The Magic Box
Friday was finally here. The end of the day school bell rang loudly down through the corridors outside the classrooms, and Elizabeth could not wait to get home from school to meet Grandad. This weekend was going to be extra special for Elizabeth because on Saturday, she will be celebrating her ninth birthday while staying with her grandparent’s and eight-year-old cousin Thomas who was also invited to stay. No sooner had Elizabeth arrived home from school, Grandad pulled up outside the house beeping the car horn.
“Love you all!” Elizabeth shouted to her parents from the car window before quickly setting off on their journey to beat the heavy teatime traffic.
After a ninety-minute drive into the countryside and offering to pick Thomas up on the way, they finally arrived at Wits End Cottage. Grandma and Marcus, the Labrador dog, were in the front garden awaiting their arrival. Gran greeted Thomas and Elizabeth with a big hug by wrapping her arms around the both of them, leaving Marcus jumping around, wagging his tail with excitement. Gran asked Elizabeth if she would like the attic for her new bedroom, considering how much time she spent playing up there. Grandad asked Thomas if he would like Elizabeth's old bedroom, which was a much bigger room than his own. Elizabeth and Thomas thought it was a great idea and Gran knew they would not say no. During the week when Grandad was driving past a junk shop with Gran on their way back home from town, they both noticed a big brown trunk in a shop window for sale. It wasn't very expensive, and Gran thought it would make an excellent toy box for Elizabeth's new bedroom. After Grandad gave the trunk a good clean and a lick of pink paint, it looked as good as new. Thomas was never bothered about having too many toys to play with; he just liked kicking footballs around and bringing home grass worms from the field at the back of the house.
Elizabeth ran up the stairs to the attic to see what adjustments she could make to her new bedroom. But when Elizabeth opened up the door, she gasped with surprise. Her new bedroom was completely redecorated with new floral wallpaper and all the bedroom furniture was moved up from her old bedroom. When Thomas came in to have a look at Elizabeth's new bedroom, the newly painted toy box immediately caught his attention.
“Your new toy box Elizabeth looks really old,” said Thomas, bending down on his hands and knees curiously inspecting the side of the box.
“It could be a treasure chest from a pirate ship. The side handles are shaped with a skull and cross bones.”
“Have you ever seen a real pirate ship?” asked Elizabeth.
“I've seen pirate ships from films and books,” replied Thomas, still curiously examining the box.
“Can I take all your toys out of the box Elizabeth because there could be a date or something written on the inside?”
“If there was a date I think Grandad would had noticed something while he was painting the box,” replied Elizabeth.
“There could be a date written underneath the toy box,” suggested Thomas.
“You’re more curious than a cat but if you must tip all my toys out Thomas, you better put them all back again afterwards.”
Thomas took all the toys out and laid the box onto its side, promising to put every toy back afterwards.
“Elizabeth!” Thomas said aloud. “I've found a date and a message written underneath the bottom of the box. The date reads eighteen-eighty and a message that reads…
“Imagine a place you would want it to be,
Then step inside to enter me.
Believe the magic will come true,
And the box shall conjure just for you.”
Thomas tips the toy box back up and steps inside.
“A magical land where there are free sweet shops and free footballs because I keep losing all mine,” Thomas asked the trunk raising his voice.
“You have to be a bit more imaginative than that Thomas! I don't think an old box could do a trick like that,” replied Elizabeth.
“Elizabeth! Thomas! Time for tea!” shouted Gran from downstairs.
Elizabeth decided to help Thomas get all the toys back into the box so they could both get down for tea quicker. Sitting around the tea table, Thomas mentions to Gran and Grandad about what was written underneath the bottom of the box.
“Eighteen-eighty!” repeats Grandad. “Well it's nineteen-seventy now. So that is ninety years ago, but I wouldn't believe too much about the rest of the story. I say someone was having an overactive imagination if you ask me.”
“I have an idea,” said Gran. “Write down all the things you would like to see in your magical land and that will give Grandad and I an interesting read tomorrow.”
“Free sweet shops and as many free footballs I can kick around!” said Thomas, raising both arms in the air.
“If Thomas would like to help Grandad keep company in taking Marcus for a little walk first, and Elizabeth helps me wash the dishes, you can both then go off and play in your rooms,” said Gran.
After the dishes were washed and cleared away, Elizabeth was feeling very tired after being at school all day and decided to take an early night and get ready for bed. On the way back up to her bedroom, Elizabeth took a quick peep inside Thomas's new room. It was decorated very boyish with football wallpaper, which suited Thomas completely. As Elizabeth was just about to get ready for bed, Thomas was heard running up the stairs heading straight for Elizabeth's bedroom.
“Shall we see if your toy box really does work magic?” asked Thomas.
“It's just an old painted trunk box,” replied Elizabeth. “But if it could do magic, I would love to help Santa Claus and his reindeers deliver all the presents on Christmas Eve. Also, I would love to visit a street filled with lots of toy shops, all lit up with Christmas trees and sparkling candle lights.”
“We only celebrated Christmas three weeks ago,” said Thomas.
“I want it to be Christmas again. You want free sweet shops… like that's ever going to happen,” replied Elizabeth unpacking her weekend bag.
“I want free sweet shops and free footballs,” said Thomas. “Why don't we both just stand in the box Elizabeth, to see if magic can really happen.”
Once again, the box was tipped over and out came all of the toys and Elizabeth stepped inside with Thomas.
“Well, we’ve asked the box what we both want and nothing is happening Thomas,” said Elizabeth looking down at both their feet. Then all of a sudden, snowflakes started to land inside the box making Thomas and Elizabeth look up very quickly. They were no longer in Elizabeth’s bedroom. They were standing in a snow-covered street, lined with toy shops and sparkling Christmas trees all lit up with candle lights.
“I've never seen anything so magical and real! This is what I call real magic,” Elizabeth said loudly with excitement grabbing hold of Thomas’s arm.
“Pinch me!” exclaimed Thomas. “I want to make sure I'm not dreaming!”
“Look Thomas! Over there!”
An elf was standing outside the biggest sweetshop they had ever seen. Giant candy canes and big lollypops were stacked outside the doorway of the sweet shop.
“I haven't brought any money with me Elizabeth so I can't buy any sweets,” said Thomas checking his pockets.
“You asked the box for free sweets and footballs Thomas, so you wouldn’t need any money,” replied Elizabeth.
The elf started to wave for Thomas and Elizabeth to come over.
“Come on Thomas we've got to go and meet the elf he's calling us over.”
The Elf told Thomas and Elizabeth to go inside the sweetshop and each fill a bag with as many free sweets as they could carry. When they entered the sweet shop, Thomas and Elizabeth stood gobsmacked staring at all the sweets. They had never seen so many sweets in one shop. There were lots of different coloured long strips of candy hanging from the ceiling that were in easy reach to pull down and eat. Hundreds of jars were filled to the brim with a variety of sweets all stacked along the shelves, and the biggest edible chocolate Santa that was almost the height of the ceiling.
“Sorry Santa Claus, but you look so delicious,” said Thomas biting a big chunk of chocolate out of Santa's right arm. Thomas and Elizabeth spent ages in the sweet shop, filling their bags and faces at the same time with sweets. Thomas found a blue football on the floor behind a big bin of large chocolate sticks and started to kick it around the shop, accidentally smashing a jar of fizzy flying saucers off the shelf. On hearing the noise, the Elf came back into the sweet shop and asked Thomas if he would like to have a game of football with Santa Claus and the Elves. Elizabeth and Thomas quickly filled their bags with handfuls of sweets before rushing outside the sweet shop to meet Santa Claus. Parked on the snow in front of them was a huge big red sleigh pulled by eight reindeers. Lots of Elves were helping Santa Claus stack the sleigh with lots of presents. It was more magical than what they could have ever imagined.
“Santa Claus always likes to warm up with a good game of football before he delivers all his presents on Christmas Eve,” said the Elf.
“I want to be on Santa's team!” shouted Thomas with excitement.
“I'm in goal!” said Santa Clause loudly. “Nobody ever scores a goal past my big belly.”
Elizabeth sat down on the step of the sweet shop watching Thomas play football with Santa Claus and all the Elves. When the football game was finally over, Thomas was the highest scorer with five balls kicked straight into the goal.
“We best get going,” said Santa Claus. “We've got lots of presents to deliver... with the help from Thomas and Elizabeth of course.”
Thomas and Elizabeth boarded the sleigh and sat either side of Santa Claus.
“All sitting comfortably?” asked Santa Claus.
The reins were flipped down onto the reindeer’s backs and the sleigh gently lifted up into the air and swiftly took off into the night sky.
“This is brilliant!” Thomas shouted.
“I don't just deliver to children,” said Santa. “Grown-ups also like to find presents underneath their Christmas tree. I've seen grown-ups get more excited than the little ones.”
When the sleigh parked on the roof of each house, Thomas and Elizabeth would then pass Santa Claus the presents to take down the chimney and place underneath the Christmas tree. Santa Claus’s belly was very full from all the mince pies and chocolates the children left him to eat, and sometimes he would have trouble getting back up the chimney.
The magic of Christmas Eve was over, and there were no more presents left to deliver. Thomas and Elizabeth were very tired and fell asleep beside Santa Claus on the long journey back home.
The sound of Thomas running up the stairs shouting happy birthday awoke Elizabeth from her sleep.
“What time did we get back last night Thomas?” asked Elizabeth waking up and rubbing both her eyes.
“Get back from where?” replied Thomas.
“You fell asleep in bed so I went back downstairs and watched television with Gran and Grandad.”
“You and I helped Santa Claus deliver lots of presents with all the reindeers pulling the sleigh. You played a game of football with the Christmas Elves and Santa Claus was in goal... and the biggest sweet shop I ever saw with all those free sweets. Don’t you remember Thomas? It really happened! I know it did!” exclaimed Elizabeth, thinking back on the night.
“I wish I could have dreams like that when I go to sleep. My dreams always seem to be boring,” replied Thomas.
The End