The end.
The end of a story filled with white inequality.
The end an end.
Dear Bill!
Hello!
I saw this noise about.
Hi.
It's very noisy in here, isn't it?
Um, Bookworm?
Bookworm?
Oh!
Sorry, hello Noah.
I didn't hear you come in.
Well, I'm not surprised.
You're making a lot of noise, you know.
Oh, yes, fun, wasn't it?
Extremely loud.
Well, yes, extremely loud fun.
That's what I call it.
Good loud fun.
No, no, no.
Bookworm, bookworm.
Bookworm.
Ah, Bookworm.
I was just having some fun.
That's the problem.
It was only you having fun.
I know.
Why don't we find a way for us both to have fun?
Oh, oh, yeah.
How can we do that?
Well, um...
Is it noisy?
Tell me that. Is it noisy?
Yes, but it's a kind of beautiful noise.
Beautiful noise?
Beautiful noise.
Ta-da, music.
Ah, music, beautiful noise.
Yes, yes.
Not some noisy noise.
And what should we play?
Oh, what's a good...
Oh, this old man. How about this old man?
Where is he?
Oh, I know what you mean.
Perfect for pots and pans.
Or a drum.
Okay, all right.
One, two, one, two, three, four.
This old man, he played one.
He played knick-knack on my drum.
With a knick-knack, patty-whack, give a dog a bone.
This old man came rolling home.
Two.
Oh, I know.
This old man, he played two.
He played knick-knack on my shoe.
On my shoe.
With a knick-knack, patty-whack, give a dog a bone.
This old man came rolling home.
Three.
Oh, I know.
This old man, he played three.
He played knick-knack on my knee.
With a knick-knack, patty-whack, give a dog a bone.
This old man came rolling home.
Four.
This old man, he played four.
He played knick-knack on my door.
Door.
With a knick-knack, patty-whack, give a dog a bone.
This old man came rolling home.
Home.
Well.
Right.
So now we need five.
This old man, he played five.
He played knick-knack on my heart.
With a knick-knack.
Oh.
Hiya.
With a knick-knack, patty-whack, give a dog a bone.
This old man came rolling home.
Oh, hiya.
Have you noticed they didn't have their eleven,
oh, huha.
What?
Get edible.
Disgusting.
It's accurate.
What's wrong with them.
What?
Divines.
Just like your uncle.
Hier LOLB.
Or
all the cheese you had.
I'm a soldier.
I'm a king.
See?
Oh, so you are.
Of course you are.
You're a king.
I was saying this old man was like this.
We've got to know what it's supposed to be.
What's the matter, Pete?
Oh, no.
Just listen how it's supposed to be.
When a king rides by,
they're supposed to be pomp and ceremony
and clapping and, well, just pomp, fun and laughter.
But at least that's what it says in this book.
Oh.
A book?
A book.
Well, I have an idea, Pete.
How about you go back out and come back in
and we'll make all that for you.
We'll try anyway.
Yeah, leave the book.
Really?
Leave the book.
And then we'll know what to do.
Book.
I really would like that.
I'll read the book.
Yeah, you read the book.
We'll make the fuss.
Yes, yes.
It's called When a King Rides By.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
OK.
Oh, what a fuss.
When a king rides by.
Oh.
Oh, look.
A king.
The king.
A king.
Hooray.
Oh, what a fuss.
When a king rides by and the drum plays rat-a-tat-tat.
Rat-a-tat-tat.
Good.
Here we go.
Thank you.
Oh, what a fuss.
When a king rides by.
Oh.
There goes the king.
Oh.
The pussycat runs.
Quick.
Pussycat.
Pussycat runs.
Meow, meow.
And the pigeons fly.
Oh.
Coo, coo.
I think that's a parrot.
Is that a parrot?
It'll do for a pigeon today.
No, OK.
And the drum plays rat-a-tat-tat.
Rat-a-tat-tat.
Very good.
Oh, what a fuss.
When a king rides by.
Oh.
My.
There goes the king.
The dog's all bark.
Dog's all bark.
The dog's all bark.
Woof, woof, woof, woof.
And the baby's crying.
Oh, baby.
Meow.
The pussycat runs.
Meow.
Woof.
And the baby's crying.
Oh, baby.
Meow.
The pussycat runs.
Meow.
And the pigeons fly.
Coo, coo.
And the drum plays rat-a-tat-tat.
Rat-a-tat-tat.
Oh, what a fuss.
When the king rides by.
Oh, look at the king.
Oh.
The soldier's stamp.
Left, right, left, right, left, right, left, right.
And the lady's sigh.
Oh.
The dog's all bark.
Woof.
The dog's all bark.
Woof.
The soldier's sigh.
Woof.
And the baby's crying.
Meow.
The pussycat runs.
Meow.
And the pigeons fly.
Coo, coo, coo.
Coo, coo.
Coo.
Don't look up.
The people throw their hats up high.
Oh, the people hats up.
Throw them up high.
Whee, whee.
The soldiers stand.
Left, right, left, right, left, right.
And the ladies sigh.
The dogs all bark.
Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof, woof.
And the babies cry.
Meow, meow, meow.
The pussycat runs.
Meow, meow.
And the pigeons fly.
Hoo, hoo, hoo.
And the dragon flies.
Meow, meow, meow.
And the pigeons fly.
Hoo, hoo, hoo.
And the drum plays.
Rat-a-tat-tat.
This is good.
What's that?
What a fuss when the king rides by.
Here comes the king.
There goes the king.
Mice in their mouth hold.
Wonder why.
The people throw, that's good.
The people throw their hats up high.
Whee, whee.
The soldiers stand.
Left, right, left, right, left, right.
And the ladies sigh.
Aww.
The dogs all bark.
Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof.
And the babies cry.
Meow, meow, meow.
The pussycat runs.
Meow, meow.
And the pigeons fly.
Hoo, hoo, hoo.
And the drum plays.
Rat-a-tat-tat.
Wow.
What a walk in heaven.
Look at this.
Oh, what a fuss when the king rides by.
Oh, the king, the king.
There's the king.
Rockets dance in the starry sky.
Rockets.
Do we have any Rockets?
Oh, I know a streamer.
We've got both of them.
Okay.
Ready?
Rockets dance in the starry sky.
Whee, whee.
Oh, beautiful.
Mice in their mouth hold.
Wonder why.
Hmm.
The people throw their hats up high.
Whee, whee.
The soldiers step.
Left, right, left, right, left, right.
And the ladies sigh.
The dogs all bark.
Dogs, dogs, dogs.
Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof.
And the babies cry.
Wah, wah.
The pussycat runs.
Meow, meow.
And the pigeons fly.
Hoo, hoo, hoo.
And the drum plays.
Are you ready, Luff?
Luff, Luff, Luff.
What a throw-down.
Oh, oh, oh.
Oh, oh.
Oh, oh, oh.
Woo, woo.
Whoa.
Oh, oh.
Ready last time?
Rat-tat-tat-tat!
Well!
Thank you, I don't feel very special now.
Oh, all hail King P!
All hail King P!
Thank you, thank you!
Thank you so much, my royal subjects.
If I were a princess,
I would...
I would have a palomino horse called Sarah.
She would have a special stable inside my castle.
I would have an enormous castle with rooms for ten million people.
My family could stay in a cottage next to my castle.
And they could visit me.
I would have lots and lots of servants.
They would feed my cats, pick up my clothes,
make my bed and teach me because I wouldn't go to school.
I have a private jet plane with its own pilot
and have holidays in Hawaii and Paris.
I would only eat pasta, chocolate, lollies and ice cream.
I would have 1,001 computers with lots of different games.
I would have my own guards and my own playground.
I would have lots and lots of animals
and lots and lots of trees, oak trees, gum trees.
And the servants would look after them.
I would have an enormous swimming pool with a special underwater passage
from the spa in the castle.
That's what I would have if I were a princess.
THE END
Thank you, thank you, my Lord.
Well done, well done. Thank you.
Oh, hello.
Your Majesty.
Thank you, my child. Thank you very much.
What do you think about if we go and have a royal read?
What do you think of that? Yes?
Oh, that's really good.
Did you see that?
Oh, my goodness. Maybe.
Maybe Pete really is a king.
Maybe, maybe they're just sort of pretending.
Hey, Helen, do you reckon I made a good king?
Yes. Do you?
Yeah. I like your flowers. What's your favourite flower there?
This one. Oh, the gerbera. Very nice.
I like gerberas too.
What do you think we should read this story?
This one's called The Kiss That Missed.
Once upon a time, on a Tuesday, the king was in a hurry, as usual.
Good night, he said, and blew his son a royal kiss.
How would a royal kiss go? Like this?
Something like that? Yeah, that's about it. There it goes.
It missed.
The young prince watched it rattle around the room
and then bounce off the window and into the night.
You see this?
And it went straight out of his window.
The prince told the queen, the queen told the king,
and the king had a quick word with his loyal knight.
Follow that kiss, he squawked.
The knight mounted his horse and galloped off in hot pursuit
until they came to the wild wood.
Ooh, look at this.
Wild creatures with wild eyes, too much hair
and very bad manners lived here.
It was dark and poo-wee! It was smelly.
Yeah.
It was snowing.
They were not alone.
There were bears with long claws and growly roars.
Ooh, look at them.
And swooping owls of all shapes and sizes
and a pack of hungry wolves with dribbly mouths.
Ooh, look at this. Dribble, dribble, dribble.
Eek!
Squealed the knight, and then suddenly,
with a sparkle, the royal kiss came floating by
and in turn said goodnight to everyone.
Can you see the royal kiss? Where is it?
Oh, there it is.
Bears stopped being growly.
Owls stopped being swoopy.
Wolves stopped being dribbly.
And before you could say big hairy toes,
they all settled down for a good night's sleep.
The wrinkly old tree trunk twitched,
so the knight and his faithful horse
sat down on a wrinkly old tree trunk to rest
and slowly rose into the air
above the woods and into the clouds.
At last, they found themselves staring
into a pair of giant nostrils.
A dragon with this lot would be nice for breakfast.
The eyes leered greedily at them.
And suddenly, with a sparkle,
the royal kiss came floating right by
and flew right up the dragon's nose.
He sat up, he sniffed, and blinked.
Slowly, he opened his mouth,
took a deep breath, and...
Achoo!
Oh, he sneezed.
Hang on, he said, as they tumbled through the trees.
Come back, he puffed, as he lumbered after them.
I want to pick you up and...
kiss you good night.
Big dragon kiss here. Look at that.
Slowly, they all made their way back to the castle.
Can you see him? See the dragon there?
That night, the prince was happy,
the queen was happy,
and the king promised to stop always being in a hurry.
They look happy, don't they?
Mm.
He made sure everyone was comfortable
and slowly read them a bedtime story from beginning to end.
There they all are there.
All in his bedroom. There's the king.
Even the horses in the bedroom.
That's right. Almost.
Bookworm.
Yes, Milia?
Do you think if a real king came to visit,
he'd have, like, skyrockets?
Skyrockets? You mean like in the story of the king riding by?
Yeah, like a big fireworks display.
Oh, wow. Well, I suppose they might do. Yes.
When we were little, we used to always, in a countdown,
to blast off whenever we saw a skyrocket.
I remember that.
Just like the countdown they have for a space rocket.
Yeah, that's right.
Oh, yes. It goes ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.
Blast off!
We have liftoff. We have liftoff.
Whoa.
Thank you.
We have liftoff. Whoa.
Take a shot in the contact. Blast away.
Whoa, I see a shooting star.
Lucky it missed.
My word is dice in our rocket here today.
Oh, plenty of stars to look at.
Whoa.
That's the planet.
What's that?
I think it's a planet.
Could be a asteroid.
Another shooting star.
It's supposed to make a wish.
Isn't it pretty?
Wouldn't it be fantastic to ride in a real space rocket?
Yes, yes.
Well, you can always pretend anyway. That'd be fun.
Yeah. Actually, I wonder where Norla is.
She said she was just going to get a book.
She's taking a long time.
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.
Blast off!
We have liftoff.
We're heading to the...
Ooh. Hello again.
I'm flying to the moon.
Well, I'm pretending to fly to the moon.
Fun to pretend.
Have you ever flown to the moon in a box?
Well, Baby Bear has in this book.
It's called What Ever Next.
Let's have a listen.
Can I go to the moon? asked Baby Bear.
No, you can't, said Mrs Bear.
It's bath time.
Anyway, you'd have to find a rocket first.
Baby Bear found a rocket in the cupboard under the stairs.
He found a space helmet on the draining board in the kitchen
and a pair of space boots on the mat by the front door.
He packed his teddy and some food for the journey
and took off up the chimney.
Whoosh! Out into the night.
Ooh. An owl flew past.
Whoop-whoop. Whoop-whoop.
That's a smart rocket, he said. Where are you off to?
The moon, said Baby Bear. Would you like to come too?
Oh, yes, please, said the owl.
An aeroplane roared out of the clouds.
Roar!
Baby Bear waved and some of the passengers waved back.
Hello!
On and on they flew, up and up, above the clouds,
past millions of stars till at last...
Roar!
They landed on the moon.
There's somebody here, said Baby Bear.
There are no trees, said the owl.
It's a bit boring, said Baby Bear.
Shall we have a picnic?
What a good idea, said the owl.
We'd better go, said Baby Bear.
My bath must be ready by now.
Off they went, down and down.
The owl got out and flew away.
Goodbye, he said. It was nice to meet you.
It rained and the rain dripped through Baby Bear's helmet.
Uh-oh.
Home went Baby Bear, back down the chimney
and onto the living room carpet with a bump.
Oof!
Mrs Bear came into the room.
Look at the state of you, she gasped,
as she led him away to the bathroom.
Why, you look as if you've been up the chimney.
As a matter of fact, said Baby Bear,
I have been up the chimney.
I found a rocket and went to visit the moon.
Mrs Bear laughed.
You and your story, she said.
What ever next?
Ah, Minstrel.
Your Majesty.
Entertain me with your music, Minstrel.
Especially for you, Your Majesty.
We have a song about rockets.
Ah, wonderful. Yes.
Your Majesty, can I please join in?
Of course you may.
As a matter of fact, we'll all join in.
We're going to the moon when we're off to Mars.
We'll fly beyond the asteroids and head up to the stars.
In our rocket, roll rocket, we sing as we fly.
In our rocket, roll rocket, we go dancing in the sky.
In our rocket, roll rocket, we'll sing as we fly.
In our rocket, roll rocket, we go dancing in the sky.
We'll dance with aliens. That's right.
We'll dance with aliens and sing them a tune.
We'll fly around the galaxy then back towards the moon.
In our rocket, roll rocket, we'll sing as we fly.
In our rocket, roll rocket, we go dancing in the sky.
In our rocket, roll rocket, we'll sing as we fly.
In our rocket, roll rocket, we go dancing in the sky.
Come on.
Go on, girls. Let's go.
Five, ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five,
four, three, two, one, zero.
Blast off!
Music
Come on.
Music
Well, what an interesting day.
I think it's been a right royal occasion.
Well, I think it's been out of this world.
I think it's been a real blast.
You know, it occurred to me, things really started to take off.
Once we launched into it.
Please, please, please.
How about another song?
That's a good idea.
That's it.
You know what?
Let's go on with this old man.
We were up to one.
I was at the door when the king came in.
So then that means we were up to four.
Yes, five.
One, two, three, four.
This old man, he played five.
He played knick-knack on my high.
Knick-knack, paddy-whack, give a dog a bone.
This old man came rolling home.
Six six.
And...
This old man, he played six.
He played knick-knack on my sticks.
With a knick-knack, paddy-whack, give a dog a bone.
This old man came rolling home.
Seven seven up to heaven.
This old man, he played seven.
He played knick-knack up to heaven.
With a knick-knack, paddy-whack, give a dog a bone.
This old man came rolling home.
Oh dear.
Eight.
This old man, he played eight.
He played knick-knack on my gate with a knick-knack.
Panty-wrack, give a dog a bow.
This old man came rolling home.
Bye, bye, bye, guys.
Oh, bye, bye, bye, bye.
Today's books on the Book Place were When the King Rides By, written by Margaret Mahie,
illustrated by Bettina Ogden, published by Scholastic, The Kiss That Missed, written
and illustrated by David Melling, published by Hotter Children's Books, and Whatever Next,
by Jill Murphy, published by Macmillan Children's Books.