Tales from the Canvas

My Big Sister Can See Dragons by Rocky Tirona

2008-08-22T07:13:00.001-07:00

My big sister can do a lot of things better than me.

She can swim all the way across the swimming pool. I still need to grab mom when I need to breathe.

My sister can read words with more than 3 letters in them. So when mom gets home late from work, my sister can read herself to sleep. I have to sing.

And when she draws a dog, people know if it’s a German Shepherd or a Labrador or a poodle. When I try to draw a dog, people ask if it’s an animal or a hotdog with marshmallows.

But you know what else my big sister can do? She can see dragons.

It’s true. Yesterday, when she came home from school and I was playing with my doll, she suddenly said “Shhh! Don’t move. There’s a baby dragon behind you.”

I turned my head but I saw nothing. I said, “Where? “

“You can’t see them. You need a Dragon Eye in order to see dragons.” she said.

“DragonS? You mean there are more?”

“Of course!” answered my sister. “There’s a whole world of dragons next to our world, but if you’re a dragon tamer, you can bring them over to our side. But they’ll have to go home before bedtime.”

“Can you teach me?” I said.

She told me to half-close my eyes and sort of roll up my eyeballs. She said I have to do it ‘til things start to look fuzzy.

So I squinted a little and I tried to move up my eyeballs. But they started to hurt, so I opened my eyes.

“Nothing’s happening”, I said.

“Do what you do when we pretend to be asleep when Dad comes home”, she said. So I opened my mouth, half-closed my eyelids, and let my eyes roll up. And I saw a white blur move just behind my sister.

“I saw it! I think..” I cried. “Is it white?”

“This baby one is”, said my sister. “But when they’re all here, there are blue ones, orange ones...even a rainbow colored one.”

She said that maybe I could practice so I could tame the pink one. Pink is my favorite color.

I’d like that. But I wish I could see the white one better. It was still kind of blurry, even when I crossed my eyes really hard and saw double of everything.

My sister said we could have a dragon party. She would invite the others over and we could serve chocolate crinkle cookies since they’re the favorite food of dragons. She said crinkles taste like brimstone, which is what they chew on to make fire come out of their noses.

So we laid out plates and cups and my stuffed lizard toy. I thought the dragons would like to meet one of their cousins.

It was a lot of fun. My sister pointed out the purple mommy dragon who had 23 little babies hanging on to her. And the slimy green one who liked to live in mushy swamps. And the grumpy old grey grandfather dragon with no more teeth, so you didn’t have to be scared of him.

Just one teeny-tiny problem. I still couldn’t see anything. But I really wanted to join the party. And I didn’t want my sister to stop inviting me.

Today, she said we could have the dragons over for a sleepover. Mrs. Purple came, with her 23 babies, all in purple pajamas covered with sleeping clouds. A silver teenager dragon also came. He’s supposed to be the one who can do spirals while flying.

But I still can’t see them.

Then my sister said something that got me worried.

“We need to be careful though. If you can see dragons, you can also see goblins. And sometimes, when you call the dragons, the goblins come too.”

Goblins? Gulp.

My sister spread Mom’s big fluffy quilt on the floor beside us, and I helped her bring all the cushions from the living room. (Dad will be mad when he tries to watch TV, but we’ll be asleep by then).

She waved her arms in the air like a conductor, then pointed to the pillows. “There, I told them to all go to sleep now.” she said.

I did the thing with my eyeballs again and looked at the floor. I still couldn’t see anything.

The phone rang. It was Mom. She’s stuck at the office...again. She told us to go to bed.

“Goodnight Mrs. Purple. Goodnight little ones. Goodnight Grumpy”, said my sister. “Goodnight, little sister.” Then she turned on her side and fell asleep.

That’s another thing my big sister does better than me. She can fall asleep as soon as she puts the blanket over her head.

I’m not sleepy. I’m thinking about goblins. What if they got into our world together with the dragons? Do goblins eat little kids? Can I wake up the dragons to fight the goblins if I can’t see them?

Wait! If I can’t see the dragons, I won’t be able to see the goblins either! Does that mean I’m safe?

But wait again! What if the goblins attack my sister because she can see them?

I shake her awake. Which is really hard to do, because as Dad says, my sister can sleep through an earthquake. So I sit on her tummy and yell really loudly into her ear.

“Gaaaaby! Wake uuuuup!”

My sister opened one eye.

“The goblins! They might come for you!” I cried. “They can’t attack me because I can’t see them. You said that you can only see goblins if you can see dragons. Well, I can’t see dragons really. I tried, but I can’t. I lied! So the goblins can only attack you!”

You know what she said?

“I can’t see dragons either. I just made them up”, she said as she closed her eye again. From under the blanket, I heard her add, “Dummy.”

I can’t believe it. We’re just the same. My big sister can’t see dragons either. I don’t have to lie anymore.

And maybe my big sister’s not much more special than me after all. Maybe I’ll be able to swim across the pool too when I’m six.

But maybe I should keep Dad’s shoe beside me. In case the goblins do come.

The Comet, The Cloud and The Rainbow by Raissa Rivera-Falgui

2008-08-22T07:09:00.000-07:00

A boy sits on the roof of the orphanage where he lives. His name is Julian. He is hiding from the big boys in the orphanage who bully him.

A comet flashes across the night sky.

Below him, Julian hears feet pounding up the stairs. His eye falls on a coil of rope. He looks from the rope to the comet, which seems so large and close. He picks up the rope, makes a loop on the end and….

He has captured the comet’s tail!

He climbs on the tail and holds on tight as the comet continues its flight.

He looks down as they fly over the city.

In one apartment, a spoiled little girl is finally sitting down to dinner after deciding to end her tantrum. She complains to her mother and father, “The soup is cold. The steak is cold. So are the mashed potatoes.”

But after the comet passes, she can no longer complain anything is cold. Not even her ice cream.

“Wow!” says Julian. “What else can we do?”

On the roof of a tall building, a grumpy hundred-year-old man is having his birthday party. He has a hundred guests. He has a hundred balloons. He has a hundred presents. Still, he looks unhappy.

His cake is on a table. It has a hundred candles on it, not yet lighted.

“Let’s swoop down there,” Julian tells the comet.

They light all hundred candles on the cake at once! The old man breaks out in a toothless grin.
Julian sweeps past the window of a very busy restaurant. He hears the customers complaining loudly. “Where are our orders?” everyone is saying.

“Where’s the kitchen?” Julian asks. The comet goes around the building, and there they are.

In the kitchen, the cooks are frantic. They have so many orders of pizza, lasagna, and chicken waiting to be put in the oven. They don’t have enough space in the oven for all the food.

But after the comet passes, they don’t need the ovens. They call the waiters to bring all the orders to the people waiting.

They fly past a bridge. Under the bridge, a mother and two children are huddled under damp blankets.

Julian guides the comet down to a pile of driftwood nearby. And then there is a fire to keep the mother and her children warm.

In the park, there is a fireworks display. The comet dances with the fireworks, making the show brighter and wilder. Julian gets quite dizzy with its loop-de-loops. But the crowd is delighted. Their cheers make Julian smile.

Then they fly out to the country.

It is dark with no streetlights. The woods below look so gloomy. Julian is frightened. “Oh Comet, I wish you would light up these dark woods.”

And suddenly a tree is aflame. Then another, and then still another. It is not long before the whole forest is on fire!

Julian screams. The comet is startled and leaps up, flying wild. Julian holds onto the tail for dear life, as they zoom higher and higher into the sky. They fly above the clouds.

Clouds!

Julian lets go of the comet and lands on a fluffy cloud. He guides the cloud above the forest. “Rain, Cloud, rain!” he cries.

The cloud lets out a thundershower. Slowly, the fire fizzles out. Julian sighs with relief.

Tired, Julian flops down on the soft cloud. “Will you take me home, Cloud?” he pleads. The cloud goes in the direction he points. They drift slowly back to the orphanage, watering gardens and washing the streets as they go.

Julian spots a naughty dog that is running away from a girl who was giving him a bath. He orders the cloud to douse him with water.

The dog runs back home, washed clean. His tail is drooping. He rushes into the arms of the little girl, who wraps him in a large towel.

They float over the park. A little boy is trying to build a sandcastle in the sandbox. He has already dug a moat, but the walls keep crumbling. He starts to cry.

Julian squeezes out a sprinkle of rain from the cloud, enough to dampen the sand and fill the moat. The little boy returns to his project with excitement.

They pass by the spoiled girl’s apartment again. The window is open. They hear her whining about her breakfast. “The orange juice is too sweet,” she says.

“Then don’t drink it. Just eat your oatmeal,” says her father.

“It’s too hot!” she complains.

Rain comes in through the window. The cold shower makes the orange juice watery and cools the oatmeal. And the little girl is stunned into silence.

Then Julian hears a shout of “Stop, thief!” He sees a man running down the sidewalk. A woman’s handbag is under his arm.

“Quick, Cloud!” Julian orders the cloud to rain on the sidewalk.

The thief is surprised by the sudden shower. He slips on the wet sidewalk, landing flat on his back. A policeman reaches him before he can get back on his feet. The woman is so overjoyed to have her handbag back, she does not mind that the rain has drenched her too.

By the time they reach the orphanage, it is morning. “How will I get down?” Julian wonders as the cloud hovers above the building.

In answer, the cloud makes a rainbow for Julian to slide down on. He sits on the rainbow and slides down onto the roof. Because the rainbow is freshly made, its colors are still wet. His hands, pants, and shoes get smeared with red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, and indigo. But he doesn’t mind.

He waves goodbye to the cloud, then runs down to get his breakfast. He leaves a trail of color behind him. But his many-colored footprints are soon trodden on by the other children rushing to the dining room and nobody notices them.

In the dining room he sees the boys who chased him last night. But they pay no attention to him now. Nobody looks at him. Nobody asks where he had gone. Everybody is staring outside.

“Look at that beautiful rainbow!” a girl squeals.

Julian just smiles and sits down at the table. He finishes his breakfast quickly, then he rushes out in a blur of color.

Soon after he leaves, the children notice their plain cereal is now colored. Their old faded clothes are bright. The plain white walls now have rainbow stripes.

Julian is down in his classroom. He fills all his classmates’ empty paintboxes. Then with his color-streaked hands he paints a picture.

It shows the comet, the cloud, and the rainbow.

Why the Sea is Blue and Salty by Agay Llanera

2008-08-22T07:07:00.000-07:00

Long ago, the Sea wasn’t just blue.
Every second, it sparkled a different hue.
First, it was purple then it was pink,
and then it turned orange, all in one blink!
One moment, it was red, the next, it was yellow.
Then it was green like a bright, dewy meadow.

Gazing upon the Sea was the blue, blue Sky.
Each day, it would gaze down sadly and sigh,
Why do you have so many colors and I only have blue?
Why, oh why… can’t I be like you?
It would ask the Sea everyday,
Can you give me be a bit of color today?

The Sea would roll in laughter, sputter and say,
There’s no way, my friend! There’s just no way!
Why would I give my colors away?
Here in my waters, they belong! They shall stay!

Everyday, the Sky remained blue
and in its heart, jealousy brewed.
It secretly plotted and eagerly schemed
on getting the Sea’s red, pink and green.
To fill its immense, blue, blue hollow,
it needed the Sea’s purple and yellow.

The Sky urged the Wind to blow hard and strong.
So the Wind huffed and howled all day long.
The blue Sky cackled heartily,
Come to me, colors of the Sea!

The waves roared, soared and lashed!
But after swelling huge, down they crashed!
The colorful waves didn’t reach the Sky
and the Sea scoffed because it knew why.
Nice try, my dear Sky.
But I’m afraid it won’t work; you’re just too high!

So the Sky nudged the Sun to shine its brightest
and dry out the Sea so its hues it could possess.
Bodies of water vanished without a trace—
all except the Sea’s smug look on its face.
My waters are too deep and my body is too vast!
Your puny sunshine, I can easily outlast!

The Sky grew quiet and turned deep, dark gray.
(And honestly, it didn’t look pretty that way.)
Then the blue, blue Sky
started to cry.

All the lakes, streams, and rivers
the Sky released in a weepy holler.
Down its giant tears mightily plopped
with such great force, they gave quite a shock!
They exploded on the ground, splitting it loose.
Everywhere it hit was bumped and bruised.

Now, the Sea may be greedy
but it couldn’t bear to see
the earth smashed into bits,
covered in cracks and pits!

So the Sea reached out to the Sky,
Please don’t cry, Sky. Please don’t cry.
But the Sky didn’t hear.
Down stormed its tears.

To save the earth from further harm,
the Sea stretched out its fluid arms.
And the Sky’s tears, the Sea swallowed,
along with its blue, blue sorrow.

When the Sky had stopped crying, it looked down
and saw that the earth had almost drowned.
Its heart broke at the damage it had done.
It didn’t matter anymore that it still had not won.

The Sky glanced at the Sea in grief—
quickly replaced by disbelief!
My dear Sea, what has happened to you?
Where are your colors? Why are you only blue?

The weary Sea smiled up at the Sky
because it knew exactly why.
My dear Sky, I caught your tears when they fell
and I think I’ve caught your color as well.
Now, I have become like you.
So this is how it feels to be blue.

I was selfish and I didn’t care.
My colors, I didn’t want to share.
I was proud and I was greedy.
Is it too late to say, “I’m sorry?”

The Sky sniffed and bowed its head.
I’m sorry I wanted to get your red,
to pinch your pink and to steal your green.
Ah, your colors were truly the prettiest I’ve seen!
But I was born blue, and this I accept.
Now I must mend the earth, ‘til no rubble is left.

The Sky told the Sun to dry out the flood.
Next, it was told to dry out the mud.
Then the Clouds returned the floodwater
to the lakes and streams, ponds and rivers.
The Sky told the Wind to sweep away the mess.
When all was done, the earth looked its best.

The whole time, the Sea was watching quietly
then it broke out into uncontrollable glee.
My dear Sky, while you were crying, I reached up
and touched your cheek to make you stop.
Before I drowned in your magnificent blue,
look at what I had given you!

And the Sky looked at its blurry image
mirrored on the Sea—wait, was that a smudge of orange?
A dash of red and a splash of green!
A tinge of purple and a rosy pink sheen!
And surely, that was a patch of happy yellow!
On the curve of the Sky’s cheek was a sparkling rainbow.

Now you know why the Sea is blue.
But as to why it is salty, here’s a clue!
The next time you cry, try tasting your tears;
It’s as salty as the Sea filled with the Sky’s tears.

Tala, the Star That Could Not Sleep by Augie Rivera

2008-08-22T07:05:00.000-07:00

Every night, and only a few know this, every star in the vast night sky, stops twinkling and falls asleep.

Everyone, that is, except for Tala, the little star who could not fall asleep.

Tala turns, and stretches, and curls in her cloud-bed, but no matter what she does, she just couldn’t fall asleep.

“You must learn how to count, Tala, just like your brothers and sisters,” said Mother Moon. “Try counting things.”

“But what will I count?”

“Just look below and look closely, and count all the beautiful things that you can see. This might help you fall asleep.”

So, Tala peers over the edge of her cloud-bed to look below. And what does she see?

A puppy in a tub, wagging its tail after a warm bath.

Two colts giggling, as they clean their horsy ears.

Three bunnies on their backs, powder-puffed by their mama.

Four billy goats, putting on their neat pajamas.

Five kittens on the roof, brushing their teeth.

Six piglets in their pen, enjoying a tummy massage.

Seven ducklings cuddling, as Papa Duck rocks them to sleep.

Eight tadpoles humming, as Mama Frog croaks a lullaby.

Nine chicks listening to a bedtime story.

Ten babies yawning in a quiet, dim nursery.

Finally, Tala yawns and twinkles a faint glow.

Tucked in her fluffy cloud-bed in the vast night sky, she finally falls asleep.

Good night!

Daisy Chain by Becky Bravo

2008-08-22T07:03:00.000-07:00

This is the story of Daisy Chain
a naughty girl, a royal pain
You should've seen the bright red blush on Daisy's mother's face
when Daisy threw a tantrum in a very public place.

Shopping at the supermarket on Sunday afternoon,
Daisy laid her starry eyes on The Chocolate Kaboom -
A block of chocolate as big as your head,
striped with caramel and strawberry thread,
A honeycomb center, marshmallows galore
Guaranteed to send your teeth all falling to the floor!
Daisy had to have it,
Daisy had to try,
If Daisy couldn't have it
She would absolutely DIE.

She begged her mother pretty please
and went down on her bony knees,
Smiled and simpered like a pro
but Daisy got a big fat NO.
Quick as a flash she threw a fit,
first a trembling in the lower lip,
and then she squeezed her eyes real tight,
and then she screamed with all her might -

The scream was heard throughout the store
It shattered the glass, blew open the doors
Went thundering from aisle to aisle and rattled all the carts,
Slicing watermelons into fourteen equal parts.
An old lady dropped a bagful of peas,
sent a clerk scrabbling on his hands and knees,
Frozen peas rolled here and there,
frozen peas rolled everywhere.
One young woman slipped on a pea,
and out of her hands flew a carton of tea
which landed on an old man's head
as he was reaching for a loaf of bread -
He was last seen in a frantic dance
before being buried in the avalanche
of Pullman loaves and pan de sal.

Red in the cheeks and embarrassed to death,
Daisy's mother took a breath
and said it firmly, loud and slow

No.

No.

NO.

Our girl Daisy screamed anew,
screeched until her face was blue,
knocked the bottles off the shelves,
exploded all the eggs in twelves.
Foamed up all the dish detergents,
split open all the beans,
withered all the bulbs and tubers,
wilted all the greens.
Cheese puffs scattered all around,
stuck to the ceiling and down on the ground,
cookies scattered near and far,
mixed up with the candy bars .
Mayonnaise volcanoes!
Geysers of shampoo!
When little children throw a fit
There's nothing you can do...

but wait until they're tuckered out,
too tired to shriek, too pooped to shout.

Daisy drew a breath at last,
none too quickly, none too fast,
and when she opened up her eyes
it wasn't such a big surprise
that every person in the place
was frowning at her purple face -
they narrowed their eyes and pursed their lips
and stood with hands upon their hips.
They clucked their tongues and shook their heads.

Tsk.

Tsk.

TSK!

Our girl Daisy,
dazed and stunned,
saw the damage she had done.
Shame, shame, shame.
Daisy knew just what she'd been -
A naughty girl, a royal pain.

Sorry.

Sorry.

SORRY.

Small and sheepish Daisy Chain
hid behind her mother's skirt
and never screamed again.

***