Across the Fence

Raggedy Ann and Andy sat in the backyard under the old oak tree. Little Marcella spread a picnic blanket and set out tiny dishes.

As she poured pretend tea into her dolls' teacups, her mom called out from the patio,

"Marcella! Come meet the guests, there's a special surprise for you!"

The little girl ran indoors. Raggedy Ann and Andy waited patiently. After several minutes, they heard the car start in the front yard. Andy sat up and watched it leaving.

"Oh my—looks like we'll be alone for a while, Ann." He stretched his raggedy arms up over his head and wiggled his legs excitedly.

"What fun!" Raggedy Ann arose and smoothed her apron, running a soft rag hand through her yarn hair. "Should we help Marcella and her mom by pulling some weeds?" She gestured to the pesky crabgrass choking the rosebushes.

"That's a lovely, kind idea, Ann." Andy clapped his hands. "I'll fetch the tools!"

A strange scratching sound on the other side of the wooden fence made Andy stop in his tracks. He watched as a head rose over the fence top and a single eye peeked mischievously at them from between the slats. Two hands clutched the boards as if someone was hanging on to the other side.

"Get down!" he whispered. They both collapsed into a funny bundle of arms and legs right where they stood.

Raggedy Andy assumed it was a little boy climbing over the fence; if so, he did not want him to see the two dolls moving and speaking.

The being who swung one leg over and scrambled down into their garden wasn't human, but an elf. Perhaps the strangest thing about him was he only had one eye in the middle of his forehead.

Raggedy Andy craned his neck cautiously and watched as the elfin boy headed for the toolshed, opened the creaky door and disappeared inside. He soon came out with an armload of gardening tools, heading for the fence.

"Hey!" Andy jumped to his feet. "Stop, thief!" He ran after the elf, who was so startled to see a living rag doll that he dropped all the tools with a shriek and a clatter and took off running.

The elf tripped over a cobblestone and went flying through the air, landing with his nose in the dirt at the base of the fence.

Raggedy Ann and Andy approached, helped him up and dusted him off. Neither of them could frown without having to reach up and pull their foreheads down into wrinkles, but Andy folded his arms and tried to give a stern glare despite the smile painted on his rag face.

The elf boy was not much bigger than either of them. His pointed ears twitched nervously as he looked from one to the other with his lone blue eye and clasped his hands.

"I'm sorry, really sorry," he wailed. "I'm not a thief! I would have returned them just as soon as I'd finished."

"There was no way for Andy to know you would give them back," Ann said. "He was protecting our owner's property. We won't hurt you, little elf." She introduced herself and Andy.

"My name is Todd, but everyone calls me One-Eye," the elf boy sighed. "All the other elves have two eyes. I don't know why I only have one. I need those tools very badly for my mom's garden. Hers vanished yesterday, and no one will help us. They're all afraid of me…" he started to sob."I'm just an ordinary elf! Why don't they treat me like everyone else?"

Raggedy Ann and Andy put their arms around him and patted his shoulders comfortingly.

"You can't help what others think about you, Todd," Ann said. "They don't know you very well. All they see is your one eye, and they're afraid of the unknown."

"We love you no matter what you look like," Andy assured him. "We love everyone, even those who are strange or different from what we are used to."

"But what can I do about Mom's veggie patch? It's weedy and overgrown, and I need to clean it up."

"We'll bring our tools and help you out!" Andy declared. "That way, others will see us treating you kindly, and they'll be less afraid of you."

"That's a wonderful idea, Andy. What are we waiting for?" Ann picked up a trowel.

***

At Todd's house, Raggedy Ann and Andy set to work with their trowels, forks and hoes. They helped dig out weeds, cultivate the soil, and harvest veggies. They even helped water the plants.

As they were resting in the shade afterwards, some other elf children came by.

"Hey, who are you two?" An elf boy rested his chin on the fence, staring. "Did One Eye catch you and make you clean his garden?"

"No, no, no." Raggedy Ann gave her sweetest smile. "Todd is a good little boy, just like you and your friends. We came to help him out because we wanted to. We strive to be kind and loving to those who are different or in trouble."

The other boy looked down at the ground for a moment and then looked up at Todd with a hesitant smile.

"Gee, I'm sorry… I guess we haven't been very nice."

"Is it hard only having one eye in the middle of your head?" another boy asked.

"What about your missing tools?" an elfin girl inquired. "Grandpa found some in a hollow tree this morning. They might be yours…"

"Would you like to play with us?"

And so it went, until Todd was surrounded by new friends eager to get to know him. Raggedy Ann and Andy waved goodbye and headed home.

They helped each other over the fence and tumbled into place under the oak tree just as Marcella's mom's car pulled in.

"That was fun," Andy said. "We were able to do a kindness for someone and see others join in."

Their candy hearts swelled with gladness.

Notes ▼

Word count: 1000.
Written for "Writing 4 Kids Contest " 
In response to photo prompt: