On the Way

On the Way

Alice was bored, but she’d promised to wait here until it was time to go. She had explored every room in the tiny shack, gone outside and admired the trees and flowers, and had lovely conversations with the birds, now she was just bored. She looked at the clock on the tiny mantle, it had been hours! Well, many minutes anyway. The clock was broken, it told her nothing except that it used to work.

There was a small plate on the old dusty table. She started imagining who might have lived here once. It was quite fancy, but there was no indication of what may have been served. No other dishes, no kitchen really. Suddenly having found something to occupy her curiosity she explored more.

There was a closet, the door stuck. Assuming no one would mind, she found a sharp rock and pried it open. At first she thought she had found a crown on the shelf! But, it really was a very well woven nest. Deserted now, of course. She picked it up and on a whim, stuck it on her head.

Immediately, she could see the tiny shack just as it had been in its heyday. Warm and lovely, all furnished, and the table set for a meal. She could hear voices outside and smelled food cooking.

Suddenly a voice spoke. “Alice! What are you doing?” It was Rabbit.

“I just saw into the past by putting this nest on my head!”

“Of course you did,” Rabbit said, “That’s an old Storybird nest. We have to go! Stop playing!”

Alice removed the nest and looked around the room. “What happened to them?” she asked.

“The Queen thought they were too happy…”

Alice now had another reason to find this nasty Queen. “Let’s go,” she said.