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PRACTICING SPACECRAFT 

By John Yeo

   The object puzzled old George, every time he passed the big house on the way to the village, he would get up on tip-toe to peer over the hedge. One day as he was having a look, Mabel Manners passed by and caught him in the act.

 “What are you looking at, nosey?” She asked him as she passed by; giggling. Mabel was quite a bit shorter than George and as she couldn’t see over the hedge she wasn’t aware of anything there.

 “I don’t know, what it is,” replied George, “It’s a large silver, saucer-shaped object, very shiny, with what look like fins on the side, I have never seen anything like it before. I have been keeping an eye on it for the last two days, but there doesn’t seem to be any sign of life. I know the Wentworths are away at present, maybe it’s a gift from afar.”

  Mabel was now eaten up with curiosity, “Lift me up please George, I’d like to take a look at that; I’m not heavy. Maybe it’s a garden ornament that will be full of flowers in the Spring.”

  “Now who’s the nosey one, Mabel Manners? I’ll lift you up if you give me one of those delicious red apples from your basket.”  George said laughing loudly.

 “Go on then, you cheeky old rascal.” Mabel laughed and giggled again, as he raised her high enough for her to look over the fence. “What the heck is that? Well I never, I am sure that is not supposed to be there. However did it get there? Peter Wentworth will not be happy with that sitting in the middle of his lawn.”

 Just then a voice came up from behind them: “Hallo! Hallo! What’s going on here then? Caught in the act! Two villains casing the joint, while the owners are away on holiday?”  PC Wrinkle smiled as he said these words to two of the most unlikeliest crooks you could imagine.

Mabel blushed and flustered as she stammered, “Look over this fence Constable, there is a strange object in the middle of the garden. I have never seen anything like it before.”

Jim Wrinkle had been the village Bobby for thirty years now and he knew all the villagers individually. “I will take a look, Mrs. Manners, in the course of my investigations, just to rule out the burglary theory.” 

Jim stood on the tips of the steel-capped toes on his regulation boots and peered over the hedge, then he exclaimed. “My God! that looks like an alien spacecraft, I will have to contact the station and report this at once.”

A short while later the Wentworth residence was surrounded by Police and emergency vehicles and two helicopters were circling around above. Armed response officers surrounded the building when the main front door suddenly opened to reveal young Oscar Wentworth. “What’s going on?” Oscar asked.

 “Stand aside Sir! We believe you have an alien spacecraft on the lawn. Have you seen anything unusual?”  asked the officer in charge.

 “A what?” Exclaimed Oscar. “The only thing on the lawn is my Science project for college. I am practicing how to construct a spacecraft.”

 There was an embarrassing silence as the implications of this remark set in!

Then as the sun set in the evening twilight over the village there was a deafening roar as a spacecraft suddenly took off.  Oscar Wentworth has never been seen again.

Copyright © Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved

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