Bedtime Story (27/9/2017)

I'm not going to lie; I almost didn't use that gif, above.  Is it just me, or is Dumbo THE saddest Disney movie OF ALL TIME?!  That scene - you know the one, if you've seen the film - of Dumbo's mum rocking him through the bars of her cage breaks my heart.  I can't even talk about it without crying!  I literally can't watch the film because it upsets me too much.  So, the gif is my way of saying Dumbo is super cute and I love the character and it fits this story, but...  Please don't make me watch the film.  Aaaand after that long and rambling intro (this blog isn't called The Rambling Curl for nothing...), let's get onto this week's story, shall we?!

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Harriet's Hiccups

Lunchtime started off perfectly normally.  Harriet ate peanut butter and banana sandwiches and shared a packet of raisins with her best friend, Tom, who always seemed to be hungry, even after he'd finished his own lunch.  Louisa and Leanne, the Dutton twins, had ham and cheese wraps and a bag of dried apricots.  And Jasper and his cousin Sam both had school dinners.  The friends all sat at the table together, eating, drinking, talking and laughing.  It was just the same as any other lunchtime.

They all finished their food and headed out to the school playground.  And that was where it started.

Harriet was just about to suggest a game of tag, when... "Hiccup!"

Tom giggled.  "You've got the hiccups!"

Harriet opened her mouth to reply, but all that came out was another hiccup.  She stared at her friends and waited.  Another hiccup came out.  Then another!  ""How do I - hiccup - make it - hiccup - stop?!"

Louisa rubbed her chin and scrunched up her face.  "I think you have to hold your breath."

Harriet took a gulp of air, then squeezed her mouth shut.  Her eyes started to widen and her cheeks turned pink.  Leanne shook her head at her sister, then turned back to Harriet.  "You can't hold your breath forever," she warned.

Harriet opened her mouth and all the air came out in a rush.  She sucked in another mouthful of air and let it out normally.  Her face slowly went back to normal.  "Phew," she said.  "That wasn't very - hiccup!"

"It didn't work!"  Tom exclaimed.  "She needs to try something else!"

Louisa shrugged.  "I already gave you my only idea," she told Harriet.  

Sam nudged Jasper with his elbow.  "Hang on," he began.  "Doesn't your dad say something about drinking water when you have hiccups?!"

"Oh, yes!"  Jasper nodded, remembering.  "But you have to do it backwards."

"Backwards?!"  Leanne shrieked, as Harriet went right on hiccuping.  "How do you drink something backwards?!"

Tom raced to the drinking fountain and took a plastic cup from the shelf nearby.  He filled it up and hurried back to Harriet.  "Here you are," he told her.  "See if you can drink this, er, backwards."

Harriet wasn't sure what she was supposed to do.  She tried sipping from the furthest side of the cup, but that only made her tip the water down her front.  She tried walking backwards whilst she drank, but that only made her cough.  "Oh," she grumbled, wiping her mouth.  "None of - hiccup - this is -hiccup - working!"

"Try standing on your head," Sam suggested.

"Standing on my - hiccup - head?!"  

Sam shrugged.  "Well, it doesn't seem any sillier than trying to drink water backwards..."

And so, Harriet did a handstand against the wall and Louisa and Leanne held her legs up.  "We'll count to ten, then you can come down," Leanne suggested.  "One, two..."

"Hiccup!"  Harriet groaned.  "This isn't - hiccup - working!"

She came out of her handstand and blinked for a moment, feeling dizzy.  "What else can I - hiccup - try?"  She asked.  "I don't want to hiccup for-hiccup-ever!"

Tom grinned.  "I know!  You're supposed to scare a person with hiccups!  That startles them and makes them stop hiccuping."

Sam frowned.  "So... How shall we scare Harriet?"

"She doesn't like spiders," Leanne reminded them, whilst Harriet carried on hiccuping.  "If she saw one, that would scare her."

But Harriet was not at all keen on that idea.  "I'd rather - hiccup - not see a spider, thank you - hiccup - very much!"

And so, Jasper told Harriet his favourite ghost story, instead.  The one about the headless lady in the long, grey dress.  But Harriet just thought the idea of a lady, floating around, carrying her head in her hands, was quite funny!  And she went right on hiccuping.

"We're all out of ideas," Tom sighed.  

"Leanne hasn't - hiccup - come up with an idea - hiccup - yet!"  Harriet replied.  "Please, think of - hiccup - something!"

Leanne blew out a long puff of air.  "Maybe you could just scream?"

Harriet gaped at her.  "Scream?!  That'll just - hiccup - hurt my throat!"

"Not if you shout words," Leanne suggested.  "Funny words.  Maybe you'll be so busy doing that, that the hiccups will go away?!"

Harriet blushed.  "I'll feel - hiccup - silly, shouting funny words on my - hiccup - own!"

Sam and Jasper grinned.  "We'll help!"  Jasper promised.  "I'll start: BOTTOM!"

Everyone giggled.  "I'll help, too," Tom cried.  "KNICKERBOCKERS!"

Louisa shrieked with laughter.  "What about made up funny words?"  She suggested:  "OOBLE BLOOBLE DOOBLE DOING!"

"FUBBLE WUBBLE!"  Leanne shouted, clutching her tummy as she chuckled.

"BOGIES!"  Yelled Harriet, howling with laughter.

For what seemed like ages, the gang carried on shrieking funny words - made up or otherwise - into the sky.  Everyone around them looked confused, but the friends were having a fantastic time!  In fact, they were laughing so much, they didn't even notice the bell ring for the end of lunch break.

As they all lined up to go back into their classroom, Tom nudged Harriet, gently.  "Hey, I haven't noticed you hiccuping, for a while?"

Harriet grinned.  "I think they're gone!"

"Wow,"  Tom gasped.  "So, Leanne's idea worked?!"

Harriet turned and smiled at her friends, as they stood in line, ready for the rest of the school day.  "You know, I think it might just have been having good friends to take my mind off it that really worked," she whispered.  "But I'll tell Leanne that it was her idea that did the trick."

Tom smiled back at her.  "You're a good friend," he said.

"You too," Harriet replied.  "Hiccup!"

"Oh, no!"  Tom cried.  "They're back!"

Harriet pulled a face.  "Just kidding!"  And with that, she darted into the classroom, with her giggling friends following close behind.

THE END