Tiny monsters

WE ARE THE TINY MONSTERS AND WE DEMAND TO BE HEARD!

So said the banner, carefully placed at the foot of the old oak tree in the park; the one that had been hollowed out by time and heart rot but still bore a good display of leaves each summer and acorns every autumn.

Hmm, I thought and peered closer. The plaque was a small piece of wood barely ten centimetres long and the words were carved then blackened. I sat a tree root to pick it up, then winced as something small and blue ran out from the hole in the tree and hit me on my bare toe with a sharp stick.

'Ow! What did you do that for?'

'Grrrr,' said the small blue thing, very faintly, and waved its arms about.

'Don't Grrrr at me,' I replied, a bit cross. 'There was no need to be nasty.'

The small blue thing frowned, then beckoned me closer. 'There was every need. I am but one of a terrifying horde of monsters. We live in this tree. We frighten passers-by on a daily basis and should be renowned throughout the park for our dreadful deeds and awful acts.'

I tried not to smile. 'But you're tiny!'

'Exactly our problem,' replied the tiny monster. 'Why do you think we've made this banner? We are truly horrendous, but not many people notice us. It's not a good situation.'

I pondered for a while. 'I can see that is tricky, for what good is a monster if it is not scary?'

The tiny monster sat down on my toe, looking dejected.

'Wait, I have an idea!' I cried. 'No one can see you individually, so you have to make yourselves bigger! Fetch the other tiny monsters!'

The tiny monster glanced at me dubiously, but did as I asked.

Slowly, all the tiny monsters sidled out of the hollow. It was true that they weren't very frightening.

'May I?' I asked, and arranged a row of the monsters standing together with their arms linked. Upon their shoulders I placed another, smaller row, and on those another, and so on until I'd made a human pyramid. Of monsters.

'Try that,' I said, pleased with the effect.

They wobbled a bit, and the top one fell off a couple of times, but they finally got the hang of it. The small blue monster winked at me and they staggered off to the other side of the tree where they immediately scared two children and a man on a bike.

I hear that they are now enjoying being extremely terrifying and have also learned the power of teamwork.