I Wish I Wish

   Jen's grandmother and grandfather lived in a huge house. The first and second floors were their Bed & Breakfast. The family lived on the upper two floors in the house. Jen's mom was the only girl along with her seven brothers grew up in the house. Jen's grandparents were selling the B&B to move to a community housing development in Maine. It is much smaller than this house they needed to either give some away, send things to her children. The one thing Jen always loved was the coo clock which hung in the main hallway. Her grandmother, Betty had been 

standing in the hallway watching her admire the clock.

"Oh Hi, grandma B" as Jill called her "I love this cuckoo clock."

"Well," her grandmother said, "I remember your thirteen birthday is soon, how about this being your birthday gift from Grand Pa and me?"

"Oh Grand B? It's lovely!" Thank you while running to her grandmother giving her a big bear hug.

See Grandma B had already spoken with her daughter Jill's mom about giving the clock to Jill. Her daughter smiled.

The moving truck was picking up the belongings tomorrow. Jill slept in a sleeping bag, her parents slept on a large inflatable mattress. The grandparents slept on their mattress they would get up early to have it ready for the movers.

Jill fell asleep quickly while thinking "I wish I could live inside the cuckoo clock."

A strange noise work Jill. It was strangely dark but could hear a low grinding sound. Rolling up the sleeping bag then tried to locate her clothes which were nowhere to be found. "This room is dark maybe the power is out?" she hoped. Jill waited till her eyes adjusted to the dark. She could only make out an outline of something in the distance Jill stretched out her arms to prevent bumping into anything. She grew closer to the outline, it looked like a little girl. "Hello," Jill said in a weary voice "Who are you?" "Where are we?"

The figure did not answer. Jill moved closer she suddenly recognized it was the little girl with a white and pink dress and had a triamterene in her hand. "Wait! Where did I see this before?' Suddenly, there was a loud bang followed by clicking then music. Suddenly the room was flooded with light. The small door opened the little girl and the dog with a bone moved through the door then Coocku Coocku Coocku the sound had been extremely loud Jill needed to put her fingers in both ears. Then bong-Bong and three more bongs.

"It's five o'clock," thought Jill "I'm inside the clock!" "How did I get here?" the door remained opened she ran towards them just as it started to close in the nick of time. Jill standing outside on a small ledge of the clock. Jill looked down which made her dizzy, moving back from the ledge Jill could now see clearly. "I've to find my way back! How?" Jill thought "I don't even know how I came here?"

Carefully she looked around the room everything seemed the same "Wait!" Jill yelled out all the furniture was removed this morning the boxes too but now all the furniture was in place.

Jill sat down leaning against the clock, she tried to open the door but it seemed tightly closed "I have to wait for the hour then the door should open." She thought. As Jill predicated when the clock struck six cuckoos the small door opened, the little milkmaid and the dog came through the door Jill once again ran to get through the door before it closed.

Jill was now safely inside the clock. She had never seen the inside of the clock or had not learned how a clock is made or how it worked. Jill did not know how the coo sound was made. Making her way around the clock she found the small cable that moved up and down"these must move the hands on the clock she predicted. Jill climbed up on a platform she noticed something she had never seen, it was a small triangle that moved up and down when the bird made the cuckoo-cuckoo sound. Moving closer to get a better look by the bow was a small piece of wood "This looks like a reed!" Jill used a reed to play the clarinet "I bet when the box moves up and down pushes air over the reed making the coo sound." 

Jill continued to look around admiring the construction, was used to build this magnificent masterpiece the details. Jill had been up early she was feeling sleepy, she found the sleeping bag unrolled it she slipped into the bag pulling it over her head. Drifting off to sleep.

"Jill" "Jill wake up we're at your grandparent's home," Jill's mom said Jill was still partly asleep "Are you okay? I know it was a long ride." acknowledged her mother seeing the confused look on her daughter's face.

"I'm fine mom" Jill reassured her mom. Jill helped unpack the car. The family put the boxes in each room where they belong. The moving truck had arrived taking the heavy furniture inside. The car was unpacked the movers were also finished. Everyone was tired and hungry.

"I know where to get sandwiches and salade and cake." said Grandma B "Let's have a picnic." In the back of the complex was a picnic area benches and tables with umbrellas. The family sat down beginning eating. Jill asked her grandmother" Is there a family story about the clock?". "Who made it?" "Where did it come from?" "How did she get the clock?"

"Yes there is a history of the clock," Grandmom B said, "It is in my mom journal." "When were are settled in our new home I'll check with your mom to see when you can stay overnight, so I can pass the history to you."

 A few months later while staying at her grandmother's home and read the story to Jill was excited to learn about its history.

Jill had a writing project for writing class. The teacher allowed the children to choose their topics she still needed to check theirs chose.

"Jill I think this is the first time a student picked this topic." said the teacher. The class tried to get a look at Jill's paper she put it up over her head for all to see.   What would it be like living in a coo clock?