20 The Speed King

The Speed King written by Pam Holden illustrated by Michael Cashmore-Hingley

When my little brother Zane and I would go out to play, our Dad would always say, "Look after your brother. Don't let him go too fast. Keep him safe." I'd reply, "I'll try to, Dad, but he really won't listen to me. He thinks he's the Speed King!" Before Zane and I would ride our bikes around the lake, I'd tell him, "Be extra careful. Remember to watch your speed. You don't want to get the speed wobbles! You might land in the lake! I wish you'd listen to me!" Zane never took any notice. Instead, he just laughed and sped past me, racing ahead, going as fast as he possibly could go.

At the ice skating-rink, I reminded him, "Do you remember what happened the last time we came here, Zane? You went too fast and you had a really big fall on the ice. I had to pick you up. Please go extra slowly until you get the hang of it again." Zane didn't seem to remember. He didn't take any notice of what I'd told him. Instead, he raced past me, smiling and speeding ahead as fast as he could go.

Back at the park, Zane was on his shiny red scooter. "Don't go so fast," I told him, "Just stay beside me and you will stay safe. I don't want to have to pick you up again." But Zane wasn't even listening. "Watch how fast I can go now!" he shouted, as he sped past me and raced ahead.

I wasn't able to slow Zane down on the snow either. Before we went up the mountain, I reminded him, "You'll have to watch your speed. Remember what happened last time when you flew through the air and landed in the snow? We don't want that to happen again, now do we? Be extra careful. Just take your time and stay safe." Zane didnt even pretend that he was listening to me. "Woohoo!" he yelled, as he raced ahead and on, down the steep, steep mountain.

At the skate park, I reminded Zane to wear his helmet and his safety pads. I helped him put them on. Then I told him that if he went too fast, that he might really hurt himself this time. As usual, Zane took no notice of me. He jumped on his skateboard and raced ahead of the other riders, smiling as he went.