the
Spirit of Space
up into the sky.
‘You’re on your way, Spud’
the voice said. ‘Sit
back and we’ll take it from here. Good going, old buddy. Sit back and we’ll have you home in a jiffy’
‘Sure thing, Bip,’ said Selby. ‘Catch ya later, buddy.’
‘Well, if this just don’t beat all,’ the voice behind him said. Selby turned and found himself staring straight into the smiling face of a wide awake Spud Kirkle. ‘A talking dog,’ the man said. ‘They didn’t tell me they were sending a talking dog. I thought I’d get the regular barking kind. The way you changed that starter button was something else. Tell me this: how’d you learn to talk?’
Selby stared back in stunned silence.
‘Oh, no! He’s seen and heard everything!’ he thought. ‘My secret is out! I went all the way to Mars to keep from talking and now I’ve been sprung by Spud!’
‘Well?’ said Spud. ‘Aren’t you going to tell me?’
More silence from Selby.
‘Come on, doggy, talk to me,’ Spud said. ‘You’re not going to give me the silent treatment, are you?’
‘Spud, can you hear me? Mission Control here, do you copy?’
‘I hear you.’
‘You got a problem?’
‘No, no problem. I was just talking to the dog, that’s all.’
‘You were talking to a dog? Is that what you said, Spud?’
‘That’s right,’ Spud said.
‘Spud, old buddy, would you do us a favour and just lie back and take it easy?’
Suddenly Spud’s face lit up.
‘Hang on a sec — I get it!’ he whispered to Selby. ‘This whole thing’s a big secret, isn’t it? You’re the biggest secret in the whole space program! I nearly blew it by blabbing it out to the whole world! Don’t worry, pal, mum’s the word,’ he said, putting his finger to his lips. ‘How about we go for a bit of a spacewalk to get some exerciseand then we’ll have a nice talk when we get down.’
‘Oh, no, we won’t,’ Selby thought. ‘And, fortunately for me, nobody’s ever going to believe Spud. They’ll think he was bonkers from lack of air. My secret will be safe, after all.’
Which is exactly what happened. Soon even Spud believed that he’d been seeing — and hearing — things.
The Trifles were waiting in the desert when the
Spirit of Space
touched down. From there, Selby and the Trifles were flown back to Australia. The last Selby saw of Spud Kirkle was on television when he rode in an open car, waving to a cheering crowd, the air filled with bits of falling paper.
For a while, TV and newspaper reporters came to Bogusville and took pictures of Selby but after a while the Trifles said that enough was enough and Selby’s life went back to normal.
It had been a wonderful adventure and, when he looked back on it, the best part was the trip back. As they drifted safely back towards earth Selby had stared out at the shimmering shape of the earth. It was a nice round shape, he thought, with lots of blue and green and covered in wispy white clouds.
‘I’m so lucky!’ Selby thought. ‘This is just what Wanderin’ Dan always dreamed of doing — but I’m actually doing it!’
He remembered the old man and how he’d had nothing, and everything, and he was the happiest man alive. For a moment Selby imagined that he could see the tiny dot on the earth that was Bogusville and, somewhere inside it, a tinier dot that was home to him and the most wonderful people in the world — the Trifles.
‘Good old earth,’ he thought. ‘And good old Dr and Mrs Trifle. I am the happiest dog alive.
Paw note: Read my poem, ‘My Spacewalk’, after this story and you’ll see what happened. (Or what didn’t happen!)
S
MY SPACEWALK
I took a little walk in space
‘Cos I was in the perfect place:
Above the moon, just left of Mars
Beneath the galaxies and stars.
I thought I’d wander for an hour
Bathing in a meteor shower.
Then after that I thought I may
Surf along the Milky Way.
If only I could get an inkling
Why the stars are always
Spirit of Space
up into the sky.
‘You’re on your way, Spud’
the voice said. ‘Sit
back and we’ll take it from here. Good going, old buddy. Sit back and we’ll have you home in a jiffy’
‘Sure thing, Bip,’ said Selby. ‘Catch ya later, buddy.’
‘Well, if this just don’t beat all,’ the voice behind him said. Selby turned and found himself staring straight into the smiling face of a wide awake Spud Kirkle. ‘A talking dog,’ the man said. ‘They didn’t tell me they were sending a talking dog. I thought I’d get the regular barking kind. The way you changed that starter button was something else. Tell me this: how’d you learn to talk?’
Selby stared back in stunned silence.
‘Oh, no! He’s seen and heard everything!’ he thought. ‘My secret is out! I went all the way to Mars to keep from talking and now I’ve been sprung by Spud!’
‘Well?’ said Spud. ‘Aren’t you going to tell me?’
More silence from Selby.
‘Come on, doggy, talk to me,’ Spud said. ‘You’re not going to give me the silent treatment, are you?’
‘Spud, can you hear me? Mission Control here, do you copy?’
‘I hear you.’
‘You got a problem?’
‘No, no problem. I was just talking to the dog, that’s all.’
‘You were talking to a dog? Is that what you said, Spud?’
‘That’s right,’ Spud said.
‘Spud, old buddy, would you do us a favour and just lie back and take it easy?’
Suddenly Spud’s face lit up.
‘Hang on a sec — I get it!’ he whispered to Selby. ‘This whole thing’s a big secret, isn’t it? You’re the biggest secret in the whole space program! I nearly blew it by blabbing it out to the whole world! Don’t worry, pal, mum’s the word,’ he said, putting his finger to his lips. ‘How about we go for a bit of a spacewalk to get some exerciseand then we’ll have a nice talk when we get down.’
‘Oh, no, we won’t,’ Selby thought. ‘And, fortunately for me, nobody’s ever going to believe Spud. They’ll think he was bonkers from lack of air. My secret will be safe, after all.’
Which is exactly what happened. Soon even Spud believed that he’d been seeing — and hearing — things.
The Trifles were waiting in the desert when the
Spirit of Space
touched down. From there, Selby and the Trifles were flown back to Australia. The last Selby saw of Spud Kirkle was on television when he rode in an open car, waving to a cheering crowd, the air filled with bits of falling paper.
For a while, TV and newspaper reporters came to Bogusville and took pictures of Selby but after a while the Trifles said that enough was enough and Selby’s life went back to normal.
It had been a wonderful adventure and, when he looked back on it, the best part was the trip back. As they drifted safely back towards earth Selby had stared out at the shimmering shape of the earth. It was a nice round shape, he thought, with lots of blue and green and covered in wispy white clouds.
‘I’m so lucky!’ Selby thought. ‘This is just what Wanderin’ Dan always dreamed of doing — but I’m actually doing it!’
He remembered the old man and how he’d had nothing, and everything, and he was the happiest man alive. For a moment Selby imagined that he could see the tiny dot on the earth that was Bogusville and, somewhere inside it, a tinier dot that was home to him and the most wonderful people in the world — the Trifles.
‘Good old earth,’ he thought. ‘And good old Dr and Mrs Trifle. I am the happiest dog alive.
Paw note: Read my poem, ‘My Spacewalk’, after this story and you’ll see what happened. (Or what didn’t happen!)
S
MY SPACEWALK
I took a little walk in space
‘Cos I was in the perfect place:
Above the moon, just left of Mars
Beneath the galaxies and stars.
I thought I’d wander for an hour
Bathing in a meteor shower.
Then after that I thought I may
Surf along the Milky Way.
If only I could get an inkling
Why the stars are always
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