The Wombles Go round the World Read Free Page A

Off went the two young Wombles at a fast jog-trot.
    â€˜Isn’t it strange,’ gasped Bungo, ‘that Great Uncle Bulgaria always seems to be in places where you don’t expect him!’
    â€˜Mm,’ replied Orinoco who, because he’s rather fat, can’t talk and run at the same time.
    â€˜Ho, ho, ho,’ said Great Uncle Bulgaria, having a quiet little laugh on his own. ‘I must admit Bungo did look very funny. Stupid sort of name, Bungo, but it does suit him!’
    In the Workshop, Tobermory was surrounded by full tidy-bags which he was sorting out in his usual efficient way. Standing beside him was Shansi with a notebook and a pencil.
    â€˜Newspapers, three. Good, there’s a copy of yesterday’s Times . Put that on one side for Great Uncle Bulgaria. Milk bottles, four: kitchen for Madame Cholet. Yoghurt cartons, six: Cousin Botany for seed pots. Pieces of paper and paper bags, various: Miss Adelaide for the Womblegarten. Tin cans . . .’ Tobermory stopped speaking and looked up as Bungo and Orinoco came in and put down their tidy-bags.
    â€˜So there you are,’ he said. ‘Now, I want you two to go straight to the Womblegarten, where you’ll report to Miss Adelaide.’
    â€˜The Womblegarten!’ said Orinoco. ‘But that’s for little Wombles. Not for working Wombles like us who do tidying-up.’
    â€˜Ah, but things are changing,’ said Tobermory, his little round eyes twinkling. ‘You see, according to Great Uncle Bulgaria’s latest orders, you working Wombles are going back to school, while the little Wombles are to learn tidying-up.’
    Orinoco and Bungo, who for once in their lives were quite unable to speak at this extraordinary news, looked at each other and then back at Tobermory.
    â€˜Orders are orders,’ he said. ‘Off with you, and don’t keep Miss Adelaide waiting. Now, then, Shansi, what have we here? One saucepan, bad condition: Workshop. Three gloves, various . . .’
    â€˜The Womblegarten,’ grumbled Orinoco. ‘Fancy having to go back to school! I don’t like this new adventure at all. It sounds too much like hard work to me. I wish I’d never . . .’
    â€˜Put your paw up, I know. But it may not be too bad,’ said Bungo.
    Wellington and Tomsk were already sitting at desks with notebooks made of ironed-out paper bags in front of them. Miss Adelaide was standing at the side of a large map of the world with a stick in her paw. She looked over her spectacles at the latecomers and nodded to them to sit down.
    â€˜Attention please, Wombles,’ she said. ‘As from this moment you are released from tidying-up duties . . .’ Orinoco’s face brightened and then fell as Miss Adelaide went on, ‘so that you can concentrate on learning about the countries to which you will travel. Great Uncle Bulgaria and I have made out your itineraries.’
    â€˜Itin—?’ said Tomsk, who wasn’t at all sure what was happening.
    â€˜Travel plans. You, Tomsk, will travel with Wellington. You did quite well when you worked together before.’
    â€˜Oh yes, when we went to Buckingham Palace and I was a Guardwomble,’ said Tomsk. ‘I remember. I wore a uniform and Wellington . . .’
    â€˜Exactly. Precisely, but we won’t go into that now. And you, Orinoco, will travel with Bungo, because Bungo has plenty of energy while you Orinoco are – sometimes – quite sensible. Wellington, as we all know, is extremely sensible.’
    â€˜Oh, I say, sorry, but . . .’ muttered Wellington.
    â€˜But inclined to be absent-minded,’ went on Miss Adelaide. Wellington sighed and nodded. Sometimes he even got lost on Wimbledon Common, so how was he going to manage to find his way in the big wide world?
    â€˜I’ll keep an eye on him,’ rumbled Tomsk, who rarely worries about anything as he’s always pretty certain that