The Terrible Eater From Space

Tommy wasn't scared of much.

He wasn't scared of the dark - he knew he could switch a light on.

He wasn't scared of being on his own - he liked himself.

He wasn't scared of animals - he knew if he was nice to them that they'd be nice
to him.

He wasn't even scared of bullies - he knew that they'd meet bigger bullies one
day.

He wasn't scared of getting lost - he had a good sense of direction.

He wasn't scared of people who had different coloured skin or different beliefs
and ways - he knew that people are people and kind of all the same.

He wasn't scared of school - he knew he had a lot to learn.

He wasn't scared of his mammy and daddy - he knew they loved him.

He was scared of................

The Terrible Eater From Space.

He was scared that the terrible eater from space lived under his bed - in his
room.
He had never seen the terrible eater from space - but he knew it was there and
getting hungry.

He knew he was safe when he was in his bed - it couldn't get him there. It
could only get him when he was in the space between the door and the bed. It
couldn't come out from under the bed - it would disintegrate. But....if he
wasn't careful, it could pull him under the bed and that would be the end of
him.

He knew that the terrible eater from space was getting hungrier and hungrier
every day - except Sundays and bank holidays, when it just bided it's time and
lurked.

Unfortunately, the other thing that scared him was telling his mammy and daddy
about the terrible eater from space - they always said what a brave boy he was
so he couldn't tell them he was scared. So every night, Tommy would run from
the bedroom door to his bed and jump onto it - just as the terrible eater from
space was about to grab his ankle and pull him under the bed. Phew!!

One day Tommy's mammy told him that his little brother, Steven, was big enough
to have his cot moved from her room into Tommy's.
"No, no, no," Tommy said, "he can't come into my room."
"What?" said his mammy. "You love your baby brother. I thought you'd love to
have him share."

Tommy did love his baby brother but knew that Steven was too small to jump out
of reach of the terrible eater from space and that the terrible eater from
space was so hungry now that Steven would be gone in one big bite.

Tommy ran to his room and closed the door. He even put a chair against it and
would talk no more.
His daddy came home from the office at the usual time but Tommy didn't run out
to meet him as usual.

"He doesn't want Steven to share his room," said his mammy, "and now he won't
come out of his room."

"Knock knock." went his daddy.
"Who's there?" said Tommy.
"Lettuce."
"Lettuce who?" said Tommy.
"Lettuce in, I want to talk with you." laughed the daddy and Tommy let him in.

Eventually, Tommy told his dad about the terrible eater from space and his daddy
told him not to worry - that he'd sort it out.

The next day was Saturday and Tommy's daddy didn't have to go to the office. He
took Tommy with him to a big place where they sold wood and tools, and they
bought loads of stuff including a sign that said, "DANGER - KEEP OUT".

When they got home, Daddy explained to Tommy that he had some dangerous work to
do and told him that he was to look after Mammy and baby Steven for a while.
Then he brought all the wood and tools AND the vacuum cleaner into Tommy's room
and hung the danger keep out sign on the door.

Much later, he came down for dinner and said that he'd finished. He'd hovered
out the terrible eater from space - who'd then disintegrated in the hoover, and
so would not be back.

After dinner, daddy took Tommy and mammy and Steven upstairs to look. The sign
was gone and so were the tools and wood and sawdust. All clean and tidy.

Tommy hardly recognized his room. where his bed used to be, there was a sort of
climbing frame, with a seat and a desk at the bottom and a bed up on top -
really high. Tommy wasn't scared of heights. He could see the floor
underneath and no terrible eater from space. By the window was Steven's cot
and Tommy could see the floor underneath that, and no terrible eater from space
there either.

He gave his daddy a big smile and a big hug and his mammy gave his daddy a big
smile and a big hug and Steven gave Tommy a big smile and a big hug
and......bit him on the nose. Ouch.

Now Steven sleeps in Tommy's room and Tommy sleeps soundly, knowing that the
terrible eater from space is gone - and is scared of nothing - well almost
nothing. Sometimes when he wakes and sees how Steven is looking at him - well
he knows that Steven, with lots of new teeth, is just waiting for a chance to
use them on him again.