Hootoo lived in a small village far away from here. He was the son of a poor farmer. Most days they had enough to eat but sometimes they had to do without food altogether. The crops didn’t always grow and they often had to borrow food from other farmers just to survive. Hootoo’s dream was to join the circus. It all started when he went to a show in a nearby town as a young child where he saw trapeze artists flying through the sky, Jugglers Juggling 4..6..8.. bottles at once and clowns joking and fooling around. From that day onwards he swore he would join a circus.
Hootoo worked all the days that God sent him. He started at 5 o clock in the morning. Firstly he collected the cows from the distant field where they grazed and brought them back to the old barn to milk them. He never stopped all day until his head hit the pillow and he fell into a deep sleep.
This night was like any other. Well at least until he fell asleep. As he slept, he began to dream. It wasn’t like a normal dream. This dream felt real. As though he was fully awake.
He dreamt it was time to get up as normal. He drank some goats milk as he did every morning, washed his face, put on his clothes and went outside. Instead of heading to the field to collect the cows, he walked towards the tallest tree in the village. Before long he began to climb.
Up and up he went until he got to the very top. A wise owl with a friendly face was sat on a branch close by. Hootoo smiled at the Owl. The Owl smiled back and said “HOOTOO CAN FLY, HOOTOO CAN FLY.
Without a care in the world, Hootoo stretched out his arms and leaned into the sky. Instead of falling, he flew up towards the sun and back down over the houses and farms. People were waving at him and Hootoo waved back as he glided further up the valley over the great mountain and down the other side.
Hootoo awoke with a big yawn.
“I cannot wait to tell my father” thought Hootoo as he threw his clothes on and ran to the field to collect the cows.
“Why are you rushing about like a mad man at this time of the morning” Shouted his father as Hootoo rushed into the barn tripping over the buckets and making a lot of noise in the process.
“Father, Father I must tell you something”
“What, what has happened?” his father asked looking a little bit worried
“I have to tell you about my dream”
“What?” Hootoo’s father looked confused.
“Yes my dream, I had an amazing dream last night, I got up, then I started to climb a tree......
“A DREAM?” interrupted Hootoo’s father loudly. “You come running in here falling over everything to bother me with a silly dream?. Go and get those cows milked, we have much to do today so don’t be bothering me with anything silly”
Hootoo’s head dropped as he went off to milk the cows.
It was a particularly busy day so it went by fairly quickly. Hootoo had spent much of his time thinking about his dream and wondering if he was going to ever dream it again.
“Oh I hope I do, I really hope I do” he thought to himself.
That evening, Hootoo was so tired he fell asleep before his head even hit the pillow. And not long after, he was back in his dream. “This feels so real” he thought to himself. He felt the sandy ground under his feet as he walked towards the big tree. He could feel the roughness of the bark as he placed his hands on the tree ready to climb. He could smell the leaves and feel the breeze in the air as he climbed higher and higher.
He smiled at the friendly owl but this time he took off before the owl could say anything. He decided this time to follow the river up the valley towards the waterfall. He could hear the crashing of the white water as he flew around in circles. He loved it so much, he didn’t ever want it to end.
The next morning Hootoo rushed into the barn.
“FATHER, FATHER, I HAD EXACTLY THE SAME DREAM AGAIN” shouted Hootoo. “ I dreamt I was flying......”
Before Hootoo could continue, his father said with a stern voice. “Where are the cows Hootoo?”
Hootoo’s face turned completely white as he realised he had forgotten all about the cows. They were four miles away and they needed milking so his father could take the milk to market.
He ran as fast as he could down the path towards the field where the cows were grazing. “If I am quick, there may be time for father to sell the milk just before market closes” He thought to himself.
He ran faster and faster. He summoned up energy he didn’t think he had. He was running so fast, it felt like he was flying. Then he remembered his dream.
As Hootoo ran over the brow of a hill and down the other side he closed his eyes, stretched out his arms and pretended he was flying.
He ran faster and faster until he tripped up on a rock lying on the road. But instead of falling over, he felt himself lifting up and up into the sky.
“WEEEEEEEEEH!!.....I CAN FLY.....I REALLY CAN FLY” He screamed as he waved at people below who were staring at him in disbelief.
When Hootoo arrived back at the barn his father was surprised. “How did you get back so soon Hootoo?”
“Just like this” said Hootoo as he leapt into the air and flew around the barn shouting” “WEEEEEEH!”
His father fell back in disbelief. “You really can fly Hootoo, You have special powers”
Hootoo’s father ran out into the street and started shouting “MY SON HAS SPECIAL POWERS, HE CAN FLY, MY SON HAS MAGICAL POWERS, HOOTOO CAN FLY, HOOTOO CAN FLY”
All the people of the village came running out of their houses to see what all the fuss was about. As Hootoo flew out of the shed and around in circles over the village, everyone fell to their knees in amazement.
Hootoo’s father kept going up to people and saying “That’s my son up there you know. You see he can fly, my son can fly......”
When Hootoo landed, all the villagers asked Hootoo what he was going to do with his special powers.
He looked up to the sky where he could see the circus in his mind’s eye. The trapeze artists were swinging back and forth catching each other, clowns were falling over each other throwing water everywhere and jugglers were performing amazing tricks.
“I’m going to join the circus”.
THE END
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© Copyright H Marrocco 2009 “Hootoo can Fly”, Children’s Story Time
Hootoo Can Fly
Copyright H Marrocco 2009 “Hootoo can Fly”, Children’s Story Time
Copyright H Marrocco 2009 “Hootoo can Fly”, Children’s Story Time
Copyright H Marrocco 2009 “Hootoo can Fly”, Children’s Story Time
Copyright H Marrocco 2009 “Hootoo can Fly”, Children’s Story Time
By Helen Marrocco