Library- Short Stories

 

Extracts from a couple of children’s short stories:-

 

Curios in the Garden
By Jenna Hines

‘I don’t know what to make of it all,’ declared Claude.
The rest of the ornamental stone animals listened intently.
When Claude the large snail spoke, his voice was like velvet. Everyone called him ‘Claude Snooty’ behind his back, but all respected him; he was the most educated of them all.
‘I think we should have an investigation. After all this isn’t the first time this sort of thing has happened,’ Claude continued.
‘Here here,’ cried Harry the small yellow rabbit.
A few other animals joined in with Harry. There was a terrible din when they all began speaking at the same time.
‘Hush,’ ordered Mesdames’ Ying and Yang; the two porcelain Chinese heads. ‘What is all this about anyway?’ they asked in unison.
The twin grey Donkeys, Megan, and Laura, told the Mesdames’ that there had been an incident. Claude was calling for an investigation.
‘Humph,’ they sniffed, ‘why waste time on an enquiry; we all know who is responsible.’ Henry the big brown hare opened one eye. He had been sleeping through the meeting. Yawning loudly he stretched. His very long ears pricked up, and he was now paying full attention to the proceedings.
Thomas, the old steely grey tortoise, moved very very slowly as he made his way to the front of the crowd to get a better view.
Mork, one of the wooden ducks called after him, ‘You’ll have to move faster than that Thomas. It will be dark before you reach the front.’
Mindy, the other wooden duck laughed at his twin who was clearly teasing the old boy.
Sammy the chocolate and cream coloured snail with bulging eyes, and a happy smiley face, told Mork to leave old Thomas alone.
Freddie the little green frog jumped over several heads before landing straight in front of Gwendoline, the robed lady in the pond. He wanted to a clearer view of Claude.
All the animals were in their places, except poor old Thomas, who was still moving toward the front.
Claude who took charge, was addressing them all again. ‘Well, if you want my opinion, I think we must have a full investigation now before they have chance to do it once more,’ he reiterated.
Some of the animals looked uncomfortable; unsure as to where this enquiry would lead.
The wooden chimes sang softly in the breeze as Claude waited for the animals to give their agreement.
Sammy the snail was the first to give his approval by beaming his big smile at Claude.
Mork and Mindy quacked their assent.
The Donkeys brayed their acceptance.
Slowly, each one of the animals gave their consent.
‘That’s settled then; I’ll put the wheels in motion,’ declared Claude.
There was muttering among them, as they discussed the enormity of what they were about to do.
‘Do you think this is the right way to tackle things?’ Mesdames’ Ying and Yang asked Claude as they sat around the big old lime tree.
‘Can’t see any other way of allaying the problem,’ he sniffed. ‘Of course if you have any better ideas?’
‘Oh no, no we don’t,’ replied Madam Ying.‘It is, well it’s just that we don’t really have enough strength? To tackle Them, I mean,’ Madame Yang added in a whisper, for fear of anyone hearing.
‘Well if we don’t put a stop to it who knows how far they will go in the future?’ Madame Ying retorted.
‘Strength, after all my dears, is all in the mind you know. We do have some fine minds among us,’ Claude stated, proudly.
An enquiry meant they would all put their thoughts together, and agree on a solution how they would tackle the situation.
It was Claude, who with the strongest mind declared a meeting, when ALL of them would give their own opinion. Hopefully, it would not be too long before a decision was reached.
The meeting was to be at dusk in the old barn. They must be very quiet, so as not to disturb the humans, who lived at the side of the barn in the big yellow house.

 

Periwinkle Haven

By Jenna Hines

Chapter One

-1-

‘So you see,’ said Gracie to her brother Benjamin, ‘I told you didn’t I but you wouldn’t believe me would you?’
Benjamin stood with his eyes wide open and his mouth agape at the sight, which beheld him.
‘What do you think then Ben?’
He stood stock still for a moment not knowing how to answer his sister.
What did he think? He was unsure. Was he seeing this with his own eyes or was it some sort of dream he was having. Gracie pinched him and he realised he was wide-awake.
‘Children where are you?’ They could hear the sound of their mother’s voice.
Looking at each other Ben remarked, ‘Will we keep it a secret Gracie?’
‘Of course silly. Why how do you expect we would explain this place. Now come on mammy will be cross if we don’t hurry.’ Dragging her brother none too ceremoniously away from the ‘secret place’ they now hurried towards their home.
‘Oh there you are where ‘ave yer been. I hope you ain’t got up to any mischief you know how ‘yer pappy gets angry with yer if you gets into any trouble, now come away in to the house and wash ‘yer hands, supper is nearly ready,’ she scolded.
Gracie and Benjamin rushed inside and raced upstairs to the bathroom to do as their mother bid them. They could hear the car coming up the driveway and knew it was their pappy home for his tea.
‘Last down is a wet fish,’ Ben shouted as he pushed passed Gracie. He had reached the bottom of the stairs and nearly crashed into his father as he entered the hallway.
‘Steady on young man, not so fast, where are you going all in a hurry?’
‘Nowhere pappy I was just seeing if I could get down the stairs before Gracie.

-2-

‘Well now you go into the kitchen and see if mammy needs a hand setting the table places.’ Benjamin obeyed.
George Snow, although he loved his children dearly, was quite strict with them. Being brought up into a Baptist family in the mid eighteen hundreds in the southern state of Louisiana George had learned discipline at an early age and carried the same rules into his own household today. He was an educated man and spoke with hardly any hint of a drawl.
His usual habit on arriving home, he went into the kitchen to greet his wife. While waiting for Martha to serve supper George glanced over the evening paper.
‘Ya ‘al ready,’ his wife shouted from the kitchen.
Their pappy always said grace before supper and now they were all sitting down he offered up the usual prayer, giving thanks for the food before them.
They tucked into hot dumplings and rye bread together with some fried fish and corn followed by a sumptuous fruit pie.
George was proud of his family and felt lucky he worked for the local bank since the age of fifteen, earning a good wage, Martha and the children wanted for nothing. They had married thirteen years before in eighteen seventy-eight when he was just turned twenty-two and Martha a young woman of twenty.
The children had followed quickly. Gracie was born eleven months after and Benjamin followed twenty-one months later in the summer of eighteen eighty-one. Gracie was now almost twelve years and Benjamin just ten.
Very little was said at the supper table. The children had been taught from an early age only to speak when spoken to and never to speak with their mouths full. George had told them it was considered ill mannered to talk whilst eating and only between courses were they allowed to say anything at all.
On this particular evening, George was glad to have insisted on these table rules. He had a lot on his mind and needed to think things through.
The children finished asked their pappy if they could leave the table. With a nod of his head in approval, they retreated to their playroom, glad the meal was over.
Martha waited for the opportunity to speak with her husband she knew better than to interrupt his thoughts so patiently now she lingered at the table.
‘Well Martha my dear,’ he began,’ we have a slight problem on our hands.’

-3-

‘What would thart be then honey?’
‘The bank has announced they wish to move premises.’
‘Why honey?’
‘They say it is for the best. A bigger branch is to be acquired on the other side of town.’
‘’An ‘ow will that affect us, you then George?’
‘Well this is the problem you see. The manager of the bank has asked me if I would move with them.’
‘An what is wrong in thart then honey?’
‘Oh Martha can’t you see it would mean that we would have to sell up here and move to the East side.’
‘Why?’
‘Because my dear I would not be able to travel every day to the Bank so easy from here. It would take at least two hours there and two hours back and that’s not including the time spent at the bank. I just couldn’t do it.’
‘So what are we goin’ to do then honey?’
‘That’s what’s troubling me Martha I don’t know.’
‘Well you carn just give up yer work honey.’
‘I know Martha but I don’t think I can afford to move us all either. You see the property on the East side is way more expensive than here and we would have to sell this house first. I really don’t know what to do.’
‘Now darn’t you go worrin’ none, I’m sure the good Lord will give us the answer soon enough.’
George went to bed that night but could not sleep he just did not know how he was going to move his whole family to the East side. There was no sign from ‘above’ to give him any guidance.
Martha slept soundly but woke with a start. ‘What’s thart noise?’
‘What noise dear?’ George wide-awake as he had been all night.
‘Did ‘yer not ‘ear it honey?

-4-

‘No Martha and as I have been sitting here all night without an ounce of sleep I think I would have heard if there was a strange noise.’
‘Listen there it goes again.’
George pricked up his ears and thought he heard a loud whistling sound coming from outside.
‘’Ear it honey. Thart was a big sound.’
‘Yes dear I think I did hear something. I’ll go and take a look outside although it’s still pretty dark out there.’
Martha waited bed covers pulled up under her chin and jumped when she heard the same sound again coming from the garden.
‘George honey,’ she said almost in a whisper,’ whart is it?’
George could not hear his wife and carried on looking for the source of the strange sound. The bushes rustled but he did not see anything.
‘Who’s there, come out whoever you are and stop snooping about like this.’
All of a sudden, there was a huge cloudburst and the heavens opened up, soaking George to the skin before he had the chance to run inside.
‘Aw honey ya all wet, cum ‘ere while I dries ‘yer off. Did yer see anythin?’
‘No Martha but I heard some rustling in the bushes and just as I was about to get closer that huge clap of thunder sounded above me and the rain came down so fast I got soaked trying to get back into to the house.’
The children were awake now, got quickly washed and dressed, and went downstairs.
‘Pappy you’re all wet,’ Benjamin exclaimed.
‘Yes son I got caught in the rain.’
‘Why were you in the rain pappy?’ asked Gracie.
‘Because mammy heard a noise outside and I went into the garden to see what it was. I got drenched by the torrent of rain.’
‘What was the noise pappy? Did you see anything outside?’ Benjamin his large brown eyes staring enquiringly at his father

-5-

‘I didn’t get the chance to look very far son but I think it may have just been a skylark in the bushes, nothing to worry about.’
‘But mammy,’ Gracie started.
George made a motion with his hand to show he did not want them to ask any more questions.
‘Now children ‘yer pappy has told yer all not to ‘all worry, it was just a bird tharts all. Now come on lets have breakfast,’ Martha said summoning them all into the kitchen.
Gracie gave Ben a knowing glance but said nothing to her brother. They would have chance to discuss the ‘noise’ later.

 

Suitable for Children between 3 -8 years old