Gauge Read Free

to do with time. He first demonstrated this when he caught sight of the clock on the wall above the door of the kitchen. It was quite an ordinary clock, as clocks go, but the motion of the second hand ticking around seemed to throw the special dragon into a frenzy of delight. He flew out of Liz’s hands and hovered in front of it. He tapped the plastic casing. The clock ticked on. Gauge consulted his watch, as if he were using it as a device to check the clock’s accuracy. Then something extraordinary happened. Gauge put his watch away and hurred at the clock. Suddenly, its two large hands began to spin, faster and faster, until they were just a blur of black lines. At the same time, Gauge was copying the movements with his paws. This continued until the clock hands had spun all the way back to the correct time again. Then it ticked on as if nothing had happened.

    Gauge blew a smoke ring and fluttered down onto the kitchen table.
    “Mum, what did he just do?” asked Lucy.
    Liz ran a finger down the scales on Gauge’s spine, a tickling process all the dragons loved. “I think he just learned to tell the time,” she said. “Earth time, at least.”
    “What other time is there?” Lucy asked, wrinkling her nose. She was finding this dragon very puzzling indeed.
    Liz just smiled and said, “What time is it, Gauge?”
    Gauge stretched his arms and held his paws at the 11:27 position. Perfect, according to the clock.
    “Do three o’clock,” said Lucy, just to test him.

    His paws swept into the correct places.
    “Quarter to seven?”
    He was spot on again.
    “Midnight?”
    He clapped his paws together, high above his head.
    Lucy made a slight hmph . She put her hands behind her back and leaned forward until her nose was almost touching Gauge’s snout. “Try…my bedtime,” she grinned.
    Gauge frowned and looked sideways at Liz.
    “That’s not fair. He can’t know that,” said Liz. “Mind you…” She paused a moment and tapped her chin. “Lucy’s bedtime is half past eight in the evening, Gauge. And she’s supposed to be asleep no later than nine.”
    The little dragon sat up and blinked his eyes twice, making a sound like a cash register.
    “Why did he do that?” asked Lucy. “Why did he make that noise when he blinked?”
    “I can’t imagine,” Liz said, trying to stop a crafty smile from showing on her face. “Maybe we’ll find out later, eh? Now, what are we going to do about the library clock?”
    “Who cares about the silly library clock?”
    “I do. I think we ought to stage a protest.”
    Lucy didn’t like the sound of that. At school, Miss Baxter had once told the class about a group of women who had chained themselves to railings because they weren’t allowed to vote in elections. When Lucy had asked, “What happens when you want to go to the toilet, Miss?” her teacher had said with a flourish, “You just go where you are, my dear!” It was all part of the protest, apparently.
    “I’m not being chained to any railings,” said Lucy. What if a fly was to land on her nose? Or squirrels hopped up and nipped her ankles? There were lots of squirrels in the gardens next to the library. Besides, if her friends saw her, they would laugh.
    “Don’t be silly,” Liz said. “You can hand out leaflets while I walk up and down the library precinct with a sign.”
    “It’s Sunday,” Lucy pointed out. “No one will be there, Mum. Anyway, it’s raining.”
    Lucy was right about that. The sky had turned a dull grey colour and raindrops were already spattering the windows.
    “More time for us to prepare, then,” Liz said.
    “Time?” Gauge said, pricking his ears.
    “Thirteen o’clock,” said Lucy.
    “Don’t tease him,” Liz warned her. “You might regret it.”
    “How?” Lucy snorted. “I’m not frightened of a dragon who times things.”

    But Liz was right. Later, Lucy did come to regret her words. As the day crept into evening and the time approached 8:30, she was