Bedtime Story (15/8/2018)

We're less than a month away from my birthday and I haven't really got a clue what I want from anyone - I guess I'm at that age where the only things I don't have and still want are the things money either can't buy, or which are much too expensive to ask anyone for, haha!  So, enjoy this story about learning what's really important.

You can also listen to this story as a podcast here.

Bertie's Birthday List

With just a few weeks to go until his birthday, everyone kept asking Bertie what he wanted as a present.  The trouble was, Bertie's mind had rather run away with him.  Bertie had always been interested in magic and a seed had been planted in his mind...

"I'd like a magic set," he announced, when his father first asked what to get for Bertie's birthday.  "So I can learn some tricks to perform at school."

That request was simple enough.  But it had soon led Bertie on to other things.  "I need a pet rabbit," he explained to his mother.  "So I can pull it out of my magician's hat.  But a rabbit needs looking after properly, so I'll have to have a hutch and food and a run and all of that stuff, too."

By the time his older brother Billy asked what he'd like, Bertie's mind had gone even further: "I want a digital camera, so I can film myself doing my magic tricks and upload the videos online.  I'll be famous!"  Bertie paused for a moment, staring at his older sister, Bryony.  "I'll need something to edit the videos on, too, so...  I'd like a laptop computer, as well!"

That weekend, Nan and Grandad came to stay.  By that point, Bertie's list had grown even further:

"I want a magic set, a rabbit, a hutch, a rabbit run and rabbit food, a digital camera, a laptop, a pair of light-up trainers so I look extra cool in my magic videos, a microphone, a cape and a top hat, a really nice set of pens so I can practise signing my autograph for all my fans, a games console to play on when I'm not busy doing magic shows, some books about magic and tickets to see a real magician on stage."

Nan frowned and took a long, sharp intake of breath.  "That's...  A lot," she said.  "We can certainly get you some books about magic and perhaps even a ticket to see a magic show, but...  I don't think we can stretch to much more than that."

Bertie's face fell.  He'd got his heart set on being the best magician ever and he really needed all that stuff, to help him get there!  He decided the only way to persuade everyone was to show them how good a magician he already was.  

Bertie grabbed a deck of cards from inside a drawer in the lounge and began to do some simple tricks that he'd learned from watching magic videos on the computer his older brother used for doing homework.  And as he performed his tricks, a very strange thing happened.

Nan widened her eyes, clapped her hands to her mouth and gasped when Bertie correctly guessed which card she'd picked.  Billy and Bryony looked really impressed and they clapped louder than everyone else.  Dad and Grandad both began showing Bertie tricks that they had learned when they were younger.  And Mum looked really, really proud.

Seeing everyone so happy and knowing he'd done something to make them smile, gave Bertie a special feeling, inside.  It was almost like opening the best birthday present he'd ever had.  "You're really impressed with my tricks?"  He asked, with a huge grin he couldn't disguise.

"Absolutely!"  Mum replied.  "You did so well.  You're going to be a brilliant magician."  She paused, suddenly.  "The thing is..."

"It doesn't matter," Bertie interrupted.  "I don't need all that stuff.  Not really, anyway.  If you all believe in me...  That's all I care about."

Dad beamed at him.  "We'll still get you a magic set," he promised.

"And we'll get you some books, so you can learn even more tricks," Nan told him.  "And I'm sure we can all chip in towards taking you to see a show, too."

"We'll put our pocket money towards it," Billy promised, as Bryony nodded her head.

Bertie was thrilled.  None of all that expensive stuff mattered, anymore.  His family were proud of him, they wanted to help him chase his dreams and they'd made him believe it was possible.

Now that was a magical feeling.

THE END