The Digglers

Debbie lived with her mum and was just about to start school for the first time. Poor Debbie, she was quite frightened at the thought of leaving her mum. She was happy staying at home and helping with the work, playing with her friends and going to the shops. The day came when she had to go. Her mum was looking forward to Debbie starting school because she could now go back to work.

On the morning Debbie was to have started school, she was so frightened and had to stay in bed. At lunch time she was feeling better and her mum let her get up. After lunch, Debbie asked if she go out and play with her friends. Her mum explained that all her friends were at school. Debbie had no-one to play with and had to stay in. Perhaps going to school would be better than being on her own, at least she would have some friends to play with.
The next day she set off for school with her mum. How large the playground seemed. The other children also seemed much bigger and some were playing rough games. Debbie held tightly to her mum's hand as they went in school and down a long corridor towards a classroom. The teacher appeared to be nice, she talked quietly and had a lovely smile. She let Debbie stay with her until the other children came in.

Debbie soon settled in her class and she enjoyed school. Her teacher taught her 'sounds' and 'words' and to write her own name. Some of the children along with Debbie had their own reading book. They also started sums in little books and copying writing in another. Debbie got to know when it was playtime, dinnertime and time to go home by looking at the large clock on the wall. She liked looking at it and Debbie watched wondering what made the hands move. Sometimes, when she was hungry, she wanted to stretch out her arms and move the hands up to the number twelve at the top! They had a clock at home on the mantle-piece.

One day, Debbie got into trouble for coming in late from playing out with her friends. Debbie said that if she had a clock she would be able to tell the time! Mum laughed and told her people did not carry clocks around with them but used watches and she showed Debbie her watch. Debbie had seen it lots of times and she asked her mum if she could wear it but as it was so expensive, the answer was 'no!'

It wasn't long before it was Debbie's sixth birthday and her mum bought her a watch. How proud she felt as she put it on her wrist and showed it to the other children at school. The teacher told her that she would have to learn how to tell the time. Debbie took great care of it. She let her mum check the time every morning and always took it off when she was having a wash.

The weather was sunny and warm and the teacher decided to take the children to the park the next day. Debbie got very excited, although she had been there lots of times with her mum, going with the other children was a bit different. When Debbie got up and looked out of the window she was pleased to see the sun shining. After breakfast, she collected her can of lemonade and a chocolate biscuit and set out for school with her mum. When she got there she found the rest of the class had arrived. How they wanted the bell to ring so that they could go in. The children knew Debbie had a watch and they asked her the time. When Debbie looked at her wrist she had such a shock because her watch was not there. She dropped the can and biscuit and began to cry. After crying for a while, she tried to think what could have happened to it. She remembered putting it on when she got up. Did she take it off again? No, she had had her breakfast and had come straight to school.

The bell rang and the children got into their class-lines ready to go in. Debbie soon had a thought, perhaps her watch had fallen off on the way to school and she ran out of the gates as fast as she could. The rest of the children went to their classes. The teacher called the register and found Debbie was the only one missing and said it was a pity she would miss the trip. The other children told her that they had seen Debbie in the playground. The teacher sent one of the girls to see if Debbie was in the cloakroom or toilets. Debbie was nowhere to be seen. The teacher was very concerned and went to the office to phone Debbie's mum. She too was upset when she was told the news. The teacher explained that the other children had told her about the lost watch and thought that Debbie may have gone to look for it. Debbie's mum said she would go and look for Debbie and if the teacher wanted to take the class to the park, she would meet her there if she found Debbie.

Debbie was found sitting on the pavement crying. She pointed to the middle of the road and there was her watch. Her mum went to pick it up and it was squashed. Debbie had lost her watch on the way to school. The strap had broken and it had fallen off. Someone had kicked it into the road and a car had driven over it. Her mum wasn't cross because it wasn't her fault but she was very cross with Debbie for running away from school. They both walked slowly and sadly to the park and saw the rest of the class. The teacher was glad to see that Debbie was safe but she too was cross with Debbie for running away and made her promise not to do it again.

That afternoon, when Debbie got home for tea, she found on the table a small box. She opened it and inside was a watch just like the one she had lost. Debbie kept her promise and never ran out of school again and even though she is now grown-up, she has still got the watch her mum bought her.

The End