Monday, 18 July 2022
R Is For Rainbow Soft Sensory Play
Sofa So Soft
WARNING:
This story has nothing to do with the awful Scream Street episode ‘Sofa So Bad’ or anything to do with Season 2 of Scream Street. Instead, it’s a completely different story which I like to call ‘another Scream Street story’. Read on and feel enticed by what you see.
It was an exciting day at our house. Our cousin Six had come round for a sleepover! We loved it when Six came to stay, because that meant we could play with her more. It was even better than visiting her during the school holidays or the weekend. On this particular occasion, we were doing some cloudwatching in the garden. Clouds have filled the sky quite enough, so it was a perfect, quiet day to do some relaxing and observing cloud shapes. Luke, Resus, Cleo, Six and I lay in a circle and looked up at the sky. The air smelled fresh and a light breeze blew the branches on the trees to and fro. “I wonder what that cloud looks like?” I asked, pointing to a cloud with a little circle thing on its bottom. “Presumably a rabbit,” said Six. “I can tell by its fluffy tail.” “Well that cloud looks like a dog,” said Resus, pointing up at a cloud that had a waggly tongue and a tail. “More like Dig, I think,” I said. At that very moment, we heard Dig and Lulu hissing and barking in joy as they chased each other round the garden. “Pets,” I sighed.
“I think that cloud looks like a lemonade fountain.” said Luke, “You can tell it has a lemon right on the top of it.” “That cloud over there looks like a hippo wearing a tutu,” said Cleo. We laughed over this, as we could clearly see a cloud in the shape of a hippo wearing a ballet skirt. “Clouds do make some funny shapes, don’t they?” I sighed at last. “They sure do,” said Six. “We could just lie here all day and count shapes until they fade away.” “I wonder what lives in the clouds?” asked Cleo. “Millions of toy teddies and rabbits!” I said suddenly, “They like to frolic around all day in the warm sun and make cloud shapes like we make snowmen on Winter’s days.” “Don’t be silly,” said Resus, “There are no such things as bears and rabbits living in the clouds.” “Well there is,” I said, “They live in the softest world you could ever imagine.” “We’ll see about that,” said Resus.
Later, we came back inside for some chocolate chip cookies and milk. I told our parents all about the soft world I made up. Niles on the other hand found it fascinating. “A world made of clouds? Up in the sky?” he said, “I would like to go there.” “It doesn’t exist, you know that,” said Resus. “It does!” I said. “Does not,” said Resus. “Does too,” I said. “Now, kids, stop arguing. It’s quite right to believe what Sybil says. She has a big imagination after all, don’t you, Sybil?” “You bet I have, mum,” I said, winking. “I wonder if it lives in the sofa? It’s all nice and soft.” said Niles. “Dad, don’t you remember last time you had a new sofa, we promised not to talk about that incident.” growled Cleo. “Yes, but there really is a soft world under there. We can bounce like we bounce on the bed. Come on, Sybil!” I took hold of Niles’ hands and bounced with him. Resus on the other hand looked on and sighed sarcastically. “Whatever,” he said.
Later, Niles, Luke, Resus, Cleo, Six and I settled down to watch The Care Bears Movie. Throughout the movie, we tried to convince Resus that when the film was made, people believed in teddies in the clouds. This gave Resus time to think as he watched the tender Care Bears caring for all the world with their loving hearts. By the time he looked at the Care Bears battling the evil villain of the movie, he sighed, facepalmed and said, “Okay, I give up. I believe in a land in the clouds.” “Yay!” I cried, and hugged him tight. Suddenly, my joyous noises turned to yawning. Soon, we were all yawning. “I could just nod off,” said Niles, switching off the TV. “Yeah, me too, dad,” said Cleo. I snuggled onto Niles’ lap, and everyone else snuggled up next to Niles, and soon, we were all snoring. It was quite nice, snuggled up on the sofa in the quiet of our house, especially when we had suffered a long, hard day with a friend at a sleepover.
All of a sudden, the inside of the sofa began to glow. I woke up first, and discovered it. It was so beautiful. “Guys! Wake up!” I shouted. At once, everyone woke up and looked around. The glow was visible to them! “Oh my god,” said Niles, “I wonder where that glow came from?” “No idea,” said Luke, “But if it looks like a trick, then I’m not falling for it.” Some soft harp music came tinkling out of the sofa. “Are you sure there’s a world down there?” I asked. “Maybe. Everyone hold hands.” said Niles. We all took hold of each other’s hands and stood on the sofa. “Ready? One, two, THREE!” shouted Niles, and we all jumped into the sofa. Before you know it, we were zooming through Space on a rainbow slide, and then flying off a ramp, falling into the softest cloud you could imagine.
We landed on a soft, cloudy ground, bouncing three times, and then safely on the ground again. I looked around. The whole world was made of pure, soft clouds, and the sky was coloured like a beautiful sunset. “Wow…” I gasped. “I guess you’re right about there being a world of softness in that sofa.” said Cleo. “By the way, I have never seen a place like this before.” “That’s because the ground beneath us is all soft. Look!” We touched the ground. It was as soft and downy as could be. “Mmmmm…so soft,” said Six. “Yeah, we could just live in this land all day.” “Hmmmm…I guess you’re right about there being a soft world.” I jumped on the cloudy ground. It was all bouncy! I started laughing as I bounced up and down. “Come on, guys, this is fun!” I shouted. Everyone looked at each other in concern. Then they started bouncing too, shouting and laughing. It was a bit like standing on a feather bed - nice and soft and springy, like a giant mattress. We jumped so high we could nearly reach the clouds above us.
Suddenly, Niles rammed into Cleo. “Sorry, princess!” he cried, and soon they were rolling down a cloudy hill. Luke, Resus, Six and I looked at each other, and leapt down the hill, rolling with them. We were shouting and laughing again, and we were so happy as we reached the bottom that all of us started laughing together. When we got up, we looked around. There were orchid trees with pink blossom made out of soft clouds, and little white bunny rabbits and little yellow teddies were going around, picking their blossom harvest. “See, Resus, see, I told you there’s bunnies and bears in this world!” I laughed. “I’m actually finding it easy to believe in.” said Resus, smiling. Near one of the trees, we saw a little band playing a variety of soft instruments. They were playing harps and xylophones and pianos and violins. They were making such a beautiful melody that we wanted to stay and listen to it all day. As we were enjoying this lovely melody, a small trumpet fanfare blasted the air.
We raced up to where the noise was coming from, and saw a parade of pastel-coloured, soft furred animals marching along. There were yellow tigers with orange stripes carrying pink flags, blue penguins in Santa hats jingling sleigh bells, green snakes wearing red party hats, pink elephants carrying bathtubs on their backs with little seals splashing about, pink flamingoes playing with red yo-yos, a flock of yellow, pink and blue butterflies, two green tortoises with blue and yellow shells, yellow giraffes with pink patterns and two green frogs blowing bubbles. We decided to join in too, so we bounced across the clouds after them. We bounced a little too high, and ended up in a flower field. The flowers smelled fresh as perfume, and were coloured a pastel yellow and pink. Just then, a huge tree sprouted out of the ground. “Talk about just planting a seed,” said Luke. Flowers appeared on the tree, and then marshmallows. The marshmallows were coloured pink and yellow. Six marshmallows fell off the tree and landed in our hands. We tasted them - they were soft and squishy in our mouths, and they tasted just like vanilla and strawberries. We ate a few more. They tasted delicious. We could eat those marshmallows all day long. At one point, Six said, “There might be a flower growing inside me at this very moment.” which made us all laugh.
Walking a little further, we spotted a pink door, and above it was a sign with angelic writing that said, “Personal Soft Moments”. Sitting at the desk was a blue teddy bear reading a book. When he saw us, he waved and said, “Hello, I’m Laurence the teddy, welcome to the department of your own personal soft moments.” His voice sounded quite like a familiar fabric softener bear. “Is there one for each of us?” I asked excitedly. “Yeah, they’re so soft I swear you’ll never want to leave them.” said Laurence. “Now follow me!” We followed Laurence into a long corridor, and we saw six doors, each marked with our names. I looked through my door, and this is what I saw:
Luke, Resus, Cleo and I were having a pillow fight in our bedroom. We were shrieking and laughing so much that we fell down on our bed and hugged each other, nuzzling and laughing.
Next, it was Luke’s turn. He peered through the door.
Luke was in his werewolf form, being petted by me, Indy, Coco and Chloe. He was purring and lying in a dog basket, enjoying all the attention. He wasn’t wearing his jeans, but instead his fur was smooth instead of scruffy and he was wearing ribbons and bows all over himself. I leaned up to Luke and kissed his nose.
Luke was really soothed by this. Resus looked through his door.
Resus and Luella were grown up and asleep in their own bed. Resus got up first, and decided to be a little cheeky. He thumped Luella with a pillow. Luella got up, and was laughing at her partner’s antics, so she thumped him back with her own pillow. Soon, both Resus and Luella were having a pillow fight, as only a couple can have, bashing each other with soft pillows and rolling around in bed, enjoying each other’s company.
Resus felt like he wanted to marry Luella when he was older after all. Cleo had a turn next. She peered through her door.
Cleo was relaxing in a pool of smooth, blue water, as two Egyptian servants fanned her.
Cleo was beginning to yawn. Six had a look through her door next.
Six was being led by Dr F along a dark hallway. She was feeling really confused, but then saw a door with a sign on it saying: ‘Six’s Bedroom’. Six was smiling excitedly. Dr F opened the door to reveal her own girly room with a giant, soft bed especially for her. Outside, it was nighttime, and Six was already wearing a pair of soft pyjamas. Six ran up to her new bed and leapt onto it, snuggling under the covers and falling asleep straight away.
Finally, it was Niles’ turn to have a soft moment. He looked through his door.
Niles was lying in a chair, being treated to a shoulder massage while drinking some orange juice. Two servants gave him a pedicure. “Well, it’s fine with me being a king, but being a luxury king? That’s another thing,” said Niles as he stared at the pool his vision came with. “Aaaaah. Now, slave, give me a manicure.”
At once, everyone was feeling relaxed from these visions, including me.
Later, we were getting tired and headed off towards a large set of clouds. The sign near them said, “Beds”. There was one big one just for all of us. We leapt up onto the cloud and yawned. Those relaxing personal moments of softness we saw had made us all tired, so we snuggled altogether onto the cloud just as the sunset sky began to turn dark with a pattern of stars. “So soft…” I sighed as Luke, Resus, Cleo, Six and I snuggled up next to Niles, and soon we were all fast asleep.
The next moment, we were back in our bedroom, tucked up under the covers, fast asleep, with Niles holding us kids in his arms. Mum came in to check on us. We were already sound asleep. “That’s what comes of watching too many soft things,” she said. “Goodnight, you lot.” And she left us sleeping peacefully, dreaming of another soft day of play and friendship.
THE END.
Sunday, 17 July 2022
Nocturnal Dreams
Sesame Street Daily Routine Cards
Nocturnal Dreams
“Mum, why can’t we stay up late?” I asked as Luke, Resus, Cleo and I headed off to bed. “Everyone needs sleep, some stay up and some like to sleep until the morning arrives. Remember those nocturnal animals we saw in that documentary programme earlier?” We remembered. There were bats and foxes and hedgehogs, owls and possums too. “They like to stay up really late,” said Cleo. “Yeah, and don’t forget about their appetites for mice!” said Luke, “Although I must say, eating mice can be quite disgusting if you’re a fox.” “Alright then, get some sleep. Things will look better in the morning.” Mum exited the room, turned off the light and left us sleeping soundly and safely.
Suddenly, I woke up. It was only 11PM, but Luke, Resus and Cleo were already asleep. I looked out of the window and gasped! There was a whole forest outside, wheras normally there were houses and cars outside. I shook Luke awake. “Luke, wake up! Resus, Cleo, get up! Our house has moved!” My siblings woke up, yawning. “It’s far too late to be moving house,” said Resus, “We like our house just the way it is.” “No, I don’t mean that, look out the window!” I said. We looked, and saw the forest, a dark shadow covered in the blackness of the night. “Where are Bluey and Bingo?” asked Cleo. She was starting to feel worried now. “You try and phone them, I’ll try and switch the lights on.”
Cleo ran downstairs to phone Bluey and Bingo. I raced over to the light switch and tried to turn it on. It couldn’t. “There’s no power!” I wailed. Downstairs, Cleo was getting more worried as she tried to dial the Heeler family’s number. When she did, the phone made a loud beeping noise. “No no no no no!” cried Cleo, and slammed the phone down. Luke, Resus and I raced downstairs to find Cleo biting her bandaged fingernails in fear. “The lights won’t go on,” I said. “The phone won’t work. I’ve tried everything but there’s no signal.” Cleo said. “And to make matters worse, our parents have disappeared, even Dig and Lulu.” said Luke. “How can we survive without our parents and pets?” “We have to go outside and see where we are,” I said. “Follow me.”
Luke, Resus and Cleo followed me outside. We couldn’t believe it. We really were in a forest at night! Our fear turned to amazement as we gazed at the beautiful nighttime atmosphere. Suddenly, Cleo thought she could hear a mouse squeak. “My hearing’s a lot more improved than usual.” she thought. Resus was beginning to feel the same too, but now, our eyes were used to the darkness. “We can see in the dark!” “And we can use echolocation!” I said. “Oh, that’s what bats do to hunt down their prey. They pick up soundwaves to hunt their food!” I roared loudly like a lion. Immediately, a dormouse came scurrying by. I pounced on it, and ripped a part of his flesh off, then started eating it. “So…roaring gets the food to you?” said Luke. “Much like a takeaway service activated by noise?” “Yeah - dormouse feels good on teeth and tongue. Try it!” I ripped off the mouse’s flesh and shared it with Luke, Resus and Cleo. Surprisingly, they found it extremely good. “Mmmmm. Yeah, you’re right, dead mouse does taste delicious.” “I could eat mice all night long.”
This was it. We were nocturnal creatures. We raced around the forest playing together all night. We climbed up a leafy hill and rolled down it, getting our pyjamas all dirty and landing in a heap at the bottom. We did this over and over. Then we raced across the forest howling like wolves, especially Luke, and we used echolocation to find our food and hunt for mice all the time. We climbed up trees and hung upside down with a troop of possums. It was quite calming hanging upside down, because it gives you more time to think. We felt like part of a possum family, and we could see each other downside up hanging upside down. We also felt like bats, which also came out at night. We ran towards cliffs and leapt off them into muddy pools, covering each other with mud until our pyjamas got dirtier than ever. We were laughing and splashing in the mud, and it was so much fun. We got so dirty that we quite forgot about the phrase ‘Cleanliness is next to godliness’. We leapt into leaf piles and threw leaves at each other, covering ourselves in leaves and mud until we felt at one with the night.
As we made our way out of the forest, we saw a huge waterfall and an even huger lake nearby. “I believe we need a bath.” I said. So we took off our pyjamas and placed them on the bank of the lake. Stark naked, we began to enjoy a calming swim in the cold water. We splashed each other and laughed in joy as our lake bath got more relaxing and fun. We leapt off cliffs and into the water, sometimes into each other’s arms. It was such a splendid night. And most of all, we were comfortable in our own skin. We ducked down under the water, then emerged, exhilarated.
Sitting on the bank of the lake, we were laughing over such a fun time. “And to think being nocturnal is the best thing ever, my parents are going to be so jealous when they find out I’ve been in the dark.” said Resus. Suddenly, he yawned. “And now, I’m feeling a bit sleepy.” We were all yawning and rubbing our eyes sleepily. “We’re so tired.” I yawned. “So we are,” said Luke. Our eyes were feeling tired already. “Mum was right, we do need sleep after all.”
We went back to our leaf pile just as the sun began to rise. We snuggled into the comfortable leaf pile and fell fast asleep, the most comfortable of all being me.
The sun streamed through the window when I woke up. We were back in our pyjamas. We were back in our bed. And best of all, the house was back in the street where it belonged. “Guys, wake up! We’re back!” I cried. Luke, Resus and Cleo woke up and said “We’re back? We had a dream too!” We leapt out of bed and hugged each other, jumping up and down. All our parents walked in and saw us. We could’ve never been more happier. We raced towards them and threw ourselves into their arms. “Mum! I’m so happy to see you!” I cried, “You’re right, we do need proper sleep.” “Thank you, Sybil, all nocturnal animals need respect.” “By the way, mum,” I said, “And everyone else too…
…we had the weirdest dream last night…”
THE END.
Saturday, 16 July 2022
Clean Boy Scout Jokes
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Campfire Confessions
Luke, Resus, Cleo, Luella, Six, Bluey, Bingo, Rusty, Jack and I are going camping in the woods. It is a dark, beautiful night and we are all sitting together around a campfire eating sausage rolls and sitting in the warm, glad to be in each other’s company. “Isn’t it great out there?” I said, “No walls, just trees.” “Mmmmm, I feel the same way as you do too, Sybil,” said Six, “It feels like home.” “Home is where the heart is, that’s what they say, and if they say it, I’m saying it too,” said Cleo. “But your heart is in a box, at home on a shelf! In a cupboard where no one can steal it.” I pointed out. “Why did I forget?” sighed Cleo, and we all laughed.
But Jack laughed so much his sausage roll got stuck down his throat. “Don’t worry, Jack, I’ll help!” cried Rusty. He banged his best friend on the back, until the sausage roll flew out into the fire. “Hooray!” we all cheered. “Good one, Rusty,” said Luke. “Thanks,” “Rusty replied. “I never knew you could force food out of people like that. Hey, I remember one time I stuck two celery sticks up my nose.” “Oh yeah? Well I accidentally used the ketchup from my meal out with my family as make-up,” responded Rusty. “And?” “I nearly got into trouble. In fact, we were nearly banned from the restaurant for bad manners.” Luella was starting to gag a little. “Oh wow, great confession,” said Resus, applauding sarcastically.
“This ketchup thing is, like, putting me off my food.” said Luella. “Not if it squirts out of a hot dog, and then morphs into a disgusting gross monster with snot dribbling out of it!” Luella flinched and screamed, while everyone cracked up laughing. “Good one, Sybil,” said Cleo. “Yeah, you really told a scary story just then.” laughed Bluey. “I’m never eating ketchup again! I don’t want to hear anymore!” cried Luella. “Okay, okay, I’ll stop. Right, okay, any more things to say?” Resus was the first to speak. “I used my mum’s blood perfume once.” he said sheepishly. Everyone began to gasp and shout jokingly. “You didn’t!” cried Bingo. “I did! It was to smell sweet so I can impress my dark angel…” Luella giggled. “Seriously though, I’m not supposed to like blood.” “We stole Dad’s sandwich while he was taking a nap,” said Bingo. “Lemme guess - it inspired Octopus.” “A lesson based on this game. Millions of children across Australia took part in their very own Octopus game!” “It’s only a game, there’s no way a game can spawn such a complicated yet fun home education thingy.”
Friday, 15 July 2022
My First Mega
Friendship Stories: Sand Against My Skin: Arena Contra Mi Piel
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Luke, Resus, Cleo, Luella, Six and me are banished into the depths of the Arabian desert. We’ve been stripped off our clothes so we’re wandering stark naked amongst the sand (except Cleo, she wears bandages). What brought us here? It was for a crime we didn’t commit. It was why we were hated and exiled far off into the desert, where we were left to become feral for the rest of our lives. The sun was boiling hot as we trudge along the deep sand with our bare feet. The only thing we’re desperate to find is water. Our throats are as dry as the desert itself, and our bodies are sweating heavily from the heat. Six is so thirsty, and her ribs are poking through her chest. She isn’t taking a single portion of the journey anymore. She collapsed onto the sand with a gasp of air, and we raced up to help her. “SIX!” we cry.
Luke, Resus, Cleo, Luella, Six y yo somos desterrados a las profundidades del desierto de Arabia. Nos han quitado la ropa, asà que vagamos desnudos por la arena (excepto Cleo, que lleva vendajes). ¿Qué nos trajo aquÃ? Fue por un crimen que no cometimos. Fue por eso que fuimos odiados y exiliados lejos en el desierto, donde nos dejaron volvernos salvajes por el resto de nuestras vidas. El sol estaba hirviendo mientras caminábamos por la arena profunda con nuestros pies descalzos. Lo único que estamos desesperados por encontrar es agua. Nuestras gargantas están tan secas como el mismo desierto, y nuestros cuerpos sudan mucho por el calor. Seis tiene mucha sed y las costillas se le clavan en el pecho. Ella ya no está tomando una sola parte del viaje. Se derrumbó en la arena con una bocanada de aire y corrimos para ayudarla. "¡SEIS!" Nosotros lloramos.
“You’re going to be okay, just hold my hand, it’ll be fine,” I warn her. “I’m not powering down…” Six croaks, coughing weakly. “Then what is it? What do you want?” “I need water.” said Six. “Water? We all need water and so do you. There’s no water until we reach the other side. It’s only 60 miles away.” said Cleo. “I’m getting a headache now,” groaned Six. She felt a sharp, stinging pain through her throbbing head. “Our legs are tired too,” said Luke. Unfortunately, we were wrong to admit that water was just 60 miles away. Read on to reveal more. “It’s about time we had a rest,” I said, and we all sat down atop the sand dune, looking over the desert. The sand beneath us was all soft and comfortable. It gave us plenty of time to think. “Nice and quiet,” I smiled, listening with my sharp ears. I could hear nothing except the warm wind all around. “Yeah,” said Resus, “No clothes, just freedom. In fact, it might not be too bad.” Suddenly, Luella pointed. “Like, look at that sunset!” We gasped as we stared at the golden sunset, warm and beautiful in the orange sky.
"Vas a estar bien, solo toma mi mano, estará bien", le advierto. “No voy a apagar…” Six croa, tosiendo débilmente. "¿Entonces que es eso? ¿Qué quieres?" "Necesito agua." dijo Seis. "¿Agua? Todos necesitamos agua y tú también. No hay agua hasta que llegamos al otro lado. Está a solo 60 millas de distancia”. dijo Cleo. "Me está dando dolor de cabeza ahora", se quejó Six. Sintió un dolor agudo y punzante a través de su cabeza palpitante. “Nuestras piernas también están cansadas”, dijo Luke. Desafortunadamente, nos equivocamos al admitir que el agua estaba a solo 60 millas de distancia. Siga leyendo para revelar más. “Ya era hora de que descansáramos”, dije, y todos nos sentamos en lo alto de la duna de arena, mirando hacia el desierto. La arena debajo de nosotros era suave y cómoda. Nos dio mucho tiempo para pensar. "Agradable y tranquilo", sonreÃ, escuchando con mis agudos oÃdos. No podÃa escuchar nada excepto el viento cálido alrededor. “SÔ, dijo Resus, “sin ropa, solo libertad. De hecho, podrÃa no ser tan malo”. De repente, Luella señaló. "¡Como, mira esa puesta de sol!" Nos quedamos boquiabiertos mientras contemplamos la puesta de sol dorada, cálida y hermosa en el cielo anaranjado.
I felt so much freedom. So much irresistable happiness. I fall over and start to tumble over and over on the sand dunes, calling “Wheeeeeeeee!!” Seeing this as a fun game, my friends decide to join in too. Soon, we are all screaming and laughing as we roll down the steep dunes. Six, now forgetting her headache and thirst, joined in, and she enjoyed it the most. In fact, we all enjoy doing this together. As we did, the sky got darker, and stars began to fill the sky. The darkness of night was fast approaching. At last, we landed in a heap on the bottom, laughing and sighing in relief. We rolled over and lay down in the softness of the sand, gazing up at the darkening sky. “Aaaaaah. Nice and cool.” I sighed.
Sentà tanta libertad. Tanta felicidad irresistible. Me caigo y empiezo a dar vueltas una y otra vez sobre las dunas de arena, gritando “¡¡Wheeeeeeeee!!” Al ver esto como un juego divertido, mis amigos deciden unirse también. Pronto, todos estamos gritando y riendo mientras rodamos por las empinadas dunas. Six, ahora olvidando su dolor de cabeza y sed, se unió y lo disfrutó más. De hecho, todos disfrutamos haciendo esto juntos. Mientras lo hacÃamos, el cielo se oscureció y las estrellas comenzaron a llenar el cielo. La oscuridad de la noche se acercaba rápidamente. Finalmente, aterrizamos en el fondo, riendo y suspirando de alivio. Nos dimos la vuelta y nos acostamos en la suavidad de la arena, contemplando el cielo que se oscurecÃa. “Aaaaaah. Lindo y agradable." Suspiré.
“A little t-t-t-t-too c-c-c-cold,” shivers Resus. I had to laugh again, because the night made the atmosphere of the desert grow cold in these parts, and worst yet, he hadn’t got any clothes on! “Resus!” I spluttered, “That’s because you don’t have any clothes on! It’s our body temperature that depends whether we keep warm or not.” “If I had my magic cloak back, I’ll be warm as toast.” said Resus, hugging himself. “Butter can’t spread itself onto sand, you know,” said Cleo, folding her arms and looking directly at the starry sky. Luella’s tummy was starting to rumble. “I’m hungry,” she wailed. “You’re right, Luella, we’re skin and bone. Look! Our ribs are showing!” We looked down to see our ribs poking through our chests. Resus began to panic. Luke remained calm. “We’ll be dead in the morning!” cried Resus. “Let’s get some sleep now. We’ll find some food in the morning.” Snuggling next to each other’s skin and sighing some deep, gentle breaths, we closed our eyes and went to sleep on a soft bed of sand. In the darkness, two Arabian leopards were stalking their prey - an antelope, chewing on some fresh grass. The antelope doesn’t notice the leopards, but the leopards notice the antelope. Before the antelope could look up, they POUNCE!
“Un poco t-t-t-t-demasiado c-c-c-frÃo”, se estremece Resus. Tuve que reÃrme de nuevo, porque la noche enfriaba el ambiente del desierto por estos lados, y lo peor de todo, ¡no tenÃa ropa puesta! "¡Resus!" Balbuceé: “¡Eso es porque no tienes ropa puesta! Es la temperatura de nuestro cuerpo la que depende de si nos mantenemos calientes o no”. "Si recuperara mi capa mágica, estarÃa caliente como una tostada". dijo Resus, abrazándose a sà mismo. "La mantequilla no se puede untar sola en la arena, ya sabes", dijo Cleo, cruzándose de brazos y mirando directamente al cielo estrellado. La barriga de Luella estaba empezando a rugir. "Tengo hambre", se lamentó. “Tienes razón, Luella, somos piel y hueso. ¡Mirar! ¡Nuestras costillas se están mostrando! Miramos hacia abajo para ver nuestras costillas asomando a través de nuestros pechos. Resus comenzó a entrar en pánico. Luke mantuvo la calma. ¡Estaremos muertos por la mañana! exclamó Resus. “Vamos a dormir un poco ahora. Encontraremos algo de comida por la mañana. Acurrucándonos uno al lado de la piel del otro y suspirando algunas respiraciones profundas y suaves, cerramos los ojos y nos dormimos en una suave cama de arena. En la oscuridad, dos leopardos árabes acechaban a su presa: un antÃlope, masticando hierba fresca. El antÃlope no se fija en los leopardos, pero los leopardos se fijan en el antÃlope. ¡Antes de que el antÃlope pudiera mirar hacia arriba, saltan!
The next morning, Luke is the first to wake up. He spotted something in the distance - a fresh kill, left overnight by the two leopards. The antelope that was grazing overnight. “FOOD!” he yelled. Hearing his cry, we leapt up and ran towards the kill, digging into the meaty flesh. Six stared at it in awe, drooling. Cleo approached her, putting her hand on her shoulder. “That’s it, Six, come and eat with us,” she encouraged. With that, she joined our first meal in ages. We eat it all, right up to its skeletal bits. Full up, we headed on our way. We journeyed miles and miles, when all of a sudden, I saw a small rocky cliff with a hill of deep sand underneath it. I climbed up it, ran to the edge and leapt off the diving board sized cliff. I popped up with sand all over, laughing in joy. “Come on, guys,” I call, “Try it!” Starting with Luke, each of my friends has a go, and soon we are forgetting all our worries and jumping into the deep sand below, laughing as we scruffle sand into our hair.
A la mañana siguiente, Luke es el primero en despertar. Vio algo en la distancia: una presa reciente, dejada durante la noche por los dos leopardos. El antÃlope que estuvo pastando durante la noche. "¡ALIMENTO!" el grito. Al escuchar su grito, nos levantamos de un salto y corrimos hacia la matanza, cavando en la carne carnosa. Six lo miró asombrado, babeando. Cleo se acercó a ella, poniendo su mano sobre su hombro. “Ya está, Six, ven a comer con nosotros”, la animó. Con eso, se unió a nuestra primera comida en mucho tiempo. Nos lo comemos todo, hasta sus partes esqueléticas. Completamente lleno, nos dirigimos en nuestro camino. Viajamos millas y millas, cuando de repente, vi un pequeño acantilado rocoso con una colina de arena profunda debajo. Lo subÃ, corrà hasta el borde y salté del acantilado del tamaño de un trampolÃn. Aparecà con arena por todas partes, riendo de alegrÃa. “Vamos, muchachos”, llamo, “¡Pruébenlo!” Comenzando con Luke, cada uno de mis amigos tiene una oportunidad, y pronto nos olvidamos de todas nuestras preocupaciones y saltamos a la arena profunda de abajo, riéndonos mientras nos metemos arena en el cabello.
When it was Luella’s turn, she fell not on soft sand, but on a spiky something. “Ow! My bottom!” she cried. I turned, and looked to see a desert hedgehog making its way across the sand. “You have to treat the hedgehog with respect,” I smiled, and gestured Luella to the hedgehog. Luella’s expression immediately changed. “Aaaaaawww,” she sighed, picking it up. She felt its spikes. They weren’t too sharp and spiky, they were in fact soft. Soft enough for a trainee witch. Soon, everyone wanted to cuddle the hedgehog and touch its twitchy nose. The hedgehog liked us more than we liked the hedgehog, and Luella agreed that desert hedgehogs really are her favourite animals to protect in the desert. A few minutes later, we headed on our way.