Wiggle the bookworm

Though Wiggle the worm looked like the other worms living in the worm world, he was a unique worm. The reason was that he was a bookworm. He loved books, and he was the only worm in the worm world, who visited the worm world library every afternoon and spent a few hours reading books there.

Wiggle’s nose was always buried inside the pages of a book. He even used books as a bed and pillow. All his pocket money went into buying books. His room was filled with books of all kinds. He had more books than there are days in a year. 

His parents were absolutely irritated with this behaviour of their book-loving son. They felt that their son should play in the mud like other worms, that he should spend his money on cakes and cookies, that he should buy belts, headphones, sunglasses, caps, and shoes, just like the worms of his age did. But nothing and no one could convince Wiggle to leave his books. 

This was also the reason Wiggle had no friends. His classmates called him a logoworm (a worm who loved words). Because he had no friends, he used all his time to read more books. All this reading had increased his vocabulary. No wonder all the other worms called him Wiggle the Wordsmith, as he was a skilled user of words. He also got the highest marks for essays in worm school.

One day, while Wiggle was reading, the words on the page became blurred. The words started swimming before his eyes. He blinked, hoping to clear his eyes, but he still couldn’t read.  

The next day too, the same thing happened. Wiggle just couldn’t read. The words were drifting in and out of his
focus. Wiggle got worried. Was he afflicted with some mysterious illness that affected his reading? He rushed to the doctor’s clinic.

“Good morning, Doctor Dingo,” Wiggle said to his doctor, a hippo.  

“Are you alright?” Doctor Dingo asked in a concerned voice. 

“Doctor, I have had blurred vision for the past few days,” Wiggle said. 

“I need to do a thorough eye examination,” Doctor Dingo said. 

“Doctor, I hope my reading won’t be affected. I can’t give that up,” Wiggle said.

The doctor examined Wiggle’s eyes. Then he made him read the chart stuck on the wall. The worm couldn’t read the last four rows.

“Hmm, looks like you will need to wear glasses,” Doctor Dingo said.

“Oh no,” Wiggle cried. “I’ll look silly in glasses. Everyone will call me names and tease me, saying I have four eyes.”

“Do you want your eye power to keep increasing?” Doctor Dingo said sternly.  “Do you want to continue reading books?”

“No and yes,” Wiggle said. “But I won’t wear glasses.” He walked out of the eye doctor’s clinic, leaving the money at the reception. 

The entire day he gazed out of the window of his house, as he was unable to read. This was the longest time he had been away from a book. 

The next morning Wiggle woke up early and arrived at Doctor Dingo’s clinic.

“So, you changed your mind?” Doctor Dingo asked. 

“Yes, because there is no way I can keep away from books,” Wiggle said. “So, I’ll be a good worm and wear the glasses you prescribe.”

“Great,” Doctor Dingo said. “Here is your prescription. Go to Mr Rik, the horse, and he will make you the best pair of glasses that will enable you to read well.”

Wiggle slunk away, holding the prescription. He soon reached Mr Rik’s shop. His eyes widened when he saw all kinds of glasses lining the shelves. 

“What can I do for you, Wiggle?” asked Mr Rik, pushing his glasses up his nose as he peered at the worm standing on his counter. 

“I need a pair of glasses,” Wiggle said softly. “Here is the prescription from Doctor Dingo.”

Taking the slip of paper from the worm’s hand, Mr Rik studied the worm. “You need a unique pair of glasses that will not just help you read well, but also make you stand out from the other worms,” he said. “Try out these pairs.” He handed the worm several glasses. 

“I like this one,” Wiggle said. 

“Good choice,” Mr Rik said with a smile. “These are made from the bark of a special tree. They are unbreakable, so even if Doctor Dingo sits on them, the frame won’t break. I’ll fix plastic lenses for you, so that they don’t break either.”

“Come back in half an hour; your glasses will be ready,” Mr Rik said. “You can pay the money at the reception.”

Wiggle paid the amount at the cash counter and walked out. He sat outside Mr Rik’s shop for thirty minutes. 

Half an hour later, Wiggle wore the glasses. When Wiggle looked at the page, the words didn’t float or swim. They stayed put.

So happy was Wiggle that he started a book club called Bookworm — many worms joined the book club and attended the weekly meetings.