Looking back at what I’ve written through the years, I find a strange paper trail of four main interests: fiction, poetry, songs, articles. Many examples show up within each category and yes, indeed, it is a paper trail because I began writing long before my desk ever boasted of holding a computer. Interesting letters of acceptance and rejection from editors are among the plethora of paper, as well as sample copies of magazines holding my offerings. Cozy mysteries are my favorite type of reading material and they are also my favorite kind of story to write but I have found that you, my readers, also enjoy reading a bit of romance now and then. So, the ideal story is the trilogy of mother/daughter sleuth books written by Barbara Burgess and me. In The Cemetery Club, Grave Shift, and the upcoming Best Left Buried, Darcy realizes that old flame of hers, Sheriff Grant Hendley, still warms her heart. However, I have a confession to make: I’d really like to write a children’s book too. So, this morning, I am going to re-print the first part of a long rhymed story for children, first published by My Friend, a children’s magazine. This is about a cat with a problem.
The Not-So-Nice Mice
by Blanche Day Manos
The hundred year old barn was home to a cow,
A rooster, some hens, and a mule who pulled a plow.
The days they spent in working; each one did his best
And when the sun sank from the sky, the animals wanted rest.
But when evening fell across the barn’s old, sturdy walls,
Squeaks and scurries filled the loft and echoed through the stalls.
“These pesky mice!” the rooster crowed. “I can stand no more.
They run along my roosting place. They swarm across the floor.”
The cow mooed in anger, “The reason is quite clear;
The mice have overrun us because they know no fear.”
“Look at that cat!” the mule declared. “he’s useless as can be.
Why the farmer keeps him is one big mystery.”
A small, black spider left her web and nestled in the fur
Of the farmer’s tomcat, but no one noticed her.
The spider rode behind his ear as Tom Cat crept outside.
“They hate me,” Tom said sadly. “I need a place to hide.”
“I think you’re right,” the spider said, “although I don’t know why.”
“I’m scared of mice,” the cat replied. And he began to cry.
Will the cat overcome his fear of mice? Will the animals’ disgust turn to high esteem? To be concluded tomorrow.
I think that sounds appropriate for a children’ s picture book.