Wildoak

Rumpus is inside a crate at Nigel’s farm. Brae, one of the men set to guard Rumpus, torments him by jabbing him with a stick. Brae suggests to the other guard, Ned, that they kill Rumpus and sell his skin. Rumpus cowers at the far end of the crate, terrified of the men.

Near four o’clock in the morning, Fred wakes Maggie and announces that it is time to go. Maggie sees that, in order to make room to haul Rumpus’s crate, Fred has mostly dismantled the Winged Wonder. She feels terrible about his sacrifice, but Fred pragmatically points out that it is still running and is large enough to carry the crate, and that this is all that matters right now. As they drive, they review their rescue plan. Maggie is to find Rumpus and then cause a diversion while Fred gets him onto the Winged Wonder. When they reach the farm, Fred places an acorn in Maggie’s hand, telling her that it will bring her luck. Frightened but determined, Maggie heads down the driveway to begin her search. When she finally finds the shed where Rumpus is being held, she sees that Brae is about to shoot Rumpus. Maggie sets off the flare Fred gave her to signal him with, using it to cause a distraction at the same time. Brae and Ned run out to see what is happening, and Maggie slips into the shed.

Rumpus is excited to see her. As Maggie hears more and more people running around and shouting outside, she struggles to unknot the ropes holding Rumpus’s crate closed. Just as she gets the final knot undone, Brae clamps a hand on her shoulder. She bites his hand and escapes, with Rumpus following close behind. When she makes it to the Winged Wonder, she struggles to persuade Rumpus to climb up into the strange vehicle, but she gets him inside just in time. As the men close in on the vehicle, Fred throws it into gear.

Rumpus slides around inside the truck, reassured by Maggie’s presence in these terrifying circumstances. The men catch up to the vehicle briefly and almost succeed in getting inside, but finally Fred, Maggie, and Rumpus are clear of Nigel’s farm and driving away at great speed. The speed is too much for Rumpus, and he throws up in the Winged Wonder.

Maggie is sickened at the smell of Rumpus’s vomit. They finally make it back to the cottage and get Rumpus into his new pen. Maggie insists on sleeping with Rumpus, so Fred gets her some blankets. When Maggie wakes in the morning, her parents have arrived for their visit. Maggie flies into her mother’s arms. After a moment, Maggie realizes that her appearance must be shocking to her parents: She is disheveled and covered in cat vomit. Fred comes outside and shakes an angry Vince’s hand, welcoming him and Evelyn to the cottage. Evelyn shows Maggie that she has brought Maggie’s pet mouse along, which delights her.

Just then, a crowd of villagers shows up, shouting angrily. Evelyn and Vince tell Maggie to go inside, but Maggie refuses. Fred and the villagers shout at one another, arguing about Rumpus. Lord Foy is there, and he tries to assert his power to convince the police sergeant who is with them to seize Rumpus and make sure he is killed. Maggie steps forward and speaks, defending Rumpus and explaining that she and Fred will take care of him and make sure he cannot escape until a more suitable home is found. After saying her piece, Maggie feels liberated and proud.

Rumpus paces inside his pen in the shed. He can hear Maggie talking and is irritated at being separated from her.

Most of the villagers seem persuaded by Maggie’s speech, but Lord Foy berates her for interfering and threatens her with arrest. When Fred stands up to Lord Foy, Lord Foy pokes him in the chest with his cane and Brae tries to grab Maggie. Vince grabs Brae, and Evelyn tries to get past the crowd to Maggie. The police sergeant tells everyone to stop. He says that he will check that Rumpus is properly secured and that everyone else, including Lord Foy, needs to go home. The villagers and Lord Foy depart. Vince looks at Maggie in a new way, telling her, “That was quite a speech you just gave” (296).

After Maggie has cleaned herself up, she and Fred sit together in the kitchen, and she asks what their plan is. Fred tells Maggie about a woman he knows called Molly Burkitt, who runs a wildlife sanctuary in Scotland. He plans to write to her about Rumpus. Maggie asks Fred if she is right in thinking that her stutter will never completely go away. He acknowledges that it probably will not, but he points out that she managed to make herself heard, regardless. When she says that she does not want to have a stutter, Fred tells her that the world needs a variety of people rather than having everyone be the same. Vince enters the kitchen and tries to say something to Maggie about the speech she gave to the villagers. When he breaks off, Maggie thinks that he seems almost frightened. She understands now that although her father continues to see her stutter as a problem that needs to be fixed, he is completely wrong—she is fine just as she is.

Rumpus continues pacing inside his pen. Although strange men have come in and inspected the pen, Maggie has still not come back. Somehow, though, he trusts that she will.

After Maggie, Fred, and Maggie's parents have talked for several hours, Vince says that he wants to talk about Granville. He admits that he was wrong to want to send Maggie there. Now that he has taken the time to see Granville in person, he knows that it is a bad place. Also, after hearing Maggie’s speech, he knows that she is doing better, regardless of whether or not she still stutters. He proposes that Maggie attend a new school called St. Anne’s Primary.

Then, he asks to see Rumpus. Evelyn gets her camera, and they all go out to Rumpus’s pen in the shed. Rumpus is excited to see Maggie and rubs up against her, chuffing. Maggie’s parents are nervous that Rumpus could hurt their daughter, but they trust Maggie to judge what is safe. Maggie realizes that Rumpus is getting stronger and larger, and that soon, she will not be able to play with him this way. After a while, everyone else goes back inside, and Maggie is left alone with Rumpus. Maggie lies down with the big cat, thinking about everything she has learned during her time in Cornwall. Before she leaves Rumpus for the night, Maggie reassures him that she and Fred will find him a place where he can be fully himself. Everything will be okay. She feels as though, without words, Rumpus is saying the same thing back to her.

The Epilogue takes place many years later when Maggie is an adult. She is at the Aspen Institute, which is a conservation organization, preparing to give a speech. A picture of her and Rumpus, captioned with a Jane Goodall quote about speaking up for the voiceless, is projected on a large screen nearby. Maggie is nervous about public speaking because it is still not easy for her. However, instead of being embarrassed by her stutter when she begins to speak, she simply explains her situation to the audience and asks them for their patience. Maggie tells the audience that Rumpus did go to the wildlife sanctuary in Scotland, where he was reunited with his sister, Rosie. Wildoak was cut down, but it lives on in another form: Maggie pulls the acorn Fred gave her from her pocket and explains that she and Fred harvested many acorns from the ancient oak before it was cut down. Fred became the leader of a reforestation effort across Cornwall, and thousands of trees were planted. Maggie shares the lessons she learned in Wildoak and from her grandfather, and the audience bursts into applause.