Adventures of Crusty Book Four
OUT OF THE
FRYING PAN
BOOK FOUR
by
TERRY BALDWIN
A NEW HOME!
Crusty, the little green-brown crab was excited. He was racing through the water once again. Littleben, the dolphin, had carried him for many hours before slowing down to enter an opening in the rocks. When he broke the surface Crusty found himself in a huge cavern. “Make yourself at home,” cried Littleben on his way out almost before Crusty had jumped down to the seabed. “Must be off.” And he was gone before Crusty could blink an eye.
“Well I never,” said Crusty. “He didn’t give me time to thank him.”
The little crab stayed in the cavern for several days. He looked into every hole and crack. He gazed in wonder at the strange shapes formed by the dripping water. “What a lovely place this is,” he said. “I wish Eric was here with me.” He sighed at the thought of his friend. But he quickly forgot his sadness as he wandered around the vast cavern. There was so much to see. There was beauty everywhere he looked. Even on the outside. And without a thought of danger he wandered outside.
Crusty had no warning of what was coming towards him. He was picked off his feet before he had time to think. “Walloping Whales,” he cried as he struggled to free himself. But the more he struggled the more tangled his claws and legs became. The first thing that sprang into his head was he had been caught in the web of a giant underwater spider. “Help. Help,” he shouted. But his cries faded on his lips.
There was no help.
He could see many more creatures caught in the same trap. They were all busy trying to free themselves. They all had the same problem. The wall of fine netting, which surrounded them, was slowly closing in on them. How could any one of them escape, Crusty wondered.
Slap. Bonk. Thump.
“Hey. Fizzling Projectiles. Take it easy. Don’t get so excited,” Crusty yelled as he tried to fend off fish of all sizes. First one and then another whizzed past his head. “Jumping Jellyfish. Now what’s happening?” he wailed, his eyes opening wide as he was drawn upwards.
INTO A BLACK CLOUD
It was at that moment when Crusty’s blood turned to ice. He had seen a Black Cloud. Terrified, he watched as he was drawn slowly towards it. Visions of one-eyed monsters flashed into his mind. Struggling even more he tried to break out of the hold the net had over him. But it was impossible. Up, up he was drawn to the thing of nightmares. He broke through the surface into bright sunlight. He blinked his eyes several times. Before he knew what was happening…
Thump, Bonk, Plop,
he was dropped onto something hard. “Bumping Barnacles,” he wheezed. Rubbing his head he struggled off his back and onto his feet. Flapping fish were all around him. They were all sliding and bumping into each other as they tried to get back into the sea.
A tall, two-legged creature began to throw the fish into a hole.
Crusty crouched, claws raised ready to defend himself, when ZOOOMMM he was lifted into the air. When he opened his eyes again he was looking into the bright, blue eyes of a small, two-legged creature. Crusty snapped his claws together but they closed only on thin air. “Look what I’ve found,” the creature shouted. “Look. I’ve found a crab. Come and see Tommy.”
“Where Claire?” another voice cried excitedly. “Is it a big one?” Crusty was turned round until he was looking into a pair of dark, brown eyes. “He’s not very big,” said Tommy and he pushed a finger towards it.
“Well it’s not that small,” replied Claire turning the little crab around so she could look at it. “What shall we do with it?”
“We could eat it,” Tommy replied with a wide grin on his face.
“No,” shouted Claire. “I’m going to put it back into the sea.”
“Okay. Okay. You found it. You do what you want with it. Hey. I bet those claws would give a nasty nip.” Tommy pulled out his sunglasses, opened one arm and pushed it towards the little crab.
Crusty snapped and held onto it. He wouldn’t even let go when Tommy tried to pull it away. He was going to hold onto it even if it meant he would be pulled out of his shell.
“I told you,” yelled Tommy.
“Leave it alone,” Claire shouted at him. “I’m going to drop it back into the sea.”
Crusty’s tummy seemed to rise into his throat as he found himself falling. Wobbling from side to side he tried to turn onto his back before hitting the water. “Oof,” he grunted as the air was forced out of him before he sank in a series of gentle spirals to land on his feet.
SANDSTORM
As soon as Crusty’s feet touched the seabed he ran to the first hiding place he could find. And he stayed there for a long time after the Black Cloud had gone. He was so afraid the Black Cloud would come back for him. When he crawled out of his hiding place Crusty had no idea where he was. He scratched his head and looked around. He couldn’t make up his mind which direction he should take. Before he could move he was lifted off his feet and carried forward a short distance. “Cramping Cockleshells. What’s happening,” he frowned as he looked around. He had failed to notice any of the changes taking place around him. The sea was much rougher now.
Once again he was lifted off his feet. This time he was rolled over the seabed like a rubber ball. “Shooting Sand Stars,” he yelled. “I’m being pushed in the wrong direction. I am heading towards a beach when I should be going into deeper water. He had time to notice the sky was no longer blue. Clouds hurried above him. There was not as much light and the sand near the bottom was being stirred up. He struggled to stay on his feet. But there was little he could do as the sea became even rougher. He was being lifted higher and thrown painfully onto the seabed.
And the seabed was becoming to feel like a desert sand storm.
“Wobbling Whirlpools,” Crusty cried as he was rolled, lifted, turned and thumped by the strong sea. Slowly but surely the sea was pushing Crusty further up the sloping sandy beach. Each time the water flowed back he was left gasping and giddy, only to be rolled, lifted, turned and thumped again.
A large gull flew overhead. Swooping now and again it watched the little crab. It was… Waiting … Watching… for the right moment to make its move.
Again Crusty was picked up by a wave, hurled high into the air and thrown down hard onto the sand. Left by the receding water he lay on the wet sand. It had left him bruised and dazed and as still as death.
A FLIGHT TO REMEMBER
That was the moment the fat gull had been waiting for. He swooped down, picked the little crab up in his beak and carried him high into the sky. Crusty shook the water from his eyes and looked down. “Flapping Flying Fish,” he whispered as everything below him flashed passed. He closed his eyes again hoping he had been dreaming. His claws snapped together and he held onto the first thing they touched. He slowly opened one eye. Everything below him was still a blur. “Lolloping Lava,” he groaned. “I… I do… don’t li… like it up here.”
The fat gull flew over the harbour where a crowd of children were throwing food into the air. A large piece of bread rose up in front of the fat gull. Greedily it opened its beak to snatch it.
Crusty felt himself falling again. In each claw he held a single white feather. “Parachuting Piranhas,” he cried as he fell towards the ground, the feathers fluttering uselessly. Over and over he turned before hitting the harbour wall with a loud crack. He bounced off the wall, splashed into the sea and sank to the bottom.
He was bruised and dazed and lay where he had fallen at the bottom of the harbour wall. Gently he tested each part of himself. Everything was fine until he tried to move. “Oh dear,” he sighed. “I’ve cracked my shell. It must have happened when I hit the wall. Still, I’m lucky that’s all that happened.”
A group of Sea Horses were swimming past. They noticed the little crab limping along the harbour floor. “Are you hurt?” asked one of them.
“A little,” replied Crusty and told them what had happened.
The Sea Horses listened without blinking an eye. “We know of a place where you will be safe,” said another.
“You will be able to recover from your injury,” said a third.
“As long as it takes,” said the first Sea Horse.
Crusty knew just how lucky he was. “Thank you all,” he said as the Sea Horses surrounded him. They lifted him gently and moved through the water with a slow grace. After some time they lowered him to the seabed.
“That leads to a good, safe cave,” said one of the Sea Horses pointing to a nearby opening. “You will be able to rest for as long as you wish. Goodbye. We must be on our way.”
Crusty waved and shouted his thanks. He slowly limped to the cave entrance and went inside. He was pleased with what he saw. “This will do very well. Yes. Very well indeed,” he said softly to himself. “At least until my shell has healed and I can continue my travels. And my search for a new home.”
More of Crusty’s adventures can be found in Book Five.
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