Journal icovellauna's Journal: Melody and the Wind 1
Kushka jumped up in Melody's lap, turned around a couple of times and settled with a gentle rumble. Melody stroked the little cat gently, but shook her head as the North Wind reached for her. Kushka like to play with the wind, but she didn't much like the chill as the wind ruffled her fur. North Wind settled back, cleared his throat. "Have I told you,"he asked,"of the castle of the Ice Queen?"
She considered. "No, no I don't think so."
"She was a lovely woman,"he began. "With hair as black as night, and skin as white as snow. Her heart was as warm as that kitten of yours, and she ruled with as gentle and loving a hand as any ruler ever did. Her land was filled with ice and snow, sparkling in the sunlight beneath bright blue skies."
"Did she do special things?"
"She was a special thing, my dear. There was magic in her house, a wholesome healing magic. Things stopped in her house, and gave you a chance to catch up."
"She must be very wonderful."
"Yes, she is, and I have spent many hours there with her. She has wisdom, the kind that touches you gently, and after a while you realize that life has changed almost without your noticing."
"So, what did she do?" Melody liked stories that moved more. She was young, and impetuous, and the North Wind chuckled, a sound like wind chimes in the night.
"Oh, many things! She saved the world!"
"How? How?"
"Once upon a time..."
Melody settled down. She liked stories that began that way.
"There was a King. He lived in a land far away, where the day meets the night, and in his Kingdom the difference between them was a little difficult. They overlapped, and sometimes they mixed together, and you couldn't tell which was which. He didn't mind. It was normal, just the way things had always been. But this is a difficult thing for most people to deal with. Most people like to know which is which, when it's day and night, and feel more comfortable with a clear distinction. People are like that a lot, you know."
She nodded. "I like to know stuff like that."
"Yes, I know. But it doesn't have to be so. You can get to be comfortable with almost anything. But this is about King Nathan, and how he lost the day.
He had a daughter, about your age, a sweet little girl named Sarah, whose greatest delight was to bring her father his slippers at the end of the day, and see him propped up on pillows with a cup of cocoa before she went off to bed. He loved her dearly, and it filled his heart with joy to see her smile. She was a curious sort of child, always looking for new things to learn, and she loved to slip out the door and explore her father's kingdom. But where the day meets night it is sometimes dangerous for a little girl to be out by herself. There are things that live between and little girls shouldn't try to deal with them alone." He looked at her intently, but she just nodded. He went on, hoping she was hearing the warning, but you never know with little girls. "One day, just as what we would think of as evening approached, Sarah sat great stone step outside the door, listening to the birds. She liked to hear the birds chat about their lives. She wondered what it would be like to fly. Busy imagining herself soaring through the air she never noticed the troll slip from the window under the castle or the big smelly sack over his shoulder. But he had seen her, and, in fact had been waiting for this sort of opportunity. Quick as a wink, he popped her into the sack, and ran off, with the smelly sack bumpety bumping on his shoulder, and Melody inside, with an old shoe, a cabbage (somewhat worse for the sack), a stick, some dirt and straw, and something wet that she decided she was better off not touching. The bumpety bumping went on for some time, and poor Sarah, partly upside down, damp and cold, got more and more frightened and just as she decided that she must be lost forever, the troll stopped. He was home. He dropped the sack in a corner. Sarah sat in the sack for a moment, filled with dread. She was afraid he would eat her. But you and I know that trolls don't eat little girls. They Collect them, and make them work in their dark dirty caves, doing all sorts of housework, and darning their smelly old socks."
Melody nodded again,. She could see her Mother, and her Mother looked like it was bedtime. "I have to go to bed," she said. "Can you tell me the rest later?"She didn't want to go, but she knew her Mummy, and when it was bedtime there was no getting around it.
"I'll come back tomorrow,"he said. And with that he slipped back up the chimney, and was gone.
Melody went off to bed, thinking about Sarah in the story, and how terrible it would be to be dumped in a sack in a troll's corner. I'm obliged to report, She did not have very good dreams.
She considered. "No, no I don't think so."
"She was a lovely woman,"he began. "With hair as black as night, and skin as white as snow. Her heart was as warm as that kitten of yours, and she ruled with as gentle and loving a hand as any ruler ever did. Her land was filled with ice and snow, sparkling in the sunlight beneath bright blue skies."
"Did she do special things?"
"She was a special thing, my dear. There was magic in her house, a wholesome healing magic. Things stopped in her house, and gave you a chance to catch up."
"She must be very wonderful."
"Yes, she is, and I have spent many hours there with her. She has wisdom, the kind that touches you gently, and after a while you realize that life has changed almost without your noticing."
"So, what did she do?" Melody liked stories that moved more. She was young, and impetuous, and the North Wind chuckled, a sound like wind chimes in the night.
"Oh, many things! She saved the world!"
"How? How?"
"Once upon a time..."
Melody settled down. She liked stories that began that way.
"There was a King. He lived in a land far away, where the day meets the night, and in his Kingdom the difference between them was a little difficult. They overlapped, and sometimes they mixed together, and you couldn't tell which was which. He didn't mind. It was normal, just the way things had always been. But this is a difficult thing for most people to deal with. Most people like to know which is which, when it's day and night, and feel more comfortable with a clear distinction. People are like that a lot, you know."
She nodded. "I like to know stuff like that."
"Yes, I know. But it doesn't have to be so. You can get to be comfortable with almost anything. But this is about King Nathan, and how he lost the day.
He had a daughter, about your age, a sweet little girl named Sarah, whose greatest delight was to bring her father his slippers at the end of the day, and see him propped up on pillows with a cup of cocoa before she went off to bed. He loved her dearly, and it filled his heart with joy to see her smile. She was a curious sort of child, always looking for new things to learn, and she loved to slip out the door and explore her father's kingdom. But where the day meets night it is sometimes dangerous for a little girl to be out by herself. There are things that live between and little girls shouldn't try to deal with them alone." He looked at her intently, but she just nodded. He went on, hoping she was hearing the warning, but you never know with little girls. "One day, just as what we would think of as evening approached, Sarah sat great stone step outside the door, listening to the birds. She liked to hear the birds chat about their lives. She wondered what it would be like to fly. Busy imagining herself soaring through the air she never noticed the troll slip from the window under the castle or the big smelly sack over his shoulder. But he had seen her, and, in fact had been waiting for this sort of opportunity. Quick as a wink, he popped her into the sack, and ran off, with the smelly sack bumpety bumping on his shoulder, and Melody inside, with an old shoe, a cabbage (somewhat worse for the sack), a stick, some dirt and straw, and something wet that she decided she was better off not touching. The bumpety bumping went on for some time, and poor Sarah, partly upside down, damp and cold, got more and more frightened and just as she decided that she must be lost forever, the troll stopped. He was home. He dropped the sack in a corner. Sarah sat in the sack for a moment, filled with dread. She was afraid he would eat her. But you and I know that trolls don't eat little girls. They Collect them, and make them work in their dark dirty caves, doing all sorts of housework, and darning their smelly old socks."
Melody nodded again,. She could see her Mother, and her Mother looked like it was bedtime. "I have to go to bed," she said. "Can you tell me the rest later?"She didn't want to go, but she knew her Mummy, and when it was bedtime there was no getting around it.
"I'll come back tomorrow,"he said. And with that he slipped back up the chimney, and was gone.
Melody went off to bed, thinking about Sarah in the story, and how terrible it would be to be dumped in a sack in a troll's corner. I'm obliged to report, She did not have very good dreams.
typo (Score:2)
Sorry... that's the perfectionist in me.
Nice story so far, though.