Better Off, Part 2

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If you missed the first part, it’s here.

For two days Sammy lay burning with fever.  Once or twice he woke up and thought, “I need a doctor.”  But he was too sick to get out of bed, even to make a hot cup of tea.

On the night of the second day, Francesca was walking by Wallow Cove, when she met Reggie coming out of his burrow towards her.  He was frowning with worry.

“Francesca, have you seen Sammy lately?” he asked.

“No,” said she, “but that’s not unusual.”

“I know,” replied Reggie, “but there is no smoke coming up from his chimney.  And there hasn’t been since the day of the ice skating.  I’m afraid something’s wrong.”

Together they hurried down to Sammy’s door and rang the bell.  There was no reply.  They rang again, and Reggie knocked loudly.  But still no one answered.

“Should we try to go in?” asked Francesca.

Reggie paused.  Sammy had not wanted company lately, but then…he had never let his fire go out before.

“Let’s try,” he said finally.

They tried the handle and found the door open.  Cautiously creeping inside, they heard a strange sound.  Following it into the bedroom, they found Sammy tossing and turning as he slept.

“He’s sick!” cried Reggie, springing to the bedside.  “Run get Doctor Greatpaws before it’s too late.”

Francesca ran off, and Reggie started to work.  He covered up Sammy and built up the fire.  He brought a cool cloth for his forehead and boiled water for tea.  He was just bringing in an extra blanket, when Doctor Greatpaws the bear hurried into the room.  Francesca and Reggie waited anxiously in the kitchen for nearly an hour, and finally the kind Doctor came out with good news.

”You found him in time,” he announced with a grave smile.  “He will recover, but will need lots of care.”

“I’ll stay with him,” promised Reggie.  “Just tell me what to do.”

So for two long weeks, Reggie stayed with Sammy, nursing him and feeding him, and reading him stories.  Francesca and Wally and Joshua all stopped by to bring special treats and play games by the fire.

On the fourth day of Reggie’s stay, Sammy was able to sit up in bed.  While drinking his tea, he remembered the winterberries.  Where had he left the basket?

“Reggie,” he asked, “did you find a basket of winterberries?”

“No,” replied Reggie.

“I was out picking them the day I got sick.  Maybe I left the basket outside.”

“I’ll go look,” said Reggie, springing up instantly.  In a moment he was back with the basket of still-frozen berries.   “Would you like me to make you some winterberry tea?”

Sammy looked doubtful.  “Are you sure you know how to crush them right?  Maybe you should just bring them in here and I’ll…No.”  He stopped himself.  “Thank you.  I think we will be better off if you do it.”

And Reggie did.

Maybe he could have steeped the berries a little longer, but Francesca and Joshua dropped in bursting with neighborhood news; and looking around at his chattering friends over the rim of his mug, Sammy thought it was the best cup of tea he had tasted in all his life.

Better Off, Part 1

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The second (and last…for now) of the Bean Creek Chronicles, which was written for my nephew on his first Christmas. I’m doing this one in two parts because it’s a bit on the long side. Enjoy!

One especially slow, sleepy day in high summer, the sun shone so brightly that even the buzzing of the bees sounded sluggish, and all the neighbors along Bean Creek could be found sitting in the shade, sipping lemonade, or drowsily dozing in the sun.

All, that is, except one.

Sammy Bushytail was busy picking berries. Ignoring the sun beating on his back, he quickly filled his basket with the plump, juicy fruit. Then he scurried home to spread the berries on a blanket in the sun. As his little paws flew, his mind drifted far away, dreaming of crisp berry cobbler and crunchy toast with sticky jam. He was so wrapped up in his delicious daydreams that he was on his third trip home with a full fruit basket before Reggie got his attention.

Reggie Snuffles was relaxing in the shade of Wallow Cove, occasionally rolling over with a satisfying squish in the sticky mud. He wasn’t surprised at all to see his best friend Sammy concentrating so hard on work.

“Whatcha doin,’ Sammy?” he asked, scratching his snout comfortably on a nearby stump.

“Berry drying day,” said Sammy shortly, shifting the bulging basket and steadily plodding on.

“Want some help?” offered Reggie, glancing at the steep hill and his friend’s already tired face.

That stopped Sammy suddenly. It was a tempting offer, but…Reggie was not known to be a very careful worker, even if he was Sammy’s best friend. What if he bungled with the basket and spoiled all Sammy’s work? He eyed the hill, looming large in the sunlight.

“I suppose,” he accepted slowly, stealing a shuddering glance at Reggie’s muddy sides.

Reggie sidled forward and accepted the basket Sammy was reluctantly unstrapping.

“Just be careful, okay?”

Reggie started toward the hill slowly, then began trotting faster and faster…determined to be really helpful, even in the hot sun.

Sammy watched him carefully. Just as he reached the top with a bump and a jolt, a bunch of berries bounced out of the basket. Reggie didn’t notice, but Sammy sprinted up the hill to recover his loss. He caught up with Reggie at home just as he was dumping the sweet fruit onto the blanket.

“No, no, no, no!” shouted Sammy in horror.

Startled, Reggie dropped the basket.

“You’ll smash them like that! Look, give me the basket. You’ll ruin the berries. See how many you lost on the way! Thanks for your help, but you don’t know how to do this. I’m better off on my own.”

Reggie stared at Sammy in shock. “Sorry…I just wanted to help. You don’t…” He started to say something else, but swallowed it, turned and trudged sadly back to Wallow Cove.

Summer slowly fell away into autumn, and Sammy could be seen every day, always busy gathering roots and berries or grinding acorn flour from the remains of last year’s crop and always alone.

Then, one crisp, clear day, the neighbors along Bean Creek all got up before the sun. It was Acorn Harvesting Day! The last day before the frost was always the best day for acorns, and after the frost it would be too late. With so much to do in one day, everyone got involved. Mr. and Mrs. Flitter and their five children were flying toward the woods, with even baby Fiona flapping sleepily behind. Those who had no children to help them banded together to bring in the harvest.

Reggie was just locking his door when he heard his friends, Francesca and Wally and Joshua coming up the lane.

Joshua, as always, was leaping ahead, and landed with a thud right next to Reggie.
“Ready to go, Reggie?” he asked with typical enthusiasm.

“Yes,” said Reggie, smiling. It was impossible not to smile at Joshua, no matter how early in the morning it was.

“Shouldn’t we stop by to see if Sammy will join us?” asked Francesca, having arrived more sedately with Wally.

Reggie looked doubtful. He hadn’t seen much of Sammy lately, except at a distance. But after a minute, his loyalty won out.
“Yeah…let’s go see if he’s there.”

The friendly little group trudged off to Sammy’s tree. They knocked and knocked, but he didn’t answer. Just when the turned to the gate to leave, they saw Sammy headed home with a load of acorns.

“You were up early, Sammy!” said Wally.

“No time to waste,” replied Sammy briefly.

“Wanna work with us today?” asked Reggie. “It’s always faster with more people.”

Sammy looked uncomfortable. He had missed his friends very much…but on the other hand, there was no way to work together without showing them his secret hiding place, and he hated to let anyone in there. Besides, he told himself, more people will just mean more time goofing off. I don’t have time for that.

“Thank you,” he finally forced out, “but I already have a good start. I’m better off on my own today.”

The friends were a little surprised, but they all nodded and, bidding Sammy good-bye, hurried off to get to work.

Later that evening, when they had stuffed everyone’s pantries with perfect acorns, the band of friends sat outside, laughing, chatting, and watching the giant sun melt away into tomorrow.

But Sammy, whose secret hole was much larger, was scurrying back and forth to the forest late into the night. His little lantern could be seen bobbing along long after the moon had risen.

Autumn was quickly covered by winter, and no sooner had all the harvest been brought in than the snow fell thick on the houses along Bean Creek. One especially chilly day, the neighbors went outside and found the creek completely icy solid. The children all squealed with delight, and everyone bundled into scarves and hats and coats and gloves, and then scurried to the creek to slip and slide on the ice

Meanwhile, Sammy was snug in his little tree house. He cradled a cup of warm cocoa and planned his day. Hadn’t he just noticed a tiny patch of winterberries poking through the snow under the old cedars? He would mix up some fresh nut bread and while it was rising, he would just nip up there and gather some. They would make a lovely tea once they had been properly crushed. With the prospect of warm nut bread and winterberry tea for his afternoon snack, he sprang up to start, but had only gotten as far as tying on his baker’s apron when the front door-bell rang.

Reggie, wrapped in a ridiculous brown coat and wearing fuzzy orange ear muffs, was grinning with glee.
“Come skate with us, Sammy! The ice is perfect!”

Sammy smiled at his funny-looking friend. He looked so happy. It was awfully tempting, the shining sun, the shimmering ice, the shouting people. But then he remembered the winterberries. Playing now would mean someone else might pick them first.

“Thanks, but I’m busy today,” Sammy replied. “I’ve got a lot of baking to do.”

“Oh, come on, come play now,” begged Reggie. “We haven’t seen very much of you lately. And after we’ve skated we’ll all come help you with your work.”

“Oh, no, I don’t think so,” said Sammy, with a wise nod, thinking that there weren’t very many berries if they were divided up. “Too many cooks only spoil all the baking. I’m better off on my own.”

So Reggie returned to the friends at the creek side, and Sammy turned back to his nut bread.

As soon as he had carefully covered the dish of dough with a towel, Sammy slipped on his overcoat and scurried outside with his basket. He quickly found the patch of winterberries and set to work digging them out of the snow. It was very cold, and soon his paws felt numb. But he worked quickly and had soon collected all the berries. Just as he turned to leave, however, he noticed another patch a little further into the cedar woods.
He glanced at his basket. There was still room. So he moved on. Halfway through digging up the second patch, he was shivering uncontrollably, but he was so busy with his work that he didn’t even notice. The second patch was much bigger, and when he finally finished, the sun had moved well past midday. Time to be getting home.

Sammy started to pick up his basket, but it wouldn’t budge. “That’s funny,” he said to himself. “I didn’t think it was that full!” Then he realized that he couldn’t feel his paws at all! His whiskers were crusted with snow and his ears ached from the biting wind. Clumsily clutching his basket he staggered toward home, his frozen feet stumbling over the icy path. After what seemed like a fortnight, he opened his front door with a sigh and collapsed onto a chair by the stove.

But he had been gone so long the fire had gone out, so after a moment’s rest, Sammy dragged himself up to rebuild the fire. As the fire crackled to life, Sammy could feel the life seeping back into his paws.

“Better put the bread on,” he said to himself, with a sneeze.
But by the time he had the bread neatly rolled into buttered pans, he had sneezed seven times and could feel his head beginning to ache.

“I’ll just lay down for a minute while the bread bakes,” he thought, as sneeze number eight shook his body.

So he climbed into bed and fell quickly to sleep, tossing and turning he began to burn with fever. He didn’t wake up until late in the evening. A smell of burning was filling the house. Still hot with his fever he crawled to the kitchen. “My bread is ruined,” he groaned as he lifted it out and turned off the oven. But he had no strength to clean up the mess. Slowly he creeped back to bed and collapsed in a heap.

Holy Cow!

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Cowboys & Indians. That was one of my 2 favorite games to play when I was a little boy. Here is a picture of me (at the front of the horse) with my mom and 2 cousins. This was taken when we were visiting my cousins on their farm in western Oklahoma:

I had a couple of sets of cowboy clothes, but my most favorite was when I dressed like Hop-A-Long Cassidy. I had so much fun making up different games. Sometimes I would make a whole town out in our yard by placing sticks on the ground to outline the different stores in the town. Then I would ride down the “street” of my “town” on my stick horse and pretend I was the sheriff of the town. Or maybe I would be chasing the bad guys and have a shoot-out on “main street” with my two cap pistols that I always wore.

On one particular occasion my friend and I were playing like were out rounding up some cows and driving them to town to sell. At that time my family and I lived on an Army post in Puerto Rico, and the housing area that we lived in was right next to a huge field that grew grass over 6 feet tall ! In that field were also some real cows just eating the grass.

Well since we were cowboys; and since we were supposed to be rounding up cows to take to town to sell … You guessed it. My friend and I decided we would go after the real cows and see if we could make them go where we wanted them to go.

As soon as we got into the field where the cows were they started to run through the tall, tall grass. And off we went, chasing right after them. Boy what fun we were having! However, the cows were much faster than we were and pretty soon they were so far ahead of us in the grass that we couldn’t even see them anymore.

As you probably know, real cowboys know how to track animals pretty good and we thought we could easily follow these cows…especially since they bent the grass over wherever they went. So off we ran after them as fast as we could.

Now, when you’re running through tall, tall grass as fast as you can, you really can’t see very far ahead. All of a sudden I burst through some of that grass and standing right in front of me was one of those cows with it’s back to me and I almost ran right into its rear end.

About that time the cow lifted its tail way up high and started going to the bathroom right before my face. “YUCK !”, I yelled and jumped backwards just in time for the cow to barely miss me. My friend started laughing so hard he could hardly stand up.

Well, we decided right then that we didn’t want to bring those cows to our “town” as much as we thought we did. Beside, I knew my mom probably didn’t want me to anyway.

Monster versus House

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Once upon a time there was a giant monster named Ralph. He was orange all over and had short little legs, a big fat body, crazy long arms, and a giant eye in the middle of his forehead. In short, he was ugly, as all good monsters should be. He was also ravenous, as all good monsters should be. Ravenous means that he could never get enough to eat. He would wake up in the morning and eat a forest for breakfast. Then in the middle of the morning, he would snack on some semi trucks. For lunch he might eat a skyscraper and wash it down with a swimming pool. Even with an afternoon snack of swing sets, by dinner time, he be hungry enough to eat a whole zoo.

As you can imagine, he created fear and panic wherever he went, because people never knew when he might come along and eat their home or their school or their workplace. It’s hard to sleep at night when you never know when your roof might disappear and a giant eye look in at you. And it’s very boring at the park when all the swing sets have been eaten.

One little boy in particular was very upset about it all. The day his favorite park was eaten, he came home and cried for three hours. His house echoed his cries sadly. The next day his school was devoured. He wasn’t quite as sad about that, but he did complain a lot that night. His house liked it much better when it could hear him happily playing and not whining. The day after that, when all the firetrucks were consumed, he sat without saying a word, hugging his little toy fire truck. This was too much for the little house, which loved the boy and proudly bore his crayon marks in its walls along with his scuff marks on its floors. That night the house made a difficult decision. While everyone inside was sleeping, the little house very carefully shook itself and…woke up.

You may wonder why your house has never woken up. It is because houses were built to be passive, watching the lives of their families as if dreaming. These dreams carry on in memory long after a house is empty and even when it is knocked down. Only very rarely does a house come awake to actively change things. And when it does, it can only be awake for a short time, and after that it dreams no more. So you can see why this was a difficult decision for the little house.

It had decided just in time. The next day, Ralph showed up in the little boy’s neighborhood. He started munching trees and then quickly moved on to buildings. He gobbled up the corner convenience store and then munched through every house on the street. At last he came to the little boy’s house. With a monsterly rumble he opened his giant mouth to take a bite.

Then the window shades blinked up, the front door opened wide like a mouth, and the house echoed back Ralph’s roar, only much, much louder. Ralph was so stunned that he stopped mid-bite to stare at the house. The house just sat there blinking its windows at him. Once again Ralph opened his mouth wide, thinking to take off the whole roof at once. With a little shudder and a jerk, a pane of glass from the window flew out of the house and straight down Ralph’s throat. He choked a little. While he was still choking, another pane of glass was thrown right up his nose. Ralph sneezed a big sneeze that bent all the trees back. While he was still trying to recover from his sneeze, a doorknob hit him square in his giant eye. That one really hurt. With his eye closed, he couldn’t see anything. But he could feel it as shingles from the roof began pelting him from every direction. Bellowing with rage and pain, Ralph turned and ran blindly down the street and out of town.

No one in that city ever saw Ralph the monster again.

As for the little house, it was a pitiful looking wreck with no windows, no doorknob, and only half a roof. But in the yard was a little boy, jumping up and down and laughing fit to burst. The house creaked and sighed, a happy sigh that sounded just a bit like “good-bye….”

(This one happily coincided with prompt #5 over at Mama Kat’s. Check out all the other entries!)
Mama's Losin' It

The Night of the Big Scare

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One of the scariest things that ever happened to me was when I was about 8 years old. One night I went to bed just like any other night. My big sister, Sharon ( who was 4 ½ years older than me) , had gone out for the evening with some friends. My mom and dad were in the living room reading and talking softly. I was safe, secure, and happy so I just snuggled down in bed until I finally fell sound asleep.
Pretty soon I started feeling real, real cold. I didn’t want to wake up because I was so tired, but I kept getting colder and colder. Finally I did wake up … but I wasn’t in my bed ! I was in the back seat of our car which was parked out on the street in front of our house!
I sat up and looked all around but there was no one to be seen. It was dark outside and all the houses on our street didn’t have any lights on at all. All I had on was my under ware shorts so that’s why I was getting so cold. I started to get very scared. Where was my mom and dad? Where was my sister? Why was I in our car all alone? And at night?!
When I couldn’t take being out there in the street any more I opened the car door and ran up to our house door…but it was locked! That’s when I started to cry and bang on the door as loud as I could. For a long time nobody came to the door, and nobody turned on any lights. That just made me even more scared and I cried louder and banged harder and harder.
Pretty soon my mom came to the door half asleep. When she opened it she was shocked too !

“Duane,” she cried, “What are you doing out there?!”

“I DON”T KNOW !” I sobbed.

Well she took me in her arms and by then my dad was up too and he hugged me. Neither one of them had any idea how I had gotten outside into the car in the middle of the night. Boy was I scared. Finally, after I calmed down we figured out what had happened.

During the night, right after my mom & dad had gone to bed, I must have gotten up and walked in my sleep! I must have dreamed we were going someplace so I had gotten into our car and laid down on the back seat. Meanwhile, my sister had come home from being with her friends, gone into the house, locked the door , and turned out the lights.

It was the first, and only, time I ever walked in my sleep. It had scared me so bad that for months afterwards I couldn’t go to sleep at night without my mom tucking my sheets in around me tightly on my bed.

The Valley of Magical Lights

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Note: I wrote this story for my niece for her first Christmas. That was…gulp…over eight years ago. Something brought it to mind recently, and I thought I’d share it with you all. This was the first story in the Bean Creek Chronicles. It was illustrated by my mother, so if it’s a bit lacking in description, it’s because you’re missing the pictures. I’d love to pass them along, but I don’t have them. Eight years ago was before my scanner. 😦 The idea was to write one for each child in the family. It worked great for my niece and nephew. Then I had my own kids! Needless to say, those other stories never got written. Maybe now I’ll have the inspiration to finish off the Chronicles. In any case, I hope you enjoy these first two installments.

As was their habit on a fine spring morning, Wally Warthopper and Francesca Nibbles sat in front of their holes on the banks of Bean Creek having tea and cookies. Francesca loved to be out and about, and Wally enjoyed nothing better than soaking in the sunshine.

Just as they started on their second cup of tea, the entire Bouncylegs family came hopping down the path towards the forest. Mr. and Mrs. Bouncylegs had thirteen children, so they made quite a parade!

“Where are you going?” asked Wally.

“To see the Shining Valley,” answered Mr. Bouncylegs.

“This is the day of the magical lights,” added Sally Bouncylegs happily.

“It’s all the way on the other side of the forest,” said Georgie, the tiniest grasshopper. He looked a little scared.

“We have to hurry, or we’ll miss the lights,” scolded Mrs. Bouncylegs, shooing Georgie along with the others.

Wally and Francesca looked at each other. Magical lights!

“That sounds wonderful!” exclaimed Francesca.

Wally just croaked his agreement.

“We should go see them,” she added, jumping up to get her coat and hat.

But Wally didn’t want to leave his comfortable spot on the bank. He thought about how far it must be to the other side of the forest and how much nicer it was to sit still and soak in the sun. “It sounds so far,” he said doubtfully, “and it looks like it might rain.”

But Francesca was tired of being inside after the long winter. And the lights sounded so exciting! She decided to go anyway.

Francesca was traipsing along happily, when a big, fat raindrop hit the top of her head. She hadn’t even noticed the big clouds that had rolled in. Soon it was pouring and she was soaked through. She tried to hide under a leaf, but the water still trickled down her neck. She was wet and cold and miserable. Just then, a giant splash almost knocked Francesca off her feet. She wiped the water from her eyes and saw a mischievous young jackrabbit right in the middle of an enormous puddle. He was dripping water, but didn’t seem to mind it.

“Whatcha doing under there? All the puddles are out here,” asked the jackrabbit with a grin. Francesca didn’t know what to say.

“My name’s Joshua,” said the enthusiastic stranger, thumping again with his back foot and making another huge splash.

“I-I-I’m Francesca,” she stuttered with cold.

“My mama always said the best way to keep warm in a spring rain was to keep hopping right through it,” said Joshua. “Watch this.” And he leaped from his puddle into another nearby puddle, causing a small tidal wave.

Francesca smiled in spite of herself.

“Well…come on,” yelled Joshua, leaping this way and that.

Francesca crept cautiously from under her leaf and stepped lightly in the edge of the nearest puddle.

“No, not like that!” corrected Joshua. “Right in the middle.”

Francesca took a big, deep, long breath…and jumped. SPLASH! She giggled. Joshua was right! This was fun! Pretty soon, she and Joshua were splishing and sploshing their way down the path. Francesca wasn’t cold at all any more. In fact, she almost felt a little disappointed she suddenly felt the sun again. The rain was gone and they were approaching the edge of the forest.

As soon as Francesca could catch her breath, she explained to Joshua about the Shining Valley. He was thrilled at the thought of a whole valley of magical lights, so he quickly agreed to come with her.

Meanwhile, Wally went inside when it started to rain. He built a fire in the fireplace and sat close, toasting marshmallows. He peered out at the nasty rain and was very, very glad that he had stayed at home where everything was warm and dry.

Francesca and Joshua waltzed down the forest path for a ways, enjoying the gentle breeze and the forest noises. They were just beginning to feel dry again and wonder where they could find some lunch, when Joshua stopped short. “Listen,” he hissed, darting a glance at the sky. This time Francesca heard the noise, too. It was a loud, high screeching. A hawk!

Joshua and Francesca dashed together as fast as they could to the base of a nearby tree. Joshua was shaking. Francesca looked every which way for a hole to hide in. Just as the hawk swooped low, she saw an opening! Pushing Joshua ahead of her, she scrambled into the little hole under a root. They could still hear the hawk circling outside. Francesca was so scared that she began to wish she hadn’t come into the forest at all.

The hawk swept by again and again, but at long last the dreadful shrieking started to fade as he moved on, scouring the forest for something else to eat. Francesca looked around her for the first time. The floor of the hole was covered with great big walnuts! It was the perfect lunch. Francesca gnawed open the shells and shared the nuts with Joshua. After they had both eaten, they felt brave enough to leave the little hole and continue on their adventure.

Meanwhile, Wally was settling into his favorite chair with an enormous plate of sandwiches and a big glass of milk. He sighed with contentment as he ate six ham and cheese and four tuna fish sandwiches. “Nothing beats a good lunch,” he said to himself. Then he picked up Fritz the Flycatcher and started to read. Having already read the book several times, he quickly dozed off.

Francesca and Joshua marched along for what seemed like ages. Dusk was just settling in, and they still couldn’t see the end of the forest. Francesca knew that the Shining Valley was right where the forest ended. But they kept walking and walking and walking…and walking. Joshua’s hops were getting a little shorter each time, and Francesca looked sadly down at her aching feet. When she looked up, she groaned. In front of them was a huge hill, looming up out of the dark like a giant.

She stopped. Joshua stopped, too. They were so tired. “How are we ever going to make it all the way up?” groaned Joshua . For a long moment, neither one moved.

“We can’t forget the magical lights,” sighed Francesca at last. “They’ll be worth it. I know they will.”

There was nothing more to say. With a big effort, they both started to climb. Joshua went first and Francesca followed, trying to ignore the bits of gravel that bit into her sore feet. They toiled up, slowly making progress until they were stopped short by a big boulder that had fallen on the path. Francesca wanted to cry. They had come so far! But Joshua wasn’t giving up. He was digging rapidly at one edge of the boulder. Francesca flopped down to wait. In a few minutes, Joshua cried excitedly, “I’m through!”. He had carved out a little tunnel. It was a tight squeeze, but when Francesca emerged, huffing and puffing, from the other side, she saw that the trees had disappeared. Just ahead was the top of the hill. They had made it through the forest. With a loud “Yippee!” she and Joshua surged to the top and began to slip and slide down the other side of the hill.

Meanwhile, Wally woke up from his nap with a stomach ache. Too many sandwiches! He swallowed a big spoonful of medicine with a grimace. The shadows outside his door were starting to get long, so he lit a lamp. He looked outside and thought how glad he was that he was not out in all that blackness. He shut the door on the gloom, pulled the armchair near to the fire and put on a big pot of soup for dinner.

With a giant giggle, Francesca and Joshua landed in a heap at the bottom of the hill. They untangled their arms and legs and ears and tails and sat up to look around. It was so dark, they couldn’t see anything! Francesca stretched out her arm and bumped into Joshua’s head.

“Ouch!” he yelped.

“What are we going to do now?” asked Francesca. “We must be near the Shining Valley, but I can’t even see a speck of light.”

She started to feel a little scared again. Joshua huddled close. It was just too dark to move, and they couldn’t think of what to do next.

Meanwhile, Wally finished off his soup with a big slurp. He felt warm and sleepy. He climbed into his big, soft bed and pulled the covers up around his ears. He felt a little lonely after being by himself all day. “I wish Francesca was here to tell me a story before bed,” he thought to himself, and with a sigh, he slowly drifted off to sleep.

Francesca and Joshua felt very cold. Francesca was just about to suggest that they try to clamber back up the hill and go home, when Joshua whispered, “Did you see that?” Off in the distance, they saw a little flickering light.

In a minute, it was joined by another light, and then another. Before Francesca could say anything, the whole air was full of little lights, dipping and swirling around each other. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. The combined glow from the lights lit up the whole valley. Francesca and Joshua had been in the Shining Valley all along! And under a clump of pines in the middle of the cavorting lights was the Bouncylegs family, standing with a group of other creatures laughing and pointing.

Francesca and Joshua went to join the group, and everyone gazed and gazed at the beautiful flickering lights. They glided and gamboled as if they were dancing. After a moment, Francesca gasped. They were dancing! And all the creatures looking on joined hands and began to dance along with them, whirling and twirling among the sparkling lights. It was one of the happiest moments of Francesca’s life. “I wish Wally could be here to enjoy this, too,” she thought to herself. But just then, Joshua went leaping by with little Georgie Bouncylegs on his back. Francesca laughed at his antics and, joining hands with Sally, skipped off to join the fun.

The Princess in the Bottle

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Once upon a time there was a young man who had no home and no family. His life was a life lived on the road, traveling from place to place, finding work whenever he needed it and adventure even when he didn’t. His only companion was an old gray horse, who through some long ago mistake had been named Black. The young man’s name was Peter, which means Rock and was a much more fitting name.

A traveling life makes for many stories, but the greatest tale of young Peter’s life started with a small creek and a fishing line. Peter had always been an excellent fisherman, so whenever he had nothing else to eat, he would look for a long stick, tie on his string and hook, and catch himself a fine supper. On this particular evening, the fish were biting well, and Peter had just caught enough for a feast when his eye fell on something glittering among the rocks on the bottom of the creek. Without a second thought, he reached down and pulled up a sparkling glass bottle with a red cork in it. The sight of this bottle was so amazing that Peter immediately dropped his line of fish. It wasn’t the lovely shape of the glass or even the brilliant color of the cork that caused such astonishment; it was what was inside the bottle. This bottle didn’t hold wine or vinegar or water. It didn’t even hold a perfect model of a ship. It held a princess.

Peter could not believe his eyes. Inside the bottle was a princess so tiny and so beautiful that he thought he must be dreaming. As you can imagine, he lost no time pulling the cork out of the bottle. As soon as he did, he heard a tiny, beautiful, but very angry voice saying, “Why did you drop the fish?! I’m starving!”

That was the last thing that Peter expected to hear. But the thought of a tiny, beautiful, starving princess was more than he could bear, so he quickly caught a few more fish and roasted them over his fire. When they were cooked all through, he broke off a small piece and dropped it into the top of the bottle. The princess ate it, quick as a wink, and asked for more. Peter passed her bits of fish through the opening of the bottle until finally she was full. She was much less angry now. She even thanked him for the food in a very polite voice.

As for Peter, he was not at all interested in eating. He just wanted to hear how a princess came to be in a bottle. He could see very well that she wouldn’t fit through the opening. The princess told him that her name was Selina and that her father was the king of a neighboring kingdom. It seemed that her father had done something to anger his chief magician who had punished his king by shrinking his only daughter and trapping her in a bottle. Once she was trapped, the magician had carried her secretly out of the castle and thrown her into a nearby river. The river carried her far away, out of her father’s kingdom and down to this point where it dwindled to a tiny creek, and she had finally come to rest among the rocks. The king did not know what had happened to his daughter, only that she had disappeared.

“So I knew that no one would be looking for me,” finished Selina, “and I was quite sure that I was going to die of starvation in this horrid bottle. Until you came along, that is, and I saw your fish. Nothing ever looked or tasted so good.”

“Isn’t there anything I can do to help you get out of that bottle?” asked Peter.

“I’m sure I don’t know,” said Selina sadly. “My father’s chief magician is very powerful. I doubt that anyone could undo one of his spells, and I’m sure he wouldn’t want to do it himself.”

But Peter had not spent his life traveling for nothing. Once, several years before, Peter had met an old woman who was said to have magical powers. Peter thought he would visit her and see if she knew any way to reverse the spell.

It was a journey of several weeks to reach the old woman. Peter carried Selina in her bottle in front of him as he rode Black, and positioned her near the fire at night to keep her warm. Every morning, he baked a little cake of flour and passed pieces through the opening of the bottle for Selina’s breakfast, and every night he fed her fish or nuts or berries that he had found through out the day. They passed the evening talking and telling stories and sometimes Selina would sing one of the many songs she had learned from her mother. Those were happy weeks, though Selina was very tired of being in her bottle, and at last they arrived at the old woman’s cottage.

When Peter showed the old woman the bottle and told her Selina’s tale, the old woman sighed a very big sigh. She picked up the bottle and studied it closely. “Yes, yes,” she said. “I’m afraid there really is no other way.”

“No other way?” asked Peter. “Then there is one way at least!”

“Yes, there is a way. There is always a way. I’m sorry to say it young man, but it seems you are going to have to drink it.”

Peter was confused. “Drink it? Drink what?”

“Drink what’s in the bottle.”

Peter was even more confused. “But Selina is in the bottle. Only Selina.”

“No, not only Selina. Selina and something else.”

Peter studied the bottle closely. He couldn’t see anything in there but Selina.

“Pour it out,” said the old woman, handing Peter a cup.

Selina braced her arms and legs on the glass and nodded at Peter. Peter shrugged and tipped the bottle over the cup. A stream of dark red liquid poured into the cup, filling it to the brim.

Peter was astonished. There hadn’t been any red liquid in the bottle before. At least, none that he could see. But there it was in the cup before him. It didn’t look very tasty, but if it would free Selina, he was willing to try it. He picked it up.

“No! Wait!” shouted Selina. “You don’t know what it is. What will it do to him?” she asked the old woman.

“I don’t know,” said the old woman. “But it won’t be good. There’s no doubt that it’s some sort of poison.”

Selina was horrified. “You can’t drink it! It could kill you!”

Peter just looked at her, and his eyes were as calm and steady as a rock. He had just realized something. He had just realized that even if this poison killed him, Selina would be worth it. Still keeping his eyes only on his princess in the bottle, he picked up the cup and drank down all the poison.

The effect was instantaneous. Peter’s eyes closed, he gritted his teeth to keep from yelling from the pain. Then the pain slowly, slowly grew less and less, and the world faded from his sight. Peter was dead.

In that same moment, the glass of Selina’s bottle disappeared, and she was standing there fully grown. With a sob, she threw herself down on Peter’s chest. She cried and cried until she couldn’t cry any more, and as she cried she felt something strange. The old woman was holding the cup up to Selina’s cheek, capturing all her tears. When Selina finally calmed, the cup was full. Quick as a wink, the old woman tipped the cup and poured Selina’s tears into Peter’s mouth.

He coughed. He sputtered. Then he sat up. Selina was so happy to see him alive, and Peter was so happy to see her free of her bottle and back to her normal size that neither of them could say anything. They just sat and looked at each other happily for a long, long time.

And then they thanked the old woman, got onto Black, rode to Selina’s home, and lived happily ever after.

Rescuing Rosemary

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Rosemary Raccoon lived in the forest beside a rocky river.  She was a bit of a recluse, which means that she remained in her home all day and rarely received visitors.  Only at night would she venture out to run and romp and reach for fish in the river.  Her few friends worried about her.

Rita the Rat came by one night to remind Rosemary about the River Race.  “You are fast runner, Rosemary.  You really should race this year.”

“Really?” was Rosemary’s only response.

“Really!” replied Rita.

But Rosemary had an unreasonable fear of appearing ridiculous.  She recalled one time she’d tripped while running and rolled into the river.   “I’d rather stay home and rest,” she said, and rapidly shut her door.

Another day, Ronda Rabbit raced to Rosemary’s house with remarkable news.  “Rambunctious Ramona is here in the forest!  We’re all rushing to the redwood tree to play Rescue the Raven!”

“Really?” said Rosemary.

“Really!” replied Ronda.

But Rosemary had an irrational fear of taking risks.  Rescue the Raven was a game that required you to recklessly climb the highest redwood tree and reach for the red ribbon tied at the top.  “I’d rather stay home and relax,” she said, and rapidly shut her door.

That day, while playing Rescue the Raven, Rita and Ronda repeated their worries about Rosemary.  Rambunctious Ramona overheard.  “A recluse, huh?  Afraid of everything, huh?  Refuses to risk, huh?  I know a reliable cure for that!”

Early in the morning, Rambunctious Ramona arrived at Rosemary’s house with a rake in one hand and rooster under one arm.  She rapidly lit a raging fire right on Rosemary’s roof.  Then she released the rooster by Rosemary’s window.  The rooster crowed riotously.  Rosemary ran to her door.

“Rosemary, hurry!  Your roof is on fire!  Grab the rake!”  yelled Ramona.

Rosemary was terrified, but this was no time to refuse.  Her house would soon be ruined.  She raked and raked until she was red in the face.  The fire raged on.  Rita the Rat raced in with some water.  Then Ronda Rabbit rushed over to help rake.   The fire was reduced, but it was too late.  Rosemary’s house was a wreck.  No one knew how to react.

But Rambunctious Ramona was rolling on the ground, roaring with laughter.

“Ramona!” raged Rita.  “You did this on purpose?”

“Sure did,” replied Ramona.  “With no house, Rosemary can’t be a recluse any more!”

“That was reckless, Ramona!”  cried Ronda.  “Rosemary could have been hurt!”

Ramona just wrinkled her nose and ran away.

“Don’t worry, Rosemary.  We’ll help you repair it,” said Rita and Ronda.

And so they did.  Rita, Ronda, and Rosemary removed all the rubble.  They replaced the walls, rebuilt the rooms, and raised a new roof.  When it was ready, Rosemary requested that all her friends come to rejoice with her.  They all held hands and danced Ring Around the Rosy around Rosemary’s house.

And Rambunctious Ramona watched from afar and had no regrets.

(This was inspired by Alphabe Thursday. Check it out!)
Jenny Matlock

The Giant Sunflowers

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On a tiny little farm in the center of the valley lived a family who had 5 lovely daughters.  Their father enjoyed planting a garden and raising animals to help provide the food they needed.  This wasn’t just an ordinary garden – this was a large, huge, gigantic garden with every imaginable kind of food.  There was the sweetest corn on the cob that you ever tasted, there were big red tomatoes and little yellow tomatoes that looked like tiny light bulbs.  There were many different kinds and colors of squash, potatoes, pumpkins, cucumbers, onions, lettuce, okra, spinach, green beans, carrots, peppers, watermelons and cantaloupes, and even awful tasting parsnips… and then…there were sunflowers.

Now sunflowers are not exactly vegetables, but they have seeds that make very tasty snacks.  With bright yellow faces they grow on a stem that makes them look something like a small tree.  They certainly made a nice border around the large, huge, gigantic garden.

Raising a garden is a lot of work.  The dirt has to be dug up, the seeds have to be planted, the plants have to be watered – and in the center of the valley, the plants had to be watered every day.  Then there are the weeds – those other plants that try to grow where you don’t want them too…and they have to be pulled up and thrown away.

So the father of the family needed lots of help from his lovely daughters to take care of the garden.  While each of the girls did their part, Kathy seemed to do especially well at watering the plants.  She would get up very early in the morning to make sure the garden had a good long drink before the day became too hot.  She got lots of freckles on her face from standing out in the morning sun, but there was a feeling of satisfaction from helping care for those plants.

The garden made the family happy – but the father was especially proud of the sunflower plants.  As the days went by, they grew taller and taller and their bright yellow faces shown brighter and brighter.  He would tell his friends that he had never had such grand sunflowers…they were taller than Kathy…taller than her father…before long they were taller than the house…they were a sight to see!

And then, a sad thing happened.  One day after Kathy gave those big plants a drink, she forgot to turn off the water…so the hose ran water on them all night long.  When the father came out in the morning, he was very surprised that he couldn’t see his tall, bright sunflowers.  What had happened to them?  Where did they go? Oh my, their roots couldn’t take all that water – and they had crashed right down to the ground. There lay those big giants with their faces in the mud.

So the father was sad and Kathy felt bad – but from then on, she remembered to turn off the water!!

The Day Papa Met Gramma

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Editor’s note:  Today is my dad’s birthday, and low and behold he gives ME a present.  This was my favorite story growing up.  I’m so happy to be able to share it with my kids…and all of you!

Oh what a special day !  Of course, I didn’t know it was going to be so special when the day started out.  It was just like every other day:  I got up to go to class at the college I was attending; then I went to work; then I went back home to have dinner and rest for awhile so that I could then go back to college to attend a night class that I had to take.

You see, just a few months before this day I was released from duty with the US Marine Corps and had gone back to college to study business.  But because I got out of the Marines too late to get all the classes I needed I had to take a class in US History at night.   My sister, Sharon, had agreed to take the class with me, since she was trying to get her college education too.

Being a young man of only 23 years, and not married, I would flirt with all the girls in class, trying to get to know them, and asking them out on dates.  This particular night I was sitting in the first seat at the head of a row of desks waiting for the teacher to come in and start teaching.  My sister was sitting in the first seat on the row of desks next to mine so I was turned sideways talking to her when I noticed this blond girl sitting behind her.  At first I started to speak to the blond girl, but then I noticed sitting behind me another girl.  So I turned all the way around and just looked at her right in the eyes…and she just stared right back at me in my eyes.  I didn’t say anything and neither did she but we just kept staring at each other.

Pretty soon the teacher came in and started to teach, but there I sat with my back to him, staring into that girl’s eyes.  We must have stared at each other for 5 or 10 minutes (at least it seemed like it to me), all the while the teacher just kept on talking.  Of course I didn’t have any idea what he was saying because I was so focused on that girl behind me.

When our class took a break for a few minutes, I went outside and right up to that girl I had been staring at.  The night before this my dad had given me a couple of tickets to an Elvis Presley concert (he was a famous singer that most girls loved back in those days).  So I thought this girl would be eager to out with me to hear him sing.  But the girl told me, “NO , thanks. I don’t like Elvis Presley at all !”  Wow. I didn’t know what to say because I had been so sure she would jump at the chance to go.  So I just found out where she worked during the day that her name was Kathy.  Then the class started again and we didn’t speak any more that night.

However, the next day I just couldn’t get Kathy out of my mind.  All through breakfast, then driving to college to go to class, and all during the classes I took my mind kept coming back to Kathy.  As I was driving home from class I thought, “Maybe I’ll just go by and see if I can find where she works.”  And I did.  Then just as I was going to pass her office I thought, “Maybe I’ll just go in and see if she’s there today.”  And I did.

When I walked in the door there she sat behind the counter talking on the phone.  So I just sat down to wait.  Soon she hung up the phone and said, “Oh, Hi!  May I help you?”

Well, I hadn’t thought ahead of what I might say to her, so, with a smile on my face, I made up the first thing that came into my head.

“Yes,” I said, “As you know I’m taking business classes at the college and I’m doing some research for one of them.  I’m surveying all the secretaries in town to see if their employers give them time off for lunch.  Does yours?”

“Uhhhhh,  yeeessss, “ Kathy said a little suspiciously.

“And how much time does he give you for lunch?”  I asked

“Uhhhhh, 30 minutes” she said even more suspiciously.

“And what time does your lunch hour start?”  I asked innocently, but with an even bigger smile.

“11:30” replied Kathy.

“Fine I’ll be back to pick you up then.” I said now grinning.  Then before she could say Yes or No I turned and walked out, got in my car, and drove off.

I had no idea whether she would go with me when I came back, or whether she would even be there.  But I came back at 11:30 and, to my great delight, she was ready and willing to have lunch with me.  We went to Love’s restaurant, where I first asked her, “What is your last name anyway?”  and where we talked and talked, AND where we made plans to go out in the evening.

Well, we saw each other practically every day after that for weeks on end.  And a couple of months later we decided to get married.  And, as I am  writing this, we have been married for 39 wonderful years, have had two beautiful children that we named David and Deborah, and five marvelous grandchildren named Katie, Josh, Ellie, Scott, and Luz.

We are sooooooo blessed !!!