P - The Girl Who Got Bigger And Bigger

There was once a girl who wanted to be grown up like her parents, so
she made a special drink that would make her grow, and she did grow.
She grew until she was as big as her parents, but she didn't stop
there. She kept on growing until her foot was the size of her
house.

She quite enjoyed being suddenly so big, but her parents were annoyed.
She found her breakfast was too small to fill her up, and even after
several bowls of corn flakes she was still very hungry. Her mother had
to start making some big clothes for her. Her father just looked at
her, then he went to work.

She spent all that day visiting towns and villages that she had never
been able to go to before. People were pleased to see such a big girl,
and offered her great platefuls of food and a tanker which was full of
milk for her to drink. In one place she even drank a swimming pool full
of lemonade. After that she felt quite sick.

Night fell and she saw that she was completely lost. Nobody could show
her the way back home, and she couldn't tell anybody where she had come
from, because she didn't know. A farmer let her stay at his farm for
the night, and she made a bed for herself in a big barn. She cried
herself to sleep and felt sad because nobody was as big as her.

In the morning she awoke and was dismayed to see that sure enough she
was still just as big. Saying goodbye to the farmer she set off early,
determined to find her way home. Every footstep she took was about half
a mile long. Suddenly she felt a tap on her shoulder, which she hadn't
quite expected what with being so tall. It was a boy. And he was even
bigger than she was.

'Hello,' said the boy.
'Did you make a drink to get big and grow big too?' asked the girl,
wide-eyed.
'Yes,' he replied, 'This is my town.' He pointed to the small town
which was spread out on the ground before them like a carpet. There
were mountains beyond it and a lake. The girl explained to him that she
was lost and he invited her to come and stay with him. He even offered
to loan her some of his big clothes but she shook her head, saying, 'No
thanks. I'm tired of being too big. I want to be small.'

With that she shrank back down to her original and normal size. 'Wow,'
she gasped, 'I wasn't expecting that.' She told him where she thought
she lived, and the boy said he thought he might know where it was. He
seemed a little disappointed that she was no longer big, but
nevertheless let the girl ride on his shoe as they walked, and she
clung happily onto one of his enormous laces.

When they arrived at the girl's home she leapt to the ground and
shouted, 'Thanks for the lift!' The boy gave her a big grin and marched
away, humming to himself. His humming was as loud as a small orchestra.
The girl's mother and father were waiting in the town hall. They were
very worried. Her father was pacing about, and her mother was sitting
rather too still. She had been knitting a jumper. Her brow was knit
too. When the girl bounded in they were extremely pleased to see
her.

When they got home they all had shepherds pie, then ice cream and
strawberries, and the girl was allowed to stay up until half past nine
with her parents playing game after game of cards. But she couldn't
help wishing to be big again like the boy, because his head had brushed
the clouds in the daytime, and at night-time the stars.