The Trophy of Champions Read Online Free Page A

squeals from a nearby ticket booth.
    â€˜Over there,’ cried an excited voice. ‘It’s Horace … near the tent.’
    â€˜Are you sure?’ shrilled another. ‘He looks shorter.’
    â€˜It’s him alright,’ exclaimed a third. ‘Look at those legs. He always was the runt of the litter!’
    Horace stuck his head in his hook and whispered, ‘Save me, Whisker. I’m trapped between a maniac coach who wants to bathe me in bleach and three squealing sisters who think I’m a suckling pig.’
    As the three overdressed rats pranced towards the pile of suitcases, Whisker wondered if he was looking at the right sisters. Each girl was tall, slender and elegantly presented – a stark contrast to Horace’s stocky frame and ill-fitting pirate attire. With fine features and perfectly straight teeth, the sisters could easily be mistaken for fashion models or pageant queens.
    The tallest of the three rats addressed Horace in a patronising tone. ‘Hello, big brother. We almost didn’t recognise you. It’s been such a long time …’
    â€˜Hi, Hera,’ Horace replied, gazing up at her. ‘Still growing I see.’
    â€˜Perhaps,’ she said with a bored shrug. ‘Or perhaps you’re just shrinking –’
    Horace shot Whisker a look that said, see what I mean.
    The second sister lowered the novel she was reading and gave Whisker a flirtatious wink through a pair of red spectacles.

    â€˜So, Brother,’ she said, not taking her eyes off Whisker, ‘when are you going to introduce us to your handsome friend?’
    â€˜Oh,’ Horace said. ‘Of course, Athena. How remiss of me.’ He cleared his throat and waved his hook in a circle around his companion. ‘This, my dear sisters, is Whisker, master escape artist and apprentice extraordinaire.’
    The three girls batted their eyelashes and curtseyed in unison. ‘Hi, Whisker.’
    Whisker suddenly felt like a deer in lamplights. His tail coiled around his leg. Death-defying escapes were one thing, but girls had never been one of his strong points.
    Horace continued, ‘And these are my three sisters, Hera, Athena and Aphrodite – equally famous for their beauty as they are for their bickering.’
    â€˜Bickering?’ exclaimed the youngest and prettiest rat, almost dropping her small pocket mirror. ‘Since when? Everyone knows I’m perfectly agreeable all of the time …’
    â€˜Put a sock in it, Aphrodite,’ Hera broke in. ‘You and Athena spend more time arguing than you do looking in the mirror. Now, if you simply learnt to do what you were told …’
    As the sisters continued their petty quarrelling, an extremely short rat, wearing a Pie Rat supporter’s cap, staggered into view. He carried a suitcase and was clearly struggling to keep it from dragging on the ground. A plump, jolly-faced rat in a golden shawl walked beside him, clutching a basket of fresh chillies. When she saw Horace, she immediately dropped her basket and rushed over to him, smothering him in hugs and kisses.
    â€˜My darling Horace,’ she laughed in a rich, velvety accent. ‘It is so good to see you.’
    â€˜You too, Mama Kolina,’ Horace said warmly, hugging her back. ‘Look, here’s my friend, Whisker.’
    â€˜Ah, Whisker,’ Mama Kolina exclaimed, releasing Horace and throwing her arms around the startled onlooker.
    Mama Kolina kissed Whisker on both cheeks and then placed her paws on his shoulders.

    â€˜You need anything, you ask Mama Kolina,’ she said with a wide grin. ‘I cook chilli pies, I mend uniforms, I run errands, I polish boots …’
    â€˜Yes, Mama,’ Horace said, his ears turning red with embarrassment. ‘He gets the idea.’
    Horace directed Whisker over to his father, still struggling with the suitcase.
    â€˜And this is my Papa Niko,’ Horace said