Small stories

Terrance the moose

Once upon a time there was a bold boy called Jack Butterscotch. He was on the way to see his family Mary Pigeon, when he decided to take a short cut through Greenwood Forest.
It wasn't long before Jack got lost. He looked around, but all he could see were trees. Nervously, he felt into his bag for his favourite toy, Terrance the Moose, but Terrance the Moose was nowhere to be found! Jack began to panic. He felt sure he had packed Terrance the Moose. To make matters worse, he was starting to feel hungry.

Unexpectedly, he saw a Fierce rat dressed in a green Skirt disappearing into the trees.
"How odd!" thought Jack.
For the want of anything better to do, he decided to follow the peculiarly dressed rat. Perhaps it could tell him the way out of the forest.
Eventually, Jack reached a clearing. In the clearing were two houses, one made from pods of peas and one made from pizzas.
Jack could feel his tummy rumbling. Looking at the houses did nothing to ease his hunger.
"Hello!" he called. "Is anybody there?"
Nobody replied.
Jack looked at the roof on the closest house and wondered if it would be rude to eat somebody else's chimney. Obviously it would be impolite to eat a whole house, but perhaps it would be considered acceptable to nibble the odd fixture or lick the odd fitting, in a time of need.
A cackle broke through the air, giving Jack a fright. A witch jumped into the space in front of the houses. She was carrying a cage. In that cage was Terrance the Moose!
"Terrance the Moose!" shouted Jack. He turned to the witch. "That's my toy!"
The witch just shrugged.
"Give Terrance the Moose back!" cried Jack.
"Not on your nelly!" said the witch.
"At least let Terrance the Moose out of that cage!"
Before she could reply, the Fierce rat in the green Skirt rushed in from a footpath on the other side of the cleaning.
"Hello Big Rat," said the witch.
"Good morning." The rat noticed Terrance the Moose. "Who is this?"
"That's Terrance the Moose," explained the witch.
"Ooh! Terrance the Moose would look lovely in my house. Give it to me!" demanded the rat.
The witch shook her head. "Terrance the Moose is staying with me."
"Um... Excuse me..." Jack interrupted. "Terrance the Moose lives with me! And not in a cage!"
Big Rat ignored him. "Is there nothing you'll trade?" he asked the witch.
The witch thought for a moment, then said, "I do like to be entertained. I'll release him to anybody who can eat a whole front door."
Big Rat looked at the house made from pizzas and said, "No problem, I could eat an entire house made from pizzas if I wanted to."
"There's no need to show off," said the witch. Just eat one front door and I'll let you have Terrance the Moose."
Jack watched, feeling very worried. He didn't want the witch to give Terrance the Moose to Big Rat. He didn't think Terrance the Moose would like living with a Fierce rat, away from his house and all his other toys.
Big Rat put on his bib and withdraw a knife and fork from his pocket.
"I'll eat this whole house," said Big Rat. "Just you watch!"
Big Rat pulled off a corner of the front door of the house made from pizzas. He gulped it down smiling, and went back for more.
And more.
And more.
Eventually, Big Rat started to get bigger - just a little bit bigger at first. But after a few more fork-fulls of pizzas, he grew to the size of a large snowball - and he was every bit as round.
"Erm... I don't feel too good," said Big Rat.
Suddenly, he started to roll. He'd grown so round that he could no longer balance!
"Help!" he cried, as he rolled off down a slope into the forest.
Big Rat never finished eating the front door made from pizzas and Terrance the Moose remained trapped in the witch's cage.
"That's it," said the witch. "I win. I get to keep Terrance the Moose."
"Not so fast," said Jack. "There is still one front door to go. The front door of the house made from pods of peas. And I haven't had a turn yet.
"I don't have to give you a turn!" laughed the witch. "My game. My rules."
The woodcutter's voice carried through the forest. "I think you should give him a chance. It's only fair."
"Fine," said the witch. "But you saw what happened to the rat. He won't last long."
"I'll be right back," said Jack.
"What?" said the witch. "Where's your sense of impatience? I thought you wanted Terrance the Moose back."
Jack ignored the witch and gathered a hefty pile of sticks. He came back to the clearing and started a small camp fire. Carefully, he broke off a piece of the door of the house made from pods of peas and toasted it over the fire. Once it had cooked and cooled just a little, he took a bite. He quickly devoured the whole piece.
Jack sat down on a nearby log.
"You fail!" cackled the witch. "You were supposed to eat the whole door."
"I haven't finished," explained Jack. "I am just waiting for my food to go down."
When Jack's food had digested, he broke off another piece of the door made from pods of peas. Once more, he toasted his food over the fire and waited for it to cool just a little. He ate it at a leisurely pace then waited for it to digest.
Eventually, after several sittings, Jack was down to the final piece of the door made from pods of peas. Carefully, he toasted it and allowed it to cool just a little. He finished his final course. Jack had eaten the entire front door of the house made from pods of peas.
The witch stamped her foot angrily. "You must have tricked me!" she said. "I don't reward cheating!"
"I don't think so!" said a voice. It was the woodcutter. He walked back into the clearing, carrying his axe. "This little boy won fair and square. Now hand over Terrance the Moose or I will chop your broomstick in half."
The witch looked horrified. She grabbed her broomstick and placed it behind her. Then, huffing, she opened the door of the cage.
Jack hurried over and grabbed Terrance the Moose, checking that his favourite toy was all right. Fortunately, Terrance the Moose was unharmed.
Jack thanked the woodcutter, grabbed a quick souvenir, and hurried on to meet Mary. It was starting to get dark.
When Jack got to Mary's house, his family threw her arms around him.
"I was so worried!" cried Mary. "You are very late."
As Jack described his day, he could tell that Mary didn't believe him. So he grabbed a napkin from his pocket.
"What's that?" asked Mary.
Jack unwrapped a doorknob made from pizzas. "Pudding!" he said.
Mary almost fell off her chair.