Children's Stories . By Margo Fallis
A Roaring Good Time
A Roaring Good TimeThe sun was setting below the horizon. The last of the sightseers were leaving Trafalgar Square in downtown London, heading back to their hotels with their families.
The Square took on an eerie emptiness. The pigeons flew to nearby window ledges to roost for the night and the monument, with Lord Admiral Nelson sitting atop, stood alone. The only noise that could be heard was the spray of the fountain as the drops of water hit the pool below. The four bronze lions that sat on the monument, protecting Lord Nelson, were now alone. No longer were children climbing all over them. No longer were cameras flashing. It was silent.
"Are they all gone?" asked Albert.
Susan looked around, "All clear from my view."
"Here too," said Beatrice.
"We’re okay over here," called Edward.
"Then let’s go and have some fun!" growled Albert, as the four lions sprang to life, as they did every night at this time, and leapt off the monument onto the ground below. They stretched their aching limbs. Sitting in the same position all day long was tiring.
"I’ve got an idea of what we can do tonight!" exclaimed Beatrice. She was the mischievous one of the group. "You know those guards down at Buckingham Palace? I say that we go there and try to get one of them to move. They aren’t supposed to even blink. I’ve thought of a good way to scare them."
"Great!" said Edward, "and while we’re there we can go through the Royal rubbish and find something for dinner. I heard some tourists talking about a banquet at the palace tonight. You know what that means, don’t you?"
"Leftovers," Susan and Albert called out together.
The four bronze lions headed down the Mall, which is the name of the street leading from Trafalgar Square to Buckingham Palace. St. James Park is off to the side of it. They ran in there to stay hidden from any cars that might drive past. Beatrice roared and scared a flock of sleeping ducks. She roared in delight as they quacked and flew away angrily.
Susan wasn’t quite as mischievous as the others. As she went through the park, she took time to avoid stepping on the daffodils and crocus. Albert and Edward didn’t care what they stepped on. "There’s Buckingham Palace. Albert, you jump over the fence first, but be careful. Those spikes at the top are sharp. They can scratch you pretty bad," warned Beatrice.
Albert didn’t hesitate. He leapt over the fence without any problem; after all, they were all very large bronze lions. Susan, Beatrice and Edward followed.
"Now, should we eat first?" Albert asked.
"Let’s scare the guard first, Albert, and then we’ll eat. Come on, we’ll have to be really quiet if we want to sneak up on the guard," Beatrice reminded the group. One by one they made their way toward the guard’s box, staying very close to the palace walls. They could see him standing there, stiff as a board. "Let’s play with him," giggled Beatrice. "I’ll run by really fast. He’ll see a blur, but not be sure what it is. That will attract his attention." Beatrice ran as fast as she could past the guard. He didn’t move a muscle. She ran back, but this time much closer to him. He still stood at attention.
"He didn’t even blink an eye," said Edward, amazed.
"This time, I’ll go and stop right in front of him and roar," said Albert. "He’s never seen a bronze lion roar before, surely."
Albert crept up slowly and went behind the guard’s box. He bumped it softly, on purpose, to alert the guard. He stood waiting, but the guard never moved. Seeing that he was wasting his time, he jumped out from behind the box and stood in front of him. He was three times the size of the guard. There was still no reaction from the soldier. Albert took a deep breath and then let out a loud and ferocious roar. His breath blew the black fur on the guard’s hat. The guard still didn’t move but the palace lights came on and soon soldiers were pouring out of the building.
The four lions ran and jumped over the fence. They hid behind the Victoria monument and watched. The soldiers were all over the grounds, searching under every bush and behind every tree. Susan heard one of them say, "I could swear that noise we heard was a lion’s roar." She giggled.
Another soldier said, "It was probably just a car revving up its engine. Whatever it was, it’s gone now."
From behind the statue, Edward commented, "Whew! That was close. We didn’t get anything to eat though and I’m starving!"
"We almost got caught that time, Edward. We’ll have to find food somewhere else," Susan said.
"Did you see that guard? He didn’t move. Not one muscle!" Albert noted.
The four lions ran back through the park towards Parliament and Big Ben. Just as they reached Westminster Bridge, Big Ben chimed twelve loud chimes. BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG! BONG!
