Storybook
GOOGLEY
THE EGGCELLENT EGG
BY RUSSELL JONES
©Russell Jones 2000. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
copied or transmitted in any form, or by any means, without the prior written permission of the author.
Chapter One
Clementine stared at the twelve large white eggs sitting quietly in their cardboard carton. Her mother was unpacking groceries and putting them away. Milk in the fridge. Breakfast Cereal in the pantry .Tins in the cupboard.
Give me a hand Clementine, please. You’re daydreaming again.
“I’m running late dear. You can finish putting these things away while I pick up Dad from the station” she said as she rushed off to meet the train.
“Just be careful with those eggs!”
That last comment woke Clementine quickly out of her daydream. “be careful with the eggs!”
Had Mum guessed what she was thinking?
Clementine put all the groceries away in their proper places, except the eggs.
She had plans for them.
“Amazing!” she giggled, “you’ve got two big googley eyes!” Now the egg was looking back at her. She added two eyebrows and a mouth.
It looked real, she thought.
“EGGSTREMELY pleased to meet you.” said the egg. “Now that I can see you properly.”
Clementine was shocked. She stood up so quickly, she almost dropped the egg, which she now held at arm’s length
“Whoa! Whoa!” said the egg! “Be EGG-STRA careful!”
“You frightened me.” said Clementine. “Eggs can’t talk!”
“Can now!” said the egg proudly
“Googley’s the name. Natty Googley.”
“Nice to meet you Googley,” said Clementine
“I’m Clementine”.
“Well Clementine,” said Googley, “now that I’ve got my eyes and mouth, I’m going to have to finish the job. Hand me those paints please! I’m naked!”
“Whoops! Sorry said Clem. and pushed her paint set towards Googley
“Well they don’t call me Natty for nothing. First, I’ll need a very nice three piece suit.”
Swish swish. On went the purple paint.
“And a tie of course.” he added.
“Natty by name, Natty by nature and now, Natty to look at.”
Mr Natty Googley was very impressed with himself. He looked down at his new clothes and chuckled.
“How natty I am! he shouted.”
A sound from the driveway gave Clementine and Googley quite a start. Mum was home. Another car door slammed. Dad was with her.
Clementine scooped up Googley and placed him back in the carton with all the other eggs.
“Careful! careful!” he said. “I’m breakable remember!”
“Sorry! Sorry! I’ll hide you until later.”
She closed the lid and Googley was in the dark again.
Clementine gathered up the carton of eggs, her brushes and paints, and quickly stuffed them into the refrigerator, just as Mum &; Dad came through the kitchen door.
“Hi Sweetheart!” said Daddy
“Hi Daddy!”
“Nice job Clem,” said Mum. “Ill get us all a cool drink. It’s so hot out there!”
She walked quickly toward the ‘fridge
“Let me get that Mum”. said Clem. “You and Dad watch the news on TV and I’ll get the drinks.”
She hurried them both out of the kitchen, rushed back to the ‘fridge, reached in past the egg carton, brushes and paints and took out a jug off cool green lime cordial.
Drinks were served.
“I've got homework to do.” Clementine called out from the staircase, as she smuggled Googley upstairs and into her room.
“She's a good kid” said her Dad as he sipped on his drink and settled lower into his comfy chair.
“Yes” said Mum looking a little puzzled.
Upstairs, safely in her room, Clem opened the carton lid slowly
“Wow! Where’d you go?” asked Googley blinking in the bright light.
“I couldn’t let Mum & Dad in on the secret. Not yet.”
“EGGS-ACTLY!” agreed Googley. “Not until you’ve seen my next trick!”
“What trick?” asked Clem.
Googley looked around slowly at the paints and brushes lying close by.
“What trick?” he said slowly. “What trick? “
“THIS ONE!” He dipped a brush into the paint and in a flurry of splashing and swishing and laughing and giggling, he began to paint himself again.
He twirled, and whirled and painted so quickly, all Clementine could see was a blur of colour
Then suddenly he stopped.
Clementine just stared in disbelief at the strangest looking egg she had ever seen. There were spots of purple on a bright yellow suit. A big goofy grin, two large teeth in front and huge round eyes that looked in two directions at once.
“Googley! What have you done?”
“I can be anything or anyone I want to be “
“I’m Googley - The EGG-CELLENT EGG!”
2.
Fridays at Rolling Hills Primary were Clem's favourite days, and this one was going to be the best yet. She sat in her usual seat on the bus, with her school case held firmly on her knee. Her feet were on tiptoes, to cushion her school case from any bumps that the bus might make, after all Googley was an egg and she could't bear to imagine what would happen if he cracked.
Clem sighed with relief as the bus drove over the last little hill and she could see the schoolhouse at the end of a small dirt road. Gosh! she’d forgotten about those bumps!
“Hold on Googley!” she whispered into her schoolcase.
Suddenly the bus turned off the bitumen road and thumped and banged its way along the short dirt road to the school. The dust billowed out from under the bus as it always did and the driver coughed and sneezed as he did every morning, as the children and their bags lurched around in the bus
The bus came to a skidding stop in front of the schoolhouse.
Clementine sat staring at her schoolcase, worried that the bumpy ride might have been too much for Googley. She slowly opened the lid, almost too scared to look inside.
Googley was lying comfortably in the middle of a ham sandwich, reading a geography book. he looked up as Clementine peered through the half open lid.
This book on EGG-SKIMOS is fascinating. said Googley. Did you know they live in EGG-LOOS?
GOOGLEY
Mrs Topsy loved to start the first day back after the weekend with craft class. The children were restless and fidgety and craft always settled them down. In fact they loved it. Out came the big craft basket. Mrs Topsy opened the lid. It was a glittering treasure chest of paint and coloured paper, feathers, tinsel and glue, brightly coloured, jewel-like beads and baubles, sewing needles, thread, cotton and wool.
While all eyes were on the box, Clementine sneaked a look inside her school bag
“About time” said Natty Googley. Its EGGS-TREMELY hot and stuffy in here
Clem had decided to show Googley to her three closest friends first. Dinky sat on her left. He was the smallest and possibly the smartest in the class. Toby sat beside him, and Rosie sat on her right. She was her very best friend.
“Shhhh!” Clementine closed the lid down to a small crack and whispered through it. “Everyone will hear you.”
Well I sure did! What is that thing?
The voice from the seat directly behind Clementine’s came from Bigmouth Ralph. He was not one of Clem’s favourite people.
“Shoosh Ralph!” Mrs Topsy will hear you!
“Well gimme a look or I’ll blab,” said Ralph.
Bigmouth Ralph wasn’t very tall. He just had a big mouth, and when he wasn’t stuffing it with food stolen from other people’s lunch boxes, he was talking. If he didn’t have anything smart to say, he make something up. He never stopped telling tales. He always had to be the centre of attention.
“I’ll blab on you” said Bigmouth Ralph.
“Alright just take a quick peek,” pleaded Clementine “but that’s all.”
She slowly opened the lid of her school case. Googley stood drumming his fingers impatiently on the side of her lunchbox, looking very impatient and cross.
“Ok, that’s enough.”
just as Clementine began to shut the lid again, Bigmouth Ralph lunged forward and grabbed a startled Googley in his chubby fist, then sat back in his seat. He stared at Googley in his open hand.
“It’s an egg,” he whispered. “It’s just and egg!”
Googley’s eyes narrowed with anger. His faced turned a bright pink. he stood on Bigmouth’s hand and raised himself up as high a he could. Bigmouth came closer. He couldn’t believe his eyes. If Googley had a nose, (which he didn’t) their noses would have been touching.
“WHO? ME? JUST AN EGG?” exploded Googley
Bigmouth got such a shock, he fell right off his chair. His hands flew up and Googley was catapulted high in the air.
The whole class turned to look at Bigmouth sprawled on the classroom floor, his legs tangled awkwardly in his upturned chair. They laughed so much, no-one, except Clementine, saw Googley land safely in the craft basket.
“Just for that little disturbance,” said an angry Mrs Topsy, We’ll do MATHEMATICS!”
Without looking at the craft basket, Mrs Topsy slammed the lid shut, and locked it.
The class went very quiet.
“ARITHMETIC! SUMS! And when you decide to behave, we’ll do craft.” Mrs Topsy loved craft lessons even more than the children.
Inside the craft basket, Googley was regaining his composure. Some light filtered through the cane lid, and he was able to make out crayons and tinsel and beads and glue.
GOOGLEY
The morning seemed to drag on for Clementine, but Mr Natty Googley had been busy in the craft basket.
“Alright children!” Mrs Topsy clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention, as she reached for the craft basket. She opened the lid and her smile changed quickly to a look of disbelief.
“Hello Clem!” he shouted across the room
“Hello Mrs Topsy! Hello class!” he cried out as he danced about on Mrs Topsy’s desk.
Clem could hardly recognise him. He had painted his face with bright pink smudges on his cheeks. He wore a white suit which sparkled with gaudy glass beads, and a thimble on his head, decorated with feathers.
He sang a song as leapt and twirled about to show off his new outfit.
“I’m Googley the EGG-CELLENT EGG!
Watch me dance,
Watch me jump
I can spin
Shake a leg!
I’m Googley the EGG-CELLENT EGG!”
Clementine stood up clapping and cheering. Even Mrs Topsy was delighted. The whole class began to sing along...
Watch us dance,
Watch us jump
We can spin
Shake a leg!
Hey Googley the EGG-CELLENT EGG!”
Bigmouth Ralph was not impressed. while the class was dancing and singing along with Googley, he was plotting and planning a way to get rid of him. Bigmouth Ralph wanted to be the centre of attention again.
The lunch break gave Bigmouth the opportunity he had been waiting for.
Googley was entertaining Clementine and her friends in the schoolyard. Googley loved to dress up and entertain. With paints, pencils crayons or in fact just about anything handy, he could change his appearance in a jiffy
He changed from his gaudy dance costume and had dabbed himself with spots of colour, a big red nose and purple hair
“I’m an EGG-CELLENT EGG!” he shouted as he cartwheeled around on the grass.
Clementine gasped as Bigmouth grabbed Googley and held him high above his head
“He’s just an egg! Look!” said Big-Mouth as he wiped off all the paint. Googley was left with just two big eyes which blinked back at Bigmouth.
“Not too EGG-CELLENT NOW ARE YOU!” he chuckled wickedly
“I’ll show you kids a real trick” said Bigmouth “Give me that!” He snatched an apple from Dinky’s lunchbox.
“And that!” He grabbed Rosie’s garden salad sandwich, and took a huge bite with his big mouth.
“I’ll have that too, and that!” he said adding a soft drink bottle and a banana. Now watch this trick!
BigMouth went into his juggling act.
He threw Googley way up in the air.
Rosie cried out! “Careful Bigmouth! he’ll break!”
Up went Dinky’s apple. Up went Rosie’s garden salad sandwich. Up went Toby’s soft drink bottle. And up went a banana.
Up and around they went. Bigmouth catching them all in turn and throwing them again and again
Bigmouth danced a silly jig as he juggled, he was so busy showing off, he didn’t notice the banana had fallen at his feet. He slipped, and over he went, turning a perfect somersault before landing on his stomach on the ground.
The soft drink bottle crashed to the ground right in front of his nose , followed by the salad sandwich spilling out bits of tomato, lettuce, cucumber beetroot and other vegies.
Down came the apple, hitting him fair and square in the middle of his head.
THUD!
But where was Googley?
Rosie, Toby Dinky and Clem peered down at the bits and pieces in front of Bigmouth’s nose. Something was moving.
Bigmouth opened his eyes and blinked.
With dazed blurry eyes, he could just make out a moving egg-like shape just ten centimetres from his nose.
It had big angry red eyes, sharp pointy teeth sticking out of an ugly jagged mouth. It moved slowly towards Bigmouth’s nose.
He jumped to his feet, took three steps backwards, then turned and ran for his life. The group watched him disappear through the school gate, before they looked back at the little egg-like shape at their feet
Googley had covered himself in salad bits. He had disguised himself with broken glass teeth and beetroot blood and had scared the daylights out of Bigmouth.
Clementine bent down and picked him up.
“Well done Googley - nothing broken I hope.”
“I’m fine Clementine,” he said “Nothing a little paint job won’t fix.”
It didn’t take long for Googley change back into his red suit and tie, and by the time the school bus arrived to take the all home, he was Mr Natty Googley again.
As the bus made its way home, Clementine smiled at the voice coming from her schoolbag
“I’m Googley the EGG-CELLENT EGG!
Watch me dance,
Watch me jump
I can spin
Shake a leg!
I’m Googley the EGG-CELLENT EGG!”
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