we have made a mistake and ask her to leave but Mrs Hurray-Bill said they could not do that. It would look like they had made a mistake.”
“We have made a mistake,” said Mr Clogs.
“I have talked this over with my husband, the Mayor,” said Mrs Hurray-Bill. “He says we should not admit to making a mistake but we should figure out some other way to get rid of the wolf.”
Mr Clogs asked “Why?”, but Mrs Hurray-Bill ignored the question. It was during this discussion that Mr Clogs pointed out there were certain things which Little Bad Wolf had difficulties with. It was Mr Clogs who suggested that it would be reasonable for a school such as theirs to ensure that all pupils could do certain basic things. For example it is reasonable to expect all pupils to wear clothes to school. It is also reasonable to expect that they have basic elocution skills. If a child did not have these skills then perhaps they should attend a junior school. Mrs Hurray-Bill darted back to her room very excited and pleased with herself. She had a problem and now had a way out. The wolf may survive the rule about wearing clothes but there is no way she can pronounce certain words so it will be easy to fail her. He had also ended that meeting with a joke, “If she survives this you can always demand that all pupils use a knife and fork. She would never get through that.”
Mrs Hurray-Bill had been looking forward to the elocution test. She had even told Mr Silliman that their problem would soon be resolved. He was very impressed when she told him the details of how they would get rid of the wolf. “Most impressive,” he said. “I think you may be a genius, Mrs Hurray-Bill.”
The day after the elocution test Mr Clogs was again told to go to the headmistress’ office.
“I have been watching you,” said Mrs Hurray-Bill in an angry voice. “I saw what you did yesterday. You have let us all down.”
Mr Clogs knew that Mrs Hurray-Bill expected yesterday to be the end of Little Bad Wolf. He also knew she would have been very happy if he had somehow cheated and figured out a way to make Little Bad Wolf fail. However, something else had happened yesterday. He had seen the effort which Little Bad Wolf was making. Mr Clogs had been a teacher for over twenty years. He worked very hard and although he tried his best, he rarely came across a pupil who he believed really tried, a pupil who tried their best and did this all of the time. It was because of this that he became so impressed with how hard Little Bad Wolf was finding the test and how hard she was trying. Something inside of him changed when he saw this. He still believed it was best for the school if Little Bad Wolf left. He still saw the tests as being fair but had been very impressed with how hard she was trying to stay at the school. Now as he sat in Mrs Hurray-Bill’s office he knew that she was very disappointed.
“I had high hopes for you,” said Mrs Hurray-Bill. “When the rest of us thought it may be possible to educate an animal, not just any animal, a wolf and not just any wolf but the daughter of The Big Bad Wolf, you had a different opinion. I remember what you said. You told us that this was stupid and unfair. You said that in the name of equality we would be very unfair to our other students. The wolf, you told us, would need us to accommodate her and this would lower our standards. We would not be as rigorous in our pursuit of learning as other schools. You also told us that you believed a wolf could not learn and we would ultimately waste our time.
“Have you now changed your opinion, Mr Clogs?”
“I am not sure, headmistress.”
“What do you mean, ‘You are not sure’?”
“I still believe that the wolf should never have been admitted. I said it was unfair and I believe what is happening is unfair. However, it is not unfair for the reason I thought. There has not been a lowering of standards in the education we offer.”
“Mr Clogs, I am glad you still believe that the wolf should not have been admitted but please tell me what is unfair?”
“All the pupils know that there is a problem with the wolf. They have to go past the protests every day. They know these tests we are giving are designed for us to come up with a way to expel the wolf.”
“Do they say that. I don’t see how they can presume this.”
“They do not say it but it is obvious. They see what we are doing. Some of them even agree with us.”
“And, Mr Clogs, do you agree with ‘us’?”
“I still believe that it is better for everyone if the wolf is no longer a pupil at our school but…”
“What do you mean, ‘But’?” demanded Mrs Hurray-Bill.
“You have to admit that the child is trying. Sorry I mean, the wolf is trying. She is trying very hard and I did not expect this. I have been a teacher for a long time and it is rare that you see a pupil who puts in a lot of effort and almost all the time. But she pays attention, does her work and really seems to try her best.”
“I am disappointed at your lack of objectivity, Mr Clogs. This is the problem with some teachers. They get caught up with what happens in the classroom. Some positive feedback from a pupil and all objectivity goes out the window.”
Mr Clogs wanted to interrupt and put his side of this but Mrs Hurray-Bill did not let him. She continued, “Well Mr Clogs, Your idea for tests were a good idea. We need to hurry up and solve this problem. My husband, the Mayor, thinks the situation is beginning to make him look bad. Everyday parents from the school go to his office to complain about us teaching a wolf. We are going to implement the new rule which was your idea. If I remember correctly you said, ‘No wolf could use a knife and fork and if we insist on proper table manners from all our pupils she will have to go’.”
“This is unfair,” said Mr Clogs who was surpri
sed that they would use this test as a way to expel her. “She cannot possibly get through a test like that.”
“Do not bother me with your sentimentality, Mr Clogs. I have a busy day so please go back to your classroom and teach the children.”
Chapter 22 Correct Eating Habits
For the rest of the week there were no more tests or notices on the notice boards. Matt thought that they may have run out of ideas but he was assured by Louise and Little Bad Wolf that they would not give up so easily and there would be some new idea for getting rid of Little Bad Wolf by the time they went back to school on Monday.
And there was.
Little Bad Wolf had arrived in school early on Monday morning and was walking towards her classroom when she saw Mrs Hurray-Bill. The headmistress was putting up a new poster on the notice board. Little Bad Wolf only had to look at the phrase ‘Correct Eating Habits’ at the top of the notice to know that this was directed at her and her alone.
Mrs Hurray-Bill looked at her poster and thought admiringly about how clever her plan was. It was only then that she realised she was not the only one looking at the poster.
“Oh hello,” she said and appeared to be only slightly embarrassed at having being discovered launching the school’s latest attempt to get rid of Little Bad Wolf.
“Go-od morn-ing Mrs Hurray-Bill,” said Little Bad Wolf.
“Congratulations on passing the elocution test,” said Mrs Hurray-Bill.
“I see the-re is an-oth-er no-tice today,” said Little Bad Wolf. “All pup-ils have to e-at in the can-teen us-ing a knife and fork prop-er-ly. Is that the main prov-is-ion?”
“Yes, it is,” replied Mrs Hurray-Bill.
“You kno-ow that I will not be able to use a kni-ife and fork with my paws,” asked Little Bad Wolf.
“You have managed to show so much ability,” replied Mrs Hurray-Bill managing to hide her sarcasm. “I am sure you will be able to learn this too.”
“I thi-ink you know that it will not be poss-ible for me to use a kni-ife and fork,” said Little Bad Wolf. “How-ev-er, this does not app-ly to me.”
“Excuse me,” said Mrs Hurray-Bill sounding more concerned than she had done. “But why does this not apply to you?”
“The new ru-ules is: All pup-ils must be able to use a kni-ife and fork prop-er-ly when eat-ing their lunch in the can-teen,” said Little Bad Wolf.
“And?” asked Mrs Hurray-Bill, her tone rising again.
“I do not e-at in the can-teen,” answered Little Bad Wolf.
With this Mrs Hurray-Bill said she had to go and hurried off.
When Little Bad Wolf, Matt and Louise looked at the poster during the break, it looked the same as the one which Little Bad Wolf had read earlier. However, there was a new sentence in the poster which stated that this rule applied to all pupils whether they usually used the canteen or not.
Chapter 23 The Debate
The debates were designed to show how you could put together an argument in favour or against some topic. Mr Clogs had said that it is possible to do this even if you did not agree with what you were arguing. Every single pupil in his class found this hard to believe. There had already been three debates before the one with Samantha and Little Bad Wolf. There were supposed to be four pupils involved in this debate as with the first but when Jane and Frank found out who the other debaters were they went to Mr Clogs to demand that they be excused from this debate.
Even Ms Potterer had reservations about the debate. She went to Mr Clogs in the class room as the children played during the break. One of the windows was slightly open and this allowed Little Bad Wolf to hear what was being said.
“Mr Clogs, I think it not wise to have this debate,” said Ms Potterer. “Samantha is a very clever child and she has been relishing this opportunity. I overheard her talking with her friends about this being the final opportunity to sort this wolf out and get away with it.”
“What does she mean ‘final opportunity’?” asked Mr Clogs.
“I guess our dear head teacher has been telling Samantha’s daddy of her latest plans to expel Little Bad Wolf.”
At this point Mr Clogs went to the window and closed it.
It took a while before Mr Clogs could get the class to become quiet for the debate.
“Which is more important the ingredients or the Chef?” said Mr Clogs in a loud voice designed to tell everyone that the debate was about to start. “That is the title of our fourth debate. Instead of having two teams of two we have just two pupils to debate this issue. Samantha will be arguing the case the ingredients are more important than the Chef…”
There was a cheer from three or four of her friends when Mr Clogs mentioned Samantha’s name.
Mr Clogs continued, “and Little Bad Wolf will argue the case the Chef is more important than the ingredients.”
There were boos from the same pupils who had just cheered Samantha.
Mr Clogs stopped this quickly by asking Little Bad Wolf to start the debate.
Little Bad Wolf was nervous but as usual the other students could not tell this. She found this strange that they never knew some things about her which she thought obvious. She could smell when humans were excited or nervous. If there were a number of people she knew in a room she could even tell who was nervous and who was not. Today there was a lot of excitement. Samantha was nervous but so too were friends of both Samantha and her.
Little Bad Wolf cleared her throat and started to speak, “fel-low stu-dents I be-lie-ve that if you have a bad chef it does not mat-ter how good the in-gred-ients you will not get a good me-al.”
She was about to say something more but in front of her Samantha’s friends starting taking out knives and forks and were pretending that they had paws rather than hands and could not use them. This reference to the new rule about having to have good table manners upset Little Bad Wolf. She stared at them for a while and then tried to continue.
“We have all e-at-en pot-at-oes which have been tur-ined into many diff-er-ent me-als. Bo-iled, roast, Shep-herd’s pie. It is the sk-ill of the chef which turns this into some-thing which could be very pla-in or very el-ab-or-ate.”
Little Bad Wolf then stopped again. She was the only one to hear what Clare had said to Samantha, “We have all eaten potatoes but some of us have used a knife and fork.” They were both sniggering at this and then Little Bad Wolf’s eyes met Samantha who realised they had been overheard. Samantha realised but did not care.
Little Bad Wolf had other things to say but could not find her voice and sat down.
“Have you finished?” asked Mr Clogs.
For a while Little Bad Wolf did not notice that she was being asked a question. Mr Clogs was about to repeat himself when she realised this and said “yes.”
“I would like to thank my opponent in this debate,” began Samantha. “It’s not that she has said anything remarkable in this debate. This proves my point that a good Chef cannot create a wonderful pie from a rotten apple.”
“Excuse me, Samantha,” interrupted Mr Clogs. “I am not sure where you are going with this, but you are not allowed to insult your fellow pupils in this debate.”
“Of course, I would not dream of doing that,” Samantha answered. She then continued with her discussion about apples and how most Chefs do not want to cook with rotten ones. Most of the class had been expecting something shocking from Samantha and they were getting bored. They had been expecting a shouting match and were only getting cookery lessons and lessons they already knew at that.
“I have one more final point to make,” said Samantha. “One of my heroes is Little Red Riding Hood. I was impressed with her story and how she showed such bravery when under attack from a cruel and vicious creature. Little Red Riding Hood was still going to school when that horrible incident happened. Imagine if she came to school one day and found the Big Bad Wolf sitting beside her.”
Samantha then started singing “Who’s afr
aid of the Big Bad Wolf? Who’s afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? I am! I am!”
The class looked around for Little Bad Wolf to see what he reaction to this would be. Some hoped she would be crying with shame while others that she would now fight back. Little Bad Wolf was not there. She had already snuck out of the classroom guessing what comes next. She was not going to give Samantha the satisfaction of seeing her cry and she was not going to allow the school to humiliate her as well as expel her. She was leaving.
Part 3 Kidnapped
Chapter 24 No School Today
The next day Little Bad Wolf left her home at the time she usually went to school. Her aunts kissed her good bye as they saw her walking away with her school bag. She had not told them that she had given up and had left. That day she spent in the forest. She thought she would meet ET and Rosie. They would cheer her up. Rosie would offer to bite everyone’s bottoms The two corgis were nowhere to be seen so she spent a miserable day just hiding in the forest. A day spent being miserable.
At the end of the day she went home and told her aunts that she had a nice day at school. Little Bad Wolf even did some homework. Well, she took out some copy books and scribbled in them. She did not want a conversation with either of her aunts. She knew if she talked to them they would figure out what had happened so she said she wasn’t feeling too well and went to bed early.
The next day she did the same as the day before. This time her time in the forest was more interesting. ET and Rosie were there. They had been getting animal passports the day before and were very excited with this.
“Who knows where we can go now,” said ET.
“I guess everywhere except England,” said Rosie. ET and Little Bad Wolf laughed. They knew she was talking about the conspiracy. They knew Rosie believed that the reason it was difficult for dogs to get into England was the Queen wanted to prevent ET from entering the country and winning all their corgi dog shows just like she had won everywhere else.
“What happened to your school?” asked ET. Little Bad Wolf started explaining why she had left and how she would have been kicked out very soon anyway. As she was talking tears were forming. She tried to stop it but that just made it worse and she started to cry harder. The dogs looked at her not quite sure what to do. ET stroked her and rubbed her nose while Rosie said, “You know I could always bite their bottoms.”