abc tales
Category:
Fantasy
Type: Fiction
A Gifted Child Recovers From A Loss of Speech and Enters into various adventures into fantastic new worlds where no one has been before .
The Adventures Of Little Sham
A Novel by Paul McCann
Chapter One
Beyond The Trapdoor
It had only been 2 weeks since the storm came and destroyed clusters of homes on the West Coast . There were some people who could not evacuate in time so they had to remain in their home until the tornado passed . Mr and Mrs Greenacre and their 7 year old boy Sham were just one of those households that stayed to wait out the storm .
The wild winds wrecked everything in its path .
After the wild winds and the deluge passed the people returned to clean up the carnage and to see what was left of their homes .
Inside the Greenacres home Little Sham had not spoken a word since the storm passed . Days went by and still he never spoke . Weeks went by with everyone trying to pick up the pieces and start again to rebuild their homes .
Architects started to draw up plans , demolition crews removed whatever they could and builders arrived to begin the reconstruction work .
Counsellors offered help for anyone who required and medical teams were working overtime to treat anyone who had been injured .
Even after many specialists had assessed Sham they had no idea what to do about his case .They assumed it was shock related and suggested that his Mum and Dad take him on a holiday for a while to see if that would help .
So they followed their advice and began to browse through some travel brochures looking for that getaway place where Sham could recover . After a lot of searching finally they found a place they liked . It was in a little quiet seaside village called Chapters End . The advertisement said , Come away and spent some time at a place where time stops and life begins .
Without hesitation they booked a 4 weeks stay at Mrs McDermott’s guest house and as they packed their bags off they went on their getaway .
It was a long road that took them to places they had never been and finally they saw the signpost , Welcome to Chapters End . Outside the windows of their car, colours of the sunrise reflected a promise that there were better days ahead for little Sham and his Mum and Dad .
A strange fascination crept over them when once again they came to the same signpost they has passed before , Welcome to Chapters End . It almost seemed as if they had driven around in a circle . Mr Greenacre stopped a farmer walking on the side of the road ,and asked
“Excuse me sir, is this the road to Chapters End ?“
“Well that a good question you know , because for some people it might seem as if s the roads around this place go around in circles but no , so just keep on going the way you are and you’ll soon find yourselves the place that you want to go to “
“Mr and Mrs Greenacre both looked at each other and grinned before waving goodbye to the farmer.
‘
“Thank you for your help sir “
They said as he took off his cap and replied ,
“Sure I don’t know if I was any help at all , but enjoy your time with us here. “
As they made their way along the road again to a place where they had never been with no idea where or how they had even finally got there , they did eventually arrive at their destination in Chapters End . It felt as if they had been on a road where no one ever goes and yet there they were , in the place they were told where time stands still and life begins . As a matter of confirmation in fact as they drove past the Town Clock it had already stopped . There were just a couple of shops , a bakery , a newspaper shop and a convenience store called “ Everything Is Ok Here .
There was a sign in the window of that shop that said , We sell everything just ask
and if we haven’t got it we’ll get it .
On the seashore there where some upturned boats with Pelicans sitting on the top of them . like if they were guarding them from being stolen .
There was driftwood scattered around the shore among the rocky formations standing in defiance against the waves on the ocean .
The arrived at Mrs McDermotts guesthouse , where she was already standing at the door waiting for them . She welcomed her new guests with a friendly smile and warm hug before bringing them inside . She helped them carry their suitcases and bags inside. After they signed the visitors book she showed them their rooms that had been booked .
She noticed that little Sham was very quiet . She kindly said to him ,
“Welcome to the place where young ones like you have ideas and old ones like me and your Mum and Dad have dreams . Sure there’s a place for you and time for
you to go and explore all the wonders of this place , that is if you have time to spare.”
Sham never made any response . Mrs Greenacre said ,
“Mrs Mc Dermott , he’s just a little quiet at the moment. “
“ I hope you don’t mind me telling you how much I’ve been looking forward to meet you , I’ve been cooking special cakes and ordered some extra ice- cream as well .
So make yourself at home and if you need anything at all just let me know .”
Mrs Greenacre replied ,
“ That’s very kind of you Mr’s McDermott , I noticed a beautiful old Storytellers Cottage at the end of the town . Does he still live there and would he have the time for a visit. I used to love stories when I was a child ?”
"Sorry to say he hasn’t been around here for a long time. No one knows where he ever went to or what happened to him . He just disappeared without a word . Since his disappearance the people of the village have been looking after his cottage for him hoping that he might return again . Now if you would excuse me please .
I have to start cooking dinner .”
She said and left them to get settled in to their holiday home .
.
:Well she seems friendly enough , Lets go and unpack and have a look around .
’
Mr Greenacre said .
After dinner they all went back to their rooms .
It was so different looking out at the ocean through their bedroom windows .
Little Sham lay there deep in thought . The night fell and as he lay there , in the distance he heard someone calling out his name . The voice began softly singing and the melody was so enchanting that he fell into a trance .
He put on his soft shoes and quietly left his room .following the sound of the voice . He walked out the door and up the road to the Storytellers cottage where he opened up the front door and went inside . He turned on the light , he checked out the rooms and in one of the rooms he found a treasure chest sitting against the wall .
The voice continued to call him , singing away. The song was hypnotic and kept him in a trace . He opened the treasure chest but it was empty inside .
Then as he moved around he found there was a trapdoor underneath it .
He grasped the handle and pulled the trapdoor open . He saw a ladder there and began to climb down the ladder to the ground below . At the bottom of the ladder there was a door . Sham opened up the door and on the other side he discovered an entrance through a passage way to a place of wonder where a bell rang out and a voice called out to him ,
“Sham , come away now , won’t you come to the land where you’re meant to be , come where your dreams are waited , just for you ”
He felt his head spinning as he was propelled through the air, round and round in a vacuum of time . He was being sucked through a twisting tunnel . Suddenly he landed on a mat sitting down ion this strange roller coaster ride .
Around and round he went .
Down and down he sped faster and faster he spun, until he hit the bottom with a thud and a thump, without taking a bump or a scratch on the way ..
He lay there on the ground , in a wonderful world where he had never been , he was surrounded by new sights in a world of colour and sound that he had never seen before . Sham was amazed to see images of this weird an animated world all stretched out there right before his eyes . There was long road in front of him with trees on each side . He got up to his feet and started walking along the road .
Little birds flew over his head and then rested on his shoulder , singing their sweet songs softly into his ear . Sham helped himself to some of the free treats on the way down the road . There was long bars of liquorice that hung from trees with peppermint leaves and crunchy candy coated bark that was sweet as easy to swallow . Scattered around the ground there were sherbet rocks and honeycomb logs . The plants and grass where made from marshmallow threads .
He heard the sound of a flowing river and made his way there where he saw a strange man standing in a boat on a river . The man was calling out his name .
“Sham hurry up . I have been here waiting for you . Come on we have so many things to see and do .“.
Little Sham ran over towards the rushing and gushing sounds of the river that was flowing upstream in a backwards direction up to the top of a hill .
When he got to the man in the boat , the many said m
“ Before you say anything , take this .
The man handed Sham a soft cuddly toy and said ,
‘I believe this is yours. “
Some miraculously happened . Little Sham screamed out with delight saying in a high pitched shriek the fiord words since the day the storm came .
“Oh Toby Woby Twinkle Toes ,m you’ve come back .”
:
The man in the boat replied ,
“My name is Mr Bubumpkin and I am the ferry man here on the boat of new hope on the river of dreams . So Toby yes this is your friend Toby who was lost when the storm lifted off the roof from your house . I have been keeping him safe for you to collect .”
“How did you find Toby Woby Mr Bubumpkin and he replied ,.
“Don’t worry about that little Sham . Some things are secrets of the inner universe and we never talk much about how they happen ,lets just say he was found in a place that no one knows and where no one goes and that is the reason why you are here today. “
“ I missed Toby so much and everyday I hoped he would come back but he never did : Thank you Mr Bubumpkin for looking after him .
“Now before we get started try some of this “
He filled a cup of water from the river and handed it to little Sham . When he drank from the cup it was the coolest lemonade that he had ever tasted . After he drank it he was invited to step on to the ferry boat .
With a nod of his head Sham said , .
“Where are we going to ?”
“This is the river of dreams so it will take us to many places ., Lets just go and see that is if you have some spare time .”
The two of them went on their way up the river of Dreams until they came to a bridge by a purple patch of ground where magic mushrooms grew among bluebells and buttercups . Tall honeysuckle trees stood around a little cottage there .
Mr Bubumpkin paddled the boat over to a rest on the riverbank where he tied it with a rope to a post on near a bridge where they both got out of the boat and walked across a purple path to a cottage that was there . Mr Bubumpkin knocked three times on the door of the cottage .
An old man opened the door and he said .
.
‘Nice of you to call Mr Bubumpkin and this must be little Sham . I’ve been expecting you both , so I hope that you all have plenty of time to spare here with me because there is much for us to talk about .“
‘
“Yes we have all the time in the world storyteller here in this place where time doesn’t exist . So little Sham meet . Mr Pogue O’ Loan , otherwise known as the Storyteller . He lives here now and he looks after all of the plants and flowers .
He also likes to tell stories to most of the creatures who live around the Olden Hills . Everyone here just loves his stories : That the reason he decided to stay here with us . So if you trust us and believe in dreams then you are very welcome here. “
The storyteller breathed a loud sigh of contentment and said
“Come inside both of you . You’re very welcome here. “
They both went into the cottage and there sitting in the corner by the wall was a treasure chest . Mr Bubumpkin and Sham sat down on top of the chest and listened as the Storyteller started to tell a story .
“Now let me see , oh yes , I want to tell you about what happened just the other day
As you may or may not know , Carmella Crackpot , who has always been very jealous of my friends the Tweedle Birds and I must add she is also never happy whenever they sing their little sweet songs all around the Wee Ones forest .
As i9 was just saying it was just the other day when Carmella tried once again to make her unhappiness and gloom ruin the sound that the birds always tweedled and hummed , Now she threatened to suck out all the honey from the honeysuckle trees and take all of the butter from the buttercups on the banks of the river of Dreams . She even went as far as taking the tinkle away from the blue bells so that for me was the last straw . I instructed and inspired all of the Tweedle Birds to just keep on singing and keep on bringing harmony to all and to never to give up or surrender to any threats made by Carmella Crackpot . So they all did as I asked which made sad faced Carmella Crackpot even more angry . Then she had planned to steal all the magic from the magic mushrooms in her final attempt to make us all unhappy .
That’s when I decided to call for help from all of the creatures around the Olden Hills and all the creatures from the river of dreams and beyond the new horizons of the mermaid sea to tie her up in chains and send her away on the ghost train to the tunnels of no return where she can never ever bother us again .
As you may or may not know I have many friends who often come here to visit me some of those just happen to be connected to the fairy folk who have shared many of their stories with me . well they managed to spread the word to all of the dragonfly’s who brought messages to the speckled frogs and silver tongue beetles and field mice who roared and in the end every single one of began to sing and tell jokes with croaks in their throats and roars of mighty laughter which was captured and recorded to play over and over again in the tunnels of no return where that sound will never let up so the sounds of happiness will be the eternal company for Carmella to enjoy on her journey on the Ghost train from her wicked castle to the top of Smokey Mountain and down around the bends of thunderclaps to the four wind tunnels where a strange kind of wonder awaits with a sound of happiness to crush growing resentments and echo inside the ears of Carmella Crackpot that are going to pop with a promise she must make to never take the magic from the magic mushrooms , or the tinkle form the bluebells and if she refuses then with the wave of a magic wand in the hand of her own spell she will cast herself from the big storybook of life to make her disappear into the tunnels of time forever .
Since then here in fairyland and around the Olden Hills a new moon has shone down upon the purple patch and Carmella has never been seen again .
At last everybody here now has nothing to fear from her anymore . The wind whispers and the frogs of the lily logs don’t moan and groan anymore . Life is good in Puggles Wood and beyond the Big pond in the sky to the Mermaid sea . So you see its just the most perfect place to be .,Everyone is happy to sing and do as they please because Carmella Crackpot will never return here again.
Mr Bubumpkin got down from the treasure chest and said
“Thanks for the story Pogue , now as you know time is not our own so now we really do have to be on our way to meet Peggy from the amber sky who has made time to fly Sham over to see Puggles Wood and the Wee Ones.”
The storyteller replied ,
“ If the feathers on the wings of that horse could talk , wouldn’t there be some fine stories to tell “
As they left the cottage they retuned over to the boat and continued their way upstream to a green hill on a higher ground where a winged horse ran over to meet them . The horse said ,
.
“Hello there Sham. I’m Peggy, good to meet you . Now throw your arms around my neck and get on my back . It’s time for us to fly . Lets ride through the sky . Sit back and allow me to be your guide . You can say goodbye now to Mt Bubumpkin . You can trust me , your new friend here .
.
The big friendly horse lowered his neck down to the boat where Sham held on tightly
as Peggy raised his neck allowing him sit upright upon his back . Sham screamed out loud ,
“Thank you Mr Bubumpkin for getting back Toby Woby to me again and for helping me find my voice again . “
“Sham if you ever come this way again , you know I’m always here on the river of dreams . Stay happy :
The flying horse ran off and lifted its wings that took them soaring into the sky where they weaved in and out of the clouds , underneath a rainbow and over the Olden Hills to Puggles Wood where Peggy stretched out its long wings , gliding softly down to the ground . Peggy stood there on a blanket of flowers in a clearing on the edge of the woods and he said ,
“ Well Sham here is where you get off for now . I’ll be there after you meet the wee one’ s in the woods . Go now along the path to the place where they dwell beside the wishing well in middle of the Fairies Dell , Enjoy your time with the wee ones . “
Sham waved goodbye as Peggy flew away .
He made his way along the path in the woods and as he went he heard the sound of footsteps following behind him and so he ran . He heard the pitter patter of many little feet running after him so he picked up the pace and ran faster ; the little feet behind him were running like the clappers trying to keep up with him until very suddenly Sham came to a stop at the top of a hill but the little feet couldn’t stop as fast as Sham and the wee ones all ended up slipping and sliding down to the foot of the hill and tumbling over each other there where they fell .
Sham burst out laughing and then he made his way down to where the wee ones lay on the ground . They were tiny little men with funny little clothes and squeaky little voices as they screamed out .
‘AHH OOOH EEE AAYE PHEW””
“Oh no now look what you’ve done “
Said one of the Wee ones .
“Don’t blame me it wasn’t my fault “
Said Sham
“We own the woods and we have the right to chase anyone we want in or out :”.
Sain another of the wee creatures ,
“You mean to tell me you were chasing me out or was it in , well that’s a laugh “
“Ah but no you see the jokes on you “
They said and suddenly they all ran off
Not to be left standing like a gooseberry , Sammy gave chase . Over tree stumps he jumped and through bushes he raced after the wee ones who hurried and scurried through the bracken and bush until finally they came to a clearing in the woods where a wishing well stood in a dell and just there all by itself stood was stood a small cottage , with all of the wee ones looking out from inside the cottage window.
‘Sham walked over to the front door and discovered to his surprise that this was no ordinary cottage built with stone , he sniffed and he whiffed and he realised that the front door was made of chocolate , the windows frames where made of fudge , all the bricks where made of caramel and Sham couldn’t resist it any longer.
First he ate the door then once inside the cottage started to sniff for more . He ate the floor that was made of candy , he ate the furniture that was made from honeycomb and next he ate everything that was left of the cottage .
The wee ones had watched in silence as Sham slowly ate up and swallowed their entire cottage . Suddenly they all began to wildly jump up and down screaming
“Stop ! Stop! Stop ! “
But it was too late now as the last piece of the wee ones cottage disappeared with a gulp and a burp .
One of the wee one approached Sham and stamping his little feet on the ground he screamed out with his loud little squeaky voice ,
“ Well are you satisfied now. You home wrecking , hecking pecking , kracken backing , fast trekking kid from wherever you’re from . “
Said one of the wee ones looking up into Shams face .
Sham suddenly felt ashamed and said ,
“I’m really very sorry for eating you out of house and home but once I started, well you see I just couldn’t stop myself . Please let me help you rebuild another cottage “.
After giving it a lot of thought , they all looked at one another murmuring and
conferring and then the wee ones all shook their heads and agreed .
“ Well ok then . Follow us “
They led the way into another part of the woods where these chocolate trees grew in a row , with their wafer white leaves and toffee heart shaped flowers .
“These are the caramel. trees of Puggles Wood and you have our permission to cut them down “
They handed him a saw to begin chopping down tree after tree until there was enough to fill the little carts they brought from over the hill . Then they took the trees back to dell and lit a fire where they began to melt the caramel and chocolate , pouring the liquid into brick shaped moulds and one by one then made bricks to rebuilt the walls . The work continued until Sham and the wee ones completed all the work and the little cottage proudly stood with Tweddle birds singing again all around Puggles Wood . it was then Sham said farewell to the wee ones and continued his journey through the woods .
At the end of the path he came to a beach where the waves crashed down on the golden sandy shore .
Sham sat down there with the golden sunshine on his face and the sound of singing coming from the sea , There was music in the air that echoed everywhere as if it was being piped from a music making machine ,
The songs were being sung by women and even though he never heard the songs before he seems to know them .
He put his hands over his eyes he squinted through the glare of the sun to the sky above . Then he could hardly believe what happened m as ice cream cones began to fall from the sky in parachutes to the sand on the beach .
Sham caught some of the ice creams and swallowed them as fast as he could .
The waves that washed over the rocks bubbled and looked like creaming soda and in and out of the crevices on the rocks it fizzed and flowed . The sand on the shore tasted like sherbet and out of nowhere he saw the Mermaids surfacing on top of the water on the sea .
One of them swam to the shallows and allowed herself to be washed up on the shore . As she lay upon the sand , she waved her hand to Sham who went over and sat down beside her . The mermaid spoke softly in a melodic voice and her tail was at rest in the shallow water . She seemed happy as she said ,
“Welcome Sham we have heard about you and you are welcome here to the Mermaid sea and I hope what I will tell you is easy to understand . The time you spend in this is not the same as the time where you are from . For time in this world is non existent so whenever you return to where you are from not a second will have passed . From the river of dreams to the Mermaid sea and all the territories here and beyond you can spend as much time as you want . No one get any older “
“Where does the music come from ?”
Sham asked her .
“It comes from under the sea in Atlantis where creatures of the deep have been gifted to play their music and sing for the lost souls who seek passage to another place in another time .“
‘Why did they get lost ?
Sham asked
“They became angry with the world they lived in and acted with the same way feeling . They were known as humanities disgrace and in the end were not able to find the grace to transcend to their destination . We try to help them return from the caves of time where there is only darkness every day for them and they can’t find their way home
“ What is out there beyond the Mermaid sea”
He asked and she replied .
“You will find out some day .“
Then she flipped her tail and said farewell with a swish she swam away out to the sea ., leaping in and out of the water”
Sham watched the clouds sail over the sky until they slipped away out of sight .
He could still mermaids singing as a treasure chest was washed up on the shore .
He open the treasure chest and discovered he was instantly back in the Storytellers Cottage at Chapters End .
He made his way back to Mrs Mc Dermott’s guest house and quietly climbed the stairs to his room . He slipped Toby Woby Twinkle toes under the blanket and then climbed into bed and closed his eyes .
End Of Chapter One
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