Bedtime Story (30/9/2015)

We all know children love playing with their toys.  But we also know they're not always quite so keen on putting them back, afterwards!  So here's a bedtime story, all about one little boy who didn't want to tidy up...

Jacob's Room

It was raining.  It had rained all day.

Jacob was bored - he wanted to play.

He couldn't go out in such wet, cold gloom.

So he was stuck indoors, playing up in his room.

Jacob's mum said: "You have so many toys,

There's enough up here for a thousand boys!

Play with them all - play with the whole bunch.

Just promise you'll tidy it all up by lunch."

Well, Jacob had a wonderful time.

Playing inside, he discovered, was fine!

His mum said: "Just tidy up as you go."

But he didn't and soon, a pile began to grow...

There were colouring pens and sheets of paper,

A sock puppet shaped like an alligator,

A garage and cars and a remote-control truck

And a boat with a sailor and a squeaky toy duck.

Jacob didn't want to tidy when he had better things to do,

So all day long, the pile grew and grew...

There was a pair of roller skates found under his bed

And a bright blue helmet to protect his head.

A policeman's outfit, so he could catch crooks

And take them to a jail made from a huge wall of books.

Jacob had such fun, the hours simply flew,

But all the while, the pile grew and grew...

There was a battered old kite and a broken guitar,

A punctured ball that wouldn't bounce very far,

A box of marbles emptied all over the floor

And a toothsome, fearsome dinosaur!

Jacob looked at the toys: "Should I tidy a few?"

But he decided against it, so the pile grew and grew...

There were teddy bears and rocket ships,

An album of photos from family day trips,

A big green box, full of badges and stickers

And a robot with a laser that really flickers.

Jacob looked at the mess on the floor

And suddenly wondered: "Where's my bedroom door?!"

The pile had grown to such a height,

That Jacob was trapped and he cried out in fright.

"I'm stuck in my room!  Mum, help, it's not fair!"

But his voice was muffled by the toys everywhere.

He waded through train track, toy soldiers and puzzles.

"Oh how will I ever get out of this muddle?!"

Jacob realised what the answer might be

And with a groan and grumble, he started to tidy.

Away went the books and the bears and the balls,

Away went the soldiers - away went it all.

When the last toy was tidied, through his bedroom door

Came Jacob's mum and she gazed at the floor.

"It's so clean in here, have you played at all?"

Jacob nodded and leaned against his bedroom wall.

"Oh mum," he told her.  "Of course I've played.

But when I'm done with each toy, I put it away!"

His mum grinned: "Then come for some lunch and a drink."

Jacob looked in the mirror and gave his reflection a wink...

Jacob didn't regret playing with everything - oh no!

But now he'd learnt never to let a pile grow.

The rain stopped and soon, it was a much brighter day.

So Jacob dashed out in the garden to play.

No more rain, no more cold and no more gloom.

And best of all?  No more tidying his room!