Aaron and the Grasshopper

            Aaron sat on the dusty bench looking over the fence at the barrel races going on in the arena.  He was waiting for the bucking broncos, which was his favorite event, and was getting a little antsy.

            Suddenly, he spied a large grasshopper crawling along the fence in front of him.  He had never seen such a big grasshopper before.  For a moment he simply watched the grasshopper completely fascinated, and then he decided he just had to catch it.

            His first attempt to catch the grasshopper involved a dive in the grasshopper’s direction that simply sent the grasshopper hopping to a new location.  Then he decided he would have to be sneakier if he wanted to catch it.  He very carefully and very quietly stalked toward the grasshopper’s new position.  Right when he was just inches from having his hands on the grasshopper, the grasshopper leaped to a place just out of Aaron’s reach.  Frustrated, Aaron stomped the ground, but he wasn’t ready to give up the chase.

            Aaron found a stick long enough to reach where the grasshopper had landed.  The grasshopper leaped to a new spot that was in Aaron’s reach.  Aaron slowly crept up with his hands outstretched.  Right before he clasped his hands around the grasshopper, it leaped to a new position.  Aaron began to creep up to the grasshopper again.  This time when the grasshopper leaped a strong gust of wind swept through and blew the grasshopper back in Aaron’s direction.  It landed on his neck.

            Having a grasshopper in his hands was okay, but having a grasshopper on his neck was a different matter.  Aaron began to swat and twirl and bat at the air trying to get the grasshopper off of his neck.  He looked like he was having some sort of wild mad fit.  In the midst of his fit, Aaron did not realize how close to the wooden post of the fence he was until it was too late.  He smacked his face into the post busting his lip.  At that point the grasshopper leaped off of his neck and onto the fence.

            Aaron sat back on the ground and wiped the blood from his busted lip onto his sleeve.  For a moment, he just sat there stunned by the blow to his mouth.  When he looked up, the grasshopper was sitting on the fence.  Aaron swore he thought the grasshopper was taunting him.  Part of him wanted to continue the chase and show that grasshopper who was the boss.  However, the rest of him had had enough of this chase and wanted to go sit back down to wait for the bucking broncos.  He decided this chase wasn’t worth it and went back to his seat on the bench.  That grasshopper could stay on that fence for as long as it wanted as far as Aaron was concerned.  He was done.

Katarina's Close Call

           Katarina hung on the limb right next to the bottom of the Christmas tree.  Her wings had become tangled in the string of lights when the child had played with her right before bedtime.  Now every person in the house was asleep.  It was time for all the Christmas ornaments to come to life.

            Katarina grabbed the string of lights and pulled herself free of both the limb and the string of lights.  She was careful to leave her hook exactly where it was.  If she went exploring, she would need to be sure she could get back in place before morning.  Ornaments that loose their hook sometimes end up on the floor where the cat can get them.  Katarina did not want that to happen to her.

            She lowered herself onto the tallest present right under her branch.  She had been so excited when the people put that present under the tree during the day.  She knew that with that present right under her branch, she would be able to climb down to the floor.  This was the first time this Christmas season that she had been given that opportunity, and she meant to make the most of it.

            When she reached the floor, the first place she went was the front door.  Next to the front door the child had left a raincoat and hat.  Katarina had watched the child pull them off and lay them there.  Katarina rubbed the smooth surface of the raincoat.  She really liked the rubbery feel of the boots.  After a few minutes, she made her way to the child’s room.  The child had a castle Katarina wanted to explore.  She had watched the child open that present last year and had waited an entire year to go see it for herself.

            The castle loomed before her as she stood trying to decide where to go first.  She decided to climb to the top of the tower.  From this point she could see all of the child’s room.  She could see the child’s foot hanging over the side of the bed.  Then she saw the cat’s tail swishing over the side of the bed.  The cat was awake.  Katarina very carefully climbed down from the tower of the castle trying to make as little noise as possible.  Before she made it to the bottom floor of the castle, she spotted the cat’s eyes staring at her through one of the windows of the castle.  For a moment she stood frozen in place unable to move for fear.  The cat simply stared at her swishing his tail.

            Finally when she could stand it no longer, Katarina made a dash for the door of the child’s room, but the cat cut her off.  Everywhere Katarina tried to run, the cat pounced in front of her.  He obviously wanted to play with her for a while before he tried to eat her.  Then Katarina dived under a baby doll blanket the child had left on the floor.  The cat pounced on the blanket, but the blanket protected Katarina from the cat’s claws.  Katarina remained as still as possible even though the material made her itch.  She knew if she kept still long enough, the cat would lose interest and go away.  It seemed like an eternity before the cat finally jumped up on the bed and started playing with a toy the child had left on the bed.

            Katarina very slowly peeked out from under the blanket.  By this time, she itched all over but still resisted the urge to scratch.  The cat was looking the other way.  Katarina dashed out from under the blanket and hid behind a leg of the nightstand.  The cat continued to play with the toy.  The door to the child’s room was only a few feet from where she hid.  She waited until the cat became extremely involved with the toy and then made a dash for the open door.  She ran as hard as she could back to the Christmas tree without looking back once.  If the cat was chasing her, she really didn’t want to know it. 

            When she reached the present under her branch, she climbed it with one big bound.  Then she climbed back onto her limb and slowly lowered herself back onto her hook.  She was home.  As she drifted off to sleep, she wondered what wonders lay in the presents now under the tree that the child would open tomorrow on Christmas morn.  However, she would wait until next Christmas to go exploring again.  She had had enough excitement for one Christmas season. 

Bradford's Belt Dilemma

           Bradford looked under his bunk for the fifth time.  It still was not there.  Where in the world could his belt be?  He had looked everywhere.  In an hour he had to run a race in the Camp Celebration and his only clean pair of shorts needed the belt to stay up.  Where could it be?

            He sat down on his bunk to think.  Where had he last seen his belt?  Did he have it when he was swimming earlier at the pool?  He couldn’t remember, but maybe he did.  He ran to the pool and began to walk over every inch of the area around it.  His belt was not there.  What was he going to do?

            He went back to his cabin and looked at his other shorts to see if any of them were clean enough to wear.  Unfortunately, he had had a lot of fun at camp.  All of his shorts were filthy.  Then he came across a piece of rope lying on the floor.  He wrapped it around his waist.  It was long enough.  This would just have to do.  He couldn’t go without a belt at all so he thread the rope through his belt loops and tied the best knot he could muster.  Hopefully this would be okay.

            He made his way to the field where the Camp Celebration was to be held.  His event the 1000-yard race would be last so he sat down in the stands to watch the other races.  His friend, Logan, won the 50-yard dash.  Bradford jumped up and down cheering his friend on to victory.  The next race was the 100-yard dash, and his friend, Noah, was in this one.  Again, Bradford cheered for his friend, but Noah slipped and fell.  He came in next to last.  Bradford would have to cheer him up after everything was over.  The relay race was next, which was the race before Bradford’s.  He made his way down onto the track to get ready.  So far his rope belt was holding, but it seemed looser than when he started.

            While the relay race was under way, Bradford did his stretches to prepare for his race.  He would have to complete nine laps around the track.  He pulled the knot in his rope belt as tight as he could, and then made his way to the sidelines to watch the finish of the relay race.  He didn’t have any friends in this race so he really didn’t care who won.  The red team had a massive lead going into the final lap, but the last runner for the blue team was fast as lightning.  Bradford jumped up and down with excitement despite himself as the blue team pulled ahead of the red team at the very last moment winning the race.

            Now it was his turn.  Bradford took his position on the starting line.  When the buzzer sounded he took off at a good steady pace.  This was a long race so he needed to pace himself.  Bradford’s strategy was to stay in the middle of the pack until the last lap.  Then he would pour on the speed hoping the lead runner would be tired out from setting too fast a pace.

            The first four laps went by without much incident.  Bradford kept himself squarely in the middle of the pack.  On the fifth lap, Bradford began to notice that his shorts seemed to be hanging lower than they had been.  By the seventh lap, Bradford had to pull his shorts up every so often.  On the eighth lap, Bradford had to pull his shorts up every few feet.  When he hit the last lap, he wanted to pour on the speed, but by this time his rope belt came completely loose.  Bradford had to use both hands to keep his shorts from falling down around his ankles.  He ran as fast as he possibly could while holding up his shorts, but it was awkward.  He came in fifth place.

            When the race was over, Bradford collapsed in the grass.  He wanted to cry but didn’t.  His friend, Noah, came over and sat down next to him in the grass.  For a while, neither of them said a word.  Then Noah began to giggle.  Bradford looked at him and giggled, too.  For the next half hour the friends talked about how silly Bradford had looked trying to run holding up his pants, and what bad luck Noah had had in his race.  This would be a Camp Celebration to remember. 

Tyler's Picnic Catastrophe

            Tyler walked into the kitchen and found his mom putting food and drink in quart mason jars.  She only did that for one reason.  They must be going on a picnic.

            “What are you doing?” asked Tyler trying to see what was in the mason jars.

            “What does it look like I’m doing?” asked his mom with a slight grin.

            “Are we going on a picnic?” asked Tyler starting to jump with excitement.

            “Yes, we are,” said his mom.  “Now go get ready, and then help your dad with the bicycles.”

            Tyler took off to his room to find his socks and shoes.  Once he had those on correctly, he headed out the door to find his dad.  He found him by the SUV loading the bicycles on the bicycle rack.  Tyler quickly ran to get his bike and handed it to his dad.

            “Oh boy!” exclaimed Tyler.  “A picnic and bikes!  Where are we going?”

            “We’re going to the state park where we always go,” said his dad as he loaded Tyler’s bike on the rack.

            Just then, Tyler’s mom came through the front door with the fully loaded picnic basket.  “Anyone ready to go on a picnic,” she called as she headed for the SUV.

            “ME!!!” shouted Tyler as he climbed into the back seat and strapped himself into the seatbelt.

            The ride to the state park only took 30 minutes, but for Tyler it seemed to take forever.  By the time they pulled up to the picnic area, he was really hungry.  As soon as his dad parked the car, Tyler shot out of the SUV and started surveying his surroundings.  He knew it would take his mom a few minutes to get everything ready.  Before long, he heard his mom call, and he headed back to the table where his mom had set out their lunch

            What Tyler loved most about his family’s picnics was that they never had the traditional sandwiches and chips.  Today his mom had packed spaghetti and meatballs, bread, and sweet iced tea in her mason jars.  For dessert she had banana pudding –Tyler’s absolute favorite.

            As Tyler settled in to devour his spaghetti and meatballs, a bee landed on the edge of his plate.  He shooed it away, but soon it was joined by several more.  Before long there were so many bees buzzing around his plate, Tyler had to abandon his lunch and run away from the table.  He was soon followed by both of his parents.

            “Oh my!” exclaimed Tyler’s mom.  “The bees aren’t going to let us eat.”

            “Why don’t we just eat in the SUV?” suggested Tyler’s dad.

            “Good idea,” said his mom.

            Tyler’s parents gathered the food shooing the bees away as much as they could.  Finally, the three of them settled into the SUV and continued their meal with the bees angrily buzzing outside the windows.  When everyone finished dessert, they started unloading the bicycles for a nice ride through the park. 

            The angry bees had put a damper on Tyler’s mood, but now with the prospect of a bike ride, his mood perked right back up.  For a while, Tyler rode along lost in the thrill of feeling the wind rush against his skin.  Then they approached a hill, and Tyler stood up on his pedals, determined not to be outdone by his parents.  About halfway up the hill, his foot slipped on the pedal.  The pedal went sideways and Tyler’s foot became entangled with the pedal.  This made the bike jerk sending Tyler sprawling to the ground.  His scraped his knee and elbow bad enough to make them bleed.  His parents came back to where he lay, and his dad picked him up carrying him back to the SUV.  While his mom bandaged his knee and elbow, his father gathered all the bikes and loaded them back on the SUV.  They decided they had had enough fun for one afternoon and headed back home.

            Poor Tyler was so upset that his wonderful picnic had turned out so disastrous, that he cried quietly most of the way home.  When they made it back home, Tyler limped into the house, changed into his pajamas, and plopped on the couch.

            His mother came to him with a bowl of popcorn.  She put on his favorite movie, and snuggled with him making sure to be careful of his wounds.  Before long, Tyler’s mood perked up again.  This might not be a picnic, but this was another good thing he loved about his family.

Lily's 3-Layer Mud Cake

Illustration by Summer  Age:  9
Paris, TN

           This book is now available at Amazon!!!!
https://www.amazon.com/author/nataliewade7457

Madison and the Barnyard

           Madison looked out the window as the car pulled into her grandparents’ driveway.  It had been several months since Madison had seen her grandparents’ farm, and this time they were visiting in the summer.  She was almost beside herself with excitement for the opportunity to explore the farm today.

            Grandma and Grandpa stood on the front porch for Madison and Marie with outstretched arms.  Madison raced out of the car, up the porch steps, and into Grandpa’s waiting arms.  His overalls smelled like hay and cows, but that was how Grandpa always smelled.  Marie calmly walked up and hugged Grandma and then Grandpa.  Madison let go of Grandpa and jumped up so that Grandma held her on her hip.  Nobody else in the world still carried her this way anymore, and she loved that Grandma still let her do this.

            After everyone had finished all the hellos, Madison climbed down and grabbed Grandpa by the hand.  It was time to go exploring, and she didn’t want to waste a single minute.  Marie tagged along as Madison nearly dragged Grandpa to the fence of the cow pasture.  A cow was quietly chewing on grass next to the fence.  A calf came up and stuck his head through the fence toward Madison.  Grandpa showed Madison how to pet the calf, and then the calf licked Madison right in the face.

            “Ugh!” Madison exclaimed in disgust.  “That calf just licked me in the face.  His breath smells horrible.”

            Marie and Grandpa laughed, but Madison wiped her face off with her sleeve and then her shirt tail.  She couldn’t seem to get the icky off and kept wiping her face every few minutes.

            Just then Marie noticed something in the corner of the pasture lying on the ground next to the fence.

            “What’s that, Grandpa?” Marie asked.

            “Why, that’s a piece of honeycomb,” replied Grandpa.  “I must have dropped it when I gathered the honey this morning.  Look, it still has a little honey on it.  Do you girls want to try it?”

            Madison looked at the honeycomb suspiciously.  After the calf episode, she wasn’t sure she wanted to trust something in the cow pasture.  However, Marie dipped her finger in the honey and made a yum sound.  Madison slowly dipped her finger in the honey and barely touched the tip of her tongue with it.  It was sweet, but also a little strange tasting, too.  She wasn’t sure exactly how she felt about the honey.

            Grandpa and the girls slowly walked back toward the house.  Grandma’s chickens were pecking the ground in the backyard close to the backdoor looking for seeds to eat.  Madison went up to one of the chickens and reached out her hand to ruffle the chicken’s feathers.  As soon as she touched the chicken, it squawked and began chasing Madison.  Madison screamed and ran for Grandpa.  When she reached Grandpa, she literally climbed him and started crying uncontrollably.  All Grandpa could do was laugh.

            “It’s okay, Madison,” said Grandpa soothingly.  “I got you.  Look, that chicken has already gone back to pecking for seeds.”

            Madison looked at the chicken and began to calm down.  Then she saw that Marie was laughing at her and began to sulk.

            “Stop laughing at me,” said Madison angrily as she hid her face against Grandpa’s shoulder.

            “I’m sorry, Madison,” said Marie.  “But you climbing Grandpa like you just did was the funniest thing I have ever seen.”

            Madison thought about how that must have looked and began to giggle.  “It probably was pretty funny, wasn’t it,” said Madison as she climbed down out of Grandpa’s arms.

            “I think we’ve done enough exploring for the time being,” said Grandpa.  “I think your Grandma has supper waiting on us, and she made blackberry cobbler just for you girls.”

            Madison and Marie both looked at each other and dashed for the back door.  Exploring the farm would have to wait for later.

Lily's Rainy Day Adventure

Lily stared through the windows of the gazebo.  The rain fell in thick sheets just like it had all morning.  It looked like she would be stuck inside all day.

Just then she noticed a puddle forming on the brick path that had sawdust floating on top.  This made her think of an oil spill she had seen on the news.

Suddenly, she was there standing on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico.  A reporter held a microphone to her mouth as she asked a question.

“Ms. Lily, what is your expert opinion as a natural science expert as to how this great oil spill can be removed?” asked the reporter.

“We are working on a system that will filter the water removing the oil,” stated Lilly as if she really knew how that worked.

“Oh, that sounds like it might take a while,” stated the reporter.

“We expect it might take us months to fully filter the water and return the area to normal,” responded Lilly importantly.

Lily came back to herself at the gazebo, and began to explore.  Before long she came upon an old hammer.  Her grandfather must have left there.  She sat down on a bench and examined the hammer carefully.

Suddenly, she kissed the hammer, and it changed into a magic hammer able to take her anywhere she wanted to go.  She held the hammer up in the air, and she flew right out of the gazebo into the rain.  The hammer blocked the rain and made it fall on either side of Lily.  She zoomed through the air until she reached New York City.  She landed on the top of the Statue of Liberty and looked out over the city and harbor.  Boats sailed in the harbor.  People were busily going here and there.  Airplanes soared overhead as they landed and took off from the nearby airports.  Lilly sat enjoying the view.

When she came back to herself in the gazebo, she again began to explore.  On the other side of the gazebo, she found an old flashlight under one of the benches.  She checked to see if it still worked, and it did.

Now she was in a deep dark tunnel underneath an old castle.  Her team of archaeologists was exploring the tunnels looking for artifacts.  She looked down and saw a shiny object at her feet.  When she picked it up, she realized she had found an ancient coin.  

“Hey guys, look at this!” exclaimed Lily as she held up the coin she had found.

“Why isn’t that one of the lost coins of Camelot?” asked one of her colleagues astonished.

“Yes, I do believe it is,” stated Lily matter-of-factly.

“We’re going to be famous!” exclaimed another colleague.

“I do believe you are right,” said Lily as she held the coin up to the light.

Lily came back to herself in the gazebo.  She sat on one of the benches holding a shiny penny in her hand.  Sighing, she looked out at the steady falling rain.  Maybe one of these days she would get to have a real adventure instead of only in her daydreams.