The Digglers

Mr Grumpy was a mean old man who lived by himself. He enjoyed playing mean tricks on people and laughing at their mishaps.
During the autumn, when it was windy, he would hide behind a tree and wait for the children going to school and would laugh when the wind blew their hats off. He laughed until he cried when a boy watched sadly as his hat was blown over the roof tops.
The children hated him and called him names but it didn't make any difference, he just laughed even louder. At dinner-time and teatime, Mr Grumpy was there waiting for the children so he could have some more fun. It was best of all when their hats were blown into muddy puddles, Mr Grumpy would laugh at the thought of them getting into trouble for getting their hats dirty.

Mr Grumpy wasn't the only one watching. Living in a tiny crack in the tree was a pixie. He too thought Mr Grumpy was a mean old man and he felt sorry for the children. He decided to do something about it. He went into his house deep inside the tree and found his magic book and looked under 'w' for wind.

The next day Mr Grumpy was unhappy because when he looked out of his window, he could see it wasn't windy. Now he would have to think of another way to have some fun. At last he thought of a good idea and he began to chuckle at the thought of it. He went to a drawer and pulled out some string. He meant to tie one end round the tree and the other end round the gate post. When the children went past they would trip over it. He felt very pleased with himself for thinking of such a good trick.

Putting on his hat and scarf, he left his house, tied the string round the tree and gatepost. Now all he had to do was to wait for the children. He wasn't the only one waiting. At last the children were coming. They saw Mr Grumpy and wondered what he was going to do. They didn't have long to wonder because a strange thing happened. The wind started to blow but only where Mr Grumpy was standing. It blew harder and harder and all of a sudden, Mr Grumpy's hat blew off and landed in a puddle and his scarf was blown away.

'My, hat! My, hat!' shouted Mr Grumpy.
How the children laughed. The wind blew so hard it nearly knocked him over. At last it stopped. Mr Grumpy sat down on the grass exhausted.
'Not so funny now?' said the children. Mr Grumpy agreed. In fact, he even said he was sorry.
Mr Grumpy is not a mean old man anymore. He knew it was not very nice to be made fun of. When the children pass his house on the way to school, they wave to him. He still rushes out but not to laugh at them but to give them sweets. The children soon became his friends. When they had their Christmas party at school, they invited Mr Grumpy. He really enjoyed himself and he even had a present from Father Christmas!

The End