The Old Book In The Vault

On a warm day in New York, the postman came to Saffron Street to deliver a letter to the youngest daughter Lizzy who lived in the Woods House. 10-year-old Lizzy was playing in her room with her friend June. They both came out to take the letter. “Miss Woods a letter for you” said the postman. “Come on June, lets open it” said Lizzy. The letter said…

New York Saffron Street The Woods House

Dear Lizzy,

This is an invitation to come to your family farm house on the outskirts of New York City for two weeks in your summer vacation. You are also allowed to bring a friend. We will pick you up from your house.

Your beloved,

Grandma Rose and Grandpa Frank

“Wow” said June “Lizzy the country will be lovely I know because I once visited my Grandmother in the country and it was awesome. I had a lovely time with my grandparent’s. They also had an attic and a cellar filled with odds and ends and a beautiful orchard. It was amazing”. “I will reply saying that we both will come” said Lizzy.

She sent off the letter and on 30th April, her grandparents came to pick them up and they went by bus to the country. The whole way the two girls talked of nothing else except the holiday and they kept asking “Are we there yet? Are we there yet?” Finally, they reached a mile within the place from where they had to walk. On the way they collected lots of flowers and leaves and they took pictures with their new camera. “Save some space for what you will see at the farm house garden” said Grandma Rose. “Okay Grandma” replied Lizzy. When they reached, Grandpa Frank told them their bedroom was on the second floor, the third one on the left. After freshening up they were allowed to explore. Grandma Rose said “I will ring the bell when it’s time for lunch”.

The two girls got ready and quickly ran off to explore. Within minutes they were wide eyed and dumbfounded for they had entered the attic which was full of boxes, chests and a tall cupboard which reached the ceiling. They started with a chest which was filled with costumes. June took out a firefighter costume from the chest. There was also an old fashioned dressing room on the side with a curtain. June raced in and came out dressed like a fire fighter. Then she went to the chest and took out an old fashioned cap, a hose and a fire extinguisher. Lizzy found some black robes, a witch’s hat, a wand and a broom. Another box proved to have even more outfits. Suddenly Lizzy said “Hey June! Look here it’s a vault hidden away. Let’s open it” Inside they found a battered and old book with a leather covering and the title said “A Cook Book Just For You”. It was very dusty. They looked inside and found lots of old recipes with names like Cranky Cupcakes, Rime a Lime Juice, Merry Cherry Cake and Hairy Berry milk shake. They decided to ask Grandma Rose. As they reached the door the book slipped and fell open to the last page. Suddenly they were in a whole different world. Everywhere there were candies and chocolates and a river which looked it had normal water, but was a river of sweet water. The sign said that they were in Sweet Tooth Land. They had no idea where they were. ‘Where do you suppose we are June?” ‘Well I guess we are in the Sweet Tooth Land as the sign says, but I don’t suppose it’s much help” replied June. “Hey look, another girl. Come on June.” They ran to the girl but she had not seen them as she had her back to them and was sobbing. June tapped her on the shoulder and she immediately turned around and said “Oh no! you shouldn’t have opened the cooking book” “well it’s too late to go back isn’t it” said Lizzy. “How long have you been here and won’t you be missed by your family?” The girl said “you see at home, I would only have been gone a few seconds but I’ve been here a week” “It’s all because of the magical book in your hand. In the medieval times many copies of it was sold. It probably belonged to your great great great grandparents who lived then. What’s your name, my name is Beth” the girl asked. The other two girls introduced themselves.

The three girls' concentration was now focused on the book to find the solution that would take them home. Lizzy said “It says here we have to find three keys to open a chest which contains the power to lead us home. We will have to go to three different lands. The first one is the land that we are in right now..the sweet tooth land. The second is the sunny side up land and the last is the Land of the lost pyramid. Ok let’s start searching.” Lizzy looked over the edge of the river and she saw a glint of bronze among the pebbles. She called the girls to come and look. “ok” said June “I will go down and get it”. She put her goggles on and dived in. She searched around and finally found it. She came up and put it in her pocket.

Next they took the book and called out “Sunny side up” and in a moment they were in a place where the sea rushed to their toes. They saw a crab scurrying by ad followed it to find a colony of clams . While they were crossing the clams and idea struck Beth. What If the key is hidden among the clams. They stopped and started searched. Beth found one that glowed exceptionally compared to the rest. But no matter how hard they tried to open the clam, it wouldn’t budge. In anger Lizzy almost kicked out and the clam shouted “Hey watch it!” As the clam spoke they saw not a pearl but a silver key in its shell. As soon as the clam opened to talk to them, Beth put her hand in to reach for the key, but the clam snapped back shut. Lizzy whispered in June’s ear ‘If we keep the clam talking then Beth can free her hand.’ June asked ‘What’s your name Mr. Clam?’ As he took a breath to respond Beth freed herself with the Silver key in her hand.

They held the book and shouted out,to ‘The Land of the Lost Pyramid.’ They then found themselves inside the Pyramid and on the wall they saw a map carved in. They examined the map. Lizzy said ‘Two lefts and a right.’ June added ‘Up two staircases and on the right at the first two-digit prime number’. Beth spoke ‘Into the heart of the Pyramid you shall find the key.’ Up the first staircase there was a trick stair which turned into a slide. They slid down and fell into darkness. They found two torches and lit them and Lo! they saw a rope. They climbed up and reached the second staircase. June went first and counted to eleven steps. As her foot touched the eleventh stair she stretched her had to the right and a door opened into the heart of the Pyramid. Beth & Lizzy ran up and all three stepped into the room. They saw the golden key resting in the middle of the room on a red velvet cushion. As soon as Beth reach for the key a net fell on her. Luckily June had a pen knife in her pocket and used it to free Beth. Lizzy grabbed the key and jumped back as the net fell within inches of her. The room lit up and revealed another map to the chest which was their ticket home. The observed the map. Beth muttered ‘Up a staircase and two rights.’ June added ‘Count to the Baker’s dozen’, Lizzy finished ‘Up the stair case on your left is what you seek.’ They reached the thirteenth step and found the door on the left. They opened it and there behold was the chest.

Each of them used their keys. June used the Bronze key, Beth the Silver and Lizzy the Gold. There was a clap of thunder and within moments they were back in the attic. Grandma Rose heard the loud sound and came up. She asked ‘Now who is your little friend here Lizzy?’ They related their adventure. Grandma couldn’t believe it. She saw the book and said ‘This belonged to my great great grandma. They took Beth back home As for the book it was rightfully returned to the vault. The three friends fondly referred to it as ‘The Old Book In The Vault’