Key Teacup Travels

Here they come, my two intrepid explorers,

Charlotte and Elliot.

I'm their great aunt Lizzie, you see,

and I wonder which one is coming to see me today.

Ah, so it's Charlotte's turn.

Here she comes,

racing to hear another tale from an epic adventurer.

TAP! TAP! TAP! TAP!

And what wonderful adventures they were.

So long ago and so far away.

I collected a few souvenirs along the way.

But my most precious possession of all

is my extraordinary collection

of teacups.

You've still got your coat on, Charlotte. Come on.

No time to count the clouds, we've got stories to tell.

Now...

let's have a lovely cup of tea.

But first we need...

A teacup.

Which one?

That one.

Oh.

The Bronze Key.

What a choice, Charlotte.

I do really love that story.

This will be just perfect to drink now.

So...

-are you ready?

-Ready.

Then let me tell you the story

of Great Aunt Lizzie And The Adventure Of The Small Bronze Key.

Ahem.

Oh, yes, of course. Let me tell you the story

of CHARLOTTE And The Adventure Of The Small Bronze Key.

It all began

long, long ago

in ancient Britain,

an island of green forests,

majestic mountains, silver rivers

and tiny villages.

After trekking deep into the wild Celtic lands,

Charlotte found herself one bright morning

on a narrow shepherd's track.

She followed it down from the hills,

along a dry stone wall,

past a hut, where an old shepherdess stitching sheepskins

gave Charlotte a friendly wave.

On she went

until, on the edge of a forest,

she came to a rundown little shack.

From inside the hut

came the unmistakable sound of an argument.

Mum's not here any more, we need to move on.

-You know what Mum would want.

-We've just not got any money.

It was Mum's wish for us to stay here together.

But we need to eat and winter's around the corner.

We've already eaten the food we saved from summer.

Well, we can just get work nearby, then.

We've tried all around here, Donalda.

We don't have ANY choice.

We're going to have to leave.

But this is our home.

And all we have is this key. And if we leave...

..we'll never come back.

There was no door in the doorway,

but where there is a key, thought Charlotte,

there must be a lock for unlocking.

Excuse me,

I wonder if I can help.

-I hope so.

-Have you thought of selling things for food?

-We've already sold almost everything.

-What about that key?

What's that for?

That's the only thing we DO have left.

That's the key to the box,

which our mum hid in the woods from Vikings.

But she never told a soul exactly where.

Do you have ANY clues?

Not really. Just that we would find it together.

But we've always looked for it together.

Maybe I could help you look for it.

Well, it's worth one more try, I suppose.

Charlotte and the brother and sister

set off in search of the long lost box.

And, of course, Charlotte had an excellent idea.

Let's split up. You go that way, you go that way, and I'll go this way.

OK. See you soon.

Round and round they went, without a clue.

They couldn't find it anywhere.

-This is hopeless, I give up.

-Don't go.

-There's no point.

We've already looked everywhere.

If we leave now, then... we'll never find it.

-I'm not looking any more. It's silly and a waste of time.

-Donald, wait!

Charlotte didn't know what to do.

Maybe the brother was right.

Perhaps they were wasting their time.

We've looked everywhere.

Maybe we should just give up.

I used to love this place.

We would sit here as Mum collected fruits in the autumn.

Our together place, she called it.

And that was what gave Charlotte one of her brilliant ideas.

-Dig!

-What? Why?

Your mum said you'll only find it together.

Maybe she meant here in your together place.

Dig!

They dug like fury.

Might they find the hidden box at long last?

The box!

And so Charlotte and Donalda rushed back with their treasure

to tell the fantastic news.

Donald, look!

-We found it in the together place.

-Oh, the box!

You finally found at! You finally found the box!

Now all we need is the key to open it.

But no matter how hard they tried,

the lock wouldn't budge.

The key's bent. Donald, you must have bent it!

-I didn't! You must've bent it just now.

-No, I didn't.

Maybe I can find a blacksmith to fix it.

-I don't know where you'd find one.

-We've never used one.

I saw a shepherdess on the hillside,

she might be able to tell me where I can find one.

Can I take the key?

Charlotte looked at the bronze metal key.

It was little and felt rough.

She was amazed how something so small could be so important.

I'll be as quick as I can.

Charlotte thought that getting the key mended

would be as easy as falling off a log,

but, of course, it was never going to be as easy as that.

-Hello, young lady.

-Hello.

I'm looking for a blacksmith to mend a key.

-There's a blacksmith in the next village.

-Great. Thank you.

But the only way to get there from here

is to cross the meadow in the glen

and follow the steep path up the mountains.

It's a very hard journey just to fix a key.

It wasn't even lunchtime, and already it had got so messy.

She had persuaded the brother and sister to look again for the box.

This is hopeless, I give up.

-She had worked out the together clue from their mother.

-Dig!

She'd helped the sister dig out the box, but the key got damaged.

And she had thought getting a new key would be a doddle.

But she couldn't just leave them

with an unopened box and a bent key, could she?

There was nothing else for it but to set off to the blacksmiths

over the hills and far away.

So off went Charlotte in her old battered boots.

She scrambled across the ancient highlands until...

when she was almost out of breath...

the path ran out.

There was only one way to get to the other side.

Charlotte took a de-e-ep breath.

Safely across, she set off once more until high up on the moors

she found the small town where the blacksmith lived.

But there was no time to stop to admire the scenery.

Charlotte had to mend that key.

The afternoon sun was shining

when Charlotte made her way into the village

-and found the blacksmith's shop.

-Hello?

Hello?

-Can I help you?

-I've got the key, but it's bent.

Do you think you could mend it for me?

I should think so. Let me have a look.

Oh, yes. I can straighten that, no problem.

But I'll have to clean the edges, or else it will bend again.

Only problem is I need oil for that,

and I've just ran out.

So near and yet so far.

But Charlotte wasn't beaten yet.

She looked in her trusty bag

and brought out a little can.

-Is this enough?

-Oh-ho-ho! It certainly is. Thank you.

All sorts of tapping and scritching and scratching noises

came from the workshop. But, quick as anything,

the blacksmith handed Charlotte a perfect little bronze key.

-That should do the job.

-Thank you.

-My pleasure.

-Bye.

-Bye-bye.

Back came Charlotte in her old battered boots,

across the ancient highlands and down the mountainside.

With weary legs and a determined smile,

she got back to the little shack,

where Donald and Donalda would be waiting.

They were STILL arguing.

I got it mended.

-BOTH:

-Thank you!

Now we can finally open the box.

What ever is inside,

-we're going to share. Agreed?

-Agreed.

-And no more arguing?

-Agreed.

Carefully does it.

Wow!

-Gold!

-Two huge gold coins!

This is enough to buy everything we need!

-You mean, we can stay here? In this house?

-Of course!

Let's eat all the nuts right now

and tomorrow we can go buy lots more.

Yes. Let's.

And that was that, the whole kit and caboodle.

Charlotte And The Adventure Of The Small Bronze Key.

-I thought that brother and sister would argue for ever.

-So did I.

-I like the way the blacksmith mended the key.

-Yes, that was very clever.

He could make lots and lots of different keys.

My goodness, time does fly when you're having fun.

Come on.

Your mum will be here in a minute.

Your coat.

Now how did that get there?

Home time now, Charlotte.

Thanks, Great Aunt Lizzie!

Cheery-bye, Charlotte!