Sink or Swim.
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Sink or Swim by A. Richardson©2003
For nearly six months Auntie encouraged Wriggle and Squirm to save some of their pocket money each week so they would have plenty to spend on their summer holiday.The three mice caught the bus into town one Saturday in February for a special trip to Trumbles Travel Agent, where they booked a two week package holiday to Disneyland in Paris. As you can imagine both Wriggle and Squirm were extremely excited at the thought of visiting Disneyland. Every night their heads were full of all the things they would do and see.

It is Friday July the 20th. and tomorrow their journey begins with a coach trip to the airport, where they will catch a plane to fly to Paris. Auntie, Wriggle and Squirm are busy putting the finishing touches to their packing.

Sitting on top of his heavily overstuffed suitcase Wriggle complains ," Auntie, I can't shut my case, the things won't go in the way they should. Can you make it shut for me , please?" "Unfortunatly, Wriggle," replies Auntie, " there isn't a thing I can do with a problem like yours, after all you just can't get a whale into a small saucepan". "But I don't want to take a whale with me Auntie, I just want to take my clothes, and my bucket and spade, as well as my clock, radio, slippers, brush, favourite conkers, special corks and most of all my international mouse phrase book so I can talk to all the foreign mice we meet in Disneyland, answers a rather puzzled Wriggle." Squirm, who has decided to take the minimum of belongings with him , has just finished packing and locking his suitcase. He turns to his brother with an offer of help, then sits down on Wriggle's suicase to see if the weight of both of them will force the case to close enough to lock. Both mice now bounce on top of the case trying to force the lock to close with each downward push as they land. Finally they give up because the clothes just will not stay inside the case, leaking out at the corners in a very 'every whichway' fashion. " Oh, good grief ", Auntie mutters as she pulls them both off the top of the case, " Both of you sit on the bed while I sort this mess out", and with that she tips all the contents of the case onto the floor. The clothes which Wriggles will need for their journey are neatly folded, then carefully lain at the bottom of the case. Then Auntie wraps one pair of sandals and one of slippers in tissue. These are put at the corners of the back part of the case with some socks rolled up inside them to save space. Looking at the rest of Wriggle's things now strewn on the floor Auntie heaves a very heavy sigh, Wriggle, my dear, you cannot possibly take this skate board, nor your inflatable ring, with you, we simply don't have enough room for it all in your suitcase."

At this point Wriggle starts to argue because he really wants to take lots of things so that he will have an even better time, but as Aunty says, " There will be such a lot to do and see in Disneyland that you won't even miss these things one bit", and with that , she puts all the unnecessary items back in the cupboard.

After a good night's sleep the three mice got up early for a quick breakfast, then set off to catch the coach to London Airport.( It isn't easy for a mouse to carry a suitcase full of their belongings nearly a mile to the bus stop, but they managed even though they had to be ready and waiting for the bus as early as 6.30 a.m. ) During the coach trip Auntie dozed frequently while Wriggle and Squirm played 'Spot the White Cat' from the safety of the coach window. Squirm spotted 27 white cats between home and London, which made him the winner, but not without an argument with Wriggle who accused him of cheating! Soon, though, they were safely onboard their aircraft, settled in their seats, with a snack and a drink on a tray in front of them, all provided by a lovely young stewardess called Mari . Mari was a softly spoken Cabbage Moth , dressed in the airline's colours of pale green, white and pink, who went along the rows of passengers taking them food and drink and making sure they had everything they needed. She also used a microphone to tell the passengers when to put their seat belts on and how to work the buttons which would turn on the sound for the films which they could watch durinbg the flight.

Squirm desperately wanted to see inside the cockpit where the pilot was busy flying the plane, maybe even have a go at flying it himself if noone minded, but when he asked Mari if he could she explained, " Not on this trip , I'm sorry, but our captain is too busy to receive visitors. He has to concentrate hard to get us to Paris quickly because our trip is running a bit late, you see". So Squirm had to content himself with yet another game with his brother, only this time the game was "Squeak" which is played with a small pack of cards where you squeak every time you pick an ace, seven, ten, or king, and if the other player has the same card as you they win that hand. It can be quite a noisy game , so Auntie often had to ask the two little fellows to make less noise, but at least they didn't fight over who won this time. Soon the plane arrived in Paris. Wriggle and Squirm followed Auntie through customs , onto yet another bus, and then finally there before them they saw the wondrous sight of Disneyland. Their dreams had come true. They even found themselves shown to rooms in the hotel which were quite the most magical, fairytale rooms you ever did see. While Auntie had a room which looked like it was made of candyfloss with fluffy curtains, cushions, and carpet all in pink and white, Wriggle and Squirm's room was altogether so modern mouselike that it was uncanny. The beds were shaped like mocassins with an indian feather on their headboards, and there was the most amazing bathtub made from a walnut shell which had been carved into the shape of an octopus whose long ivy legs trailed onto the soft mossy carpet.
Even Auntie ooo'd and aaahhed with excitement. When the unpacking was finished Auntie told the two young mice they could have some of their pocket money to take with them while they looked around the rides and shops. " I'm going to see if there are any nice things I can buy as presents for my friends before I spend all my money on having fun, " decided Squirm, but Wriggle had made up his mind to spend his money on a boat ride if there was one.

You see Wriggle has a passion for boats. He likes sailing paper boats, playing with boats in his bathtub, rowing a boat on the pond at home, and has even had a go at paddling his own canoe, although I must say, he did overturn the canoe in the water and was almost stuck upside down with his head under the water to the point of drowning , except that Mr. Flatfish happened along to lend a hand to turn the canoe the right way up again. Otherwise goodness knows what would have happened