Children's story number four, Sam and Henry.

Sam was sorry that the school holiday was over, but he was getting rather bored so did not really mind.
"Have you got your cheese sandwiches and pencils?" his mother asked.
"I have lost my pencils," Sam had to admit.
His mother sighed, "You would lose your head if it wasn't screwed on!" she scolded.
As usual Henry the cat was waiting outside the hole, on the off-chance he might catch a mouse dinner.
"Granddad, can you help me by distracting him?" Sam asked.
So while Sam escaped, Granddad ran rings round the cat until he made Henry feel quite dizzy!
Down the ally Sam ran until he came to an old shed, which was where the mouse school was held. Inside he was greeted by all his friends who were already sitting at their desks.
"Late again Sam," Miss Emma Mouse said, looking cross. "No, don't bother to give me the same old excuses. If you want to outwit that cat you will have to run faster."
"He will have to train like they do for the Mouse Olympics," Someone suggested, which made the class laugh.
At plat time Harry Mouse told the others how he had visited the big city to shop with his mother. He painted such a wonderful picture that Sam asked, "Could you please take me on Saturday?"
"I suppose," Harry answered.
Saturday arrived and Henry was having a kip on the settee dreaming of a large plate of fish, so it was easy for Sam to escape. Across the fields the two mice scampered until they came to Mouse City. Sam had never been there before so it really surprised him, though he did not like how crowded it was. They gazed into a shop window where all the different cheeses were on display, which made them feel quite hungry.
Afterwards they wandered into the big shopping area, and guess who was there? Henry of course, who was pretending to be on his best behaviour, because the Mouse Policemen looked scary with their truncheons.
"Oh! No, it's that cat," Harry cried, shaking in his boots.
"Just our luck, he must have followed us," Sam replied, looking round for a way of escape.
As soon as he spotted the two friends Henry's eyes lit up. He ran towards them at full speed, thinking, 'this is going to be a piece of cake; or mouse, whichever way he looked at it.
"Up the escalator!" Harry shouted. The two mice leapt onto the bottom stair just as Henry pounced, leaving him to wonder, would anything ever go right for him?
"This is fun," Sam said, as they moved slowly upwards.
"It won't  be if that cat catches us up," Harry answered fearfully.
When Sam looked round there was Henry right behind them. "Eek! Eek!" he squeaked, "I don't want to be his treat."
"Follow me!" Harry shouted, at the top jumping off the escalator, and then jumping up on to the moving rail going back down. "Come on Sam, jump!" he shouted back. And of course Sam did, not fancying being eaten up by Henry.
They moved downwards clinging to the rail with their tails, Harry happy that they had beaten that cat. But of course Henry was right on their tails, however, being larger than them he was finding it difficult to balance, but still he was no quitter. Swaying about he stretched out his claws and went to grab Harry. "Help!" Harry squeaked, thinking the worst.
As a matter of fact it was Henry who needed the help. He suddenly lost his balance and went flying through the air. There he lay on the shopping centre floor feeling as if all his bones were broken, of course they weren't. The last thing the two mice saw of him was being put in a cat ambulance and driven away.
Sam and Harry joined paws and danced in glee, and everyone joined in. On the way home Sam said, "That was a fun day out, wasn't it?" On considering everything Harry had to agree.
"Well, what have you been up to today?" Granddad demanded.
"Nothing much," Sam answered, because he should not have been in the big city in the first place without permission.

Augustine Nash.

Remembering my dear sister Joyce.

In years gone by,
You and I,
Went up the lane to play.
Up the bank we would climb,
Through nettles and thorns,
Leaving our skin torn.
You always went first Joyce,
To haul me up onto the branch,
Where I was entranced,
By the thick green leaves
Of our nut tree.
I think of those days,
When we escaped the rage,
To enter a different world.
We were pirates on the high seas'
With grubby knees,
Shouting "Slice the main brace,"
Or "leave him to his fate."
I always talked of going to China,
Which fascinated me,
Just to see, what it was like.
I still remember Joyce,
How your eyes would light up,
When you said, "I am going
To marry a rich man, if I can."
As the afternoon drifted by,
We would sigh,
That we had to go home.
But, you always said,
"We have still got time
To play ghosts, you know,
As long as you don't go
Getting scared."
Our nut tree was a refuge
and a friend, but in the end,
It got cut down.

Third part of children's story, Henry and Sam.

Henry was still banned from going indoors and was getting angrier by the minute. How shameful that a high class cat like himself was down to scavenging in the bins, when he was used to having the best of everything. It felt like someone dropping him from a great height! Meanwhile Sam had the run of the house for a change, but it had become boring. You must all know that familiar word, even mice use it.
One evening he squeezed his skateboard underneath the crack in the front door, nervously looking towards the kennel. It was empty. Now that posed a problem. Sam wondered if Henry was getting ready to pounce out on him. So taking his courage in both hands he shot down the drive on his skateboard and out of the open gate into the back alley to meet his friends. There was still no sign of that cat!
Casper, Freddie, Nick and Ned said all-together, "Hi dude, can we have a ride on your skateboard please?"
"I don't know if there is room for all of us," Sam answered dubiously.
"Oh! Go on," Ned pleaded. "I'll bring you one of my mother's buns covered in pink icing," he offered.
Sam was not to be bribed, after all his mistress left him all sorts of tit-bits on the table every night. "Not interested," he said.
Casper said, "How about some yellow sherbet, that is yummy!"
"Don't like it, "Sam said, "It's all sticky and horrible."
Nick was wracking his brains, until he hit on an idea. "I will let you sit by me at school," he suggested.
Sam laughed, "Sit by you? Not likely, especially when you make rude smells."
Freddie was the brains of the gang. "You must have heard of the famous footballer, Beckham mouse, well my dad got his autograph for me, will that do?"
"Wow! Wee! A Beckham mouse autograph," Sam cried. "Man, he is the greatest! You have a deal."
Sadly in was not to be, for guess who was sitting high above them on a chimney pot? Yes, you guessed right, our resident cat. Freddie heard a sound and saw Henry in the gutter getting ready to leap down on them. He thought his luck was in, five mice for supper!
"Get up on my skateboard," Sam shouted to the others. At first they were in such a hurry that they collided in a heap. Henry sprang! There was a wicked gleam in his eyes and he had sharpened his claws for just such an occasion.
The mice crowded on to the skateboard holding on to each other, Sam gave a mighty push and they began to roll down the alley, with Henry one paw step behind. "Where are we going?" Casper shouted nervously. Sam had no time to answer as he was trying to control the skateboard.
Out of the alley they rushed and on down the hill towards the village duck pond, with Henry every now and then stretching out a paw to dislodge them. He thought, 'Never mind, they will tire before I do being at the peak of my fitness.'
Sam lost control of the skateboard and it swerved off the road over the grass towards the pond. "I can't swim!" Casper squeaked in fright. "Neither can we!" the others joined in. The next moment they went flying through the air straight into the pond. The ducks loudly quacked then flew off at this shameful intrusion. However, luck was on the side of the five mice because they landed on a lily leaf.
On the bank Henry was patrolling back and forth, the truth was he did not like water, especially if it was dirty.
"Now what are we going to do?" Sam said, hoping someone would suggest something. No one answered. "If only we had an oar we could move this leaf towards the bank," he went on.
Henry spotted the branch of a tree was hanging out over the water just above the mice, he could scoop them up one by one. So he started climbing the tree, "I smell supper," he said to himself, licking his lips.
Sam suddenly realised what Henry was up to, how were they going to escape?
Down at the bottom of the pool lived a large pike, on hearing the noise he rose to the surface. "Don't you know mice aren't allowed in here?" he said. Then he noticed the cat perched above the mice and realised what was happening. He was the King of his domain and used to handling tricky situations. "Hang on," he ordered, and started pushing the leaf towards the bank. Henry went to lunge forwards, lost his balance and fell into the water. "Help! Help! Someone save me," Henry howled.
But no one was listening. Having delivered the mice safely to the bank the Pike sank back to the bottom of the pool, burying himself in the mud. He had done his good deed for the day.
Surprisingly the skateboard worked perfectly and away the five mice went to get changed out of their wet clothes.
And Henry? Well, he is a survivor. Fur dripping with smelly pond water he crawled back inside his dog kennel, and guess what? He had caught another cold! So, what does he do next, because cats can't help catching mice, so he was not going to give up that easy.

Augustine Nash.

Second part of Sam and Henry children's short stories.

Granddad mouse had been hammering all day in his workshop, while Sam sat patiently waiting outside. There was also someone else waiting, that pesky cat Henry! Mind you, he was careful not to make it too obvious knowing that his Mistress would not tolerate him eating her pet mouse, if he got caught.
The workshop door opened and Grandfather mouse called, "Come and see what I have made for you Sam."
On the floor stood a piece of wood on wheels. "What's that Granddad?"
"Why bless my soul, what do they teach you at school these days? It's a skateboard, of course."
"Oh, I see. But how does it work?" Sam asked, not seeing what use it would be to outwit that cat.
"Stand well back and I will show you."
Sam watched as his Grandfather slid one foot underneath a small loop, propelling himself forward with the other. Round and round he went gathering speed which made Sam feel quite dizzy. Then to his amazement he saw his Grandfather leap high into the air and land on his bench, skidding along the surface at break-neck speed. He gave another giant leap onto the chair, sliding down the leg until he came to a stop.
"Groovy!" Sam cried, trying out the new word he had learned at school.
"Now it's your turn Sam, it is all a matter of balance." If only that had been the case it would have been easy. Poor Sam fell off the skateboard so many times he felt bruised all over. "I'll try again tomorrow," he said.
"No you won't, my motto is, never give up," Grandfather mouse insisted.
All this time Henry the cat had been impatiently waiting, licking his lips until they were sore and getting more frustrated by the second.
At last Sam got the hang of how the skateboard worked and was about to put it away when his Grandfather said, "Not so fast young fellow. Now we have to try it out on that cat." They peered out of the hole and saw the cat was still on duty. He was washing his paws and sharpening up his claws in anticipation!
Sam stood on the skateboard and his Grandfather gave him one mighty push. Out of the hole Sam sped, careering round the room while adjusting his balance. Now it was time to have some fun! Henry sat in the middle of the carpet totally bemused, while Sam moved round him in circles getting closer and closer until he drove right over Henry's tail. What a commotion, what a fuss. Henry screeched as if he had been scalded, then he ran underneath the shelter of the settee and began to cry. Can you imagine it? All that water running over the carpet made it shrink, smaller and smaller until it became mouse size.
"Ta very much, just what I needed for my bedroom ," Sam said, and picking up the carpet he zoomed back through the hole, leaving a very dejected Henry.
Just then the Mistress of the house arrived. "Where is my best carpet?" she cried. "Have you eaten it, own up this minute."
Henry could not utter a word in his defence. Life was just not fair. Cats should be protected against mice that were out of control.
"I have had enough of your bad behaviour, Henry. Pack your case and move out into the empty dog kennel in the garden until you can learn to behave," his Mistress scolded.
There Henry sits in his new home without even a blanket for comfort. Now don't go getting sorry for him because he never learns by his mistakes. Already he is planning...what?

Augustine Nash.

Cildern's Story; Henry and Sam.

Henry the cat sat underneath the table watching the hole in the skirting board. He licked his lips at the thought of a nice tasty mouse dinner!
However, Sam the mouse was not that silly. He sat looking out of the hole wondering how he was going to escape. Then he had an idea. From his bed he pulled out a long stalk of corn. Then he dangled one of his red tee-shirts on the end of it.
Carefully he moved the stalk towards the cat hoping that it would distract him. You bet it did! Henry was a bit short sighted so he thought that Sam was running underneath the chair. He bounded forwards and in his hurry lost his balance and went sliding into the wall where he lay seeing stars.
"Ha! Ha! You can't catch me," Sam taunted. Underneath the door he went into the kitchen to see if the mistress of the house had left him some cheese. Yes, there it was as usual broken up into tiny pieces. You see, Sam was not very old and did not have all his teeth. There he sat munching happily, that was until he saw Henry the cat gazing up at him, showing his fearsome white teeth. How was he going to get down from the table?
Being a clever little mouse he sometimes had some good ideas. A jug of milk had been left standing on the table. The thing was, could he move it? He had to do something quickly because Henry was getting ready to jump up and catch him. With all his strength; which wasn't much as you remember he is not full grown, inch by inch he moved the jug towards the edge of the table. It seemed to take forever. Hurry up! Hurry up! He kept telling himself. How will I ever get out of that cat's belly if he swallows me?
At last he was ready. Just as Henry was about to spring upwards he emptied the milk all over the floor. Henry had this thing about his stomach, it always wanted filling. He saw the milk which diverted his attention, which did not take much thought as he had very few of those in his head. His luck was in, the spilled milk was topped with cream, so he licked away to his hearts content.
Meanwhile, Sam the mouse slid down the table leg, crept up behind Henry and bit his tail! Henry jumped so high that he hit his head on the ceiling and fell down into the pool of milk.
Just then his mistress came into the kitchen. "Up to your old tricks again Henry, now I have no milk for my tea in the morning. Obviously you need teaching a lesson."
Poor Henry found himself out in the garden in the pouring rain, and he did not even have an anorak! He felt very angry because none of it had been his fault. At least that was how he looked at it.
Meanwhile Sam had gone home to tell his grandfather all about it. Grandfather said, "In my day we were much fitter and faster on our feet that this modern generation."
"But Granddad,  you forget my legs are still small," Sam protested.
"In that case I will have to make you something in my workshop which will do the trick. Now off to bed and get some sleep otherwise you will never grow big and strong."
Eventually Henry was let back into the house, dripping wet all over the place. The next day he began to sneeze and felt so ill he could not bother himself about that mouse, he was bound to catch him next time.
Meantime, Grandfather is busy in his workshop, I wonder what he can be making?

Written by Augustine Nash.

poem; A bird with a character.

Joseph Boy took the place of Flossie,
A Budgie with a yellow and green coat,
Not much company, he couldn't sing a note.
Each day when I got up I would say,
"Come on Joseph, are you ever
Going to talk? Say hello, or good-day,
A little bit of dangerous living,
Needs to come your way!"
Joseph Boy is a bird, who suddenly
Had to be heard. Chattering away
Until I say, "Ok, that's enough,"
but he keeps on tweeting,
As if saying "tough!
Here I am on my perch entertaining you,
and all you can do, is to say, "pipe down!"
No wonder I'm browned off."
Joseph Boy knows a thing or two,
Can see right through me.
And for two weeks he sat on his perch,
Not a word, not a tweet, he had gone
On strike, which made me wake
Up worrying in the night.
"OK, I say, let's call a truce,
I know when I'm beaten, have taken
The hint, you can tweet all the time,
If you say little rhymes!"
Well, he mulled it over for a day or two,
Then came through, with a barrage of talk,
In between a battering of the mirror,
A ringing of the bell, as if to tell
me how he felt.
Joseph is a budgie, we get on really fine,
He has learned to say, "Good-day, Hallo
Steve, I am a good boy, and goodnight,
When I switch off the light.
He is my delight!
Augustine Nash.

Poem; Step into my shoes.

It is easy to say to someone else,
"Pull yourself together," or,
"You have to move on,"
It's the same old song.
It is easy to judge one another,
"I would not have done that
In my day," you say.
But that was another world,
Not mine, everything changes in time.
It's easy to say, "Things aren't better,"
And maybe your right,
But there are those out there,
Who stop and stare, responsible
In their own way for making
Someone's day.
It is easy to reject out of hand,
The protests of others who say,
"I made a mistake."
We can all say, '"I'm better than you,"
But have you really thought
Things through? The comfort
Of  a loving hand when one is crying,
Should make you stop and think,
The other poor soul may be on the brink.
Remember the loss of a loved one,
Or a break-up, can fill the cup of sorrow,
Cause hardship or despair,
So remember lend a hand,
Say," I am here."
Augustine Nash.

poem; Jenny and Sarah and Liam.

I am thinking about you today,
As always, since you went away.
I am wishing I could capture,
Those far off times, what rapture!
I am thinking, which memory
To erect, from all the others,
And of course Liam, your brother.
"I want to come to your house
To stay, it's all boring here,"
Jenny would say.
And you all brought such joy
To Granddad's and I heart,
Right from the start.
I am thinking about you today,
How, when I was at work
Next door, you would dust
And hoover the floor.
We would walk down to the weir,
Where you paddled with such
Delight, in those far off days.
I am recalling today,
When I met you three in town
And we went to the café to
Have a quick snack, Liam said,
"I like a cream cake just like my dad,"
Which he always had.
Sarah wanted a baked potato
With cheese and would ask,"Plenty
Of that, please."
Jenny always chose a sausage roll,
And told the assistant, "A big one please."
And Oh! those times when we went in
The shops, to buy shoes,
And after looking in vain, you
Chose the same!
Do you remember the saga,
Of the cucumber you were supposed
To take home, you broke it in half
And gobbled it down, before
We got to town!
I remember with pride, how good
You were, after you arrived,
And I wish that I could go back
In time, when life was so fine.
Augustine Nash.

Granddaughter.

Yesterday my Granddaughter got married in Bali to the man of her dreams. [She lives in Western Australia] Unfortunately I could not attend, but wish them both all the luck on this time round.

Today.

I have just finished correcting my latest book, title; The Camera Never Lies. Now I can send it away for proofreading. Not sure what I am going to write next, I usually have a dream about it! Today is wet and grey, nothing unusual about that. Augustine Nash.