The Two Butterflies by Emma Mitchell

A sweet little story written entirely by Emma Mitchell (on her own) when she was four years old)

Once upon a time, there was a butterfly and her name is Rosey and she has a friend called Kate.

Rosey and her friend Kate went on holiday and they had a good time,

but when it was time to go home they were sad.

But they still went home and they were happy they were home together again.

Fairy Sparkles and Sally the snail

Fairy Sparkles loved rainbows, she loved colours, she loved glitter, she loved dew drops that glistened in the sun.
She loved the light that sparkled through the trees on a hot afternoon, she loved the way the road sparkled in the heat like a mirage............... she loved............... well anything that sparkled!

Fairy Sparkles would awaken early in the morning and begin her 'walk of wonder' looking in amazement at the way the earth sparkled.

Fairy Sparkles and Sally Snail

Have you ever woken early in the morning, in the middle of winter and looked out at the sparkly ice all over the grass tips, well Fairy Sparkles had ................ and she loved it. It was her favourite time of the year.

One morning, she awoke early to begin her 'walk of wonder' to see what sparkles Mother Nature had created for her today, when she came across the most beautiful delicate path of sparkles.

Well........... she was intrigued (intrigued is a big word that means very curious, maybe even fascinated). Looking down Fairy Sparkles noticed how the light played on the sparkles, it was as if they formed a thin sparkly path that weaved and twisted around the garden.
Hmm, most curious Fairy Sparkles thought - her eyes opened wide and her tiny fairy tippy toes began to walk along the silvery path.

Her tiny body shivered in delight as her feet touched the sparkly path, it was wonderful, the most delightful thing in the world to discover a sparkly path that you could even walk upon. You would have loved it too.
Stepping carefully her feet moved along the twisty line of sparkles that shone in the morning sun. Fairy Sparkles noticed she could see little flecks of silver and a faint blue, even a tiny shimmer of purple............ she thought it was wonderful.

Stepping ever so carefully Fairy Sparkles made sure her tiny feet did not leave the sparkly path. As she walked you could even hear the tiny crunch (if you listened very carefully) of the icy grass under her feet.
She could smell the fresh morning air and fee; the warmth of the morning sun.

The sparkly path twisted and turned and she followed it in delight ............... over the rocks on the path, around the big old tree where Ollie the owl hooted at night, across the grass, over a very large rock, around a fallen branch, over the hard knotted wood of another branch, around the side of the ants nest, past the edge of the burrow where Ernie the Echidna slept soundly...............

Fairy Sparkles could not believe her luck at such a long and sparkly path, she was so delighted in her adventure that she almost didn't see Sally the snail who was also following the path right in front of her.



Sally loves the scent of the frangipani flowers

 Slowing down, she patiently waited for Sally also to continue along the path.
Sally was moving soooooo very sslllllooooowwwwllllllyyyyyy..................
Fairy Sparkles began to jump around from one tiny foot to the other and back again, she started to wiggle and jiggle, her arms twitched and her forehead went up and down.
She desperately wanted to get back to following her sparkly path, she was determined to find out where it went.

Eventually she couldn't hold it in any more, bursting out, she exclaimed "Oh, please do hurry up Sally snail, I do so want to get past".

Sally slowly looked back at her and said 'then go around me my dear, there's no trouble here".
Fairy Sparkles looked down at the sparkly path she so wanted to walk on with Sally directly in front of her and she just couldn't leave the path.
She had an idea - "Sally would YOU please go to one side so I can get past you, pretty please".

"Well, since you asked so nicely - I suppose I could" replied Sally.
She ever so slightly began to turn  to one side, Fairy Sparkles eagerly stepped forward but then realised the silvery sparkly path went off to the side that Sally was on and she still couldn't follow it.
"Oh Sally, I am so sorry" exclaimed Fairy Sparkles, "but it appears you have moved to the side I wish to go, would you be so kind as to turn to the other side".

"Yes, my dear" said Sally and slowly turned the other way.

Fairy Sparkles leapt forward, but alas, the path now turned to the other side where Sally had just moved.

"Oh, gumdrops", sighed Fairy Sparkles.
Looking down at the sparkly silvery path, she had an idea.
"Sally, I am very tiny and gentle - would you mind if I carefully stepped over your shell?" she politely asked Sally.

"Well, I suppose a fairy's weight won't do any harm" shared Sally
"that will be fine - go on then".

Fairy Sparkles carefully tip toed over Sally's shell as careful as walking on water so as not to hurt Sally, her face lit up with delight at the sparkly silvery path and she gently stepped down in front of Sally.
Smiling down at the path, Fairy Sparkles was surprised to find that the path was .............. completely gone!



Sally Snail

 Fairy Sparkles was astonished.

She shook her head and looked around and then noticed that Sally had turned off to chew on a leaf and there underneath her was the sparkly silvery path.

"Sally", she exclaimed, "would you be so kind as to move off to another plant". "Certainly" replied Sally as she slithered off in another direction.

there underneath her was the most beautiful shimmery, silvery path.

"Oh, Sally, it's you" Fairy Sparkles exclaimed.
"It is YOUR sparkly, shimmery, silvery path you are leaving everywhere, how truly wonderful. What a beautiful creature you are to slither around and leave beautiful sparkly, silvery, shimmery trails everywhere".

Fairy Sparkles leant down and hugged Sally saying "thank you so much for making my world even more sparkly, I love your work".
Sally looked down at the ground and then at the trail she had left behind her, she slowly realised what Fairy Sparkles was saying and the cutest smile you have ever seen, broke out all over her tiny little face.]

Fairy Sparkles and Sally have been perfect friends ever since and I am pretty sure that sometimes if you go out into your garden, you may see some sparkly, shimmery, silvery paths that Sally (or one of her relatives) have left to make your garden even more sparkly.

Bobbity Rabbit

Bobbity Rabbit

On a cold hill in the little village of Warrandyte sat Bobbity Rabbit. His ears turned one way and then another, then back again listening intently for the sounds of the village.

His nose twitched with the smells of fireplaces warming cottages, mingled with the delicious smells of hot stews & soups the people made the night before.

Bobbity's mother was busy making porridge for breakfast, which gave Bobbity just enough time to pop out of his burrow & bathe in the morning sunlight.
He popped up on his hind legs and stretched his neck up looking over the valley, his legs felt the chill in the air, his nose twitching all the while.

Deciding it was safe, he set off with his little white tail - BOBBITY HOP, BOBBITY HOP, BOBBITY HOP.

It was this funny little hop that his mother had named him after.
You see, some rabbits ran and some hopped, others bobbed about and a few of the tiny ones scampered wildly, but Bobbity never did any of these.

In his own gentle way he just went ......... well........... BOBBITY HOP, BOBBITY HOP, BOBBITY HOP and so he was named "Bobbity Rabbit".

Bobbity loved the crisp morning air, he loved the mist rising over the river, the kookaburras waking up cackling and the cockatoos screeching overhead.

Across the valley he could hear a rooster singing cockadoodledoo & some hens next door cackling over their eggs.
Sniffing again, he could pick up the fresh wattle starting to fall and the eucalypt leaves on the tree.

Bobbity loved the tiny fresh flowers

He found a particularly delicious flower to nibble on & licked his lips over the sweet juicy petals.

But the thing that Bobbity loved most of all....... was the little girl that lived in the house.
Looking back to make sure his mother wasn't watching, up he went - BOBBITY HOP, BOBBITY HOP, BOBBITY HOP all the way out of the paddock and into the top garden.
He stood up high on his tippy toes and stretched his neck all the way up, he could just see into the room where the little girl played.

He had heard the big people who lived in the house call her "Emma", "hmmm, Emma! he thought to himself, what a pretty name for such a lovely little girl"

He loved to watch her dance, she spent a lot of time dancing, swirling around and dressing up in fancy clothes, singing and playing. Some times she came out into the garden and he peeped out around the grass to catch a glimpse of her.

His parents had told him, he must be very afraid of people as they were dangerous, especially in Warrandyte, but he was sure Emma would never hurt him. All the same, best to keep his distance and never get close enough to get caught - just in case.

Emma was already up playing with dolls and reading books, Bobbity hid behind the grass as she looked out of the window.

Bobbity Rabbit and Emma

Emma didn't see Bobbity hiding in the tall grass, but she smiled anyway as looked out into the sunlit morning and the birds flew overhead.

Bobbity loved her smile, it made him feel all warm and lovely inside.

BOBBITY, BOBBITY, BOBBITY his mother called "Porridge is ready"

Bobbity crouched down in the tall grass and took another peep at his lovely Emma, "see you soon" he thought to himself and with his little tail bobbing up in air, off he went - BOBBITY HOP, BOBBITY HOP, BOBBITY HOP, all the way back down the paddock into his warm burrow where a delicious bowl of porridge was waiting for him.

He looked down and smelt the lovely warm steam rising up out of the porridge and thought about Emma, his truly lovely little friend.

Bobbity hopped off down the path for breakfast

The conception of Once There Was A Story

Several years back, we found our children were having troubled sleep, they were tossing and turning, having nightmares & finding it difficult to drift off to peaceful sleep.

Emma pampering Lesley
with Pink Clay hand masks

We began doing visualisations every night with them and the results were dramatic:

• They drifted off easily to sleep
• They were happy to let us leave their room once done so they may complete their visualisations
• In the morning they were excited to share the things they had 'seen'
• They slept deeply & more peacefully
• Problems that were difficult to talk about we brought up in visualisations & allowed them to 'stick on their worry tree'
• They began sharing their concerns with us
• Many negative behaviours disappeared

After this, we would often be in the garden working and they would become side tracked or bored, we began telling them the names of every creature that lived in the garden and what they had been up to (yes, it took some pretty quick thinking some times).

They came to love the fables that lived in our garden & the magic that filled their lives.

All creatures are now well known by their names and discussed with any visitors as if it is completely general knowledge about the 'three wise men that live under the grass smoking their pipes'.
Any newcomer is promptly names and a story about his life made up, not only by us anymore.

We have been taken on fantastic journeys of the imagination & delight in the sense of belonging everywhere we travel - linked by fables and stories. Life is richer, fuller and more fun. Everyday problems are put into perspective and the stories have got us through many troublesome times.

Bedtimes stories are now often replaced by "please put the book away mummy and tell us one of 'our' stories".

Gabe + Mollie the guinea pig

Our son Gabe has begun his own fanciful stories & is inspired from history of stories through the ages (his take on life delves into the mysteries of the world and the depths of humans & their psyche)

Our daughter Emma, loves art and creating in all forms, inspired she began paintings & drawings of her favourite stories.

For about 2 years now she has begged me to write a book to share these stories with other children and illustrate them with her art.

We finally decided (after a computer crash lost all our stories) to start again and blog about them.

We hope you may print them out and take them to your children as bedtime stories. We would love to hear of how the bedtime visualisations worked for you and your children and the changes that take place for them.

We have set ourselves a goal of 50 stories within the year.

We look forward to sharing them with you & hope they enrich your childrens lives.............

http://www.renascentcollege.com/