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Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

March 13, 2013

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The Ring of Peace

Watercolor painting by K. Harsham 2013

Gabriel sat down on some rocks by the Ganges River with a pita and kabob sandwich. He was on a holiday with his parents touring India.

As he took his first bite, he heard sobbing. At first he thought it was the wind. He looked around at the trees, but they were still. He could not feel any breeze. The sobbing came again. It was not the water, and it was not his parents, sitting up the slope behind him on a blanket with some friends. He got up and explored among the rocks.

A small boy with black hair and eyes was hiding behind a boulder wailing. When he saw Gabriel, he dashed away his tears and turned his back.

“What’s wrong?” Gabriel asked the boy.

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Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

March 11, 2013

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Fairy Tale for Girls, Tales for Kids of All Ages, Young Fairy Tale

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Kendara at Sea

One stormy night, Kendara dreamed she was a storm-petrel, flying low over the waves, playing near the surfacing whales. The whales sang their sad, slow music, and she understood they were asking her to find the City in the Sea, the home of the Sea Guardians.

“Please tell the guardians that we, the whales, are dying out and we need their help.” Kendara felt nervous at the idea that she would have to find the City in the Sea. Sometimes she did not feel brave, but in her dream, she was a storm-petrel, and she would be very brave. She dipped her gray tail feathers in the sea, and laughed into the wind. She flew farther and farther, feeling her wings become tired. Ahead of her was the dawn, and a head appeared in the waves.

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Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

March 5, 2013

Posted under

Fairy Tale for Boys, Tales for Kids of All Ages, Young Fairy Tale

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The Lost Dwarvish Treasure

Long, long ago, in the land of dwarves, an amazing treasure was forged. One part was a helmet that let the wearer see through stone, wood and water. The second and last part was shoes of gold that made the wearer silent and invisible. For generations, the king of dwarves held these treasures until the great battle of Stone Circle, where the dwarves were defeated by humans. The dwarf king was fatally wounded, and the humans took the treasure, never realizing what they possessed. The treasures were child-sized to humans. Many more generations passed, and the treasures became forgotten by time and memory, until Simon visited Castle Archer and Castle Thunder on his summer vacation. Although Simon missed his family during his travels to see his school friends, he didn’t miss his archenemy, his neighbor Tristan.

Simon liked to play hide-and-seek, hunt the treasure and capture the castle. One day he played a new game combining all the other games with his friend Sir Alec of Castle Archer. The boys called the new game hide-and-hunt. They made an old dirty helmet the treasure, and asked Sir Alec’s father to hide it. Simon ran from hiding place to hiding place, found the treasure and captured the castle by hiding the treasure in his suitcase without being seen. Sir Alec’s father let him take the dusty old helmet as a prize for winning.

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Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

February 25, 2013

Posted under

Fairy Tale for Girls, Tales for Kids of All Ages, Young Fairy Tale

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Magda Solves the Labyrinth

One night, Magda attended her first gala with her parents. Her cousin’s best friend was turning sweet sixteen, and her grandmother had rented a huge old mansion to have a party to benefit the local children’s hospital. Magda wore her prettiest dress and ribbons in her hair. She sat quietly during a marionette puppet show of Rapunzel. She ate her dinner of peking ravioli and dan dan noodles without spilling a drop. She danced the Macarena and shook her tail feathers.

That evening, she felt grown up right until the riddle labyrinth. The courtyard of the mansion had a labyrinth made of hedges. Each child entered the labyrinth in the same spot, but then they split up. Whoever got to the center first won a prize, they would go to the sponsor store to pick out a new bicycle. She could pick one out in her size. Magda was determined to win. She knew her parents were watching her through cameras in the maze. She found herself alone at the fifth turning, should she go right or left? She could not see over the tops of the hedges. An axe clattered to the ground behind her. A woodcutter was there.

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Posted by

Brenda Davis Harsham

Posted on

February 25, 2013

Posted under

Fairy Tale for Boys, Fairy Tale for Girls, Tales for Kids of All Ages, Young Fairy Tale

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The Queen’s Ruin

Liam took a walking tour with his parents through Shrewsbury Castle gardens. On the edge of the Severn River, a tour guide named Julia waved Liam’s group into a ruin with broken columns and wall fragments, some with windows still framing the soft Shropshire sunshine.

“This is the Queen’s Ruin,” said Julia, the tour guide. “Queen Maud and her cousin Stephen battled for the throne of England. At one point, Queen Maud is said to have taken refuge here, and after she left, Stephen pulled it to the ground, leaving only ruins. This statue in the flowers is said to be of Queen Maud as a young woman, descended of kings, married to a king and mother to a king.”

Liam looked at the statue for long minutes as the rest of the tour continued on to the archways of blooming wisteria. She looked so peaceful there in the shadows of the lilacs. Unfortunately, both arms were broken off of the white marble. Liam was sad to see her damaged.

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