[stylist] children's story

Sun Feb 1 01:11:11 UTC 2009

Lori, I didn't catch your story first time round, but I just read it.  Great 
story!  Great moral!  If you had an artist it could be a great children's 
book.  Wait a minute!  You are an artist!  Go for it!  Judith
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Angela fowler" <fowlers at syix.com>
To: "'NFBnet Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, January 31, 2009 6:40 PM
Subject: Re: [stylist] children's story


> Hey, that's pretty cool. Good moral too. If a partnership works, doesn't
> matter if other people ants or dragons see it.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of LoriStay at aol.com
> Sent: Saturday, January 31, 2009 3:35 PM
> To: stylist at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [stylist] children's story
>
> This is a story I wrote for my grandkids.   I thought I would share it 
> with
> the list.
> Lori
>
>
> THE DRAGON AND THE ANT
> By Lori Stayer
>
> Once upon a time there was a dragon who could see ants.   The rest of his
> family couldn't.   Ants were too small, too far away.   But Simon could.
>
> He'd named himself Simon, by the way.   His mother tried calling him
> "Scales,"
> but he didn't think such a name was respectful.
>
> Simon watched ants all the time.   His brother, Snake-Breath, told 
> everyone
> Simon was stupid.   His mother said Simon was just imaginative.   But his
> father was very concerned, thinking Simon was just crazy.
>
> One day Simon bumped into a tree.   Ordinarily, this would pose no 
> problem.
>
> He would have simply knocked down the tree and kept going.   However, this
> was a redwood, the king of the forest.
>
> That was when Simon's father took him to visit Far-Seeing, the oculist
> Dragon, who determined Simon had a very special sort of vision, and the 
> ants
> he saw were real.
>
> Simon, Far-Seeing determined, was legally blind.   Not that they had laws
> back then.   It simply meant that he could see something, but not
> everything, and
> not the way his brothers saw.
>
> The idea he was blind shocked Simon.   Surely not!   But his father 
> assured
> him it was true.
>
> One day Simon lay outside his cave with his head down in the dirt.   A 
> tiny
> ant plodded by, paused and looked up.   "I can see you, you know," it 
> piped
> in
> a tiny voice.   "My sisters say I'm deranged, but I know you're there."
>
> "Hello, Deranged," Simon responded gloomily.   "I'm Simon.   I see you 
> too.
>
> What are you doing?"
>
> "Gathering food for winter.   I'm not very good at it.   I can only see 
> the
> pieces too big to pick up."
>
> "Pretty big, then," said Simon, who knew the size of the pieces of food 
> ants
>
> usually carried.
>
> "The Queen Mother says I'm useless," the ant sighed.   "They tossed me out
> of the family.   I miss my sisters."
> "My brothers say that about me," Simon realized.   "I can only see the 
> small
>
> things."
>
> "Small things?   Like me?"
>
> "Yeah.   It made me an outcast.   I'm not good for much."
>
> "Too bad we can't trade visions," the ant responded.   "But your eyes are
> too big.   I couldn't wear them."
>
> Simon's depression lifted a shade at the thought of a tiny ant trying to
> wear
> a dragon's extra large eyes.   "I like you, Deranged.   Why don't we team
> up?
>  Climb onto my forehead, and sit on the knob on my brow.   Do you see the
> tree in front of me?"
>
> "Of course I do.   That's part of the problem."
>
> "Let's take a walk.   You warn me when a tree is coming, and I'll lead you
> to
> the food you CAN carry."
>
> "It won't work," the ant muttered, nevertheless climbing onto Simon's 
> scaly
> green knob.   "They still won't let me back in.   And don't call me
> Deranged!
> My name is-"   The ant paused.   "Er, 'Ant.'"
>
> Simon frowned.   "That's a silly name.   How would you know if anyone is
> calling you?"
>
> "We all work together," Ant explained.   "Why would I need a different
> name?"
>
>
> "Because I said so," Simon declared.   "And I'm bigger."
>
> For some reason Ant found this hysterically funny, and was only sorry ants
> couldn't laugh.   "Okay.   I'm ready.   Let's go.   The left.   No, I 
> meant
> the
> OTHER left!   Don't you know your left from your right?"
>
> Simon thought about it.   "I guess I don't.   What are they?"
>
> Explaining left and right took half an hour, but Simon finally got it, and
> they took off.   With Simon's help, Ant found enough food for lunch, and
> with
> Ant's help, Simon stopped knocking down trees.
>
> Simon, however, had trouble convincing his family that Ant was helping 
> him,
> because Ant was too small for them to see.   It didn't matter.   They made 
> a
>
> good partnership, even though Ant's family never did take her back!
>
>
>
>
> **************
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