Carpet Tale

            Once upon a time, there was a carpet who was tired of being a carpet. He was tired of being stepped on every day.  In the morning, the children of the family would jump out of bed upon him, and run up the stairs upon him, smashing him down before he was even awake!

            The parents would step out of bed upon him, and squash him, and slide their slippers across him on their way to get breakfast.  The baby would drool all over him, and everybody spilled food on him, especially the children.

            He was feeling very unappreciated and grouchy.  He wanted to roll up and take a vacation, because nobody ever noticed how nice it was to have him there on the floor for them.

            What he did like was when someone came with a vacuum, to give him a massage, and clean away the dust and dirt from his fibers.  That part was nice.  He’d like that every day, if he could have it.

            One night, he was talking to the couch.

            “Doesn’t it bother you to have the family spill on you and jump on your cushions?” he asked.

            “Well,” said the couch, comfortably, “If they want, they can always look for another couch.  Or they might move me to another house. I don’t want that. I like it the way it is now.”

            “You mean, they might look for a different carpet? Or they might move away?”

            “We are just furnishings. We are things. We are not people. People can choose what they do.  We cannot.  These people are actually really nice, normal people. Besides that, they’re the only people we have.  You can choose to be miserable, or you can choose to enjoy giving them comfort for their feet from the hard floor.  You can choose to make their lives better.”

            “I hadn't thought about that,” said the carpet.

            The next morning, when the children jumped out of bed, the carpet softened their steps as they ran up the stairs.

            As the parents slid across the carpet in their slippers, he welcomed their coming, and made sure they did not slip.  Later that day, he didn’t even mind when the baby drooled on him, and the children spilled.  And he especially enjoyed when the mother ran the vacuum over him!

            He understands he cannot change anything or anyone around him but himself. But he can change only how he thinks about the world.  He knows now that he likes the people he is with, and things are better than he'd realized.  
      That makes him as happy as any carpet can be.  Which is pretty good, don't you think?

Prince Bennett the Knight

      Prince Bennett lived with Princesses Madelene and Olivia and Prince Samuel, along with the King and Queen, in their castle near the Rock.

     Whenever someone in their kingdom needed protection, they called on Bennett. He was their Knight in Shining Armor. He was always ready to help, and nothing frightened him.

     Do you have a dragon trying to burn down your house?  Call on Bennett!  He and Prince Samuel were an excellent team. Samuel drove Bennett to the fight in one of his trucks. Bennett battled the dragon, and Samuel brought the right equipment to clean up the mess.

     One day, a giant wandered into their kingdom from the north. He stepped onto houses and trees, smashing everything in his path to smithereens with his gigantic boots.   The fastest runner raced to the castle to tell Bennett he must come to help them, “NOW!”

     Without hesitation, Bennett put on his armor, and called for Samuel to get the royal helicopter.  Together, they had some ideas for defeating the giant. Before they left the castle, they gathered a few items from the royal toy chest and the kitchen.  Then they climbed into the helicopter, and headed toward the giant.

     Very quickly, they spotted him.  They could see the trees falling one by one in the forest. It was a terrible sight.  They knew they must stop him quickly.

     “Are you ready?” said Bennett.

     “Yes. Are you?” said Samuel.

      “Let’s do it.”  said Bennett.  And so they began their plan. As the helicopter flew exactly above the giant, they pulled out the water balloons.  They had filled them with orange juice.  Bennett and Samuel dropped these on the giant’s head.  Immediately, he was rubbing his eyes. His eyelids stuck together.

     As the giant was distracted, Bennett parachuted out of the helicopter.  As soon as he landed and removed his chute, he ran to the giant, who was hopping around and waving his arms while howling wildly.  Bennett quickly tied his ankles together, and tipped him over, then tied his arms by his side.  The giant cried and whined. 

     “Why are you crying?” asked Bennett.

      “I like squishing things.  It makes me happy,” said the giant.

       Bennett had an idea.  He and Prince Samuel tied the giant under the helicopter and flew away.  They landed at a surprising place.  It was a recycling center. 

     “Here is a place where you can crush things all day long without hurting anyone,” said Bennett. “You will actually help people.”
     The giant smiled as he sat down on a pile of empty cans. He started smashing to his heart's content, making a huge racket as he kicked his boots and swung his arms.

    As they flew away, Samuel said, “You know, Bennett, sometimes you really are a knight in shining armor.”   

     We all know that when your own brother says those words, it is high praise indeed. I think Samuel is right.

This is a new story I've written for Bennett, because he was just a few weeks old when I began writing for the other children.  It's about time.

Princess Olivia and the Animals

     The lovely Princess Olivia lived in a wonderful castle with her brothers, Samuel and Bennett, and Princess Madelene.  Her parents, the King and Queen, had many animals, especially after Princess Madelene started drawing the Royal Zoo. [see Princess Madelene Story]
     Princess Olivia's job was to take care of all the animals who were born at the castle and at the zoo.  Olivia just loved baby animals!  Her favorites were the kittens and the ponies, but she also liked butterflies.
     Her job kept the princess very busy every day.  Babies don't ever stop being babies!  She sometimes was tired from all the cleaning and feeding and washing up that babies need.  But she loved helping them.
      Princess Madelene helped with the work.  She also fed the big and little animals, and cleaned up their stalls. Both sisters enjoyed drawing pictures of the animals when they had time.
      Their brother, Samuel, used his truck to bring the hay for the animals to eat.  For special occasions, he would take the girls and the animals on his trains for a ride into the mountains.  How the animals loved to stick their heads out the windows!
     Prince Bennett rode with them, although he was too young to drive the train or the trucks yet.  But his brother and sisters loved him so much! They just wanted him to come along and pet the animals.  They all knew he would do more when he was older.
      One day, Princess Olivia woke up, and she knew that something wasn't quite right with one of her ponies. She ran down to the zoo for a look.
     Oh no!  The pony's gate was unlocked.  It had been left open all night, and the pony had gotten lost!  The kitties were meowing, the butterflies were flitting around in the empty pen, but the pony was not there.
     Olivia called to the King and Queen, and to her brothers and sister.  She said, "We must sing the song I always sing to my pony. She knows this song, and when she hears it, she will come back home to us."
     This is Olivia's song:
      I love my pony, 
      Do you love her, too?
      When my pony goes away,
      I am very sad,
      But when she comes home to me
      I will be so glad.
    Everyone went out onto the hills around the castle, singing Princess Olivia's song.  Before long, the princess heard the faint whinnying of a horse.  Olivia called to Prince Samuel to bring his truck to take her to the place there the pony was stuck in a far-off valley.

      Then, they called to Princess Madelene to draw a large magic animal that would fly into the valley to pick up the pony for them.  Once the creature had gently lifted up and and placed the pony into Prince Samuel's truck, the creature disappeared!

     Princess Olivia threw her arms around the pony, and sang her song again into the pony's ear.  The little horse felt better immediately.  Madelene and Olivia put warm blankets around her.

  

     When the pony was well again, the kittens and the butterflies had a party for her in the garden, and all the princes and princesses were invited.  The King and Queen brought cupcakes!
This is a story I wrote for my grand-daughter, Olivia, the Christmas when she was 3.

Princess Madelene

     Once upon a time, a beautiful princess named Madelene lived with her brothers, Prince Samuel and young Prince Bennett, and her lovely sister, Princess Olivia.  They lived with the King and the Queen in a wonderful castle near a large Rock.
      Of course it's nice to be beautiful on the outside, but Princess Madelene's heart was beautiful, so she was kind and loving and gentle to everyone she met.
     Princess Madelene was an artist.  She loved to draw and paint pictures. Whenever she had a chance, she would go into the royal painting room to do art projects. Her pictures were so enchanting that everyone who saw them wanted to have one. People all around the countryside came to see her work, and then took one of them home to hang on their walls.
      If someone saw a picture by Princess Madelene for the first time, that person might say, "This must have been drawn by a fairy, or an angel!"  That's how special they were.
      The princess loved her castle, and her royal family, but sometimes she wished she could draw magical creatures who could fly her away to a quiet place. There she could draw and paint all the time, with no interruptions to stop her art.  She thought that sounded perfect!
     One day, Princess Madelene's rooster woke her up much too early!  She was still sleeping, and she was very tired, but she couldn't go back to sleep. Her brothers and sister were already playing and making noise. She was feeling grumpy.    She thought, "Maybe I could draw a baby dragon to fly me to a quiet place where I could take a nap."

      She tried it. She drew a baby dragon. It turned out really well.  The little wings were very strong. She made a wish, and the baby dragon flew off the paper and into her room!
           She was sleepy and tired, and she thought, "Well, I'll only be gone long enough to finish my sleep. Then I'll come right back. No one will miss me."
        She flew away to a quiet island with a big, fluffy bed on it. She went right to sleep. After awhile, though, she woke up and heard the sound of crying, from very far away.
     "Where's our Madelene?  We miss our Madelene! Madelene, come back!"  It was the King, the Queen, the princes, and the princess.  Even the silly old rooster was crying.  

      She looked around, but the baby dragon had left her alone.   

     Quickly, Princess Madelene pulled out her drawing paper, and drew a pretty picture of a large bird to fly her back to her castle. The bird flew off the paper, and bowed down before her, letting her climb onto its back.  Its powerful wings carried her home.
    Back she flew, over the water, back to her own country and her family who missed her, and back to that rooster who woke her up.
     The entire country celebrated her return that night.  The King and Queen let her stay up late to watch the fireworks.
     The baby dragon flew from the island to visit the bird. Princess Madelene decided to draw more creatures, so there could be a Royal Zoo, right at the Castle.
     Princesses Madelene and Olivia would take care of them, and the animals would play with her and their brothers, Samuel and Bennett.

I wrote this for my grand-daughter, Madelene for Christmas 2006 just before her 5th birthday.

      

Prince Samuel's Rescue

      Once upon a time, there was a good prince named Samuel. All of his people loved him, including his sisters, Princesses Madelene and Olivia, and his young brother, Prince Bennett.
      Prince Samuel's job was making sure that all the trains in the kingdom ran smoothly and on time.  He also was the boss of all large equipment: bulldozers, big trucks, cranes, and such things.

     Every time a child in the country had a birthday, a special train came over the mountains, bringing clowns and cakes and goodies to help the child celebrate.  Prince Samuel took care of the train tracks,  so the cakes came in time for the children on their special day.
      One day, however, a gigantic snow storm came to the country.  For days and days, the snow blew so hard and so fast that nobody could go outside of their houses.
      The streets were covered with snow, which piled up higher than the cars. Prince Samuel decided to call on his best helpers. He called the man who drove the royal snow plow.
      "Will you come and help us?"  he asked the snow plow driver.
      "Of course I will. The people must drive. The children must get to school. People need to go outside. I will begin plowing right away," he said. He was a very special man.  We need men like him, who are willing to go out in the cold to help the rest of us.
      "Thank you for working so hard for all the people of our country," said the prince. He new what a big difference the Driver would make.
      Then Prince Samuel remembered that the train tracks would also be covered with snow from this storm, and the trains would not be able to run.  The birthday cakes and clowns wouldn't be able to come over the mountains to help the children celebrate their birthdays!

     Prince Samuel decided that he himself must go to do the big job of clearing the tracks for all the trains, by using the royal backhoe. He started the engine, and drove it into the mountains. 
     When he came back that night, he was very tired.  He had worked hard all day, clearing snow and pushing fallen trees off the tracks.  It was dark when he returned to the castle.
     The King and Queen met him at the door.  His royal sisters and brother were there with them, and there was a great party.  Many of his friends had come to thank him for all his hard work clearing the snow.

     The next day, the trains arrived, bringing a special treat: it was his birthday! He and his twin sister, Princess Madelene, celebrated with cake and clowns, while his family and friends told him how glad they all are to have him in their country.  They all thank God for a boy just like him.  

I wrote this for my grandson, Samuel in 2006

Princess Elizabeth and the Valentines

      There was once a beautiful Princess named Elizabeth. She lived in a beautiful house in the woods with Prince Donald. 
      Princess Elizabeth made the most beautiful Valentines in the entire world. Every year, she would create them for her friends and loved ones.  People around the country and around the whole world would open their mailboxes to find her gorgeous Valentines.
     They would pull out their envelopes, and they would unfold them, gasping with joy, "This is exquisite! How did the Princess know I would love this? She looked into my heart, and sent what I've been needing."

     Yet every Valentine's Day, the Princess would go to her own mailbox, looking for Valentines.  Sometimes, there would be one or two or three.  She knew that other people loved her.  She really did.  She was thankful for the Valentines she opened, and she put them on her table, to see when she ate her royal breakfast and lunch.
     She also knew that, even when others didn't send her cards, people did love her. They were busy with their own lives. She just missed them. She tried not to feel sad inside in her quiet moments.
      But there was a place in her heart that wished for something more, something she could not even put into words.
      She remembered all the Valentines she had sent out over the years, all the times in her life when she had waited for a mailbox filled with Valentines from the people who had never really recognized how special she is, who she hoped would finally see the magic inside her.

     One night, Princess Elizabeth had a dream. In the dream, an angel took the Princes by her hand.  They went to a far-off place, somewhere very crowded.  There were lines and lines of men, women, and children, waiting patiently for something important.
      "Do I need to get in this line?" the Princess asked the angel.
      "Oh, no,"  laughed the angel.  "They are waiting for YOU! These are all the people whose lives have been made better by you.  You have loved them, or encouraged them, or prayed for them.  They may not have told you before, but they are here to tell you what you have meant to them and to the world."
      "But there are so many of them!" said the Princess.
      "Go through this door.  You'll need to squeeze around the line over to the side," the angel told her.
      It took her awhile, but they finally made their way through the doorway and outside, where they could see the hills, covered by the lines and lines of people, all waiting to tell her how much her life had made their lives more beautiful.
      When she woke up, Princess Elizabeth had tears on her cheek.  She knows that God understands what is in her heart, and God sees her needs and her motives when she gives to others. 
      Every now and then, she gets a glimmer that others just may see her heart, and the magic that's inside, too.  And when she gets to heaven, I bet the hills will be covered with crowds, waiting to say to her, "Thank you for your life."


[This is a story I wrote for my mother a few years ago on Valentine's Day.]