Extraordinary Ernie & Marvellous Maud Read Free Page A

lots of costumes. Take your pick.’

    Ernie scanned the racks eagerly. His eyes lit on a fluorescent green one-piece suit with a gold lightning bolt running down each arm. ‘That’s a nice one,’ he said shyly.
    Vera pulled it from the hanger. ‘It should look good with a green cape, I think,’ she said. She flicked through several hangers before finding what she wanted. She handed both suit and cape to Ernie.
    ‘What about me? What about me?’ Maud was hopping from side to side in excitement.
    Vera frowned at the racks of costumes. ‘I’m not sure we have anything in your size …’ she began.
    But Desmond, seeing the disappointment on the sheep’s face, plucked something pink from a hanger. ‘Except this cape here,’ he said.
    Maud brightened, and as Desmond fastened the cape around her woolly neck she positively glowed.

FIVE

    The first thing Ernie saw when he awoke the next morning was his green suit and cape. It was strange how just looking at it made him feel a bit extraordinary already.
    He quickly dressed and bolted down his breakfast. This was one day he was definitely not going to be late!
    Ernie arrived at the superheroes’ office on High Street just as Maud clip-clopped up the footpath from the opposite direction.
    ‘Morning, partner,’ she greeted him. Shelooked nervous and excited. Ernie supposed that he looked the same. ‘You look super in your suit and cape.’
    ‘Hi, Maud,’ he said. ‘Thanks. Your cape looks very … dashing.’
    The sheep beamed. ‘Well, here we go—our first day.’
    Ernie opened the door.
    The four superheroes were waiting for them. Valiant Vera looked at their costumes and—aside from a slight bagging at Ernie’s knees—declared them a good fit.
    Super Whiz waved Ernie and Maud over to the table where Amazing Desmond was already seated. Housecat Woman was asleep in the same armchair she’d occupied the day before.
    Super Whiz then gave them a long lecture on the topic of Mischief, Havoc and Chaos while Ernie did his best to look interested and Maud tutted intelligently. Amazing Desmond shifted restlessly in his seat. When Super Whiz started on the subject of Wrongdoing and Shenanigans, Desmond broke in.

    ‘What do you say we begin a spot of on the job training, Whiz?’ he suggested. ‘There’s nothing like a bit of hands-on experience.’
    Super Whiz looked annoyed—whether at the interruption or at being called Whiz, Ernie couldn’t tell—but when he saw Valiant Vera bobbing her head in agreement he sighed and stood up.
    ‘Well, all right. I suppose they could do the Saturday patrol of the High Street shops. Saturday’s very busy,’ he explained to Ernie and Maud as they stepped out onto High Street, ‘with everyone bustling and rushing. Tempers can become frayed. Accidents can happen. You need to be alert and aware. If any dangerous situations arise, report back immediately.’
    Ernie and Maud nodded obediently and set off.
    The High Street shopping strip was a smallone, stretching just one block, which ran between the Baxter town hall at one end and the park at the other.
    ‘It’s strange,’ said Maud, as they walked purposefully down High Street, which was crowded with Saturday morning shoppers. ‘When I woke up this morning, the first thing I saw was my cape—and just seeing it made me feel quite marvellous.’
    ‘That’s exactly how I felt!’ exclaimed Ernie, surprised to find that the sheep’s thoughts were so like his own.
    ‘So what made you decide to become a superhero?’ asked Maud.
    Ernie didn’t know quite how to put it into words. ‘I guess I just wanted to feel like I was special,’ he said at last.
    ‘I know just what you mean,’ said Maud. ‘I want to be more than just another sheep. Why even when I was a little lamb, I … Ernie? What’s wrong?’

    Ernie had stopped dead in the middle of the footpath and was staring straight ahead. ‘There,’ he said.
    ‘What is it?’ asked Maud. ‘Wrongdoing?