Jack and Jill and the empty bucket

Once upon a time, there was a young boy and a young girl called Jack and Jill, and they had an empty bucket which they needed to fill with water. And the only place to fill the bucket was from a big tap at the top of the hill. So Jack and Jill had to walk all the way up the hill... So they set off climbing!

First, they walked past lots of different plants. They walked past many holly bushes. They walked past lots of moss - on the floor, and the rocks, and the tree trunks. Then they walk past lots of ivy. And they even saw a ladybird on one of the ivy leaves.

So they carried on walking, and soon they bumped into their mummy and daddy's friend - Mr. Squirrel!

"Hello, Mr. Squirrel," said Jack.

"Hello Jack. Hello Jill. Where are you going today?" said Mr. Squirrel.

Jill said, "We're going up to the top of the hill to fill this bucket with water."

"Very good", said Mr. Squirrel, "It's a nice day for it! Here, take these two acorns for good luck." And he gave them both an acorn.

"Thank you, Mr. Squirrel", said Jack. "See you later."

Jack and Jill carried on up the hill. Up, and up, and up. And they walked past lots of animals. They walked past a little mouse, scurrying around. They walked past some bunny rabbits, hopping up and down. They walked past an owl, flying through the woods. Flying over the roots. Under the branches. Around the tree trunks.

And then up ahead they saw a big, nasty fox. Uh oh! So they decided to change direction and walk all the way around the fox, so that they wouldn't bump into him.

Soon, they'd almost reached the top of the hill. But suddenly Jack realised - he didn't have his bucket any more!

"Oh no!", said Jill. "We'll have to turn around and go all the way back down the hill to find it again".

Just then, Mr. Squirrel appeared again, and he had the empty bucket with him. "Hello again, Jack and Jill". Said Mr. Squirrel. "I think you've forgotten something!" And he gave them back the empty bucket.

"I saw you drop this empty bucket when you left me. But by the time I went to pick it up, you had gone. So I picked it up. I climbed up the trunk of a tree. And then I followed you up the hill, jumping from branch to branch. And now here I am, and here you are."

"Oh, thank you so much, Mr. Squirrel", said Jill. "Here - take these tasty acorns that we found as a thank you".

"Ah, very well", said Mr. Squirrel. "Thank you and see you later." He took the acorns and went off again back up the trees.

So now Jack and Jill had their bucket again, and they were almost at the top of the hill. They carried on walking up to the top of the hill where they found the big tap. The put the bucket underneath and turned the tap on, and with a big SHHHHHHHHH the bucket filled up with water. And then Jack had a drink of water from the bucket, and Jill had a drink of water from the bucket, and they filled up the bucket again and turned the tap off.

Now they had a bucket full of water, they went all the way back down the hill very carefully, making sure they didn't spill a drop. They went around the fox again, past the animals, and the plants, all they way home.

When they got back to their house, their mummy and daddy were home. They said, "Hello Jack, hello Jill. Look at all that water in that bucket! Thank you for fetching it for us. Now we have plenty of water, don't we!"

And everyone was happy.

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