Chomp chomp makes a friend: a collaborative story sketch

God bless all the Aunts of the world. Especially the ones who share their much cooler dress up clothes and boxes of much cooler jewelry and who generally have useful skills like drawing and sewing and who know what to do with bangs. Aunt superpowers are real. And I have them! But my own children are impervious to their charms. Such are the laws of parenting.

Auntie E and Lucy and I tried a new kind of collaborative storytelling today: armed with crayons, we took turns adding elements to a picture until a story emerged. Mostly, we laughed. I give you: “Chomp Chomp, the unicycle-riding spider-ogre-fly-bear makes a friend.”

Once upon a time, there was a lighthouse that shone lime green light on the shark invested waters beneath it. Voyagers traveled from afar, leaving offerings to the mythical being who lived within the lighthouse. They left moose antlers, balloons, and a wide array of other items that they thought would draw the favor of the creature who kept the lighthouse running, and kept their ships safe. Some said it was a bear. Some said it was an ogre. Some said it was a spider. Others swore they saw a large figure with orange wings swooping through the light beam on warm evenings. Some believed they heard the tell-tale squeak of a unicycle tire when they dared to take their ships close enough. The lighthouse, and its inhabitant, were shrouded in mystery.

Chomp Chomp never felt very mysterious. She was a fairly average spider-ogre-fly-bear. She liked the same things everybody else did: perfecting her unicycle skills, taking care of her house, and helping to keep her neighborhood safe. She was pretty good at all three of these things! But she was a little lonely. People visited her lighthouse all the time, but never stayed long enough that she could meet them. They left strange gifts, which she supposed was nice, but all the weird stuff was starting to make her house feel a little bit like a junk drawer.

One day, a tiny knight arrived at the lighthouse, believing that someone needed rescuing. Knights always seem to think that someone needs rescuing, don’t they? When Chomp Chomp found him in her living room, she felt a lot of feelings all at once. She was excited that someone had actually come to visit her, but thought it was quite rude that he barged right in without knocking.

“Ahem, madam,” began the tiny knight, “but, who, here, is in need of rescuing? I demand you release your captive!” He waved his tiny sword wildly. Chomp Chomp had to try hard not to laugh.

She said, “Small shiny man, no one is a captive here. And no one needs rescuing. And it’s actually quite rude to enter someone’s home without knocking, didn’t you know? You’re welcome to stay for a little while, but only if you put that sharp stick away and take off your helmet so I can see your face. Would you like a snack?”

The knight was feeling kind of hungry, and he started to feel a little bit embarrassed. He took his helmet off and smiled at Chomp Chomp, who was really much bigger and stronger than him. He accepted the snack, and they began to talk.

Chomp Chomp told him all about how she had become the care-taker of the lighthouse (which is a story for another day) and about how she would love to make a few more friends. Later, after they had shared many rounds of snacks, she even told him that her secret dream was to ride on one of the sharks outside the lighthouse like a horse. The knight turned out to be a good listener, and grew to like Chomp Chomp very much. He suggested that she try to befriend one of the sharks, because it’s always a smart idea to look for friends in your own neighborhood. It makes planning sleepovers and play dates much more convenient. She liked this idea.

After their snacks and their chat, when it was time for him to leave, she reminded him of the new manners he had learned in her house. And as he sailed away, she invited him to come back and visit anytime, as long as he remembered to knock.

Later that afternoon, Chomp Chomp tried to get the attention of one of the sharks outside her house, but it didn’t seem interested in her. She wondered what might make it more curious. She went back inside and gathered up a box of the strange items people left on her doorstep and then held them up to the shark, one by one. Mostly, the shark didn’t seem to care. Until she held up the balloon.

The shark had never seen anything so fun-looking in all her life. She swam right up to the large green creature and tried to stay as still as she could, all of the sudden very aware that smiling and showing all of her teeth might not seem very friendly. She hoped the creature would tie the floating thing onto her fin so that she could swim around and feel like she was going to a party. She wasn’t sure how to talk to the green creature. So she just stayed still and hoped it would understand.

Chomp Chomp was so excited that a shark was interested in her balloon! She waited for a little while and then brought the balloon down close to the shark, who almost seemed to smile. She knew that if she gave the balloon to the shark in its mouth that the balloon would pop! Instead, she carefully reached down and tied the string around the fin.

The shark was thrilled. She swam in a big circle and came back to Chomp Chomp, who reached down and gave the shark a gentle pat on the back. They played this way all afternoon, with the shark swimming around happily and doing tricks for Chomp Chomp, and Chomp Chomp giving her ideas of fun ways to play with the balloon and scratching the tough-to-reach spot behind her fin.

After that first day with the balloon, Chomp Chomp and the shark played together every day. Sometimes they played with the balloon, but they also found fun ways to play with all of the other weird stuff that people left at Chomp Chomp’s doorstep. Chomp Chomp showed off her unicycle skills from time to time. And once, the shark even agreed to let Chomp Chomp ride on her back, using the string of the balloon as reins for their journey.

The End.