Grandpa Ed's Bedtime Stories

Aye said to meself, "Just look at him there," his mischievous face beaming with blarney and a snaggled-tooth grin. Beneath great bushy brows, his green eyes twinkled like morning dew on the glen. He was sitting upon a lobster crate near the edge of a pier, carving the image of an elephant from a piece of ivory when aye came near.

He said, "Sit yerself down lad, and aye’ll spin ya a yarn. Now this story is true, but as fantastic as ye’ll ever larn. It was near boogalogaland far south of the southern-most south seas, where the jungles are home to giant apaes in the trees. Aye was a mere lad, meself, at that very time. Aye hired on a schooner ship as a cabin boy, ye know, jest to keep the captain in line. One night, a fair breeze was blowing, but less than a gale. In the moonlight, the schooner was a beauty to see with its billowing white sails. Across the rolling sea we were racing with the moon who was also racing with the clouds, aye stood alone on bow watch peering across the sea beneath the white shrouds. During the wee hours late at night, water everywhere, no land in sight, the crew was asleep as quiet as could be. Aye felt lonesome like a mere speck amid that vast open sea, when a booming voice came out of the sky. T’was the man in the moon who began talking to me!"

***

This is a story about a far-away enchanted country called Fliggleland. It has no shoreline, so you can’t go there by boat. It is surrounded on all sides by mountains so high they appear to touch the sky, so there are no roads that reach it. Only one passenger at a time can enter or leave Fliggleland. That can only be done by riding in a large wicker basket carried by the claws of a giant eagle.

As a tropical paradise, Fliggleland must certainly be the most beautiful place on Earth. It is a lush green valley where rain never falls and the sun shines brightly every day. The mountainsides are made of white granite cliffs and spires upon which grow graceful dark green pines mixed with beautiful white birch trees. All lacy dark green ferns grow between the crags of granite along with thick velvety green moss growing upon the rocks and tree trunks. Hollyhocks, roses, and mountain laurels abound in great profusion throughout the valley floor. Vast meadows are abloom with daisies and sweet clover. Gadzillions of bees and pretty butterflies flit among the flowers. Larks, robins, blue birds, and birds of paradise add to the enchantment of that wonderful place.

Thick glaciers of ice and snow caps the mountain tops. When the warm sun beams upon the snow, it melts and the water tumbles down the mountainsides forming many beautiful lacy waterfalls. The valley’s only river carries the crystal clear water to a point where it goes underground into a large cave at the base of a mountain. The little rivulets of water seeping from among the ferns makes a lovely tinkling sound of music which blends with the sighing whisper of the waterfalls.

Fliggleland must be the smallest country in the World. Only a few hundred natives live there. The valley was discovered by an elderly fairy who was forced off course by a violent storm one day as she was being carried in the large wicker basket by her giant eagle. She was amazed when she passed over the high mountains and saw the deep valley bathed in bright sunlight. She had her tired eagle to alight in the valley.

The Fliggleland natives were also amazed at the strange sight of that adult woman riding in a basket carried by an eagle. They formed a crowded ring around the visitors, because those were the only visitors who had ever come to Fliggleland. The friendly natives of Fliggleland were pleased to see the strangers and helped the tired old fairy out of her basket.