HELPING EACH OTHER OUT IN TRIFLORA.

Triflora is a place where people keep an eye out for one another.

Many Triflorians whisper these words;

“Try a little tenderness”.

The Fuzzy Bears have decided to teach the Moaners how to dance. The Moaners are the saddest beings in all of Triflora and the Fuzzy Bears are some of the kindest.  On the first night of each new week, they all meet at the Dancing School. The Moaners don’t seem to enjoy the dancing at all but every week, they come along and dance the whole evening through.

Bessy lives in the Kidz Kottages . Her special tenderness is for the Birds. Bessy LOVES Birds. Her best friend is Jenny Wren and they do some wonderful things for birds.

Bessy can talk to all kinds of birds. She doesn’t scare the little  ones and she is not afraid of the big ones. Bessy is tender with all Birds.

It’s much harder to be tender to Ugly Dolls. Cats do not like the Ugly Dolls AT ALL ! The dolls freak them right out. If the Cats had a chance, they used to grab the Ugly Dolls and tear them into pieces. That doesn’t happen so much now.  Linda Lee is taking care of the Ugly Dolls. Linda Lee has trained the Cats to grab any Ugly Doll they find and then skedaddle as fast as they Can to her place – before the Doll can use any of its powers. You see, its not the look of the Dolls which is so Ugly. The ugliness is something inside of them. They are one of the most dangerous things in all of Triflora. Linda Lee treats them with tenderness but she makes sure they cannot escape from her Doll’s House and she doesn’t let in any visitors except for Cats. Linda Lee thinks that if the Ugly Dolls are treated with enough tenderness, they might stop trying to take over the souls and minds of Children.

Nana thinks that Trouble might be sending the Ugly Dolls into the middle of Triflora. Nana had Linda Lee’s Dolls’ House built right beside the Old Witches’ Home. Nana knows that a lot of tenderness, a little bit of catnapping, a very big fence with broken glass along the top and the mad magic of the Old Witches – just might do some good.

One of the happiest places to be in the Village is Poppy’s Place – as you know. Poppy and Saffron help out the dogs and the dogs help them out. Some days they all just sit outside and have afternoon tea.

Lots of talking goes on with the Girls and the Dogs. They understand one another PERFECTLY.

When I am walking through the Village, I stop sometimes to see what I can hear.  Almost always I hear laughter coming from Poppy’s Place and  a soft Woofing of contented dogs. 

OTHER GOOD BOOKS TO READ http://www.archive.org/stream/tanglewoodtales00hawt#page/n0/mode/2up http://www.archive.org/stream/hollowtreedeepwo00pain2#page/n0/mode/2up http://www.archive.org/stream/lilysscrapbook00barkiala#page/n0/mode/2up http://www.archive.org/stream/prizepaintingboo00whee#page/n0/mode/2up

TRIFLORA NEWS NO 4

 

DORIS  and ELVIN MUDCRAB ARE SPENDING 3 WEEKS ON THE BEACH ON TURTLE ISLAND. FIRST HOLIDAY THEY HAVE EVER HAD.	DON’T FORGET! If you have are having problems remembering something, call Floyd and Gilbert. Gilbert NEVER forgets anything.
	JUST ASK GILBERT.
	Imogen wants you all to know that she is now wearing 6 petticoats under her dresses.
THE UNBEARABLE FOREST HAS SOME EXTRA CRITTERS AT THE MOMENT.  YOUNG HOWARD FOUND A SHADOW HOUND BEHAVING VERY BADLY IN THE SHED. SNARLING AND SNAPPING IS NO WAY TO BEHAVE and THE HOUND WAS ZAPPED OFF TO THE FOREST STRAIGHT AWAY.
THE IMP  ROWING RACES WERE HELD LAST SUNNY DAY. WELL DONE, BLACK SINGLET.	Just a reminder. Cat and Fiddle Island is a friendly and relaxed place. You do NOT have to wear your very best clothes or  bow when you meet people.   Charelle and Marcus can do whatever they want but they cannot make the rest of us do the same as them.
The Imps’ Sailing Races.	Jerry and Kalita have moved into the Kids’ Kottages just past Poppy’s Place. They do have some furniture but they co0uld do with some more if you have some to spare.

MORE GOOD BOOKS TO READ http://www.archive.org/stream/huntingofsnarkag00carrrich#page/n0/mode/2up http://www.archive.org/stream/littleprincessbe00burn#page/n0/mode/2up http://www.archive.org/stream/cu31924022254167#page/n0/mode/2up

THE OLD WOMAN OF THE MOUNTAIN

One of Nana’s very best friends is the Old Woman of the Mountain. She lives on top of Stone Mountain. Nana flies up now and then for a visit and they let the Winds of Chill blow through them.

The Old Woman of Stone Mountain goes by the name of Nana Cold Rock or N.C.R. She fancies herself as a hard old woman and most people think she is but Nana and her are perfectly good friends.

They were girls together in the Long Ago.  N.C.R. doesn’t often come down from Stone Mountain. She likes it up there.

Stone Mountain was once a Volcano – so they say. They say that palm trees grew on it and waterfalls ran down the sides and noone who lived there needed clothes because it was such a warm and peaceful place.

That was way Long Ago. It’s a pretty tough mountain these days – ever since it blew its stack once too often and became EXTINCT.

N.C.R. is the only person who actually lives outside and on top of the Mountain.  She loves her cabin on the summit and she does have a Lake right at her front door and the Lake is filled with bubbling hot water from the fires deep inside Stone Mountain.

Almost everyone else lives inside where its snug and warm. As Abner says;

“If the roads are wet and muddy, we remain at home and study.”

Abner lives inside Stone Mountain. He has a very cosy setup. The hot steam goes right up the centre of the mountain and warms the rooms and caves on its way up. Abner has his rooms just underneath N.C.R.’s Cabin. He has hot water from a tap and pipe in the lake and is generally very comfortable. Abner has never been seen wearing real shoes.  He wears Slippers. You can do that when life is very comfortable indeed.

Deep in Stone Mountain, live the Goblins.

Goblins can be quite pleasant.

Goblins can be downright horrible.

N.C.R does have some trouble with the Goblins.

Mad Barnie is particularly troublesome. The only good thing about Mad Barnie and Thomas his Toad, is that they don’t pretend to be pleasant. One look into their eyes and you KNOW you have Nutters in your hands. The trick part is that there are other Goblins riding on toads and they all look pretty much the same.

I wouldn’t go into Stone Mountain by myself, if I were you. Its not the easiest Mountain in Triflora.

Nana Cold Rock did have a little girl who lived in her Cabin with her. Her name was Bonny. She swam in the hot Lake and ran up and down all the tunnels and caves in Stone Mo0untain. Not one Being ever tried to hurt her or even scare her. They all loved Bonny and she loved them.

She is living down near Poppy in the Village now but she comes home each week to visit Nana Cold Rock and all the beings of the Mountain. She almost always has  a swim in the Lake as well.

Bonny was the only Little Girl who lived in Stone Mountain. One day, N.C.R. who was quite a young Mumma at the time, took her down to the Dwarves’ Caves. Bonny was STUNNED.

The Dwarves had been hammering and banging and singing while they worked for days. Bonny didn’t know what they had been doing. When she went down with N.C.R. to their caves, she found out! The Dwarves had carved an alphabet for her out of beautiful, coloured rocks. All the way from A-Z. The letters were big enough for her to play in and climb through.

When she moved they followed her When she stopped, they stopped. When she pressed one with her finger, it spoke. If she pressed the A it said – a.

Bonny didn’t have any other children as friends but she DID have 26 letters of the Alphabet and some spare ones for when she needed them. She could make words. She could write songs. The Dwarves called in the Wizards for Magic to make the letters strong enough to take any kind of a pounding but light enough for Bonny to move around. ONLY BONNY. Noone else could move them at all. The Wizards sent Mad O’Brian over to see what he could do and it turned out he could do very well.

It’s a very good thing to have Dwarves as friends.

Bonny lives in the Village with Clarice. They met in Stone Mountain a long time ago now. Bonny was way down near the Goblins’ Caves with all of her letters following behind. A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y and Z. Next thing a blue cloak flashed past her and flowing blonde hair curled into the corridor.

Bonny hadn’t seen a colourful sight like that down near the Goblins before and she took off after it. All the letters zoomed along behind her.

It didn’t take long to catch up to the patch of Blue. Inside it was another little girl with blonde hair and blue eyes and a white night dress on.

“WHO ARE YOU ?”

And that’s how Clarice and Bonny met. Running through Stone Mountain with 26 Letters following close behind. They have the Library in the Village now but back then it was just two little girls. Clarice had woken up in the middle of the night and seen Mad Barnie and Thomas the Toad at her window. Instead of going back to sleep or telling someone about them – she had followed them. Goblins have that effect on young girls at times. Clarice wrapped her Blue Cloak around her and with no shoes on at all, she rushed after the Goblin and the Toad.

She didn’t stop to think.

She didn’t even think while she was chasing.

“Not thinking” is a good way to get into a mess and before long she was in a BIG mess. Goblins are terrible teasers and Mad Barnie kept just in front of Clarice until she was inside Stone Mountain and deep down in the Goblin Caves. She has never told anyone about what happened down there and she says that she never will tell anyone. 

 

OTHER GOOD BOOKS TO READ http://www.archive.org/stream/seashorebookbobb00smit#page/n0/mode/2up http://www.archive.org/stream/jinglebook00well#page/n0/mode/2up http://www.archive.org/stream/childsgardenofve00stev6#page/n5/mode/2up http://www.archive.org/stream/flowerbook00coybiala#page/n0/mode/2up http://openlibrary.org/works/OL15343084W/The_bird_book http://www.archive.org/stream/completenonsense00lear#page/n0/mode/2up

SHIMMERING AWAY

When the Shimmering Animals were all sitting in front of the Mirror where they could see Lady Sharlena Shalut, they were most surprised to see another Lady there instead.

This was the Lady they had been talking about.

Where is Sharlena Shalut ?

The new Lady shimmered a little.  She faded in for a moment and out for a moment. She changed colour and sparkled. The Animals were still rather worried but after a little while, she settled down and ….. my goodness  – she was WONDERFUL !

The Animals had a lot of questions! The questions tumbled out all over the place until the Lady stepped right out of the Mirror and sat down with the Animals. She talked with them for a  very long time and told them many things.

Sharlena Shalut was now so old that she wanted to stay in the Shimmering and just rest. And think. So she had called the Pastel Lady in to see how good she was at Shimmering. Sharlena was worried about the Shimmerers and she just forgot about the Pastel People.

Sharlena did not once think that maybe the Pastel Lady might get a bit of a fright or that the Pastel People would want their Lady back.

Sharlena did not once think about all the sadness she was causing. She did not think about Poppy and most of Triflora working hard to find the Lost lady.

People get like Sharlena Shalut sometimes, when they have been Boss for many long years.

Sharlena didn’t mean any harm and she certainly was surprised when the Pastel Lady had so much trouble Shimmering that she almost exploded once or twice.  It took weeks and weeks to teach the Pastel Lady how to handle her Shimmering but she says she is pretty good at it now.  Sharlena can take time out. The Shimmering has a new Lady and the only ones still sad are the Pastel People. They LOVE their Lady.

I do believe I forgot to tell you the name of the Lady. Her name is Petrina Shalut. That’s right ! Shalut!

She is Sharlena’s daughter. Shimmerer babies are very tricky indeed. They are hardly there at all when they are born and noone knows when they will just shimmer off and never be seen again. 

Most Shimmerer babies live with their father far away from the Shimmering and the mothers don’t visit very often because that’s when the Babies can just take off to anyplace in Triflora.

It can take years for a Shimmerer mother to find her child again.  Sharlena left Petrina with her Dadda who was a very good man of the Tinykins People. Petrina had dolls and toys and a very comfortable bed. She loved her Dadda and sometimes they went fishing. 

Then one day, Sharlena was missing her family so much that she came for a visit. Just a little visit. But the Shimmering got a hold on Petrina and in a flash she was gone and neither Sharlena nor Dadda Troy had been able to find her again.

Petrina had, in fact, shimmered her way into the Land of the Pastel People. That was a very good place for her to land. The Pastel People are gentle and kind and they LOVED the new baby from the very beginning. She was a little more colourful than they were used to. She sang a little louder and danced a lot more than they did. The Pastel People thought she would stay forever.

She DID stay till she was grown up but she was born a Shimmerer and a day came when she shimmered right into Sharlena’s mirror.

Its funny how Mummas and Children know each other at first sight. Sometimes. Sharlena needed to rest and the Shimmering needed a new Lady and even though she loved her Pastel People, Petrina knew that she had to leave them and take over her mother’s work. She did think she would be able to go back and talk to them long before this but noone expected her to be so bad at Shimmering. She could not go near the Pastel People while she was sparking and flashing and glowing like fireworks.

Now it is time for her to talk to the Pastellians.

OTHER GOOD BOOKS TO READ.

http://www.archive.org/stream/picturegalleryfo00londiala#page/n5/mode/2up

THE SHIMMERING ANIMALS

Saffron took herself off to find Poppy and tell her about the SHIMMERING ANIMALS and the Voice. Saffron was pretty sure that the Voice belonged to the Pastel Lady and everyone had been looking for her since the Party.

Oto and Margray left Orang-Outan’s treehouse and went off into the Shimmering  to look for Pastel Lady.

 

Living in the Shimmering can be very confusing but most of the Shimmering Animals have been doing it for a long time and are very good at it.

They shimmer and shine and sparkle and twinkle.

They come and go when they choose.

The Shimmering Animals can be any size they choose

They lead very special lives but it is not easy to get them all together in one place at one time.  Nevertheless, Oto called them all to meet at Orang’s place with any news they had and any good ideas they might be able to think off.

The Eagle brought the Tortoise. Even in Shimmertime, noone could make the Tortoise move quickly so the Eagle just picked her up and flew her to the Village. The Shimmer Lion liked to spend most of his time sleeping and it took quite a few of his Friends to wake him up and get him moving.

Shimmertime was first discovered by Lady Sharlena Shalut. She began fading in and out whenever she looked into her mirror.

At first, Sharlena did not enjoy the experience of Shimmering but as time passed she grew to love it.

She became extremely good at Shimmering when and how she wanted.

There is noone, absolutely noone and nothing, who understands the Shimmering as well as Lady Sharlena Shalut. She is pretty much shimmered out these days and doesn’t see people very often – but the Shimmering Animals  are going to ask for her advice and her help because this is a very important Shimmering and all the Pastel People  are still sad.

OUT AND ABOUT IN THE VILLAGE PART 2

SAFFRON likes walking about the Village. She dresses up smartly and takes herself out for the day.

She looks at this and she looks at that. She feels the Sun warm her up and the Wind blow gently on her cheeks. Just this week, she started out on her walk. The leaves had fallen from the trees because it was Autumn. She wore her new coat that Aunt Lindsey had given her and the pink hat Mumma Kate gave her when she was a tiny baby.

Saffron felt something push her in the back. She thought it was the Wind. It knocked her good pink hat right off her red hair.  It blew her McLean Scarf all round her neck.

“I can feel you pushing me!”  said Saffron.  Now, we all know that Saffron can talk to anything or anyone and they understand her and she understands them BUT the voice that answered her was NOT the Voice of the Wind. 

Saffron had heard that voice before. It called her when she was in her bed at night. It whispered to her when she was with her friends. The Voice was beautiful and soft and very soft. But it was SAD.

Saffron could hear it but she could not figure out what it was saying to her. She DID want to help the Voice but she didn’t know what to do. Even Brightee ( her baby doll) didn’t know what to do.

Saffron took the path through the Village to last tree in town. She needed someone to talk to and the best one she could think of was Orang-Outan.  Orang-Outan totally refused to go back to live in the Jungle. She liked the Village. She liked tea and drank coffee in secret. She had built a treehouse in her tree and made curtains for the window. Saffron loved Orang-Outan and often dropped in for a glass of Milk.

She told Orang-Outan about the thing pushing her and about the Voice.

She told Ourang-Outan that the Voice was a beautiful Voice and very soft and very sad.

“ Let me speak to Margay.”  said Orang. Saffron had not met Margray before. It turned out that Margray was invisible most of the time. He could appear and disappear whenever he chose.

Margray and Orang-Outan whispered together for a little while.

Saffron is a very interested person. She finds most things INTERESTING.

She was EXTREMELY interested when another animal appeared.

“ Good Morning, Oto. We need your help. “

Saffron was very interested when Orang-Outan, Margray and Otocyon all whispered together. After a little while, the three of them sat down with Saffron and began to tell her what they knew about the Voice.

Let me tell you what they knew. Orang, Margray and Oto are all  Shimmer Animals. That means they come and they go. They appear and then they disappear. Sometimes when they disappear, they meet other Beings who can come and go and appear and disappear. Mostly, they all know one another quite well. When they pass in the Shimmering , they say Hello and wave. Sometimes, they become good friends.

Lately they had been seeing someone they had never seen in the Shimmering before. It was a very beautiful Lady. She had a sad face and sad eyes and she was always alone. Most of the time, she was Pale – VERY Pale. But she didn’t stay that way. Suddenly she would turn black and white. Sometimes she would become so colourful that the Shimmer almost burst into flames. She seemed to disappear when she didn’t mean to and appear when she didn’t mean to. They had tried to help her but they didn’t know how because they never knew where she would be or how bright she would be.

Now Saffron really has something interesting to think about. Best she go and find Poppy. She’s the Detective and this sounds like the Pastel Lady. But something is very wrong.

OTHER GOOD BOOKS TO READ.

http://www.archive.org/stream/royalpicturealph00leigiala#page/n11/mode/2up

http://www.archive.org/stream/edmunddulacspict00dulauoft#page/n7/mode/2up

ROUND AND ABOUT IN THE VILLAGE

The Village has never had another name. We just call it the Village. It looks quite ordinary.

BUT IT IS NOT ORDINARY.

Nothing in Triflora is ordinary.

On one side of the Village is a park and the park is surrounded by houses. It is called the Oldtime Park. Everything and everyone in Oldtime Park likes to be old fashioned. They like old time clothes and old time cottages and they talk in a very old fashioned way. Some people say that they should “ get with the times”  but the right time for Oldtime Park – IS the Old Times. It’s a very interesting place to be.

Sometimes the Mummas need to go to Mumma School to learn to be the Old Style of Mummas they want to be. Mumma Myrtle had been wrestling Crocodiles for years before she decided to try out mothering.

She took herself off to the TRIFLORA SCHOOL FOR MUMMAS AND AUNTIES and stayed rather a long time.

Mumma Myrtle really just wanted a good reason to play. I must say that she did become rather good at dressing dolls and having fun.

Gee. This is tougher than wrestling crocs!

Mumma Myrtle became SO old fashioned that she wanted the Chidlren to go to bed at 7 o’clock EVERY night. She even wanted the Cat to go to bed at 7 o’clock EVERY night.

We all know that Cats go to bed when THEY want to – not when Mumma Myrtle wants them to.

In fact, the children did not want to go to bed at 7 o’clock EVERY night either.

Mumma Myrtle became very strict about the food that the Children ate.

The Children did not want to hurt Mumma Myrtle’s feelings but this Oldtime stuff was getting a bit too much for them.

One night at 8 o’clock, when they were supposed to be asleep in their beds, they were talking things over with one another, when above their heads they heard a tap taP tAP TAP.

Down came a set of stairs, right through the ceiling and Granny Eloise poked her head through and said :

 

Come up here, O dusty feet!

Here is fairy bread to eat.

Here in my retiring room.

Children you may dine.

On the golden smell of broom,

and the shade of pine.

And when you have eaten well

Fairy stories Hear and Tell.

 

Ever since then, the Children go to bed quite happily. Mumma Myrtle thinks that its because she has become SUCH a good oldtime mother – but we know that every night, after they have kissed their Mumma Good Night and she has turned off the lights, down come Granny Eloise’s steps and up go the Children for their Fairy Bread and Fairy Tales. Now, everyone is happy.

 

 

TEA DRINKING IN TRIFLORA

You may have noticed by now that there is a lot of tea drinking going on in Triflora.

You may have also noticed that Nana is rather bossy. Bossy isn’t quite the right word. She just looks at people and raises one eyebrow.

When she does that, Cats quietly leave.

When she does that, people drinking coffee decide that coffee is not really very delicious after all. They find themselves asking for a cup of tea instead.

Nana says that it was Coffee that did this to her old friend, Doris Quibbly. Doris doesn’t live like ordinary people anymore. She is WIRED. Wired all the time and it’s been 96 years and 2 months since she drank any coffee at all. Doris lives in the Witches’ Home.

 

Tea, on the other hand, does not make people WIRED at all. Andrew Haymaker drinks one cup of tea every day. He works very hard in Triflora. He collects HAY. Hay feeds the horses and the donkeys and the mules and the unicorns. Hay is kind of like dried grass.  Mervyn the Piper collected Hay when he was a very young man and he had a big blue hay cart but noone has seen him for many years.

Andrew Haymaker has made and collected all sorts of Hay every day of his life and every day of his life, he drinks that one cup of tea.  He has a very ordinary haycart and a good old horse who has one cup of tea a day with Andrew.  This is what Andrew Haymaker and Baxter, the horse, say each day when they are drinking their cup of tea;

“One cup a day and one load of hay!”

They say and do the same things EVERY DAY OF THEIR LIVES. They like routine.

____________________________________________

Phil and Patrick are the Honey Gatherers for Triflora.

Well. They are not the ONLY Honey Gatherers. They are not the biggest Honey Gatherers.

They are the ones who gather Honey for Wizzy.

He does not like sugar. He only likes honey in his tea.

There is plenty of honey in the Bearable Forest. Its easy to gather that honey and most people think it is beautiful honey.

But Wizzy ONLY likes the Honey near Mumma Kate’s place right in the middle of the Unbearable Forest.

Phil and Patrick would do anything for Wizzy – even go past Irene and Jarvis to get the Honey.

Come on, Irene. Leave them alone. You know you cannot stop them. They have the magic of young Wizards.

Best have a cup of tea now and head off to bed.

I think Young Froggy’s Mum will be drinking plenty of tea after the shock she had today when Young Froggy said he was going away to find a girlfriend.

She KNOWS what can happen to Frogs when they kiss real Girls.

Mumma Frog didn’t even know that he liked Girls. Its been quite a surprising day for her. Fill that teapot up, Mumma Frog. You just might need it !

GIVE A BEAR A BAD NAME

“ Oh no! What have we done? The poor men!”

Berenice and Boy Brunosky went out in the Woods today. They were in the BEARABLE FOREST. Nowhere near the UNBEARABLE FOREST.

They were just out walking.

Berenice and Boy Brunosky were singing  as they walked along.

Perhaps they are not the sweetest singers of the Bear World but they ARE very sweet Bears.

Anyhows, along they went. Singing  and laughing. They know some good jokes, those two.

 

Here is one of their favourite jokes :

A little girl with a red riding hood walked up to a house in the Woods and knocked on the door.

3 bears answered the door.

“Does my Grandma live here ? “ she said.

“Yes. “ said the Bears, “ It’s a 2 storey house !!! “

The problem was that the singing and laughing didn’t sound as good to the Forest Men as it did to the Bears.  Ferris and Colin were out wandering around pretending to have real guns when they heard the Two Bears coming.

The ground shook with the laughter of the Bears.

The Trees blocked their branches trying not to hear the Singing which was not a pretty thing to hear – at all.

The little animals scampered off to other places for a while and the birds and flying beings took off for Poppy’s Place for a Cup of Pick me Up Tea.

Ferris and Colin were taken by surprise. They had NEVER heard such a noise before.  Ferris fell face down on the ground and wished his gun was loaded with bullets instead of Sprinkle Water for the Forest.

Colin skedaddled up  a tree and hoped that he was invisible.

Brunosky and his Mum took one good look at Ferris and freaked out. They are the kindest of creatures. They would never harm a single thing. But they had been through this before.

“Whoops!  Whoops! We’ve done it again!”

One thing that Boy Brunosky and Berenice knew was to keep their paws off  the Forest Men. People don’t listen properly to large shaggy Bears trying to apologise. This was a matter for Nana Dolores. Nana Dolores is probably the Daggiest Being in the whole of Triflora. She certainly drinks more Honey Mead than anyone else.

In the middle of the Unbearable Forest lives one of the Brightest Beings in Triflora. That’s Mumma Kate. She looks after the Troubled Bears and other Creatures with Problems.

And right there in the middle of the beautiful Bearable Forest – is Nana Dolores. She’s never been seen to wear shoes.  She wears the same clothes every day and every night. She cusses and smokes a pipe of Grumble Weed. But she does take care of the Untroubled Bears and other Creatures. Dolores was enjoying the singing and the laughing. After a Jar of Honey Mead, she enjoyed most things. She sat out front of her place at the bottom of her Tree and settled down to have a good afternoon.

Then she saw Ferris and Colin heading deeper into the Woods.

“ Now, that is going to be funny!”

said Dolores to herself, and chuckled. She picked up a very big jar of Honey Mead and walked into the Forest after the Bears and the Forest Men.

Nothing like Honey Mead to calm things down.

(It hardly seems fair that Irene who is such a lunatic, has a lovely voice but life is like that sometimes.)

_________________________

OTHER GOOD BOOKS TO READ

http://www.archive.org/stream/songofsixpencepi00cran#page/n9/mode/2up

http://www.archive.org/stream/naturalhistorypi00wood#page/n9/mode/2up

TOO MUCH RAIN

Pechera is feeling rather sad. She knows its just the rain but she still feels rather sad.

She is not in the mood for this much rain.

Her hair feels like seaweed.

Her feet feel like flippers.

Her skin feels like scales.

Pechera gets very nervous when there is a lot of rain.

Pechera is a Seashellian.

Most Seashellians are very happy to be Seashellians.

Most Seashellians are very happy to be able to live on the land AND in the water.

The Seashellian life is extremely beautiful. They are the sweetest, kindest of beings.

Seashellians live in beautiful places.

The Seashellian Life is a wonderful life.

But Pechera does not think so.

She NEVER wants to go into the water.

She HATES being wet.

When the rain comes, she gets more and more miserable.  Noone seems to be able to convince her that everything is OK.  Her brother brushes her hair and ties it up for her. She has clothes made of sea silk and she only has to go into the water now and then. People think that things are really not that bad for Pechera – but she thinks they are.

PECHERA’S SECRET.

When the rains come, Pechera plunges down the well to Nerissa. Pechera is indeed a Seashellian but she is also a MOON MAIDEN.

People think that she finds it hard being a Seashellian but the thing Pechera finds really hard is being a MOON MAIDEN.

She is a very beautiful girl.

She looks like someone who would enjoy adventure and being famous – but Pechera does NOT enjoy adventure and does not want to be at all famous.

She likes sleeping in the same warm bed every night. She likes eating the same thing for breakfast every morning. She likes going to Poppy’s Place every day and chatting.

Pechera actually likes HOUSEWORK. She has a favourite broom and a favourite duster. She likes to sit in the same chair every afternoon and she even likes knitting.

Pechera seems to have been meant to live a very ordinary life in Triflora.

Instead of that, she has to dive deep under the water to talk to Nerissa and then she has to whoosh all the way up to the Moon. That is NOT her idea of FUN.

When it rains and Pechera is called into the Water and up to the Moon, Magic takes hold of her completely.

Some Beings can almost see and hear and feel her when she is in the form of a Moon Maiden. Fishermen stop now and then to listen and look – but they don’t quite see her.

Pechera is sent on VERY important missions when the rains come.

This time, she is looking for the Lady of the Pastel People. She knows that it is a good thing to be doing – but she truly does wish that someone else could be a Seashellian Moon Maiden instead of her.

PECHERA AS A BABY.

Pechera’s mother disappeared on the very night that Pechera was born. It was a rainy night and her Mum was a Moon Maiden. She left the little Pechera in the arms of Lunestra and whooshed clear up to the Moon and hasn’t been seen since.

Lunestra is one of Nana’s Friends and has been old for a very long time. She did her best to prepare the Baby for the life ahead of her. She told her everything she needed to know about being a Seashellian and about being a Moon Maiden. She named her Looner Pechera, which means Fishgirl of the Moon.

Lunestra taught her all the Magic she knew. She also taught her housework and cooking and all the ORDINARY things of life. Nana Lunestra never once thought that Pechera would like the ordinary things better than the magic things – but she DOES!

There was a time when she was a teenager, when Pechera refused to leave the house at all. In the end, the Wizards lost the Plot and got really MAD. I think you can imagine what its like when the Wizards lose the plot and get REALLY mad.

Get yourself down into the water, Young Fish Maiden! This very instant. You have work to do!

The Nanas and the Wizards sat down with a cup of Hopeful Thinking Tea and shook all their heads at once. They had never had this happen before.

I do believe the Girl has a syndrome!  said Grandpa Wizard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OTHER GOOD BOOKS TO READ

http://www.archive.org/stream/princessmarysgif00torouoft#page/100/mode/2up

http://www.archive.org/stream/cu31924028623050#page/n13/mode/2up

SITTING AROUND THINKING ON A SATURDAY NIGHT

AS you know, some of the Triflora Children come and go but other Children live all their lives in Triflora. The SignWriters are one of those families. They NEVER speak – except to one another. They write signs! They begin writing signs when they are very, very young and that is the ONLY way they communicate with the World.

Some people ignore their signs and that can be quite hurtful.  Then again, some people cannot read and then we do have a real problem.

The Sign Writers have heard about the Children from Arizona. They had a good talk to one another and decided that perhaps the Sand Cutters might not speak any language that Triflorians understood. The Sign Writers are making themselves very worried indeed. They are going to  make as many signs as they can in as many languages as they can so that Brynn and Calen won’t feel lost. They are also going to make some signs with pictures on. Just in case. 

The Sign Writers don’t know very much about Arizona.

SITTING AROUND AND CHATTING.

Sometimes, when I am tired, I sit at my front window and I watch the Passing Parade.

Sometimes, when I am tired, I sit at my front window and think about the Good Things.

I think about my Friends. I think about sitting around and chatting. Chatting is a very good thing.  I don’t even have a key to my Tower.  I don’t need one. We all keep an eye out for one another.

Tonight, I am thinking of Little Bell.

Little Bell came to Triflora a long time ago. She is one of those children who makes people laugh right aloud.

Everyone loves Little Bell. She had so many friends in the Village that even I couldn’t count them.

Then one day she decided to go far away across the Unfound Sea. Bell did not like the Cold Weather so she went to the Beaches where she can wear flowers in her hair and swim every day. We miss her very much – but we think she is very happy.

http://www.archive.org/stream/illustratedpoems00john#page/54/mode/2up

I am not the oldest woman I know – but I am pretty old. My friend, Marabella is older than me. She knits. I don’t knit. Marabella has always knitted. I don’t like Knitters much more than I like cats, but Knitters are fairly relaxing to be around.

Until I look at them. Then I get jumpy. I always think Knitters  know something that I don’t.  I always wonder what they are doing. I mean, I know they’re knitting – but WHAT are they knitting?

I tried Knitting when I was young but I didn’t take to it. Little Marian told me to go away and let them unravel the mess I had made.

So, on Saturday Nights, Marabella sits around Knitting and making cups of tea for other Knitters who come to visit. But I go to my window and look out and THINK.

Some people polish their teeth on Saturday Nights. Triflora is a place where people really like to have their teeth shine.

I don’t polish my teeth on Saturday Nights because I don’t have any teeth at all. Not many of my Friends have teeth either. Perhaps we should have polished them more when we were little.

That got me thinking about some of odd teeth, I have seen. I, myself, think that Marabella still has one tooth left – but she keeps it hidden.

On Saturday Night, when I am sitting there thinking, it gets late more quickly than I expect. As soon as the moonlight touches my window, I look out. I love to watch the Little Ones going down to the water to take the boat to the Land of Nod.

Not all Children go to the Land of Nod to sleep, but many of them do. Its not far and it is on an island filled with lullaby music and gentle people. It is the safest place in all of Triflora.
The water babies sleep in the waters around it.

You have to be VERY old or VERY young to go to the Island of Nod.

 

Best, I take myself to bed. Good Night, Triflora.

OTHER GOOD BOOKS TO READ.

http://www.archive.org/stream/grandillustrated00frosuoft#page/30/mode/2up

THE SAND CUTTERS

Grannie waited for her molecules to rearrange. She was shimmering and shaking and her eyes were tightly closed.

This is rather odd! she said to herself. I feel very peculiar.

Gran opened one eye just a little and closed it very quickly. That did not look like Phoenix, Arizona out there.

She opened the corner of the other eye.

Whoops ! We really MUST  use that Doorway more often because I don’t seem to have any clothes on except for my hat and I am definitely NOT in Phoenix.  That’s the Grand Canyon.

Round about the same time, the Sand Cutters were getting ready to go to the Airport. They were very excited that Grannie Moo was coming to visit.

One thing, their Grannie did NOT want to do was to worry them. She did not want them to think it was their fault that she wasn’t there.

Children sometimes think that its their fault when things go wrong with Adults – but it simply never is ! 

Sometimes, things have simply gone wrong and its noone’s fault at all.

And sometimes – although I don’t like to say so – sometimes, Adults get things WRONG.

GRANNIE NEEDED A GOOD IDEA and SHE NEEDED THE GOOD IDEA – FAST!

The one thing she had left ( other than her hat and her shoes) was the Ceramic Container that Cassandra had given to her.

Children all over Triflora called Cassandra, BASSI PLU. She could see what was going to happen in the future AND  SHE HAD SPECIAL POWERS: the ability to see the future & communicate with non-human beings.
BEST QUALITY: Extra special hugs.

( The Hugs could be felt even when Bassi Plu was nowhere to be seen.)

Brynn and Calen were being hugged right then and there and they didn’t even know it. They just felt safe and happy.

Bassi Plu knew all along that the Doorway was not working properly. It had been closed for far too long.  She didn’t quite know what was going to happen when Grannie went through but she did know that it could be rather strange. That’s why she made the Container and filled it with special Bassi Plu magic.

Grannie looked down at the Ceramic Container.

She looked down at the Grand Canyon.

She looked at her skin where her clothes should have been and decided to try ANYTHING! She ever so gently lifted the lid on the Ceramic Container with the Phoenix on top.

SUDDENLY, THINGS REALLY STARTED TO HAPPEN.

The Ceramic Container shimmered into all manner of Magic and completely disappeared.

The ship that the Wizards built for the Unfound Sea whizzed up through the Doorway, picked Grannie up with magnetic force and whooshed her out of the Grand Canyon and into the Park near Brynn and Calen’s Dad’s place in less time than it takes to say TRIFLORA.

The Magnets let go of her and she bounced into the Garden Bed just in time to see the Ozzie Sand Cutters heading out to the Phoenix Airport.

Bassi Plu’s Magic had woven a purple silk dress all round Grannie and filled her arms with all the Presents from the Bush that had bounced off the back of the Automobile.

And there she was, sitting in amongst the flowers in a purple silk dress and just brimming with Magic. It was quite a surprise for the Family when they turned around and saw her.

Well, I guess I will have some explaining to do!  she thought, as she smiled and waved at everyone.

Grannie Moo was smiling.
Grannie Moo was waving.

The Family wasn’t smiling.

The Family wasn’t waving.

The Family was simply staring with  mouths wide open and  eyes astonished.

You see, Bassi Plu had packed so much magic that all sorts of things had come along in the Ceramic Container. Bassi Plu had packed everything she thought Grannie and the Sand Cutters would need. And, strangely enough, the Family could SEE the Visitors from Triflora and the Family could see the Magic at Work.

This is NOT what they usually saw in the Garden near their Place and they had NEVER seen their Grandmother in the middle of it all. The Spiders had come to weave a new Doorway. Noone wanted Brynn or Calen to try to get to the Grand Canyon by themselves so it was time for a new Doorway into Triflora. The beautiful Damelza had come to live close to Brynn and take messages from Phoenix to Triflora.  

Gold dust and Star dust were being sprinkled all around  and Toothy Ted had chosen himself to be Calen’s new best friend. Calen wasn’t sure about Toothy Ted – but there he was. He had a VERY Australian accent and called Calen, “MATE”. Calen didn’t really know what to do with Toothy Ted. He did know that he did not want to clean his own teeth 23 times a day!

Wilbur had come along to take care of Dadda and the Blue Lady would make sure that Mumma was protected in everything she did.

Wilbur looked like a normal Dog in the World up top – but he wasn’t at all normal. He was rather weird even in Triflora and he was certainly strange in Arizona but he would take the very best care of Dadda. The VERY BEST.

Grannie and the Kids would be able to look around Phoenix while the New Doorway was being finished and at bedtime Grannie could tell them all about Triflora.

Then, very soon, they would stand outside the new Doorway, in the garden right near their place, and all three would hold hands and whisper TRIFLORA. The Bush Folk were just waiting for that day!

THE DOORWAY IN ARIZONA

People who live in or come from Arizona are referred to as Arizonans. According to A Book of Nicknames, by John Goff, published in 1892, Arizonans were sometimes referred to as “Sand Cutters” by people from outside the state, but it is not clear how this nickname for the people of Arizona came to be.

While Gert and the other Triflorians were getting their act together, Grannie Moo was preparing for her Adventure. She is going all the way to Phoenix. Before they found the Doorway in the Bush, Grannie thought she would have to fly all the way across the World up There. It would have taken her days and days. Not that she would have minded. Grannie would do ANYTHING for the Children. Anything AT ALL.

But: Boy, was she pleased when Poppy and Saffron told her about the Doorway into Arizona?

Before they found the Doorway, Grannie Moo thought that she and Brynn and Caden would have to search for DAYS to find the way into Triflora.

Now, she will just have to show them the Doorway and with a bit of whirling and swirling of their molecules, all three of them will be able to come and go whenever they want.

Grannie thinks that Brynn and Caden will be rather surprised when she is not at the Airport in Phoenix, Arizona. She doesn’t know, just yet, WHERE exactly the Doorway into Phoenix, Arizona, will open but she is very sure that there will be a surprise or two when she doesn’t get off that plane.

Grannie Moo had just about finished her packing when Cassandra arrived with a ceramic container she had made herself. On top of the container, was a Phoenix.  Grannie couldn’t quite see why she needed to carry a ceramic container to Arizona but Cassandra said that she MUST take it.

Grannie trusts Cassandra so she is taking the Container even if she has to leave everything else behind.

Triflora is so excited about the Sand Cutter Children and Grannie Moo that Ernie and Boris have come by in their automobile to take Grannie to the Bush. There are not many automobiles in Triflora and there are not many roads.

The automobile bounced and banged so much that Grannie’s suitcase fell right off the back and all she was left with was the Phoenix Container and the clothes she was wearing.

She was pretty shaken about by the time the automobile reached the Doorway into Arizona and she was most surprised to see so many People and Creatures and Beings standing by the Road and all around the Doorway.  Just to wave her off and wish her Good Luck.

Come back, soon, Grannie Moo! Bring the Children as fast as you can, Grannie! Have a good time in Arizona!

Grannie climbed down from the back seat – rather shaken up. Remember that it takes 3 people to whisper Triflora and open the Doorways. Poppy and Saffron came up to her and took her to the Exit. All 3 whispered TRIFLORA at exactly the same time and the 3 Guardians opened the Way. Molecules whirled and Molecules swirled and Grannie popped right on through into Arizona.

 

___________________________________

OTHER GOOD BOOKS TO READ

ARIZONA AS IT IS

PHOENIX

GRANNIE MOO IN THE BUSH

Nana’s friends live all over Triflora. One of her very good friends lives right in the middle of the Bush. Her name is Grannie Moo. Sometimes, Grannie Moo and Nana used to sit down and have a bit of a cry because their grandchildren lived so very far away from them. That was before the 3 girls found the doorway into Triflora. Now they can visit each other anytime they want to.

Nana knew that Grannie Moo was VERY sad because she could NOT visit Brynn and Caden just anytime  she wanted to.

Grannie tried to stay CHEERFUL. She was kind and loving to all the Bush Folk. She didn’t let them see that she was SAD. But Nana and her Friends KNEW. They got together one moonlit night and talked it over. Then they came up with a very good idea.

Grannie Moo could go all the way to Phoenix, up there in the World on Top. Then Grannie and Brynn and  Caden could search for the Arizona Doorway into Triflora.

In the Meantime, Nana would send Triflorians searching  for the Inner Doorway to Arizona. I wonder why there are no Guardians taking care of that Doorway. They MUST know that Grannie and the Kids would want to get together.

People started searching everywhere in Triflora. But they had NO luck at all.

Poppy took Saffron by the hand and talked to her for 13 minutes.

Poppy talked to Saffron about GERT GUMNUT. Don’t forget that Poppy is a Detective. She knows how to find things out and she knows how to GUESS.

Poppy thinks that two children in Arizona would like to come to the Bush when  they visit their Grannie Moo.

Poppy thinks that the Doorway to Phoenix, Arizona, might be IN THE BUSH.

Poppy also thinks that Gert Gumnut might know something about the Doorway to Arizona and she knows that Saffron and Gert are the very best of friends. That’s why she talked with Saffron for 13 minutes. She talked until Saffron told her Gert’s Secret.

Gert’s real job is Guardian of the Doorway in the Bush but noone had come through for such a long time that she had become very bored, just before the Party.

She was going to go Home as soon as the Party ended but she was so happy being a Ballerina, that she did not leave!

Poppy and Saffron followed the sound of Music to the Dance School . Sure enough, there was Gert. At first, Gert did not want to talk to them but when they told her about Grannie Moo and about how much she wanted to see Brynn and Caden, well then, Gert was first out the door. Grannie was very well loved in the Bush. Poppy and Saffy had to run to catch up with her.

O dear. O dear.  said Gert.  I did leave 2 Guardians behind but none of us thought we would be needed. Come on ! We need to get to the Bush.

Poppy and Saffron caught up to her and slowed her right down.

We cannot run all the way to the Bush. Let’s call in the Kangaroo. Grannie isn’t even ready to go to Phoenix yet and when she gets there, they will all have to search for the Doorway.  We do not have to run.

The Duck and the Kangaroo simply PANICKED when they got the message that Poppy was looking for them.

The Duck and the Kangaroo had NOT been guarding the Doorway AT ALL.  They had been flying all over Triflora having FUN.

When they first got the message that Poppy was looking for them, they wanted to HIDE or fly to a dark mountaintop. Then they realised that if they didn’t go and see Poppy, then Nana just might come and see them. Nana has been in a Very Bad Mood ever since she caught a cold. They really did not want Nana finding out that they had been having FUN instead of Guarding.

The Duck and the Kangaroo flew down to Poppy and Saffron and Gert.

Hop on !  said the Duck.

We will be back in the Bush in no time at all.

Back in the Bush, the Duck, the Kangaroo and Gert Gumnut settled back down in their homes beside the Doorway to Arizona. They had a LOT of cleaning up to do. You cannot just go away and leave things to take care of themselves in the Bush. The Snakes had made homes under the steps of the Duck’s House. Spiders had woven webs that blocked the Doorway.

It didn’t take long before the rest of the Bush Folk heard that the Guardians were back

and came along to help.

It took only a little bit longer and everything looked just perfect for Grannie Moo and her 2 Ozzie Sand Cutters.

And the GUARDIANS listened very very carefully for the whisper of the word TRIFLORA coming from Arizona.

TRIFLORA NEWS No 3 : Mostly about RABBITS.

 

	TRIFLORA NEWS. No. 3.
	The Rabbits have come to live in the Village. While they were at the Party, they decided that the seaside and the friendliness of the Village People at Poppy’s Place were too good to leave. Welcome to the Village, Rabbits! Saffron will show you around. She loves Rabbits.
The Rabbits enjoy PICNICS.
	BETTING ON RACES. It seems that there has been a good bit of racing going on. Not that there’s anything wrong with racing. But we have been told that some people have been BETTING on the racing. That DOES cause some problems.
BEWARE ! NANA IS IN A VERY BAD MOOD. We all know the sort of Trouble that comes from that ! Maybe she will be in a better mood when the Rabbits move in. Nana is very fond of the Rabbits. She thinks Rabbits are helpful and clever. Some people love cats. Nana loves Rabbits. They keep her calm.

Lapina will be coming to live in the Village. She will, in fact, live in a burrow right at the foot of Nana’s Tower. Lapina and Nana have been friends for almost 350 years. Lapina is ALWAYS quiet and gentle and calm. Welcome Lapina.
	Baby Rabbits are very good at SLEEPING. When  Rabbits are asleep, they smile.
	MORE NEWS ON THE RACING. Baku Baku is trying the Feral Frog for his ride. Definitely DO NOT BET on these two. Baku Baku is one of the truly crazy people on Triflora.

OTHER GOOD BOOKS TO READ

http://www.archive.org/stream/crescentmoon00tago#page/n0/mode/2up

TINYKINS TRANSFORMATIONS

MR PIG AND MISS CRANE

BACK IN THE VILLAGE

Things are ‘Back to Normal’ in Triflora. Saffron is taking care of Dadda Jai while her Mumma is at school. 

Poppy has time now to talk to the Pastel People. Their Lady is still missing. Poppy has talked to the Pastel People 4 times now. The thing that is worrying them all is this : Is their Lady missing or has she become so pale that she simply cannot be seen any more.

Rose and the Dragons are back in the Dragon Caves.

The People of the Whales are taking their time heading Home. They like visiting the other Water People and they also like a bit of risky adventure.  The People of the Whale have sent the Children home on Winston and they have plans to go looking for Trouble. It doesn’t seem a very sensible idea and it doesn’t seem like the sort of idea that will work out well but the People of the Whale are going to try it anyway.

They are very good at Adventure and they do know what Trouble is like so perhaps things will work out alright.

 

 

OTHER GOOD BOOKS TO READ.

CHATTERER THE SQUIRREL.

MORE ABOUT THE SQUIRRELS

PETER RABBIT AND SAMMY SQUIRREL.

MUMMA KATE

Mumma Kate has her house right in the middle of the Forest. The Unbearable Forest. She doesn’t live there all the time because she is the Teacher in the Village and needs to be near Saffron and the other children and Mumma Kate needs to be close to Poppy’s Place as well because she LOVES the shop and the people and all the busyness of the Village.

BUT she also has her house in the middle of the Unbearable Forest. She goes there to learn about all sorts of things. The things only Mummas and Aunties learn about.

Mumma Kate went to live in the Forest when she found out that not many people really knew how to be Mummas and Aunties.

She spoke to Nana and Nana told her about the secret in the Middle of the Forest. It takes quite a lot of courage to go to the very middle of such a dark and dangerous place. Nana was taken there when she was a girl ( which is rather a long time ago.) She was taken there by a Lovely Little Being.

Nana was afraid but she trusted the Lovely Little Being and they went hand in hand down a secret path to the middle of the Forest.

Right there in the middle was a huge lion. The Lion was not at all mad. Not like the other poor creatures who live in Unbearable.

The Lion would let noone pass unless they were meant to pass. Nana and the Lovely Little Being were most definitely meant to pass but the Lion stopped the Hunter and could not be blackmailed by anything or anyone.

Just past the Huge Lion, was a woven web, very much like the Spiders made for the Party. It sparkled with lights and colours and in the middle was Pandelina. Pandelina smiled and opened the Web for them to pass through.

Inside were little houses made from woven silk and lots of other girls and women were in there, laughing and talking.

Anyway, that’s where Nana made most of her friendships. Almost all the Nanas and Witches went there when they were young and were just Mummas and Aunties. That was before they moved into their cottages and towers.

When Mumma Kate told Nana about People not knowing how to be Mummas and Aunties. Nana took her to the middle of the Forest. She left Saffron with Dadda Jai. The Daddas and the Uncles like the hands-on approach to babies. It’s good for their souls.

When Nana’s broomstick zoomed in for a landing, Mumma Kate saw a sign saying “The Triflorian School  for Mummas and Aunties” .

Nana flew off back to her Tower and Mumma Kate (who loves to learn things) settled into a delicate little silken house and began to learn a lot of things she didn’t know before.

The TRIFLORIAN SCHOOL FOR MUMMAS AND AUNTIES has some excellent teachers. 

The TRIDLORIAN SOCIETY FOR MUMMAS AND AUNTIES is still a very good place to make Friends.

THE TEACHERS AT TSFMA
	Mumma Lotusia. A Teacher at TSFMA. Mumma Lotusia teaches CALMNESS. Calmness is not always easy when babies and children are around. Mumma Lotusia teaches people to say Ummmmm. Ummmmm. And to sit very still for quite a long time.
	Mumma Alala. Alala had a son who was adventurous. She teaches Mummas about adventurous children and how to stay sane NO MATTER WHAT.
	MUMMA PALMERIA. Mumma Palmeria is a Teacher of Wisdom and Desert Sayings. She says wise things like : the fruit never falls far from the tree. Then everyone goes back to their silken houses and thinks about whatever Palmeria has said that day. ( Yes. Mumma Palmeria is a tree. Trees can be very wise. )
	MUMMA RAYWYN. Mumma Raywyn could become a good friend of Mumma Kate. Raywyn is especially interested in food just like Kate. She knows how to speak to the Plants and she has 52,350 recipes for Food for Children. One of the things Mumma Raywyn teaches is THANK YOU. TSFMA is a very polite place.
CLICK ON THE PICTURE ABOVE.	NANA and her FRIENDS. The witches teach many secrets at TSFMA. They come and go by flying in they closely watch the Daddas and the Children while the Mummas are studying.
	GRUNT GRISELDA. Now and then, visiting teachers visit the TSFMA. Griselda didn’t do very well at TSFMA. She comes along to show the Mummas and Aunts what can happen to people who REFUSE to learn the secrets. As you can see, Griselda is a MESS. Even though she is now a Great Aunt, she just can’t handle children. She didn’t even become a witch.
	AUNTIE CLARRIE. Triflora is a wonderful place to live but it does have its dangers. Mummas and Aunties need special skills to keep themselves and their children safe. Auntie Clarrie, Mickey and the TGLS from Art of the Wall , all teach the Mummas and Aunties how to take on Aggressors. Aggressors can be any kind of Being who tries to push you around or hurt you or even scare you. The TSFMA students each have a StarCap  which shines like arrows of light. Aggressors don’t like Light very much. They say that the Mummas and Aunties that are trained by Auntie Clarrie, Mickey and the Art of Wall, are just about the Scariest creatures around – especially if the children are in danger.
	DADDA BILL. Bill is an expert at wrapping babies up in their blankets and shawls. He teaches the Baby Wrap and Sling Course. Dadda Bill is a rather good singer as well.
	MUMMA DANIELLA. Daniella is the expert in potions and lotions. She teaches the POTIONS AND LOTIONS classes. Jenny Wren comes in from time to time after she has readjusted any losses in Triflora  and  teaches Healing.
MUMMA KATE’S FRIENDS IN TSFMA.
BELLA OF THE BLACK BULLS	THE TAPESTRY MUMMAS
MUMMA MACHELL. Probably the craziest Mumma in Triflora. Mumma Kate has a  fondness for her.	MUMMA NIXY OF THE MILL POND.

And although noone but Mumma Kate knows it, the Grand Auntie of the TSFMA is Cassandra.

cassandra or bassi plu ( also known as Casey)

SPECIAL POWERS: the ability to see the future & communicate with non-human beings
BEST QUALITY: my extra special hugs
WORST HABIT: licking toadstools & giggling all night
WHERE YOU LIVE: no fixed address. wherever the moss is the softest
JOB IN TRIFLORA: sweeping up the stardust

____________________________________________

MUMMA MACHELL : ILLUSTRATOR TRACI MADDALENA

MICKEY : ILLUSTRATOR : JO POMROY

DEEP IN THE DARK OF THE FOREST

IN THE DARKEST, MOST DANGEROUS PART OF THE UNBEARABLE FOREST, Saffron’s mother has her home in Triflora.

It must seem rather a strange place for such a lovely person to live, but she has her reasons.

NAME.   (Kate)  Hazel Goblinfilter ( Noone EVER calls her Hazel) SPECIAL POWERS:   NOONE AND NOTHING CAN LIE WHEN THEY TALK TO HER. BEST QUALITY:  SHE SHINES A MAGIC LIGHT. WORST HABIT:  SHE CAN BE A LITTLE BIT TRICKY. WHERE THEY LIVE: SHE LIVES IN THE DARKEST, MOST DANGEROUS PART OF THE GARDEN. JOB IN THE GARDEN: TO BRING LIGHT TO THE DARK CORNERS OF THE GARDEN.

GOING HOME PARADE

The Party is over and everyone is on their way Home. Each group walks, flies, slithers or swims one time around the Party Place with Banners waving and then off they go.

YVONNE AND ZINNIA OF THE TINYKINS. Going home to their new cottage on Cat and Fiddle Island.	Wizard Amberville from the Wizardry Coast. with his companions and carers, Beatrice and Corinne.
DANIELLA AND EDWIN FROM THE VILLAGE.	MARJORIE AND FRANKIE FROM THE VILLAGE.
GARETH GOBLIN FROM STONE MOUNTAIN	THE FLOWER CHILDREN FROM THE SCENTED GLADE
LILIANA AND THE DEER FROM THE SCENTED GLADE	THE PEOPLE FROM THE EASTERN SEA
Oh No! Another Brownie nicking someone’s dinner. Abernethy – It’s time to go Home !	BENJI from the VILLAGE has a secret plan. He is going to RIDE Charles in the Going Home Parade. Benji has NEVER ridden before.
THE BROWNIES LOVE A PARADE.	DAMIEN IMP RIDING JAMBO BACK TO THE  IMPCHKINS’ FOREST
KARANIA OF THE STARWALKERS	LAVINIA OF THE STARWALKERS WITH BABY AMANDA AND NANA NAOMI OF THE WITCHWAY.
THE FRIENDLY FROG FROM THE FICKEST FENS	MELANIE OF THE PATCHWORK PEOPLE.
THE LITTLE BROWN BIRD AND NERIDA OF THE PAINTED DESERT	ONDINE OF THE PAINTED DESERT
PERCY PERUSER FROM THE TRIFLORA LIBRARY	UNA AND THE WOOD FOLK FROM WONDERWOOD

THE ORGAN MAN is back and rounding people up again.

This time he is playing and singing to the People and Beings who are still at the Party Place.

Come along. Come along. It’s time to go Home. The Party is over and it’s time to go Home.

Now life in Triflora can get back to normal. A Party is wonderful but Normal is wonderful, too.

Come along! Come along! Come along!

 

CLICK HERE FOR GOOD BOOKS TO READ http://archive.org/stream/pirates00john#page/n11/mode/2up http://archive.org/stream/cu31924074289020#page/n0/mode/2up http://archive.org/stream/howmrrabbitlosth00pain#page/n11/mode/2up http://archive.org/stream/littlejackrabbit00cory#page/n7/mode/2up LILLIPILLI’s COTTAGE on CAT AND FIDDLE ISLAND.

THE END OF THE PARTY

The Party almost always ends up with something VERY good happening. The Cat and Fiddle Island is one of the best things ever.

As soon as the 3rd Wizard left, everyone got busy again to make sure it was just perfect before the Party finished. Murgatroyd did some baking. She makes delicious gingerbread. Just right for a new home.

Tasha has taken her barge across to the Island with her Friends, the Lamb and the Lion. Tasha knows that everyone can live as Friends and she has come to take a look.  Umina is already busy with the trees for the Fiddling Orchard. Tasha carries a white wand in her right hand to add a little magic to the work going on.

The Faerie of the White Flame is spreading her magic all through the air above the Island.

There’s nothing like Faerie Dust to make a place feel like Home.

The Party Place is all cleaned up. The Children are all sound asleep in Nana’s Tower and almost everyone else is spending the last night of the Party getting the Cat and Fiddle Island ready for the morning.  LilliPilli has been given the job of singing lullabies for the Children and playing Dream Music for them all night long. The Cats are on guard to make sure she doesn’t leave the Tower till first thing in the morning.

The Tinykins are dusting and sweeping and rubbing windows.

Every now and then, the Tinykins have a drink from the Drink Pipe they brought over to the Island with them.

Noone knows what kind of drink it us but it certainly does them good. 

They pay attention to all the details, the Tinykins do. All the things that are easily missed.

When Tinykins are around, things seem just a little bit shinier than usual.

Victor and Venetia of the Tinykins Family.

Many of the Beings in Triflora are tiny – but the Tinykins are the smallest of all. When they heard about Cat and Fiddle Island, they gathered together and quickly made up their minds about something very important. They all decided to come and live on the Island and make sure that things stayed shiny for all the Homeless People who were going to come and live there.

The Tinykins are dusting and sweeping and rubbing windows. The windows of their own new cottages and the windows of Lilli’s new Cottage.

Victor and Venetia gathered the faerie dust as the White Faerie and Tasha passed. Already, they have a garden with flowers and perfumes.

This is going to be a very happy place to live, Venetia ! said Victor.

Wanda and William are going to live right beside Lilli. While the Cottages are being built on Lavender Street, Wanda and William are busy making curtains and weaving baskets.

William is blind. He cannot see the things that other people see.

William is blind but he can hear 12 times better than ordinary people.

If there is one thing that William likes listening to, it is violin music. I think he will enjoy living next door to Lillipilli.

And so, the Island is already coming alive. Plants are growing and cottages are being built. The Tinykins have made their own Tinytown and are all settled in.

Jenny Wren is thinking about moving into a new Cave down near the Jetty.

And already, there is a Mystery for Poppy to solve. Jenny Wren has found one Tinykin shoe. Just down near the cabbages. At least, she THINKS it is a Tinykins Shoe ?

What do you think?

Good Night now, Everyone.

The Cottage beside the Closeby Tree is all ready for the morning.

The sky is flashing with lights and the moon is full and bright.

Just wait till Lillipilli comes looking for her room in Lavender Street!

I think some wonderful things will happen on the Island of the Cat and the Fiddle.

LILLIPILLI’S COTTAGE AND THE ISLAND OF THE CAT AND THE FIDDLE

Sol and Thomas telling secrets to one another.

Triflora is not the place for keeping secrets. One person tells another person and someone overhears that person and tells someone or something else.

At Party Time, the secrets go just about EVERYWHERE.

LilliPilli’s secret about having nowhere to live was very soon not a secret at all.

The Seashellians had been talking and looking. Nerissa knew just how LilliPilli felt because a Seashellian can find it tricky to find the right home. They need water and land all at once.

The Seashellians and the Water Faeries decided that Lillipilli  needed:

• a cottage
• a place to play music
• a garden
• a tree
• and a place where Cats were very welcome.
• she also needed to be able to ride on boats
• and she needed an art gallery

Mad O’Brian is having a Tower built on Mad Island, just across the creek from Poppy’s Place. Just to the North of  Mad Island is another island where noone at all lives. It’s a beautiful island with flowering herbs growing free and just a short boat ride back to Poppy’s Place and the Village. The Seashellians and the Water Faeries have sent out calls to all the Party People. They have an IDEA. 

Let’s see if we can make a home for Lillipilli in one day and one night !

WHAT A WONDERFUL WAY TO FINISH OFF THE PARTY FOR NO REASON AT ALL !

When you do the Right Thing for no reason at all – a Good Reason usually shows up!

The message has gone out to every corner of the Party.

They are going to build a cottage on the Island. It will be Lillipilli’s Cottage FOREVER.

They are going to build the cottage right beside the Closeby Tree that grows in the middle of the island.

They are going to build streets ready for Lillipill’s friends who need homes of their very own.

They are going to create a garden.

They are going to give Lilli a boat of her very own.

 

And they will make a sign saying

THE CAT AND THE FIDDLE.

All Cats are welcome here.

CLICK ON THE CAT

Don’t forget there is plenty of Magic just flying about in Triflora. Plenty of Magic and a very great deal of Love. If every single person at the Party does just ONE thing, then Cat and Fiddle Island will be ready before the Party ends.

LilliPilli is going to get one major surprise when she follows the lead to the Place on Lavender Street with the Lady who Sings. Lilli does not know that its part of the Surprise.

Now, let’s see what we can do !

Umberto has promised to get a new toothbrush for Lavender Cottage. Even if it takes him all night, he is going to find a Lilli sized toothbrush.  The Brownies do know where most things are to be found but sometimes they have rather strange ideas about what people will like.

The toothbrush seems to be a strange thing to go looking for, before the Cottage is even started – but Umberto is one strange Brownie.

 

The Brownies are the first to get busy. They scatter all over Triflora, looking for this and that. For all the little things that the Island might need.

They don’t even wait for the ferryboat to take them across the Creek. They leap off the Jetty and swim straight over.

They have seeds for plants and nail for the carpenters.

Almost anything that is truly tiny comes from the Brownies.

The Brownies are one thing. The Ravens are quite another.

They don’t rush anywhere.

They don’t help out at all

They simply sit on a branch, looking down and saying;

It will never work. Never. Never.

 

Well, that’s what the Ravens were saying. They didn’t say much once the 3rd Wizard had arrived. Noone said anything at all. The 3rd Wizard is ENORMOUSLY powerful. The Ravens just sat on their branch and kept their beaks well and truly shut.  Noone at all expected the 3rd Wizard to come. He didn’t come down from his Tower very often at all.

The 3rd Wizard looked around the Island. He tapped his wand 3 times on the ground and said :

This island, known as the Cat and Fiddle, is under my protection. There will be homes here for any homeless beings, any lonely people, any sad ones. It is to be an Island of happiness and gentleness and laughter and beauty. That is the way it will be !

The 3rd Wizard was gone in a whoosh and a flash but everyone knew that the Island was under his protection and that is the way it will be!

LILLIPILLI AND THE CATS

CLICK ON THE CAT.

The Cats decided there and then to find out what was wrong at Lillipilli’s house.

Cats are very good at finding things out.

Cats are very good at being quiet and they are very good at sneaking into places.

Cats are pretty fast, too, when they’re in the mood. They were in the mood to be fast on the 5th day of the Party because they did NOT want LilliPilli going back to sit on the floor without even her Fiddle.

They sent Blue Tail and Smoothie straight to the Faraway Tree Cottage to FIND THINGS OUT.

This is what they found out !

The Lady who lived in the Cottage had gone quite mad. She didn’t look mad when Lillipilli first went there to live – but now – she looked as crazy as Irene.  Smoothie and Blue Tail watched her through the window and then hurried back to the Tower to talk it over with the other Cats.

Well ! We cannot let LilliPilli live with a woman as mad as that one !  No Way !

Lillipilli MUST have beautiful things all around her and only live with people who love her to pieces.

Lillipilli MUST be able to play her music whenever she wants and she needs a room where all her Musical Friends can come and sing and play with her.

Lillipilli simply must have her own furniture. Its just the right size for her.

The Cats talked on and on. They were getting ideas now and you all know what a Cat with an idea is like.  The Cats decided that they needed to talk to Nana. None of them wanted to do that because they knew what Nana thought of Cats and they were just a little bit afraid. Making Lillipilli happy was more important than being afraid so the Cats went up to the top of the Tower to speak to Nana and her Friends. They were VERY careful not to rub against her legs. That would really have annoyed her.

As soon as Nana heard about the Mad Woman and Lilli Pilli, she knew just what to do.

Leave the Mad Woman where she is for now.  said Nana.  We, Witches, will look after her.

I shall call in the Sea Shellians and the Water Faeries and leave it up to them.

A MESSAGE FROM LILLI PILLI. LilliPilli was very touched that someone so wonderful understood the cats and her story….she started crying and then the tears turned to laughter and a big smile to know that someone cares so much….and she knows that she will be allright…she will eventually have a new house with her cats and her fiddle playing and all around her beautiful things ..and even her furniture ! The cats are spreading ideas here there and everywhere…and she even has a lead up to a new place to search already …and it’s in a beautiful street called ‘Lavender’ back where she used to live with all her friends….and the lady of the house is a singer of songs!!…only a couple of days to wait until the cats take her there….

GOODBYE AND FAREWELL

Day 5 is almost over. Most things are cleaned up and Poppy’s Place is ready for the next year. Gardens are planted and people are hugging and kissing and crying and getting ready to go Home.

All day long, the Children in Nana’s Tower have been making more than enough music to keep Trouble away.

It has been a wonderful party. Saffron and the Flower Children have planted 100s of flowers on the roof of the Tower to surprise Nana.

Soon they will be going back to their own Gardens. Saffron wants to cry when she says goodbye to them all.

Penelope has asked Quinius to come and live with her. Quinius doesn’t much like the idea of living in a Castle.

He’s all dressed up for the Party but he will be very glad to get home and take off all his clothing and run around in the Jungle like he usually does.

Penelope does NOT want to run around all niggedy in the Jungle – not at all.  She likes living in her Castle.

They argue about this at EVERY party.

Robertino  would LOVE to live in a Castle. Everyone is wondering how to get him to come home because he just sits there – waiting to be asked to come and live in the Castle with Penelope.

Robertino likes to be dressed in fancy clothes ALL THE TIME.

Robertino likes to have lots of servants to do all the work.

Penelope is NEVER going to ask Robertino to come and live in the Castle.

Poppy just says You are NOT leaving Robertino at MY Place !

Many different things happen at parties and this is a particularly BIG party. That means that MANY, MANY, MANY different things happen.

Parties are not all dancing and singing and eating.

Things get talked about at the Party for No Reason at All.

People fall in love and out of love at the Party.

People make new friends and learn new things.

There is more to a Party than you might think.

A lot of NEWS gets passed on at Parties.

As you know, the Cats have spent Day 5 in Nana’s Tower. They have purred and chatted and passed on News. No Cat expected the News that Red Stripe had to tell them. It was about Lilli Pilli.

LilliPilli –Daisy Dojigger has been fiddling on her fiddle all Party Long. Its because of Lilli Pilli that the Flower Children’s colours were so very beautiful.

Not once did LilliPilli say one sad thing or one angry thing. She smiled and laughed and everyone she met felt like they had been sprinkled with the perfume of the flowers.

 

LilliPilli did NOT tell anyone that she had nowhere to go Home to when the Party was over.

 

But Red Stripe had gone looking for her before the Party. Red Stripe was going to walk to the Party with LilliPilli because the Cats LOVE her and she loves them.  Red Stripe looked near the Faraway Tree where LilliPilli lived and he did NOT  like what he saw. It was a pretty good Cottage and it was near the Faraway Tree but LilliPilli did not open the door when Red Stripe miaowed. LilliPilli did not come to the window when Red Stripe jumped up and called out for her.

Red Stripe found her in a little room at the bottom of the Cottage. She didn’t even have one piece of her furniture in the Room. He had never seen Lilli Pilli look so sad. Her violin was not there. Her hats were not there. There were NO pictures on the Wall. She did not even have a chair to sit on.  What is going on ?

Well – let me tell you one thing. The Cats will find out what’s happening and they will do something about it !

https://grunkles.wordpress.com/members-of-trifloras-secret-society/

DAY 5: MORE CLEANING AND MORE CHILDREN.

http://openlibrary.org/works/OL7053575W/British_Goblins

A COLOURING SHEET OF THE CHILDREN AND THE LITTLE MOUSE.

Nana likes Mice. It seems crazy to most people – but there you go ! On the only day that Cats are allowed in the Tower, she has her worries about the Mice.

The Cats have all promised not to touch one single mouse.

The Cats have all promised not to even look at one single mouse.

BUT NANA NEVER TRUSTS A CAT!

So along comes Floyd.  Floyd dresses in very old fashioned clothes. He likes them.

Floyd is the Mouse Hummer. The Mice love him and he loves them. He starts up humming Mmmmmmm.  Mmmmmm. Mouse. Mouse.  and the next thing out come the Mice one at a time and Floyd puts them into the little Mouse Houses he has for them. The Mouse Houses are made of a cat proof alloy. If a cat touches a Mouse House, the cat shudders and shakes and has nightmares IMMEDIATELY – right there in the middle of the day.

Not that the Cats were going to hurt the Mice anyways – but it makes Nana feel much better and far more relaxed. Noone at all wants Nana getting uptight because she becomes quite UNPREDICTABLE when she does.

When she DOES get UNPREDICTABLE, everyone gets a bit jumpy. Just about the only thing that will calm her down is going to the very bottom of her Tower where its WET. Nana LOVES water. She likes to sit deep in the water with Nerissa and the Seashellians. She becomes more predictable after a chat with the Toad and her visit with Nerissa.

 

 

Giselle is on her way up to the Tower for Children’s Day. Her brothers and sisters are still very young. They’re staying with Mama. Giselle is just a little nervous and she’s hoping someone might come down and show her the way.

Its not always easy being a young person in a new place.

She hasn’t been anywhere without another Fox before.

 

CHILDREN ON CHILDREN’S DAY.

THE WHITE ELEPHANT

Log Boy Louis learns the Secrets of Triflora

Welcome to Ev.

Ev is our next new Member. He is a wonderful person to have in Triflora. He can paddle any kind of canoe or Kayak and know ALL the magic lagoons and rivers. He is also in charge of Nana’s special vehicle, Alfie. He polishes it and keeps it running perfectly.

Ev is kind and clever and Trilfora is very happy to have him come and live there.

 

SHAKEY COWS

Triflora has been shut down for a long time now. All the doorways have been blocked and strange things have been happening. The time has come for us to begin telling you about them.

ANT

THE TINY MOUSE

 

PIRATE WHO WOULDN’T WASH

THE STORY OF THE LITTLE MOLE

RED RIDING HOOD

LEAPING BEAUTY