Continued from yesterday.....
The princess stayed with the woodcutter and his family for a few more days. She never told them who she was because she didn’t think they would believe her. After all, she thought, who would believe that she was be the king’s own daughter when he had never come looking for her. They would just think she was making it up.
At last, the princess knew it was time to move on and try to find her father’s palace. She wasn’t sure she wanted to see him again. She was pretty sure he wouldn’t want to see her, and she was angry at the King for leaving her with the dragon, but she wanted to see her old home just the same.
The journey was long and hard. More times than she could tell, she slept out in the cold with only an apple or some nuts to keep her stomach from growling. Sometimes she would find a home with a family that would let her spend the night. Most people were nice and tried to help her. She, in turn, learned to show her gratitude by doing chores or taking care of their children. Slowly she began to remember how to be kind and tender, qualities she had forgotten while living with the dragon.
Meanwhile, the King continued the search for his daughter. At last, he heard a rumor that the dragon had been seen in a far away kingdom, alone. Immediately, the King sent the canary to that land to find out if the rumor was true. Everyone at the palace felt sure this meant that the princess was dead. When they tried to console the King, however, he rebuked the idea completely, and continued his search. In his heart he knew that his daughter was still alive.
Finally one evening just as the sun was going down, the princess came to the top of a hill and saw the King’s palace down in the valley below. It was beautiful, with the rays of the setting sun shining on it’s walls, and green trees in the park around it blooming with spring blossoms. The princess caught her breath as she saw her old home. How she longed to be inside those walls, sitting on her father’s lap, forgetting all the long years of pain and loneliness she had endured.
For just a second, she believed that if she was inside the palace, the past would disappear. Then the words she had heard in her mind over and over for so many years came back to her. "He doesn’t really love you. He didn’t even try to rescue you."
The princess’s eyes filled with tears. Was it true? Had her daddy forgotten her? Hesitantly she made her way down the hill towards the palace. No one was outside. Cautiously the princess crept up to a window and peeked in. She found herself looking into the long dining room. There were many princes and princesses sitting at the table, eating their dinner. She strained to see to the end of the table, and when a lady leaned forward she saw the King! How handsome he still was! He was talking to the princess next to him, and he was laughing.
Suddenly, all the hurt and anguish of those awful years rushed into the Princess’s heart. "He doesn’t love me!" she cried in despair. "Look at him. He doesn’t even remember me. He’s happy without me!" Sobs wrenched from deep down inside her soul, as she turned from the window and blindly rushed out into the garden and away from the palace. "My daddy doesn’t love me," she cried over and over again. "He doesn’t love me. He never came to get me. He doesn’t love me."
She didn’t stop running until she was far, far away. Finally, exhausted, she tripped over a root bumping up out of the ground, and fell in a heap under a big tree. Still sobbing, she curled up in a ball and cried herself to sleep. The sun, shining through green leaves, finally woke the princess the next morning. She turned over, stiff and sore, and sat up. It was a beautiful spring morning, but her heart was so heavy she couldn’t see the beauty around her.
"What am I going to do now?" she asked herself finally. "Where will I go?"
Cradling her head in her hands, she sat beneath the tree in despair. She was so forlorn and self absorbed that she didn’t hear a horse approaching down the road she sat next to. It was almost upon her before she looked up.
The horse was a beautiful white stallion, proud and strong, and on his back sat the King. He was never able to sleep long for worrying about his daughter, and often left the palace early in the morning to search for her. At once, the princess recognized her father, but he was galloping by so quickly she knew he would never know who she was. Not only had she grown into a young woman, she was also tattered and dirty. The king hardly had time to glance down at the shabby girl who sat by the side of the road before his horse galloped on. But then he pulled sharply on the reigns and stopped the horse abruptly. Turning in the saddle, he looked back at the forlorn figure. Suddenly, he was off the horse, running back up the road as fast as he could.
"My daughter, my daughter," he cried as he rushed to her and picked her up and held her tightly to his breast. "Oh, my daughter," he sobbed as he kissed her hair and bathed her in his tears.
The princess also cried, but at last she pulled herself free from her father’s embrace and looked at him with both anger and longing in her eyes. "Why didn’t you come for me?" she sobbed. "Oh daddy, why didn’t you come and get me?"
The King gently enfolded her in his strong arms again, and whispered into her hair. "Because I loved you, my dear."
She pulled away from him and demanded, "How can you say that? You left me there with that horrible dragon. You didn’t even know if I was alive or dead!"
"Yes I did," he told her gently. "I sent the canary to be with you whenever it could, and he told me what was happening to you. I wanted to come and get you, but if I had, the dragon would have killed you. I didn’t come because I loved you."
Then the king enfolded his daughter in his arms again, and held her close. "I have searched for you every day since I learned that you left the dragon’s castle. At last, I have found you. Come home with me, please."
continued until tomorrow.........
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
The Lost Princess - part 7
continued from yesterday.....
The canary flew into the castle two nights later for his monthly visit and found the place empty. He flew home immediately to report to the King that the princess and the dragon were both gone. The poor King was more worried than he had been in years. Now he didn’t know where his daughter was, or if she was even alive.
The King sent out new search parties, and went riding through the forests himself, looking for the princess. The canary also began to search, flying high overhead, looking for his friend.
Meanwhile, the princess made her way slowly down the rugged mountain, slipping and sliding over boulders and through streams. At last she reached the forest at the foot of the mountain, and found a small hut half hidden beneath pine trees. She hesitated to open the door, but it was growing dusk, and she was afraid of being in the woods alone at night. Inside the hut she found a warm fire blazing in a fireplace, and a young family sitting around a table, just beginning to eat their evening meal. The father stood as the princess opened the door.
"Oh!" she gasped when she saw the family. "I didn't know anyone was in here."
"No matter," the father said as he stared at the teenage girl in astonishment.
His wife took in the princess’s tattered clothes and the bundle she carried over her shoulder. "You have come far, my dear. Come in and sit by the fire. You look worn out."
"You want me to come in," the princess asked? She was shocked that these people would invite a complete stranger into their home.
"We are just about to eat our supper," the wife explained. "I will get a bowl of soup for you, too. It will help to warm you." Quickly she poured a little soup from each of the bowls on the table into a new bowl and placed it in front of the princess.
The princess was amazed that they would give her their food, but she was hungry and cold, so she took it. "I have some bread in my bag," the girl said uncertainly, reaching into her bag for a loaf of bread she had found in the castle. "It is a few days old, and pretty hard, but it will taste good if you dip it in the soup."
The children clapped their hands when they heard this. Their father was a woodcutter, and times were hard for the little family. Usually all they had to eat was soup made from rabbits or squirrels the father was able to catch, and a few wild onions the mother found in the woods. They had not had bread for a long time.
That night the family feasted, and talked long with the princess. She had been locked up in the castle for so many years that she didn’t know what was going on in the world outside. Finally, the wife made a soft bed for the princess out of blankets laid down on the floor in front of the fireplace, and she went to sleep. In the morning, she helped the woodcutter’s wife feed the children, using the last of the food in her pack. As she fed the littlest child, the mother looked up to see the princess studying her.
"What is it", she asked. "You look as if there is something you would like to ask me."
"I was just wondering," the Princess answered timidly. "You wear a beautiful gold crown on your head. How is it that a woodcutter’s wife had the opportunity to go to school and become learned?"
"Bless my soul," answered the woman. "I haven’t been to school, not ever. How could such as I go to school?" and she laughed merrily.
"But, then how did you get that gold crown?" asked the princess. "I was told we earned our crowns through learning.
"I don’t know why my crown is gold," answered the wife, "but I suspect I have learned as much as another just by living, though I wouldn’t be able to write my own name if you asked me. How about you? How much schooling have you had?"
"Oh, not very much," the princess admitted in dismay. "I went when I was a little girl, but I haven’t been able to go to school for many, many years."
"Then how do you explain your crown," asked the wife.
"My crown?" said the princess in amazement. "I don’t have a crown."
"Then what is that pretty thing sitting on your head?" asked the woman with a laugh.
The princess put her hands up to her head. Sure enough, she felt a crown there. How had she never felt it before?
The woodcutter’s wife went and found a small piece of looking glass, which she kept tucked away in a corner of the hut. "Here you go," she said. "See for yourself what a lovely crown you wear."
The princess took the glass, and looked in amazement at her own reflection. She wore a beautiful crown made from a single strand of twisted gold.
She looked at the woodcutter’s wife, then back at her reflection in disbelief. "Oh," she said in awe.
continued tomorrow.....
The canary flew into the castle two nights later for his monthly visit and found the place empty. He flew home immediately to report to the King that the princess and the dragon were both gone. The poor King was more worried than he had been in years. Now he didn’t know where his daughter was, or if she was even alive.
The King sent out new search parties, and went riding through the forests himself, looking for the princess. The canary also began to search, flying high overhead, looking for his friend.
Meanwhile, the princess made her way slowly down the rugged mountain, slipping and sliding over boulders and through streams. At last she reached the forest at the foot of the mountain, and found a small hut half hidden beneath pine trees. She hesitated to open the door, but it was growing dusk, and she was afraid of being in the woods alone at night. Inside the hut she found a warm fire blazing in a fireplace, and a young family sitting around a table, just beginning to eat their evening meal. The father stood as the princess opened the door.
"Oh!" she gasped when she saw the family. "I didn't know anyone was in here."
"No matter," the father said as he stared at the teenage girl in astonishment.
His wife took in the princess’s tattered clothes and the bundle she carried over her shoulder. "You have come far, my dear. Come in and sit by the fire. You look worn out."
"You want me to come in," the princess asked? She was shocked that these people would invite a complete stranger into their home.
"We are just about to eat our supper," the wife explained. "I will get a bowl of soup for you, too. It will help to warm you." Quickly she poured a little soup from each of the bowls on the table into a new bowl and placed it in front of the princess.
The princess was amazed that they would give her their food, but she was hungry and cold, so she took it. "I have some bread in my bag," the girl said uncertainly, reaching into her bag for a loaf of bread she had found in the castle. "It is a few days old, and pretty hard, but it will taste good if you dip it in the soup."
The children clapped their hands when they heard this. Their father was a woodcutter, and times were hard for the little family. Usually all they had to eat was soup made from rabbits or squirrels the father was able to catch, and a few wild onions the mother found in the woods. They had not had bread for a long time.
That night the family feasted, and talked long with the princess. She had been locked up in the castle for so many years that she didn’t know what was going on in the world outside. Finally, the wife made a soft bed for the princess out of blankets laid down on the floor in front of the fireplace, and she went to sleep. In the morning, she helped the woodcutter’s wife feed the children, using the last of the food in her pack. As she fed the littlest child, the mother looked up to see the princess studying her.
"What is it", she asked. "You look as if there is something you would like to ask me."
"I was just wondering," the Princess answered timidly. "You wear a beautiful gold crown on your head. How is it that a woodcutter’s wife had the opportunity to go to school and become learned?"
"Bless my soul," answered the woman. "I haven’t been to school, not ever. How could such as I go to school?" and she laughed merrily.
"But, then how did you get that gold crown?" asked the princess. "I was told we earned our crowns through learning.
"I don’t know why my crown is gold," answered the wife, "but I suspect I have learned as much as another just by living, though I wouldn’t be able to write my own name if you asked me. How about you? How much schooling have you had?"
"Oh, not very much," the princess admitted in dismay. "I went when I was a little girl, but I haven’t been able to go to school for many, many years."
"Then how do you explain your crown," asked the wife.
"My crown?" said the princess in amazement. "I don’t have a crown."
"Then what is that pretty thing sitting on your head?" asked the woman with a laugh.
The princess put her hands up to her head. Sure enough, she felt a crown there. How had she never felt it before?
The woodcutter’s wife went and found a small piece of looking glass, which she kept tucked away in a corner of the hut. "Here you go," she said. "See for yourself what a lovely crown you wear."
The princess took the glass, and looked in amazement at her own reflection. She wore a beautiful crown made from a single strand of twisted gold.
She looked at the woodcutter’s wife, then back at her reflection in disbelief. "Oh," she said in awe.
continued tomorrow.....
Sunday, January 29, 2012
The Lost Princess - part 6
Little by little, the princess got used to living with the great serpent. She stopped being afraid of it, and in time she grew accustomed to being chained. She made the mistake one day, of saying that her daddy would come and get her. The dragon jerked it’s leg back in anger, pulling the chain and scratching her neck terribly.
"The king isn’t going to come and get you," it laughed with a terrible sound. "Don’t you know that the king doesn’t even think about you any more. He’s got lots of princes and princesses to keep him company. He’s not going to put himself in danger for you!"
Oh, these words sunk into the princess’s heart like a dagger. "That’s not true!" she exclaimed. "My daddy does too love me, and he’s going to come and get me!"
But over the days and weeks and years that followed, it was hard to keep believing that it was true. If her daddy really did love her, why didn’t he come?
Every month the canary would fly in through the window at night, and keep the princess company. When he was there she could believe and have faith in her daddy. But during the long days and longer nights when she lay alone by the dragon, she found it hard to believe that the king still thought about her. What if he didn’t come? What if he didn’t love her enough to rescue her?
Slowly, slowly, the little princess began to believe that her daddy didn’t love her. At least, not enough to come get her. Slowly, slowly, the little princess also began to grow up. She changed from a little girl to a teenager, beautiful and lonely. Eventually the girl forgot what it was like to be a princess. She got so used to living with the dragon that she began to act like it. Instead of being kind and gentle like her father, she became hard and selfish. Worst of all, as the years passed a deep anger grew in her heart towards her father, whom she now blamed for all of her troubles.
Ten years passed, but the king never scaled the mountains or tried to get his daughter back. At last, the dragon saw that it hadn’t won after all. It had stayed chained to the princess all this time, waiting for the King to come rescue her. The dragon had planned to kill the princess right in front of her father’s eyes, knowing that would destroy the king as well. Finally, the dragon realized that the King wasn’t coming. Somehow, he had known, even better than the dragon, that rescuing his daughter would have destroyed her. Instead, he had given the princess the chance to grow up.
The dragon was so outraged when it finally realized that it’s plan had failed that it breathed fire and smoke for five whole days, making the castle so hot and miserable that the princess thought she was going to die. When the dragon finally calmed down it decided it was pointless staying cooped up in the castle any longer. It unlocked the chain around the princess’s neck and flew off to find another way to hurt the king.
The princess didn’t know what to do at first. She had been chained to the dragon for so long she had forgotten how to live any other way. She waited around the castle for three days, expecting the dragon to return at any moment. On the fourth day, when she finally realized that she was free, she searched through the castle for food and warm clothing, then opened the front gate and set out to find her way home.
"The king isn’t going to come and get you," it laughed with a terrible sound. "Don’t you know that the king doesn’t even think about you any more. He’s got lots of princes and princesses to keep him company. He’s not going to put himself in danger for you!"
Oh, these words sunk into the princess’s heart like a dagger. "That’s not true!" she exclaimed. "My daddy does too love me, and he’s going to come and get me!"
But over the days and weeks and years that followed, it was hard to keep believing that it was true. If her daddy really did love her, why didn’t he come?
Every month the canary would fly in through the window at night, and keep the princess company. When he was there she could believe and have faith in her daddy. But during the long days and longer nights when she lay alone by the dragon, she found it hard to believe that the king still thought about her. What if he didn’t come? What if he didn’t love her enough to rescue her?
Slowly, slowly, the little princess began to believe that her daddy didn’t love her. At least, not enough to come get her. Slowly, slowly, the little princess also began to grow up. She changed from a little girl to a teenager, beautiful and lonely. Eventually the girl forgot what it was like to be a princess. She got so used to living with the dragon that she began to act like it. Instead of being kind and gentle like her father, she became hard and selfish. Worst of all, as the years passed a deep anger grew in her heart towards her father, whom she now blamed for all of her troubles.
Ten years passed, but the king never scaled the mountains or tried to get his daughter back. At last, the dragon saw that it hadn’t won after all. It had stayed chained to the princess all this time, waiting for the King to come rescue her. The dragon had planned to kill the princess right in front of her father’s eyes, knowing that would destroy the king as well. Finally, the dragon realized that the King wasn’t coming. Somehow, he had known, even better than the dragon, that rescuing his daughter would have destroyed her. Instead, he had given the princess the chance to grow up.
The dragon was so outraged when it finally realized that it’s plan had failed that it breathed fire and smoke for five whole days, making the castle so hot and miserable that the princess thought she was going to die. When the dragon finally calmed down it decided it was pointless staying cooped up in the castle any longer. It unlocked the chain around the princess’s neck and flew off to find another way to hurt the king.
The princess didn’t know what to do at first. She had been chained to the dragon for so long she had forgotten how to live any other way. She waited around the castle for three days, expecting the dragon to return at any moment. On the fourth day, when she finally realized that she was free, she searched through the castle for food and warm clothing, then opened the front gate and set out to find her way home.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
The Lost Princess - part 5
At once, the King ordered his soldiers to go after the princess. Day after day they rode through the kingdom, looking for some sign of the dragon. Night after night they returned to the palace, worn and discouraged. The king himself, led the search, but no matter how far they looked, they could find no sign of the dragon or the princess.
That evening the canary flew back to the mountain. When it was dark, he softly flew in through a window and perched on the pillow where the princess lay her head. Very gently he tweaked her ear.
The princess stirred, and then sat up quickly. It was totally dark in the castle, and she could not see anything. She could tell the dragon was sleeping in its lair only a few feet away, so what had awakened her, she wondered?
Ever so softly, the canary moved over and rubbed it’s soft feathers against her cheek.
"Canary," she whispered in amazement. "Is that you?"
"Yes, princess," it whispered back. "I’m here, but we must be quiet or the dragon will wake up."
"Oh, canary," the princess breathed in relief. "I am so glad you found me. Is my daddy here, too?"
"No, princess, I’m sorry," the canary answered. "If the king tried to get into this castle, the dragon would kill you for sure. Your father doesn’t want that to happen."
"But he can’t leave me here!" the young girl cried.
"Shsssss, princess," the canary warned. "Be calm. Your father is studying every way he can to find a way to save you. For now, you must be patient."
The poor child was heartbroken to learn that her daddy wasn’t coming yet, but she was so glad to have the canary near by that she remained calm. All night he stayed by her, rubbing his soft feathers against her cheek and whispering encouraging words into her ear.
Before morning, her pet flew away, leaving the princess alone. It was hard to let him go, but she felt better knowing that her father at least knew where she was.
Many days went by while she waited for her daddy to come. She was comfortable enough, she had good food to eat and a nice place to live, but she missed her father more than words could tell.
At last, in the night, the canary came back to visit her.
"Is my daddy coming?" she asked him first of all.
"Not yet, princess," he replied. "It is still not safe for him to try to rescue you. But he sends his love and wants you to not be afraid."
"Sends his love," she almost exploded. Then, remembering she must whisper, "What do you mean, sends his love? If he loved me he would come and get me!"
"Princess, please," the canary begged. "Your daddy loves you more than words can tell. He misses you so much that he can hardly eat or sleep with worry, but he knows that if he tries to come and take you the dragon will kill you. You have to be patient."
Being patient was something the princess did not want to do. How long was she going to have to wait for her daddy to rescue her? She began to cry softly. The canary nestled his soft feathers into the side of her neck.
"Princess, princess, don’t cry," he pled. "I’m here, and you’re daddy will come as soon as he can. Please, princess, don’t cry."
Again, the bird spent all night trying to sooth the child. It helped to have his soft feathers smooth her cheek, and his warm little body comforted her as he nestled into the crook of her neck. While he was there, she almost stopped feeling frightened. But in the morning, he was gone, and she was left alone with the dragon.
"Why don’t you come every night?" she asked the bird the next time he came. "I feel so much better when you are here."
"I am afraid to come too often," the canary explained. "If the dragon awoke and found me visiting you, it would kill me."
That evening the canary flew back to the mountain. When it was dark, he softly flew in through a window and perched on the pillow where the princess lay her head. Very gently he tweaked her ear.
The princess stirred, and then sat up quickly. It was totally dark in the castle, and she could not see anything. She could tell the dragon was sleeping in its lair only a few feet away, so what had awakened her, she wondered?
Ever so softly, the canary moved over and rubbed it’s soft feathers against her cheek.
"Canary," she whispered in amazement. "Is that you?"
"Yes, princess," it whispered back. "I’m here, but we must be quiet or the dragon will wake up."
"Oh, canary," the princess breathed in relief. "I am so glad you found me. Is my daddy here, too?"
"No, princess, I’m sorry," the canary answered. "If the king tried to get into this castle, the dragon would kill you for sure. Your father doesn’t want that to happen."
"But he can’t leave me here!" the young girl cried.
"Shsssss, princess," the canary warned. "Be calm. Your father is studying every way he can to find a way to save you. For now, you must be patient."
The poor child was heartbroken to learn that her daddy wasn’t coming yet, but she was so glad to have the canary near by that she remained calm. All night he stayed by her, rubbing his soft feathers against her cheek and whispering encouraging words into her ear.
Before morning, her pet flew away, leaving the princess alone. It was hard to let him go, but she felt better knowing that her father at least knew where she was.
Many days went by while she waited for her daddy to come. She was comfortable enough, she had good food to eat and a nice place to live, but she missed her father more than words could tell.
At last, in the night, the canary came back to visit her.
"Is my daddy coming?" she asked him first of all.
"Not yet, princess," he replied. "It is still not safe for him to try to rescue you. But he sends his love and wants you to not be afraid."
"Sends his love," she almost exploded. Then, remembering she must whisper, "What do you mean, sends his love? If he loved me he would come and get me!"
"Princess, please," the canary begged. "Your daddy loves you more than words can tell. He misses you so much that he can hardly eat or sleep with worry, but he knows that if he tries to come and take you the dragon will kill you. You have to be patient."
Being patient was something the princess did not want to do. How long was she going to have to wait for her daddy to rescue her? She began to cry softly. The canary nestled his soft feathers into the side of her neck.
"Princess, princess, don’t cry," he pled. "I’m here, and you’re daddy will come as soon as he can. Please, princess, don’t cry."
Again, the bird spent all night trying to sooth the child. It helped to have his soft feathers smooth her cheek, and his warm little body comforted her as he nestled into the crook of her neck. While he was there, she almost stopped feeling frightened. But in the morning, he was gone, and she was left alone with the dragon.
"Why don’t you come every night?" she asked the bird the next time he came. "I feel so much better when you are here."
"I am afraid to come too often," the canary explained. "If the dragon awoke and found me visiting you, it would kill me."
Friday, January 27, 2012
The Lost Princess - part 4
continued from yesterday.....
The dragon stood in the center of the floor, swinging its head back and forth. The others on the dance floor were slowly backing away, as if afraid of the giant serpent.
"What is wrong?" the princess heard her father ask, as he pushed his way through the crowds towards the dragon.
The dragon slowly turned its body fully around to face the King. "I will not be insulted!" the dragon hissed at the king.
"Who has insulted you?" the king asked. "I’m sure no one meant to."
"Yes, they did," the dragon replied menacingly. "They," and it pointed towards a group of unicorns, "said that my magic is inferior to theirs."
"I am sure you misunderstood," the King reiterated calmly. "Everyone in this kingdom has different magical qualities, but we never compare ourselves. One person's strength may not be the same as another, but we are each endowed with wonderful gifts."
"Soooooo," the dragon hissed slowly. "Do you think that I am as powerful as you?"
"Of course," the king insisted. "But it doesn’t matter how much magic you have. It matters how you use it."
"I see," the dragon’s eyes narrowed in hatred. "And how do you think I should be using my magic?"
"To improve yourself and others," answered the King simply.
"And you don’t think that is what I have been doing?" sneered the dragon. "Well, perhaps I can find a better way to serve you, Your Majesty." And then, in a voice filled with hatred, it prophesied, "I will prove to you, oh King, just how powerful, and beneficent I really am. Tonight, I will leave your kingdom. In so doing I will provide a great service to you! I will give you a chance to prove your power. Then we shall see who is the most magical creature in the world!"
Suddenly, with a fluid motion, the dragon’s great wings unfurled and he rose from the dance floor. Hovering above the king, he looked him straight in the eye. His voice dripping with hatred, he said, "To help me become worthy of your continued attention, oh King, I shall take someone with me who can teach me how to become as good as you."
Swiftly, before the king or anyone knew what was happening, the great serpent swept up to the balcony and grabbed the little princess with its claws.
"No!" cried the king. "Stop him!"
Immediately the king’s guards drew their swords and rushed at the dragon.
"Do you really think you can stop me?" it laughed as it rose into the air.
Seeing they would be unable to get at the beast with their swords, archers stepped forward and drew back their arrows to shoot. With a roar, the dragon opened it’s mouth and shot flire thirty feet into the air. Draperies at the windows burst into flame, and women screamed as they tried to keep their gowns from catching on fire. In the chaos, the dragon hovered above the dance floor, the princess dangling from its claws.
The canary flew after them in a desperate attempt to help. He grabbed at the princesses golden necklace and pulled, but it broke from around her neck and fell into the flames below as the dragon flew out of the window, carrying the princess off into the night.
In anguish, the king stooped to pick up the golden medallion and held it to his breast as he watched the giant serpent fly away, the hot metal searing his hand like the pain that seared his heart.
to be continued tomorrow.......
Thursday, January 26, 2012
The Lost Princess - part 3
continued from yesterday.....
As the evening came to an end, the princess saw a flash of yellow. She looked up and saw her pet canary flying down the hall that led to the balcony. This canary was her special friend. He lived in a golden cage in her bedroom, though he often flew around the palace. Now he landed on the princess’s shoulder and tweaked her ear, almost as if he were giving her a kiss.
"Canary," the princess laughed in delight. "I’m so glad you came. Now you can see all the lovely dancers. Aren’t they beautiful?"
"Yes," answered the bird, who knew how to talk very well. "It looks like it has been a wonderful party."
"Oh, it has!" sighed the princess. "I have seen so many pretty dresses and handsome men. And look, the dragon is here tonight, too. Doesn’t it look magnificent"?
"Yes," answered the canary. "But I would rather not have to look at it!"
"Why,’ she wanted to know. "Don’t you like the dragon?"
"No, I do not," said the bird. "That dragon is as cunning and selfish a creature as there ever was."
"But why did my daddy let it come to the ball, then?" the princess asked.
"Because your father is wise and fair," answered the bird. "He allows everyone the right live in his kingdom."
"Oh," answered the child, a little uncertainly.
"I see you are wearing a new pendant," the canary remarked, changing the subject. "It looks very lovely with your pretty new frock."
"Thank you," beamed the princess as she smoothed her yellow satin skirt and then fingered the necklace. "Daddy gave it to me this morning. See, it has my name engraved in the gold. He gave it to me so I wouldn’t be sad that I couldn’t go to the dance tonight. It won’t be long before I’m old enough to join them, though."
The bird tuned his little head on it’s side and looked at her sadly. "You are right, soon you will be old enough to go to dances, and too old to play with a pet canary any more."
"I’ll never be too old for you!" the child assured him as she ruffled the soft yellow feathers under his chin. "I love you."
continued till tomorrow.......... (am I making the parts of the story too short?)
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
The Lost Princess - part 2
continued from yesterday......
One late summer evening the King held a great ball. Everyone in the kingdom was invited to attend, and although the little princess was too young to dance down in the great hall she looked forward to the evening with much excitement.
When the day arrived she put on her prettiest dress. It had a buttercup-yellow silk overskirt, tied with a yellow ribbon that hung down over a cream underskirt. Short, puffed sleeves were also tied with yellow ribbons. The little princess tied a matching yellow ribbon in her long dark hair, and thought she looked very pretty when she stood in front of her mirror. If only she could go down to the dance floor with everyone else.
The princess made sure she was ready early, then she skipped to her favorite balcony so she could watch as the guests arrived. They were lovely! The little princess oohed and aahed as she watched the beautiful people enter the hall.
Everyone in the ballroom wore a crown on their head. Each crown was different. The king wore a stately crown that looked like it was made from twisted strands of gold. Held within the golden bands were five large stones. A diamond, a ruby, an emerald, a sapphire, and an amethyst. No one else’s crown had as many jewels, in fact, most had no jewels at all. Some crowns were carved from polished wood. Others were silver, and a few were made from gold. Every now and then the princess would see a crown adorned with one or two rubies or emeralds, but not often.
The little princess saw a lovely older lady sitting in a chair at the edge of the dance floor. She wore a beautiful golden crown on her head, and there were three sparkling opals set in the gold. She watched the lady all evening. She never moved from her chair to dance or join the feasting in the banquet hall.
Later, when the king stopped to see how his daughter was doing, she pointed out the lady below, and asked about her.
"How did she get such a lovely crown?" she wanted to know.
"She earned it," the king answered. "All crowns are earned, little one. Some day you will have a crown of your own."
"What do I have to do to earn it?" the princess asked. She wanted to have a crown as pretty as that woman’s.
"Oh, many things," her father replied. "To begin with, you must learn as much as you can. The more you learn, the nicer your crown will be."
"Is that why her crown has jewels in it," the princess wanted to know. "Does she know more than everyone else?"
"She is very wise," the king answered. "but it’s more than that. That lady’s crown is beautiful because she has learned how to give happiness to other people instead of trying to find it for herself."
The princess thought about what her father said the rest of the evening. She wondered if she would ever wear a crown as wonderful as the one the lady wore. She saw that most of the princes and princesses who lived in the palace wore only polished wood crowns. It seemed that they hadn’t learned much yet, even though her father required everyone to go to school.
Later in the evening she saw the dragon and she looked at it’s head. It was wearing a bright silver crown. Apparently the dragon knew more than most of the princes and princesses.
One late summer evening the King held a great ball. Everyone in the kingdom was invited to attend, and although the little princess was too young to dance down in the great hall she looked forward to the evening with much excitement.
When the day arrived she put on her prettiest dress. It had a buttercup-yellow silk overskirt, tied with a yellow ribbon that hung down over a cream underskirt. Short, puffed sleeves were also tied with yellow ribbons. The little princess tied a matching yellow ribbon in her long dark hair, and thought she looked very pretty when she stood in front of her mirror. If only she could go down to the dance floor with everyone else.
The princess made sure she was ready early, then she skipped to her favorite balcony so she could watch as the guests arrived. They were lovely! The little princess oohed and aahed as she watched the beautiful people enter the hall.
Everyone in the ballroom wore a crown on their head. Each crown was different. The king wore a stately crown that looked like it was made from twisted strands of gold. Held within the golden bands were five large stones. A diamond, a ruby, an emerald, a sapphire, and an amethyst. No one else’s crown had as many jewels, in fact, most had no jewels at all. Some crowns were carved from polished wood. Others were silver, and a few were made from gold. Every now and then the princess would see a crown adorned with one or two rubies or emeralds, but not often.
The little princess saw a lovely older lady sitting in a chair at the edge of the dance floor. She wore a beautiful golden crown on her head, and there were three sparkling opals set in the gold. She watched the lady all evening. She never moved from her chair to dance or join the feasting in the banquet hall.
Later, when the king stopped to see how his daughter was doing, she pointed out the lady below, and asked about her.
"How did she get such a lovely crown?" she wanted to know.
"She earned it," the king answered. "All crowns are earned, little one. Some day you will have a crown of your own."
"What do I have to do to earn it?" the princess asked. She wanted to have a crown as pretty as that woman’s.
"Oh, many things," her father replied. "To begin with, you must learn as much as you can. The more you learn, the nicer your crown will be."
"Is that why her crown has jewels in it," the princess wanted to know. "Does she know more than everyone else?"
"She is very wise," the king answered. "but it’s more than that. That lady’s crown is beautiful because she has learned how to give happiness to other people instead of trying to find it for herself."
The princess thought about what her father said the rest of the evening. She wondered if she would ever wear a crown as wonderful as the one the lady wore. She saw that most of the princes and princesses who lived in the palace wore only polished wood crowns. It seemed that they hadn’t learned much yet, even though her father required everyone to go to school.
Later in the evening she saw the dragon and she looked at it’s head. It was wearing a bright silver crown. Apparently the dragon knew more than most of the princes and princesses.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
The Lost Princess
by Gale Ashcroft
Once upon a time, a long time ago, there was a little princess. She was very lovely, with big brown eyes and dark, dark hair that fell in waves over her shoulders.
The little princess lived in a wonderful palace with all sorts of magical creatures. There were unicorns and mermaids, fairies and dragons, and of course lots of other princesses and princes. The most magical creature of all was her daddy, the King.
The little princess loved her daddy with all her heart. He was tall and handsome, with dark hair just like hers, and a smile that would light up a whole room. He was awfully nice. Everyone loved to be with him because he was so kind and gentle, which perhaps explained why he was so magical.
The palace where the little princess lived was a beautiful place. It had hundreds of rooms, some big, some small, and all of them decorated in the finest silks and brocades, with ornate furniture gilded in silver and gold. There were long halls with polished wood floors for the princess to run and slide. There were wide, marble staircases to climb, and there were hidden places where the princess could tuck herself away and watch without being seen.
One of the princesses favorite places to hide was a high balcony that looked over the grand ballroom. The ballroom was the biggest room in the whole palace. It was oval, and fifty marble pillars held up the balcony which encircled it. The floor of the ballroom was made from black and white marble tiles that shown in the light of millions of candles, arranged in chandeliers which hung from an ornately painted ceiling high above the room.
However beautiful the ballroom was, it was nothing compared to the lovely creatures that danced in it on special occasions. Then all the magical folk and the princes and princesses would put on their finest clothes and come to the ballroom for a night of dancing and feasting. To the little princess, these were the best nights of the year. She longed to be old enough to dress up in a beautiful gown, put on her own dancing slippers, and join the dancing below. Instead, she had to stand on the balcony and gaze down at the lovely sight.
Her daddy, of course, was the host of these parties. He always looked resplendent in a dark coat with long tails, a snowy white shirt with a little white bow at the neck, and white gloves which he wore on those occasions. On his chest gold medals would gleam in the light from the chandeliers above. The little princess was sure that he was the most handsome thing on the dance floor.
She could never choose who was the most beautiful, though. There were always hundreds of lovely princesses who glided over the floor, wearing gowns every color of the rainbow. They would carry gilt fans to cool their flushed faces or hide behind as they fluttered long eyelashes and smiled. The magical creatures were always just as lovely. There would be sleek unicorns with hair that glistened like pearls in the candlelight; peacocks who strutted about, tails opened to show off iridescent blue and purple designs; Nymphs and Dryads would float through the hall; Centaurs and Fauns would prance; and Pixies and Fairies would flit in and out of the ball room.
The creature that held the little princess's attention most was a magnificent dragon. She could never make up her mind if she thought it was beautiful or awful. The dragon had glistening purple-black scales that changed color as it moved and light struck them from different angles. It's tale was twice as long as it’s body, spiked with cruel pointed scales all the way down to the tip which ended in a sharp point. It had short legs and webbed feet with black talons that gleamed like ebony. Huge wings folded against it’s broad back. The little princess had never seen them unfurled, but she thought that they must spread out to an enormous size if they were strong enough to lift the gigantic creature. The dragon’s head fascinated the little princess most of all. It rose up from the slithering body on a long, sinuous neck. The dragon swung it’s head back and forth in a continuous movement, as if it didn’t trust what was going on, and it wanted to see everyone all the time. It’s beady little eyes were black and sharp, and they glistened green when they saw something they wanted.
The little princess shuddered whenever she saw the dragon, but her eyes were always drawn back to it by the sparkling purple-black scales and it’s slowly swinging head. Whether the dragon smiled or scowled, she never knew.
to be continues tomorrow......
to be continues tomorrow......
Monday, January 23, 2012
The Story of the Fortune Cookie
Now, you might think with a title like this that the following story took place hundreds of years ago in China, but you would be wrong. The Fortune Cookie isn't really Chinese at all, it started right here in the USA, actually in California.
There are two versions of who invented the cookie. One claims a Chinese immigrant living in Los Angeles named David Jung, founder of the Hong Kong Noodle Company, invented the cookie in 1918. He worried about the poor, so he made the cookies, put a bible verse in the middle, and handed them out to hungry people on the streets of LA.
Another version says a Japanese immigrant named Makoto Hagiwara invented the cookies. He was a gardener and designed the famous Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park. He was fired from his job because of anti Japanese sentiments, but later rehired by a new mayor. The story says that in appreciation Mr. Hagiwara made cookies with thank you notes inside and passed them out at the Tea Garden.
In 1983 a trial was held at the Court of Historical Review in San Francisco to decide who really invented the fortune cookie. The Judge ruled in favor of Makoto Hagiwara, from San Francisco, which wasn't suprising because the jugde was also from San Francisco. One piece of evidence in the trial was a fortune cookie with the message, "S.F. Judge who rules for L.A. Not Very Smart Cookie."
By the way, I found this information in an article written by Borgna Brunner called "The History of the Fortune Cookie", and if you'd like more information you can go to The History of the Fortune Cookie — Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/spot/fortunecookies.html#ixzz1kIhTiMsF
Have fun.
There are two versions of who invented the cookie. One claims a Chinese immigrant living in Los Angeles named David Jung, founder of the Hong Kong Noodle Company, invented the cookie in 1918. He worried about the poor, so he made the cookies, put a bible verse in the middle, and handed them out to hungry people on the streets of LA.
Another version says a Japanese immigrant named Makoto Hagiwara invented the cookies. He was a gardener and designed the famous Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park. He was fired from his job because of anti Japanese sentiments, but later rehired by a new mayor. The story says that in appreciation Mr. Hagiwara made cookies with thank you notes inside and passed them out at the Tea Garden.
In 1983 a trial was held at the Court of Historical Review in San Francisco to decide who really invented the fortune cookie. The Judge ruled in favor of Makoto Hagiwara, from San Francisco, which wasn't suprising because the jugde was also from San Francisco. One piece of evidence in the trial was a fortune cookie with the message, "S.F. Judge who rules for L.A. Not Very Smart Cookie."
By the way, I found this information in an article written by Borgna Brunner called "The History of the Fortune Cookie", and if you'd like more information you can go to The History of the Fortune Cookie — Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/spot/fortunecookies.html#ixzz1kIhTiMsF
Have fun.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
The Most Beautiful Girl part 3
continued from yesyerday.....
Just as the prince approached the place where the beautiful girl stood, one of the little girls she took care of stumbled and fell. The little girl scraped her knee on a rock and began to cry. The beautiful girl knelt and wrapped her arms around the crying child. She kissed the little girl's knee and dried her tears, then picked her up and held her in her arms, kissing her hair and whispering in her ear. The little girl looked up into her smiling face and the beautiful girl smiled down with twinkling eyes just as the prince rode past. He saw the sparkling smile, and immediately knew this was the girl he was looking for. He didn’t even notice the cap covering her hair, the simple servant dress she was wearing, or her rough, tanned skin. All he saw was her beautiful smile.
Quickly the prince slid off the back of his horse and pushed his way through the crowd until he was standing right in front of the beautiful girl. He reached out and caught one of her hands, pressed it to his lips, then fell down on one knee and cried, "Beautiful lady, will you marry me? You are the most beautiful girl in the world, and I have loved you since I was a boy!"
The girl looked at him in amazement. "But I’m not beautiful," she whispered. "I don’t have beautiful clothes, or hair, or skin. I’m just a poor servant girl. You can’t be in love with me."
The prince stood up and gazed into the girls eyes. "You are the most beautiful girl in the world," he said. "I fell in love with you when I was a little boy, and the second I saw your smile I recognized you. I know you are as beautiful inside as you are outside, and you will make me a perfect queen. Please say you will marry me."
So the beautiful girl went back to the palace with the prince and became his wife, and they lived happily ever after, because she was as beautiful inside as out, and she made him the happiest man alive.
Just as the prince approached the place where the beautiful girl stood, one of the little girls she took care of stumbled and fell. The little girl scraped her knee on a rock and began to cry. The beautiful girl knelt and wrapped her arms around the crying child. She kissed the little girl's knee and dried her tears, then picked her up and held her in her arms, kissing her hair and whispering in her ear. The little girl looked up into her smiling face and the beautiful girl smiled down with twinkling eyes just as the prince rode past. He saw the sparkling smile, and immediately knew this was the girl he was looking for. He didn’t even notice the cap covering her hair, the simple servant dress she was wearing, or her rough, tanned skin. All he saw was her beautiful smile.
Quickly the prince slid off the back of his horse and pushed his way through the crowd until he was standing right in front of the beautiful girl. He reached out and caught one of her hands, pressed it to his lips, then fell down on one knee and cried, "Beautiful lady, will you marry me? You are the most beautiful girl in the world, and I have loved you since I was a boy!"
The girl looked at him in amazement. "But I’m not beautiful," she whispered. "I don’t have beautiful clothes, or hair, or skin. I’m just a poor servant girl. You can’t be in love with me."
The prince stood up and gazed into the girls eyes. "You are the most beautiful girl in the world," he said. "I fell in love with you when I was a little boy, and the second I saw your smile I recognized you. I know you are as beautiful inside as you are outside, and you will make me a perfect queen. Please say you will marry me."
So the beautiful girl went back to the palace with the prince and became his wife, and they lived happily ever after, because she was as beautiful inside as out, and she made him the happiest man alive.
The End
Saturday, January 21, 2012
The Most Beautiful Girl, part 2
continued from yesterday.....
Life was wonderful for the beautiful young girl, until a terrible thing happened. One day both of her parents died. Suddenly there was no one to care for or buy her lovely clothes or hats or gloves, and no servants to brush her hair or help her stay clean and lovely.
Eventually the beautiful young girl had to find a job as a servant for another family, taking care of their little girls. She could no longer were gloves to cover her hands and keep her skin soft and white. Soon they turned tan and brown and rough from washing the children’s clothes and playing with them outside. She didn't have any lovely hats to wear so her face grew tan and her skin wasn’t smooth and soft anymore. Instead of lovely silk and lace gowns she wore simple servant dresses, and she kept her hair twisted into a tight knot covered with a servant’s cap. No one brushed it for her any more, but every night she brushed the little girl’s hair one hundred times, and while she brushed she would tell them happy stories and sing songs, and they loved her very much.
It looked like everything about the beautiful girl had changed, except her smile. It was still the same, because inside she really hadn’t changed at all. She was still sweet and kind, and beautiful!
Years passed, and eventually the prince was old enough to take a bride. He had never forgotten the beautiful girl he saw in the village, so he decided to find the girl and ask her to be his wife. When the people in the village heard the prince was coming all the ladies were very excited. They quickly got fancied up in their prettiest dresses and went to watch for the prince.
The little girls who the beautiful girl took care of wanted her to go see the prince, too. They were sure the prince would fall in love if he saw her because they knew she was the most beautiful girl in the world. But the beautiful girl didn’t want to go. She thought she was no longer beautiful. She knew that her skin wasn’t smooth and soft and white, her hair wasn’t long and lovely, and her clothes weren’t gorgeous anymore. In fact, she was sure that if the prince saw her he wouldn’t think she was beautiful at all. But the little girls begged and pleaded, and the beautiful girl didn’t want to make them sad, so at last she told them she would take them to see the prince, although she planned to stand at the back of the crowd where the prince wouldn’t be able to see her.
So they went and stood with all the other lovely ladies along the side of the road and waited for the prince. Finally he came, riding his horse slowly down the street. Carefully he looked at each woman, searching for the beautiful girl who had won his heart. The beautiful girl stood way at the back of the crowd, watching over the little girls she took care of. The prince looked and looked, and he saw many lovely ladies. He saw fancy dresses and hats and gloves. He saw silky smooth hair and skin, but he didn’t see the beautiful girl he loved.
to be continued, one more time.........
Life was wonderful for the beautiful young girl, until a terrible thing happened. One day both of her parents died. Suddenly there was no one to care for or buy her lovely clothes or hats or gloves, and no servants to brush her hair or help her stay clean and lovely.
Eventually the beautiful young girl had to find a job as a servant for another family, taking care of their little girls. She could no longer were gloves to cover her hands and keep her skin soft and white. Soon they turned tan and brown and rough from washing the children’s clothes and playing with them outside. She didn't have any lovely hats to wear so her face grew tan and her skin wasn’t smooth and soft anymore. Instead of lovely silk and lace gowns she wore simple servant dresses, and she kept her hair twisted into a tight knot covered with a servant’s cap. No one brushed it for her any more, but every night she brushed the little girl’s hair one hundred times, and while she brushed she would tell them happy stories and sing songs, and they loved her very much.
It looked like everything about the beautiful girl had changed, except her smile. It was still the same, because inside she really hadn’t changed at all. She was still sweet and kind, and beautiful!
Years passed, and eventually the prince was old enough to take a bride. He had never forgotten the beautiful girl he saw in the village, so he decided to find the girl and ask her to be his wife. When the people in the village heard the prince was coming all the ladies were very excited. They quickly got fancied up in their prettiest dresses and went to watch for the prince.
The little girls who the beautiful girl took care of wanted her to go see the prince, too. They were sure the prince would fall in love if he saw her because they knew she was the most beautiful girl in the world. But the beautiful girl didn’t want to go. She thought she was no longer beautiful. She knew that her skin wasn’t smooth and soft and white, her hair wasn’t long and lovely, and her clothes weren’t gorgeous anymore. In fact, she was sure that if the prince saw her he wouldn’t think she was beautiful at all. But the little girls begged and pleaded, and the beautiful girl didn’t want to make them sad, so at last she told them she would take them to see the prince, although she planned to stand at the back of the crowd where the prince wouldn’t be able to see her.
So they went and stood with all the other lovely ladies along the side of the road and waited for the prince. Finally he came, riding his horse slowly down the street. Carefully he looked at each woman, searching for the beautiful girl who had won his heart. The beautiful girl stood way at the back of the crowd, watching over the little girls she took care of. The prince looked and looked, and he saw many lovely ladies. He saw fancy dresses and hats and gloves. He saw silky smooth hair and skin, but he didn’t see the beautiful girl he loved.
to be continued, one more time.........
Friday, January 20, 2012
The Most Beautiful Girl
Once, when I was a little girl, I read a story in the Children's Friend about a beautiful girl who learns what true beauty is. This story changed my life. It helped me get through the difficult years of childhood and adolesence when I felt like I was the ugly duckling trying to live in a world of beautiful swans. I wish I could give credit to the author of this story, but I don't even know the real title. I sure am thankful for it, though. It made all the difference in the world to me.
Since this story is long, I will tell it over a couple of days. So here goes......
Since this story is long, I will tell it over a couple of days. So here goes......
The Most Beautiful Girl
Once upon a time there was a beautiful girl who lived in a lovely house with her mother and father. Everyone thought she was the most beautiful girl in the world. She wore gorgeous dresses made from silk and lace that floated around her and made her look lovely. She wore long white gloves that covered her hands and her arms and kept her delicate skin smooth and soft and white. She wore wonderful hats that shaded her face whenever she went outside and kept her skin smooth and fair.
This beautiful girl also had long, silky hair that shown like gold. Every night her servants brushed it 100 times to keep it shiny and smooth. In every way this girl was the most beautiful girl in the world, but best of all was the way her eyes sparkled every time she smiled, which was the loveliest thing about her because she smiled all the time, and her smile was like sunshine that made everyone feel happy and good!
One day a prince rode through the girl's village. She happened to be walking down the street with her mother, and as the prince passed she looked up and smiled at him. Immediately the prince lost his heart to the beautiful girl, and he made up his mind that he would marry her when he grew up.
to be continued...........
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Jack and Orrie
Have you ever had one of those days when you just felt yucky? Or maybe blah is a better word. It’s not that anything is really wrong, it’s just not right. Well, that’s kind of how I’m feeling today. I’m just in that “I really don’t care, I don’t feel like doing anything, I would rather just climb back into bed and go to sleep” zone.
I always get through these moods, they don’t last forever, but when I’m in the middle of a day like today it feels like it will go on and on. The best thing for me is if something unexpected happens and I have to focus on that. It gives me a direction to start going, and once I’m going it’s easy to keep on.
Perhaps, then, that is the best description for a day like today, directionless. Not that there aren’t a million things that I could or should be doing, there are. I just don’t have to do any of them right now, and I don’t feel like doing any of them. I guess I function better under stress, when something is forcing me to move.
Oh well.
This isn’t really a story, is it? But I have one for a day like today. Mom used to tell it to us when we wanted her to tell us a story and she was either too busy, not in the mood, or she just wanted to tease us. It went like this:
“I’ll tell you a story of Jack and Orrie, and now my story’s begun.
I’ll tell you another of Jack and his brother, and now my story is done.”
You know what? We hated that story! I wonder if you do, too? If anyone is out there reading this blog, let me know, ok. I'd love it if you gave me some ideas of what kind of stories you would like to read. I bet there is a story that applies to every issue, problem, or event in life. So give me one of your problems, and I'll try to tell you a story.
Can you tell? I really do need direction.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Mormor and Morfar
My mother's grandparents lived pretty close to them in Sandy, Utah, when she was growing up. They called their grandpa ‘morfar’, which in Swedish means mother’s father, and their grandmother was ‘mormor’, or mother’s mother.
Mom liked to tell us how the neighborhood kids would run through morfar’s garden. In Sweden he had been the main gardener for the estate where they lived, Sparreholm, and he could grow anything. When they immigrated to America he was 54 and they didn't have a very large yard, but he still kept a good garden and a wonderful orchard behind it. It made morfar cross when the kids would run through his orchard after school, stealing his fruit and trampling his flowers. Morfar would stand on the back step of his house and yell, “Du forbusketa unga!” at the kids. That was one of the first Swedish phrases I ever learned, and once when I asked Grandma Johnson to tell me what it meant she got upset and said I shouldn't use those words. I thought it must be swear words or something, but later when I asked a returned Swedish missionary to interpret it for me he said it was really more like yelling, “you ornery kids, get out of my orchard!”
After morfar passed away, mormor lived alone in her house for a few more years. She was very particular about how her house was kept. She used to say, "Make a place for everything and keep everything in its place." Mom often told me about how mormor would unwind her garden hose every day to water the plants, then wind it back up into a big circle, tie it with string in three places, and put it away so she could take it out the next morning to use it again.
As she got older mom and her sisters would take turns spending the night with mormor so she didn’t have to be alone. Mother told us about the last night of mormor’s life. Either Aunt Amy or Aunt Ejvor had spent the night with her, but when she woke up she told them she wasn’t feeling very good so they ran home to get Grandma. Mom said they went into her little house and she was lying on her bed. They talked to her for awhile, and she laughed about something, then she was just gone. Mom always hoped she would be able to pass on as sweetly.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Growing up in Sandy
Mom told us about how much fun summers were in Sandy. She said they would put on plays in their back yard, and one summer Uncle Egon and his friend decided to have a circus. They took flyers around to all the neighbor kids inviting them to come, then they put on their show. Uncle Egon had a trained dog who did tricks, and for one of the other acts he got mom and Aunt Amy to stage a boxing match. Even though Aunt Amy was a year older than mom, she was smaller, so the plan was that they would box for a little while, then Aunt Amy would fake punch out mom. Only when they actually put on the show, Aunt Amy hit mom and it made mom mad so she punched out Aunt Amy instead.
Uncle Egon was mom’s big brother, and sort of a tease. Mom liked to tell us about the time that Grandma Johnson went to visit Aunt Eloise, mom’s oldest sister, who was grown by then and living in California. Aunt Ejvor, the next oldest sister, and Uncle Egon were old enough to take care of the younger kids. Aunt Amy and Mom were perfectly happy playing around outside, until Uncle Egon and his friend decided to go inside the house and lock the door and tell the girls they couldn’t come in. Then suddenly Aunt Amy and Mom really needed to use the bathroom, and they couldn’t get inside. It made them so mad! Mom said when she was little she was certain Uncle Egon was going to grow up to be a gangster. She always laughed when she told us that, because Uncle Egon really grew up to be an orthopedic doctor, and she was always very proud of him.
One summer mom told us that they had some sparklers they wanted to light, but it wasn’t night time and they weren’t pretty unless it was dark. So the kids went into the bathroom, closed the door, and lit the sparklers. They caught Aunt Ejvor’s dress on fire, but Uncle Egon grabbed the bathroom rug and rolled her up and put it out.
When mom was really little they were playing tag or keep away in the family room while Grandma ironed. Grandma told them to stay away from the ironing board, but in the fun of being chased mom ran under it, knocking the old iron off. It fell on her and slid down her back, burning her badly.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Vanilla Soup
(I'm actually writing this story a few hours early. We are going to the Valley tomorrow and I won't have time to post a story before we leave, so this makes two today. Is that cheating?)
Vanilla Soup
As a child, my favorite thing to do was listen to mom tell stories about her childhood. She seemed to have had so much fun with her big brothers and sisters, growing up in depression era Sandy, Utah. They didn’t have much, but they sure had happy memories.
One of the best stories mom used to tell us was about the day she and Aunt Amy, her sister just older than she and her best friend, tried to fix the soup.
Grandma Johnson, their mother, had started working at this time. I believe she was cooking for a hotel or something. Grandma needed to work because Grandpa was a minor and jobs were few and hard to come by, and when he had work it didn’t pay very much. By this time Aunt Ejvor and Uncle Egon were old enough to keep an eye on mom and Amy, so Grandma would put a pot of soup on the stove to cook during the day for their supper, then go to work. After school the big kids watched the little girls, and grandma would be home in time for supper.
On this particular day mom and Amy came in the house after school, saw the pot of soup on the back of the stove, and decided to sample it. It wasn’t very exciting, in fact, Mom disliked soup the rest of her life because she said they seemed to have it every day when she was little and she really got tired of it. She and Amy tried to think of a way to make the soup taste better. They finally reasoned that their mother always put vanilla in her desserts, and they tasted delicious, so adding vanilla to the soup ought to improve its flavor. They tried putting in a couple of teaspoons of vanilla to begin with, but it didn’t seem to make any difference, so they added a little more, then a little more, and finally just dumped in the whole bottle. That made a huge difference, but not a good one. When grandma Johnson got home from work that evening she discovered the doctored soup and was very unhappy! Not only had the girls ruined the soup, they had wasted a whole bottle of vanilla. But there was nothing that could be done about either dilemma, and since they had nothing else to eat, the vanilla soup was still their supper that night.
A Good Sunday Story - The Atheist and the Shark
The Atheist and the Shark
Once there was an atheist out swimming in the ocean. All of a sudden he saw a shark in the water, so he started swiming towards his boat.
As he looked back he saw the shark turn and head towards him. His boat was quite a ways off, so he started swimming like crazy. He was scared to death and as he turned and saw the jaws of the great white beast open, the atheist screamed, "Oh God! Save me!"
In an instant time stood still and a bright light shown down from above. The swimmer, motionless in the water, heard the voice of God say, "You are an atheist. Why do you call upon me when you do not believe in me?"
Aghast with confusion and knowing he couldn't lie, the man replied, "Well, it's true I don't believe in you, but how about the shark? Can you make the shark believe in you?"
The Lord replied, "As you wish," and the light retracted back into the heavens and the man could feel the water begin to move once again.
As the atheist turned to look back he saw the jaws of the shark start to close down on him, then all of a sudden the shark stopped and pulled back.
Shocked, the man looked at the shark as the huge beast closed its eyes and bowed its head and said, "Thank you Lord for this food which I am about to receive...."
Once there was an atheist out swimming in the ocean. All of a sudden he saw a shark in the water, so he started swiming towards his boat.
As he looked back he saw the shark turn and head towards him. His boat was quite a ways off, so he started swimming like crazy. He was scared to death and as he turned and saw the jaws of the great white beast open, the atheist screamed, "Oh God! Save me!"
In an instant time stood still and a bright light shown down from above. The swimmer, motionless in the water, heard the voice of God say, "You are an atheist. Why do you call upon me when you do not believe in me?"
Aghast with confusion and knowing he couldn't lie, the man replied, "Well, it's true I don't believe in you, but how about the shark? Can you make the shark believe in you?"
The Lord replied, "As you wish," and the light retracted back into the heavens and the man could feel the water begin to move once again.
As the atheist turned to look back he saw the jaws of the shark start to close down on him, then all of a sudden the shark stopped and pulled back.
Shocked, the man looked at the shark as the huge beast closed its eyes and bowed its head and said, "Thank you Lord for this food which I am about to receive...."
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Ruined Lipstick part 3
Continued from yesterday's story.........
Kristi rushed into the house to find it quiet and still,. No one was in the kitchen or the TV room. She hurried to the front room. There her mother and father were sitting on the couch, Dad holding Mom while she sobbed into his shoulder. His eyes were red and puffy.
"Mom, Dad, what's the matter?" Kristi asked in terror.
"Oh, Kristi," Mom cried. "Tommy was in an accident!" Then she burst into tears and couldn't go on.
"What kind of accident?" Kristi questioned anxiously. "What happened? Is he ok?"
"He was riding his bike home from kindergarten," Dad answered. "He didn't see a car coming and rode his bike in front of it as he crossed the street to come into our yard."
"Where is he?" Kristi cried. "Is he at the hospital? Is he going to be ok?"
"No, Kristi," dad answered brokenly. "He's not going to be ok. Tommy was killed."
The next few days were like a horrible dream. Over and over Kristi walked into Tommy's room, expecting him to be there, only to remember that she would not see Tommy again in this life. The funeral was hard, but Mom and Dad and Kristi held onto each other and their faith in the Savior. Even through their tears and pain they felt the peace promised by their knowledge that they would see Tommy again and that they were a forever family.
A few weeks later, after life had sort of gone back to normal, Kristi went to the cemetery on a Saturday afternoon. She brought with her a boquet of white daisies to put on Tommy's grave. Grass had already begun to grow over the little grave, and the white flowers looked sweet when she put them on his headstone. Kristi sat down next to them and cried. She missed Tommy so much, but there was a pain in her heart deeper than just being lonely. She was so sorry that she had not forgiven Tommy before she went to school.
"Oh, Tommy," she sobbed as she sat on the soft, new green grass. "Oh, Tommy, I am so sorry. I wish I had told you I wasn't mad at you any more. "Im so sorry I didn't tell you it was ok and that I forgave you. Oh, Tommy, can you hear me? Can you hear that I forgive you?" Then with tears streaming down her face, Kristi took a little tube out of her pocket and placed it on the white daisies, sobbing finally, "Tommy, I love you."
Kristi rushed into the house to find it quiet and still,. No one was in the kitchen or the TV room. She hurried to the front room. There her mother and father were sitting on the couch, Dad holding Mom while she sobbed into his shoulder. His eyes were red and puffy.
"Mom, Dad, what's the matter?" Kristi asked in terror.
"Oh, Kristi," Mom cried. "Tommy was in an accident!" Then she burst into tears and couldn't go on.
"What kind of accident?" Kristi questioned anxiously. "What happened? Is he ok?"
"He was riding his bike home from kindergarten," Dad answered. "He didn't see a car coming and rode his bike in front of it as he crossed the street to come into our yard."
"Where is he?" Kristi cried. "Is he at the hospital? Is he going to be ok?"
"No, Kristi," dad answered brokenly. "He's not going to be ok. Tommy was killed."
The next few days were like a horrible dream. Over and over Kristi walked into Tommy's room, expecting him to be there, only to remember that she would not see Tommy again in this life. The funeral was hard, but Mom and Dad and Kristi held onto each other and their faith in the Savior. Even through their tears and pain they felt the peace promised by their knowledge that they would see Tommy again and that they were a forever family.
A few weeks later, after life had sort of gone back to normal, Kristi went to the cemetery on a Saturday afternoon. She brought with her a boquet of white daisies to put on Tommy's grave. Grass had already begun to grow over the little grave, and the white flowers looked sweet when she put them on his headstone. Kristi sat down next to them and cried. She missed Tommy so much, but there was a pain in her heart deeper than just being lonely. She was so sorry that she had not forgiven Tommy before she went to school.
"Oh, Tommy," she sobbed as she sat on the soft, new green grass. "Oh, Tommy, I am so sorry. I wish I had told you I wasn't mad at you any more. "Im so sorry I didn't tell you it was ok and that I forgave you. Oh, Tommy, can you hear me? Can you hear that I forgive you?" Then with tears streaming down her face, Kristi took a little tube out of her pocket and placed it on the white daisies, sobbing finally, "Tommy, I love you."
Friday, January 13, 2012
Ruined Lipstick, part 2
continued from yesterday's story:
At dinner when Kristi walked into the kitchen Tommy smiled up at her from the table, but she turned her head and didn’t even look at him. All through dinner she refused to acknowledge that he was there.
Later when Kristi was in her room studying for a test she heard a soft knock on her door but she ignored it. Finally Tommy opened the door and stuck his head in. "Please talk to me, Kristi," he begged, but she didn’t turn her head to look at him. "I’m really sorry," Tommy tried again, but he finally gave up when Kristi didn't turn around.
Mom came in as Kristi was getting ready for bed. She had a piece of paper in her hand, which she gave to Kristi. There was a big heart drawn on it, with a face inside. There were blue dots on the face, and Kristi guessed they were Tommy’s attempt at drawing tears falling from his eyes.
"Tommy asked me to give this to you," mom said. "He said to tell you he was really, really sorry for messing up your lipstick, and that he promised he would never go into your room again." Mom smiled at Kristi, then continued, "I guess he really made a mess of things today."
"He ruined my new lipstick," Kristi declared angrily. She really wasn’t mad any more, her lipstick was actually fine except for not looking brand new, but she was still determined to teach Tommy a lesson to keep him from messing with her stuff in the future.
"I can understand how you’re feeling," mom commiserated. "I know Tommy can be a real nuisance sometimes, and you need to be able to keep your things nice without having him mess them up, but he really is sorry and he doesn’t want you to be mad at him anymore."
"I know that, mom," Kristi answered, "but he’s got to learn not to get into my stuff! Sometimes you have to feel bad to learn a lesson."
"I guess so," mom answered, "but he really is sorry, and he’s afraid you aren’t ever going to talk to him again."
"Of course I will," Kristi sighed. "I just want him to learn his lesson first."
The next morning Kristi was anxious about a test she had in one of her classes. Nothing seemed to go right; she couldn’t seem to get her hair to look right, she couldn’t find anything to wear that made her look good, and she was so late to breakfast that she only had time to grab a piece of toast before she ran out the door. Tommy was waiting for her at the breakfast table, and as soon as she came in he begged her to please talk to him. "I’m sorry, Kristi. I’m really sorry," he cried.
But Kristi was in too big a hurry to deal with him this morning. She just grabbed her books and rushed out the door, telling herself that it would be good for him to think about what he had done until this afternoon. Then she would tell him she forgave him, and hopefully he would never forget the lesson she had taught him.
Kristi was pleased with the way her test went, and she was in a much better mood as she walked home that afternoon. She decided she would even do something special with Tommy to show him that she had really forgiven him. Maybe they could make cookies together or something. But her smile faded as she turned into the driveway at her house and saw the twisted bicycle lying on the ground next to the street.
To be continued, one more time......
At dinner when Kristi walked into the kitchen Tommy smiled up at her from the table, but she turned her head and didn’t even look at him. All through dinner she refused to acknowledge that he was there.
Later when Kristi was in her room studying for a test she heard a soft knock on her door but she ignored it. Finally Tommy opened the door and stuck his head in. "Please talk to me, Kristi," he begged, but she didn’t turn her head to look at him. "I’m really sorry," Tommy tried again, but he finally gave up when Kristi didn't turn around.
Mom came in as Kristi was getting ready for bed. She had a piece of paper in her hand, which she gave to Kristi. There was a big heart drawn on it, with a face inside. There were blue dots on the face, and Kristi guessed they were Tommy’s attempt at drawing tears falling from his eyes.
"Tommy asked me to give this to you," mom said. "He said to tell you he was really, really sorry for messing up your lipstick, and that he promised he would never go into your room again." Mom smiled at Kristi, then continued, "I guess he really made a mess of things today."
"He ruined my new lipstick," Kristi declared angrily. She really wasn’t mad any more, her lipstick was actually fine except for not looking brand new, but she was still determined to teach Tommy a lesson to keep him from messing with her stuff in the future.
"I can understand how you’re feeling," mom commiserated. "I know Tommy can be a real nuisance sometimes, and you need to be able to keep your things nice without having him mess them up, but he really is sorry and he doesn’t want you to be mad at him anymore."
"I know that, mom," Kristi answered, "but he’s got to learn not to get into my stuff! Sometimes you have to feel bad to learn a lesson."
"I guess so," mom answered, "but he really is sorry, and he’s afraid you aren’t ever going to talk to him again."
"Of course I will," Kristi sighed. "I just want him to learn his lesson first."
The next morning Kristi was anxious about a test she had in one of her classes. Nothing seemed to go right; she couldn’t seem to get her hair to look right, she couldn’t find anything to wear that made her look good, and she was so late to breakfast that she only had time to grab a piece of toast before she ran out the door. Tommy was waiting for her at the breakfast table, and as soon as she came in he begged her to please talk to him. "I’m sorry, Kristi. I’m really sorry," he cried.
But Kristi was in too big a hurry to deal with him this morning. She just grabbed her books and rushed out the door, telling herself that it would be good for him to think about what he had done until this afternoon. Then she would tell him she forgave him, and hopefully he would never forget the lesson she had taught him.
Kristi was pleased with the way her test went, and she was in a much better mood as she walked home that afternoon. She decided she would even do something special with Tommy to show him that she had really forgiven him. Maybe they could make cookies together or something. But her smile faded as she turned into the driveway at her house and saw the twisted bicycle lying on the ground next to the street.
To be continued, one more time......
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Ruined Lipstick
This is a story I heard many years ago when I was a teenager. I wish I knew who wrote it so I could give them credit, but I've never been able to find it since. The title was different, and I'm sure I don't have the story exactly right, but this is the way I remember it. I'm going to break the story up into a couple of different installments, because it is long. Hope you enjoy it.
Gale
Ruined Lipstick
Kristi walked into her bedroom and knew immediately that Tommy, her little five-year-old brother, had been messing with her stuff again. Her dresser drawers were half-way open and her jewelry box lid was on crooked."That little monster," she huffed as she walked over to her dresser to see what he had destroyed this time. It seemed like no matter how hard she scolded Tommy for getting into her things he just couldn’t keep himself away from Kristi’s bedroom.
"This time he’s really in for it!" Kristi exclaimed when she saw the new tube of lipstick she had just bought lying on a corner of the dresser. "If he’s opened this I’m going to kill him!" But sure enough, when she opened the tube she saw that the new, smooth tip was now pushed down and dented. He had played with it!
Angrier than she had been in a long time, Kristi stormed into Tommy’s bedroom. At first she didn’t think he was there, but then she saw his closet door move a little. She grabbed the handle and threw it open. There was Tommy, hiding in the corner of the closet, a big red streak of lipstick smeared across his forehead.
"Tommy, I hate you!" shouted Kristi. "You went into my bedroom again, and you ruined my new lipstick!"
Tommy’s lip quivered as he looked up at his big sister. "I’m sorry Kristi," he whispered fearfully. "I was playing Indian and I needed some war paint. I didn’t mean to ruin your lipstick."
"Well you did!" shouted Kristi. "It was brand new and now I can’t ever use it again!"
"I’m sorry," sobbed Tommy, "I’m really, really sorry."
"Well I don’t believe you," Kristi yelled. "I’ve told you and told you to stay out of my stuff and you don’t ever listen. You’d better stay out of my way from now on, because I don’t ever want to see you again!" And with that, Kristi stamped out of Tommy’s room, slamming the door behind her. She felt a little bit bad about yelling at Tommy so much, especially since he had cried and said he was sorry instead of yelling back, but he was so annoying, and he wouldn’t stop getting into her stuff. He really needed to learn a lesson, and if it made him cry then maybe he would remember from now on!
-to be continued-
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Marenann's Exercise Partner
Marenann's Exercise Partner
Once my friend Marenann told me about how she motivated herself to exercise. Marenann had bad knees that ached whenever she walked. Her doctor told her she needed to exercise, but it hurt so much he suggested she try walking in a swimming pool. So Marenann had a play pool installed in her backyard, the kind that was the same depth all the way around, so she could walk in it. The problem was, Marenann didn’t have a swimming suit that she could wear, so she would get up before daylight every morning and go out to her pool, take off her robe, and walk around the pool in her underwear. She had a fence around the pool so she didn’t worry about the neighbors watching, but even in the desert it gets cool when the sun isn’t shining, and during the winter even though the pool itself was heated it was still really cold getting in and out of the water.
Marenann knew she had to find a way to motivate herself to do her exercising even when she didn’t want to. She realized if she had an exercise partner who came over every morning it would be easier, but she knew she couldn’t actually ask someone to get up that early to exercise with her. Then she got the idea that she could just imagine someone walking with her, so she thought about all the people she knew. In the end she decided on her friend Nola. Nola was very enthusiastic and determined, and she would make Marenann keep going. So Nola became her imaginary exercise partner.
In the morning when the alarm would go off and Marenann wanted to stay in bed she would tell herself, "If Nola was coming you would get out of bed right now so you would be ready when she got here." Then Marenann would get up. When she would think about how cold it was outside she would remind herself that if Nola was here she would go outside anyway. And when she was tired and aching and wanted to stop early she would remember that Nola would encourage her to keep going a little bit longer.
One day Marenann was reading in the scriptures about how we are to pray constantly and always remember the Savior. She was pondering on how it would be possible for someone to keep the Savior with them at all times when it occurred to her that it was a lot like having an imaginary exercise partner. She realized she could walk through her day with the Savior beside her the same way that she took Nola with her when she went outside to exercise in her pool.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
A Lesson I Learned From Mom
Years ago mom and I attended Relief Society in a small branch of the Church. The lesson was about Bishops, and it quickly turned into an opportunity for the few sisters in the branch to complain about past Bishops the had known. It was a real eye opener for me, since I had always been taught that finding fault with church leaders was one of the first steps towards apostacy.
On the way home that day mom and I talked about what we had heard. We laughed a bit, philosophised some more, and realized that we were very fortunate to have always lived in wards served by wonderful bishops. Then mom told me a story which I will never forget.
She told me that she had been a ward Relief Society President when the Church established the new budget program. Before this time each organization had their own budget and earned their own money. In those days Relief Societies had yearly bazaars to earn money. They were exciting events and often made a great deal of money. Our ward had just completed it's anual bazaar not long before the new budget program was announced, and they had a lot of money in their bank account. The new program instructed each organization to give their money to the Stake President. From then on, all money would come from a general church fund, through the Stakes to the Bishops, who would then administer the money to each organization. Mom said she and her councilors were livid! After all, it was their money, they earned it, and they knew how to best put it to use. To add to mom's dilemma, at that time our Stake President was Uncle Ray, mom's brother-in-law. He was a great Stake President, but being close to someone sometimes makes it harder to work under their authority.
Mom said she stewed about the issue all Sunday afternoon and Monday. Then she remembered something she had been taught years before. Simply put, it was that finding fault with our church leaders is the first step on the road to apostacy. So Tuesday morning she took her bank book down to the bank, closed out the Relief Society account, and gave all of the money to the Bishop. Then she said she forgot all about it.
Years later, mom said she was watching a talk show on TV. They were interviewing a rather famous woman, one who had been a member of our church but left it and became very vocal about the issue of Women's liberation and the Equal Rights Amendment. You may not remember that issue, but it was a big deal for awhile. Not that there is anything wrong with equal rights for everyone, but they were very militant and had taken things way out of hand. Anyway, this woman, Sonia Johnson, was talking about when she had first decided she couldn't follow the leaders of the church anymore. She said it happened when the church established the new budget program and took away all of the Relief Society's money. Mom told me it hit her like a ton of bricks, and at that moment she knew if she had not followed the brethren's council she would have ended up just like Sonia Johnson.
On the way home that day mom and I talked about what we had heard. We laughed a bit, philosophised some more, and realized that we were very fortunate to have always lived in wards served by wonderful bishops. Then mom told me a story which I will never forget.
She told me that she had been a ward Relief Society President when the Church established the new budget program. Before this time each organization had their own budget and earned their own money. In those days Relief Societies had yearly bazaars to earn money. They were exciting events and often made a great deal of money. Our ward had just completed it's anual bazaar not long before the new budget program was announced, and they had a lot of money in their bank account. The new program instructed each organization to give their money to the Stake President. From then on, all money would come from a general church fund, through the Stakes to the Bishops, who would then administer the money to each organization. Mom said she and her councilors were livid! After all, it was their money, they earned it, and they knew how to best put it to use. To add to mom's dilemma, at that time our Stake President was Uncle Ray, mom's brother-in-law. He was a great Stake President, but being close to someone sometimes makes it harder to work under their authority.
Mom said she stewed about the issue all Sunday afternoon and Monday. Then she remembered something she had been taught years before. Simply put, it was that finding fault with our church leaders is the first step on the road to apostacy. So Tuesday morning she took her bank book down to the bank, closed out the Relief Society account, and gave all of the money to the Bishop. Then she said she forgot all about it.
Years later, mom said she was watching a talk show on TV. They were interviewing a rather famous woman, one who had been a member of our church but left it and became very vocal about the issue of Women's liberation and the Equal Rights Amendment. You may not remember that issue, but it was a big deal for awhile. Not that there is anything wrong with equal rights for everyone, but they were very militant and had taken things way out of hand. Anyway, this woman, Sonia Johnson, was talking about when she had first decided she couldn't follow the leaders of the church anymore. She said it happened when the church established the new budget program and took away all of the Relief Society's money. Mom told me it hit her like a ton of bricks, and at that moment she knew if she had not followed the brethren's council she would have ended up just like Sonia Johnson.
Monday, January 9, 2012
And Neither Will You
And Neither Will You
One day Marenann told me about something that happened to her years before when she was a ward Primary President. For some reason her Bishop became upset with her, and when he was talking to another brother in the ward he called her a witch. Well, you can imagine how mad this made Marenann.
She said when she got home that night she knelt beside her bed and told Heavenly Father that if he was going to let that Bishop go to the Celestial Kingdom then she didn’t want to be there. Marenann told me that she always stopped after she prayed and listened to hear if Heavenly Father wanted to tell her something, so she stayed on her knees this night and waited to see what Heavenly Father would say about that. After awhile she heard in her heart the words, "He won’t be there." That made her feel a lot better, but then the thought came to her, "Wait," so she waited on her knees to hear what else Heavenly Father wanted to tell her. She said she waited and waited, until her knees began to ache, and still she heard nothing. She knew she needed to wait longer, so she tried shifting from one knee to the other, but still she heard nothing and she knew she had to wait longer. Finally in agony she kind of fell to one side to relieve the pressure on her knees, until at last she heard the words, "And neither will you ."
Then she knew what the Lord had waited to tell her until she was humble enough to hear. That she wasn’t fit for the celestial kingdom either unless she learned to love everyone, even this Bishop.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
French Silk Pie
When I first moved up to Snowflake we lived across the street from a sweet, older lady who was loosing her eye sight. One day she asked me if I could help her set the temperature on her stove. She was baking biscuits for a 911 comemorative breakfast the next day and she couldn't see to set the dial high enough
After that I tried to get over to visit with her every few weeks, and we would always end up talking about food. During our first visit she told me that she had collected recipes for years and had even published a cook book. One of her favorite recipes was for French Silk Pie. My new friend described how she had first tasted the pie at a fancy restaurant and then searched for years for the recipe. It sounded marvelous, so she told me how to make it.
The next time I visited my friend asked if I had tried making a French Silk Pie, and I had to admit I hadn't. We talked again about how it melted in your mouth and was so delicious, and this time she even gave me a copy of her cookbook so I would have the recipe right there. I went home thinking about that pie, and even looked through her cook book, but I didn't get around to looking up the recipe.
Next visit we talked about the pie again, and I made excuses for why I hadn't tried it. I felt bad, so as soon as I got home I got out the cook book and looked for the recipe for French Silk Pie. It looked easy, except it called for 3 oz of unsweetened chocolate, which I never had on hand, so I couldn't make it. I did buy a box of chocolate the next time I went to the store, though, but I still didn't get around to making the pie.
I took a plate of Christmas cookies over to my friend the next time I visited, and she asked if I'd tried the pie. I had to make excuses again, but told her I really was going to try to make the pie soon. A couple of days before Christmas we had the missionaries over to dinner, and I was trying to think of something special to make. I remembered the pie, so I decided to try making one. It was so easy, I was really suprised, but I was totally amazed when we cut it that night and I put the first bite in my mouth. Oh, my goodness! It did melt in your mouth, and it was yummy!
I made more pies for Christmas dinner, and more again for New Years, and have been making French Silk Pie for every special occasion since. I love it! But it made me think. How many other things in life do I put off doing, just like baking the pie, only to discover when I finally get around to it how wonderful it is, and wish I had not procrastinated so long?
French Silk Pie1 baked pie crust 3 squares (1 oz each) unsweetened chocolate
1 C powdered sugar 3 eggs
3/4 C softened butter (not margarine!) 1 tsp vanilla
Bake pie shell; cool. Beat powdered sugar and butter in bowl until light and fluffy.
Melt chocolate in small bowl in microwave for 1 minute, take out and stir. If not
fully melted, put back in for 30 seconds at a time until melted. Stir in vanilla and
stir until cooled. Beat chololate into butter. Beat in eggs, one at a time.
Pour into pie shell and refrigerate 3 to 4 hours. Can be topped with whipped cream
or eaten plain, either way it is delicious!
After that I tried to get over to visit with her every few weeks, and we would always end up talking about food. During our first visit she told me that she had collected recipes for years and had even published a cook book. One of her favorite recipes was for French Silk Pie. My new friend described how she had first tasted the pie at a fancy restaurant and then searched for years for the recipe. It sounded marvelous, so she told me how to make it.
The next time I visited my friend asked if I had tried making a French Silk Pie, and I had to admit I hadn't. We talked again about how it melted in your mouth and was so delicious, and this time she even gave me a copy of her cookbook so I would have the recipe right there. I went home thinking about that pie, and even looked through her cook book, but I didn't get around to looking up the recipe.
Next visit we talked about the pie again, and I made excuses for why I hadn't tried it. I felt bad, so as soon as I got home I got out the cook book and looked for the recipe for French Silk Pie. It looked easy, except it called for 3 oz of unsweetened chocolate, which I never had on hand, so I couldn't make it. I did buy a box of chocolate the next time I went to the store, though, but I still didn't get around to making the pie.
I took a plate of Christmas cookies over to my friend the next time I visited, and she asked if I'd tried the pie. I had to make excuses again, but told her I really was going to try to make the pie soon. A couple of days before Christmas we had the missionaries over to dinner, and I was trying to think of something special to make. I remembered the pie, so I decided to try making one. It was so easy, I was really suprised, but I was totally amazed when we cut it that night and I put the first bite in my mouth. Oh, my goodness! It did melt in your mouth, and it was yummy!
I made more pies for Christmas dinner, and more again for New Years, and have been making French Silk Pie for every special occasion since. I love it! But it made me think. How many other things in life do I put off doing, just like baking the pie, only to discover when I finally get around to it how wonderful it is, and wish I had not procrastinated so long?
French Silk Pie1 baked pie crust 3 squares (1 oz each) unsweetened chocolate
1 C powdered sugar 3 eggs
3/4 C softened butter (not margarine!) 1 tsp vanilla
Bake pie shell; cool. Beat powdered sugar and butter in bowl until light and fluffy.
Melt chocolate in small bowl in microwave for 1 minute, take out and stir. If not
fully melted, put back in for 30 seconds at a time until melted. Stir in vanilla and
stir until cooled. Beat chololate into butter. Beat in eggs, one at a time.
Pour into pie shell and refrigerate 3 to 4 hours. Can be topped with whipped cream
or eaten plain, either way it is delicious!
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Comfortable
Once there were two sisters whose parents died. They were left the family ranch, but it wasn't doing so good. The sisters, one blonde and one brunette, decided the best thing they could do was to buy a bull and start breeding cattle. They only had $600 left, so they watched the newspapers, and finally found an add for a ranch a couple hundred miles away that was selling a bull. They decided they should check it out, so the brunette took a bus to the distant ranch, telling her sister that if it turned out to be a good deal she would wire her to drive out and haul them home.
The brunette found that the bull was really good and the rancher only wanted $599, so they could afford it. So the brunette went into town to send her sister a telegram. She told the telegraph operator that she needed to wire her sister to tell her that she had bought the bull, and now her sister should hook the trailer up to the pickup and drive out there so they could haul it home.
The telegraph operator said he could easily send a telegram to the sister, and it would only cost $1 a word. The brunette had just paid $599 for the bull. She only had $1 left, so she thought about it for a minute. How could she send only one word to her sister? Finally she told the telegraph operator to send the word "comfortable."
The telegraph operator scratched his head and asked, "How is your sister ever going to know that you want her to hitch the trailer to your pickup and drive out here to haul that bull back to your ranch if you send her just the word, comfortable?"
The burnette explained, "My sister is a blonde. The word is big. She will read it very slowly.....com-for-da-bull."
The brunette found that the bull was really good and the rancher only wanted $599, so they could afford it. So the brunette went into town to send her sister a telegram. She told the telegraph operator that she needed to wire her sister to tell her that she had bought the bull, and now her sister should hook the trailer up to the pickup and drive out there so they could haul it home.
The telegraph operator said he could easily send a telegram to the sister, and it would only cost $1 a word. The brunette had just paid $599 for the bull. She only had $1 left, so she thought about it for a minute. How could she send only one word to her sister? Finally she told the telegraph operator to send the word "comfortable."
The telegraph operator scratched his head and asked, "How is your sister ever going to know that you want her to hitch the trailer to your pickup and drive out here to haul that bull back to your ranch if you send her just the word, comfortable?"
The burnette explained, "My sister is a blonde. The word is big. She will read it very slowly.....com-for-da-bull."
Friday, January 6, 2012
My Grandpa Russell
Ernest Edward Russell
My Grandpa Russell was born on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1890, in Eager, Arizona, a small town in Northern Arizona. His family lived there for a few years, but eventually moved down to Thatcher, Arizona, where the climate was milder. His family were farmers. In those days Thatcher was a very small place, (actually, it still is) consisting mostly of farmers, ranchers, and Pima Indians.
After growing up Grandpa went to the University of Arizona and became an entomologist. He and Grandma raised their family in Mesa, Arizona, which is where I was born. I remember the old green pick-up truck Grandpa used to drive. One day he and grandma came to pick my big brother and me up, they were going to take us with them up to the cabin for a week. I must have been about four or five years old, and had never gone anywhere without mom and dad before. We all piled into the old truck and grandpa shut the door, but my thumb was still on the door jamb, and it got smashed. Poor grandpa felt so terrible! I remember looking at my thumb, all red and swollen, and how it throbbed and throbbed, but most of all I remember the cupie doll grandpa ran to the store to buy for me. He was such a sweetie!
It seemed like every time we saw grandpa, especially as he got older, he would tell us the story about when he was a little boy in school in Thatcher. One day he was outside playing at recess when a little Indian boy came up to him. Grandpa didn't know this boy, but the boy asked, "You Russell?"
"Yes," grandpa answered, because his name was Ernest Russell.
"You Russell?" the little boy asked him again.
"Yes," answered grandpa the second time, figuring the little boy didn't understand him the first time.
"You Russell?" the boy asked him a third time, and by now grandpa was getting pretty perturbed with him.
"I said yes," grandpa answered him crossly.
Then the little Indian boy threw him on the ground, jumped on top of him, and proceeded to wrestle with grandpa. You see, when he had said "You Russell?" he had really meant, "You wrestle?" and he was asking grandpa if he wanted to wrestle him
Thursday, January 5, 2012
I Wanted Milk!
One of my favorite stories happened when my sister's son Karl was just a toddler. One day he was tired and cross. It was just about dinner-time and Julie was in the kitchen cooking. Karl wanted a glass of milk, but she didn’t get it for him quickly enough and he got more and more upset. When she finally stopped to get him the drink she took a sip from the cup before she handed it to Karl. That was the final straw and he threw himself on the floor, screaming.
Julie's husband walked in just at that moment. He had just had a long day himself and he wasn’t about to put up with one of Karl’s tantrums, so he picked up a glass of water that was standing on the counter and threw it into Karl’s face. Karl blinked, startled, but not put off, because he just looked at his dad, then shouted, "I wanted milk!"
Julie's husband walked in just at that moment. He had just had a long day himself and he wasn’t about to put up with one of Karl’s tantrums, so he picked up a glass of water that was standing on the counter and threw it into Karl’s face. Karl blinked, startled, but not put off, because he just looked at his dad, then shouted, "I wanted milk!"
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
More Security Guard Stories
My favorite story happened on a very busy day at Sears. The store was crowded and they were shorthanded with employees, so the security guard who was monitoring the cameras upstairs also had to run the store intercom system.
A man came into the camera department, picked up an expensive camera, and slipped it into his right pocket. The security guard upstairs called one of the floor guards on his earphone and told him what had happened. The floor guard followed the shoplifter, who went to the escalator and started riding up to the second floor. This was a touchy situation. It was hard to see what a suspect was doing on the escalator, and if he moved the merchandise and the guard didn’t know where it was when he tried to stop him outside of the store, he couldn’t arrest him.
Sure enough, the shoplifter took the camera out of his right pocket and put it in his left. The upstairs security guard quickly grabbed the microphone to let the floor guard know about the move, but he grabbed the store-wide microphone by mistake. You can imagine the shoplifter’s surprise when over the intercom he heard, "The suspect has just taken the merchandise out of his right pocket and put it in his left." The shoplifter looked up at the ceiling in surprise, grabbed the camera, threw it down the stairs, then ran up the last few steps, across the floor, and out the nearest exit. They never saw him again, probably because he figured any store that had that good a connection with heaven was one store he would stay away from.
A man came into the camera department, picked up an expensive camera, and slipped it into his right pocket. The security guard upstairs called one of the floor guards on his earphone and told him what had happened. The floor guard followed the shoplifter, who went to the escalator and started riding up to the second floor. This was a touchy situation. It was hard to see what a suspect was doing on the escalator, and if he moved the merchandise and the guard didn’t know where it was when he tried to stop him outside of the store, he couldn’t arrest him.
Sure enough, the shoplifter took the camera out of his right pocket and put it in his left. The upstairs security guard quickly grabbed the microphone to let the floor guard know about the move, but he grabbed the store-wide microphone by mistake. You can imagine the shoplifter’s surprise when over the intercom he heard, "The suspect has just taken the merchandise out of his right pocket and put it in his left." The shoplifter looked up at the ceiling in surprise, grabbed the camera, threw it down the stairs, then ran up the last few steps, across the floor, and out the nearest exit. They never saw him again, probably because he figured any store that had that good a connection with heaven was one store he would stay away from.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Security Guard Stories
I have a brother in law who used to work as a security guard at Sears. When we got together we always asked him to tell us about the things that happened to him at work. He had lots of funny stories, but some of them were just sad.
He told us how hard it was to watch people shoplift things. Once he was working the floor (he always let his hair grow a little long, wore normal clothes, and looked kind of scruffy so people wouldn’t recognize him as a security guard) when a kid he knew from high school picked up some merchandize and put it in his pocket. My brother-in-law knew he was shoplifting, but it made a real dilemma for him to have to be the one to stop him.
He was really angry the day he told us about a mom he watched coach her little boy through shoplifting some things from the electronics department. They were watching the security cameras when they saw the mom pick up something and give them to her son. Then she walked out of the store and the kid followed her. When they stopped her outside she swore that she hadn’t known her little boy had even picked the things up.
One of his funniest stories was about a very heavy-set black woman who tried to shoplift some clothes. My brother-in-law said there were a bunch of black women who would shoplift by wearing long mu-mu’s and hiding the merchandize under their skirts. Whenever they saw a large black woman wearing a mu-mu come into the store they would watch her on their cameras. One day a lady came in and they were pretty sure she was going to shoplift some clothes, but apparently it was her first time because she wasn’t very good at it. They watched as she chose a number of garments, hung them on a low rack, lifted her mu-mu, walked up to the clothes, grabbed them between her knees, let her dress fall down over them, and then started to walk out of the store. The clothes must have been hard to hold, though, because the farther she walked the more she waddled and the shorter she got. Soon clothes were trailing out behind her as they fell from between her knees. They couldn’t arrest someone for shoplifting unless they actually took the merchandize out of the store, so all the security guards were standing around the monitor upstairs, shouting, "Come on, lady, you can do it, you can do it!" And she did eventually make it out of the store with some of the clothes, so they arrested her.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Uncle Alan's Cousin
Uncle Alan’s Cousin
I am lucky to have many fun relatives. It’s always a kick to sit around and listen to the stories they tell. Uncle Alan is one of my favorite story tellers, especially his stories about Snowflake.Once he told us about a cousin of his who hit a cat as she was driving into town. She was horrified by what she had done, and pulled her car over to see if the cat was dead. It sure was, but she didn’t want to leave it lying on the road so she got a paper sack out of her trunk and scooped the cat into it.
Now the poor lady was so shook up she decided to stop at a little café and get a drink of pop to settle her nerves. It was a hot day, and not wanting the dead cat to start smelling in her car she took the paper sack and sat it on the hood, then went into the café and ordered her drink. She took it to a little table by the window and sat down.
Pretty soon an older woman came down the sidewalk. She saw the paper sack just sitting on the hood of the car. She looked all around, then grabbed the bag and hurried off. Surprised, Uncle Alan’s cousin wondered what the old lady would think when she discovered what was in the sack she had just stolen. His cousin was even more surprised, though, when the door of the café opened and the old lady walked in, still carrying her stolen bag.
She walked up to the counter, ordered a drink, then went to sit at a table near the door. Uncle Alan’s cousin watched as the old lady set the bag down on the counter, waited for her drink, then quietly opened the paper sack and looked in to see what goodies she had stolen. The old lady took one look, gave a little scream, and fell to the floor in a dead faint.
Uncle Alan’s cousin didn’t know what to do, but the waitress quickly called 911, so his cousin decided maybe she wouldn’t say anything. You can imagine what she thought, though, when the paramedics arrived, picked the old lady up and put her on a stretcher to take out to their ambulance, then grabbed her paper sack and put it on the stretcher, too, to take along with her to the hospital.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
The New Year Baby
The New Year Baby
Father Time had a big job, and he wasn’t looking forward to it.. He had to choose the new year’s baby, and he really hated doing it. For over 6,000 years he had been interviewing, testing, and appraising candidates for the new year, and he was just plain tired of it. After all, if you’ve seen one new year baby, you’ve seen a hundred. And he’d seen thousands!
"Oh well," he thought to himself at 10:00 on the evening of December 31st, "I’d better just get to it and get it done."
Just then Mother Nature walked by. She noticed the furrowed look on Father Time’s brow, so she stopped and put a hand on his shoulder. "Time to make the big decision?" she asked with compassion.
"Yes," Father Time said. "You wanna help?"
"I don’t think I’m supposed to," Mother Nature hedged, "but I suppose I could just sit with you while you interviewed the new babies and give you my suggestions."
"That would be great!" Father Time said. "I could use some new insight."
So it was that Father Time and Mother Nature were both sitting on the judgment seat when the candidates for the new year came to audition.
"Ooooooohhhh," impressive," Mother Nature said when the first baby approached. He was tall for his young age, with bleached blonde hair artfully spiked on top of his head, bright blue eyes twinkling gaily from under peaked eyebrows, a devilish grin that split his face and caused dimples to form under high cheekbones, and a brilliant blue sash hanging off one rounded shoulder and draping down to tie just above his diaper.
"This kid is cute!" Mother Nature told Father Time.
"Cute isn’t what I’m looking for," he sighed. He’d seen hundreds of cute babies in the past, but they hadn’t aged well.
"What would you do with this year if I chose you to be the New Years Baby?" he asked.
"Have fun!" the boy exclaimed. "I’ve been talking to the past years, you know, getting advice on how to do this job, and I can’t wait to try all the cool stuff they’ve told me about!"
Father Time rolled his eyes and quickly said, "Next."
Mother Nature turned to him as the boy was led away and asked, "What was wrong with his answer? I should think someone with his enthusiasm and excitement for the job would be a bonus. After all, he spent a lot of time doing his homework, and he certainly seemed prepared for the job."
"I don’t want someone who already knows what's coming," Father Time tried to explain. "We want a NEW year, not the same old stuff we had last year."
A cute little girl baby came in next. Her scarlet sash was draped provocatively from one shoulder, and tied loosely just above designer diapers that must have cost a fortune. She had big black eyes, framed with blacker lashes, and she looked from under them as she studied Father Time.
"Whoa!" Mother Nature exhaled when she saw the little thing. "That girl is going to be a looker when she grows up!"
"She already is," Father Time sighed. "What would you do with this year if you were chosen to be the New Year Baby?" he asked wearily.
"I’d take the world on to new heights," the girl answered. "I’ve read all the history books and interviewed the past years. They have done some amazing things, but not nearly enough. I would build on where they left off and go much farther!"
"Next," Father Time said, not even bothering to question what direction the girl thought the world should be heading.
"I don’t understand you," Mother Nature said. "What was wrong with her answer? Don’t you want the world to move on to new heights?"
"New heights of what?" Father time asked. "The world has been climbing for centuries, but being in the tops of the trees isn’t always the best place to sit, especially when the wind blows. I’m looking for a NEW year."
A tiny little fellow was brought in next. He had only a little baby fluff on top of his head, pink, chubby cheeks, and a sleepy smile. Mother Nature looked at him fondly and exclaimed, "Oh, how cute!"
Father Time asked, "So, What would you do with this year if you were chosen to be the New Year Baby?"
The little boy looked at him and answered, "I’d try to be the best I could be."
"Are you excited about enjoying all the enticing things in the world?" Father Time queried.
"I don’t know what’s there," said the little boy, "but I don’t think I’d want to take a chance wasting my year on entertainment."
"Would you take the world on to new heights?" Father Time quoted.
"I don’t know where it already is," answered the child. "I think I would like to start out from the ground and build a fresh, new world."
"Good enough for me," Father Time smiled. "You’re hired!" Then, turning to Mother Nature he asked, "Do you agree?"
She smiled. "Well, he may not be as exciting or driven as the other babies, but he will certainly give the world a chance to become whatever it is supposed to become. I’m glad you chose that baby."
Father Time nodded. "And just in time, too. It’s 11:59, time for the world to be Born Again."
Father Time had a big job, and he wasn’t looking forward to it.. He had to choose the new year’s baby, and he really hated doing it. For over 6,000 years he had been interviewing, testing, and appraising candidates for the new year, and he was just plain tired of it. After all, if you’ve seen one new year baby, you’ve seen a hundred. And he’d seen thousands!
"Oh well," he thought to himself at 10:00 on the evening of December 31st, "I’d better just get to it and get it done."
Just then Mother Nature walked by. She noticed the furrowed look on Father Time’s brow, so she stopped and put a hand on his shoulder. "Time to make the big decision?" she asked with compassion.
"Yes," Father Time said. "You wanna help?"
"I don’t think I’m supposed to," Mother Nature hedged, "but I suppose I could just sit with you while you interviewed the new babies and give you my suggestions."
"That would be great!" Father Time said. "I could use some new insight."
So it was that Father Time and Mother Nature were both sitting on the judgment seat when the candidates for the new year came to audition.
"Ooooooohhhh," impressive," Mother Nature said when the first baby approached. He was tall for his young age, with bleached blonde hair artfully spiked on top of his head, bright blue eyes twinkling gaily from under peaked eyebrows, a devilish grin that split his face and caused dimples to form under high cheekbones, and a brilliant blue sash hanging off one rounded shoulder and draping down to tie just above his diaper.
"This kid is cute!" Mother Nature told Father Time.
"Cute isn’t what I’m looking for," he sighed. He’d seen hundreds of cute babies in the past, but they hadn’t aged well.
"What would you do with this year if I chose you to be the New Years Baby?" he asked.
"Have fun!" the boy exclaimed. "I’ve been talking to the past years, you know, getting advice on how to do this job, and I can’t wait to try all the cool stuff they’ve told me about!"
Father Time rolled his eyes and quickly said, "Next."
Mother Nature turned to him as the boy was led away and asked, "What was wrong with his answer? I should think someone with his enthusiasm and excitement for the job would be a bonus. After all, he spent a lot of time doing his homework, and he certainly seemed prepared for the job."
"I don’t want someone who already knows what's coming," Father Time tried to explain. "We want a NEW year, not the same old stuff we had last year."
A cute little girl baby came in next. Her scarlet sash was draped provocatively from one shoulder, and tied loosely just above designer diapers that must have cost a fortune. She had big black eyes, framed with blacker lashes, and she looked from under them as she studied Father Time.
"Whoa!" Mother Nature exhaled when she saw the little thing. "That girl is going to be a looker when she grows up!"
"She already is," Father Time sighed. "What would you do with this year if you were chosen to be the New Year Baby?" he asked wearily.
"I’d take the world on to new heights," the girl answered. "I’ve read all the history books and interviewed the past years. They have done some amazing things, but not nearly enough. I would build on where they left off and go much farther!"
"Next," Father Time said, not even bothering to question what direction the girl thought the world should be heading.
"I don’t understand you," Mother Nature said. "What was wrong with her answer? Don’t you want the world to move on to new heights?"
"New heights of what?" Father time asked. "The world has been climbing for centuries, but being in the tops of the trees isn’t always the best place to sit, especially when the wind blows. I’m looking for a NEW year."
A tiny little fellow was brought in next. He had only a little baby fluff on top of his head, pink, chubby cheeks, and a sleepy smile. Mother Nature looked at him fondly and exclaimed, "Oh, how cute!"
Father Time asked, "So, What would you do with this year if you were chosen to be the New Year Baby?"
The little boy looked at him and answered, "I’d try to be the best I could be."
"Are you excited about enjoying all the enticing things in the world?" Father Time queried.
"I don’t know what’s there," said the little boy, "but I don’t think I’d want to take a chance wasting my year on entertainment."
"Would you take the world on to new heights?" Father Time quoted.
"I don’t know where it already is," answered the child. "I think I would like to start out from the ground and build a fresh, new world."
"Good enough for me," Father Time smiled. "You’re hired!" Then, turning to Mother Nature he asked, "Do you agree?"
She smiled. "Well, he may not be as exciting or driven as the other babies, but he will certainly give the world a chance to become whatever it is supposed to become. I’m glad you chose that baby."
Father Time nodded. "And just in time, too. It’s 11:59, time for the world to be Born Again."
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