Then she said, “Oh, you are gorgeous.”

Blimey. Now it was my big moment. My Enchantment dance.

I fiddled with my ears and said, “I know, madam, it’s the knees.”

And I did a bit of mushy knee walk.

Monty said, “Oh, bravo!”

And there was more applause from the audience. I said to Sidone, “Look at these knees, worship the knees. These knees can make anyone do anything, they are magical knees.”

This was the cue for the chorus to sing “Isn’t He Lovely” to an Irish tune.

Ruby waggled a hoofy snack and Matilda toddled out in her tutu and wings. She could see Ruby waggling the hoofy, and lay on her back with her legs sticking up.

Hurrah!

I did my Irish donkey dancing over her upturned legs and got a massive round of applause. Titania swooned.

At the end, as we took our bows, Sidone got up. She walked to the center of the stage and waited for quiet.

“Local community, friends of Dother Hall, girls, my girls. I went to London in an attempt to resolve our little financial misunderstandings, but I am sorry to say that I found myself met on every side by the dark ignorant forces that pit themselves against the artist. Dark ignorant forces who say, ‘We are not interested in the ballet—get your wallet out!’”

She swayed and Monty got to his feet. She wasn’t going to have to be hauled off like a fish finger again, was she?

She put her head in her hands.

Oh no. Was this the final good-bye to Dother Hall?

She looked at us.

“As you can imagine, I returned to Dother Hall broken. To be greeted by Bob burning the last of the potting-shed shelves … and …”

Jo said, “I bet our beds are gone.”

Sidone hadn’t finished.

“Some wonderful, wonderful news!! A letter from Honey’s agent in Hollywood, Mr. Bloomfield. He’d heard from Honey about our financial misunderstandings with the creatures who call themselves the Revenue.”

She turned to look at Monty and said, “Why they don’t just wear black masks and carry bags with THIEF written on them …”

Monty gave her a hankie and she continued.

“But the good news is, girls, that Mr. Bloomfield has sent us a very generous check!! So, girls, we march on. Limping a little, but carrying on!”

Monty clapped and shouted, “Oh, bravo, bravo.”

We all cheered and Flossie said, “Does that mean I can have a bath?”

The Tree Sisters were jumping up and down. I even let Mr. Barraclough wear my ears. Ruby was yelling, “Hurray! Hurray!”

After Sidone’s speech, when everyone was hugging each other and Matilda was happily chewing her hoofy, a big black dog came in. It growled menacingly and people backed away from it.

Was it the son of Fang?

The black dog went over to Matilda and snatched the hoofy away from her. Matilda just watched sadly as the black dog took her snack out of the door.