Miri and the Gardener | ||
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|  Miri loves that tree with the many cavities sculpted with art and dedication. But with the respect for the survival of the living tree, of course. The problem is that poor Miri is suffering from a mysterious illness. The magician healer was very upset. He had never encountered any such sickness before. He searched the memory books left by previous magician-healers to no avail unfortunately.The little fairy, courageously continued to believe, in spite of her suffering, that she would heal. Winter was long for little Miri who, from her bed entertained her friends. She could not stand sorrow so she kept her morale up. With spring came a hope, as fragile as the eggs in the nest. The healer had discovered a cure. But it was the powder that rests on the wings of butterflies. Hundreds maybe even thousands of butterflies,would be needed to harvest sufficient quantities for the medicine for Miri. Miri’s father was at the inn with his friend. He was discussing the problem of which no one seemed to know the solution. It was a sad day for Miri’s father. A stranger seated at a neighboring table, approached them discreetly as the custom prescribes. He told Miri’s father; ”I think I can help heal your daughter”. “Stranger, if you can accomplish that, I’ll give you everything you want” “I have no need for everything, all I need is work.” “Are you a healer?” “No a gardener, if you hire me I guarantee that your daughter will be healed by the end of summer." The honest tone and truthful gaze in the eyes of the gardener convinced Miri’s father to give him a chance. He had nothing to loose and Miri all to win... From her window, Miri looked at the gardener work, an old man with the precise movements acquired along a lifetime dedicated to the love of plants. The gardener planted lilac trees in many shades. He even planted unknown plants, bushes and flowers with strange, mysterious names that brings visions of exotic places. The old man told Miri that soon, he assured her, it would translate into a symphony of colors and textures that will perfume the air. He had such a pleasurable expression as he said it, that Miri was certain “HE” could smell it already. Miri observed as the young sprout escaped the soil, as the tender green shoots grew. Soon flower buds appeared followed by the most beautiful blooms. The gossipers were having a good time. “Shameful, he buys himself a garden while his daughter, poor girl, lay sick and all. Shameful, I tell you.” Then one warm day, attracted by the selected flowers butterflies came, more and more of them kept coming to invade the garden. The gardener installed a lawn chairs in the clearing and installed Miri comfortably in it. Miri received a shower of the powder falling from the wings of the butterflies. The powder was of many colors shining in the sun. The rays of the sun reflected in the fine powder. The clearing was bathed in the light and in that light Miri’s healing… In a week Miri was cured. Her delicate wings shone brightly again. Her face had regained her healthy colors and above all her smile was resplendent. And this is how Miri got her name: “MIRI THE BUTTERFLY FAIRY” Copyright ©1998 By Dr. Claude Gagné To read more about Miri the Butterfly Fairy visit: http://miri.topcities.com | |
The End | ||
The Spirit | ||||
|  | Age: 60 | | |
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| The Wee One, sat in her thinking place, puzzling. The purple hyacinths grew behind the moss covered rock she sat upon. She was wondering if what she wanted to do was the right thing. The longer she sat in her thinking spot, the more she believed her idea was a good one. With her mind made up to do something she had never done before, the tiny fae took flight on golden wings. The fae flitted high into the air over the giant oaks and beyond the meadow. She fluttered down on the shore of the Sparkling Lake. The Wee One walked from one stone to another, towards a very large rock. It stood above the others, like a beacon. She hesitated for a moment before whispering to the stone. Suddenly it appeared to rise a little into the air. The Wee One walked under the stone. A golden box sat beneath it. Quickly she lifted the lid of the box. A Spirit filled the tiny crystal box the fae now held in her hand. As the fae walked out from under the great stone, it settled down once again. Without a moment’s hesitation she took to the air. The fae flitted to her home in the ancient oak, the crystal box now safely in her pocket. Once home, the Wee One set the box on her mushroom table. The fireflies gathered overhead. The crystal box glittered like diamonds. With trembling hands the Wee One opened the box. Suddenly, before her stood a beautiful Spirit. “Will you help me?” The Wee One pleaded. The Spirit did not so much speak, as it thought. The Wee One knew, the Spirit would help her. “We shall begin our journey now,” the spirit thought. *poof* In a twinkling, both the Spirit and the Wee One were transported to a city, in the Land of Real. The Wee One was not prepared for what she saw when they materialized. It was a place that had things called buildings. Some of the buildings were as tall as the Magic Mountain. The air smelled odd and tasted funny. There was not a tree or flower to be seen. “I am frightened,” the fae whispered to the Spirit. “Is this where the children come from?” “Yes,” the Spirit replied. The Wee One shivered a bit, but the Spirit thought, “It will be okay, I’m with you.” “Now quickly before it gets light open your pouch and do what you have come to do.” The Wee One reached deep into her pouch and gathered a handful of faerie dust. With the Spirit by her side, she sprinkled the magic dust everywhere. When they had finished the Spirit thought again. “You have done well wee fae, for a first effort; now watch!” Quietly, a gentle rain began to fall. The Spirit smiled, for the sprinkles began to grow flowers and trees everywhere they settled. As the sun began to rise the city was ablaze with the color of beautiful flowers, twining green vines and stately trees. From far beyond the city a rainbow appeared and held the city in its arc. The Spirit thought. “It will make them happy wee fae, it truly will.” In a twinkle the Wee One and the Spirit sat together on a spire overlooking the city. They watched, as the children, the young and the old came out of their houses. All looked about them with smiles and wonder. The city was now bursting with the beauty of flowers and the songs of birds in the young trees. “It is time to go now,” the Spirit thought. The Wee One nodded her head. *poof* In a twinkle the two friends were back on the shore of the Sparkling Lake. The Spirit returned to the golden box beneath the magic rock. The Wee One sighed to see the Spirit go, but she knew the Spirit would always be present for those in need of her. In a whisper the Wee One said, “thank you for helping me... Hope.”  To see another story about The Wee One CLICK HERE. Copyright © Idris O'Neill | | ||
The End | ||||
An Ordinary Mother | ||
By Phil Shapiro | ||
| * | Katrina Katrinka was like any other ordinary mother with two kids, a station wagon, and a 60 foot tall crane in her back yard. The crane just showed up one morning. A construction company was building an apartment building down the street. One day the company went bankrupt, and left their crane in Mrs. Katrinka's back yard. They just went bankrupt, and left her with a 60 foot tall crane in her back yard. Mrs. Katrinka didn't know what to do at first. But then she had an idea. She called the sanitation department in her town to come around and pick up the 60 foot tall crane. If you have an old couch, an old table, an old refrigerator, or an old washing machine, you can call the sanitation department, and they'll come around and pick it up. You can guess what the sanitation department had to say about Mrs. Katrinka's crane. "Sorry, ma'am. We don't pick up 60 foot tall cranes. Old couches, old tables, old refrigerators, and old washing machines are fine. Large, 60 foot tall cranes are not fine." Mrs. Katrinka was not the type of ordinary mother who lets a 60 foot tall crane sit around in her back yard. No, sirree. Not that type of ordinary mother at all. So she bought a large wrench, and climbed up the tall 60 foot crane. She carefully climbed out onto the horizontal part of the crane, and unbolted one of the end sections. She happily climbed down and carried the steel section into her basement. Her neighbors peered over the fence, wondering what on earth could this ordinary mother be doing with a steel section of crane in her basement. What the neighbors didn't know was that Mrs. Katrinka also bought an excellent power saw. This saw could cut through the toughest, hardest steel. Day after day, Mrs. Katrinka would take one more section from the crane, carrying it carefully down into her basement. And night after night, she cut those sections up into little bits. These little bits of steel were easy enough to hide in her regular trash. Some of the bits she stuffed in empty cans of tuna fish. Other bits she stuffed in the middle of over-ripe watermelons. And other bits she hid inside old smelly socks. But it's hard to hide a full 60 foot crane in your day to day trash. You could hide a 20 foot crane, or a 30 foot crane. But a 60 foot crane is just too big to easily hide in the trash. So Mrs. Katrinka started painting the sections of crane she took down each day. She painted them, and then welded them into interesting sorts of sculptures. When her basement became too full of sculptures, she set the sculptures out in her back yard. It didn't take long for people to flock from all over the neighborhood to see Mrs. Katrinka's sculptures. One day, one of her neighbors walked right up her front steps and asked if she might buy one of the sculptures. Well, Mrs. Katrinka didn't know what to say. She didn't make the sculptures to sell. She made the sculptures because it's hard to hide all the bits of a 60 foot crane in your trash. On the very day that she took down the last section of the crane, the man who used to own the construction company came back to pick up his crane. "Sorry, sir," Mrs. Katrinka said. "The crane you left in my back yard is no longer here anymore. It's hiding in empty cans of tuna fish, over-ripe watermelons, and old smelly socks. If you want to put it back together, you'll have to go looking through lots of empty tuna fish cans, over-ripe watermelons, and old socks." "Well, ma'am," said the construction company man. "I really shouldn't have left that 60 foot crane in your back yard. It wasn't the right thing to do, and I'd like to apologize to you." Mrs. Katrinka looked the man up and down. He looked as if he was genuinely sorry for what he had done. "Oh, all right," Mrs. Katrinka said. "If you'd like to take home some of the 60 foot crane you left in my back yard, it's sitting right over there in those six sculptures." "Six sculptures?" said the man, in wonder. "Yes, six sculptures," replied Mrs. Katrinka. "Mrs. Olney down the street bought the seventh sculpture last week for $200." "Well, the least I can do is buy the other six sculptures, at the same price," the man whispered gently. "No. I'm sorry. That won't do," replied Mrs. Katrinka. "I can't sell all six of those sculptures. They mean too much to me now." "But I tell you what. If you want to buy five of them, I won't complain too loudly about that. You can't expect me to give up all my wonderful sculptures to some stranger who left a 60 foot crane in my back yard." "Yes, ma'am. It's too much to expect an ordinary mother to give up all six sculptures she made from a 60 foot tall crane that a total stranger left in her back yard." As Mrs. Katrinka took the man's money, she laughed, "Besides, I need to keep at least one sculpture to show my grandchildren. They'll never believe this story if I didn't have at least one of the sculptures left to show them..." Phil Shapiro Copyright 2000 All Rights Reserved | * |
The End | ||
Driving on Ice | ||
By Phil Shapiro | ||
| In many northern states the winters are so cold that the lakes freeze right over. In Minnesota, Michigan, and Maine, the ice in these lakes can freeze two to three feet deep. When the ice is that thick it becomes possible to actually drive a car or truck across the ice. While driving on ice sounds like something that people would do just for fun, a lot of people drive across frozen lakes for very practical reasons. For example, there are people who live year-round on islands within these northern lakes. In the middle of winter the only practical way of traveling to the mainland is by driving across the frozen lakes. Actually, when the lake is frozen two to three feet deep, this is a perfect opportunity for people living on islands to transport large objects onto or off the islands. Say, for instance, you owned a cabin on a small island in the middle of a lake in Michigan. Suppose you decided that you wanted to build an extra room onto the cabin. Transporting all the building materials onto the island using a boat would take a lot of work and expense. But if you waited until winter, you could easily drive all the building materials across the lake. How can you tell if a lake is frozen solid enough to drive on? The surest way to know is to wait until several other cars and trucks have safely driven across the ice. Even then, you should always be extra careful when driving across a frozen lake. It's possible that one section of the lake has currents that prevent the lake from freezing solid. Or there might be a river or stream that brings slightly warmer water into one part of the lake. So even though most of the lake was frozen solid, one section of the lake could have thin ice. Usually it takes at least two to three weeks of very cold weather before deep ice is formed on a lake. Here in the northern United States, deep ice doesn't form until mid-January, at the earliest. (In northern Canada and Alaska lakes sometimes freeze solid as early as November or December.) Do the tires of cars slip when they drive across ice? Yes, sometimes they do. But almost every car and truck that drives on ice has snow tires, which creates extra friction between the tires and the ice. Some people also choose to put chains on their tires, which gives the tires an even stronger grip against the ice. After a few cars have driven across a particular path on a lake the ice actually becomes a sort of road. If you walked up to such a road and did not know that the road was traveling over a lake, you might never suspect that the cars and trucks are actually driving across solid ice. Copyright © 2000 Phil Shapiro | |
The End | ||
When The Clock Got Sick | ||
By Phil Shapiro | ||
| Once upon a time, in a land not too far from where you live, there was a bank whose outside clock was the talk of the town. Clocks usually don't cause people to talk about them, unless they're not working right. This clock wasn't working right at all. The clock was a digital clock, meaning that it was the kind of clock with large neon red numbers that glowed both day and night. You could read the clock from an entire block away. The clock sat prominently a few yards above the main doors to a respected bank, right on the corner of a major intersection in town. In some ways, the clock represented the very center of town. One day, a few months ago, the time on the clock started slipping backwards a few minutes. At first this didn't cause any alarm. After all, if you are two minutes late, or two minutes early to an appointment, is there any harm done? But then the clock's health got even worse. Not only did the clock slip back more than a few minutes, sometimes it would actually jump forward an hour or two, and then jump back to being a few minutes late. It was clear to everyone in town that this was a sick clock. What do you do with a sick clock, though? Take it the clockerenarian? Take it a clockpital? Visit a clocktor? You're right. Healing a sick clock is not an easy thing to do. First you need to find what's wrong with the clock, and then you need to find a place that sells the particular part that needs replacing. The bank, being a respected bank, was eager to get the clock fixed and working again. The bank became even more eager after last month's birthday party. You see, a young child on the way to a birthday party burst into tears when he looked up at the clock and realized that he was going to be late. On that day, the clock was running about two hours fast, and the child was in perfect time for the party. The child just thought he was late, because who would ever doubt the time on a public clock? And then there was the whole wedding fiasco last week. A groom, on the way to his wedding ceremony, noticed that he was two hours early, so he stopped off at the cybercafe to do some web surfing. When he showed up to the ceremony two hours late, the bride and everyone else were not overjoyed to see him. The straw that broke the camel's back, though, was last week when an army major was traveling through town. Being an army major, he would regularly adjust his wristwatch to make sure it was perfectly on time. When he saw the clock above the bank, he immediately reset his watch three hours ahead of time. And the next morning he woke his troops at 3 AM to do their regular 6 AM ten-mile morning run. The troops were not amused. And so they stopped by to pay a friendly visit to the bank manager. "Please, please, please repair the clock above the door of your bank," they spoke in military unison. "Each one of us would like to chip in $20 to repair the clock," they added. The bank manager, a kindly young woman, promised that she would do whatever she could to find a part to repair the clock. She would even take the clock to a clockerenarian, if need be. And she had not ruled out the possibility of driving the clock straight to the clockpital, herself. Her own doctor had recommended some skilled clocktors that she could use when she received the replacement part. Until the clock was repaired, though, she decided to switch off its electricity. For three weeks the lights on the clock were entirely dark. And then one day a UPS truck drove up the bank with a very small package. Inside that very small package was a very small part that made the clock healthy again. The town sighed a huge sigh of relief when the clock was switched on again. And then everyone reset their watches and went on their merry way. Copyright © 2000 Phil Shapiro | |
The End | ||
The Great Ping Pong Ball Experiment | ||
By Phil Shapiro | ||
| * | The Nile river is the longest river in the world. It starts out in Lake Victoria, in the middle of Africa, and flows nearly four thousand (4,000) miles north to the Mediterranean Sea. Lake Victoria, where the Nile starts, is the second largest fresh-water lake in the world. The only lake that is larger is Lake Superior, in between Canada and the United States. Now nobody knows for sure who first suggested the great ping pong ball experiment. It might have been dreamed up by some absent-minded, daydreaming inventor. Or, it could have been thought up by some great scientist. Or, it might have been thought up by a little kindergartener in Kalamazoo, Michigan. But the important thing is that somebody thought of it. And before long, people all over the world were talking about it. The newspapers printed stories about it. Television stations did special feature stories on it. And, everyone, just everyone, expected that the great ping pong ball experiment would happen right on time. What exactly was the great ping pong ball experiment anyway? How was the experiment to be performed, and what was it supposed to show? The great ping pong ball experiment took place to show just one thing. The purpose of the experiment was to show that a small, frail ping pong ball could travel four thousand miles down the longest river in the world. The experiment would end when the ping pong ball reached the capital city of Egypt, Cairo. At that time, a kindergarten student from one of the schools in Cairo would reach down into the Nile, and pick up the ping pong ball that had been thrown into the river way back at Lake Victoria. Two months. That's how long the ping pong ball would have to travel from Lake Victoria to Cairo. To add some zest and excitement to the experiment, the ping pong ball was to be thown into the top of the Nile River on November 1, 1999. The entire world would then watch to see if the ball could travel the length of the Nile before midnight, December 31, 1999. But the journey would be a dangerous one for a small, frail ping pong ball to travel. The ball would have to survive at least nine large waterfalls. It would have to survive being thrown against rocks and boulders. It would have to survive getting stuck in the papyrus reeds by the side of the river. And most importantly, it would have to survive getting swallowed by any hungry fish along the way. People would follow it all along its long journey. Scientists would follow it by driving along roads that travelled parallel to the Nile river. They would keep careful track of how far the ball had travelled each day. Sometimes they would even circle over the ping pong ball in a helicopter, making sure that the ball was safely travelling downstream. Once a week people all over the globe would turn on their televisions to see how far the ping pong ball had travelled in the past week. The television studios would have a large map of Africa on the wall, with an arrow pointing to where the ping ball was on that particular day. It would be an elegantly simple experiment for the people of planet Earth to perform. For two months, the attention of the world would be focussed on what was happening to a ping pong ball travelling down the Nile river. The outcome of the great ping pong ball experiment would not change the lives of many persons living on this planet. But perhaps, just perhaps, the experiment itself would help people realize that in some ways the planet Earth is just a small, frail ping pong ball traveling through space. Phil Shapiro Copyright 2000 All Rights Reserved | * |
The End | ||
Ellen The Eagle Needs Glasses | ||
By Phil Shapiro | ||
| * | Ellen the eagle first suspected that she needed glasses the day that she swooped down out of the sky and grabbed a small lawn chair to carry back to her hungry children. When she arrived back at her nest, perched high atop a cliff, her oldest son said, somewhat sarcastically, "Great. Another lawn chair for breakfast. Just what we need." Her husband, Ed, was more forgiving. He gently picked up the lawn chair with his beak and moved it over to the flat, back section of the nest. Then he sat down in the lawn chair, folded his wings comfortably behind his head, and lay back. "Honey, you might want to go and have your eyes checked one of these days," Ed said. "It's easy enough to do, and only costs a mouse or two." "I've been meaning to get my eyes checked," replied Ellen, "but you know how it is. Every day it just seems that there are new mice to catch, new things to do for the nest, and new nature shows to be in." "True, the nature shows do put the dead mice on the table, but they take away from the hunting and stalking I really like to do." "I'll put it on my calendar as something to do next week. Although, I've got to say, I would feel a little self-conscious wearing glasses out in public. What would the other eagles say?" "Honey, what other eagles think doesn't matter at all. It's more important that your eyesight be sharp and in focus. Anyway, these days they can fit you with contact lens that you hardly notice are even there." Ellen sighed. Maybe it was time for her to get her eyes checked. Could she really afford to keep bringing back lawn chairs for her hungry children? So the next day she flew over to the eagle optometrist to have her eyes checked. The optometrist sat her down in a comfortable chair and asked her to identify the small animals on the tiny chart two miles away. "Mouse, chipmunk, gopher, squirrel, rabbit," she said, trying to sound confident. "It was difficult telling the difference between a mouse and a chipmunk. The shapes of these two animals were so similar." "Okay, you did well on that line of animals," said the optometrist. "Now see if you can read the animals on the line below it." Ellen concentrated all her mental powers on trying to see what the animals were on the next line. She could barely make out what the small animals were, so she made her best guess, "Hippo, elephant, giraffe, and rhinoceros," she said in a voice that lacked confidence. "I'm sorry, but you missed a few animals on that line. Your eyesight is far below the normal 2000/2000 eyesight of regular eagles. I'm going to recommend you get glasses or contact lens." "Can you tell me more about the contact lens?" inquired Ellen. "These days they have contact lens that are far more comfortable and far less bother than they were in the past," the optometrist explained. "And we happen to have a sale on them this week." "For three dead mice you can walk away with a pair of contact lens you can be proud of." "Three dead mice?" declared Ellen in a surprised voice. "I thought you could buy a decent pair of contact lens for two dead mice." "Well, it is true you could buy contact lens at other stores for two dead mice," replied the optometrist, "but they are inferior quality contact lens. If you bought the cheaper contact lens, you might not be able to read the numbers on a license plate that was two miles away." Ellen shuddered at the thought. Not being able to read the numbers on a license plate two miles away was a sure sign that an eagle's eyesight was fading. "I'll take the three dead mice contact lens," she said quickly. As she flew out of the store she said to herself, "So it costs me an extra dead mouse. What's an extra dead mouse when you need to buy something to help your eyesight?" Her husband Ed leaped out of the lawn chair when she landed on the nest. "Honey, you're back so soon. Did you get a new pair of glasses or contacts?" "Sure did," Ellen replied with a renewed confidence in her voice. She hopped over to the back of the nest and casually nudged the lawn chair over the edge of the nest. "No more lawn chairs in this nest," she announced smugly. "Only dead mice, rabbits, and fish are going to show up here in the future." "Honey, I was just getting used to the lawn chair when you nudged it over the side of the nest. Do you think you could find me another lawn chair sometime?" "No more lawn chairs in this nest, ever," said Ellen. "Okay, Ed, it's time we flew off to find something for the kids to eat for dinner. There's no use in just sitting around in lawn chairs all day." Phil Shapiro Copyright 2000 All Rights Reserved | * |
The End | ||
Chapter 1 Once upon a time there were two little kids named Jesse and Mary Sue. They were brother and sister. Their mom and dad had divorced years ago. And their dad now was seeing someone else. She was cruel to them behind their father’s back. She said if they got married, she would make their life’s miserable from the moment she said I do”. One day their dad called them into his room. When they got in there he told them to sit on the bed, then he said “there’s going to be a new member in the family and a lot of changes too. What I’m trying to say is I’m getting married”. “What”, they said. "Quite the surprise isn’t it?" said their father. Father you can’t it’ll ruin our family tree said Jesse. Well I’m sorry kids but I love her, before their father could say anything more they ran out of the house and let the door slam behind them. Chapter 2 After walking a while, they finally stopped and realized they were a long way from home in a part of the neighborhood they had never seen before. There were fairies as beautiful as princesses’ birds with the rainbow colors on their feathers all different kinds of animals, beautiful butterflies and the most unexpected fairies they thought they’d only see fairies in there Fairy Tale books. It soon became dark, Jesse and Mary Sue had fallen asleep on a rock. When Jesse and Mary Sue woke up in the morning, they saw that all the animals were lying next to them. After they’d been there a while the animals bird and fairies started asking how they found their way there. The children told the truth, they said they’d gotten mad that their father was getting married to a women they didn’t like so they ran away and when they stopped they were there. After telling them that the animals said they were glad they found their way because now they had someone to play with. Then they introduced the princess of the fairies, her name was Patty. Her dad, the king of the fairies, called her Patty the Pooh. She was very pretty, she had short Blonde hair with a crown made out of gold and an outfit fit for a princess. The princess said she had good news, one of the fairies was going to have a baby fairy. Everyone congratulated her. Then she went on, we found out a few weeks ago but we didn’t want to jinx it. Everyone congratulated her again and went to bed. The next morning she had the baby. She decided to name her Julia. When she turned one and was able to walk Jesse and Mary Sue were still there. It was Saturday when Jesse and Mary Sue were about to leave and then they heard a familiar voice and decided to stay for another night. Chapter 3 Early in the morning the next day, they heard it again so they got out of bed to see were it was coming from, but on there way out of Fairyland, they woke up. Julia liked to go on adventures so, of course, she wanted to come with them. So the three went to see were the voice was coming from, they followed the voice to a cave and peeked inside. Jesse and Mary Sue could not believe what they saw. It was their step mom, she was talking to someone but they weren’t sure whom it was. Julia knew who it was. Mary Sue and Jesse asked Julia who their step-mom was talking to. It’s the demon, she replied, he has a son too. When he gets older he’ll do what his dads doing, His dad is very evil. Years ago everybody in fairyland challenged him. They said whoever won got the land and the other person had to go some were else. And the demon lost so he had to move out here. But why would our step-mom be talking to him that sounds really weird. Maybe she’s a demon too, said Jesse. No I don’t think that could happen, said Julia, but maybe because nobody knows who's the little demons mother. Julia continued, we have to get home and warn daddy, Mary Sue said. Chapter 4 So the next morning they told everyone they had to go, they had to go warn their dad. So they said their goodbyes and were off but then Julia’s mom stopped them and asked if they would take Julia with them, they said they would and then her mom continued, it would be the biggest adventure she ever had. Then Julia thanked her mom and her mom thanked Jesse and Mary Sue and then they told them they would be back soon and then they left fairyland. Now Julia knew this was going to be the biggest adventure she ever had because she’d never been this far out of fairyland before and she was excited. Jesse and Mary Sue told her that when they were at their house she has to hide and Julia agreed. So when they arrived, Julia did as she was told and hid behind a plant in the living room. In their father’s room they were telling him about who they had seen and were they had seen her, of course, their father, who found this a little hard to believe, welcomed them with open arms but then said I think you two are sick. Come and lay down a while. Dad! They both said we’re not sick, we really saw her. How could you if she was right here by me the whole time you were gone. The only time she left was when she went to the store and got groceries. We don’t under stand, where is she now she went to get groceries. Fairyland! They both said at the exacted same time. They both ran out the door with Julia following behind them but this time their dad followed them, hoping he would find out what was going on. As soon as they got there and the dad had a chance to catch up he asked them what was going on, they said that they would explain again later. Then they went to the cave were they had seen her but she wasn’t there. Now their father was beginning to think this was all a joke. When he saw their step mom and his future wife, she was coming out of a secret passage in the cave. Then all four of them went back to the fairies and asked them if they knew about it. The fairy’s said no except one. He said he’d been trying to find out what was Chapter 5 The door then opened and Mary Sue clinched onto Jesse’s hand so hard it was turning red, the pass way looked like fairyland except there were no fairies. Then! They saw it a golden door but it had a keyhole. Where would they find a key that big, they were puzzled so they sat down to think. Then they all decided to go back to fairyland but when they said the magic password someone they had not been warned about spotted them. He grabbed them by they’re arms and made them walk with him, they tried to escape but he wouldn’t let go. He was the demon’s companion his name was Alfred but everyone called him Al. He took them to the demon who was being carried on a mattress and all he was doing was eating grapes and giving all the girls he’s phone number, not very impressive if you ask me. Then finally after stuffing a handful of grapes in he’s mouth he said I thought you’d be coming here soon after I saw you two spying on me and that kind lady I was talking to. "She's our step mom and she’s not kind at all." I never knew kids could be so rude to someone who truly loves them, take them away, take them away said the demon I can’t stand them any longer. Jesse, Mary Sue and they’re Father were handcuffed to a shelf in a closet. Julia was locked in a cage in the corner of the closet but you couldn’t see her because a shirt was covering her. "Maybe there’s a secret hiding place the Demon puts a key in to unlock and lock the door", "Good idea." Julia said. Mary Sue started looking for a piece of wood that would come out of the wall with the one hand that wasn’t handcuffed. Soon it was late and she still hadn’t found anything and in no time she fell asleep along with her brother, her dad and Julia. In the morning when Mary Sue woke up she accidentally hit the wall when she was stretching. Hey guys, I think I found something she said. It was a loose board, when the board fell out there was a big key behind it. This looks like a key for something very important I’ll put it in my pocket. I think I know what that important thing is, let’s go. Chapter 6 So they went back to where they had last seen the demon and again found him laying down being feed grapes by all the girls. When they saw him they said we know your plan and we have the key you hid in the room you locked us in "but I have a spare, did you actually think I’d put the key in the same room I locked you in with out a spare", said the demon. While the demon was talking Julia had came up with an idea of her own and was already starting it. She slipped behind the demon and knocked the key out of his hand. "Actually I did" she said just catching the key in her hand and now that I have both keys your plan is history she added and “we’re off to save fairyland”. Not so fast said the demon, "did you really think I’d fall for that too?" as two guards stepped out from behind the bushes. They were tall demons even taller then the demon and himself. Julia, Mary sue, Jesse and their father all ran as fast as they could, then they saw a cave and ran but it didn’t take to long for the guards to sniff them out, they came running after them. Then Julia, Jesse, his sister and their dad saw a waterfall, they took their only chance and jumped with a deep breath, but of course Julia flew. When they landed, they swam to the surface and realized they were back where they started at the big door. They put the key in and all the sudden the demon came but they opened the door and they hurried in, before the demon could catch them. Then all the sudden they know what to do, they said the magic words which were “open pass way” and then they picked a magic flower and put it in the pot they saw in the middle of the room and the flower turned into a liquid which they poured on the demon, his son which turned them into who they where before. The demon was the fairy prince, his son was a normal kid and the guards were mice. As for they’re step mom well this effected her too she came out as a kind lady and said hi I’m sorry if was mean to you before the demon which is now the fairy prince had me under a evil spell, they all forgave her. | * | |||
The End | ||||
The Curious Ladybug | ||
By: | ||
| Once upon a time, a cheerful ladybug was in the park hopping from one flower to another and enjoying the nice sunny day. The ladybug was a very curious, and liked to check out anything new. The ladybug flew across the road to look at the row of homes across from the park. Each home had a little yard with plenty of flowers. Her favorite flowers were the red roses and so she went to the yard that had the most. "Mmmmmm" she went as she started munching. "Such beautiful and delicious roses" she thought. While she was enjoying herself and hopping from on red rose to another, she noticed the front door opening and a man leaving the house. He left the door cracked open as he gathered his things, so the ladybug flew in. On her way in she almost bumped into a woman who was heading out. The woman walked out the door and slammed it shut. Oops, the ladybug was stuck inside! The ladybug didn't care at first. She wanted to look around and explore. She flew into the bedroom, it was tidy and nice. She then flew to the bathroom and found it very boring so she left right away. Then she flew into the kitchen where she nibbled on some crumbs she found on the table. She also licked a spot of maple syrup she found on the table. Now that the ladybug had seen everything she was ready to leave. But how could she when all the doors and windows were closed. So the ladybug decided to wait until the people came home so that she could fly out the crack again as they came in. She waited, and waited until she got tired of waiting and got hungry too. She decided to fly back to the kitchen to take another lick of the maple syrup on the table. "Yum" she thought as she slurped up some maple syrup, "Mmmm". But just then the man and woman came home and shut the door behind them. The ladybug had missed her chance. She would have to try again the next day, she though as she hid under the lampshade in the living room, right next to the door. The man and woman went to bed and the ladybug fell asleep under the lampshade. She was so tired and it had been a long day. She was sleeping very deeply, having lovely ladybug dreams, when she heard the door opening and closing. "What happened?" she thought, " How could I have missed them again?" It seems she was so tired that she didn't even hear them wake up, get dressed, and head out to work. "Why do they have to leave for work so early?" thought the ladybug. "Now I'll probably never make it out" then she flew off to the kitchen to eat some more of the left over crumbs that she found. She found some muffin crumbs that tasted very good and was lucky enough to find a small drop of orange juice that she licked up happily. "That was a really great breakfast" she said to herself, "but now I need to concentrate on finding out how to get out of this place and get back home. My family must be worried about me by now." She looked around everywhere. She was hoping there was a cracked window or a hole in the wall, but she couldn't find any. She tried to squeeze under the door, but there just wasn't enough room. She just had to wait….again! This time she would not go to the kitchen, she would not rest or sleep either. She would just wait…and she did, for a long, long time. But the man and his wife did not go back home right away after work. Instead they decided to go out for dinner, and they stayed out late. The ladybug waited till it was very dark and she was so tired. She gave up on them coming back and fell asleep. At about midnight the couple came back home. The ladybug woke up on the door slamming shut and saw the man and the woman walking in. Then she waited until they went to bed and fell asleep. The ladybug decided not to wait until the morning to do something. She did not want to fall asleep again and miss them leaving in the morning. She had thought of hiding in the woman's purse, but the purse was closed shut and she was unable to get in. Then she thought of the man's wallet, but she feared that when he put his wallet in his pants he might sit on her and squish her. She needed someplace to hide where she wouldn't be seen, but she also needed it to be something that the man or woman would take with them when they left the house. Then she noticed the man's hat. "That would be a perfect place," she thought. "I can hide inside the hat, all the way inside. Hopefully he won't shove his hat on really hard and squish me." Then she crawled to the topmost part of the hat and waited till the morning. In the morning the couple got dressed and went to work, but the man left his hat! The man and woman walked out but the hat stayed…with the ladybug inside! Poor ladybug. The man had forgotten his hat and when he noticed that he did he returned to the house to get it. The ladybug was still inside it although she was just about to get out. The man took the hat and gently placed it on his head. The ladybug sighed with relief. Then she realized something. How was she going to get out from under the hat unless the man took it off? The ladybug sure wasn't ready to wait any longer. She had already waited for two days to go back to her family and she wanted to go to them now. So, the ladybug jumped on the man's bald head and started tickling him on his scalp. The man felt his head starting to tickle and took his hat off to itch it. At that very moment the ladybug was ready and she flew out to freedom. "Free at last" she cried! And then she flew back home to her very worried family. Copyright © 2000 Goodnight Stories | |
The End | ||
The Teddy Bear | ||
By: | ||
| Once upon a time, there was a little boy, his name was Ben. On his first birthday, his parents got him a soft cuddly brown teddy bear. The little baby boy carried his teddy bear with him every where he went. At night the teddy bear always got to sleep next to the baby boy in his crib. Ben grew up and got his own bedroom and a big bed to sleep in. The teddy bear got to sleep next to him in bed every night. He was his favorite toy. Ben took his teddy bear everywhere he went. The teddy bear went with the boy to the zoo, all the parks in the area, and even to school. Ben became a teenager and he got more and more interested in video games, and going out with his friends. He stopped taking his teddy bear with him, which made the bear a little bit sad. Still, he would put his teddy bear next to him in bed every night. Then Ben started going camping with his friends. He would spend a few nights at a time at camp. The teddy bear missed his friend a lot on those days. When Ben was back from camping he would still remember his favorite toy and bring it to bed with him. Ben graduated from high school and had to go to a university in the big city. The boy was now a young man. He would come back home a couple of times every year for just a few days. Mom took all of Ben's toys and put them in a big box in the attic. But, the teddy bear was always special so Mom decided to put him on one of the empty shelves so that when Ben was back home to visit he could see his favorite bear. Ben's visits were too short and he spent most of his time visiting with his old friends, neighbors, and family. He would go to bed late at night, and often forgot to put the bear in bed anymore. The bear was so sad and missed the nice old days when he got to sleep every night next to Ben in his bed. Ben, now a young man, graduated from the university and got a job in the big city. He had his own place there and would only come to visit for a few hours on the weekends. Some weekends the teddy bear would not even get to see his friend. The teddy bear was so lonely. Many nights, he would sit alone crying in the dark, and dreaming of the days when he went everywhere with his friend and slept every night next to him. He always hoped that his friend would come to take him back to the big city, but it never happened. Ben met a very nice woman who worked with him and they both liked each other. They decided to get married, and after a year they had a little baby boy of their own. They loved their baby a lot and often brought him over to his grandparents' house. The baby boy was just as cute as his father had been when he was a baby. One day Ben remembered his favorite teddy bear and thought that his own little baby would love to have it. He ran to his old room, went straight to the shelf and grabbed his old friend the teddy bear. The bear was thrilled that his old friend had come to visit him, but could not imagine the nice surprise that awaited him. When Ben gave his old bear to his baby boy to play with, the baby was so happy he wouldn't leave it alone for the rest of the day. At the end of the day, Ben and his family said goodbye to his parents and went to their own cozy home. This time the teddy bear came with them. That night, and every night after that, the teddy bear got to sleep next to the baby boy in his crib. Just like his father, the baby boy would take the teddy bear with him every where he went. The teddy bear was so happy. Now he had a new family that loved him. His old friend and his new family loved him just as much as they possibly could. Copyright © 2000 Goodnight Stories | |
The End | ||
The Rabbit... | ||
By Ghost | ||
| * | One day Rabbit was taking a walk through the jungle and ran into Elephant, who was making a fine meal of the treetops. "Hello, brother," said Rabbit. "Fine day, isn't it?" Elephant paused to look down at the tiny little creature at his feet and snorted. "Leave me be, Rabbit. I don't have the time to waste on someone so small." Rabbit was shocked to be talked to in such a manner. He wasn't sure what to do so he left quietly to go and think about what had happened. As he walked along, he spied mighty Whale far out to sea and decided to ask her what she thought about Elephant's rudeness. He cupped his tiny paws and yelled as loud as he could, "Whaaaaale!! Come heeeeere!!" Whale swam over to see who was calling her and looked about. After a few minutes she spied tiny little Rabbit jumping up and down on a cliff. "Rabbit," Whale said impatiently, "Did you just call me over here?" "Of course," said Rabbit. "Just who do you think you are? You are far too small and weak to have anything to say to me." And at that she turned, flipped her huge tail, and set off back into the deep ocean. But just then Rabbit had an idea. He called out to her one more time, "Whale! You think that I am weak, but in fact, I am stronger than you! You wouldn't be so quick to ignore me if I beat you at Tug-of-War." Whale looked at him for a moment before falling into a fit of laughter. "Very well little one," said Whale. "Go get a rope and we will see who is stronger." Rabbit ran off to gather up the strongest and thickest vine he could. When he found it, he went to Elephant and said to the giant animal, "Elephant, you had no cause to treat me with such discourtesy this afternoon. I shall have to prove to you that we are equals. Elephant looked down between chews and chuckled. "And how will you do that, small one?" Rabbit stood up as high as he could, looked Elephant right in the eye and said, "By beating you at a game of Tug-of-War." Elephant laughed so hard he nearly choked on his leaves, but agreed to humor the tiny animal. He tied the vine around his huge, hefty waist, snickering the whole time. Rabbit took the other end and started off into the jungle. He called back to Elephant, "Wait until I say 'pull' and then pull with all of your might." Rabbit took the other end of the rope to Whale and said, "Tie this to your tail and when I say `pull' you swim with all of your might." Whale tied the vine to her tail, all the while smirking at Rabbit's foolishness. "I will now go and tie the other end to my own waist," said Rabbit, and hopped off into the jungle. Rabbit hid in the bushes and then called out, at the top of his lungs, "PULL!!" Elephant started to walk away with a smile on his face, but the smile soon turned to a look of surprise when the vine stopped following him. "My goodness," he said to himself, "Rabbit is much stronger than I expected!" The look of surprise soon became a frown as Elephant pulled harder and harder, unable to make the tough vine budge any further. Meanwhile, Whale began to swim away from the shore, but almost lost her breath when the vine pulled tight and refused to come with her. She pulled harder and harder, but she could not pull it any further. "That little Rabbit could not possibly be stronger than me," she said in outrage. Soon the vine could take no more strain and, with an ear-splitting sound, snapped into two pieces. When this happened, poor Elephant went sailing through the jungle and tumbled head over heels down a steep valley. The end that was tied to Whale caught up to her suddenly and she went sailing through the ocean and smashed into a very scratchy and very uncomfortable coral reef. Rabbit left without a word and never mentioned the matter again. Elephant and Whale were completely confused and never did figure out how such a tiny creature as Rabbit could have beaten the largest of the animals. And to this day, they are very careful to greet little Rabbit with great respect whenever they meet. | * |
The End | ||
