THE  TALKING TOP

One  spring day the sun bobbed across the sky like a bright yellow beach ball and the wind rippled waves in  the tall green grass in the meadow.  That day  Sarah pulled her shiny blue and yellow striped top from the bottom of  her toybox.  She stood by the gate of her friend Cindy's house waiting for her to come outside.  Tulips danced with the breeze and splotched  red dots  against Cynthia's white house.

"Hurry up, Cindy. " Sarah shouted.

Cindy roller skated  down her front steps. "Let's skate," she said.

"Let's see where my top takes us," Sarah said.  She knelt down and spun the top.  It twirled down the concrete sidewalk, past the school, the grocery and hardware stores, through the meadow  and across the bridge to the creek.  It spun down the creek bank, across white stones glistening in the sunlight, and landed upside down in the water.  Sarah ran after the top and Cindy roller skated after  Sarah.

" My skates are getting muddy , Sarah",  Cindy  said.

Sarah waded into the creek without taking off her sneakers and grabbed her top.  It wasn't blue and yellow and shiny any longer.  It was covered with brown mud.  She climbed out of the water and sat on the creek bank. Tears sparkled on her cheeks.

Sarah wiped the muddy top on her t shirt.  Mud stuck to her t shirt, but more still stuck to the top.  "My top's ruined," Sarah cried.

"I told you we should have roller skated," Cindy  said.  "You didn't listen to me! Look at my skates!"

Sarah jumped up and ran after Cindy,  leaving her muddy top on the creek bank.

"Cindy, come back.  I'll listen to you. "

Cindy ran into Sarah with a woomph.  Her hands were full of tall meadow grass. 

"I'll listen to you , too, Sarah.  Let's wash off your top."

They went back to the creek bank . Sarah held the top  in the creek while Cindy scrubbed it with the meadow  grass.  Soon, it sparkled  in the sunlight.

"I'll scrub your shirt, too," Cindy said.  And she did.

"I 'll scrub your skates, Cindy," Sarah said.  She did.

They sat on the creek bank and played with the top and talked  while Sarah's t shirt and Cindy's skates dried out.  They talked while their sneakers dried..   Then they went home, with Sarah spinning  her top and Cindy roller skating  alongside her.  

© 2009 Kathy Warnes