Small, bright and shiny.

It wasn't long before the Pumpkin Festival in Goomeri and one of the organisers had rung up the school and asked if some of the students could help clean up any litter that might be on Policeman's Hill. Hodge Street

So, with the permission of the school principal, all of the students in prep to year three set off with their teachers.

As they walked over the railway line and into town one of the teachers said,

"Now, because you're helping the festival organisers they said you can all have some free lollies from the Lolly Shop but you'll have to take turns."

Five at a time they walked into Mrs Toffee's Lolly Shop and made their selection. Some got jelly beans. Some asked for lollipops and some wanted Chicken Feed.

Mrs Toffee stood there with her glasses, brown hair and big, black apron and made sure they all said 'please' and 'thank you'.

"Now," said their teachers, "Let's walk up to Policeman's Hill and make sure it's really, really clean and tidy. We'll go the long way round pass the Hall of Memory and the Motel because it's not so steep."

When they got there they made a game out of who could pick up the smallest piece of litter. The teacher called it an Emu Parade.

"Hey, here's a shiny little bit on the grass," said Timothy.

He bent over to pick it up but his sticky lolly fell out of his pocket and landed on the shiny little thing.

"Oh! It's disappeared," said Timothy as he picked up his lolly and popped it into his mouth.

"Timothy, you shouldn't eat things that have fallen on the ground. There could be anything on that lolly."

And, do you know what? There was something stuck to that lolly it was the shiny little thing and it got stuck in Timothy's throat.

"Arrrrrh! Arrrrrrh! Arrrrrrh! I'm chocking!" called Timothy.

"Look he's turning blue!"

The teacher found her mobile phone and called an ambulance.

They told her to whack Timothy on the back to see if he could cough up the thing in his throat.

As the ambulance came speeding up the road with its siren wailing, Timothy gave a mighty cough and something small, round and shiny went flying out.

It bounced off the windscreen of the ambulance and went whizzing up into the sky towards the swimming pool.

Timothy was taken off to Murgon Hospital in the ambulance and the children and the teachers hurried down the hill towards the swimming pool.

When they got there, the pool was closed but they tied three long sticks together and tied a net to the end and poked it over the fence into the pool.

The teachers said, "Three tries only and then back to school."

The first time they only scooped up a dead grasshopper. "Ohhh!"

The second time they scooped up a plastic toy shark. "Ohhh!"

But the third time they scooped up something small and round and shiny.

It was a gold ring with a shiny pumpkin jewel on the top. "Ahhhh!"

"That must belong to the Pumpkin Fairy Princess," said one girl.

"I bet it's magic," said a boy.

"All right make a wish," said a teacher.

"We wish that Timothy is well again."

And do you know what? He was.

Created by Daryll Bellingham and the students from years Prep, 1 and 2 at Goomeri State School.

Want to listen to our recording of the story by teachers and students? Here it is -

Austoryplace - Goomeri - 'Small, bright and shiny'

Daryll's podcast

© 2010

Old Henry and the Pumpkin Festival

In Goomeri, we all love the Pumpkin Festival and everyone helps make sure there's something different each year.

One morning not long before the festival, three people were collecting their mail at the post office at the same time.

Mrs Toffee, the owner of the lolly shop, was picking up another parcel of new lollies and she saw the manager of the Pumpkin Festival with a big smile on his face.

'What are you so happy about Blue?' she asked him.

'This letter here is the insurance for the festival. Now the festival can go ahead. Nothing can stop it now.'

'Look. Here's old Henry. He's ridden his bicycle all the way in from Tansey to pick up his mail. I don't know how he does it.'

'What have you got there Henry,' asked Blue as Henry carried his heavy little parcel out of the Post Office.

'None of your business. It's mine,' said Old Henry as he walked back to his bicycle and started to ride back to his farm.

No one knew what Old Henry took back to his farm that day but another day he was seen to park his bicycle in front of Mrs Toffee's Lolly Shop. He came out with a parcel and a smile and he rode back to his farm.

Well on the day of the Festival everyone in town was there. There were lots of tourists buying pumpkin scones and getting ready for the pumpkin roll down Policeman's Hill.

'Hey look who's coming. It's Old Henry.' shouted some kids.

Everyone looked and, sure enough, there he was puffing up the hill on his bicycle and on the back there was a big pumpkin.

He waited till everyone had had a go rolling and then stepped forward. 'Ladies and Gentlemen. I have the best pumpkin of all. All children must hold out their hands and open their mouths.'

He put his pumpkin down on the start line, lit the fuse sticking out of the pumpkin and gave it a shove and it went rolling down the hill.

'Ahh! It's a bomb. Duck for cover!' But before anyone could move, the pumpkin went off like a giant firework.

Bang! Ziiiiii. Ziiiii. Ziiii. Zup-zup-zup-zup-zup.

Fireworks went zipping everywhere over Policeman's Hill and out of them flew lots and lots of bright colourful pumpkin shaped lollies.

'Hooray!' Kids ran here and there scooping them up and when they tasted them they fizzed and zipped in their mouths like yummy, sweet fireworks.

'That's what was in that parcel at the post office,' said Blue. 'The Pumpkin Festival will get another tourism award for sure this year. Thanks old Henry. That was the best.'

Old Henry had his photo taken with the festival committee and Mrs Toffee from the Lolly Shop and all the happy smiling children before he hopped on his bike and rode back to his farm.

Created by Daryll Bellingham and the students from years 3, 4 & 5 at Goomeri State School.

No pumpkins were hurt in the production of this story.

© 2010

Old Henry and the Pumpkin Festival

Daryll's podcast

It Never Rains but it Pours

It had been raining for weeks and all the creeks and gullies were full of swirling, muddy water. Some of the bridges and roads had been cut off and the electricity had gone out.

Still that didn't stop most kids in Goomeri from having fun. Some boys were playing in the park on the edge of the gully, throwing things in the water and pulling out the long grass and the water weed to make the water go faster.

One of their sisters was watching from the verandah and called out, 'Be careful Timmy. Don't go near that drain. Drains are dangerous.'

'Oh, I'm all right Alice. The water's not deep.'

'Don't be stupid. Get out of there!'

But it was too late. Timmy slipped and splashed into the deeper water and before any of his friends could help the current was dragging him down the drain towards the culvert.

Timmy was swimming as hard as he could but it was as if some terrible cold force was dragging him under. The last they saw of him was his bright yellow board shorts as he was sucked down the drain.

'Hold your breath Timmy!' yelled Alice as she ran across the park.

'Where is he?'

'He must be trapped.'

But Timmy wasn't trapped. Somehow he had held his breath and came up coughing and spluttering in the drain on the other side.

He managed to grab some grass on the side and pull himself out before anyone got to help him.

'Why are you so pale Timmy?'

'I saw something under the water. It looked like an old grandma ghost.'

'Was she trying to drag you under?'

'No. She looked really worried and said something to me. She was holding out something in her hand. I think her hair was on fire.'

'In all that water. You're crazy.'

'No, no. Look. There it is that's what she was holding.'

Timmy pointed at a glass jug that was been carried along on the flood water in the drain.

'I'll grab it.' and one of the boys picked up a fallen tree branch, poked it through the handle of the jug and lifted it out.

'That looks like a beer jug from the pub. How did your old grandma ghost get that?'

'What's written on the side?' said Alice.

'Goomeri Hotel,1939. Pour it on.'

'Heh, that's what she was saying to me, Pour it on! Pour it on!'

'Did you say her hair was on fire? Wasn't there a fire in the old hotel and people died.'

'Yes. There's a plaque on the wall of the hotel. People died.'

'I think she was trying to pour water on the fire with this jug.'

'What are we going to do with it?'

'Let's give it back to her.'

They walked back up the side of the drain, up above the culvert and carefully put the jug back in the water. Timmy shoved it out into the deep with the long branch and they watched it being sucked back under the swirling water.

'Now don't go swimming in that drain again. It's too dangerous.'

'No way,' said Timmy.


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Created by Daryll Bellingham and the students from years 6 and 7 at Goomeri State School.

© 2010

It Never Rains but it Pours

Daryll's Austories Podcast