Leaf 7: Mr Daffodil Catches a Ride

<<< Leaf 6: Clocktummy, MX Clocktummy

Do you remember where we left our little yellow friend, Mr Daffodil?

After his brief encounter with Daisy, the Enormous Friendly Cow, Mr Daffodil continued his adventures.

He walked and walked, until he reached the top of a hill.

A magnificent view opened before him: a large valley flooded with sunshine and full of pretty white buildings.

This was the University of Cowentry!

This is where we left Mr Daffodil last time we saw him.

Mr Daffodil became curious.

“I wish I could fly!,” he exclaimed. He wanted to go and have look around the beautiful white University straight away!

He ran along the footpath down the hill and saw another sign: “Cowentry Train Station.” That is exactly what he needed!

Mr Daffodil had never been to a train station before, but he knew that trains were fast, helpful vehicles who like to travel and could take you almost anywhere.

But how to find the right train?

The station was such a big, noisy place.

A crowd of people were going in and out of the station building. Many carried wet umbrellas, heavy suitcases and big bags. Everyone was in a hurry.

“They must be going to the University!,” Mr Daffodil thought.

“Everyone is so BIG!,” Mr Daffodil noticed.

Leaf 7: 27-Feb-2017 Mr Daffodil jumped away from under the black shoe and said “Ouch!” This was a lucky escape!

These folk were not as enormous as Daisy, but much bigger than him. And most of them weren’t yellow.

He followed the crowd and soon got lost amidst huge, heavy shoes.

“Ouch!,” he shouted, as a big shoe almost crushed him.

He sneaked up behind a smaller big person. She stood quietly, looking around, and was in no rush.

And best of all, she wore yellow sneakers!

Mr Daffodil caught a ride on her right foot. He looked up and politely shouted:

“Excuse me! Are you going to the Train to Cowentry University?”

The little big person smiled down at him, completely unsurprised, and said “Yes! I am going to meet my mum. She works in the Library.”

“That’s great! May I travel on your shoe?”

Leaf 7: 27-Feb-2017 Mr Daffodil catches a ride on a yellow sneaker

“Of course! Hold on tight,” she said and started walking.

“Thh-aa-nn-kk yy-oouu!,” Mr Daffodil shouted back, while trying to hold on tight to the shoe. The girl was busy walking and didn’t hear him.

Mr Daffodil soon found himself in the train. He climbed off the shoe and glued himself to the window.

Mr Daffodil was all yellow in excitement. This was his first ever train journey. He liked everything: the sounds of the train, the smell of the train seats, and the scenery outside.

But as the train approached the University, the sun disappeared behind thick clouds and it  was pouring down with rain.

Leaf 8: Mr Daffodil Finds Cowentry University Wet >>>

It was all yellow!

A whole week is a long time to wait for a new story. But there are so many other exciting things to do during the week! So, while MX Clocktummy and I are writing up our adventures for our Monday Story, we will also be sharing some music with you đŸ™‚ The Friday Song column will usually appear on Fridays, but occasionally on other days, too!

Here’s the first one of Mr Daffodil’s favourite songs:

 

Leaf 6: Clocktummy, MX Clocktummy

<<< Leaf 5: The Next Adventure Begins!

In the meantime…
In the Central Library of Cowentry University, it was still dark. It was 7:59 AM.

One minute later, someone loudly said “ding-dong” to themselves and turned on the light.

This was MX Clocktummy, the Chief Librarian’s clockpiece.
MX Clocktummy was always on time. But It was no ordinary timepiece. It was, in fact, a highly qualified Clockperson with a PhD in Timekeeping for Libraries.


Clockpeople belong to the species homunculus horologicus. They are distant relatives of both humans and robots. Clocktummies in particular have two faces and five hands, but clockpersons really come in all shapes and sizes. And most of them are neither girls, nor boys. In many languages the word for “clock” is plural, in others it’s feminine, masculine or neuter. This can be confusing, so if you meet a clockperson (or any other person, for that matter), and aren’t sure how to address them, or which pronoun to use, just ask: “What shall I call you?”
Personally, MX Clocktummy finds human gender pronouns somewhat baffling and sometimes mixes them up herself. But Its favourite pronoun is “It” with a capital I. “It” is short and sounds nice and… ticky.
And MX is actually the Latin number 1010: it is MX Clocktummy’s personal serial number. You can pronounce that as “one thousand and ten” or “Mx” for short.

So, at precisely 8 AM Clocktummy announced the opening of the library, spent half a second gathering concentration, and started work.
Exactly at 10:00, It had its oilbreak and sat down to relax for 900 seconds and read the morning paper, while also thinking about Its new paper on the topic of “Accelerating scientific libraries”.
And then…

Leaf 7: Mr Daffodil Catches a Ride >>>

Leaf 5: The Next Adventure Begins!

<<< Leaf 4: Big and Small Things       Leaf 6: Clocktummy, MX Clocktummy >>>

So finally let me tell you what happened after I met Daisy the Cow.

I walked on a bit…

and tried to catch a few sun’s rays in the forest…

I also met a loud group of sky-blue forget-me-nots who were having a lot of fun celebrating somebody’s birthday…

I climbed a steep hill, at the end of which I saw a magnificent view. There was a blue sign saying “WELCOME TO COWENTRY UNIVERSITY”. 

<<< Leaf 4: Big and Small Things           Leaf 6: Clocktummy, MX Clocktummy >>>