“The Odessa Chronicles” was my introduction to writing fiction. The first thing that I noticed about our fictional characters, was that they would take the proposed story-line in a different direction to that originally planned. They simply used me as the means to put it in a form which readers would understand.

The second thing I noticed was that I could insert a real character into the story, and it would be accepted by the fictional guys!

The following story will be posted here in three parts over Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. See if you can spot the real character! Enjoy!

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The Unexpected Hero (Part 1)

The last two days had been very unusual at Moonbeam Farm, because Jaxon had been very quiet. He had a bit of a sore throat, as well as feeling a little sorry for himself. It did hurt when he tried to talk. It was decided that he should stay in the farmhouse for a few days, so that the man-servant could take care of him. Everybody was sure that things would be back to normal very soon.

As Dewey and Jaxon were used to playing and going on adventures together, Dewey decided to go over to the barn and see if Odessa was interested in joining him while Jaxon was sick. He went over to Odessa’s roof beam and looked up. There she was.

“Hi, Odessa!” he called up. “Want to come with me on an adventure?”

Odessa looked down at Dewey, showing no expression on her face. “No!” she said.

“C’mon,” said Dewey. “It’ll be so much fun!”

Odessa flew down from her beam. “What part of a Barn Owl, and a cat, going on an adventure is fun, may I ask?”

Dewey looked directly at her. “Well somebody wrote a poem about such a pair.”

Odessa cocked her head to one side. “What?”

“Yes.” said Dewey. “Something about an owl and a pussycat getting a boat and going someplace. Try and keep quiet for a few moments, so I can think. I can probably recall at least the first verse. Yes … I’ve got it!

The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea
In a beautiful pea-green boat,
They took some honey, and plenty of money,
Wrapped up in a five-pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sang to a small guitar,
“O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are,
You are,
You are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are!”

When Dewey had finished, he looked around. Odessa had gone! She was back up on her roof beam.

Dewey called up to her, “Well, Odessa? Doesn’t it make perfect sense now?”

Odessa looked down. “Sense is a good word to use. In fact, nonsense is even better. What you just quoted was a nonsense poem written by Edward Lear. Find me a poem that mentions Dewey and a Barn Owl, and I will then think about joining you.”

Dewey looked very thoughtful for a minute.

“Oh, there once was a cat named Dewey,
Whose food was extremely gooey,
So he gave it to a Barn Owl;
It tasted really foul,
But they remained friends anyway …
Like me and you-ee!”

He then looked up and saw Odessa shaking her head.

“That is the most pathetic poem that I have ever heard, although it does have its humorous aspects! Okay. I asked for a poem about you and a Barn Owl, and I got one. What’s the adventure?”

Dewey was now really excited. “Oh, nothing much really. I thought that we could go across the field to where all the trees are, near the river, and see what’s going on. Perhaps catch a few mice?”

Odessa seemed amused at the thought of spending time with Dewey, and catching mice was always good fun. “When are we leaving?” asked Odessa.

“How about right now?” asked Dewey. “Let the adventure begin!”

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