Random Tales of the Magic Roundabout

By Todd Fan

Disclaimer: "The remorse of the sugar junkie"


Oh yes, more random tales abound! As seen as it's Easter, the holiday of chocolate, I couldn't resist doing a Dougal chapter, he being the sugar-obessed freak he is. Bwahahahaha!

Chapter 2 - Sweet like Chocolate


Easter-time. No doubt, the chocolate lovers most favorite holiday. A time where the brown, sweet stuff is in abundance, promising sugar rushes and headaches for many hours. Oh yes, chocolate lovers waited all year for this holiday. One certain sugar-loving Maltese Terrier was no exception.

"Sugar! Do de do de do do. Oh yummy yummy", sang Dougal as he trotted along the lane, "it is the caaandy tiiime, can't wait 'till it's all miiine!" (1)

Florence was sitting on her swing, and chuckled to herself as she heard her dog singing happily.

"Hello, Dear Florence", grinned Dougal, pattering over to her, "isn't it a WONDERFULL day?"

"Sure is", said Florence, starting to swing, smiling to herself.

Dougal sat in silence, watching her for a few minutes. Sadly, Dougal was not known for his patience...he was more well known for his lack of it.

"Well?"

"Well what?", asked Florence inocently.

Dougal groaned frustratedly.

"Where's my chocolate?", he asked, "I can't believe I've been sitting here for five minutes already and you haven't given me any chocolate"

"I don't have it", said Florence, then added with a giggle, "the Easter Bunny has it".

Dougal blinked.

"I wasn't born yesterday, you know!", he snapped, then paused, "...where does this rabbit live?"

"I don't know", said Florence, continuing to swing.

Dougal narrowed his eyes.

"Fine, be that way, then", he said, "I'll go find my chocolate myself, but don't think you're getting any!".

With a snort, he walked off, his head in the air. Florence carried on swinging until her was out of sight, then grinned, jumping off her swing and heading in the oposite direction. She finally made it to the large field with served as Ermintrude's home.

"Ermintrude", she called, clambering over the fence.

Why on earth Ermintrude HAD a fence surrounding her field, no one was really all that sure of. She didn't keep herself in, that was for sure, she used the gate to enter and exit as she pleased. And not many people came to visit the field, for fear that she'd start singing at them. Upon hearing Florence's voice, Ermintrude stepped out of her cow shed. It was called a cowshed just becasue a cow happened to live in it and it was shed-shaped. Otherwise, it could have easily been mistaken for a Las Vegas showhouse. Flashy lights included.

"Hello, Dear!", said Erimtrude happily, making her way over, "I trust Dougal is none the wiser?"

"Is he ever?", asked Florence, then smiled, "so, all his chocolate is still hidden away?"

"Of course", said Ermintude, "I don't want to eat the stuff".

She dropped her voice in a low, suspicious voice.

"It's made from milk, you know"

Florence attempted to look shocked.

"It IS?", she asked.

Ermintrude nodded.

"Yes, so I don't eat it out of courtesy", she said, "soemone must stand up for the bovines".

Florence cleared her throat, shuffling her feet, deciding not to comment, luckily, she didn't have to. There was a scuffling sound above them, followed by a squeak. A few moments later, Dylan fell out of the tree he'd been hiding in.

"Oww", said Dylan from where he lay in a heap of oversized feet and big ears on the floor.

"Dylan!", snapped Ermintrude, "what are you doing in MY tree?"

"I WAS sleeping", said Dy;an sitting up, rubbing the back of his head, then squinted, trying to remember, "now...why was I there in the first place?"

"Don't hold your breath, Florence, we may be here for a considerable amount of time", said Ermintrude in a not-very-quiet voice.

"Oh, I remember!", said Dylan, "I was hdiing from Doogie".

Ermintrude arched a brow.

"Why, exactly, were you hiding from Dougal?".

Dylan sighed.

"It's the trippiest thing", he said, "there I was, like, just dozing under my favorite tree, like, when Doogie came up and started shouting about the Easter Rabbit"

"Uh oh", said Florence.

"I told him, like 'I don't know what you're talking about, Dooug, man'", said Dylan, "and then he said, 'Aren't you his cousin?'. I, like, said I wasn't, and he pushed me into a rose bush and, like, said 'I'm watching you, Rabbit', and walked off"

Dylan shook his head.

"Trippy, man"

"Much like listening to you speak", muttered Ermintrude under her breath.

"Dylan", said Florence slowly, knowign it took a while for most things to register with the stoned bunny, "where is Dougal now?"

Dylan shrugged.

"I don't know", he said, "I fell asleep in Ermintrude's tree".

"No way!", said Ermintrude, "YOU DID? WOW! I think I may DIE of shock"

Dylan frowned at her.

"What's that supposed to...", he trailed off, his head slumping forwards as he began to snore.

"You know, I still say we shoudl trade him in for Bugs Bunny", said Emrintrude.

"No, that wouldn't do", said Zebedee, bouncing up, "I quite like Dylan. He doesn't dig the place up as much"

"That's because he's always asleep!", snapped Ermintrude.

"You know, you don't appreciate him as much as you should", smiled Zebedee, "he saved your lives numerous times, if I recall..."

"Okay, okay, I get it!", said Ermintrude.

Zebedee nodded, then looked at Florence.

"Dougal is on his way here", he told her, "he was muttering something about chocolate".

Florence nodded.

"Good, he's just in time, then", she said, "Ermintrude, will you help me get it out?"

Ermintrude gave a dignified sniff.

"I am a LADY", she said, then cleared her throat, "BRIAN!".

"I'm coming, I'm coming!", came a voice withing the shed.

A few moments later, Brian slid out, a rope attached to his shell, which in turn was attached to a small cart, laden with chocolate.

"You people always take advantage of me", grumbled Brian, "I'm not a slave, you know".

"Of course you're not", smiled Ermintrude, "but you wouldn't let me carry them all by myself, WOULD you?"

Brian blinked at her. Despite the fact a cow would be much better at pulling a cart than a snail, he really didn't see it.

"No, no, I wouldn't", he admited.

"WOW!".

Everyone jumped at the loud sound. It even caused Dylan to wake with a start.

"I wasn't sleeping!", he shouted, "I was wide awake!".

Dougal ignored the rabbit as he raced over to the cart at breakneck speed.

"Argggh!", screamed Brian, vanishing into his shell for protection before the dog could mow him over.

"Sweet, sweet CHOCOLATE", shouted Dougal, diving into the pile.

"...You're welcome, Dougal", said Ermintrude sarcastically.

"Hmmm, um?", replied Dougal his mouth full of chocolate

"We thought you deserved a treat", smiled Florence.

Dougal jumped out of the pile sheepishly.

"Err..yeah, thank you", he said, then paused, "hey, wow, easter eggs!".

He dragged out a few more pieces of chocolate, before grinning as he picked out a chocolate bunny.

"This is my chocolate bunny", said Dougal, then gave an evil grin, "I've named him Dylan. Say hello to Dylan, everyone"

The gang blinked once at Dougal, then at the chocolate bunny.

"Hello Dylan!", grinned Ermintrude, then coughed as the real Dylan glared at her, "sorry...I got caught up in the moment"

Dougal pattered around his chocolate bunny.

"First, I'm going to eat his long, bunny ears, then, I'm going to chomp off the rest of the head", the dog whimpered happily, wagging his tail, "and then I'm going to go NUTS and eat the rest WHOLE"

Dylan paled slightly.

"...Did I do something to, like, upset you, Doogie?"

Dougal ignored him, going about mauling the poor chocolate bunny.

"Errr...Zeb?", asked Dylan, trying to ignore the dog.

"Oh yes, sorry", said Zebedee, deciding to put an end to the carnage, "time for bed"


(1) - Sugar Sugar, by the Archies, heavily changed. This was used in the movie as the jingle for the Roundabout. But I'm sticking to the familiar 'De de da de de' for MY Roundabout. So this song was up for grabs ;D

Yes, that one was a bit mad, wasn't it? Mainly because I wrote it while gorging on my own chocolate. Joy! Do review. Until next time...