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Story Time: The bookworm loses his glasses
“Hmm, this certainly was a good story,” declared Billie the bookworm, as he wriggled out of a thick, leather-bound book that had ‘Mystery and Imagination’ printed on its cover in big, bold letters.
Billie slipped down from the bookcase. Mahogany shelves adorned each wall of the library, and there were books of every kind. Billie loved reading, it was his favourite pastime.
But that day something was very wrong. Billie didn’t feel too well. His eyes hurt. They were all red and puffy, and he couldn’t see properly. He blinked, he squinted, and even screwed up those teeny weeny eyes, but everything was hazy. To make matters worse, his head throbbed. Poor Billie was miserable!
“Oh, what shall I do? Reading is my life!” he wailed. And so the teary-eyed bookworm slowly crawled his way home. Bump-bump, bang-bang! Billie went plodding along, bumping into everything that came in his way.
“Hey, old friend Billie, what’s the matter?” Billie recognized the voice, it was his good friend Benny. He too was a bookworm, and only read encyclopaedias. When Billie told him about his problem, Benny was full of concern.
“You probably need glasses,” he stated, “Let us go and visit Dr Iris the optician, she’ll soon put you right.”
“What is an optician, Benny?” asked Billie, a little worried.
“It’s an eye doctor who tests your vision, and then gives you glasses if you need them,” said clever Benny, “Now don’t you fret.”
Weaving their way carefully, they soon reached the optician’s clinic. Dr Iris was a competent doctor. In no time at all, she had examined Billie’s eyes, and, yes, glasses were given.
“Thank you!” called out the happy little bookworm as he put on his new spectacles. “I can see properly now. It’s amazing!” Billie thanked Benny also, and then clambered up the bookshelf again. He began to read, now the print was sharp and clear. After some time he felt sleepy and so he curled up on a thick book for a nice, comfortable nap.
Much later, when Billie awoke, night had fallen. Although the light in the library had been switched on by the owner of the house, yet all was a blur. Bewildered, Billie blinked hard, but still his eyes refused to focus. “Ah, I should put on my glasses,” he suddenly remembered. He reached out for them. They were not at his side. He searched but in vain, so he decided to go to Benny for help.
Billie told his friend of what had happened, and cried, “I have indeed lost my precious glasses!” After a moment’s hush, Benny finally spoke, and in a loud, clear voice recited:
“Billie lost his glasses, he hunted all around.
He looked in all the corners and peered upon the ground.
And then, ah then, I saw them, ‘Oh, my dear old friend,’ I said,
‘Stop looking for your glasses, they’re perched upon your head!’”
Astonished, Billie touched his head, and yes, there they were! He chuckled aloud heartily, thanked his dear friend, and then happily went off to read.
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