Tales of Tiptoe and More - Volume IV

Episode 6

Adam Ant and Nicola Newt lived in Bristol, and both attended the same church, where they loved to sing hymns, and afterwards, go out to the coast to Hogg Bay, to race their schooners. It had become such a habit with them, that they jokingly called their schooners "post-hymn schooners".

So it wasn't at all unusual, on one fine summer day, that Adam and Nicola, drive all the way from Bristol for their post-hymn schooners. They'd brought along Martin Mouse, who had never been to the ocean before. As literary historians well know, Martin lived beneath the desk of Charles Dickens, and his experience was written up by the famous author:

'Martin cast up his eyes once in ecstasy,' writes Dickens, 'the ocean was beautiful, and the very idea of riding on a schooner was his fondest dream'.

There was some discussion of whose schooner Martin would ride in. Finally a coin was tossed, the Adam was the choice.

Now Martin Mouse was a timid tea-totaling mouse, and once he and Adam has cast off, Martin he was alarmed to hear Adam say,"Once the noonday gun sounds, a slug of sherry down the gullet will heighten the excitement of the schooner race." So as noon approached, Martin grew apprehensive.

Noon finally arrived, and the sound of the noonday gun rang over the harbor. Martin was surprised and relieved to see Sherry Seal approaching in a tugboat, with her pet slug, Sammy, at her side. It turned out that Sammy had a soda fountain beneath the deck of the tugboat, which he called "The Gullet". Sammy went down to The Gullet and got root beer for everyone. Martin agreed that this did indeed make the schooner race more exciting!

Martin Mouse was pleased that the following Sunday after an especially enjoyable hymn-singing session, Nicola Newt asked if he wanted to go post-hymn schooner racing again. He said that he'd love to, but that it was his turn to ride in her schooner this time. Nicola smiled, knowing that Martin was unaware that Martin's tiptoe heroes, Nancy and Sluggo, would also be riding in her schooner.