Bedtime Story (2/5/2018)

As I write this, I've been struggling with a sore throat for what feels like MONTHS.  Naturally, it's on my mind a lot, so I figured I'd write a story about it...

The podcast version of this story is here!

Tilly Can't Talk!

Tilly woke up one morning,

Feeling horribly weak.

Her throat felt sore

And when she opened her mouth,

Tilly couldn't speak!

Tilly's eyes bulged wide and then,

She bounded out of her bed.

She swallowed hard,

Then again tried to talk,

But she just squeaked, instead!

When words came out at last,

They sounded as quiet as a mouse.

Tilly's head pounded.

There was a lump in her throat,

As she ran through the house.

She burst into her parents' room,

To try to say what was wrong.

Mum and Dad frowned,

They could barely hear Tilly,

So she stopped trying, before long.

Tilly was told to stay home,

Whilst her sisters went to school.

Her throat really hurt

And not being able to talk

Was by now, definitely not cool.

Tilly tried eating a bowl of ice cream,

To make her throat hurt less.

But she still had pain

And when she'd talk again

Was really anyone's guess!

Tilly wanted to chat to her mum,

Or sing her favourite song.

But her voice was gone

And her throat was so sore,

Tilly wondered what had gone wrong.

Mum took her to a doctor,

Who made Tilly try to say "aah."

Her throat was red,

The nice doctor said.

Redder than it should be, by far!

So, Tilly was given medicine

And told to go back to bed.

She still couldn't talk,

So she just went to sleep,

In the hope of mending her head.

It was very quiet that day,

With Tilly not making a peep.

She didn't talk or sing,

She just read her books,

In between dreamless sleep.

Tilly didn't like not having a voice.

It made her feel all alone.

Nobody knew

What she was trying to say

And she got bored of being at home.

She got bored of medicine

And of not being able to sing.

She even got bored

Of eating ice cream,

If you can imagine such a thing!

She hated flapping her arms about,

To make clear what she wanted to say.

She missed talking

To her sisters at home

And her friends at school, through the day.

Tilly hadn't realised just how much

She relied on being able to speak.

She wanted nothing else

Than to get her voice back.

Without it, the future seemed bleak.

So, imagine the joy a few days later,

When Tilly awoke with her voice!

She talked, sang and shouted

And everyone listened

- they didn't have much of a choice!

It felt so good to talk again,

And for her throat to not feel sore.

Tilly rejoiced

In her newfound voice

And would do so forever more!

THE END