4.9: A Playful Child

Lim Wei Le

A fire rose around me. People around me shrieked and ran in all directions. But I stood there, unable to move, staring at the dancing flames. I watched the flames as it reached out for me. I tried to escape, but I could not move, as if my legs were made of stone. My face is burning! I covered my eyes. I screamed. My face! My face! It is burning!

I woke up. Perspiration stung my eyes. I took a deep breath and wiped the perspiration off my face with my hands. I felt a stinging pain on my forehead. The wound on my forehead had long since healed but the scar reminded me of the silly act I committed when I was young.

I remembered that day, Mother was preparing dinner for us and I was watching my favourite cartoon-Superman.

I watched him perform heroic acts and I was impressed by him. Suddenly, an idea popped into my mind. I went to take a stool and put it on the table. I climbed onto the chair and tried to leap from it. I lost my balance before I managed to jump. I fell onto the floor with a loud thud. Blood oozed from my forehead and the pain was unbearable. Using my remaining strength, I shouted, "Mum! Mum!"

Mother, who was cooking in the kitchen, must have heard the loud thud and me shouting. She came out of the kitchen and was alarmed to see me lying on the ground, bleeding profusely. She called the ambulance immediately and tried to stop the bleeding.

Soon, the ambulance arrived and I was sent to the hospital without further delay. After examining, the doctor said that the wound was superficial and I just need to rest for a few weeks.

"Wake up!" Mother shouted from the kitchen. Her screams pierced through the air.

"I am going to the toilet to brush my teeth now!" I shouted as I ran to the toilet.

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Aditya

“Tom, I’m going to cook dinner, so don’t play a fool and fool around!”shouted Tom’s mother. She was preparing chicken rice and satay.

Tom was watching The Heroic Adventures of Mr Invincible, the cool king of boxing. He watched in awe as Mr Invincible climbed up a building and leapt from it. Since he had the ability to fly, he was soaring like a bird. As he flew he shouted ,”ha ha ha!”Then ,he destroyed a robot. He also did some more heroic acts.

At the end of the show, Tom decided to imitate the mighty Mr Invincible. He was very impressed by Invincible and wanted to mimic his heroic deeds. He was forgetting the fact that it was just a television programme. Tom stacked some stools and stood on it. Then as he jumped off , he shouted , “Ha ha ahhhhhh!”

Tom fell onto the ground about two seconds later. He suffered a nasty sprain. He started limping towards the kitchen. He told his mother about the injury. She scolded Tom but still put balm on his leg. He had learned a painful lesson and vowed never to imitate cartoon superheroes.

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Ng Woon Neng Toh Gin Yi

Ben was helping his mother one night. He accidentally scalded his hand and felt a sharp pain. That reminded him of an incident. It was an unforgettable experience for Ben. His mind started to wander as he thought about it. He felt as if he was back to the very night the incident happened…

It was a night quite similar to this one except that Ben was watching his favourite telev
ision programme. His mother was as busy as a bee, preparing dinner for the whole family. Ben was so engrossed watching the television and cheering for the superhero that he did not hear his mother asking him to be quiet. As his baby sister was sleeping, she was woken up by Ben’s loud cheers and began crying. Ben’s mother immediately rushed to the baby while giving Ben a harsh lecture for paying no heed to her advice.

Ben’s mother soon put the baby back to sleep. She decided to bring the baby back into her room. At the exact moment, the television programme ended. Seeing that his mother was not there, Ben stacked a chair on the coffee table. He quickly climbed up onto the chair. Ben who was impressed by the superhero’s heroic acts wanted to imitate the superhero. While Ben was preparing to leap off the chair, his mother walked out, just in time to see his precious but silly son leapt off the chair. “No!” she shouted in horror. But it was too late, a ear-piercing shriek echoed through the house. Ben’s ankle landed in an awkward position and he dared not move it. Ben’s mother froze in horror. There was complete silence.

Luckily, Ben’s father came home in time. Soon, Ben was carried to the hospital by his father. Ben’s mother followed closely in anxiety. By the time they reached the hospital, Ben was already screaming hysterically in pain. The doctor told Ben ‘s parents that Ben had suffered nasty sprain. As a result, Ben had to stay in hospital for a few weeks. It definitely had been a painful lesson learnt.

Ben clenched his teeth at this memory. “Ben, are you okay?” Why are you clenching your teeth? Is the scald that painful?” asked his mother. “It was something else,” Ben replied. Seeing his mother’s confused expression, he added, “Nevermind.” Ben was secretly glad that his painful days at the hospital were over.

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George Chen

Whenever Tom sees a cartoon show, his breath will be caught in his throat and haunting memories will come flooding back into his mind. Tom cannot help but to recall the dreadful incident that he encountered when he was four years old. Tom regrets his actions and he wishes he could teleport back in time to stop himself from doing the mischievous act. It all started like this.

The sun shone gloriously in the cerulean blue sky and it was a peaceful Sunday morning. Tom was living with his parents in a three storey high bungalow. Tom’s father had gone for an overseas business trip and left Tom and his mother at home. Tom’s mother was busy preparing breakfast for the famished Tom. Tom was bored and shouted for the umpteenth time, “Is breakfast ready? Is breakfast ready?” “Can you please be patient, Tom?”Shouted Tom’s mother. “Alright,” shouted Tom. The television is Tom’s best friend and Tom likes to watch the television.

Tom ran to the television and switched it on. Tom decided what to watch and he finally decided to watch a cartoon show. Tom sat on his comfortable sofa and watched the cartoon show. Tom was soon deeply engrossed in the cartoon show and had forgotten about his hunger. Tom saw a superhero standing at the top of a building jumping down to save someone. Tom then thought of a great idea. He took a stool and stacked it on a side table. He imagined the stool and the side table as a tall building.

The mischievous Tom then slowly climbed and stood on the stool. Tom imitated the superhero and did whatever the superhero did. Tom the leaped off the stool .Bang! Tom was lying on the floor, howling in pain. Tom was overcome with fear and was scared that he had broken his leg. The ear-piercing howl had informed his mother that something bad happened. Tom’s mother then rushed to the living room and saw Tom. Tom was gripping his leg and crying in pain.

Tom’s mother brought Tom to the hospital immediately to do a checkup. The doctor said Tom was fine and he just sprained his ankle. Tom’s mother was relieved to hear what the doctor said. Tom then regretfully told his mother what happened and his mother berated him harshly. Tom hung his head in shame and vowed never to do it again. Tom’s mother let him go this time and said there must never be a second time. Tom’s father came back and found out what happened and advised him to remember this incident and never do it again.

“Tom! Time for dinner!”shouted his mother. Tom returned to reality. Tom switches off the television and runs towards the dining table.

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Darren was walking into the living room when he spotted something at the corner of his eye. It was an old stool and a table. Ti triggered off something in his mind and a scene started to unfold in his mind like a film he had never seen before.

Mother was in the kitchen preparing dinner, while Darren watched television programmes. He was waiting for dinner to be served. As Darren was surfing through the channels, he spotted a channel featuring his favourite cartoon superhero. He quickly increased the volume a little and sat on a stool to watch the show. He was fascinated by how the superhero leaped off the building onto another building. Suddenly, a light went off in his brain. “ May be I can do that too!” he thought. He stacked the stool he was sitting on onto a small table and climbed onto it. He looked around and spotted a sofa. It was where he would jump onto. Without hesitation, he jumped. But alas, he did not assert enough strength and had landed on the concrete floor.

A surge of pain flooded through Darren as he wailed in pain. As he tried to lift himself up, he used his hands to grab onto the sofa but his hands felt lifeless. His mother had heard his cries for help and brought him to the doctor…

“ Darren! Come over and help me carry this table to my room!” Darren’s mother called. He snapped out of his trance and came over to help his mother. It was really an unforgettable incident.

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Isabel Lui

It was an unusually busy day at Mrs. Lim’s home. She had to prepare a feast as her siblings were coming over to celebrate Christmas. Before she started the dinner preparations, she told her son, Mike, to watch television programmes quietly and not to disturb her while she slaved over dinner.

“Aah! My favourite programme, Superman!” exclaimed Mike as he switched on the television. Soon, his eyes were glued to the television set. When the show ended, Mike remembered Superman did many heroic acts, such as holding up a broken bridge. However, the image of Superman jumping off the building to save a girl who fell out of a window impressed Mike the most. He was so impressed that he decided to imitate Superman’s actions. He stacked a stool on top of the marble coffee table. Although he knew it was dangerous, he was determined to jump off the stool and land on his feet like a superhero.

Mike climbed to the top of the stool, took a deep breath and jumped into the air. Before he could even blink his eyes, he hit the ground with a loud thud. “Aah!” Mike wailed in pain. Hearing his cries, Mrs. Lim rushed out of the kitchen to see what had happened. She gasped in horror when she saw that Mike had twisted his ankle. Hurriedly, she carried Mike all the way to the nearest clinic. By the time they reached the clinic, Mrs. Lim was drenched with perspiration and gasping for air.

The doctor put Mike’s foot in a cast and soon he was able to hobble with some help from his mother. When they reached home, Mrs. Lim told Mike in a very stern manner that he should never stack things up and jump off them. Mike apologised to his mother for his foolish action. He had been taught a painful lesson indeed.

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Wu Liyang
     Kevin was a very playful child. He loved to watch superheroes jump off buildings and rescue people. When he was young, he loved to imitate the superheroes.

     One day, Kevin was cleaning his room when his eyes fell onto the bandages on the floor. His mind raced back to that dreadful day when he was six…

It was dinner time and Kevin’s mother was busy preparing dinner. “Kevin,” she said as she walked into the kitchen, “please be a good boy and do not play around. Just sit here and watch television. Okay?” But her advice fell on deaf ears, once again. Kevin was already wondering which superhero he was going to imitate today.

      As soon as mother was out of sight, Kevin switched on the television. “Yea!” Kevin exclaimed in delight as he saw his favourite superhero leap from building to building, rescuing people in need, “I wonder how it feels like to be like superman! It must be fun!” Kevin thought.

      Just then, he thought of a “fantastic” plan. He took a stool and carried it to the living room. He placed it right in front of the television. When the superhero was leaping off another building, Kevin went off the stool.“Thump!” Kevin landed heavily on the living room floor. “Ouch!” Kevin slowly got up, and limped into the kitchen. “Oh dear! What happened to you?!” Kevin’s mother gasped in horror, as she saw her son limping towards her. Poor Kevin could not say a word, as tears streamed down his face. Mother realised that he is suffering a nasty sprain, and quickly helped him bandage his ankle.

“Kevin! Are you done already?” asked his mother. “Just coming!” answered Kevin as he slowly headed back to the living room.

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Law Yu Jie

It was a warm afternoon, the sun hung high up in the sky, like a lamp bringing light to the world. Mark was tidying his room when his eyes fell onto the cast at the corner of his room. Seeing the cast triggered off something in his mind, and a memory started to unfold, like a film Mark had never seen before.

It was a usual evening. While Mark’s mother was busy preparing dinner in the kitchen, Mark was up to his usual mischief. Mark had finished his homework and was bored to tears so he decided to watch some television programme. “Yeah!!” He cheered as he discovered that his favourite television programme was showing.

Mark was very impressed by how his favourite superhero leapt off the building to save someone. He was so in awe that he tried to imitate the actions of the superhero. He wanted to perform a heroic deed too.

Mark went to find a stool. He stacked the stool on top of the table and climbed up as he pretended to be the hero in the cartoon. He leapt off the stool without hesitation. A thousand thoughts raced through his mind as he jumped off from the stool .Mark was howling in pain when he fell to the ground with a loud thud. He landed heavily on the concrete floor and sprained his ankle. He suddenly felt a surge of pain as he fell onto the hard ground.

Mark yelped in pain as he limped to the kitchen to inform his mother about the injury. Mark’s mother heaved a sigh of relief when she saw that Mark was not badly hurt. She took him to a nearby clinic and the doctor told him that he suffered from a nasty sprain. The doctor put a cast on his leg and reminded him not to do such a dangerous act again. The injury was a painful lesson for Mark.

As he recalled the incident, he felt like throwing up. “Mark, where are you? Go and help me buy a packet of flour!” Mark’s mother screamed, pulling Mark back to reality. “Coming!”Mark replied. From that day onwards, Mark vowed not to do such dangerous acts again.

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Pang Zhi Yang

It was the day, I would never forget. After a tiring day at school, I ran home, eager to watch my favourite television programme. “Mum, I have no homework!”. I shouted as I shoved my bag under my bed. “Alright! I am cooking dinner.” Mum said, while busy cooking.

I slumped on the sofa and switched on the television to watch the show “Superman”. Superman was my idol. The show was so exciting that my eyes were glued to the screen. I was so impressed by how the superhero leapt off the building to save someone. I was so in awe that I tried to imitate the superhero.

After the show, I stacked a stool on top of a table and climbed up. Soon, I was standing on top of the stool precariously. With a goofy grin, I jumped off the stool and pretended to be the hero in the show. Instead of soaring in the air, I landed on the floor with a loud thud.

My mother heard the commotion and immediately turned off the gas stove. She rushed out of the kitchen with an anxious look on her face. She panicked when she saw me on the ground. She examined me and realised I suffered a nasty sprain in my ankle.

Mum bandaged my ankle and chided me for being so silly. As I looked at my bandaged ankle, I vowed not to do such a silly act in future.

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Agnes Lee

     The gentle warmth of the evening sun stroke the land bidding farewell to one and all. Tommy was sitting on the sofa, staring out of the window as he was admiring the beautiful sunset. Suddenly, his eyes fell on a yellow spotted stool in front of him. Memories came flooding back to the time when he was only a child.

     “Mum! Mum! Superman cartoon is about to start!” cried out Tommy. Tommy’s mother stroke his hair and replied, “ Can you watch by yourself? I have to prepare dinner for daddy and you.’’ Tommy sulked and stormed towards the sofa. He slumped in front of the television set and switched on the television. Meanwhile, Tommy’s mother was preparing the ingredients.

     Tommy was impressed by how the superman jumped off the building and flew into the sky, wanting to save someone who was in trouble. He wanted to fly high like the superman. He looked here and there, and finally found a red table and a yellow spotted stool. He stacked them up and climbed to the top. He waved as if he had saved someone from disaster. After waving for a few minutes, he had another idea. He would leap off the chair and fly into the air. His mother was so engrossed in cooking that she did not notice what was Tommy doing.

     Full of pride, Tommy jumped off the chair and flapped his hands. He flapped as hard as he could, but it was in vain. Bang!!! He fell to the floor with a loud thud. He started to blink a few tears before bursting into tears. His mother came rushing out and helped Tommy up. Tommy’s mother asked him curiously how he had hurt himself. Tommy immediately stopped crying and told his mother the whole incident. Tommy’s mother kind look turned into a stern one. She reprimanded Tommy severely and warned him that he was lucky not to have fractured his leg or arm. Tommy’s mother also brought him to the doctor. The doctor instructed Tommy not to walk and rest well as he sprained his ankle badly. When they got home, Tommy vowed never to do dangerous things again...

      Bang! Thud! Bang! A sound from the neighbourhood woke Tommy up from his dream. His mother was also joining in the noise, calling his name. Tommy smiled to himself as he approached his mother. He would never forget the painful lesson he had.