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1996 · not illustrated yet

Dale And The Rubber Ring

Illustration in the queue. New spreads are drawn every week — join the list and you’ll see this one the day it’s inked.

“A ring, a river, and a current that had plans Dale had not discussed.”

A sunny afternoon, a gentle river, and Dale, blissfully asleep in a giant rubber ring. It's the perfect picture of peace. But as we watch from the riverbank, the current begins to pick up speed, carrying the oblivious Dale faster and faster. Right towards the roaring weir.

Should we... should we wake him up?

From the back cover

Dale is having a lovely nap. He's floating down the river in a big rubber ring, dreaming sweet dreams. What he doesn't know is that the river has other ideas.

The current is pulling him towards the one part of the river you're supposed to avoid: the weir. The grown-ups just think he's gone for a long walk. They'd never guess how long.

Where
The river, past the mill
When
Hot Sunday
Who
Dale, Me, Ben
Props
A rubber ring, A current, A cow field a mile downstream
The oblivious grown-up
The parents were parked up with a flask
Got away with
Dale claimed it was the plan