The Mariposa (flash fiction)

by Carol9 Comments
Image source:Unknown The Mariposa by Carol 376 words The Queen stared out the window, seeing the desolation surrounding the tower, the trees and flowers that were dying even with the daily care her slaves provided. That damned man was costing her everything. She was well aware that the drought was too localized to be nature. The outlying villages were in no peril of starving, their gardens still green with vegetables growing plentifully. Thankfully she had been intelligent enough to enforce a tribute years ago. As long as her people ate, she would, her army would make certain of that. What farmer would dare argue? But still, her beautiful garden. She needed the Mariposa, the one who could bring life back to the plants, the one who could rejuvenate the land. Of course, the girl had other uses too, returning youth only a part of her power, and even he would not dare attack if it would endanger the Mariposa. The girl’s potential value was enormous,...
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Friday’s Tale: The Frog Prince (Sri Lanka)

by Carol3 Comments
Image: The Permaculter Research Institute of Australia In Sri Lanka, the tale of "The Frog Prince" bears little resemblance to the version I know. About the only thing they have in common is a character who is at one time a frog and at another time a prince. The Sri Lankan story begins with a widow who lives on the rice powder left over after she pounds rice at the king's palace. This woman bore a frog. I'm not sure why her child was frog, it just was. When the frog grew up, the king issued a proclamation. "I will give half my kingdom, and goods amounting to an elephant's load to the person who brings the Jeweled Golden Cock that is at the house of the Rakshasi." The Rakshasi is an ogress. The frog, hearing this, takes some rice and strings it on a wild date tree. Then he turns into a handsome prince and clothes and a horse appear. The prince...
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Lists for Summer

by Carol14 Comments
Image: WagerRun.com Summer is just around the bend, so I thought it would be a good time to list some things I want to do or to accomplish this summer. Maybe writing them down will actually provide a little extra motivation on some of the not so fun ones. A couple I already have plans in place, but most are still just kind of floating out there. Have Fun Play miniature golf Go canoeing Lay on the beach See a movie at the drive-in Go to Kennywood Go to a baseball game Host a cook-out Watch a softball game See a play at Brooke Hills . Accomplish Something (Yes, David, you have to help with some of them) Plant the garden and keep it weeded Work up to being able to jog three miles Read The Three Musketeers (I could put this under fun, too) Finish work on the kitchen Paint the dining room and living room Wash and clean out my car Put a couple more perennials in my front flower bed Write a short story Clean the house (bleck) . One more...
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Review: The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

by Carol12 Comments
(Suggested reading level: Grades 4-8) I actually borrowed The Red Pyramid from my daughter, and I definitely enjoyed it. The story centers around a pair of siblings, Carter and Sadie, whose world is thrown upside down the night they watch their father blow up the Rosetta Stone and be captured by an ancient Egyptian god. Cater and Sadie learn the secret of their family history, discover they can perform magic and have to save the world from Set. It's a great combination. Fascinating Egyptian gods, siblings who learn to work together, magic, fight scenes. The book has everything to appeal to its middle school audience, even if it felt a little long. Sadie and Carter take turns narrating the chapters, which mean we get to see the events and characters from both points of view, and they are quite different from each other. Carter had been raised by his Egyptologist father, traveling around the world after their mother's death, while Sadie had been...
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