Oily Gasbag Goes a Dancing

This novel is the first in a series of six.

With English translations for French and German words – there are phrases in brackets within the book and a glossary at the end.

Copyright © 2023 Victor L Moore

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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ISBN 9781805146612

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Matador® is an imprint of Troubador Publishing Ltd

I am especially dedicating this book to two great people, without whom my latest novel would not have been published, and to my two nephews, Aylon and Adam, and their families, as well as all my closest friends. They all know who they are.

First to my brother, Ian, whose advice and support were invaluable; and second, to my dear friend, Wilhelmina Rose, whose enthusiasm and determination to ‘get Oily out there’ equalled my own.

Contents

About the Author

Chapter 1  Oily Gasbag Goes to the Fair

Chapter 2  Oily Gasbag Tries to Dance

Chapter 3  Frieda Pays Oily a Flying Visit

Chapter 4  The Hasbug Sisters’ Dancing Spell

Chapter 5  Waltzing into Vienna?

Translation Glossary

About the Author

Victor has always been fascinated by the world of fantasy and began writing short stories while at school. However, it was not until much later that he wrote his first published novel in 2013: The Pentacle of Northumbria – the first of a trilogy for young adults. He is also a playwright and produced a version of this very book for Mencap in 2019. His main influences are: JRR Tolkien, Lewis Carroll, CS Lewis, Philip Pullman and, for humour, PG Wodehouse – all grand wizards of the pen.

Chapter 1

Oily Gasbag Goes to the Fair

Nobody quite knew who or what Oily Gasbag was. The goblins denied he was of their clan. The imps shivered at the thought. The witches would curse you. The elves went into hysterics and as for the faeries, they thought you were crackers.

Oily Gasbag lived in a large toadstool, just outside the small village of Smelly-Welly, in the county of Nonsenseshire. He was very fat and his head was too big for his body. His face was marked and potted with ugly spots, and he had dark long grey hair that he never brushed. His beady eyes were bright green with bushy, dark brown eyebrows that twitched. His nose was monstrous! It was like a huge strawberry and the hairs that came out of his large nostrils wound around his nose, like wire. His mouth was thick, downturned and sneering.

He grew a straggly, untidy beard, which he rarely shaved. His ears were long, furry and pointed. He wore black trousers, held up by bright red braces, which he strapped to his various fancy shirts. His favourite was a dark blue shirt with silver stripes. He hoped that this might attract Su Fa Su Gut, the lovely elf and Beltane May Queen – fat chance! His tummy was full of the worst things you can eat and hung over his shiny black trousers, blocking out any sun, which preferred to shine on other clans. The rain, however, loved to soak him to the skin.

The