Askifpress.com Askif Press Category:  Children Publisher: The Collins Press Type: Fiction Pages: 62 Copyright: 2001 ISBN-13: 1903464056 'The Elfree Stories' is a series of letters written by Anne to her grand children while ethey were living abroad. 'The Elfree Stories' tell of Artist Anne Muller's friendship with a small elf, "Elfree Of the Leaf'. Whom she met while walking in the woods near her home. Written in rhyming couplets  Excerpt Dear children Today Elfree told me a story about reputation, pride and frogs. "Elves care a lot about their reputation, For themselves and for their nation And even young elves know they should Give folk a reputation that is good; For reputation is what you leave behind you And paves the way that lies before you." And life is easier," said the elf, "For other folk and for yourself If all the good things that folk do Are well spoken of and remembered too. So we feel reputation deserves protection And, if sometimes it needs correction, We try to do it very quickly, That way life is much less prickly." "This is a tale of a frog at the age Where he'd just grown out of the tadpole stage And he found himself, as most frogs do, At the edge of a pond, deep and blue. This little frog was handsome and green And as he sat on a stump, surveying the scene, He saw a sulky old trout being teased by A swiftly darting dragonfly And various other flying things With the sun shining brightly in their wings. He saw a fork-tailed swallow flying fast, Skimming the water as it flew past And a butterfly settling softly down On a water lily's golden crown. He saw a beaver building a dam of logs But what interested him most were the other frogs. A noisy lot, they flopped about, Rippling the water and scaring the trout. Leaping from one lily-pad to another, Croaking and jumping and splashing each other. They seemed to be having a lot of fun As they played in the pond in the summer sun; Then he heard a frog quite close to him say, 'Let's see who can leap the farthest today.' And onto the beaver's dam of logs Scrambled a group of eager frogs. They jumped into the pond, one by one, Then an old frog said, 'Your turn son' No one noticed that the little frog had Jumped no distance at all, but he felt bad. So he climbed back up onto his stump And would not try another jump. Too proud to lose, he felt ashamed And wouldn't play anymore games. As the summer changed to early fall Our frog grew bigger, but he still felt small, So he sat alone and never joined in, He would not play if he could not win. 'The games are silly and stupid.' he'd say, When other frogs asked him to play. And so he got the reputation Of saying 'no' to every invitation, Until, one day while he was watching A competition of long distance jumping, A smelly monster came bounding up; A yapping, hairy, hound-dog pup. To a frog he was a horrible sight And he gave our frog a terrible fright. He leaped into the pond and, to his surprise, Found he could jump rather well for his size; And from that day on, I'm glad to say, He joined in all the games that pond frogs play, Not caring at all if he lost or won, Just so happy at last to be part of the fun. Some little frogs are not proud you see And they flop about quite merrily, Not caring at all if they come in last, Or whether they swim slow or fast. They are the ones who learn through play And, because they like it, they win one day." Said Elfree looking very wise. I glanced at him in some surprise. "I know that you too can be a proud little elf." "Yes, and I make things hard for myself." So we went looking for seeds around the pond And found some on a ferny frond. So that's how it's done! Love

The Midwestern Book Review
The Elfree Stories
Anne Muller
The Collins Press/Dufour Editions
Box 7, Chester Springs, PA 19425-0007
1903464056 $8.95 1-800-869-5677

Deftly written by Anne Muller, The Elfree Stories is a charming selection of enchanting, lighthearted short stories about an elf who introduces himself as Elfree of the Leaf. Simple black-and-white illustrations by Muller adorn the pages of this brief yet inviting and mystical collection of tales. Elfree himself tends to speak in singsong rhyme, making The Elfree Stories an excellent and enjoyable story to read aloud. Highly recommended for young readers as well as bedtime parental story telling.