The Trolley Ride
by
Matt Zurbo
(Another story with NO dialogue, dedicated to the great Moebius and Matt Ottley!)
Kid sitting on ground, bored. Dad standing, pointing to a sign with an arrow on it that says park.
Dad walking in front of kid, who is bored, head down, dragging his feet.
Dad’s foot triggering a string wire across footpath. Kid still lagging behind, yawning.
A mostly wooden series of levers and gears causing a peg with gloved end to pop up ahead of them, with a floating balloon, held by string in glove’s fingers. Dad leaping back in fright, kid hands in pockets, head still low, not noticing.
Fingers have released balloon. Dad watching it float straight up, doesn’t see a slot in ground behind kid with wooden peg with boot on end of it, ‘kicking’ a wooden miner’s trolley forward.
The trolley is bunting kid into air.
Kid in trolley, holding onto front, wide-eyed, as it passes ahead of Dad who who doesn’t notice as he is looking straight up at where balloon would be, shielding eyes from the sun.
Footpath drops away, but wooden frame and rails keep trolley going straight.
Kid looking in wonder, as frame and rail take him past 10th story buildings, and under freeway overpass.
Kid pulling duck off face as trolley rolls through a flock of ducks.
Wooden peg/arm, with glove on end, holds onto kid as he falls out the back as track heads straight down.
Kid holding onto back of trolley, legs dangling behind it, as track/frame turns at right angle to be just above ground at beach. People ducking out of way.
Trolley speeding along railing just above water. Kid wide-eyed as he passes Pterosaur (flying dinosaur) Beneath him, flying fish are jumping out of the water, and a mermaid or two.
From behind, we see the trolley arching out to sea, and a big, dark storm.
Trolley, full of water kid is bucketing out, ascending rising track. Kid looking horrified at trolley on descending track opposite, going back from where he is going with a skeleton in it.
Trolley descending spiralling track, before shooting off again, with huge, breaching whale in background. Trolley still full of water.
Trolley, still full of water, is going along track above never-ending plain/wasteland with one tree in the distance.
Side on of kid windblown but very bored as trolley continues along barren plain.
Kid startled, as trolley hits end track wooden bunt, tipping him through air, towards tree, which is full of acorn-sized nuts. Water is leaving trolley, too.
Kid, hundreds of nuts, leaves and water sailing through air.
Kid landing on other side of tree, in a waiting trolley, full of nuts. It had a pole with a boom spray across the top of it, and a whole heap of dunny chain levers and cogs, including a catapult, that is also full of nuts.
The water splashes over kid and trolley, as boot from slot in ground sets it going.
Nuts, with water on them, start seeding, as kid pushes and pulls levers.
Kid unhooking catapult sending nuts ahead of trolley.
Kid tying down catapult again, while filling it with other hand, while kick starting a water pump.
Trolley speeding along, catapult launching more nuts, water boom spraying water over barren plain now with nuts in it.
Wide shot of trolley curving along plain, forest growing in its wake.
Kid hanging on to side, as trolley/track arches back towards new forest. Nuts and water falling out as side as it goes.
Kid/trolley heading back in other direction, through thick forest, towards where it dips into a hole in the ground.
Still forest. Bird or two, appearing. No kid or trolley.
Back in street, Dad is still looking straight up.
Trolley shooting out from hole in ground at 45 degree angle, and into the air. Nut or two here and there. Kid falling out as it goes. Dad still looking up.
Kid landing on startled Dad’s shoulders.
Dad shoulder riding kid as he walks on, nut or two on ground behind them just starting to seed.
The End.
365 kids books in 365 days 