Lost in a Good Book- A Child's Tale
Rebecca usually liked the library a lot, but she didn't think anything would make up for her father not seeking her out but in fact ignoring her existence. Rebecca wasn't looking at the shelves when she blindly grabbed a little book with a hard cover. The book had a picture of a gigantic goose. She smiled remembering the many times her parents one, or the other and a couple of times both would choose to read her stories. She had loved those times, feeling reminiscent she walked to a corner in the back and sat on a floor crossing her legs Indian style.
The book opened and Rebecca heard a ::POP:: that signaled a change in her world. She landed on her bum rather hard in sweet smelling grass. As she looked around, she saw a boy and a girl each carrying water buckets up a hill. The boy made a swing at the girl with his bucket, and tripped in the process. He went down like a round brick, and the girl tumbled down after him.
Another girl with a little crooked staff and a pretty fluffy lamb wandered around the corner. She was talking and petting the lamb as she walked. The lamb seemed to listen as if it understood her every word.
A haystack stood in one corner, and Rebecca saw a boy peeping at her from under a straw hat. As soon as he saw her looking he closed his eyes, and made snoring sounds. She could have faked much better if she had tried.
The next thing Rebecca saw was a group of little children running wild in the street away from a house that looked to her like it might be a shoe for a giant. She watched the children as they stopped to laugh at the pair at the foot of the hill. She saw them sticking out their tongue at the girl with the lamb, and she even saw a couple sneaking up on the sleeping boy at the bottom of the hay stack.
One of the little ankle biters came rushing at her, and Rebecca prepared to defend herself by bending down low to take the blow. The child had apparently never been taught anything. Rebecca grabbed him and held him up. He was only a small boy, maybe 4 years old. She might be dainty, but fighting her brothers had made her strong.
"Hey, put me down!!" he cried.
"Jack be nimble! Jack be quick! Jack just got caught by a girlie chick!" mocked another of the children walking over in awe of Rebecca's reflexes.
Rebecca set Jack down and he scurried away throwing dark looks her way. She had offended his sense of honor. Shrugging she tucked a piece of grass between her lips just to see if it tasted well.
"Jack and Jill fell down the hill!" someone cried aloud as he ran through the little street in the game.
"Wee Willie Winkle, close your big mouth!" someone shouted from behind Becca. She turned to look, and saw a man with a flute smiling down at her. "He runs through the town in his nightgown. Just ignore him."
"Rebecca," she held out her hand politely.
He looked at her hand bemused, one eyebrow lifted before accepting her hand. He raised it to his lips and kissed it rather than shake it. "A pleasure."
"Want a pie?" another boy asked around a mouthful of food.
"Simon, where did you get it?" the man asked patiently, before taking the food.
"I met a pie man on my way to the fair." Simon responded.
"There are birds in that pie," Rebecca noted, and as the words left her mouth the creatures took flight and filled the sky in black wings. Rebecca stumbled away.
"That was for the king!" a man in an apron yelled running in the direction Simon had just come. Simon took off dropping the rest of the pie and running as fast as his chubby legs would carry him. "Bah!"
"I saw three mice today behind my clock!" a woman snapped at the man behind her. "You said you got rid of all the mice."
Rebecca looked at him, he shrugged as if it didn't matter. "I got rid of the rats, there's a difference."
"Well, get rid of the mice." The woman growled in a voice that Rebecca found exceedingly annoying.
"Right away," the man said and lifted his flute to his lips. As soon as he began to play all of the children came rushing from every crevice. They shouted "Pied Piper!" and giggled and danced around him.
Rebecca noticed three mice stumbling with no direction out of the house the woman had retreated into. He was indeed getting rid of the mice. He danced off moving his legs in a jig. The children and mice followed along. Rebecca started to follow as well, until she noticed the little lamb sitting all alone baaing across the street. Had the girl left her sheep? The two pails of water were abandoned as well. Every child had abandoned everything and followed to piper. Rebecca backed away he was a stranger after all. She felt the pull and closed her eyes, her time here was up she supposed.
The library was dim with afternoon light, when Rebecca looked around again. Her head was full of music as she skipped off to find something else to do. The clock above the wall suggested it was pretty late. Had she been missed?
The book opened and Rebecca heard a ::POP:: that signaled a change in her world. She landed on her bum rather hard in sweet smelling grass. As she looked around, she saw a boy and a girl each carrying water buckets up a hill. The boy made a swing at the girl with his bucket, and tripped in the process. He went down like a round brick, and the girl tumbled down after him.
Another girl with a little crooked staff and a pretty fluffy lamb wandered around the corner. She was talking and petting the lamb as she walked. The lamb seemed to listen as if it understood her every word.
A haystack stood in one corner, and Rebecca saw a boy peeping at her from under a straw hat. As soon as he saw her looking he closed his eyes, and made snoring sounds. She could have faked much better if she had tried.
The next thing Rebecca saw was a group of little children running wild in the street away from a house that looked to her like it might be a shoe for a giant. She watched the children as they stopped to laugh at the pair at the foot of the hill. She saw them sticking out their tongue at the girl with the lamb, and she even saw a couple sneaking up on the sleeping boy at the bottom of the hay stack.
One of the little ankle biters came rushing at her, and Rebecca prepared to defend herself by bending down low to take the blow. The child had apparently never been taught anything. Rebecca grabbed him and held him up. He was only a small boy, maybe 4 years old. She might be dainty, but fighting her brothers had made her strong.
"Hey, put me down!!" he cried.
"Jack be nimble! Jack be quick! Jack just got caught by a girlie chick!" mocked another of the children walking over in awe of Rebecca's reflexes.
Rebecca set Jack down and he scurried away throwing dark looks her way. She had offended his sense of honor. Shrugging she tucked a piece of grass between her lips just to see if it tasted well.
"Jack and Jill fell down the hill!" someone cried aloud as he ran through the little street in the game.
"Wee Willie Winkle, close your big mouth!" someone shouted from behind Becca. She turned to look, and saw a man with a flute smiling down at her. "He runs through the town in his nightgown. Just ignore him."
"Rebecca," she held out her hand politely.
He looked at her hand bemused, one eyebrow lifted before accepting her hand. He raised it to his lips and kissed it rather than shake it. "A pleasure."
"Want a pie?" another boy asked around a mouthful of food.
"Simon, where did you get it?" the man asked patiently, before taking the food.
"I met a pie man on my way to the fair." Simon responded.
"There are birds in that pie," Rebecca noted, and as the words left her mouth the creatures took flight and filled the sky in black wings. Rebecca stumbled away.
"That was for the king!" a man in an apron yelled running in the direction Simon had just come. Simon took off dropping the rest of the pie and running as fast as his chubby legs would carry him. "Bah!"
"I saw three mice today behind my clock!" a woman snapped at the man behind her. "You said you got rid of all the mice."
Rebecca looked at him, he shrugged as if it didn't matter. "I got rid of the rats, there's a difference."
"Well, get rid of the mice." The woman growled in a voice that Rebecca found exceedingly annoying.
"Right away," the man said and lifted his flute to his lips. As soon as he began to play all of the children came rushing from every crevice. They shouted "Pied Piper!" and giggled and danced around him.
Rebecca noticed three mice stumbling with no direction out of the house the woman had retreated into. He was indeed getting rid of the mice. He danced off moving his legs in a jig. The children and mice followed along. Rebecca started to follow as well, until she noticed the little lamb sitting all alone baaing across the street. Had the girl left her sheep? The two pails of water were abandoned as well. Every child had abandoned everything and followed to piper. Rebecca backed away he was a stranger after all. She felt the pull and closed her eyes, her time here was up she supposed.
The library was dim with afternoon light, when Rebecca looked around again. Her head was full of music as she skipped off to find something else to do. The clock above the wall suggested it was pretty late. Had she been missed?