very faintly at first, another voice. A warm and familiar voice. It seemed to come from far away, and yet it sounded strangely closeâ¦
âI really think itâs time for bed, dear.â
Mr Badger blinked and opened his eyes. He was sitting in a chair with a book on his lap. Next to him were two little badgers snuggled in bed, darling daughter Berenice and baby Badger, too, wrapped in each otherâs arms.
âI really think itâs time for bed, dear,â
said a familiar voice.
âYouâve been asleep for ever so long,â said Mrs Badger, âbut I didnât have the heart to wake you. In fact, you nodded off very soon after you began reading your story.â
âAh,â said Mr Badger, sipping a cup of hot chocolate. âI am very tired, but thereâs something I just have to tell you. You might not believe your ears ⦠but the strangest thing happened to me today at the Boubles Grand Hotel!â
âOh really?â smiled Mrs Badger. âI canât wait to hear all about it.â
The End
More Leigh Hobbs books for you
to enjoy from Allen & Unwin
Horrible Harriet
Hooray for Horrible Harriet
4F for Freaks
Freaks Ahoy
Old Tomâs Big Book of Beauty
Mr Chicken Goes to Paris
and of course the Mr Badger books
For more details, visit Leighâs website:
www.leighhobbs.com.au
Collect all of Mr Badgerâs adventures
at the Boubles Grand Hotel.
About the Author
In 1957, who could have dreamt that behind the innocent face above lurked a mind which, decades later, would create an array of oddities that included Old Tom, Horrible Harriet, Fiona the Pig and Mr Chicken? Plus Mr Badger. Though compared to the others, he seems quite normal.
Mr Hobbs, the artist responsible for the aforementioned characters, was always convinced that he seemed quite normal as well. At primary school, skinny and unsporty, the last thing he wanted to do was attract attention to himself. Even later, at art school, Hobbs had no real interest in rebelling or appearing âartyâ. There was enough action happening already, inside his head.
For a start, all those freaks,
just biding their time waiting to escapeâ¦