The Watchkeeper lived in a house that was not really a house at all, but a great big Grandfather clock with a collection of gears and knobs and levers and other contraptions inside of it. All of these pieces work together to make time run smoothly. Only the Watchkeeper knew how they worked, or so he thought.
Way, way up, at the top of the house in a dark little corner, lived an owl named Tic Toc. Tic Toc was a wise old owl. He had lived many years and had seen the Watchkeeper working the machines that kept time running since the day he was born. But in all those years the Watchkeeper never saw Tic Toc and didn't know that he lived in that dark little corner.
For all of the years that he had kept time running smoothly, the Watchkeeper had never been able to have a proper rest. Can you imagine what it would be like to only be able to sleep for a few minutes each day? The poor Watchkeeper was always tired. One day, he finally decided to take a long nap. He went around and checked all of the clockworks to make sure they were all working properly and then sat down on his bed. "Nothing will happen if I go to sleep for a little while”, he thought, “I'm so tired", and he fell right to sleep. In a few seconds the Watchkeeper was snoring very loudly. He was snoring so loudly, in fact, that the noise shook the whole house and everything in it.
Up in his perch, Tic Toc who was sleeping himself, was suddenly awakened. “Tsk, tsk, what is that strange sound shaking my nest all around?” He flew down to investigate. He soon discovered what was making the noise. “This snoring is the trouble, how terribly rude! It’s ruined my nap and put me in a bad mood!” Tic Toc was trying to think of a way to stop the Watchkeeper’s snoring so he could go back to sleep, when all of a sudden he heard a click and a snap and a bang, and then nothing at all. Where there was once a continuous humming from the Watchkeeper's machines there was now only silence. Tic Toc looked out the window. He rubbed his eyes and looked again, for Tic Toc had seen an incredible sight.
From the window he could see a great big dinosaur who was watching a car drive under it's huge belly. A space ship hovered high up in the sky while below it a knight in shining armor was riding a bicycle toward a lady dressed like a pilgrim. Tic Toc stepped away from the window and began to pace back and forth.
"Oh my, oh my!", cried Tic Toc. "Time is all mixed up, we're spinning in a cup!".
Then Tic Toc flew over the Watchkeeper's head, beating his wings and hoot, hoot hooting in The Watchkeeper's ear trying to wake him up. But the Watchkeeper only sighed and turned over onto his tummy. Tic Toc flew back to the window again. This time he saw George Washington getting on a train, while Santa Claus sipped a lemonade on a seaside boardwalk.
Tic Toc hurried back to The Watchkeeper’s bed, "Wake up, wake up!", he cried. "You must hurry. It's time to worry! WAAAKE UPP!" Finally, the Watchkeeper opened his eyes and yawned while he stretched his arms up over his head. He looked up and saw Tic Toc. "Who are you?", asked the Watchkeeper with his eyes still half closed. "No time to explain, you must use your brain!", cried Tic Toc.
Old Tic Toc was so excited that he fell onto the floor. The Watchkeeper sat up in his bed. Something was wrong but he was so sleepy he couldn't figure out what it was. "The clock is stopped, and time has popped!", said Tic Toc. The Watchkeeper swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat up. "How did you get here?", he asked, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"You must not delay, this is a dark day!", cried Tic Toc impatiently.
Just then, a little cowboy came to the window. He appeared to be quite worried about something. "Watchkeeper, can you explain what is going on?", he asked. "Why, what is wrong, little boy?" said the Watchkeeper with concern. "My pony has turned into a car, our ranch has turned into a castle and all of our cattle have turned into dinosaurs. I'm so confused, what has happened?", said the little boy.
The Watchkeeper, wide awake now, looked out of the window. His eyes opened wide with surprise. For there was a horse drawn carraige, and stepping out of it was none other than Queen Cleopatra of Egypt!
"What has happened indeed?", he said in amazement. Tic Toc flew over to where the two were standing. "Oh dear me! Don't you see? It's just like I said, the clock has stopped dead!" "Stopped dead?", repeated the Watchkeeper. And then he suddenly realized what was wrong. "Oh me, oh my, there is no humming, there is no clickety clacking, no whirring at all! he said. "I must tend to the clockworks, oh my, oh me!"
The Watchkeeper hurried over to his machines and started banging here and tapping there. He turned a few screws, tightened a few bolts and stepped back.
"There, that should do it.", he said, as he walked back to the window to have a look. From the window he saw a caveman racing around the lake in a powerboat while on the bank a Roman gladiator was leaning up against a motorcycle, eating a hot dog. "Oh no," said the Watchkeeper with dismay, "it's still all wrong." Then he began to check his machines all over again.
Tic Toc watched him thoughtfully for a while and finally said, "Of course you know best, but I've something to suggest." "What could you possibly know, old owl!" the Watchkeeper said somewhat impatiently. "If the Great Lever is stuck, the clock won't start up",Tic Toc calmly replied. The Watchkeeper looked at the Great Lever.
"Why, you're right", he said, it is stuck! “. "I'll just give it a pull, and.......there!" All of a sudden there was a long, loud groan as the gears began turning, turning, until the steady clicking and clacking of the clockworks again could be heard.
The Watchkeeper and Tic Toc went to the window once more and saw that the little cowboy was once again sitting on his pony's back. The little boy’s cattle were grazing peacefully in the meadow. "Oh thank you, Watchkeeper", he said, everything is back to normal now, good-bye". And with that the little boy began to ride home.
The Watchkeeper turned toward Tic Toc. "Who are you, sir owl", and how did you learn to run my machines?" he asked. "My name is Tic Toc and I live in this clock", he replied.
The Watchkeeper looked at Tic Toc with suprise and said, "Do you mean you've been here all along and I never knew it?" " For years I have lived way up inside. It's out of the way and a good place to hide", said the old owl chuckled.
"Well, Tic Toc," said the Watchkeeper, "I'm certainly glad you do live here, because if you hadn't known about the Great Lever, I might never have thought to check it and time would still be all mixed up. I am in your debt." he said, as he bowed toward Tic Toc. He continued, "In remembrance of your wisdom and help this day,I, the official keeper of time, do hereby decree that the sound all clocks make shall forevermore be known as tick-tock, in your honor."
The old owl puffed up his feathers and smiled proudly. The Watchkeeper continued, "I would be very grateful if you could live down here with me and help run the clock". "I will be happy to stay, if I can sleep all of the day", Tic Toc laughed. "And I will sleep all of the night, said the Watchkeeper, and between the two of us we will see to it that time remains the way it should be."
And from that day on, the Watchkeeper, Tic Toc, and all of their decendents have done just that!
THE END
Did you ever wonder why Thursday comes after Wednesday? Or why Sunday only comes once each week? Well, this is the story of a little man known as The Watchkeeper. He was called The Watchkeeper because he had a very important job. He was in charge of watching over time by keeping it in order and making sure that it never gets mixed up. Now, this is not an easy job. If the Watchkeeper lost track of time for just one second, everything would change and nothing would be as it should be.
RedPrincess {{~_~}}