John Was The First Mate

Every captain of pirate ships has a first mate of their choice. John happened to be Lady Kathleen's first mate. He was not a bit happy about the direction this ship was taking. A pirate's first love is finding treasure. Lady Kathleen was the captain, however, so he had to do what she said. He had so many questions, but it was not his place to ask or to question her decisions. He put a smile on his face and had told the Helmsman to turn the ship in the direction of Lady Kathleen's island.
The trip to Lady Kathleen's island was a long one. It took many days on the ocean of bad weather. It was hot and it was cold. It was raining and windy sometimes. The very worst part was when there was no wind. They just sat on the ocean and didn't move. The sun was hot and there were so many flies. The air smelled like fish, spoiled fish.
The food was getting yukky and the pirates were getting grumpy. Marlee was getting grumpy too. She had pretty much given up hope of going back to England. She was grumpy because she was hungry and would like to walk on land again. The ship was tossing back and forth. Sometimes it would make her tummy upset. Oh she just wanted a nice soft bed and flowers and some new clothes. These were things that she only dreamed of. Marlee had never had nice clothes or a soft bed to sleep on. She and her mother had slept in the streets and alleys. They had been homeless. The only flowers Marlee had ever seen were on peddler's wagons. The peddlers would sell the flowers to rich people for a penny a piece. She saw a peddler give a rich man a tiny little vase with two flowers in it for his lady love. It had cost that man a nickel. In those days that was a lot of money.
The pirates would fish for fresh fish to eat. Those were the good days. Marlee loved to eat fish. The fish  that the pirates caught were really big.
About this time Grandma Lu pointed to a picture on the wall. It was a picture of a really big fish. She said, "This fish is called a Marlin. It is really big. Sometimes people call them Sailfish. It has a long snout and a big fin on it's back, doesn't it?"
Grandma Lu continued with her story. "Lady Kathleen was getting worried about her little stowaway. She was getting so quiet and thin. She wouldn't eat the spoiled food and always wanted water. Their water was almost gone. They needed to get to land soon. Someone in the group said, "Why didn't they have water? They were sailing on the ocean. That's a whole lot of water." Others in the group laughed and Grandma Lu smiled. "You are absolutely right, but that water in the ocean is salty. Salty water makes you thirsty. It's just like eating something salty. That makes you thirsty doesn't it? " They understood because they had been munching on salty popcorn and had been drinking a lot of drinks.
"Suddenly they all heard a loud yell! "Land Ho, Captain. Aye, Land Ho!"
Sure enough there in the distance was the outline of Lady Kathleen's island. It still would take more than a day or two to get there because there was no wind, but they could see it. Lady Kathleen was so happy.
Grandma Lu looked at her group of children and adults and smiled. Little Addie and Emma looked happy about Marlee getting to land soon. But the most excited little girl was the real Marlee. She was giggling and jumping up and down she was so happy.
"Well, Grandma Lu explained to the group, now remember they had two or three days left of sailing before they ever hit land. So hopefully everything will turn out okay."
"However, the pirates didn't know that they were being watched from Lady Kathleen's island. Far off in the distance they could see that ship. A pirate's spyglass was being used to watch those pirates. A spyglass that sailors and pirates used to see faraway places. Then she asked the group, "I wonder who else might use a spyglass?"  Then she went to another picture and pointed to the old old spyglass. and explained how it was used.

Cackle Berries, Dried Peas, And "Biscits"

Marlee was shivering in her boots. She didn't know what was going to happen to her now. All she wanted was a job and to get some treasures. This was just not turning out like she had planned.
The lady pirate said, "Are ye hungry? I got some cackle berries for ye. Ye better get to the galley and grab a bucket of peas and some "biscits." If ye be a good lad the cook may gi' ye a hunk of cheese."
The pirates and sailors on those ships in the old days bragged about the wonderful food that they got on board the ship. That's how they recruited new sailors. The good food only lasted about six months, then the food was spoiled and rotten. They didn't have fruit or milk for the most part. They never had ice cream or chocolate cake either.
One of the children interrupted Grandma Lu and said, "What did they cook on? Did they have stoves and microwaves like we do?"

Grandma Lu chuckled and said, "No they had a piece of tin with sand on it. They even had to put tin on the floor of the kitchen so if the hot coals popped off onto the floor they wouldn't start the ship on fire. They called their kitchens galleys. Mostly the pirates had to sit on the wet floor of the ship or sit on a bucket. They generally didn't have any plates and ate with their hands. They were given a bucket and sometimes spoons. They had to share their bucket of food with other pirates.
The biscuits were hard as rocks. They baked them twice. They did that so they wouldn't spoil and get little bugs in them.
 They didn't have refrigerators either.
That was a good question. Now let's see what is going on on that pirate ship."
"If you remember right, Marlee was very very poor. Her mama was sick and they had no money. That meant that they had little to no food. So even though she was a little bit scared, the sound of food sounded really good to her. She was so hungry that her tummy hurt. The lady pirate who called herself, Lady Kathleen watched over her carefully to see that she was fed and watched over. Marlee didn't know what cackle berries were, so she was surprised when she was given some scrambled eggs." A lot of the children thought that was funny too. Coralynn and her mama did. That's for sure. So did Hunter and his mama. They had never heard eggs called cackle berries before. Do you think that chickens cackle?"
Lady Kathleen went to her First Mate and told him that she wanted to go back to her home on the island. He was very surprised, because pirates usually are out at sea for many months at a time gathering treasure. Even though they were fairly good friends, Lady Kathleen was very stern and said, "Ye do as I say, and turn this ship towards my island Helmsman! Shift your rudder and come about!"
After the Helmsman did as he was told, Lady Kathleen ordered, "Steer South by Southwest!"
Grandma Lu went to the wall where she had many pictures. She pointed to a picture of a wheel. She explained to everyone that a steering wheel on a ship is called a Helm. That is why the person that steers the boat is called a Helmsman.
Well this story is interesting isn't it? I wonder how long it will take the ship to get to Lady Kathleen's island. Do you think that anyone is looking for the little stowaway, or has she been forgotten.

Lady Kathleen

Our little stowaway had sneaked down in the very bottom of the ship. It was a really big ship too. It had lots of sails on it. They caught the wind and that's what made it go fast on the water. She could hear the sails whip in the wind and the water splash against the side of the ship. (Grandma Lu pointed to the sails on the picture of a pirate ship.) Well, she didn't like it down there one little bit. Yuk! It was dark and it didn't smell nice either. She needed to get out of there. But she had to think. She just couldn't walk out on the deck and ask for a job. "Hmm, what shall I do? I don't want to get caught being a girl because then they would send me back. What I need is a friend."

One of the children said, "What is that little girl's name, Grandma Lu?"
"Arghh, shiver me timbers, You scared me! What shall we call her? Let's decide on a name for her."  Marlee jumped up from her chair and said, "Marlee, Marlee. I want to be the stowaway on the ship!" Some of the children laughed and said, "Okay, Grandma Lu, you can call her Marlee, but she can't go by that name or the pirates will send her back for sure." So Grandma Lu put her finger to her cheek and thought and thought. "You are exactly right. Let's call her Mark. That way it should help her keep up her disguise. What do you think of that name?" The children all agreed and sat very still while Grandma Lu continued on with her story.
 Grandma Lu looked over the room and saw that Myla did not look very happy about the story. Grandma Lu said, "Myla, why do you have a sad face today? Is something the matter? Myla said, "Yes, I don't like that Marlee is down in the bottom of the ship, can you get her out of there?" Grandma Lu grinned and said, "Okay I will try. Give me a minute to think of a solution for the poor little tyke." The children all laughed and munched on some popcorn waiting for Grandma Lu to continue.

"Well, I tell you what Marlee decided to do. She started to sneak ever so quietly up the stairs so she wouldn't be heard by anyone. She was almost to the top of the stairs when suddenly the door opened and there in front of her was a lady pirate! Well as you can imagine, Marlee shook and shivered she was so scared. But the lady pirate laughed and said, "Well, well, young man just what do you think you are a doin' down here? Yur awful small to be a pirate, now ain't ye?"
Oh, this is just what Marlee or otherwise known as Mark was afraid of. She had been discovered. Maybe a lady pirate wouldn't be so scary as a big man pirate. Just maybe this pirate would let her work on the ship so she could get some treasures for her mama.
Well, of course, things just aren't that easy are they? This lady pirate had other ideas.
"Well there matey, just what is your name? And what are you doin' on board me ship? I don't take kindly to stowaways I'll have you know."
Well, Marlee was quick to think and said, "My name is Mark and I want to work on this ship and get treasures for my mama." (Oops, she might have said too much in my way of thinking.) Then Marlee said, "What is your name? I have told you mine?"
Well I don't know about you, but I don't think I would have talked so much to a scary pirate," Grandma Lu said.
"Oh that lady pirate did laugh out loud then. She said, "Well, now aren't ye just a bit high and mighty with ye questions? I know exactly what I am going to do with ye, little man."
Oh then Marlee or better known as Mark was scared. What was this lady pirate going to do?
Marlee had no choice but to follow her up the slippery stairs. She was taken to the poop deck.
All the children and even some of the grown ups laughed when Grandma Lu said the poop deck.

She immediately laughed herself and said, "The poop deck is the highest and furthest away from the rest of the sailors. She had plans for this little stowaway. She knew exactly who this little stowaway was. There were men in those days called, "runners." They were messengers that would run with messages for a little bit of money. There were no telephones or telegraphs either. These runners had made it to the docks the day the pirate ship had sailed and told of the little stowaway on board ship. The little one's mama had gotten terribly sick, so now she had no family left but an old grandma that didn't know where Marlee was. The lady pirate, whose name was Lady Kathleen, had a plan.
She needed to get this ship to the little island that she had made her home when she needed a rest from sailing. She also knew that her stowaway wasn't a boy but was really a little girl. Lady Kathleen's home on the island was very lonely. Her home was a huge palace. She had many servants that were her old retired pirates. But she wanted young people. She wanted to laugh again. It seemed like she hadn't laughed for a very long time. She would love some company when she docked the ship in between voyages. Oh her mind was so busy! She thought, "I could even adopt this little twinkie. I always wanted some children, but I was never blessed to have any of my own. She is a cutie. I will dress her up and she will be the princess of my island. Oh what fun it will be. She will be my heiress and when I am gone she will be the richest woman on the sea!"
 This lady sounds like she owns the ship! Surely ladies didn't own these big pirate ships, did they? She calls herself Lady Kathleen? Well, that sounds like royalty to me. Well, this is something to think about isn't it?

The Story Teller

If you remember right, Grandma B had reminded Marlee that the library was supposed to be a quiet place. Well, the Story/Movie room was anything but quiet. In fact it was down right noisy!
They couldn't believe that the Story Teller was all dressed up like a pirate. The Story Teller was in fact, their lovable old Grandma Lu. The children were happy to know that their elderly friend, Grandma Lu, could be silly and be all dressed up in a costume just like they do at Halloween time. Oh she looked so funny. She had a bandana around her head and a hat that had all kinds of vegetables on it. She had an ugly black wig on her head and all kinds of beads around her neck.
The room had a pirate flag which is called a Jolly Roger and pictures of parrots and all kinds of things about pirates on the walls and all around the room. There were even really big pictures of pirates that were standing in the corners of the room.

On the tables where the children sat there were pirate decorations. This was so much fun.
The library lady who is called a librarian, had even made popcorn for them and had drinks ready too. How nice of her.
The grownups helped serve everyone their snacks and got the children and themselves seated so they could hear what the Grandma Lu pirate had to say. It still was not quiet in the room. There was a lot of whispering and quiet talking.

There was a lot of snickering and children were covering up their faces with their little hands. They couldn't believe Grandma Lu was dressed up like a pirate!
 Finally Grandma Lu said, "Shiver me timbers! You are a noisy bunch of twinkies. If you want to sail on me ship, maties, you better be quiet as little mice!"
Well that got everyone's attention. They couldn't help but be quiet because they really wanted to hear the story. It was hard to do though, because she looked so funny.
 Grandma Lu was talking so strange. She didn't even sound like herself.
For the first time the children realized that Grandma Lu was not sitting in her easy chair telling stories. She was standing up. She was walking around the room, dipping her head and looking them in the eyes. It was kind of scary. But she would wink at them and grin. Then she began to tell the story.

"Well, once upon a time many many years ago when me pirates first took over the high seas. (Remember a sea or ocean is really big water. It is even bigger than a river or a lake. It is so big that all you can see is water.) There was a mama who was really really poor. She was all alone. She had no husband, or any kind of family."
"She lived in a land far far away. The country that she lived in was called England. England is a country that has water all around it. It has the Atlantic Ocean, The North Sea and other big waters." Grandma Lu walked to the front of the room and pointed to a map on the wall. "This is England," she said.
 In England there is a very big town, much bigger than your hometown. It is called London. London was very big and had many people that lived there. A town as big as London is called a city. Many of these people were very poor. They didn't have nice clothes or enough food to eat. They didn't even take a bath very often because they couldn't afford a bar of soap. Many of these people lived by the sea."

"The way to travel on these big waters was by ship, which is a really big boat. If you were a boy or a man you could get a job or work on a boat and be a sailor. Sometimes you could be a pirate too. But girls couldn't be a pirate or a sailor. So poor moms had to dress their little girls like boys in order for them to get a job on a ship. That is just what this very poor lady did. She dressed her little girl up to look just like a young boy and sent her to the docks by the sea to get a job. This trick worked well enough to get to the docks where the men were hiring workers for the ships. But she was overlooked because she was so small. Being a very smart little girl she sneaked on board the ship and went to the very bottom of the ship. That is being called a stowaway. She thought, "I'll never be discovered down here. I will get to sail on the high seas and have a wonderful adventure. I will get very rich when I find treasures. Oh those pirates call it booty and put it in their treasure chests. I will find gold and jewels and lots of pretty things. When I get home I will sell it all and give my mama all my treasures. Then we won't be poor anymore."
                                ********************************
In our next story we will see if our little stowaway will be discovered by the pirates.

The Marleewood Beauty Shop Was A Busy Place

Marlee and Grandma B were excited to go to the library for Story Time. Usually Grandma Lu tells the children stories in the sitting room at Marleewood so this was fun for something different.
Marlee's mama gave Marlee a hair cut so that her hair would look nice. In fact the Marleewood beauty shop was quite busy with the children all wanting to look their best for Story Time. They had all gotten invitations too.
Hannah's grandma came in and fixed her hair, and Myla got her fingernails and toenails polished just especially for Story Time.
(But partly because it was going to be her birthday pretty soon.) Arieanna had her turn to get all fixed up for Story Time. Ryan got his hair cut too.  Even Addison's grandma and Grandma B took a turn getting their hair cut and colored for Story Time.
Everyone was talking about what the story would be. There was a lot of chattering going on at Marleewood today. Such fun everyone was having.
They all wondered what Story Time would be like because they had never been to one before. They also wondered what the story would be about today. So many questions. They both liked the lady that works at the library, but they didn't think that she was the one that was going to tell the story for some reason. The invitation didn't say who the guest story teller was going to be.






Soon it was time to go to the library. As Grandma B drove up she could see that there were lots of children as well as grownups going in the door.  They could see that there were many many cars parked outside. What in the world was going on do you think? The story teller must be someone famous for all these folks to come to a small town library.
Grandma B finally found a parking place. When she and Marlee walked in the Story/Movie Room they couldn't believe their eyes. The room looked just like the Pirates of the Caribbean movie set. There were palm trees, pirates, parrots, and everything you could imagine for a Pirate Story. Oh how exciting this was!
Soon the librarian came in and introduced the story teller for this afternoon. There was a gasp and then complete silence.
The Story Teller said, "Ahoy, there maties! Are you landlubbers ready for a story?"
Then everyone clapped and yelled and ran to the front of the room with hugs and more hugs.
Well who in the world do you think the Story Teller is?

Marlee Gets An Invitation In The Mail

Grandma Lu and Grandma B took the big boxes of mail into the Community Room where they had tables to work on. They needed the tables to sort out all of the mail that had been sent to Marleewood. The first thing they decided to do is to sort it into three (3) piles. One for Marlee, one for Grandma Lu and one for miscellaneous. In this case miscellaneous means for everybody else or what they call "junk mail". Junk mail usually gets thrown in the trash. A lot of it is advertising. And a lot of it was for hearing aides and bathtubs. Grandma B couldn't resist teasing her friend. "Oh my goodness, Grandma Lu everybody wants to sell you a hearing aide or a bathtub. Do you want any of these advertisements? There are piles of them." Grandma Lu said, "No. Throw all that stuff away. I don't understand why all of this mail was put in the Marleewood mail and not sent to my house. It just doesn't make any sense."

Grandma B said, "Grandma Lu is it okay if I give Marlee some of these catalogs to look at? Do you want to save them or not?" Again Grandma Lu said, "Of course, she can have those old things. I have no clue why they keep sending them to me. They send them to me at home too. A waste of paper in my opinion."
Sorting all the mail took awhile. In fact, it took a whole pot of coffee and a cookie or two.
The next thing they had to do was to see what was in some of the letters addressed to Grandma Lu. Both Grandmas were really curious to see why so many people were sending all this mail.
"Oh, here's one from Charlie, "B". Look she is on vacation at the lake with her grandma. She's fishing. Aww, she sent me a whole bunch of pictures for my new photo album. Look at that big fish that she caught!"
The opening of letters went on and on. "B" started laughing after awhile. She said, "Grandma Lu the children are all sending you pictures for your new photo album that you got at your Wish Party. At this rate you are going to have to buy another one. Look. Here are pictures of Noah and Kayllee. They are fishing too. What fun everyone is having this summer."
All of a sudden Grandma Lu laughed so hard she had to sit down. "Oh those two guys of mine. Look at this, "B" my own husband and son decided to pull a joke on me and send me pictures of them fishing too." Ha, what a good joke on me. Wow! That fish looks like the one I cooked last night for supper. Oh those two. They sure have fun, don't they?"
Have you ever taken Marlee fishing, "B?" I bet she would like it." Her friend shook her head no, but grinned and said, "You know, I think I may have a fishing rod someplace for her. I'll have to look for it. We did take her to the lake the other day to feed the fish though. She had lots of fun doing that." She chuckled and said, "I took some pictures. You can add them to your photo album." Then they both laughed.
Grandma Lu opened up a letter. "Oh, I got a letter with some pictures in it from my daughter. Oh look at those sweet grandchildren of mine. They are all dressed up like pirates. How cute are they? I wonder what they are up to? My daughter home schools her children, so hard telling what they are studying this week. I'll have to take her letter home and read it. She does such a wonderful job of teaching her children all kinds of different things."
Soon Marlee came running into the Community Room and said, "Grandma B what is this little girl wearing? I want a dress like that. Can I have the hat too? Isn't that just fun? Please can I have that? It's in this magazine I was looking at. Will you see if they have it in my size, please?"
Well that did get the Grandmas to laughing. Grandma Lu said, "Well Marlee that is a pirate costume too. What is with all the pictures of fishing and pirate costumes. I even have some letters from friends that are vacationing by the ocean. The photos are beautiful. But I still don't understand why all this mail is coming to Marleewood.
Grandma B said, "Let's open up some of these letters for Marlee. I wonder who is sending her mail."
"Oh, look at this one. It is an invitation for Marlee to go to a story time at the library. How fun. Would you like to go to the library and listen to a story, Marlee? I think it would be fun. I wonder what the story is going to be. You have to be quiet at the library though, remember." Marlee just grinned from ear to ear. She wanted to go to story time. "This will be fun," she thought.
I wonder what the story lady will be reading at the library....

Marleewood Gets A Notice From The Local Post Office

One day Grandma Lu saw Grandma B getting into her car with a sackful of groceries. "Hi, "B," what are you up to today?"
Grandma B grinned and said, "Well, Marlee and I were just on our way over to Marleewood to do some baking. We are running low on snacks for folks that drop in."
"Would you like some company? I have my chores done at home and of course, I would love a snack and a cup of coffee. What are you two making today?"
Grandma B chuckled and teased her friend, "You always love snacks and a cup of coffee. We are going to make some cupcakes today. Marlee loves to help lick the batter off the beater and is a really good helper when it comes to frosting them." They both laughed as they got into their cars and headed on over to Marleewood.
When they got to Marleewood there was a note on the door. It was from the local post person. They suggested that Marleewood get their own mailbox because they were getting so much mail. It would be much easier to deliver it than to have someone pick it up. The mail was beginning to be too much to store at the post office. "Well, I wonder why we are getting so much mail all of a sudden," said Grandma B. "I guess we should get one. It's not a big deal. It would be nicer to have it delivered here anyway because we aren't always here. I had better go down to the Post Office, though and pick up what mail they have then I will get a mailbox for the mail delivery."
Grandma Lu loved the cupcakes. They were so good. All three of them visited about the wonderful tree house party they had out at Kenlee and Kylee's and Aadon's grandparents' place. They all had had such a good time, and of course, Grandma Lu mentioned how good the s'mores were.
The next day Grandma B went to the post office to pick up the mail for Marleewood. The lady at the counter said, "Oh, I am so glad you came to pick up the mail. We don't have room to store all of these letters. Are you going to put up a mailbox?" Grandma B nodded but frowned when she saw the big boxes of mail the lady gave her. She said, "Are you sure all of this mail is for Marleewood?" The lady assured her that it was and went to wait on another person that was waiting at the counter.
Grandma B lugged the big boxes out to the car and took it to Marleewood. "Well part of this is my fault. I haven't picked up the mail since before the Wish Party we gave Grandma Lu." She started looking at all of the letters. A lot of them were for Grandma Lu. "Why are so many people writing letters to Grandma Lu? I'm going to call her and ask her to come over here. I want to see what is going on."
Grandma Lu answered the phone a little bit grumpy because her friend had  woke her up from her nap. "What's going on, "B"?"
 Grandma B said, "I think you need to come on over to Marleewood. The post office had two big boxes of mail for Marleewood. Lots of the letters are for you. There are also a lot for Marlee. She's just a little girl, why would people send her mail? I'll be back in about an hour. I'm going down to pick up a mailbox that I saw downtown. It's cute and has flowers already planted in it." Grandma Lu said, "What? Flowers in a mailbox? What are you talking about?"
That is a very interesting question isn't it? Why would an elderly lady and a little girl start getting so much mail? Flowers in a mail box? Poor Grandma Lu.

The Tree House

The forest was alive with noise this last day. If you had been there you
could hear people yelling for the lost girls. You could hear the motors of the Ranger and the four wheeler. The eagle and the crows also made a  lot of noise. Wilameana was on the run. Poppy and Lycan had made sure that she was running up those old stone steps towards the top of the mountain. Harmony was watching out the window of the castle that she had been held in for such a long long time. Her heart started to beat faster and faster. Little did she know that her daughter, Moss, was also  in
 the forest looking for Kylee and Kenlee. Moss vowed that she would not stop until they were found. She wanted to live at the edge of the forest to be close to her friends in the sunshine patch. It was so beautiful there.
 Grayson and his father reached the castle first and released Harmony from the castle. The eagle flapped his wings so fast that the wind from his wings blew Wilameana into the castle. The door slammed shut; clang! She was there to live for a long long time. She needed some time to remember the mean things that she had done to the happy couples that had once lived in the cabin as well as to Moss. She needed to change her ways and be kind to the animals in the forest too.
Two grumpy little girls woke up in their beds at their nana and papa's house. They could hear the motors and people talking. They rubbed their eyes and looked at each other. Kylee said, "Boy I had the scariest dream ever. I dreamed that I was lost in a forest. Kenlee said, "What? So did I. It was terrible. I think it was all because we wished on that old golden egg. Remember we wished we could live in a tree house forever? I never ever want to see a tree house as long as I live!" Kylee said, "Me either. I hear Nana and Papa calling us. I wonder why they are waking us up so early this morning."
Their bedroom door opened up and there was their nana and papa telling them to hurry up and get ready. They were going to go to a tree house and have fun. Both girls jumped up out of bed and dived under their beds and covered their ears. "What in the world is wrong with those girls? We worked all night with their friends from Marleewood and our family to get that tree house done. Now they won't come out from under their beds."
Finally they convinced the girls to get out from under the beds, get dressed, and go outside with them. They couldn't believe what they saw out in their grandparents' timber. The most beautiful tree house they had ever seen. It even had a net under the steps to play on. It was wonderful. Even better than what they had wished for.

 The girls looked at each other and giggled. Their real life tree house was much better than their wish. They could play in this tree house at their grandparents and still live with their mom and dad. They both said,  "We will even invite Aadon to come and play with us." They knew that they never wanted to live in a tree house because their friends and family wouldn't be there. They only want to go to the tree house when they can go too. At this tree house they could make s'mores and have picnics. They could have so much fun with their friends. Oh their eyes just sparkled. They could just imagine all the fun they were going to have this summer. Kylee said, "Oh I wish..." Then she caught herself saying "wish." She laughed and told Kenlee I am never saying that word again. They both laughed and climbed up the stairs to their new tree house and decided to be silly, have fun and eat those delicious s'mores. Yum!
The forest is a happy place now that Wilameana is in a time out. Moss is now dressed in a lovely dress with wildflowers that flows in the breeze. Her mother, Harmony, is the kind happy beauty of the forest. Moss and her friends laugh and play in the sunflower patch.
Kylee and Kenlee did invite some of their friends out to see their new tree house. Myla loved it there. She spread out a quilt to have a soft place to sit.  Kaysyn and her parents came out to see the tree house and found out that the wildflowers were a great place to see butterflies. They would even rest

on your hands if you were very very gentle. And of course, Brandon
 loved it with his family and friends. Even baby Addison was getting ready to go see the tree house. So was baby Julia. It all turned out to be a wonderful day for everyone except, of course, Wilameana. We just hope that she has learned her lesson.
Then there is Miss Marlee. She let out a yell and said, "Grandma B look what I found. I found my golden egg here in the rocks. It is all in one piece and shiny again!"
It seems all is well in the forest and at the tree house. Just think this story all started with a mistake and a wish.

Listen to the beautiful music and make a wish if you want  or count the wonderful things you already have. Your blessings will be many if you just count them.