Chapter 8: They Receive Their Correction

“Of course, I will expect you to help me replace the cringle crisps that were ruined. In addition, I also expect you to do something to help others in the hopes you might learn something from your mistake. Follow me to the barn.”

They walked to the barn and the giant man rummaged around in a hayloft, finally producing two large balls of yarn. One was OrangeUGlad and the other was BananaSafely.

“You are going to knit mittens for the whitey biteys to protect their fins from the cold.”

“I must say, these colors, well, I should think perhaps something more dignified…”

The giant man gave the croco-diamond the look so the croco-diamond thought it best to discontinue his commentary on the yarn.

As he did before the colossal cringle crisp caper, the croco-diamond went out to the field and began picking cringle roots, glad to be away from the giant man and kangawrong. They made him feel bad.

He was unaware that something terrible was about to happen to him.

#

As the giant man, in the kitchen, finished a basket of crisps, and the kangawrong carried it out to the courtyard, the scent of cringle crisps wafted out to the croco-diamond. The scent grew stronger and suddenly the croco-diamond ceased to be able to pick. His snout went blech klech. He felt sick, as if he might pass out.

“Help me! Help me!” he cried, burying his snout with his front feet. “I am going to DIE!”

The giant man and the kangawrong ran out to the field to see what was wrong with the croco-diamond. It appeared that, due to his being in a coma, he could no longer stand the smell of cringle crisps. The thought of eating one, which occurred to him as the giant man covered his snout with a wet bandana, made him feel even more ill.

They tried a few things to help the croco-diamond, finally tying a mumsy-whirl to his nose to blow the smell of the cringle crisps away from his nostrils so he could resume picking without smelling the cringle crisps.

But the croco-diamond was very upset. How could he possibly continue on in life not being able to eat the best food in all of the worlds? Or think of eating a cringle crisp with out wanting to bleccccccch?

#

That evening the kangawrong and giant man put the baskets of cringle crisps into the barn so that the croco-diamond would not have look at them on his way in from the fields. And later that night, as they sat in the courtyard, with the correction of knitting mittens commencing, the croco-diamond made an offer to the giant man.

“I was wondering if I might use your library to do some studies. In exchange, I will share with you my business ideas, which are assuredly worth a lot of money, and may help save the farm.” He wound a bit of yarn around his nails and watched the kangawrong begin its first mitten.

“Of course you can use my library,” said the giant man. “And I’m interested to hear your money-making ideas.”

“First, you could write the story of my life. That would surely bring in millions. And should perhaps include also a hat collection representing my many achievements.”

He wound some yarn around his head and whispered to the kangawrong, whom he didn’t want to feel left out of the adult conversation, “Look, I’m a croco-yarn!” The kangawrong tapped its knitting needles together clack clack in applause.

“Hm,” said the giant man.

“Second, I could record an album of songs about cringle crisps. I have a wonderful voice and a talent for composing catchy lyrics.” He took the knitting needles from the kangawrong and pretended to play the drums. “Bim bom bingle! Criiiiispy cringlesssss!”

“I see.”

“The record would have to have at least two dance singles.” The croco-diamond pulled more yarn from the yarn ball, and, holding it in his front feet, jumped up onto his back feet and began to dance, waving the yarn. “Wringle jingle! Come on people! Every Body! Do the cringle!” The kangawrong joined him with some fancy hops.

“Well, what do you think of my proposals?”

“I - I have to think your ideas over. They are - a departure from what we currently do on the farm.”

“Out of the box, dear sir! I am thinking out of the box! In the mean time, I have one more idea. Easy to implement. Sure to be a winner.”

“Okay.”

“We immediately rename the cringle crisp to the croco-diamond crisp. Brilliant marketing if I do say so myself.”

Satisfied that he had made up for all of the bad behavior he had done the previous days with his suggestions, he rolled more yarn from the yarn ball and settled into his hammock to better supervise the kangawrong. It had just completed knitting its second mitten.

“These are quite nice, but how about more OrangeUGlad in the next pair?” And he patted the kangawrong’s head. “You may have little arms but you are surely a fast knitter.”

The kangawrong’s large tail wagged and the whiskers on its little muzzle went “twitch twitch.”

After the kangawrong finished the fourth mitten, the croco-diamond said, “Well, I think we’ve done enough of our 'helping others' activities for the day. I shall retire to the library for a bit before bed time.”

The giant man looked in on the croco-diamond before he went to bed. The croco-diamond had stacked before him on the library table The Book of Cures for All of the Ailments, a book on plants, and d’Arthur D’Parther’s Heart Recipes From the Heart.

But he was not reading those. He was engrossed in the third book of the Poggly Woggly adventure series.