Percival's Box

            by John Downey

 

Percival is a little boy, just like you or me. He loves his mom and dad, and likes to jump in puddles when it rains. He has a little brother, and a dog named Stu. He lives in the town of Magination, where the sky seems like it's always cloudy, but sometimes the sun shines and then it's hot. It was a hot day like this, and Percival was sitting around in his room with nothing to do.

"Mooooom" he said, "I'm bored. There's nothing to do!"

"Oh," said his mother, "Well, Percival, a package just arrived in the mail from your grandmother. It's addressed to you. Would you like to open it?"

Percival smiled, "Yes, please!" he said. His mother gave him the package and went off to go water her petunias. Percival looked at the package. It was big! What could be inside, he thought. He read the tag. It said,

Dear Percival,

I found this when I was cleaning out the closet. It's a magic box I once had when I was a little girl. I hope you can make use of it.

Love always, Poopy.

(Percival's grandmother always signed her name 'Poopy')

"Oh boy," thought Percival, "A magic box! I wonder what it does."

Percival pulled off the wrapping paper, and held the box in his hands. It was big as a shoe box and as red as a candy apple. It sparkled in the light. This box was definitely magical. Percival could tell.

"I wonder what kind of magic is in this box," Percival thought, "I guess I had better open it and see"

Percival held his breath, opened the lid a crack, and peeked inside. It was empty!

"Aw phooey!" Percival said, and he pulled the top off entirely. "There's no magic in this dumb ol' box."

But just as he said that, the box started to shake and wiggle. Slowly, little vines began to creep out of the box and slither along his floor. They crept up the walls and up the ceiling. Bushes and trees began to grow out of Percival's floor! Flowers of all different colors, the bluest blues, the yellowest yellows, the reddest reds, began to sprout all around Percival. Birds of all shapes and sizes flew in through the windows. Monkeys and Leopards and Elephants and even a hippopotamus all came out of Percival's closet. It wasn't long until his room had become a jungle.

"Wow!" Percival said, "What a neat jungle!" and he swung on the jungle vines, and swam in the jungle waterfall, and played with the jungle monkeys (who were very playful).

When he got tired of playing in his jungle, Percival looked at his box.

"I wonder what other kinds of magic this box can do" he said to himself. He went over, and took the lid off the box. Once again the box began to shake and wiggle. The jungle disappeared and a big chair came out of the box. His room began to change. Panels and buttons appeared all over. Little windows popped up all around the wall. The rug became a white floor. Finally, Percival's clothes changed into a space-suit. His room was a rocket-ship! Percival sat down in the big chair, and looked at the buttons in front of him. There was a big red one that said, 'Launch'.

"Well," Percival took a deep breath, "Here goes nothing..."

He pressed the big red button and a countdown started.

"10, 9, 8, 7, 6..." a computer voice was counting down. Percival clutched his seat, ready to go.

"...5, 4, 3, 2, 1...blast off!!"

There was a great rumbling and Percival's room shot off into the sky. He watched the earth get farther and farther away. Soon he was in space. He saw shooting stars and meteorites. He went outside in his space suit and roasted marshmallows over the sun. He went to Pluto, the coldest planet, and made a snow-man on its icy surface. He went to the moon and discovered, it really was made of cheese!

When Percival got tired on exploring space, he came back to earth and looked at his box.

"I wonder what other kinds of magic this box can do" Percival said to himself. He went over, opened the lid, and waited. At first nothing happened, but then Allen Iverson, Lebron James, and Kobe Bryant climbed out of the box, and his room changed into a basket ball court.

"Hello, Percival" Allen Iverson said, "Would you like to learn how to play basketball like us?"

"Boy, would I!" Percival said, and they played basket ball. The players taught Percival how to dribble between his legs, and behind his back. They taught him how to make a basket from the three point line with a jump-shot. They even taught him how to dunk, even though he was just a little boy and couldn't reach the rim.

When Percival was tired and sweaty, and tired of playing basketball, he looked at his box.

"I wonder what other kinds of magic this box can do" Percival said to himself. But right at that minute, his mother walked in the door.

"Hello Percival, I just finished watering my petunias. Would you like a mayonnaise sandwich?"

Percival looked around. Allen Iverson, Lebron James, and Kobe Bryant were gone, and his room had changed back to normal.

"Um, no thanks mom." Percival said.

His mother saw the red box on the floor.

"Oh, Percival," said his mother, "was this the package your grandmother sent to you?"

She picked it up, and opened it. Percival smiled and waited for the magic to happen.

"Why, it's just an empty old box." His mother said.

Nothing happened. No vines came out of the box, the room didn't turn into a spaceship, and no basketball players certainly hopped out. His mother gave the box back to Percival.

 

"Well, that's odd. I don't know why your grandmother would send you an old box like this. Anyway, I'm going outside to water the Magnolia." and with that, his mother left.

Percival was confused. Why didn't anything happen when his mother opened the box? He looked around his room and found a note he had missed when he opened the package. It was from his grandmother,

p.s. This magic box will only work if you believe in magic. When you stop believing, the box will no longer be anything more than a box. I hope you have fun with it.

<3

-Poopy

Percival smiled to himself.

The years went by. Percival grew up, and as time passed, he played with the box less and less. Eventually, when he was a teenager, he stopped playing with the box entirely, and put it in his closet. One day, when Percival was grown up and married, and had a little boy of his own, he was digging through his closet. He came across the box, which he had completely forgotten about. Percival had almost forgotten about all the fun he used to have with the magic box when he was a little boy, but he did remember he had enjoyed playing with it when he was young, so he gave it to his son.

The box was passed down for generations this way. Each person enjoying it, and then forgetting about it once he or she stopped believing in magic. Somewhere along the way the box got lost. No one knew where it was. Who knows, it might be sitting in your closet right now, and, if you believe in magic, you can have as much fun with it as Percival or any other little boy or girl has.

~