Stories for Children up to 7 years old.

 NODDY the GNOME.

A NOT QUITE TRUE STORY.

NODDY THE GNOME.

NODDY THE GNOME HAD LIVED IN MR AND MRS BROWN'S GARDEN FOR MANY YEARS. MR AND MRS BROWN LOOKED AFTER NODDY VERY WELL, HIS GREEN TROUSERS, HIS RED JACKET AND HIS YELLOW HAT WERE ALWAYS VERY CLEAN.

ON VERY SUNNY DAYS, MRS BROWN WOULD SHOWER HIM WITH WATER WHEN SHE WAS USING THE HOSE PIPE. NODDY WAS VERY HAPPY WITH HIS HOME.

ONE DAY, TWO WORKMEN CAME TO THE GARDEN AND PUT UP A SIGN, NODDY WANTED TO KNOW WHAT WAS WRITTEN ON THE SIGN.

BECAUSE GNOMES CAN NOT WALK IN THE DAYLIGHT, NODDY HAD TO WAIT UNTIL IT WAS DARK, SO, AT MIDNIGHT, WHEN EVERYONE WAS FAST ASLEEP, NODDY WALKED OVER TO LOOK AT THE SIGN.

FOR SALE

NEXT DAY, NODDY HEARD MR AND MRS BROWN TALKING,
"IT WILL BE NICE MOVING TO A NEW FLAT, BUT WE WILL NOT HAVE A GARDEN" SAID MR BROWN.

NODDY WAS VERY UNHAPPY, HE THOUGHT TO HIMSELF, I WONDER WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO ME, AND THEN HE HEARD MRS BROWN SAY, "OF COURSE WE WILL TAKE NODDY WITH US, HE CAN STAND IN THE WINDOW OF OUR NEW FLAT".

NODDY WAS VERY HAPPY TO HEAR THAT.

THE NEXT DAY, A MAN, A LADY, A BOY A GIRL AND A DOG CAME TO THE HOUSE. MRS BROWN SAID TO MR BROWN, "THIS IS THE FAMILY THAT ARE GOING TO LIVE IN THIS HOUSE".

THE MAN AND THE LADY WENT TO LOOK AROUND THE HOUSE WITH MR AND MRS BROWN, THE BOY, THE GIRL AND THE DOG STAYED OUTSIDE TO PLAY IN THE GARDEN.

THE BOY SAW NODDY AND RAN OVER TO LOOK AT HIM, NODDY WAS HAPPY THAT HE WAS NICE AND CLEAN TO MEET THE NEW FAMILY, BUT, THE BOY PUSHED NODDY WITH HIS FOOT, AND NODDY FELL OVER AND THE GIRL LAUGHED.

NODDY'S NICE RED JACKET WAS NOW VERY DIRTY. THE GIRL BENT DOWN AND PICKED NODDY UP.

MR AND MRS BROWN CAME OUT OF THE HOUSE WITH THE MAN AND LADY, THE LADY CALLED TO THE GIRL, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH THAT GNOME?"

THE GIRL SAID, " WE LIKE IT SO MUCH AND PICKED IT UP TO LOOK AT IT". SHE WAS NOT TELLING THE TRUTH.

MRS BROWN SAID, "IF YOU LIKE IT SO MUCH WE WILL LEAVE IT IN THE GARDEN FOR YOU, WE WOULD LIKE IT TO BE LOVED".

ONE WEEK LATER MR AND MRS BROWN WALKED UP TO NODDY AND SAID, "WE HAVE COME TO SAY GOOD-BYE TO YOU NODDY, WE ARE SURE THAT YOU WILL BE HAPPY WITH YOUR NEW FAMILY".

NEXT DAY THE NEW FAMILY MOVED IN TO THE HOUSE, NODDY SOON FOUND OUT THAT THEIR NAME WAS MR AND MRS SMITH, THE BOYS NAME WAS SIMON, AND THE GIRLS NAME WAS SALLY. THE DOGS NAME WAS ROVER.

NOBODY EVER CAME TO LOOK AT NODDY. MR AND MRS SMITH NEVER CAME IN TO THE GARDEN, AND SIMON AND SALLY JUST TOOK NO NOTICE OF HIM, AND HIS RED JACKET WAS GETTING VERY DIRTY.

ROVER THE DOG WAS VERY BAD. HE PICKED NODDY UP WITH HIS TEETH AROUND NODDY'S HEAD, AND, WITH A SHAKE OF HIS DOGGY HEAD, THREW NODDY ACROSS THE GARDEN.

POOR NODDY, HE JUST LAY THERE ON THE MUDDY GROUND, AND NOW HIS GREEN TROUSERS AND HIS YELLOW HAT WERE COVERED IN MUD.

NO ONE PICKED NODDY UP, SO, WHEN IT WAS VERY DARK, NODDY WALKED TO THE GOLDFISH POND AND WASHED THE MUD OFF, AND THEN, WENT BACK TO HIS PLACE IN THE GARDEN.

THE SAME THING HAPPENED EVERY DAY, AND, NODDY WASHED OFF THE MUD EVERY NIGHT, BUT NO ONE CARED.

ONE NIGHT, WHEN NODDY WAS WASHING OFF THE MUD, HE HEARD A VOICE, NODDY LOOKED UP AND SAW ANOTHER GNOME.

THE OTHER GNOME SAID THAT HIS NAME WAS ZOG. AND HE TOLD NODDY THAT HE LIVED IN THE GARDEN NEXT DOOR, AND HE HAD SEEN WHAT THAT BAD DOG HAD BEEN DOING TO NODDY.

"I WANT TO HELP YOU", HE SAID.

"I AM VERY UNHAPPY", SAID NODDY, "BUT HOW CAN YOU HELP ME ?".

WHILE IT WAS STILL VERY DARK, NODDY AND ZOG, WALKED TO THE GARDEN NEXT DOOR. BY THE LIGHT OF THE MOON, NODDY COULD SEE THAT THERE WERE LOTS OF PLANTS AND FLOWERS, LOTS OF PLACES WHERE HE COULD HIDE.

EACH DAY, NODDY STOOD BEHIND A BIG PLANT AND NOBODY SAW HIM, EVERY NIGHT, WHEN IT WAS DARK, HE WOULD GO TO MEET ZOG, AND THEY WOULD TALK TOGETHER UNTIL THE FIRST MORNING LIGHT, AND THEN NODDY WOULD GO BACK TO HIS HIDING PLACE.

NODDY WOULD HAVE LIKED SOMEONE TO LOOK AFTER HIM, JUST LIKE MR AND MRS BROWN HAD, BUT, HE WAS VERY GLAD THAT ROVER THE DOG COULD NOT FIND HIM.

ONE DAY, EARLY IN THE MORNING, A MAN CAME IN TO THE GARDEN. THE MAN HAD A LARGE FORK, AND HE STARTED TO DIG UP THE BIG WEEDS AND TIDY THE GARDEN.

AS THE MAN CAME CLOSER TO THE PLANT WHERE NODDY WAS HIDING, NODDY WAS GETTING VERY WORRIED, THERE WAS A SHOUT. IT WAS THE LADY FROM THE HOUSE, MRS GREEN, "YOU HAVE DONE ENOUGH FOR TODAY, BERT, COME BACK TOMORROW".

AS SOON AS IT WAS DARK NODDY WALKED OVER TO ZOG, "BERT THE GARDENER IS GOING TO FIND ME, AND THEN I WILL HAVE TO GO BACK TO THE GARDEN WITH THE DOG", HE SAID TO ZOG.

"YOU CAN MOVE TO ANOTHER PLACE IN THE GARDEN, SOMEWHERE THAT HAS ALREADY BEEN TIDIED", SAID ZOG. SO NODDY DECIDED TO HIDE IN THE VEGETABLE GARDEN, BEHIND A CABBAGE. HE WAS SAFE AGAIN.

BERT THE GARDENER CAME BACK THE NEXT DAY, BUT, HE WAS DIGGING FAR AWAY FROM NODDY.

IN THE AFTERNOON A CAR ARRIVED, AND STEPPING OUT OF THE CAR WAS MR AND MRS BROWN, "WE HAVE COME TO VISIT YOU", MRS BROWN SAID TO MRS GREEN. "COME IN AND HAVE A CUP OF TEA, AND THEN LATER WE WILL HAVE A WALK AROUND THE GARDEN", SAID MRS GREEN.

NODDY HEARD ALL OF THIS TALK AND WISHED THAT HE HAD STAYED WHERE HE WAS, THEN HE WOULD HAVE BEEN FOUND.

AFTER THEIR TEA, MRS GREEN SHOWED MR AND MRS BROWN HER LOVELY TIDY GARDEN, BUT, THEY ONLY LOOKED AT THE FLOWERS , NOT THE VEGETABLES.

SOON IT WAS TIME FOR MR AND MRS BROWN TO GO HOME TO THEIR FLAT. MRS GREEN SAID, "BEFORE YOU GO I WILL GET YOU A NICE CABBAGE FROM THE VEGETABLE GARDEN".

THEY ALL WENT TO PICK A CABBAGE, AND MRS GREEN BENT DOWN TO PICK IT UP. IT WAS THE CABBAGE THAT NODDY WAS HIDING BEHIND.

"THAT IS A SHAME " SAID MRS BROWN, "WE WILL TAKE HIM HOME WITH US AND LOOK AFTER HIM".

NODDY WAS VERY HAPPY.

THE END.