Jonathan Chimpgreen paddles to the shops...
Jonathan Chimpgreen leaned back in the warm sunshine and took another sip of his drink as the waves gently lapped at his feet. Life on a tropical desert island was absolute heaven, nothing could beat this.
And then he woke up. He opened his eyes in the darkness and all was black, but he could still hear the sound of small waves lapping gently on the beach. How strange, he thought, because he was definitely awake.
A crack of thunder echoed outside and then he heard the rain. And then he realised. He jumped out of bed, stumbled across the floor and ran down stairs. As he reached the bottom he slipped and fell with a splash in to his living room. His house was flooded! The water smelled foul as he sat up and a lampshade bobbed by. Picking himself up, he sploshed across the room, grabbed his TV and DVD recorder and carried them upstairs. After another ten to fifteen trips he’d managed to get most of his prized possessions upstairs.
Living on an affluent, attractive quayside by the River Chimpwell was great, but he’d never counted on the river flooding. He peered through his curtains and saw that the swollen river was like a small sea outside, and there near the dim lampost was a submerged car with a terrified cat on the roof. It wouldn’t be long before the car was submerged and the cat had no escape. “Poor little fellow” he thought. Remembering his dinghy in the attic he raced upstairs, grabbed the inflatable along with a lifejacket and oar and returned downstairs. As he breathlessly blew the dinghy up he saw the water level continuing to rise. It was a race against time.
Eventually, red faced, and with the water level up to the roof of the car, he fastened his lifejacket, carefully climbed in to his inflatable and set out through his front door, towards the car and the cat. He had to fight against the current but eventually managed to get within a couple of feet away form the vehicle. The cat needed no invitation and leaped towards its salvation, sinking its claws in to Jonathan’s face. Letting out a yelp he tore the cat from his face and carefully placed it on to the floor of the dinghy. He recognised the little moggy as belonging to Mrs Chimpnell down the street and so he paddled further down the quay and after carefully manoeuvring was able to knock on the door.
After a few moments the first floor window opened and elderly Mrs Chimpnell leaned out. Although she was pleased to see her cat Lilly, she seemed rather alarmed herself. And so it began. Jonathan spent eight hours ferrying residents down the quayside and up to higher ground. Twelve chimps, three cats, a Great Dane and a hamster called Neville.
After many long hours waiting at a nearby community centre the flood eventually subsided the residents returned to their homes and counted the cost of the damage. Jonathan was hailed a local hero and was even given a free boat by a local shipwright. Although embarrassed by his new found fame, he proudly named the boat ‘The Chimpchester Lilly’ after the cat that inspired him to start his rescue mission that night.
