May 16, 2011

A Year of the Monkey

Frank and I took our Munchkins on a new adventure yesterday.  We took them letter boxing.  People leave clues to "treasure boxes", which is really just little box, with a small notebook in it.  We then look for the said "treasure boxes", and once we find it we put a stamp in the box.  (It is suppose to be a custom made stamp, but we haven't taken that adventure yet!)  A year of the monkey, is the story of a prince who goes for a walk and wonders what will life be like in a hundred years.
The first adventure was trying to find the starting point.  We did find it, in a small town called Elsinboro.
Once we did that, we were ready to go...


And, here is the story of...
A Year of the Monkey

Walking on white shells
Yes, the abbot's advice had been good, the prince thought as he traversed the raised path through the meadow of waving reeds. A few hours spent observing nature would be a welcome change from the conflict and intrigues of court life. White shells on the trail crunched beneath his feet, birds flew singing in the sky, small animals rustled the grass on either side. He passed dark evergreens and trees with ripening fruit bright as the robes of the monks.





The tour in the middle
of the marsh



When he reached the platform on his left, he went up the steps & gazed out over the marshes and waterways. His eye was caught by two features in the distance -- the great gleaming tower on his left, and a huge tree to the right. It was too easy a metaphor for the warring factions of the country. And a hundred years from now, which of them would endure? the prince wondered....








  

The Great Gleamin' Tower

The Huge Tree


The Half-Hallow Tree



Descending, he continued on his way past a large half-hollow tree, then stopped about twenty steps later at a small twisted tree with its trunk close to the ground. He felt a curious desire to leave a record of his passing here, something that would remain after he had gone. How odd...but he followed his impulse, hiding the small object below the horizontal trunk where another branched out at a 45 degree angle. That would be inconspicuous enough.






We found the treasure
Putting in our "mark"






Then he continued on the path, returning to his responsibilities.






The Year of the Monkey

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