Twevven in a very dangerous situation

Twevven in a very dangerous situation (sometimes it’s not a good idea to be alone)

Story: Ian Burns Illustrations: Lauren Eldridge-Murray

Twevven in a very dangerous situation (sometimes it’s not a good idea to be alone)

One of Twevven’s Little Life Stories Story: Ian Burns Illustrations: Lauren Eldridge-Murray

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry Author: Title:

stories story: illustrations: Edition:

ISBN: Series: 26 Target Audience: Subjects: Other Authors/Contributors: Dewey Number:

Burns, Ian. Twevven in a very dangerous situation : one of Twevven’s little cautionary Ian Burns.

Lauren Eldridge-Murray.

1st ed.

9780980660661 (pbk.)

Burns, Ian. Twevven’s little life stories ; For primary school age.

Swimming - Juvenile fiction.

Eldridge-Murray, Lauren.

A823.4

Twevven was hot.

It was a very hot day.

And it was getting hotter and hotter.

So Twevven thought that he’d better get out of bed.

He looked outside his bedroom window.

The birds in the trees were hot.

The leaves on the trees were all sorts of hot greens.

The sky was a hot blue.

But the clouds weren’t hot, because there weren’t any.

‘I shall go to the beach’, thought Twevven.

‘Now’, thought Twevven, ‘I will need my beach things.’

And he went around his house, collecting his beach things:

His bucket and spade.

His sun hat.

His sun screen.

His sunglasses.

His floaties.

His very large beach towel.

His very large beach umbrella.

His very large picnic blanket.

And his picnic basket, which wasn’t very large at all.

‘Now’, thought Twevven, ‘I will need to pack my picnic basket.’

So he went into the kitchen and collected his picnic things and packed them into his picnic basket: A plastic plate.

A plastic mug.

His cold water bottle, filled up.

A cold chicken, cut into pieces.

An apple.

A ham and pickle and avocado sandwich.

A red and white checked table cloth.

And a double damask dinner napkin.

‘Now’, thought Twevven, ‘I must get ready.’

So he put on his bathing costume, and put on his thongs, and put on his sunglasses, and put on his hat.

‘Ready’, said Twevven to himself, as he checked himself out in the mirror.

He collected all of his beach things and went down to the beach.

‘Oh!’ said Twevven, looking at the beach.

‘The water looks wonderful! But where is the beach? I can’t see it!’

‘There’s no room for me,’ said Twevven.

‘Ah’, said Twevven, thinking a bit.

‘I know a place where I can go, just around the corner!’

He picked up all his beach things and walked down to just around the corner.

‘Yes’, said Twevven, ‘this is the spot.’

And he set up his very large beach umbrella, and laid out his very large picnic blanket, and put his very large beach towel on top of his very large picnic blanket, and got ready to eat his very large picnic lunch.

But then he looked at the lovely, blue, calm sea.

‘Mmmm’, said Twevven, ‘it’s so hot, I think that I’ll have a swim first.’

He put on some sunscreen, so that he wouldn’t get burnt, and his floaties, so that he wouldn’t sink if he got tired.

And he walked down the beach to the cool water.

‘Mmmm’, said Twevven, ‘all to myself!’

And he ran splashing into the water.

BUT…he didn’t notice that the water wasn’t really calm and smooth any more.

He didn’t notice that it was a bit choppy over on the left.

And he didn’t notice that it was a bit choppy over on the right.

He splashed and splashed.

Splashed and splashed.

He called this “swimming”.

After a little while he began to get a little tired, so he decided to have a little rest.

He stopped splashing and lay on his back.

He looked up at the hot sky, but it didn’t matter that the sky was hot, because the sea was cool.

He looked back at the beach.

Uh oh!!!

He could hardly see his very large beach umbrella!

‘Oh!’ cried Twevven.

Then he noticed that it was a bit choppy over on the left.

And he noticed that it was a bit choppy over on the right.

‘Oh’, cried Twevven. ‘A rip! I’m in a RIP! I’m going to be RIPPED!!’

He’d heard about rips...

But it wasn’t that kind of rip.

It was the kind of rip that ripped people out to sea.

People who didn’t swim between the flags.

The flags that Twevven could now just see, over on the left.

‘Help!’ cried Twevven.

But no-one could hear him. He was too far away.

‘Help!’ cried Twevven, again, waving his arm over his head.

He splashed and splashed.

Splashed and splashed. Splashed and splashed.

He couldn’t see his very large beach umbrella at all…

Oh, dear…

Very soon he got so tired that he couldn’t splash any more.

And he could hardly wave an arm over his head.

He lay back.

‘Oh, dear’, said Twevven. ‘I’m going to disappear in the ocean, far, far away!’

He looked at the beach again.

‘No, I’m not!’ he cried.

And he started to swim, very slowly, but not into the rip – that was too strong for him – and not out to sea.

Sort of along the beach, but way out in the sea.

Gradually he felt the rip let him go.

But he was so tired…

‘I’ll just have a little rest,’ he thought.

He stopped splashing, and lay back, his floaties keeping his head above water.

‘Oh, the sun is so bright,’ he thought, shutting his eyes so that the hot light wouldn’t hurt them.

The sea was all gentle again…

‘Mmmmm…’ ...........…zzzz………zzz…..zzzz……zzzzzz…

And he went to sleep!

And he started to dream!

Way out in the ocean!!!!

‘Wake up, Twevven!’

‘Twevven, wake up!’

Someone was shouting at him in his dream!

Then someone was shaking him!

Shaking him!

He opened his eyes.

And there was Senior Police Officer Wellfed Rossmac.

And Dr Pancreatic Hiccup-Jones, with his black bag.

And Quenty and Tickleback.

And all the Hatsomes.

And even Mrs Flowerdale Pinchbuckle, with a very large bag of lollies.

And all of them were wearing red and yellow caps!

And all of them were standing up in a boat!

‘Twevven, said Senior Police Officer Wellfed Rossmac, ‘you were very naughty, swimming away from the flags!’

‘And’, said Dr Pancreatic Hiccup-Jones, ‘you were very naughty going to sleep in the ocean!’

‘And you were very naughty,’ said Quenty, ‘not telling anybody where you were going!’

‘And especially,’ said Senior Police Officer Wellfed Rossmac, ‘you were especially SILLY, swimming on your own!’

‘Oh,’ said Twevven, salty water dripping into his eyes.

‘Come on,’ said Senior Police Officer Wellfed Rossmac, ‘let’s get you into the lifeboat.’

So he and Dr Pancreatic Hiccup-Jones hauled him into the boat…

They laid Twevven down and and towelled him dry, and wrapped a blanket around him.

‘Well,’ said Senior Police Officer Wellfed Rossmac, ‘that’s better. You gave us all a terrible fright!’

Twevven hadn’t realised.

‘And what would we have done if our Twevven had been washed right out to sea and we never saw him again?!’ said Mrs Flowerdale Pinchbuckle.

Twevven didn’t like that idea at all, and wondered what he’d eat away out there.

Then they all went back to the beach.

And on the long way back to the beach Twevven thought and thought and thought.

He was very glad that he hadn’t been swept out to sea, never to see his friends again‌

And he finally decided what he would do, to make up for being so naughty...

Twevven’s Little Life Stories – and their secrets

www.thegreathallofdreams.com