大象传媒

by Thomas, aged 9

Have you ever heard your mum say “There’s a sock missing”! Or “I’m sure I put a pair of socks in the washing machine”! Well I’ve heard my mum say that lots of times and I know where they go.
Did you know inside your washing machine live mischievous creatures called wash trolls? Wash trolls are curious little fellows who like to steal socks to wear as their clothes and eat the fluff that collects in the filter pipe.

One hot sunny morning, Tom’s mum decided to wash the weekly laundry. Collecting the clothes basket, she bent down with a heavy sigh whilst she loaded the drum. Inside the wash trolls were watching. Peeking out through the holes in the drum, the wash trolls counted as the socks went in one by one.

Bubbles, Suds, Wishy, Washy and Soaps waited in anticipation whilst the door slowly closed. Hearing the door lock, Bubbles gave the thumbs up as an indication for the team to get ready for action. The smell of the detergent wafted under their noses and the time had come to jump onto the slippery slide and enjoy the ride into the tumbling sea of cloth.

“WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE”! They all screamed in delight as each of the trolls dropped into the swirling water below. Now the game had begun to grab a sock that would be used as their material to make Suds a new jumper before the wash cycle finished. They took it in turns to dive down into the now cloudy water in the hope of selecting a sock in the jumble of clothes.
“Got one”! Shouted Bubbles as he held a blue stripped sock above his head like a trophy. Now the test was to climb back out without being thrown back into the water. Standing on each other’s shoulders, they raised themselves out of the water and scrambled safely back into the dark corners of the machine.

“Well done Bubbles”, said Washy patting him on the back. Bubbles grinned with pride as he handed Wishy the limp sock ready for the task of unpicking the thread. Slowly, Wishy began to unravel the wet fibre and with each pull washy began rolling it into a ball. Once complete, the ball was handed to Soaps who was chief weaver and had the skills to turn the most worn socks into a smooth piece of cloth.

“Lovely”, said Suds as he was handed the silky material that he stroked across his cheek. “This will make a fabulous jumper”, he said happily. “Shhhhhh, someone’s coming”, whispered Bubbles.
Marching across the kitchen floor, Tom’s Mum bent down to the washing machine and began sorting the now clean clothes into the washing basket. She searched through the basket like a dog burying a bone and peered back inside the drum. Standing up, she scratched her head confusingly “Hmmmm, I’m sure there’s a sock missing”, she murmured to herself.

But we know where it went don’t we.