The Bus That Flew To The Moon

Once there was a little girl,

Bláithín was her name,

She'd get the bus into school,

Then get it home again.

One day she sat apon the bus

Thinking of her books and toys,

When the bus's windscreen wipers

Made a very strange noise.

You see, those mischievous wipers

Were not content with their lot,

Wiping windows was boring,

'We'd rather go flying' they thought.

It just so happened on that day

The rain was beating down awful mean,

And with every drop the wipers thought

We've got to quit this crazy scene.

The bus was on the Rahoon road,

Heading towards Westside,

When the wipers suddenly gave a squeal

So loud and full of pride.

The bus lurched once, then a bump

Was followed by gasps eveywhere,

As the driver shouted 'Hold on tight!'

And the bus lept into the air.

'Look there' cried Bláithín pointing,

'Galway city has shrunk so small!'

Then the bus flew so high

The city could not be seen at all.

Planet Earth soon was left behind

As the wipers whizzed fast

And passengers stared amazed

As satelites flew past.

The bus zoomed by fiery comets

And tinsel stars so bright,

Till all too soon the yellow moon

Came looming into sight.

Then twenty feet from the moon,

the wipers gave a groan,

They could sweep to and fro no more

so wearisome they'd become.

Then a passenger from the Claddagh

(Who sailed a boat in Galway bay)

Pulled an anchor from his coat saying

'I knew this would be handy one day.'

Just as the wipers wheezed once

And shuddered to a stop,

The anchor was hurled at the moon

Were it landed with a plop!

Everyone slid down the anchor's line

Into a sea of creamy cheese,

Which they swam whilst nibbling bits

And feeling rather pleased.

Then on to an island they clambered

(Of harder cheese it was made),

And every one ate their fill

Then down they all laid.

But as they slept, out crept,

From the island's many holes,

Horrible slabbering beasts that looked

Like giant purple moles.

The moon monsters went Argh!

The bus passengers went eek!

But Bláithín just scratched her chin

And then began to speak.

'Argh argh urgle' she said,

Which translates thus:

'We'll stop eating your home

If you let us go back to our bus.'

Whilst the monsters scratched their heads,

The passengers tippytoed away,

Back to the cheesy shore and then

Swam off - oh so quietly.

Back to the anchor and up the line

And into the bus they leapt;

The driver cut the rope

And wheeee down the bus went.


The bus landed safely in Westside

At Bláithín's very stop,

And into school she went

with a whistle, skip and hop.

'You're late,' cried everyone,

'Where on earth have you been?'

Bláithín explained about the flying bus

And all the wonders that she'd seen.

But even though she told the truth

No one believed a word she said,

So Bláithín just smile wickedly

And shouted 'Urgle Argh Urgle!' instead.

At which ten terrible moon monsters

jumped out from behind a rock,

and ate up the entire school

which was really quite a shock.

And the moral of this tale

is very simple and very true:

don't disbelieve little girls lest

they set giant monsters on you!

Copyright © 2011 Rab Swannock Fulton

All Rights Reserved

Images © 2011 Marina Wild