Lizzie Hayes' Magical Christmas Travels- Part 3

Heeeeeere's Part 3! See the top right-hand side of the blog for the other 2 parts. Where's Lizzie off to this time?...

Lizzie Hayes' Magical Christmas Travels

Chapter 3

So- the last time we left Lizzie,

She was in a little tizzy-

It was crazy, strange, bizarre, absurd--

The night before…it HAD occurred!

There WAS a bracelet on her wrist!

OK, I think you get the gist-

Her and Chumps HAD gone to Nepal…

And now she heard her mother’s call:

‘Lizzie my love, it’s Christmas Day!

Looks like Santa’s been round our way!’

So Liz went down to gifts galore-

Dolls and sweets and games and more!

But her unwrapping was too swift-

She had just one unopened gift

From Granddad Steve, who wore a look

That said ‘I read you like a book!

I know you found the globe last night!’

But Granddad kept his lips shut tight

And passed over his gift instead,

‘Liz, you might need this soon,’ he said.

Intrigued, Liz tore the gift apart

And found a COMPASS at its heart!

Poor Lizzie’s mum looked quite confused

As Steve said ‘Liz, know how that’s used?

If unsure where you should head forth,

Just look at your compass and head NORTH!

Follow that rule and you will go FAR…’

Lizzie thought this advice bizarre

And did not think of it again

Until that night at half past ten

When she was all tucked up in bed

And thought of all that Steve had said.

That day had been a real treat

With lots of tasty food to eat,

But this is what she’d waited for-

The chance to travel round some more,

And it just wouldn’t be the same

If Chumps was not part of the game!

Holding her breath, her eyes shut tight

Liz spun the globe with all her might

And stopped it at…well, just you wait!

First comes the part that Lizzie hates-

That dizzy feeling, falling fast,

Hoping, praying it wouldn’t last…

Then it stopped. Liz opened her eyes,

Looked around, and to her surprise

Found just sand, and MORE sand on the ground,

For miles, nothing else around!

Chumps ran this way, and then ran that,

Chasing an illusional cat,

(The heat made him hallucinate

And sweat at an alarming rate!)

Lizzie had not learned from before-

A nightie was all that she wore

But THIS time she held up her sleeve

A present from her Granddad Steve.

She held the compass in her hand,

Preparing to walk ‘North’ as planned,

So her and Chumps walked northward way

And seemed to walk day after day,

Nothing around but MILES of sand

And heat that Lizzie could not stand.

Chumps became too tired to bark

And it was starting to get dark

So Liz and Chumps laid down to nap,

All that she knew- until a SLAP

Of water hit her in the face

That made poor Chumps run round the place!

      Liz looked around- to her surprise,

      There was a beautiful sunrise

      With orange, purple, pink and red-

      Strange noises made Liz turn her head-

Clump-clump-clumps and trumpetty-trumps,

That frightened both Lizzie and Chumps.

Lizzie followed the doggy’s stare-

A small-sized ELEPHANT was there!

Just him alone- did Lizzie DREAM

Or just behind was there a stream?

Lizzie did not give time to think,

Her and Chumps ran quickly to drink.

Then she felt something hit her head-

‘Where’d that come from?’ young Lizzie said,

She didn’t expect a reply

But then it came: ‘Just look up high!’

Lifting her head, she saw a BOY

Sat on the elephant with joy.

‘You like my elephant’s smart trick?

Now come with me, and please be quick!

In Namibia, LIONS rule-

They’ll eat us if we act like fools.

Come follow me, to these thick trees

And keep your dog hushed if you please.’

Namibia? She didn’t know

That place, but knew she had to go

And follow this boy to the trees--  

She had to fight the urge to freeze.

When they reached there, the boy slid down

His elephant, wearing a frown.

‘You’re not safe here- you must go home.

This is not a good place to roam.’

‘But how do I leave?’ Lizzie said.

With that, the boy just scratched his head.

‘Where are you from? Why are you here?

Why are the clothes you wear so queer?’

‘I spun a globe…’ young Lizzie said

Then felt a SLAP against her head!

The boy looked angry: ‘Not so loud!

We must not make these lions proud!

I don’t know why you’re here today,

But I’ll protect you all the way.’

Liz watched the elephant with awe

As she’d never seen one before.

It sat so calm, patient and still-

While Liz felt drained, confused and ill.

‘This is Kichaa, my only friend,’

Said the young boy. ‘We have to fend

For ourselves- our parents have gone,

But we both must still carry on.’

Liz looked at this boy with his shawl

And could not imagine at all

Never having her mum around—

But then she heard a RUSTLING sound.

‘Oh, what was that?’ Liz said with fright,

Chumps whimpered and ducked out of sight.

Liz’s tummy started doing flips,

Holding a finger to his lips

The boy whispered: ‘You must not move.’

Poor frightened Chumps did not approve

Of this advice, starting to BARK,

So fed up of this hiding lark.

Liz tried to hush him, with no luck

The boy said ‘It’s too late to duck,

But Kichaa can hold everyone,

Climb onto her, and then she’ll RUN

And so they did- Kichaa was small

But her strong back could hold them all.

And so she RAN- with many bumps,

But this was too much for poor Chumps

(Hard to hold on without a hand)-

So he fell off onto the sand,

And it was then that Lizzie spied

The thing from which they’d try to hide,

Creeping through trees with great finesse—

A golden, stalking lioness.

Preparing to pounce, wiggling her bum,

Petrified, Lizzie was struck dumb,

The lion’s eyes were black with cunning-

Just before she started RUNNING!

Lizzie screamed ‘Run as fast as you can!’

And so the doggy ran and ran.

In Swahili, ‘Kichaa’ means ‘mad’

Kichaa was not usually bad

But she was fed up of this game

And started to live up to her name.

She trumped and clumped, lifting her feet-

Liz and the boy both lost their seats-

Now they’d ALL be eaten up!

What Lizzie needed was a cup

Like in Nepal, to send them back-

Alas, this was a major lack.

The lioness was coming near

Now death was close, she felt great fear

And cried. But THEN! Out of nowhere

A TRUNK lifted them out of there!

All three of them, then Kichaa RAN

Faster than any beast or man—

You’ve never seen a thing so fast!—

The lioness stood there aghast!

Stunned by this young elephant’s speed

The lioness forgot her greed

And turned back towards the dense green-

Hopefully never to be seen.

The boy and Liz both gave a cheer

‘We live, all thanks to Kichaa here!’

‘Thank you!’ said Liz, ‘Err, what’s your name?’

‘I’m Akida, which means the same

As ‘belief’ in Swahili tongue.’

‘You know so much for one so young,’

Said Liz, ‘but where’s a cup of tea?

It’s the only way home, you see.’

Akida said ‘Your heart’s your home,

No matter where you choose to roam.

Now, I’m afraid I have no tea,

But I DO have this flask on me

That I filled when we passed that stream-

It had a special kind of gleam…’

Grabbing Chumps’ paw, Liz sipped away…

And woke up early the next day

Back in her bed, next to her dog;

She felt like she’d slept like a log.

First thing, she grabbed the globe to see

Just where Namibia could be

And found it was in AFRICA!

She thought of her friend Akida

Who she wanted to see one day-

Course, the GLOBE did not work that way.

Liz spins and points- that’s where she goes.

Where’s she off to next? Who knows?  

 (Unfortunately, I have not yet been to Africa...so thanks to sunsafaris.com for the pic.)