Thursday, October 18, 2012

Ellie and the Magic Teapot Into the Secret Forest: October Blog 3- Letters from Mom & Mimi


 Dear Ellie Bean,

This is going to be such a great weekend… your Mimi and your Dad are visiting!  We only have one and a half weeks left here in Colorado so we need to use this weekend to finish packing (and enjoy some family time too).  Your Mimi wanted to come back one last time to say good-bye to my friends that she has gotten to know over the past 6 years and your Dad is just simply missing us and flew out to see how his girls are doing (these five weeks without him have been lonely!).  It’s been really quiet around here since your Gigi and Aunt Joanne left two weeks ago so you are relishing in the company of our new “visitors.”  I’m dreading Sunday when they both return back east (and your Mimi takes Joe, the cat, with her to make it easier on me with the movers- I’m not sure that you will understand that we will get Joe back soon in our new house).  You are definitely meant to grow up with family Bean- you blossom in their company!

And now here is our yearlong bedtime story/stories (with many chapters to write!) for you. 

So as for our weekly guidelines: I write a piece one week in regular font, and then your Mimi will write a piece in italics the next week.  The only things your Mimi and I agreed on were the characters- Ellie and a magic teapot and the setting (a forest with trolls).  Anything else is fair game and will make our adventure a new tale.  We also need to figure out an illustration to go with our part.  Our goal Ellie is to have a beloved bedtime story for you and future generations.  And so we will continue our third piece of fiction. 

Ellie and the Magic Teapot: Into the Secret Forest Part 12

“Come on El, don’t you have anything in your pockets that could help us out of this mess?” Lion questioned in between chuckles.

“Heeee, heee, hee,” Ellie laughed.  “Hold on, I’ll check the pocket on my sleeve,” she answered breathlessly through her many giggles.  With her fingers crossed for luck she reached her right hand over her chest and slid it into the closest and shallowest pocket on her left arm sleeve.  As quickly as she could, Ellie grabbed the first thing her fingers fumbled upon and pulled the object out.  Lion’s eyes lit up when he saw the miniature shiny metal object with the purple handles that Ellie was holding.  “Wooo Hooo, heee, heee, hee,” hollered Ellie.  “Yea for luck!  Scissors!”

“What a relief!  Start cutting the noodles El!  Ha, ha, ha, ha! My tummy hurts from laughing so much and I don’t think I can take much more of the tickling!” pleaded Lion.

“By the shade of green that is starting to replace your orange fur… hee, hee, hee… I fear most of your giggles have found their way into that bottle over there Lion,” she stated as a fine mist gently rolled from Lions mouth to one of the two jars sitting on the makeshift shelf near the Giggle Grabbers entrance.

“Ha, ha, ha, ha… I know El, you are just as green as I am so hurry and start cutting!” begged Lion.

So Ellie reached down and snipped as quickly as she could a few of the noodles tickling their feet and a few of the noodles that tickled their underarms giving them some time to take a few deep breathes and relax their tummy muscles.  By doing so, a good portion of their natural color returned to them.

“What???  NO, NO, NO, NO! “ cackled Trudy when she heard Ellie and Lions laughter come to a halt.  Since her blue eyeglasses were knocked off her nose and her sight was so poor, Trudy knew she had to enter the Giggle Grabber and find out where the malfunction was coming from and fix it fast before all of Ellie’s and Lions laughter seeped out of the jars.  Stepping into the contraption she walked toward the center singing her song. 
“Giggle, giggle coo,
Chuckle, chuckle hey,
Give me all your laughter,
And give it…”

Ellie saw this as the perfect time to try and make their escape.  Lion saw the same opportunity.  So Ellie hissed for Sebastian and Lion croaked for Tad to get their attention.  “Sssssssss Sebastion!  Quick!  Come!”  “Riddit, riddit Tad!  Hurry and hop on over here!” the duo called out in unison.   Ellie then quietly unlatched the seatbelt that held her and her friend securely on the seat swing.

The two animal friends appeared at Ellie and Lion’s side immediately.  With no time to waste Ellie whispered her escape plan to them.   Thank goodness it was not a complicated plan because it only took Trudy a minute or two before she was almost on top of the pair.  Her chubby green ogre hands reached out in front of her.  Putting Ellie’s plan in motion, Lion quickly seized the troll’s hands as he and Ellie jumped off the swing causing Trudy to stumble.  As she tried to catch her balance, Trudy turned around which meant her back was now to the swing.  Ellie took that opportunity and gently pushed her forcing her to sit on the seat.  She then yelled to Sabastion to grab a few of the noodles and quickly tie both of Trudy’s hands to the swings ropes, and then directed Tad to hop onto Trudy’s feet and tie them down as well.  With no time to waste she then hooted for Oliver!  “Whooo, whooo!  Oliver!  As soon as I grab the jars that are holding mine and Lion’s laughter and the four of us are on the outside of the Giggle Grabber, slam the door shut, lock it with the key you are holding and click the starter switch to ON again!  Got it?”

“Whoooo whoooo, Roger that!... I mean Ellie that, El!”  Oliver screeched with excitement.  Twenty seconds later he put the machine back into motion.

Trudy grunted with anger. “You two may think you are ha, ha, ha clever but you two are ho, ho, ho fools!”  As angry as she was, an unfamiliar sound was coming from her very own mouth and no matter how hard she tried, Trudy could not stifle it.   “Now stop hee, hee, hee this machine.  I’ve never been tickled before!  This is all ha, ha, ha very strange to me! Whoooo hoooo, hooo stop this ridiculousness right now! I, heee, heee, hee demand it!  Ho, ho, ho I’ve never giggled ho, ho, ho, before! Ha, ha, ha!”
Ellie and Lion looked at each other, shocked by what they had just heard.  “El, did Trudy just say that she has never laughed in her whole life.  Who doesn’t ever do that?”  Lion asked with a perplexed expression.

“Someone who is unhappy Lion or maybe jealous of others.  That would be my guess.” Ellie answered with a touch of sadness.

“Well we obviously can’t keep her in the Giggle Grabber forever Ellie.  What should we do?” fretted Lion.

Not quite sure at that very moment on what to do, Ellie decided to take a walk around Trudy’s cave while keenly observing every nook and cranny.  In the farthest corner of the cave, her eyes zeroed in on a ledge that jutted outward.  She was surprised to see that it held seven tightly sealed jars each of which seemed to hold a fine white mist that swirled in a perpetual motion.  Ellie let out a gasp, and it wasn’t because she was confused by what she saw.  On the contrary, she just figured out Trudy’s secret.  Wanting to get to the bottom of this quickly, Ellie called out to her friends, “Lion, Oliver, Sebastian, Tad… come here pronto!”  And they did.  Pointing to the far corner Ellie asked the group politely, “Please help me fetch the seven jars from the ledge and take them outside, and put them on the table next to the cave where I put mine and Lions jars earlier.  I think I know what Trudy has been up to.”  Ellie expressed with certainty.

“Tell usssssssssssssss,” hissed Sebastion.

“No.  It is not for me to tell.  I think it is time for Trudy to come forward and supply the answers,” Ellie responded.  “But first I need each of you to do something for me.”  They all bobbed their heads up and down in a ‘yes’ agreement.  “Thank you,” she continued.  “Oliver, I would like you to round up the Trolls we’ve encountered throughout the forest and bring them here.  Tad, when I give you a nod please turn the Giggle Grabber switch to OFF.  Sebastian, when you hear the fans slowing down to a stop, I would like you to untie Trudy from the Giggle Grabber and guide her to the table holding the nine jars.  And Lion, once Trudy tells her story, be ready to open the lid of each jar and release its contents.  As Oliver flew off in search of the seven ogres, the rest of the group heard Trudy trying very hard to sing her song.  

“Once I’ve taken it, ha, ha, ha, ha,
A troll you will be, heee, heee, heee, heee,
The only way to break my spell, ho, ho ho, ho,
Is to tryeeeeeee, heee, heee, heee, ha, ha, ha, ha, ho, ho, ho, ho…” 

Trudy was laughing hysterically at this point and could no longer finish her song.  Ellie realized if they didn’t end this quickly, Trudy and the seven trolls would be in great danger, so she frantically called out, “Hurry Oliver, hurry!”…
We love you Ellie!
Love,
Mom & Mimi

No comments:

Post a Comment