Corky listened spellbound as Geraldine proceeded to tell him about this extraordinary place. 'Everything here is controlled by THOUGHT' she said.
'Everyfing?!' said Corky in disbelief. 'D'you mean you don't 'ave no other power?' Geraldine nodded.
'But wot about electricity for the light and the telly and the trains? And then there's engines wot makes the cars go and the buses and the aeroplanes and the ships and....' He was far too astonished to go on. All he could say was ' Cor!'
Geraldine was amused at his puzzlement. 'It must be very difficult for you to accept this fact, but I do assure you that everything here operates by THOUGHT. We don't need cars and other means of transport to get from one place to another. We just THINK where we want to be and "Bob's your uncle" - I believe that's the expression you use - there we are!'
'Well I never!' The enormity of the idea made him so excited that he jumped up and down and shouted at the top of his voice 'whoopee! I can go ANYWHERE just by FINKING!'
'Exactly' said the giraffe calmly. 'Now we'll try a little experiment. You see that very tall tree over there - the one you THINK is higher than Big Ben?'
'Ere. 'Ow d'you know I fink that?'
'Have you forgotten so soon? I can read your thoughts of course'
'O yes' replied Corky
'Now you want to be on the top of it to see the view don't you?'
'Oo yes!'
'Very well then. THINK very hard. Just say to yourself - 'I'm sitting on top of that very tall tree'
Corky closed his eyes and thought very hard. When he opened them there he was perched up in the sky right on the tallest branch. As he had anticipated, the view was wonderful and so extensive it seemed like the whole land down there below him. It spread out like an enormous patchwork quilt, reminding him of the one his Gran had shown him once and told him that her Mum had made it with little bits of material sewn together. Here the colours were dazzlingly brilliant and threaded with silver strands.
'Them must be rivers' Corky thought.
Far in the distance was a city and the roofs of the buildings seemed to be covered with jewels of every kind - emeralds, pearls, opals and sapphires all set in gold and they glistened in the radiant light that was everywhere. The whole spectacle was so breathtaking, it made him feel rather giddy, so he decided to THINK himself back by the lake-side with his new friend Geraldine.
Corky shut his eyes and THOUGHT very hard. The next second there he was sitting beside her.
'Did you enjoy that?' she asked. Corky nodded. He was quite speechless. Never in his life had he experienced anything like that. Also he hadn't been the least bit afraid.
'Of course you haven't been afraid' Geraldine said, reading his thoughts. 'There's no such thing as fear here, so it's logical that you can't be afraid if fear doesn't exist!'
'Wot else don't exist?' asked Corky with interest.
'Well now, let me see, and we SEE everything for there's no darkness nor blindness here at all. There's no madness, sadness, money, worry, killing, stealing, cruelty or greed'.
'It's not like that where I come from' said Corky, 'cos we 'ave orl them fings. Isn't nobody bad then?'
'Only when they first come here, then they gradually change, and actually enjoy being good!' said Geraldine with a chuckle.
'Cor!' This was hard to believe and Corky thought that such a perfect place would be very boring!
'Quite the opposite' she assured him. 'Now let me recite a little poem I've composed:-
'If I THINK I can do it, then I CAN, I know
I can THINK myself anywhere I want to go
I can slide down a moonbeam, float in space
Ride across a rainbow, fly to any place.
I shall never fall and I'll never sink
All I have to do is just to THINK, THINK, THINK!'
"That's super!' cried Corky, clapping his hands and repeating 'I shall never fall and I'll never sink'. Why that's wot my Dad said about a cork - it keeps popping up same as me!'
'So that's how you got your extraordinary name. Corky' said Geraldine. 'Well, what do you THINK you would like to do first?'
'I FINK I want to meet some of the people wot live 'ere' he replied, and closing his eyes, he THOUGHT very hard.
