A short children's story of mine...
Baked Bean, the embarrassed dragon, was performing his show at the Space Circus. As he finished he began to cry because when he tried to breathe fire it merely puffed and when he tried to fly around the big top he just flapped and fell! The audience just laughed and some even booed.
“I’m a failure” he sobbed. “What would Uncle Draco think?”
All of a sudden, a small boy appeared. The boy was none other than Ashley the amazing astronaut! “Don’t cry Beany, I’ll help you” said Ashley. “My powerpack transforms into real flying wings that take me anywhere in the universe!”
“But how can that help me Ashley?” asked a snuffly Baked Bean.
“Just jump on my back, you’ll see!!” cried Ashley.
The dragon climbed gingerly onto Ashley’s back and then Ashley pushed the big, red button on his powerpack and then.. CLICK.. CLICK. ”Ready for take off?” said Ashley and then… WHOOOOSH!!! The two of them shot upwards like the zoomiest firework that had ever been lit. “Hold onto your horns Beany!” shrieked Ashley as they sped towards a very bright planet.
Within seconds they were hovering over this planet which was called Fireball.
Ashley pressed the big, red button again and the wings transformed into a cyber surfboard which they both stood on. “You can’t set foot on planet Fireball otherwise you become a burnt waffle” exclaimed Ashley. “So, I will use my singe-proof gloves to collect you some fire.” He leant over and scooped up a big dollop of dripping, sparkling fire. Baked Bean was stunned.
“Now, open up Beany, soon you’ll be the hottest act in the circus. I’ll pour it in your mouth, you just think of igloos!”
Baked Bean swallowed the fire with a large gulp and an even bigger burp.
Ashley pressed the red button once more and the surfboard changed back into wings and they flew back to the circus.
As they landed, Baked Bean practised his new skill. He breathed the hottest, brightest dragon induced fire breath you ever did see.
“Thank you Ashley, I can now breathe dragon fire and have flown around space, I just wish my own wings could have flown me.”
“Ah hah!” said Ashley, “Have I mentioned planet Wingwhoosh?”____________________________
Another children's story I wrote.....
Lost And Found
Ashley was a curious young man.
Today was a special day, it was his 9th birthday and dad had bought Ashley the one thing he had always wanted, a metal detector!
Ashley begged his dad to go to the park to try out his new toy. His frantic mind was buzzing with thoughts of discovering ancient rubies or lost treasures. So, excitedly they set out for the park.
They arrived, Ashley began searching the park. After an hour he heard a loud BEEP.
Ashley dug deliriously until he saw his stash...there, gleaming in the mud were ten golden coins.
‘Dad, look, I’ve found gold! Ten gold coins!!!!!
Dad ran over and they both looked in awe at the precious treasure. They were both astounded.
Dad and Ashley hurried home.
Back at home, Ashley examined his coins and declared that these were no ordinary coins, these were pirate’s coins. Priceless, antique pirate’s hoard, and they were all his to keep..forever.
Ashley was so excited with the thought of impressing his friends with his amazing bounty.
That night, Ashley carefully placed his gold on the shelf near his bed. Above the shelf was his poster of the famous and rugged smuggler Captain Hector Barbossa, known to be very fierce and commanding. Barbossa’s face was gnarled and gruesome, with yellow crooked teeth and the beetle-browed, scowling menacing eyes of a true buccaneer.
‘Hector will look after my gold’, thought Ashley.
After a long day, Ashley fell fast asleep.
Suddenly, with a jolt, Ashley awoke. Something wasn’t right. He could feel a presence in his room, watching him. The air felt cold and smelt funny, like the salty sea, he could even hear distant and wicked laughter. What was happening?
Ashley looked around his room and to his surprise noticed the poster of Captain Hector Barbossa. The pirate was missing, only his ship, The Devil’s Doom remained.
‘So, if he’s not in the poster, where is he?’ whispered Ashley
‘He’s right here, you plundering powder monkey!!!!’
‘AAAARRRGGGHHH’ screamed Ashley. Captain Hector Barbossa was standing in Ashley’s bedroom, clutching the golden coins.
‘Why are you here?’ Ashley squeaked nervously.
‘I’ve been stuck in that poster for years, waiting to find my gold. That cockeyed old groat Captain Bully Hayes looted it from me and I want it back. Me timbers are very shivered!!’ Barbossa croaked.
‘But it’s mine! Finders keepers!’, protested Ashley.
‘Mine first’, bellowed Barbossa angrily, and with that he swung around and bolted for the door. At that point, dad opened the door...CRASH!!! The door crushed Barbossa.
‘What on earth are you doing?’ asked dad.
Ashley was having a fight with his pillow on the bedroom floor.
‘Where’s Barbossa?’ Ashley cried.
‘Who?’ said dad, ‘I think you must be dreaming, just go back to sleep’.
Ashley climbed back into bed, just before he shut his eyes he glanced at the poster. Barbossa was back in it with a very big grin on his craggy old face...and the gold was gone.
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A Little Green Hero
Let me tell you about the greenest little eco warrior I know, my 10 year old son Ashley .
Let me start by saying that he actually follows myself and his dad around the house making sure we turn off all the lights as we leave. He has also taken to reading his Mr Gum books in bed with a head torch on rather than put the big light on.(whether this is to sneak under the covers and eat sweets is another theory being bandied around)
He also makes regular collections around the entire household with a bag in which to put all the paper items in and then dispersing it into the blue paper box outside.( sometimes he actually collects up brand new magazines of mine that I haven’t actually read....bless his little cottons..Grrr)
He also goes through all of our bathroom and bedroom bins extracting all cardboard items and crushing them and putting them in the green bin outside. (sometimes we meet sticky situations in which some of my more personal and private items are unearthed..items not suitable for 10 year old eyes..but hey ho, saving the planet is more important than my squirmishness)
Another time, a while back, we decided to make 2 robots named Oddbod and Mini Oddbod. We didn’t have many crafty items handy so we decide to make him out old toilet rolls and cereal packets. They were great robots and they lived a very happy life. (see attached pic)
Another of Ashley’s quests for greenness is my kitchen waste box(known as KWB). He reliably informed me of the wondrous compost which is produced from tea bags and old egg shells and carrot peelings. ‘Yes mum, you can make as many chocolate cakes as you want because broken egg shells are fantastic for compost!!!! ‘(a feeling I was being used....still, turned out to be true.) For my revenge, I informed him of the compostable wonders of old tea bags and that he could make me as many cups of tea as he desired!!!!!lol)
Anyway, he regularly empties the KWB, incidentally on purchasing this I said,’Can’t I just use an old ice cream tub?’ but he wonderfully made me part with the £8.99 to ensure we did it right(went without my nice bottle of wine that week, bless him once more ,double Grrr).
Grandad nearly choked on his teeth last week when he mistakenly put an old banana skin in the normal bin rather than the sacred KWB!!!Jeez, the wrath he received...he won’t do that again in a hurry... Now I feel it’s all worth it when this box is filled to the brim stinking and swarming with flies..still,it does actually make wonderful free compost and and we all delight in the joy of the amazing spuds we grow every year because of it..now that can’t be bad.
So to round off, he is a very considerate little chap who is constantly looking for new ways to do his bit to keep this world a more reliable and sustainable place, because as he himself tells me, he is the future...
