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Walter the Compost Worm - a short story
By 1211kellie
29 June 2008

My compost bin is such a smelly thing, that when I open the lid it sometimes makes me feel quite ill. Especially the slugs that have crawled inside it.


worm 
   
In the corner of a large and flowery garden, there stood a rather smelly wooden compost bin. Inside this bin lived a worm whose name was Walter. All his life, he had lived here happily with his family.
 
They were never hungry, because nearly every day leftover kitchen scraps and sometimes garden plants and grass cuttings would be thrown in to be eaten.
 
But one day, Walter began to feel that life must be a little bit more exciting than just eating and sleeping. So he asked his mum and dad if the next morning he could go into the garden and explore. “Yes,” they said, “but you can only go out if it’s raining. We have to be careful of the warm sunshine; it makes us feel unwell,” they said. 

That night Walter was so excited he couldn’t sleep. “Hush now,” said Granny Worm. “Little worms need their sleep so that they can grow big and strong.”

When Walter woke up next day, luck was on his side.  The sky was pouring. He quickly ate his breakfast, cleaned his teeth and wiggled out through the gap at the bottom of the bin. “Wait for me,” called Mum as she wiggled out too.
 
Walter was amazed at what he saw. There were puddles all over the grass and huge trees which swayed with the wind. Everywhere he looked there were flowers of every colour and shape. It was a beautiful garden and it smelt wonderful. Walter and his mum wiggled around it all morning. 

At midday the rain stopped and the sun appeared from behind a cloud. The children from the house decided to come out into the garden and jump in the puddles. “Walter, we need to go home now. The sun is starting to get warm and that bird sitting on the fence eats worms like us,” Walter’s mum said. So off they wiggled back to their home.
 

Dad and Granny Worm were really pleased to see them. “What did you think of the garden?” said Granny Worm to Walter.  So he told her all about the lovely time he had had in the garden. Granny Worm smiled. “I bet you’re feeling hungry now,” she said. 

“Yes, what’s for lunch?” said Walter.
 
“Brussels sprouts, carrots and eggshells - your favourite,” said Granny Worm, as she wiggled off to get it ready.

After lunch, Walter began to feel really sleepy and soon there came the sound of snoring. It was Walter; all that fresh air had tired him out. He slept all afternoon and all night. He was probably dreaming of his next day out.  



Copyright 2008

Reviews

Written by Josie (4035 comments posted) 29th June 2008
Oh Kellie - I absolutely loved your story and I am quite sure children would too. You are not getting the reviews or the encouragement on this website that you deserve and it is a great pity. There are many of the poets who don't review my work too, but I am telling you that your work is good and I am sure we will see these delightful little stories in print sooner than later.

Written by Josie (4035 comments posted) 29th June 2008
Kellie, please go and find my poem "Old King Compost" - the king of the compost bin. I think you will enjoy that. If you can't find it here, go to my website:http://www.whiteheadm.co.uk/html/compost.html#compost 
 
Here it is with my voice recording. I think these two go well together. 
 
Oh How Lovely!
Written by Katanga (4169 comments posted) 29th June 2008
Hey Kellie - Yes! Yes! Yes! 
 
Utterly wonderful and I agree with Josie 110%. 
 
Oh, the idea of a compost worm cleaning his teeth . . . 
 
And the sad overall irony in that worms are, I think, blind! 
 
I have 'wormery' that uses 'tiger worms' - when I attend to it properly and all is working as it should, it actually smells quite acceptably . . . but when I leave it for too long, the smell of rot is indescribable! 
 
Anyway, well done! I love your work and , with Josie, feel you should be universally applauded! 
 
Cheers! 
 
John X

Written by 1211kellie (185 comments posted) 30th June 2008
Thank you both for your kind reviews. It's encouraging to know that I'm on the right track. 
 
Kellie :)

Written by Becca2010 (24 comments posted) 30th June 2008
This is very creative and I bet that tons of children would enjoy reading about adorable little Walter the worm!  
 
A few editing tips though to help you out...  
 
Careful where you place your saids like here: 
 
“Hush now” said granny worm. “Little worms need their sleep, so that they can grow big and strong,” she said.  
 
You already have that granny is quoting this so the she said at the end isn't really needed (by the way.... granny worm is just plain cute!) 
 
Also sometimes our brains are thinking so quickly we forget simple words (This happens to me all the time):  
 
"When Walter woke up next day".. probably should be THE next day  
 
Other than that I really enjoyed it! Hope to read more from you soon!  
 
 
:grin

Written by 1211kellie (185 comments posted) 30th June 2008
Thanks for that Becca, I have now edited. Glad you liked it.  
 
Kellie :grin
(the) next day?
Written by Katanga (4169 comments posted) 30th June 2008
Hmmmmmmm! 
 
Love the poem, and therefore I think it's important to get it 'spot on'. 
 
It's only my view, Kellie, but I think it's a bit old-fashioed to insist on 'the next day'. 
 
I am 51 and pretty grammatically anal, but I think, 
 
"When Walter woke up next day . . ." is perfectly acceptable, and doesn't need editing. 
 
Other opinions welcome! 
 
Yo! 
 
John X

Written by 1211kellie (185 comments posted) 30th June 2008
Oh dear, Ha ha, now I'm unsure of whether to put 'the next day' or 'next day'. But I think I don't want it to be too old fashioned, so I shall change it back. 
 
Kellie :grin

Written by Josie (4035 comments posted) 30th June 2008
I would say that either sound OK Kellie. It sounds a bit more natural to say "He woke up next morning" - so I guess "the" isn't necessary. Just a very small thing in a wonderful little story.
We're friends then?!
Written by Katanga (4169 comments posted) 30th June 2008
Oh - what a silly point I raised! 
 
Keep 'em coming Kellie, Becca and Josie! 
 
We've got a great thing going here, for the the children! 
 
Never mind anal analysts like me! 
 
Yo! 
 
John X
CUTE
Written by prodigy (23 comments posted) 1st July 2008
One of the cutest poems I've read on GW 
 
Keep up the good work and looks like your succeeding in turning us young ones into worms - Bookworms! 
 
(teeheehee, what a PJ!) 
 
:p

Written by 1211kellie (185 comments posted) 1st July 2008
Thanks Prodigy. It's really great to get a review from a younger reader. Bookworms - now there's an idea for another story! 
 
Kellie :grin
hey
Written by littledom2008 (95 comments posted) 3rd July 2008
I read this to my little girl and she made me read it again and again and again. She loved it and so do I. 
 
D.C

Written by JRB (16 comments posted) 11th July 2008
Thought this was very good and very clearly written. I have two young children who would love this story and would learn about composting from it. There is a competition at the moment - Nickleodeon junior and they are looking for bedtime stories. I thought this may be a good one to enter as in the end Walter snuggles up to sleep. It's on their website, sorry unsure of exact URL and I think closing date is in August. I hope it gets published one day. I can just imagine lovely illustrations to go with the story.

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