The Magic Business Carpet Ride

By Michael A. Baker

Eleven-year-old Valerie and eight-year-old Neal West had just heard some awful words from their parents but none hurt more than when their father, Peter, said, “we don’t have the money to take Randolph to the vet, and he may die.” The thought of their dog dying was unbearable to the children. In today’s America many children’s lives have been turned upside down just like Valerie’s and Neal’s. Their parents had lost their jobs, and life as the children had known it suddenly changed. But the two West children wanted to save their dog Randolph and help their parents, so they drew upon an inner entrepreneurial spirit to start a vibrant business called Randolph’s Doggy Café. The West children’s business venture involved imagination, magical help and hard work and their story is in many ways a unique American story that both young and old will cherish and be inspired by.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Jul 13, 2013
• ISBN: 9781483512402

Book preview

Ride

The Magic Business Carpet Ride

Prologue

On an especially hot summer day in Pluckemin, New Jersey, two young children, Valerie and Neal West, were in Valerie’s bedroom and both were crying in a way they had never cried before. The heat of the house only made their grief worse after they heard their parents having an awful fight downstairs.

The fighting was new to the children, as their parents never used to even argue, but things had changed in the West home since their father lost his job at the telephone company. The fights only got worse when their mom was told that she was no longer needed as a teacher’s aide in Neal’s school.

The eleven-year-old Valerie and eight-year-old Neal had just heard some awful words from their parents but none hurt more than when their father, Peter, said, we don’t have the money to take Randolph to the vet, and he may die. The thought of their dog dying was unbearable to the children, and it made all the other little things they had once counted on seem unimportant.

Pluckemin was a great suburban town where most children had the conveniences of the upper middle class, but now many of the town’s families were stressed as the telephone company had let many people go, just like their dad. Sonya, their mom, was also not the first teacher’s aide to lose her job, as the school district had to cut many programs and employees.

As the children’s tears subsided Valerie, yelled to Neal,

Let’s get out of this house and hide in our tree house.

They quietly ran downstairs and sneaked out the back door to the big tree house their dad had built for them in better times.

Once in the tree house, the children wanting to help, made a momentous and exciting commitment when they wished they could start a business.

Chapter 1

Shaggy AstroTurf Carpet

Neal and Valerie’s tree house was quite big and had two chairs and a table that were on a shaggy green AstroTurf rug. They both fell into the chairs after running out of their house trying to hold back their tears. They were speechless for a moment and then Valerie yelled,

I don’t want Randolph to die, he is like a brother to me.

Me too, whimpered Neal, What can we do to save him?

I hate Mom and Dad, they used to be happy, holding hands, hugging and laughing, said Valerie and she added, What is wrong with us?

I think it is money. All they talk about is that they have no money, none for Randolph and none for the things we want, said Neal.

I don’t really hate them but I want things to be like they used to be. What can we do? How can we help? whispered Valerie.

A moment of silence between Neal and Valerie stretched into minutes and you could see in their eyes that they were trying to think, as they never had done before.

I’ve got it, we will start a business and make money to send Randolph to the Vet and help Mom and Dad stop arguing about money, yelled Neal.

You are crazy Neal, what do you know about starting a business and making money? said Valerie

Neal jumped up and shouted again,

I don’t know but we have to do something.

As Neal jumped out of his seat he hit the table and knocked over a big flowerpot with a plastic sunflower that their mom had put there. The pot hit the floor and broke into pieces and the dirt covered the AstroTurf rug making a big mess.

Valerie spoke in a scolding voice. What have you done? Look at that mess of dirt! And is that a little bottle in the dirt?

Chapter 2

Eimer the Genie Mole

The green shaggy carpet was now covered with dirt but there was an odd thing in the middle of the pile, a small green bottle with a dirty cork plugged in the top of the bottle. The children at first just stared at this little bottle, then Neal bent over and picked up the bottle holding it close to his eye and said to Valerie,

The bottle is very heavy for it’s size, and there is something inside.

As the older sister, who should be the bravest, she grabbed the bottle out of her brother’s hand and said,

Give it to me. I will pull this dirty cork and find out what is inside.

With those words she pulled out the cork and a wind swirled through the tree house sweeping all the dirt into a mini tornado. In the middle of this dirty tornado, a form was swept onto the shaggy carpet.

What is that brown thing? It is moving, Neal yelled.

I don’t know Neal, yelled Valerie, but it looks like a mouse. How did a mouse get into the bottle?

I am not a mouse, yelled the brown little animal.

I am a mole! My name is Eimer and I thank you for getting me out of that flowerpot. I have been in that bottle for a hundred and ten years. Your mother dug me up last week in the garden dirt she used to fill the flowerpot. Thank you; thank you for freeing me. How can I repay you?

You would think Valerie and Neal would be scared but they just looked shocked as they gazed at the mole. Neal stared at the little animal and pointed his finger at the dirt and broken flowerpot and stuttered.

I wish the flowerpot was back on the table and not broken.

Me too, said Eimer.

With that, another mini tornado started to twist through the tree house, sucking up the dirt and flowerpot pieces and the flowerpot was dropped whole on the table.

How did that happen? yelled Eimer.

You wished for it, said Valerie.

I did? Yes I did! While I was trapped for those years in the green bottle I wished I was a Genie and someone would take the cork out of the green bottle some day and let me go and I could grant them wishes. My wish must have come true. I am a Genie mole! I am going to grant you wishes!

Neal and Valerie looked at each other in amazement.

How many wishes can you grant us? Neal asked.

"I don’t know. I have never done this before. The flowerpot may be it. Why, do you have a wish you want granted?

Valerie, looking a little suspicious said,

You may not have heard us when you were in the bottle but we wished we could start a business and help our parents. They have lost their jobs and can’t afford to send Randolph, our dog, to the hospital.

Well I don’t know, but let me try, said Eimer.

With that Eimer raised his little front feet with his long fingernails and said,

I wish Valerie and Neal could start a business so they can help their parents send Randolph to the hospital.

All of a sudden another great wind swept into the tree house and the shaggy carpet lifted all three up and out of the tree house. The two children and Eimer had frightened looks on their faces as they all held on for dear life while the carpet headed into the clouds.

Chapter 3

Mole University

As they rose in the sky the ground below the carpet disappeared and the three riders held on to the edges of