Ramona Pulsford, aged 7 from London

The Great Adventures

It might have been the world’s most beautiful night. No moon. Stars like searchlights. A thin layer of ice covered every branch and leaf and blade of grass. It was perfectly, eerily still. Nothing rustled the hedges and I could imagine the rabbits and badgers, rolled up tight in their underground dens. It took the haunting scream of an owl to tear me out of my dream, remind me that I was not here to enjoy nature. There was work to be done.

I was half happy, half sad. I whispered to my friends “Lets get going.” He and she nodded. We stood up and picked up our bags. We had work to do. We knew we had lingered too long over nature. We needed to deliver the crab apple stone to Jack Pulsford.

We set off. We walked and we walked and we walked. And we walked and we walked some more. Until at last the sun began to rise. But we still walked until Thora, my friend, collapsed. “I can’t walk any more” she sighed. “Let’s rest,” said Chum, he was my other friend. I nodded “Yes, let’s I said.

“Have you got any food, Turvey?” said Chum. “I’m not sure,” I said. We all looked in our rucksacks. Thora found two peeled carrots, a sandwich with brown bread, tomato, salad and cheese in it, and one oatcake and blanket. Thora was a vegetarian. Chum found three lamb chops, two sausages, eight slices of ham and a blanket. Chum was a meatatarian. I found an apple, a large bottle of water which I was thankful for, a piece of white bread, three cold sausages and a blanket. I was not a vegetarian but not exactly a meatatarian like Chum.

I said “Let’s save some food for the rest of the journey”. Chum and Thora nodded. “So” I said, “Let’s have just some of our food”. “Yes, let’s” said Thora and Chum. “So” I said, “Let’s divide the food between us”. Chum had a lamb chop, Thora had half a peeled carrot and an oatcake, I had one of my sausages and the other half of Thora’s peeled carrot. And we all had some water.

After we had finished our supper I said, “Let’s sleep”, Thora and Chum agreed. We all took out our blankets and wrapped ourselves up in them and lay down under an oak tree.

Thora had blonde hair, pinkish white skin and grey-y blue eyes, and she was eight years old. I had brown eyes, black hair, brown skin and I was nine years old. Chum had brown hair, brown eyes, pinkish white skin like Thora’s, and he was ten years old.

When we woke up it was still day. We packed up our bags and refilled our water bottles in the stream and washed our faces and hands. We picked up our bags and set off to Jack Pulsford’s house. It was only then when I remembered that I had promised to give him the crab apple stone tomorrow. I told Thora and Chum. Chum laughed and said “I’ve got a solution to this, Turvey. We’ll hitchhike a ride,” said Chum. “Do you know how?” said Thora practically. “Um… well… er … not exactly,” said Chum. “But we’ll find a way”. “OK, if you say so” said Thora.

We agreed that we would try to hitchhike a ride, but we didn’t know how. Chum said that he thought it was pretty simple. “ All you have to do” he said “Is wave at the cars and they will stop.” Me and Thora weren’t so sure but we agreed. We waited and waited and waited. I was just about to say that it would probably be quicker to walk there when a car came. Chum, Thora and I quickly jumped up and started to wave frantically. Thora waved a handkerchief, I waved my hand, Chum waved a lamb chop. The car stopped. A man in a black leather suit came out; he had a white shirt on.

Chum bravely stepped forward and said, “Excuse me, sir, but I was wondering if we could have a ride in your car?” The man said, “Where do you want to go to?” I nodded at Chum. He said, “We would like to go to Jack Pulsford’s house please.” The man considered this for a moment. “Well” he said, “OK, I’ll give you a ride.” “Thank you very much, sir,” said Thora. “Yes, thank you” I said, and so did Chum. “Well, hop in” he said.

We got inside the car. There were leather seats and it was very comfortable. “Well, give me your bags,” said the man “And I’ll put them in the boot.” OK, thank you” we said as we gave him our bags. “Very polite aren’t you?” he smiled at them, Thora smiled back.

He closed their door. Then he got in the front seat, closed his door and out on his seat belt. “Oh” he said “And don’t forget to put your seat belts on.” “We won’t,” we said. He put on some music, put his window down and their windows, and started up the car. “To Jack Pulsford’s house” he said. We all said “To Jack Pulsford’s house”.

“Well” said the man “I’ll have to know your names, won’t I?” “I’m Turvey” I said, “I’m Thora” Thora said, “I’m Chum” Chum said. “And now” said Turvey “What is your name pray?” The man laughed, “My name is Mr Aphra” he said. “Hello, Mr Aphra” I said, “Hello, Turvey” Mr Aphra said.

“Do you know Mr Jack Pulsford?” Chum said. Mr Aphra glanced back at Chum “Yes, I do know Mr Jack Pulsford” Mr Aphra said. “How?” said Chum. “Through circumstances which we shall not discuss now.” “OK” said Chum.

It was all quiet for a while as they drove. Then it began to get dark. “We shall stop for the night,” said Mr Aphra. “OK” I said. We all got out of the car. Me and Thora began to take out our blankets, so did Chum. We wrapped ourselves up and lay down. Thora fell asleep and so did Chum, but I lay awake. I squinted through the darkness and I saw Mr Aphra, he was not asleep either. I watched as he got up. He quietly began to walk away, I quietly got up and began to follow him. He walked through some trees, I followed him. Then we came to a house. It had no lights in its windows. Mr Aphra quietly began to open a window in the house. He crept through, I stayed outside and watched. Then I looked through the open window. I saw inside a kitchen and there was a table in the middle with chairs around it, like there are in kitchens. And there was a cooker and cutlery on shelves and a sink and a fridge. It was very clean. There was a door, the door was open. I could just see a fireplace, a rug and a sofa. That must be the sitting room I thought. Then I heard footsteps. I quickly hid behind the house. I peeped round the side of it and I gasped. For Mr Aphra had come out, he was holding in his hands a black crab apple stone. The black crab apple stone was the most precious of all the crab apple stones.

I followed him back to our camp and waited until he got into his sleeping bag, waited until he went to sleep. Then I crept towards him and took the black crab apple stone out of his hands, put it in my rucksack and wrapped myself up in my blanket.

When we awoke it was morning. We all wriggled out of our blankets and stretched. “Shall we hit the road then?” I said. “OK” said Mr Aphra. We all go into the car after packing up our things and putting them into the boot.

He started up the car. I watched Mr Aphra very closely. He seemed to be his usual self. I whispered to Thora and Chum that I had the black crab apple stone and that I’d seen him steal it. We discussed the matter in whispers.

At last the car pulled up outside Mr Jack Pulsford’s house. Chum asked again “How do you and Mr Jack Pulsford know each other?” He asked it in a whisper. Mr Aphra glanced around him and then whispered, “Well, in the time when the crab apples were at large, Mr Jack Pulsford had them all and I desperately wanted them. I, who at that time, I was, well, a burglar and I crept into his house and stole a crab apple stone but he heard me and I was put into prison for a year. When I came out I still longed for the crab apple stones and that was how we met.” “I see,” said Chum. He whispered this to the girls. They were most interested. Thora strangely disappeared. Then as we were asking the guards if we could speak to Mr Jack Pulsford, for you see Mr Jack Pulsford was a very rich man, we heard an announcement on the big announcer which Mr Jack Pulsford owned. The announcement said, “This is Thora speaking, and Mr Alphra, a criminal, is in our midst.” Everybody went very excited and Mr Aphra was arrested and put in prison. And the blue crab apple stone which he had stolen so many years ago was given back to Mr Jack Pulsford. And Mr Jack Pulsford was delighted with them and he awarded him with a crab apple stone each. Thora had a blue one, I had a red one and Chum had a turquoise one. Mr Jack Pulsford’s words were “Turvey, I give you the crab apple stone because you gave me the black one. Thora, I give you a blue crab apple stone because you showed me where the criminal man was. “And Chum” he said “I give you a crab apple stone because you were so brave and helped these girls achieve what they achieved.” “Thank you” we all said.

Ramona Pulsford

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