Riding the Wagon

 

"Hi there, Snappy," greeted Midge as she came into the living room from the bedroom.

"Hi Midge," said Snappy. "What are you doing?"

"I just woke up," said Midge as she jumped into the chair beside the table where Snappy's tank sat. "What are you doing this morning?"

"I was watching the sun come up in the sky," smiled Snappy. "Is it warm outside today?"

"No," said Midge. "It is still winter out there, but all the snow melted away."

"Did you want the snow to stay on the ground?" asked Snappy.

"I wanted to go ride the sled down the hill," said Midge. "But I can't do that when there is no snow out there."

"You could ride the wagon down the hill," suggested Snappy. "It has wheels on it and you could hold on to the handle and turn it when you wanted."

"That's a good idea, Snappy," smiled Midge. "I will take the wagon with me to Jake's house this morning. we could go to the hill and I can ride it down."

"Will Jake let you?" asked Snappy.

"I think so," said Midge. "I want to ride the wagon down the hill. It will be fun."

"Won't it be dangerous going down the hill?" asked Snappy.

"I don't know," said Midge. "Maybe. It will be fun. I want to ride it."

"Hey there," said Booker-T as he entered the room. "What do you want to ride?"

"Hi Booker-T," greeted Midge. "I want to ride in the wagon."

"Is Jake going to pull you around in the wagon?" asked Booker-T.

"No," said Midge. "I want to pull the wagon to the school area and ride it down the big hill where the kids ride the sledges in the snow."

"Oh," said Booker-T. "Jake might think it is a bad idea."

"Why?" asked Midge. "I want to ride the wagon down the hill."

"Remember what happened to you when you rode the sled in the snow?" asked Booker-T.

"But there isn't any snow on the ground," said Midge.

"Are you ready to go see Jake?" asked Booker-T.

"Let me get the wagon and I'll pull it to Jake's house," said Midge.

"Can I ride in the wagon?" asked Booker-T.

"Sure," said Midge. "Jake can ride too."

"No," said Booker-T. "I want to ride the wagon to Jake's house."

"You want me to pull you in the wagon," said Midge.

"Sure," laughed Booker-T. "Will you pull me in the wagon?"

"You are heavy," said Midge. "You can walk beside me."

"I'm smaller than you are," said Booker-T.

"But you are heavy for me to pull in the wagon," said Midge.

"Okay," said Booker-T. "I will just walk beside you. Can I help pull the wagon?"

"Sure," smiled Midge. "I will let you help pull it. Lets go. See you later Snappy."

"Bye Midge," said Snappy as he crawled on to his rock.

Midge and Booker-T went into the back yard and Midge picked up the handle of the wagon and they walked around to the front of the house and started out the gate to the sidewalk. As they walked along the sidewalk, Gabby flew down from the tree and landed in the wagon.

"This is fun, Midge," said Gabby. "Where are you two going with the wagon?"

Midge stopped and turned around. "Hi Gabby," greeted Midge. "What are you doing in the wagon?"

"I am always flying around," smiled Gabby. "This is nice. You can pull me in the wagon and I can rest."

"You are little so it's okay," said Midge.

"What are are you going?" asked Gabby again.

"We are going to Jake's house," said Booker-T. "Midge wants to ride the wagon down the hill behind the school."

"You might get hurt, Midge," said Gabby.

"I will be careful," said Midge. "I want to ride the wagon down the hill. It will be fun."

Midge and Booker-T walked along the sidewalk pulling the wagon while Gabby rode in the wagon.

They entered the gate at Jake's house and found him asleep on the front porch.

"Hey Jake!" called Midge. "What are you doing?"

"Hi Guys," said Jake as he sat up in the swing. "I was napping after eating breakfast. What are you guys doing? What is the wagon for?"

"I want to go to the hill at the school and ride the wagon down the hill," said Midge. "Lets go."

"Wait," said Jake. "Why do you want to ride down that hill in the wagon?"

"It will be fun, Jake," said Midge. "Lets go. I want to ride the wagon."

"You can get hurt, Midge," said Jake. "There isn't any soft snow to go flying into if the wagon flips like the sled did."

"I will be careful," said Midge. "Come on, Jake."

"Okay," sighed Jake. "We better check for rocks at the bottom of the hill."

"What do we need the rocks for?" asked Booker-T.

"We need to get the rocks out of the way so the wagon don't hit them coming down the hill," said Jake.

"Oh, okay," said Booker-T.

"That is a good idea," smiled Midge. "Lets go!"

Booker-T and Jake followed Midge out of the gate and hurried along the sidewalk to the school.

"Are you sure you want to ride the wagon down the hill?" asked Jake.

"Yes," smiled Midge as she started to climb the hill pulling the wagon.

"Slow down," called Jake as he hurried behind her kicking rocks out of the path of the wagon.

At the top, Midge turned the wagon around to face it downhill. She leaped into the wagon and as she grabbed the handle of the wagon, it stared down the hill.

"Midge!" called Jake. "What did you do?"

"Jake," said Midge. "It just took off."

Booker-T and Jake ran down the hill behind the wagon as it raced down the hill. Near the bottom, the wagon hit a rock and flipped sending Midge flying through the air. Boom, she landed on her back at the bottom of the hill and the wagon landed beside her.

"Midge!" called Jake and Booker-T. "Are you okay? Stand up, let me see."

"I'm okay," sighed Midge. "I have a sore back side, but I'm okay."

"Jake was right, Midge," said Booker-T. "The wagon ride was not good."

"The ride was good," smiled Midge. "It was fun. It was that last bump that was bad."

Jake and Booker-T looked at each other and shook their heads.

"Lets do it again," said Midge.