Chapter Five

The next morning, the retirees woke at sunrise. They washed the sleepies from their eyes and yawned their way through morning tea. But, when Miss Lady announced it was time to 'teach those bad boys a lesson,' each one of them rose to their feet and, with the determined looks that carried them through the Campaign of 67, set out on a mission.

The first plan of action was to find the litter. This was not difficult. Litter was hiding behind every patch of moss, every fallen branch, every new shell washed onto shore. There were mountains of plastics and Styrofoam, papers and discarded foods. Some of the retirees were forced to stop and weep for the distress of the surrounding environment was far too much for them to bear.

'We've got to keep it together,' Miss Lady encouraged them. 'This circumstance can be changed and we're the ones to do it!'

Now that they had found the litter, Miss Lady, Sheriff Polka-Dot and the elderly band of enthusiastic retirees had just one simple thing to do.

Play dead.

Old Tom Tumbleweed was the first to do it. 'Just like in 67, Clare!' he shouted, then dropped onto a bed of plastic baggy that used to hold someone's peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

Clumsy Clare was next. She chose the mound of bottle caps. This was not a comfortable choice but Clumsy Clare wasn't always thinking about things like that.

In five minutes time, all of the ladybugs, even Sheriff Polka-Dot and Miss Lady, were sprawled out, limbs limp, faces expressionless. They were all playing dead.

Read Chapter Six.