The Magical Shepherdess

By Glen L. Bledsoe 

A Shepherdess by the name of Miss Gowz

Tended Sheep the size of large cows

She sold wool to the spinners in town

So they might knit socks, scarves and gowns

Retold Children's Rhyme from the Egypto-Dutch Empire

The Berlin Train

 

By Martin Sercombe

It was a foggy night on the train to Berlin, and the passengers were huddled in their seats, trying to stay warm. Among them was a man named Winston who had just heard false rumours of his wife’s infidelity. In a fit of rage, he stabbed and killed her in their compartment, then fled the scene.

The police were quickly alerted but Winston slipped away into the night. The next morning, the newspaper headlines blared the news of the gruesome murder and the failed capture of the suspect.

 
The passengers were left in shock and disbelief, wondering how such a terrible thing could happen on their peaceful journey. As for Winston, the guilt of his actions would haunt him for the rest of his days, knowing that he had taken the life of the one he loved, in a terrible misunderstanding.
 

 

 

The Autobiography of Jacob Henrik

 

By Glen L. Bledsoe 

Jacob Henrik was a man dedicated to perfection. The secret of his success, he would tell everyone he knew or happened upon the street, was his attention to details. No problem could escape solution if one methodically applied his resources to sorting through the intricacies and correcting errors every step of the way. It was his formula for success. It had made him one of the wealthiest men on the eastern coast of the Americas. 

As Jacob Henrik approached his fiftieth year he decided that it was incumbent upon him that he share his secrets to the world at large to not only running a successful business (or string of businesses as was his case), but to lead a better, healthier, happier life. To that end he decided to write an autobiography--an autobiography of a man who attended to details. 

Jacob Henrik knew his strengths and he knew his weaknesses. While he was master of ledger books and business agreements, of railroads and coal mines, and he knew that his 8th grade education left him unprepared to take on the telling of the story of his life in print. He understood that certain work had to be delegated, that one man could not take on every task, but could oversee the tasks of those who he managed. 

Over the period of several months he dictated his life’s story to a secretary who in turned handed the text over to an editor who in turn sent it to a team of proof readers who line by line wrangled the tangled rules of spelling, punctuation, grammar and capitalization, then double- and triple checked their efforts until they were satisfied that their work was polished and perfect in every way without error. Upon Jacob Henrik’s approval they sent the book to the printer. 

Upon receiving 35,000 copies of the book, almost seven and three-quarter tons of paper, which were placed in a special storage unit designed to preserve the volumes in pristine condition until ready to be given away to relatives and business associates, Jacob Henrik opened a fresh copy of his leather bound life story to the title page to autograph it and noticed: 

“The Autobiography of Jacob Henry” 

His last name was misspelled.

The Lost Children (Part 2)

 

 The Lost Children (Part 2) by Martin Sercombe

 

Two of the boys decided to take matters in hand.

Together they would hunt for a new home,

a place where life might be a little easier.

They looked for a boat to take them down river.

On a misty morning they rowed downstream towards the ocean.

Soon after, two of the girls followed behind.

But the coastal town proved as desolate as the city they had left behind. 

Wild storms had destroyed much of what they found.

 Making it hard to choose a place to call home.