Johno the Fireman and Mango want a World Cup Ball.
Fighting Words Limerick Killaloe Library, Summer Camp, 15 July 2026
A story by Edie, Billy & Matthew
It is Paris during the World Cup 2026. Johno the z-fireman is at home during the heat wave watching France play in the World Cup.
“Allez le bleus!!!” he shouts.
Mango his cat jumps up on the couch beside him and starts eating his popcorn.
“I wish I had a world cup ball. But I’m poor since I lost my job. And a ball is €30 in Le Sports Direct. But if I go to the real matches in the USA, I might get the real World Cup ball and see my favourite player, Kylian Mbappé.”
So he picks up Mango and says,
“C’mon Mango we’re off to New York, New Jersey.”
Johno rushed to Paris airport. He see’s a granny with a big suitcase. When she’s not looking, while eating her banana. He opens the suitcase and himself and Mango jump in. The granny has food, clothes, water, a French soccer jersey and money in the suitcase so he is happy out on the way over.
When she gets to her hotel and opens the suitcase she finds lots of wrappers, empty bottles of water, a half-empty purse and a man wearing her France soccer jersey. But because she is very blind, she thinks he’s a mouse.
“How did this mouse get into my bag?”
Johno gets some masking tape and covers her eyes so she doesn’t see him and Mango running out the door and out of the hotel.
“Mango, how are we going to get to the stadium?”
He looks up and sees a tornado approaching. Johno is terrified of torandos and starts running but he can’t run as fast as usual because he ate a burger and sweets in the suitcase.
The tornado sucks him up and spits him out in the middle of the soccer stadium.
He lands on Kylian Mbappé’s shoulders, and Mango is on his shoulders and they accidentally gets a piggy-back.
Suddenly, the stewards spot him and start to chase them because they think they’re pitch invaders.
Meanwhile, the tornado has gone over to the hot-dog stand and sucks the hot-dogs in. Later, when the crowd are at the stadium, the tornado spits out the hot-dogs and everyone in the stadium gets one.
But while this is happening, Johno and Mango are still on Kylian Mbappé’s shoulders and being chased around the stadium…
