Palomena Prasina sat on her leaf sucking sap and sulking.

     ‘What’s up with you?’ asked her mother.

     ‘I hate school!’ said Palomena without looking up.

     Her mother, who was basking in the sun before hibernation time came, turned and looked at her eldest child. It caused a big ache in her stomach to see her so sad.

      ‘Has anyone upset you in school’ she said gently and crawled over the leaf until she was right in front of Palomena. Palomena shook her head.

       ‘Yes they have!’ shouted a spider as he wondered by. ‘I heard the beetles call her Sulky Stinky bug today!’

       ‘Stinky bug! Stinky bug!’ cried the young wingless nymphs that gathered around their sister.

       ‘Please be quiet children,’ said their mother. ‘Is this true Palomena?’

       Palomena looked up at her mother and nodded sadly. ‘Do I stink?’ she asked. Her mother didn’t want to lie to her child so she told the truth.

       ‘Everyone has a special smell,’ she said. ‘If we are upset, just like you were at school, then you react with a stronger smell. It’s a sort of protection us bugs have! It shows we have feelings!’

       ‘But I don’t want to smell,’ said Palomena, ‘no-one will like me if I smell!’

       The young nymphs gathered around their big sister. They had never seen her so upset before.

        ‘Don’t be afraid of the beetles and you won’t stink,’ said one little nymph. Palomena smiled at her little brother who was alwyas so wise.

        ‘The smell is a part of who we are,’ said the little nymph, ‘we cannot change that but we can try to control it.’

        Palomena crawled over to her brother and touched him gently with her nose. ‘You are such a wise young nymph,’ she said, ‘I shall ignore the beetles in future and get on with my school work.’

        And that is what Palomena Prasina did. She went to school the next day and when the beetles called her names, she ignored them. This went on for many days until the beetles suddenly stopped Palomena on the way home from school and asked her to be their friend.

         ‘Even though I stink?’ said Palomena.

          ‘Because, you stink,’ said a big black beetle.

Selin Llewellyn was looking in a rock pool when she spotted the mermaid.

     ‘Look!’ she shouted to her twin brother Seth, ‘it’s a mermaid!’

     ‘There’s no such thing as mermaids,’ he replied, trying not to look interested as he raced towards the pool.

      ‘Where is it?’ he asked.

      ‘Right there,’ replied Selin, pointing to an almost odd looking capsule in the water.

       ‘That’s a mermaid's purse,’ said Seth and dipped his hand into the water and gently brought it out. ‘It’s empty,’ he said and passed it to his sister. ‘I guess there could have been a mermaid inside,’ he said teasingly.

        ‘She might come back,’ said Selin, holding the purse ever so gently.

        ‘No-one’s coming back Selin,’ Seth sighed. ‘It’s just a sort of nursery that once had a small shark inside or a dogfish as most people call them. They stay in there for about nine months or more.’

        ‘But there is no hole where it could have escaped,’ said Selin, examining the capsule carefully. ‘Are you sure she has gone?’ Her brother frowned then nodded his head.

        ‘If that’s the case,’ said Selin, ‘I’ll take it home in this bucket of water!’ And she carried the small orange bucket, all the way back to Gusty Gully, convinced that a mermaid lived inside the purse. That night, when everyone slept, a strange thing happened.

         Selin woke up to the sound of water splashing in the bucket besides her bed. It was still dark though the moon shone an eerie light through her bedroom curtains. She shivered! There it was again! Splish! Splash!  A tiny voice called her name. ‘Selin! Selin! Let me out!’  Selin hid under the bedclothes and stayed there until morning.

          ‘You were dreaming,’ said Seth when Selin told him what happened to her during the night. Selin did not believe it was a dream.

          ‘I heard her calling my name!’ she said, ‘and she asked me to set her free!’ Seth shook his head and frowned.

         As soon as breakfast was over, Selin ran all the way back to the beach, carrying her bucket with the mermaid's purse safely inside.

         ‘Where are you going?’ shouted Seth to his sister.

         ‘Down to the beach,’ Selin shouted back, ‘to let the mermaid go!’

         And she smiled as she watched the waves carry the mermaid's purse back out to sea.          

First, I would like to say hello and welcome to all those reading my tales and thank you for stopping by.  Here is an update from our home for waifs and strays.

     It doesn’t matter how many animals that come through our gate, whenever one dies, through illness or old age, the loss is always the same. I remember my father, an eccentric and clever man, telling me that he loved animals better than humans. His mother, my grandmother, felt the same way too. And growing up in their shadow, surrounded by all sorts of creatures, mostly wild, I could see why they made this decision.

      My kind and unassuming husband and I buried a hen last night after she died peacefully of old age. Later, over a cup of sweet tea, we talked about the joy the hen had brought us over the years, not just by supplying endless tasty eggs but her gentle character always made us smile. And again, as she died, another of our hens sat beside her. This is something hens do!

      I still take time to sit on my bench by the pond, and it never ceases to amaze me at the other world that runs parallel to our own, the world of nature! This uncomplicated thread of wonder stretches from the bottom of our pond, to the tips of our trees and beyond and I am often reluctant to leave their world for ours.

      We are about to take in more battery hens so the summer will almost certainly be a hive of activity. They will arrive, scantily dressed, tired, insecure and confused but it is humbling, watching how they develop into confident and happy animals with individual personalities and shiny new feathers to be proud of.  

      I will write again soon and update you on the rest of the goings on at our home for waifs and strays, and the other side of our ‘home’ where the vegetables continue to grow like weeds in a forest.

Everyone in Gusty Gully of a certain age was getting ready for university, that is, everyone except Megan Evans. You see, Megan didn’t get the grades she needed to go to university and even if she had, she didn't have a clue what she wanted to do. So she had three options. She could re-sit her exams, leave school and look for any job or go travelling. The latter, she thought, would give her extra time to think what she wanted to do with her life. The thought of watching her friends leave home without her, was just unthinkable!

     ‘You should go back to college and sit your exams again,’ said her mother, her father, her grandparents, Phil the fish, Ian the news and most of her friends. It seemed the whole world wanted her to suffer another year at college where all her friends knew what they wanted to do with the rest of their lives. She didn’t know what to do for the rest of the week let alone any longer!

      Megan looked out of the window and wished she could run away and join the circus, anything would be better than staying in the village without any of her friends. Then she saw the lady from the home for waifs and strays, she was cradling a cat that had just been run over and there was blood everywhere.

       ‘Can’t stop mum,’ shouted Megan as she ran through the door towards the road. ‘Can I help you?’ she said to the lady carrying the cat. The lady smiled sadly and nodded her head.

       ‘You could help me find its owners,’ she said gently. ‘I need to take him to the vet.’

        ‘So it’s still alive?’

        ‘Yes, but I think he’s broken his leg and he’s in terrible shock. We have to stop the bleeding and keep him warm.’ Megan was glad the lady found the cat so at least it stood a chance.

        Megan followed the lady to the home for waifs and strays. She opened the arched gate that led into the garden. She had always wondered what it was like inside. Tom the egg said he loved working for them and they were always kind to him. Although, she did remember him saying that the lady was a bit strange but she never asked him why!

        They walked quickly up a stone path boarded by all sorts of flowers and bushes. Megan saw the pond covered with lily pads and fading white flowers.

        ‘Did you see who ran it over?’ she asked, spotting a chicken sleeping in the herb garden.

        ‘No,’ replied the lady, ‘they were driving so fast I doubt they even noticed they had hit anything.’

       Megan followed her into the house. It was cosy and bright, just as she imagined it would be. A table was turned into a makeshift examination area and the cat placed ever so gently upon it. Megan was fascinated.

       ‘Its leg is broken,’ said the lady and made a quick call to the vet without taking her eyes off the cat.

       ‘I’ll bring him straight over,’ she said and wrapped the cat in a blanket.

       ‘Would you like to come with me to the vet?’ she said to Megan. ‘You could hold him on your lap and we’ll look for the owner when we get back.’ Megan nodded nervously. She had never seen a vet before.

        They soon arrived at the vets. Megan looked around the room where people sat with dogs on leads, cats and even a gecko in baskets. There was something about the place, something she had never felt before but it made her smile. She talked to the people waiting anxiously and smoothed a dog that was old and too tired to look up at her. Then she saw the notice. It was an advert for a trainee veterinary nurse. Her heart beat faster and faster and a great feeling of excitement rushed through her. That was it! That is what she wanted to be! She just knew it!

          Once in the room with the vet, it was decided the cat needed an operation so would have to stay overnight. The lady agreed to come back the next day. But before they left, Megan asked about the advert. The vet suggested that Megan did some voluntary work to see if she really would like to become an animal nurse. She agreed at once and arranged to go there the next day.

           A week later, Megan called at the home for waifs and strays. She already knew that the cat had survived his ordeal and although his leg was in plaster, he was back with his owners. But she wanted to tell the lady that if it wasn’t for that day, when the cat got run over, then she might never have known what she wanted to do with her life.

     ‘I will go travelling one day,’ she said smiling, ‘but for now, I’m hoping to train as a veterinary nurse! Who knows, perhaps I could do some voluntary work abroad!’

     And that is what Megan Evans eventually became, a veterinary nurse. And the lady at the home for waifs and strays arranged for her to work with turtles in Greece during the holidays.

Oh Bella Donna (beautiful woman) how is it that one as incredible as you has the potential to kill? I can see how some mortal humans could be deceived by your alluring bell shaped face and faintly scented body. But why do you allow such beauty to entice the innocent to your deadly sweet berries when ripened into a devilish shiny black? Are you not aware that death would almost certainly follow if they ate just a few of your berries or just one of your leaves?

      Keep back, I say, for your charming beauty does not entice me. My father warned me of your kind. However, I can see from where I stand that you are indeed a pretty site. There are many that before the Middle Ages, would have bowed before you for providing the anesthetic they so required. And is it true, that the wife of Claudius and the wife of Emperor Augustus used your poison for murder?  Oh you wicked Bella Donna!

       I don’t mean to harp on but don’t you find it strange that rabbits and cows can eat you and survive and yet our domestic pets and we of course, would not be able to tolerate even a whimsical piece of you! I, for one, would certainly not be tempted by your bewitching and pulchritudinous charm! It is no wonder that they call you Deadly Nightshade!