10 Aches and Pains

Aches and Pains written by John Lockyer illustrated by Kelvin Hawley

Lots of unhappy animals went to visit wise Dr Owl. Some had bad pains and others had nasty aches. They were all moaning and groaning because they felt sick and sore. They wanted clever Dr Owl to fix their sore places and make them feel well again.

First, Mouse climbed up the trunk of Dr Owl's tree. "What is wrong with you?" asked the doctor. "My voice sounds squeaky whenever I try to talk," squeaked Mouse. After Dr Owl looked inside Mouse's mouth, he gave her a small bottle of yellow oil. "Take two teaspoons of oil twice a day," he hooted. "That should get rid of your squeaks." "Thank you, Doctor," said Mouse. "I feel quite a bit better already."

Next, Snake slithered up the tree trunk. "Whenever the snake charmer plays music on his flute," hissed Snake, "I get tangled in knots. I still have one in my tail." Dr Owl looked at the tight, tangled knot. "What music does the snake charmer play?" he asked. "Do, ti, la, so, fa, mi. re, do," Snake hissed. "That's not right!" hooted Dr Owl. "I think you get tangled in knots because the snake charmer is playing the music backwards. Listen! It should sound like this." Dr Owl began to play, "Do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do." As Snake twisted and curled in the air, the knot in his tail slowly untangled. "Thank you," he hissed. "I feel a lot better already."

Kangaroo walked slowly along under Dr Owl's tree. "I've lost my hop," she called. "My bounce has gone." Dr Owl flew down to check Kangaroo's legs. "You're right," he said. "Your legs have no hop or bounce or skip." He gave Kangaroo a large jar. "Take one of these three times a day," he said. "They will soon put the bounce back into your step." Kangaroo looked into the jar. "These are just beans," she said in a surprised voice. "Yes," said Dr Owl. "But they aren't ordinary beans. They are jumping beans." "Thanks, Doctor," said Kangaroo. "I feel better already."

When Laughing Hyena came to talk to Dr Owl, his ears and his tail hung down. "Nothing seems funny any more," he said sadly. "I can't laugh at anything." Dr Owl looked into Hyena's ears and eyes. "I can't find anything wrong," he said. Hyena said, "You have made everyone else feel well. You must help me, please." "The other animals were easy to fix," said Dr Owl. "What would you give a mouse with a squeaky voice?" "I don't know," said Hyena, shaking his head. "She needs two teaspoons of oil twice a day," hooted Dr Owl. That made Hyena smile.