And the Red Rubber Ball Rolls Away

by Marisa Montes

The day Ellie Bustle cleans out her whole room,

hunting for three juggling balls,

a red rubber ball rolls from under her bed

and goes plop, plop, plop, plop, down the stairs.

Smithers the Cat spots the red rubber ball

as it rolls down the hall toward the door.

Beans the old Butler, with trays of Cook's treats,

spots neither the cat nor the ball.

Smithers trips Beans, as he dives for the ball,

and Beans does an aerial ballet.

The trays land on Beans. Beans lands splat! on the cat.

And the red rubber ball rolls away.

On down the hall rolls the red rubber ball,

and through the front door enter Max and his dog.

Out through their legs rolls the red rubber ball,

and down the front steps, plop, plop, plop!

Fantail the Dog, a true lover of balls,

whips around, tangling Max in his leash.

Then he tugs tiny Max Boom! Boom! Boom! down the steps,

while Max screams: "Stop, right now! Heel, Fan! Stay!"

But Fan's legs are in motion,

his eye's on the ball,

and the red rubber ball rolls away.

Past high heels and high-tops

and wingtips and flip-flops,

the red rubber ball rolls along.

Through red lights, past green lights,

up low curbs, down high curbs,

it bounces, it zigs, and it zags.

When it taps Miss Divine on her fanny, quite fine,

and she hauls out a punch,

decking Officer Munch,

which leaves traffic in havoc

and onlookers laughing,

the red rubber ball rolls away.

With bicycles, skateboards, and scooters and streetcars,

the red rubber ball rolls along.

Down sidewalks and park walks,

up cat walks, near moon walks,

through main streets and back streets,

in church doors, out store doors,

it rolls and it rolls and it rolls.

It reaches the river. A ferry approaches.

The red rubber ball rolls aboard.

The workers are loading, the red ball is rolling,

now cargo is flying, the workers are crying,

and the red rubber ball rolls away.

Onto a freight train, into a pasture,

the red rubber ball rolls along.

A bull that's been grazing sees red and goes crazy.

He chases the farmer, who totals his tractor,

and topples the haystack, which lands on the bull,

and the red rubber ball rolls away.

The cows in the dairy can hear the commotion.

They kick at their pails and spill all their milk.

They nudge away hands, and they moo their displeasure,

they dance, and they prance, and refuse to be milked.

While out in the barnyard, past silos and pigsties,

the red rubber ball rolls by.

It rolls in the hen house and frightens the chickens.

Their squawking gets Rooster all riled.

He swaggers inside to see what is the matter

and there spies the red rubber ball.

He struts to the ball, which lies still on the floor,

and he kicks it with one mighty claw.

But the red rubber ball ricochets off the walls

and lands with a thump! under Florence's rump,

where it rests in her nest while she broods.

At dawn the next morning, the eggs are collected,

then crated and carted away.

The eggs and the ball are then shipped to a grocer

and lined up in boxes, atop other boxes,

of dozens and dozens of eggs!

That Sunday is brunch day,

so Cook's doing the shopping

for bacon, eggs, sausage, and ham.

Cook loads up her wagon, and grabs an egg carton,

unknowingly choosing the box with the ball.

The red rubber ball is brought back to the Bustles',

awaiting Cook's quick, practiced hand.

Cook whips up an omelet for each of the Bustles;

for Ellie a three-minute egg.

Beans serves up the omelets, the sausage, and toast,

and for Ellie the red rubber egg.

Smithers and Fantail, each up for adventure,

are first to spy Ellie's red egg.

Smithers leaps on the table, Fan jumps on the cat,

and the Bustles' brunch lands on the floor.

But the red rubber ball bounces into the air,

just above Ellie Bustle's brown curls.

Ellie Bustle looks up, spots her ball, and cries out:

"There it is! There's my red rubber ball!"

When the red ball comes down,

she adds in blue and green,

and she juggles her three rubber balls.

Amid dishes of sausage, eggs, bacon, and toast,

the three rubber balls juggle high.

But in one of her catches,

Ellie itches and scratches,

and the blue rubber ball rolls away . . .