Corgi Kidnap
Harriet Hodges, 11
Baden Powell & St Peters C of E Junior School, Poole
It was the day before her coronation and the future Queen was running through the details of how the special day would go. Nothing could go wrong. Her Majesty’s ladies in waiting practised using a sheet for her gown and chairs for the golden carriage. Up in one of the royal bedrooms, Susan - Elizabeth’s corgi - was lying asleep in a king-sized dog bed, her ear flopping down over her bead-like eye, peacefully dreaming about the bird she had caught today.
At eleven, the changing of the guards took place. Every guard was on high alert and security was extremely tight, so surely no one could just slip by? A tall, thin man wearing a bearskin cap and a smart, red suit – just like the rest- sneaked out of the steady, uniform lines, down into one of the archways and through the vast courtyard. He smoothly scaled the wall until he reached the window he was looking for. This man was a well-known dognapper- maybe even the most wanted of them all. Well today was his big challenge. Operation Corgi.
Back in the palace, everyone was preparing for dinner when a loud bark sounded from the Corgi’s room. One of the servants hurried upstairs, only to find an empty room and muddy foot prints ending at the large window. Almost everyone searched all over for the corgi but no one found anything: no one dared to tell the Queen. Elizabeth went peacefully to bed, unsuspecting that her darling corgi had been taken.
On the day of the coronation everyone was buzzing with nerves and excitement. Nearly ready, the Queen called for her corgi- but there was no reply. She asked one of her servants to call upon a footman to find Susan. She knew that the Queen needed to know the truth: that no one had seen her dog since yesterday. Elizabeth had no time to worry as she was whisked away to be seated in her gold-plated carriage. As they navigated through the packed streets, the rejoicing crowds distracted her from the missing dog.
Susan woke up to a loud mixture of colour and noise, though it was blurred by a brown, stuffy bag she seemed to be travelling in. She sniffed and caught a scent of a familiar smell through all the others. Using her teeth, Susan picked through the coarse material and bounded out of the sack, causing many cries of surprise. An ear up and her nose down, Susan navigated through the crowd.
Suddenly, Elizabeth heard a familiar sound through the cheers. The Queen looked down to the cobbled road to see Susan galloping towards her on her stubby little legs, a slight bounce to her step and her ears pricked up. Elizabeth opened her arms and the corgi leapt up into her loving hold. Susan sat on the plump velvet cushions, her tongue lapping out as if she had never disappeared at all. The Queen smiled. Her coronation would be perfect.