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Blue WormCarolyn Pyzynski © May 29, 1995  Jon was comfy under the covers. His tousled blonde hair nestled on his pillow. The smell of breakfast cooking came wafting up through his room from the kitchen.  Jon opened his eyes and then jumped from under the warm covers, his feet hitting the floor with a bound. He ran to his window and looked out over the back yard. "Wow, the sun's out and is melting all the snow" he said. Jon dressed quickly and ran downstairs to eat.  "Mother, this is a great day!" Jon loved to fish with his dad and had always hoped he'd catch a big fish. Worms were good bait. Breakfast was good, but he hurried eating it.  After breakfast he put on his jacket and hat, grabbed a shovel, and ran to the backyard. He found a spot behind the garage he thought would be soft. However, even though spring was on its way, the ground was still frozen too hard for digging worms.  Before another month passed, he and his dad were out digging worms. Sometimes they went to the golf course near their home. They usually went at night when the dew worms came out of their holes on the greens.  This particular night was fantastic. "Gee, Dad, I've caught a lot of worms for our worm box." Then, using his flashlight, Jon spied a bright colored thing in the grass. He tip toed over to inspect and saw that it was blue worm.  "Gosh, I've never seen a blue worm before," he thought to himself. He caught it and secretly placed it in the dew worm box without his dad seeing the worm. When he returned home he hunted for a new worm box, filled it with dirt and some peat moss and put it in his closet. Since he had his own bedroom, no one should find it.  The first chance Jon was able to go fishing was after school was out in June. "I can't wait, I can't wait to try my blue worm" Jon thought. One night just before the family planned to go on vacation to Wisconsin, Jon heard a noise coming from his closet. He peeked into his closet, and to his surprise the little blue worm was talking to him in plain English! Somehow the little blue worm was able to know Jon's thoughts. He said to Jon, "Please do not put a hook into me. I am an alien and by the end of summer I will have to go home. I will go fishing and I can catch big fish for you. Please just wrap me around your hook...I will hang on and sing to the fish and jump out of the way when they are heading for the hook". Jon couldn't believe his eyes or ears. He also noticed that the little blue worm had grown in size and filled the box. He would have to find a little bigger box. "An Alien?!", who would believe it!,"Jon thought. Jon told no one about the worm as they packed to go up North. They arrived at their cabin and after unpacking, Jon and his dad went fishing. Of course, Jon took his little blue worm with him. He did, however, have to get him another box before they went out because the little blue worm had grown larger.  Jon was eleven and had learned to bait his own hook. This trip fishing he carefully wrapped the little blue worm around the hook, being carefull not to stick his new friend. "Boy, Dad, look...I've caught the biggest bluegill anyone ever saw!"  As the day wore on, Jon had better luck. "Gee whiz, look at the size of this bass!" When the day's fishing came to an end, Jon had caught the two biggest fish of that kind that had been caught in that lake! Everyone from camp came to see and admire the bluegill and bass. Jon was thrilled.  Jon was just crawling into bed for the night when he heard the blue worm whisper to him,"Jon, I'm very tired and must rest for a couple days. But I promise the last day you fish I will try and catch you an even bigger fish." "OK," said Jon. The last day of vacation had come and Jon had become very good friends with the little blue worm. They went out in the boat with Jon's dad again. Soon Jon felt a big tug on his line. He set the hook and began to reel in. The fish pulled away from him and he had to reel and pull so hard that he was afraid he would drop his pole in the lake. "Dad, I don't know if I can land this big one!," Jon said. He finally got the fish over by the side of the boat and his dad helped him net it. Jon was very excited. It was the biggest musky that had ever been caught that summer!  "Oh, little blue worm you did it..you did it!", Jon exclaimed. "Who are you talking to?, Jon?", his father asked. Jon had to tell his dad the whole story about how he found and began his friendship with the little blue worm.  Upon arriving home, the first thing to do was unpack. When that was done, Jon's dad drove Jon and his worm to the golf course. Jon put the blue worm back right where he had found him although he was much bigger now. "Thank you, thank you, little blue worm," Jon said. "I'm so glad I got to know you." The little blue worm could not tell Jon where he came from because it was a secret. He said,"Jon, I like you a lot and I hope you can catch more big fish even without me." Jon and his dad drove to the golf course many evenings after that. One night they saw an object up in the sky that must have been a UFO.  "I just know it is a space ship and my little blue worm is on it," said Jon. What a thrill! Jon would never forget these exciting events and his new friendship, "I know what I will be when I grow up," he told his parents. "I'm going to be an astronaut."  "Maybe somewhere, some day I'll find him again." E-mail the author Carolyn Pyzynski Return to Grandma's House |