The Littleberg Stories

Seven stories  based on the author’s "discovering" the mid- 21st century (fictitious) journal of  young Wilton C. Sunnyday.  Willie lived in the small earth town of Littleberg at the time distant space travelers made their first visits to earth.  Willie happened to be the first contact.  Attey, Joey, Old Mr. Neighbor, Rat and Snake are other prominent personalities. Stories include Dandelion Park, seeing the beauty in average things; The Event At The River, first space travelers to earth; Rabbit Tells a Story, a story of sunrises and sunsets:  Steamtrain Picnic, includes a little Morse code and Attey's move to Littleberg; Travelers, suggests we have already been visited before; and two other stories.  

 

-Writing Samples-

from Rabbit Tells His Story - 

The sack started to wriggle violently, and a voice which she did not recognize said, "Let me out of the sack, I was only playing a joke."

Mrs. Turtle said, "Be patient, I will let you out in just a minute."

Then she called the farmer, the doctor, the miner, Mrs. Possum, and Mr. Bank President. When they all had arrived they gathered around the sack and carefully opened up the end. Tommy Cloud could see twelve eyes looking in at him.

"I can explain," said Tommy.

"We certainly expect that you will," said everybody.

 

from Event At the River - 

"It’s lovely," said the visitor. "Where does one buy a sweater for a tube creature around these parts?"

Snake, I’m a snake," said Snake. "Not a tube. Snakes must knit their own sweaters. Stores are only for humans such as yourself."

"But you have no hands," said the visitor. "Sweaters are created by a process of using two needles to create and interweave various stitches using one or more strands of yarn. It appears to me your mother at best could only manipulate one needle at a time. Come closer, let me see your sweater up close so I can see how she knit a sweater with only one needle. I don’t see how that can be done."

"You are indeed right," replied Snake. "This sweater is made by using two needles to interlock the stitches from a strand of yarn. Snakes simply need a knitting partner. Even when we crotchet, we need a partner to help hold everything in place.

"Aunt Slither is my Mother’s knitting partner. One holds one needle, the other the opposing needle, and working together they create the stitches. In fact Mother and Aunt Slither have won several ribbons at the annual Snake State Fair. They have very good speed and Aunt Slither has developed a technique of pulling her needle and herself through the pattern while Mother holds the rest of the pattern tight. She can create some most interesting patterns. See this orange color here, that is her work."

"Most interesting!" said the visitor, and he reached out with three hands to further examine the orange.

Three hands plus the hand the visitor had resting in his lap. Four hands total. Snake was most amazed. His whole life he had been making do with no hands. Even one hand he had often thought could be most helpful, and here he was, face to face, having a conversation with a visitor who had four hands.

"I’ll bet you can knit by yourself?" blurted Snake.

"Uhm, why yes," responded the visitor. "Although I had never thought about it as by myself. Usually two or three of us knit together, I mean, at the same time. We have tea, and we visit. It’s nice to be with one’s friends.

"Our sweaters are seldom done with two needles any more," continued the visitor. "Four needle patterns are the most popular. See this one I am wearing, it’s called a double terrapin. It’s made with four needles. Come look. Today is the first day I have worn it. I have been working on it while I have been traveling. I guess I could say that I knit this one by myself. It really is rather cold here, isn’t it? I am glad I have my new sweater. Do you come here often?"

"Yes," answered Snake. "I like to come by the river. I live in that meadow over there."

Snake pointed towards the meadow by sticking out his tongue and wriggling it in that general direction.

"Do you live nearby?" inquired Snake.

"Yes, rather close," replied the visitor sticking out his tongue and wriggling it like Snake did. But the visitor was pointing up, in the direction of the sky.

 

from Steamtrain Picnic -  

"...   _   .   ._   _ _       _   ._.   ._   .   _.   ...       ._    ._.    .     ._ _     _ _ _

_.    _..    .    ._.    .._.    .._    ._..          ..    _..            ._..    _ _ _    ..._    .    _    _ _ _        _ _.    _ _ _ "