The Little Lost Mitten, Adessa's version

Once there was a little boy who lived with his grandmother. One day he asked his grandmother if she would knit him a pair of white mittens. "No," said grandmother, "they will get lost in the snow." Finally grandmother agreed to knit the mittens. When they were finished, she said, "Now you may wear these mittens to school, but when you come home, I will first check to see that you are safe and sound, and then I will check to see if you still have your mittens."

Sure enough, since the mittens were white, one got lost in the snow on the little boy's way home.

There came along a very cold mole.
He found the mitten laying in the snow. He stopped. He looked at it. He felt it. "Ahh, that feels warm", he said, and so he climbed inside.

Along came a hare.
She asked the mole if she could climb inside too. "No", said the mole. Then he saw her big kickers, he surely moved over and hare hopped inside.

Then came a porcupine. He asked to come inside.
Neither the mole, nor the hare complained. They just moved over for someone so poky, and let him in.

Soon came a raccoon. He asked to come inside.
The hare, the mole, and the porcupine refused. But when they saw his sharp claws they moved over and let him inside.

Not long after came an owl. "Let me come in", he hooted.
"No", said mole. "No", said hare. "No", said porcupine. "No", said raccoon. But when they saw his sharp beak they all moved over and let him come inside. They gave him the thumb.

There soon came a fox.
He wanted to come inside too, but the owl, the raccoon, the porcupine, the hare, and the mole refused to let him in. When they saw his sharp claws they all moved over and let him in.

Along came a bear.
"Let me come in!", he grunted. The fox, the owl, the raccoon, the porcupine, the hare, and the mole refused to let him in. When they saw his gig teeth they surely moved over to let him in.

In no time a little mouse appeared.

She fit just right on the Bear's nose.
The mouse tickled the bear, and caused a big sneeze, a--ahh---AA- AHHHHH-- CHOOOOO!! All of the animals went flying out of the mitten, scattering everywhere. The little boy caught his mitten as it drifted down from the sky. When he got home, his grandmother was waiting for him. First she checked to see that he was safe and sound. Then she checked to see if he still had his mittens, and sure enough, he had them both. "My, you are a good little boy," his grandmother smiled. "You may go out to play, and I will make your favorite chocolate chip cookies for dessert."

But when the little boy went to put the mittens on again, one of them was way too big!
the end.

Bless This Home: A Poem For Jexten

Bless this roof, the corners and the walls.
Bless the Bigs and especially the Smalls.
Bless each space, bring love and peace into this place.
Warm each floor and wall
May there be more than enough laughter and Joy for us all.
Come family and friends, add happiness that never ends.
Give us light and lift our fears
So wipe your eyes and dry your tears,
We will grow and love throughout the years.
As we plant the seeds and pluck the weeds
Big and little hands working together will fill all our needs.
Days will come and days will go
Warmest sun and glistening snow.
Through it all you will come to know
You are blessed
Bless This Home.

I Wish It Could Stay This Way

Sugar, Spice all that is nice. Warm and Squishy cookies are the Little's delight. Little girl smiles, Little boy smiles. They chomp and chew the whole cookie through. Little girl says to Little boy, ¨I wish it could stay this way, don't you?" "Yes, I do." says Little boy as he smiles back at her.

Mama Big takes them by the hand and leads them up the path and then through a big grassy land. "Stop and look, look there through the trees. Do you see what I see?" asks Mama Big to her Little's. Little girl stops to look. Little boy stops to look. They search through shining little eyes, eager to find the new adventure that Mama Big has in mind.

"A bridge, I see a bridge!" shouts Little boy with delight. "I hear a splash from a stream!" sounds Little girl, as a familiar gleam glints through her warm brown eyes. Over the big grassy land they chase, fast their little feet they race! To the bridge and stream they go. To a new adventure untold.


The sun is hot, but the shade is cool. Little toes dip into a chilly, rocky pool.
Splish, Splash, Roll, Flow fast then slow ever moving the stream goes. "Oh, how I wish it could stay this way!" Little girl calls to the great green trees who hug the banks and watch the stream play. Little boy keeps looking, but then he has to know, "where does this stream hurry so fast to go?" They all join hands and step around the bend.

The sun trickles through the leaves, sparkles and tickles the stream where it lands. The rocks are smooth and round, when Little boy throws one, it makes a Sploosh Kerplunk sound! "Did you see that?" shouts Little boy, full of joy. Mama Big smiles and nods, she looks at one happy Little girl and one happy Little boy and says, "I wish it could stay this way."

Yellow, Gold, Black lines unfold wings of a butterfly fluttering by. Across the stream, up the bank, to the other side, and out into the light of the big grassy land. Up the muddy bank go Little girl and Little boy. They slip and slide, giggle and glide. At last they peek out from among the trees into the big bright grassy land. Arms reach high, fingers touch the sky, following butterfly wings fluttering on a breeze of laughter.

Mama Big leads them home at the end of the day. Little girl stops to pick flowers, Little boy stops to taste juicy sweet summer berries along the path on their way. In the distance they could hear the wind in the trees along the banks of the stream, as it seemed to say, "It will always stay this way."

A Gift of Time: for the little girls (the first draft)

Glint, Glimmer, Dance, Shimmer colors of butterfly wings dip and rise among breezes of fancy.
A summer dream. Step to feel the soft grass of deep emerald green, small and pink, wiggle to feel each soft blade of summer grass between her toes. Eyes of wonder follow a sky of blue with warm summer. Tiny hands reach up to let the gentle breeze through new fingers delicately dimpled. Unstoppable tickle chimes a giggle a flutter with golden tips as it crosses sweet little lips. Breathe in the rush of warm sweet summer.

Tiny, Wisp, Flip, Twist sunlight all around the breeze carries a fading sound. She flows with the breeze and it tickles and carries her off the ground. She delights to hear of the ever drawing near, when she will sip from that fountain of knowledge. There her soft footsteps will fall, it won't be long before she will confound them all. She is a tiny grace, and none can erase the memory of her smile that forever flows across her bright face. She will not be stopped or held down, she flits along as she does, she carries her song.

Sparkle, Sweet, Perfection, Complete she has seen summer and now ever looking around the corner to what may lie ahead and beyond at the end of this last summer. Sparkling splash filled days and a calming hum of sleepy nights. Joyful laughter shared with love all around. Until the last days have sunk with the heat of the: golden then orange, pink and at last the blue, sky of sleep. She will awake to a new day of learning and books - the joy of growth.

All the while the innocence of the first continues to find the excitement awaiting each new breath. Forever delighting in each day of blissful Summer. Yesterday has past with a smile and one last sugar breath, tomorrow will bring treasures unseen, but today, they will stuff completely full of love.

Together they play on a glowing bright day of this last summer, and first summer these three share as one. They join hands and sit circled at a picnic of pink and purple. They dance and sway as wildflowers on the hillside on this bright summer day. So different from the other, but it wouldn't be quite the bouquet without one or another.

A small and happy carpet of purple shooting out from a yellow sunshine center completely covers the ground. Each petal ripples with a giggle from the sweeping breezes that tickle and cool each strong stem.

Wild and fragrantly sweet are the roses that tangle around. They curl and twist creating a maze of wonder. The cool deep green of the old fashioned leaves shade and protect the delicate carpet of purple from the prickling heat of the sun. It's stems reach far and wide ever fighting for new horizons, making a safe shaded place for a new seed.

Tall, Slender, Brightest of Yellow, sweetest of pink, coolest of blue are only a few of the many colors of the daisy. So many vivid petals. It's long slender stem bends and reaches to and fro with the light, tickle, fancy of the changing summer breeze. Her face forever happy and smiling upturned toward the sun. Dipping and diving among waves of wind and flow are the things that make the daisy grow.

Fairytale: PICTURES BY BRENDALEE JOHNSON FOX

once upon a time there was a little girl and a little boy. they lived in a little cottage at the end of a little path through a little forest. every day the little girl and little boy would go for a little walk down the little path that leads through the little forest. one day they heard a little bird. they stopped to listen to it for a little while. as they were listening to this little bird they began to smile a little smile, and then a little more. They stood there on that little path in the middle of the little forest listening to that silly little bird, and they looked at one another and their smiles got a little bigger and then bigger still. they began to tap their little feet: one tap, two tappety, three tappety tip tap toe. and then the little girl had to add a little snap. the little boy thought this was a little funny thing, so he added a little giggle hippety hop tip tap STOMP! on they went a little further, skipping now as they go a little faster, now as they go. skipping higher and higher as they go down the little path through the little forrest and they turn their little faces up up up toward the sky peeking through the tip tops of the treetops. the big green trees tickle the biggest bright blue sky you have ever seen with their funny pointed fingers reaching higher and higher up up up some more. little faces turned up letting the sun beams dance and play a little game of catch me if you can across the little cheeks and giggling little mouths. skipping higher and higher, can you reach so high that you touch that biggest brightest bluest sky you have ever seen? we don't know, but we sure can try! little girl and little boy begin to reach their little arms up as they skip, and then higher they leap, little arms go further up and up some more. light and sparkle dance and play between sweet glimmers and gleams of warmth. leaps get higher and higher and faster and faster they go! racing along the little path through the little forest. look little brother the trees reach out to us as we rush past so fast and the wind cannot catch up to us! and little sister, the sky is rolling with laughter as a wave in the ocean when i run my fingers across it! a squeal a laugh echoes far and wide as they rush through the little forest along that little path. now, when you are sitting quietly in a little forest, enjoying the sound of a little bird singing a little song, if you listen closely you will hear the sweet laughter rise up through the little forest carried by the wind as it is still trying to catch up to that little girl and little boy as they race ever faster along the little path. close your eyes and turn your face up to the sun, feel the light play catch me if you can across your cheeks, feel the warmth kiss your mouth. shed not a tear, no not even a little one, for little girl and little boy for they know their way back home along that little path that leads through that little forest, they would never think to leave, and their mother sunshine ever calls them home again when the sky tires of the games they play and rolls with the tide and heaves a mighty thunderous sound. light may flash and spark the ground, but then it is only this sweet dance that carries them home again to splash and play in a wet sparkle on any given day!

Will You Be There?

Golden, Sweet, Rise, Tweet; a sleepy sun's rays kiss the waking sky. A little family of birds begin to chirp happily in the tree on this golden morning. Awake to a new day, the first day of growing bigger than before.
Smile, Yawn, Excite with a new dawn. New clothes dazzled with prints of flowers and pink. New shoes that are bigger, that little fingers can now tie quick as a wink. A warm sweet aroma drifts into Little Girl's nose. Mama Big peaks through the door with sparkling eyes and a smile as she speaks, "Get ready now, for today is your first day of learning more than before. Will you be there?"
Crisp dew, Jackets new; holding hands squeezing tighter with excitement as we walk. Each step getting closer to the first of a lot. Each step getting nearer to the time we will say, "We'll see you later, have a good day!" Mama stops, Little boy stops, Little Girl stops. We three stand and we wait, then we hear the sound of the big bright yellow bus coming around the corner.
Brake, Slow, Stop; a smile, a hug and a kiss before little girl lets go of Mama Big's hand. A little skip and a hop as she takes one big step onto the bright yellow bus. One last turn to look and see that mama big and little boy are still standing there. She smiles at them and they smile back. "Mama, will you be there when I come back?" asks Little Girl suddenly feeling a little unsure. "Of course, my Little Girl, I will always be here when you come back." the answer calm and clear gives Little girl courage as she hears.
Smile and light flash across Little girl's face, as she finds a seat and takes her place. Her face in the window as she waves, and Little boy reaches up to grab the kiss that she blows just for him to have. She giggles and waves to him and he waves to her, Mama Big and Little boy stand there watching and waving as the bus becomes a blur, then fades out of sight.
Bump, Brake, Slide the doors open wide. It is one short ride until you find that when the bell rings and you look around there will be a smiling teacher calling your name "Little Girl, are you here?" then a smile and a nod; with a little wink little girl calls back, "I am here and I am ready to think."

Today I Will Fly

The first draft: original ideas scribbled on random sheets of paper
Crow Tribe: Plains Indians(Montana,Wyoming), experts in horsemanship, carving, and painting. Named for the "Big beaked bird" and known for their beautiful long hair. The Crow were fierce hunters. Men won status for bravery in battle and expert hunting, earning them the Ponies of their enemies and inferiors. Women of the tribe were the primary home makers and builders of dwellings, which were taken down and moved during migration. The Crow are a strong people, and adapted well to the changes in the Great American West!

Small, Brown, Strong, Little Feather clutches his finely carved cedar pony as he gazes out upon endless waves of green grassy plains. Pure earth and sky reaching far and high, interrupted only by jagged rocky cliffs. Scream, Power, Gleam the shiny deep brown wings of an Eagle taking flight. Higher and higher it climbs into the endless azure sky. Little Feather follows it's flight until it is out of sight, "We will be brothers mighty Eagle, for today I will fly." declares Little Feather as he stands there on the plains, somewhere between green earth and endless bright blue sky.
Blow, Rush, Go racing across wise grass bent low by the wild wind. Little Feather's legs rush faster and faster, his feet land soft and swift in the light brown dirt. Leap the bending stream, dash around the thorns and briers of the berry bushes that lead to the dusty path up the hill as fast as he can climb, and suddenly Stop! There at the top of the hill that looks down upon his people's camp, there he stands, holding his breath for now he is sure that today he will Fly!
Strong, Sleek, Silver, Brown; the pony that Little Feather's father has won. "This will be your pony, and you will learn to ride. It is time for you to fly, my Little Feather." loving and strong come the words from his lips.
Closer, as he begins to touch a velvet nose of silver. Little Feather's hand follows down the neck and shoulder of quivering deep soft brown. Eyes meet, locked in a gaze of forever love reflected back he sees chestnut eyes full of wild and play. Leap to the back of a storm, and the mane of silver lightning fills Little Feather's face as the power is unleashed!
Rip, Twist, Whip, Crash in a puff of dust Little Feather is thrown to the dirt. Again! sounds Father Big. Tears sting Little Feather's eyes like nettle, he wipes them away and jumps up again. Leap, Crash, Leap at last! Little Feather squeezes his little legs tightly around the girth of the spirited creature and does not let go. Dart, Rush, Twist, Up the pony whirls in every direction but Little Feather does not blow off this time. Fast into the racing wind they rush, and then, Little Feather yells out, "You are strong and swift my pony, but I am as wild as you are! Today we are brothers, for today is the day that I CAN FLY!"
Quick, Pound, Racing, Ground with every hoof beat, the sound of beating drums echoes in Little Feather's ears. The wind whips and whistles past as they two, now one, rush head first into endless meadows of earth and sky. Dusty fingers and silver mane are entangled tightly against his face. Little Feather now feels of lightning in his veins and thunder in his chest that time nor distance could ever erase. On and on they speed, dark hair whipping along with the silver mane of the wild steed.
High above the mighty Eagles cry, "Today we are brothers Little Feather, for today is the day that you can Fly!"