This piece was in response to a friend asking me if I have a monologue a nine year old could use. I didn’t but the challenge was too good to knock back.

BEHIND THE MULBERRY TREE

At the bottom of our garden I found the most extraordinary thing.

Just past the mulberry tree there was a small hole.

I thought it was just a hole but on the edge of the hole was a small star, one of those stars you get in a bag of many stars.

I am sure that it twinkled at me. I went closer to see more clearly, as I am a bit short sighted.

The star blinked once and drew my attention to the hole.

There was a light. A dim light but a light all the same inside the hole.

As looked into it, the light grew stronger and I felt myself being…. sucked into the hole.

It was the strangest thing.

It just happened.

Down I went.

And down further.

I thudded to a stop. I looked up into the eyes of the biggest rabbit I had ever seen.

‘You are late,’ he said.

‘Pardon?’ I asked

‘The dinner has begun and your stew is getting cold,’ he said sternly.

‘But I don’t like stew,’ I replied.

‘What!’ he roared and scuttled off down a passage way.

He left me standing there and I thought what do I do now?

A voice to my left said, ‘Better get a move on, and don’t keep him waiting.’

I heard the voice as clearly as I see you all now but there was no one there.

‘If you hurry now you’ll get there before the desert.’ Said the voice again.

‘Which way?’ I asked unsure of who it was I was speaking with.

‘Straight ahead, until you come to the charming door. You can’t miss it has a brass knocker, looks like a dragon.’

I still have no idea who said those things.

I was in such a tizz by this stage that I did as the voice said.

And there was a brass knocker and it did look like a dragon and it was the most charming dragon you could imagine.

He wanted to know where I had come from, was there anything he could do for me, to watch out for the nasty jack rabbits and if I wanted a cup of tea while I was waiting.

This was all getting too much.

Panic had to set in.

Where was I? What was this place? Was there a way out?

I knew one thing for certain that I was not in any way hungry.