"The Cob Will Have Nowhere To Live" Children's Chapter Book
By MarciaMarcia
- 1676 reads
Chapter 3
"Flash"
"Hi there, readers, all. My name is Flash. I thought now would be a good time to introduce myself...at last"
If you look down, in this book you are reading, you'll find...in your imagination...your thoughts...in your mind... that I'm standing at the bottom, of this very page...right here"
Flash took off his hat and stretched out his arms. He bowed his head and lit up, yellow-white and began to glow and glow, and glow, very bright, like the twinkling stars, in the night sky. Then he flashed his glow "on..off" and "on". He jumped and spun, making circles of light and laughed as he flashed and asked with delight..."Did you like what I did? You might want to know, why it is, I do that flash and glow." He paused for a moment. "I was born to do that. It's my way...you see" he said happily. I'm a Wee Creature... a GLOW worm.. and so.... I GLOW and flash..." And he did "on..off and "on"... just like that. While you are reading this story, "I may appear...standing by...right here...your very own GLOW worm...surprise! My GLOW and flash, will catch your attention, letting you know, that I'm going to tell you, something important... a flashback is near. What's that...you ask, I'll explain its meaning.. A flashback is reading a part of a story hidden, left out, a few pages ago. The story remembers the words not spoken, what it was, when it was...but tells it right now. The tale, then, continues and you too, read on . That's all there is to it. Just watch for my Glow...flash "on... off and on".
Flash was gone.....disappeared from view.......
Now, lets try and remember...The Cob was there, thinking...and said " what to do today" and looking up to see the very tops of his birch tree..."
.........The story goes on......
...The Cob gasped "Oh No" Above him, blocking the view of tree and sky, was a brand new roof, it was almost done. The builders come early. He had slept late and remembering his dream, he was so far away, in his thoughts, in his mind, he never heard them working inside. "My Socks" he whispered, covering his face. He cleared his throat "ah...hum" and sniffed a sniff, looking up he spoke to himself. "The roof is almost completely on. I'll never make it up and over, before they're finished." Watching the workmen coming and going, and hearing their noises, hammering and sawing, he coughed, peering into a cloud of dust, rising up from the floor. He covered his head and said "It's too noisy in here, and dusty...Ahchew" he sneezed. "It could take me weeks to find another way out...Ahchew" again. Then, peeking between his toes, he looked , and scratched his nose. "Weeks" he whispered, under his breath, tapping his feet...he stopped talking and listened. "tap..tap..tap"... weeks of exploring...tap..tap...something, I've never explored before" The Cob rolled his eyes. He had an idea. "Well, indeed, this could prove quite an adventure. I'd better have some breakfast, and think on it" And do you know what he did next? He began munching on the same leaves, that had been his bed. that very night. "Time does pass pleasantly when you're munching" he mumbled, finishing the last bite of his morning snack and licking all of his toes.
He started to think, pacing back and forth and forth and back. He was having quite a lively conversation with himself. "Yes...well, I could do that...hmmm...wait a minute...I couldn't do that...could I. Maybe I could..why yes, indeed. I very well could" You see, The Cob always thought of all the possibilities of what was good about an idea. Then, of course, he thought about what was not so good, about the idea. Sometimes, he could worry himself, into a real tizzy. He reached for the wall, on the sill, to keep balanced. "I'm feeling dizzy...Steady there, fellow..." he said with a chuckle. That...was The Cob, and that was his way. When he finally made up his mind, he was convinced, he had decided well.
Reaching that conclusion, this very moment, he said "Yes" and pointed up to the roof, announcing his plan. "I will explore and search out, all of this basement, walls, ceilings and floor, one inch at a time. What a completely satisfying adventure this will be. With plenty of food and drink available, and a clear view of all that goes on, outside this window, I can take my time. He looked out at the garden and beyond, tapping his feet. "Where shall I begin today" he said wrinkling his nose, squinting his eyes, for a better view.
Then "Thud...Crash...Smash" Outside, something flew against the window. The Cob jumped "Oh My Word...what was that"...."Thud...Crash...Smash" again. He quivered and shut his eyes tight, curled up into a ball, and let out his silk, and rolled off the sill. As he dropped and stopped, hanging just below it, he swung to and fro and opened one eye. He let out a long, slow, sigh. "Ahhh" and began to climb back up his silk, to the sill. Peeking over its edge, he looked wide eyed. "That was a little dramatic of me" he chuckled with relief and wiped his forhead. "Damp leaves blew against the window...I must remember that sound..." He rolled his eyes, again and smiled "Mmm" and climbed up over the sill, as he had done the night before, one foot after the other, after the other, till all of him was settled. "I'll start here" He said, looking at the window and inched his way up and across the cool, glass, stopping to look through, to the back garden and beyond. The sounds of the workmen seemed to fade, as in the distance, he saw birds flying...blue birds. He listened to them squawk. "Jay..Jay..watch me play...see me catch you...run away....run away...Jay...Jay"
"Blue Jays" he whispered under his breath. "Thieves of the skies...Blue Jays" A brief echo of that night's dream, came back to haunt him. As he gazed outside, he remembered and heard, again...the breath on the wind... The sound was Mantis sss... "Quivering, crunching moves the grasses, little Beasties are afraid " He shivered in his socks. Then, in another moment, his whisperous memory was gone...
The Cob looked out at the Blue Jays in flight and listened more.."Jay...Jay...we love to play, on the air, swish and sway, swirling up , swooping down, catching yummys ...from the ground...Jay...Jay...Jay" He turned away and looked into the basement. "Maybe being here, on this side of the window, for awhile, isn't such a bad idea. Blue Jays love worms......I am, after all, a worm...an inch worm......Hmm, Blue Jays love worms" he said again...
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Comments
I love the way Cob eats his
I love the way Cob eats his bed for breakfast then licks all his toes - and the way he overthinks everything! You are creating some delicious characters.
Should the introduction of The Flash precede an actual flashback?
There is a gentle, engaging momentum to your stories and a growing sense of menace emphasised by Cob's vulnerability.
I like the way the various characters' personalities are expressed in their speech patterns.
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Hello Marcia
Hello Marcia
I could have sworn I replied to this comment earlier today... oh well... I've checked the stories you mention and I was able to access them logged in and logged out (as a visitor). I can't find any reason why your friends weren't able to find them.
If you could email us at admin@abctales.com and give us some more clues - perhaps if they got an error message and what it said - we could look into it further for you
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could you email a screenshot
could you email a screenshot of what you see when you click on your profile to admin@abctales.com Marcia? I've just checked again, both logged in and logged out and I can see them all fine
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This is so very magical, MM.
This is so very magical, MM.
Tina
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