The Clean-Up King - Part 2

When the clean-up King got out onto the streets he found things were worse than he had thought. There were hills of junk and mountains of rubbish. That wasn't all though, then there was the smell. The stink from all that thrown away food, scraps and leftovers, as it rotted and decomposed was terrible. The clean up King held his nose and set to work.

It wasn't long before he had filled his barrow. Outside the city he remembered that there was a great, deep quarry. He wheeled his barrow out of the city gates and along to the quarry. He emptied his barrow and started back again. He hadn't made much difference, the junk mountains looked as high as before, but he dug his shovel in one more time and began to fill up again.

After a time people began to notice the clean up King. Some people stopped to watch him, then started to make jokes and laugh. Other people joined them and then there was a crowd all pointing and laughing. Once, when he had just cleared up one space, a man walked out of the crowd and dropped more rubbish onto the clean ground. Everyone in the crowd clapped and cheered. The clean up King kept on working.

When evening came and it became dark and cold the people in the crowd began to drift away until there were only two people left watching the King, a boy and a girl. After a time he noticed them there and called to them to come over. "Why are you doing all this?" they asked. "Sit down here with me," said the clean up King, "and I'll tell you."

He told them about a different world with grass, trees and flowers, animals, birds and fish. A world with deep, rich, beautiful colours where everything was fresh, clean and sparkling. "Oh, if only you could see the glint of the sun shimmering on the river's ripples," he told them and while he told them it seemed as though they could.

"Why don't you help me?" he asked them. "We could get so much more done if you would." They thought for a moment. "People would laugh at us," they said, "our parents wouldn't like it, we'd get dirty, and there's too much anyway, you'll never get it finished!" "Don't worry," said the clean up King, "you start when you're ready", and he got back to work.

The children watched him as he shovelled and brushed by himself. "He could do with some help," they said, "he'll never get through on his own. We could help for an hour or so and then go home." One took the broom and the other the shovel, the King wheeled the barrow and the work moved a little faster.