Amazing Stories: Twinkle Dust

And he left a bag behind. Well, a small bag - more like a pouch. It was as small as my marbles bag, and light.

"Hey!" I shouted. "You forgot something!"

But he was gone.

So now I had the twinkle dust Santa carried in his pouch. I guessed what it was when I looked in the bag, then I tried it. I sprinkled a bit on myself and whoosh! I was standing on the roof.

Another sprinkle and I was back in the living room. It didn't hurt a bit.

I went back to the roof and back to the living room a couple of times, just to make sure the stuff was reliable. It was great fun.

I did some experiments.

How small a tube could I get through? I got the vacuum cleaner out and pulled the pipes apart, then I sprinkled some twinkle dust.

Whoosh!

I was standing at the other end of the vacuum cleaner pipe.

I tried something smaller. A drinking straw.

I could shoot right through a drinking straw! Whoosh! One second I'd be down one end, and the next I was at the other.

What if one end's blocked? I put the vacuum cleaner pipes back together. Whoosh! I was inside the bag. It was dark and dusty. I sprinkled again and got out quick!

Then I had an idea. It was a good one, too. But it had to wait till school started again. I put the bag of twinkle dust in the back of my jumbled up sock drawer and left it there. No-one ever looked in that drawer except Mum and all she ever did was shake her head and close it again.

School started, after weeks and weeks of great holidays.

The other kids were all there again, and they didn't waste any time chucking a few insults at me.

"Gidday shorty!"

"Fallen off any ladders lately, picking strawberries?"