Winnie The Pooh Cake

Onesies - Chapter 1: Love From Aunt Marleen

The moment after my birthday party was when I found that flamingo onesie. I was saying goodbye to the party guests and handing out party bags. Each contained pencils, mini notebooks, little smiley-faced chocolate buttons and colouring pens - my favourite scented ones. I had to choose them because I thought the guests might share them too. As each party guest left in their best dresses and frocks, I waved goodbye, ran into the house and out into the garden. The pink bouncy castle set up for me was my favourite part of my party, and I just couldn’t wait to try it out before it deflated.

I began bouncing on the castle, having such a lot of fun that I didn’t want to leave. I bounced so high, I almost reached for the sky as its afternoon hugh of blue stretched far and wide. The bouncy castle was still filled with balloons coloured pink, green, yellow and orange, so I was very careful not to bounce on one - POP! Oops! I almost did! I fell back in shock, but suddenly I almost sat on something cardboardy. A bit too cardboardy for my liking. It was small, rectangular and coloured pink with lots of palm trees on it. I was curious about the parcel. I looked hard at it. There was something pink and foamy inside.

At that moment, my dad and mum came running outside. “What’s going on?” asked Dad. “We heard screaming!” said Mum, but then they both noticed the little box I was sitting beside. “Ah, is this the new present Aunt Marleen got you?” Aunt Marleen was always my favourite member of the family. She’s always travelling places, like Hawaii and Australia. This time, she was visiting New Zealand, and that was at the appropriate time of my birthday too, because the label on the box said: “Made in New Zealand”. “All the way from New Zealand? Cool!” I cried. “Aunt Marleen was meant to give you this present, but she was away on her travels, so she sent it via air mail instead. We thought we could wait until after your birthday party to give you this.” said Mum. “Then what is it?” I asked. “Well, open it and see.” said Dad.

I opened it alright. It was indeed a foamy pink thing with orange and black bits. “What is it?” I asked for the second time that afternoon. “It’s a flamingo onesie,” said Dad, “Aunt Marleen saw it in the shops and hoped you’d like it for a change from scruffy old pyjamas.” “There’s also a letter with the onesie. Read it, Grace.” I read the letter. It said:

“Dear Grace,

Happy birthday! Just to let you know I found this flamingo onesie in the shops on my travels in New Zealand, and I thought it would be a good idea to give it to you as a birthday present. With this onesie, there’s a hint of magic and mystery in the air whenever someone puts it on. Within seconds, you will find the onesie’s purpose in life. I hope you enjoy your new present!

Love,

Aunt Marleen.”

“I’m going to put on the onesie right now!” I cried, and raced inside and upstairs to my bedroom to get dressed. I looked very swanky in my new flamingo onesie. My mum and dad clapped as I turned around for them to admire my new fashion statement. “Bravo!” cried Dad. “Well, Grace, I think your flamingo onesie looks brilliant!” said Mum, then she added, “But you have to take it off and put on your pyjamas, because you can’t eat with your hands invisible under those wings.” I looked. My hands were not visible under those wings. They were foam and barely made of feathers at all.

I took off my flamingo onesie and put on my purple pyjamas, then went downstairs to have dinner with my mum and dad. As I ate, I thought about all the possibilities my onesie would do. What would its purpose be? Maybe it’s to bring me some magic like the letter explained? Maybe it could fly me to a place I’ve always dreamed of going…like Africa? “I want the onesie to take me to Africa!” I blurted out. “Africa? Why do you think that?” asked Dad. “Because Africa is a cool place, filled with giraffes and ostriches and lions and stuff!” “It’s impossible for a onesie to take you places you dream of going,” said Mum, “And besides, it’s not like you to imagine a onesie being able to fly you all the way to Africa so you can get malaria.” “Malaria?!” I cried. “Yes, it’s a serious disease you find in Africa, tiny mosquitoes cause it. Glad we don’t have any in this country.” “I’m being serious, there is no disease in Africa!” I said. “We’ll talk about this later. Now, eat up your dinner like a good girl.”

My mum and dad continued eating. I continued eating too, but it wasn’t long until something caught my eye. Lying on the sofa was the flamingo onesie. How did it get there? I wondered. I stared at the onesie with awe and disbelief, but it wasn’t long until it started to glow a deep pink. The sound of a doorbell ringing came from the suit. I dropped my knife and fork and ran towards the onesie. It was glowing bright as the sun, right into my eyes. It then made another noise, much like…tinkly music. “Mum! Dad!” I called, “The onesie glowed! And it’s playing music!” But Mum and Dad were finishing their dinner. Crossly, I stormed back to the table and finished eating my dinner in a grumpy mood.

Once I’ve finished eating, Mum said, “You good girl. You ate all your dinner! Perhaps you wouldn’t mind if we gave you a nice slice of chocolate fudge cake, hmm?” “Yes.” I said, with my arms folded. “What’s the magic word?” asked Mum. “Please.” I continued. Mum cut a slice of creamy chocolate fudge cake from the kitchen and placed it in front of me. But with the slice was a fortune cookie. We didn’t have fortune cookies in our house, we only had regular chocolate chip cookies. How did it get there? I wondered for the second time that day. Gratefully, I ate my cake in big bites, then examined the fortune cookie. It looked like a regular old fortune cookie, except it had a purple jewel embedded in it. No fortune cookie was ever made like this - except when jewellery was thrown into the fortune cookie batter. I broke open the cookie and found a message inside, like every fortune cookie would. I read the message carefully.

“Tonight, you will go on a magical adventure.”

My eyes lit up! I’ve never been on a magical adventure before. But I’ve yet to keep it hidden from Mum and Dad, so I whispered to myself, “A magical adventure! A magical adventure! I’m having an adventure!” “Why are you whispering like that, sweetie?” asked Mum. I just said, “Nothing, Mum, I’m just telling myself what a great cake I had.” “I’m sure you were whispering something,” said Dad. “I was whispering something. Something about the cake.” “Make sure you save us slices next time, and don’t shove a whole slice into your mouth. It’s bad manners. Make sure you show some real manners this time.” “Real manners? Like what?” I asked. “Well, saying please and thank you and eating in small bites.” said Mum.

After dinner, I tried on my flamingo onesie again. It was ultra comfortable, and fitted me perfectly. I played and danced about in my flamingo onesie all afternoon, until Mum called “Time for bed!” “Can I wear my flamingo onesie?” I asked. “Of course you can,” said Mum. I brushed my teeth and washed my face, then climbed into bed as Mum read me a story. The story was Alice In Wonderland. As she read, my pink flamingo onesie glowed, and I have to admit, it tickled quite a bit. I roared with laughter! “What’s so funny?” asked Mum. “Oh, er…I just thought the bit with the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party was funny.” I said. “Okay then, well settle down now. We all need to get some sleep.” Mum switched off the light and exited the room, so I snuggle down to get some sleep at last.

A few minutes into midnight, as the stars twinkled in the sky, my onesie started to glow again. I couldn’t help giggling quietly, but then I heard a strange tapping noise on my door. I ignored it and went back to sleep. The tapping got louder. I shot right out of bed, and looked out the window. It was a sparkling ball of light, all purplish-blue, floating in the sky. I opened the window, and it shot in, knocking books off the shelf and toys off my cabinet. “Get out of here, you’re making a mess!” I cried, but the sparkle didn’t listen. It began to twinkle and fly around me, playing a tune similar to ‘Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy’. The tune at once enchanted me. I was tired, but I was wide awake enough to listen to the most beautiful music my ears have ever heard. It flittered around the room, putting books back onto the shelf and toys back onto the cabinet. “Thanks,” I said, “For a mischievous sphere of light, you could do a lot of chores.”

It then approached my wall. Was it going to smash through it? No, it wasn’t. It morphed into a little door shape, and then it became a little door. It was coloured light blue and its doorknob was purple, like blackberries in an Autumn bramble bush. I got down on my hands and knees and crawled towards the door. I knocked three times, and it opened, revealing pure darkness. Curious, I crawled inside. I was intrigued outside, but inside, I was excited. It was going to be a new adventure for me…

Scream Street: Protect & Survive - Chapter 1: A Visitor

Have you ever read Enid Blyton’s The Faraway Tree? Jo, Beth and Franny are three children living in a little cottage deep in the country. Well, I live in the country like the children in this book, and I have roommates too. These roommates are no ordinary roommates. They’re Luke, a werewolf, Cleo, an Egyptian mummy, and Resus, a vampire. We spend all day together every day, because I am homeschooled. Mum doesn’t use CBBC to caretake my homeschooling, because she says CBBC is a complete waste of time and it hates Scream Street. We have two pets too - Dig, a half-dog, and Lulu, a leech. Life with my roommates was full of happiness. We’d play out in the garden and hide from each other whenever a game of hide and seek was played. We’d sit together on the bench and watch the sun go down whenever it was a quiet and peaceful night and whenever we had the chance, we’d go for long walks in the forest. Life in the country was paradise.

This story is about the time we experienced a mini crisis unlike any other.

It was the beginning of the October school holidays, and Luke, Resus, Cleo and I were excited because our cousin Six was coming to visit. We loved playing with our cousin. She was really strong, and yet she was so gentle. She had been gentle to me ever since I was a baby, and we have been on multiple visits to see my Aunt F and cousin Six on days in and out of the school holidays. Our mum had recently got a job for the local newspaper, about the lifestyle and wellbeing of monsters across the UK, and today we had a copy. The latest section was about watching too much TV and how the loss of money had made the channel CBBC go downhill, and soon it will start airing American cartoons, so kids should watch streaming instead.

“WHAT?!” cried Resus. “How can they do this to Scream Street? By the way, has anybody read your column, Mum?” “Oh yes,” said Mum, “In fact Wembley Werewolf reads the gazette every day to keep up with his thousands of children.” “Wow,” I said, “For one werewolf, he happens to have loads of children.” “Loads, yes,” said Luke, “If I were to marry you, I think we’d have two children.” “What will we name them?” I asked. “Lola and Sapphire.” I blushed and giggled as Luke kissed my cheek. “Now, kids, remember: your cousin Six is coming tomorrow. I want you to be extra nice to her, because she’s going through a very hard time right now.” “Cousin Six! Cousin Six!” we chanted. “I knew you were going to say that,” said Mum. “Yeah, we ALWAYS say that when we hear Six is coming for a visit.” “Cousin Six!” Resus continued chanting. Cleo playfully punched him in the side. “Hey!” he cried. “I was only setting the mood!” “Never mind, I think we’d better not chant it for all of today, in case we’re clockwork monster machines.”

We got everything ready for our cousin. We cleaned our room, I made the bed and Luke refused to clean his room, so he just sat downstairs playing Zombie Kickboxer while Cleo and Resus cleared away my toys. As we finished cleaning, Mum called “Dinner!” and we all raced downstairs. Luke dropped his console and raced to the table. It was battered cod and chips again - our favourite. Mum turned on the radio. A jolly tune began to play. Mum always tells us to not dance while eating, as it’ll give us hiccups. I remember when I danced while eating dinner, and I got a terrible amount of hiccups. Luke had to turn werewolf and hang me upside down so that my hiccups would go away. As we were eating our dinner like good children, Resus being funny by sticking chips into his fake fangs, the tune was suddenly interrupted by this voice on the radio:

“We interrupt this programme for an official government announcement. All through next week, CBBC will air the new episodes of Scream Street. There will be some changes to the episodes, so follow our instructions carefully. If you’re a monster, it is vital that you hear our advice before thinking twice. We will be delivering government announcements throughout Monday to Friday next week. That’s all.”

“This is it!” I cried. “It’s nothing to get excited about,” said Luke, “We’ve been waiting for this for a long time, but with all those changes I think you won’t like this series.” “But I love season 1!” I said. “Not this time. Us Scream Street residents were very, very, VERY upset to learn that the second series will ruin our reputation of life on the street. For starters, they’ll be taking away some characters we know and love. Secondly, it’ll have a more unsettling tone. And three, it’ll be unwatchable!” I was so shocked food fell out of my mouth.

Discontinued Breakfast Cereals

A pound of sugar, a quarter of tea,

Some carrots for Mrs Bunny,

And something extra special for tea -

A great big pot of honey!

A jar of jam, some slices of ham

Some doughnuts and a bun,

And any of the discontinued cereals you're about to read...

Are sure to be lots of fun!

https://www.eightieskids.com/10-discontinued-breakfast-cereals-we-would-love-to-see-again/10

Cleo's Bedtime Story - Chapter 1: The Baby

Nature has gifted this monster family with this precious little baby, and there's only one mummy girl who can take care of her...

Children's BBC Sticker & Swap Cards

Between 1997 and 2002, Children's BBC would do a series of sticker and swap cards featuring some of their best loved characters, which you can share with friends and put on notebooks, including Teletubbies, Noddy, Pingu, Postman Pat, Fireman Sam, Bill & Ben, Oakie Doke and more.

Stories: The Magic Waterslide

Part of the Stories anthology collection.

This is Bluey's story. Bluey, Indy, Chloe and I discover a magic waterslide that takes us all around the school, then to a place filled with rainbows and unicorns.

Coco Pops Blue Peter Sticker & Swap Cards

What if for Blue Peter's 60th birthday,

Coco Pops made swap cards to send viewers on their way!

Sticker and swap cards available in free packs

Because Radzi and Lindsey have got viewer's backs!

Presenters, pets and epic moments from the show

Sticker and swap cards are great, you know!

What if they did this offer in 2018

Then they would get Blue Peter fans excited for the show's birthday....

They'd rather have a bowl of Coco Pops!

Cleo's Bedtime Story - Chapter 1: The Baby

Alright, Sybil, time for bed. We’ve had a lovely day, and now it’s time to go to bed. Before we do that, I’ve got a bedtime story I would like to share with you. Settle down while I tell you the story of how we found you way back in the stone age….

Chapter 1:

The Baby

A hundred million years ago, when mankind was just starting to develop, there lived a bandaged cave girl named Cleo. She lived with her brothers, Resus the vampire and Luke the werewolf, in a cosy cave with their parents, surrounded by lush fields, green trees and fresh water. It wasn’t always like this. Sometimes it rained. Sometimes it snowed. During cold weather, they’d wear their furs and keep warm by the fire. During hot weather, they’d take off our furs entirely, and run around without any clothes in the warm air. They’d go swimming in the lake, or have a bath there. There were no modern baths in those times, so a lake bath was just as relaxing. The only problem we had with their lives was the amount of food they had.

Every Winter or Summer, they’d go hunting other animals who roamed the plains. Luke, Resus and Cleo would be accompanied by one of their parents, who were expert hunters. Resus’ dad, Alston, didn’t bite anyone, because even though he, Bella and Resus were vampires, they were the first to ever exist. They’d go hunting for snow lions, or mammoths, or woolly rhino…but all they brought back was a rabbit or two. A small, worthless rabbit makes a little filling meal for rumbling tummies, but at least they enjoyed our catch. They’d skin our catch alive and then eat its flesh. That’s how people ate these days, but Luke, Resus and Cleo didn’t mind. They ate their fill in small bites, and drank mammoth’s milk every night before bed. One Winter day, everything was about to change…

The snow was swirling like a whirlpool as Luke, Resus, Cleo and Niles trudged through the snow, trying to battle the cold and heavy wind as they held their wooden spears tight. “We’re almost there!” called Cleo over the wind, “I think we’re approaching some kind of cave!” “A cave?” asked Luke, “Finally!” They trudged with life and limb across the snow, then they stopped. The cave was big and hollow, and quite huge. “Hello!” called Luke, and his voice echoed. “Hello, hello, hello!” it went. He tiptoed inside to see if it was safe. In the darkness, he saw a huge white snow lion sleeping soundly. He tried to be careful and avoid any noise as he held his spear up and tiptoed up towards the lion…suddenly, he tripped! A small rock tumbled and bounced off a cliff and landed on the snow lion’s head. BUMP!

The snow lion instantly jumped up and growled at Luke. Luke raced out of the cave screaming, and Niles, Cleo and Resus all ran screaming too. The snow lion struck Luke with its sharp claws, and Luke felt red blood trickling down his back. He growled, his eyes turned black and purple, and he transformed into a sabre-toothed werewolf. “You get him from behind!” called Resus, “I’ll take him by surprise!” Luke chased the snow lion across the snowy plain and into the forest. Cleo galloped across the forest the other way, trying to search for Niles. “Dad? DAD!” she cried, but she tripped on a stone and tumbled downhill into a steep ravine. Luke was just about to pounce onto the lion and sink his teeth into its flesh, when he tripped and a thorn scarred his chest, drawing blood. At that moment, Resus jumped out, screaming and waving his spear. He stabbed it in the lion’s side. The lion roared in pain. “Your go, Luke!” called Resus. Luke knew he wasn’t about to give up yet. He roared, and leapt at the lion, biting into its back, harder and harder, until it drew its last breath from its mouth.

At the same time, Cleo was recovering from her fall. She looked up, and saw the snow was falling lightly now, and up above, Luke and Resus were cheering and whooping, shaking their kill in the air. “Woo! Look at that! We did it! We killed something other than a useless rabbit!” called Luke. Cleo smiled and yelled back, then checked herself to see if there were any bruises. There weren’t. Her legs didn’t break. Her arms weren’t broken either. She had the strength to climb back up the cliff and reunite with her brothers again. Luckily, they helped her up as soon as she reached the cliff ledge. “Finally.” said Niles, “We killed something that’s big enough for the whole family to eat. Come on, let’s move forward and get home.”

They trudged home through the snow. It was a long walk, but they finally made it back home, only to hear a strange noise. It sounded like…like crying. They raced to the front door and saw a tiny baby lying outside the doorstep in the freezing cold, wrapped in furs and waving her arms in agony. “Who’s that?” asked Luke. “Looks like a baby to me,” said Resus. “I don’t care, she’s mine,” said Cleo. She took the baby in her warm arms and began to cradle her gently. The warmth and gentleness of her arms soothed the baby and caused her to stop crying. “How sweet, princess,” said Niles, “You’re just like a big sister to this baby.” “Let me guess - we’re going to adopt it.” said Resus. “We’ll take it indoors with us. She has no mother, so I guess we should look after it ourselves.” Niles smiled. “She’ll be my favourite too, I don’t care how beloved my new baby sister is.” Cleo said, “I promise to be good to her and watch it grow up.”

Luke, Resus, Cleo and Niles went indoors and saw their parents sitting in the warmth of their cave, waiting for them to return home. “Are you alright, Cleo?” asked Sue. “I’m fine. I would like to introduce you to a new member of our family. She’s a little small, but you’ll soon get used to her.” Cleo introduced. Everyone at once sighed and chorused, “Aaaaaaawwww.” They said things like “Isn’t she cute?” and “Welcome to the family!” Once the cute noises died down, Mike said, “We haven’t given her a name yet.” “What shall we name her?” asked Bella. “Mammoth’s tooth!” said Luke. “Tortilla Tail!” said Resus. “No. We don’t need those names. All we can name her is…Sybil.” said Cleo. “Welcome, Sybil.” everyone sighed, as they quietly watched Cleo hold the baby close to her bosom.

Cleo was still cradling the baby as the family sat round the fire eating the remains of the snow lion. The fresh smell of killed meat filled the air as the family tucked into their first real meal they had in weeks. The snow whistled and blew great flakes of white outside, but they sat in the warm, feeling full, and talking about their day. Luke, Resus and Cleo were getting really tired, and Cleo carried on holding Sybil, feeding her the right amount of mammoth milk. She even patted her on her back, burping her. The family’s pet, the half sabre-toothed-dog Dig, and the sabre-toothed leech Lulu, gathered to look at the new baby with their family, and tickled and cuddled the new baby. Giggles and sounds of “Coochie-coochie-coo!” were heard all through the family as everyone admired Sybil and kissed her. Sybil’s eyes were starting to get a little heavy from all this fuss and attention, so Sue said, “Time for bed, everyone.”

Luke, Resus and Cleo prepared a bed for what was now four of them with Sybil by their side. They piled up some furs and placed a pillow made out of duck feathers at the very top of the bed. It was getting dark as they did that, as the sound of Winter wind blew outside, and yawning and calls of “Goodnight.” we heard throughout the house. Luke, Resus, Cleo and Sybil relaxed in bed, snug and safe inside their very own soft bed, under soft furry covers, as if a giant sabre-toothed cat was lying on top of them, keeping them warm and protected from the cold wind and weather. Our eyes grew heavy as the soothing sound of the Winter wind played its song outside the cave.

Cleo was lying right next to her new baby sister, whispering “There there. It’s alright. I’m here. Cleo’s here. It’s okay.” She kissed her and nuzzled her, touching her soft skin and snuggling with her. Sybil was so soothed that she and Cleo instantly fell asleep right away. With a new baby in the family, things will never be the same for them, because the family will have a new kid to look after and watch grow up through the next few years.

Princess Cocoa

Anyone else searching up cocoa mugs with toadstools on them?

I.B.F.Fs: Travel Sickness - Chapter 2: The Dingo

In our dream, Luke, Resus and Cleo were running out onto the beach. We felt wild and free. We’ve been on the beach multiple times at home, but this was way better than before. Our energy had come back, and we were bright-eyed and bushy-tailed once again. Luke and Resus were only wearing their swimming trunks. Luke’s was orange with black stripes, while Resus’ was black with red stripes. I was wearing my cute pink swimming costume. Cleo was only wearing her bandages. It was very hot in Australia, so it’s glad Aunt Marie had her sweet-smelling suncream. We loved the smell of Aunt Marie’s suncream. Its scent was enough to drag you onto the beach in a couple of minutes. Once we reached the beach, we rolled along the sand. “Wheeeeeeee!” shouted Luke, Resus and Cleo as the soft sand touched their skin - and bandages. “Wheeeeeee!” I shouted too, rolling along with them. The sand dunes were steep enough to roll down. I leapt on top of my pile of siblings and we all laughed as we collapsed onto the sand.

We would play in the sea. The sea was big, blue, beautiful and cool as a million ice cubes in a fridge. Luke, Resus and Cleo took it in turns to make me jump when the tide splashed in. When it was Luke’s turn and the tide came in, he lifted me up and tickled my wet feet. Resus did indeed jump when it was his turn. I jumped, but Resus fell over and ran back to our beach towel, shivering “Help! Help! It’s cold…” Luke, Cleo and I laughed along with him. Cleo was a pro at playing this game with me. “Here comes a big one!” she would cry, while I giggled and held on tight to Cleo’s hands. When the tide came in, she lifted me right up while yelling “Woohoo!” I was screaming with laughter. Next, we all splashed in the water. I splashed my siblings and they splashed me back. When Luke fell back from such a powerful wave of water, I tickled him and cuddled him. Resus and Cleo would splash and tickle him too. The water was shark-free, making it safe for us to play in. Luke and Cleo would dangle me over the water while I shrieked with laughter, and sometimes, Resus would sit in the water and splash me, while I splashed him back. We wiggled our toes at one another, as if it was a way of communicating.

Before all that, we put on suncream to stay safe from the sun. We decided to play around with it. I sprayed some suncream on Luke’s tummy and drew a smiley face on it. The smiley face didn’t stay smiling for long, as Luke rubbed the suncream all over his body like he was a suntan lotion advert model. He sprayed some on my face, minding my eyes as it’ll hurt when the suncream was applied. I took the suncream and sprayed it on Resus’ back. He giggled, as it tickled on his sensitive back, but I rubbed it all in and he enjoyed it dearly. Cleo was already relaxing on our laid-out beach towel, and that’s when the boys and I decided to play a trick on him. I drew a circle on her back, then Luke and Resus drew a face. We laughed as we ran back to watch and Cleo awoke. She looked around to see that her bandaged back had a creamy feeling to it. “Oh, it’s only suncream,” she laughed, and rubbed it all in. We groaned in disappointment. We knew this was something to fall for - almost!

Minutes later, we lay down on the soft sand and relaxed under the shade of our yellow and pink beach parasol. I lay beside Luke and dreamed as the sounds of seagulls screeching pierced the hot air. Luke, Resus and Cleo were already asleep when I opened my eyes to the sound of crunching. I looked around, and heard that the crunching sound was less audible. I strained my ears to listen out for any crunching. Munch, crunch! There it was again. I looked around in the direction of the crunching. I was in shock to see a real life dingo crunching away at a bone, gnawing as if it were Dig right there and then. But it can’t be Dig! He was at the kennels with Lulu! I always feel emotional when I say goodbye to Dig and Lulu when sending them to the kennels, and I always give them kisses, so tears filled my eyes as I watched the dingo gnaw his large bone, then yawn and settle down on the sand, ready to dream dreamtime dreams.

It took a while for me to dry my eyes and look at the dingo closely. His sandy fur almost camoflagued him against the beach, and his breathing sounded snarly and growly, making him fierce. It wouldn’t hurt to be brave, I thought, so I got down on my hands and knees and crawled slowly over to the dingo. I had to mind all the pebbles and sticks that have been littered at various points on the beach, but at one point I stood on a large pebble and I tried hard not to scream, almost waking the dingo up. I sat down and looked at the pebble. Then I looked at my pebble. It was light brown with white stripes - a rarity on beaches like this. I placed the pebble where I won’t stand on it anymore, and continued crawling over to the dingo. I was almost there. I reached out to the dingo and tried to touch his soft-looking fur, but he shot up and growled at me! I shrank back in horror as the dingo fell asleep again.

I wasn’t sure what to do. Should I go back to my siblings or try stroking the dingo? Surely it can’t be too friendly. I wish…I could do something about it. I looked at my sleeping siblings, and then looked at the dingo. I knew what I had to do. I reached out to the dingo slowly and gently again, and then stroked his muzzle. The dingo seemed to feel calm and content as I stroked him. There were warnings before nature programmes on TV that we mustn’t touch wild animals, because they could be too dangerous to handle, but this was a one-off. It was as if the dingo lost his family and came to the beach to forage for food. By food, I meant the bone. The dingo was a friendly one. I smiled feeling the dingo growl with contentment, its heart beating slowly.

Luke, Resus and Cleo awoke and saw me stroking the dingo. They saw it was a charming sight, and crawled over to me and joined me in stroking this wild dog.

When I Use The Make-A-List App...

I.B.F.Fs In: Pillow Fairies - Chapter 1: Beyond The Clouds

Once upon a time, there was a cosy world that existed just over the rainbow and beyond the clouds. It was so soft, you could almost touch it. People down below have claimed to see it time and time again, and some scholars believed fairies lived there. Do you think fairies live there? I think you’re right. In this magic land, a colony of fairies flittered around making their world soft and new. They brought cuddly comfort to the clouds, they made the rivers and streams feel and taste like pure milk and their flowers always brought fresh sap every day. Wearing nothing but bare, smooth skin, our little band of fairies flew here and there, making sure everything wasn’t out of place and just as snuggly as nature intended. The fairy children spend their time playing among the clouds and telling each other stories about the human world. However, four fairy children love to play better than any other…

That’s right, our names are Luke, Resus, Cleo and Sybil. We claim to be the best out of all the fairy children in Softopia, because we tend to have the most fun. Usually we’d sit around in a circle listening to one of the fairies tell stories about how the whale got its song or how the lion and the hyena became friends, but while all this was going on, we like to make our own soft fun. We’d snuggle up in the clouds and tickle each other, until our laughter was heard by other unsuspecting fairy children. We’d dive into the milk pool and splash each other and relax in a daily skin ritual. Best of all, we liked visiting the most tranquil place in Softopia - the flowers. Pillow flowers, you should call them. We love relaxing on the pillow flowers, because they proved to be the softest out of any of the flowers that grew in this kind, gentle world.

For many years, we were happy living there. So happy that nothing ever happened to our world. Not a single flood, or lightning storm, or earthquake, hit. Softopia was a safe world where fairies lived in perfect peace and harmony, hiding in the clouds, bathing in milk or sleeping in flowers. No fairy troop had ever experienced a softness such as this, especially us. We were fond of sunshine and soft, Summer breezes and fun, and we are inseparable. I often promised my friends we would never, ever part. Every day was safe and fine, as long as we played in the clouds. Sometimes, the peace will not be to last, and I’ll tell you of one particular time.

One sunny, warm day, Luke, Resus, Cleo and I decided to visit our old friend, Indy The Wise. Even though she was 6 years old, Indy was the wisest girl in all of Softopia. She was always there to tell the most interesting tales and give wisdom and advice for anyone struggling to be at one with these soft surroundings. She was often spotted doing yoga amidst burning, strawberry-scented candles, and when she’s not, she’s basically telling stories. We loved to visit her to hear a different story every day. The other week, she told us about a scarecrow who wished he could swim underwater. A dolphin fairy had to come and wave her magic wand, and then the scarecrow ran away from the farm, stripped off his raggedy old clothes and dived into the sea. That was it. Indy had learnt all these stories from her mentor Calypso, the head of all the fairies in Softopia, which is why she had gained so much knowledge.

We entered the hollow tree where Indy lived. She was searching through her big book of wisdom and tutting. “Oh no…oh no oh no. Oh no no no no no.” She was pondering to herself. “This doesn’t seem right at all.” “What’s the matter, oh Indy The Wise?” I asked. “This is definitely not happening, not at this moment.” “What’s not happening?” asked Luke. “The great storm.” Indy worried. We all gasped in shock. “The great storm?!” “But we never had a storm in Softopia, not in a million years!” I wailed. “I know, and the latest tale in my book isn’t a story, it’s a prophecy. Listen on and I will tell you.” Indy cleared his throat and began to read.

“In a day, Softopia will witness a great storm that will turn what was once soft, warm and comfortable to hard, cold stone. No milk, no sap and no pillows could ever be stored for safety in homes across the land, leaving all the fairies futureless. Legend has it that only four fairies with courageous hearts will be able to force their way into the human world and collect the legendary Golden Pillow that’ll have the power to bring the softness back to their world.”

For a few moments, we were all quiet. Then we just sighed and laughed, scoffing. “There’s no such thing as a storm anyway!” I laughed. “A storm? What makes you think that?” Resus giggled. “There’s no storm!” said Cleo, “It was something you made up when your mind told you to.” “I’m being serious, if the storm hits your land, then to the human world you must seek the Golden Pillow.” But before she could stop us, we left! Indy sighed and slammed the book shut. “What a bunch of non-believers. I hope that someday I could persuade them to believe. Oh well, I’d best make myself a nice cup of acorn cocoa and head off to bed. I think I should have to call it a day.” But as she went upstairs, outside the tree, a grey storm cloud was looming in the distance, thunder and lightning crashing like a thousand cymbals…

Luke, Resus, Cleo and I made our way home, laughing and joking. “Who cares about a storm?” I laughed, “Storms make no sense!” “Not to us fairies they don’t,” said Resus. “Fairies believe in softness and love, not storms and violence.” “Let’s ignore the fact that the storm might be upon us any minute and just get on with our lives. Never has there ever been-” Just then, our parents - Mike, Sue, Alston, Bella and Niles - fluttered in. “You look pale as death! Where have you been?” asked Mr Watson. “We’ve just been to visit Indy The Wise.” said Luke. “She told us that there’s going to be a storm, but we’re not falling for it.” “We have to keep our eyes open for what’ll happen to us when a storm does hit.” said Bella. “Anyway, look at the setting sun! It must be time for our little fairies to go to bed.” We sighed in relief. Bed. What a comfortable word. Our eyes were already getting heavier and our wings were getting tired too.

First, we had a little drink - the sap from the bluebells that grew in the meadow. The sap tasted remarkably sticky and a little like honey, but it still cleansed our pallets whenever it could. The taste was loved by anyone in our family, and usually sap was pollinated by bees, but bees can’t fly further than the rainbow anyway. Sap was our favourite thing to drink, and it exists in flowers too. Next, we had a bath to cleanse all the stickiness away. We bathed in pure, sweet milk. We were washed all over with a green leaf scrubbing brush, and Resus struggled when Alston, his father, used the sponge to clean his face, for cleaning was his least favourite thing. We were vigorously dried with a leaf towel, and then we flew over to the Pillow Flowers and snuggled on the soft petals, falling fast asleep. As soon as we did, I turned over and lay awake. “What if Indy was right about her story? What if Softopia really does turn to stone?”

My what ifs were true. That night, a big wind blew across the soft plains. It got heavier and more violent, and then it began to rain. The cloudy ground became all soggy, and the flowers and trees blew in the wind. Only the Pillow Flowers stood still in the heavy breeze. Then came the lightning. It crashed and flashed in the darkness. It struck every single plant and flower in this magical world, and a hard, cold stone coating built up around the ground, the grass, the clouds, the flowers and trees, until the wind subsided, and there was nothing but silence. The ground was hard as stone - literally. It was lucky the storm never struck the Pillow Flowers, because that was where the prophecy came full circle. However, it wouldn’t begin until the very next day…