Tea and Cake

A frog and a toad have inspired generations of children and adults.  Although they existed only on the pages of books by Arnold Lobel, these small amphibians taught real life lessons. Frog and Toad were friends and never a day went by that one didn’t go visit the other and, over a piece of cake […]

Beggars Would Ride

“You know,” I said, “I was looking again at Marvie Saunder’s book.”             “No, Ned,” Pat interrupted. “Remember, you’ve given that up. You’re going to let Cade and Gerald handle whatever is going on about that house. You are fixating on that book of poetry so, stop it!”             Stung, I said, “What a thing […]

Little Cedar and the Big Storm

Fierce winds tugged at Little Cedar. His scrawny boughs bent and swayed but he dug his roots deeper and hung onto the rock buried beneath the mountain soil. “The wind is so cold,” said Little Cedar. He shivered from his topmost limb to the bottom of his twisted trunk. “It must be nearly Christmas again.” […]

What Can a Storm Blow Up?

My first chapter of my work-in-progress: Chapter One Miss Tootsie’s nose twitched. Something was in the air besides the smell of spring flowers and the musky scent of last night’s rain. The sun struggled against incoming dark clouds, and the morning felt too warm; muggy, she called it. Not a breeze stirred. Other than those […]

Shadows

Shadows

I had stopped shaking by the time I reached home. In the comfort of my living room, normalcy began to return. Ulysses licked my hand, grinning a hound dog welcome, and Penny looked up from her cushion. I breathed a sigh of relief. I was safe. I was home, and now I could try to […]

Chapter Four, The Key

Chapter Four, The Key

I couldn’t believe the purse was gone. I looked under the table and all around the dining room. Had I forgotten that I put it away some place? A frantic search of my house led me to only one conclusion–my cousins had taken it. But, why? Goosebumps ran up my arms and my hands felt […]