Who Stole Tui's Ruffle?

Tui stared with horror and his fear began to grow.

Someone had stolen his beautiful, lacy ruffle.
And without his ruffle ... would that make him a .... CROW??

He took off in a panic and frantically began to circle and swoop,
"My ruffle has to be here." He cried, as he twirled another loop.
Suddenly he saw it bouncing and bobbing in the grass below,
And in a flash, he zoomed towards it and swooped in very low.

He zoomed in fast and aimed for that thieving chap.

That ruffle was HIS and he was taking it back!
But when he got close and tried to grab it firmly in his beak,
That thief lashed out angrily and he fell in an awkward, tumbling heap.

Clinging on, he yanked once more, but that ruffle was stuck!

It did not budge at all. It was glued firmly to that bunny’s butt.
The bunny squawked loudly and angrily shot down a nearby hole,
The tui tried to follow but he tripped and stumbled into a skidding roll.

Feathers flew everywhere and he quickly scurried away,
For that bunny had made an awful din.

He wanted to slip away before the other animals could make fun of him.
He zigzagged through the sky and swooped frantically once more,
Could his beautiful ruffle be lying trampled on the forest floor?

Then he saw them. The hikers camping at the river side.

They were COOKING his ruffle ... it was about to be fried!
He zoomed right in. His heart pounded loudly in his chest
And in one swoop, he scooped it up and clasped that ruffle to his breast.

They waved their fists at him and he heard their angry cries.

As he held on tight and began to swoop up into the sky,
But the ruffle was sticky and it clung stubbornly to his beak
It just wouldn't budge, so he used his wings, and then he used his feet.

Now his feet AND his wings were glued together,

And he couldn’t make a sound.
He was terribly stuck,
And he began to thrash wildly upon on the ground.

He stumbled blindly toward the lake, things were getting very hazy,

He couldn't breathe and the trees began spinning around him crazily.
Sniggering could be heard when he fell for the very third time,
And there high above him, sat a grinning crow watching his drunken climb.

He did not stop, for he could not open his mouth to speak,

He needed water to clear the goo that trickled from his beak.
Slipping and sliding, he finally made his way to the lake,
Where he threw himself in and he swam until his legs began to ache.

Finally when he could swim no more,
He dragged himself out of the water.

Where he lay panting in the hot summer sun.
And he lay there for the longest time wondering,
Without his ruffle, just WHAT had he become?

Suddenly he caught his reflection,

And he began to smile.
A lacy ruffle sat proudly at his throat.
Dazzlingly bright .. where it had been all the while.

He smiled happily to himself in the hot, summer sun,
And he remembered what the old owl had said when he was only young.

"Sometimes sonny" he said importantly.
"The things we cannot see for ourselves,
Are the things that can be so plainly seen by everyone else.

And what you may have been looking for, for so very long,
May have been right there  … plain to see all along."

Heidi Mulligan - Children's Author: Farewell

Heidi Mulligan - Children's Author: Farewell: I see luscious, green pines They are regal, straight and tall. But I know that soon it will be another, Who will sit and admire the bea...

Farewell

I see luscious, green pines

Standing like soldiers, straight and tall.
But it will soon be another,
Who will sit and admire the beauty of it all.

I gaze at the trees, regal and beautiful.

Dressed in dainty white flowers, fragile and small.
And I know that another,
Will sit here to enjoy their beauty, when I am here no more.

As I farewell this garden,

I marvel at how it has grown.
But at the end of this summer,
I know that it will be another,
That will cherish this garden as their own.

It is balmy and warm,

And the bees and buzz lazily by.
But as this summer draws to an end,
I will gift these beauties to another.
And they shall cherish this garden as their own.

I hear the water fountain.

It bubbles and gurgles lazily without a care.
But soon this serenity will belong to another.
For them to cherish when I am no longer here.

I see the tiniest birds flitting by.

As I sit and sip a lazy red wine.
And I know that this will soon be gone.
For another awaits to move in, to enjoy this garden of mine.

The music, it drifts lazily across the garden,

The melancholy strains float towards me, gentle and soothing,
But soon another will sit amid this serenity,
And enjoy all that this magical garden can bring.

I greedily drink in each sight, sound and smell.

So the memory will not fade.
For soon it will be a picture that only I can see,
And it will be another who will stand, where I stood today.

The call is becoming increasingly insistent now.
And I will preserve these memories, deep inside my mind.
Of how I lived here contently,
Amongst this graceful sanctuary of mine.

I will leave this land that I have called home.

And I will look to the young, upturned faces that await.
Filled with innocence and grace,
With anticipation shining in every face.

 I will enjoy their animated cries of delight.

And be part of their lives, lived simply and true
They are my collection of rare, exquisite blooms,
And as their numbers grow, so my resolve is renewed.

I will say farewell to this corner of the world.

For it is time to heed those that ask after me.
It is time to enjoy their uniqueness,
A time to cherish and nurture them delicately.

I know not where my future garden lies,

But I know that I will be just fine.
Because the little ones are calling.
They ask where it is that I have gone?

And as their voices grow increasingly loud.

The urgency rises to a deafening crescendo.
I can not, and will not stem their cries for me.
I will gently close the gate for the very last time.

And I know it is because I am coming home.
Where I will cherish a new garden
One that once again, I can call my very own.

My Gran is a FIFO Gran

Poppa Joe said my Gran is a FIFO Gran.
And when I asked him, "Why?"
He said, "Because she always flies in and flies back out when she comes to visit."

But I think Gran lives at the airport.
Because that is where we go to pick her up.
But daddy says Gran doesn't live at the airport,
She lives in country called Australia.

Australia is far away and we can't wait for Gran to visit.
She always comes with lots of luggage,
And my daddy has to fit it all in the car.
But she doesn't mind.
She winks and says it's because she has something for us.

When she gets to our house,
She sits and reads to me
Sometimes its the same book over and over again.
But she doesn't mind.

Mummy said, " Gran wins a prize for reading a book one thousand times."
But I know Gran didn't really read the book to me a thousand times,
Just a lot.
Because she doesn't mind.

She reads me bedtime stories,
Sometimes I pick a book with a hundred words.
And she reads it to me and doesn't skip any of the pages,
Because she doesn't mind.

She helps build towers and we work on puzzles together,
Over and over again I break them.
And she helps me build them back up.
Because she doesn't mind.

She brings coloured pens and loves to draw with me.
Sometimes I get the ink on my  hands and my clothes,
She doesn't mind. "It'll wash out", she says.

I watch her in the morning and she lets me use her brush and her cream,
And when I'm scared of the noise the blow drier makes,
She doesn't mind.
She shows me how it works and blows warm air on my feet.

She helps me to get dressed when it gets too difficult for me,
She says, "Can Gran help?"
She doesn't mind, she likes to help.

She sits in the back with me in the car,
Even though its very squishy.
But she doesn't mind.

If I ask nicely, she plays outside with me.
But sometimes it's raining and cold.
So she gets her coat,
Because she doesn't mind.

But best of all my Gran gives me cuddles.
And when I am full of germs and my nose is running,
She hugs me tight and plants kisses on my face,
Because she doesn't mind.

Finally the day comes when Gran must go home,
There are tears and I feel sad that she has to go.
Gran is sad too!
But she says, "Don't be sad, I'll be back real soon."

I make her a beautiful picture to take home with her,
And she lays it carefully in her bag.
Her clothes are crumpled,
But she doesn't mind.
She says my picture is safe and that's all that matters.

It is time for Gran to go.
She is waving madly as she drives away,
And I run along side her and I wave until she is gone.
I am sad but I don't mind,
Because I know I'll see her again real soon.

There's Something Living in our Bin!!

On Monday mum said, "Robbie,

"It's your turn to take the rubbish out".
I rolled my eyes.  
And just as I was about to argue and have my say,
I saw the look in her eye,
And wisely saved my argument for another day.

I reluctantly dragged the rubbish down the garden path.
The bulky bags bumped and clanked together,
As I hurried in the dark.
I could feel watchful eyes following me,
But walking alone I found, was not the scariest part.

For when I finally got to the bin and prized opened the lid.

I let out a piercing scream.
For two eyes looked back at me.
They were glassy eyes that stared at me vacantly.

I galloped back to the house,

With my heart pounding like a drum.
For those glassy eyes had me shaken and afraid.
And I knew I had to put the rubbish out again the very next day.

On Tuesday I grabbed my sword,

And I reluctantly crept up to the bin.
I would slash anything that got in the way.
And as I whipped and sliced the air,

I bravely hurled the rubbish in ...

And then I ran away.

Some of it didn't make it.

It bounced and flew off to the side.
But I didn't stop to pick it up,
For loud clanging noises began to echo in the night!

By Wednesday I just knew,

There was something in our bin.
And those noises that I could hear,
Made the hairs on my neck tingle with fear.

I was too scared to look inside to see what lurked within.
So when Thursday came, I pleaded with Mum.
I told her I just couldn't take the rubbish to the bin.
"Don't be silly Robbie!" she angrily growled.
And I could tell, her patience was wearing thin.

So I grabbed the broom,

And carefully poked at the rubbish within.
But the clunking began immediately.
And I dropped the broom and dashed inside,
Only to hear my brothers laughter, as I galloped by. 

On Friday I didn't dare go too close,
I used the garden rake to carefully open the bin.
I twirled the rubbish over my head,
And it pirouetted through the air before dropping right in.

On Saturday I pleaded with my brother Tom,
To, "please, please take the rubbish to the bin".
I said I'd pay him extra,
If he would look to see what was causing that awful din.

He said he was happy to help.
And smiled at me with a grin.
But, he said it would cost quite a lot,
And just how much did I have in my money tin?

I didn't have all that much as it happens,
So on Sunday I put on my superman suit.
"This I have to see", my brother muttered with a grin.
And he watched as I went to find out what was living in our rubbish bin.

I gave the bin a shove and it fell with an almighty crash.

A lava of rubbish spewed onto the ground.
And then it began ....
That clunking, spinning, whirring sound.

And there he came.... marching steadily toward me,
One measured step at a time,
Dripping in peels and all kinds of skins.
Here came the creature that lived in our rubbish bin.

There he was, whirring his way through rotting skins,
He robotically stomped towards me.
One step at a time, smiling with a permanent grin.
And I tried to run, but my feet wouldn't budge from the spot!

I tried to scream then, I just wanted him to stop!
But as he stared at me with his garish, lopsided grin.
I just knew he would not be stopped.
I knew he was angry at being thrown from the bin.

I watched in horror as the peels and slime dripped from him, 
And as I cowered helplessly in front of that horrible, drooling thing.
I spied my brother out the corner of my eye ..
He was bent over laughing and he spluttered ... "Its, its...

JUST ... A ... T .. T ... T " he shrieked. 
And he fell to the ground laughing some more.
Hahahahaha....

And then I could see that the monster that had caused all the din ....
Wasn't some scary, horrible thing,
It was .....

My all time favorite toy!
The one I called … ‘Indestructible Jim'

Tane and The Dragon

Tane crept into the school,

And climbed onto the window pane.
He peered in the window,
And saw something very strange.

There was something in the room.

Something that should not have been there.
It had prongs on its back,
And spikes instead of hair.

The boy sitting in front saw it too.
And he jumped up screaming.
"There’s a DRAGON!"
"There's a dragon in the room!" 

The class bolted out of their seats,
As chairs crashed loudly to the floor.
And shrieking with horror,
They hurtled towards the door.

Startled by the noise.
Tane lost his grip,
And toppled to the floor.
He too was frightened as he galloped out the door.

The children ran screaming and pointing,
With their arms flapping everywhere.
But when Tane glanced around,
That dragon wasn’t there.

"There he is! There he is!"
The children screamed in fright.
But when Tane looked once more,
There wasn't a dragon in sight.

But he knew something was lurking there,
And he knew dragons could run very fast.
So he ran even faster,
To catch up with the class.

But the children were too quick for him,
And when he could no longer run.
Tane plonked himself down,
And waited for that dragon to come.

He covered his head and waited.
He waited and he waited,
He waited for that dragon to come.

But when nothing happened.
He opened his eyes and looked around.
And found that he was all alone ...
Sitting there on the ground.

The class stayed far, far away.
And they watched, trembling with fear.
They knew that dragon was real.
For they could see him lurking there.

Tane turned and made his way home,
But then he too felt a prickle of fear.
When he realised that ...
Something was waiting for him there.

 A raspy voice whispered,
"Won't you come on in?"
And his eyes narrowed with rising fear,
Was that dragon lurking in his darkened lair?

Then his eyes grew wide.
And his heart thumped loudly.
For now he saw quite clearly,

Not a dragon or some scary thing.
It was just a little tuatara.
That stared back at him.
 
But she suddenly shrank back in fear.
And he swung around,
Afraid of what he would see lurking there.

Now he too saw the prongs, large upon it's back,
And he saw the terrible spikes instead of hair.
For the dragon had perched itself ..
Right beside him there.

He screamed out loud,
And it did too.
He backed up against the wall,
And the shadow shrunk right down,
And became very small.

He peered at the ghastly shadow.
And then he knew ...
He knew who had caused that dragon to loom,
So menacingly across the room.
 
He knew who had caused them to scream and shout.
HE was the dragon.
HE was the dragon that they had been screaming about.

 

 

The 1000 steps Kokoda Memorial Trail

I got out yesterday and walked the Kokoda Memorial Trail based at the foot of Mount Dandenong ... all 1000 steps! My legs are screaming at me today that I don't walk enough....  ;-)