Read an Excerpt
Once Upon A Time
By Gloria Glendale Trafford Publishing
Copyright © 2014 Gloria Glendale
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4907-2246-7
CHAPTER 1
Sun and Moon
Once upon a time a very long time ago, there was a little girl and her little brother. One day, as usual, they were playing hide-and-seek. Having a lot of fun, it was their favorite game to play. There were many games they liked to play together, but the together part was best. They loved each other so much they never wanted to be apart.
One bright, sunny day, they were busy playing when they noticed the sun wasn't as bright as usual. So they looked up at the sky and asked the sun what was wrong. The sun opened her tired eyes and said, "I am so tired. I have been up here in the sky for a very long time, and I am getting very tired. I don't know how much longer I can keep this up."
The little girl got very worried and felt sorry for the old sun. So she asked, "What can I do to help?"
The old sun looked at the little girl thoughtfully. "Well, there is something you can do if you are willing and if you have a heart of gold."
The little girl was happy that she could be of some help.
The sun said, "You could help me and help the whole world at the same time. For you see, I am getting too old and tired, and I wont be of any use to anyone soon. I need someone to replace me. But it needs to be someone very special—someone with a heart of gold. For only someone with a heart of gold can shine on the whole world. So I need to take a better look at you." So the sun looked at the little girl, and the light seemed to go right through her.
The sun saw her whole life and all her memories, like the times when she would pick her little brother up when he would fall, when she spent two weeks making him a toy boat for his birthday, all the times she took the blame for something he broke, and of course, the time she saved him when a big dog was chasing him—she picked him up and carried him all the way home.
The old sun smiled brightly and said, "I don't need to see any more. You are the one."
The little girl was happy, but at the same time, she was sad because she was thinking about her brother. She said to the old sun, "Thank you for choosing me, but I cant leave my brother."
The old sun just smiled and said, "Oh, I don't think you'll have to worry about him because you see, I too have a little brother. He is the moon, and we've been together up here in the sky for years. So I will have to talk with him."
All of a sudden, the girl and her little brother fell into a deep sleep. When they awoke, they realized they were high in the sky. They looked down and saw the old sun and her brother, young again and playing together.
Everyone was happy playing the same games they always played. The little girl and her brother played their favorite game, hide-and-seek. If you watch and listen, you can hear them laughing and playing.
The End
CHAPTER 2
The Gentle Giant
Once upon a time a very long time ago, there lived a man named Harry Brown.
Harry was a big man; he was very quiet and kept to himself. His house was at the edge of the village. Nobody hardly ever saw him or talked to him, and that's just how he liked it. He would rather go for a walk in the woods with his dog, Buddy.
Now Buddy was his best friend, his only friend, and wherever Harry was, Buddy was right at his side.
Harry was a very kind person. He always tried to help anyone who needed help, but he was too shy to come right out and help. He would wait until everyone went to bed. He would gather wood and water for the elders of the village. During the day, he would go hunting and bring whatever he got to the doorsteps of the people who needed it, so in the morning when the elders came out of their homes, they would find wood for their fires, water, and fresh meat.
For a while, they wondered who was doing this for them. So they got together and talked about it and decided that one of them would stay awake one night and see who it was. They were not too surprised to see it was Harry, for they knew he had a big heart.
One day when Harry was out in the woods, hunting, he went a little farther than usual; he was tracking a big deer. He was watching the deer so hard that he didn't notice there was a huge black bear right behind him.
The bear stepped on a stick, and it broke with a crack. Harry turned around just in time to see the huge bear open its mouth, showing all its huge teeth.
Harry tried to get his spear (which he had just put down), but he didn't have time before the bear grabbed at his leg. The huge bear picked him up like he was a rag doll. Harry was being tossed around like he was a mouse that a cat was playing with. Then all of a sudden, the bear let go. Harry could hardly move, but he lifted his head to see what was happening.
What he saw made him smile at first because he saw Buddy come running behind the bear and jump on it. But no sooner did the bear quit attacking Harry that it turned on Buddy. Buddy was no match for the huge beast. Harry could not stand by and let his best friend be torn apart. He grabbed for his spear, and with the last bit of energy he had, he lunged at the bear with his spear in both hands.
A second later, the bear lay limp on the ground, but to Harry's sadness, so did Buddy. Although his legs were so sore, Harry crawled over to Buddy to see if he was still alive. Harry's heart broke when he got to his friend, for there was no life left in him. He gave his life to save his master. Big tears rolled down Harry's cheeks as he picked up his best friend and carried him home. He buried Buddy beside his house so he could be close to him always.
The people of the village came and asked Harry what had happened. When Harry told them his sad story, they felt sorry for him, but at the same time, they were a bit upset because they were all of the Black Bear Clan. Nobody was supposed to kill a black bear, so they told Harry they would have to have a meeting about this. They would let him know what they decided.
Harry knew what they were going to say because there was only one decision when someone killed a black bear. He packed up a few things, and he went into the woods, never to return to his home again.
Harry did not know they were going to make an exception for him because of his love for his dog and he was, at heart, a very good man, but he was long gone by the time they came back.
The Great Spirit was with Harry when he left, but knowing that he would not survive the way he was, Harry was transformed into a mighty grizzly bear that no one could harm.
People were amazed when they first saw the great bear, but somehow they knew it would not harm them. Somehow they realized it was Harry because of the way it walked with its head down—the way it was kind of shy of them. With just the look in its eyes, they knew it was kind at heart. Nobody knew for sure where it came from, just the elders—they knew.
The End
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Once Upon A Time by Gloria Glendale. Copyright © 2014 Gloria Glendale. Excerpted by permission of Trafford Publishing.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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