Kids Story

“I Wish”

 Once upon a time there was a little girl called Millie and a little boy called Billy who was Millie’s younger brother. Millie and Billy shared the same bedroom and sometimes, when it was bedtime and they were snuggled up in bed, they would play a game that Millie had made up called “I wish”. They would take it in turns to start first.

Tonight it was Billy’s turn. He said, “I wish I had a tree house made of wood, high up in the tree at the end of the garden.”

“How would you get to your tree house?” Millie asked. “Would you climb up the branches of the tree?”

“I wouldn’t need to,” Billy said. “There would be a rope ladder attached to the tree house and I’d climb up that.”

“It’s my turn now and you’ve given me an idea,” Millie said. “I wish I could fly like a bird. Then I’d fly up and see you in your tree house.”

“That was a good wish,” Billy said. “Now its time for my next one.”

“What’s that?” Millie asked.

“I wish I had my own little car that I could drive up and down the garden path,” Billy said.

“A toy car?” Millie asked.

“No – a real car but a little one,” Billy replied. “It would have a real little engine and everything.”

“Do you know what I wish?” Millie said, taking her next turn.

“What?” Billy asked.

“I wish it would snow tomorrow,” Millie said. “Then we could have a snow fight with snowballs and make a snowman too and have loads of fun.”

“Yes,” agreed Billy. “That would be great. I wish that too.”

Just then mummy came into the bedroom. “Time to go to sleep,” she said. “Snuggle down under the covers, children. It’s a cold night and snow is forecast for tomorrow. Say night-night.”

“Night-night, mummy,” Millie and Billy said, and then smiled to one another. It looked as if that last wish of theirs might come true. Thinking dreamily about the fun they were going to have if it was snowy the next day, Millie and Billy snuggled down and fell fast asleep.

A wish comes true

When Millie and Billy woke up the next morning and looked out of their bedroom window they could see that their wish had come true. Everything outside was covered in a blanket of snow.

They couldn’t wait to go out to play. When they did, mummy made sure they wrapped up warm in heavy coats, bobble hats, scarves, mittens, and thick socks inside their Wellington boots.

Billy was the first one out in the garden. Millie followed soon after but as soon as she got out of the door she was hit by a snowball.

“I’ll get you for that, Billy” she giggled and before he knew it a snowball landed on top of his head.

“Right, Millie, you asked for it,” Billy laughed, lobbing another snowball in her direction. They had a great snowball fight.

Then they set to work and made a snowman. They made a big snowball for the snowman’s body and a smaller one for his head.

Mummy let Millie and Billy have one of daddy’s old hats to go on the snowman’s head, an old scarf to go round his neck and a carrot to make his nose. She took them down to the garden shed where they found a box of sea shells and pebbles. They used these to make the eyes and mouth of the snowman and also his coat buttons. The snowman looked great.

There had been something else in the shed, tucked in the corner, which had really taken Millie and Billy’s interest as well. It was a sledge.

After lunch, mummy, Millie and Billy took the sledge out of the shed. They made their way through the gate at the side of the garden into the sloping field beyond. Mummy waited at the bottom of the slope as Millie and Billy pulled the sledge to its top. It was hard work pulling the sledge up the slope but it was worth it. They both sat on the sledge as it whizzed down. What a thrill!

That night Millie and Billy were snuggled up in bed, having a sleepy chat. They agreed that waking up to find snow on the ground had been a wonderful wish come true and so had been the whole day – It had been fantastic. Millie and Billy drifted off to sleep soon after that and they both dreamt lovely snowy dreams

A great idea

Millie and Billy were playing with a ball in the garden when Millie suddenly stopped and said, “I’ve just had an idea.”

“What is it?” Billy asked.

“Why don’t we ask mummy if she could put the tent up for us,” Millie said. “We could stay in it until tea time.”

“But what about our lunch?” Billy asked.

“We could have a picnic in the tent,” Millie replied.

“What about our afternoon nap?” Billy asked next.

“We could use the sleeping bags,” Millie said. “So, what do you think?”

“I think it’s a great idea,” Billy said.

But, when they asked her, mummy was not so sure it was a great idea. “I think it’s going to rain,” she said, looking up at the grey clouds. But it wasn’t raining yet.

“Oh please, mummy,” Millie and Billy pleaded and, a little reluctantly, she agreed.

Millie and Billy helped mummy to put up the tent and put the sleeping bags inside.

They also helped her to make their picnic lunch. They prepared two lunchboxes, each containing a cheese sandwich, a piece of cake, a drink and an apple.

Once Millie and Billy were out in the tent it started raining. But it didn’t matter. They ate their lunch listening to the pitter patter of the rain on the outside of the tent. It was lovely.

After lunch Millie and Billy both felt a bit sleepy. They took off their shoes, clambered into their sleeping bags and had a doze.

It was still raining and mummy came out under the cover of an umbrella to see how Millie and Billy were getting on. She peeked into the tent to find them both snuggled up in their sleeping bags, snoozing happily. Millie and Billy had been right, mummy had to agree. It had been a great idea to put the tent up.

Indoors fun

It was the morning and Millie and Billy had finished their breakfast. They helped mummy to clear away the dishes and do the washing up.

“Can we go out to play now,” they asked.

“I’m afraid not,” mummy said. “The weather is terrible.”

“Oh, please,” they said.

“No, really,” mummy said. “Look out of the window and you’ll see what I mean.”

Millie and Billy looked out of the window and could immediately see what mummy meant. It was blowing a gale. The wind was howling and rain was pouring down from the sky.

“It’s freezing cold outside as well,” mummy said. “So, there’s no going out for you two today, Millie and Billy.”

“What can we do instead?” Billy asked.

“You can have indoors fun,” mummy said. “Both of you just use your imaginations. Think of things that would be fun to do indoors and do them.”

So, that is what they did.

They started by doing some drawing and colouring in. Millie did a picture of an elephant and Billy did one of a hedgehog.

Then they took a torch and looked all around the house to see if they could find a secret passageway. They couldn’t find one but what they did find hidden away behind a cupboard in the spare room was a little toy dinosaur. It was dusty so they washed it and it came up as good as new.

After that they made a camp in the living room by pulling some chairs together and draping them with a sheet. They took the dinosaur into the camp. “What shall we call him?” Billie asked.

“What about ‘Billie-a-saurus Rex’,” Millie replied with a giggle.

Later Millie and Billy played ‘scary monsters’. Millie put on the monster mask she had worn at Halloween and Billy wrapped himself in the same sheet they had used to make the camp and pretended to be a ghost.

When it was bath time Millie and Billy played pretend again. This time they pretended to be fishes swimming around in a stream.

“We really did have lots of indoors fun today, didn’t we,” Billy said as he and Millie snuggled down in their beds that evening, the wind still howling outside their window.

“That’s right,” Millie said. “It’s great to use your imagination, isn’t it, Billy.”

“Yes,” he agreed, with a yawn.

“Night-night,” Millie said. “Sweet dreams.”

“Sweet dreams,” Billy replied sleepily and in no time he and Millie were both fast asleep, dreaming dreams of indoors fun.

A special treat

Millie and Billy had gone to stay with their grandparents for a week in the summer as a treat. They had already had one day with grandma and grandpa that had been packed with fun. When they hopped out of bed the next morning they were excited, wondering what this second day would have in store for them.

“We have got a special treat for you this sunny day,” grandpa said over breakfast. “We are off to the seaside.”

Millie and Billy were thrilled. They helped grandma and grandpa to make up a picnic and put their buckets and spades in grandpa’s car. Then they were off. Grandma sat in the front of the car with grandpa, who was driving, and Millie and Billy sat in the back.

After they had been driving along for a while Millie and Billy began to play a game of ‘I spy’.

“I spy with my little eye something beginning with ‘C’,” Millie said, looking out of the window.

“Car,” Billy said.

“Yes,” said Millie. “It’s your turn now.”

“I spy with my little eye something beginning with ‘L’,” Billy said, also looking out of the window.

“Lorry,” Millie said.

“That’s right,” said Billy. “Now it’s your go.”

“I spy with my little eye something beginning with ‘R’,” Millie said. “Here’s a clue. It’s what the car is driving on.”

“Road,” Billy said.

“Yes,” said Millie. “Now you have another go.”

“I spy with my little eye something beginning with ‘S’” Billy said. “The clue is that it’s inside the car.”

“Sock,” Millie said, looking down at her feet.

“No,” Billy said. “But you’re getting warm.”

“Shoe,” Millie said.

“Yes,” said Billy.

Millie took her next turn. “I spy with my little eye something else that begins with ‘S’. This time it’s outside the car.”

Billy looked out of the window. “Sea!” he cried. He had got it right, and soon afterwards they arrived at the seaside.

Grandpa parked the car. He, grandma, Millie and Billy unpacked the picnic and the buckets and spades and they walked along the wide pavement that ran alongside the sandy beach.

There was so much to see as they walked along the front. There were adults and children like them in their summer clothes, people on roller-skates, people propelling themselves along on scooters, and there was even someone on a motorized scooter.

There were dogs with their owners, seagulls flying in the sky, an airplane off in the distance, and a helicopter hovering above them.

There were lots of people on the beach. There were people paddling and swimming, a couple of boats in the sea and several people water skiing. It was a feast for the eyes.

Grandma, grandpa, Millie and Billy found an empty bench along the front and stopped to have their picnic as they looked out at the sea. Then they went onto the beach where Millie and Billy built a super sandcastle with their buckets and spades before going for a paddle in the sea.

When they came out of the water grandma said, “I spy with my little eye something beginning with ‘I’.”

Millie and Billy looked in the same direction that grandma was looking and immediately spotted what she had spied. It was an ice cream van. Grandma gave Millie and Billy some money to buy themselves ice creams. Millie chose one with a chocolate bar in it and Billy chose one covered in small coloured sweets.

“What’s yours like?” Billy asked.

“It’s very nice,” Millie said. “You can try a bit if you like as long as I can have a bit of yours.”

Billy took a big bite of Millie’s ice-cream.

“You greedy pig!” Millie exclaimed with a giggle, and made sure she had a big bite out of Billy’s ice-cream in return.

All too soon Millie and Billy’s day trip to the seaside was over. Travelling back to grandma and grandpa’s house in the back of the car, Millie and Billy sang nursery rhymes. They sang ‘Humpty Dumpty’, ‘Little Bo Peep’, ‘IncyWincy Spider’ and ‘Hey Diddle Diddle’.

Snuggled up in bed that night, Millie and Billy agreed that going to the seaside that day with grandma and grandpa had been an extra special treat. It had been so enjoyable that Billy was still excited even though he was now very tired.

Millie calmed him down by singing him a lullaby she had made up just for him.

It went, “Go to sleep little brother Billy,

Go to sleep, little brother of mine.

Go to sleep, little brother Billy,

Go to sleep lovely brother of mine.”

By the time that Millie had got to the last line of the lullaby Billy had fallen fast asleep. Millie soon followed him into the land of nod and she and Billy both dreamed lovely seaside dreams.

Hidden treasure

Millie and Billy had been having a lovely time staying with grandma and grandpa. But it was the last afternoon of their stay and they needed to pack to go home to mummy and daddy the next morning. They told grandpa what they were going to do.

“What?” grandpa said. “Don’t you want to find the hidden treasure?”

“Like pirate’s treasure?” asked Billy, a look of excitement on his face.

“That’s right,” grandpa said. “It’s hidden in a treasure chest somewhere in the house or the garden. Would you like to try and find it or would you prefer to pack?”

“We’d like to find the treasure!” cried Millie and Billy.

“Well, you’ll have to be quick,” grandpa said. “Its half past three now. You can only be allowed until four o’clock to find the treasure and then you’ll have to give up.” Grandpa added, “The treasure hunt starts now.”

Millie and Billy raced off to try and find the hidden treasure.

They started with the garden where they looked in the shed, under the apple tree and in and around the shrubs and flowerbeds. There was no sign of the treasure anywhere in the garden.

They came indoors and looked downstairs first, searching behind curtains and underneath tables and chairs. But there was no sign of the treasure. They did the same upstairs, also looking under all the beds. They still had no success.

“I know,” Millie said. “We’ll try the attic.” They got hold of a torch and climbed the ladder to the attic. Millie and Billy had a good look round in there but could find no sign of any treasure. They climbed down the ladder from the attic and made their way downstairs.

“We’ve tried everywhere,” Billy said in disappointment as they got to the foot of the stairs. “I don’t think we’re ever going to find the treasure.”

But just at that moment Millie’s sharp eyes caught sight of something metal gleaming inside the partly open cupboard that was under the stairs.

Millie and Billy scrambled into the cupboard and heaved out a chest. It was locked but when Billy went back into the cupboard he found a key. Billy tried it in the keyhole of the chest and it worked.

“We’ve found it! We’ve found it!” Millie and Billy cried out.

Grandpa appeared beside them. “You found the hidden treasure just in time,” he said, looking at his watch. “It’s almost four o’ clock.” Phew!

Millie and Billy rummaged through the contents of the chest where they found lots of old jewellery – necklaces, broaches and bracelets; and a couple of old watches – one for a lady and one for a man. They also found a little blue car and a little green one; and an old book about a rabbit, called “The Adventures of Nibbles.”

Millie and Billy had a lovely play with the things they had found in the treasure chest. Millie tried on some of the jewellery and the lady’s watch, which ticked when she wound it up. Billy put on the man’s watch but when he tried to wind it up it didn’t make a ticking sound. He played happily with the blue car and the green car. Then grandma sat down on the sofa with Millie and Billy and read them “The Adventures of Nibbles.”

After that it really was time for Millie and Billy to pack so that they would be ready to go home the next morning. Grandpa said that as a prize for finding the hidden treasure they could choose two things each from the treasure chest to take home to keep and to show mummy and daddy.

Billy couldn’t decide between the blue car and the green car and in the end chose both of them. Millie chose the lady’s watch and the story book, “The Adventures of Nibbles”, which grandma had read to them.

Snuggled up in bed that night, Millie and Billy agreed that the treasure hunt had been great fun and the prizes they had won at the end of it had come as a wonderful surprise. It had been the perfect way to end their fun-filled stay with grandma and grandpa. They soon drifted off to sleep and dreamed of pirates and rabbits and cars and ticking watches and, of course, hidden treasure.

 AT RED ROCK

The red spool held in the boys’ hands twirled rapidly as the kite tugged.

“Let the line out slowly,” dad said. “You don’t want to use it all at once.”

“But dad,” Colin answered, “I want it to go higher and faster.” His face was sunburned as the sandy Red Rock on which they were standing.

Two sparrows shared a branch above the pebbly ocean shore. “Up, up and goodbye,” they chirped.

“Careful Colin, don’t slip on the moss,” said Mom. She stepped carefully across the huge rock, almost the size of their car garage.

“Mom, I am being careful. LOOK! It must be a mile high.”

“Not really, son,” said mom. “You only have five hundred feet of string.”

“It’s really neat having our family picnic on top of Red Rock,” Colin said.

It was such a pleasant place on this finger of land poking into Cobequid Bay, Nova Scotia. The day was sunny and clouds white as ocean whitecaps danced against the shore.

Colin’s waxed string held tightly to the climbing kite. A happy face on its plastic shape jiggled around, up and down. At times it teased the boy, plunging downwards.

Colin pushed the spool forward, then pulled it back to his chest. This quick movement, made the kite climb with new energy.

“We must leave soon. Before the tide comes in,” Dad said.

Colin wasn’t listening; eyes were fixed on the kite’s shimmer of red and white. Also busily munching on his turkey and mayo sandwich.

“We can finish our picnic on the shore,” suggested Mom.

She was first to step down from the sandstone rock. Colin’s dad also crossed the sandy beach and up wooden steps onto higher land.

They didn’t notice Colin had not followed.

From their scenic view, the open water stretched to Maitland, fifteen miles on the other side of Cobequid Bay. Sea gulls flew in twists and turns.

ERK! ERK! Calls were more like warning cries from their long beaks.

So what if the tide came in? Colin thought. “Then I’ll have to spend all night here on this rock,” he chuckled.

Before long he realized his new problem was huge as Red Rock itself. It would take a while to retrieve his line, and began winding furiously. It seemed as if it touched those Cirrus clouds.

Oh-mi-gosh it was getting dark. Was that the moon behind his kite?

Now he realized Mom and dad were gone. He couldn’t hear their voices calling from shore.

Tidewater began lapping at the base of Red Rock. But Colin was still determined to reel in his kite. It had been a birthday gift from uncle Lawrence.

“Mom! Dad!” he called, seeing them wave from shore. They couldn’t hear him either. Only shadows in the forest heard their frantic calls. The kite soared and dipped. And circled and climbed reluctant to leave its freedom in the sky.

Trees rustled from the approaching wind. Stars came out. Colin held firmly onto his kite string, arms too tired to wind any further.

Tidewater rose higher.

The Milky Way seemed so close. Planes flew by. Colin heard water sloshing in the darkness. Some water even splashed against his sneakers.

Tired legs hoped the boy would sit down and rest. However, Colin waited for some kind of miracle. And, IT DID!

A super gust of wind blew in from the ocean.

With a mighty “WHOOSH!” his kite lifted high, dragging him along. Thankfully Colin didn’t eat his extra sandwich. He might have been too heavy.

The powerful wind blew the kite dragging Colin towards the shore. He held firmly onto his red spool.

Stars blinked at the scene before them. Several planes flew high above.

Before long, Colin was directly overhead his parents.

Dad’s strong arms reached up grabbed Colin’s legs and pulled him down. Mom wrapped warm arms around her little man.

In all the excitement, Colin forgot about his kite that carried him here. In fact, he still held tightly to the spool of string.

High above, the plastic kite with its smiling face continued to make circles. 

Suddenly there was a snap. Colin was not disappointed as he watched a trail of string follow his kite. He was also happy to be back on land with his parents.

Besides, his kite was free to travel anywhere it wished.

Now when you look up at night, you’ll notice a few clouds, stars and planes, perhaps a few seagulls. if you’re lucky, you may even see an eagle.

But if you look closely; you may see something quite different. It’s Colin’s red and white kite.

And its smiling yellow face is looking for another friend.

* * *

WHEN EAGLES SOAR

A ten year-old Aboriginal boy should be full of laughter, but not Jay.  He is sad.  His father who is White, just died.

It’s not nice when children call Jay “White Eyes” at school.

"You are Mi’kmaq my son.  Your heart is Native, no matter what your skin speaks.  Kisu'lk weswalata, our Creator took him," his mother says."

Getting back to school is not easy, and the test of Jay’s healing begins.  Morning class is finished, time for lunch.  And children’s words follow him.

"No Tongue! No Tongue!" is a name with many names.

“I am Mi’kmaq,” Jay tells them.

"Hey Jay!" Peter, his best friend is White.  They are in the same grade five-classroom.

"I’ll see you after lunch,” Peter says.

The boys always walk together for school.

"Why," he asks at home, "must I go to that school? They do not understand the traditions of my past.”

"Names and faces can't hurt you," his mother speaks.  Her skin is dark and her cheekbones like a raven, searching, hunting, and protecting.

"What's for dinner?" Jay asks.   

"You're always hungry," Mother Bear speaks again.  "I made some of your favorite Mi’kmaq bread, Lusginigen."

"Oh Lusgi!" Jay answers back, using the shorter name.

"Yes.  Always hungry," his older cousin answers from a corner of the room.  She does everything well.  Playing ball.  Soccer.  She has many friends.  Sometimes Jay is jealous.

He is her opposite.  When his feet tripped running to first base, he was shamed.  Jay became 'Mikchikch the Turtle' when others’ words created a path of sorrow to his heart.

In the woods last November, he watched Oapos hopping then eating the remainder of fallen apples.  He felt the same, except he was hopping from one sorrow to another.

Jay was his father's name.  And mother Bear wanted him to be like him.  Study and read.  Watch and learn

His White name is Jay.   Inside Jay’s skin he is Mi’kmaq.

Grandfather’s stories from his time at the residential school were lessons to be remembered.

"Why could you not wear your Native clothes?" Jay asked one day.  Grandfather’s answer was a tear.  "Never mind," his lips said.  "My sorrow is not yours."

And then he taught Jay much.

Your father's funeral was a celebration,” his grandfather said.  “And there is happiness in the sadness of his passing.”

"What did you promise my father when he went to Niskam?" Jay asked.

Grandfather’s answer was the knowledge he taught Jay, who became Eagle Feather, his grandson.  It was his gift.

Grandfather said, “The Great Spirit gave us instructions to take care of the earth and all the creatures.”

The fireflies became Jay’s friends.  The rabbit became his candle of trust.  The birds and other animals in the forest became his family.

They formed part of Jay’s circle.

His feet soon walked paths bathed in moonlight.  And his heart was filled with songs from the past, Jay’s heritage.

Many lunches later, Jay finished and looked at his mother.  "Your 'Lusgi' was great ma!"

"Such a beautiful boy.  Isn't he Nan? And look at those teeth.  I can't believe you are almost twelve years old, then soon, a teenager.”

Jay’s smile was like a quiver full of happiness for her.  "What does it matter? Jay felt like a man now.”

And his feet danced to the beat of drums made from deerskin.

Grandfather told him, " We must thank the deer for giving up his life, so we may share his hide."

His grandfather also told him an Eagle Feather is an important symbol.  It represents truth and carries prayers to the Great Spirit.

An Eagle flies highest and sees best.  Jay became Eagle Feather, a carrier of truth.

Sometimes Jay dreamt his grandfather was sent by Glooscap, a wise leader and teacher.  He never married, the legends say.  His life was with Noogumee an adopted grandmother and a young boy named Marten.

They were his family.

In Jay’s teachings he pretended his grandfather was Glooscap.  In his learning Jay became Marten, his son.

"A young boy becomes a man," grandfather said, "when you are no longer bothered by people who tease you."

Jay’s ears heard much.

"We are people of the Dawn.  Mi’kmaq greet Dawn with a pipe.  We hold on to the earth to make it good for everyone," grandfather said.

Jay learned the Circle Dance is an important part of his culture.  In the Council Hall everyone stands sideways and moves around the drums.

Then turn, placing hands on shoulders, following the leader in his deerskin lace suit of clothes.  Drumming sounds tingle in the back of Jay’s head.

Goosebumps make the blood in his veins flow like a wild current.  As his steps dance, he hears voices.  As when his ancestors greeted the first Europeans.

In the evenings, Jay hears the song of Mother Earth that forms a bond:

"...voices are echoes from canyons

where laughter is free as the deer

and tears travel with the falling rain

when my soul is no longer in pain…”

“Tahoe!” is his yell of triumph.  It is said at the ending of each song.  "I thank you, I acknowledge you."

Preparing for school, Jay watched his mother.  She is also like a partridge, moving quickly from one moment to another.

"Wipe your face.  Brush your teeth.  Scoot to school."

Peter is now two years older and waiting for so they may head for school.

Jay’s grandfather taught him to put away 'No Tongue.' That it was only a name to mock him.

"Be a proud Mi’kmaq, young Son" grandfather said.

Jay now has warmth and protection.  He soars above difficult things.  His wings are as beautiful feathers.

Peter calls through the doorway with impatience.  "Hurry up, Jay! Or, we'll be late!"

Once he was “No Tongue.” Now Jay answers with a new

Song.  “Eagle Feather is coming!"

* * *

THE PAPER BOY

A clump of hair smacked across Colin's face. The wind even tried wrestling him to the ground. Instead of newspapers, it felt as if Colin’s news-bag was full of Nova Scotia potatoes.

Maybe it had to do with the news dad read before Colin left the house. The morning headlines were full of the usual sad stories.

"For goodness sakes," dad said. "No good news again!"

CAR ACCIDENTS! HOUSE BURNS! STORM DAMAGE!

Colin wished he could have been able to cheer up dad. He moved quickly from house to house leaving papers on the porch or in the mailbox.

It helped being the fastest runner in the school and even wearing his new running shoes.

Right now Colin wished he could bring only good news to his family, also to his friendly neighbors. "There's that paper boy bringing sad news again," they were probably saying.

"How could he make things better for everyone?" he wondered as he continued to deliver his papers.

He met Nathan near Victoria Park. Colin really liked Nathan, even if his words sometimes got mixed up.

Someone told him Nathan was mentally challenged. But Colin didn't care. Nathan was his friend.

Colin noticed Alice coming. She was in his class. She only had one real eye. The other was made of glass. He liked Alice even if people called her, "Bionic lady," behind her back.

He didn't realize how much It helped her, having a friend like Colin.

The dog down the street barked loudly. Prince was lonely tied to his chain and Colin knew all he needed was a good friend. He always liked to pat the dog's head.

Prince's breath was warm as he licked Colin's hand.

"It's okay boy," he told the dog.

Each time Colin left a paper by a customer's door he felt bad, such sad news. How could he make some good news? He thought about it a lot, as he made his rounds.

Colin gave his usual cheerful "Hi" to everyone on his route. Adults and children on both sides of the street yelled and waved back.

His smile was like the rising sun.

Someone was crying and he ran to where a little boy had fallen and hurt his leg. Colin calmed him down until the boy's mother arrived.

"I'm glad you're my paperboy," she told Colin.

He continued on his route, still ten more customers to go. But, he didn't feel tired. It was fun doing what he usually did, helping others.

Now, let's see. What else could he do to cheer up people?

His best friend Donna came by to pick up her paper. It saved him from going all the way to the second floor.

It was her way of saying ‘thanks’ for giving her a chance to earn money, helping him on Saturdays. She was saving money for Christmas presents.

Besides, he liked Donna a lot.

Mr. Weatherby was such a grouch but Colin didn't mind. His car was not working, again. And Mr. Weatherby's lawn was all grown up, again.

Colin would come later and cut the grass. No charge, again.

He raced up the street to his last customer. Colin had quite a bit of energy left, as he bounded up the stairs. Mrs. Williams saw him coming and had her usual snack waiting.

She wondered why such a lively boy always had time to chat with an old lady.

Lemonade and his favorite peanut butter cookies were a neat treat. After all, she had told him many times he was her favorite paperboy.

His own treat for his customers came from his little boy's heart. Colin was so full of joy, and it made him many friends.

Everyone looked forward to his daily trips with the newspaper, even if some of the news was sad.

There were customers from all over. Some even came from China and Africa. Others had thick, wavy hair and some, no hair.

Colin didn't mind. He liked them all.

Some of his customers were fat, others skinny. And some had customs and clothes, which were different. But it didn't matter to Colin.

He liked them all.

Colin did have much good news to share, even if he didn't realize it. His smile and polite manners brought cheering-up news to all his customers.

Yes, Colin was a very special paperboy.

* * *

THE CABIN BY THE LAKE

Annie, Martin, Nora and William were camping out with their parents.  They would be living in the cabin by the lake for three days and the children were very excited.

When they got to the lake, they gazed in wonder at the water sparkling in the sun, at the bright blue sky and the trees standing along the lake.  The cabin stood a little distance away, sitting right in the middle of the trees.  It was made of wood and looked just right, almost like a part of nature.

While their parents unloaded the cars and started unpacking, the children ran down to the water.

“Be careful, children, don't get into the water until we come.”€  The two mothers shouted together.

“We won't.”  They replied and stopped at the water’s edge.  They saw a swan and her babies swim to the other side of the lake, they saw a kingfisher dive in and scoop up a fish, and in the distance they saw a deer come to the water and drink thirstily.

Once their parents joined them they were allowed into the water and swam happily for a long time, until hungry and tired.

Their rooms were tiny but their beds were very comfortable and the children slept peacefully through the night.

They woke to the sound of birds chirping loudly and ran to the window to look out.  Birds of all shapes and sizes flew around busily looking for their breakfast.  The sun was peeping over the trees and Annie and Martin saw their parents walking along the lake side.

“Mummy, daddy, wait, we’re coming too,”€ they yelled, and all four scrambled into their clothes and ran outside.

Nora and William’s parents sat in two comfortable chairs outside, but when the children joined them, they too walked down to the lake with them.

The children were happy during their holiday, and made their parents promise that they would return next year too, to the cabin by the lake.