A Children's Story - Part 2
by CJ Heck
... I know this is true , because someone who's been there told me to tell you.
The two suns and their rainbow had slipped down from the sky when Lambie and B Bear finally sat down to eat the food in the picnic basket. They had walked along the path in silence all day. Now they were deep in the frightening Everlie Woods and they were very glad the two purple moons burned so brightly in the evening sky.
Lambie asked B Bear, "How do you know we're going in the right direction, B Bear?"
B Bear told her that he didn't really know for sure. He was just following his nose because his father always told him, "Son, the nose knows!"
Then Lambie asked, "Do you suppose we WILL get to the other side of Everlie Woods? Do you suppose the great Wallah of Poobah can help us get Monkey back? Will we be able to find our way home again? I DO want to grow up, B Bear!"
Poor Lambie, thought B Bear. She's so kind and gentle and she's VERY worried, just like I am. I have to try and get her mind away from this awful situation, if only for a few minutes. "Lambie, what do you want to be when you grow up?" he asked as he dug through the picnic basket for another sandwich.
"I want to be just like my Mother, B Bear. She's a nurse and she's very pretty. I want to be a pretty and fisticated nurse just like my Mother."
B Bear scratched his head, thinking. Then with a puzzled look on his fuzzy face, he asked, "Pretty and a nurse, okay. But Lambie, WHAT is fisticated?"
Lambie found his question very odd. B Bear was smart and yet he didn't know something! Lambie answered, "B Bear, that's what my father always tells mother. He tells her she is a good nurse, very pretty, and so fisticated."
B Bear heard this and, because he WAS smart, he began to laugh. He laughed until his tummy hurt. He laughed until his ribs ached. He laughed until tears overflowed his eyes and made wet trails down his fuzzy brown cheeks! He was about to tell Lambie why it was so funny when, all of a sudden, there was a loud booming voice!
"QUIET!"
"Who said that?" asked Lambie and B Bear at the very same time.
"It is I", came the booming voice again. "I am the Keeper of The Silence!"
B Bear looked all around, but all he could see was a very tall, orange tree. "Who is talking?" asked B bear. "Is that you, tree? Trees don't talk!"
"QUIET! I am the Keeper of The Silence!" shouted the very tall orange tree again.
Lambie said, "Keeper of The Silence, please don't use that grouchy voice with us. We're on our way to see the great Wallah of Poobah to get our friend, Monkey, back. Could you please tell us if we are going in the right direction?"
"Yes, I'll tell you, IF you'll be QUIET!" he answered, pointing with one of his long branches. "You must turn left by that large blue rock over there. Then you will be going in the right direction. Now, GO!"
Lambie and B Bear finished their picnic and said thank you to the tall strange orange tree who was the Keeper of The Silence. Then, waving goodbye, they turned left at the large blue rock and continued on their journey. A short while later, they came upon a sign that said:
‘Wallah of Poobah, This Way’ ------>
B Bear and Lambie turned right and once again followed the path. They really missed Monkey. They hung onto the hope that the great Wallah of Poobah would be able to help them get their friend back.
After a while, Lambie and B bear decided they had to rest. They had been walking for hours and they were very tired. They sat down on a log by the side of the path. In the purple moonlight B Bear noticed a very large blue rock. He told Lambie that it looked very familiar. Lambie laughed and told him that all big blue rocks looked the same to her! B Bear began to laugh, too.
Suddenly, a voice boomed, "Quiet. QUIET! I said! I am the Keeper of The Silence and I said BE QUIET!"
"What? How could this be?" asked Lambie.
"I don't know," answered B Bear. "This is very strange!"
Somehow, the two friends had come in a full circle. They were right back where they had eaten their picnic hours ago. They were back at the large blue rock. They were back where the Keeper of The Silence had told them which way they should go!
Lambie asked the Keeper, "Didn't you tell us to turn left at that large blue rock over there?"
"Yes, yes of course!" shouted the Keeper of The Silence.
"Then why are we back here again?" asked Lambie.
"How am I supposed to know that?" sulked the Keeper of The Silence. "I told you which way to go, and ... I ... never ... lie."
Then Lambie remembered the sign they saw along the path. When she asked him about it, the Keeper of The Silence only muttered and shook his bushy orange leaves.
B Bear had been sitting quietly, listening to the conversation between Lambie and the Keeper of The Silence. He was thinking, and when B Bear was thinking, all sorts of important things went through his mind. All at once, he jumped to his feet, put his finger to his lips and said, "Shhhhh" to Lambie. B Bear then asked the very tall orange tree, "Mr. Keeper, what would happen if I turned RIGHT at the large blue rock over there?"
The Keeper coughed and cleared his throat. Then he said, "Well, if you do THAT, you will NEVER see the Wallah of Poobah!"
B Bear whispered to Lambie to follow him and they went exactly where the tall orange tree told them NOT to go -- they turned RIGHT.
"What are we doing, B Bear? Why are we going THIS way?" asked Lambie.
"Shhhhh ..." said B Bear. "Follow me, and hurry!"
... I know this is true , because someone who's been there told me to tell you.
When they were past the place where the Keeper of The Silence was, past where the large blue rock sat, past the log where they sat down to rest, B Bear told Lambie what he had figured out. "Lambie! I know exactly why we went in circles!" cried B Bear excitedly. "This is Everlie Woods. We have been pronouncing it 'Ever-LEE'. Lambie, it isn't that at all! We should have pronounced it 'Ever-LIE'! I believe everything in Everlie Woods lies! When we came back to the same place we were hours ago and the Keeper of The Silence said he doesn't ever lie, I KNEW he had lied. That means the sign was a lie, too! EVERYTHING in Everlie Woods lies. If we want to get to the Wallah of Poobah, we must do the opposite of what anyone here tells us to do. It's sad, but when someone lies, you can't believe them, ever."
Poor B Bear and Lambie. They had so many problems. They walked all night. They watched as the two purple moons settled down into the trees to make room for the two bright suns and their rainbow. All through the night, they went in the opposite direction from where every sign pointed. They also turned in the opposite direction when anyone they met along the path told them which way they should be going.
When at last they reached the edge of Everlie Woods, they could see a huge castle off in the distance. It had to be the castle of the great Wallah of Poobah! Lambie and B Bear finally began to feel hopeful again. They ran as fast as their tired legs could carry them, straight to the castle where the wise and great man who had all the answers lived.
After a long wait in the hallway of the castle, it was finally their turn to see the Wallah of Poobah. It seemed like such a long time ago when Monkey disappeared because so much had happened since. It was hard for them to believe that it had only been yesterday morning.
The two best friends introduced themselves and then explained everything to the great Wallah. They told him about the first argument and making up. They talked about the long walk and Monkey's whining. Then they told him the last and worst thing ... how B Bear had pointed the banana at Monkey and wished his wish. Finally, they told him about the quiet, sad sound that took Monkey away. "Great Wallah, won't you please tell us how to get our friend, Monkey, back?" cried Lambie. "Can you help us?"
The Wallah thought and thought. Then he stroked his long white beard, and he thought some more. Suddenly, he raised a finger in the air and with a mighty voice, he proclaimed, "Aha! I see what the problem is and I know how to fix it! My two young friends, somehow, you got hold of a magic banana. They’re VERY rare you know. I’ve only seen one in my entire lifetime! Now, there's something very important that I must tell you about a magic banana. With a this kind of a banana, every action has an opposite reaction. Your banana is extra powerful here, because it also pulls even more magic from The Forest of Enchantment!
What you have to do is go back to where you last saw your friend. Listen to me carefully. Pick up your special banana and turn it around! Then you must point it at the place where your friend used to be and wish him back again! Ah yes,“ he muttered to himself, “every action has an opposite reaction!" Then he turned to them again and exclaimed, "Now go -- and hurry! You must go back to where you last saw your friend and unwish your wish!"
... I know this is true , because someone who's been there told me to tell you.
Lambie and B Bear thanked the great Wallah of Poobah and said goodbye. Then, even though they were very tired, they ran all the way back through Everlie Woods and back to the edge of The Forest of Enchantment. Amazingly, they found the banana still lying on the ground right where B Bear had dropped it yesterday. B Bear picked it up, trying to feel its magic, but it didn't feel any different from any other banana. With a deep breath, he closed his eyes. Then he pointed the special banana at the same spot where Monkey had disappeared and shouted, "Monkey, come back! I don't WANT you to disappear!"
Nothing happened. Nothing at all. Then B Bear remembered the most important thing the Wallah of Poobah had told them. This was a magic banana and every action has an opposite reaction. This time, B Bear turned the banana around and pointed the other end at the spot where Monkey had been standing. He took another deep breath, closed his eyes tightly again, and this time slowly repeated, "Monkey, I wish you to come back! I don't WANT you to be gone!"
((( p o o f! )))
In an instant, Monkey was standing there just like he was yesterday morning! He was even brought back in the middle of a sentence. He was STILL whining about how hungry he was and asking why they couldn't stop NOW and just eat here. Monkey was so surprised when Lambie and B Bear ran over to hug him that he stopped whining and stared at them with eyes as big as dinner plates!
"Come on, Monkey, let's just go home." Said B Bear with a smile. “We have such a wonderful adventure to tell you about." Then he handed the very special banana to his hungry friend.
... I know this is true , because someone who's been there told me to tell you.
You know what? The very last time this someone saw them, they were headed towards home, hand in hand in hand. The three best friends were all together again and already looking forward to their next great adventure.
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