The Rea

By Aline Dufflocq Williams

Aline, who often leaves comments on Storynory, has sent us a story that she wrote herself. Thanks Aline! We really like your story about a magical animal called a rea.

If you have a story, send it to us for consideration, and if we like it, we will publish the text here. Or send us a picture if you prefer. Either way, it MUST be your own work!!!

Unfortunately, we can't ask Natasha to read all the stories that you send us, but every now and then we might pick one or two for her to read - perhaps at Christmas or on another special occasion.

Here's Aline's lovely and exciting story.

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There once was girl named Molly.  She was a normal girl but one day something extraordinary happened that made the girl's life change for ever. She was walking outside and came upon a stone that looked just like a rock. "Hmm", thought Molly, this must be something that the Indians left behind. (But little did she know that what she was holding in her hands was a egg of a rea) Molly took it into her hut and hanged the strange rock up on to her wall (Molly was fascinated with Indians and every thing to do with them). Days past and to Molly's surprise the stone was turning redder every day!

"Oh! I wonder what the Indians did with this stone", thought Molly curiously. One day the stone cracked and what came out of it was a truly extraordinary animal! It was the size of a matchbox! Though it looked quite dangerous and frightening. It had claws, teeth and 4 legs. It had bright blue strips dawn its back. The animal said "PIP!" Molly backed away. But the animal moved closer to Molly, and each time she backed away! Molly soon plucked up her courage and went up to the animal and patted it softly on the head. The animal made a purr and climbed up Molly’s arm! (of course it was small enough to do that). "Oh! You darling creature!" she said, noticing that the strange animal did not do any harm.

A month or so went by, and the animal was about 20 pounds and was the size of an oven! Molly would feed it and groom it, but the strangest thing that happened in her everyday life was that when she went to sleep, she had strange dreams that the animal was talking to her!

One day in the middle of autumn Molly dreamed that the animal was saying to her:

"I am a rea",

"But what is a rea?" asked Molly in her dream.

"A rea is a creature like me", said the animal. "You must name me though!" it demanded.

"Umm, but I don’t know what to call you!" Said Molly.

"Look inside me," said the Rea.

"But, But, But.." said Molly.

Soon she found her self in her room with the rea asleep on her rug: "I will name you… Drey," said Molly.

The animal made a roar of disapproval. Then the animal flushed it eyelashes. "Oh, I get it you are a girl!" The creature nodded. "Ok then… Thimble, I will name you Thimble."

The animal purred, and nodded. But in that instant Thimble was surrounded by fire! Molly was trying to see Thimble through the fire. "Thimble are you ok!?"

" I am fine," said a voice  in her head, which she recognized was Thimble’s voice. Molly spotted Thimble through the fire and she was indeed turning the color of a thimble! Soon the fire began to go dawn and in its place was Thimble but she was not blue as she was before, she was silver!
"Climb on my back," said Thimble. Molly did as she was told .

"Where we going?" Asked Molly.

"We are going on adventures to far off places," responded Thimble in Molly’s mind. "Now hold on. You don’t want to fall off and die," added Thimble,  still in Molly’s mind.

"Die?", asked Molly.

"Afraid are you? Here we go!"Said Thimble, in a crouch position. And within a flash, Thimble leaped through the window, and when they touched ground, Thimble ran like lightning.

And that’s how Molly and Thimble went to places that no other humans ever had feasted their eyes on.

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Aline promises another installment of her story about Molly and the rea.   Bertie is really looking forward to reading it!