MARY'S MAGIC BLUE BALLOON 
Click to hear Mary's Magic Balloon
CHAPTER 1Lazy Mary, in her, white gymshoes, blue jeans and pink top,
Sat around the house, her face sad as a wet mop.
Not reading, not playing, gaming or jumping,
Not chasing a mouse, just sitting around, sitting and yawning.
The summer was long and Mary was bored.
She sat on her porch steps and almost snored.
Swinging her legs, she kicked the morning grass,
She waited with patience for tick-tock time to pass.
Mary had neither brothers nor sisters to play,
Play chess, checkers with or jump rope anyway.
So black-haired Mary with her eyes bright blue,
Tossed her ponytail and kicked at the grassy dew.
"Mary there's at the market, a Festival Fair today;
Going on in the old shopping mart, up the way.
Take this ten dollars and spend your two,
And bring back something for me to brew or chew."
"Yes, Mom," said Lazy Mary, taking the bills.
"This is a lot of money to trust me with but still,
I'll do my best to have some fun and come home
With your tasty brew from the Festival's yellow tent dome."
CHAPTER 2And off Mary went kicking the dew on the grass,
And weed flowers as she took a short cut pass
Through the forest, to save time, to the fair.
Some would call Lazy Mary, by her skin fair,
But she tanned rather easily and loved a dare.
She skipped and she hopped pass a bunny
And a snake, she found them both a bit funny
When she thought of how different they ate.
For once Mary, the Lazy, age ten and a half,
Was not bored. In fact, she even gave a laugh.
She heard the people's busy scuffling feet.
Bright yellow and bellowing up the street
The Festival Fair where everyone met
One another for a treat or a sweet.
She stood in awe at the spectacle sight.
For how crowded the fair. O what a fun rite!
Mary fancied she'd find to marry a boy or a knight.
For girls were still raised on such silly plights.
She passed by a man with a Kaiser mustache.
She passed by a cow roaring like a mighty lion.
She passed by a woman juggling knives that flashed
For the sun was now out, not a cloud in the sky.
The breeze blew gently as if heaven had sighed.
Kola Bears a podium gave lectures, peacocks strutted about.
Monkey's offered to be your worldly tour guide or scout.
Merchants wore colorful clothes and strange shaped hats:
Some were headbands; some were long-hair sleeping cats.
She passed by ice cream stands and hot-dog kiosks.
Some tiny stands looked a little like tiny mosques.
She passed by tarot card readers and palmist too.
She pass by school age scientist, two.
None got her money; though, all gave a try.
"Hey! Over here! Spend some money -- buy!"
Mary didn't want the freely swinging chopsticks,
Directing an invisible band, in orchestra acoustics.
Mary turned down a happy face that yelled, "Oui."
Though a Tea Leaf Reader man offered to sell
Her some psychic and supposedly delicious tea.
Lazy Mary replied, "Should I go home and tell
My practical mom? "Hey! I bought some 'magic tea.'
"What a pea brain my mom would think of me,"
She'd say, "O What a vain careless spending spree!"
And see this face, pressed by two flat palms!
That's my mom's shocking, mocking face,
Full of shrieking emotions, lacking balm and grace!"
No. Mary would get something better for herself,
For her mom, something to help quickly pass
The day. Something exotic to look at and show
On the first day, in the first class of school.
A woman with a heavy German accent and nose,
Prominent and long almost like Pinocchio.
Shouted, "Magic Balloon, Magic Balloons!
I only have just these three, green, pink and blue.
Eight bucks. Eight dollars. Is all I asks of you?"
Mary said, "Eight dollars for a simple balloon!
Why that's way, way to high for child, you tycoon!"
"Who taught you such big words, my child?
Did they not also teach you little girls should smile?
"My mom said little girls don't have to smile.
Get education. They must, to walk down the aisle."
"Did your mom tell you nothing of princesses
And knights or magic beans and odd things
That come and go bump, bump in the night?
For fairy tales never end; they are such a delight."
CHAPTER 3"Silly fairy tales! Nonsense. None are real.
I'll prove it, I'll buy your blue magic balloon spiel."
Mary handed over eight dollars to the wide lady
Dressed in lovely fifteenth century ruffles,
And a long green train sparkling with stars scuffles.
"See nothing magic has happened.
Nothing odd at all.
Nothing weird or scary...
Nothing like a pumpkin for a carriage to a ball."
"O just you wait. Just you see," said the Merchant
Lady. And with a puff her cat-hat turned into a hawk
And took flight. "Wow!" said Lazy Mary,
"I want a fancy cat-hat able to transform like that?"
"Run along, Lazy Mary. I have two more balloons
To try and sell quickly. One to a belle of a prune.
The other to a cunning, handsome goon before noon."
CHAPTER 4Mary trotted along pass the Black Merchant's fire
Tapping out a lively tune; beyond a school of choir
Fish all singing from books on mini computer disks;
Until at last Mary left from under the yellow dome,
Running in her white gym shoes, pat-pit-pat whisks.
For Mary had several talent, besides running, logic,
Math; she could learn most anything from any tome
Oh Mary was so mentally swift-smart and nimble quick;
But by golly was she so hazy on being lazy too!
Mary held tight to the many puffs of invisible air
Floating and visibly wrapped in thin plastic blue.
Mary held the pearly-white string taut,
In fact, she tied the string end into the shape of a shoe.
She sat under a sprawling oak tree with a thousand limbs,
Mary sat and pondered her predicament
For she didn't buy a brew;
She bought something new,
And how costly it turned out to be too.
"This balloon had better be magic like the lady said.
Or I'm in big trouble like mom never did say!"
Mary rubbed the balloon three times,
She said, "Abracadabra Abracadabra, Abracadabra."
"Perhaps you're my hidden prince,
Just like in the tale Beauty and the Beast.
But you're so cute my little blue balloon,
I'm going to give you a three times kiss."
Nothing happened. Nothing at all.
Not a sound, not a smell, not a touch --
Revealed the spell.
But sliding, slithering slowly in the tall limbs
Came a peculiar slippery snake.
He was yellow like a lemon
And had many spots like tiny brown lakes.
CHAPTER 5Mary grew bored again. Her smile turned into a mop.
Silent in her gym shoes, blue jeans and pink top,
She sat in thought thinking of past fairy tales taught.
When the curious snake, now over her head,
Did reach down and bit the pearly-white string!
He recoiled fast over all the thick green leaves,
While Mary shouted, "That's my magic balloon!
Give it back!" as her hand reached out to cling.
Mary kept her eye on the yellow and brown snake.
She did not miss a wink. She chased his every motion
Running on the ground while the snake did
Leap frogs and jumped over the park's tree tops.
Mary chased and used her running speed to keep
Up with the snake, she now knew, was no snake
At all -- but a giraffe with a thievery taste for blue.
Despite the fact, Mary had to glance into the sun,
Despite the fact, Mary ran three times faster than a nun.
She did not let the Giraffe out of her sight,
She did not weep but she did do many leaps
Over a dog, over a duck, over a kite string rising tight,
Because the magic balloon, he took, wasn't cheap.
© CUPIDEROS, Saturday, September 29, 2007
If you want to read the rest of this exciting story,
you can download it for $1.95 or purchase a print copy
from my lulu store. See the link below. Thanks for listening
and reading this picture book story.
--cupideros
This page was last updated: August 30, 2009
