Made of Money

By Natasha Bloomfield, aged 9

Calling Alice a spoilt, bossy boots was a great understatement. She was so demanding that her poor mum would have to buy her everything she wanted. Whenever she and her mum went into a shop, there would be a special something that Alice’s eyes would be fixed upon.

“I want that, Mummy,” she would say.

“But Darling, I’m not made of money,” her mum would reply and that made Alice have a total meltdown until her mum gave up and bought her whatever she wanted.

One day, they went into a toy shop. Once again, something caught her eye. But this wasn’t any old toy, It was the most magnificent Barbie doll house, with 5 floors and REAL working lights.

“I WANT THAT MUMMY!” she bellowed.

Her mummy took one look at the 3 figure price tag and said, “Darling, I can’t afford it. I’m not made of money!”

“I WISH YOU WERE!” Alice screamed, throwing herself on the floor. Twenty minutes later, her embarrassed mum managed to drag her out of the shop. At home, Alice stomped upstairs, refusing to come down for the rest of the evening.

The next day, Alice noticed that her mum had purply-green arms and a pinky-orange face. Furthermore, when she looked closely, she spotted the Queen in her mum’s pupils.

“I can’t believe it, Mummy,” she gasped. “My wish came true. You’re actually made of money!”

Without a hug for Mum, she grabbed the largest handful of notes from her mummy’s arms and legs and demanded, “Take me to the toyshop. NOW!” Not wanting a tantrum her mum just obeyed and took her to the toyshop, where Alice gleefully handed over the cash. Ten minutes later, they left the shop with Alice excitedly holding the Barbie doll’s house.

For a while, life for Alice seemed just perfect. Whenever she wanted something, all she had to do was take money from her mum’s arms or legs or tummy or back. Soon, her room was filled with treasures like dolls and teddies and tablets and MP3 players and televisions and basically everything she wanted.

However, it wasn’t as nice as it seemed. For a start, when she hugged her mum, she was no longer soft, warm and cuddly. She was cold, papery and smelled kind of dusty. And if Alice fell over and hurt herself so that she started crying, her mum wouldn’t let her come near her, as Alice's wet tears would make her mouldy. Also, if it was windy or rainy, her mum couldn’t go out, in case she was blown away or got too wet. And if that wasn’t bad enough, all her “friends” started to make fun of Alice, calling her mum names and commenting on her “funny colour”.

Sitting in her room one day surrounded by all her superb toys and gadgets that she thought would make her a better person, she knew what she really needed.

“Come back Mummy.”