ROCKET THE CRICKET
Chapter One
Rocket the Cricket peered out from under his blanket with one eye open (two would’ve been too much.) He wasn’t ready to wake up. But the crow of a nearby rooster and Rocket’s grumbling stomach tugged him out of bed.
He put on his favorite cap and set off in search of something to nibble on.
What he found was his best friend, an Ant named Poe, polishing what looked like a bright yellow ball. Poe assured him it would soon be a scrumptious treat.
“Exactly how are we supposed to eat this?” Rocket asked, poking at the large dry kernel of corn. “It’s as hard as a rock!”
“It explodes,” replied Poe. “We just have to be patient.”
They both sat staring intently at the kernel.
One minute went by.
Two minutes went by.
Then another. That was three whole minutes!
“Oh, I give up. I’m hungry, Poe,” Rocket moaned.
Poe rubbed his chin. He knew there was something he was forgetting. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers.
“I remember!” he said excitedly. “We just need some heat!”
Rocket thought back to the scolding he once got when he stood too close to a scalding hot pot of pea soup. His mother shrieked, giving him only one very thin cracker for dinner before sending him to bed. He didn’t even get to try the pea soup!
In short, Rocket knew that if he and Poe went anywhere near heat, it could land them both in hot water.
Chapter Two
Not far from where Poe had found the kernel, sat a house high up on a hill. It was a rickety old thing. The big blue house belonged to the Leister family (pronounced lie—as in, don’t tell a lie! And stir—as in, what you do with a spoon), and it was where Mrs. Leister, Mr. Leister and the little Leister children lived.
Rocket and Poe’s parents had warned them both repeatedly about the dangers to be found inside the Leister house—especially inside the Leister’s kitchen.
Poe once lost several uncles who’d marched too close to the stove and got licked by hot bacon grease!
And then there was their dear friend Ant Agatha who Mrs. Leister swept away with her big brown broom. It took Agatha weeks to finally make her way back home.
No, no, no. The kitchen was a dangerous place to be. Rocket and Poe were not allowed to climb up to the house on the hill. That was something only grownups were allowed to do.
“Oh, but we need some heat!” said Poe standing up, using his hands to press the wrinkles out of his little green jacket.
Rocket pulled at the brim of his cap and looked over at his best friend Poe.
They decided to chance it.
Chapter Three
Rocket took the lead in rolling the popcorn kernel up the hill, as the kernel was several times bigger than Poe.
They’d heard Mr. Leister call the hill a driveway. That’s where Mrs. Leister swept Ant Agatha before a swirl of wind blew Agatha far far away in a cloud of dust.
Rocket inched the kernel closer and closer to the Leister house, grunting with each push. He barely noticed Poe lagging farther and farther behind.
Now, if Rocket and Poe had stayed focused on the task at hand, Poe might never have found himself in grave peril. But it proved difficult to not let their minds wander to thoughts of popcorn popping. They were so close to enjoying their treat, they could almost smell it!
“We need butter,” sighed Poe. “Just a bit, not even a pat!”
Shaking his finger, Rocket turned to warn Poe that they shouldn’t get too greedy and go looking for butter in the Leister’s kitchen.
And, it was at that precise moment, he lost his grip on the kernel.
It began to roll.
Picking up speed, it skipped over a piece of gravel and made a beeline for Poe!
“Run, Poe, run!” yelled Rocket.
But no matter which way Poe ran, the kernel went barreling after him!
“I’m not going to make it!” screamed Poe.
Chapter Four
Poe was out of breath. He couldn’t run anymore.
Just as it seemed there was no escape and Poe was doomed to be steamrolled, the kernel hit another piece of gravel which sent it soaring right over Poe’s head.
He was saved!
It landed on a curb near a few pieces of rubbish that had fallen out of the Leister’s overstuffed garbage cans.
Rocket rushed over to help Poe back on his feet. They were thrilled to have not lost the kernel!
As they went to retrieve it, Poe gasped.
There it was. A large piece of paper with red markings on it—a stick-of-butter wrapper! Inside were thick yellow flecks of creamy butter. In fact, the entire wrapper was smeared with it!
Unfortunately, Poe failed to warn Rocket about the slickness of butter wrappers.
Poe’s dad and an army of ants once got stuck on one. It happened on a hot summer day which caused the butter to melt into a pool. They had to swim their way out and eventually went sliding off in every direction!
That’s the thing about butter, if you step on it, you just might slip.
And that’s exactly what happened to Rocket.
Every time he tried to take a step, his feet went flying and he landed on his back. He tried hopping away, but that was even worse! The butter was as thick as glue, so, he couldn’t get any traction.
He was a slippery mess!
Finally, Rocket decided his only means of escape would be to crawl through the butter to the edge of the wrapper until he reached the dirt.
It worked.
Of course, the butter made the dirt stick, but Rocket didn’t care. He was glad to be free from the butter wrapper!
“You sure smell good!” laughed Poe.
Rocket began to wonder if enjoying a piece of freshly popped popcorn was worth it after all.
Chapter Five
Poe wasn’t ready to give up.
His cousin Ralph was a fire ant. Surely, he knew something about heat.
“Well,” Ralph said, “The sun could get the job done, but…” His voice trailed off and he shook his head, “You’ll never reach it.”
Poe’s heart began to sink.
Ralph paused. “There’s only one thing left to do,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “Ask a grownup.”
It was the one thing Rocket and Poe hadn’t thought of!
Ralph called out to his father, Poe’s uncle Pete.
“Dad! Can you help Rocket and Poe pop this kernel of corn?”
Like Ralph, Uncle Pete was as red as a beet. Rocket thought it made him look cheerful.
Uncle Pete pointed at several small pieces of wood for them to drag over. To that, he added two dried leaves and formed a pile near the edge of the sidewalk.
“Whoo boy!” he said. “Get ready for a treat and a show!”
Uncle Pete began rubbing two sticks together. Before they knew it, small billows of smoke started to rise and the pile began to crackle. Then he picked up a very long stick and used it to scooch the popcorn kernel into the heap.
They all sat staring intently.
One minute went by.
Two minutes went by.
Then finally, to Rocket’s surprise—it popped!
He was so startled he jumped sky high. Up up up he went, then down down down he came landing smack dab on top of the popped corn.
“You squashed it,” Poe moaned.
“Oh, Poe, I’m so sorry. There goes our snack!”
Rocket clambered down. He turned and pushed at the crumpled piece of popcorn trying to fluff it back up. He didn’t tell Poe, but, it sure felt soft when he’d landed on it.
“That’s okay, Rocket,” said Poe. “We can still eat it. I’m just glad you didn’t go splat on the sidewalk.”
Rocket felt lucky to have a best friend like Poe.
Then, with eyes closed in anticipation, they both leaned in to take a bite and nearly bit each other!
Even without butter, they just knew this was the most delicious, most delectable piece of popcorn in the world.
The end.