|
~ Collect - a - Book! ~
from
~ Glory Bound Books ~
Your source for
FREE
children's stories,
fables, short fairy tales, children's literature,
and educational and homeschool resources for reading!
It's children's literature at its best!
***
Glory Bound Books
presents
~ Once Upon A Twisted Tale ~
BOOK TWO
Chaos In The Clouds
by
Leah Berry and Cindy Knowlton
~ Storytellers for THE KING! ~
Copyright © 2002
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
***
CHAPTER TEN
~ A Surprise In Disguise! ~
***
...A mission to help THE KING...
Who would think that I - Pierre - could be of help to THE KING? Pierre's spirits were high as he hurried home, sheltered from the midday sun by the long shadows that lay across the forest floor. He stopped now and then to cool his battered feet in the small rock pools that he found along the way.
Rounding a bend in the path, he was surprised to see his two youngest daughters skipping along through the trees. Each held little aprons bulging with things they'd found while playing.
"Papa! Look at what we've found!" they cried when they saw him... opening the aprons to display their little treasures from the forest.
"That's nice." Pierre said with an unseeing glance and a pat on the head for each of them. "Run home and tell Maman to have the lunch ready for me."
"Oui, Papa!" they exclaimed, turning to run home.
Pierre followed behind, smiling at the prettiness of his little girls. How blessed I am, he thought. Surely GOD has smiled on me!
...Home...
Lisette was watching for Pierre to come and she was shocked to see the dried blood on his hands and feet.
"Pierre! What has happened to you?" she cried as she ran to his side.
"Help me to wash the blood away and I will tell you." he said.
As they were getting him all cleaned up, the two youngest daughters came running in.
"Maman... Maman!" they cried. "We need some paste! We have a project to make in the schoolroom! Please, Maman! May we have some paste?"
"It's all right, Lisette. Get them some paste and I will finish up here. When you return, you can bind up my feet." said Pierre.
...Later...
They sat down to lunch and Pierre told them all that had happened to him since he'd been called away from his breakfast.
"You must be starved, Papa! Eat... fill yourself up!" cried little Marie.
"So... you must go away. I will get the uniform ready and make something special for your dinner tonight. And Pierre... you must not worry about us. We are safe here in our little home. It is you who must take care of yourself while you are away." said Lisette as she left to take care of things.
"My girls... you must be good and help your maman while I am gone. Be kind to each other. Do not make any little fights." said Pierre.
"But, Papa!" exclaimed his third youngest. "Why do you have to go? There is no war!"
"I only know that THE GREAT KING needs us to help him... so I must go." said Pierre.
The two youngest looked at each other, and sensing that their Papa was becoming sad, they sought to cheer him up.
...In the schoolroom...
"Come with us, Papa! We have a surprise!" they cried, and led him into the schoolroom.
What he saw there was indeed a surprise! The girls had pasted giant squares all around the room. Alphabet letters were printed on each one in an elegant script with flowing caligraphy flourishes of such beauty as to make Pierre gasp in astonishment!
"Ettienne... Antoinette! Where did you get these letters?" he asked, never having seen anything like them.
"We found them in the forest, Papa! We thought it would be a nice surprise for Maman because it will help us to learn our letters! Now we can look up to find the ones we need without disturbing Maman while she is teaching the others! Isn't it clever of us, Papa?" they cried.
"Oui, it is very clever, my girls. But this is not the whole alphabet." said Pierre.
"We couldn't find any others. But if Maman will draw the missing ones, then we will have the whole alphabet!" they exclaimed.
"We will ask Maman." said Pierre, as he inwardly marveled at the beauty and artistry of the letters. That someone could throw away things of such beauty was a thing he could not comprehend.
...A brave good-bye...
The sun began its descent and it was time for Pierre to leave. His girls lined up on the window ledge, from youngest to oldest... to hug their Papa, kiss him good-bye and wish him bon chance.
"No tears! Be good little soldiers and I will bring a surprise when I come home. Now... as I reach the bend in the path, I will turn back to see you here... my little family waving good-bye to their Papa with smiling faces."
At the bend he turned to salute them... and he was gone.
...The briefing...
Pierre reached the meeting place at sundown, and couldn't believe his eyes! There were crickets everywhere! Everyone was called to help THE KING and everyone had come!
The Sergeant hopped onto a rock and waited as they quieted down. And then he spoke...
"Commandos! You have been summoned to recover the stolen treasure of THE KING. THE KING had ordered a message to be created and sent into the world, and when it was finished, the wind... in its jealous anger, swept away the letters of the message and hid them throughout the earth! The creatures who created the message for THE KING have asked us to help them. Our mission is to recover the pieces of the message so that they can be put back together again and delivered as planned." said the Sergeant. "This is what we're looking for." he said, holding up one of the recovered letters.
...Shock turned Pierre's blood to ice...
"But I know where this is!" cried Pierre.
"You there! What's that commotion?" demanded the Sergeant. Pierre was brought to the front where he told his story to the Sergeant.
...A speedy recovery...
A detail was sent with Pierre to retrieve the letters from his home. The little ones were reluctant to part with their find, but Pierre promised to replace the letters with others and all was well with his children. Pierre proudly carried the treasure back and placed it in the Sergeant's hand.
"Pierre... today you have earned that elusive promotion!" declared the Sergeant. "Troops... we'll bivouac here while they examine all of the recovered letters to see how many more are missing. Good job, Pierre!"
~ And there was hatred in The Halls Of The Wind ~
***
~ The Tale Continues ~
CHAPTER ELEVEN
~ Evil On The Wind ~
***
CLICK HERE
to sign up at page bottom for
The News Flash Email Newsletter!
We'll send you an email
when each new chapter is ready!
***
~ Glory Bound Books ~
Your source for
FREE
children's stories,
fables, short fairy tales, children's literature,
and educational and homeschool resources for reading!
It's children's literature at its best!
***
Thanks for stopping by! Come again soon ~
And don't forget to turn the page!
| 
