More Than He Thought

Leo was sitting at his desk. He still had some schoolwork to do.

He had meant to start ages ago, because he wanted to play with Mika later.

Leo picked up his pencil and looked at his school things.

Right. This time, he really would start.

Just then, his rubber rolled out from under the desk.

Leo bent down and spotted WuselMo lying on his tummy on the rug, nudging the rubber back with one paw.

Leo grinned and rolled it back. WuselMo sent it towards Leo again, this time with such a push that it bounced off the chair leg.

Then Leo noticed his school things. They were still waiting for him.

Leo sat back down at his desk and did a little more work.

Behind him, WuselMo had found two pencils and a ruler. First there was a little clattering, then some rustling paper, and finally something fell to the floor with a loud clonk.

When Leo turned round, WuselMo was sitting in front of a strange creation made of pencils, a ruler and a rubber, looking very proud.

“What is that supposed to be?” Leo asked.

WuselMo looked at his creation and shrugged.

Apparently, he didn't know either.

Leo decided that this time he really would get on with his work.

But soon he felt thirsty. Then his pencil needed sharpening, a bird flew past the window, and WuselMo suddenly discovered that you could make some wonderfully funny noises with a ruler.

Each time, Leo only meant to take a quick look. And each time, it took a little longer.

When Leo finally looked at the clock, he got a shock.

So much time had gone by.

It felt as though he had been sitting at his desk the whole time. Yet he had hardly done anything.

And the longer he sat there, the less he felt like carrying on.

But he still wanted to play with Mika later.

WuselMo, on the other hand, seemed very pleased with his afternoon.

He had kept discovering new things and had grown bigger, shaggier and more colourful along the way.

Now he was trying to balance three pencils on his head at once.

Two fell straight off. The third disappeared somewhere into his fur.

Leo sighed and rested his head on his arms.

“I'll never get finished like this.”

A warm breeze drifted through the room.

Philo floated over and looked at Leo, then at his school things, and finally at WuselMo, who was still searching his fur for the missing pencil.

Philo's delicate leaf-like feelers began to glow softly.

Plipp!

All at once, Leo's desk was tidy. Everything he didn't need right now had been neatly put to one side. Only his school things and a pencil lay in front of him.

Philo looked at the clear space in front of Leo.

Plipp!

A little sand timer appeared on the desk.

Philo turned the sand timer over.

“While the sand is running, you do your schoolwork.”

Leo watched the sand trickling down.

“What if I don't finish in time?”

“You do as much as you can,” said Philo. “And when the sand has run through, you take a break.”

WuselMo looked up. A break sounded good.

Leo started working.

WuselMo sat down beside the desk, but he couldn't stay there for long. At last, he lay down right in front of the sand timer, fascinated by the tiny grains trickling through.

Leo kept working.

When the last grain of sand dropped to the bottom, WuselMo jumped up.

It was break time.

This was what WuselMo had been waiting for.

He shot across the room, with Leo right behind him. They chased each other round the chair, leapt over cushions and threw themselves onto the bed.

Then they jumped from the rug onto the bed and back again, until they were both out of breath.

Leo flopped onto the rug, laughing. WuselMo plumped down right beside him.

That had felt good.

After a while, Philo pointed to the sand timer again.

WuselMo looked at it and let his ears droop.

Leo laughed. “Just one more time.”

WuselMo was about to leap up again, but he yawned so much that he decided to snuggle into the cushions instead.

Philo turned the sand timer over for a second time, and Leo sat down to his schoolwork again.

This time, the room was quiet. No rubber rolled across the floor, no ruler clattered, and there were no new surprises waiting under the desk.

While Leo kept working, WuselMo fell asleep among the cushions. His fur lay smooth against his body, and his colours had grown calm again.

Only a gentle snore could be heard.

Leo hardly noticed the time passing.

He knew he wouldn't have to sit at his desk forever. As soon as the sand had run through, he would be done for the day.

That was exactly why he wanted to make the most of the time and stay focused on his task.

When only a few grains were left, Leo glanced at the sand timer.

Then the last one fell.

Leo put down his pencil.

Leo looked at his schoolwork in surprise.

Earlier, he had sat at his desk for much longer and hardly got anything done. Now he had used a timer and taken a break to play with WuselMo, and he had done far more than he had thought he could.

And best of all, there was still plenty of afternoon left.

Mika was already waiting for him outside.

Leo jumped up and ran to the door.

Behind him, something rustled among the cushions.

When Leo turned round, WuselMo was standing in the middle of the room. His eyes were still half closed, one ear drooped sleepily, and the fur on one side was completely flattened from his nap.

Leo laughed.

Before he could even ask whether WuselMo was coming too, WuselMo had already whizzed past him and out of the door.

A little later, Leo, Mika and WuselMo were on their way.

Leo thought about the afternoon. First, he had tidied his desk. Only the things he needed were left on it. Then he had worked until the sand had run through. After that came a break. One more round of work – and then he was done.

Sometimes, knowing when to stop made it easier to start.

Leo looked at Mika and smiled, feeling pleased.

Now they still had the whole afternoon ahead of them.