Saturday Stories and Illustrations for Children - Dandelion Wishes

Dandelion Wishes

By Marcia Borell

Shaggy yellow flowers 

glow like the sun

Cheerfully plucked by children

one by one

Yellow turns lacy white

seeds have begun

The child's breath sets them free

his wishing done

Squirrelly Thursday - Twabble - Gray Squirrel

Gray Squirrel - A Twabble
By Marcia Borell

Nibbler grips the peanut in his teeth. Secure on his branch he twists the shell end to end. At last he eats the tasty treat.

Wednesday - My Art - Fantasy, Sci-fi, and Horror - Dragon Rose

Love Scent
By Marcia A. Borell

roses surround love
slips away on fragrant breeze
heartbeats embrace wings

Fantasy illustration and haiku were published in Behold e-magazine Issue 2, 2002.

The illustration Dragon Rose was first published in Fantasy, Folklore, and Fairytales e-magazine February 2000 Issue.

Monday Meditation - Change

My Sunday Funnies - A little something for CSI Fans

First published by FMAM: Futures Mysterious Anthology Magazine, Spring 2004

My Saturday Stories, Poems, and Illustrations for Kids - The glass slipper

First Published in Spellbound - A Fantasy Magazine for Children

The elf sat at his cobbler's bench every night. He had made shoes with laces, buckles, and bows. He made and repaired shoes for gardening, dancing, and running with friends. This was the first time that he had only one thing on his workbench. He had heard the legends about it. He hadn't believed that it really existed.

It was an open box. In the box surround by silver packing grass was the glass slipper and a note. The note said to take out the tiny tubes and jars. Very carefully he dug around in the box and picked out a small tube of gold paste, another tube of silver paste and six tiny jars of sparkling stardust. There was also a purple silk cloth, a blue fuzzy brush, and a spray bottle that just fit in his hand.

The elf went back to the note and read the directions through twice. He needed to do this perfectly so that it would maintain its magic. He picked it up and studied it. It was dusty, had cobwebs, scratches, and a small chips in the heel. He sighed and began to carefully dust it off. Once clean the magic could begin.

He began by mixing the red stardust with the silver paste and rubbed it into all of the scratches and small cracks. He read the chant over and over again as he worked. He was amazed at how fast the rough spots became smooth. Next he picked up the yellow stardust and added it to the gold paste and pushed it into the hollow chips in the heel.  He could feel it sealing the chips, smoothing them out using the pressure of his fingers wrapped in the silky purple cloth.

Time flew by. He suddenly felt tired. The glass slipper was repaired but still looked dull. There was no sparkle. He opened up the remaining jars of stardust and added them to equal amounts of silver and gold paste. Carefully he brushed them on to the shoe. He reread the directions and let it sit for ten minutes as he repeated another set of magical words.

Finally he grabbed the spray bottle and sprayed it all over the slipper inside and out. A stream of watery rainbows circled the slipper as it began to sparkle. He let it sit for another five minutes. Finally he began to carefully polish the glass slipper uttering the last set of magical words.

He carefully put the glass slipper in the box just as the sun was beginning to rise and warm the windows. He was surprised that the darkest corner of the room was also beginning to glitter. The shimmering sphere got brighter and brighter. Eyes wide he saw a set of luminous wings attached to the shoulders of a beautiful lady. Her voice was musical and filled him with joy.

She inspected the slipper turning it over in her hands. Happily his work was done and her magical work had just begun.

Squirrelly Thursday - Red Squirrel Twabble and photo

Red Squirrel
By Marcia A. Borell

The hyperactive climbing, jumping red squirrel bounces across my yard. He gnaws strewn seeds. I focus my camera. Snap.

A Twabble is exactly 100 characters long... counting punctuation but not: spaces, linefeeds, etc. http://twitfic.net/sizingtool/twabble_sizing_fun.htm