One night when it was very late and the sky was getting darker and darker, Alice and Alfie fell asleep on the windowsill. They were awoken by a loud bang, and a woosh and another bang. They looked out of the window but they could only see the stars. Alfie said, “What was that?” The moon saw them looking and he floated down to them. He said it was the loudest bang he had ever heard and told the rag dolls that it was a firework called a rocket. He said the next day would be November 5th, firework night, and that they were going to have a big party on the village green tomorrow night.
Alice and Alfie told him that they would love to go and the moon said he would see them there and look out for them.
The next morning Alice and Alfie got up and decided to walk to the village to see what was going on. As they walked along the path through the woods, they heard an unusual sound. It was going cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo and coming from up in the trees. They saw a big bird and it flew down and sat with them on a wooden log and it went cuckoo, cuckoo again.
Alice said, “What is it with this cuckoo, cuckoo?”
“It is my name,” the bird replied.” Alice told him, “it is firework night tonight.” The cuckoo got very upset at the thought of all those bangs and started shaking.
Alfie said, “Are you alright?”
“I hate fireworks because they wake me up and sometimes they follow me flying through the sky.” He replied.
Alice said, “That must be fun,” and with that the cuckoo flew off to tell his friends about the fireworks so they could hide in the trees.
Alice and Alfie carried on walking until they reached the village green. There they saw many tents, some with food, some with drinks and right at the end of the green was an area that had been roped off with a sign saying, ‘Beware Fireworks.’ They decided to walk to the edge of the woods and wait till it was evening where they both fell fast asleep under a tree.
Before long it got dark and they were awoken by the sound of hundreds of children with their mummies and daddies. They heard music playing and everyone was eating and drinking. All of a sudden there were catherine wheels spinning around to the music and all the children were going, “aww! Ahh! Wow!”
There were coloured beams of light flashing up in the sky from the rockets. Alice said to Alfie, “Isn’t it lovely?” as the fireworks got higher and higher.
Alfie said, “Look, there is the moon.”
Alice shouted out, “Moon, moon get out of the way, or a rocket will take you to the Milky Way.”
Alice and Alfie moved forward just as the man who was organising the display lit the last biggest firework to end the show. All of a sudden from nowhere Mr. Cuckoo flew down and tried to put it out.
Alice and Alfie ran to help and they jumped onto Mr. Cuckoo’s back and steered him away from the rocket which was making a loud woosh, woosh, woosh.
As they were flying high they saw all the children below, watching the rocket let off all its colours.
Alice loved it, but Alfie said, “The problem is, what goes up must come down.” The rocket went flying past the moon, who was laughing. The moon followed them up into the sky and as the rocket started to slow the moon dropped down and said to Alice and Alfie, “Jump on my back and I will take you back.”
Alfie said, “That was lucky Alice.” And as they travelled back to the windmill the moon told them all about the stars and planets.
The moon told them about the Milky Way and said it was too far away. He told them about the planet Mars and all the other stars, then out of the blue in front of them was an amazing shining star. The moon asked them, “You know whose star that is?”
Alice said, “It’s Nichole’s star”
“Yes it is, you must make a wish as we go past.”
The rag dolls closed their eyes and sang together “With a woosh and a wish, please give Nichole a kiss.”
The moon lowered them gently onto the village green.
The fireworks had finished and the party was over. All the children were walking home. They were all saying how lovely the big rocket was.
Alice and Alfie set off again back to the windmill. Before they went off to sleep the moon said, “Goodnight and God bless and remember, remember the 5th November and remember fireworks are fun but only mummies and daddies must light one. Nichole sends her love woosh, woosh.”
“Alfie, that rocket went off with a bang!”
