Alexis didn’t like bath time. In fact, he really UTTERLY, COMPLETELY didn’t like bath time.
Whenever Mummy or Daddy looked at the clock in the evening and saw that it was time for his bath, Alexis had always managed to vanish. Sometimes, he’d be hiding under the kitchen sink. Or pretending to be a statue behind the tall lamp in the living room. Once, he even curled up in Duffy the dog’s basket and pretended he had four legs and a tail.
But wherever he hid, and whatever he did, especially if he was pretending to be a dog, Mummy and Daddy would find him and carry him upstairs - no questions asked.
Alexis just didn’t like getting clean. He’d spent all day getting nice and messy and dirty and it hadn’t been easy. He’d had to of climbed through hedges and run though puddles, and roll down the bank that led to the stream, he’d had to put in a LOT of effort - and now a silly bath was going to take it all away.
And Mummy and Daddy - Daddy especially - always put far too many bubbles in the bath. So many, that he often couldn’t even find his favorite dinosaurs. They would be lost under a sea of foam and be extinct all over again until bath time was over and the water drained away.
Now tonight, Daddy was in charge of putting the bubbles in and AGAIN he put in far too many.
“Daaaad!” complained Alexis. “They’ve nearly reached the ceiling!”
“Well that’s good,” called Daddy from the hall. “You’ll get cleaner all the quicker!”
Alexis wasn’t happy at all. He was surrounded by walls of bubbles and he’d lost his favorite toy dinosaur of all - a triceratops called Lucy.
She might, he thought, be down the other end of the bath by the taps. So with both hands be began to tunnel his way forward through the bubbles. He seemed to be going further than he should, further than where the taps the end of the bath should be. He turned around to face the way he came, and saw that the tunnel he’d made had closed in behind him. He was surrounded by bubbles on either side! He looked above him and - instead of the bathroom ceiling - just saw a roof of bubbles. He was in a bubble cave all by himself.
He called out - “Lucy…? Lucy where are you?” But his voice was all echoey.
Suddenly, the wall of bubbles to his right began to pop and collapse, but instead of seeing the side of the bath, it was… a corridor! A long, white corridor with bubbles for walls but a white, marble floor.
Alexis might not be a very clean person, but he was certainly a brave person. And so he stood up and walked down the corridor, dressing himself in one of the many flags he saw lining each of the bubble walls.
He could hear noises and laughter from the very end of the corridor and so - with caution and curiosity - be followed the sound.
Soon, he came out in a huge hall as large as a circus tent. Around him, platforms rose up on levels and lounging around on each were… dinosaurs. They were playing with a huge beach ball, hitting it across the hall to each other and occasionally letting it drop into the huge steaming bath in the centre of the room.
Trying not to be scared, and before any of the dinosaurs noticed him, Alexis tried to make himself small and invisible - just like he did when Mummy and Daddy were hunting for him.
He watched the dinosaurs and then it occurred to him - they were HIS toy dinosaurs, but now enormous and perfectly alive!
There was Bernado, the Velociraptor. And Ellen, the Brontosaurus. And Martin the Allosaurus. And down in the water, Tim the pterodactyl, and Lucy the triceratops.
Well now he couldn’t be scared - he knew them all!
“Having fun?” called Alexis to the room.
All the dinosaurs stopped playing and looked around.
“It’s Alexis!” “Alexis!” they all murmured.
Ellen the brontosaurus - who was the largest - smiled widely, stood up, and shook off some bubbles.
“What are you doing here, of all places!” she asked. “Is it time for your bath, too?”
“Of course it’s time for my bath!” Said Alexis. That’s how I found you! Daddy put in too many bubbles!
“No such thing as too many bubbles,” interrupted Lucy.
“And I got lost in them,” continued Alexis, “and there was a tunnel and a corridor and now I’m here!”
“Oh,” said Martin. “Then you might as well jump in.”
Alexis looked at the huge foaming bath that took up most of the hall’s floor. It wasn’t like his bath at home, this looked more like an adventure park. There were water spouts to stand under, and, looking up, Alexis saw that a slide curled all the way around the outside of the hall and splashed out into the side of the bath.
He didn’t need asking twice. He jumped in and for the first time had more fun than he could have ever dreamt of at bath time.
Alexis was screaming with excitement having just plummeted off the big slide when Tim the pterodactyl put his wing finger to his beak for quiet.
All listened…
“It’s my Dad!” Whispered Alexis.
“Well you’d better run,” said Martin. “Or this place won’t be your secret anymore!”
“But I’m soaking!”
“So what?” laughed Lucy. “Aren’t you supposed to be?"
“Good point, Lucy!” said Alexis and dashed back down the tunnel.
Before him was a wall of bubbles but he closed his eyes and dived though them head first.
SPLOOSH!
“Oh! Goodness me!” Said Daddy. “I thought you’d run off! Come on, time to jump out.”
Alexis got out of the bath and let Daddy wrap a big warm towel around him.
“Daaad…” said Alexis. “Could I have another bath in the morning.”
Daddy let the plug out of the bath and the water began to rush away with a gurgle and a glubber.
“A bath in the morning?” said Daddy. “Why?”
Alexis thought quickly on the spot… “Well, I want to be nice and clean before I meet everyone again,” he said.
“But who are you meeting in the morning?” asked Daddy.
The last of the water drained away out of the bath leaving just a few bubbles at the bottom. As Daddy fetched Alexis’ night clothes, Alexis looked down into the bath and saw all his dinosaur toys - Bernardo, Ellen, Martin, Lucy and Tim - all lying there as little plastic toys.
“I’m just meeting my friends, Daddy,” said Alexis.
“Well that sounds like a very good idea,” said Daddy, leading Alexis out of the bathroom towards his safe, warm cosy bed.
