Danger Dumpling - The Alternative Story

• Rhys Williams, Grade 4
• Short Story
• 2021

“What should I have to eat?”, I thought to myself. I wandered into a café and ordered the special: chicken dumplings.

A waiter with a posh accent brought me my food. As I bit into the dumpling I suddenly realised it was made of rooster instead of chicken! A strange feeling came over me. I got up and looked at the waiter, but it was a man called Dave. “Is there any problem mate?”, Dave said in an Aussie accent.

I was confused: I didn’t know what was going on. I panicked and ran out of the shop without paying. The waiter screamed for the police. Then I heard sirens! I didn’t know what to do, I could only do one thing: get caught…

I woke up in a pure white room, with an FBI agent staring at me. “Tell me everything”, he demanded. “It all started when I was eating my dumplings”, I said. “I thought they were chicken dumplings, but they were really rooster”. “That’s how you ended up in this alternative world”, he replied. “You transported here when your dumplings were switched; so to return you need another switch to happen”. We were interrupted by sirens. “The cops are angry because you didn’t pay for your dumplings!”, he said. “Run!”.

I sprinted towards a building site. The police were right behind me, so I skidded across a plank, leaped over some bubbling tar, onto a wrecking ball, then onto another plank. I grinned at the police as they stumbled and tripped. I thought I was free, but then I saw another cop in front of me, cracking his knuckles…

I had three choices: (1) go back the way l came, (2) jump onto a log hanging from a crane or (3) run at the police officer and give him a karate chop. I went with option 3: karate time! I ran up to get a nice powerful kick. “KARATE CHOP!!!”, I shouted. “Ow!” the cop screamed as he fled. Just then, the FBI agent pulled up beside me in a taxi and I got in. “I have an idea how to get you back to your own world. You need to get some plastic flowers and switch them for real flowers”, said the agent. He slammed his foot on the accelerator and soon we were at the supermarket.

We hurtled through the aisles, smashing bottles and knocking down pyramids of cans. We grabbed some plastic flowers and headed for the exit.

Nearby, I spotted a wedding. I slipped inside the church, just as the bride started walking down the aisle. As she walked past me, I snatched her bouquet and thrust the plastic flowers into her hand. As soon as the switch was made, the weird feeling overcame me once more…

I woke back in the middle of the street outside of all the cafes and restaurants in my town
and thinking to myself “what should I have to eat?”

THE END