Mixed-Up was a creation of what was left over. His head was an old piece of hessian filled with cotton wool and saw dust petered up the top and closed up with a red rubber band. He had two black eyes, sunken into his hessian head and his nose was like a series of cross-stitches gone wrong. His mouth was sewn on hastily with something that resembled part of an old boot lace. His little hessian hands stuck out of an old dirty grey rag that served as a top, tied around the waist with what was presumably the rest of the bootlace that made up his mouth and his little hessian feet stuck out of some dirty brown trousers, although we have it on good authority that they used to be green.
Although Mixed-Up was created by someone, he belonged to no-one.
He did not remember his beginning, or how he came to be here. He had always just been, doing nothing in particular.
Mixed-Up lived in a metal box, rusted on the side that was against the earth, in a place that was surrounded by trees. As far as he was concerned it was just him, his box and the trees and that was all, and that was how he was happy to live.
Day in and day out, Mixed-Up would do the same things:
*Wake up
*Make his bed (which happened to be a hankie in an old slipper)
*Swept the dirt floor
*Walk past the three trees to the stream of water
*Listen to the green croaking jumpers
*Look around for new bits & pieces
*Go home
*Tend to his weed garden
*Go back to bed
As far as Mixed-Up was aware, this was all there was to do.
That was until one day a giant, grey fur-creature with it's big bushy tail, came running past him and scampered up the tree directly to the left of his box home.
Mixed-Up ran into his home, terrified, until the creature had disappeared then cautiously he came out and looked up his tree.
'I wonder' Mixed-Up thought, and then continued about his business.
From that day on Mixed-Up would often stare up into that tree, directly to the left of his box home, and would think to himself, 'I wonder.'
Finally, after after many days of thinking to himself, 'I wonder', Mixed-Up decided to find out.
What it was that he was going to find out he wasn't sure, but he was definitely going to find it out all the same, which is how he found himself not following his exact routine that he had followed every day.
Putting his small straw broom down, Mixed-Up started climbing the tree directly to the left of his box home.
It wasn't long before he realised that it was going to take him a lot longer, than it did the bushy tailed fur-creature, to reach the top of the tree, but using his course hessian hands and feet to grip onto the rough bark of the tree, Mixed-Up continued up. After some time he reached the first branch and, noting that it was not as lights before, decided that this was a good spot to rest.
There he slept as the night moved on and the sun came up and he continued his journey up the tree. All day he climbed and when the sun sunk in the sky he lay down on another branch and slept the night away.
The next day the sun rose, as it always did, and also, as always, so did Mixed-Up. Eager to finally find out what it was that he wondered Mixed-Up continued his ascent up the tree.
It was a long journey and hard work but eventually Mixed-Up ran out of tree to climb. He had made it to the top and, oh, the sight that awaited him!
There was a whole other world out there full of more trees of different sizes and different colours and large mounds of earth and stone and grass stretched along the distant horizon. Big puddles of water, much larger than the little stream three trees away from his home, coloured bright blue amongst the brown and green before him and up in the sky flew magnificent creatures covered in the same feathers that lined his little bed, making it just so soft.
Oh, what a sight! What a beautiful, wonderful sight. It was so wonderful that Mixed-Up stayed there all night. he did not even sleep as he was entranced by the stars and the full moon in the deep black sky.
Once the sun rose again Mixed-Up thought to himself 'I must see more of it' and so the descent down the tree began.
Going down proved to be much faster than going up as he could jump from one branch down to the next. As he neared the last branch it started to get dark again so Mixed-Up slept, for the last time, in the tree directly left of his box home.
Once the sun had begun to rise Mixed-Up continued his trip down the tree and ended up loosing his grip on the bark and slid the rest of the way down the tree, tearing a hole in his hand and landing on the ground with a bump on his bum, firmly on the ground next to his box home.
As expected, everything was exactly the same, except for an extra layer of dirt on the floor of his home and a few stray leaves in his garden.
Mixed-Up went inside and mended the hole in his hand with some dried weed, closed the lid on his box home and started his adventure out into the rest of the world.
Not much changed to start off with. It was really just tree after tree but then some of the most beautiful colours he had ever seen started to grow from the ground. Pinks and blues, yellows and purples. Mixed-Up could smell their sweet fragrance and endeavoured to climb atop one of them but once he got to the top his mismatched cross-stitch nose started to twitch and itch and he sneezed and sneezed and sneezed with such force that he fell off of the beautiful colour and landed, flat on his back, on the ground below.
Standing up, Mixed-Up shook the daze from his head and brushed himself off. The colours were naturally beautiful, but obviously very dangerous and he made a note that they would best be avoided in the future.
So being careful not to get too close to the colours, Mixed-Up continued on.
Night fell and Mixed-Up slept comfortably under the cover of a 'shroom.
The next day came, just like all the others, and Mixed-Up continued his journey. He walked all day and watched how the trees changed until he came across the rushing water. It was so large and moved so fast that Mixed-Up didn't dare go near it although he did think it was a rather spectacular sight to see.
He stood and watched the water for some time. Every now and then silver eyes with small wings attached would jump out of the water, only to dive straight back in again. These eyes would glisten in the sun. 'Obviously they are jumping out to watch me' Mixed-Up thought to himself, so he started to wave every time he saw one, as he did not want to appear as being unfriendly.
After a while it was apparent that these silver eyes did not want to to know him, only to watch him, so Mixed-Up decided that it was time to move on.
As Mixed-Up walked he noticed that there were less and less colours and that it was getting darker. He was uncertain as to if this was because the sun was going down or if it was because there were so many more trees, all huddled so close together. It didn't matter though because Mixed-Up decided that he had walked long enough and that it would be best to find a place to lay down for the night, which is what he did in a small hollow at the base of a tree.
Although he was comfortable and warm, Mixed-Up did not sleep well. All throughout the night strange noises - scurrying, hissing and clicking - would keep him awake.
When Mixed-Up noticed the grey light of dawn outside his little hollow it was obvious that sleep was not to be and, with a stretch and a yawn, he got up and walked on.
As he walked on the trees got thicker and their trunks became gnarled and twisted and covered in thorns. The air became colder and damper and it got a lot darker. A thick fog covered the ground, making it almost impossible for Mixed-Up to see where he was going.
The noises from the previous night returned, louder anymore frequent. Mixed-Up picked up his pace.
Eventually the trees gave way to a sort of clearing that was scattered with large arched stones, all of them covered in strange etchings. It was quieter here and the fog was denser. Mixed-Up felt more uncomfortable than he ever had and walked faster than before past the strange stones, towards the other side of the clearing. It was as he was almost at the other side when he heard an enormous flapping noise, followed by a loud 'HOO-HOO'.
If Mixed-Up had known what panic was then he would have known that that was what caused his feet to run as fast as they could. He ran and ran and ran, not knowing nor caring, where he was going just so long as it wasn't there.
He ran and ran and ran, right into something which brought him to a complete stop, knocking him, and The Something, to the ground. Mixed-Up looked up at The Something and became confused. He cocked his head to the side. The Something cocked her head to the side. He dropped his head to the other side. The Something dropped her head to the other side.
Both Mixed-Up and The Something stood up and brushed themselves off, and then they set themselves the task of studying the other before them.
The Something looked almost the same as himself except she had strands of long, orangey-brown wool sticking out of the top of her head. Her mouth, just like Mixed-Up's, had been hastily sewn on, but this time with some tatty old, red ribbon.
Unlike Mixed-Up, she did not wear trousers and a top but something that resembled a brown and darker brown, (who knows, maybe once upon a time it may have been pink and white...but who knows?), checkered bag with holes for her arms and head to poke through, but just like Mixed-Up's clothes, they were ripped and torn in various places.
How oddly bizarre! Forever, Mixed-Up had been the only one and now there was The Something, looking just as curious as himself.
Oh! What a discovery. Now he wouldn't have to always think things to himself. He now had someone else to think things to.
The Something held up her hand. Mixed-Up thought it only polite to copy her as she had mimicked his actions earlier. He held up his hand and The Something pressed her hand against his and what a wonderful, warm feeling ran through his body.
'Friend' he decided to call it and he smiled. He knew that The Something felt friend also because she had also smiled.
'This is such a wonderful end to such a terrible morning' Mixed-Up thought, not only to himself this time, but also to The Something. 'She must be shy' Mixed-Up thought only to himself when The Something didn't think a thought back to him.
The Something pointed with one of her hands and gestured with the other for Mixed-Up to follow her, which of course he did, not wanting to lose his new friend. The Something led him out of the thick, twisted and dark trees and into the lighter, straighter trees. Here the colours grew again and Mixed-Up could hear beautiful tunes coming from the trees.
'What a wonderful place' he thought to the both of them. The Something smiled at him and walked on, but again there was no response. It was then that Mixed-Up was struck with a sad thought.
'The Something can't think' he thought only to himself. 'How awful not to be able to think'. And with that thought he stopped The Something and then put his arms around her and held her close. 'It's okay' Mixed-Up thought to the both of them. 'I will stay with you and I will be your thoughts for you' and at that the friend feeling came back again.
The Something was obviously happy with Mixed-Up's thoughts because she was smiling again when he let her go.
'Friend' he thought again before The Something led him on through the trees which there slowly became less and less of.
As the trees became less and less, the creatures became more and more. Some brown fluffy feet bounced by, attached to two long ears.
'What are they?' Mixed-Up thought out with a bewildered look on his face.
The Something pointed at them and then held her mittened hands up on her head and bounced up and down. Mixed-Up took this to mean that the creature was a Hoppity-Up.
They kept walking when a grey bushy tailed fur-creature ran past and scurried up the tree in front of them. It was the same creature that had made Mixed-Up think 'I wonder'.
The Something ran to pick a large nut up off the ground and held it up towards the tree where the creature had scurried. 'It must be a nutty-scurried' Mixed-Up thought as the creature scurried back down the tree, taking the nut from The Something and disappearing back up the tree, amongst the leaves and branches.
As the pair continued to walk along it Mixed-Up was delighted to discover that The Something was able to communicate, quite well, without actually being able to think.
Eventually the trees stopped and there was only grass and lots of colours. The Something indicated for Mixed-Up to follow, which he did, being very careful not to touch any of the colours, remembering what happened the last time he tried that. The ground began to rise before them, a huge mound of dirt and grass. Mixed-Up was amazed by the enormity of the dirt mound and thought so to The Something. She just smiled at him in return and started to walk up the mound. Mixed-Up followed thinking about all of the wonders he had seen and the wonders that would be awaiting for him on the other side of the mound. When they reached the top he was not disappointed.
Below them, at the bottom of the mound of dirt and grass, was the largest puddle Mixed-Up had ever seen. The water sat so still and the setting sun and the pinky-orange sky could be seen, perfectly on it's surface. It was so beautiful that Mixed-Up could sit forever and watch it.
Mixed-Up was not aware that he had shared this thought with The Something but obviously he had as she sat down on the grass and just watched as the sun got lower and lower in the sky, moving closer towards the puddle. Mixed-Up joined her and together they sat there until the sky was black and the stars twinkled brightly.
In the distance the sound of croaking could be heard and as they stood and made their way down the mound it became louder and Mixed-Up recognised it as the green-croaking jumpers from back home. The sound was a familiar comfort.
The Something led Mixed-Up to a hole in the side of the mound, about half way down, which had been lit up by hundreds of glowing bugs that hung from the top of the hole. Inside the hole were some things that The Something had made from sticks, leaves and other scavenged items. She made her way over to the a pile of feathers and picked up an armful. She lay them on the ground not too far from the original pile and pointed to Mixed-Up and then to the new pile of feathers and indicated that he should go to sleep by placing her hands together and resting the side of her face against her closed hands, then she laid down on her own pile of feathers.
Yes, sleep is Just what Mixed-up needed and he thought thanks to The Something before laying down to go to sleep. Before Mixed-Up drifted off he thought about his new friend and how glad he was that one day he looked up and thought 'I wonder?'
It was forever that Mixed-Up and The Something lived in the hole in the side of the grassy-dirt mound together. It was there they stayed, playing games and watching the sun set into the large puddle every night.
It was that they stayed, forever, except for the times that they looked out into the distance and Mixed-Up thought for the both of them, 'We wonder' and that was when new adventures would begin.
Although Mixed-Up was created by someone, he belonged to no-one.
He did not remember his beginning, or how he came to be here. He had always just been, doing nothing in particular.
Mixed-Up lived in a metal box, rusted on the side that was against the earth, in a place that was surrounded by trees. As far as he was concerned it was just him, his box and the trees and that was all, and that was how he was happy to live.
Day in and day out, Mixed-Up would do the same things:
*Wake up
*Make his bed (which happened to be a hankie in an old slipper)
*Swept the dirt floor
*Walk past the three trees to the stream of water
*Listen to the green croaking jumpers
*Look around for new bits & pieces
*Go home
*Tend to his weed garden
*Go back to bed
As far as Mixed-Up was aware, this was all there was to do.
That was until one day a giant, grey fur-creature with it's big bushy tail, came running past him and scampered up the tree directly to the left of his box home.
Mixed-Up ran into his home, terrified, until the creature had disappeared then cautiously he came out and looked up his tree.
'I wonder' Mixed-Up thought, and then continued about his business.
From that day on Mixed-Up would often stare up into that tree, directly to the left of his box home, and would think to himself, 'I wonder.'
Finally, after after many days of thinking to himself, 'I wonder', Mixed-Up decided to find out.
What it was that he was going to find out he wasn't sure, but he was definitely going to find it out all the same, which is how he found himself not following his exact routine that he had followed every day.
Putting his small straw broom down, Mixed-Up started climbing the tree directly to the left of his box home.
It wasn't long before he realised that it was going to take him a lot longer, than it did the bushy tailed fur-creature, to reach the top of the tree, but using his course hessian hands and feet to grip onto the rough bark of the tree, Mixed-Up continued up. After some time he reached the first branch and, noting that it was not as lights before, decided that this was a good spot to rest.
There he slept as the night moved on and the sun came up and he continued his journey up the tree. All day he climbed and when the sun sunk in the sky he lay down on another branch and slept the night away.
The next day the sun rose, as it always did, and also, as always, so did Mixed-Up. Eager to finally find out what it was that he wondered Mixed-Up continued his ascent up the tree.
It was a long journey and hard work but eventually Mixed-Up ran out of tree to climb. He had made it to the top and, oh, the sight that awaited him!
There was a whole other world out there full of more trees of different sizes and different colours and large mounds of earth and stone and grass stretched along the distant horizon. Big puddles of water, much larger than the little stream three trees away from his home, coloured bright blue amongst the brown and green before him and up in the sky flew magnificent creatures covered in the same feathers that lined his little bed, making it just so soft.
Oh, what a sight! What a beautiful, wonderful sight. It was so wonderful that Mixed-Up stayed there all night. he did not even sleep as he was entranced by the stars and the full moon in the deep black sky.
Once the sun rose again Mixed-Up thought to himself 'I must see more of it' and so the descent down the tree began.
Going down proved to be much faster than going up as he could jump from one branch down to the next. As he neared the last branch it started to get dark again so Mixed-Up slept, for the last time, in the tree directly left of his box home.
Once the sun had begun to rise Mixed-Up continued his trip down the tree and ended up loosing his grip on the bark and slid the rest of the way down the tree, tearing a hole in his hand and landing on the ground with a bump on his bum, firmly on the ground next to his box home.
As expected, everything was exactly the same, except for an extra layer of dirt on the floor of his home and a few stray leaves in his garden.
Mixed-Up went inside and mended the hole in his hand with some dried weed, closed the lid on his box home and started his adventure out into the rest of the world.
Not much changed to start off with. It was really just tree after tree but then some of the most beautiful colours he had ever seen started to grow from the ground. Pinks and blues, yellows and purples. Mixed-Up could smell their sweet fragrance and endeavoured to climb atop one of them but once he got to the top his mismatched cross-stitch nose started to twitch and itch and he sneezed and sneezed and sneezed with such force that he fell off of the beautiful colour and landed, flat on his back, on the ground below.
Standing up, Mixed-Up shook the daze from his head and brushed himself off. The colours were naturally beautiful, but obviously very dangerous and he made a note that they would best be avoided in the future.
So being careful not to get too close to the colours, Mixed-Up continued on.
Night fell and Mixed-Up slept comfortably under the cover of a 'shroom.
The next day came, just like all the others, and Mixed-Up continued his journey. He walked all day and watched how the trees changed until he came across the rushing water. It was so large and moved so fast that Mixed-Up didn't dare go near it although he did think it was a rather spectacular sight to see.
He stood and watched the water for some time. Every now and then silver eyes with small wings attached would jump out of the water, only to dive straight back in again. These eyes would glisten in the sun. 'Obviously they are jumping out to watch me' Mixed-Up thought to himself, so he started to wave every time he saw one, as he did not want to appear as being unfriendly.
After a while it was apparent that these silver eyes did not want to to know him, only to watch him, so Mixed-Up decided that it was time to move on.
As Mixed-Up walked he noticed that there were less and less colours and that it was getting darker. He was uncertain as to if this was because the sun was going down or if it was because there were so many more trees, all huddled so close together. It didn't matter though because Mixed-Up decided that he had walked long enough and that it would be best to find a place to lay down for the night, which is what he did in a small hollow at the base of a tree.
Although he was comfortable and warm, Mixed-Up did not sleep well. All throughout the night strange noises - scurrying, hissing and clicking - would keep him awake.
When Mixed-Up noticed the grey light of dawn outside his little hollow it was obvious that sleep was not to be and, with a stretch and a yawn, he got up and walked on.
As he walked on the trees got thicker and their trunks became gnarled and twisted and covered in thorns. The air became colder and damper and it got a lot darker. A thick fog covered the ground, making it almost impossible for Mixed-Up to see where he was going.
The noises from the previous night returned, louder anymore frequent. Mixed-Up picked up his pace.
Eventually the trees gave way to a sort of clearing that was scattered with large arched stones, all of them covered in strange etchings. It was quieter here and the fog was denser. Mixed-Up felt more uncomfortable than he ever had and walked faster than before past the strange stones, towards the other side of the clearing. It was as he was almost at the other side when he heard an enormous flapping noise, followed by a loud 'HOO-HOO'.
If Mixed-Up had known what panic was then he would have known that that was what caused his feet to run as fast as they could. He ran and ran and ran, not knowing nor caring, where he was going just so long as it wasn't there.
He ran and ran and ran, right into something which brought him to a complete stop, knocking him, and The Something, to the ground. Mixed-Up looked up at The Something and became confused. He cocked his head to the side. The Something cocked her head to the side. He dropped his head to the other side. The Something dropped her head to the other side.
Both Mixed-Up and The Something stood up and brushed themselves off, and then they set themselves the task of studying the other before them.
The Something looked almost the same as himself except she had strands of long, orangey-brown wool sticking out of the top of her head. Her mouth, just like Mixed-Up's, had been hastily sewn on, but this time with some tatty old, red ribbon.
Unlike Mixed-Up, she did not wear trousers and a top but something that resembled a brown and darker brown, (who knows, maybe once upon a time it may have been pink and white...but who knows?), checkered bag with holes for her arms and head to poke through, but just like Mixed-Up's clothes, they were ripped and torn in various places.
How oddly bizarre! Forever, Mixed-Up had been the only one and now there was The Something, looking just as curious as himself.
Oh! What a discovery. Now he wouldn't have to always think things to himself. He now had someone else to think things to.
The Something held up her hand. Mixed-Up thought it only polite to copy her as she had mimicked his actions earlier. He held up his hand and The Something pressed her hand against his and what a wonderful, warm feeling ran through his body.
'Friend' he decided to call it and he smiled. He knew that The Something felt friend also because she had also smiled.
'This is such a wonderful end to such a terrible morning' Mixed-Up thought, not only to himself this time, but also to The Something. 'She must be shy' Mixed-Up thought only to himself when The Something didn't think a thought back to him.
The Something pointed with one of her hands and gestured with the other for Mixed-Up to follow her, which of course he did, not wanting to lose his new friend. The Something led him out of the thick, twisted and dark trees and into the lighter, straighter trees. Here the colours grew again and Mixed-Up could hear beautiful tunes coming from the trees.
'What a wonderful place' he thought to the both of them. The Something smiled at him and walked on, but again there was no response. It was then that Mixed-Up was struck with a sad thought.
'The Something can't think' he thought only to himself. 'How awful not to be able to think'. And with that thought he stopped The Something and then put his arms around her and held her close. 'It's okay' Mixed-Up thought to the both of them. 'I will stay with you and I will be your thoughts for you' and at that the friend feeling came back again.
The Something was obviously happy with Mixed-Up's thoughts because she was smiling again when he let her go.
'Friend' he thought again before The Something led him on through the trees which there slowly became less and less of.
As the trees became less and less, the creatures became more and more. Some brown fluffy feet bounced by, attached to two long ears.
'What are they?' Mixed-Up thought out with a bewildered look on his face.
The Something pointed at them and then held her mittened hands up on her head and bounced up and down. Mixed-Up took this to mean that the creature was a Hoppity-Up.
They kept walking when a grey bushy tailed fur-creature ran past and scurried up the tree in front of them. It was the same creature that had made Mixed-Up think 'I wonder'.
The Something ran to pick a large nut up off the ground and held it up towards the tree where the creature had scurried. 'It must be a nutty-scurried' Mixed-Up thought as the creature scurried back down the tree, taking the nut from The Something and disappearing back up the tree, amongst the leaves and branches.
As the pair continued to walk along it Mixed-Up was delighted to discover that The Something was able to communicate, quite well, without actually being able to think.
Eventually the trees stopped and there was only grass and lots of colours. The Something indicated for Mixed-Up to follow, which he did, being very careful not to touch any of the colours, remembering what happened the last time he tried that. The ground began to rise before them, a huge mound of dirt and grass. Mixed-Up was amazed by the enormity of the dirt mound and thought so to The Something. She just smiled at him in return and started to walk up the mound. Mixed-Up followed thinking about all of the wonders he had seen and the wonders that would be awaiting for him on the other side of the mound. When they reached the top he was not disappointed.
Below them, at the bottom of the mound of dirt and grass, was the largest puddle Mixed-Up had ever seen. The water sat so still and the setting sun and the pinky-orange sky could be seen, perfectly on it's surface. It was so beautiful that Mixed-Up could sit forever and watch it.
Mixed-Up was not aware that he had shared this thought with The Something but obviously he had as she sat down on the grass and just watched as the sun got lower and lower in the sky, moving closer towards the puddle. Mixed-Up joined her and together they sat there until the sky was black and the stars twinkled brightly.
In the distance the sound of croaking could be heard and as they stood and made their way down the mound it became louder and Mixed-Up recognised it as the green-croaking jumpers from back home. The sound was a familiar comfort.
The Something led Mixed-Up to a hole in the side of the mound, about half way down, which had been lit up by hundreds of glowing bugs that hung from the top of the hole. Inside the hole were some things that The Something had made from sticks, leaves and other scavenged items. She made her way over to the a pile of feathers and picked up an armful. She lay them on the ground not too far from the original pile and pointed to Mixed-Up and then to the new pile of feathers and indicated that he should go to sleep by placing her hands together and resting the side of her face against her closed hands, then she laid down on her own pile of feathers.
Yes, sleep is Just what Mixed-up needed and he thought thanks to The Something before laying down to go to sleep. Before Mixed-Up drifted off he thought about his new friend and how glad he was that one day he looked up and thought 'I wonder?'
It was forever that Mixed-Up and The Something lived in the hole in the side of the grassy-dirt mound together. It was there they stayed, playing games and watching the sun set into the large puddle every night.
It was that they stayed, forever, except for the times that they looked out into the distance and Mixed-Up thought for the both of them, 'We wonder' and that was when new adventures would begin.