The Monster That Blew Away: story transcript
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The Monster That Blew Away
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At the dock, Rook held up their cardboard sea monster. It had seven teeth, three eyebrows, and a very serious mustache. Sella tied its strings to two sticks. "Ready for our show?" she asked. The monster bowed. Then the wind took a bow of its own.
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Whoosh! The monster sailed over the empty audience benches. Rook reached for a dangling string. "I've got it!" The knot slipped free, leaving Rook holding one stick. The monster skittered along the dock, mustache first, while Sella swam beside it. "Wait for your entrance!" she called.
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Sella hooked the monster's corner with her fin. "Ha! Caught you!" she cried. A bigger gust spun her around. When she stopped, the monster was drifting toward a row of tied boats, and one cardboard eyebrow was stuck to her tail. Rook grabbed the spare string.
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"I'll catch it from above!" Rook called, climbing onto a low crate. One magnificent leap later, Rook landed inside the empty puppet booth. The curtain fell over their hat. From beneath it came a muffled "Ta-da?" Sella laughed so hard she nearly swallowed a bubble.
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The monster wedged between two boats. Sella nudged one boat gently; Rook pulled the other closer by its mooring rope. Out popped the monster! It landed flat on the dock, damp but whole. "No more flying," Rook told it. "You're not even a bird."
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They hurried back. Rook propped the monster behind the curtain; Sella retied its strings. The first audience feet were arriving. "Where's its eyebrow?" Rook whispered. Sella looked at her tail. The eyebrow was gone. On the monster's face, its mustache had slid sideways instead.
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"Perhaps nobody will notice," said Sella. Rook raised the curtain. The monster rose, crooked mustache and all. "I am the terror of the deep!" Rook boomed. A string snapped. The monster folded in half and looked as if it were eating its own head.
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For one quiet second, Rook stared. Then Sella flicked her tail behind the booth. The curtain bulged and wiggled. Rook gave the deepest, silliest growl they could manage. "Correction! I am the terror of the DEEPER deep!" The audience burst out laughing.
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Rook made the cardboard monster bow while Sella's tail thumped a drumbeat against the dock. But the audience wanted more. "Encore!" called a child in the front row. Sella grinned at Rook. "I have an idea," she whispered. "This time, you be the monster's stomach."
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Behind the curtain, Sella swished her tail in wild circles. Rook supplied enormous burps, tiny squeaks, and one mighty hiccup. The cardboard monster bounced as if it had eaten a marching band. When the curtain fell, its missing eyebrow floated down and landed on Rook's hat.
