Maurice Wakes Up By Pete Donald
The sun hung high in the sky on invisible threads without a cloud for company. The top of the hill was the perfect spot to have a picnic and none of the gang were going to disagree. Settling down to a superb selection of sandwiches, crisps and fizzy pop, the boys soaked up the sun and soaked in the magnificent views. From the far off countryside to the nearby houses, schools and factories, everything appeared to fit into the palm of your hand.
Suddenly the ground trembled.
The tremble became a rumble.
Then the rumble became a mighty shake.
“Earthquake!!!!” everybody screamed.
All was still.
Before anybody could move a muscle, the hill did.
Soil started to slide away down the slope and incredibly the hill appeared to be growing, or at least getting curiously higher and higher.
The boys scrambled on all fours to get to the very top of the hill where there was still some grass and a solitary tree left standing. All around them the earth had disappeared to reveal a shiny hard surface.
Standing up around the tree the boys stared at each other and the surroundings in disbelief.
The hill yawned.
It was most definitely a yawn, but one so loud and long it lasted for more than 5 minutes, whatever had yawned had been asleep for a very, very long time..
Out from the bottom of the hill emerged first one flipper, then another, then another, a fourth and finally a fifth. Except that last one wasn’t a flipper at all it was a head, and the eyes on the enormous head blinked open.
Maurice the massive turtle had woken up.
His latest nap had lasted a thousand years and Maurice felt it was about time he went home. Being a turtle, home meant the sea.
Maurice started to move very slowly towards the coast.
The hills forward motion took the boys by surprise and they fell to the ground like a pack of cards. The sensation of any movement whilst standing still on solid ground is very disturbing, however the speed at which this hill was travelling was quite slow and soon the boys were able to stand on their own two feet.
Nobody was enjoying the ride. The gang didn’t know where the hill was going and Maurice didn’t know he had passengers.
The boys agreed they needed to get off the mobile mountain as quickly as possible. They couldn’t just climb down, the steepness of the shiny sides of the shell made that quite impossible and it was far too high to jump down.
A rope was needed!
“What we need is a rope,” announced one boy. “Has anyone got one?”
“On a picnic?” shouted one boy.
“I don’t even have any rope at home,” came another.
“We’ve got a washing line,” said one boy at the back of the group.
“That’s it!” said the first boy.
“I don’t have it on me!!”
“No, not the washing line, what you put on one?”
“Pegs?”
“No!! Clothes! We can take off our clothes and make a sort of rope from them.”
“I’m not getting naked,” came a rather timid voice from the back.
“There will be no unnecessary nakedness, we’ll use socks and shirts and only trousers if absolutely required. We can tie one end to this tree and climb down. The hill isn’t moving too fast and I for one want to get off quickly.”
“What’s the rush?”Came another voice
“I know where this hill’s going.”
“Where? The rest chorused.
“There,” and he pointed out to the approaching beach and the sea beyond.
There were no more arguments, everyone quickly stripped to produce the laundry ladder. It was soon successfully tied to the tree and to everybody’s relief it was able to reach the ground without the need for anybody’s trousers.
One by one the boys climbed down, past smelly socks and sweaty armpit stains.
Maurice could now really smell the salty sea air, his nose twitched as the scent of the shoreline filled his nostrils. He quickened his sloth’s crawl to a snail’s pace.
The urgency to get off the trundling tor increased as the sea came nearer into view, and the boys quickly descended two at a time, down the clothesline escape route. This proved to be too much for one small pair of socks whose knot unravelled, breaking the line and leaving one little boy stranded atop Maurice.
By now Maurice was climbing down onto the beach, aiming for the breakwater. The little boy realised there was no way down and sat by the tree on top of the shell and started to cry.
As Maurice placed his front two flippers into the water he thought he could hear something. He stopped to get a better listen. He definitely could hear someone sobbing, and that sobbing was coming from the top of his shell.
Maurice began to stretch his neck to get a better view. Longer and longer became his neck until Maurice was able to look directly on the top of his own shell.
He was very surprised to see the little boy, but not half as surprised as the little boy was to see the enormous turtle face staring at him.
“What’s the matter?” asked Maurice.
“I’m frightened,” replied the boy, “If I’m taken out to sea I will drown.”
“I won’t let that happened,” said Maurice, “climb onto my nose.”
The boy did as he was told. You don’t argue with turtles the size of Maurice.
Very gently the giant turtle lowered the boy down onto the sand.
Suddenly there was a loud cheer. A crowd of people had gathered to witness Maurice’s journey across the countryside to the coast. They had all been holding their breath, not daring to approach Maurice with the children on his back, but after seeing his act of kindness, everybody was clapping and cheering.
Maurice smiled at all these funny little animals and then turning away he slowly waded into the ocean and headed for home.
Soon Maurice was a speck, far in the distant ocean, and with a final flick of his flippers he disappeared under the waves and was never seen again.
THE END
Copyright Pete Donald 2011
Suddenly the ground trembled.
The tremble became a rumble.
Then the rumble became a mighty shake.
“Earthquake!!!!” everybody screamed.
All was still.
Before anybody could move a muscle, the hill did.
Soil started to slide away down the slope and incredibly the hill appeared to be growing, or at least getting curiously higher and higher.
The boys scrambled on all fours to get to the very top of the hill where there was still some grass and a solitary tree left standing. All around them the earth had disappeared to reveal a shiny hard surface.
Standing up around the tree the boys stared at each other and the surroundings in disbelief.
The hill yawned.
It was most definitely a yawn, but one so loud and long it lasted for more than 5 minutes, whatever had yawned had been asleep for a very, very long time..
Out from the bottom of the hill emerged first one flipper, then another, then another, a fourth and finally a fifth. Except that last one wasn’t a flipper at all it was a head, and the eyes on the enormous head blinked open.
Maurice the massive turtle had woken up.
His latest nap had lasted a thousand years and Maurice felt it was about time he went home. Being a turtle, home meant the sea.
Maurice started to move very slowly towards the coast.
The hills forward motion took the boys by surprise and they fell to the ground like a pack of cards. The sensation of any movement whilst standing still on solid ground is very disturbing, however the speed at which this hill was travelling was quite slow and soon the boys were able to stand on their own two feet.
Nobody was enjoying the ride. The gang didn’t know where the hill was going and Maurice didn’t know he had passengers.
The boys agreed they needed to get off the mobile mountain as quickly as possible. They couldn’t just climb down, the steepness of the shiny sides of the shell made that quite impossible and it was far too high to jump down.
A rope was needed!
“What we need is a rope,” announced one boy. “Has anyone got one?”
“On a picnic?” shouted one boy.
“I don’t even have any rope at home,” came another.
“We’ve got a washing line,” said one boy at the back of the group.
“That’s it!” said the first boy.
“I don’t have it on me!!”
“No, not the washing line, what you put on one?”
“Pegs?”
“No!! Clothes! We can take off our clothes and make a sort of rope from them.”
“I’m not getting naked,” came a rather timid voice from the back.
“There will be no unnecessary nakedness, we’ll use socks and shirts and only trousers if absolutely required. We can tie one end to this tree and climb down. The hill isn’t moving too fast and I for one want to get off quickly.”
“What’s the rush?”Came another voice
“I know where this hill’s going.”
“Where? The rest chorused.
“There,” and he pointed out to the approaching beach and the sea beyond.
There were no more arguments, everyone quickly stripped to produce the laundry ladder. It was soon successfully tied to the tree and to everybody’s relief it was able to reach the ground without the need for anybody’s trousers.
One by one the boys climbed down, past smelly socks and sweaty armpit stains.
Maurice could now really smell the salty sea air, his nose twitched as the scent of the shoreline filled his nostrils. He quickened his sloth’s crawl to a snail’s pace.
The urgency to get off the trundling tor increased as the sea came nearer into view, and the boys quickly descended two at a time, down the clothesline escape route. This proved to be too much for one small pair of socks whose knot unravelled, breaking the line and leaving one little boy stranded atop Maurice.
By now Maurice was climbing down onto the beach, aiming for the breakwater. The little boy realised there was no way down and sat by the tree on top of the shell and started to cry.
As Maurice placed his front two flippers into the water he thought he could hear something. He stopped to get a better listen. He definitely could hear someone sobbing, and that sobbing was coming from the top of his shell.
Maurice began to stretch his neck to get a better view. Longer and longer became his neck until Maurice was able to look directly on the top of his own shell.
He was very surprised to see the little boy, but not half as surprised as the little boy was to see the enormous turtle face staring at him.
“What’s the matter?” asked Maurice.
“I’m frightened,” replied the boy, “If I’m taken out to sea I will drown.”
“I won’t let that happened,” said Maurice, “climb onto my nose.”
The boy did as he was told. You don’t argue with turtles the size of Maurice.
Very gently the giant turtle lowered the boy down onto the sand.
Suddenly there was a loud cheer. A crowd of people had gathered to witness Maurice’s journey across the countryside to the coast. They had all been holding their breath, not daring to approach Maurice with the children on his back, but after seeing his act of kindness, everybody was clapping and cheering.
Maurice smiled at all these funny little animals and then turning away he slowly waded into the ocean and headed for home.
Soon Maurice was a speck, far in the distant ocean, and with a final flick of his flippers he disappeared under the waves and was never seen again.
THE END
Copyright Pete Donald 2011