Poppy and the Muddy Hose

Poppy found a boot in the fire station's soup pot, and it was still steaming.

"Who put a boot in the soup?" said Poppy.

Nobody answered. Poppy was the smallest firefighter at Elm Street Station, and she had one job today. She had to get the big red engine shiny before the town parade at noon.

She filled a bucket. She picked up her sponge. Then the bell went ding-ding-ding.

A cat was stuck up the tall oak tree. Poppy and the others zoomed off. The ladder went up, up, up. Poppy climbed it herself, and the cat jumped onto her shoulder. "Mrrow," said the cat, as if to say thank you.

Back at the station, the engine was covered in leaves. Poppy wiped and wiped.

Ding-ding-ding! This time a puddle had swallowed a little girl's red wellie. Poppy fished it out with a long hook. SQUELCH! The wellie came out, and so did a very surprised frog.

Now the engine had mud on it too. Poppy scrubbed. The mud only spread.

"Oh, no," she said. "I can't do it with a sponge."

She looked at the engine. She looked at the hose coiled on its side. Then she saw the little boot-shaped puddle by the wheel, and she began to grin.

"Wait a minute," said Poppy. "I know whose boot that is."

She ran inside and found Big Jo, the cook, standing in one sock. "I was stirring," said Jo. "My boot just jumped in!"

Poppy laughed so hard she hiccupped. Then she hurried back and turned the little tap on the hose. Whoosh! Water danced over the engine, and the leaves and the mud slid off and ran down the drain.

The engine shone red as an apple.

Poppy sat on the step with the cat in her lap, and the frog hopped in the bucket. Far away, the parade drum went boom, boom, boom, and the engine glittered in the sun.