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CLIFTONIA: FOREST TALES

27 0
19.04.2026

The (Illustrated) Centre Of The WorldBy Jessica BanoPublished by Books For Babies With Attitude398 pp.

Once upon a time, there existed a secret cave in the hills of Aitchisonia-upon-Chenab. This cave was surrounded by the fabled Forest of Whitaker. It was hidden deep in the hills. Nobody knew it existed. Except the people who knew it existed.

Every morning, hundreds of secret agents would crawl, walk, run, climb and fly to the cave to sit at their desks and do their daily work. Every evening, they would turn off their computers and crawl, walk, run, climb and fly from the cave to their homes. But nobody in the forest ever saw them go in or out because the cave was the biggest secret in Aitchisonia. Everyone in Aitchisonia knew how to keep a secret a secret.

One morning, when everyone was at work and the cave people were busy working at their desks, a loud noise was heard in the forest.

“What was that?” asked a startled J.D. Vancelot.

“It could have been anything,” replied T.S. Ellyet. “From the Big Bang to the combustive genuflections of our thermonuclear reprocessing plant,” he added.

“I don’t know what........

© Dawn (Magazines)