DIZZY: Rosie! Rosie!
ROSIE: Hmmm? Who鈥檚 that? Dizzy! What are you doing up here?
DIZZY: I came to find you. The family have all gone out and I haven鈥檛 got anyone to play with.
ROSIE: You know you鈥檙e not allowed in the bedrooms. It鈥檚 against the rules!
DIZZY: Dad forgot to shut me in the kitchen. Ha, ha! Come down and play!
ROSIE: Let me have a stretch first. Mmmm. That鈥檚 better. Oh hello everyone. Welcome back to 26 Woodside Lane. I鈥檓 Rosie, the Lucas family cat.
DIZZY: And I鈥檓 Dizzy, the Lucas family dog. Oh and I鈥檝e just seen one of Noah鈥檚 trainers. They are so good for chewing!
ROSIE: No, Dizzy! That鈥檚 against the rules too! You鈥檒l get into trouble. Mum and Dad will be really cross.
DIZZY: Why do you keep talking about rules?
ROSIE: Because there鈥檚 been a lot of discussion about them in the Lucas home this week.
DIZZY: Oh yes. It started when Molly came home from school with a very sad face. Mum asked her what the matter was. I was lying in my basket, pretending to have a nap, but I heard it all.
ROSIE: And I was sitting on the window sill listening too, watching the pigeons in the garden and thinking I鈥檇 like to bring one of those back through my cat flap鈥
DIZZY: Which would definitely be against the rules!
ROSIE: Hee hee! Now our Molly Lucas is a big chatterbox. She can鈥檛 help it. But, there鈥檚 a time and a place for chatting at school, and it鈥檚 not during a numeracy lesson.
DIZZY: Miss Fuller, the teacher, had asked her to be quiet more than once. She鈥檇 even written her name on the board along with Hannah and Tariq. That鈥檚 a sort of warning to settle down and stop disturbing the class.
ROSIE: Molly told Mum that at lunchtime she鈥檇 been so determined to carry on chatting to Hannah that she had pushed into the lunch line, just as Miss Fuller was walking past. And that's against the school rules.
DIZZY: Uh oh! Molly had to miss part of lunchtime play and sit in the classroom with her teacher practising her spellings.
ROSIE: Later in the week, Noah brought his two friends, Karl and Morgan, home for a play date. It was a horrible wet day, so fun in the garden was out of the question. It was the perfect time to bring out the board games.
DIZZY: They started with Noah鈥檚 favourite game. You have to get all your counters round the board from the starting square to the home square as fast as possible.
ROSIE: It鈥檚 not quite as easy as it sounds. Because if the other player lands on a square that you鈥檙e already sitting on, they can send you back to the start. And that鈥檚 what happened near the end of the game. The three boys had all succeeded in getting their counters home - except their very last one. It was all down to the last counter. The battle to the finish.
DIZZY: Noah landed on Karl鈥檚 square and moved his counter back to the start. Karl didn鈥檛 like that. He said he鈥檇 move back one square or even a few squares, but he was not going all the way back to the beginning. 'But that鈥檚 the rules,' Noah said. 'Then they鈥檙e silly rules,' said Karl. 'I鈥檓 not playing any more!' Phew. Lucky, at that moment, Mum called them into the kitchen for tea. It鈥檚 always my favourite kind of tea when Karl comes round.
ROSIE: What do you mean?
DIZZY: Karl is a bit clumsy with his knife and fork and quite a lot of his tea ends up on the kitchen floor. Result! They don鈥檛 call me Dizzy the vacuum cleaner for nothing!
ROSIE: I don鈥檛 think you鈥檒l be getting any tea today, Dizzy, my friend.
DIZZY: Why?
ROSIE: Because that鈥檚 a car engine鈥hat鈥檚 the sound of footsteps鈥nd that鈥檚 the front door鈥 which means鈥
DIZZY: The family are home!
ROSIE: And you鈥檙e upstairs which is鈥
TOGETHER: Against the rules!
ROSIE: You鈥檒l hear another story about life with the Lucas family next time. Bye!
MUM: Dizzy! What are you doing up there? Basket. Now!
Archie is nearly four. His big sister Ella is seven. Archie loves Ella but sometimes, when he thinks about her, he feels quite cross. You see, Ella is good at everything.
Ella can play the piano. Ella is the fastest runner in her class. Ella can draw animals and monsters. Ella can swim without armbands and count up to twenty in Spanish and stand on her head and鈥
Archie鈥檚 Mum is very proud of Ella. Archie often hears his Mum on the phone telling her friends about all the clever things that Ella has done.
Today Archie is going to Ella鈥檚 school sports day with his Mum. He doesn鈥檛 want to go. He knows that Ella will win all the races. He knows that everyone will clap and tell Ella how clever she is. And he knows that tonight his Mum will be on the phone talking to her friends. Talking to her friends about Ella.
And Archie is right. At the sports day Ella wins everything.
Ella jumps the furthest. Ella runs the fastest. Ella even wins that silly race where you have to run with your legs inside a sack. Ella is very happy. Archie鈥檚 Mum is very proud. Archie is very grumpy.
The last race of the day is the Egg and Spoon race. In that race you have to go as fast as you can while balancing an egg on a spoon. If you drop your egg you have to sit down on the ground and count up to ten before you can go on. The first person to carry their egg safely over the line wins the race.
The race starts. And guess who鈥檚 winning? Yes that鈥檚 right. Archie鈥檚 clever sister Ella is out in front. She鈥檚 going much faster than all the other children. But鈥s Ella going too fast? She needs to be careful. You can鈥檛 rush this race.
And then it happens. Ella drops her egg!
She has to sit down and count up to ten. Other children pass her. They are carrying their eggs more carefully. Ella counts up to ten. Now she can carry on with race. But she doesn鈥檛. Ella won鈥檛 get up. She鈥檚 angry that she鈥檚 not winning any more. She鈥檚 still sitting on the ground. Now she鈥檚 crying. She鈥檚 not even going to finish the race.
Suddenly Archie runs to his sister. He picks up her egg with the spoon and starts to walk towards the finishing line. He walks very slowly. He carries his egg very carefully. At first people watching don鈥檛 know what Archie鈥檚 doing but then someone says: 鈥楬e鈥檚 going to finish the race for his sister.鈥
All the other children have finished the race so now everyone is watching Archie. He鈥檚 going to come last but Archie doesn鈥檛 care.
鈥楪o on, Archie!鈥 someone shouts.
鈥楪ood old, Archie! You鈥檙e nearly there! Keep going!鈥
Archie keeps walking鈥ery slowly鈥e can鈥檛鈥rop鈥is鈥gg鈥ow.
When Archie crosses the line everybody at the sports day claps and cheers.
They鈥檙e all smiling and looking at Archie - the little boy who finished the race for his sister!
That night Archie can鈥檛 sleep. He keeps thinking about all those people clapping. Clapping him. Archie can hear his Mum downstairs talking on the phone. She鈥檚 telling her friend all about the sports day. But his Mum鈥檚 not just talking about Ella. This time she鈥檚 talking about him too.
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