Rumble, Stay Put!: story transcript
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Rumble, Stay Put!
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At bedtime, Marnie was ready for her pillow. Almost. Rumble, her chunky red toy car, was still on the rug. Marnie scooped him up. "You go to bed first," she said. She made a little bed on her pillow and tucked Rumble in with a corner of the blanket.
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The pillow was soft. The pillow was plump. The pillow tipped Rumble toward the edge. Roll, roll, plop! He landed on the blanket. Marnie peered over. "Too lumpy," she told the pillow. She patted it flat, but it puffed right back up.
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Marnie folded the blanket into a grand, squashy bed. She set Rumble in the middle. One fold rose. Another fold rose. The middle became a hill. Roll, roll, roll! Rumble came down the hill and bumped gently against Marnie's sock. "Oh! You found my foot."
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Marnie spread the blanket smooth, then fetched her quilt. She piled it into the softest bed in the bedroom, with a fluffy wall all around. "There," she said. "No more rolling." Rumble sat still. Marnie smiled. Then the quilt wall slumped under one little wheel.
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Down went the wheel. Down went the car. Roll, roll, roll, roll! Rumble crossed the blanket, slipped off the bed, and stopped beside Marnie's shoes. Marnie crawled after him. "That was a long bedtime," she said, lifting him up. "Let's try a shorter one."
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She made a nest from both pillows and the quilt. It looked snug. It looked splendid. Marnie placed Rumble at the top and held her breath. Nothing moved. Then one pillow slowly squished against the other. The top tilted. "Wait," said Marnie. "I know that look."
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Roll! Rumble slid down the quilt, bumped the blanket, and trundled across the rug. He stopped at the bedroom door. Marnie followed in her socks, dragging the quilt behind her. "A pillow mountain was a silly idea," she said. "You need somewhere that isn't a mountain."
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Marnie looked at the pillows. She looked at the rug. Then she cleared a small, flat space on the floor beside her bed. She put Rumble there and gave him the tiniest blanket: one square of cloth, laid beside him so his wheels could stay still.
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Marnie climbed into bed. Rumble did not roll. She pulled up her blanket. Rumble did not budge. She waited for a bump, a plop, a runaway wheel. Nothing. "Goodnight, most exhausting car in the world," Marnie whispered. Before Rumble could go anywhere, Marnie was asleep.
