Bella Upside Down
Copyright © 2009 by Summer K. Hall

Everything in Bella’s world was right side up. Her favorite chair was right side up, her toys and books were right side up, and even the family cat sat up-right on Bella’s bed. “Top to bottom, in a row, left to right, that’s all I know,” sighed Bella.

When Bella ate breakfast, the bowl and cup sat right side up on the kitchen table. When Bella played in the park she sat up-right on the swings and when she went down the slide she always went down feet first, so that she landed right side up.

One day she wondered, “What would it be like to make everything go upside down?” Bottom to top, out of the row, right to left, flip it and go”, Bella sang. Quick as a bunny blink, Bella began to turn everything in her world from right side up to upside down.

Bella started with her bedroom. First, she flipped her favorite chair and then gave every stuffed toy a new point of view by sitting them on their heads. She turned every book upside down and stacked them smallest to biggest making upside-down pyramids. Then her mom said, “Don’t bother the cat!” but Bella didn’t listen to that. And after much fuss and many belly rubs, he too went upside down.

At breakfast, Bella quickly learned that an upside down cereal bowl only made a mess. But Bella also learned that toast, upside down, made the butter and jelly land splat on her tongue. “Bottom to top, out of the row, right to left, and away we go,” Bella giggled, as she gave kitty one last giant good-bye belly rub.

At the park Bella tried everything that she once did right side up, her new upside-down way. She walked on her hands and got tickled by the grass. She went on the swings upside down, careful not to bump her head. She hung upside down on the bars but stopped when her cheeks turned bright red. And when her mom wasn’t looking she went down the slide head first but found she didn’t like mussing up her pigtails in the sand pile at the bottom.

On the way home, Bella smiled, thinking of all the things she had done in her new upside down way. Then back in her own house her mind started spinning with ideas of what else she could make go upside down: The food in the fridge, the pots in the cupboard, her mother’s jewelry box, the drawer full of socks, the clock in the hall, each one of her dolls, the big brass vase, and cream for Mother’s face. The sugar jar, the cookie jar, and the flour jar too, just about everything looked better in her new upside down way. When Bella was finished turning everything to upside down and from neat little rows to upside down piles, she headed straight for the goldfish bowl.

“STOP!” yelled Mother. “You can’t turn EVERYTHING upside down!”

And so Bella stopped. She hugged the fishbowl and slowly turned around to admire her work. Then quick as bunny blink, she did just as she was told. Bella got to work making everything go right side up the way it was before. She turned back over the jars and mopped their messes. She fixed the vase and put the dolls in their places. She tidied up the jewelry box and cleaned up the drawer full of socks. She lined up the pots in the cupboard and put on only a tiny bit of Mother’s face cream. She set her favorite chair right side up and lined up her books from left to right on the shelf. “Top to bottom, in a row, left to right, the way they SHOULD go, how did mom know?” she sang, as she turned everything back to right side up…

Then Bella looked at the cat, still upside down, happily swatting the air with his paws. And her mom said, “Don’t bother the cat…”

Because upside down…

He liked it like that!