Billy and the Magic Star - Over the Railway

The first in a series of 4 stories about an eleven year old boy who moves from the City to the Country and finds a magic star that enables him to fly.

BILLY AND THE MAGIC STAR

Over the Railway

Written By:  Jacqui Peter

 

 

In the forest, deep and green,

Where magic things are seldom seen,

It came to pass one day in spring

That something strange was happening.

Far beneath the woodland floor,

Moving upwards, swift and sure,

A magic star began to glow

While rising from its home below.

 

Once upon a time, they say,

A wizard used the star each day.

He’d cast a spell upon its face,

To rise above the Human Race.

Whoever held the star could fly,

Just like a bird up in the sky.

 

 

 

 

The story goes, the star was lost.

Trampled in the mud and moss

And pushed so far beneath the ground,

It wasn’t likely to be found.

And there it lay, until the day,

Its magic pushed the earth away.  

 

In a cottage, near a wood,

Lived a boy called Billy Goode.

The country life was quiet, he found.

He missed the city full of sound.

He sadly left his friends behind

And found it very hard to find

A new pal who would run and play

And climb up trees throughout the day.

 

One fine day, young Billy Goode

Decided to explore the wood.

He jumped the fence around the house,

(Startling a brown field mouse),

And made his way towards the trees,

Which swayed there in the gentle breeze.

 

 

The trees grew close, the dark complete

And leaves went swish beneath his feet.

The only sign that it was day,

Was here and there, a sunlight ray

Filtered down from way up high

And lit the path as he went by.

The dark made Billy feel afraid,

But then he saw a grassy glade

And in the middle, deep and cool

Rippled an inviting pool.

 

With leaves and sticks he made a boat

And placed it on the pool to float.

He watched his little leaf-boat glide

From the edge of the pool to the other side.

Suddenly a ray of light

Flashed on something small and bright.

He didn’t have to bend too far.

Billy Goode had found the star!

 

By now the hour was getting late. 

Deciding that the star could wait,

He hastened to the leafy lane

To run back through the woods again. 

 

Later on, that same night,

Standing by his bedside light,

He held the star up in his hand

And brushed away some grains of sand.

The star began to glow and glow

And suddenly from down below,

His feet no longer felt the floor

And he was floating by the door.

 

He gave a shout and dropped the star

And then, the strangest thing by far

He very slowly drifted down

Until his feet were on the ground.

 

It seemed the star could make him fly,

But Billy wondered just how high.

He’d have to put it to the test.

Tomorrow morning would be best.

  

Next day when Billy went outside,

He looked around for a place to hide.

It wouldn’t do for mum to see

Him flying up into a tree!

Holding the star up in the light

Billy kept his eyes shut tight.

But when he opened up one eye,

There he was, high in the sky.

 

The ground seemed very far away

And over where the cottage lay,

The flowers bloomed in every hue

Of red and yellow; pink and blue.

 

“This is easy!” Billy cried,

As he flew from side to side.

“I don’t even have to blink.

This magic star knows what I think!” 

 

Up he soared into the blue

And high above the road he flew.

He gazed down on the town at last.

It looked so small as he flew past.

With people moving everywhere,

Looking like toys from way up there.

 

 

 

The railway line came into sight

And Billy slowed his speedy flight,

To watch a shiny engine steam

Along a track beside a stream.

 

Just then, he saw another train,

Hidden by the steep terrain.

The engine driver couldn’t see

The rails were not as they should be.

The points had stuck, the track was one.

The only thing that could be done

Was move the lever front to back

And try to separate the track.

 

Down Billy flew, as fast as light

And gripped the shiny lever tight.

At last it moved, the points were set

And just before the two trains met

Billy jumped, and there he lay

As the trains roared on their way.

As he sat breathless in the sand,

It wasn’t hard to understand

The star had chosen Billy Goode

To look after his neighbourhood.

 

Up flew Billy, heading back,

Over the stream and the railway track.

Above the town and its tiny folk

And past the factory chimney smoke.

Before too long he thought he spied

His wood and the field on the other side.

The magic star glowed in his hand

As Billy Goode came down to land.

 

THE END