Tales of the Gemstone Elves Volume One Beryl's Journey. Patricia Elizabeth Bennett

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      A Joyous Beryl

      Soon playtime is over though, and the Children go back to their room to work quietly again. Beryl tries to be quiet, too, but he finds it terribly, terribly difficult. He’s happy when the day ends.

      After school, Beryl follows Irelynn as she walks up to the back porch of a little white house. He sees one of those strange metal boxes with wheels under it in a little house next door. There is a white picket fence with tall, pink hollyhocks and lots of trees.

      Oh, trees… how nice, he thinks, as he flies over the fence, stopping to smell the hollyhocks.

      Irelynn's House and Yard

      Looking up, he sees short, chubby green trees with orange and yellow fruit hanging from their branches. They’re growing side by side like friends along a road leading up to the small white house. He hears the crackling sound of slender green palm tree leaves brushing against each other as they sway in a warm breeze. His eyes move to a group of tall sturdy oak trees standing together in the side yard, the Elder guardians of the home.

      “This would be a great place for a troupe of Elves to live,” he says to himself. He imagines playing with Jasper there swinging from branch to branch in all those trees. What fun we could have, he thinks and dreams.

      Suddenly, a buzzing sound brings him back to the hollyhocks.

      “Hello there,” he says to the bees buzzing around the flowers.

      “Hi! An Elf! An Elf! Hooray for the Elf!” the bees say as they gather around him, clapping and cheering.

      Hello... My Friends

      Beryl is surprised by all the attention and forgets for a moment to watch where he is going. Suddenly, he feels a hard blow to his head and falls to the ground. Something falls on top of him and pins him down.

      A Mashed Beryl

      Just able to open one eye, Beryl stares straight into the face of a big gray cat.

      Oh no, what am I going to do? He thinks. I can’t move.

      “Help, help, somebody help me,” he cries.

      Beryl hears a buzzing sound and then a loud cat cry.

      Meowwwwww!!!

      He feels the cat spring straight up off of him. Beryl raises his head and sees a big group of bees chasing the cat across the yard.

      Oh, thank goodness for the bees, he thinks, but then he sees the other cats. There are lots of cats everywhere, and they’re coming toward him.

      He tries to fly away, but one of his wings is broken, and he falls back to the ground. He tries to run, but one of his legs is hurt, and he can only limp slowly.

      I’m really in trouble now, he thinks, as he closes his eyes, not wanting to see what is going to happen. He braces himself for another blow, but it feels like he’s flying. What’s happening?

      Beryl opens his eyes to see a group of bees picking him up. He tells them where he lives, and they begin to carry him home.

      The Bees Saving Beryl

      “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” he says.

      “You’re welcome,” says the Leader Bee. “We’re always happy to help someone who appreciates us.”

      Oh no, Beryl thinks. Now, what am I going to tell my Parents? Will they say I can’t go out again?

      When he arrives at the Orchid Tree, his Parents see his broken wing.

      “What happened to you?” they say.

      “Oh, I guess I wasn’t watching where I was going, and I tripped on a rock. I’ll be more careful next time. I promise,” Beryl says.

      “Well, it doesn’t look too bad. We’ll bandage it for you. Did you have fun today?”

      “Oh, yes, very, very much fun!” Beryl says, but deep inside he is worrying. I really want to visit Irelynn at her home, he thinks, but how can I with all the cats around? What am I going to do? Oh, what am I going to do?

      All night, Beryl tosses and turns up in his tree bed… thinking about Irelynn and all those cats.