Marcie’s favourite colour was black. It was the colour she knew best. Marcie could take or leave the other colours. They didn’t mean much to her. But the one colour she really disliked was green. Green was everywhere. You couldn’t avoid it.
And it was coming to get her. In the shape of a green-eyed monster. Mum told Marcie, the green-eyed monster was closing in faster than a summer storm. Marcie was getting worried. How could she avoid being caught? Was there no escaping its green, slimy clutches and foul cabbage breath?
She slept with her bedroom door closed. She pulled the covers high up under her chin. She packed her toys tightly around her and waited, silently in the darkness, for the sound of monster feet. But it wasn’t her fault the green-eyed monster was after her. It was Jayde’s. Ever since her new baby sister showed up, disturbing things had begun to happen.
Suddenly, Grandma didn’t have time for playing tigers anymore. That made Marcie cross. So cross, she moaned and moaned until Jayde had woken up crying. Marcie was not allowed to play in the park after that.
Suddenly, she didn’t get to sit in the shopping trolley anymore. That made Marcie furious. So furious, she kicked the trolley, knocking the eggs to the floor. Marcie missed out on her ice-cream treat for that.
Suddenly, she had to share her toys with Jayde, who sucked the head off her Barbie, ruining its hair. That made Marcie mad. So mad, she threw her spinning top at Jayde, hitting her in the head. Marcie was forbidden to go to her friend’s birthday party after that.
But worst of all, Mum had no time to read her her favourite stories any more because she was always feeding Jayde, cleaning Jayde or cooing at Jayde.
This made Marcie so jealous she stormed out of the house and hid in the Poinciana tree at the bottom of the garden. Mum warned Marcie, the green-eyed monster would get her for sure if she continued to act so jealous. Jealous? How could Jayde take everything she treasured away from her? Why wasn’t the monster after Jayde?
Then one day, everyone stopped fussing over Jayde. They spoke about Marcie in soft, excited voices. An unbelievable breakthrough was about to happen. To her.
Marcie wondered if somebody had managed to catch the green eyed monster or finally bought Jayde her own Barbie. If so, perhaps then she could sleep better at night. But to Marcie’s amazement, the unbelievable breakthrough was a visit to hospital, as much jelly and ice-cream as she could eat, and an operation . . . on her eyes.
“Open your eyes Marcie,” she heard Mum say after the operation.
Marcie opened her eyes and stared into the face of her baby sister for the very first time. She saw the greenest eyes she’d ever seen in her life and smiled. Suddenly, Marcie had a new favourite colour.
©Dimity Powell 2012, image credit
Bedtime Stories downloadable tales for children are an AWO initiative, run in support of the National Year of Reading 2012. We encourage you to print and read these stories with your kids, and revel in the joy a wonderful story can bring. All stories are original and have been penned by established and emerging Australian authors. Every month, we will publish four stories running to a central theme, each on a Monday morning. See here for more.
