some vacation

here is a photo of us. taken by granny. but of course i should tell you who we are, silly me!

my name is magdeleine and i'm a very nice girl: quiet, helpful and smart. the perfect big sister.
on the other day, i was visiting grandma and grandpa with mom, dad and baby olivier, and granny had a good idea: "let us the kids and take both a rest", she said.
— YAY!!! i yelled, and my brother also screamed "HEYYYYYYYY".

now you know me, you can imagine i helped them a lot, carrying the baby in my hat for long trips in the garden…

helping grandpa in the garden…

taming the wild duck grandpa built for us, reminding grandma for she doesn't forget the dessert…

so grandpa had a wonderful idea: "we should invite sara-ann too, he said, i'm sure they'd make friend and play together".

sara-ann is my cousin!
and you know what? she is a week younger than me, but nobody could guess it. we look exactly the same age and we have the same hair. just like grandma.

grandma says she was a famous climber too, but now the tree is too small for her.

i wonder if she went fishing with her grandfather like we did yesterday. baby olivier stayed with granny, it was so good to let him at home… babies can be tiring and we deserved a little rest.

oh nooooo! bad news! i heard grandma talking to a friend, and she said we'll go back home soon. too bad! we had so much fun!!!

magdeleine and sara-ann are 17" waldorf dolls handmade with organic jersey and carded cleaned wool. hair are weft goat.
magdeleine and sara-ann are 500€+ship, each.
if you want to adopt one of them (or both), let a comment with your email and the name of your fav. if you want to adopt them both, let two comments!
you have until midnight (EDT) today.

baby olivier will be short auction style on friday.

EDIT: COMMENTS ARE ONLY VISIBLE BY ME. NOBODY ELSE WILL SEE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS

mario

(just a tribute to my friend faydra)


what what what? are you sure i never told you about mario?
mario is a hairdresser. most exactly My hairdresser. he is just an artist. and a very happy guy. and very smart 'cause he calls me "madâme".

if you want an appointment, you must be introduce and ask months before. except me!

mimi often comes from america just to see mario and let him stylize her hair. here is her before/after. now she can go out without a hat.

so, this morning i decided i had to change. i looked like a witch!
mom took me at mario's laboratory and left for a brunch somewhere else. i love my mom.

first, i needed bangs. even michelle has bangs, why not me?

mario said "stunning", but we had an idea. why not a little bit lighter?

but finally, lighter was not bright enough. so i had a new idea:

mario said "darling, you looks like my friend Divine, we'll fix it very quick". i don't know his friend Divine, but i trust in mario.

i LOVE my new face!
but when mom came back, she said "YOKO, OH!NO!!!!"

the very true story of cunegonde, amelia and crumb (chapter 1)

any resemblance to any persons or situations, either real, or non-existent, is purely coincidental.

chapter 1

once upon a time… in the very far countryside, lived a great-grandma and her great-granddaughter. they lived together in a small, but rather comfortable log cabin. of course, there were only two rooms, one for days, the other for nights. they were not rich, but they didn't need a lot: they had a sheep for wool, a donkey for milk and a goose for eggs. they loved each other dearly, which is the most important thing.

cunegonde never knew her parents and she didn't miss them. she was a happy little girl, and as spoiled as possible. on the other hand, her great-grandma was sad sometimes. oh, she didn't really show it, but from time to time, there was like a dark cloud about her face, for a very brief moment. poor old woman, she had first lost her daughter, then her grand-daughter. cunegonde was all she had in the world. and cunegonde didn't know anybody except her great-grandma. except of course father nicholas, the priest.

actually, many people chattered about this little girl and that old twisted woman living alone in the big woods. some even said that great-grandma was a witch. you know how people are ...

that morning, cunegonde knew immediately that something strange had happened. the fireplace was cold, the teapot was empty and great grandma was still asleep.

— granny, said cunegonde, it's late. wake up granny!

but granny didn't move. she was so pale and so cold!

cunegonde was very anxious. "what should i do?" she tried to light the fire, but of course she failed. she was so young!

so she took a shawl and ran, ran, ran through the big woods to the church house.

— reverend, she said, reverend, come with me please, granny doesn't want to wake up!

father nicholas took his bindlestiff and ran, ran, ran through the big woods to the cabin. alas, granny was dead!

— what does 'dead' mean? cunegonde asked.

father nicholas took off his hat and stayed mute for a very long time! then he said "her life here is over, cunegonde! nevermore will you hear her, nevermore will she cuddle you. but where ever you go, whatever you do, she'll be next to you. never forget her, cunegonde, never!"

so, very slowly first, cunegonde cried, cried, cried for the first time in her life. not really for the first time, of course, she also cried the day she fell from the roof. 

cunegonde had just met sadness.

reverend nicholas and his wife were very nice and loving people. alas, they had twelve children and they couldn't feed another little girl.

— cunegonde, we feel so sorry, but you must live in an orphanage now, said father nicholas with tears in his eyes. you can't stay alone. your great grandma told me one day "cunegonde must keep amelia the goose with her. whatever happens she must keep her." this is her wish, cunegonde!

the bad gingerbread mom

for tracy…

hey, said john, look at that! a bunch of gingerbread men walking to the south. it means snow very soon!

snow, this is so very exciting…

— mommy, we are going to play outside, don't worry, i shouted.

gudrun took my bike and we organized a big snowball fight. (please, don't believe mini winter when she says she's the best! she braggs all the time!)

suddently, we've heard gudrun crying "heeeeelp, i need someone, heeeelp!"
of course, gudrun cries all the time and we didn't come very quick, i feel sorry now. the scene was so horrible.

gudrun was sitting in the snow, crying and shouting, and a terrible gingerbread mommy was stealing MY bike! she put her baby in the carriage and jumped on the saddle.

i yelled "stooooop, this is my bike" but she acted like if i didn't exist. and she really had a terrible face and scares everywhere.
we were turned to stone.

happily, seraphina is so brave that she jumped on the bike and… she ATE the gingerbread mom! (did i tell you she's sometimes wild and gourmet?)

what a relief!
she took the crying gudrun in the carriage and we came back home as fast as possible!

and when we told mom this terrible adventure, she said "who wants some ginger cookies? i just made some tea."

shine your light

guess what? we are not in tipperary! further and further, but it's a secret. you just have to go to the end of the line and even a little more far, then falls a huge storm that returns you in all directions and stings your eyes so you can't see anything.

devinez quoi? on n'est même pas à tipperary! on est encore plus loin, mais c'est un secret. pour y aller, il suffit de continuer jusqu'au bout et encore un peu, on tombe alors sur une tempête énorme qui vous retourne dans tous les sens et qui pique tellement les yeux qu'on n'y voit plus rien.

craa@@@@@@@@kkkkkkkvvvvvzzzzzuuuuuuuppsccchhhhiiiiiiitttxxx

the sky is on fire, lightning around. then, you feel carried into a large tunnel as a black slide down. i loved that, but i'm not sure about mom. pffuit and you arrive in front of a quiet lake. it's there. everything is so different!

craa@@@@@@@@kkkkkkkvvvvvzzzzzuuuuuuuppsccchhhhiiiiiiitttxxx

le ciel est en feu, des éclairs surgissent de partout et on est emporté dans un grand tunnel tout noir comme un tobboggan. et pffuit, on arrive près de lac tout calme. c'est là. tout est si différent!

and then something really amazing happened: can you imagine that everyone was waiting for us? grandma told them they'll have visitors! unbelievable, isn't it? of course, when i say "grandma", this is not the one we left in Japan who always said nasty things to mom, no, i mean fleur-de-chou's grandma, who knows everything, grandma!

et là, il s'est passé quelque chose de vraiment étonnant: figurez-vous que tout le monde nous attendait car grand-mère leur avit dit qu'ils auraient des visiteurs. incroyable, non? quand je dis "grand-mère", ce n'est pas celle qui est restée au japon et qui disait des choses méchantes à maman, non, je veux parler de la grand-mère de fleur-de-chou, celle qui sait tout, grand-mère, quoi!

there, my mom was shocked, because there was a girl who was fishing in the lake, and this girl is my cousin jade, who disappeared one day not to make the punishment given by the teacher. i knew she was fine!

là, maman a eu un choc, parce que il y avait une fille qui pêchait dans le lac, et cette fille c'est ma cousine jade, celle qui a disparu un jour pour ne pas faire la punition que lui avait donné la maîtresse. je savais bien qu'il ne lui était rien arrivé de grave!

the hedgehog

— hey yokokechi, look at that, michelle mabel said.

— oh my god, a hedgehog! mom, look at him. may i hug him?

but mr ghost is not happy. "where did you find him?" he asked.

— i didn't find him, he's a gift. a gift from a nice man. the name is grignote. not the man, the hedgehog. and he's a baby.

— hey yokokechi, regarde ça, dit michelle mabel.

— oh mon dieu, un hérisson! maman, regarde-le. je peux le prendre dans mes bras?

mais mr fantôme n'est pas content. «où l'as-tu trouvé?» demande-t-il.

— je ne l'ai pas trouvé, c'est cadeau. un cadeau d'un gentil monsieur. il s'appelle grignote. pas le monsieur, le hérisson. c'est un bébé.

mr ghost is more and more angry. "michelle mabel, he said, you mustn't speak to unknown persons, you know that! and if someone tells you your mom had an accident and you have to follow him, please don't!"

mr fantôme est de plus en plus en colère. "michelle mabel, dit-il, tu ne dois pas parler à des inconnus, tu le sais! et si quelqu'un te dit que ta maman a eu un accident et que tu dois le suivre, c'est faux!"

— i'm fine, lou said, my mom is dead.

— me too, john said, my mom already had an accident.

— but if she really had an accident? lisette asked.

— so, the police comes, mr ghost explains.

— but mom says most of the policemen are rogue persons, yoko said.

suddently, mom becomes red and says it's bed time now, because we have a long way tomorrow.

— we'll probably go to tipperary, murmurs yoko to john…

— je suis tranquille, dit lou, ma mère est morte.

— moi aussi, dit john, ma mère déjà eu un accident.

— mais si elle a vraiment eu un accident? demande lisette.

— dans ce cas, la police vient te prévenir, explique mr fantôme.

— ma maman elle dit que presque tous les policiers sont des voyous, déclare yoko.

maman devient toute rouge et dit que c'est l'heure du coucher, parce que nous avons un long chemin demain.

— nous allons probablement à Tipperary, murmure yoko à john...

merci encore cyriaque, grignote est un amour de petit polisson hérisson qui a eu tôt fait de trouver sa place ici.

carnival tonight

sorry for this: i needed to secure my blog because i can't stand any longer anonymous offensive comments, and find my short stories published elsewhere on the net without being at least mentioned (and without any permission, of course). so i secured my blog. and i did it so well that only me was allowed to read it… my apologies for this inconvenience.


now, let's go back to our heroes.

— so, mr ghost said to the new one, did you found something?
— nothing, unfortunately, she answered, i shall continue tomorrow. What a crowd tonight!

— alors, dit mr fantôme à la nouvelle arrivante, tu as trouvé quelque chose?

— hélas, toujours rien, répondit-elle, je continuerai demain. quel monde ici ce soir!

yoko is intrigued. what is this girl searching for that? the best way to know, she thought, is to become her friend. "i'm yoko, she said with a smile, what's your name"?

— Michelle mabel.

— Michelle mabel, said John, these are words that go together well... 

yoko est bien intriguée. mais que cherche donc cette fille? le meilleur moyen de le savoir, se dit-elle, c'est de devenir sa copine. "je suis yoko, dit-elle avec un sourire, comment t'appelles-tu"?

— michelle mabel.

— michelle mabel, dit john, sont des mots qui vont très bien ensemble, très bien ensemble…

poor John! he didn't have time to say more than yoko and lisette took him out of the group.

we hear laughter, whispering, reversed trunks. it's the turn of michelle mabel to be intrigued. she would like to know what's going up there, but she can't leave without finishing the cup of tea mom put in her hands.

mais le pauvre john n'a pas le temps d'en dire plus long que yoko et lisette l'entraînent hors du groupe. on entend des rires, des chuchotements, des malles renversées. c'est au tour de michelle mabel d'être intriguée. elle aimerait bien savoir ce qui se trame là-haut, mais elle n'ose pas partir sans finir la tasse de thé que maman lui a mis d'office dans les mains.

— "mardi gras, mardi gras," the children cry.
— "mardi gras, mardi gras", crient les enfants.

— what an incredible impudence, muttering mr ghost… 

— quel incroyable toupet, marmonne mr fantôme en voyant lisette.

anybody there?

- i am so disappointed, yoko says to lou after a while. i thought you were little red riding hood and had been swallowed by the big bad wolf and a hunter opened his belly and exited you...

- fully clothed, asked lisette?

— je suis déçue, dit yoko à lou au bout d'un moment. moi qui croyais que tu étais le petit chaperon rouge et que tu avais été avalée par le grand méchant loup et qu'un chasseur lui avait ouvert le ventre et t'avais ressortie entière…

— et toute habillée, demande lisette?

this is the moment chosen by mr ghost to scratch his throat. mom froze, teapot in hand. a ghost! that takes the cake!

- my homage, dear lady.

mom looks stupid and remains silent, his mouth open. "mom, say good night, yoko whispered ".

- sososorry, mom stammered, we thought the house was empty... we'll leave...

- that's usual, mr ghost sighed gloomily. well, you can stay, the rooms are ready. i see a very sleepy little girl…

mom took abigail in his arms and put her in a feather bed surprisingly soft and warm.

c'est le moment que choisit mr fantôme pour se gratter la gorge. maman se figea, la théière à la main. un fantôme! il ne manquait plus que cela!

— mes hommages, chère madame.

maman prit l'air stupide et resta muette, la bouche ouverte. "maman, dis-lui bonsoir, chuchota yoko".

— eeeexxxcusez-nous, bredouilla maman, nous pensions que la maison était vide… nous allons partir…

— j'ai l'habitude, soupira mr fantôme d'un air lugubre. enfin, je ne vous chasse pas, les chambres sont prêtes. je vois là une petite fille qui dort debout.

maman prit abigail dans ses bras et monta la déposer dans un lit de plume étonnament doux et chaud.

meanwhile, yoko told mr ghost vicissitudes that had led so far, since the scarecrow that turns into a young girl to beth who came up to find his ancestors.

mr ghost was delighted.

- i have an idea, he said as mom came back.

then, the door opened:

- anybody there? 

pendant ce temps, yoko racontait à mr fantôme les péripéties qui les avaient conduits jusque là, depuis l'épouvantail qui se transforme en fillette jusqu'à beth qui venait de retrouver ses ancêtres.

mr fantôme était ravi.

— j'ai une idée, dit-il à maman qui revenait.

c'est alors que la porte s'entrouvre:

— ya quelqu'un?

the house of the rising sun

- we'll spend the night here, mum said. everyone is exhausted and the house seems abandoned. we'll continue tomorrow.

- i'm afraid, said lisette.

- i too, adds lou.

- i am a little cold, murmurs john.

- you make me laugh, said yoko, what are you afraid of? mom is going to prepare a nice cup of tea and everything will be better, isn't it mom?

— don't be afraid, mom said, i think it is what they call the house of the rising sun.

— nous allons passer la nuit ici, dit maman. tout le monde est épuisé et cette maison semble abandonnée. nous continuerons demain.

— j'ai un peu peur, dit lisette.

— moi aussi, ajoute lou.

— j'ai un peu froid, ajoute john.

— vous me faites rigoler, dit yoko, vous avez peur de quoi? maman va nous préparer une bonne tasse de thé et tout ira mieux, pas vrai maman?

— n'ayez pas peur, dit maman, je crois que les gens l'appellent la maison du soleil levant.

but mom is also not very reassured. she was supposed to protect all these little and the best she can do is to install them for the night in an abandoned house. "hope that yoko doesn't begin to tell silly stories about ghosts. poor little bibi is so scared!"

- we visit? yoko said.

- and if lou told us her story, mom asks hoping to change their ideas...

mais maman non plus n'est pas très rassurée. elle doit protéger tous ces petits et le mieux qu'elle puisse faire est de les installer pour la nuit dans une maison abandonnée. "pourvu que yoko ne se mette pas à raconter des histoires idiotes sur des fantômes. la pauvre petite bibi est déjà bien assez effrayée comme cela!"

— on visite? dit yoko

— et si lou nous racontait son histoire, demande maman qui espère ainsi leur changer les idées…

“it's a very simple story, begins lou, my mother died during my birth (mom looks away to avoid children see her tears) and my dad remarried a woman very, very nasty; she hated me. it made my dad very sad and he died too.

then i ran away to escape my stepmother. so i was in the forest when someone grabbed me suddenly and i found myself into a so large basket that i couldn't get away even when climbing. i really thought it would be my stepmother.

fortunately, it was only an ogre. "i'll get what i need to cook you" the ogre said, and he hung up the hood on the top of a stick to avoid i escape. i was trapped!

"c'est une histoire toute simple, commence lou, ma maman est morte à ma naissance (maman détourne le regard pour que les enfants ne voient pas ses larmes briller) et mon papa s'est remarié avec une femme très très méchante qui me détestait. cela rendait mon papa très malheureux et il est mort à son tour, de chagrin. 

alors je me suis enfuie pour échapper à ma marâtre. j'étais donc dans la forêt quand d'un seul coup quelqu'un m'a attrapée et je me suis retrouvée dans un panier si grand que je ne pouvais pas m'en échapper même en l'escaladant. 

j'avais vraiment peur que ce soit ma marâtre. 

heureusement, c'était seulement un ogre. "je vais chercher de quoi te cuisiner", me dit l'ogre et il suspendit la hotte en haut d'un bâton pour que je ne puisse pas m'échapper. j'étais prisonnière! 

the ogre came back very quickly because he had taken his bicycle. i couldn't see it but i heard it creaking at every turn of wheel and i thought it was probably very old. in short, suddenly, it smelled wood fire. the ogre had brought a barbecue, and also a large pot as i would soon find out.

indeed, after a moment, the ogre put me out of the basket and let me down into the pan on the fire. 

“ogre, you're an idiot, i said, how do you want to cook me without water?“ “Boy, you're right“, replied the ogre, and he went to the river to fetch water with his bucket.

l'ogre revint très vite car il avait pris sa bicyclette. je ne pouvais pas la voir mais je l'entendais grincer à chaque tour de roue et je me disais qu'elle devait être très vieille. 

bref, d'un seul coup, ça s'est mis à sentir le feu de bois. c'est que l'ogre avait apporté un barbecue, et aussi une grande casserole comme j'allais bientôt le découvrir. en effet, au bout d'un moment, l'ogre me sortit du panier et me mit dans la casserole sur le feu. 

"ogre, tu es un idiot, lui dis-je, comment veux-tu me faire cuire sans eau?" "bigre, tu as raison", répondit l'ogre, et il partit à la rivière chercher de l'eau avec son seau. 

of course i jumped out of the pan and i ran away as fast as i could pedal on his bike. that's when i saw yoko's mom and i knew i was saved ... "

bien sûr, j'ai bondi hors de la casserole et je me suis enfuie le plus vite que j'ai pu en pédalant sur son vélo. c'est alors que j'ai vu la maman de yoko et que j'ai su que j'étais sauvée…" 

mom takes lou in her arms. everyone is silent, really everyone ...

maman prend lou dans ses bras et la serre très fort. tout le monde se tait, vraiment tout le monde…