Wednesday 5 September 2012

Amazing Animal Antics

I know it's been a long time since my last post, but I've finally got my hands on a tablet and have been busy setting it all up and writing some new material.

Below is the first of a series of children's stories that I plan to publish as a collection. I hope you like it and let me know what you think.

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Claudia the Cranky Caterpillar

Claudia was a little caterpillar that one day would turn into a beautiful butterfly. For now though she was crawling around on a juicy cabbage munching on its leaves, slowly becoming fatter and fatter.

One day a ladybird landed on her cabbage to rest and clean itself when she spotted Claudia.

"Hello there," the ladybird said. "Aren't you quite fat enough yet to coccoon? You have nearly finished the whole cabbage. Where are you going to go next for more food?"

Claudia just looked at her for a short moment and then continued eating. There wasn't much time left and she still had to put on more weight.
"Are you ignoring me?" the ladybird continued. "How rude," it said before it flew off.  

The next day a stag beetle landed on her cabaw Claudia he stared at her for a good minute before he said: "Gosh, you do look ugly, don't you? And rather plump. I thought I was a big insect, but I think you set a new record."

Claudia felt cross, but she simply continued munching the cabbage leaf she was on and decided to ignore the stag beetle.

"You've got nothing to say for yourself, have you," the stag beetle said and flew off.  

So the days went on and every day a diferent insect landed on her cabbage and told her how ugly she was - or how fat - or something else that was insulting. Claudia was getting crosser and crosser with every passing day, and the caterpillars in her field started to call her Claudia the Cranky Caterpillar.

One day Claudia had enough of the rude comments and decided that whoever would arrive next would be put in his place. It didn't take long and a hungry looking jackdaw landed next to her cabbage. He slowly eyed her up and down until Claudia stopped munching and looked back at him.

"Hello there," was all that the jackdaw was able to say before Claudia let off her anger.

"Yes, what are you going to say?" she started to say. "I've heard it all before. Do you think I'm fat? Or ugly? Can't wait until I coccoon so you don't have to look at me any longer? Something else?"

As she was talking she crawled closer and closer to the jackdaw, while the jackdaw slowly inched back step by step. As Claudia uttered her last word she launched herself forward and the jackdaw scrambled for a quick takeoff and flew away, cawing as he went.

"I knew they were all cowards," Claudia said and then calmly continued munching her cabbage.

The caterpillars on the cabbages nearby had stopped eating and were trying to hide when they had seen the jackdaw land, but when Claudia had launched into her angry tirade they all crept out again and were mightily impressed when the jackdaw flew off.

Since then every caterpillar in her field knew her as Claudia the Couragous Caterpillar, but Claudia didn't know. She was cosily tucked up in her snug coccoon. Now it wouldn't take long until she would turn into a beautiful butterfly.

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