A new pet

In honor of my grandmother's 99th birthday, I am publishing here one of the stories from the children's book I wrote for her two years ago.

'Grandma, what is that?'
'Oh, that's Boris, my new pet. What a cutie, huh?'
For a moment I don't know what to say. With open mouth, I stare at the large crocodile lying half under the coffee table. The other half looks at me eagerly.
'Has he eaten yet?' I ask shivering.
'Not yet.' Grandma looks at me with a smile and says: ‘You don't think he has it in for you, do you?’
I shrug hesitantly.
'Don't be afraid. You're much too skinny for him. Here, have a cookie!'
I reach forward very carefully while trying to look two ways at once like a chameleon.
Boris opens his mouth and claps it shut again.
'He likes you,' Grandma says.
'How did you get Boris anyway?' I whisper.
'I borrowed him from the zoo.'
'Why?'
'He looked so lonely. So I let him stay here for a few nights.'
'Oh, and where does he sleep?' I ask curious.
'In bed, of course.'
I almost fall over in surprise. 'In bed with you?" I exclaim.
'Of course, where else?' says Grandma. I'm only small and I don't need a lot of space. So a crocodile will fit just fine.'
'Isn't that dangerous, then?'
'Not at all,' says Grandma. Boris is very sweet. And he loves to cuddle.'
I shake my head in surprise. A cuddly crocodile in bed. Who would ever believe me when I tell them that?
'I think it's time for a nice walk,' says Grandma. She gets up and Boris walks behind her, wagging his tail. I follow at a suitable distance.

We attract quite a lot of attention on the street. Not so strange of course.
'Shouldn't he be wearing a collar?' I ask.
'Are you crazy?' says Grandma. ‘Let him be free.’
It seems as if Boris has heard me. He opens his mouth and shows all his teeth. I can see them shining in the sun.
'Look at him smile,' says Grandma. 'Isn’t he sweet?'
'That sweet smile has driven everyone away,' I say while looking around me.
'Oh well, they're just jealous of my sweet Boris.'
'Maybe we'd better go home. Soon all those jealous people will call the police.'
'Well, no,' says Grandma. 'He's having so much fun.'
We walk past a playground and suddenly the crocodile runs towards it. Mothers and fathers rush off in all directions with their offspring.
Boris doesn't care about anything and he is having a great time. I actually see the big animal climb up the climbing frame. Then he rushes down the slide.
Grandma points at the seesaw. 'Take a seat,' she says.
'I'm not sure that's such a good idea,' I say.
'Just sit quietly,' Grandma says.
Boris is already hobbling along. Of course, he's way too heavy for me. I can't compete with an outgrown crocodile.
'Just wait,' says Grandma. She comes and sits behind me. Now we are exactly the same weight. Or equally light. It depends on how you look at it. Here we go: up and down. Boris looks at us excitedly. Up into the sky we go, perhaps to the moon. And then down until I can feel my feet again. What fun we have!

In the evening we stand in front of the mirror brushing our teeth. Together with grandma I brush Boris' teeth.
Grandma on top and me on the bottom and then we alternate: up and down. Just like on the seesaw.

#childrensstory