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Jellyfish Shoes
1
Laura had some new jelly
shoes.
She was really proud of them.
They were pink and see-through like raspberry
jelly.
She ran down to the beach in
them. Wherever she walked, they left little tracks
in the sand.
Like this:
'Look, Scott,
’
Laura called to her brother. 'My new jelly shoes
are leaving stars in the sand.'
Squidge. Laura trod in something
slippery. She lifted up her shoe. 'Ughhh!' she
said. 'What's that
mess?'
'It's only a
jellyfish,
’
said Scott. 'The
sea washes them up on the beach.'
'Well, I don't like
it,
’
said Laura. 'It looks
like a jelly cow-pat.'
Slosh. The sea
washed up some more jellyfish. Pink ones this
time. They spread out in pink puddl
es
on the sand.
'Watch
out,
’
said Scott. 'Jellyfish
can give you a nasty sting.' 'Yuk!' cried Laura.
'There are loads o
f them! And, phew,
what a pong! I hate them. They'll spoil my new
jelly shoes!'
Scott looked at the
jellyfish on the sand. He looked at Laura's new
shoes. An idea popped into his
head.
'I don't know why you hate jellyfish,'
said Scott. 'What do you think your new shoes are
made of?'
Laura looked down
at her shoes. They were see-through and pink. The
jellyfish on the beach were
see-through
and pink too.
'Don't be silly,' she
told Scott. But her voice was shaky.
2
'I thought you
knew,
’
said Scott. 'Don't
you know what happens to all these washed-up
jellyfish?'
Laura shook her head.
'I'll tell you what
happens,
’
said Scott, who
was good at stories. 'The jelly workers come
round.
They come round at night with
bin bags. And they shovel all the jellyfish into
the bags. And they t
ake them away to
the Jelly Shoe Factory.'
He went on,
'And they make them into shoes. Just like the ones
you've got on. I thought everyone
knew
that!'
Laura looked down at her new
shoes.
'I don't think I like my new
shoes any more,' she said. Then she tore them off.
'Yuk!' she said. 'I don't want pongy
jellyfish shoes that sting mel' She threw them
into the sea. Th
ey didn't sink.
Jellyfish shoes don't sink. They just bobbed about
on the waves. And washed furth
er and
further away from the shore.
'Good
riddance!' shouted Laura, waving them goodbye.
Then she tiptoed back to the house in
he
r bare feet.
3
That night Laura dreamed about the
jellyfish workers. She dreamed they crept along
the beach wi
th bin bags in their hands.
They bent down and shovelled up jellyfish. Soon
they had whole shiver
ing
sackfuls of them. Flies were buzzing all around
them.
'Oh no!' cried Laura, waking up.
'The jelly workers are coming! ' But it was all
right. She was safe i
n her own bed. 'It
was just a bad dream,' she told herself.
Yet down on the dark beach, something
was moving. Something was bobbing about on the
waves
.
It was Laura's
jellyfish shoes. They were coming back home.
Gently, they washed in on the wave t
ops
until at last a big wave washed them up on the
sand. Neatly side by side.
'What a bit
of good luck!' said Mum the next morning.
‘
Guess what I just found on
the beach?
’
'Don't know,' said Laura.
Mum held up the jellyfish shoes.
'These! I bet you didn't even know you'd lost
them.'
Mum tipped up one of the shoes.
A winkle fell out of the toe.
'Here
you are,' she said, handing the shoes to Laura.
'You can put them back on now.'
Laura
pushed the shoes away: 'I won't put them back on!'
she shouted. You can't make me!'
Mum
stared at her. 'What on earth is the matter? I
thought you'd be pleased to get them back.'
'I don't want them. I don't want smelly
shoes that make flies buzz all around me! Why did
you do
it, Mum? Why did you buy me
shoes made of Jellyfish?'
And Laura
rushed out of the door. Mum shook her head,
puzzled. 'Shoes made of jellyfish?' she
sa
id. 'What's she talking about? Do you
know, Scott?'
'Don't ask me,' said
Scott. But he looked a bit guilty.
4
Laura rushed down to the beach without
her jellyfish shoes. Scott came running after her.
He had
the shoes in his hand.
'Mum says you've got to put them on.'
'No! I'm never wearing those horrible
shoes again! Not ever!'
'Look,' began
Scott. 'There's something I've got to tell you.
What I said yesterday, about the Jelly
S
hoe Factory-'
But he
didn't get time to finish.
'What's
that?' said Laura. 'What's that in the sea?'
The sea was full of tiny, frilly
parachutes. They were pink and brown and purple.
'They're beautiful!' cried Laura.
’
What are
they?
’
'They're
baby jellyfish,' said Scott. 'Hundreds of them.'
'Jellyfish!' Laura jumped back.
'And
if we don't save them,' said Scott, 'the sea will
wash them up. They'll get splatted on the
san
d. They'll all die.'
'I
hate jellyfish!' said Laura. 'They pong. They
sting you. They get made into jellyfish shoes.'
'Well, I'm going to save them,' said
Scott. And he raced back to the house.
Laura couldn't help watching the
jellyfish. They sparkled like jewels. But they
were getting closer
and closer to the
beach. Soon they would be dried-up puddles on the
sand.
And she couldn't help thinking,
'Poor babies.'
Just then, Scott came
racing back with two buckets. And suddenly Laura
changed her mind.
'I'll help you to
save them,' said Laura. She grabbed a bucket.
'We'll tip them into that rock
pool,
’
said Scott. 'But
we've got to hurry!'
'Don't touch
them,' he warned. 'Even the babies sting:
They scooped up the babies in buckets.
Then they ran to the rock pool and tipped them in.
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