The Tables Turned

© RICHARD OBRIEN 2002 WWW.FRIDGERIDOO.COM

It all happened one day in the school holidays. Papa had gone to work early and Mary and Elizabeth were playing noisily in the lounge room. Mom was in the kitchen getting a headache just listening to them!“Why don’t you girls sit down quietly and read this book that Uncle Richard wrote?” said Mom from the doorway.“What is it called?” asked Elizabeth.“Well, you know Richard,” said Mom, “he can’t decide anything...he’s not sure whether to call it “The Tables turned on Mary and Elizabeth” or “The Tables turned on Elizabeth and Mary.”“The Tables turn on Elizabeth and Mary” shouted Elizabeth.“No he shouldn’t” said Mary . “He should call it “The Tables turn on Mary and Elizabeth” cried Mary .And they began to argue.“Elizabeth and Mary ” said Elizabeth.“Mary and Elizabeth” said Mary .

The Tables Turned. A Fable.


The Tables Turned. A Fable.“You girls”...Mom began. But just then the phone rang in the other room so she went to answer it.“Elizabeth and Mary ” continued Elizabeth.“Mary and Elizabeth” continued Mary .But they kept their ears open as well to hear what Mom had to say....“Yes.....Uh Huh....I see....just a little while...”“Well girls, I have to go down the road, just for a little while, can I trust you to not be naughty and not to argue? You can read your book "The Tables Turned..."Mary and Elizabeth looked at each other.“Yes Mom” they said together.“We won’t be naughty” said Mary .“We won’t argue” said Elizabeth.“I won’t be long”, said Mom as she gave the book to the girls.They heard the car drive away and Elizabeth closed the book.Let’s be naughty! said Elizabeth.No! said Mary .“Mary ” said Elizabeth. “Don’t argue”.***



Elizabeth ran into the kitchen and began to search through the cupboards. Mary looked on with disapproval. Elizabeth was so deep inside the cupboards that all you could see was her shoes. She threw out all sorts of things such that Mary ’s disapproval turned toamazement.“Mary ! Look! cried Elizabeth.Elizabeth brought out a large brown paper bag from the deepest darkest corner of the cupboard. Mary knew that they had gone too far. Look! said Elizabeth.“Rubbish food!” they cried together. Sure enough, there were lollies and chips and other rubbish food that they never imagined would be kept in the house....



They must have found the most secret hiding place ever...Then, at the bottom of the brown paper bag they found carefully wrapped up in a teatowel, two dusty glass bottles with bright purple caps.

Curious and curiouser. And so began the tale of “The Tables Turned on Mary and Elizabeth.” Or was that, “The Tables turned on Elizabeth and Mary?”

******



“What are they?” asked Mary .Elizabeth held the bottles up to the light. They looked the same except for the labels.One label was green. The other label was blue. They each had the same tiny, funny looking writing at the very bottom of the label and each had a big, different letter in the middle. One was marked

Cand the other was markedM

“What are they?” asked Elizabeth as she handed them over to her sister. Mary read the small writing on the bottom of the labels.Magick potion....She squinted as she read, just like her Mom.


“Magick Potion!” Mary squealed.“Magick Potion!” shouted Elizabeth. “I wonder what it does!”Mary continued to read the small writingMagick potion.... one capful equals ten minutes“Lets try it!” hooted Elizabeth as she jumped up and down. “Lets not” said Mary , thinking that they ought to be sensible.“Don’t argue!” said Elizabeth as she took the bottles from her sister.“Let’s try the “M” one first! said Elizabeth, and with that she closed her eyes and took a capful of the “M” potion in one gulp.Before she knew it Mary joined her sister Elizabeth - she shut her eyes and swallowed a purple capful of the “M” magick potion!



For some odd reason they both kept their eyes shut for just a little while longer than you usually do when you make a wish after blowing out the candles on your birthday cake or when you cut your cake making sure you don’t touch the bottom. Taking the potion was a little bit like when you are making a wish, but they both kept their eyes shut for a little while longer because they didn’t know what was going to happen next. But when they opened their eyes they squealed with delight and ran round and round in circles as they laughed and laughed.“Sister Elizabeth!” giggled Mary .“Sister Mary !” laughed Elizabeth as she curtsied.They now both knew what the “M” stood for....“You’re a Mouse!” they shouted together.



Sure enough they looked at each other to see they both had pointy noses, whiskers, long thin tails and a sleek grey coat of fur. And they were both tiny! They were glad Mom and Pappa weren’t home, not only because they would be in all sorts of trouble for being so naughty, but also because they were so small they could easily be trodden on!“Sister Mouse Elizabeth” squeaked Mouse Mary .“Yes Sister Mouse Mary ?” giggled Mouse Elizabeth.“Some cheese please!” said Mouse Mary .Mouse Elizabeth’s little beady eyes lit up.“Parmesan!” she cried.“Jarlsberg!” replied Mouse Mary .



But just then the sister mice felt all funny and began to tremble. Suddenly the refrigerator door burst open and out tumbled the two girls, together with an array of food; a bunch of carrots, three tomatoes and a carton of milk spilt on the floor.“Wha-What happened? asked Elizabeth.“Our ten minutes were up..the potion wore off,” replied Mary . “And what a mess!” “No use crying over spilt milk” said Elizabeth.“We should clean this mess up now, before Mom gets home,” said Mary .“Yes”, said Elizabeth thoughtfully, “we should....



And before you could say “Cheese!” the Mouse sisters had climbed into the refrigerator through a hole at the back and began chomping away merrily. But after a while they were both starting to get rather full, and even though they had their sleek fur coats, it was too cold to stay in the refrigerator much longer.

“Sister Mouse Elizabeth” squeaked Mouse Mary .“Yes Sister Mouse Mary ?” replied Mouse Elizabeth.“It’s too cold in here, let’s play outside” said Mouse Mary , as she nibbled the last piece of Mozzarella.“Who am I to argue? Sister Mouse Mary !” replied Mouse Elizabeth.“Let's make our way to the exit, and don’t forget to turn off the light!” said Mouse Mary .



Mary knew what Elizabeth was going to say next and although she had thoroughly enjoyed being a mouse thought it was probably time to be sensible. “We should”, continued Elizabeth, “but let’s try the “C” bottle!”Both girls had an idea what the “C” on the bottle label stood for and were keen to have another adventure.



“We shouldn’t” said Mary .“Don’t argue!” said Elizabeth. And with that she offered a capsful of “C” potion to her sister. Mary , of course, drank it straight away, and Elizabeth followed.What do you think happened? When they opened their eyes they laughed and giggled again in delight.



Said Fat Cat Mary ,

Elizabeth, Elizabeth I’ll eat my hat If my eyes don’t deceive me You’re a big fat Cat!

Said Fat Cat Elizabeth, Mary Mary Meow Meow! I don’t know about that,But you’re a Cat now!



“We shouldn’t” said Mary .“Don’t argue!” said Elizabeth. And with that she offered a capsful of “C” potion to her sister. Mary , of course, drank it straight away, and Elizabeth followed.What do you think happened? When they opened their eyes they laughed and giggled again in delight.



Said Fat Cat Mary ,

Elizabeth, Elizabeth I’ll eat my hat If my eyes don’t deceive me You’re a big fat Cat!

Said Fat Cat Elizabeth, Mary Mary Meow Meow! I don’t know about that,But you’re a Cat now!



Fat Cat Mary and Fat Cat Elizabeth purred loudly! They were so pleased withthemselves, their fluffy ginger fur, their pointy ears and whiskers, their paws and claws, not to mention their delicate tails! Just behind them, on the floor in front of the refrigerator was the puddle of milk they had spilt earlier. They lapped it all up with their rough tongues, as cats do. “That was good,” purred Fat Cat Mary , “although I’m still thirsty.”Fat Cat Elizabeth was licking herself clean, she licked her elbow, then she licked her paw and brushed it behind her pointy ears.



“I was thirsty too”, meowed Fat Cat Elizabeth, “maybe the potions were too salty”.Fat Cat Mary looked at Fat Cat Elizabeth licking herself and thought it was a good idea.“Come on, Fat Cat Sister Elizabeth,” said Cat Mary “we can do that outside. Cats like to play and lay in the sun!”So off they went to the front veranda, on all fours, tails in the air, to frolic in the sunshine.A little time passed and the Cat sisters decided to take a cat-nap. Before long their sleep was disturbed as they felt all funny and began to tremble again. Their ten minutes were up. The potion wore off leaving the two sleeping sisters each curled up in a ball.




“That was fun being a cat,” yawned Mary .“Yes it was fun” replied a very sleepy Elizabeth.“You know what, we should try the potions just one more time and then clean up the mess in the kitchen before Mom gets home”, said Mary.Elizabeth was a bit surprised that she didn’t have to twist Mary ’s arm to have another adventure with the potions, but then again they had had so much fun eating cheese as mice and drinking milk as cats, that nothing really could go wrong.Mary left to go to the kitchen first and Elizabeth just took her time, stretching and yawning, trying to wake herself up.


Elizabeth walked into the kitchen but couldn’t see Mary anywhere. She came to the cupboards to find both bottles, the one with the green “C” label and the one with the blue "M" label sitting on the top with their purple caps off.“I wonder,” said Elizabeth to herself,” whether Mary has chosen to be a mouse or a cat?”“Anyway” Elizabeth continued “I guess it doesn’t really matter which potion she took”.“Let me see...ink pink...”“‘M’....a mouse it is”Elizabeth swallowed the capful and shrunk back to a tiny grey mouse.“Now to find Mary ” she said to herself.



“Yoo Hoo Mary ! Where are you?” Elizabeth called as she scurried towards the lounge room. “Yoo Hoo!”Little Grey Mouse Elizabeth continued on her way when suddenly a big Ginger Fat Cat appeared right in the middle the doorway.“Oh, Sister Fat Cat Mary ! you did scare me!” squeaked Mouse Elizabeth. But the Ginger Fat Cat did not answer and instead gave Mouse Elizabeth a hungry look.“Mary ! Sister Fat Cat Mary ! It’s me, your Sister Mouse Elizabeth!”Poor Little Grey Mouse Elizabeth was beginning to get frightened.“My name is Mary ,” growled the Fat Cat Mary , “but no Cat is a Sister to a Mouse”.



“Cats eat Mice.” “But you’re my sister!” cried the fearful Mouse Elizabeth. We’ve played together as little girls, we’ve eaten cheese in the refrigerator as tiny grey mice, we’ve lapped up milk off the kitchen floor as fluffy ginger cats and now you want to eat me?”“That's right, now I’m going to eat you’, growled the Fat Cat Mary ,“Cats eat Mice.” “And that’s that..”

Fat Cat Mary liked the sound of this and so declared it again:

“Cats eat Mice.” “And that’s that..”



“I’m going say this ten times and then I’m going to eat you!” “Cats eat Mice.” “And that’s that..” “Cats eat Mice.” “And that’s that..” Poor Little Mouse Elizabeth was so scared, nothing in her life had prepared her for this.She could try to run and hide but there was a good chance that Fat Cat Mary would find her and eat her. Then Little Mouse Elizabeth had an idea. She excused herself and backed away slowly, any sudden movement might see her pounced on.

“Cats eat Mice.” “And that’s that..”



Excuse me, Sister Fat Cat Mary ”, said Little Mouse Elizabeth when she returned. “You said you were thirsty earlier”. Mouse Elizabeth had two thimbles in her tiny little mouse hands.“Here, drink this....To our health!” Fat Cat Mary drank the thimble and Mouse Elizabeth drank hers.

They shut their eyes and when they opened them again, the tables had turned! Mary was no longer a Fat Ginger Cat but rather a Little Grey Mouse. And Elizabeth was a big fluffy cat!



The tables had turned! Now it was Mouse Mary’s turn to worry. “Sister Fat Cat Elizabeth, you’re not going to eat me are you? she asked.“No”, purred Fat Cat Elizabeth. “Of course not, we’re sisters aren’t we?”Little Mouse Mary was so relieved she could have kissed her sister Elizabeth on the cheek, but thought it was better to keep her distance from those sharp cat's teeth. “You’re very kind, said Little Mouse Mary .“I’m your sister aren’t I?” said Fat Cat Elizabeth. Fat Cat Elizabeth continued:“We have ten minutes to go before these potions wear off, I suggest we keep out of each others way till then. I’m going to lay in the sun on the veranda. Maybe you should hide somewhere, just in case.Hopefully, Mom will be home soon after we change back, and she’ll keep us out of trouble.”



Sister Mouse Mary agreed that Sister Cat Elizabeth was being sensible and they went their separate ways.Ten minutes passed and the two girls hurried back to the kitchen to pick up the carrots and tomatoes off the floor.No sooner had they finished they heard Mom’s car in the driveway.



“Hello Mary . Hello Elizabeth,” said Mom. “Well girls, we’re you naughty?" " Did you argue?”“Yes Mom” the girls chorused. “We were naughty, we did argue.”

“But we learnt our lesson. That no matter what our differences we’ll always be sisters and we should always love and respect each other.”

“My, my”, said Mom. “That’s a very big lesson, you must have been very naughty to have learnt that one.”“Yes Mom, very, very naughty.”

The girls watched as Mom put her things on the top of the cupboard, ready to put away.“Where have you been?” they asked. .



“Never you mind” said Mom hoping they would not notice her things. “Did you finish the book?”

“The Tables turn on Elizabeth and Mary"? said Mary .“The Tables turn on Mary and Elizabeth"? said Elizabeth.

“Yes we did!” they chorused again. And they had noticed Mom putting away, amongst other things a dusty glass bottle with a purple cap which she wrapped carefully in a teatowel.

The dusty bottle had an orange label. And in the middle of the label was the letter DAnd at the bottom of the label they guessedMagick potion.... one capful equals ten minutesAnd Mary and Elizabeth thought about the next time they would play together....© 2002 RICHARD OBRIEN


The Tables Turned

Education

Transcript of The Tables Turned