The Tale of the Seed Drop

Illustration by Emerson  Age:  3  Paris, TN
Mrs. Natalie's Childcare

          Emerson the dragonfly had just finished making a pile of seeds.  His parents had told him to work on his focusing skills.  They had made a circle in the dirt and told him he had to drop a seed in the circle while flying as high as the tops of the cattails three times in a row.  Then he could stop and go play with his friends.

Emerson stared at the pile of seeds with a pouty look on his face.  Then he glanced at his father who was flying over the tall grass not very far away.  He slowly flew to the pile and picked up a seed.  Then he flew to the edge of the clearing and turned toward the circle.  He dropped the seed, but missed the circle by quite a bit.

Just then Hayden the turtle lumbered up the path to the clearing.  “What you doing, Emerson,” asked Hayden.

“My parents are making me practice my focusing skills,” said Emerson miserably.  “I have to drop a seed in the circle while flying as high as the cattails three times in a row before I stop.”

“How’s it going?” asked Hayden.

“Terrible!” moaned Emerson. “I wish we could sneak off to the tall grass and play, but my dad is just over there.”

“I’ll stay here and watch, if that helps,” said Hayden encouragingly.  “Then when you do it, we can go play together.”

Before Emerson could respond, Xavier the frog jumped into the clearing.  “Hey guys,” called Xavier, “what you doing?”

“Emerson is trying to drop seeds into that circle,” said Hayden.  “He has to hit it three times in a row before he can stop and play.”

Emerson just gave Xavier a miserable look, picked up a seed, and tried again.  Xavier went over by Hayden to watch.  Again Emerson missed by quite a bit.

“Hey, Emerson,” said Xavier, “you’re never going to hit the circle if you keep looking away.  If I didn’t look at what I was trying to hit with my tongue, I might end up hitting anything.  I learned that the hard way when I tried to catch a fly in a thorn bush.”

Emerson just gave Xavier a nasty look, but this time when he tried to hit the circle he actually did try to keep looking at the circle.  He didn’t hit it, but he did get closer.

“That was better,” said Xavier, “but you still looked away right at the last minute.  Try again.”

Before Emerson could grab another seed and swing around for another try, Audra the duck waddled into the clearing.  “Hey, what are you guys doing?” asked Audra.

“Emerson’s trying to drop a seed into that circle.  He has to hit it three times in a row before he can come play,” said Xavier.

“How many times has he made it so far?” asked Audra.

“None,” Emerson said disgustedly as he swung around for another try.

This time Emerson concentrated on keeping his eye on the circle the whole time.  He dropped the seed, and it landed on the line of the circle and rolled inside.  His friends cheered.

“Hey, Emerson,” said Audra, “try dropping the seed just a little sooner.  I always have to aim right in front of a moving bug to catch it.”

Emerson grabbed another seed and swung around for another try.  He concentrated on keeping his eye on the circle the whole time and let go just a little bit earlier.  This time the seed landed right in the middle of the circle.  His friends really cheered this time. 

Now Emerson had a very determined look on his face.  That was two in a row.  If he could just hit it this time, he could go play with his friends.  He picked up another seed and swung around for a try.  He concentrated on doing it exactly as he had done it the last time, and sure enough, the seed landed right in the middle of the circle.  Now his friends were going wild!

Emerson looked toward the tall grass and saw his father watching.  His father gave him a big grin and nodded toward his friends.  Emerson grinned back and went to play with his friends.  Of all things, the friends decided to play target practice.  Normally, Emerson was horrible at that game, but this time he actually won.

The Tale of the Missing Waterlily

Illustration by Summer  Age:  8  Paris, TN

           Audra the duck sat on Polliwog Pond in the early morning sun.  She was admiring the waterlily that had bloomed recently before she started looking for her breakfast.  Yesterday her three friends, Emerson the dragonfly, Xavier the frog, and Hayden the turtle, and she had talked about how beautiful this particular waterlily was.  They all believed it was the prettiest flower any of them had ever seen.

            After a few minutes she ducked her head under the water looking for fat, juicy waterbugs.  They were her favorite breakfast.  Suddenly she spied the fattest waterbug she had ever seen.  She snapped at it, but missed.  This waterbug was fast, but she kept after it.  The waterbug swam over close to the stem of the water lily with Audra hot on its trail.  She snapped at the bug, but instead of the bug she snapped the stem of the waterlily completely in two.  Not realizing what she had just done, she continued to chase the bug until she finally caught it a few minutes later.  She came to the surface to enjoy the bug and saw the waterlily drifting out into the deep water.

            “Oh no!!” exclaimed Audra, “what have I done?”

            Just then, Xavier the frog landed on a lily pad not far from where Audra was swimming.

            “Good morning, Audra,” said Xavier.

            Not wanting anyone to know what she had just done, she gulped down her bug and said in a small voice, “Good morning, Xavier.”

            Xavier began to look around and asked, “Where is that waterlily we saw yesterday?  Wasn’t it right here?”

            Before Audra could say anything, Hayden the turtle walked up to the nearby shore.  Xavier called out to Hayden, “Good morning, Hayden.  Hey, do you know what happened to the waterlily that was here yesterday?”

            “I don’t know,” said Hayden.  “I hope nothing happened to it.  Are you sure it was here?”

            At this point Audra was on the verge of crying.  She didn’t want to lie to her friends, but she thought they would get mad at her if they knew what she had done.

            Audra opened her mouth to say something just as Emerson the dragonfly flew up to the friends.  “Hey guys,” called Emerson, “I just saw a waterlily floating out into the deep water that looks just like the one we saw here yesterday.  Wait, where is the waterlily?”

            Audra couldn’t stand it any longer.  She began to wail and cry trying to explain to her friends what happened to the beautiful waterlily.  It took several minutes for them to finally understand what she was talking about because she was crying so hard.

            “It’s okay, Audra,” said Xavier.  “It was an accident.  You didn’t mean to snap the waterlily’s stem.”

            “ I feel awful that we have lost such a beautiful waterlily,” cried Audra.

            “Maybe there is another one somewhere on the pond, “ said Emerson hopefully. 

            Emerson flew off to see if he could find another waterlily.  He really wanted to make Audra feel better about what happened to the other one.  After a few minutes he returned to his friends.

            “Hey guys, follow me,” said Emerson.  “I want to show you something.”

            The three friends followed Emerson as he led them to the other side of the pond.  Sure enough, Emerson had found another waterlily just as beautiful as the one that floated away.

            Audra dried her tears and smiled at Emerson.  “Oh, it’s just like the other one,” she exclaimed.  “Thank you, Emerson.  Now I don’t feel so bad about the other one.”

            “You're welcome,” said Emerson.

            The four friends sat for a while admiring and talking about the new waterlily.  Then they returned to the other side of the pond.  Audra swore to herself that she would not hunt for her breakfast anywhere near the new waterlily.  She never wanted to accidently do that again.

The Tale of the Blackberry Hunt

Illustration by Summer  Age:  8  Paris, TN

          Hayden the turtle was slowly making his way up the path toward the tall grass.  He was on a mission.  This morning he had heard two snakes talking while he was still in his shell about ripe blackberries over by the fence that divides the tall grass from the farmyard.  He didn’t know about other turtles, but he absolutely loved blackberries.  They were his favorite fruit.  He was going to get some even if it took him all day to get there.

            Suddenly Emerson the dragonfly flew up to him and landed on a piece of grass close to the path.  “Where are you going, Hayden?” asked Emerson.

            “I’m on my way to the fence between the tall grass and the farmyard.  I heard there were ripe blackberries over there.  I just have to get some before they are all gone,” explained Hayden.

            “But that will take you all day!” exclaimed Emerson.

            “I don’t care.  I LOVE blackberries, and they never last long.  I want to get some even if it does take me all day,” said Hayden.

            “Okay, good luck, Hayden,” Emerson said as he flew toward the pond.

            When Emerson arrived at the pond he found his two friends Audra the duck and Xavier the frog.  He told them about what Hayden was doing and said, “It’s going to take Hayden all day just to get to the fence.  That’s a long way.  Do you think we could do something to help him?”

            “Yeah, why don’t we go get the blackberries for him and bring them back to him,” suggested Audra.  “That way he won’t have to sleep at the fence tonight, but he’ll still get some blackberries.”

            “Great idea!” exclaimed Emerson and Xavier together.

            The three friends set out for the fence using a different path than Hayden.  Emerson flew overhead so he could help them find the shortest path to the blackberries.  Once they arrived at the blackberry briars, they realized they had a slight problem.  How would they pick the blackberries and get them to Hayden?

            “These blackberries have huge thorns!” Audra exclaimed.  “How are we going to get to them without getting stuck?’

            “When we do get them,” said Xavier, “how are we going to carry them?”

            The three friends sat and pondered their problem.  Suddenly Emerson flew away and returned with a large leaf.  “I’ve got an idea,” said Emerson.  “Xavier, you can knock the blackberries down with your tongue.  Next, Audra, you can pick them up and put them in this leaf basket I am making right now.  Then I will pick up the basket with my legs and fly them to Hayden.”

            The three friends all agreed that was a good plan and got right to work.  Xavier could knock the blackberries off without having to get close to the thorns.  He just had to be careful how he shot his tongue.  Audra very gently picked the berries up in her bill and placed them in the basket.  The basket could only hold three berries so Emerson made two baskets.  When they finished filling the first basket, Emerson took off to where Hayden was still slowly walking in their direction.  He placed the basket in front of Hayden and flew back to get the second basket.  When Emerson came back for the second basket, Audra was eating a few blackberries of her own.  Xavier wasn’t interested in the berries.  Emerson picked up the second basket and flew back to Hayden with his two friends right behind him.

            As the three friends approached Hayden, they saw him happily eating the blackberries from the first basket.  When he saw them, he said, “You guys are the greatest friends in the world.  Now I have blackberries, and I can still play with you for the rest of the afternoon.  Thanks a million!”

            “You’re welcome,” said Emerson, Audra, and Xavier together.  After Hayden finished his blackberries, the four friends played “Hide and Seek” in the tall grass until dark.  

The Tale of the Rainy Afternoon

Illustration by Kami  Age:  6  Paris, TN
Mrs. Natalie's Childcare

          Xavier the frog sat on his favorite lily pad taking his afternoon snooze.  Suddenly a drop of water hit him between the eyes.  Then another hit him in the middle of the back.  Soon it was raining.

            Xavier jumped off the lily pad and onto the shore.  Even though he didn’t mind being in the water, he didn’t like sitting out in the rain.  It was annoying to be constantly dripped on.  He began to search for some shelter from the rain.

            As he made his way down the path away from the pond, he ran into Hayden the turtle.  Actually he ran into Hayden’s shell because Hayden had pulled his head and legs inside to get away from the rain.

            “Excuse me, Hayden,” said Xavier.  “I didn’t mean to run over you.”

            Hayden barely poked his head out of his shell.  “That’s okay.  Sometimes it’s hard to see my shell when it’s raining.”

            “I wish I had a shell to crawl into when it rains,” said Xavier.  “It must be nice not having to search for shelter every time it rains.”

            “It is nice to take my shelter with me wherever I go,” said Hayden, “especially since it takes me so long to get anywhere.”

            “Well, I need to find somewhere to get out of this rain.  See you later, Hayden,” said Xavier as he jumped on down the path.

            “Bye, Xavier,” Hayden’s voice echoed as he pulled his head back into his shell.

            Soon Xavier came to the clearing where he and his friends normally played.  Off to the side in the tall grass, Xavier saw a place where the tall grass overlapped making a grass cave.  Inside the cave was Emerson the dragonfly.

            Xavier hopped over to the cave.  “Hey, Emerson, this is a cool cave you have here.  The rain doesn’t even drip in here at all.”

            “I know,” said Emerson, “I found this when it started to rain.  Maybe we can pretend to be pirates looking for treasure.”

            Just then the friends heard Audra the duck waddling up the path.  Soon she came over to the cave, but there wasn’t enough room for all of her.  She stuck her head inside and left her back out in the rain.

            “Sorry, Audra, but this cave isn’t big enough for all three of us,” apologized Emerson.

            “It’s okay,” explained Audra. “As long as I can stick my head inside out of the rain, I’m fine because the rain just runs off my back.  I hate the rain hitting me in the face.  Did I hear something about pirates?”

            For the rest of that rainy afternoon, the three friends stayed in their cave and had many grand adventures as pirates in search of lost treasure.

The Taming of Snow White

Illustration by Summer  Age:  8  Paris, TN

           
“Grandma, tell us a story, PLEASE!” exclaimed a wiggly redheaded girl of four.

            “Yeah, Grandma, tell us a story about when you were little,” echoed her seven-year-old sister.

            “Okay, sit down and be still and I’ll tell you about the time I tamed a wild kitten.”

            Back when I was little, we lived on a hog farm.  Our house sat on a small hill and the yard sloped down on the right-hand side about 50 yards to the gate of the pigpen.  My swing set sat at the top of the hill next to the driveway.  I spent most of my days playing in that side yard. 

            One summer day when I was eight years old, I spied something in the pigpen that was not a pig.  It was mostly white, but it had black, brown, orange, and even a little pink on it.  This animal was fluffy and much smaller than a baby pig.  It was a beautiful calico kitten.  Running immediately down to the fence of the pigpen, I tried to get a better view, but I scared it away.

            The next day I spotted it again.  This time I quietly sneaked down to the fence trying to make as little noise as possible.  The kitten walked along the outside wall of the barn where my daddy fed the pigs.  My heart nearly stood still.  It was the most beautiful kitten I had ever seen.  I quietly slipped away and went to ask my mom how I could get that kitten to be my kitten.

            My mom explained to me that it was a wild kitten and wasn’t used to people.  She said the only way to tame it would be to somehow find a way for it to get used to me.  She suggested putting out a bowl of milk everyday until it got used to being fed and then try to pet it while it was drinking.

            From that point I was on a mission.  The first day I placed a bowl of milk a few feet from the gate to the pigpen and went mostly up the hill to the house to sit and watch.  It took five minutes or so, but the kitten finally came to the bowl and sniffed the milk.  It took a couple of drinks and then shrank back.  Cautiously, it came back to the milk and drank some more.  I sat as perfectly still as I could.  When it finished the milk, it ran back to the pigpen.

            The next day I went out with the milk at about the same time as the day before.  I placed the milk on the ground a little farther from the gate this time.  I took up my position close to the top of the hill and waited.  It only took a couple of minutes this time before the kitten came to the bowl.  On this day every time the kitten started to drink, I would very slowly scoot forward.  When the kitten looked up, I would freeze.  Before the kitten finished the milk, I managed to get within 10 feet of it.

            This pattern continued for the next three days.  Each day I would come out with the milk at about the same time.  I would place it a little farther from the gate each day, and I would start farther down the hill each day.  Every time the kitten would drink, I would very slowly scoot forward.  When the kitten looked up, I would freeze.  By the end of the third day, I had managed to get within a couple of feet of the kitten.  I tried to reach out and touch the kitten, and scared it away.

            Disappointed that I had scared the kitten away, I didn’t give up.  The next day I went out with my bowl of milk at the same time.  This time the kitten was a little more cautious about coming to the bowl, but once it started drinking, we started our usual ritual.  This time I got much closer to the kitten, but didn’t try to touch it.  I stayed that close until the kitten finished.  While waiting for the kitten to finish, I decided the next day would be the day.  I would pet the kitten.

            The next day went exactly as the others had.  I slowly crept closer to the kitten every time it drank.  When I got as close as I had the day before, I sat there for several minutes being as still as possible.  Then I very quietly reached out my hand and gently touched the kitten.  The kitten backed up for just a second and then returned to the bowl.  This time I stroked the kitten’s back once.  Again the kitten backed away for a second, but returned to the bowl.  The third time I stroked the kitten several times and the kitten began to purr.  I knew I had succeeded. 

            It still took several days of petting the kitten while it was eating to make the kitten comfortable with me, but before long the kitten would come up to me when I came out with the bowl of milk.  After another week or so, the kitten actually let me pick it up.  At that point I figured out it was a girl kitten and named her Snow White.  She was officially my kitten.  

The Tale of the Foul Mood

Illustration by Madison  Age:  5  Paris, TN

          Audra the duck sat on the pond.  She wasn’t swimming.  She was just sitting there.  Earlier that morning while she was getting her breakfast off the bottom of the pond, her leg had been caught in an old net next to the shore.  When she tried to get loose, she pulled it so tight around her leg that it made a big, bad sore.  Now it hurt to swim, and it hurt to walk.  This was not a good day for Audra.

            While she sat thinking about how much her leg hurt, Emerson the dragonfly flew up and called, “Good morning, Audra.”

            Audra made a very angry face at Emerson.  Then she put her bill in the water, sucked up some water, and spewed it at Emerson.  Emerson barely had time to dodge the spray of water.  “Go away!” Audra yelled and turned her back on Emerson.

            Slowly Audra paddled to shore and limped up the path away from the pond.  Before long she came up behind Hayden the turtle.  He was heading away from the pond, too.  Audra came up beside Hayden and shoved him into the grass.  “Get out of my way!” Audra yelled at Hayden and continued down the path.

            After she had limped a few more feet, Xavier the frog suddenly jumped from the grass into the path before her.  This startled Audra.  She bit Xavier on the back leg and left him crying in the path.  Then she limped up the path until she reached a small clearing.  She sat down in the soft dirt and stuck her bottom lip WAY out.

            Meanwhile, Emerson, Hayden, and Xavier slowly crept up the path toward Audra.  They were afraid to get too close.  She might do something else mean to them. 

            Audra heard them coming, and suddenly she felt even worse.  She knew she had not been nice to her friends today.  She started to cry miserably.

            When her three friends heard her crying, they cautiously crept closer.  Emerson came even closer and asked, “What is wrong with you today, Audra?”

            For a few minutes Audra didn’t answer.  Then she quietly said, “Today has been a bad day.”

            Now Hayden and Xavier came closer.  Hayden asked her, “What happened?”

            Audra slowly told them all about the net and how she hurt her leg.  As she told the story she began to feel better.  When she was done, she showed her friends her big, bad sore spot on her leg.

            “Wow!  That must really hurt,” Xavier said.  “But now my leg hurts, too.”

            “I am so sorry I bit you, Xavier,” Audra apologized, “and I’m sorry I spit water at you, Emerson and that I pushed you off the path, Hayden.  I haven’t been very nice today, have I?”

            Her three friends looked at her and then looked at her leg.  “It’s okay, Audra.  You were in pain, but next time just tell us instead of being mean to us, okay?” Emerson said.

            “Okay,” said Audra.  “Hey, can we play something that will let me just sit here?”

            “Sure,” said her three friends at once.  For the rest of the afternoon they played games that let Audra sit.  

Cobalt's Quest for Jeans

Illustration by Summer  Age:  8  Paris, TN

It was a lazy summer afternoon for the toys in Coltyne’s room.  Their owner, Coltyne, was away at summer camp for the week.  Most of the toys were keeping busy with games and other things.  Everyone seemed happy, except for one.  Cobalt the robot was having a personal crisis.

            Cobalt was sitting in the corner holding a picture of a boy wearing jeans and a t-shirt.  Suddenly Cobalt the Robot exclaimed, “I’m tired of running around naked.  I want clothes especially a pair of really cool jeans.”

            An action figure that was playing nearby looked at Cobalt and said, “What does a robot need with clothes?  You’re not supposed to wear clothes.”

            “You get to have a cool uniform.  I just want to have something besides my plain outside,” replied Cobalt.

            The action figure responded, “Maybe some of Coltyne’s sister’s dolls will let you have some clothes.”

            Cobalt liked that idea and set off for Coltyne’s sister’s room.  Fortunately, Coltyne’s sister was downstairs watching TV.  Cobalt slowly opened the door and walked cautiously over to the dollhouse.

            “Excuse me,” said Cobalt, “I was wondering if maybe you had some clothes I could wear.”

            A doll with dark brown eyes and black hair walked up to Cobalt and laughed, “What does a robot need with clothes?”
             Embarrassed, Cobalt responded, “I just want something to wear besides my plain outside.”

            The doll rolled her eyes and shouted to the other dolls, “Hey, do you guys think we have anything that will fit this robot?”

            Another doll with blue eyes and blond hair walked up with a shirt and pair of pants in her hands.  Cobalt smiled at the doll.  These clothes looked promising, but when he tried to put his leg into the pants they didn’t fit over his feet.  The shirt also wouldn’t go over his head.  Disgusted, Cobalt turned and left Coltyne’s sister’s room.

            He wasn’t ready to give up his quest just yet, so he sneaked down the stairs and into the empty kitchen.  A salt shaker in the shape of a chef greeted him as he entered, “Good afternoon, what brings you to the kitchen?”

            “I’m trying to find something to wear.  I tried to put on some doll clothes, but they didn’t fit.  I just want something on instead of my plain outside,” stated Cobalt.  “What I really want is a cool pair of jeans.”

            “Well, maybe you can make some clothes,” suggested the salt shaker.  “That way you will know they fit.”

             “Good idea,” replied Cobalt regaining some hope.  “What do you suggest I use?”

            “Let’s see,” thought the salt shaker.  “For jeans you will need to find something that is long and kind of stretchy.  I think there are some banana peels in the trash.  They are really long.  They might work.”

            Cobalt went over to the trash can and climbed up to the top.  It smelled horrible, but sure enough, there on the top were two banana peels.  He carefully crawled down the side, grabbed the banana peels, and quickly climbed out.  Once he was back on the floor, he carefully spread out the banana peels and inspected them.  This just might work.  He stepped on the connected top of the banana peels and spread the flaps of the peels up his legs.  The banana peels stuck to his legs as he smoothed them out.  They came all the way up to his waist.  He thought maybe he had succeeded until he saw his reflection in the toaster.   He looked ridiculous.  Disgusted he threw the banana peels back in the trash.  Feeling defeated, a sticky, smelly Cobalt made his way back up the stairs to Coltyne’s room.

            Once back in the room Cobalt slumped into a corner.  A toy orca made his way over to Cobalt and sat beside him.  When the orca gave him a questioning look, Cobalt replied, “Don’t ask.”

            “I heard you talking earlier about wanting clothes,” said the orca.  “I guess your search didn’t go well.”

            Cobalt just groaned.

            “You know, if I tried to put on clothes I would look ridiculous, too,” stated the orca, “but Coltyne plays with me just the way I am.  You are one of Coltyne’s favorite toys.  He doesn’t care whether or not you have clothes.  He likes you just the way you are.”

            Cobalt thought about what the orca had said.  He knew Coltyne didn’t care whether or not he had clothes.  Maybe he shouldn’t either.

            “You’re right,” sighed Cobalt.  “I looked totally ridiculous with clothes on.  I guess if Coltyne plays with me, I should be okay with that.”

            “Maybe you should go to the bathroom and wash off.  You smell horrible,” said the orca wrinkling up his nose.

            Cobalt grinned and trekked off to the bathroom to wash.

The Adventures of Polliwog Pond: Teaching Tips for These Stories

The Adventures of Polliwog Pond: Teaching Tips for These Stories: Hi, my name is Natalie Wade.  I have a master's degree in Family and Consumer Sciences with an emphasis in Child and Family Studies from...