going shopping

‘Pop down to the shop for me, will you, Steven,’…..

asked his Mum, ‘and buy six eggs…..

five bananas…..

four apples…..

three oranges for the baby…..

two doughnuts…..

and a packet of crisps.’

So he did.  He went to the grocer’s  and got the shopping.  But when he came out of the shop there was a bear.

‘I want those eggs,’ said the bear.  ‘If you don’t give them to me, I will squeeze all the breath out of you!’

‘If I threw an egg up in the air, you are so slow I bet you couldn’t even catch it,’ said Steven.

‘Me slow!’ said the bear…..

and Steven escaped – but there were only…..

five eggs left.

A bit further on, Steven met a monkey.

‘Give me those bananas,’ said the monkey, or I’ll pull your hair.’

‘If I threw a banana onto that kennel over there, you are so noisy I bet you couldn’t get it without waking the dog,’ replied Steven.

‘Me noisy!’ said the monkey…..

and Steven escaped – but there were only four bananas left.

When Steven got to where there were some men digging up the pavement, he met a kangaroo.

‘Give me those apples or I’ll thump you,’ said the kangaroo.

‘If I threw an apple over that tent, you are so clumsy I bet you couldn’t even jump over to get it,’ replied Steven.

‘Me clumsy!’ said the kangaroo…..

and, you’ve guessed it; Steven escaped – but there were only three apples left.

And so the story continued, and each time Steven escaped – but each time one thing was lost.  One orange…..

one doughnut…..

(he played his trick on a pig)

and the crisps…..

(he played his trick on an elephant).

   

Anyway, Steven eventually got home…..

but with rather less shopping than his mother had originally asked for.

I wonder what he had for his tea…..

(The original story, The Shopping Basket, was written by John Burningham)