By W. Dave Free
This is a night time story for kids. I wrote it several years ago. Hope you enjoy it.
"Jake, Jake there's news from our kingdom. Come quick!" called Jessica as she ran down the path from the castle toward her little brother Jake who was busy practicing with his bat.
Jake looked up from the imaginary dragon he was fighting just in time to see his sister stumble over a rock and come hurdling directly toward him. He dropped his bat and caught her with both hands. "Slow down sis. No need to fly!"
Jessica tried to catch her breath but gave up and blurted out, "A messenger just arrived from our kingdom. We have a new little brother!"
"A brother? Why didn't you say so!" Jess almost fell to the ground again as Jake let go of her and headed for his stick horse Spot. "What are you waiting for? Let's go!" He threw his leg over Spot and started galloping up the path.
Jessica had to scream to be heard over the rattle and clank of Jake's armor. "Jake, Wait! Wait! I have some bad news too!"
Jake stopped so suddenly the weight of his armor carried him right over the head of Spot, where he fell with a loud clank. "Bad news? Is something wrong with my brother? Show me the villain that dares mess with the brother of Jake, Knight of the Great Smile! Why I'll--"
"No Jake, it's not the baby." Jessica interrupted as she helped him to his feet. "It's us. Our Uncle's kingdom is being attacked by the Kingdom of Contention from the north. The straight and narrow road that leads to our kingdom has been cut off. There's no way to get home!"
Jake's emotions changed so suddenly that his face couldn't keep up. With a half smile, half frown he muttered a weak "oh." But just when his face was catching up with the last emotion, it suddenly lit up again. "Jess I've got it! There's a shortcut through the Swamp of Selfishness that leads directly to our kingdom, I've heard our father talk about it with his warriors. We can take the shortcut."
Jess's face also lit up at the thought of seeing her new little brother sooner than expected. "Are you sure it goes all the way to our kingdom?" she asked tentatively.
"Yeah, I'm positive!" Jake replied.
That was all the confirmation Jess needed. "Well, what are you waiting for? Let's get you out of that ridiculous armor and go tell Uncle Joe. C'mon, I believe I can outrun both you and Spot to his palace!"
And so Jessica, the Princess fo All That is Pink, and her strong little brother, Jake, Knight of the Great Smile, raced up the hill to the palace of Joe, King of the Land of Happy Families.
As they arrived at the Palace, the King was busy loading his chariot with supplies and equipment (in the kingdom of happy families there are no servants or slaves). When he saw the children approach he called out, "Ah children of my handsome brother, there you are! I was afraid I would miss you. Jake can you help me with this last big bag?"
Jake grabbed the bag and tossed it up to the King who nearly toppled off the chariot trying to catch it. The king chuckled and said, "Jake, I can see your strength hasn't suffered at all from the food in my kingdom. Come, site on the steps so I can talk with you and your sister." The king motioned to the wide steps that led up to the gate of the palace.
Obediently the two children climbed onto the steps and waited to hear the words of the king. The king jumped off the chariot and began, "We have enjoyed your stay here in our kingdom while your mother was bringing your new little brother into the world. I know you are anxious to see your little brother as am I. In fact, I was looking forward to returning with you to the kingdom of your father, but as you know that is no longer possible." The king hesitated and looked away to the north before continuing.
"The straight and narrow road from here to your father's kingdom has been cut off. The road is impossible to travel until we drive Contention from the kingdom." At this Jake interrupted, "Sir, I have heard my father and his warriors talk of a shortcut to your kingdom. A route other than the straight and narrow road. Jess and I could take that route!"
The king nodded in agreement, "It is true, there is another route and it is shorter but it goes directly through the Swamp of Selfishness and is much too dangerous for you to travel alone. If you were to become lost in Selfishness, you would never see your family happy again. I must ask, therefore, that you remain in my kingdom until I or one of my warriors can return and accompany you home."
On having their hopes of returning home dashed once again, the faces of Jess and Jake gave up trying to show emotion and went blank. The king waited for a moment in silence and then asked, "What say ye? Do I have your commitment?"
"Please let us try the shortcut, Sir." Jake said pleadingly, "I'm sure we can make it." The king shook his head disapprovingly and Jessica reached over and gave Jake's hand a squeeze. Jake looked at her for a moment and then turned to the king and with what appeared to be great effort said solemnly, "We'll stay."
The king smiled and proceeded, "Good. I have not time for further instructions. Please say inside the palace with the rest of my family until we can rid the kingdom of Contention. As soon as I can, I will come and accompany you home. Now I must go and say goodbye to your aunt and cousins and be on my way." He started up the steps but before he reached the top he turned and added, "I know it won't be easy for you to sit around and wait, but try to think of your family first. How would your parents feel if you were lost in the swamp forever?" Not waiting for a reply he turned, climbed the last few stairs, and entered the palace.
Jess and Jake sat silent for some time after their uncle road off in his chariot. They couldn't decide whether to be happy or sad and their faces were again having a hard time keeping up. When they thought of their new little brother they were happy and smiled but when they thought of their uncle's kingdom being invaded by Contention they were sad and frowned. To a passerby they looked quite peculiar sitting on the steps of the palace with alternating expressions of joy and sadness on their faces without saying a word. They weren't left to look peculiar for long before the palace guard announced that the gate was about to be shut and asked them to enter the palace. They both stood and took a long look around before climbing the steps to the gate and the palace within.
With the kingdom at war, the mood in the palace had become very somber (that means sad and serious). Everyone was worried about the invasion and the safety of the king and the warriors set to defend the kingdom. Combined with their intense desire to see their new little brother, the somber air of the palace was almost too much for Jessica and Jacob to stand. They tried to play royal board games after dinner with their cousins the Princess Melinda and her knighted brothers Jopes and Mikey, but no one cared much who won so they all quickly lost interest and one by one went to their rooms for the night.
Jacob felt like he had just barely closed his eyes (he had really been asleep for a number of hours) when someone started shaking him and hissing in his ear. "Jake, Jake wake up! Wake up!" Jake hoped he was dreaming and tried to rollover and go back to sleep, but whoever was shaking him did not give up. "Jake, it's me Jess. Wake up!"
Jake opened his eyes and shook his head to clear his thoughts and remember where he was. He finally came to the conclusion that is was his sister shaking him and that it was still the middle of the night. He wondered if Jess knew this fact and concluded he had better tell her. "Jess, it's the middle of the night! What are you doing?"
"A messenger just came from the battlefield and the news is not good. King Joseph has requested his sons join him in the battle. Jopes and Mikey are preparing now to leave." At this news Jake jumped out of bed and started dressing.
I'll go with them, they'll need my help. Why didn't you wake me earlier?" Jess had to grab him by the arm to get his attention before continuing.
"Jake, uncle Joe needs more warriors to protect his kingdom and ours from Contention, he has asked that we go to our kingdom and ask our father to send help." Jake sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at Jess. "By ourselves?" he asked with a somewhat incredulous look on his face. "He wants us to cross the Swamp of Selfishness by ourselves?"
Jess nodded with a puzzled look on her face. "Yeah, the same swamp you said you wanted to cross this afternoon. What's the matter? I thought you would be excited to go?"
"I am excited" said Jake trying to convince himself, "It's just--well it's just--its...Uncle Joe said we could get lost forever!" Jake blurted it out and felt better for having been honest about his feelings.
Jessica, still surprised at her little brother's change of mind, tried to reassure him, "We won't Jake. We can't! We have to get through or Contention will destroy this kingdom and ours. Besides, we won't be completely alone. The messenger from Uncle Joe said the ambassador to Sharewood Forest would meet us there. He will instruct us on how to cross the swamp."
Jake's relief at the thought of help was brief as he remembered his uncle's instruction that they not leave the palace while he was gone. "What about the trail from here to the forest? What if we run into some warriors of Contention?"
"Oh, it won't be that hard Jake." Jessica replied reassuringly, "Contention is invading the north side of the kingdom, we'll be traveling east. If we leave early in the morning we're sure to make the forest before noon. The armies of Contention aren't known for rising early so I'm sure we won't run into any. And when we reach the forest, the ambassador is to greet us with a bearhug, something a warrior of Contention would never do."
Jake lightened a little as his sisters reassurances. "You've got this all figured out haven't your?" He picked up his bat from the corner and swung it a few times, his courage was returning. "You're right sis, we can do this. We have to do this!" He swung the bat again and it got caught in the curtains pulling them back from the window. "Look!," said Jess pointing out the window, "The sky is already gray, the sun will be up soon. Get dressed and pack, I'll meet you at the front gate." She was halfway out the door before she finished the last sentence.
With the bright, early-morning sun on their cheeks, the two travelers quickly made their way through the city gates and out onto the Plateau of Lofty Thoughts. To Jess, the tall grass blowing in the breeze looked more like the waves of an ocean than a high mountain meadow. She thought it would be nice to be grass right now, blowing care-free in the breeze, completely unaware of the surrounding danger. To help her keep her mind off the dangers she began to make up sons as she walked along in her jeans and pink shirt (even princesses don't wear gowns all the time). On her back she carried her purple backpack filled with her extra clothes and a package of candy she had saved for the trip home.
Jacob had eaten his last piece of candy within minutes of receiving it, but right now he didn't care about candy. He was busy running his stick horse, Spot, up and down the road chasing butterflies and rabbits and anything else that would move. With every swing of his bad he slew a Warrior of Contention. He was so busy imagining that he almost fell off the edge of the meadow.
"Jake! Jake! Look out, you'll fall! Jessica quickly ran to his side and they both gasped as they looked out at the sight before them. The plateau of lofty thoughts ended abruptly in a shear cliff that dropped away almost three hundred feet to the forest below. From their vantage point, they could see the deep green of the pine trees of Sharewood forest and beyond the forest the gray fog that always covers the swamp of selfishness. If they really squinted, the could just make out the spires of their father's kingdom far off to the east.
"The forest is beautiful." Whispered Jessica.
"The swamp looks gross." murmured Jake.
"Look, there's our kingdom," replied Jessica with a little more excitement in her voice. "Come on, let's hurry down to the forest and find the ambassador."
Spot wasn't so sure about the narrow trail that crisscrossed down the steep face of the cliff, but with a little coaxing, and a blindfold tied over his eyes, they finally got him over the edge.
At the bottom of the cliff the travelers found themselves in the most beautiful forest in all of the kingdoms. You see, Sharewood forest got its name because all of the creatures that live there--even the three year olds--share freely with each other. Because every creature shares, every creature is happy. And everyone knows that a happy creature is always more beautiful than a miserable creature.
At the time, Princess Jessica and Sir Jacob weren't thinking about why the forest was so beautiful or their troubles, they were too overcome with the beauty of the forest to think at all. In fact, Jake forgot to take the blindfold off Spot until they were well into the forest which, as you might imagine, didn't make Spot very happy. But Spot soon forgot his unhappiness in the greenest, juiciest, freshest grass you have ever seen--the kind you like to walk through barefoot--that grew along the side of the forest trail.
While Spot was happily munching the grass, Jessica merrily hummed her way from flower to flower in the little meadow that the path meandered through. For a time she completely forgot about the dangers ahead and the "proper" way to act as a princess. She was thoroughly enjoying the beauty of the meadow. At each flower she would bend over and sniff to smell the perfume, then she would skip on to the next flower humming as loud as her lungs would let her. If you had been there listening, it would have sounded like this: humm-humm-humm-snifffff-ahhhhh-humm-humm-humm-snifffff-ahhhhhh. She always sniffed twice at the pink flowers, so sometimes there were two sniffs and two ahs between the hums.
Jacob might have heard Jessica humming, sniffing and ahhing, but for the gurgle of the little stream which he was standing in up to his knees. He hadn't planned to get wet, but the little twig boat he launched ran aground on a big moss-covered rock in the middle of the stream and he had no other option but to go in after it. the smooth pebbles of the stream bed and the cool water felt wonderful on his hot, tired feet and he almost forgot about the Warriors of Contention and the Swamp of Selfishness. He retrieved his boat and turned to climb out of the stream. As he turned, he looked up to see where his sister's humming had taken her and gasped at what he saw.
Out from under the tall pine trees that border the meadow--like a fence borders your backyard--a huge bear had appeared and was lumbering straight for his sister. Jessica, still humming her way from flower to flower, had not yet noticed the bear with the massive jaws running towards her.
For and instant Jake was frozen in terror. He was closer to Jessica than the bear, but he was downhill from her and the bear was closing fast. To make matters worse, Jake's trusty bat was right where he had left it: on the trail--he wished now he had listened when his mom told him to take better care of his things. Spot wasn't much help either, he was still munching grass, oblivious--that means he didn't notice--to the whole situation. Of course horses made out of fake fur don't have very good senses anyway.
Though it seemed like forever to Jake, all of these thoughts went through his head in a split second and then he did what any brave little brother would do in the situation. He quickly scooped up a handful of rocks, then, waving his arms like a clock gone crazy, he let out his best indian-war-hoop yell and ran straight for his sister.
Still unaware that a huge bear with its mouth wide open was running straight for her, Jess continued to hum for all she was worth. She thought she heard Jake yell, but he yelled so often she figured he must be enjoying himself in the stream.
Jake was fast but he was running uphill and his bare feet slipped often on the moist green grass. The bear, of course, had bare feet too--a bear would look mighty funny with any other kind of feet--but the bear was running downhill and his big claws kept him from slipping.
Before he was half way to this sister, Jake could tell the bear was going to get to her before he could. As he ran, he prayed in his heart and mind that she would survive until he got there.
The bear was now within two steps of Jess and stood up on its hind legs with its arms spread wide to grab her. Jess must have finally heard the commotion because she straightened up and turned around just in time to let out one girl-type scream before her face was buried in the thick fur of the bear's chest.
Jake couldn't stand to see what happened next so he concentrated on the grass in front of him as he ran the final twenty feet to the battle. Though he tried to block it out, he could hear his sister's muffled calls for help. Without hesitating for an instance, Jake, The Knight of the Great Smile, dropped the stones from his hand and dove straight onto the bear's back. He wrapped his arms around its neck and squeezed for all he was worth.
The squeezing must have distracted the bear enough for Jessica to break free because for the first time Jake could clearly hear his sister's calls for help, "Jake, Jake stop! Your're hurting him! STOP!"
"Stop?" he thought, "She must be crazy! This bear was trying to kill her and she wanted him to stop. She must have a bump on her head!"
The bear was now staggering around on his hind legs pawing the air with his huge paws. The knight bravely clung to his neck, riding him like a cowboy rides a bull. Jessica was running in and out trying to get close enough to grab Jake's legs without being run over by the huge bear paws.
To Spot, who had finally looked up from his grass, it looked like the three of them were dancing some kind of wonderful dance in the beautiful meadow and he went back to eating his grass. Now before you judge that silly horse and call him a fool for thinking they were dancing, remember that his eyes were glued on his head. Chances are you wouldn't see very well if your eyes were glued on either.
Jessica, Jake, and the bear might have danced all afternoon but the bear slipped on the wet stones that Jake had brought from the stream and they all went down in a pile with Jake at the bottom. He quickly rolled free and was ready to jump back into the foray, when Jess stepped in front of him and yelled, "No Jake, No!" It's our uncle's ambassador. He gave me a bear hug! Remember? The messenger said the ambassador would greet us with a bear hug."
“Pl. . . Plea. . .Pleased to meet you lad.” gasped the bear extending his big paw to Jake as a sign of friendship. “My name is Bentley. Sir Bentley, the Bear of Sharewood Forest.”
If Jake hadn’t been wheezing so hard from the run up the hill and the wrestle with the bear, his jaw would have hit the soft floor of the meadow. “A bear named Bentley that talks?” he asked incredulously, forgetting his princely manners for just a minute before taking the bear paw with his right hand.
“Not only can I talk,” replied Bentley, “I can give noogies too!” And before Jake could make a move to escape, the friendly and fun hearted Bentley had Jake’s head under his left arm and was giving him a huge noogie that only bears with huge paws can give--the kind that tickle more than they hurt.
“Say you like my name! Say you like my name!” teased Bentley while Jake struggled for a few minutes and then crumpled in a spasm of laughter. “Okay, Okay, I like your name.”
Bentley let up and they all three laid back in the grass and laughed until their sides hurt. Jake was the first to speak. “I’m sorry, Sir Bentley. I didn’t meant to hurt your neck or your feelings but I thought you were going to eat my sister and I have never met a talking bear before.”
“Eat your sister!? I guess I did kind of sneak up on her, didn’t I? Well, I apologize and I laud your bravery in attempting to protect your sister from what you thought was a princess-eating bear. However, there is no excuse for making fun of my good name, even if I am the first talking bear you have ever met.” Bentley pretended to be offended.
“Actually,” he continued, “I think my name is a bit stuffy. My mother dreamed I would grow up to be a butler and named me Bentley so that I could become ‘Bentley, the Butler’. But I surprised her and became the ambassador to Sharewood Forest from King Joseph’s Court instead. My mother is immensely pleased with my line of work but unfortunately, I still have the name of a butler.” Pausing for a minute he added, “I guess it could be worse. She could have name me Yogi, or Booboo, or worse yet painted me pink and called me a Care bear!” At that the two travelers burst into laughter again.
“Now you have learned the tale behind my moniker (that means name in hoity-toity), I presume that I am in the presence of Jake , the Knight of the Great Smile, and Jessica, Princess of All that is Pink?” Jessica and Jacob both nodded, apologizing for having forgotten their manners.
“And what may I ask, brings you to my humble forest?” asked Bentley. “The communique (that means message in hoity-toity) from your uncle said only to prepare to defend the forest against Contention and to help the bearer of the message as I would the highest royalty in the land.”
“The war with Contention is not going well.” replied Jessica, her face still flushed from all the laughing, but suddenly getting quite serious. “More warriors are needed. Our uncle has asked that we try to get to our father and request that he send his warriors right away.”
“We have to cross the Swamp of Selfishness by ourselves,” interrupted Jake.
“Oh my, my, the Swamp of Selfishness! And all by yourselves!” The bear exclaimed. And then seeing the fear that had come into Jake’s face, he quickly added, “Well, well, not to worry. Why, with such a brave and strong Knight that cares so much for his sister, I myself would happily cross the swamp. In fact, if I didn’t have to stay and organize the defense of the forest against the invaders, it would be a pleasure to cross that old swamp with you two!”
Jake smiled, wanting to believe the bear with all of his heart, but not sure that he had enough trust in himself to do so.
Bentley proceeded, “Yessiree, I think you two are well prepared for the swamp, but as long as you are here and I am here, we might as well travel together through the forest and I’ll tell you a few of the secrets I happen to know about Old Swampy. You must be tired from your long walk this morning. Climb on my back and I’ll give you a ride.”
Jake gave Jess a leg-up so she could climb onto Bentley’s back and then he ran back down to the stream to rescue his shoes and socks while the others went back up the hill to get Spot, Jake’s bat, and Jessica’s backpack. They met again where the trail and the stream leave the meadow and Jake swung up onto Bentley’s back behind Jessica. They then lumbered off into the forest with Bentley providing the ride and the instruction!
Now this is what Bentley told Jessica and Jacob as they rode on his back through beautiful Sharewood Forest on their way to the Swamp of Selfishness:
“My children, in order to understand the Swamp of Selfishness, you must first understand the secret behind Sharewood Forest. Jess, I have an itch between my shoulder blades, would you mind? Ahh just a little to the left. Up about a foot. Ahhhhhh, there, that’s it. Thanks for the rescue.
As I was saying, the secret to the beauty of Sharewood Forest is this: we share everything. In fact, I’m going to share this story about my friend, the stream. The stream comes into our forest from the Plateau of Lofty Thoughts, full of the cleanest, brightest water in the kingdom. I guess the stream could keep all of its water to itself, but instead all along the way it shares its water with the rest of us. The green grass that Spot was just eating is green because the stream gave of its water. The beautiful pink flowers that Jess was smelling grow only because the stream is willing to share its water with them. And Jake, those pretty, smooth rocks that you picked up off the streams bottom--the ones you so expertly aimed at yours truly--are pretty and smooth because the stream allows its water to flow so freely over them. Even these beautiful pine trees which provide a home for all of the creatures in the forest--and give shade to an old bear carrying two weary travelers who weight more than they ought-- are only able to grow because the stream gives them water.
“In fact, the stream keeps nothing for itself. None of the water that comes to it from the plateau is kept. Every single drop of water is shared with anyone who might want it and it gives what is left to the Swamp of Selfishness at the end of the forest. Now you would think, after giving away everything it has, that the stream would be left with nothing and would be sad and unhappy, wouldn’t you? But look at that stream. Does it look unhappy to you? Listen to it singing and gurgling. That is not the sound of a sad and dejected stream. Here, let’s stop for a drink. Look into the water, see how clear and clean it is? Have you ever tasted such refreshing water? Yes my friends, that is a happy, well adjusted stream. And why is it so happy? Because it shares all it has!”
The two travelers climbed back up onto Bentley’s back wiping the clear, cold water from their lips with the back of their hands. “Now think about the Swamp of Selfishness,” continued Bentley, “It shares absolutely nothing. Every drop of water it gets from our merry little stream, it greedily tries to keep all for itself. It lets none of the water go on to the Kingdom beyond and spends all of its time trying to keep others from using it. You would think by keeping all that clear water from the stream for itself, the swam would be happy, wouldn’t you? But it’s not. The swamp doesn’t sing like the stream, and its water is not clear and delicious to the taste. It is muddy and dirty and it stinks. Why? Because the swamp thinks only of itself and it is miserable!”
“I wish that were the end of my story. If the swamp would just be miserable by itself, we could all go happily on our way and just avoid it altogether. But nothing makes a miserable creature more miserable than seeing a happy creature. And so the Swamp of Selfishness wants you two, and every other traveler that passes its way, to be as selfish and as miserable as it is. Just as the sound of this stream makes you happy and willing to share with others, the stench of the swamp will make you want to be miserable and selfish. The danger of the swamp is not in the teeth of the creatures that live there, though they may want you to believe that, but the danger is in the desire to be selfish. No one has died in the Swamp of Selfishness, but many have lost their happy lives and never escaped from the selfishness and misery the Swamp creates.
A cloud covered the sun for a moment and Jessica shivered as she thought about the swamp. “How do we get through the swamp without becoming self, Sir?” she asked.
“Share,” replied the bear.
“That’s it? All we have to do is share?” asked Jake incredulously. “Easy, shmeasy!” he exclaimed under his breath.
That’s right, all you have to do is share. But it won’t be easy,shmeasy! Remember the swamp is full of creatures that want you to be miserable just like them. Don’t be fooled by their fangs and their claws. What matters is not what they do to you but what you do for others.”
“But sir,” interrupted Jessica, “what are we to share?”
“It doesn’t matter my daughters. Sometimes you may not have anything to share. But if you always want to share--and share when you can--you will always be happy.”
The travelers fell silent for some time thinking about what their guide and ride had told them. As Bentley trudged through the forest, they marveled at its beauty. Each pine tree seemed to be a perfectly shaped Christmas tree, the squirrels and chipmunks kept up a happy chatter, and every once in a while they would catch a glimpse of a beautiful red-coated deer, bounding into the bushes.
After some time, the silence was broken as Bentley spoke again.” Look up ahead, you can see the mountain that separates the forest from the swamp. The stream runs around the end of the mountain into the swamp but we will leave it here and climb over the mountain. There is a cave on the mountain which my embassy keeps stocked with food for travelers about to cross the swamp. We’ll stop there to eat and spend the night.” Hesitatingly he added, “Then you shall begin your journey.”
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