Monster Bubbles

Tonight, for some reason, Isabel was afraid to be alone in the dark. She was worried about Monsters. She knows that there are no such things as Monsters...but I guess, at 5 1/2, lying in the dark, Mummy's arm wrapped around her tiny little chest, seems like mighty protection from any lurking Monster types that may be lying around in wait. So we had to get rid of them...quick!

Once upon a time, a long time ago, a little girl named Isabel, lived in a pretty little house in California. It was called a bungalow because the house was all on one floor. There was no upstairs and there was no downstairs. No attic. No basement. Just floor and then the ground under the house.

So, for a little girl, like Isabel, the only place that any Monster could be, was in the closet or under the bed. There were no other hiding places at all.


In fact, once upon a time, when Isabel was really, really teeny (about 3 years old or so...) Mummy yelled out under all the beds in the house. She yelled, "There are NO Monsters allowed in my house. And I'm the Mummy. And this is my house. So IF there are any Monsters, this is your LAST chance to leave...OR ELSE!!"

With that, Isabel's Mummy THREW open the front door to the house and yelled out REALLY loudly, "LAST CHANCE, STINKY MONSTERS...I'M COUNTING TO THREE. BY THE TIME I SAY THREE, YOU'D BETTER ALL BE OUT THE DOOR!!"

Now Isabel KNEW this was serious business, because when her Mummy counted to THREE, you listened pretty darn fast...or ELSE! (or ELSE could mean no TV, no VIDEO and the worst...NO chocolate chip cookie.)

"ONE!" yelled Isabel's Mummy.

"TWO!" she yelled even louder. She gave Isabel a BIG smile. And together, Isabel and Mummy yelled, "THREEEEEEE!!!!" And then Mummy shut the door with a bang and a crash.

She smacked her hands together.

"There!" she said. "All gone."

And Isabel and Mummy climbed right into bed and had a great sleep. But now, Isabel was 5 1/2 and for some reason, tonight she was really, really afraid that a Monster would be in her room in the dark. So her Mummy told her the secret trick to REALLY, REALLY getting rid of Monsters even faster than counting to THREE.

"Isabel," Mummy said, "Why do you think Monsters are SO big? Why do you think they act SO scary?"

"I don't know, Mummy!" exclaimed Isabel, her eyes a little bit wide.

"Because, silly," laughed Mummy. "They're TICKLISH!!!!"

"No way!" exclaimed Isabel.

"YES, WAY!" said Mummy. "When a Monster is being big and scary, anyone, even a little kid can get rid of them like this!"

And she snapped her fingers. Isabel snapped her fingers too.

"When a Monster is trying to be scary, just tickle them in their armpit! They'll giggle...teehee! Then they turn into a bubble and pop! No more Monster."

Isabel looked at her Mummy in amazement. "They turn into a BUBBLE?"

"Mmm-hmm," said Mummy. "And then they POP!"

And two seconds later, Isabel was asleep. With a humongous smile on her face as she dreamed of tickling and popping Monsters.

The end.

Copyright Wendy Spiegel, Los Angeles, California 2005. All rights reserved.