The Box and the Rat
Based on a trip to the parcel depot with James and Sam.
Once upon a time, there was a parcel called George. He was very sad, because he did not have an address label on him, he did not have any stamps on him, and he did not have anything inside him. These things are very important if you are a parcel.
He was walking sadly down the street one day, wondering what to do, when he saw a post lady.
“Please”, he said to her, “could you post me to someone? I'm a parcel, and that's all I dream of.”
The post lady looked down at him and said, “No, you don't have any stamps, so I can't post you.”
So George carried on, feeling sadder than ever. Then he saw a delivery van drive past. The driver stopped and got out to deliver a parcel.
“Please”, George shouted up, “could you deliver me to someone? I'm a parcel,and that's all I dream of.”
The delivery driver looked down at him and said, “No, you don't have an address label, so I wouldn't know where to deliver you to.”
So George carried on, wondering how he would ever achieve his dreams. Before long, he came across a friendly rat.
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“Why are you so sad?” asked the rat.
“Well, I'm a parcel, but I don't have an address, I don't have any stamps and I don't have anything inside me. These things are very important to me. My only dream is to be posted somewhere.”
“Maybe I can help,” said the rat. “My name is George. I'll jump inside you, and we'll go and see what we can find.”
So they carried on together.
Just then, the post lady went by on her bike. She was going very fast, and did not notice when some stamps fell out of her pocket. George picked them up and called after the post lady, but she was too far away to hear him.
“I'll just put these on your side for now,” said George, “and we can give them back to her next time we see her.”
They continued down the street. But then something happened that made George sad again. They could see a little boy with his mum. It looked like they were getting ready for a birthday party.
“That's what I should be doing - going to party with a present inside me, so someone can open me and be happy!”
Then they saw that the boy had dropped a piece of paper. It was a party invitation.
“I'll just put it on your side for now,” said George, “until we find a dustbin.”
Just then, the delivery van went past again. The driver spotted the parcel and stopped to take a look.
“Well, look at this,” he said, “a parcel with stamps, an address and a pet rat inside. I'd best deliver it!” He closed the lid to keep the rat safe and put it in his van.
The next day, it was the little boy's birthday. He was happily playing with all his new toys, when the doorbell rang. It was the delivery man, with a parcel for the boy.
The boy opened it up and there was a rat inside. “Someone must have got you a pet rat as a present,” said his mum.
“Can I keep it?” asked the boy.
“Yes,” said his mum. “It can live in the box”.
So George lived happily ever after, with his best friend George to keep him company and the little boy to play with.
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