Halloween

"Today is Halloween," shouted Billy the Beaver.
"Yes, indeed," said Quacky the duck.
"Today we'll get treats, with any luck."



Joining in were eight little turtles on a log,
"We saw it too," the turtles all said,
"A raccoon with a mask on his head."



"The mask he had on was black and white
It looked a bit like a mask of a ghost,
It is surprising he didn't stop to boast."



"That must surely mean Halloween is today,"
The Blue Heron joined in from a tree,
"The day we get treats of candy for free."



"Just hold on," said wise owl from a branch above,
"Raccoon is not wearing a mask of a ghost,
That is his own face, the one he loves most."

Erwin Schalm

Dog and Cat

Dog and cat
Had a big spat,
"You are too fat"
Declared the cat,
"You are skin and bone,"
Said dog in a gruffy tone.
Dog chased cat up a fence,
Cat called the dog "dense,"
And the war was on.

Dog shook the fence,
Cat knew self defense
And climbed up a tree,
Looking down with glee.

Out came Lady McBride,
She said "cat, get inside,
And dog, you big louse,
Back to your own house."
And the war was over.

Erwin Schalm

Silly Rhyme

A goose and gander
Loved to meander
Thru’ bush and tall grass
Along a morass,
But in the thick fog
Goose stepped on a frog

A skunk and a coon
got married in June,
When skunk made a stink
It did make coon think.
The skunk said please stay
But coon said no way.

A cat fell off a tree
and landed on a bee.
Bee stung under cat’s tail
And cat let out a wail:
No more climbing on trees,
And no stepping on bees!

Erwin Schalm

The Blue Herons

She was home from school all day,
She was not feeling that well.
All she did was sleep and play,
And learn how to read and spell.

Then out her window she saw
A Blue Heron on the hedge.
She looked at the bird in awe,
As it posed there on the edge.

Please take me with you, she said,
Let's go far and very high,
Please take me from my sick-bed,
I would love to soar and fly.

Take me above land and sea,
Show me cities from above,
I want to feel strong and free,
Doing what I prize and love.

I heard of heaven on high.
Think you could take me up there?
We could explore the blue sky,
And all that is grand and rare.

I feel so much better now,
How good of you to stop by,
I can not say why or how,
But I do feel much more spry.

Erwin Schalm

Beaver Lodge

Shay was born with a big imagination. Big enough to do
anything and everything. Her imagination could move the
biggest mountain and fly to the highest star.
As a child she watched the big birds fly by overhead. She delighted in observing the routines of Canada geese, osprey, and blue herons, as they went about building their nests.

Shay lived beside a river bed of marshland, where a beaver family had
its lodge. Mama and Papa beaver had three kits, Billy, Randy,
and Lizzie. Billy was the reckless one, always getting into
trouble. Randy was cautious and considerate and never once
got in trouble. Lizzie was very ambitious and always helpful to
her parents. You might say she was a busy little beaver.
Mama and Papa beaver were very proud of their lodge.

Papa beaver liked to brag about their lodge to anyone who
would listen. Of course, there was always a lot of repair work to be done because the logs would often shift in the water.
And then there was Billy. He helped with the repairs but often as not he ended up playing with the building materials and things would be worse after than before he began to help.
Randy was usually there to stop him before things got really out of hand.
The turtles living near by always kept a wary eye open for Billy's presence. Nothing the turtles loved better than to sun tan on a log. A bunch of them would line up on a log for a bit of rest and sun tanning.
Billy would sneak up quietly and twist the log, laughing his head off when they all plopped into the water.

They wondered how they could ever repay him with a trick
of their own. One day they had an idea; they tied the end of Billy's favorite balancing log to a tree. When Billy showed up to drag his log to the river, the turtles were all there to watch him.
"Let us see how strong you are, Billy," they called out to him.
"You are strong enough to tilt our log and make us plunge into
the water. Are you strong enough to pull your log out to the stream?"
"Nothing to it," said Billy.
He began to pull on the log. He moaned and groaned but the log did not budge.
"What is the matter, Billy, didn't have your breakfast this morning?"

The turtles enjoyed the scene.
After a lot of pulling and tugging, Billy discovered the rope.
He blushed and must have turned red as a beet.
After that the turtles were left to suntan in peace.
One day the beaver living up stream came rushing over, he was all excited.
"A big, huge log is drifting down the river heading straight
toward your lodge," he yelled
Everybody panicked.
Papa beaver said "everybody out of the lodge."

The only thing going through Billy's head was just how big a crash it would be. Randy had a lot of study material that he wanted to save and Lizzie gathered up all her valuable
ornaments.
The big log was getting very close.
"Time to leave!" Papa Beaver shouted.
It wasn't the big crash that Billy was expecting, but the tail
end of the big log damaged the lodge.

"What will we do now," said Mama beaver. "There isn't enough time to do the repairs before dark."
Papa beaver said "we have to try. Everybody get to work."
Shay had seen the big log drift against the lodge and all the
damage it caused. She felt really sorry for the beavers.
"I know you can do it," she shouted to the beavers as she
watched them repair their lodge.
But things didn't look so good because it would soon be dark.
It was getting dark and the lodge was not yet finished. There was a full moon but the dark clouds didn't let the moon's rays shine through. The beavers asked Shay for help.
"Can you move the clouds for us?" they pleaded.
Shay said she would ask her imagination.
Shay's imagination flew up to the clouds.
"Please help us," she said. "The beavers need to finish their
lodge but it's too dark because you are not letting the moon
shine through."
"We can't go anywhere without the wind," the clouds said.
"Yu can talk to the wind but remember the wind understands
only poetry language."

Shay's imagination then talked to the wind:
"Wind, you can be very gentle and calm,
And not blow a feather from our palm.
Some days we are not even aware of you
Because nothing shows what you can do.

But other days you really blow and howl,
Birds are tossed about, even the mighty owl.
It is then that we see leaves and dust arise,
And all clouds disappear from the skies.

So please, wind, do show me your power,
Because it is getting dark this very hour.
Make all the clouds disappear from the sky,
So the beavers can fix the lodge they occupy."

After that, the imagination went back to Shay at the beaver lodge. Nothing was happening and it was getting dark.
"I tried," Shay said, "sorry I couldn't help."
It was time for her to go home, but as she was about to leave the wind picked up and the clouds started to roll away.
"Whoopee!" the beavers shouted in unison. "Now we can finish our lodge."
Shay went home very happy that her imagination worked
hard to help the beavers finish repairing their lodge.
And every day after when she passed by the beaver's lodge, they would make a point of thanking her for all the help.

Erwin Schalm

The Adventures of Laela

This is the story of a ladybug named Laela.
Laela lived in a beautiful garden full of shrubs and flowers.

She spent most of her time in a rose bush, keeping an eye out for predators like birds and wasps.
One day dark clouds appeared in the skies and she saw lightening and heard thunder overhead. The thunder and lightening turned into a cloud burst. It seemed like buckets of water were pouring down from the skies. Laela hung on to a rose petal for dear life, but she was not strong enough to resist the downpour. Nearby a tree branch

came crashing down with a loud bang! She cried out for help but there was no one to help her. A stream of water washed her down a gutter along the roadway. She knew full well where the stream was headed: it was headed for the storm drain. She tried hard to pedal, and she tried to fly, but nothing worked. Down the storm drain she went!
As Laela got splashed around, she managed to hang on to the side wall. What a relief, she did not end up in the storm sewer! Above her she could see light, but the water was still pouring down. Then the rain stopped and the sun came out. She flexed her wings and flew out through the grating, leaving the frightening ordeal behind her.
Laela flew along a row of houses, surveying the gardens around the homes. She spotted a flower garden around one home that was more beautiful than all the others.


That was where she wanted to be. As she settled in on a rose bush, she noticed a girl watering the garden. She flew over to the girl and sat on her shoulder. "Hello, my name is Laela," she said.

The girl noticed the ladybug on her shoulder and said " hello Laela, my name is Shay. I will finish watering the garden and then I will show you my room."
While Shay finished watering the garden, Laela told her all about the frightening ordeal in the storm drain.
Shay said "I believe you. And that thunder storm really frightened my cat Tiger. He was hiding under my bed all that time."
Later that evening when Shay went to bed, Laela was on the pillow right beside her. Laela began to cry. "What is it?" asked Shay. Laela said" I am so very small and everything else is so big. I wish I were as big as you. Then nobody would step on me and I would not need to hide under flower petals all my life. And if someone were in trouble, I would not be too small to help them.
If I have to be small, I wish I could stay with you all my life."
"You can certainly stay with me all your life," said Shay. "And there must be something good about being small, like being able to hide in a small place where no one can find you. In any case, we
can only be who we are and we have to try and make the best of who we are."

When Shay woke up the next morning, her cat Tiger wanted to go out. Laela followed Shay wherever she went. At lunch time Shay opened the door and called out to her cat Tiger, "here Kitty, Kitty, lunch time." But Tiger didn't come. After an hour Shay began to worry. "I hope nothing happened to Tiger," Shay said to Laela. "It is not like him not to come when I call him." "I hope he didn't get washed down a storm drain," said Laela.
"He is a bit too big to get washed down a storm drain," said Shay, "but he could have gotten hurt by a car."
Laela said "I will fly around the neighborhood and see if I can find him."
"Good idea," said Shay." "And I will keep calling him."
Laela looked everywhere but there was no sign of Tiger. She saw a tall tree and decided fly to the very top of the tree because from there she would be able to see much better. As she flew from one side of the tree to the other, she heard meowing. "Could that be Tiger," she said to herself. After a bit of searching she found a cat, and it was Tiger!
"What are you doing here?" asked Laela.


Tiger said "I got chased up the tree by a big dog and now I can't get down. I am afraid I will fall."
"Stay right where you are," said Laela. "I will get Shay."
Shay was very happy that Laela had found Tiger. "You will be my friend for ever," said Shay.
The tree was very tall and Shay knew that only a fire truck with a long ladder could rescue Tiger. She did not know if they could come, because they might be busy putting out a fire somewhere. But that was her only hope.
She telephoned the fire department and explained the situation to the man answering the telephone. The fireman was very kind and told her they would be right over.
Laela flew back up the tree and told Tiger the good news. Tiger was very happy and he told Laela she would be his best friend for ever.
The fire truck came and hoisted a long ladder against the tree where Tiger was. It was not long and Tiger was back on the ground. Shay hugged Tiger and she thanked the people on the fire truck.
Back home Tiger ate a hardy meal, then stretched out on the sofa.
Shay said to Laela, "remember you telling me that you are too small to help any one? You have been a big help to me in finding Tiger. I don't know what would have happened without your help."
Laela was happy to hear that and she felt very proud of herself. After all, she was the one who found Tiger. "Now I know we can all help even if we are small."
Shay invited all her friends over for a hide and seek party. While playing the game, everyone at the party got found except Laela. For Laela there were so many good hiding places, no one could possibly find her. Everyone declared Laela the big winner.

It was the first time Laela had been called big, and she was very proud of herself.

Erwin Schalm

My Cat Tiger

My cat Tiger was out all alone,
On a dark and stormy night.
He was lost and very far from home,
But tried to conceal his fright.

In an instant a giant storm cloud
Took him to a distant star,
Where he was met by a bizarre crowd
With faces as black as tar.

He ran for his life, not looking back,
But they were right behind him
Shouting, “let's get him, on the attack!”
Looking determined and grim.

Tiger ran to the end of the star,
And had nowhere else to go.
Then off he flew, like a speeding car,
Into the ocean below.

With sharks in the water everywhere,
And a giant whale near by,
Tiger cried out in total despair.
And began to sob and to cry.

Just then my alarm began to ring,
What relief when I awoke!
And outside I could hear the birds sing,
And Tiger was on the oak.

Erwin Schalm

Who Needs a Pup

I lived for a million years
Without a pup in the house.
There was only me the cat,
Maybe the occasional mouse.

Then one day it all happened:
They went and brought home a pup.

Though the worst day of my life,
I tried hard not to act up

But from that very first day,
The puppy took center stage,
Sleeping on the best linen,
And never acting her age.

Looking down from the table
She would make faces at me.
Then I’d hide in a corner
To have a nap and be free.

But since I don’t want to leave,
And the pup is here to stay,
We may as well get along
And learn to share and to play.

Erwin Schalm

Kitty the Cat

Kitty the cat was getting very annoyed because
someone was always nibbling at her food.
To be sure, she always paid close attention to how
much food was left in the bowl.
Kitty thought she knew who might be
eating her food.
It had to be Rover the dog.

Since she could never catch Rover doing it,
Kitty decided to confront him.
It took courage, because she knew annoying Rover
would result in her being chased up a tree.
But one day she garnered the courage to
confront Rover.
She cleared her throat and said, “Rover, you are
the best dog in the whole world.
We have lived in this house together for a long time
and I would be honoured if you liked my food.”
Rover began to growl and he said
“what! Me like cat food?”
And with that the chase was on.
Rover chased Kitty around the house three times,
down the lane and up a tree.

While waiting things out on the tree, Kitty realized
she had made a big mistake.
But she was still determined to find out who
was eating her food.
Kitty decided to hide out on the veranda
where her food dish was.
She saw a bunch of crows on a tree across the street.
could it be them stealing her food?

Or what about mice? She had seen mice around
the house.
Kitty fell asleep. And cats do sleep a lot!
A bit of scraping noise woke her up.
She glanced at her bowl and couldn’t believe her eyes:
A squirrel was eating her food.
Kitty thought of chasing the squirrel up a tree
because squirrels climb trees and cats
can also climb trees.

But then she thought of how she disliked it when
Rover chased her up a tre

Besides, the squirrel was so cute.
Right there and then Kitty decided she would
share her food and try to
make friends with the squirrel.

Written by Erwin Schalm