FREE CHILDREN'S BOOK

                                                                                 Camille and the Mythical Hideout
                                                                                                              By
                                                                                                      Rick Kurtis

                                                                                 Camille and the Mythical Hideout
                                                                                                              By
                                                                                                      Rick Kurtis

                             This book was made special just for Camille and given to her by her grandmother.

                                                                       Chapter 1                Big Day at School 

Not long after Camille’s eighth birthday, the school had a soccer event. All the kids split into teams and played all day long. Camille, a beautiful girl with a heart as sweet as pudding, played with all her might. By the end of the day, her team won the grand prize and they each received a big coloring book as a trophy.
Camille, who kicked the final goal, was so excited that she could hardly wait to tell her Mamma. All of her friends gathered around her as they waited for the bus or their rides. They gave her high fives and plenty of friendly hugs.
All of a sudden, Camille heard a horn. Beep-beep, then she heard her Mamma’s voice, “Camille, over here.”
Camille saw her grandmother and ran over with great excitement. She showed her the big coloring book. “Mamma, look what I won!” she said, “Our team won the school soccer game of the year, and we each received a coloring book. This one is mine.”
“Wow,” Mamma said. “That will give you something to do this weekend, out on the farm. Let’s go to the store and buy a new box of crayons.”
With that said, they jumped into the car and drove down the streets of Columbus. They drove past the antique shops, the jewelry store, and the old town bank. They entered onto Dickason Boulevard and parked in the town square. They stopped for an ice cream, then bought a sixty-two pack of crayons before going home to the farm. It was a fun day all around for Camille.

                                                                                     Chapter 2                Fun on the Farm
 
While on the drive home, Camille rolled down her window to feel the sun and the warm breeze. All the trees were green, and the air smelled fresh and clean. The smell from the new mowed hay wisped through the air as they drove down the long country road known as Hamann Road.
Camille paged through her coloring book to see what she wanted to color first. She told her grandmother all about the soccer game until they stopped in the driveway.
Weenie, the family dog, came running out with a big smile. Weenie’s tongue lapped from side to side. “Bark, bark, bark,” Weenie said, and jumped to lick her face.
“Calm down, Weenie. I know, I love you too,” Camille said, holding her coloring book off to the side. “Come on, let’s go inside.”
Camille and her grandmother walked toward the house and Jaelynn, her fourteen-year-old cousin, opened the door. “Hi,” she said with a smile.
Camille saw her standing in the doorway and forgot all about her new coloring book. She quickly handed it to Mamma and ran to the house. “Jaelynn!” she screamed, and gave her a big hug. Camille always looked up to Jaelynn, because she was so much older. “What are you doing here?” Camille asked.
Jaelynn gave her a big smile. “I missed you, so Bumpa and Mamma said I could stay for the weekend. This way, we can catch up.”
They walked into the house and Camille’s eyes opened wide. “What do you want to do first?”
Jaelynn held onto her hands and looked down with a big grin. “Let’s go paint our nails.”
The two ran to her room and giggled all the way. That night, the house was filled with laughter, games, and baking brownies. They played a game called spoons. Spoons was a card game, where the players each have an equal stack of cards. If there were four players, three spoons were placed on the table. Each player would pick up a card from their own pile, turn it over and place it in the middle of the table. The player with the highest card wins them all. If any of the cards were to match with the same suit, the challenge was on. Everyone had to try and grab a spoon as quick as they could. The one who missed the spoon had to decide on who would get all the cards, but not take them themselves.
The game was played and the laughter roared until it was time to go to bed. Mamma tucked Camille in for the night, gave her a kiss on the cheek, and turned out the light.

                                                                             Chapter 3                A Whole New Day
 
Early the next morning, Camille helped Mamma with breakfast. They made potato pancakes and eggs. Grandfather, Bumpa came in from outside and asked, “So, what are you going to do today?”
Mamma said, “I thought the girls could help me do some spring cleaning. We can open the windows and wipe down the whole house.”
This really wasn’t what the girls wanted to do, but they loved their grandparents so much that they both said at the same time, “I get the Swiffer.”
Mamma laughed. “I was just joking around. After I clean up a little, let’s take a walk through the woods.”
Camille and Jaelynn smiled. Jaelynn began to clean off the table. “Yes, it sounds like a great idea, after I do the dishes.”
Camille stood up and handed her some plates, and said, “Mamma, may I feed Minnie-me and Pumpkin?”
“Yes, you may. There is a new bag of cat food on the floor in the closet. Only one scoop or Weenie will eat it all.”
“Okay,” Camille said, and walked away.
The morning grew quiet as the sun rose higher. Camille waited at the kitchen table, coloring in her coloring book. One thing led to another and all the chores were done. Weenie came in and was ready to go. Mamma packed a small picnic basket and the three girls headed off on an adventure through the woods.

                                                                             Chapter 4                The Mythical Hideout 

The three girls headed out across the dooryard with Weenie by their side. Camille walked between her grandmother and Jaelynn. Their dog was so happy that Weenie pranced while jumping through the tall grass.
It didn’t take long before they made it to their special place, Mythical Hideaway. Before they entered, Weenie acted strange, and crouched low to the ground and growled. Camille asked, “Mamma, what’s wrong with Weenie? I have never heard a growl like that before.”
Mamma said, “I don’t know?”
All of a sudden, Weenie barked, and jumped into the thicket, running into the mythical hideout. “Weenie! Come back,” Camille yelled.
She started to run after Weenie, but Jaelynn grabbed her. “Oh no you don’t. Something’s wrong. Let’s go in slow and all together.”
The three of them walked in real slow, peeking through the leaves. There in the clearing lay a beautiful white pony with a long mane. Weenie sat on the ground by the pony’s side with a big smile. When the three stepped in closer, Weenie rolled over and over, laughing and wiggling in the grass.
The pony turned its head and the mane shimmered with every color of the rainbow. Camille was the first to notice a golden-coral horn sticking out from the pony’s forehead. “HAW!” she gasped, “It’s a baby unicorn.”

                                                                  Chapter 5                Unforeseen Troubles
 
Jaelynn and Mamma were just as surprised and held Camille back. They couldn’t believe their eyes and stepped closer, drawn in by its beauty.
Weenie turned around and spoke. “She needs our help.”
Camille screamed, “AAhh! Weenie, you can talk?”
Weenie said, “Yes, I always talk. You just never listen.” Weenie turned back toward the unicorn and said, “This is my family. Maybe they can help.”
Jaelynn knelt down next to the unicorn and just had to touch the creature first before believing her eyes. She felt a calm feeling over take her entire body and ran her fingers through the unicorn’s long mane.
The unicorn raised its head and said, “Hi, my name is Misty. My friends and I were out for a walk through the woods. We heard a scary noise and we each ran in different directions. I ran in here and hid until the noise went away. Without my friends I am afraid I cannot move. Can you please help?”
Camille knelt down next to the unicorn. “Yes, we can help. Just stand up, and come with us.”
Misty leaned her head to one side. “I can’t stand. You see, my friends have energy and I have none left. In this mythical place, my power has been drained. I need the love of my friends to be by my side in order to regain my strength. Without them, I will only be a memory from the past.”
Mamma said, “Oh no. We can’t have that. What can we do to help?”
Misty said, “Only with the help of our friends can we be strong. You need to find them and bring them here.”
Camille asked, “Who are your friends? What do they look like?”
Misty picked her head up and her horn glowed with a bright, golden yellow sparkle against the leaves. On the leaves a picture began to form. “Freddie is a bullfrog. He is green and his legs are very strong.” Then the picture changed on the leaves. They twinkled and sparkled, and a new picture appeared. “My other friend is Monica. She is a beautiful, blue butterfly.” Misty’s horn went back to normal, and the picture faded away. “If they are separated, they too will lose their magical powers, and we shall all be lost.”
Camille looked at Mamma. “We have to help.”
Mamma nodded. “Yes, we can try. Weenie, you stay here with Misty, and we’ll go out and see if we can find her friends.”
Weenie smiled, and lay up against Misty. “I will protect her like she is my own pup.”

                                                                                 Chapter 6                Searching for Friends 

        The three girls stepped out from the mythical hideout and felt a cool chill in the air. Camille said, “Let’s split up. I’ll go this way.”
Before she could move, Jaelynn held her back. “Oh no we don’t.”
Mamma said, “That’s right. We stick together like glue. We don’t want all of us getting lost.”
They all agreed to stay with each other. Camille thought about it and said, “Yes, teamwork. Just like in soccer.”
Off through the woods, they walked in search of Misty’s friends. The sun glistened off the leaves, and the squirrels scurried from branch to branch. The birds chirped a happy tune, singing to their baby peeps up in the high nests.
Farther into the woods, the sound of water filled the air from the creek, babbling over rocks in the shallow parts. The gentle noise from the water was broken by a loud bellow. “Croak it.”
Jaelynn said, “That’s the loudest frog that I have ever heard.”
Camille became all excited. “That must be Freddie.”
They heard the noise again and followed it toward a small bridge that spanned across the creek. Next to the bridge sat a big bullfrog. Camille couldn’t believe her eyes. This bullfrog was big, I mean really BIG. He was about as big as Bumpa’s toolbox.
 Camille pointed. “Look! That has to be Freddie.”
They walked over slowly toward the bridge, not to scare him away. The big frog bellowed again. His chin puffed out and the noise filled the air. “Croak it!”
Camille leaned down and softly said, “Freddie? Are you, Freddie?”
Freddie was just about to holler out another croak when he heard the little girl’s voice. He became so scared that he jumped under the bridge and hid in the water.
Jaelynn came over by Camille and said while looking under the bridge, “Don’t be afraid. Misty sent us out to find you and to take you back to her. She said that she is unable to move unless you and Monica come back to help.”
Freddie crouched in the water and poked out his nose. “That is true,” he said. “Croak it, my voice is getting worse every minute, croak.”
Jaelynn knelt down. “Come out. We are here to help. Do you know where we can find Monica?”
Freddie felt at ease, and hopped out from under the bridge and onto the bank. With a big smile he said, “Croak, Monica loves the smell of.” His long tongue shot out and grabbed a big fly in midair. He swallowed. “Croak it, Clover. Sweet, sweet, Clover.”
Mamma put her finger to her chin. “I know where there is a field of Clover. It is this way,” she said, and pointed off to the right.
They all walked together with Freddie hopping right behind them.

                                                                                            Chapter 7          Finding Monica
 
It didn’t take long and they all stood at the edge of the woods, next to a big field filled with Clover that stood around two feet high. Above the tiny leaves and pink balls of sugary fluff flew thousands and thousands of beautiful butterflies.
Camille scratched her head. “How are we going to find Monica? There must be a gazillion butterflies here.”
Freddie hopped forward. “That’s, croak it, easy. Croak, let me.” Freddie took a deep breath and puffed out his chin. The sack filled with air and puffed up like a balloon. With a loud bellow, out came a sound never heard before from a frog. “Berrup-pa, rup-par, rup, ba, bah, ba.” He hopped out a little farther and did it again. “Berrup-pa, rup-par, rup, ba, bah, ba.”
This time, all the butterflies quickly fluttered away as if they were scared by the strange sound. Just then, a huge shadow blocked the sun, and the cool wind hustled over the tops of the trees. Freddie hopped up and down while the three girls ducked. “There she is! Croak it.”
A giant blur of blue, orange, and yellow flew over their heads and across the big open field. It glided up in the air and turned to come back. Camille looked up and saw the biggest butterfly in the whole wide world. She stood up and waved. “Monica! Over here!”
Monica saw the three girls and Freddie, who was still jumping up and down. She fluttered her wings and landed ten feet away from them and bowed her head. Her beautiful wings folded up together and stretched fifteen feet high.
Freddie hopped up and down all excited. “Croak, croak it, croak, croak.”
The three girls gave each other a puzzled look. Jaelynn said, “What is he saying?
Monica spoke, “He must have used up all his power to sing to me. I am afraid he is losing his magic. We need to find Misty soon.”
Camille said with excitement, “We have already found her. That’s why we are here, to find you and Freddie.”
Monica opened her wings. “We need to hurry. You, the small one, hop on. There is no time to waste. You must show me the way. I can’t fly through the woods, and I can’t see through the leaves. Do you think you could see, and guide me to Misty’s location, from above the trees?”
“Oh yes. I know exactly where she is,” Camille said. She looked at her grandmother. “Mamma, is it okay?”
Mamma said, “Yes, you show Monica where our secret place is, and Jaelynn and I will take Freddie through the woods, and we will meet you there.”
Monica felt real anxious and fluttered her wings. “Hurry, there is no time to waste. Just climb onto my back and hold onto my fur around my neck.
                                                                         
                                                                                 Chapter 8           Memories Made
 
Camille did what she said, and sat on the butterfly’s back. It felt as soft as a feather pillow. The other two ran back through the woods with Freddy hopping behind with long leaps.
“Are you ready?” Monica said.
Camille held tight to Monica’s fur. “Yes, I am ready.”
Monica raised her mighty wings. Camille felt like she was inside of a rainbow and all of a sudden the wings dropped with a big whoosh. The air rushed around Camille, and they rose high into the air. Monica fluttered and flew over the woods.
Camille looked down from the sky. “Hey, there’s Mamma, Jaelynn, and Freddie. They are halfway there.”
Monica said, “Good, because we all need to be there before it’s too late.”
Camille asked, “What will happen to Misty if we are too late?”
“She will just fade away, and will not be there. Freddie and I will return to our normal size.”
Camille pointed down to their special spot. “Oh, we can’t have that. There it is, down there. That’s our mythical hideout. That is where we have a picnic and sing songs.”
Monica was flying way too fast and had to slow down in order to land. She circled over the top by spreading her wings and gliding, spiraling down over the top of the mythical hideout. She folded her wings up, and covered Camille completely.
In two shakes of the lamb’s tail, they both landed side by side next to Misty in the middle of the mythical hideout. Monica and her beautiful wings were now only two feet tall.
Weenie saw Camille, and jumped on her lap, licking her face. “I knew you would be bark. Ruff, woof, bark, bark, bark.”
Misty stretched out her neck and placed her head down on the tall grass. She was too weak to hold her head up any longer. Monica said, “Oh, no!” Her beautiful butterfly wings grew a little smaller. “Where are your friends, and Freddie?”
Camille said, “They are my family. They should be here any second.”
Just then, Mamma and Jaelynn came running into the hideout. Camille did not see Freddie. “Where is Freddie?”
Half out of breath, Mamma opened the picnic basket and pulled Freddie out. He was now a lot smaller. “Here he is. He couldn’t keep up, so I put him in the picnic basket, and carried him.”
Jaelynn placed him down on the ground, next to Monica. All Freddie could say were normal frog sounds. Monica said, “Freddie, pull yourself together. Concentrate.”
Monica began to hum, moving her wings slowly up and down with each note. Freddie took a deep breath, and puffed his chin out as much as he could. His pouch grew bigger and was now bigger than him. He too joined in, and hummed in a deep baritone vibration. The leaves on the trees danced from the vibration.
With each note the music grew louder and filled the air with joy. The sun shone down through the trees and Monica’s wings glowed with each flap, bouncing the light around the mythical hideout. It lit up the entire area with an array of colors filled with blue, orange, and yellow.
Monica began to sing, and she started to grow taller. Freddie’s voice grew louder, and he too grew bigger. He took another deep breath and the tone harmonized with Monica. His green skin shone a brilliant green and mixed with the other colors in the air.
The song sounded so simple, but yet so beautiful that Camille, Jaelynn, and Mamma joined in. The color swirled around each other and landed on top of Misty. They swirled around her, and Misty turned her head and softly began to sing that same tune.
All the colors faded lighter and lighter looking like they were going into Misty’s coat. It didn’t take long before all the colors were gone. Misty lifted her head and sang.
    “Family’’’’’, is the best for me.
    We can do anything,
    With the help from family.”
Everyone else joined in, and sang along. Misty regained her strength and stood up. Her horn glowed a bright gold as she pranced around on all fours.
The song came to an end, and Misty walked over to Camille. “Thank you for all your help. Without the strength from your family, we all would have been lost.”
Camille gave her a big hug and the biggest smile. “Yes, we make a great team.”
Misty’s horn glowed so bright that Camille had to close her eyes and put her head down. Then she heard Mamma’s voice. “I am done cleaning, are you ready to go?”
Camille looked up from the kitchen table. “Huh, what?” She looked around and saw her coloring book on the table in front of her. She wasn’t in the mythical hideout, but in the house with a crayon in her hand.
Mamma said, “Let me see what you colored.” She looked down at the coloring book. “Very pretty. I think you have used every color in the rainbow.” Mamma turned away and called out for Jaelynn. “Jaelynn, let’s go for a walk in the woods.”
Camille, still puzzled, looked at her coloring book. Right there in the center was a beautiful unicorn standing with a huge butterfly, and a big green bullfrog. She smiled with a big grin, closed her coloring book, and ran off to be with Mamma and Jaelynn for a whole new adventure.

                 I hope that you enjoyed today’s story and tell all your friends that there are more stories at
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