CHILDREN'S STORY Mid 1992
Little Tommy Simmons was lying in bed one night trying to go to sleep. He was almost in dreamland when he heard a strange noise. It wasn't the rain going tap‑tap on his window and it wasn't the dog next door barking at cats. It wasn't that at all. It was something else, something strange. Little Tommy Simmons knew this because he has never heard this noise before. That frightened Tommy and he became very quiet, except for his heart, which was very loud.
"What could that be?" whispered Tommy to himself. "I hope it's not a monster." Of course it was a monster because this is a children's story and what would a children's story be without a monster. Very boring.
So Tommy sat and shivered upon his bed thinking, against his hopes, exactly what kind of monster would be under his bed. "A big green scaly monster with pink and purple eyes. One who likes to gobble little children without any warning."
The monster grew very offended with this last remark. He was big, green, scaly and did have pink and purple eyes, but he would never gobble someone without a warning. That would make him just a common monster. This monster liked to think of himself as an artist and grumbled softly to voice his displeasure.
Hearing this, little Tommy Simmons jumped three feet straight up and his heart pounded louder and louder. "Who's there?" Cried Tommy in a voice that quivered only slightly.
"Only me." Rumbled the monster.
"Who are you?" Tommy was really scared now.
"Just a tiny dust‑ball." Answered the monster. Even with his low voice, he thought he sounded very convincing. He was an artist after all.
Tommy was not convinced so easily. He had never heard of dust‑balls that sounded like monsters and whatever was under his bed did sound like a monster.
Suddenly, Tommy had an idea. "Maybe if I don't sound scared, the monster will go away." So Tommy peered out over his bed and tried his best to sound big and brave. "Hey you! Dust‑ball Monster, I'm not afraid of you. Go away!" the monster chuckled at this and Tommy almost wet his pajamas. He was really, really scared now.
"I love to eat little boys...on toast!"
"We're out of toast!" cried Tommy frantically.
"Do you have any English muffins?"
"I think so." said Tommy.
"Good. Eyeballs and ears taste great on English muffins." said the monster.
From his tone of voice and the soft sound of dripping, it was easy to tell he was drooling. Tommy took this to mean that he was soon to be the monster's next culinary delight and let out a scream that would pierce a normal monster's eardrum. This monster was an artist, so the scream to him held a pleasing tone.
"Grendel, is that you?" came a new voice outside the door. The door opened and Tommy was very surprised to see another monster standing in the doorway.
"How many times have I told you to play with your food and not to kill it with fear before you get a chance to eat it?" said Grendel's mom.
"That's what I was doing Mom, honest." said Grendel.
Tommy was so very, very scared now that he didn't even get confused by there being two monsters in his house.
Grendel then gave his warning, "Good‑bye Tommy." And like a true artist gobbled up little Tommy Simmons in one gulp. Grendel sadly remembered the English muffins a little too late.
THE END
[© 1992 Joseph Wheeler, all rights reserved]