Moon Rabbit

Chapter 1: The Ducklings

It was Stevie Scott’s first day back at school in Peebles, in the Scottish Borders, following the summer half-term break.

Stevie felt truly happy. As well as being a schoolboy, he was a Roman legionary together with his school-friend, Andy Watson. Stevie’s real name, of course, was Stevius Maximus and Andy, being shorter, was Andius Minimus. They had a Roman camp on the bank of the River Tweed beyond the bridge upstream, an outpost of the better known Trimontium Roman fort near Melrose. But it was a secret camp, which is why it was so important in the overall Roman military campaign. And being back at school meant that the legionaries could now discuss tactics together. Also, as the summer evenings were longer, they could spend more time there. During the break, Stevie went down to the camp in the early mornings, and he was desperate to tell Andius Minimus about the duck family. Every morning a mother duck led her troupe of five little waddling ducklings down to the water for swimming practice right in front of the camp.

Back at school that morning, Stevie, who sat next to Andy, was eager to tell his friend about the duck family when his attention was diverted. By a new girl in the class. He reckoned she had prettiest face he had ever seen.

“I think she must be Chinese or Japanese, or something,” Stevie whispered.

“Are they at war with the Romans?” Andy whispered back.

Stevie did not answer. He merely stared at the girl who had silky, black hair tied back, in a ponytail, with a pink hairband. She looked worried and Stevie realized she had good reason to feel anxious since she had been put next to Red-nosed Rosie.

Rosie hung around with Crazy Davie and Muckle Mikey and, like her two friends, had become a right troublemaker. Stevius Maximus and Andius Minimus were most definitely at war with those three, but battles were to be avoided for Davie and Mikey both had big fists which they often used to their advantage in the school playground.

“Why on earth did they put the poor girl next to Rosie?” Stevie muttered.

Andy shrugged his shoulders.

“Perhaps they thought she might calm Rosie down,” he replied.

“A job for us legionaries,” Stevie announced. “To protect the new girl!”

Mrs Kerr addressed the class:

“Good morning, children! I hope you all enjoyed yourselves over the mid-term break.”

“Good morning, Mrs Kerr,” everyone in class called out. Everyone, that is, except Rosie, Davie and Mikey.

“Today we have a new girl with us. Maisie Wu. Maisie comes all the way from Hangzhou in China and I’m sure you’ll make her feel very welcome at our school here in Peebles. Good morning to you, Maisie.”

“Good morning, Maisie,” the class, excluding Rosie, Davie and Mikey, chanted together. In fact, Rosie glowered rudely at Maisie then looked the other way. Maisie smiled at the class and thanked everyone. Stevie loved her smile. She looked so cute. But he felt thoroughly ashamed, on behalf of the class, to see Rosie behave so unkindly, and worse was yet to come.

It soon became apparent that Maisie’s spoken English was not too good although she understood what was said perfectly well. Clearly, the girl sitting next to Maisie was not going to help her in any way. When wee Maisie asked Rosie a question in her broken English the other girl stuck out her tongue, then looked the other way. That was bad enough, but what happened at playtime decided the issue. The legionaries would have to act.

The Chinese girl was standing alone, quietly minding her own business, when Crazy Davie, coaxed by his two friends, sidled up to her.

“Chinese, Japanese, dinnae forget to wash your knees!” he taunted.

Rosie sniggered unkindly, and poor Maisie looked both hurt and puzzled. She knew Davie was being unfriendly, but his Borders accent was so strong she hadn’t a clue what he was talking about.

“Hey, Rosie,” Mikey chipped in. “Ken what? My dad says they live in caves in China, and that they’re so poor they eat slugs and things!”

“Yuk!” responded Rosie, again sticking her tongue out at Maisie.

Maisie just stood there, bravely trying to ignore the three tormentors, but she looked sad. Stevie wished so much to see the girl smile again. He was about to go up to her when Mrs Kerr, on playground duty, spotted what was happening and went over to Maisie. The three cowardly delinquents ran off.

“Maisie, come and meet Amy,” she said to the girl.

Maisie still looked troubled as she was lead across the playground and introduced to a fresh-faced, blond girl.

“That’s good!” Stevie said to Andy. “I like Amy.”

Andy frowned. He liked Amy very much indeed but had not dared tell his friend.

Soon, Maisie was chatting with Amy and smiling again. Her smile gave Stevie the courage he needed.

“Shall we?” Stevius Maximus the legionary asked Andius Minimus. “Perform our duty?”

“Aye!” replied Andius Minimus, keen to find any excuse to talk to Amy.

They high fived and marched across the playground to where Amy and Maisie stood together.

“Erm…” began Stevie. Maisie looked round and smiled at him. Her smile made him feel so warm and good inside that, for a few moments, the boy was speechless. “Erm… I’m Stevie. Stevie Scott. Happy to meet you, Maisie.”

“Me happy too,” said Maisie, still smiling.

“Oh, and… erm… this is Andy.”

Maisie and Amy both smiled at Andy. Andy puffed himself up. Amy had never smiled at him before.

“Erm… China,” Stevie continued. “Is it a long way off? Erm… I know it’s a long way off, but did it take long? I mean to get here from China? By plane, that is.”

Maisie laughed and Stevie loved to hear her laugh.

“Rong time,” she replied.

“Wrong?” Stevie queried. “Oh, a long time. Yeah! That’s cool, Maisie.”

And so the legionaries, feeling more relaxed by the minute, talked on with Maisie and Amy whilst other kids rushed around the playground in all directions. There was a lot of shouting and yelling going on, so the foursome found a quiet corner by the railings.

“What language do you speak at home?” Stevie asked of Maisie. He failed to notice Crazy Davie and his horrid friends creep up behind him as he spoke.

“In China people speak many languages,” Maisie said. “At home we speak Mandarin Chinese.”

“Told you,” Davie shouted. “Duck language! Mandarins are ducks. My dad told me. We saw them in Edinburgh Zoo.”

At which Rosie and Mikey creased themselves with laughter and began quacking like ducks.

“Quack, quack!” went Crazy Davie poking his ugly face right up close to Maisie.

“Clear off!” Stevie warned. “Leave her alone!”

“‘Oh, leave the little Mandarin duck alone,’ he says. Hey, Stevie, do you eat slugs too?”

“Just shove off, Davie!” persisted Stevie. He stood between Davie and Maisie, and somehow being near the girl made him feel brave. He was a legionary, after all, and it was his job to protect her.

“Who says, chop suey face? Try and make me!”

Davie knew how to show aggression, and normally Stevius Maximus would have retreated rapidly but the legionary stood his ground. He had to protect Maisie.

“Just be nice to her, can’t you. She’s a thousand times prettier than Red-nosed Rosie!”

Maisie’s presence must have made Stevius Maximus feel extremely bold for there were things no one in their right mind would say to Crazy Davie. Calling his girlfriend ‘Red-nosed Rosie’ was one of those things. Davie’s face slowly changed – became sort of screwed-up looking – before he pushed Stevius Maximus backwards so hard that the legionary fell onto Maisie, whom he was supposed to protect, and she hit the railings. The girl gave a cry of distress, and Stevius Maximus turned around to apologize to her.

Mistake number two. Never turn your back on the enemy. He had often warned Andius Minimus about the dangers of doing this and yet he so wanted to say sorry to Maisie he couldn’t stop himself. He felt a series of painful punches in the back as both Davie and Mikey laid into him. This was too much for Stevius Maximus. Swivelling round, he thumped Crazy Davie on the chest as hard as he could.

“Say sorry to Maisie, or else!” he threatened.

“Stevie!” Andy warned his friend.

Too late. Stevius Maximus the brave was no match against the combined flying fists of Davie and Mikey, but he put up a good fight whilst Amy ran off to fetch Mrs Kerr from the other end of the playground. Meanwhile Andius Minimus did as he instructed… shielded Maisie, now tearful, from the fray. The Chinese girl became really upset when Stevius Maximus fell to the ground under a volley of punches and kicks. Andius Minimus was attempting to pull the two bullies away from his co-legionary when Mrs Kerr called out sharply, “What’s going on there!” Crazy Davie and Muckle Mikey, being cowards, ran off with Rosie whilst Stevie painfully picked himself up.

“Hopelessly outnumbered,” he muttered to Andy, gutted for being beaten up in front of Maisie.

“He started it!” Crazy Davie yelled from a safe distance as Mrs Kerr and Amy came across to Maisie and the two legionaries.

“Aye, he did too. I saw it!” shouted Rosie. “Stevie was threatening us and hit Davie so hard he might be bruised for life!”

Maisie stood still as a frightened rabbit whilst tears trickled down her pale cheeks.

“Stevie, you should be ashamed of yourself for fighting like that. You of all people! I’m afraid you’re going to have to pay a visit to Mr McKinnon. All right?”

Stevie hung his head in shame but felt better when Maisie said something that sounded like ‘sheer-sheer’, then stood up for him:

“Please, not Stevie’s fault,” she pleaded on his behalf. “Stevie is kind. Try to help Maisie.”

“That’s as it may be,” said Mrs Kerr sternly, “but he knows very well that there’s to be no fighting in the playground!”

“Stay with her,” Stevius Maximus commanded his co-legionary, and Andy was only too pleased to share this duty with Amy who put an arm around her new friend to comfort the Chinese girl.

Stevie was marched off to see Mr McMcKinnon, the headmaster, now feeling proud despite jeers from Davie and Mikey.

“Well, Stevie,” said Mr McKinnon. “I must thank you for bringing to our attention the bad behaviour of three members of your class towards the new girl. We can’t have teasing in our school. And we abhor any form of racism. I had hoped that putting little Maisie next to Rosie might have made Rosie feel responsible towards her, but we obviously got it wrong. Mrs Kerr will be talking to the class. You’re a good lad, Stevie, but in the future don’t fight back like that. Just come and let one of us know. Always tell a grown-up, Stevie, please!”

Stevie nodded, but he was not in agreement. It was his job as a legionary to put an end to that sort of thing.

After playtime, Mrs Kerr asked the class what they knew about China.

“They eat slugs and live in caves,” Muckle Mikey shouted.

“No, Mikey. They eat wonderful food, live in homes like our own and drive around in cars. But when people in this country lived in caves and ate things worse than slugs, the Chinese already had a great civilization, lived in fantastic palaces, wore fabulous clothes and had the best meals you can imagine.”

“Did they have Chinese restaurants and takeaways in China when we all lived in caves?” a voice at the back called out.

Mrs Kerr laughed.

“They probably they did, Rory,” she said. “And do you know, long ago they invented paper in China, as well as paper money, printing, silk, kite-flying, gun-powder and rockets!”

“Hey, that’s so cool!” said Rory.

“And the compass to help them navigate their ships. And why do we call plates, cups and saucers ‘china’? Can anyone tell me?” Mrs Kerr asked the children.

Mikey’s hand shot up.

“Because Chinese people break like plates if you drop them!” he said, grinning.

“Go and see Mr McKinnon, Mikey,” said Mrs Kerr. “I’m fed up with your stupid rudeness. Amy, you tell the class.”

“Because it was invented in China as well,” Amy said proudly. “It’s also called por… pork… porky… erm…”

“Porcupine!” offered Mikey on his way to the door. Davie and Rosie sniggered.

“Porcelain, Amy. Good! But we usually just talk about ‘the china’, don’t we? And there’s so much else to learn about Maisie’s homeland. It’s the third biggest country in the world, for one thing, but has the largest population of any country. Do you know that one person out of every five in the world is Chinese? China has become one of the world’s wealthiest countries because so many things are made there. Just look at the labels on your toys, your clothes and many of the other things your parents buy. I’ll bet you many of them will say ‘Made in China’. And Chinese food is eaten and enjoyed around the whole world more than any other type of cooking. That’s because people like it so much. Who’s had food from our own Chinese restaurant here in Peebles?”

Everyone except for Davie and Rosie shot their hands up into the air.

“My Dad likes sweet and sour,” one girl said, “but I prefer spareribs.”

“I like chicken with cashew nuts best,” another girl said. “It’s yummy!”

“What about noodles?” a boy called out. “They’re great!”

“Yes,” said Mrs Kerr. “And Italian spaghetti possibly came from China…”