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Lily and the Whispering Cedar – a fantasy forest adventure
FamilyFantasyGrandparentsStories

Lily and the Whispering Cedar – a fantasy forest adventure

Another fantastic forest adventure was about to begin. As Lily and her mom stepped into the woods, the cushy ground sent them bouncing forward. It was like stepping on a wet sponge and it was hilarious. Exploring the forest was one of Lily’s favorite ways to spend the day.

Is that a pinecone?  Lily stepped closer to the base of the giant cedar just ahead and peered at what looked like a dried up old rose but with pine cone petals. It seemed delicate so when she leaned over she put her hand on the tree for balance. This rose cone would be a special addition to her nature collection, and was the first time in all her six years Lily had seen anything quite like it.  

Just as Lily was about to collect her treasure she heard a whisper, and froze.  Her mom was taking pictures of spring flowers and didn’t seem to notice.

“Pssst”.  It sounded like the whisper was coming from the tree, but that seemed unlikely. When she tried to take take a step back to look around Lily discovered, to her amazement, her hand was stuck to the trunk.

Then again, “pssst little one”

This time she bent her head back as far as it would go, but it didn’t help. There was no one in sight, and the tree was so tall, she couldn’t see to the top.

Again, “pssst little one. Don’t be afraid. I’m just hoping you have a hug for me. There haven’t been too many folks around this winter and I’m lonely. I would be most grateful.”

Lily thought how odd it was she could understand the tree. She hesitated, wondering if her whole body would then be stuck. but her mom was nearby, so thought it would be ok. She knew how amazing a good hug was and pressed her whole body around as much of the trunk as she could, which was not even half way around. She’d never hugged a tree before and giggled to think of how funny she must look.

She stood quietly resting her cheek on the rough bark then closed her eyes. After settling in, she began to feel vibrations coming from inside the tree, then noticed a slow stream of energy rise up from the roots. It was the same happy feeling she got when her cat laid down on her chest and started to purr. As the vibrations hummed through her body, any remaining worries floated away.

“Would you like to take an adventure with me little one?” The tree really was speaking to her. She smiled and before she could answer the tree took her smile as a “yes”. With that, her little body started to disappear into the bark, as if it was melting. The next thing she knew she was entirely inside the tree. Then the stream of energy gathered her up and together they sailed right up the trunk to the very top.

Plop! Lily found herself sitting on a thick branch and grabbed a couple of smaller ones in each hand for extra support. With a clear view of the entire forest and hillside beyond, she could see why the tree wanted her to show it to her. The forest was much bigger than she ever imagined, and much more beautiful. She vowed one day she would hike to the other side.

There was nothing to do but take a good look around. The only sound was the occasional bird tweeting as it swept curiously by. Otherwise it was the complete silence that caught her attention. She could feel a quiet echo in her ears and thought it was strange but peaceful in some way.

“Look down a bit and over to the other side of the tree”. By now Lily and the tree understood each other perfectly.

There, tucked into three strong branches was an enormous bird’s nest.  It looked messy, with large branches loosely woven together to form the base.  Then further up the branches were smaller and more tightly wound. Inside, on the bottom of the nest, was a thick layer of moss and leaves, dried grass, and feathers loosely formed to make a soft bed. The nest seemed empty and the parents were nowhere to be seen.

“If you look closely you will see two eggs, each about the size of a large chicken egg, but more round. It’s likely the parents are out feeding themselves, so nothing to be concerned about. Have you ever seen an eagle’s nest little one? Do you see how big it is?  It’s wider than you are tall!”

Lily was speechless.  An eagle’s nest, and with eggs?  She had only seen an eagle’s nest from a great distance, and even then it looked humongous. If the nest is this big, how big are the mom and dad? Lily’s heart started to race.

Just then she heard a series of loud squeaky chirps heading her way. They were raucous and very unfriendly and hurt her ears. She looked around and spotted a full grown bald eagle zooming straight for her.  Its long curled talons were fully extended ready to tear her away from her perch, and its piercing yellow eyes bored fiercely into hers. She did not want to be lunch!

There seemed to be no escape so she screamed with all her might.

M O O O O M !!!!!

“Hold on little one”. In a flash Lily was back inside the cedar and on her way down to the forest floor.  She landed on her bum just outside the tree with a loud thump, leaned back, and tried to calm her breathing.

Meanwhile, Lily’s mom was taking pictures of the same flowers as if no time had passed, but when she heard the strange noise she turned to look at her daughter. Before her mom could say anything, Lily held her hand out and dropped her head. She just couldn’t speak yet.

That’s when she noticed, right beside her, the rose cone that started it all. As she stashed it carefully in her bag Lily thought how fun it would be to share the day with her friends. But would anyone believe her? In fact, she wasn’t sure if she believed it herself!

Soon Lily was able to stand up. Her mom reached for her hand and the two set off down the path once more. Lily was quiet, but she had questions. The first thing that came to mind was, “Mom, have you ever hugged a tree?”

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You might also enjoy reading Lily’s New Friend the Beast – the first in Lily’s fantasy adventure series.

Thank you for stopping by. I enjoy your comments. Have a brilliant day.

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Lily’s New Friend the Beast
FamilyFantasyGrandparentsStories

Lily’s New Friend the Beast

Something extraordinary happened to Lily that morning as she stepped into the bathroom to brush her teeth before school. Suddenly her arms and legs started to tingle and the room went fuzzy.  Was she about to faint?

The sensations increased until suddenly she heard a pop and felt herself drop to the floor. When she looked down she saw her body had morphed into a bright green jelly bean!  W h a a a t?

In the next instant, her jelly bean body, with a mind of its own, flew up onto the edge of the toilet and plunged head first through the hole in the toilet bowl.

It all happened so fast Lily didn’t have time to be scared or grossed out, and found herself actually enjoying the slide. It carried her down, down, down, until finally the tunnel spit her out onto a soft green patch of grass.  She skidded to a stop on her jelly bean bum, caught her breath then looked around.  No animals, no other people, and no other jelly beans!

Either she was dreaming or there was some kind of magic going on.  She looked at her round green body, stick arms and legs, and was enourmously relieved she could still see. Then she tested her voice with an extended h e e l l o o o and was glad she could still talk. Then giggles took over and she settled down enough to check out her surroundings just a little more closely.

Off in the distance she spotted an enormous black-haired beast with a mouth as big as a hippopotamus. Lily smelled him coming before he was clearly in sight. As he lumbered further into view she thought how easy it would be to be swallowed whole, yet for some strange reason, Lily was still not scared.

She sat very still as the beast slowly crossed the meadow. She noticed his head hanging low and wondered if he was hurt, or maybe sad. The thought made her heart clench.

Right on cue, the beast opened his mouth wide and bellowed a cloud of the grossest breath she had ever smelled. There were gooey long globs of greeny-yellow slobber swinging off its chin, and the few teeth left seemed rotten.

It was disgusting!

Lily’s usually sensitive nose went into overdrive, and once again, she thought she might pass out. At home if her sister peeled a banana she ran from the room, and this was unimaginably worse.

Since she wasn’t afraid of the beast, Lily’s first thought was how she might help. The beast seemed to sense her kindness so continued slowly towards her. When she thought he was close enough Lily put her hand out in the stop position, and stop he did.

So far so good.

She wiggled her eybrows and gestured, trying to see what the beast needed. He seemed to understand and waved his head towards the nearby forest like he wanted her to follow.

Soon they arrived at his cave. The beast dropped down onto it’s back with such a thump it felt like an earthquake. When the walls stopped shaking Lilly peered into the beast’s mouth. She could see how infected it was. Maybe she could clean it out so the rest of his teeth might last a bit longer. How would a beast feed itself with no teeth?

What Lily didn’t know was that the beast had no friends because he smelled so rotten and was cranky all the time, and that was also why he was so sad.

Lily had an idea.  She ran out of the cave to harvest branches from a mint tree she spotted on the way to the cave. In fact, now as she looked around she noticed mint trees everywhere, as big as apple trees, and they smelled heavenly.

She harvested bundles of branches with juicy fresh leaves and dragged them into the cave.  One of the smaller branches might work as a tooth pick. Lily also needed water, so used all her ingenuity to collect some from the nearby stream.

While she was gathering supplies she wrapped two large mint leaves around her own mouth and nose to make a mask, just like the one her dentist wore. It made her think she was a Beast Dentist. That was hilarious!

The surgery went well but took a while.  She gingerly chipped out bugs, and rot, and leftover meat, and more than once changed her mask and scrubbed her hands. Once she poked too hard and the beast’s bright purple blood spurted out all over her!

The beast trusted Lily to do whatever she needed to without budging or complaining. He wrapped a long curled claw around her waist like a seat belt so she could lean right in from her perch on his huge lower lip. Lily was so happy she had found the courage to work through this very smelly and gross job, and it kept her going.

The last steps were to squish some mint leaves and water into a paste to rub into the beast’s gums. Lily showed the beast how to swish and spit, which he did several times. Then when its beastly mouth was as clean as it could be, Lily stuffed in handfuls of mint leaves and set her own mouth to chewing so the beast would copy her. When she was all finished, Lily pointed outside to all the mint trees the beast could use to keep it’s mouth healthy and fresh all the time. Once again the beast understood, and nodded gratefully. It seemed like they could read each other’s minds.

Exhausted, Lily crawled up into the cozy crook of her new friend’s arm and the two fell fast asleep.

As sunlight beamed into the dark cave, the beast gathered Lily up, still asleep, and carried her back to the grassy patch where she appeared the day before. He hoped she would return some day. But for now he knew he would be welcomed back into the clan, and no longer lonely. He wondered if Lily had heard his bellering cries for help and vowed to pay more attention to that hillside in the future.

The beast kissed Lily lightly on the top of her hairless green noggin. Then, pressing his lips into a loose circle, blew her softly back into the hole in the hillside.

Not long after Lily arrived safely back into the toilet bowl then gasped for air as she sailed onto the tile floor and skidded to a halt. Another pop and she was back to herself again. She didn’t remember much after feeling dizzy earlier. And what was she doing on the floor soaking wet?

Right, no time! Now she needed to find some dry clothes on top of brushing her teeth. She loved Kindergarten and didn’t want to be late, so brushed quickly and more vigourously than usual. Hmmmm. She had a sense it meant something, but what?

As she left the bathroom Lily spotted a green smudge on the floor by the doorway and vaguely recalled turning into a green jelly bean. Since none of it made any sense at all, she promptly decided it must have been a dream. But still, she hoped she would have that dream again, and this time she would try her best to remember it.

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The story is dedicated to Vivian and Chloe, my darling granddaughters and fellow creators of hilarous stories. This Jamma has never had so much fun!

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MEET SHEA

MEET SHEA

Author
If I was going to describe myself in one word, I would say creative. I love to write poetry and stories, garden, bead, draw, and study spiritual philosophy. If I keep these in my life, my inner artist and the seeker in me just hum. Only my kids and grandkids fill my heart more, and for that, there are really no words.

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My new garden is underway thanks to @malekith86 (m My new garden is underway thanks to @malekith86 (max) and @azaria.khan.  Built in jig time with such good nature. #solucky #raisedbeds Now to start some seeds. My favourite time of the year.
“If I don’t move, maybe she won’t see me, es “If I don’t move, maybe she won’t see me, especially with all the stuff that blew in the other day.  I’ll just hang out and wait for the garden to come in”. #peterrabbit #vegetablegarden #yummy
Original art by @byheatheredelmeier is now gracing Original art by @byheatheredelmeier is now gracing my home. Her style and technique are uniquely hers. Found the perfect spot for it. #originalart #awesome
I’ve let so much go recently I grew some callous I’ve let so much go recently I grew some callouses. The big challenge is I also threw out some gray matter and my sense of humour. It’s a problem and not the kind of headspace I was looking for.. #graymatter #letitgo #humor #callouses #rest #headspace @laurenlaing22
Taking care of the “rest” part of my 2023 well Taking care of the “rest” part of my 2023 wellness plan today. May need a couple more.#rest #dayoff #wellness #keshond #seajl #laurenlaing22 #malekeith
Not a typo! Standby. I love to experiment with s Not a typo!  Standby.  I love to experiment with something new. #incredibleseedscompany #culantro #patiogarden #culinaryadventures
A taste of spring for our queen. She stared at th A taste of spring for our queen.  She stared at the daffodils, taking in every detail, as if she was to begin a painting.  A moment of silence made the experience even more beautiful. #mom #daffodils #spring #bringiton #beauty #love
I knew my rock collection would come in handy. Lot I knew my rock collection would come in handy. Lots of zooms these days. #zoom #rockcollection #soulsatisfying . Happy Friday 13th friends.
Brisk and entertaining walk at Blackie Spit today. Brisk and entertaining walk at Blackie Spit today. Enjoying my new backyard. A group of intrepid grannies told us they swim everyday all year long. We enjoyed their colourful language as they took the plunge.  Then the spit was crowded with shore birds just waiting for an audience, and did not disappoint. Very chubby, sandpipers? Hot soup followed. #sandpipers #intrepid
Each piece thoughtfully selected. And the card ins Each piece thoughtfully selected. And the card inscribed with beautiful cursive writing and a loving message.  Thank you for thinking of me Vivian Laing.  Only 7 my dear old soul. @laurenlaing22 @seajl Thank you my darling.
ahh Christmas. Happy holidays everyone. @vernain ahh Christmas.  Happy holidays everyone.  @vernainsta
@celestefrenette oh my, I was affected by your wor @celestefrenette oh my, I was affected by your words in the same way John O’Donahue does, with breathtaking passages and simple words and stories that  held me in a loving embrace.  In She is Strong, pages 138 & 139, you described my 2022 journey in words I couldn’t find to explain what happened to me by the end of the year, on new territory with not much to hold on to. It gave me such clarity, and hope. Thank you for the abiding love it took to share your feelings.  I shall read it over and over.  You are so gentle.
History! Iconic evidence of Max’s first steps i History!  Iconic evidence of Max’s first steps in the kitchen. Fun times. #starwars #wookiecookies #culinary
You’re born my sweet boy! And are just as amazin You’re born my sweet boy! And are just as amazing as that first day, when you had the cutest boochie ever.  Love you.  #birthdays
Baby it’s cold out there….take care everyone. Baby it’s cold out there….take care everyone. 🥶 #ice #autumnleaves #freshair
Merry early Christmas to me! Thanks @celestefrene Merry early Christmas to me!  Thanks @celestefrenette for your beautiful words.#aseasonofspaciousness #healingwords #inspire
I’ve learned success in life is facing challenge I’ve learned success in life is facing challenges then taking right action.  It takes courage and commitment. There must always be time to take care of ourselves. #youfirst #success #action #courage #comittment #selfcare #dontlookback
Fun lunch with ma. Butternut squash soup with pom Fun lunch with ma.  Butternut squash soup with pomegranate, parsley, and side snacky of Swedish rye crisp avocado, sliced tomato and creamy goat cheese.  Sharing with our diamond, brilliant. #family #mom #butternutsquashsoup #solucky
The Yin and Yang of life. Today my long awaited r The Yin and Yang of life.  Today my long awaited replacement couch arrived just as the strata president phoned and asked if there was any water leaking in the living room.  Yup. Might as well take it like a champ.  Apparently upstairs is renovating. #condoliving #ohwell #takeawalk
In meditation today I received this message "life In meditation today I received this message "life is yours to make or break, so go make it." #meditation #lifehappens #choosewisely #befree #nowronganswers in the creative process. Putting myself completely in charge of my #choices
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