Rainy Days and Cookies

 Kids, this is your chance to tell the story. What is happening in this picture? 

You get to make up the whole story.

Little Hatchling Has An Idea

BOOM!  CRASH! SMASH!

          “Oh my crocking goodness! What is happening?!” cries Momma Croc.

“I think the world is being eaten by giant lizards!” yells Little Hatchling.

“Well, it’s over now,” says Poppa Croc, as everything calms down in their river home.

Poppa puts the green plant back on the table. Momma picks up the teacup from the floor. Little Hatchling puts the lamp back in place.

They all go to the window to see what caused the noise and commotion. They see the river flowing gently all around them.

“Everything looks crocodile dandy,” says Momma.

“No reason to get green about anything,” says Poppa.

“Hmmm, I’m not so sure,” says Little Hatchling.

That night, Little Hatchling decides to sleep in her parent’s room.

“In case that noise comes again, I want to make sure you are not scared,” she tells her parents.

They all fall asleep to the sound of the soothing river.

Just when the sun is lighting up their home, the Crocodile Family once again hears:

BOOM!  CRASH! SMASH!

“Oh, no! Everything is not crocodile dandy,” says Momma.

“There is a reason to get green, now,” says Poppa.

“We better go outside and have a really good look around.  But let’s be careful. What ever is out there might have REALLY big teeth!” says Little Hatchling.

After getting dressed, the Crocodile Family ventures out into the river.  They float down the river and don’t see anything with big teeth.

Then they swim up the river and see this:

“Beaver! What are you doing?” cries Poppa.

“You are making a racket as loud as snapping jaws!” says Momma.

“And you scared my parents,” says Little Hatchling.

“Well, me and my big teeth. I’m so sorry.  I’ve been trying to build a dam,” explains Beaver.

Little Hatchling swims over to the dam.

“Hey, it’s full of tasty fish!” she says.

“Yes, but every time I put the dam together, it keeps breaking,” says Beaver.

“So that is what the noise is that's been bothering us,” declares Poppa.

“You need your dam to catch fish, and we need a quiet crocodile home,” says Momma.

“This is quite a problem to seek our teeth into,” says Beaver.

Beaver and the Crocodile Family shoot water through their teeth and think about what to do.

“Hey, I have an growling good idea! We learned how to make dams in school. I could help you fix your dam,” offers Little Hatchling.

“If you do that, you and your family could have all the fish you could eat!”

“It’s a deal!” shouts Little Hatchling.

So Little Hatchling shows Beaver how to fix his dam.

That night, the Crocodile Family and Beaver have a wonderful dinner of tasty fish.  And the evening is as smooth as a crocodile’s tooth. 

Alexander Pig Complains

Nobody in the Pig family liked bath time, but Alexander Pig was the biggest complainer. He would snort, shudder, and oink about his unhappiness every time he saw the bath barrel coming out of the barn.

His brother, Bernard, would try to hide beneath Farmer Dell’s feet. This did not work. The farmer always found him and plopped Bernard into the bath barrel.

His sister, Caroline, would beg and plead and whine to get out of bath time. That didn’t work, either.  She was also washed.

Alexander Pig thought that the water was too hot, too cold, or not deep enough.  Farmer Dell always got water in Alexander’s ears and that made them itch.  His snout tickled as the water dripped into his nose.  The farmer scrubbed Alexander’s skin too hard, pulled his tail, and got soap in his eyes.  And Alexander especially did not like the way he smelled so clean at the end of the bath. Yuck!!! Alexander wanted to smell like mud, not clean pig.

 

Then one day Farmer Dell’s niece came to visit.  Her name was Elizabeth.  When she saw the barrel being taken out of the barn for bath time, she asked if she could give the Pig Family their baths.  Farmer Dell agreed.

“Oh, no!” cried Alexander to his brother and sister.  “She will get the water too cold, make my ears itchy, and tickle my snout. This will be the worst bath ever! This is terrible!”

So Alexander Pig snorted and grunted and ran in circles. He complained as loud as he could.  But nobody listened. Bath time was coming.

Elizabeth put bubble bath into the tub. She tested the water to make sure it was warm; not too hot and not too cold.  She put in just enough water so that the pigs would be able to stick their heads out of the water.

“Hmm, well, she will probably scrub too hard,” said Alexander Pig.

His sister, Caroline, went first.

“Is she hurting you?” asked Alexander.

“No, actually it feels good,” answered Caroline.

“Guess since I have to, I’ll go next,” said Alexander.  “Might as well get it over with.”

So when Caroline was taken out of the barrel, Alexander stood next to it and waited for the dreadful bath.

Elizabeth gently helped Alexander into the barrel.  She put in more warm water and added more bubble bath.  He kept quiet and hoped she would not brush his ears too hard.

The brush Elizabeth used was soft and she scrubbed Alexander just the perfect amount. Elizabeth did not get any drippy water in his ears or snout. She curled her finger around his tail and never pulled it.  When she put the shampoo on him, it smelled like grapes.  Alexander loved grapes!

When Alexander was taken out of the bath barrel, he complained. 

“I wasn’t done, yet!” Alexander snorted.

Elizabeth laughed.  Then she looked for Bernard. 

Bernard was sitting right next to her feet, waiting for his turn.  Elizabeth placed Bernard into the warm soapy water.

“Uncle Dell, I can come every week and give the Pig Family their bath,” said Elizabeth.

“Great idea, Elizabeth,” agreed Farmer Dell.

Alexander was a very happy pig, who happened to smell like clean grapes.

Onionetta And Her Friends

The smell of Onionetta made her friends cry.  First they would sniffle, then their eyes would water, and finally drops of salty tears would spill down their cheeks.  It was tearily difficult for Onionetta to play with them.

Her friends, Carrotlina, Patato and Grapelette, called an emergency meeting at the clubhouse.  Onionetta stood outside the window.

“How do we play with Onionetta?” whined Grapelette.

“I don't have the eyes to see how,” said Patato.

“I have an idea!” cried Carrotlina.

      "Guess what I got?!" exclaimed Carrotlina, when she came back. "It's white, gooey, and smells super sweet."

"What is it?" they asked.

"Marshmallow crème!  Now you won't smell like yourself, Onionetta, and we won't cry," Carrotlina said. 

Jumping hopscotch had never been so much fun, now that they could all play together--until it was Onionetta’s turn.  Every time she hopped, marshmallow crème splattered all over the hopscotch squares, the sidewalk, and her friends!  

The marshmallow creme was not covering Onionetta and her scent was back.  They cried about it.

“I’m sorry,” Onionetta cried with them. 

       “Let’s play catch,” said Patato with a sniffle.  “I’ll get sunglasses so our eyes won’t water.”

       He ran home and came back with the sunglasses, which they all wore. Patato had so many eyes, he had sunglasses all over his body!  

Grapelette threw the ball to Patato.  He dove to get it, rolled in the grass, and--"Crash, crack, crackle"-- every pair of sunglasses he was wearing was broken. 

Onionetta ran over to help him, making Patato cry.  Onionetta looked at her friend.

“I can’t play with anyone,” wailed Onionetta.

“Don’t you cry, too,” said Grapelette. “Let’s go swimming at my house.”

“But I’ll just turn you to juice,” said Onionetta.

“I’ll stay on the other side of the pool, away from you.”

     The four friends went to swim at Grapelette’s pool.  

Onionetta did such a great, huge, wonderful cannonball, that the water went all the way over to Grapelette.  It was like being covered in onion juice!  Grapelette couldn’t help but cry purple grapey tears.

"For crying out loud," Onionetta said with a sigh.  She had awesome friends, but every time she played with them, they ended up crying.  Friends weren't supposed to make each other cry!

She left Grapelette’s house and went home.

     Soon there was a knock at Onionetta’s door.  When she went to answer it, there were her three friends, each wearing a bandana around their noses. 

“We can’t smell you!” they cried. “Now we can play together.”

“You are the best friends, ever!” said Onionetta.  “Let’s go play in the clubhouse. Last one there smells like a rotten egg!”

Her friends laughed.

“No more smells!” they cried.

Banana Slug Glue

“Ugghh!!! The banana slug is sliding to town! Watch out!” cried the townspeople.

Jerry had just moved to the town of Redwood Grove. He did not understand why the townspeople were afraid of a banana slug.  True, they were slimy, but the biggest one he had seen was about the length of his hand.

“Why are you afraid of a little banana slug?” Jerry asked his friend, Aaron.

 “Because this is a HUGE banana slug!” answered Aaron.  

“Not only is he scary looking," said Clementine, "every time he comes through town, he leaves behind a stream of slime.  It takes us weeks to clean it up!”

"That's silly," said Jerry.  "Banana slugs aren't that big."

Squish, squelch, squeal!  Jerry turned around and saw a banana slug gushing at him.

“Stop!  STOP!!!” yelled Jerry, so loud that the whole town stopped.

The banana slug looked at Jerry. He had been chugging and lugging and he had to stop his giant body in the middle of a sliding lurch.  He took up the entire street and was over a block long.  Behind him a thick gooey river of slime was spreading into the side streets.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there,” said the banana slug to Jerry. “Would you mind if I pass by you?”

“Yes, I mind,” said Jerry.  “You are leaving behind a trail of sticky slime that we have to clean up.”

“I am?” asked the banana slug.  “I had no idea because I can’t see behind me.  I am so sorry.”

“Next time you slide here, please go around the town.”

“I sure will,” said the banana slug.

“Thank you,” said Jerry. 

“Thank you!” cried the townspeople.

Jerry, Aaron, Clementine and the townspeople waved goodbye to the banana slug.  The banana slug waved his tail to say goodbye.

“Wow, that sure was a huge banana slug,” said Jerry.

“Yep,” said Aaron, “but now we have to clean up all his goop."

Jerry poked his boot at the sticky gooey gunk.  He tried to shake it off his boot, but it wouldn’t come off.

“You know,” Jerry said, “this stuff sticks like glue.  I have an idea.”

Jerry called all of the townspeople together.  The formed a circle around him. 

“The town hall was knocked over during the last storm," Jerry told everyone.  "Let’s try using the banana slug slime to repair it.  The slime is so sticky we could use it like glue to put the walls back together.”

The mayor of the town was quiet.  The people who had been fixing the town hall were quiet.  All of the townspeople were quiet.  They were thinking about Jerry’s idea.

So Jerry and Clementine got two sticks and dipped them into the sticky substance.  They put the sticks together.  Now the two sticks looked like one long stick.  Jerry waved the stick around. It stayed together!

“Brilliant!” cried the Mayor.  “Let’s go put together our town hall!”

Jerry, Aaron, Clementine, the Mayor and all of the townspeople rushed off to put their town hall back together.  They needed to get it done before the slime dried.

That night, inside of the newly repaired town hall, the townspeople sang a song for Jerry.

Jerry saved us from the slime!

‘cause we never took the time,

to talk to the banana slug,

just talk to the banana slug,

and ask him so politely,

just ask him so politely,

to go around our tiny, tiny

TOWN!

Three cheers for Jerry!  Hip hip hooray!

Jerry was very happy.  Not only was he in a clean town with a newly repaired town hall, he had made friends with the whole town and a huge banana slug.

Big Bears Don't Fly

Lenny longed to fly--to soar over barns, between trees, above valleys and through canyons.  He wanted to feel wind whooshing through his fur and clouds tingling his nose.  He could dance with the birds!

“But I’ll never be able to fly,” he thought. 

Lenny could not fly because he was not a bird, a butterfly or an airplane.  He was a bear cub.  And bears do not fly because they do not have wings.

So Lenny decided to look for wings.  He searched in trees, on roofs and even under rocks.  Every day, from after breakfast until his mother called him in for dinner, he looked for what he needed to fly.  But he could not find any wings.

One day, when he was climbing a tree branch in search of wings, he met a bird. 

"Boo hoo hoo," sobbed the bird.

“What’s wrong?” Lenny asked the bird.

“I want to climb boulders and trees but I have no arms,” said the bird.

“And I want to fly, but I have no wings,” said Lenny.  “What’s your name?”

“My name is Alice,” said the bird.

Side by side on the branch they sat.  Lenny thought about the wings he wanted.  Alice thought about the arms that she wanted.  Then, they began to cry.  

At first, the crying was a little sob, with little tears.  But the drops got bigger and bigger.  After a bit, they cried so loud, the tree shook and the leaves blew.  Squirrels came out of their homes and threw nuts at them to make them be quiet.  A family of rabbits thumped their feet, trying to make them stop.  Coyotes formed a circle under the tree and howled.  The crying only got louder.

Finally, an owl came out of its nest at the top of the tree. Now, owls are known to be wise. But an owl that is woken from his daytime sleep is also cranky.

“What is going on here?!” the owl demanded.

“I want to fly, but I have no wings,” wailed Lenny.

“I want to climb trees, but I have no arms,” cried Alice.

“Hush up your crying and trade your wings and arms with each other,” said the owl.  “Then you, bear, can fly, and you, bird, can climb.”

Lenny looked at Alice.  Alice looked at Lenny.  And they stopped crying.

“That’s a great idea!” They both said at once.

It was decided.

Every day, Lenny spent one hour using the Alice’s wings.  He soared over barns, between trees, above valleys and through canyons.  He felt wind blowing through his fur, and fresh air streaming along his face.  He flew fast then slow, up then down, and even sideways.  

When he came back, he loaned his arms to Alice.  She used them to climb every tree and boulder in the forest. She felt bark grazing her feathers, and the smooth boulders warmed by the sun.  She climbed fast then slow, up then down, and even sideways.  

After they had flown and climbed, they sat on the tree branch and told of their adventures. Out would come the squirrels, rabbits and coyotes to listen to their stories.  Sometimes, when the owl was not too tired, he would come too.

And that is how Lenny was able to fly.

Janet Follows The Rules

Janet did as she was told and got in trouble. 

When her mother said, “No dessert till your plate is clean,” she scraped all of her dinner into the dog dish and then washed her plate.  She did not get any dessert.

When her mother said, “Be nice to your cousin, Madeline,” Janet offered to give her a nice haircut. But she cut all of Madeline’s hair off—her cousin was completely bald!  Janet had to give Madeline her favorite hat.

When her mother was talking on the phone and told Janet to go draw a picture, she drew a picture that covered the entire wall. 

“Follow rules the right way!” said her mother.

“But my way is more fun,” answered Janet.

Her mother sent her to her room.

“If my mother wants me to go to my room,” Janet told her hamster, “then I will. But I WON”T LEAVE!”

So Janet stayed in her room.

She stayed in her room so long, that winter came. She could see snow piling up all the way to her window.  Outside, her friends were ice-skating on the pond, catching snowflakes on their noses, and building snowmen.  Janet pet her hamster.

After that, she still stayed in her room, and spring came.  Her friends climbed trees, played hide and seek, and threw balls. Janet fed her goldfish.

Next came summer.  Everyone, except Janet, was outside swimming.  Their laughter and shouting and splashing was so loud, she had to plug her ears.

Then came the fall. She watched as her friends put brown crinkly leaves into a huge pile then ran and jumped into them.  They fell and slipped and giggled.

Janet was still in her room.

And Janet had not been ice-skating, climbed a tree, been swimming, or jumped into a pile of brown crinkly leaves.  She had not left her room for an entire year.

So Janet decided to peek outside of her bedroom door and see if maybe, just maybe, she should tip toe out of her room and go outside.  

Creeping down the stairs, she saw her mother in the living room.

“Who are you?” asked her mother.  “You look like my daughter, Janet, but I haven’t seen her for an entire year.”

“It is me, Mother, and um, I was thinking I’d go outside now.”

“What a great idea,” said her mother.  Just before Janet got to the door, her mother called to her, “Be back in time for dinner—and I mean dinner tonight, not a year from now.”

 Janet giggled.

“Yes, mother, I know what that rule means.”

So Janet went outside and made the biggest pile of leaves to jump into--she jumped higher and made more noise than anyone!  And was home in time for dinner.