Tigedy is Saved by His Dinner

For 2-5 year olds
8:38 minutes
Vocabulary words are in red.

Tigedy smelling a rabbit. Animals have a much more developed sense of smell than humans.
* This story involves Tigedy hunting rabbit with the intention of eating it. He does not catch the rabbit.*


One day there was a tiger named Tigedy. He lived in the house of his good friend Teddy Bear. One day Tigedy said to Teddy Bear "Teddy Bear, I'm going out to find a rabbit for our dinner." Teddy Bear said "OK Teddy but remember it's winter time and the snow outside is very deep. Teddy said that's ok. I'm a snow tiger. I am very nimble on the snow and I can walk right on top of it. Tigedy went out the door and sure enough the snow was very deep but Tigedy was very light and sure footed. He managed to walk right on top of the snow.

Tigedy walked into the woods and he walked a long way until he got to a field where he knew rabbits sometimes lived. In the middle of the field was a great big tree all covered with snow. It looked like a white tree because of all the snow on top of it. It was a big redwood tree. Underneath the tree there was a rabbit. Tigedy could see him. But even more than that Tigedy could smell him. Tigedy decided he would sneak up on the rabbit and surprise him.

Tigedy got low down in the snow and used his white fur to stay camoflaged. Then he began to stalk the rabbit . (ken makes stalking movements) Slowly and carefully he moved toward the rabbit. Bit by bit. Inch by inch. Soon he was just a few feet away. He could see the rabbit's little nose twitching as he sniffed. Tigedy got ready to pounce. And then he pounced! But the rabbit smelled him just before he pounced. As he was in the middle of the air, leaping towards the rabbit the rabbit went right down his hole and under the snow. Instead of hitting the rabbit Tigedy ran into the tree. When he hit the tree snow shook loose from the branches above. Tons of snow that was sitting on the branches went (crazy falling noise by ken) right down on Tigedy's noggin' burying him all the way up to his eyes in the snow. Tigedy was under the snow and he went (crazy ken noise of shaking off snow -Will laughing like a lunatic).



"I'm so covered with snow!" he said. Then Tigedy realized "I am too deep in the snow. There's so much snow on me I can't move."

Just then he saw the rabbit come peaking up out of his hole. The rabbit didn't see Tigedy because Tigedy was covered in snow and the rabbit began to hop around. It hopped very close to T. Tigedy tried to get the rabbit but he couldn't do it. Instead he said "Hello Mr. Rabbit?"

The rabbit looked around and said "Is that snow bank talking to me?"

"Uh, no it's me Tigedy. I'm caught under all this snow."

"Aren't you the one who just tried to pounce on me?"

"Yes that was me."

"If I help you will you eat me."

Tigedy said "No I won't if you help me."

So the rabbit said "Alright I'll help."

The rabbit began to dig and dig and dig. But the rabbit only managed to uncover Tigedy's ear. That's because a rabbit is not very big.

He said "Hang on. I need to get my cousins."

So the rabbit went down the hole. In just a few minutes he came back with 20 more rabbits. They all came jumping up out of the hole and they dug around Tigedy and dug and dug and dug until Tigedy was free.


The rabbits said "What were you doing out here anyway?'

Tigedy said "I was looking for a rabbit for dinner."

The rabbits said "We don't want to be dinner."

Tigedy said "Don't worry, you won't be dinner now. Because you helped free me from that snow I'll never eat rabbits from here again. Because I owe you something. I owe you for getting me out of the snowbank."

The rabbit said "Well we were happy to do and I am glad to hear that you are not going to ty to have us for dinner.


Tigedy said "I won't but I still need a dinner or I'll go hungry!"


The rabbits said "Here we have something for you."

They went deep down into their underground warrens and they got carrots they had picked earlier that year. They brought a great big bunch of carrots out to Tigedy.

They said "Here you go, you can cook these in your stew pot at home. We love carrots. They're delicious."

Tigedy said "Thank you rabbits. That is so generous of you."

He picked up the carrots and headed back to Teddy Bear's cabin. When he got there Teddy Bear cut the carrots into a stew along with potatoes and peas and mushrooms and onions. And it was so good that they enjoyed the stew and went to sleep happy and with full tummies.

Tigedy Meets Blue Bear

2 to 5 years old
11:36 minutes
Tigedy the snow tiger sees a blue bear taking wood from the wood pile while staying at his friend Teddy Bear's house. Who is this bear? Why is he taking their wood? Listen along as Tigedy meets Blue Bear.

Vocabulary words are in red: captured, sneaking, leap, nervous, confront, introduce.

*There is a brief reference to Tigedy having escaped from a truck driven by men who had captured him.

One day there was a white tiger named Tigedy. Tigedy was a very good tiger and he grew up in a far away land. But he came to live in the United States in California near Teddy Bear and Spotty Spot.

Today Tigedy was living near Teddy Bear's house and Tigedy saw a person outside the window. Tigedy was curious. What's that person doing out there? Tigey went outside and peaked around the corner. It was another bear. A little blue bear. It had snowed recently and there was snow was covering the ground. The little blue bear had a sled. The little blue bear was dragging the sled over to Teddy Bear's wood pile. Tigedy thought "That's our wood pile." What's that blue bear doing over there? He thought he should ask Teddy Bear about it but Teddy Bear had gone to the market to buy bread and cabbage. So instead Tigedy watched the blue bear.

Tigedy didn't want anyone to know he was staying at Teddy Bear's house because he had recently escaped from a truck that was driven by men who had captured him. He had gotten away when the truck had a crash. So he watched the blue bear. The blue bear went to the wood pile and started piling wood right onto his sleigh. Tigedy thought "What is he going to do?" Then the blue bear grabbed the two ropes attached to the sled and began to pull and pull and pull. He started to drag the wood away into the woods.

Tigedy thought "He's taking the wood we need to keep ourselves warm!" He didn't know this blue bear so he followed him. But he didn't want the blue bear to see him so he climbed up into the trees and he went sneaking, sneaking along through the branches. From one tree to another Tigedy would leap. He would be on one tree, then he would go out on a branch. There would be another tree with its branch and he'd leap onto the next branch. Then he'd sneak, sneak and leap onto the next branch. Blue Bear had no idea Tigedy was up there and he dragged those logs on his sled. Soon the blue bear came to another little house in the woods. Tigedy watched him. The blue bear took the logs off his sled and into the little house. Soon there was a fire blazing in the fireplace and smoke coming out of the chimney. "He's burning our wood! What's going on?" Tigedy thought to himself.

Tigedy snuck away from the house and went back to Teddy Bear's house. When he got back Teddy Bear was there because he had returned from the market.

Tigedy said "Teddy Bear someone came and stole our wood today".

Teddy Bear said "Why would somebody steal wood from us? Who was it?"

Tigedy said "I don't know why he did it but it was a little blue bear."

"Oh Tigedy I know that little blue bear. Last week he came and helped me shovel all the snow from around the house. He also brought me bread that he had baked. Little Blue Bear knows how to make bread. In exchange for his help and the bread he gave me I told him he could take all the wood he needed from my wood pile. He is my friend."

Tigedy said "Oh I was so nervous about that. I saw him taking the wood but I didn't want to confront him about it. I am still in hiding and I don't want anyone to find me."

Teddy Bear said "It's ok. Don't worry. Blue Bear is allowed to take all the wood he needs. In fact why don't you and I have some of the bread he brought last week?"

Tigedy said "That sounds like a good idea." So Teddy Bear and Tigedy went inside. Teddy Bear took a great, big knife and he cut the bread into thick pieces. Then he put them in the toaster. When they came out all nice and hot and toasted he put butter on them and honey which bears love.

Teddy Bear said "Here Tigedy, take a bite." Tigedy took a bite and thought that Blue Bear sure knows how to make delicious bread.

Tigedy decided next time that Blue Bear came to pick up wood he would introduce himself and not sneak around about it. Sure enough, the very next day the blue bear came back for more wood. Tigedy jumped out of the house and said "Hello my name is Tigedy!" The blue bear was startled and jumped behind the wood pile.

Blue Bear said "Please don't hurt me!"

Tigedy said "I'm not going to hurt you. I am a friendly tiger."

The blue bear said "Phew, you scared me. Are you really friendly?"

Tigedy said "Yes."

So the blue bear came out and they shook paws together.

Tigedy said "You were afraid of me when you first saw me."

Blue Bear said "Yes."

"Well I was actually concerned about you the first time I saw you. I even followed you when you took wood. But now I know that it's ok for you to do that."

The blue bear said "Yes it is."

"well it is very nice to meet you."

Then the blue bear took a bag from his back and took out a big loaf of bread.

"Here I brought this in return for more of this wood."

He gave it to Tigedy.

"Thank you. The bread you make is delicious."

Blue Bear got very smiley about that. He liked being complimented on his bread. Then Tigedy went inside. The blue bear took the wood. That is the end of that story how Tigedy and Blue Bear met each other and became friends.

Seeking volunteers

I'm finding myself a bit swamped these days. Will asks for a new story pretty often! I record them, but I'm 30 stories behind on my attempts to transcribe them. If anyone cares to volunteer to help, I'll share the recordings!

Seleke Sees a Shipwreck

One day there was a girl named Seleke (sell-a-key). She lived in a house with her mother, not at the bottom of a cliff, and not at the top, but right in the middle about half way up. In the land above lived the Snarling Wolves. At the bottom of the cliff, beside the ocean, lived Ugly Giants.

It was night time. Seleke was in her bedroom. Her little bedroom window looked out over the sea. From it she could see many things.

There were great big waves on the ocean, and rocks in the water called shoals. Seleke's window could also see a tall, white lighthouse, called the Ptarmigan Light. The lighthouse shined a narrow beam of light in a big circle, to warn ships away from the rocks. The light meant, "Don't get too close! Danger!" because if ships hit rocks they can sink.

Seleke loved to watch the Ptarmigan Light shine its light around. When ever it was foggy, or rainy, or there was a storm, the Ptarmigan light would warn ships away from the dangerous shoals.

On this night Seleke went to bed to the sound of the lighthouse blowing its fog horn, like this (make a fog horn noise). Soon she fell asleep.

Seleke startled awake. It was late at night, and she would usually be sleeping, but a loud noise had woken her up.

There was a big storm happening outside! The wind blew. Her window shook. There was thunder, and lightning. (make crashes and such) It was the thunder that woke Seleke up.

Seleke looked out the window, down at the ocean below.

Seleke saw a ship! The wind was blowing so hard that the ship was having trouble steering. Then Seleke realized that the Ptarmigan Light was not shining. As she watched, the ship came closer and closer to the rocks.

"Mom! Mom!" said Seleke, "The light house is not shining."

Seleke's mother made her dress in warm clothes and a rain coat. She put on a big yellow hat, and big yellow boots. Then they lit lanterns and went outside into the wind and the rain.

When the lightning flashed they could see the ship. It had run aground on the rocks. Sailors were putting boats over the side and rowing towards shore. As they rowed, the ship was wrecked and sank below the waves.

"Those sailors need us." said Seleke's mother.

She got long ropes and lowered them over the cliff. When the sailors reached shore they climbed the ropes. Seleke brought each sailor back to the house. Soon the house was full of wet, cold sailors.

Seleke brought in wood for a fire, while her mother made hot chicken soup. The sailors were shivering with cold. When the fire got going, they all huddled around it, sipping their hot soup.

One sailor said, "Thank you for helping us. I am the first mate, Isaac Stern."

"What happened to the captain?" asked Seleke.

"We lost sight of the Ptarmigan Light, and the captain went down with the ship." said Isaac.

"The light was off," said Seleke, "I could not see it from my window."

"We saw the whole thing." said Isaac, "We were sailing through the storm, using the lighthouse to guide our course. Suddenly there was a big bolt of lightning from the sky. It hit the Ptarmigan light, kaboom! Then the light went out. It was so dark, and so rainy, we lost our way and hit the rocks. Now our ship is at the bottom of the ocean."

"You can all sleep here tonight." said Seleke's mother.

"Thank you." said Isaac. All the sailors said thank you.

"What was on your ship?" asked Seleke.

"We were carrying flashlights, and steam engine parts, and dump truck parts, and dolls." said Isaac, "Now they are below the waves, with our ship."

"I am sorry to hear that." said Seleke.

"So are we." said Isaac.

That night the sailors all slept on the floor in front of the fire. The next morning, Seleke woke up to the sound of hammers, and saws. Seleke found Isaac.

"What is going on?" she asked.

"We will be walking out of here soon," said Isaac, "But we wanted to show our gratitude. We are building a new room onto your house."

"But, why do we need a new room?" asked Seleke.

"Because," said her mother, "in four months you will have a new baby brother. This room is for him."

The next day the sailors finished the room and began their long walk home. It wasn't long before Seleke had a new baby brother. But that is another story.

The End
(c) 2008 Ken Demarest

Seleke Finds Paul a Rod

One day there was a girl named Seleke (sell-a-key). She lived in a house with her mother, not at the bottom of a cliff, and not at the top, but about half way up. Above lived Snarling Wolves, and beside the ocean lived Ugly Giants.

Seleke was outside weeding their little garden when up came a little man with a bushy beard and a conical hat. It was the Conductor who rode with Paul the steam engine.

Paul is the name of the steam engine that works the tracks near Seleke's house. Seleke loved Paul's bright paint and polished brass. Even though Paul wasn't very big, and only pulled one passenger car, Seleke thought he was the most handsome engine in the world.

"Seleke!" said the conductor, "I'm so glad I found you at home."

"Conductor," Seleke said, "Your cheeks are all red. You are breathing hard. What has happened?"

"Paul has thrown a rod!" said the conductor.

"What does that mean?" asked Seleke.

"It means a part of him has broken, and he can not move. He needs a new rod." said the conductor.

Seleke said, "There is a sunken ship off shore here. We helped the sailors of that ship one night, and they told me they had a cargo of Steam Engine parts, including rods!"

Seleke and the conductor looked down at the sea. The was no wind, so the water was very still and very clear. The sunken ship was easy to see.

The conductor said, "How will we lift such a heavy rod from the ocean?"

Seleke said, "I have an idea."

Seleke got out her purple kite. Up and up into the air it flew. The conductor asked, "What are you doing?" but Seleke just said, "Wait and see!"

Soon a very large cloud appeared in the distance. The cloud got closer and closer, and Seleke could see a big windmill on the cloud. It was her friend the miller, who sold flour to Seleke's mother so she could make pancakes.

Seleke tied a note to the kite. The wind blew the note up and up. After reading the note, the miller lowered a rope with a great big basket on the end. Seleke and the conductor got in, and the miller used his windmill to winch them up.

"Hello Seleke!" cried the miller.

"Hello Mr. Miller!" said Seleke, "We need your help."

So here is what they did. First, the miller guided his cloud over the sunken ship. Then, using a great big hook, they lowered a rope down to the wreck. Then they jiggled. And they jostled. And jiggled some more, until the hook snagged onto a Steam Engine rod.

The rod was very heavy. Using the mill's sails they hoisted up the rod, and put it on the cliff near Seleke's house.

"Thank you Mr. Miller!" said Seleke.

"Thank you indeed!" said the conductor.

"You are very welcome. Good luck fixing Paul." said the miller.

Then Seleke and the conductor slid down the rope and landed near the rod. Using a wheel barrow, they carried the rod along the cliff ledge. Soon they came to a little door set right into the cliff face. The conductor took our a great big key. He unlocked the door. Inside was a great big train station hollowed right out of the cliff.

Seleke and the conductor rolled the wheel barrow along the train tracks. Paul was far away, deep in the tunnels, and he needed their help.

"I am so glad to see you!" said Paul, "I hate being stuck in this tunnel all alone."

The conductor got out a great big tool box. In the box was a huge wrench, almost as tall as you are. He used it to take off Paul's broken rod, like this: (make exagerated wrenching motions)

Then he use the wrench to put the new rod on.

"That is better!" said Paul, "Seleke thank you for helping us. Would you like a free ride?"

"Definitely!" said Seleke, and they road around all afternoon.

The End
(c) 2008 Ken Demarest

Seleke and the Balloon

One day there was a girl named Seleke. She lived with her mother, not at the bottom of a cliff, and not at the top, but right in the middle half way up. Above lived the Snarling Wolves and below lived the Ugly Giants.

Today, Seleke was out weeding her garden. When you put plants into a garden, like vegetables or flowers, you want them to grow. But sometimes other plants come into the garden. Those are weeds, and you pull them out of the ground and throw them away.

Seleke had a beautiful flower garden. She grew many different kinds of flowers, and she was always very careful to weed. She was just thinking how she needed some new flowers when she heard a noise from above.

(make the noise of a hot air balloon burner)

(burn, burn) Seleke looked up. Above her she saw the biggest balloon she had ever seen! It was as tall as her house. Hanging below it was a great big basket, and in the basket, a man. He pulled a chain and a special device called a "burner" sent hot air up into the balloon.

"Is that a hot air balloon?" Seleke called.

"Indeed!" called the man, "But I am lost. Can you direct me to the land of the Snarling Wolves?"

"Why would you want to go there?" Seleke asked, "It is so very dangerous!"

"I am on a quest," said the man, "to find a very rare flower called the Wolf's Jaw Orchid. It grows only in the land of the Snarling Wolves."

"But if you go there, won't the wolves eat you?" Seleke asked.

"That is what my balloon is for!" said the man, "I plan to fly high above and spy out the Orchid with this." and he pulled out a great, big, long telescope as long as you are tall. It was shiny, and brass, and the biggest Seleke had ever seen.

Seleke said, "The land of the Snarling Wolves is just above us, at the top of this cliff."

"Thank you," said the man, "Is that your garden?"

"Yes it is." Seleke replied.

"I could use a person who understood plants." said the man, "Perhaps you could come with me."

"I would love to," said Seleke, "but we do not know each other."

"My name is Sir Peter Pirrigo Pillaster." said the man as he put out his hand to shake.

"And mine is Seleke." said Seleke as she shook his hand.

Seleke ran inside to ask her mother if she could go with Sir Peter to find the Wolf Jaw Orchid.

At first her mother thought it was a bad idea, but when she peeked out the window and saw Sir Peter she said, "Oh! It is Sir Peter. I know all about him. You can go, as long as you promise not to set foot in the land of the Snarling Wolves. Do you promise?"

"Yes." said Seleke.

She ran outside and hopped into the basket.

Sir Peter pulled on his chain and the burner went (burn, burn). Slowly the balloon rose into the air, higher, and higher, and up above the land of the Snarling Wolves.

Below, Seleke could see the Squirrel's tree above her house, and Wolf's Head Rock where she had once followed Captain Slipjack, and even the Wolf's den. But no Orchid.

"When we find the Orchid, we are not going to pick it." said Sir Peter, "I would not want to harm such a rare and beautiful thing. We are just going to pick some seeds."

Sir Peter Pirrigo Pillaster handed Seleke the telescope. Seleke looked through it and the ground seemed very close. It really worked well!

Sir Peter said, "We may have to search for quite a while, Seleke, so try to be patient. Just let me know if you see the Orchid."

Sir Peter was right. It was three hours before Seleke said, "I see it! I see it!"

"Excellent!" cried Sir Peter, "Now, all we need is an open area where we can land."

"But all I see are trees," said Seleke, "There is no open field."

Now balloons are delicate things. If they touch trees they can pop (make the noise) or get ripped, or even snag on the branches (show how snagging works on a shirt).

"This is quite a pickle!" said Sir Peter Pirrigo Pillaster, "How will we get to the Orchid?"

Sir Peter and Seleke thought and thought. Maybe they could fly far away and find a field, but then they would have to travel through Wolf Country to reach the Orchid. Finally Seleke had an idea.

"We can tie a rope to my ankles and dangle me from the balloon," she said, "Then you can lower me down and I will get the seeds from the Wolf's Jaw Orchid."

Sir Peter tied the rope securely to Seleke, and to the balloon. Then Seleke crawled out and lowered herself. She dangled by her ankles, like this (give an example). Her head was below her feet, and her long hair hung down as far as her arms could reach.

Sir Peter Pirrigo Pillaster opened the vent at the top of the balloon gently to let some hot air escape. Slowly the balloon began to descend.

When Seleke reached the Wolf's Jaw Orchid she reached inside and pulled out three white seeds.

Just then she heard, "Arooo! Arooo!"

It was a pack of Snarling Wolves. They had seen the balloon and followed it. When they smelled Seleke they came to investigate.

Seleke called up to Sir Peter, "Quickly! Raise the balloon! Up! Up!"

Sir Peter pulled on the chain for all he was worth. (buuuurn, buuuurn) went the burners. But balloons are not fast movers. The wolves were getting closer!

Then the balloon began to rise. As Seleke went up she realized that a bit of her hair was tangled in a bush. But she was pulled up anyway, and some hair was yanked out of her head. Worse yet, and Snarling Wolf jumped at her, but she was too high and the wolf missed.

Sir Peter pulled Seleke up with all his strength. Because he had put so much hot air into the balloon they were rising fast, and quickly entered a freezing cold cloud.

"Here are the seeds!" Seleke said.

"Quickly, pop them in your mouth!" said Sir Peter.

"Why?" asked Seleke.

"Because the seeds are very delicate. This freezing air will kill them."

Seleke popped a seed into her mouth, but it was so big that only one would fit. Sir Peter put the other two into his mouth, like this (pop them in and push your tongue into each cheek to show it).

Seleke said, (mumble as though your mouth is full) "We must get out of this cloud!"

Sir Peter pulled a cord to release hot air and mumbled, "I will lower us, Seleke."

Soon they were below the clouds and heading for the edge of the cliff and Seleke's house.

(mumble) "I see wolves below." said Seleke, "They are following us through the forest."

(mumble) "We will soon be away." said Sir Peter.

He was right. In no time they were back at Seleke's house, and the wolves were left up on the cliff's edge.

Sir Peter Pirrigo Pillaster said to Seleke, (mumble) "Thank you for helping me gain the seeds of the Wolf's Jaw Orchid. If you wish you may keep the seed in your mouth."

"Thank you!" said Seleke.

Then they said goodbye and Sir Peter floated away. Seleke went and planted the seed right away.

The next Spring she had a great, big, beautiful Wolf's Jaw Orchid. She was so proud.

And that is the story of Seleke and the Balloon.

The End
(c) 2008 Ken Demarest

Seleke Sees Pirates

One day there was a girl named Seleke (sell-a-key). Seleke lived in a house with her mother, not at the bottom of a cliff, not at the top, but right in the middle half way up. Above lived the Snarling Wolves, and below lived the Ugly Giants.

Today Seleke was out picking blueberries when she saw a ship on the horizon. Ships passed by from time to time, but this one looked different. It had big, black sails and a flew a black flag.

The ship got closer, and closer, and closer. It was a pirate ship! When the ship got close enough it weighed anchor, which means to drop a heavy piece of metal on a long chain over the side. The anchor would help keep the ship from floating away.

Then a rowboat launched from the big pirate ship. Seleke saw six sailors in the boat. Four of them rowed as a man said "stroke, stroke, stroke". That was how they kept their oars moving at the same time. Each time the man said, "stroke" the pirates would pull on their oars (show how oars are pulled, and say 'stroke' as you do it).

At the front of the boat was a tall man with a bushy black beard and a black hat. It was the pirate captain.

Seleke heard the captain say, "Men, if a giant comes, shout and row away to distract it while we can get up the cliff."

The pirates said, "Aye aye, Captain Slipjack."

When the boat reached shore Captain Slipjack and two pirates jumped to the sandy beach. The pirates carried long coils of rope, and grapples. They all ran to the bottom of the cliff.

Just then Seleke heard "Boom Thoom, Boom Thoom!" An Ugly Giant was coming down the beach! The pirates in the boat shouted and waved to get the giant's attention, then they started rowing out to sea. The giant ran down the beach. "Boom Thoom Boom Thoom!" and leaped into the water after the pirates.

"Stroke, stroke, stroke!" shouted the pirates as they rowed into the sea. The Ugly Giant waded up to his knees, but the pirates were out of reach. Then the Ugly Giant waded up to his waist. He was getting closer to the little rowboat! The pirates doubled their pace. "Stroke, stroke, stroke!"

By the time the water was up to the giant's neck the pirates were out of reach. They shouted and jeered at the giant, who shook his fist at them and returned to shore (show fist shaking).

While the giant was swimming after the boat, Captain Slipjack and his two pirates had been busy. They tied rope to a grapple, then threw it high onto the cliff. The grapple gripped and grabbed the rock, and the three men climbed up.

Seleke did not want to be seen by the pirates. She hid in a bush because she did not know whether they were good pirates, or bad pirates. Seleke knew that pirates with earrings in their left ear are bad, and pirates with a earring in their right ear are good. It is a very strict rule, and she waited to see.

When the pirates reached her level, she looked at their ears. All three pirates had earrings in their left ear. Bad pirates.

Seleke could hear their conversation.

"What are we here for, Captain Slipjack?" asked a pirate.

"That is for me to know, matey." said the Captain.

The pirates threw another grapple and climbed to the very top of the cliff, where the Snarling Wolves lived. Seleke climbed quietly behind.

When she reached the top she peaked over the edge. Captain Slipjack was looking at a map. The map showed the land of the Ugly Giants, and the forest of Snarling Wolves, and had a big 'X' on it.

"Next we head for the giant tree." said Captain Slipjack.

When they got to the giant tree, the Captain ordered one of his men, "Climb up this tree. Find a rock shaped like the head of a wolf. It is called Wolf's Head Rock."

The pirate had no trouble climbing the tall tree, because he was used to climbing up the mast of the pirate ship.

"Wolf's Head Rock, ahoy!" he shouted down. Ahoy means "I see it over there!"

"Keep your voice down," said the Captain. "There be Snarling Wolves about, and even your muskets won't save us if too many come."

The pirates all headed towards Wolf's Head Rock, and Seleke snuck after them. The rock was very big, shapes like the head of a wolf who is howling. The part that looked like a mouth was a big cave. At the entrance to the cave, lying on the ground, were some bones.

"Whose bones are these?" asked a pirate.

"Those be the bones of old Ivan." said Captain Slipjack, "That be what happens to them that cross me!"

The pirates went into the cave. Seleke snuck in behind them, being as quiet as she could. Using shovels, the men dug a big hole. Suddenly a shovel went 'bump' - it was hitting wood, not dirt. It was a treasure chest! When Captain Slipjack opened it, he pulled out a great big pearl.

When the pirates came out of the cave they found a surprise. Snarling Wolves were waiting outside the cave, a whole pack of them.

"Give 'em what for!" cried Captain Slipjack.

The pirates fired their muskets in the air. The loud noises startled the wolves, who backed away. Then the pirates ran, firing their muskets in the air. Blam! Blam! The wolves came after them, hungry, but they were scared of the loud noises.

Captain Slipjack and his pirates reached the edge of the cliff, with the wolves close after. Nobody noticed little Seleke sneaking behind. The pirates slid down the ropes, all the way to the beach. Whoosh!

The wolves stood on the edge of the cliff, barking at the pirates, but there was nothing they could do.

Seleke watched as the pirates got in their rowboat and returned to their ship. When the wolves got bored and left, Seleke slid down the rope.

When she got home her mom asked, "How was your day picking blueberries?"

Seleke said, "OK, I guess."

The End
(c) 2008 Ken Demarest

Seleke Makes Butter

One day there was a girl named Seleke (sell-a-key) who lived in a house with her mother. She lived not at the bottom of a cliff, not at the top, but half way up in a place called Betwickt. Above lived packs of Snarling Wolves, and below lived the Ugly Giants.

Today Seleke was out milking her goat. You probably get your milk from a cow, from a store, in a milk carton. But there are no stores near Seleke's house, and cows can't live on cliffs. Seleke's family kept mountain goats for their milk.

The goats were named Andi and Sandi. They had white curly hair, and they were both girls. They lived in a little shed near Seleke's house, and sometimes they ran around on the cliff eating whatever grass and twigs they could find.

As Seleke was milking she heard a deep, low rumble. She crept to the edge of the cliff and peaked over. Below she saw two Ugly Giants talking to each other.

The giant named Bok said, "Me so hungry. Smell goat, Shok."

The giant names Shok said, "We have plan. Found way up cliff!"

"Up cliff?" asked Bok.

"Yes," said Shok, "Up cliff. Get goats. Meet here at midnight."

"Midnight?" asked Bok.

"You deaf?" said Shok.

"Deaf?" asked Bok.

"Meet here. Midnight. Climb cliff. Steal goats." said Shok.

The two Ugly Giants walked away down the beach.

Seleke thought, "Oh no! The giants a planning to sneak up here and steal our goats. Tonight!"

Then she had an idea. Seleke milked both goats and poured all the milk into a great big butter churn. All day long she churned the milk. When she made butter, she would get more milk and churn it again. When the sun set Seleke's arms were aching. Her shoulders hurt so much she could hardly carry all the butter. But she did carry it, out to a big iron pot near the edge of the cliff. Beneath the pot she built a fire, and as the stars came out Seleke was stirring the melted butter.

Soon the moon rose overhead. It was midnight. On the beach below, Seleke heard the two giants come stomping up. Ugly Giant are too big to be sneaky, but since they are so big they don't really need to be.

"Climb cliff!" said Shok.

"Steal goats!" said Bok.

Seleke saw the giants climbing up. Although they were tall, the cliff was much taller. The giants grunted and struggled to climb. When they were nearly at the top Seleke tipped over he huge pot of butter. It ran down the cliff, coating the rocks and the giants.

The slippery butter made the giants lose their grip. First Shok slipped off the rock. He fell right into Bok, who also lost his grip and 'ker-boom!' both giants slammed into the beach below. They got up, tried to climb again, got a little way up and 'ker-boom!' slipped to the bottom. Again they climbed a little way, but the butter was too slippery and again they crashed 'ker-boom!' into the sand.

The Ugly Giants gave up. As they walked down the beach Seleke heard them licking their fingers and saying, "Butter... yum!"

The End
(c) 2008 Ken Demarest

Seleke Cures the Hiccups

One day there was a girl named Seleke (sell-a-key). She lived in a house not at the bottom of a cliff, and not at the top, but half way up. Above lived the Snarling Wolved, and below, near the ocean, lived the Ugly Giants.

Today Seleke was out flying her biggest kite. It was shaped like a huge albatross and weighed almost as much as she did. Seleke loved flying this kite, because it could fly higher and lift more weight than any of the others. But today, that would get her in trouble.

As she flew the kite dark clouds gathered over the ocean. The wind got stronger, and suddenly 'whoosh!' the wind caught her kite. Seleke was pulled off her feet. The kite lifted her over the edge of the cliff, and Seleke glided gently to the beach below. She was in the land of Ugly Giants.

Worried a giant might see her kite she reeled it in. Then she went to the cliff, but she could not find any way up!

Boom Thoom, Boom Thoom! Seleke heard a giant coming down the beach. He was very tall, and bald, and had a hook shaped scar on his face. As he walked she heard him whistling, but the whistling was interrupted by 'hic', and then again by 'hic'.

The Ugly Giant walked right up to where Seleke was hiding, but he did not see her. He took out a fishing pole and began to fish. But then Seleke heard a loud 'hiccup!' The giant hiccuped so hard that he dropped his fishing pole. Frustrated, he picked it up again but 'hiccup!' he dropped it again.

Seleke giggled. The giant heard her, turned around, and grabbed her up in his big dirty hand. His skin smelled of fish.

"Why you laugh?" the giant said, "Maybe I eat you!"

But then the giant hiccuped again and dropped Seleke on the beach. Quick as a wink he picked her up again. "I eat you right now!" and he began to move her toward his mouth but 'hiccup!' he dropped her again.

"This pathetic!" said the giant. "Two weeks I have these hiccups. Not even able eat little girl!"

"I can help cure your hiccups," Seleke said, "if you will help me get back up to my home."

The Ugly Giant thought a moment, and said, "What I need do?"

"Close your eyes," said Seleke, "and I will cure your hiccups."

The giant closed his eyes. Seleke picked up two large shells and climbed quietly up the giant's arm. She climbed onto his shoulder, and stood right beside his ear. Then she took the two shells and 'bam!' smashed them right beside his ear.

"Oh!" exclaimed the giant, "You startled me!"

"Do you still have your hiccups?" asked Seleke.

The giant paused. He looked about. He waited. No hiccups!

Then he picked up Seleke. He picked up her kite. The giant said, "Girl hold kite!"

With a great big heave the giant tossed Seleke high up in the air! Far, far up she went, holding onto her kite. The kite was so big, she glided safely down to her own ledge, safe and sound.

"Thank you!" Seleke waved to the giant.

"No thank me." said the giant, "Next time I no have hiccups. Maybe eat you."

Seleke thought about his words, as she walked safely home.

The End
(c) 2008 Ken Demarest

Seleke Station

One day there was a girl named Seleke (sell-a-key) who lived in a house with her mother, not at the bottom of a cliff, and not at the top, but half way up. At the cliff's top lived Snarling Wolves, and below, near the ocean, lived the Ugly Giants.

Today Seleke's mother showed her a letter.

"It is asking whether we want a steam train station near our house. We can check 'yes' or 'no'. What should we do?"

Seleke thought about it. "Lets check 'yes'!", she said.

About a month later Seleke was outside milking the goat. Far away she heard "clink clink clink, clang clang clang."

Seleke didn't know what was making the noise! It was very faint. She started walking towards the sound. Then she heard it again. "clink clink clink, clang clang clang" Soon she came to a place in the cliff where she could hear the sound loudly. She pressed her ear to the rock. "clink clink clink, clang clang clang." Whatever it was, it was coming right through the rock, and it was coming her way.

Seleke stepped away and "clink clink clonk!" a hammer broke through the rock. The a head poked out. It was a little man with a bushy beard and a tall, conical hat.

"Are you Seleke?" asked the little man.

Without waiting for an answer he hammered open a bigger hole, until it was about the size of a person.

Seleke ran back home and got her mom. When she returned there was a brand new door in the cliff wall. It opened, and the little man said, "Please do come it, and see the new station."

Inside the cliff had been hollowed out into a big cave. There were torches on the walls. A railroad track ran to a huge turntable. A big brass chain hung from the ceiling. Just then Seleke saw a light far down the track. She heard "chuff-chuff chuff-chuff chuff-chuff chuff!" An engine was coming!

When the engine pulled up Seleke could see that it was a brightly colored steam engine about as tall as the door. Fresh paint of red and green gleemed on the engine, and all its brass was polished to reflect the torch light. There was only one passenger car.

"This is Paul," said the little man, "and you can call me The Conductor."

"Nice to meet you!" said Paul.

"Very nice to meet you!" said Seleke.

Gears creaked and metal groaned as the great big turntable began to spin. Soon Paul and his passenger car had turned completely around, ready to race down the track.

"Since this is a brand new station," said the conductor, "you are entitled to a free ride so that you can see what our service is like."

Then he pulled out two large, brass tickets and gave them to Seleke and her mom.

"All aboard!" he shouted, and they all climbed on.

"Chuff... chuff... chuff... chuff chuff-chuff chuff-chuff" Paul began to move. Soon they were racing down the tunnel, the wind whipping through Seleke's hair. Paul's steam flew overhead. They could feel the heat of his mighty engine.

As they chuffed along Paul blew his whistle in a merry tune, "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"

Ahead in the dark tunnel they saw a light. Seleke smelled ocean salt in the air. The train raced past giant windows, carved in the cliff wall. Outside, they could see the beach and the ocean. Whales in the water sent spray high into the sky. Then the windows were gone, and the train was wrapped in the darkness of the tunnel again.

Soon they returned to the station. Chuff chuff Sssssssss, said Paul as they came to a stop.

"Thank you for the ride!" said Seleke.

The Conductor said, "If you ever need to go someplace, just pull this brass chain."

Then he fished a big key out of his pocket. It was as long as Seleke's hand.

"Don't forget to lock the door on your way out!"

Seleke and her mom waved good bye, then went out the door in the cliff. Using the big key, Seleke's mom locked the door. It had been a big day.

The End
(c) 2008 Ken Demarest

Seleke Tries a Pet

One day there was a girl named Seleke. She lived in a house with her mother, not at the top of a cliff, and not at the bottom, but right in the middle half way up. Above was a forest filled with Slavering Wolves, and below a beach inhabited by Ugly Giants.

It was a windy day. The rainy season was over. Warm winds blew from the south, sending the clouds away. It was perfect weather for kite flying.

Seleke got out a special kite today. It was shaped like a three masted sailing ship, all made of silk. Its hull was black, and its sails were every color of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple.

Soon she had her kite flying high in the air. The wind was steady, and strong. When lunch time came Seleke tied the kite to a little tree and let it fly itself. Sure enough, when she returned after lunch the kite was still flying.

Seleke put little pieces of paper on the string and watched as the wind blew them up and up, all the way to the kite.

When the sun reached the ocean it started to get dark. Seleke tied her kite to a little tree again, hoping it would fly all night long, and went inside. That night in bed Seleke looked out her window. The little kite was visible by the light of the full moon, flying bravely in a starry sky.

When Seleke woke the next morning the sky was empty. Her kite was nowhere to be seen!

Running to the little tree, Seleke traced the string, right over the edge of the cliff. Hoping her kite hadn't been ruined, Seleke pulled up the string. She couldn't see over the edge of the cliff, but the kite felt a lot heavier than yesterday.

What should come over the edge of the cliff but a big pinchy crab! Not her kite at all, a crab was gripping the end of the kite string in its claw.

Seleke thought the crab was cute, so she brought it inside and put it in a big glass bowl for a cage. She brought the crab sea shells for decoration, and put some sand in the bowl so it would feel at home. But Seleke was not sure what crabs ate. She put in carrots, and some lettuce, and even a little piece of meat. She looked at her crab on and off all day long.

The next morning the crab hadn't eaten anything. It looked sluggish, and sad. Seleke thought, "Maybe keeping a crab as a pet is not a good idea. If I went a whole day without food I would be really hungry. I better let it go before it starves."

So Seleke put the crab back on her kite line and lowered it back down the cliff. When she pulled the string back up she was surprised to find that her kite was back on the line!

The End
(c) 2008 Ken Demarest

Seleke the Spider

One day there was a girl named Seleke (sell-a-key). She lived in a house with her mother, not at the top of a cliff, and not at the bottom, but right in the middle. Above was the land of Snarling Wolves, and below was a beach inhabited by Ugly Giants.

It was breakfast time, and Seleke was sitting at the breakfast table with her mother. Breakfast at Seleke's house is a little different than breakfast might be at your house. For plates they used sand dollars gathered from the beach of the Ugly Giants. They drank orange juice from sea shells. The handles of their forks and knives were made of deer antlers from the land of Snarling Wolves.

They were eating blueberry pancakes. Seleke loved to eat butter on her pancakes. In fact, Seleke liked butter so much she would try to eat it all on its own. Today she reached across the table and put her fingers right in the butter, but her mother scowled,

"Seleke! You know you are not allowed to eat butter straight. It is only for putting on other things!"

"All right mom." Seleke said.

When Seleke picked up her sea shell cup to have a sip of water it slipped from her buttery hands. Crash! The shell smashed on the floor and broke into many pieces. Seleke felt tears coming, but her mother said, "Butter sure is slippery. Come help me clean this up."

Seleke felt better helping her mother sweep up the broken shell.

Later that day, Seleke was near the cliff edge throwing feathers over the edge. The feathers floated down and down, spinning in lazy circles as they dropped. Far below, Seleke could see the beach, and on the beach, shells. She thought of the cup she had broken that morning and decided she would get a new one.

So Seleke got a rope, and put on her climbing harness, and she took off her shoes so that her feet could grip the rock. She tied off the rope and clipped in, then double-checked everything. Jump, jump, jump she rapelled down the rope and soon she was on the beach.

The beach was covered with bleached drift wood. Long fronds of brown kelp lay baking in the bun. Shells of many sizes lay scattered about. Many of the shells were very large, too big for Seleke to pick up. But she looked around and found one that was just right. She felt good knowing that she could replace the shell she broke.

Just then Seleke heard Boom Thoom, Boom Thoom. An Ugly Giant was coming! She grabbed her shell and ran to the rope. Then Seleke had an idea! She ran back and picked up eight of the long, brown fronds of sea weed.

By the time the Ugle Giant reached her she was only up to the height of his chin. But Seleke had been busy. She had put all eight fronds into her clothing: Two out the neck two out her sleeves, two in her waist band, and two out the legs of her pants.

Seleke could see the giant's beard stubble. Seleke felt his hot breath as he said, "You will make a tasty meal!"

"Why how strange!" said Seleke. "I did not know Giants ate spiders!"

"What you say?" said the Ugly Giant. "You no spider. You person. Yum."

"Is that so?" asked Seleke. "How many limbs does a person have?"

"Uhhh..." said the giant. He scratched his filthy noggin. "Four. Two arms, and two legs."

"And how many do I have?" asked Seleke, wiggling her eight kelp fronds.

"Uhhh..." said the giant. His eyesight was not very good. He counted the fronds. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight."

"See!" said Seleke, "I am a spider. Not good for eating."

"But you talk." said the Ugly Giant. "Spider no talk."

"But look, I'm hanging from my web. Do persons spin a web?" Seleke asked. She bounced up and down on the rope to make her point.

"Uh, no. You must be spider." said the Ugly Giant. He turned away dejected.

Seleke scrambled up to the top of her rope. When she came into the house her mom asked her what she had been doing to get the shell. Seleke said, "Oh, nothing special!"

The End
(c) 2008 Ken Demarest

Seleke is Visited by the Miller

One day there was a girl named Seleke. She lived in a house near the ocean with her mother, not at the bottom of a cliff, and not at the top, but right in the middle. Below the cliff lived Ugly Giants, and above lived Snarling Wolves.

Today Seleke asked her mother, "Can we eat pancakes for breakfast?"

Seleke's mother replied, "I am sorry, but we are out of flour. I can not make pancakes without flour."

Seleke was very unhappy about this. She really liked pancakes.

"But," said Seleke's mother, "we can have pancakes tomorrow."

"Why?" asked Seleke, "I thought you said we were out of flour."

"Because," said her mother, "today you will be getting more flour for us."

"How?" asked Seleke.

"Come with me." said her mother.

First, Seleke's mother got out a large bolt of red silk. Using two sticks they make a very large kite and tied a tail on it, with many bows. Then they attached a strong, thin string.

Seleke carried the kite outside. The wind from the sea was always very strong, and with the kite in her hands Seleke was nearly blown off her feet.

Seleke's mother put some money in an envelope and attached it to the kite. Holding the kite string Seleke ran. The kite flew high into the air. Seleke played out the string, bit by bit, and the kite rose ever higher, the little envelope of money dangling below.

"Now wait," said Seleke's mother, and she went back inside the house.

Seleke did not like waiting. But she liked flying kites, so the waiting was easier. The sun reached noon, and was almost starting to set when Seleke saw a strange cloud out over the ocean. The cloud was coming towards her very fast.

When it got closer Seleke thought she saw something on it, but that couldn't be true, because there is nothing among the clouds but more clouds. Still, it got closer and closer.

Then Seleke saw that on the cloud was a great big windmill. The mill had four large arms on the front, each with a great big sail on it. A man stood by the mill, at the edge of the cloud, looking over the edge at Seleke and waving.

Seleke waved back. The man waved at her. She waved. He waved. Then she realized he was waving for a reason. Seleke flew her kite to the edge of the cloud.

The man used a gaff to snare the string of the kite. Then he removed the envelope of money and tied something new to the kite. It was heavy, and the kite dipped down, but kept flying.

Seleke reeled the kite in to see what it was. The man had attached a big sack of flour! Seleke ran inside to tell her mother.

Seleke's mother took the flour as if she had been expecting it.

"Now we can have pancakes for breakfast tomorrow!" Seleke said. She ran outside and waved at the miller as his cloud began to drift away.

The End
(c) 2008 Ken Demarest

Seleke Regains the Bucket

One day there was a girl named Seleke. She lived in a house with her mother, not at the bottom of a cliff, and not at the top, but right in the middle. Below the cliff lived Ugly Giants, and above lived Snarling Wolves.

One morning Seleke's mother said, "Seleke, I am making pancakes this morning. Bring me some water from the cistern."

During the rainy season water rolled down the cliffs and collected in a big slate cistern behind Seleke's house. But this was the dry season, when rain never came.

When Seleke got to the cistern she saw that it was nearly empty. It had not rained for many days, and Seleke knew that no more rain would come for many days.

Seleke scooped up the last of the water. Her mother made delicious blueberry pancakes with maple syrup. Seleke was very happy.

But that night, as she lay in bed, Seleke was troubled. She thought about the cistern, and how it was empty.

Luckily Seleke's family had another way to get water. They could lower a bucket down the cliff into a water fall that gushed from the cliff's face. Unluckily, Seleke had lost the bucket many weeks ago and now it sat at the bottom of the cliff.

Seleke decided that she would have to get the bucket. Very quietly she snuck out the front door and into the moonlight.

Seleke got a long rope. She tied it to a great big rock and began to climb down the cliff. Below her the gushing waterfall sparkled from the light of the moon.

Just as she reached the water fall she saw an Ugly Giant coming up the beach. It carried a heavy club made from a tree trunk, and a great big torch. The torch's fire was bigger than Seleke's whole fireplace. The giant was so tall he could have reached up and grabbed Seleke off the rope.

Seleke hid under the gushing waterfall, and hoped the giant would not see her.

Boom Thoom! Boom Thoom! The giant's footsteps approached. Seleke could see nothing through the rushing waterfall. Soon the orange glow of the giant's torch lit the falls. Seleke held her breath. Then the orange glow moved away. When Seleke peaked out she saw the giant walking away down the beach.

When she got to the bottom of the cliff Seleke looked around for her lost bucket. It was not there. Instead she saw many large sea shells. Some were as big as her foot, some were bigger than a chair.

All of the shells were occupied by strange creatures called Hermit Crabs. Hermit crabs have pinchy claws. One claw is very big and can give you a big pinch. The other is teeny tiny and doesn't hurt at all.

Hermit crabs live in sea shells that were made by other animals, like snails and conches.

As Seleke watched one of the Hermit crabs walked over to another, raised its big pinchy claw, and said, "Humminy hubbidy, humminy hubbidy. Get out!" The other crab raised it's claw, but it was smaller, so it left its shell and the bigger clawed crab moved in.

The hermit crabs didn't look very interested in her. Mostly they walked around looking for nicer shells, and the ones with bigger claws usually got what they wanted from those with smaller claws.

Then Seleke saw her bucket. As she got close to it her bucket moved. Then it moved again. A hermit crab had decided her bucket was a great place to live and moved in. When she got close the Hermit crab retreated inside the bucket. How would Seleke get her bucket back?

As she stood thinking Seleke heard something. Boom Thoom! The giant was returning. Quickly Seleke found a great big shell. She hid inside.

The giant stopped near her. She could hear him sniffing the air. Then the giant got down on his hands and knees and looked very closely at all the shells. The hermit crabs hid and Seleke did too.

After turning a few shells over, the giant got up and stomped off.

Then Seleke had an idea.

Seleke dragged a shell near the hermit crab that was in her bucket, and climbed in. She picked up a big piece of drift wood and waved it around.

"Humminy hubbidy, humminy hubbidy." Seleke said, "Get out!"

Sure enough the crab in her bucket raised his claw, but Seleke's drift wood claw was bigger. The little crab left the bucket.

Seleke grabbed the bucket and began climbing up the rope. On the way up she stopped at the water fall, filled her bucket, and continued to climb. The water made the bucket heavy, but Seleke was determined to get to the top.

The next morning when Seleke's mom asked for water for pancakes there was plenty.

The End
(c) 2008 Ken Demarest

Seleke Loses the Bucket

One day there was a girl named Seleke. She lived in a house with her mother, not at the bottom of a cliff, and not at the top, but right in the middle. Below the cliff lived Ugly Giants, and above lived Snarling Wolves.

Seleke's house was very simple. She did not have things like electricity for lights, or television, or the internet. No water pipes came to her house. Instead they kept water in a big water barrel by the side of the house. Today the water barrel was empty.

Seleke's mother said, "Today you must learn how to get water."

Seleke's family used water for all sorts of things! They used it for cooking, and for washing their hands, and to take baths, and even for flushing away their poop and pee. Without water they would get very thirsty, and very dirty.

"We only have one bucket.", said Seleke's mother, "Take the bucket, and take this rope."

Seleke and her mother walked to the edge of the cliff. It was the rainy season. Dark clouds hovered above, and the ground was very muddy. "Squish squish." said their shoes as they walked.

When they reached the cliff edge they both got down on their bellies and together they peaked over.

"Look down there," said Seleke's mother, "do you see that waterfall?"

"Yes mom," said Seleke, "I see it way below us, gushing out of the cliff."

"That is where we get our water. Be careful to hold on tight to the rope - the force of the water can pull the bucket pretty hard."

Seleke tied the rope to her bucket. Then she lowered the bucket over the edge of the cliff (make the motions of doing this). Down and down it went. Soon, the bucket was near the waterfall. A bit more, and the water was gushing into the bucket.

Seleke nearly lost her hold on the rope! (make the motions) The bucket slipped, but Seleke grabbed tight to the rope. The bucket was full, and became very heavy. Seleke struggled to hold on. With all her strength she pulled the bucket up and up. (make the motions)

Suddenly the rope became slack. Seleke's knot had come loose. The bucket plunged downward, lost.

Seleke began to cry.

"That was our only bucket!" cried Seleke's mother. "How will we get our water now?"

"Mom, if you lower me down on the rope I can get the bucket back." Seleke said through her tears.

"No, that is too dangerous." said her mother as she hugged Seleke in comfort, "You might slip, or be eaten by an Ugly Giant."

Seleke knew her mother was right. To make things even worse, thunder rumbled and it started to rain. Wind blew from the sea, sending the rain against the cliff.

Seleke and her mother walked back to their house. The rain mixed with Seleke's tears.

When they got inside their clothing was wet all through. They made a fire and hung their clothes up to dry. Drip, drip, drip the water droplets fell onto the bricks of the hearth, making little puddles.

Seleke had an idea.

The next morning Seleke went out early and walked to a part of the cliff made of slate. Slate is a very flat rock like a pancake. You might have seen slate up on rooves. Seleke collected as much slate as she could.

Soon it began to rain. Seleke saw that the rain water was running down the cliff face above her house. Seleke arranged her pieces of slate like this (make a bowl with your hands) into the shape of a great big bowl called a cistern. Then she made slate gutters (make a V with your hands) so that the water from the entire cliff face would run down and collect in the cistern.

Before long the cistern was full of rain water.

Seleke showed her mom, who said, "What a smart daughter I have! I am so proud of you."

And that is how Seleke lost their only water bucket.

The End
(c) 2008 Ken Demarest

Seleke Goes too far for Eggs

One day there was a girl named Seleke. She lived in a house with her mother, not at the bottom of a cliff, and not at the top, but right in the middle. Below the cliff lived Ugly Giants, and above lived Snarling Wolves.

Seleke's house didn't have any electricity for lights, or gas for heat. To keep things cold they used real ice in an ice box. They couldn't go to a store and buy food, because there were no roads and no stores. Instead, they would collect eggs from the nests of birds who lived on the cliffs.

Seleke's mother was pregnant, and it was almost time for the baby to arrive. Her tummy was very big, and it was hard for her to walk, and she felt tired all the time.

Seleke said, "Mom, let me gather the eggs today. You look like you need the rest."

Seleke's mother said, "Here, take this basket to carry the eggs, and whatever you do, don't go near the Quartz Cave."

"OK Mom." Seleke said.

Seleke took the basket and went outside. There were lots of nests near the cabin, and pretty soon she had plenty of eggs.

That night Seleke's mom made a nice dinner of deviled eggs with paprika, and everyone went to bed with a full stomach.

The next day Seleke's mom looked even more tired.

Seleke said, "I will go get eggs again."

Seleke's mother said, "Take the basket, and whatever you do, don't go near the Quartz Cave."

Seleke went outside. The nests near the cabin were all empty. In fact, every nest Seleke checked was empty. She walked farther, and farther from the cabin, checking every nest.

Soon she found herself near the Quartz Cave. There were plenty of nests above the cave entrance, and they seemed to have eggs in them! Seleke climbed up onto the glittering quartz, but her foot slipped. She slid into the cave.

Down and down she went. The quartz was like a bunch of twisty, winding slides that branched and looped. Seleke was going fast. Her hair blew in the wind. At the bottom she popped out onto a sandy beach.

"That was fun!" Seleke thought, but then she realized she was in the land of the ugly giants. She tried to climb back up the quartz, but it was too slippery!

Just then she felt the ground shake. Boom Thoom! It was a giant, walking along the beach right towards her. Seleke wanted to hide, but the beach was very empty. She put her back to the cliff and stayed very still.

The giant walked into view. He was taller than her house. His head was bald, and he carried a great big club. His face had many scars on it from fighting, and his right ear was missing.

The giant walked right up to her and picked her up in his giant hand.

Seleke looked right at the giant and said, "I am not for eating!"

The giant said, "Well, we'll see about that."

As they walked down the beach, the giant hummed to himself. Seleke did not like being in his hand. It was sweaty and dirty. Giants don't clean their nails, and they file them to points like animal claws.

As they walked the giant took out a handkerchief and blew his nose into it. It sounded like a garbage truck compressing trash. The handkerchief was enormous, and stained with colors of yellow and green.

Soon they came to an enormous lean-to with a hole in the roof. Smoke rose up through the hole, drifting lazily up the cliff face. The lean-to was made from entire trees ripped from the ground and leaned against the cliff. Stretched across the entrance was the skin of a whale.

Again Seleke looked right at the giant and said, "I am not for eating!"

The giant said, "Well, we'll see about that."

Inside the lean-to the giant put Seleke in a great ceramic pitcher. The sides were so steep and tall that she couldn't get out. She heard the giant putting logs on the fire. Then she heard him put water in a big metal kettle. The kettle went onto the fire, and soon Seleke could hear water boiling.

Then the giant dumped her out of the pitcher onto a great big table. Below, Seleke could see the fire and the kettle of boiling water. Steam rushed up from the kettle.

Seleke looked right at the giant and said, "I am not for eating!"

The giants said, "I am not hungry right now, and anyway you are too skinny. I have decided to keep you here as my slave to do my work. You will never see your home again."

Seleke nearly burst into tears, but she thought it was a bad time for such things. Seleke looked at the giant. She looked at the boiling water. Steam rushed up through the hole in the lean-to's roof, and beyond sea birds circled on rising thermals. Seleke wished she were free like those birds, and not trapped by an ugly giant.

Then Seleke had an idea.

"Let me clean your hand kerchief for you, oh mighty giant!" Seleke said.

The giant fished his handkerchief out of his pocket. It was covered in a dry crust of disgusting colors.

Seleke did not want to touch it, but she had to. She tied the ends of the handkerchief beneath her arms, first the left arm, and then the right. Seleke held the handkerchief above her head like a parachute and jumped off the table towards the boiling water.

Above her the handkerchief caught the rising thermals of the steam. It balooned up like a parachute and Seleke was swept upward and out through the hole. Up and up she rose, passing the nests of many birds. Seleke grabbed as many eggs as she could.

Seleke pulled down on different sides of the handkerchief and soon learned how to steer. She landed on a ledge not far from her house.

Seleke took off the giant's handkerchief and hid it behind a rock.

When she got home, her mother asked her, "What took you so long?"

Seleke said, "Oh, nothing mom. Here are the eggs!"

That night Seleke's mom made a nice dinner of deviled eggs with paprika, and everyone went to bed with a full stomach.

The End
(c) 2008 Ken Demarest

Seleke and the Squirrel

One day there was a girl named Seleke. She lived in a house with her mother, not at the bottom of a cliff, and not at the top, but right in the middle. Below the cliff lived Ugly Giants, and above lived Snarling Wolves.

One morning, after Seleke had eaten breakfast, she sat down to do some reading. It was a book about a [boy/girl] named [your child's name] who lived in a far away land called [your town]. Seleke was very interested in [your child's name's] adventures.

As she read Seleke heard a sudden (rap on wood once with your hand). She looked up, but didn't see anything. Then it came again (rap twice). Seleke looked around, but again she couldn't see anything making the noise. She went back to reading.

Suddenly she heard (rap a lot). It was coming from the roof! She got up and went outside to see what was disturbing her reading. When she looked at the roof nothing was there except a few acorns. What could be making that noise?

As she watched more acorns fell from the sky and landed (rap rap) on the roof, then rolled down and landed at her feet. Looking way up the cliff she saw a big tree, and in the tree was a squirrel. The squirrel was collecting nuts for the winter, but he was dropping many of them out of his nest and onto Seleke's house.

Seleke wanted to read, but the banging of the nuts was too bothersome. She decided to do something about it. She gathered up all the nuts she could find into a basket.

Seleke walked along the cliff ledge to where a long, strong vine hung down. Vine's didn't always hang from above, but it was the rainy season and everything was growing and growing. Seleke slung the basket over hear shoulder and began to climb up and up the vine.

After a few minutes she was near the top. When she peaked over she saw a big snarling wolf. It was not one of the baby wolves, this one was full grown and had great big teeth (make teeth with your hands).

The wolf hadn't seen her, and Seleke ducked. She waited, and tried to decide whether to give up because the wolf was so scary. After a few minutes she peaked up again, and the wolf was gone. But which way had it gone? She did not know.

Seleke climbed over the edge and stood up. She looked around. She listened. Then she started walking as quietly as she could towards the tree.

When she reached the tree she looked right up at the squirrel and said, "Hey, squirrel, stop dropping nuts on my roof!"

The squirrel looked down and said, "I am not dropping them on purpose, I assure you" (bring your hands to your chin like paws, and chitter with your mouth, blink your eyes, and look nervously about)

"I don't want to lose these nuts!" said the squirrel, "but they just keep slipping out of my paws."

Seleke said, "Oh! Well, that is different. Maybe I can help you."

"That is very nice of you," said the squirrel (make the face), "What is your idea?"

"Do you have cloth?" Seleke asked.

"Yes." said the squirrel. (make the face)

"Do you have rope?" Seleke asked.

"Yes." said the squirrel. (make the face)

"May I climb up?" Seleke asked.

"Certainly." said the squirrel. (make the face)

Below the squirrel's nest were other branches. Seleke climbed up, and using the cloth and rope she made a net to catch any nuts the squirrel dropped. When she was done the squirrel said, "Why, that is terrific! Now if I drop a nut I can go get it from the net!"

Just then Seleke and the squirrel heard, "Arroooooo" (howl like a wolf).

The wolf was coming. It had smelled Seleke! Wolves prefer to hunt in groups called packs, and the wolf had gone to get some friends.

Seleke said, "Oh no, the wolves! There is nowhere for me to hide."

"Hide inside my nest!" said the squirrel, "They will never find you there."

Seleke climbed into the squirrels nest. It was a bit small for her, but she managed to fit.

The wolves ran up to the bottom of the tree.

"Come down from your tree, squirrel, so that we can eat you!" they said.

"I will not come down," said the squirrel.

"Have you seen a little girl?" asked the wolves, "If you tell us where she is, we will eat her instead of you."

"Yes, I have seen her." said the squirrel.

Inside the squirrel's nest Seleke thought "Oh no! The squirrel will give me away!"

"I have seen her, and she went that way!" the squirrel said, and he pointed away from Seleke's vine.

The wolves snarled and went running off in the wrong direction.

"Thank you!" said Seleke. She climbed down the tree and ran as fast as she could to her vine. Seleke climbed down. When she got to her house she sat in the big, comfy chair and read her book to the very end.

The End
(c) 2008 Ken Demarest

Moobaloo finds the Sunken Fire Truck

One day Moobaloo the mermaid and horace the fish were swimming in a large bay. Above the water's surface they heard a big commotion. They popped their heads up and saw a warehouse, on fire.

A warehouse is a big place where people keep things, and this warehouse had a guard who smoked cigarettes. He fell asleep, and his lit cigarette fell and touched some papers. By the time he woke up there was a fire. He ran out of the warehouse and called the fire department.

So Moobaloo and Horace were watching the firemen work. One of the firemen was talking to the other.

"Bob," he said, "it is taking too long to put out this fire! The warehouse will burn down. I wish we could save it."

"Well Sam," said the other fireman, "I've heard stories of a shiny fire truck from the Old Days that could put out fires really fast. My great grandfather told me about it. But that truck was lost years ago, sunk, I heard, in the bay."

"I have heard about that truck", said Sam, "but I thought it was just a legend!"

When Moobaloo heard this she said to Horace, "We should find that sunken fire truck!"

Horace said, "That is a great idea, but I've never seen one here in the bay."

"Maybe we should ask somebody really old, who might remember something from the old days." Moobaloo said, "Who do we know that is really old?"

Horace and Moobaloo thought and they thought. Most of their friends were young.

"Whales live a long time." said Moobaloo, "But whales don't come in the bay."

"Turtles!" said Horace, "Turtles live longer than almost anybody."

So the two friends swam off to find a turtle. On an island, in the middle of the bay, they found Tomas the Turtle, sunning himself on some rocks. It took a minute to wake him up.

"Tomas," said Moobaloo, "We are looking for a sunken fire engine. Can you help?"

"Ahhhh... Welllll..." said Tomas, "I don't go near the piers. You would have to ask the barnacles about that."

A barnacle is a tiny creature who lives in a shell. The shell is a little white circle about the size of a wedding ring. It is made of calcium, just like your finger nail. Barnacles don't live very long, but they tell each other everything, so everything a barnacle colony ever knew they all know.

"But we don't speak barnacle language," said Horace, who knew a great many languages.

"Then go ask the crab," said Tomas. "He speaks English and Barnacle too."

So Moobaloo and Horace swam to the piers. There, hiding in a little hole, they found Pierre the crab. Pierre was in a crabby mood. His shell was covered with algae, and it itched.

"No," said Pierre as he scratched his itchy shell, "I will not speak to the barnacles for you! Why should I?"

"What if we scrubbed your shell for you?" Horace asked.

Pierre said, "No promises!"

Moobaloo and Horace decided to chance it. They scrubbed and they scrubbed. Soon Pierre's shell was shiny as a whistle.

"Ahh! That is so much better!" cried Pierre. "What do you want to talk to the barnacles about?"

"Ask them if they have seen a fire engine sunken in the bay!" said Moobaloo.

Pierre turned to the barnacles on his pier. Now, barnacle language is not like people language. A person might say, "hello there" but a barnacle would say "(make clicking noises with your mouth)"

So Pierre said, "(click click click raise the tone of your voice at the end, as if asking a question)"

And the barnacles replied "(click click lower your tone as if in answer)"

Pierre turned to Moobaloo and said, "Pier 33. The fire engine is sunk below pier 33."

Quick as they could, Moobaloo and Horace swam to pier 33 dragging Pierre along with them. But when they arrived there was no fire truck in sight. All they could see were lots and lots of barnacles, and a great big bed of mussels. Mussels live in a black shell shaped like this (cup your hands) in big groups all together. The mussels and the barnacles like to hang on tight to things like piers, and the bottom of boats, and most anything they can grab onto. They even grab onto each other.

"Where is the fire truck?" asked Moobaloo.

Pierre spoke to the barnacles at pier 33, "(click click click)"

As Moobaloo and Horace watched the barnacles and the mussels all let go. Beneath them was a big shiny fire truck, looking as good as the day it sank into the bay.

Moobaloo wrote a letter to the fire fighter Bob that said, "Your grand father was right. Look below pier 33."

The next day, a big crane arrived at the pier. Scuba divers jumped in the water. In no time the crane was lifted from the bottom of the bay.

And that is how Moobaloo and Horace discovered the Treasure of the Sunken Fire Truck.

The End
(c) 2008 Ken Demarest

A Flu Comes

One day Tigedy the white tiger was staying with his friend Teddy Bear. Tidegy was born far away in India. He was not used to Teddy Bear's cabin, but he was starting to like it. It was comfortable, and it was surrounded by a beautiful forest, and Teddy Bear always had a nice warm fire burning in the fire place.

Tigedy did not feel right today. He was sick. He had the flu.

Now, you might wonder why Tigedy was sick. Because he was born in India, his Thymus was used to India germs. The Thymus is right near your heart, and it is the part of you that learns all about germs and how to make your body fight them. Tigedy's Thymus knew all about India germs.

But now Tigedy was in United States and his Thymus was meeting United States germs instead. The United States germs, like the flu, would come into Tigedy's body and his Thymus would say, "Holy moly, what is that? I don't know how to fight that germ... yet."

So that is why Tigedy was sick with the flu.

His nose, which is pretty big, was running and snot and boogers were stuck inside. Teddy Bear felt sorry for his friend.

"Tigedy," said Teddy Bear, "let me get out the humidifier. It will help get those boogers out of your nose."

"Thank you." said Tigedy.

But when Teddy Bear got out the humidifier it was missing a piece, so Tigedy decided to sleep beside the fire. He hoped that the warmth would help him get better.

Late that night Tigedy woke up. His nostrils were stuck together! Instead of being able to roar like this: "Roooar!" he could only roar like this: (hold your nose and roar weakly) "roar."

Tigedy woke up Teddy Bear (hold your nose) "The fire dried out my d'ose. My boogers are stuck!"

Teddy Bear felt sorry for Tigedy, but he still giggled a little. He put a kettle of water on the stove. When it heated up, steam started to float around the cabin. Tigedy would leap into the air and breath in a patch of steam. Leap and sniff (make the motions), leap and sniff.

Soon the steam helped Tigedy's boogers loosen up. His nose opened. "Phew," he said, "that is much better."

The next morning Tigedy felt a lot better.

Teddy Bear said, "I bet your Thymus figured out how to fight that flu."

Tigedy said, "Maybe next time it meets that flu I won't get so many boogers!"

And that is how Tigedy's Thymus learned about its first United States germs.

The End
(c) 2007 Ken Demarest

Teddy Bear and Spotty Spot hear a Growl in the Forest

One day Spotty Spot, who lived by the river, was taking the forest path to visit his friend Teddy Bear. It was a pretty long path. Parts of it went through deep, dark woods where the trees hung darkly over the path.

Spotty Spot ate a snack as he trotted along, a nice dried stick of beef jerky. Then Spotty Spot heard a sound: "growwwl".

He stopped. He looked around. There it was again: "growwwl."

Spotty Spot tried to look into the forest, but he couldn't see anything. He walked faster. He felt a little nervous about that growling sound, and he thought about it all the way to Teddy Bear's house.

When he arrived he knocked on Teddy Bear's door and waited nervously for it to open.

"Teddy Bear! I heard a growl on the path today!" said Spotty Spot.

"Oh, that must have been quite nervous-making." said Teddy Bear.

"It was," said Spotty Spot, "What do you suppose it was?"

Teddy Bear thought about that for a moment. He said, "I don't know, but I think that I have heard growling for the last three nights, outside my cabin."

The two friends decided right then that they would figure out what was making that noise. They got out some torches. If you don't know what torches are, they are like long sticks with a fire at one end. Anyway, Teddy Bear's house was in a clearing, and all around the edge of the clearing they stuck torches in the ground, and lit them. When night came, there was a ring of fire light all the way around the cabin.

While they waited Teddy Bear and Spotty Spot cooked. They made a nice beef stew, with big chunks of meat, carrots, potatoes, leeks, mushrooms, and some peas. The smell was delicious.

Then, outside the cabin, they heard it: "growwwl".

They two friends rushed to the window. Lifting the drapes, the peeked slowly out. They could not see anything at first. Then, out in the woods, beyond the torch light, they could see two eyes reflecting red.

Spotty Spot went to the front door and opened it.

"Who is out here?" he shouted.

The eyes blinked, and then a white tiger stepped forward into the light.

"It is only me, Tigedy" said the white tiger.

"Come up onto the porch where I can see you," said Spotty Spot, "and tell me why you have been growling at me and Teddy Bear. Are you a nice tiger, or a mean tiger?"

Tigedy walked up to the porch. He was skinny, and his ribs were showing through his skin.

"I am a nice tiger, and I wasn't growling," said Tigedy. "It was my stomach! I am so hungry that my stomach is growling. I smelled your stew, and I couldn't help it."

"Oh, well," said Spotty Spot, "that is different. Would you like some stew?"

"Yes please." said Tigedy.

So Teddy Bear ladeled out three large bowls of stew and brought them to the porch. Spotty Spot and Teddy Bear sat on one side of the porch, and Tigedy ate on the other, because they still didn't know each other very well.

As Tigedy ate his stew he said, "Oh! Yum! This is the best stew I've ever eaten! You two must be famouse chefs, to make a stew like this. Why, I can't believe how good it is. What a delightful feast!"

This kind of talk appealed very much to Teddy Bear and Spotty Spot, as Tigedy hoped it would. Teddy Bear asked, "Why are you so hungry, and wandering in the woods?"

Tigedy explained about that.

"I was born in a country called India, far away from here. I was captured by a man, who put me in a cage. Three days ago I was being moved, in a truck, and the truck tipped over. My cage opened, and I escaped. But this is not like India. I don't know how to find food, I have no friends, and no place to live."

Teddy Bear and Spotty Spot asked Tigedy so many questions, and when they were convinced he was telling the truth, they invited Tigedy into the house. And that is how Tigedy met Teddy Bear and Spotty Spot, and they all became friends.

The End
(c) 2007 Ken Demarest

Moobaloo Saves the Telescope

One day Moobaloo the mermaid was swimming through the ocean. Now, a mermaid isn't quite like a person. Mermaids have the same face, and the same torso, but instead of legs a mermaid has the tail of a fish.

On this particular day Moobaloo was looking up through the water and she saw a huge shadow on the water's surface. She wondered what it was so she swam towards it.

As she got close she could see it was a great big ship, a three masted schooner. That is a kind of boat with really big sails, and three masts all sticking up from its decks. She saw the silhouette of a man standing by the railing, holding something long and shiny.

Moobaloo swam under the water and popped up right below the man. "Hello!" she said.

The man was startled. He dropped the long, shiny thing right into the water.

He said, "You surprised me!"

Moobaloo asked, "Who are you, and what are you doing?"

The man responded, "I am a pirate captain, and I was using my telescope to look far away."

Now, a telescope is a special kind of long tube. When you hold it up to your eye you can see really far away. The capatain was using it to look for other ships.

Moobaloo said, "I didn't mean to surprise you."

The captain said, "Well, you did, and now I've dropped my telescope! It was my favorite telescope, made of brass, given to me by my father."

"Don't worry," said Moobaloo, "I will get it back for you."

She dove under the water and started swimming down. As she swam, deeper and deeper, the sunlight started to change. Pretty soon she lost the color red. Then she couldn't see the color orange any more. The deeper she went, the more colors were absorbed by the water above.

Just as she was startting to lose the color yellow she saw her good friend Horace the fish.

"Hi Moobaloo!" said Horace, "What are you doing?"

"I made a pirate captain drop his telescope. It is sinking to the bottom of the ocean and I have promised to get it back." she said.

"But Moobaloo," said Horace, "its is very deep here. This is one of the deepest parts of the ocean! Are you sure?"

"Yes. I promised." she said.

"Well then, I will come and help you get it." said Horace.

So Horace and Moobaloo started swimming down together. Pretty soon the color green was gone, and the water was getting colder and colder.

Soon they came to a huge squid, who said "Surface swimmers, what are you doing down here in the depths of the ocean?"

"Have you seen a telescope fall past?" asked Horace, who knew Squid Language.

"Yes," said the squid, "but you are very late. The telescope was going very fast, and it passed here a few minutes ago."

"Thank you," said Horace, and they started swimming down again.

When they finally lost the color blue there was no more sunlight left. It was completely dark.

"We will never find the telescope in the dark!" said Moobaloo.

Just then Horace said, "I think I see a light."

Sure enough, a little light came bobbing towards them through the water. At first it looked like a little star all alone, but pretty soon they saw that it was attached to a fish called an Angler Fish. It stuck up out of its noggin on a long stalk. The Angler Fish had lots of strange pointy teeth in its mouth, like this (point all your fingers and weave your hands together) and looked a little scary.

"Surface Swimmers, what are you doing here in the depths of the ocean?" asked the fish.

Moobaloo said, "We are looking for a telescope that fell to the bottom. But it is too dark for us to see, and we may never find it now."

"Let me help you with my light," said the fish.

And so the three companions began to swim even deeper. The water got colder, and the pressure started to increase. (grab you child's calf in your hand, and squeeze very lightly) At the top of the sea the pressure is very gentle. But when you go deep, you get more and more pressure, like this: (show increasing pressure on the calf with your hand. Don't overdo it)

The Angler Fish lead the way with the little light bobbing on the end of its stalk.

Then they got to the bottom. There they saw the huge white bones of a whale sticking up from the bottom of the sea. When whales die their bones fall to the depths. The telescope had fallen in the middle of the bones.

Moobaloo swam towards it, but Horace said, "Moobaloo stop! Look at those long worms with all the teeth."

Parts of the whale were still on the bones, and large worms with a ring of teeth on one end gnawed away at the meat. The worms were blind, and if Moobaloo swam past they would not know her from the whale meat, and might eat her.

"How will we get the telescope?" asked Moobaloo.

At that moment they saw more lights coming towards them. These lights were arranges like the spokes of a wheel, and they strobed from the center outward. It was a big jellyfish.

"Surface swimmers," said the jellyfish, "what are you doing here in the depths?"

"We are trying to get that telescope," said Moobaloo, "but we can not get near because of the worms."

"I will get it for you," said the jellyfish. "Those worms eat meat, but I am not made if meat. I am made of jelly."

And so the jellyfish swam between the whale bones, and used her long tentacles to grab the telescope and bring it to Moobaloo.

"Thank you for helping us!" said Moobaloo. "We are going to swim up now. Would you like to come with us?"

"Certainly!" said the jellyfish.

So the four companions, Moobaloo, Horace, the Anglerfish and the Jellyfish all swam up together. But while it was still very dark and very cold the jellyfish said, "This is as high as I can go." and they said goodbye.

Up they swam and just as the the first hints of light appeared the Anglerfish said, "This is as high as I can go." and the said goodbye.

Then Horace and Moobaloo swam up towards the surface. The water felt warm compared to the freezing depths. The pressure was less, and as they swam up they started to see colors again - first blue, then green, then yellow, orange and red.

The popped up beside the pirate ship and threw the telescope up to the captain.

"Thank you!" he said.

And that is how Moobaloo met the pirate captain.

The End
(c) 2007 Ken Demarest

The Pine Needle and the Moon

One day there was a little pine needle.

All its life the pine needle lived very high up in a tree. It was surrounded by all of its friends, many many other pine needles that grew in the tree along side it. It was never alone.

When the wind blew the little pine needle would hold on tight. It loved the way the tree would sway back and forth, back and forth (rock your body). It was very exciting! As the wind blew, always there was the sound of his neighbors rustling together.

Late at night, when everything was dark and the stars were winking in the sky, the little pine needle would look up at the full moon. Its heart ached with the beauty of the moon. With all its might the little pine needle would stretch up, trying to touch the moon. But it never could.

Time went by. The pine needle got older. One night the time came when he was very old, and he was going to fall off the tree. His friends all said, "Hold on! Don't let go!"

The little pine needle held on tight until the moon rose. He looked at it, huge and luminous, one last time. The pine needle said, "I have lived a long time. I am ready to go."

So he let go and drifted down, and down. He was not sad to leave all the other pine needles, who had been with him all his life. He was only sad that he had never gotten to touch the moon.

He fell onto a trampoline.

The next day the sun rose. A boy named Will (your child's name) visited the trampoline that day. The little pine needle saw him bounce up and down, up and down. The pine needle watched everything.

The next night, the little pine needle practiced jumping. Each day the boy came, and each night the pine needle practiced. Higher and higher it learned to jump, until one night it was ready.

The moon rose high up into the sky that night and the little pine needle jumped. Up, and up, each jump higher and higher, it jumped so high that it reached the moon and stuck right into its nostril just like a nose hair.

And that is the story of how the little pine needle touched the moon.

The End
(c) 2007 Ken Demarest

Moobaloo, Horace and the Cave

One day Moobaloo, who was a mermaid, was swimming along with her friend Horace the fish and they saw a sea horse.

Now, a sea horse isn't quite like a regular horse. Instead, it is about the size of your foot. It has a very horse-like head, but then it curves down to a chubby belly, and curves around again to a pointy tail.

Sea horses come in so many shapes and sizes! This particular sea horse was very special. On its head were golden sparkles, and little fronds sprouted up around its cheeks and forehead. The fronds were like this: (hold your hands up beside your temples and wave your fingers). Its body was covered with purple stripes. On its tail was a deep red fading from its stem to its very tip.

Moobaloo said, "Horace! That sea horse is so special, I would like to catch it and take it home to show my parents."

Horace said, "OK, but sea horses are wild creatures, and it might not want to be caught."

Moobaloo and Horace swam toward the sea horse, whose name was Naylee. At first Naylee did not see them coming, but they made some noise. When Naylee saw them she was startled, and she ran away into a big cave.

Horace said, "We need to go into that cave." but Moobaloo said, "Caves can be dangerous. Sometimes they are safe, just filled with stalactites and stalagmites. But sometimes creatures can live inside a cave, so you have to be careful."

Moobaloo and Horace swam up very slowly to the cave. Inside, they could see a great big green eel. It was as long as Moobaloo, and it sat near the opening of the cave with its mouth gaping wide, like this: (open your mouth very wide, tilt your chin up a bit, and breath in and out about once a second. Stare. It should be just a little scary)

"We can't go in that way!" said Moobaloo, "That eel is scary."

"Maybe the cave has another opening." said Horace.

So they looked around to the left of the cave, but nothing was there except some rocks and the bottom of the ocean. Then they looked around to the right and about twenty feet away (which is about the length of two cars) they saw a little opening.

Horace said, "This entrance to the cave is too small for you, Moobaloo. I will swim in and see if I can find the sea horse."

So Horace carefully swam in the hole. It was dark, and he stopped near the entrance. His eyes were used to the bright light outside, and he waited for them to adjust. Sure enough, as he hovered in the darkness his eyes got more and more used to the darkness, until at last he could see pretty well.

He said to Moobaloo, "Watch the entrance. If I startle the sea horse, you can catch it as it swims out."

"OK." said Moobaloo.

Now that his eyes were adjusted Horace swam into the cave. It was still very dark, filled with stalctites hanging from the ceiling. The farther he swam the darker it got. Soon it was so dark that he stopped again, afraid that he might swim into a wall and bonk his noggin.

Just then Horace saw a faint light ahead in the darkness. It looked a little bit like the lights of a Christmas tree when you turn off all the other lights in your house, and they glow with many colors against the branches of the tree.

Horace wondered, 'what could that be?' and he swam towards it. As he got closer he started to see a shape.

Soon he saw that it was the sea horse, Naylee. The fronds on her head each gave off a little light from their very tip, like Christmas tree lights.

Horace thought she was very beautiful. He did not want to hurt her, but he still wanted to catch her.

First he said to her, "Sea horse, will you please come with me and my friend?"

But Naylee did not speak English. She only spoke Sea Horse, so she did not know what he wanted.

Horace swam slowly and carefully around to Naylee's other side and said, "Boo!". Naylee was startled again, and she swam quick as a wink out the little cave entrance, and right into Moobaloo's arms.

"I have the sea horse!" Moobaloo shouted into the cave.

Horace was glad, but just as he was about to leave he realized that something in the cave was different. The big green eel was behind him, with its mouth open, breathing like this: (do the open mouth, and the breathing)

Horace was very still, and he was very worried. He didn't know if the eel could see him in the dark, but he did not want to move and give himself away. The eel just hung there (do the breathing).

Moobaloo shouted in from the hole, "Horace, you can come out now."

But Horace did not reply. He was scared. He stayed very still and did not make a sound.

Outside, Moobaloo was curious. Why was Horace not coming out? First she peeked in the hole, but she couldn't see anything. It was too dark. So she thought about it, and she had an idea what might have happened.

Moobaloo swam around to the front of the cave. She held up Naylee the sea horse. Naylee's fronds glowed and blinked. When the eel noticed, it swam to investigate and Moobaloo backed away from the cave entrance.

Horace swam as fast as he could, like a rocket, away from the eel and out the little hole.

"Thank you Moobaloo! I was very worried."

So Horace and Moobaloo swam back to her parent's place to show them Naylee. They fed Naylee a great big meal of yummy sea horse snacks, and released her back into the wild.

And that is how Moobaloo and Horace had an adventure in a cave.

The End
(c) 2007 Ken Demarest

The Giant and the Dog

One day there was a great big giant named McMuffin. He was so huge that he could not fit into a house, and he could not us a bathtub, or a shower. So when he needed to get clean he would go into the ocean.

That is what he was doing on this one particular day. He was washing under his arms, and on his chest, and his back, and just as he got the the spot behind his ears he heard a commotion.

A house had caught on fire, and people were standing around it saying, "Oh no, the nearest fire station is twenty minutes away! The house will be burned up before the firemen can arrive."

You see, this town was a very small town, and not many people lived there because of the fear of giants. All the people in those parts thought that giants were mean, and clumsy, and bad tempered, and so very few people were willing to live in Giant Country.

Well, the people were looking at the house burning, and they saw the giant taking his bath in the ocean. They said to each other, "Perhaps that giant can help!" but they did not call him Mc Muffin, because nobody had ever bothered to learn his name. So the people ran over saying, "Please Mr. Giant, can you please help up put out this fire? The nearest fire station is twenty minutes away and that is too far to save this house!"

And McMuffin said, "No. I will not help you put out the fire. Humans have never been very nice to me, and I have not been treated with respect, so I will not help. I bet you do not even know my name."

Then the people were all very sad, and they said, "The house will be destroyed for certain."

Just then they heard a noise from the roof. "Woof woof woof woof."

There was a dog trapped up on the roof. When the fire had first started the dog had tried to escape, but the fire had blocked the door. So she ran up to the second floor. But soon the smoke had gotten to that floor, so she ran onto the roof.

When the giant saw this he thought about it. He thought, "If a house is destroyed, that is just a house. But if a dog loses its life when I could have prevented it, I would not feel right. A life is precious."

So McMuffin went over to a dock where there were many boats moored. He was so big that he picked up a whole rowboat that could hold six people. Using it like a bucket he dipped it into the water and filled the entire rowboat full of water. Then he held it over his head and went, stomp stomp stomp, over to the house carrying the heavy water-filled rowboat.

Then he dumped it right on the house! All the water went rushing down and Whoosh! the fire went out and steam went everywhere.

Then the huge giant gently picked up the dog, because the dog was so small he had to be careful, and he carefully placed the dog on the ground. The dog ran away barking happily.

The people went up to McMuffin and said, "Thank you for saving the house!"

And the giant said, "I did not do it for you. I did it to save the life of that dog."

Then he went back to the ocean to finish his bath. And that is how the giant saved the dog from a fire.

The End
(c) 2007 Ken Demarest