Bedtime Stories

The Bedtime Stories are aimed at young children, and were made up using random word-colour combinations. Please let me know if there ARE such things as blue radishes, rainbow geckos etc.

The Yellow Bat

Once when I was little, I went to a magical land. It used to be beautiful, but it had been taken over by green dragons, evil rulers that loved destroying things. I dreamt the only thing that could stop them was a yellow bat. It would meet me behind a red fig tree. So the next day I walked to the top of a mountain, to find the magical fruit tree and see this savior. I found him and told him what had happened. He told me to go home and watch through the window. I walked with him back to my little house looking out over the dragons, and saw him bite each one. They flew away to Mars, yelling at the top of their lungs. And they never came back.

The Blue Radishes

Once when I was little, I found a gnome in the forest near my house. It asked if I could help it. The gnome told me that a badger was trying to eat him, so I found the badger and told him about a massive pile of worms on the other side of the hill. The badger ran off, licking its lips. The gnome thanked me, and gave me five blue radishes. 
A week later, I was in the market and I saw a fortune teller. She told me that she could only work in return for a miracle. So I gave her the blue radishes. The woman stared at them, before throwing them in a fire, and telling me that I was going to have good luck. Two days later, I found a ten-pound note under my bed, and a pound coin in my sock. So she was right.

The Rainbow Gecko

Once when I was little, I found an old key under my desk. I didn't know where it had come from, so I tried it on every lock in the house. None of them worked - apart from a tiny door in the cupboard under the stairs. As the door opened, a grey gecko ran out. I asked him why he was such a dull colour. He told me that he had had his colours stolen by a wizard who wanted them for a potion. I offered to help him get them back, so the little lizard took me to the wizard's cave, and told me what to do, so while the wizard's back was turned, I dropped the grey gecko into a full cauldron, and threw it over my head. As soon as it hit the ground, my little friend got his rainbow colours back!
But the wizard had heard the noise, and he ran towards me, his wand held up high... Then he slipped on some of the spilt potion - into his tank of piranhas! 
And the little rainbow gecko has lived with me ever since. 

The Green Pineapples

Once when I was little, I was looking for a board game at the back of my shelves when I found a strange button. It looked like an ordinary coat button, but it was every possible colour under the sun, pulsing in and out from each hole. I rubbed at a smear on the button, trying to make it look as beautiful as possible - then something happened. I felt as though I had been put in a cold bath, and I couldn't hear. Then I opened my eyes, and saw I was in the Arctic. I shivered, and looked around at the bleak landscape. I noticed that there was a breathing hole made by a seal next to me, and warm light was coming from it. So I jumped into it - and found paradise. Birds flew over golden sand and aquamarine sea, to rest in large coconut trees. It was beautiful. And the fruit was amazing! Red bananas hung from branches, alongside blue pears and pink kiwi fruits. I picked a ripe, green pineapple and cut into it with a shell I'd found. The purple flesh smelt delicious, so I took a bite... and found myself back at home. I thought I'd been dreaming, until I saw the shell beside me.

The Red Jaguar 

Once when I was little, I walked out of my village to a little field. I sat down on the grass, until I noticed something digging into my leg. I reached down, and pulled a large sword out from the ground. It had an inscription on the blade. I read it out, trying to make sense of what it said. Suddenly, a red jaguar leapt out from behind me. It looked just like a normal jaguar, only it's spots were blood-red, and it's coat was faintly pink. It looked at me, and said,
"My name is Shardas. I am your guardian." So we played together in the field for a while, until I had to go home. We walked back together, and I told Shardas to stay hidden until I called him. I spent many weeks having fun with him, for he would shrink down to the size of a kitten, and I would throw a ball of wool for him to chase.
Until one day, he didn't come when I read out the blade's inscription. I tried again, but he still didn't come. So I walked back to the field and looked around, taking the sword with me. Then I noticed a trapdoor in the grass. I opened it and jumped into the darkness. It was cold and damp, and pitch-black. Something turned a light on. Something. Or someone. I saw I was surrounded by cages of magnificent animals; purple giraffes, orange hippos and green tigers paced their cages. A small rabbit sat at one end, uncaged. It smiled, and said,
"I've been expecting you to come. Your pet is the jewel of my collection." Shardas sat in the furthest  cage, twitching his tail. I yelled back,
"I'll fight you for him. I'll beat you, too." The rabbit chuckled, and said that the plan was good, but that he would choose one of his animals to fight me. So it opened the cage of the largest, meanest pink lion. It walked slowly up to me and whispered,
"I'm scared. You've got a massive sword, and even if I win, I'll be sent to a skin collector and be killed anyway." I said it didn't have to die. I could pretend to kill it, and we would both get what we wanted. The lion agreed, and we mock-battled until I finally lunged and "killed" it. The rabbit grudgingly opened the cage and Shardas ran out. I made the bunny open the other cages too, and the coloured animals ran away. I haven't used the sword since.    

The Purple Bread     

Once when I was little, I was looking through my cupboards when I found a large gold coin. It was nothing like any currency I knew, and it was very thick and heavy. I put it in my pocket. I then set about finding the item I was looking for. As I stared into the cupboard, I flipped the coin over in my pocket. I was suddenly whirling around, until I came to stop in a small, ramshackle village. It was almost dark outside, but clearly there was a market going on. Cloth-draped stalls lined each roadside, all laden with tasty snacks or delicate trinkets, and amazing smells floated through the air. I felt the cold metal coin against my leg, and I walked up the street to find an item to purchase. Instantly the men and women started shouting across to me,  "Fresh fruit, delicious fruits!"
"Golden necklaces for pretty young ladies!"
"Toasted nuts just out the fire!"
I smiled and continued walking. Then I noticed a stall with some purple bread on it. It looked delicious, so I bought 2 loaves, and some bizarre orange sausages. They came skewered on a long stick, so I could eat without getting my hands sticky. I was given some little green coins as change, and then I carried on walking. Soon I came to little shacks of houses, all falling to pieces. I could hear crying coming from one of them, so I went and looked inside. There was a family of at least 8, all weeping bar the baby, which was coughing wretchedly in the mother's arms. I asked them what was the matter, and they told me that the baby was very sick. It could barely move, and would die without proper food and medicine. I thought I could help, so I offered them the bread, sausages and green coins. They wept again, but for joy, and said they could not thank me enough. As a gift, they gave me a beautiful golden tree ornament, with gold gem leaves. Then I found myself whirling through the air, and I was back home, clutching a little gold tree. 

The Teal Meerkat   

Once when I was little, I was playing in my back garden with a ball. I bounced it, higher and higher, and as I played I noticed an electric-pink snail edging its way along the patio. So I dropped the ball and ran over to look at it. It was moaning, over and over again, "Goodness, I'm going to be very late indeed! Oh, how dreadful it is being a snail..." I asked what was wrong, and it told me it was meant to be at an invitation-only debate. Slightly confused, I offered to help this snail get there quicker - it accepted the offer and told me his name was Hugo. He told me the route; I had to walk around the tree in my garden five times backwards, then twice facing forwards. I did this, and on the last time I felt a strange buzz in my ears - we had arrived. Peering around at the bright landscape, I saw we were on some African-like plains. A few short bushes peppered the dusty ground. Hugo retracted into his shell, and told me then to enter a burrow next to my left foot. I was surprised, but as I slid into the hole, I could feel myself getting smaller and smaller... We were met at the other end by some violet hedgehogs, who took our fingerprints and our elbow-prints. My next instruction was to find The door. I had no idea how to identify The door, so T wandered around the lobby area aimlessly. As I walked, my arm caught on the handle of a brown door, with the word 'The' printed all over it. I walked in, and Hugo came out from his house. Sat around a giant table were two teal meerkats, a maroon octopus, six beetles of varying colours and a yellow tortoise. The two meerkats lead the meeting, which appeared to be about a sudden trade in rare animals. I helped them by giving them information about the rabbit, who was collecting them up. Once they had finished, I was allowed to leave. Hugo called out to me, and said that I could have a reward: I just had to walk around the tree in my garden twice clockwise. With that, I was back in my garden. I walked around the tree twice clockwise, and stopped. A small snail shell was just in front of my toes.