I wrote this story for 'children of all ages' in a few idle (frustrated) hours. Inflict it on any nearby kids. They'd probably rather be watching television, but words are self improving. Please let me know how they react.
Johnny’s a happy kid, just like you.
He runs, jumps and plays and loves ice cream too.
But mum’s always there to tell him the time.
She says, “Do as I say, or it’s a crime!
Johnny, it’s time to get ready for school.
Be there on time, or you will grow up a fool.
It’s time for your bath. Your feet look quite mucky.
They are dirty and sweaty and smell really yucky.
The moon has come out. You are nodding your head.
Put on your pyjamas. It’s time for your bed.”
Sums take forever, and playtime is short.
Clocks should have wings. My, what a thought!
Then one day at school, teacher starts a new lesson.
“Class, let’s tell the time, but please get a move on.
We really must hurry. The next class is coming.
The seconds are ticking. The minutes are passing.”
Johnny complains, “What’s all the fuss?
We don’t tell the time. The time tells us.
Why is teacher laughing? It’s not so amusing.
The big hand, the small hand! It’s all so confusing!”
Later that day, poor Johnny grumbles.
“I’m trapped by the time,” he unhappily mumbles.
All of a sudden, he hears a loud woosh.,
Something behind him gives him a push.
He spins right around and what does he see...
a very strange creature, unlike you or me!
“I am the time spider,” says the fabulous beast.
I tell the time, and that’s not the least.
I put the clocks forward. I put the clocks back.
Time is my playground. I have the knack.
My mum was a spider. My dad was a clock.
When I was born they got a big shock.
I heard you complaining. I thought I’d drop in,
with a special clock for you. Give the big hand a spin.
You can go back to yesterday, visit tomorrow.
If today doesn’t work, there is no need for sorrow.”
Says Johnny, “Oh thanks! Now I’ll find a new time,
one with short lessons and plenty of playtime.”
I will visit the good old days, far in the past,
when the sun stayed out longer, and hours used to last.”
Then Johnny gives the big hand a long backward twirl,
and time loops away with a whoop and a whirl.
Stars spin round madly and clocks flicker by.
Johnny gets dizzy and gurgles, “Oh my!”
All of a sudden, he feels a big bump
and lands in tree with very big thump.
He bounces down branches, clunkity clunk,
until something grabs him with a very long trunk.
Could it be an elephant? Are they really hairy?
Whatever it is, it’s not very scary.
Then a voice behind shouts, “The mammoth is mine!
Get off him right now, and all will be fine.”
“Oh, sorry,” says Johnny. “I didn’t know.
I’ll get down as quickly as I can go.
Where am I now? I’m too far in the past!
What is wrong with this clock? Did I spin it too fast?”
The boy on the mammoth begins to giggle
as he climbs down with a twist and a wriggle.
He says, “Welcome to now. This is the Stone Age.
We don’t know what clocks are, at least not at this stage.
I am so pleased to meet you. I am called Half-a-Mo.
Let’s talk for a while, before I must go.
My father is a hunter. His name is One Mo.
I help him to hunt because he’s quite slow.”
So what time is school, when is class,” Johnny asks?
Half-a-Mo answers, “We learn from our tasks.”
“If you don’t go to school, what time is your breakfast?”
“Round about lunchtime, as soon as we catch it.”
Then Half-a-Mo says, “Join in the fun.
Why don’t you come hunting and see how it’s done.”
Johnny grins widely and jumps round a bit.
“What are we hunting? When will we see it?”
Half-a-Mo gasps, “You are SO brave, sir.
Most of us fear the Sabre Tooth Tiger.”
“Now please be silent. I heard that bush rustle.
If the tiger is here, we really should bustle.”
Johnny goes pale and asks, “Bustle where?”
Half-a-Mo answers, “Far, far away from here.”
From the big bush, they hear a loud roar,
so they run without stopping till their feet are quite sore.
Half-a-Mo pants, “That was a close one.”
As Johnny runs past him, he asks, “Is this fun???”
When they feel safe, they come to a stop
and fall on the ground in a great gasping flop.
Half-a-Mo says, “Oh that was nothing.
Imagine the problems if we had caught him!
His teeth are quite sharp for gobbling up meat,
And to be honest, tigers aren’t good to eat.
I’d better tell dad that breakfast must wait.
And as for our dinner, it will also be late.”
Johnny says, “Thanks, now I really must go.
In my time, food is fast but ingredients are slow.”
With a wave and a smile he spins the big hand,
and he’s off to the future, a wonderful land.
“School will be easy. Playtime will be long.
Robots will help me and sums won’t go wrong.”
Time flashes by like a car without brakes.
Years disappear as quick as a birthday cake.
When the future arrives, Johnny lands with a bang.
Everything is metal and he falls with a clang.
“Ssshh,” says a girl who is standing nearby!
“I must concentrate on the stars in the sky.”
“Oh, hello,” says Johnny. “I’m glad to be here.
Please tell me your name. I don’t know it I fear.”
“I’m a genius grade four called Dash Exponential,
an expert at sums and numbers sequential.
I work out ways to get to the stars.
If I make a mistake we could crash into Mars.”
“Oh boy, it’s a spaceship,” Johnny exclaims!
“I know how to fly them from computer games.”
“It’s easy. I’ll just give this button a thump.”
A few seconds later they land with a bump.
Dash Exponential says, “Welcome to Mars.
I didn’t aim here and I’m still seeing stars.”
Johnny asks, “Why don’t machines do the flying?
Robots could do it without even trying.”
“Don’t be so silly,” Dash Exponential snaps.
“Robots are made out of metal and scraps.
Machines are so dumb, it would be a disaster.
Our brains are computers that think a lot faster.
Now we work twice as hard as ever before.
We never take time out, but learn a lot more.”
“Now that you say so,” asks Johnny, “when’s playtime?
Right after dinner or some other sometime?”
“We play in August, for almost an hour,”
Dash gives him the answer, “just after our shower.
But I have to go now. My classes can’t wait.
If I don’t hurry, I’ll be seconds late.
You are welcome to join me. School is such fun.
We have really cool tests when each class is done.”
Johnny turns pale and starts to shudder.
He says “Thanks, but no thank you. I’m missing my mother.”
With one careful turn, Johnny sets the clock
And flies back to his own time with a tick and a tock.
Mother is waiting and so is his dinner.
She asks, “Where have you been? You look much thinner.
Have an ice cream, then go out and play.
Stay out a bit longer. Tomorrow is Saturday.”
Johnny runs out. The weekend’s ahead.
But something is new, a thought in his head.
“I belong in my time, not the past or the future.
The food doesn’t eat you and classes are shorter.”
Johnny still has the clock for adventure and play.
But that is a story for some other day.
No comments:
Post a Comment