Esme Evans - Aged 9 - Runner Up

This story certainly lives up to its title - Spicy and Fleece do have a ‘dangerous detour’. Thank goodness they were well prepared! This was such a fun tale that had us on the edge of our seats by the end. With its colourful imagery and snappy back-&-forth chatter, this story of adorable characters on a globetrotting adventure is vibrantly brought to life – and all beautifully illustrated! The humour was conveyed very effectively in subtle ways and Fleece and Spicy’s relationship was thoroughly well written. You’ve written your guinea pig characters with warmth and skill. We felt like we were on the journey with Spicy and Fleece. Love the illustrations, they really helped us to picture the sisters in action.

A Guinea Pig’s Dangerous Detour to Brazil

Once upon a Guinea pig tale, two loving Guinea pig sisters named Spicy and Fleece lived in the beautiful country of Wales.

They once had kind friends who longed to live in the Andes Mountains for many years. When they had enough money to do so, some of their friends went over to the Andes mountains and have loved it there ever since.

Spicy had seen many positive and remarkable things about the Andes Mountains, so had Fleece. Guinea pigs originate from the Andes mountains, Plus, it was on both of their bucket lists to visit. So, Spicy looked at flights going to somewhere quite close to get them to the exquisite Mountains. Successfully, she booked the holiday!

She immediately dashed into Fleece’s room and told her all about it. “I can’t wait to get going!” Spicy smiled blissfully. “I’m going to start getting packed! You never know what will happen over there!” Fleece beamed excitedly.

That day was a whole lot of hullabaloo. They quickly contacted their friends who lived there to say they will be there in a week. They rushed to get packed for their AMAZING holiday. They looked through all the cupboards to find their passports and they told family and friends in Wales too. They also had to tidy their house, otherwise it would be messy when they returned.

They ended up finishing sooner than expected, so they could settle down to do their research about the wonderful place they will soon be visiting.

A week later, it was the day they had been waiting for, HOLIDAY TIME!!! They were so excited to breathe in the new air, and for seeing their friends after many years of keeping in touch with each other over the phone and not seeing them at all!

For some reason, Fleece was so excited that she even packed survival gear if something went wrong! “I don’t think you will need that, Fleece.” Spicy giggled.

“We might! You never know these days! I’ll keep it with me just in case.” Fleece replied, also giggling. They drove to the nearest airport for their flight, but many other animals were not as excited as them, some didn’t want to go on holiday!

They waited for what felt like hours for the flight to be called out. But then, the flight was called! “All passengers going to Brazil head to gate 16.” Someone declared.

“YES!!! I mean... Finally!” Fleece squealed overexcitedly. The other guinea pigs stared at them in confusion, and some in jealousy.

“Let’s go... before they kick us out of the building.” Spicy hurried, grabbing Fleece and going towards where the gates are. When they arrived at the 16th gate, all they could hear was excited chatter. Many other guinea pigs were moving to the Andes mountains, and some were meeting up with family or friends, like Spicy and Fleece.

It was about half an hour later when one of the aeroplane staff opened a door, leading to the aeroplane.

Spicy and Fleece sat in their seats where there was an amazing view on land and when they took off. They were soaring above the clouds and above their beloved home.

It took 14-16 hours to get there, and they had to sleep, eat and drink while on the plane!

When they landed, they were greeted by many Brazilian guinea pigs and tried many diverse types of Brazilian food, which they all loved.

They got in a taxi close by with the driver only knowing a bit of their Guinea pig language.

“Can you take us to the Andes please?” Fleece asked politely. But the terrible thing was, he thought they said, the Amazon!

“Yes, but make sure you watch out over there, it can be... dangerous.” The taxi driver warned.

“Really? I don’t think so. Can you take us there anyway? We are meeting up with friends there.” Spicy said.

“Sure, I will.” The taxi driver replied, then turned the engine on then drove, towards, the wrong destination...

After a beautiful journey with wildlife everywhere that they could see. They were told that they had finally arrived. “Ok, this is it, grab your belongings and stay safe out there.” The taxi driver said, opening the car door for them. As the taxi driver drove off, they immediately set their eyes on the dense rainforest with the tropical birds squawking, the monkeys screeching, the river flowing, the crocodiles snapping, the jaguars roaring, and the snakes hissing.

“Are you sure this is the Andes mountains? I don't see mountains anywhere.” Fleece asked, worried.

“It’s probably up ahead. Don’t worry, we are perfectly fine.” Spicy reassured Fleece. Fleece held the bag with the survival gear tight, just in case.

“WHAT IS THAT?” Fleece asked, terrified. In the distance, something slithering on a low tree branch had spotted the sisters, making its way closer to them.

“I don’t think we are fine sis.” Fleece trembled. Spicy stayed silent, trying to figure out what this figure was, it was long and scaly, with its tongue sticking out every 10 seconds. Its eyes were almost glowing in the creature’s dark branch. The branch was so shaded that you could barely see the animal, slithering and hissing ever closer. They soon saw what the creature was, it was a snake!

But not any snake, the Green Anaconda, which is the largest snake on the planet! That could easily gobble the two sisters in one swallow. Fleece remembered something she could use against the huge snake, that could be useful. Fleece rummaged through her bag, trying to find it, then finally, she found it!

“Pepper spray?! Where did you get that from?” Spicy asked.

“It's my secret, ok?” Fleece said softly.

“Uh, ok. Well, you can try it, I don’t know if it will work though.” Spicy said willingly. 5 seconds after, the colossal snake tried to strike at them, but instead was pepper sprayed.

“OW! What was that for?! ARGHH!!!” The snake whined.

“HA! Serves you right!” Fleece sneered. “Let's go, we get a head start.”

Spicy smiled and started to run. “Have you got any more useful equipment?” Spicy asked.

“Well, I’ve got a torch, plasters an exceptionally long rope and food...” Fleece started. “Wait, a rope! We can use it to climb onto a high branch that the snake can’t reach and wait until that horrible snake gives up!”

Spicy thought. “Good idea! Then we could get to the Andes mountains in no time!” Fleece agreed. They found a high enough branch and got the rope and started to climb. When they got to the top, they could see the snake was heading towards them again and started climbing the tree!

“We are doomed!” Fleece cried. The Green Anaconda was climbing faster and further up the tree and almost reached them, but then, there was a high-pitched whistling sound up above.

A big bird emerged from above and swooped towards them and grabbed them with its huge 5-inch talons and flew away from the deadly reptile. The bird that had grabbed them was a Harpy Eagle! With a wingspan of over 7 foot long!

“Are you going to eat us?” Spicy squealed.

“No, I’d rather save you than eat you.” The female eagle replied.

“Phew! Can you take us to the Andes mountains please?” Fleece asked.

“Sure! We’ll be there in no time!” The Harpy Eagle replied happily, soaring through the sky, and above the canopy of the jungle. And up ahead, they could see the picturesque Andes mountains! The eagle swooped and dived through the air with an amazing view below. They had a soft landing at the Andes mountains where they could see their friends up ahead.

“Thank you so much! We would have never got here without you!” Fleece thanked.

“You're welcome. But I would recommend not to go back to the Amazon rainforest again.” The Harpy Eagle laughed.

“Wait, we were in the Amazon rainforest?” Spicy asked, surprised.

“Yes, you were. But I must go now, stay safe out here.” The Harpy Eagle said as she flapped her wings and flew out into the horizon. They had a wonderful stay as they explored all the different terrains of the Andes mountains with their friends, and had the best holiday ever, and had a safe journey home to Wales.

The End