Children of Wondria

by Bob Johns

The story so far: Three children, Becky, Sammy and Nicky, live in a place called Wondria. It’s a place where all creatures have wings and can fly, and the children each have a flying horse. They are out for a day’s fun when they see a terrible storm approaching...

The children climbed aboard their horses and took to the skies. The storm was rapidly becoming more severe, so even the mighty Winter was having difficulties in the fierce winds. As they climbed higher through the thick clouds, they quickly lost sight of the ground. Horses usually have no problem finding their way home, even in cloudy weather. But this was different. With strong winds blowing them off-course and dark clouds blocking their view in every direction, the children soon feared that they were becoming really lost.

The three of them stayed close together as they travelled onward. They should have been over their homes by now, but they felt sure that they had been blown far off their proper course. The horses flew and flew for what seemed a long, long time. After many hours, the clouds beneath them gradually began to clear, making it possible to see the ocean far below.

They looked about them and, as the clouds disappeared, they could faintly see a coast in the far distance. None of them recognized where they were but, as they had been blown by such strong winds for so long, they realized that they could be many hundreds of miles from home.

The horses seemed to smell the fresh water and grass of the land beneath them, and started to descend towards this unexplored coast.

“I think that Winter’s thirsty and hungry,” said Becky. “He wants to land down there.”

“Ginger, too,” agreed Sammy.

Midnight also started heading for the coastline below. The horses eventually glided to a landing on a beautiful white beach.

“I’m getting very hungry and very thirsty,” said Nicky.

“Us, too,” chimed the girls.

The horses soon found some fresh grass and a little stream from which to drink. Nicky immediately knelt by the stream and drank as well. The girls did the same.

“There must be something to eat around here,” said Becky.

“Look, there are some berries over there! I expect they would be good to eat,” Sammy exclaimed.

“Maybe the berries are poisonous. We should be careful about eating things we know nothing about,” suggested Becky.

Just then they heard a noise in the berry patch. They quickly saw the cause of the commotion. Some small rabbits were flying around the bushes and disappearing among the branches, where they nibbled hungrily on the berries.

“If those berries are good enough for the bunnies, then they’re good enough for me,” decided Nicky, and he reached for a handful of the blue fruit.

“Delicious!” he exclaimed as he popped the berries into his mouth.

Soon the girls joined him and quickly filled up as they devoured the sweet treats.

When they could eat no more, the three of them stretched out on the beach for a nap, for they were very tired from their adventure.

When they awoke, it was becoming dark.

“We’d better find somewhere to spend the night, so we can fly home in the morning,” Becky suggested.

The horses had already found themselves a comfortable clearing among the trees alongside the beach. Becky, Sammy and Nicky also walked towards the trees, hoping to find a good place for the long night ahead.

As they stepped closer to the trees, Becky suddenly cried out.

“Did you hear that?” she inquired.

“What?” Nicky asked.

“Shush! I heard something weird,” explained Becky.

A strange creature stepped out from the trees onto the beach. He looked rather like a man, except that he was small, dark and hairy, with pointed teeth and bat-like wings...

See a Video Reading of this excerpt at CVCAS.ca > Literature > Valley Voices