Norman's Time Shed

A time travel story for children, the third of the Monkey's adventures

Seamus & Norman’s Travels in Time

Seamus woke up early one morning.  How early he didn’t exactly know because the first thing he noticed was his alarm clock was missing.  The second was that there was a lot of banging and buzzing coming from the garden shed.

He went downstairs to see more and he noticed it was eerily quiet.  None of the clocks were ticking because they were not there either.  What had Norman done with them?  And for that matter, where was the computer and the fish tank?

He put his new blue cardigan on and went outside to find out.  The shed looked a bit different.  It had various pipes and wires coming out of the base, and it was giving off strange blue steam.  How very unusual..

“Norman?” Seamus opened the door, taking a faceful of smelly blue smoke.

“Morning, chief, you’re just in time.” Said Norman, frantically pressing buttons on his computer keypad.

“Norman, what the heck have you got here?” Seamus looked around the interior of the shed in amazement.  Inside Norman had the computer hooked up with wires, to a small power generator, which was wired up to a car battery, which was wired up to the fish tank (containing a very nervous goldfish called Neptune), which was wired to something that looked very familiar.

“Norman, that’s my flippin’ alarm clock!”  Seamus couldn’t believe it.  What was this mad monkey up to now?

“Noooo Seamus, me old mucker, that is a critical piece of equipment.”

“In what way?”

Norman stood up, beaming with pride.  He raised his arms “In Norman’s Time Shed!”

Seamus laughed, “Lad, you cannot be serious?”

“Flippin’ is too, your just in time for the trial run.  Right pick a time.”

Seamus scratched his head “Erm.. Ten minutes ago?”

“No, something more adventurous, lets go back to 90,000 BC.”

“When’s that, like?”

“90,000 years Before Christmas.”

So Norman began typing into the computer keyboard.  He then started the generator, which began to hum with power.  He set the time on Seamus’ alarm clock.  And then strange and amazing things started to happen.  The generator started to hum louder.  The computer began to spark, the fish tank began to bubble (the goldfish always wanted a Jacuzzi), strange white light flooded in through the windows and cracks in the walls, the alarm clock hands began to spin like mad, there was a loud humming noise….

..and everything went dark for a second.

“Norm?”

“Aye?”

“Where are we?”  Seamus opened his eyes. “And more importantly, when are we?”

Norman went over the door and peeked out.  He turned to his Monkey mate.  “Blimey, lad, I think it has worked.”

The two monkeys went outside for a better look.  Indeed the whole of the street had been replaced by lush meadowland and craggy hills.  They stared around open mouthed.  

“Wow, this is what it must have been like before Monkey-kind.”

“So this is when dinosaurs and all that ruled the earth.”

They walked a distance towards a line of trees.

“Aye that’s right, long before mankind big lizard-like creatures lived on earth.  They were often as large as cars and houses.  Some had horns, others had big, big teeth.  Most of them liked to eat meat, although a few didn’t.  They were massive and often very nasty.” Said Norman.

“Blimey, mate, how did you know all that?” Replied Seamus.

“Because there are a couple standing right behind you, lad.”

Seamus spun around quick, half hoping Norman was kidding.  He wasn’t.

Standing in front of one very nervous monkey was a huge leathery, nasty looking dinosaur standing on two legs with the biggest teeth Seamus had ever seen.

He started to edge backwards.  “Norman..” he whispered “Get running!!”  And turned and ran as fast as his legs would carry him.  Faster and faster he ran with the huge monster in pursuit, looking for a tasty monkey-snack.

Both Monkeys made it back into the shed and managed to close the door just as the big dinosaur got to them.  It roared so loud it made the shed shake.

“Quick Norm, set us on a new time.”  Seamus was trying to hold the door shut as the creature clawed and chewed at the wooden door.  It’s big teeth pierced through the roof.

Norman was frantically pressing buttons and setting dials, and turning handles, making blue steam shoot out of a jet in the floor.  There was first a flash, and then a hum, then the fish tank started to bubble, and lights began to flash outside the shed.  There was a big whooshing noise and everything went quiet.

Norman took his fingers out of his ears and checked the time on Seamus’ alarm clock.  It said 40,000 BC.

They opened the door, and met with a bloody great blast of icy cold air.  And I mean absolutely freezing.  They both stuck their heads out.

“Blimey, Norm, it’s a bit chilly out today isn’t it?”

“Yeah, you’re right there, Bud.  Apparently this is the Ice Age.  Freezing it was.  Only things that lived in those days were sabre-toothed tigers and such.”

“Yeah, and there’s one behind you now Norm?”

“What?  Where?  Where?”  Norman looked around frantically then realised Seamus was just getting his own back.

“Look bud, were not hanging around here, we didn’t bring our coats, lets try somewhere else.”

“Can I pick a time this time?” Seamus asked.

“Aye, go ahead.”  Norman moved over.

Seamus typed in a new time.  1967.  The time machine began to rumble and throb.  The generator hissed steam and the goldfish bowl started to bubble.  There was a creak, and then a whoosh.

They opened their eyes, and looked out the window.  Hmm, people.  They opened the door to find that they were in a field with lots of people moving around.  Now this was more like it.

Wow!  They were at some kind of music festival.  There were loads of bands up on stage taking it in turns to play loud music.  They left the Time Shed and had a walk around.  These people were wearing allsorts of strange and colourful clothes.  Some held up signs that said Give Peas a Chance.  Seamus liked peas, especially with fish and chips.  Others had painted faces and flowers in their hair.  Seamus and Norman could hardly stop laughing.

A tannoy boomed out the message “Could the Monkees report to stage 2 please?”  Seamus and Norman stopped in their tracks.  How did anybody know they were even there?  They made their way over to the stage where some other band was just coming off.  A guy was stood there with a clipboard.  He looked surprised to see them.  “Are you guys the Monkees?”

Seamus and Norman looked at each other and then back at the guy.  “Last time we looked.” Said Norman.  The guy still looked baffled but waved them over to a stage.  They walked onto the stage, to face thousands of screaming people!


“Good evening 1967!” Said Seamus, not really knowing what the heck to do next.  He looked to Norman for help.

“Yeah, erm, good evening..” Said Norman “Let me hear you say YEAHH!”

A few people in the crowd  muttered a half hearted ‘yeh’.  Seamus looked at Norman in total panic.

“Sing something lad.” Norman implored.  Seamus looked around in panic.  The band behind him looked impatient.  Seamus picked up an electric guitar he found and gave it a strum.  He saw the words to a song on the back of a speaker in front of him.

“I… thought love was just in fairy-tales” He sang.  The backing band sang hey hey hey.

“But for someone else but not for me..” Norman joined in, really getting into the act.

“Love was out to get me..”  Sang Seamus

“Just wait and see..” Norman sang the next line

The next line they muttered because they couldn’t read the words.

“THEN I SAW HER FACE..NOW I‘M A BELIEVER!”  The Monkeys half sang, half yelled..  The crowd roared.

“..NOT A TRACE.. OF DOUBT IN MY MIND!” Seamus strummed the guitar for all his worth.  Norman was wiggling his bum at the crowd, much to their approval.

“I’M A BELIEVER, COULDN’T LEAVE HER IF I TRIED…!”

Then as he sang he noticed four guys in bright velvet suits standing to the side of the stage looking very cross indeed.  Their shirts said ‘The Monkees’ on them.  They were waving bits of wood and pointing menacingly at Seamus and Norman.  They sang the next verse a whole lot faster.

“Well I saw ‘er face, now I’mabelievernotatraceofdoubtinmymind…” Seamus gave the guitar one last strum and the two monkeys dived off stage into the crowd.  The guys in velvet suits were in hot pursuit!  They squeezed their way through the crowd of beardy-weirdys, hippies, love childs, wild childs, deadbeats, mods and rockers.  The Velvet-suited Monkees were soon after them.  They jumped over tents, hid behind cars and signs, and finally got back to the shed.  They threw the door open with a puff of smoke, and inside were three hippy guys smoking funny-smelling cigarettes.  “Hey man, come on in, we just been to the futureee..” Said the first guy, sounding rather dozy.

Seamus was having none of it.  “Out you lot, and be quick about it, we’ve got some rather angry Monkees after us.” He quickly threw the three hippies out of his shed.  Norman powered up the computer.  Seamus set the timer.  2008 if you please.

The Monkees in velvet suits were pounding on the door.  The Shed gave a hum, then a creak.. The fish tank began to bubble… and there was a blinding flash!!!

When the smoke cleared in 1967 one of the hippies looked at the ground the shed had stood on and said “Far out, man..”  and fainted.

The Time Shed finally landed back in good old 2008.  Seamus opened the door in a puff of smoke.  Norman appeared behind him, looking a bit shaken, but nonetheless pleased with himself.

“Well, Seamus, I think we can call that a resounding success, lad.”  Norman grinned.

“Aye, there is just one more time zone I want to visit though mate.”

“What’s that?”

“Time for a cuppa, lad!”


THE END