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Fantasy

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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Aphrodite offered up 3 ripe figs today, and along Aphrodite offered up 3 ripe figs today, and along with a sweet peach, I made a spectacular dessert topped with some creamy Gorgonzola. #figs #peaches #gorgonzola. I do love a cheesy and fruity treat.
Barely recognizable, this bumble bee is wearing a Barely recognizable, this bumble bee is wearing a coat of pollen. #bumblebee #roseofsharon #pollen #feedthebees #pollinators
A swath of gloriousness greeted me this morning as A swath of gloriousness greeted me this morning as I headed for the patch to collect some nourishment for breakfast.  Life is good, but I will miss the back forty.  Soon, figs. #roseofsharon #blueberries #patiogardening #summerbounty is worth the wait.
A very happy birthday Sammy! Your second as a mam A very happy birthday Sammy!  Your second as a mama.  Well done.  Xo @sdobo
For dinner….thank you @yasminkhanstories . Every For dinner….thank you @yasminkhanstories . Everyone needs her book Ripe Figs, especially if you love eastern Mediterranean cooking as much as I do. And maybe some grilled figs and goat cheese for dessert?  Perfect. Also thanks to my friend @sandysuto for recommending the dish. #prawns #saganaki #figs #goatcheese
A fine week included great friends, delicious home A fine week included great friends, delicious home made meals, swimming, hilarious bridge games, and a smidge of port on the beach watching the full Buck moon illuminate the seal snuffling and snorting in water. Feeling fortunate and more in love with nature than ever.  #buckmoon #friends #bridge #swimming #songbirds #dreaming #simpleisbest
Sunset over paradise. Tonight the full moon, beach Sunset over paradise. Tonight the full moon, beaching again later.  Let’s see what comes up I can say goodbye to. #fullmoon #chill and #release . @karenmerkas @vernainsta #peace
Life is no longer innocent. One might say even va Life is no longer innocent.  One might say even valuable.  6 more souls lost in Illinois today in an insane act of domestic terrorism.  Biden needs to declare a state of emergency, and in honor of this tragedy, fireworks need to be cancelled tonight everywhere. Instead gather for change. Let’s have silence and remember.  Collective action makes a difference. #presidentbiden #kamalaharris #cnn #dosomething #nancypelosi #msnbc
Handing in my shovel after the garlic harvest. A Handing in my shovel after the garlic harvest.  A trowel is all I need when I move at the end of summer. It’s been a grand 17 years at The Dial.  Sea Park Estates here I come. That said I have excellent shovel skills if anyone needs help. #moving #gardener #freedom #newdigs #newadventures #bestlife
Best line of the day. Elderly woman, confused and Best line of the day. Elderly woman, confused and perhaps a little hard of hearing, is in emerge being checked in.  The nurse asked her, quite loudly, if she has any allergies.  At alto voce she replied “yes, treadmills”. Then she went into a protracted explanation as to what it does to her.  Egad, sweetheart, will be there one day myself, but am going to copy that little gem! #er #sweethearts #stories #bitesoflife #allergictoexercise
Cleared the table and did the dishes after Bubbie’s birthday party, unprompted, their parents must be very proud. #granddaughters #helpers #appreciated #solucky
My favourite new cook book just there on the shelf My favourite new cook book just there on the shelf with others specially selected. I do love #pcc . @yasminkhanstories #realfood
Thank you, I’ll take one of everything! #pcc #ve Thank you, I’ll take one of everything! #pcc #veg #fresh #eatyourveggies
Today I was grocery shopping and the store was bus Today I was grocery shopping and the store was busy. I stood facing the shelves, my back to a nice family, when the force of a greeting roared past my ears.  It seemed to be for me, so I turned to meet the smiling eyes of an 8 or 9 yr old girl desperately wanting me to notice her pink roller skates.  Of course I immediately and enthusiastically appreciated how wonderful her skates were.  This unleashed a long explanation of how hard it is to push a buggy with roller skates on, to which I replied “that is great exercise!” She wholeheartedly agreed, and our brief and delightful exchange concluded satisfactorily. Receiving a beaming smile from this lovely girl notched up my vibrations considerably. #grateful for our #kids #thankful
My first rhubarb haul. ThankYs Ding @dobodonna for My first rhubarb haul. ThankYs Ding @dobodonna for the roots. Can’t wait to stew it up.  Maybe a #strawberry and #rhubarb crostata?  Better get some ice cream. #summerbounty
Why not be delighted. “Everything is always work Why not be delighted. “Everything is always working out for me”. Life in the flow is much happier when not trying to control outcomes. #intheflow #hakunamatata #dowhatyoucan then #letgo
What happens when a 7 year old gets a sewing kit a What happens when a 7 year old gets a sewing kit and a bag of fabric pieces for her birthday. Designed by Viv, hand sewn by Jamma and Viv. 4 fittings and 5 hours later she had a new dress for her party. My own creative spirit was singing. #sewing #granddaughter #creativity #nopattern #solucky
The red maple is doing her thing. What a glorious The red maple is doing her thing.  What a glorious day out with ma. #redmaple #spring #deepbreath
Omg. Can’t move now! I told the installer my D Omg.  Can’t move now!  I told the installer my Dad would approve of his workmanship. Thank you @doors_galore_bc .  Don’t try to do this yourself people. And Galway through my elderly neighbour stopped as one of her tires was low.  He filled and balanced them all with a smile on his face and went back to work #newdoors #doorsgalore .  Now to sell.
Parting is such sweet sorrow, but Brodie went to a Parting is such sweet sorrow, but Brodie went to a lovely family in Richmond. Over all, parting with stuff for the move is much easier than I thought it would be. #makespace #declutter #passalong . My future will be much clearer.

ps Great townhouse for sale here!
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