Your Mimi and I are proud to say that not only did we finish
a second year of writing weekly letters for you, but also we maintained our
creative writing voice as our topic for the last twelve months (and had a great
time doing it). March will begin a
new year with a new theme as your third birthday is on the horizon. We love you so much Ellie and we are so
happy that you inspire us to continue our passion of writing!
And now here is our final story (with our last chapter) 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
(an aquarium). 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 fourth piece of fiction.
Ellie and the Magic
Teapot: Off to the Aquarium- Part 8
Just as Ellie started
reciting the magical words to help them return home, Lion quickly stopped
her. “Ellie, STOP! You can’t say them yet; we are still in
our diving gear. I don’t think
your mom would be too happy to see us soaking wet and dripping water throughout
your house upon our return!”
“Ooooooo my! I wasn’t thinking! Good thing you were Lion! OK, changes of plans. We will swim to the surface and over
towards the ladder. Once we get
our feet on dry ground again and change back into our street clothes, then I
will say the magical words. Follow
me…” she breathed out as she glided through the water.
Ellie and Lion waved
goodbye to all the fish until they slowly disappeared from their sight. When they arrived at the ladder, it was
Lion who went over the glass tank first.
He knew he would need a bit of a push to hurdle the wall and he was
grateful to Ellie for helping him succeed. Ellie then slid over the wall herself keeping a safe
distance from Lion so that her fins didn’t whack him in the head.
When Lion reached the
floor, he glanced around and observed that everything was the same. It still looked like a crime
scene. He wondered how long it
would take the Aquarium staff to solve the treasure theft when in reality a
theft didn’t occur at all, as the treasure was never really stolen. He giggled to himself and hoped that he
and Ellie made it easy for them to spot.
Seeing the privacy wall with their clothes draped over it, Lion moseyed
on over and slid behind the panel.
As he rid himself of all dive equipment and his swim trunks, Lion
inhaled deeply then exhaled giving one gynormous shake that started with the
main on his head and ended at the smooth padding on the soles of his feet. Realizing that he was standing in a
huge puddle Lion wasted no more time and emerged from the privacy wall. Smiling at Ellie he now looked more
like a slightly damp fluffy fur ball rather than the soggy matted bear he was
moments before! “Your turn,” he
stated.
“Thanks Lion! I didn’t think you were ever going to
finish getting dressed!” a blue-lipped Ellie sputtered because of the chilled
air.
She handed Lion the
teacups and teapot (which was still filled with sea water) before dashing behind
the privacy wall; first giving Lion a quick wink to let him know that she was
not upset. Once she disappeared it
was a good thing that he couldn’t see her because when Ellie realized that she
was standing in Lion’s puddle of cold water, she rolled her eyes and breathed
out a sharp ‘argghhhh’. So she
quickly discarded her gear and swimming suit only to see that the puddle Lion
had made was now much bigger because of her own added water. Not liking her feet wet, Ellie slipped
back into the swim fins as she finished dressing. After smoothing down her clothes she then tousled her hair
by using her fingers like a comb.
Satisfied with her appearance Ellie finally stepped out from the privacy
wall. Seeing that Lion was sitting
on the floor with the teapot in his left hand and both teacups placed in front
of him Ellie spoke quickly. “All
right Lion, since technically we are not suppose to be here, and before we get
caught you better start pouring our tea while I recite the magical words.”
“Rightie-oh then
Matie,” responded Lion with a giggle.
And he was just about to add something but Ellie cut him off.
In a spellbinding
voice Ellie whispered, “Baooohhhaoooahaljaljljljafooj.” And just like each time before; music,
glitter, and rainbows swirled all around lifting them up, up, up and then
deposited the duo with a loud kerplunk smack dab in the middle of Ellie’s
bedroom.
Ellie’s mom came
running from down the hall.
“ELLIE, are you OK????” As
she entered Ellie’s room she came to a screeching halt. Eyeing her daughter from head to toe
she added, “What have you been up to my little stinker-pot?” And then she saw Lion partially hidden
behind her.
“Ellllllllllllliiiiieeeeeeee?????” she started. “It looks to me like you and your furry
stuffed animal have gotten into a bit of mischief while I was laying down,” she
stated.
Ellie just looked at
her with what she hoped was her ‘innocent eye’ pose. It didn’t work.
“First of all, were
you in the bathtub with Lion? “ she questioned. “It looks like you got dressed without getting dried! And secondly, where on earth did you
find those flippers? Have you been
in the garage rummaging around in the summer bins that hold the pool
accessories?” she continued questioning.
Ellie looked down at
her feet and then at Lion whose eyes were very wide. She picked him up and brought him up to her neck making it
look as though she was hugging him.
“Oooooops,” she whispered almost silently.
And he responded with
that same silent whisper, “I tried telling you Ellie but you cut me off too
quickly. Once you said the magical
words and the music started, I knew we couldn’t turn around for you to take off
those water flippers. I was just hoping
that when we got back to your house, your feet would go undetected. ‘Ooooooops’ is right. We got caught!”
Thinking that Lion was
correct, Ellie began to confess, “Aw Mom, it’s about the Aquarium…” But before
she could say another word her mom stopped her.
“Oh Ellie my little
spaghetti girl, and a wet one at that” she added with that familiar quizzical
look she always gave Ellie when she wasn’t quite sure what her daughter was up
to. “I know you had your heart set
on going to the Aquarium today.
I know because we have talked about it all week long. And I know that you were
disappointed this morning when I told you we couldn’t go because I wasn’t
feeling well. But what I didn’t
tell you was the News Station reported this morning that the Aquarium actually
closed down because of an ‘incident’ that had to be looked into… and I thought it was too long of a
story with too many unanswered questions to repeat to you… so I didn’t think it
would matter if we had to reschedule our trip in a few days. By then I figured the Aquarium would be
open and operating normally again.
Surprisingly though the News Station just reported moments ago that the
so-called ‘incident’, a possible theft never happened and the Aquarium is open
to the public again! So what do
you think Bean? You’ve been such a
good girl while I was laying down and I’m feeling much better now… how about we
head to that Pirates Treasure Chest Exhibit in about an hour or so? I know you are excited to see it along
with all of your favorite fish!
Deal?” Ellie’s mom beamed.
Lion, who was still
snuggled up by Ellie’s ear, giggled in a low whisper, “Whew El… another close
call!”
Ellie returned that
familiar whispered giggle. “Yep
Lion. It sure was a close call. But what a fun adventure, don’t you
think? We make great detectives!” And she squeezed Lion a little bit
tighter for she loved him so.
“Till the next one my very best friend! But right now we have an Aquarium visit to get ready for!”….
Mim’s
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