Picking his way through unconscious soft toys, Wilson quickly made his way to the bathroom – a room, it must be said, with which he has little familiarity.
The smoke had mostly dispersed, but there was still a whiff of burning brimstone in the air – the stench of the Underworld.
When W caught sight of Nërp, his Catholic upbringing overwhelmed his rational self and he instinctively crossed himself.
Once he had regained his composure, however, he recognised the ghastly figure as Nërp and asked him what had been occurring.
Nërp quickly explained that the mysterious Amazon delivery had been his Dracula costume, some special-effect units and a few other items, and he had merely tried them on so as to be ready in good time.
W told Nërp sternly that in this house it is traditional to make one's own Hallowe'en costumes.
With certain exceptions (by which he means, his own outfits).
Gradually the bathroom door creaked open, revealing what looked very much like a creature from hell.
'I,' it intoned slowly, in a melancholy but slightly mechanical-sounding voice, 'am Count Nërpula – you may address me as "Nërpula of the Undead!"'
The figure emitted an eerie glow, lightning flickering around him as black thunder clouds formed near the ceiling!
Tiny Toy and both Johnson Brothers fell to the floor in a dead faint, but Antony – showing admirable presence of mind – bravely ran to the library to fetch Wilson…
Some of the children were playing on the landing earlier today when they noticed strange noises coming from the bathroom.
A moment or two later, a weird green vapour started creeping through the crack under the door, followed by clouds of acrid, foul-smelling smoke.
Although Antony tried to keep them calm, the younger children – not knowing what was happening – started to panic, screaming, crying and running round in circles.
Then, almost imperceptibly slowly, the door handle began to turn…
My hopes of Wilson being the new Richard Feynman or Niels Bohr have faded – he seems to have lost interest in Maths and Statistics and is now doing some colouring-in.
Still, it should keep him out of trouble, and when all's said and done Feynman and Bohr are my heroes, not his!
Antony is in charge of handing W the next crayon, while TT dreams of the day when he can have a job of such awesome responsibility!
There is still no news of what was in Nerp's delivery – he is remaining tight-lipped.
Actually, he is still locked in the bathroom, which honestly is getting to be a bit inconvenient…
Wilson is in his library with Antony, doing some 'Research'.
He said it was something to do with Mathematics and Statistics, which sounds like an admirable and harmless pursuit.
Perhaps when he grows up he'll be a famous mathematician, like Isaac Newton, Carl Freidrich Gauss, or René Descartes… maybe even Albert Einstein!
It might not make him rich, but he'd be famous, and contribute greatly to mankind's knowledge.
In other news, Nërp is still locked in the bathroom…
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Also I know that, if he weren't so busy studying, Wilson would have reminded you that today is International Sloth Day – which doesn't mean you should spend the day being slothful; rather that you should support the cute furry and slow-moving mammals of whose family Wilson is, in fact, a distant member!
