John & Julia’s Impossible Days

The Sofa Has Set Sail!

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On the living-room floor John places the three-block toy birthday cake on its tray while Julia points across the blue rug toward toy Hippo on the armchair.
Hippo’s birthday cake was ready: three wooden blocks, pink paper icing and a felt candle. John put it on a tray. Julia pointed across the blue rug. “Hippo’s island is over there.”
The sofa becomes a broad cushion ship as the children raise one striped tea-towel sail; Hippo waves a small red square flag from his armchair island.
They climbed aboard the sofa and raised a tea-towel sail. Its cushions became a ship, and the rug rolled into an enormous sea. On his armchair island, Hippo waved a very small flag. “Birthday delivery coming through!”
John paddles with the wooden spoon and the ship circles; Julia dips the loose flat mustard cushion as a rudder to turn them back toward Hippo.
John paddled with a wooden spoon. The ship turned in a circle. Hippo’s island slid behind them. “We’re going the wrong way!” Julia dipped a flat cushion into the water like a rudder. Together, they turned the ship toward the flag.
At the fork in Sock Rocks Julia steers through the wide left passage while John gives the cake room; the narrow right slit is visibly unsuitable.
Ahead stood Sock Rocks, with sharp, stripey points. There was a wide passage on the left and a narrow gap on the right. “The cake needs room.” They took the wide passage. The felt candle scarcely wobbled.
A woolly sock octopus lifts its head and exactly eight arms beside the rail; John hugs the tray as the arms droop at his refusal.
Eight woolly arms rose beside the ship. A sock octopus peered over the rail. John hugged the tray. “You can’t have the birthday cake!” The octopus’s arms drooped.
Julia offers one folded paper party hat; the octopus wears it on one arm and holds up its other seven empty arms.
“But you can come to the party.” Julia made it a paper hat. The octopus put the hat on one arm, then held up seven more. “That is a lot of hats.”
A billowing curtain-whale sneezes; John folds the inflated tea-towel sail while Julia catches the sliding tray and keeps the three blocks upright.
A curtain-whale sneezed. WHOOSH! Their sail ballooned. The tray skidded, and the cake leaned sideways. “Smaller sail!” John folded the sail while Julia steadied the tray. The ship slowed.
The ship stops short of Hippo’s island; the invited octopus stretches two of its eight arms into a soft bridge across the swirling gap.
At last, Hippo’s flag fluttered just ahead. But a strip of swirling water kept the ship from reaching his island. “My cake!” The octopus stretched an arm toward the island. Then another. It had made a wonderfully woolly bridge.
Julia holds the tray level while John guides it along the two woolly bridge arms until Hippo can reach it.
Julia held the tray level. John guided it along the bridge, past each careful curl, until Hippo could reach it. “One birthday cake. Three blocks. Still standing!”
Back in the ordinary room Hippo pretends to blow out the felt candle while the sock octopus displays all eight paper hats, seven on arm tips and one on its head.
Hippo blew out the felt candle. John and Julia made the cheering noises. The sea became a blue rug again, but the party was only beginning. Julia made seven more hats. As for the octopus, it wore all eight party hats.

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