Speaker 1: Welcome back, friends to short stories for kids. Today's story
is going to be read by the wonderful sky.
Speaker 2: It was a dark night and the stars above sparkled
like diamonds. Everything was calm and peaceful, but Tammy sat
in her room, sulking, gee, I can't believe it. I'm
ten years old and mom and dad are getting me
a babysitter. Tammy's mom and dad were going out for
the night, and Tammy was annoyed. She couldn't wait until
she was sixteen. That was when they said she could
stay home alone. Who were they going to ask to
look after her now? Apparently this babysitter was a new babysitter,
one Tammy had never met before. She's come highly recommended.
Her mom had told her that didn't matter to Tammy,
though she'd rather have no babysitter at all. There was
a ding dong at the front door, and Tammy could
hear her mom and dad greet the babysitter. Then her
mom and dad called up, We're off now, honey, be
good for Katrina. Tammy sighed when she heard the front
door click shut. I better go meet Katrina. Tammy went
downstairs to meet her babysitter Katrina was standing in the
living room dressed in all white. Hi, I'm Katrina, the
babysitter said, you must be Tammy. Tammy nodded and said hi,
then went and sat in front of the TV and
switched it on. HM, said Katrina, why don't we do
something more fun than watch TV? She suggested, like what
Tammy said with a shrug, how about a board game.
My favorite board game is Hungry Hungry Hippos. Tammy said,
but I don't even have it. My friend Martha does,
but she's out of town with her family. It's a
good thing I brought my own Hungry Hungry Hippos, right,
Katrina said, as she pointed next to Tammy. Tammy heard
a whush sound, and as she turned to where Katrina pointed,
a brand new Hungry Hungry Hippos sat next to her. Huh,
Tammy exclaimed, I didn't see that there. Well, we better
play it, then, Katrina said, with a smile. Katrina and
Tammy banged away on the backs of the brightly colored hippos.
Tammy was so fast that her hippo ate all the
balls and she won. Yay, Tammy cheered, are you hungry? Tammy.
Katrina asked, you know, if I could have anything, I'd
love a great big cheese and tomato sandwich, Tammy said.
Katrina pointed next to Tammy. Tammy heard a whush sound,
and then next to her was a great big cheese
and tomato sandwich. Oh, I forgot to say, said Katrina.
I bought it cheese and tomato sandwich just for you.
How did you know I liked cheese and tomato sandwiches,
Tammy wandered out loud. Oh, Katrina said, with a shrug.
I guess your mom and dad must have told me.
Tammy looked at the babysitter strangely. She was sure hungry, though,
and the sandwich was even toasted, just the way Tammy
liked it. It was delicious, maybe the best cheese and
tomato sandwich she'd ever had. When she was finished, Katrina asked,
what do you want to do now? Tammy had an idea.
She knew something strange was going on. Well, Tammy pondered,
if I could do anything right now, I'd love a
pair of sneakers that could make me fly. Tammy quickly
looked at her right as Katrina pointed in that direction,
as if by magic, A pair of sneakers with little
wings on the side appeared there. Oops, said Katrina. I've
gotta stop conjuring things before people have asked me what
they want. Ah, Tammy said, I knew there was something
funny going on. You just made those sneakers appear. Katrina
pulled a face and shrugged. I guess I can't really
say I didn't. Tammy pulled her sneakers off and put
on the odd sneakers with wings on their sides. The
moment she tied the laces, the little wings started to flap,
and Tammy rose from the floor and flew around the room. WHOA,
try and click the heels together, Katrina shouted as Tammy
whizzed by, reaching out for the lamp shade on the
ceiling to try and stop her. Tammy clicked her heels
together and the little wings stopped flapping instant. She fell
to the floor in a heap ouch. Sorry, Tammy, I
should have warned you that would happen. Tammy sat up
and rubbed her head. Hey how'd you do that? Was
that some kind of magic? Well, Katrina replied, I guess
it was some kind of magic. How come you know
magic are you uh a witch? Wow, Tammy said, but
you don't look like a witch. What were you expecting?
Should I be all in black with a black cat.
I don't know, Tammy replied, I've never met a witch before. Well,
I'm a good witch who goes around doing good things
for kids. That's why I became a babysitter so I
can have fun every day, but I try to keep
it a secret. If everyone knew I was a witch,
everyone would ask me to use my magic every day. Eventually,
if I did that, it would take all the fun away.
Tammy understood she was good at math, and all her
friends at school would ask her to help them with
their homework. She would do their homework sometimes just because
it was easy for her. Eventually, she regretted anyone finding
out she was good at math. I'm sorry I found out,
Tammy said. I suspected something was up and only asked
for flying sneakers to try and trick you. Katrina could
see that Tammy was sorry, and she gave her a hug.
I'll tell you what, Katrina said. I might not have
black clothes or a black cat, but I do have
a magic broomstick. How about we go for a late
night fly over the town. Awesome, Tammy cried. Katrina took
Tammy to the front yard where she had propped her
broomstick against the porch. Come on, jump on, Katrina said,
sitting on the broomstick's handle. Tammy grinned and jumped on
the back. Then magically, the broomstick shot off and up
into the air, flying high over the town. There were
stars above them and the twinkling lights of the town below.
It really was an awesome sight. Everything looked so different
when you were flying so high. Eventually, Katrina flew the
broomstick back to Tammy's house and landed on the front
porch where they had left off. Tammy and Katrina went
back inside, watched movies together and ate popcorn. Later, Tammy's
mom and dad came home, and Tammy was very sad
to see Katrina leave. I hope she behaved, asked Tammy's mom.
We got on magically, Katrina said, and winked at Tammy.
From that day on, whenever Tammy's parents went out, Tammy
would always ask for Katrina to babysit for her. Maybe
having a babysitter wasn't so bad after all, especially a
magic one. The end,