2 MINUTES BEFORE BEDTIME (STORIES)

SANDRINE LAMBERT - REALISTIC BEDTIME STORIES

(illustrated by Hilde van Cruen)

THE NEW TROUSERS

Theresa accompanies her mum to the mall because she needs a new pair of trousers. All pairs that she has are too small for her. She can still wear them, but it's a little too tight.

"Let's go," her mum says. "We have to by a new pair." Since the mall is a little far away from home, they decide to get there by car, even though when the weather is fair, (unlike today), they bicycle all the way there. Once they have arrived by car at the mall, they see that there are a lot of people, and that they will have to wait a quarter of an hour before they can find an empty spot at the parking lot. Luckily, Mum always brings good music on board, and, as they wait, mother and daughter sing out loud to kill the time. At last, Mum and Theresa have found an empty spot, and they have been able to park. Then, they have climbed up the escalators to the floor with the clothes shops.

"Where do you want to start looking?" Mum asks.
"On the ground floor," Theresa replies. "The last shop from last time." The daughter is looking for a pair of flowered trousers, like the ones she wore last summer.
"I don't know if there are such still in stock," Mum says, "but we'll go take a peek, shan't we?" Once inside the shop, Theresa realises that they have no longer got trousers like those, but everything is full of new designs, all of them beautiful. There are so many to have a peek at that mother and daughter no longer know quite well where they should have a look. Finally, Theresa finds a pair that she's fallen for.
"Mum!" cries Theresa, looking left and right. "Where could she have gone? She was right here, by my side, seconds ago..."
Theresa walks to and fro all over the shop to find her mum, and then leaves to look for her outside, but nothing: her mother has disappeared. Then, she enters the shop once more and asks the cashier if she has seen her mum, but the cashier says that she doesn't remember. She advises Theresa to head for the information desk, from which they will call her mum, and thus she will come to find her.
"All right," Theresa says confidently.

The cashier escorts Theresa all the way to the information desk, and, in the meantime, along the way, the little girl looks all around her, hoping she can see her mum. When they arrive, they see that Mum is already there, because she also wanted to send an announcement out loud to locate her daughter.

"You have made a very good decision in coming here," Mum says.

"This lady has helped me a lot," Theresa replies, looking at the female clerk.

"Thank you, madame," Mum replies.

"You're welcome," the cashier says, "but now I have to return to my job. Au revoir!"

"I went out to look at some clothes and lost you from sight," Mum explains to Theresa. Then, they return to the same shop where the helpful clerk was, and they buy a pair of lovely trousers and a lovely jumper decorated with flowers and beads.
"It's a gift for you, because you have known to do the best thing," Mum says.

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THE RUNAWAY KITTEN

Lisa has a pet kitten at home. It's a short time since she got him, and he's still a small one. When she leaves school, she returns home in haste to look for Misu, for that is the name she has given her pet. Today, the school bell has sounded for the students to get out in the afternoon, but Lisa stands in the schoolyard with the teacher, because her mum has not come to take her home yet.

"Where is she?" she asks the teacher. "I want to go home and see Misu..."

"She'll soon come, just like every day," the teacher replies. "Surely, she is about to arrive."

The teacher was right: here comes Mum! She (the teacher) knows that little girls are very impatient, and thus, she says: "Now your mum's right here!"

Lisa storms, running and skipping, into her mother's arms, and both of them return hastily home on their bicycle.

Lisa, sitting in the backseat, is snacking on an apple. She is always starving when she has to leave school. And thus, Mum always tells her:

"First, you should eat some fresh fruit, because it's very healthy, and later on you may have a sweet."

Once they get home, Lisa immediately sets off to look for her cat and starts calling: 

"Come, Misu, come here..." but he does not appear anywhere.

"Mum," a worried Lisa asks her, "where is he?"

"Must be napping somewhere," Mum says. "Look for him well."

Lisa looks first in the living room, even under the sofa, but Misu is nowhere to be seen. Not under the cupboard either.

"He isn't anywhere, Mum," Lisa pouts. "I don't understand... he has disappeared..."

"Look on the top floor," Mum replies.

Lisa looks through every room, even in the bathroom, but does not find him. Growing more and more restless, she begins to cry because her kitten is missing. Her mother, already a little worried, tells her: "Let's search everywhere one more time," and accompanies her upstairs to the top floor. They look through every nook and cranny and take up a little cat food, to draw Misu close to them, but neither do they find him this time. When Dad comes home from work, Lisa, in tears, explains what has happened.

"He cannot have disappeared," Dad says. "Misu cannot have left home yet."

"I know," Lisa sighs, "but he has run away..."

Suddenly, Dad hears a little noise, pays a little attention, and says:

"Silence! I can hear scratching... and... the noise comes from the cellar downstairs!" And Dad is right. Misu begins to meow, so they open the trapdoor, and the kitten runs out towards Lisa, ready to clasp him in her open arms.

"You had not looked in the cellar yet, eh?" Dad asks her with a laugh.

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THE PARK

Tomorrow, Beatrice will be going with her friends Sarah and Paula to the park.

That is why she is so happy! They will be going there in Paula's family car. Paula's dad is quite a strong and quite a funny fellow, who pushes the girls on the swings, makes funny faces, and helps them make sand castles. Beatrice loves going to the park with her two best friends, because all three have always lots of fun together.

But this morning, Beatrice has woken up feeling quite strange, and without any appetite.

"Have a slice of bread," her mum suggests. Beatrice makes an effort, but she cannot swallow, and she has this urge to throw up. She instantly bursts into tears because she is feeling ill-at-ease, but more so because she realises that most propably she will not be able to go to the park. Such bad luck!

Mum has prepared a clean pyjamas for her daughter.

"I don't want to put my PJs on!" she pouts as she sees it. "With my PJs on, I can't go anywhere; prepare my day clothes to go play in the park, Mum..."

"My darling, I don't believe you will be able to get out of doors anytime today," her mother says in a voice warm with kindness.

She already knows that her daughter is very excited about going to the park, but she realises that today she will have to stay at home.

Beatrice winces as she sits down on the sofa. Actually, she will soon have to go to bed, because her tummy is hurting quite sore.

Mum tucks her under the covers and touches her forehead.

"Lie down on the sofa, my little honeybee," Mum tells her. Whenever Beatrice is sad, her mother always calls her her "little honeybee." "Today you will feel a lot better," she adds. "The best thing you can do is rest, and thus, you will recover sooner."

Beatrice falls asleep for a while. Later on, when she awakes, she realises that she is already feeling a little better. Nevertheless, she is still feeling sad because she can't go to the park. She thinks of her friends, and how much fun they must be having on the swings, and that Paula's dad must surely be playing with them. What a pity that she is not able to go! Luckily, Mum goes her best and gives her all for her daughter to feel at ease at home: for this reason, she helps her make a great puzzle, and both of them read fairytales together. Thanks to her mother, Beatrice is also having fun at home.In the afternoon, by the way, Mum lets her watch telly for a while, sitting on the sofa. Suddenly the phone rings, Mum picks it up, and spends a good while talking on the phone.

"Who could it be?" Beatrice asks herself.

During the conversation, she overhears that sometimes they're speaking her name.

"It's Paula's dad," Mum finally says.

Beatrice listens, paying all her attention.

"At the end of the day, they have not gone to the park," her mother explains.

"Why?" asks Beatrice.

"Because you were not able to go, and they would rather do this when you have recovered."

Beatrice's face has suddenly lightened up as she listened to this.

"I have told Paula's dad that you already feel better, and that you will be able to go with them tomorrow."