Lali and the Storyteller Episode Three
o the week went along and turned around to the third day again.
Lali woke up very early that morning. "Storyteller comes back today!" she told her yellow cat, Tomasi. "Let's go watch for her!" She scooped Tomasi up off the foot of the bed, and went outside to the tall, tall tree to watch. They waited and waited. First Tomasi hopped down from Lali's arms to lie on the porch. Then Lali hopped down the walk on one foot, to make the waiting go faster. Then she hopped back on the other foot. She looked down the road, but still there was no sign of Storyteller.
"Lali!" called Mami. "Breakfast!"
"Can I eat it out here? I don't want to miss Storyteller!"
Mami rolled her eyes up. "Girl-child, it's first thing in the morning! Storyteller needs time to walk here--she won't be along until at least lunchtime. Inside now. Scoot!" So Lali scooted.
Inside, Deetle Dog had his fuzzy brown nose down in a bowl of dog chow, while Dadi was bringing stacks of pancakes to the table. Tomasi batted the door, and Lali let him in to eat his cat food. Then she got in her own chair, covered her pancakes with syrup and ate them up.
Afterward, Mami washed dishes and Lali stood on a stool Mami had made for her, to dry them.
"I'm going grocery shopping," said Dadi. "Lali, would you like to go, too?"
"Oh, but what if I miss Storyteller?" worried Lali.
"Storyteller will be here for lunch," said Dadi, "And I need to get a few things to fix for the meal. We'll be back in plenty of time, I promise you."
"Besides," said Mami, "I'll take this chair I'm caning a seat into, and go out and work under the tall tree. If Storyteller gets here early, I'll ask her to wait for you."
"OK!" Lali agreed. Then she and Dadi put on their walking shoes, and their daypacks, and walked down to the grocery store. It was a big, big store with shiny metal shopping carts. There was even a little Lali sized cart for her to push. Dadi carried a basket, and let Lali get things off the lower shelves for him. They got more pancake flour, fresh salad greens, curry powder and orange juice. Then they paid the cashier, and stopped by the exit to put the food in their packs.
"Lali, you carry the salad greens," said Dadi. "I'll get the rest of this."
Lali carefully put the bags of greens into her pack. But when she stood up to put it on, something tickled her nose! Startled, she looked up. A long, long string dangled in front of her. Other strings were nearby. She looked even farther up. There was a box on the ceiling, and inside it were balloons! "Oooooh!" said Lali, pointing up.
"Hmm?" asked Dadi. He looked up, too. "Oh, yes, the balloons! Sign says they're giving them away free. Would you like one?"
"Oh, yes!" cried Lali. She danced around looking up at all the colors. There were red ones and yellow ones, orange and green and blue and pink, and even one purple one! "Purple for me!" And she jumped up and caught the string of the purple balloon. Dadi tied a loop in the end of the string and Lali put it over her hand, around her wrist. The balloon bobbed along above them as they walked back home.
Lali waved to Mami, who was sitting under the tree, working on the chair seat. "Look what I got!"
"Cool!" said Mami, smiling. "You can tie it to the back of your chair where we can see it while we fix lunch."
So they went inside, and Mami fixed the salad, while Dadi made "curried rice with tempeh and Lali stood on her stool by the sink, carefully measuring the water into a pitcher with the orange juice concentrate. She stirred it until it was mixed well, then Mami carried it to the table.
"Set a place for Storyteller, too," called Dadi, as Lali set the table. So Lali pulled up the extra chair, and set out a fourth place setting. Mami set the salad on the table and Dadi carried over the bowl of curry. Just as everything was ready, there was a knock at the door.
"Hellooooo," called Storyteller.
"Perfect timing!" said Dadi.
"C'mon in," called Mami.
"See my balloon!" cried Lali, tugging Storyteller over to look.
"A splendid one," said Storyteller, admiringly. "And my nose says, a splendid meal as well. Trade for a tale or a poem?"
"Yes, please!"
So they all sat down together, paused for gratitude, then enjoyed the meal together. Afterward, as she and Lali walked back outside with the purple balloon, Storyteller asked, "Which will you have, then--a story or a poem?"
Lali and the Storyteller Episode Three: The Poem
nd I know just the one for you," said the Storyteller. But suddenly Lali's yellow cat Tomasi came out from under the porch and scurried over to bat at the loop on the end of the dangling balloon string. Dab! Pounce! Tomasi leaped and danced after the string. Lali laughed and she danced too, around and around the yard. Finally Dadi came out with three glasses of juice, and a bite of tuna for Tomasi.
"Take a rest now," he grinned. "Catch your breath, have this lemonade, and then let Storyteller have a turn!" So Lali tied her balloon to the porch railing, and they took a juice break. Tomasi had his tuna then stretched out in the sun to rest.
"Where were we?" said Storyteller. "Ah yes. Listen."
Bright Balloon
Fun that dances on a string,
Bright balloon, of you I sing.
Bobbing, bouncing in the air
Tugging t'ward the sky up there,
My, you are a lovely thing!
Bright balloon, of you I sing.Fun that dances on a string,
Bright balloon, of you I sing.
Follow me throughout my day
in my room or out to play,
(But if I let go the string
bright balloon is vanishing...)
Stay with me for now, I say,
Bright balloon, don't fly away!
My you are a lovely thing.
Bright balloon, of you I sing!
"Oh, I like that one too! Will you come back and tell me another one next time?"
"That I will. Until then, dance happy, Lali, and cook happy, Dadi!"
"Walk happy, Storyteller!" they called.
And then Storyteller took up her hiking stick, put on her pack, and went her way, humming hmmmmm, ummmm, mmmmm, until the next week.
Lali and the Storyteller Episode Three: The Story
mmm. A balloon story... Let me think." Storyteller placed a finger along her warm brown cheek and tapped it several times, pensively. Then, all of a sudden, there was an amazing racket! Tremendously loud noises came pouring out from the trees behind Lali's house!
*WHOOSH!* *WHOOOOSH!*
Deetle Dog howled and ran under the porch to hide. Lali felt scared. "Storyteller, _what_ is that horrible noise? Is it a dragon? It _sounds_ like a dragon."
"No, Lali! Something much better! I know that sound - that's a hot air balloon! And with it that loud... Sun and stars! It must be going right-" She stopped, grabbed Lali by the shoulder and turned her to look up over the trees. "Right there!"
Storyteller pointed up over the tallest tip top of the tall, tall tree, and there it was! A beautiful hot air balloon, striped in all the colors of the rainbow. A wicker basket hung from the bottom, and three smiling people waved and shouted "Hall-OOOOO!" And the balloon was gliding down...
"They're going toward the park!" cried Lali.
Storyteller flung back her head and laughed joyously. "Today, we make our own story! An adventure! Come, run!" Storyteller took Lali by the hand and they ran together, whip-zip! past Mami in the workshop.
"What is it?" she called, "Where you going?"
"Balloon! Come see!"
"Cool!" hollered Mami, and she ran after them. Whip-zip! They ran past Dadi in the hammock, asleep with the paper over his eyes.
"Wake up, Dadi," Lali shouted. "Balloon!"
"Wha...ohh...hmmm?" asked Dadi, stumbling up on his feet.
"Balloon!" cried Mami. "Come! Run!"
Dadi blinked up at the floating colors. "Whoa, neat!" And he began to run too. All along the road they ran, Lali and Storyteller and Mami and Dadi, and even the neighbor's dog, who was braver than Deetle. The balloon was floating just ahead of them, dropping gently, down, down toward the wide open space of the playing field.
As they ran up to the edge of the field, a brown haired man with a moustache got out of the basket, and placed an anchor weight on the ground. A rope went from it to the balloon basket. Then The man held out one of his heavily gloved hands and the young woman took it and climbed out of the basket while he steadied it for her. Next, the younger man got out. The balloon bobbed up a bit, tugging on the rope.
The young couple hugged, then shook hands with the older man. "He's the pilot," said Mami. "C'mon, let's go say hi!"
So they all introduced themselves to the man, who was Pilot Tom Stevenson. "And here's Diane and Allan Foster, my passengers," Tom said. "They're celebrating their wedding today!"
"What a wonderful flight!" cried Diane.
"A terrific idea, my heart," said Allan to her. "I'm so glad you thought of it!"
"We flew over a lot of houses along your road," said Pilot Tom, "so I'm suprized there's not more people here to see us."
"I guess everybody else is away at work or at school," said Dadi.
"We're lucky," added Mami. "We work and learn at home."
Lali nodded. "Storyteller's lucky too, that she visits us today!"
"Indeed so!" agreed Storyteller. "And what a fine tale this will make, too!"
Pilot Tom got out two bottles from inside the basket, along with a package of cups. "Traditionally, we carry a bottle of champagne to give to the owner of the land we set down on, as a thank you," he explained. "Though lately, I've taken to carrying a bottle of fruit juice, too. So, since we set down on public land this time, we can all have some!" He passed around the cups and poured. Lali and Dadi and Storyteller had fruit juice, while Mami and Diane, Allan and Pilot Tom sipped champagne.
"Ah! Here comes my ground crew!" Pilot Tom declared, pointing to the main gate. Sure enough, a bright blue truck with Up and Away! Balloon Tours on the side was pulling in. It drove on up, and a tall sandy haired man got out.
"Hey, big guy, it took me a little while to find a crossroad after the wind shifted you, but here I am! Got any juice left?" Lali handed him a cup and Tom poured some.
"Folks, meet my partner, Will Provost." Will smiled and nodded, and everybody smiled back. "Will, these folks are from down the road, and Lali here," he patted her on the shoulder, "has never gone up in a balloon before. What do you think, have we got time for an ascension?"
"OK with you?" Will asked Diane and Allan.
"Sure, we've got time."
Lali was dancing around with excitement. "I get to go up! I get to go up!" she cried happily.
"Tell you what, Will," said Tom. "I had the long flight this time. How about, you take a turn?"
"Sure enough!" grinned Will, and he put on the heavy protective gloves. Tom steadied the big wicker basket as Will climbed in. Mami got on next, and Dadi handed Lali in to her. Then he got in too. "Now, when I fire up the flame to make the hot air, it will be noisy," Will reminded them. "Lali, cover your ears if you need to." Lali nodded.
So while the young couple stayed on the ground, talking with Storyteller and Tom, Will took Lali and Mami and Daddy up in the air. It was wonderful! How strange to look down on the tops of the trees, and the roofs of houses. Lali had climbed way up in the tall, tall tree once, but this was _much_ higher! They looked all around, amazed at how far they could see.
Will sighed contentedly. "Man, I never get tired of this, no matter how often we go. Still, we do need to pack down and drive back, so I guess we'd better descend." He opened the vents that released air from the balloon, and gently they sank back to the ground.
Everyone got out, and then Will opened the vents even more, and the balloon leaned over sideways, then gradually collapsed on itself. When it was down, Tom and Will took the balloon loose from the basket, carefully spread it flat, and then Diane and Allan, who had done it before and knew how, helped them fold it up and pack it away on the truck. Then Tom and Will got in the front seat of the truck, and Diane and Allan got in the back seat of the long cab. Everybody buckled seatbelts, then waved as Will drove off.
Lali sighed with contentment as they walked back to the house. "That was soooooo cool! I'll remember it a long time!"
"Indeed so," agreed Storyteller. "And I have a bright new tale to tell to the others along my way. And there's daylight left for walking, so on I go. Until next time, go well, everybody!"
"Walk well, Storyteller!" they answered.
Then Storyteller put on her pack, picked up her hiking stick, and went her way humming, hmmmm, ummmmm, mmmmmm, until the next week.