Brian the Balloon

By H Marrocco

Brian was bored. In fact he was extremely bored and quite fed up.

 

“CAN I GO OUT TO PLAY NOW, MUM?” he shouted.

 

“Not until the wind dies down, Brian. It’s far too windy and much too dangerous to be out in the garden”

After playing with his soldiers, running his cars down a ramp, building 3 jigsaw puzzles, playing with his paper aero planes and spilling his milk on the carpet -by accident -  Brian was desperate to get out into the garden.

 

“I know what I’ll do,” he thought to himself. He floated to the back door and peaked through the keyhole.

 

“No, I can’t say it’s very windy out there. It must have died down, the bushes and the tree look very still to me” He thought to himself.

 

“MUM, CAN I GO OUT NOW?....MUM I SAID CAN I GO OUT NOW, I DON’T THINK IT’S WINDY ANY MORE”. He shouted excitedly at the top of his voice.

But Brian’s mum was busy at the other end of the house. She couldn’t hear Brian.

 

Brian very slowly turned the door handle.

 

“I’ll open the door just slightly and have a quick look”

 

Brian squeezed his face round to try and peer outside.

 

“Mmm it doesn’t feel at all windy, I’ll just open the door slightly wider.....”

 

Just as Brian turned to get a better view of the garden, a big gust of wind came towards him and blew him out into the garden.

 

“AAAAAAAAAAAGH”  he screamed as he was lifted up and up by the wind and tossed and turned all around the garden.

 

“HELP! HELP!”   he shouted as he was lifted even higher, as high as the tallest tree in the garden.

 

Poor Brian kept going up and up as the wind got even stronger. Houses, cars and people started to look smaller as he headed towards the clouds.

 

“PLEASE HELP ME.........”   

 

Brian screamed at the top of his voice but by now he was too high up for anyone to hear him.  

Brian was so frightened he closed his eyes as tightly as he could. He tried to imagine it was just a dream and he would wake up soon.

 

But when he opened his eyes, all he could see when he looked down was the deep blue sea.

 

“HEEEELP.....PLEASE HELP ME” he screamed.

 

Brian kept floating further and further out to sea.

 

Eventually the wind died down and he started gradually falling towards the sea.  

Poor Brian started crying.

 

“No one will ever find me out here. I’ll just be lost forever and I’ll never see my mum or my garden ever again...........”

 

As he came down he could see something in the sea.  He tried his best to aim towards it.

 

Meanwhile Job the frog was leaning over his boat with arms stretched out fully.

 

“Come here you tasty little fish, come to daddy”

 

He was slowly pulling in his rode with one hand and holding a net at full stretch with the other.

 

“Come on you beauty, come to daddy for his din dins.......”

Brian was getting closer and closer and the closer he got, the faster he came down.

 

“Left a bit........right a bit”   

 

 

CRASH!            BANK!               WALLOP!

 

“AAAAAAARGH!”    Screamed Job as he flew off the boat and splashed into the sea.

“Oh dear I’m so sorry” said Brian leaning over the boat trying to grab a hold of Job.

 

“Quick throw something that I can use as a float, I can’t swim.....BE QUICK”

 

Brian looked around but all he could see was an old wooden stove and some potatoes.

 

“Shall I throw the potatoes in?”

 

“No they won’t do, throw something else and be quick or I’ll drown”  spluttered Job.

 

“Oh dear I don’t think there is anything I can throw in” thought Brian.

 

“Unless.............”

Without thinking, he bounced off the side of the boat and into the sea.

 

“Hang on to me and paddle back to the boat” he said to a very exhausted looking Job.

 

After much scrambling and heaving they both clambered onto the boat and lay flat on their backs for a moment or two while they recovered.

 

“Oh I’m soaked” said job taking his shoes off and emptying them into the sea.

 

“I really am sorry” said Brian doing the same with his slippers.

 

“Where on earth did you come from” asked job looking up at the sky.

 

“Well you see I was in my home and ........  Well I looked outside you see and ....well it was windy and I.......”

Poor Brian couldn’t continue any longer as he burst out into tears with his head in his hands.

“Oh nothing can be so bad that it gets you into such a state” said Job smiling and patting Brian on the back.

 

“Let me make us some tea and you can tell me all about it”

 

Brian watched silently as Job heated up his stove chopped up the potatoes and put them in a large pan.  Job then took two rather large fish from a box underneath his seat and place them in another pan.

 

“Yummy fish and chips for us”  said Job rubbing his hands together.

 

“You do like fish and chips don’t you?”  he asked.

 

Brian felt his tummy rumble as he replied   “Oh yes thank you, yes I do like fish and chips. In fact I love them”

Job sat quietly eating as Brian explained all that had happened to him.

 

“Wow what an adventure” said Job scraping the last bits of fish and chips from his plate.

 

“Well I suppose you could call it that” said Brian looking a bit sad but all the same happy to have eaten.

“Well I reckon we ought to attend to the small matter of getting you home.  Where do you live exactly?” Asked Job as he began washing the plates overboard.

 

“Well I.... Well you see....”   The truth was that Brian didn’t actually know his address. He never really needed to know it but all the same, felt a little embarrassed for not knowing.

 

Job dried the dishes and put them away under his seat and took out a pad and a pen..

 

“Okay then, try to describe your house as best you can” said Job removing the pen lid with his teeth.

“Well I don’t know if it’s that easy to describe” said Brian trying to think of something.

 

Job scratched his head and started making small notes.

 

“Right, does your house have a garden?”

 

“Yes”

 

“Okay, do you live above or below anyone else?”

 

“No” said Brian smiling. He was starting to enjoy this game.

 

“Do you live close to a busy road or a quiet road......”

 

Job kept asking Brian questions until Brian started to get tired and without realizing he fell into a deep sleep.

When Brian woke up in Job’s car he was sure he was still dreaming for he could see his house right in front of him.

 

“It can’t be” he said out loud

 

“Oh but it is” said Job smiling from ear to ear.

 

“But how is it possible....how could it be.....”

 

Job showed him the picture he had drawn on his pad.

 

“It’s exactly like my house, how did you manage to draw such a perfect picture of my house?”

 

“Well you did a pretty good job of describing it to me -before you fell asleep that is-  and I just kept asking people if they recognized the house until we finally arrived”

 

“I really don’t know what to say” said Brian with a tear in his eye.

 

“Not to worry” said Job putting his hand on Brian’s shoulder. “You had better get off. Your Mum and Dad will be very worried about you.

 

Brian got out of the car. “Will I ever see you again Job?” You have been so kind to me I would dearly like to see you again”

 

“Of course” said Job with a smile. I’ll come and see you next week”.

 

“Yes you can come for tea”. We can have fish and chips- our favourite- said Brian smiling as he walked up to his house waving goodbye to Job”

“TILL NEXT WEEK”. Shouted Brian from his doorstep as Job drove off tooting his horn.

 

The End