“Grandpa, Grandpa, Grandpa! Please, just one more story! Please!” Lizzie’s eyes were glowing as she imagined what great story would be coming next.

“Well, darling.” Thought Grandpa. “You will need to go to bed very soon, as your Mother tells me you have a big day at school tomorrow!”

“But that doesn’t matter! PLEASE!!!!” Begged Lizzie, nearly falling to the ground.

“Yeah! Please, Grampwa!” Mumbled Tom, Lizzie’s little brother.

“No. Now, night night little ones. Love you.” Said Grandpa, and left the room, closing the door behind him. Lizzie’s face went so droopy. 

“Such a shame.” She giggled sarcastically, “were aloud to party all night now!” She screamed excitedly, and then sat down on to the bed. “You know, Tom? Want me to tell you one of my latest stories?”

“Yes! Yes! Lizzie tell story! Yay!”

“Now, cuddle up. And be silent.”

 Now. Long, long ago, a young woman walked the great fields of Ireland. She was only 18, and was named Lixxie. She was also extremely beautiful, and felt, well, almost... old. She’d been walking around field that belonged to her father’s massive farm, and decided to rest for a moment or two on one of the nearby haybales. She watched the ginormous, wondrous sun glitter high in the sky, and was beginning to feel relaxed. When suddenly, she heard a noise behind her. She’d always been a very brave young woman, and decided to go and see what was happening behind her back. The bushes were rustling, and at that very moment, out came a little squirrel. The woman adored little animals greatly, and began to laugh and smile when she saw it. “Common, you tiny, little thing. Oh! I know! I’ll call you Little!” She looked down at the tiny creature, and whispered, “aww! Come here. Hop on to my hand. I’ll go and hide you somewhere, okay?” Impressively, the squirrel actually hopped on, and dug its mini claws into her smooth, white hands. She giggled. It was so, so cute!

Later that day, she hid it in her newly built hangout treehouse. Each day onwards, she would then go out, and feed this adorable, wondrous little creature. Until one winter morning, she came to her tree house, and saw that all of the pile of acorns that she’d left were gone. She wondered why. “Oh! Where are the acorns? I suppose Little has eaten all of the food again. Hmm... I think I should call Little over.” So, she did what she’d said. “Little! Come here! Little!” She shouted, but Little was no where to be seen. “Oh... I think... Oh dear! I won’t get to see Little until next summer! He’s hibernating! Oh, I’ll miss my squirrel.” And then she ran inside, and went back up to her room to read. She’d enjoyed hiding a secret squirrel that she’d managed to tame in one tiny move. She’d  wished she could get another secret animal. But, she was DEFINITELY sure that that would NEVER be happening.

 Suddenly, Lixxie heard someone calling from downstairs. “Lixxie, darling! Common. I’ve told you many times! The tap water won’t run. Can you go and clear the drains out side, please?” Shouted her Father from down stairs. Frustratedly slamming her books on to the floor, Lixxie stormed downstairs. When she got there, she pretended to be happy and wondrous (like she usually was). “Oh, finally, my girl. You’ve come to me. Now, go and clear the drain and I’ll give you a seventeen pounds as your reward.” Lixxie’s eyes lit up. Although she was eighteen, she still loved earning extra pocket money, to spend on a nice treat for her and her family. “Oh, and... umm...” muttered her Father. 

“Yes? Umm, what? What were you going to say, Father?” Asked Lixxie. Her Father stood still, and then mischievously winked at Lixxie’s Mother. 

“No pocket money to Lixxie, just from less than a days work!” Whispered her Father annoyingly to her Mother.

“Oh, just STOP WOULD YOU, being SUCH A BIG HINDRANCE!” Screamed her Mother at the top of her voice. “And, by the way, whether you like it or not... LIXXIE DESERVES POCKET MONEY! and she deserves it without having to do any plumbing for it. So stop being lazy, and why don’t you go and do the plumbing, for once!” She shouted once again. Lixxie wished she could be helpful, even if her Father was being strict about everything. She could very clearly see how tired her Father was, and she really wanted to help him out, but she also didn’t want to upset her Mother, who’d just been very kind to her, and cared for her. So, she guessed she’d just have to deal with things, and go on a walk outside. “Hey, umm... Mother? Father? Can I go outside please. I feel like I need a bit of a stretch.” 

“Oh, okay, sweet heart. What a perfect idea.” Said her Mother calmly. Lixxie loved it when she was treated like this, and so she smiled in response, and jogged into the garden. It was swelteringly hot, and Lixxie was already sweating after only a couple of minutes. She decided to have a short rest on a bench, and perched herself into the shadiest spot of all. Lixxie stared at the huge, wooden fence line, that was blocking the exit from her Father’s fields. She’d always been told not to ever leave and trespass into the area outside of the fences, but she really always wondered why. Why would her Father keep the hidden beauties of the world from her? Why did she always have to be trapped in one single place? It was as if she were an animal trapped in a zoo, accept without even experiencing one single part of the real, outside world. Why couldn’t she explore these amazing wonders for herself? Why couldn’t she become a person of the real world? The kind of incredible world that you read of in books? In books that are truly wonderful, and in books that hold the greatest things of all. Right now, it felt like all the books that Lixxie read were written for her - for her to see how amazing things really were - it was like the authors of all these books wanted to force her to escape - to run away, and to never come back. And that is all she wanted right now. 

“Wait a minute...! That’s it! Iv’e got it! I can escape. From now on, I shall feel great freedom to be me, to do what I want to do, and to EXPLORE!” She shouted, making her words echo loudly around the woods surrounding her. Lixxie went to the drain, and vigorously began plumbing. She then rapidly sprinted back inside, and ran to her room. She thought for ages. Who should she tell? Her Mother? Or her Father? Or both? She really couldn’t bear to work it out. After lying in bed, whilst staring at the ceiling for a while, Lixxie began to feel tired. She looked outside. It was probably only around six o’clock. But, she didn’t care. She’d already decided that she’d get a goodnights sleep for the long day ahead of her. But when she began to pack, she got a huge, loud knock on her bedroom door.