The Adventures of Oo and O – The Secret Well

The Adventures of Oo and O The Secret Well

by Pinkacherry and Revucherry with illustrations by Keerthana

For Om and Oorvi on your first birthday

A ‘Brown Paper and String’ Publication @brownpaperandstring.co First published in May 2021 For more fabulous illustrations check out @monkee156

The Adventures of Oo and O The Secret Well

by Pinkacherry and Revucherry with illustrations by Keerthana

Once upon a time Far far away Perhaps a long time ago Or was it just yesterday?

Two tiny people On an adventure, arrived With just one look at them Our heart strings were tied.

O with one vowel Oo with two, Put both of them together They make our hearts go Oooooooh!

They set out on a journey Far and long and wide With Kindness in their pocket, And Curiosity by their side.

The sun was up quite early The flowers in full bloom “Oh my, oh my!” sang Kindness, “This is our good fortune!”

They walked and walked all morning Curiosity leading the way With birds and bees and butterflies To the whispering wind they sway.

The sun made its way Quite high up in the sky “I’m thirsty” said Oo, “My throat, it feels so dry!”

“Shall we sit down?” said Kindness “For a bit, until you feel well?”

“Just a little longer,” said Curiosity “There’s water up ahead I can tell!”

“Let’s keep going Oo,” said O “I’m thirsty just like you, But right here there is nothing, If you sit down, you’ll feel blue.”

“One step at a time” said Kindness, “Let’s try it that way.”

And soon they chanced upon a hole An ‘O’ made of brick and clay.

“Hello, hello!” they shouted Into the deep dark well, And as their voices echoed There was magic, they could tell.

“I’m a little scared,” said O, “It’s so dark and deep and wide, What if we fall inside, Into the darkness, tumble and slide?”

“The darkness is exciting!”

Said Curiosity with glee, “There’s so much to discover, Perhaps a block of Brie?!”

“Let me go see,” said Kindness, “Swiftly on my wings, Maybe I’ll find some water Below in some secret springs?”

“Shall I come with you?” said Oo, “Aren’t you afraid to go alone?

Two of us is good company And better than going on your own.”

“Climb on my back,” said Kindness, “And make sure you hold tight, I’ll remember to go down gently And take you safe and upright.”

“I want to go too!” said O, “Don’t leave me here behind!

I’ll hold my breath so tightly And sit squarely on your hind.”

“Me too, me too,” said Curiosity, “How can you think of leaving me!

Hold on to my fluffy tail And it’ll be us four, wheee!”

And so they all took flight With Kindness flapping her wings, And slowly they started to glide Down, down, into the dark rings.

First they went down slowly Everything was so quiet Only their little hearts beating Loudly, like a giant’s!

Now a bit quicker they went All four of them holding tight, “No water yet,” said O, “Just a teeny tiny light.”

The light fluttered a little Then gravity it did defy, “Oh my, a flying light,” said Oo, “No silly! It’s a firefly!”

The light grew larger and larger So bright it made them shine It took them a few seconds They counted up to nine.

Just a moment later When they could open their eyes They saw they weren’t in a well Much to their surprise.

And lo and behold, What ever did they find?

Not the bottom of a well But a land that blew their mind!

It was a magical fantastical land With lovely fountains everywhere “Oh yay,” said Oo, “there’s water!

I’m having some, anyone else care?”

There were creatures of all sizes Such beautiful beings to see, And others so big and scary They screamed, “Oh save us please!”

Look it’s Acha, doing a handstand His legs growing tall in the skies, And Amma’s looking at a growling creature And saying, “Hey, that’s NOT NICE!”

Little boats ride on the fountains With people that they love There’s Muthassan and Ammooma With her hair tied up in a puff!

Achamma swimming in a river of thayiru With idli’s floating everywhere, “Oh yummm!” said O, “Appoopan’s here too, This well is trés extraordinaire!”

As their eyes tried to take in All the magic they could see This funnysillybillywonderful world, Of their’s, could this be?

“I’m getting tired,” said Kindness, “The night is on its way.”

“I’m very hungry” said Curiosity, “Shall we go back home, say?”

Kindness began to flap her wings With all her strength, and fast Going down felt easier Going up, she couldn’t last.

“Gravity!” said Curiosity, “It’s the Earth holding you close.”

Going down is easy Going up needs tremendous force.

“Let’s help Kindness,” said Oo “We can flap our arms!”

Curiosity, had to hold on tight Much to her alarm.

And whoopla, off they set Going up, up and away Back to their favourite home After a well-holiday.

“Aah, the well was nice,” said O, “So much there was to see.

I didn’t feel like coming home We can go back surely?”

“My dear Oo & O,” Said Curiosity after her meal, “Let me tell you a secret…”

Scratching her ears with zeal.

The Well, it is inside you Dark and deep and wide With all kinds of strange and beautiful things The ugly things too, they hide.

All the people you love, They find a way inside And the people that irritate you Them too in there, reside.

But there’s nothing to be afraid of Even creatures large and strange, For when you go and talk to them They’ll shrink and they will change.

This well it is so special, It’s entirely yours to fill With memories, hopes and dreams, Your well-being you will instil.

That night they slept peacefully Perhaps they snored a little too Dreaming of the well they visited It’s depths, now they knew.

The End