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Overview
The story is about having courage in life to put things right. It will take you to the edge of your seat, and you will always want to know the ending.
It's a story for boys who enjoy the excitement in life and for the girls who like the romance in it. The story will have you in tears and have you laughing out loud, but the bookworm in you will be wondering when the next episode will be coming. Maybe soon?
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781466963122 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Trafford Publishing |
| Publication date: | 10/30/2012 |
| Pages: | 94 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.23(d) |
Read an Excerpt
A Boy Called Jack
By LIZZY CLARKE
Trafford Publishing
Copyright © 2012 Lizzy ClarkeAll right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4669-6312-2
Chapter One
The Fox
My name is Jack and I'm twelve.
It was a cold day when I was born. There was snow on the ground, and the water dripping from our roof froze before it hit the ground.
My family lived on the edge of a forest, in the middle of which were three houses. The governor's house was the biggest I had ever seen, with windows almost touching the ground. My dad was the gamekeeper, and Mum did washing and mending for the governor's wife.
Along with my two brothers, Ian and Tony, and my sister, Sophia, we lived in a small house with three bedrooms upstairs and a front room and kitchen downstairs. We didn't have a bathroom—only a tin tub that hung on a wall at the side of the house. In the front room was a large fireplace that held the fire and the cooker.
Dad stoked the fire each morning before he went to work so Mum could heat the water for cooking, washing, and baking. This was the only hot water we had, and bath time meant having a bath in front of the fire. Then, while I bathed, Mum would heat more water for the next bath.
My elder brother, Ian, was away from home most of the time, studying science at college. Dad would tell him, "You won't get a proper job looking at plants all day."
My other brother, Tony, and I shared a room. He was a couple of years older than me, so he teased me about girls.
My sister, Sophia, was eight. She played with dolls a lot and set them all in a circle for tea. Mum made her jam sandwiches, which she pretended to give to the dolls, but we all knew that she ate them.
In one of the other houses in the forest lived Mr. Smith. He was a tall man with short hair who always wore a black suit. I'd never seen him in anything else. His wife, Mary, was a small woman with gray hair. Whenever we went to have our hair cut at their house, Mary was always cleaning. Mr. Smith had once been a barber in Northampton, but he told us he had retired to the country. One day our mum had a long chat with him, and after that we went to his house for haircuts. Mum always reminded him not to cut it too short.
In the third house lived an old lady named Mrs. Doris who was eighty-nine. She had long gray hair tied up in a bun. She looked like a teacher, walked with a stick, and had a black-and-white cat called Thomas. Every morning as my dad was leaving for work, Thomas sat on the mat by our door and cried. Then Mrs. Doris would stand at her front door, calling, "Thomas, come on. I'm here. Breakfast is ready." We laughed about it until Dad told us off, saying, "She's an old lady with only her cat for company." I'm sure the cat was as old as she was.
We went to school each day after waiting at the bus stop by the riverbank. One day as we got off the school bus, I noticed a fox sitting on the edge of the road, not moving. I told Tony to run on home; it was a game to see who would get there first. The fox just sat there twitching his whiskers.
Then, as I started to walk home, the fox followed me. He came right up to the front door of our house. I was scared that Dad would shoot him, so I shooed him away. I watched as he ran off through the forest.
This same thing happened for weeks. The fox was always waiting for me near the road. Other kids on the bus called out to him to clear off, and they threw things at him, but I always tried to stop them.
"Leave him alone," I told them. "He isn't doing you no harm."
A boy named Tommy came up to me and said, "Who are you? It's not yours, is it? It's not your dog." He began to laugh, and all the other kids around him joined in.
"No," I said, "he's everybody's to take care of."
Tommy just turned his back on me and began to walk away. As he did, he looked back and shouted spitefully, "Shut up, little Jackie."
I stood there looking at the fox. I felt angry with Tommy and the other kids. I wanted to go and stroke the fox, but I knew it might bite me if I did. After that day, the kids called me the fox-boy, but I didn't mind.
Then one day near the time when school closed for the sixweek holidays, I got off the bus with Tony. As usual, Tony ran on. It started to rain really hard, so I put my coat over my head, not wanting Mum to tell me off for getting wet. I started to walk away from the bus stop, and that was when I noticed that the fox wasn't there. I looked around and up to the bank of the river. Then, just as I was going to run home, I saw him sitting up there, not moving, as the rain poured down on him.
I looked all around. The kids from the bus had gone, so I decided to follow the fox. I struggled up the wet bank, slipping more times than I could count. When I reaching the top, he didn't move. It was as if he wanted me there. Just as I got to my feet, he turned his back and went down a hole. I looked around to see if anybody else was about and then flung my coat to the ground with the rain pouring down on my head. I got down on my knees and looked into the hole.
The fox was just sitting there with his eyes shining in the dark. There was a branch near the top of the hole, so I grabbed it, thinking it would keep me from falling down into the hole, but then I felt a strong pull on it. As I fell into the hole, I held on tight with both hands to the branch. I was pulled along a dark passage, and I could feel twigs and branches all around me. Now and then, dirt from the top of the passage would fall on my head, so I would shake my head to stop it from going into my eyes. Then, just as I wiped the dirt from my eyes for the fourth time, I noticed a tiny light in front of me. As I got pulled along, the light grew bigger—until I was pulled out of the hole and facedown into muddy water.
Wow, I thought to myself, what a ride! I'd like to do that again. I wiped my eyes on my shirt and stood up. In front of me was a forest with trees all around, some of them standing as tall as the clouds. There were bushes so thick that, if you were to walk through them, they would brush up against your body. As I looked around, I couldn't see through the bushes. Then, through a hole in the branches, I saw the fox just standing there.
"Hello, Jack," he said. "Welcome. Come with me. The lion is expecting you."
"Wow," I said. "A lion? No, take me back."
The fox laughed at me and said, "Don't be so silly, Jack. He won't hurt you. He wants your help. We all do."
"You do?" I said, feeling quite puzzled about why a lion wanted my help. I followed him through the forest to an open area with tall trees standing around the edge of it. In the middle was a large lake. Scattered all around the lake were large stones, some as big as my house.
The fox said, "Wait here, Jack."
I looked around and saw lots of wild animals: elephants, zebras, lions, hyenas, giraffes, and a whole lot more. Some were standing by the lake, and others were just sitting by the big stones.
"Wow," I said aloud. "Where am I?" Then I heard a voice behind me.
"Thank you for coming, Jack." I turned, and standing right next to me was a large lion. "You're not frightened, are you, Jack?" the lion asked me.
"No, I'm not frightened," I said, trying not to show that I was really scared and just wanted to go home.
"Good," he said. "We need your help."
"Pardon?" I said. I looked down to see a snake slither over my trainers.
"Morning, Jack. Nice to see you at last," said the snake as it disappeared into the grass
"Oops," I said as I lifted my foot to keep from stepping on the snake. I didn't want to kill it.
Just as I was starting to feel brave again, two monkeys stood beside me and grabbed my hands. One of them said, "This way. Come with us, Jack." They led me to stand in front of a stone—the biggest one, it looked like—where another lion was lying on it.
As we approached it, I could hear all the animals whispering to each other: "So this is the boy who is going to save our water hole."
"Bit young," the elephants said to each other, making a huge racket.
As I stood in front of the stone, the lion gave out a really big roar, and everything went quiet. Then a parrot flew over to me and landed on my shoulder. He whispered into my ear, "Who's a good boy who's going to save the water?" As the lion roared again, the parrot squealed, "Impatient, impatient," and flew off again.
"Jack," the lion said as he lifted his body up from the stone. "Come and sit next to me so everybody can see you."
"No," I told him. "I'm okay here."
The lion roared again, and I felt someone push at my back. I looked around to see that an elephant had her trunk on my back. She said to me, "Go on, dear. He won't hurt you."
"Jack," the lion said again, "come and join me up here, please."
"Okay," I said. "Just a minute." I looked around for a way to get up there, and then the elephant's trunk wound around my waist and lifted me up onto the stone.
"There, dear," she told me. "That wasn't too bad, was it?" She took a few steps back.
"Now, Jack," the lion said, "sit here." As he swished his tail on the stone, I knelt down next to him. The lion stood up, tilted his head, and said, "Listen, friends. This is Jack. He is here to help us get the water back and to stop the dam from being built. Everybody in the animal kingdom must help him—even the dogs that live near the dam with the humans."
"Er, excuse me," I said with my hand held in the air like I was at school asking a question. "No one has asked me about this."
The lion turned and looked straight into my eyes and said, "Well, Jack, will you help us or not?"
"Erm, yes, yes, okay. I think so. But will you please explain to me what you want me to do?"
The lion roared again and said, "Then why are you here, Jack?"
"I don't know," I said. "Maybe you could tell me. Instead of roaring in my ear all the time, try to explain to me."
All the animals standing around the stone said to each other, "Oh, he's brave."
Then another lion, who was not quite so big, jumped onto the stone and said, "Listen to him, my dear. Stop getting so grumpy." Then she turned to me and said, "Sorry, Jack. I'm Mrs. Lion, and this bad-tempered lion is my husband. What he's trying to ask is whether you will help stop the human men from finishing the dam. It's a few miles from here, past the forest and the mountains, near to the river. Our water has dried up—not all at once, but gradually. We can't do anything to stop it, so we need a human to help us—one who isn't scared to stick up for us when danger is near. That sounds a bit like you, Jack. Will you help us?"
It felt as if all the eyes of the animal kingdom were on me. Then I said, "Yes."
The big lion turned and said, "Jack, would you please help us before it's too late?"
I replied, "Yes, of course I'll help you, but first you have to tell me all about the dam. Is there a camp? How will I get there?"
"Stop," said the lion. "For now, Jack, we will rest, as it's starting to get dark. The sun will be going down soon. In the morning we will have more talks, and then we will tell you everything."
"But where will I sleep tonight?" I asked, rubbing my head. I looked around, trying to see where I could sleep.
A monkey came over to me. "Jack, we've made you a bed under a bush. You will be okay there." He took my hand and led me to what looked like a large bush with an opening in the middle. "Lie down inside there," he said. I looked into the bush and saw that all the branches were bent back. There was a little gap, just big enough for me to crawl inside and lie down.
"Thank you," I said as I pushed myself through the branches and lay down. Lying there, I could hear the animals all around me. The monkeys called to each other, and the lions and elephants called to their young. I tried to fall asleep despite the noise of the animals, but it seemed as if all the creatures of the night had come out and were talking about me and the dam and the excitement of a human helping them.
Chapter Two
The Big Brown Bear
All through the night, the excited noises of the animals kept me awake. When morning came, I lay there wondering whether or not to climb out of the bush. When I saw an elephant's trunk poke slowly into the bush and sniff around the ground, I said, "Morning."
The trunk disappeared, and the elephant said, "Morning, my dear. Did you sleep well?"
I crawled out of the bush and said, "Yes, not bad."
"That's good, Jack," the elephant said, "because the lion would like you to join him to talk about the dam. He's sitting on the big stone. The monkeys have collected some berries for your breakfast. I'll leave them here." She dropped them on the floor.
"Thank you," I told her as I picked up a couple of berries and put them in my mouth. "Yum. They're quite sweet," I said to myself.
Just as I swallowed my last mouthful, a parrot flew down and landed on my shoulder. "This way, this way," he told me.
"Don't worry," I said. "I can see the lion from here."
As the parrot flew away again, I walked over toward the large stone. "Morning, Jack," the lion said. "Have you been looked after?"
"Oh, yes, thanks," I said.
"Now, Jack, to business," the lion said. He lay down on the ground, and I sat next to him. He said, "One of the elephants will take you to a place where it's safe enough to go to the dam. Then I'm afraid, my dear friend, that you are on your own. But if you get into trouble, all the animals will help you if they can." The lion stood up and roared and then walked toward the lake. I followed behind him as he went up to a big elephant.
They just stood there, not moving, and then the elephant turned to me and said, "Jack, I will be your companion on your journey."
"Thank you," I said as the elephant held out her trunk for me to take.
I reached out my hand, and we walked away from the lion, who turned his head and called to me. "Jack, good luck, and remember that everyone here is relying on you."
"I know, and thank you," I called back to him. "I won't let you down." The thought went through my head that I was only twelve. What could I do? I wished my dad and brothers were there. They would know what to do.
"Jack," the elephant said, "I'm only going as far as the dam."
"That's okay," I told her.
Then she asked me, "Can you climb on my back?"
I looked up at this huge elephant and wondered how I was going to get on her back. The elephant put her trunk on the ground and told me to put one foot on her trunk and then to hold on to it. As I did, she lifted me up in the air. "Now, Jack," she said, "get onto the middle of my back." I wriggled backward and forward to get comfortable. "Are you ready, Jack?"
"No, not quite," I said, still trying to get settled on her back. "I'm okay now," I finally told her. The elephant raised her trunk and blew a sound. "I suppose that means you're okay too," I said.
"Yes, dear," said the elephant. She walked around the large stone as the two lions sat there like the king and queen of the lake.
As we passed the lake, I noticed that more animals were drinking in the morning sun. I looked past the lake into the surrounding dense forest where the trees hid the sky. As we went through the forest, the elephant stopped every few yards. "Mind your head, Jack," she said as we passed a low branch. Then she pulled some leaves off the branch and ate them.
"Hey, I'm hungry too," I said. "How long before we reach the river?"
The elephant put a last piece of leaf in her mouth and said, "All in good time."
We continued through the forest as the sun started to get hot. "Phew," I said. "I'm feeling really hot."
The elephant replied, "Jack, these trees will shade you." As we passed a large tree, she stopped and told me to pull off a branch and use it as a fan. I tried to do what she asked, but the branch didn't move when I tugged on it.
"Dear, dear," the elephant said. "You humans." She ripped off the branch with her trunk and laid it over her back for me to take. "Now, Jack, just wave it around. It will keep you cool and keep the bugs away from you."
"Oh, thank you," I said to her. "That's much better." I waved the branch around in the air.
"Jack, you may want to rip off some of your shirt and put it on your head," the elephant suggested.
"What for?" I asked, thinking how silly a shirt would look on my head.
"We will soon be coming out of the forest, and then the sun will get so hot that you will need something to keep your head cool."
I tried several times to rip the bottom off my shirt while being bounced around on the back of the elephant. I kept pulling at my shirt until it finally ripped. Then I tied it around my head like a turban. "Well," I said to the elephant, "what do you think?"
Bending around so she could see me, she laughed out loud and said, "Yes, Jack. It suits you."
As I sat still again on her back, I noticed that the forest had almost disappeared, and all around us was a grassland, as wide as it was long, with mountains large and small surrounding us in the distance. Then beyond them I noticed white smoke. I said, "Look! Is that the camp?"
(Continues...)
Excerpted from A Boy Called Jack by LIZZY CLARKE Copyright © 2012 by Lizzy Clarke. 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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