on the wind Bobbed across an ocean Tumbled down a waterfall Hurtling towards his destiny like a shooting star When he finally arrived at 33 Sprinkle Street damp and a little weary it was late and Charles was in bed staring blankly at a page His ginger curls falling over his eyes His pencil hovering over an empty line There is something missing he was thinking But what is it The spark flickered on the windowsill watching the small huddle of pajamas searching for an idea unaware that one was right beside him Creeping closer the spark glimmered on Charles's shoulder trying to see what he was making It was a list Charles Dimple made a lot of lists since from his observations ideas liked to stretch and sprawl across the page when they were just waking up This particular list was labeled THE PERFECT FRIEND Although it was more like a job description than a list At the top of Charles's list were TUSKS Tusks were important to Charles Dimple Beneath TUSKS was another word BIG His perfect friend would be BIG And by BIG Charles 6
meant that his friend should be big enough to hide beneath in a storm But not so big that he wouldn't fit on the top bunk which is where he would sleep if he promised to mind his tail and keep it clean TAIL being third on the list Furthermore his perfect friend would have wisps of smoke that curled from his nostrils like the steam from a hot apple pie A bit like a dragon but better Loyalty honesty and politeness were also essential Yet he shouldn't be too polite just enough that he would snap the last chocolate chip cookie in half and share it with you But not so polite that he would say after you when going through a door or fail to tell you that you had parsley in your teeth There should be feathers and fur Perhaps some bristles like a hedgehog A trunk for holding pencils or a berry swirl waffle cone from Mr. Confetti's ice cream truck And an umbrella Umbrellas were also important to Charles Dimple It's me crackled the spark Or it could be Glowing with excitement the spark fizzed and hummed around Charles's head Pick me pick me Charles trapped it with his mind like a firefly in a jar Once inside something powerful began to take shape The idea stretched and swelled until poof 7
An image flashed before him He saw someone Or something In his room A sort of beast It was a little wobbly and smudged around the edges But here it was His perfect friend Well almost perfect Ack said Charles seeing now what he was missing Wings Charles stood on his bed and imagined a pair of wings for the beast But there wasn't really much room in among all the other important bits So he squashed a couple of small wings on the side and hoped for the best His mouth fell open as he stepped back to admire his work His glasses fogged up He had never seen anything so grand So perfect Where did you come from Nowhere mumbled the beast Oh said Charles Where's that The beast wanted to explain that Nowhere was a place halfway between Curiosity and Courage But he couldn't For that he would need a map the heart is a vast place where one can easily get lost The beast shifted and swayed sniffed Charles once licked him on the ear then plodded around the room inspecting his new home He poked into corners nosed through an underwear drawer 9
