Musea - The Kid's Issue

This ish is all for kids. We've got a one act play called "Red" (I'd like to be that carpet maker), some poems: learn how far our solar system is from the next star, what the Donkey said when he saw the Zebra, the mystery of the dresser drawers, why the Mouse left for the moon, and more; and finally a short story of an older sister's tricky bet with her younger brother. Enjoy (Also please note 'novel' message!)

RED

Characters:
Narrator
King
Queen
Carpet Master
His Assistant

Scene One
Setting: Throne Room.

King:
Oh the crown the heavy heavy crown!

Narrator:
... Said the King
sitting on the throne
perched on the dais
resting on the cushiony
red, red carpet.

Queen:
No dramatics my dear, dear, dear.
We need a new carpet there, there, and here.
This is thread bare from supplicates kneeling
It's got mead stains from spilling and spitting
And more than 1 sword has pierced it through.
It's faded and musty and out of style
We need a new carpet with a deep pile.

King:
Thus it shall be done
And thou wilt be doing it,
Cause I'm going hunting!
Goodbye and forsooth it!

Scene 2
Setting Carpet Guild's Workshop - with guild sign on the door.

Queen:
(Pointing to diagram)
I want it thick and plenty plush
With the expensive-est dyes and royal-ly lush.
Search the kingdom and all through the land
For the deepest hues of deepest red.
And I want a border - thread of gold,
Not too blaring but whimsically bold.
And take this other, out of my sight.
I don't want to see it, it's a frightful blight!
Burn it to ashes...

Carpet Master:
... to ashes we'll rend

Queen:
And make sure the fire is fire down wind

Scene 3
Setting: same. Through the window we see smoke from the burning of the old carpet.

Carpet Master:
Old is out and new is still thread
(holds up a roll of uncolored beige thread)
First things first. Let's dye it red.

Assistant:
But the Queen, Carpet Master was surely precise.
She wanted it quick, but she wanted it right
And right to her will be quite a quest...

Carpet Master:
I'll take care of the Queen. Dye it regular red.

Assistant:
But didn't she just now demand a color
Of a red much deeper than any other,
That's glaringly rich and not under done?

Carpet Master:
I'll take care of the Queen. Dye it red number one.

Scene 4
Setting: The Queens Chambers.

Carpet Master:
I have here my Lady, what you've request
A thousand swatches of one thousand reds.
It'll take all night and a day or two,
but we'll get the red that is your due.

Queen:
Oh me! Oh my! There's certainly a lot
Of shades of red in this box.
And you have 2 or 3 boxes to go?
(Workers are bringing in more big boxes)
We'll you've done well, I want you to know..
Leave me a while and I'll peruse.
And I'll get back to thee by tomorrow noon. (Curtain closes)

Narrator:
But not just a night and a half a day
But thirteen full weeks she searched the shades
And pared it down to 100, then 5,
then down to 2 that were absolutely right.

Scene 5
Setting: The Throne Room

Carpet Master: (enters)
Carpet Master to see the Queen.
We are all ready your majesty.
Which one is the one is the color we'll use?

Queen:
I've got it my good sir, down to these 2.

Carpet Master:
Which one then... will you choose?

Narrator:
She looked at one, then the other
close by the fire, then out a way further.
Held then by the throne, and her favorite shoes.
Held each to her cheek with its rosy hue.
Finally closed her eyes and shuffled the two
And randomly chose one...

Queen:
...this one will do.

Carpet Master:
Your Majesty, your style is full of grace,
And your palate is one of uncommon good taste.
Your new carpet, this exact color of red
Will be here in an hour ...

Narrator
... so the Carpet Master said.
He snapped his fingers and clapped his hands
And in came the carpet carried by 6 men!
And gently they lowered it to the floor

Carpet Master:
Now my minions, start to unroll!

Narrator:
And yard after yard of beautiful red
Began to unfold, began to spread.
And while all eyes watched the procession
The master in his pockets, made a slight substitution
And switched the Queen's choice with regular red
Of the same size but not the same shade!

Carpet Master:
Now come my Queen, look at the match.

Narrator:
As he put on the carpet the regular red swatch.

Queen:
Indeed my choice was right can't you see?

Narrator:
And all the court wisely tended to agree

Queen:
And you and your men deserve high praise
to spend all that time getting the right shade!

Narrator:
She gave him a kiss, one for each cheek.
And took from the king, a medal he didn't need
And pinned it on the Master who smiled with a big grin.

Queen:
And that's for that. Well done...

Narrator
... The END.
( he turns to the audience)
Clap... clap... - its' the thing to do
Clap..., clap... - cause we are through.

( he turns to the players)
Now take a bow each one of you.
The King..., The Queen..., the Carpet Master...
and His Assistant too.

******

Poems to Grow On

I played wheel
and rode away....

******

the box of crayons
jumps up and down.
paper walls
all through the house!

******

Hey Mosquito, Mosquito dear
do you have a mosquito too?

A wee little buzzing in your ear
that raises a bump of wee little fear,

Hey Mosquito, Mosquito dear
do you have a Mosquito too?

******

dancing stairs
step, step, step,

******

I say, "I am I'
and you the letter "U",
but U say "I am I'
and then claim I am "U"

We both agree we both are 'we'
but can't U see it can't be true?
We both can't claim "I am I"
and then say " I am U!"

******

holding hands
round and round
till we all
come tumbling down -

Heigh ho! Heigh ho!
Get up, get up, and go!

******

"Hee Haw! Hee Haw!"
look at what the Donkey saw,

He saw a Zebra and began to wail
"That's a mule escaped from jail!"

"Hee Haw! Hee Haw!"
look at what the Donkey saw.

@@@

Saying:
"Spring visits every town."

******

A grain of sand on a circling ant
we will call Earth though the ant may not

and a pack on his back holds a pockmarked Moon
ooo - ooo - ooo - oon

And a meter away is a golf ball flame
that we call Sun from prior consensus

and 5 meters out, caught in an orb
A cat's eye marble - Jupiter

and 40 meters out little Pluto patrols
the outer limits of the solar sand

Now little ant, sprout wings like a bee
and fly as the crow flies, spatially

300,000 meters out, in the void
our closest golf ball, Centauri the Star.

******

Cat, Cat getting fat
eating the Mouse's cheese,

who now is so lean
his ribs can be seen

as he packs his bag to leave.

I'm going to the Moon," says Mouse
"better it's gotta be,

As long as there's no cats about
who cares the food is green!"

******

"Who dares approach
the Monster Cave?"

"The Monster of course,"
says the child.

******

Me and my shadow -
a bike for two

******

MY DRESSER DRAWERS

My dresser drawers
eat my clothes
after they're cleaned
on wash day.

Mama bravely
stuffs its throat
with what she's cleaned
on wash day.

Sister says
I best keep back,
I'm the perfect
bite size snack!

Then she winks
and starts to laugh.
So it goes
on wash day.

******

Saying:
No one forgets to wake up!

******

DITTY

When I was a boy
there was only 6 stars
and the Moon only grew
half full

heigh ho, heigh ho,
how every thing does change!

When I was a boy
the Earth was all flat
and the tumbleweeds stayed
where they were

heigh ho, heigh ho,
how every thing does change!

When I was a boy
the Sun was so hot
that the ice was disguised
as dew

heigh ho, heigh ho,
how every thing does change!

******

Note to readers: Musea will take July off. Instead of a regular issue, I will have a limited edition issue of a new short novel called LIBRARY PLANET. I will only be able to make about 50 copies. They will be free at assorted places, or for $5 upon request. They will not be sent to subscribers. It's a sci-fi, gothic, love story, mystery - all set on a planet filled with a thousand alien libraries and one single owner!

******

Older Sister

Bill was suspicious of his older sister. She always had some great sounding scheme that somehow ended up getting him into trouble.

"Billy," said Jean coming into the house through the back door, "I bet you 50 cents I can touch the Wembly's fence with one foot in our yard."

Billy started laughing.

"No, now listen. I bet you 50 cents I can put one foot in our yard, stretch clear across the Jordan's yard and touch the Wembley's fence."

"This is some kind of trick!"

"No. Follow me."

The screen door slammed and a bee buzzed by as Billy walked behind his sister out to the boundary line between their backyard and the Jordan's backyard.

"I bet you 50 cents that with one foot on our property line, I can stretch across Jordan's yard and touch that fence." She pointed to the Wembly fence some 70 feet away.

Billy looked at her to see if she was serious. She was.

Then he walked across the Jordan's lawn to the Wembly fence and surveyed it from the back end all the way to the front of their house.

"What's the trick?"
"There is no trick. I've been practicing and now I'm pretty sure I can do it," said Jean in a slow and methodical voice.

"You mean you're going to put one foot here..."

"Right here," said Jean plunking down her tennis shoe into the grass.

"...And stretch your hand all the way over and touch that fence?" He pointed to the fence a lawn away.

"Yes."

"It's some kind of trick!"

"No." She shook her head.

"Where's your money?"

Jean pulled out from her pocket two quarters, placed them down on top of a planter, and turned back to Billy and waited.

"I think it's a trick but here goes."

Billy fished out his 50 cents and put it along side of hers.

She brushed him aside and pivoted the toe of her left foot deep into the grass behind her. Then she stretched out with her other leg as far as possible and as close to the boundary line as possible, and steadied herself.

Next she raised her right hand to shoulder level. Then she straightened out her fingers and began to stretch forward.

Billy watched closely.

She released her muscles and shook her fingers. Then she redid her movements and stretched again for a 2nd attempt.

She held the stretch, then pushed it to its limit - a few more inches! A grimace crossed her face as her fingers shook! Finally, ten seconds later, she relaxed and her arms fell to her side.

"Well I guess I was wrong. Never mind." She began walking slowly toward the house.

Billy gathered up the quarters. One fell and he stooped to pick it up. Then he ran to catch her.

"Did you for one minute think you really could do it?" asked Billy.

"No but YOU did!" Her eyebrows went up, her mouth fell open and she began to laugh and laugh and laugh.

Billy mumbled, "I did not! Never!

Never!. But something told him that even with the two extra quarters in his pocket, he had been tricked again.

******

c Tom Hendricks 2004 Musea 4000 Hawthorne #5 Dallas Texas 75219 tomhendricks474@cs.com

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Dear Young Readers:
If you enjoyed this special issue for kids, here are other Musea kid's features that you might like:
MOON TEA: Anthology of children's stories, poems, and more.
CENDRILLON: (The true story of Cinderella) Musea issues #110-111. DOT'S PLAYHOUSE: A short story and a plan for a community play house for all children. Issue #127.
FILM SCRIPT IDEAS: Ready, Set, Go!, Ooka The Judge, The Valiant Little Tailor, Bremen Town Musicians, The Night Library, etc. Issue #119.
BOOK ROCKET: (kid's library built in the shape of a rocket) etc. Issue #124.
BLOCKS: a new version of a classic children's toy. Issue #55.
TUGBOAT: A children's TV show. Issue #61
CHRISTMAS STORIES: A tradition for Xmas issues is to pack them with short stories and poems for kids and adults: 'Magic Bag', Ranger 330 Subatomic Blaster', plus hundreds of assorted poems, illustrations, kid's photos, etc.
PLAYERS: (A Game of Twelves) a boardgame. Issue #113 for rulebook)
ESSAY ON EDUCATION: major essay on educational reforms. Issue #97.
BESTIARY: a collection of poems about animals. Issue #120.
HIPPIE DRESS: a line of comfy clothes for moms and kids. Issue #126
3 LITTLE KITTENS, 'Ditty', and other kids' songs.
NO AD CAMPAIGN: Musea supports a ban on all advertising for kids.
MUSEA READING FUND: free cash to help buy kid's classics.

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