CHAPTER 1
Donald, the Ornery Goose
Donald and Daisy Goose lived on an island. It was a beautiful island with tall green trees and shiny green bushes surrounded by a cold clear mountain stream that bubbled and gurgled over rocks and stones.
Donald and Daisy were very happy. Donald was a big white goose with an orange bill. Daisy was smaller. She was a gray goose with an orange bill like Donald's.
Donald was very proud and protective of Daisy. In fact, he was so protective that he wouldn't let any other goose be on the island. If a duck or goose tried to come near, Donald would chase it away.
Daisy watched Donald honk and hiss at people who went by. "Oh Donald," she would say, "you are such a brave goose," and she looked at him with lovelorn eyes. And yet although Daisy thought Donald was very brave and handsome, she missed not being able to visit with other geese or ducks, because he chased them all away.
"Donald," she timidly said one day, "maybe you shouldn't be so hard on others when they come to visit,"
"But Daisy," Donald said, "you know that when we build a nest for our family, you will want to be left alone. You'll be busy with the children and won't have time to visit anyway."
That was true, thought Daisy, but just the same, she would like to visit now and then with someone besides Donald. One day when she saw some old friends that she hadn't seen in awhile swimming towards the island, she asked Donald, "please, can we let them stay?"
"All right," said Donald. He would do anything for Daisy to make her happy. He stood back and watched their old friends, Harold and Virginia, as they climbed up the bank to the island. They all had such a nice visit and Donald tried hard, after that, to remember what Daisy said, not to scare everyone away.
But sometimes Donald forgets. If you should go to a place where you see a goose wandering around, don't go near it! It might be forgetful like Donald and try to chase you!
Nordic the Worm
Nordic had a headache, and the day had just begun.
He longed to leave his dwelling, and he longed to feel the sun
But yesterday his mamma told him that he must stay in
For robins had flown back to town. And true, he'd heard their din.
She told him of the saying, what the early bird could get,
And of young boys with fishing poles. He hadn't seen THEM yet.
He curled up in his burrow, but it seemed so damp and cold.
He wondered of the great outdoors, and thought he would be bold. ...
Although his mamma warned him, he decided to go out
And slithered to the doorway, when he heard a loud voice shout:
"I see one! Bring a shovel!" And he knew his doom was near.
Quite fearful now, he tunneled deep, his life seemed, oh so dear!
And as he tunneled deeper, he thought never would he doubt
Again his mamma's warning, when she says "Do Not Go Out!"
The Cricket That Wanted to See Snow
Leaves were falling everywhere, one, two, three. Sometimes a bunch fell at one time, and soon the ground was covered with them.
"Why are the leaves falling?" asked the littlest cricket. "What is happening?"
"It's fall," said mamma cricket. "In the fall the leaves come off the trees, and in the spring the trees get new leaves."
"What happens in between?" asked little cricket.
"In between fall and spring is winter, when snow starts to fall," said mamma cricket.
Little cricket thought about the snow. He wondered what it looked like and what it felt like.
One day the wind started blowing. It got colder and colder. Little cricket's mom told him that soon they would need to burrow underground where they would be safe and warm.
"But, Mom," protested little cricket, "I want to see the snow!" His mom tried to explain that snow was cold and that no crickets or grasshoppers could survive the cold days of winter if they stayed above ground.
Little cricket wasn't convinced. He decided to talk with Mr. Finch about snow and winter. Mr. Finch was busy pulling the last of the sunflower seeds out of a garden.
"Indeed," said Mr. Finch while cracking open a seed, "snow can be dangerous for many creatures, even though it can be quite lovely to see." He then went on and explained that snow was almost like starlight falling from the sky. When it lands on trees and bushes, it turns everything white. When the sun shines on snow, it sparkles and looks quite nice.
"When it snows," said Mr. Finch, "everything gets really quiet, unless the wind happens to be blowing. If the wind blows, some of us have to huddle in pine trees to stay warm and hunker down until things quiet down.
"Also," continued Mr. Finch, "when it snows everything gets very cold, so cold, that the ground becomes frozen and is hard to walk on. We finches don't even like to sing when it gets that cold. The wind stings ours eyes. Even pools of water freeze and it is hard to find something to drink."
Little cricket listened carefully.
"Well, Mom," he said, "I think I have heard enough. Maybe I don't really need to see snow, but it is nice to know what it is!" Mamma cricket smiled. Together she and little cricket burrowed deep down underground. As soon as they were snug in their little house underground, the last golden leaves fell to the ground and white snowflakes started covering leaves, trees, and everything in sight.
Another Chair at the Table
Henry Brownbridge was unhappy for he just received the news:
"You're going to have a playmate! If you could, what would you choose?"
His mother seemed excited, so he didn't want to say
He really was quite happy with the way things were today!
"A brother or a sister? Well," his friend said, then went on
"My little sister cries a lot and wakes me up at dawn,
And mother doesn't have the time for games with me, these days.
I have to keep an eye on little sister when she plays!"
Now Henry felt much worse with this. He dragged his feet along.
"I wonder if they'll still want ME! Maybe I won't belong."
He sat beneath a big shade tree and felt depressed and blue.
He liked his life the way it was. "Now what am I to do?"
But then his dad took him aside and said, "Son, don't feel sad.
You'll be the bigger brother and for that you should be glad!"
The role of bigger brother really didn't sound that bad.
"Okay!" said Henry as they walked, "I'm glad you are my dad!"
Some people look the same, that's true, but there is only one of you!
The Bear That Lived in the Park
Bennie the black bear lived in a park. He didn't know it was a park. All he knew was that it was home. Bennie loved the thick forests of tall pines, hemlock, cedar and birch trees. He also loved the grassy open places where he could roll in the colorful wildflowers.
Bennie especially loved the big old trees and he loved digging for ants and termites in old stumps that were scattered throughout the forest. He loved the little creek that wound through the park. He was sure to find all kinds of fish, and they tasted, oh, so good!
But most of all, Bennie loved the camping season, as that was when People came to the park and brought all kinds of foods. He could smell the food as soon as they set up camps or started serving food for a picnic.
It didn't take long for Bennie to realize that people were not neat with their food. He found scraps of food all over the campground and all through the park.
"Don't," said Mother Bear, "get into the habit of eating people food. It will make you sick, but worse than that, it could lead you to Big Trouble!"
Bennie didn't tell his mother that he had already tasted people food, and that he really liked it. It wasn't as if he went searching for it. Yet, maybe in a way, he did, because whenever he smelled People, he followed the scent until, sure enough, there they were, and right in front of him was the food!
Bennie especially liked scraps of peanut butter sandwiches and French fries. Oh, how good they tasted!
Bennie soon learned that if he came out of the woods just as people started setting up their picnic lunches, they would take off running. Then, the table was all his! This was SO easy!
He also discovered that backpacks left by a tree or tent contained all kinds of candy bars, sandwiches, and beef jerky. It was easy to rip into the packs and get the good stuff!
"Where are you going, Bennie?" asked Mother Bear just as Bennie was starting to go down a path.
"Oh," said Bennie. "I'm going to check something out."
"Remember what I told you," called his mother as she watched him disappear into the woods.
"This is easy," thought Bennie to himself as he headed for a table where People were just starting to set out food from a big picnic basket.
"BEAR!" yelled a little boy, and everyone scattered out of the way.
"Hey," yelled a park ranger who just happened to be nearby, posting bulletins that read: Please do not feed the bears!
"There's that pesky bear," he said as he called for help on his radio. Bennie had already started digging into the food. In a minute another park ranger came rushing up to help. "Get him," yelled the little boy and his family hiding behind a tree.
ZAP went the tranquilizer gun that one of the park rangers fired towards Bennie! Bennie looked up in surprise as he felt something sting him and he suddenly fell over in a heap. "Oh no," he thought before he passed out. "They got me!" He then fell into a big sleep.
The park rangers loaded him into the back of a truck and drove out of the park. They drove and drove and drove. Finally they pulled over and carefully opened the cage they had put Bennie in, and opened the door.
Bennie stumbled out and looked around. This wasn't home. This was unfamiliar woods. He shook himself and then ambled into the forest.
"Maybe mom was right," he said to himself. "Maybe this is the Big Trouble she was telling me about. I should have listened to her. I didn't even get to say goodbye."
Meanwhile, Bennie's mother realized he was missing and went out to search for him. She sniffed and sniffed the trail for a long time and walked and walked until she finally found him. Bennie was so glad to see his mom that he said, "I promise I will never go near people food ever again." And you know something? He never did!
* * *
So, when YOU go to the park: Never feed the bears! Never leave food out where bears can find it, and remember to leave the park nice and clean!
Buzzie the Teddy Bear
Buzzie the Bear had come to town,
Had come to town to stay,
For he was packed tight in a box
And came from far away.
The box was ripped, its side was torn
But he was safe inside,
And though he bounced from side to side
He still survived the ride.
He traveled on to grandma's house.
She found him at her door
And was surprised to see him
When she came home from the store.
He helps her roll out cookies
As he sits upon a chair.
Just maybe you have seen him?
Buzzie, the teddy bear!
Heading South
"Run for your life," squawked Claretta Goose just as Mr. Jones came driving down to the pond in his golf cart with lights blazing and horn blowing. It was night time. Claretta Goose and her family had just settled down by the pond in Mr. Jones's front yard when she saw Mr. Jones coming straight towards the goose families that had gathered for the night.
"Run, run!" echoed Lucy and Lacey Goose as they, too, gathered their families and started running for cover. "Head to the woods," yelled Daddy Goose as he hurried along while trying to help other goose families get out of the way.
It had started out being a very nice day. Claretta Goose and her family and friends had so enjoyed their day at the pond. The weather had warmed up and the young goslings had a great time practicing their swimming strokes. But now Mr. Jones was after them. "Get away from my pond," Mr. Jones yelled as he chased them with his cart.
Claretta Goose didn't want to leave. She felt safe away from the fox and coyote that lived in the woods, but she had no choice. She had to quickly move her family!
"Mom, mom," sobbed Jimmy and Johnny Goose together. "Why is Mr. Jones being so mean?" They were running hard, trying to keep up with their mother. "Well, Dears," Claretta Goose tried to explain, "It's hard to understand humans sometimes. But we have to do what they tell us."
Finally all of the little families were herded into the dark woods at the edge of Mr. Jones's yard. Once the youngsters got over their fright, they settled down close to their parents for their evening lessons.
Claretta Goose felt lessons were very important. There was so much to teach her offspring before they grew up and flew away. They were almost ready now to go off on their own. They had grown much in a short time.
"Our lesson tonight is about roads," began Claretta Goose. "What's a road, Mom?" asked Jimmy Goose. "The road," said Claretta Goose, "is that patch of ground that is packed down hard by dirt or gravel where people drive noisy vehicles all hours of the day and night."
"Oh," said Clarissa Goose, who always caught on quickly. "Those big things that have flashing lights and are noisy are vehicles?"
"Yes," said Claretta Goose. "Vehicles won't stop if they see you in the road. It is your job to move out of the way."
"Don't vehicles ever go to sleep?" asked Johnny Goose who was getting a little sleepy. "No," said Daddy Goose, "they don't go to sleep. They are on the roads day and night." Clarissa was getting bored and asked, "When do we start our Big Journey South?"
"Oh," said Claretta Goose. "It won't be long now. We have to wait for Daniel Tree Frog to give us the signal to leave. He is our friend and watches out for us."
"Tomorrow," announced Daddy Goose, "we will begin our flying lessons." Sure enough, the next day when the children were all gathered in a safe area away from Mr. Jones, they learned how to use their wings and feet to get up in the air, how to soar, and how to land. Johnny and Jimmy Goose were so excited that they ended up having several crash landings!
One night when the big orange full moon rose high in the night-time sky, a strange noise echoed through the meadows and woods.
"That's Daniel Tree Frog," said Claretta Goose. "He is letting us know that we must begin our Long Journey South." By now the children were nearly as big as their parents. They were excited about this new adventure.
"When," asked the Goose children altogether, "can we start our journey?" "Next week," said Daddy Goose, and sure enough when next week came, there was not even one goose left on Mr. Jones's lawn.
Baggie's Christmas
Baggie Badger loved the meadow where he found a perfect home.
He felt it was a "keeper." No longer need he roam.
He chased off all the neighbors with a growl quite fierce and loud.
He liked his own seclusion, and he didn't like a crowd.
That is, until one Christmas, when his den seemed, oh, so bare.
He wished, while he was walking that he had a friend to care.
One day it was Coyote who saw tears in Baggie's eyes.
"Well Baggie," he suggested, "how about if you and I
go share a Christmas dinner. Do come over to my place!
It sure would be my pleasure if you then could say Grace."
So Baggie, ever after was more careful with his "roar."
He made friends and wasn't lonely in the meadow anymore.
Aaron, The Ambitious Mouse
Aaron was an ambitious mouse. That meant he had lots of energy and big ideas. He wanted to do many things. But what he wanted to do more than anything else in the world was to type a letter to Priscilla. Now this was back in the olden days when people used machines called typewriters to write letters. Aaron had seen them and had watched people use them in the office room where he lived. If he could type a letter to Priscilla then she would think he was much smarter than some of her other boyfriends.
After much searching around, Aaron finally found a typewriter that didn't have a cover on it. But when he found one, he found out he couldn't push the keys down because he wasn't strong enough. What to do?
While he sat down to do some thinking, the door of the office opened and a large gentleman with a curly red beard walked in. A man with a bald head followed him. "Now then," said the red-bearded man, "I want a typewriter that works like this one," as he pointed to a big typewriter on a desk, "only I want it small enough to fit in my daughter's doll house. I want to surprise my daughter Tami on her birthday. She loves her little doll house and has a little office room in it. I thought a typewriter would look really nice in it. Never mind the cost. Just send it over to my house when you finish it." Then the red-bearded man left. Note: A typewriter was a machine that had keys almost like an iPad.
The little bald-headed man looked at the typewriter and frowned, mumbling something about "making a typewriter small enough for a doll house." Before he left the room, Aaron jumped in his pocket and went along.
The little bald-headed man lived in a house full of tiny things that were just right for doll houses. Aaron was excited as he watched him start building a tiny typewriter.
