The ‘Almost Empty’ Cave
Once upon a time there was a cave. It was completely empty except for all the air and …well, there was something else, which we’ll talk about soon. The air was everywhere. Now that’s what you would normally find in a cave, wouldn’t you?
You wouldn’t normally find a double-decker bus in a cave, would you? Of course not, and there were no double-decker buses here.
But, yes, there was something else. Two other things in fact, and you wouldn’t normally find them in a cave either. But there they were: not one, but two potato peelers! (You know, those metal things that take the skin off of a potato.)
Yes, there were two potato peelers in the cave: one was lying on the ground near the entrance and the other was lying on the ground somewhere else. (It doesn’t really matter where, does it?)
Five minutes later a boy called ‘Boy’ walked into the cave. Can you guess what he was looking for? Of course you can’t, but I’ll tell you anyway. He was looking for his pet called Stinky. Not much in here he thought, so he went away and said he would never come back.
But then he changed his mind and did come back. He saw one of the potato peelers and picked it up. He took a couple of potatoes from his pocket and started to peel them. Boy carried everything around in his pockets, just in case. When he finished peeling the potatoes, he took a plate out of his pocket, sat down, put some ketchup on, and started to eat the potatoes. He wasn’t able to cook them because he left the cooker at home in the kitchen. (Yes, he carried everything in his pockets, but his pockets were just too small for a cooker!).
For dessert he wanted a chocolate ice-cream gateau, so he looked around the cave to see if he could find any. No luck, all he could find was another potato peeler. Just what he didn’t need. Then a very funny and mysterious thing happened. I can’t tell you what it was, because it’s a secret. Then Boy left the cave and went home.
When he got home, he found that his mum had made him raw potatoes and ketchup for lunch. That was bad luck because he had already eaten raw potatoes with ketchup. His mum wasn’t very bright, which is why she had called her son Boy. But for dessert he had chocolate ice-cream gateau, which was really good luck.
He told his mum about the funny and mysterious thing that happened in the cave.
I can’t tell you what he said because it’s a secret.
On Tuesday he went back to see if the cave was still there. And, of course, it was
still there because caves can’t move.
(Adapted from ‘The Empty Cave’ by Gordon Dioxide)
