© © Copyright 2022 Lisa Treasure The right of Lisa Treasure to be identified as the author has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Artwork Copyright 2022 Ken Dawson The right of Ken Dawson to be identified as the illustrator has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. The cover artwork and illustrations within this book, or any portion thereof, may not be reproduced without express written permission of the artist. Printed in the United Kingdom First Printing, 2022 ISBN: Print (Soft Cover): 978-1-9154721-7-5 Published by Purple Parrot Publishing www.purpleparrotpublishing.co.uk

To Sam and Rose The successful entrepreneur and the famous actress.

The Drabidull was plain and grey. He was ho-hum and humdrum in every way. He wasn't unusual, special, or rare. He looked awfully boring; his body quite bare.

No glow, glint, or gleam, no sparkle or shimmer. He felt down in the dumps when he looked in the mirror. So he hid in his room feeling gloomy and blue. Plotting and planning just what he could do?

Then a went off inside of his head. He would just have to borrow from others instead. His plan was quite clever but rather bizarre. What do you think? Did he take it too far? lightbulb

'I'll ho and I'l hum,' said The Drabidull. 'A shimmering tail would look colourful.' So he swam and he splashed past a shark and a whale and stole from a mermaid her glittering tail. shimmering

'I'll ho and I'll hum,' said The Drabidull. 'A pointy, bright horn would look beautiful.' So he rushed and he raced at the first light of dawn and took the best part of a unicorn.

flames 'I'll ho and I'll hum,' said The Drabidull. 'A mouthful of would be wonderful.'

So he flew and he fluttered, up higher and higher, and filled up a bottle with dragon fire.

sneezing 'I'll ho and I'll hum,' said The Drabidull. 'Some magical powder, a pocketful.' And although he kept sneezing, he knew that he must fill up his pockets with pixie dust.

'I'll ho and I'll hum,' said The Drabidull. 'A fluffy, soft pet would be delightful’ So he skulked and he snuck past a broom and a hat and whisked away a witch's black cat.

spine-chilling 'I'll ho and I'll hum,' said The Drabidull. 'A voice would be powerful.' So he fought his way through the roars and the howls and managed to swallow a monster's growls.

'I'll ho and I'll hum,' said The Drabidull. 'Some razor-sharp teeth, would look terrible.' So he looked up and down, to the north and the south, and pulled out the fangs from a vampire's mouth.

Suddenly, The Drabidull was filled with shame. He had all of this stuff but he still felt the same. What did this mean? He was very befuddled. He'd thought he'd feel better but now he was puzzled.

He said he was sorry and turned to go home. He would have to go back to being alone.

But the creatures forgave him, he'd made a mistake. He knew that those things were not his to take. They invited him over and asked him to play. At last, he felt special in his own little way. special