THE PIRATE’S

SMILE

Comenius Project

Every Last Drop

Author: Patrícia Terradellas

The alarm clock went off. James jumped out of bed. Today was the

day!

The night before he had got his rucksack ready very carefully: his

sleeping bag, torch, thick socks, camera… Everything was ready to

go to Escaladei.

He went to the bathroom. He started to clean his teeth but he remembered that he hadn’t got his water flask!He ran back to his bedroom and started looking for it. While he was searching he heard water running. James: “Well! Now I’ve left the tap on! I’ll turn if off in a minute. First I have to find the flask.”“If Mum gets up there’ll be a row; turn off the tap, turn out the light, turn down the heating… she’s so annoying, she always says the same. But, where can that flask be?”“Oh! AT LAST! “How did it end up in such a strange place? Well, it doesn’t matter! Now I’ve got it. Now I´ll have to hurry up and finish washing or else I’ll be late.”

James: “What’s this? My bedroom has turned into a swimming pool?! “MUM, MUM!”The water was everywhere. Pirate captain: “Here, James, here. Catch the rope!”James turned round. Who was shouting? The pirate ship that he had been given for his birthday was sailing on the water, and from the deck someone was urging him to climb on.Pirate captain: “Swim, James! Here! The rope!”He reached out his hands and grabbed it with all his strength. He pulled as hard as he could and … zap … up he went!Pirate captain: “Hurry up, you have to hide. Follow me!”James: “Me, hide? Why? What’s the matter?”

Pirate captain: “DAMN THUG! YOU’RE TO BLAME!”James: “Me? Bu…, bu…, but what have I done?”Pirate captain: “What have you done? Where do you think this water that has damaged my boat has come from? If you hadn’t left the tap running we wouldn’t be in this situation.” James: “But what do you mean? I’ve left the bathroom two minutes ago!” Pirate captain: “Of course, two minutes today, five minutes yesterday evening, one minute yesterday morning, … all the water that you have wasted in the course of your short life has joined together to punish you.”

Pirate captain: “MOVE YOURSELF! Hold the thickest rope and tie the

sail, I’ll take the helm. We have to get to the bathroom and

QUICKLY!”

Fat-bellied sailor: “Do what I say. He’s very angry and can be

dangerous!” 

James: “No! My story books. Someone stop the water. Please,

please, someone hold it. Fat-belly, help me!”

But suddenly … what was that? Small figures were coming out of the story books and they were getting bigger and bigger. It was fantastic! All the characters were trying to float and find a place to hold on and feel safe. The Ugly Duckling got up, Tom Thumb on his back, Baloo was teaching Snow White how to swim, Peter Pan lifted the seven little goats, Perez the mouse and Modol the squirrel climbed onto Tom Sawyer’s raft. Everyone was helping each other.James: “I have to get them onto the ship. Here they will be safe”.Pirate captain: “THUNDER AND LIGHTNING! Tighten up the sail! We have to reach the bathroom!”James: “They are my friends. I have to help them.”Pirate captain: “You should have thought of that before wasting the water. Now there is only one solution: turn off the tap. Go ahead, now we’re leaving the bedroom. Come on!!!”

Pirate captain: “You, lazy, help your friends.” James rushed to carry out the order and started throwing ropes into the water, The first to climb up was the Pine Giant.

A strange noise surprised them. PLOP, PLOP, PLOP. James: “My goodness!Pirate captain: “YOU ROGUE! I’LL THROW YOU TO THE CROCODILE!”In the water the crocodile from The Jungle Book was waiting with its mouth open.

Pine Giant separated the boy from the pirate.

Pine Giant: “I have an idea, I’ll use my strength to tow the ship. I’ll

tie a rope around my waist, then I’ll jump in the water and swim to

the bathroom as fast as possible. Meanwhile, you carry on getting

people on deck.”

While the Pine Giant was getting ready, James threw a rope

ladder overboard and the boat began to fill: the tin soldier, Snow

White’s stepmother, Robin Hood, the marquis of Carabàs,

Cinderella, Aladdin…

The ship turned ninety degrees and passed through the bathroom door. A glaring bright light made them all close their eyes. James could only hear shouts, cries and whistles. He covered his ears and hid under some sacking.Pirate captain: “DON’T HIDE! SPOILT CHILD! I’LL HANG YOU FROM THE HIGHEST POLE!”James did not resist. He knew that all this was his fault. He never turned off the lights when he went out of a room and now all the wasted light was concentrated in the light bulb in the bathroom and they couldn’t see to turn off the tap.

Robin Hood: “Don’t worry! I have the solution. Let me do it!”Robin Hood tensed his bow, aimed with the arrow and fired. But the arrow disappeared into the distance.Robin Hood: “Someone shade me!” The Witch Marruixa had managed to get her broom to fly, and now spread out her black cape over Robin Hood´s head as if it were a sail. Robin repeated the operation again: tense, aim and …The arrow landed perfectly right in the middle of the light bulb.

Buffalo Bill: “I’ll finish the job”

He threw his lasso up in the air. Zzzzzzzzzaaas.

He’d done it! The rope was turning the tap, turning it

off!

The water stopped running.

Everybody jumped for joy and hugged each other.

James felt the pirate captain hug him tightly while he

said:

Pirate captain: “Only the good guys have good

friends.”

For the first time, James was moved by the pirate

captain’s words and cried a few tears.

Everybody tightened the sails while the God of the Winds blew non-

stop. In a few seconds, they came out of the bathroom, crossed the

landing and arrived at the bedroom.  

All the fairytale characters met their mates who had stayed on the

shelf, hugging the toys, hidden in the wardrobe…everybody was happy.

Nobody was injured, only Merlin the wizard who limped a little bit.

James's mother: “James, James, what has happened? What’s this noise? Have you been injured?”James opened his eyes. He hugged his mother and burst into tears. James's mother: “Don’t worry; you just fell out of the bed. You must be dreaming. Come on, get up. It was only a fright.”James looked around him. Everything was in the right place; the pirate ship on the toybox, the storybooks on the shelf, his bag prepared at the foot of the bed. James's mother: “All this is due to being excited about the school trip. Go to the toilet, have a shower and then get dressed. I will prepare breakfast for you.”

James took the pirate ship and put it on the bed to check it carefully but he couldn’t find anything strange. Suddenly James saw something that surprised him: the pirate captain was holding the ship’s flag. He looked at it carefully and read:

USE BADLY DAMAGE EVERYBODYJames: “You’re right, captain, I’ll never forget it!”And, whether you believe it or not, the old pirate captain smiled.

THE END

*Every Last Drop

*Comenius Project