The Story of Phillip and John

This is the story of Phillip and John, two best friends who lived in the Forest. Phillip was a little man, not just short or small, but little man. So little in fact, that he lived in a mushroom. John was a raccoon and regular sized. He slept in a burrow like most other raccoons.

Phillip lived a happy life. Each night after he said his prayers but before he went to sleep, he would carefully lay out his clothes for the next day. He would lay his robe across the chair next to his bed and place his slipper halfway between the head and foot of the bed just in case he needed to get up in the middle of the night for a glass of water. He would turn back the soft fluffy covers of his bed and snuggle down for the night.

He would awaken with the sun each morning. Phillip would make his way to the bathroom to shower and brush is teeth. On alternating days, he would vigorously floss as dental hygiene was very important to him. He would return to his room and dress for the day. He would pull on his green corduroy jacket with the large brown buttons. He would step into his plaid short pants. He would move onto his socks and boots, pulling them on in the same order each time: sock right, sock left, boot left, boot right. The boots were soft brown leather with slightly curled toes. He would comb his short blonde hair and place his pointy cap on his head.

He would go to the kitchen and pour a bowl of raisin bran (regularity is just as important as good dental hygiene) and a large glass of orange juice while his toast was toasting. After breakfast, he would go outside to do his morning calisthenics followed by a short walk through the Forest.

After his walk, he would work in his garden, telling his squash about what he had seen on that morning’s walk. Once all the gardening was finished, it would be time for lunch. His favorite meal was black eyed peas with bits of torn bread mixed in. He had often tried to make a sandwich out of the peas, but had only had poor results. He also enjoyed fish a great deal, especially with several pats of butter and a drizzle of honey. Phillip would follow up his lunch with a small slice of pie.

By this time, John would have awaken and eaten his customary macaroni and cheese with a large glass of soda. John would groggily walk up to Phillip’s mushroom, and the two would take off for that day’s adventure. On Monday, Thursdays and alternate Saturdays, they would swim in the creek while John recounted his finds on the previous night’s hunt. On Tuesdays and Fridays, they would go for treasure hunts finding such useful things as shiny rocks, thimbles, rubber bands and pennies. Alternate Saturdays and most Sundays found the boys practicing for jump rope competitions or knitting. John’s knitting was often too tight and crooked but Phillip felt it was rude to point out more than once. After that day’s activities, Phillip and John would follow the path back to the mushroom while singing clever ditties that John made up.

John would return to his burrow for a quick nap before heading out for this evening hunt while Phillip would curl up in his fluffy chair by the fire and read while his dinner simmered on the stove. Phillip enjoyed having stews and soups for dinner as they were easy to prepare and could be eaten with spoons. After dinner and dishes, Phillip would make his way to bed to prepare for the next day.

One day just as the sun had begun to poke through the darkness of the Forest, Phillip was awaken by a Ruckus. He threw back the covers, slid his feet into the conveniently placed slippers and ran downstairs while trying to pull on his robe. He frantically looked around to see what was causing all the noise. John stumbled out of his burrow sleepily rubbing his eyes. All of a sudden a large metal monster appeared over the top of the hill and lumbered toward them, destroying the happy world of Phillip and John.