Nose Magic

 

By

 

Peggy King Anderson

 

 

Otto Ogre hated his nose. It was smooth and small, and pink as a ripe peach, not like an ogre’s nose at all. “I wish I had Maurice’s nose,” Otto thought. Maurice’s nose was big and green, and bumpy as a pickle. What a splendid ogre nose!

One windy Wednesday Otto set off from his cottage, heading for Maurice’s house. The wind whooshed and whistled, blustered and blew. It was a perfect day for trading noses. All he had to do was convince Maurice.

Soon he spotted him, Maurice’s bright orange hair whipping in the wind as he tended his garden. And oh, that nose, bending to and fro in the blustery blow! That nose was lumpy and bumpy and cucumber green. Never had Otto seen a nicer nose.

Otto shuffled his shaggy toes. How could he convince Maurice to trade?

At that very moment Maurice stopped hoeing to scratch his big nose. That gave Otto an idea. “Ha!” he said to Maurice. “You’ll be scratching that itch for ten minutes, and that’s just the top side. When my nose itches, I can scratch the whole thing in seven seconds.”

 

Maurice looked up. “I do hate wasting time scratching my nose, when I could be harvesting parsnips.”

“So, let’s trade!” Otto grabbed Maurice’s hairy hand and dragged his Ogre friend along the path toward Monster Pond. “Today’s a windy Wednesday, the perfect day to do it.”

“But how?” Maurice asked.

“You know! The Ooba-gum tree at Monster Pond. It’s the Wish-magic special on windy Wednesdays. Hurry, before this flustery gust moves on.”

Monster Pond was just ahead. The Ooba-Gum tree whistled and shook in the frisky wind. Holding tight to Maurice, Otto touched the tree’s bumpy trunk. “I wish I had Maurice’s nose,” Otto shouted. His nose began to tingle.

“Quick!” he said, “before the magic wears off.” He gave his nose a twist. It popped off nicely in his hand. The magic had worked! He handed it to Maurice. “Now, give me yours.”

But Maurice just stood there, holding tight to his nose.

“You’ll love my nose,” Otto said. “I promise.” He handed his small pink nose to Maurice. Reluctantly Maurice pulled off his big nose and handed it to Otto.

It was heavier than Otto expected. He almost dropped it. He lifted it carefully and popped it on. “It looks good on you,” Maurice said grumpily.

“Hooray!” Otto shouted. He tottered toward the pond to look at his reflection.

The nose was so heavy he tipped over twice. Finally he made it to the pond and peered in. There he was, Otto Ogre, with a wonderful big nose. He loved it! This was a nose you could point the way with. In fact, all he could see was nose. What had happened to his face?

Maurice knelt beside him and peered into the pond. Otto’s pink nose looked so tiny on Maurice’s face, Otto tried hard not to laugh. “What happened?” Maurice said. “Where's my nose?”

“Look close and you'll see it,” Otto replied. “Now let’s play Monster Tag!” But when Otto tried to run he tumbled over, bumping his nose on the ground. As much as he didn’t like to admit it, this big nose threw him off balance. “I’ll get used to it,” he muttered, wobbling as he picked himself up. It was worth the wobble, to be the best-looking ogre in town.

Meanwhile Maurice charged in circles. “How can I play tag? I don’t know where to run. I usually follow my nose but now I can’t even see it!” He plopped down on the ground. “I want my old nose back.”

“Now remember,” Otto said hastily. “If your nose gets itchy, you can scratch it in seven seconds.”

Maurice sighed. “All right. I’ll remember.”

The day was getting warm. Otto itched inside his fuzzy turtleneck. He tried to pull it off, but it stuck on his nose. Otto struggled but that lumpy, bumpy nose tangled tight in his sleeve. “Help!” he yelled.

“What’s wrong?” Maurice asked.

“I’m trapped!”

Maurice giggled. Together they pulled and twisted and tugged. Finally Maurice wiggled the turtleneck over Otto’s gigantic nose.

Otto was exhausted. He sat down on Maurice’s garden bench to catch his breath. “How did you do it all these years?” he asked Maurice. "Didn’t your sweater ever snag on your nose?"

"Never! I loved my nose!” Maurice tilted his head in the air. "How do you smell with this little nose? I can't smell a thing."

“It’s easy. Just take a big sniff, like so.” Otto took a sniff to show him. He smelled the snorgleweeds from Boggy Swamp, half a mile away. The stinky snorgle flowers made him sneeze. “A-choo!”

“Oh no,” he said. “I’m allergic to snorgleflowers. A-choo! A-choo! A-choo!” He wiped his itching eyes and sneezed again.

It was no use. “Want to trade back?” Otto asked, between sneezes.

"Okay,” Maurice said. “I’m tired of this teeny nose, anyway. But it’s not windy anymore. Will the magic still work?”

Otto looked around. It was true. The wind had gone on its way, leaving only a teasing breeze. “We’ll just have to try,” he said. “A-choo!”

The two of them hurried back to the Ooba-Gum tree. The leaves rustled, just a little. Was it enough? They wrapped their monster arms around the tree. “I wish for …

A-choo! My very own nose,” Otto said.

But nothing happened. “It’s too late,” Maurice said sadly.

“It can’t be!” Otto sneezed twice more, and peered up toward the top of the tree. Way up high, two Ooba-gum branches whipped back and forth in the breeze. He looked at Maurice and Maurice looked at him.

“Let’s go!” Maurice said. He scrambled nimbly to the top of the tree. Otto tried to follow, but his nose caught on the branches.

“Hurry up,” Maurice said. “Before the wind is gone altogether.”

Banging his nose on every bough, Otto finally struggled to the top of the tree. He grabbed hold of an Ooba-gum branch and closed his eyes. “I wish for my old nose back,” he yelled.

“Me too,” shouted Maurice. Otto felt the huge nose loosen. Just in time he caught it and handed it to Maurice. “The magic still works! Hooray!”

Maurice twisted off Otto’s button nose and handed it over. Otto popped his very own nose back on his face. At last!

Together the two ogres clambered down out of the tree.

Otto lifted his head and sniffed. No nose-itching snorgleweed flowers. Just a yum-gummy, sweet-nutty smell drifting along in the breeze. He smiled.

Maurice tilted his huge nose and took a big whiff. " Monster cookies!" he said.

“They’re baking at my house,” Otto said with ogre-ish glee. “You shared your nose. Now I’ll share my cookies.”

And arm-in-arm they sniffed their way back to his cottage.

 

 

The End