Ralfie and Jemima

Ralfie and Jemima

Sunday 10 November 2019

Tales From the Yard




It was Wendelbert Wolperting's favourite time of the year - October.




He had organised a pumpkin sale in the front yard of Riverside's empty Victorian mansion. It was said to be haunted, so what better place for a pumpkin sale?

His friends Matthäus and Matilda Mandrake were there too.




Little Ralfie Hazelnut was there also. He was enjoying some Halloween candy and getting acquainted with Woody, the friendly tree.




Soon Rona and Joey and Hippolina came by too. They had heard that Wenderlbert was telling scary stories that evening. They couldn't wait to get scared.





"Come closer, children, come closer," he beckoned.  

"Come close enough so I can WHISPER this story to you, because it should not be told with a loud voice. It should better not be told at all... But, since you are all here... I will begin.

Once upon a time, there was a town by a river. It was a lovely little place full of friendly townfolk and goodlooking pumpkins. 

Right smack in the middle of the town stood an old dark mansion. People had been telling stories about it for decades. That it was haunted, that it was inhabited by monsters, that it was CURSED." 

Rona, Joey and Hippolina jumped.




"Nobody believed the stories. The children heard them from their parents and told them to their younger siblings, but nobody really believed that there could be anything wrong with an old, empty house.

Until, one day in October, children from the neighbourhood began to go missing. Nobody knew where they went. There were never any clues and each case was different. One child disappeared on its way to school. Another was apparently snatched out if its pram while the mother was standing right next to it, talking to a friend. Another child went to the market to get some carrots for dinner and never came back. 

Soon, nobody was allowing their children to go out alone after dark. Or to go out at all. Children had to be accompanied by an adult or stay at home. Some children got seriously ill from boredom," Wendelbert said, rolling his eyes around inside his pumkpin head in a threatening manner. 

Rona, Joey and Hippolina almost peed their pants. What a SPOOKY story.



Little Ralfie wasn't listening, though. He was busy sharing his lollipop with Matilda Mandrake.

Some time later the children went back home. Skin full of goosebumps and panties wet with fear of the child-eating monsters living in the mansion. 

Was Wendelbert's story real? Could he have been talking about the mansion in Riverside? Were BAD THINGS going to happen?? Such was the effect of Wendelbert's story on the children that after trembling themselves to sleep they had the most fantastic dreams about ghosts and blood sucking vampires and houses that came to life.

Later that same night at the mansion, after everybody, including Wendelbert, had left...




A Sylvanian came out the front door of the mansion. He looked like a black cat wearing a suit and tie.




Nobody had oficially moved into the mansion, so what was he doing there?? 

He started to hum and then sing a little tune that went like this:

"Halloween, oh what to do?
Cook a pot of witches' brew.
Pop some children in the pan
Fry them just because I can

Halloween, oh what to do?
Boil a pot of childrens' brew
Steam them 'til they're soft as fudge
Mix some snails into the sludge..."



Suddenly, as if by magic, a broom appeared in his paw. Was he a wizard, just like Hester Hogwart was a witch? Or was he someone sinister, preparing to steal and eat all the little children of Riverside?




"Stella! Anne-Marie! Friederike! Let's go, my darlings!" he called out behind him.

Soon two little kittens, both cute as a button and wearing fancy dresses, came dancing out the front door meowing "Daddy, Daddy, we're coming! Don't fly without us!"




There was a mother cat too. The elegant Friederike. She was wearing a dress just as fancy as her daughters.

These were the Ghostly-Whites and they had just arrived in Riverside that week, unbeknownst to anyone.




"Mommy, I can't wait to fly together on Daddy's broom tonight," Anne-Marie said to her mother. "I know, dear. It's wonderful weather for a moonlit flight."



"See that very large, very bright star right over the old oak?" Silvester said to his dautghter Stella while pointing into the direction of the star with his broom. "That's the cat star and the direction in which we are flying tonight."



Silvester was murmuring a spell so that his broom would grow and all of his family would fit onto it. Stella had already taken a seat. She loved to sit in front. Anne-Marie was looking forward to the outing too, but she was a teensy bit afraid of heights, so she was glad to sit in the back.


* * *

Several days later...


There was a beautiful antique white car standing in the front yard of the mansion, on the spot where Woody the tree had been growing. Apparently, the Ghostly-Whites had moved into the mansion for good, but they had kept to themselves, so still nobody in Riverside knew about it. 

What had happened Woody the tree? Where was he?



Oh, there he was! Woody was apparently "walking" around the garden that day. I guess that's because he was a wandering tree.



The car was soon filled with Silvester and his family. "Put your seat belts on, my dears", Friederike appealed to her daughters on the back seat. 



"Can't we just conjure it on, Mommy?" Stella asked on behalf of her and her sister.

"No, dears, I don't want your magic powers to turn you into lazy little sloths. So please put your seat belts on with your own two paws."

"Alright, Mommy..." The sisters sighed.



And off they went, and I am pretty sure they drove someplace special, because the little grey mouse was sitting on top of one of the car wheels and I don't think she would have gone along to any place less than interesting.


THANK YOU ALL IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR LOVELY COMMENTS

AND HAVE A WONDERFUL WEEK!!!




14 comments:

  1. Hello Nina!
    I don't think I have met Wendelbert Wolperting before but he seems to be quite an intriguing person. I love the pumpkin sale he decided to create, did you make those pumpkins yourself? You are so good at making them! The location for the sale is perfect, very spooky. I feel a bit sorry for Woody as he lives near this seemingly 'haunted' house, I can't imagine that he would get a lot of visitors and is quite lonely. It's nice to see Hippolina again, what a nice dress she is wearing!
    Wendelbert is certainly talented at telling stories, he had me quite captured in his tale. It was very spooky, I hope it doesn't come true! The poor children though, I'm sure that they all were longing to get a hug from their parents to calm down! I gasped when I read about the black cat sylvanian, I'm glad that the children had gone when they came out, then they really would have peed their pants! They certainly are a magical family, I can't wait to hear more about them. Oh I have just read that Woody is a wandering tree, he surely would have some friends then. What a wonderful story Nina!
    Hugs, Emily

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    1. Dear Emily,

      It's so great to welcome you back to blogland! :)

      My Sylvanians and Fudge jumped with joy when we read your first comment a while ago and the entry on your blog.

      Of all the pumpkins from Wendelbert's pumpkin sale I only made the group of three underneath the table on the left. The frowning pumpkin with teeth as well as Wendelbert were made by Irina Timoshkevich from Irinasminiatures on Etsy. The other pumpkins are store-bought and the jack-o-lantern (with the painted on features) is from a Sylvanian Halloween set.

      See you soon!! :)

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  2. Ooh, what a lovely but somewhat spooky story! I have to admit, the part where Silvester stepped out of the mansion singing that song was a little frightening. Did you come up with the verses yourself? The pumpkins for the pumpkin sale and the spooky story are very cool. Great job! It really captures the Halloween theme! I love your setups!

    Best wishes, Emilie and the Maple Cat from Huckleberry Springs

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    1. Dear Emilie,

      Thank so much for your friendly comment!

      Yes, I made up the verse that Silvester sings when stepping out of the mansion.

      You mentioned that you like my setups - the "mansion" is actually a picture from a spooky advent calendar. :) I love it so much that I simply had to use it as scenery for a blogpost.

      Kind regards to all in Huckleberry Springs!

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  3. Hi Nina!
    What a wonderfully spooky story! I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, it was truly magical!

    I loved Wendelbert Wolperting and his very scary story! I hope the poor children recovered soon from the fright! I'm sure little Ralfie will be OK though, as he wasn't really paying attention, haha!

    I loved the Ghostly-Whites! They are the perfect family of magical cats! Loved their elegant white car, it suits them so! I wonder if the residents of Riverside noticed them flying around, and how they will react to them moving in! :)

    Have a great week!

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    1. Hello Ayrell,

      Thanks so much for your kind words! I'm glad you enjoyed my story!

      You are right, Ralfie wasn't paying attention at all that night, so he didn't have any trouble sleeping, but he lived through something very eerie some time ago in "Ralfie's Midnight Adventure".

      I've been wondering that too (whether the residents of Riverside noticed the Ghostly-Whites flying around that night)...

      Thank you and have a pleasant week! :)

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  4. Another lovely little spooky story for Sylvanian and other kids.
    You should publish a book, illustrated with your photos. I'm sure kids will love it.
    Hugs, Drora

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    1. Dear Drora,

      You are so kind. Thank you for this comment.

      This is a hobby that I greatly enjoy and I am glad to be able to share it with my readers (big and small). :)

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  5. Anders als die Riverside-Kinder hatten wir hier keine Gänsehaut... auch wenn sich Wendelbert mit seiner Grusel-Geschichte mächtig ins Zeug gelegt hat. Von Herrn Wolperting könnte sogar Meister King noch was lernen... *lach* Nein, wir sind ganz fest überzeugt, dass in Riverside immer alles gut wird - und wir haben uns mächtig gefreut, dass es nun noch eine magische Familie in Riverside gibt. Herzlich Willkommen an Familie Ghostly-White... die hoffentlich bald das spektakuläre Automobil vor dem Anwesen der Hogwarts parken wird. ;O)

    Liebe Grüße
    Birgit

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    1. Liebe Birgit,

      ich weiss gar nicht, ob es den Hogwarts schon bekannt ist, dass neue Hexen dazu gezogen sind! Ich denke aber, dass Hester und Silvester bestimmt vieles zu besprechen hätten und tolle Rezepte und Zaubersprüche miteinander austauschen könnten...

      Ganz liebe Grüsse an dich und deine Kleinen (auch wenn wir euch mit Wendelberts Geschichte keinen Angstschweiss verpassen konnten). :)

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  6. Hi,

    I love autumn and all the colors of it. Yellow, orange, wine red. Every year we have different kind of autumn depending of the temperatus of the summer. Last year we had a very beautuful autumn, but this year less beautiful.

    Your photos show us beutiful orange maple leaves. We have mainly yellow ones.

    Have a nice week!

    - Sirkka

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    1. Thank you Sirkka,

      I like autumn very much too.

      See you soon.

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  7. Hi there.

    Your pictures are always a treat, with the colours and interesting details - often unique. A peek into your imagination is entertaining and time well spent!

    Hope you're well!

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    1. Hello Jackson Butterglove,

      Thank you very much for your kind words!

      Your comments always make my day.

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