Written by Amy Trevaskus Illustrated by Alison Heath ŠHartland Media 2010
For Mum, Dad, Nicki, and Dave. Thanks to everyone who has helped to bring Ping and Pong to life. Š Hartland Media Limited 2010 Author: Amy Trevaskus Illustrator: Alison Heath Designer: Heather Pettitt The rights of Amy Trevaskus and Alison Heath to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work have been asserted by them in accordance with the copyright, Designs and Patent Act, 1988 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission. Published by Hartland Media Limited Printed in United Kingdom
Lucy was very excited. Today she was going to the park. She got out of bed, put her clothes on and headed downstairs to have breakfast with her Mum. “Mummy, can I wear my wellies today?” she said tucking into her boiled egg and toast soldiers. “You can Lucy, but it’s not raining outside” her Mum replied. Lucy smiled as she thought of all the puddles that would be in the park if it did rain. She loved going to the park with her Mum and Dad but mostly she loved going to the park with her best friends, Ping and Pong.
Ping and Pong live in the clock in the hall of Lucy’s house. Lucy found them there when her Dad told her to go and wind the clock because it had stopped ticking. He told her what to do to make it tick again. She went to the clock, opened the door and there they were smiling back at her. Pong was just waking up and Ping was already out of her bed and getting ready for an exciting day. Lucy opened the door to the clock, peered in at Ping and Pong and smiled from ear to ear. “Come on you two, wake up!” she shouted at them. Pong stretched and yawned. “Just ten more minutes” he groaned. “Come on!”, Ping said, “we are going to the park!!”
Lucy’s Mum helped her put on her coat, scarf and her favourite red wellies and they headed for the front door. “Wait!” she shouted. Lucy had suddenly remembered Ping and Pong, she couldn’t go without them and they couldn’t get down from the clock by themselves because they were only little. Lucy ran back into the house and stopped at the clock, she knocked this time. They had their wellies on too and Lucy smiled as she scooped them up and put them carefully in her pocket. “Lucy, hurry up” her Mum shouted, “it looks like its going to rain after all!”
Ping and Pong made themselves comfortable in Lucy’s pocket. Lucy was always careful that they didn’t bump all over the place while they were in there. “Lucy’s Mum said it was going to rain” Ping said, “I hope we don’t get too cold.” “I’m so glad I put my wellies on” said Pong, “I love the rain and I love the park and I love PUDDLES!” he shouted. Ping looked worried, she liked the park but liked it best on sunny warm days. Pong was the opposite, he liked the rain so that he could splash in the puddles. Pong peered out of the top of Lucy’s pocket and saw they were crossing the road to the park. He grabbed Ping by the hand and got ready to be lifted out of Lucy’s pocket. Lucy held her Mum’s hand as she crossed the road and skipped all the way into the park. She headed straight to the slide, she knew it was Pong’s favourite.
Lucy climbed the steps to the slide and sat down at the top. She carefully reached into her pocket and helped Ping and Pong out. They both climbed onto her lap and looked down the long slide. “Let me go first pleeeaaase” squealed Pong. “OK”, agreed Lucy, and she gave him a little push. “Yippeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!” He shouted as he disappeared down the slide, shouting “yippeee!” all the way down to the bottom. “Can we go down together?” Ping asked Lucy. “Of course we can, hold on tight” she said, “it’s a long way down!” “Yeeeaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyy” they both zoomed down the slide together and laughed when they got to the bottom where Pong was waiting for them. “I want to go again!” he shouted....
Pong wanted to stay on the slide for a little bit longer, so after a few more goes they ran over to the swings. Lucy made sure that Ping and Pong were sitting carefully on the swing and told them to hold on tight to the ropes. “Mummy, can you come and give me a push please?” she called over to her Mum who was standing underneath a tree, looking up at the dark grey clouds in the sky. Lucy’s Mum was good at pushing on the swing and never pushed Lucy too high. “I want to go higher!” shouted Pong. Ping looked rather nervous, she didn’t like swings. “Can we go and have a look at the ducks by the pond now?” Ping whispered to Lucy.
Pong was sulking as they walked over to the pond. “But I love the swings” he said to Lucy. “I know” she replied, “but we have to be fair to Ping and do what she wants to do as well”. “Hummmpph” he replied. Ping skipped towards the pond with Pong stomping behind her. Ping wanted to see the ducks most of all, she loved the ducks. She stopped by the edge of the pond and one by one the ducks floated over to her. Lucy’s Mum has brought some old smelly bread to feed them because they loved eating it, even though it was all soggy.
Lucy’s Mum gave her some bread chunks and told her to be very careful, these ducks looked hungry. Lucy gave Ping and Pong the small crumbs and they threw them into the pond so that the ducks could reach it and eat it all up. All of a sudden Lucy saw big drops of water splishing and sploshing into the pond. “Yeeeaaay...It’s raining!” She shouted to her Mum. Lucy’s Mum put her umbrella up and told Lucy to do up her coat and put her hood up. “Good” said Lucy, “I can splash in the puddles!”
Very quickly the other Mums and Dads in the park rushed underneath a big tree to shelter from the rain. “Grown ups don’t like the rain and puddles do they?” said Ping. “No” said Lucy “they don’t know what they are missing!” All of a sudden there was a SPLASH! Pong had jumped in the puddle and soaked Ping from head to toe. He laughed and giggled while water trickled down Pings face. “Pong!” She shouted “look what you have done....my wellies are full of water!” Pong laughed so much he went pink, then Lucy started laughing. Ping couldn’t hold it in anymore, she burst out laughing too!
After they had jumped in some smaller puddles, Lucy’s Mum said that it was time to go home. It was nearly time for lunch and she said that Lucy should get changed into some dry clothes before she caught a cold. “Come on Pong” said Lucy, “we have to go home now”. “Whhhhyyyyyyyyyy?” asked Pong, “I’m having SO much fun.” “We can come back again soon” said Lucy. “Bye bye Mrs Duck” said Ping, “Bye bye puddles” said Pong. Pong yawned and stretched as Lucy carefully put them back into her coat pocket.
By the time they got home, Lucy and her friends were very tired. Lucy’s Mum made her a sandwich, her favourite, cheese and ham. “Thank you Mummy” she said, “and thank you for taking us to the park.” Lucy munched her sandwich but suddenly realised that Ping and Pong were still in her pocket! She opened her pocket and peered in. Pong was snuggled in the corner snoring loudly. He opened his eyes slowly and Lucy whispered “Shall I put you to bed Pong? You have had a busy day.” “Yes please, he said “I feel very sleepy now”. Lucy carefully took her friends Ping and Pong out of her pocket and took them back to their clock house. She opened the door and placed them back inside. Pong curled up on his bed and Ping climbed on to hers. Lucy shut the door quietly and Ping and Pong fell asleep and dreamed of their next adventure with Lucy....
About Amy Amy has always written; short stories, poetry or children’s stories. She is currently based in Somerset where she runs her own creative copywriting agency. Amy is truly inspired by her family; she hopes to bring Ping and Pong to life for other children and encourage the power of imagination within children and adults alike. Alison and Amy met while they were both at University which is where they first discussed Ping and Pong. Alison has just completed a Masters Degree in English Literature.
The End
She is currently based in Cheltenham; in her spare time she writes radio plays and is studying the craft of bookbinding. ©Belinda McCarthy Photography 2010
We hope that you have enjoyed this Ping and Pong™ story. For further information about forthcoming titles please visit www.pingandpongbooks.webs.com
Join Ping and Pong and their best friend Lucy as they learn, laugh and explore their way through life..... Ping and Pong are brother and sister. They have lived in the clock in Lucy’s hallway for as long as they can remember. When Lucy found them they were so happy, she looked like she had so much fun with her family and friends. Join Lucy and her best friends Ping and Pong as they discover learning through fun on their adventures. They will be discovering how to grow vegetables in the garden, learn about different animals at the zoo and help Lucy’s Mum and Dad cook in the kitchen. Ping and Pong also learn about recycling when they go to school in Lucy’s pocket, play in the park, and SPLASH in puddles!
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©Hartland Media 2010