Special Effects: Washing-Lines

I lay awake for a while that night, trying to imagine something which might want to live inside a huge, round, round pocket. A Saint Bernard? A baby elephant? I had dreams that night about jellybeans as big as cows, jumping a rope.

The next day, I went for a bike ride, round the block Naturally, I went past the house down the road and checked out the line. The sun was up and it was a beautiful warm day, and the man who lived there was lugging the bag out across the lawn towards the line. When he saw me, stopped on the footpath, with my eyes popping out with curiosity just above his fence, he did a complete circle and dragged the bag back the way he had come.

"Excuse me!" I called, "Would you mind telling me ...?"

The blue bag slipped through the front door of the house like a huge tongue, and the door shut with a bang.

Now I was really curious!

I stayed where I was and waited. Should I go in? Should I knock on the door and ask, very, very politely what the bag was for? And why on earth was the man so scared of me? I didn't look a bit frightening. I was a fairly ordinary girl, blue eyes, curly hair, freckles, average build . . . maybe it was just nosy kids he didn't like?

I went home and got the phone book. This might take me all day, but I was determined to get some facts. I started at 'A' and went down the column of streets, then I went down the next column, then the next. I kept reading street names until my head was full of them, and I was into the 'B's, then the 'C's. I stopped and had a banana sandwich, then I went on reading.

Two hours later I found the street I wanted and read the name. Oldgum G E and the phone number. Now for it!

I dialled and waited.

"Hello?"

"Yes, hello, Mr. Oldgum, you don't know me (that was a silly way to start), I'm your neighbour. I live in the white house with the red roof, near the corner."

"Oh yes?"

"I was wondering if you needed any help with your gardening?"

"Are you trying to earn a bit of pocket-money?"