by Ros Gemmell –
Five-year-old Jeremy Jones lived with his mum. Jeremy loved to drink a cup of fruity green Jungle Juice before he went to bed at night.
“You should have some milk, Jeremy,” his mum told him each evening. “You’ll turn green one day with all that juice.”
Jeremy laughed. He liked the taste of the bright colored juice. After he brushed his teeth and put on his pajamas, Jeremy climbed into bed. His mum read him some of his favorite book, Winnie the Pooh. Jeremy loved all kinds of animals, especially Tigger.
Soon it was time to sleep. “Goodnight dear,” said Mrs Jones. She kissed Jeremy on the cheek and tucked him in.
“Night, Mum,” Jeremy said. He watched as she left the door open a little bit. He didn’t like the dark very much.
Jeremy snuggled down in his warm bed, wriggling his toes. But first, he made sure his furry animal friends were in place all around him. He yawned, feeling sleepy.
It was light when Jeremy woke up suddenly. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. He didn’t feel very cozy now. He opened one eye and quickly closed it again. He must still be dreaming. But he felt wide-awake. Bravely, he slowly opened both eyes and blinked.
Where did his bedroom go? Where were all his toys? Jeremy sat in his pajamas in the middle of a jungle!
Instead of feeling frightened, Jeremy was curious. How did he get here? Then he noticed his hands and feet. They were green! Jeremy stood up, wondering what to do. But the ground began to shake and he heard a loud trumpeting noise. Something was coming toward him.
First he saw four great big feet, then a gigantic grey body. Then a huge head with two small eyes and two big floppy ears. A strange curved, white bone stuck out of each side of its mouth, and it had a long swinging nose. The animal stopped in front of Jeremy.
“Hello, I’m Jeremy. I know you. You’re an elephant.”
The elephant swung his long nose from side to side. Then it swooped down and gathered Jeremy up in its trunk. Jeremy laughed–this was great fun! He was high above the ground. The elephant lumbered toward a lake.
When they reached the water, the big elephant put Jeremy down gently. Jeremy stood at the edge and watched the elephant stomp in the lake, splashing water around. Then it sucked lots of water into its trunk and sprayed its huge grey back.
The elephant turned toward Jeremy and showered him with water. Jeremy laughed and jumped and splashed in the shallow water. This was better than a bath.
Soon, Jeremy grew tired of being wet. He wanted to explore. He knew the hot sun would dry him.
“Goodbye,” he shouted to the elephant. The elephant raised its trunk and waved back to him.
Jeremy wandered in among the tall leafy trees. Then, all at once, he nearly jumped out of his pajamas.
Roar! The loud noise sounded very close, and Jeremy ran to hide behind a tree. He knew what made that sound!
Then he saw it. A big golden brown lion with long hair all round its face. Jeremy peeped out from behind the tree to take a closer look. The lion turned its head and saw him. Jeremy stared, too frightened to breathe.
He heard a sudden swooshing sound and a small brown monkey came swinging down through a tree. It landed on the lion’s back and did some somersaults. The lion didn’t look so fierce now as he stood patiently while the monkey showed off.
“Hello,” Jeremy said, as he stepped out from the tree. “I’m Jeremy.” He held out his hand to the monkey. The monkey slapped a banana into Jeremy’s open hand and chewed on another one. As Jeremy peeled the banana skin, he noticed his hand changing color. The green started to fade.
Before he could think any more about it, the birds screeched and flew overhead in circles. The monkey jumped up and down on the lion’s back and swung his arms.
“What’s wrong?” Jeremy asked. Frightened, he dropped the banana.
The monkey pulled at Jeremy’s hand as if it wanted him to go somewhere. Before Jeremy could move, something was crashing through the jungle toward them. Jeremy stood really still as a large orange and black tiger snarled through the trees. The monkey jumped off the lion’s back and pulled Jeremy along. The old lion ran off the other way. But Jeremy and the monkey stood in the tiger’s path.
Jeremy grabbed hold of the monkey’s long tail as it climbed a tree, while the tiger snarled from the ground. Jeremy hoped the green leaves would hide him. He held on tight as the monkey swung him higher up into the tree. Then Jeremy looked at his hands. The green had almost disappeared. The tiger would see him easily now through the leaves.
Jeremy got such a fright that he let go the monkey’s tail. He fell, down and down, straight toward the waiting tiger.
Thump! Jeremy sat up and rubbed his arm. It felt a bit sore. He quickly looked for the tiger. But he was back in his own room,on the floor. He must have fallen out of bed while he was sleeping! He was very glad to find he wasn’t green anymore, and he was safe in his own house.
Then Jeremy looked at the floor beside him. Two bright eyes were watching him. He reached over and picked up his furry toy tiger and hugged it close. But then he saw something else. It had been lying under the tiger. A fresh, yellow banana skin with a half eaten banana. Jeremy smiled. He knew who had left it there, and it wasn’t him.
the end.
Question Time
1. What did Jeremy drink before bed every night?
2. What happened after Jeremy fell asleep?
3. What animals did Jeremy meet in the jungle?
4. What happened to Jeremy’s hands?
5. What did Jeremy find in his room when he woke up?
