It’s not every day you get to meet a real Queen, but today was that day and Mr Bus and Stanley were beyond excited – in fact they were so excited Stanley had arrived at the Bumble bus depot at five o clock in the morning to give Mr Bus a thorough wash and clean and make sure he was absolutely spotless.
The Queen would be sitting on one of Mr Bus’s seats and everything had to be perfect. He was now the tidiest, cleanest and proudest little bus ever. It’s not every day a Queen takes a bus ride so he felt very honoured. Perhaps after today he would be given a special badge to display where everyone could see it. “I bet all the other buses in the depot will be a teeny bit jealous when they see me driving along the street” thought Mr Bus. He wasn’t really big headed but sometimes he got a little overexcited and didn’t mean to be unkind to anyone.
He was a very kind little bus and everyone liked him.The reason for the royal visit was because the Queen was going to officially open the brand new leisure centre and swimming pool. Mr Bus and Stanley had been chosen to carry the royal party and Bumble’s mayor along the streets of Bumble to the new centre. Stanley was a little nervous but very happy. He’d had his hair cut specially for the occasion and Jemima, his wife had taken his uniform to be cleaned. She had even polished the buttons on his jacket and they were sparkling and his shoes were so shiny you could nearly see your face in them. He was very happy but also a little nervous. “I wonder if the Queen will wear her crown or bring along some of her little dogs” thought Mr Bus.
The school children in Bumble had been given the day off school and as Stanley drove Mr Bus along the main street, all the boys and girls, parents and grandparents, town people and visitors waved and cheered. Some of the girls were even wearing little coloured tiaras and everyone was waving a flag. Mrs Vanity Fayre was there with her two dogs who were wearing purple velvet bows around their necks . Mr Bus was starting to feel like royalty himself and thought that he could quite get used to this life. Stanley even gave a regal wave to everyone which made the people cheer even more. They arrived at the little railway station where the Queen was due to arrive and Stanley jumped down from Mr bus and stood very tall and still beside him. “Well, here goes” he thought.
His heart was beating very fast as he was feeling so excited. The Queen walked through the station door and Mr Bus got his first glimpse of her. She was waving to the people and had a huge smile on her face. Mr Bus thought she looked so beautiful in her lovely blue coat and hat – just like someone’s grannie and quite cuddly. He was a teeny bit disappointed she wasn’t wearing her crown but that didn’t really matter as she had brought two of her little dogs with her. “Good thing we brought some bowls of dog food with us” thought Mr Bus. The twins, Sally and Annie had been chosen to present the Queen with bunches of flowers and they followed this with lovely little curtseys which they had been practising for weeks. The Queen then gave another wave and climbed aboard Mr Bus followed by the rest of the royal party.
It only took about three minutes to reach the leisure centre and swimming pool and the crowds on the pavements were still cheering and clapping. Mr Bus was sorry the excitement would soon be over. When the official opening was completed the Queen would be having a special lunch and then she was flying in a helicopter back to her palace in London.
Surprise, surprise – just as the Queen and her dogs got off the bus, she turned to Stanley, shook his hand and then said to Mr Bus, “That was a most comfortable bus ride Mr Bus and I think you are probably the cleanest and best bus in Bumble. You and Stanley must visit me in my palace and you can meet the rest of my little dogs. Let’s have a ‘selfie’ so big smiles please” and quite unexpectedly she took a mobile phone from her coat pocket and took a photograph.
Well, that doesn’t happen every day does it? Stanley and Mr Bus were quite stunned and blushed a bright red as the Queen put one arm round Stanley and the other on Mr Bus’s headlamp. “I’m a royal bus now” thought Mr Bus. They both said goodbye to the Queen with Stanley bowing his head so low you could just see the little bald patch on his head. “Let’s get back to the bus depot” said Stanley, “I think I need a strong cup of tea and you Mr Bus, need a little clean as one of those dogs had a bit of an accident and there is a puddle on your floor”. “Oh well, all in a day’s work” thought Mr Bus. What a day and what a tale to tell to the other buses. Nothing could ever be as exciting as this day – OR COULD IT?