Thursday 15 September 2011

Lizzie Hayes' Magical Christmas Travels- Part 1


Here's Part 1 of a serial of a children's story/poem that I'm going to be posting up on my blog from time to time...hopefully the last part will be around Christmas time! I know I'm perhaps not appealing to the right audience on my blog, but I hope that you enjoy it...


Lizzie Hayes’  Magic Christmas Travels

Chapter 1

Have you met young Lizzie Hayes?
She’s quite the traveler these days.
Of course, she didn’t used to be-
She’s never even seen the sea
‘Til her mum said one Christmas Eve
‘We’re off to see your Grandad Steve!’
Lizzie had not met him before
And feeling shy, was quite unsure.
(She usually spent Christmas Day
With Grandad Den and Grandma May
But fed up with all England’s rain
This year, they’d scampered off to Spain!)
She'd heard things about Grandad Steve,
Crazy things she could not believe
(From her cousins Adam and Rob
Who loved to make her scream and sob),
Like how his white beard reached his toes
And how he had a big fat nose
And how his dog was quite a fright
With big sharp teeth and twice her height!
So while they drove up to Steve’s house,
Liz was as quiet as a mouse,
And as the rain came thrashing down,
Liz thought to herself with a frown,
‘Wish Grandad Den and Grandma May
Had not gone off on holiday!’
Just as she began to feel ill
She saw Steve's house up on the hill-
The roof shaped like a wizard’s hat,
The house-front looked just like a cat!
Lizzie had never seen before
Whiskers painted next to the door
To make it look like a cat’s nose
With two bright, cat-eyed shaped windows!
Grandad Steve, with a flaming torch,
Was stood there waiting on the porch.
There he was, just like Liz had feared
Stroking a floor-length wizard beard,
Wearing a bemused sort-of frown
As well as a green dressing gown,
And with that HUGE dog by his side-
Well, Lizzie really could have cried.
‘Come in!’ he said, ‘it’s been twelve years
Since I last saw you, Lizzie dear!’
‘Dad,’ said Mum, ‘Lizzie’s only nine!’
‘Well then,’ said Grandad Steve, ‘that’s fine!’
All furniture was rife with grime
And from another place or time.
Each wall had a map of the world
Stained with age, and all corners curled-
Candlelight gave them an evil glare
Yet Lizzie could not help but stare.
‘You’ll be up in the attic with Chumps,
Don’t worry if there’s a few bumps,
There's just some ghosts that live up there-
You’re a big girl so you won’t care!’
Poor young Lizzie was terrified,
‘I’ll go instead!’ her mother cried,
‘No no,’ said Steve, ‘it must be her-
‘It’s a room she really would prefer.’
‘OK’ said Mum with huge sorrow,
‘Liz, I’ll swap with you tomorrow-
It’s getting late’ continued Mum,
‘Off to bed, or Santa won’t come!’
Reluctantly, Liz said goodnight
And went upstairs with candlelight.
Her cousins had indeed been right-
Chumps the dog WAS twice Lizzie’s height!
Lizzie was scared in the first place
As Chumps came right up to her face…
But when he just licked Lizzie clean,
She realized that he wasn’t mean.
As she laid down to rest her head
She saw a box behind her bed
Wrapped up in paper shiny and red
With a snowman label that said:
‘Dear Lizzie- Please do not delay
Don’t wait for this ‘til Christmas Day,
The magic will GO if you pause
So open NOW!- Love Santa Clause’
Lizzie felt a little heady,
Santa had been round ALREADY?!
She looked at Chumps, whose bright eyes said
‘Open it, Lizzie! Don’t go to bed!’
Well, if Santa Clause told her to
There was nothing else she could do!
So she ripped it open to gape…
At a tatty box with duct tape.
She reached inside, felt something round
And tried to work out what she’d found.
Too curious, she pulled it out
And gave a little surprised shout!
A globe, yellowed, very dusty
And smelling a little musty.
Why a globe? Liz rightly thought,
What a strange present to be bought!
I have never been out of the UK,
Ah well, I’ll love it anyway.
With the candlelight nearly dead
Liz spun the globe once before bed
And saw a NOTE round Italy
She peered closer- it read ‘Turn me
And with your finger, stop the spin-
Then allow the fun to begin!’
So obeying, with fingers flexed,
She spun and stopped; what happened next
Made Chumps bark and poor Lizzie shout-
What was it? Read on to find out!

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