I'm feeling like the worst mom- you and I got into a huge
fight this morning. You have been doing this weird thing where you will
put on pants and do karate kicks and yoga stretches and if the pants aren't
super big, you have a fit and say they are too tight (well, no kidding if I did
that, all of my pants would be tight too). So you picked out an outfit
this morning and put it on and it happened again but being on a time limit to
get to daycare and school I didn't have time to let you change through a gazillion
outfits. So I forced you kicking and screaming into the car and you
proceeded to have a meltdown. So I mimicked your cries. You stopped
crying but you were so mad at me- you wouldn't even look at me when I dropped you
off.
Worst day ever. I’m hoping
when you are old enough to read these letters we can laugh at this story!
PS- We only have a few more weeks to skype with Mimi & Poppy before we can enjoy snack-time with them in person!!!
And your Aunt Joanne (whom you affectionately call Joannie!) and your Gigi came to visit you this past weekend. We had the best few days- shopping, dining out, visiting the zoo & park, lots of girl time, and prepping the house to move (I appreciate all of their help packing). You love them as much as I do (it was so nice to have such wonderful company)! They also introduced you to your new favorite movie... Hairspray! That's right... you are a Broadway musical fan and I can't wait to get you closer to NYC!
And now here is our yearlong bedtime story/stories (with
many chapters to write!) for you.
So as for our weekly guidelines: I write a piece one week in
regular font, and then your Mimi will write a piece in italics the next
week. The only things your Mimi and I
agreed on were the characters- Ellie and a magic teapot and the setting (a
forest with trolls). Anything else is
fair game and will make our adventure a new tale. We also need to figure out an illustration to
go with our part. Our goal Ellie is to
have a beloved bedtime story for you and future generations. And so we will continue our third piece of
fiction.
Ellie and the Magic
Teapot: Into the Secret Forest Part 10
“Ellie, that Frenchy
Troll was kind of silly looking don’t you think?” Lion giggled. Now that he and Ellie outsmarted another
troll, Lion continued talking with a much braver tone, “That curly mustache he
was sporting and that crazy blue hat and scarf seemed corny to be wearing in
the forest! Don’t you think El?”
“Well… first of all
Lion, Frenchy Troll made me giggle too.
But I think it was more of his carefree personality that made me smile
more than anything else. I don’t think
we should make fun of his unusual style because that would just be hurtful and
I know you would never do that Lion, be hurtful that is.”
“Oh El, you’re
right. I would never hurt anyone. Actually I kind of liked him. He had a really cool accent and wasn’t scary
at all!...”
But Ellie stopped Lion’s
sentence right there, “Yeah, but don’t get too relaxed. According to the storybook there is still
another troll lurking out there somewhere.
And if it is the last one that crosses our path I fear that ogre will be
more determined than ever to capture us for Trudy!”
Lion’s eyes opened
wide as Ellie spoke. His lower jaw
dropped down too. “Aw Ellie, now you’ve
got me scared again!”
“Good. I need you to be alert and on your toes. Now let’s keep walking,” Ellie commanded as
she grabbed Lion’s hand once again and pulled him along. As they traveled further into the forest, the
trees formed a canopy of sorts shutting out most of the sunlight, just like
when they first entered the woods. Only
now Ellie and Lion no longer had the battery-operated candle that got them past
their first set of jitters. Ellie had
dropped it when they encountered their first ogre, Tootsie Troll. She didn’t want to alarm Lion but an uneasy
feeling came over her, the kind where the hair on her arms prickled and stood
straight up on its own accord. So using
her voice at a not too loud level, she hooted for Oliver to come. But no Oliver appeared. So she hissed for Sebastian to come. But no Sebastian appeared. Now a bit on edge Ellie croaked for Tad to come. But no Tad appeared. Ellie croaked again in the most pleading
manor she could muster. But still no
Tad. When Ellie looked at Lion, Lion
could tell that Ellie was now officially afraid. And that increased his anxiety ten-fold. What neither Ellie nor Lion knew was that
Trudy had been watching the animal trio through her magical glasses from the
beginning and had Wrd Troll, the crazy haired ogre, trap and cage Oliver,
Sebastian and Tad so they could no longer interfere in the capture of Ellie and
Lion. Wrd was only too happy to
accommodate Trudy’s demands. He knew he
messed up when he gave Ellie and Lion their freedom to find Trudy on their own,
and he was quite happy to be able to resume a place on her good side.
“E-e-e-el… your
expression h-h-h-a-s me really fri-i-i-tened!
Let’s j-j-just g-g-go home!” Lion stuttered.
In the minute it took
Ellie to realize that maybe Lion was thinking smarter than she was a hidden
bellow came from the overgrown leafy bush in front of them. “Friend or Foe!” it grunted.
Ellie and Lion looked
at each other with panic.
“I said Friend or
Foe! Answer me now!” it grunted again.
“Ummmmmmm… friend?”
Ellie offered with great hesitation.
And before she even
finished the word ‘friend’ out of the bush popped a very stern looking troll
with a clipboard and pencil.
“Nope. I am checking my list here and I don’t
believe either of you are on it,” he stated.
“Would you like me to check it again?”
Ellie and Lion nodded
in agreement.
“All right then. Lion, state your name please,” he dictated.
Perplexed, Lion looked
at Ellie questionably and shrugged his shoulders. “Um, my name is…Lion???”
“And yours Ellie. Please state your name also.”
“Mr. Troll, you already
know it. You just said it,” Ellie
answered. But before you check your list
again, who are you?”
“Why my name is
Colonel Muster Troll and my job in the forest is to take daily roll call of all
who live here and all who enter here. I
have checked and rechecked the Friend List and neither of you are on it. Would you like me to check the ‘Foe List?” he
asked suspiciously.
“NO Colonel
Muster. You will not find us on that
list. Lion and I are really quite nice
and we would love to be your friend!” she answered firmly.
“Nope. That cannot be. Trudy will not allow it. Unfortunately for you both neither of you are
on the Friend List so I must blindfold the two of you and take you to her now,”
he responded as he pulled out a pair of army green scarves to wrap around their
heads.
“Wait!” yelled
Ellie. “ Can we challenge you to a
game?”
“Nope. Trudy warned me that you would try and trick
me into letting you go. Nope, I will not
participate in whatever your plan is.
Nope Nope. Nope,” Colonel Muster said firmly. “Now turn around and close your eyes.”
“Wait!” roared
Lion. “What if the game is called ‘Simon
Says’… I mean ‘Colonel Muster Says’?”
The little green
troll’s ears perked up immediately and he dropped the scarves. “Hmmmm… a game of ‘Colonel Muster Says’… hmmmmm…
I like that. I like that very much.”
Lion winked at Ellie
and Ellie winked back. “Good job,” she
whispered. “Your quick thinking may have
just saved us friend! Thank you! Now let’s hope he takes the bait,” Ellie prayed.
Colonel Muster loved
the idea of playing a game that was named after him, especially a game that put
him in command. “Alright, I accept. Just one round though… not best out of three. And if I get you two to do something that
‘Colonel Muster’ doesn’t ‘say’, then the game immediately comes to a halt; I
win and get to take you to Trudy.
Agreed?” he grunted with anticipation.
“OK Colonel Muster
Troll. But if we respond on every
command correctly then you must let us go free.
Agreed?” Ellie questioned him
back.
Lion was so excited as
he and Ellie played this game… well ‘Simon Says’ that is… everyday with Ellie’s
mom. And Ellie always won. Even her mom said she was very, very good at
it. He just knew they would win and
outsmart another troll. Boy, they were
on a roll. No way could they lose!
“Fine. Let’s get started,” the troll ordered. He placed Ellie and Lion in an open area
about five feet from himself and directed them to face him while standing at
attention. Before the game started,
Colonel Muster Troll pulled out his clipboard to take roll call of who was
playing the game. But since their names
weren’t on it yet, he had to pencil them in.
And because he was so anxious to get started playing the game that was
graciously named after him, he passed on taking the actual roll call. At least for now.
“Ahhhhhh- hem. Colonel Muster says to stand on one foot.” And they did.
“Colonel Muster says to put that foot down and lift your other foot off
the ground.” And they did. “Colonel Muster says to hop up and down on
that foot.” And they did. “Stop.”
And they did not stop. “Hmmmm.
Colonel Muster says stop.” And
they did. “Colonel Muster says to twirl
in a circle.” And they did. “Stop.”
And they did not stop. “OK,
Colonel Muster says to stop.” And they
did. Exasperated he realized that this
game was going to be a tough one to win and somehow he had to trick them.
While the little green
ogre was scheming Lion whispered to Ellie.
“El, don’t you have anything in your pockets to help us win this game so
we can get out of here?”
“Good thought
Lion. Let me see what I’ve got,” she
responded while rummaging around in each of her pockets. “Ahhhhh, what’s this?” she said as she
reached into the pocket centered in the middle of her nightshirt. Ellie felt a large cluster of something and enclosed
her hand around it. When she pulled it out
to show Lion they were both surprised to see a huge mound of green
jellybeans. “I forgot I had these Lion.”
“Jellybeans?! How can they help us El? Other than tasting yummy while going into our
tummies I am pretty sure they are useless,” Lion drooled while eyeing
them. Ellie agreed and was about to slip
them back into her pocket when a loud grunt startled and stopped her.
Muster Troll spied the
jellybeans that Ellie was holding and a sneaky idea quickly came to him. “Let’s continue this game,” he grumbled. “Colonel Muster Says each of you are to eat a
jellybean one at a time until I say stop.”
So they did. Lion was quite happy
with this command, as he was very, very hungry.
“Colonel Muster says to eat them faster.” So they did.
“Stop!” And they did not
stop. Before they knew it, Ellie and
Lions mouths were stocked full of chewy, gooey jellybeans. So much so that neither of them could
talk. Only strange garbled noises came
out of their mouths.
Colonel Muster Troll
slyly smiled. “Oooops. I forgot to take roll call before the
game. Let’s do it now!” he commanded. As he
grabbed his clipboard and pencil and scanned the Attendance List the little
green ogre stood at attention. “Colonel
Muster says that when I call out each of your names for roll call you must
answer loud and clear the word ‘HERE’. Lion?”
Lion’s eyes got as big
as saucers. He tried and tried with all
his might to say the word ‘HERE’ but could not.
The only sound that came out of his mouth was “Mmphmmphmmph.”
“Hmmmm. Imagine that.
No response from Lion means that he did not follow Colonel Muster’s
command and just lost the game. Well
then… let’s move on to Ellie. Ellie?” he
cackled.
Ellie’s eyes also got as
big as saucers for she too tried and tried with all her might to say the word
‘HERE’ but could not. The only sound
that came out of her mouth was “Rarrrrraaaaarrrrrr.”
Colonel Muster Troll
jumped up and down. “I did it, I did it!
I won the game! Neither of you did what
‘Colonel Muster’ said! Trudy is going to
be so proud of me! All right you two, I
won, and you lost, so let’s go. And then
he picked up the two army green scarves that he dropped earlier and blindfolded
the duo. He then turned them around five times, just enough to get them a
little bit dizzy but not too dizzy.
Once they swallowed all
of the jellybeans Lion did muster enough courage to ask the troll if he could
at least hold Ellie’s hand on the short walk to Trudy’s cave. Ellie was grateful that Lion asked because
she too needed the comfort and the closeness of her best friend. The troll agreed thinking no harm could come
from that.
“I’m sorry El that we
lost the game. I was just so hungry and
you know how much I love jellybeans. And
then when the ogre didn’t give the ‘Colonel Muster’ says to stop eating the
jellybeans command, I was secretly happy because I really didn’t want to stop
eating them,” pouted Lion.
“I know Lion. I am sorry too,” Ellie said
sympathetically. “But you know me. I would never play a game unfairly just to
win it. Rules are rules and the only way
we could have stopped eating the jellybeans was if he gave the Colonel Muster
command. I guess we just have to face
the fact that we were outsmarted by a troll.
“Attennnnn-hut!”
bellowed the troll. Ellie and Lion
straightened up. “It is time for you
both to meet Trudy. So start walking…
rather march I say, march, march, march, march!” And as the two friends traveled blindly down
the forest path Ellie fell into a deep thought as there wasn’t much time left
to figure out what exactly they had that Trudy wanted. Lion was in deep thought too, but his was
based more on the fear of Trudy herself and what the pair had just gotten
themselves into…
Love,
Mom & Mimi
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