Bedtime Stories for Children: Summer Outing by Lyn Oxley

Kids in cossies, thongs and caps
Laugh in car while puppy yaps.
Mum parks car and says, ‘Unpack!’
Kids and pup run down the track.

Mum with buckets, towels and spades,
Carries lunch for kid’s brigade.
Happy kids with sunscreen faces
Ditch their thongs for barefoot races.

Burning sand makes kids run fast;
Jill comes first and Mum comes last.
Puffing Mum and Socks the dog
Lay beside an ancient log.

Kids in cossies love the sun,
Paddling, splashing; swimming’s fun.
Soon the seaweed washes up
So kids return to Mum and pup.

To build big castles out of sand
Some shells and stones will make them grand.
Jill with buckets, Jack with spade;
Creative work for Mum’s brigade.

Starving kids and Mum have lunch,
Jack sneaks pup his crusts to munch.
Kids attach a lead to Socks
And jog with Mum to Seagull Rocks.

Mum and Socks sit down to cool
While kids skip stones in rocky pool.
Small fish hide in weed and rocks,
Safe from Jack and Jill and Socks.

Jill finds starfish, green and blue,
Jack spots oysters – mussels, too.
Scuttling crab and pouncing pup –
A yelp, a whine and Socks jumps up.

Overhead the seagulls fly;
Hungry squawking fills the sky.
Jack and Jill by water’s edge
Wave to seals on rocky ledge.

Kids run back with Socks their mate;
The tide’s up now, it’s getting late.
Castles sink on sandy shore,
Kids tell Mum they’ll build some more.

Distant thunder rumbles low,
Mum shakes head, “It’s time to go.”
“Where’s the dog?” the children wail
“Find him now before the hail!”

“Found him!” Mum calls, “Phew! What’s dead?
Pull him off that fish’s head!”
Kids in cossies, caps and thongs,
Protest loudly – puppy pongs.

Mum holds Socks at one arm’s length,
Puppy squirms with all his strength.
Kids with buckets, towels and spades
Hear their mother’s patience fade:

“Where’s the lead for smelly Socks?”
The kids reply, “At Seagull Rocks.”
“Thunder’s louder; don’t go back,
Buy another, Jill and Jack.”

Kids with grizzles wipe their toes,
Mum scolds Socks then holds her nose.
Something swims around the weed –
A seal’s returned the puppy’s lead!

It drops the lead and dives back in,
“We’ll grab the lead!” the children grin.
Kids in car with towels and caps
Gasp for air while puppy naps.