Stage Fright!

Sophie's Great Idea
That night was stormy. Above the howling wind there
was the sound of a loud, urgent knocking on the door
of The Old Farmhouse. It was Cressida. She was
completely drenched, her hair plastered to her face
and she was shivering and shaking but as soon as she
saw Sophie she started blurting out her story, still
standing on the doorstep in the pouring rain.
‘Come in,’ urged Sophie and pulled her friend into
the house.
Minutes later Cressida was sitting on Sophie’s bed,
wrapped in a great, big fluffy towel while her soggy
clothes dried on the aga downstairs. Her teeth were
still chattering from the cold but she managed to tell
Sophie about all the dramas going on at Hawthorne
Cottage. Farmer Bagwash, bright red in the face and
with Lollipop at his heels, had been round
berwooomphing and shouting, demanding that
Cressie’s dad must give him back his ladder or he
would call the police.
‘Of course dad doesn't know anything about the
silly ladder!’ said Cressida crossly, her teeth still
chattering. ‘So he just told Farmer Bagwash to have
a look around if he liked and take the ladder if he
could find it. Most of our stuff is packed up so it was
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