Don't Forget!, page 1
Text copyright © 2008 by Veronika Martenova Charles
Illustrations copyright © 2008 by David Parkins
Published in Canada by Tundra Books,
75 Sherbourne Street, Toronto, Ontario M5A 2P9
www.mcclelland.com
Published in the United States by Tundra Books of Northern New York,
P.O. Box 1030, Plattsburgh, New York 12901
Library of Congress Control Number: 2007943132
All rights reserved. The use of any part of this publication reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system, without the prior written consent of the publisher—or, in case of photocopying or other reprographic copying, a licence from the Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency—is an infringement of the copyright law.
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Charles, Veronika Martenova
Don’t forget! / Veronika Martenova Charles; illustrated by David Parkins.
eISBN: 978-1-77049-017-8
1. Horror tales, Canadian (English). 2. Children’s stories, Canadian (English).
I. Parkins, David II. Title. III. Series: Charles, Veronika Martenova. Easy-to-read
spooky tales.
PS8555.H42242D56 2008 jC813’.54 C2007—907589—4
We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP) and that of the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Media Development Corporation’s Ontario Book Initiative. We further acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council for our publishing program.
v3.1
CONTENTS
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Buying Candies Part 1 Baba Yaga
(Marcos’ Story)
The Golden Arm
(My Story)
Monster Gogo
(Leon’s Story)
Buying Candies Part 2
Afterword
Where the Stories Come From
BUYING CANDIES
PART 1
“I get my allowance today,”
I told Leon at recess.
“Me too,” said Leon.
“Let’s go to the store this afternoon.
We’ll buy some candies,” I said.
We went to tell Marcos about it.
“Come to my house after school,”
I said.
When I went home
I got my allowance.
Then, Leon and Marcos arrived.
“We’re going to buy some candies,”
I told my mom.
She handed me a letter.
“Would you please mail this
at the post office?” she asked.
“Don’t forget!”
“I’ll remember,” I promised.
“What are you going to buy?”
I asked Leon and Marcos.
“I’m not sure yet,” said Marcos.
“I want a chocolate bar,” said Leon.
“I hear there are new candies
that look like little skulls.
I’m going to buy those,” I said.
“Baba Yaga had skulls on the fence
around her house,” said Marcos.
“Who is Baba Yaga?” I asked.
“I’ll tell you a story about her,”
Marcos said.
BABA YAGA
(Marcos’ Story)
Once there was a man and a woman
who had two children –
a girl and a boy.
One day, the parents
had to go to the market.
The mother said to the girl,
“Elena, while we’re away,
take care of your baby brother.
But be careful!
The black geese of Baba Yaga
were seen flying over the village,
so don’t go outside.
Now don’t forget!
We’ll bring you some sugar buns
when we come home.”
Elena knew about Baba Yaga,
the terrible witch of the forest.
She was eight feet tall
and ate little children.
Elena stayed in the house
with her baby brother.
Very soon she got bored.
She saw her friends outside,
so she took her brother,
set him down on the grass,
and went to play with her friends.
She forgot all about him.
After some time, she remembered
and came back to look for him.
He was nowhere to be found.
Then, far away on the horizon,
Elena saw the black geese.
They were carrying something!
The geese had stolen her brother
and were taking him
to Baba Yaga’s hut.
“I must go after him!”
Elena ran toward the forest
where Baba Yaga lived.
As she was running,
Elena came to a pond.
There, lying on the sand
was a fish, gasping for air.
“Please help me!” the fish called.
“I’m dying!”
Elena was in a hurry,
but she stopped and put the fish
back into the water.
The fish popped its head out.
“Because you helped me,
I will help you,” it said.
“Pick up that shell by your feet.
If you’re ever in danger,
throw it over your shoulder
and it will help you.”
Elena picked up the shell
and put it in her pocket.
Then she ran on through the forest.
The trees grew so close together
that no light could shine
through them.
Finally, she came to a clearing …
and there was Baba Yaga’s hut.
A skull fence stood around it,
and the black geese were sleeping
on the roof.
Elena climbed up to the hut
and peaked inside.
Baba Yaga was asleep, snoring.
Elena’s brother was near her,
sitting on the ground,
playing with some bones.
Elena crept in,
grabbed her baby brother,
and ran outside.
But the black geese saw her.
“HONK, HONK!” they cried,
and flapped their wings.
They woke up Baba Yaga.
She ran out and screamed,
“STOP, THIEF!
Bring back my dinner!”
And she chased after them.
Elena ran as fast as she could,
but her brother was heavy.
Baba Yaga was getting
closer and closer.
When Elena looked back,
she saw Baba Yaga reach out.
What could she do?
She remembered the shell!
She threw it over her shoulder.
Instantly, a wide river appeared.
Baba Yaga could not go around it,
so she waded into it.
But the water was deep
and Baba Yaga couldn’t swim.
In no time at all, she drowned.
Elena and her brother got home
just in time.
Then their parents returned
and gave them some sugar buns.
“What’s a sugar bun?” Leon asked.
“I don’t know.
A kind of doughnut, maybe,”
said Marcos.
“Why did Elena get doughnuts
even when she caused trouble?”
asked Leon.
“Well, luckily she was able
to make things right,” I said.
“I know a story about a girl
who forgot something
and had no chance to fix it.
It’s called The Golden Arm.”
THE GOLDEN ARM
(My Story)
Once there were two
sisters, June and Edna.
June, the older one,
had a golden arm.
She was very proud of it
and liked it even better
than her real arm.
Every night June told Edna:
“If something happens
and I die,
don’t forget to bury me
with my golden arm.”
“I promise,” Edna told her.
When June was very old,
She got sick and died.
Edna buried her sister,
but forgot the golden arm.
It was left under the covers
in June’s bed.
When Edna walked back
from the cemetery,
it started to snow and blow.
Edna got home, but felt so cold
that she crawled into June’s bed
to warm herself up.
But she couldn’t get warm,
because the golden arm was there
and it was as cold as ice.
Outside the wind squealed,
and Edna heard a voice moaning,
“W-h-e-e-r-e’-s my g-o-l-d-e-n
a-a-a-r-m?”
over her head.
But it was no use.
It came from the road:
“W-h-e-e-r-e’-s my …”
and from the porch:
“… g-o-l-d-e-n …”
and at the door:
“… a-a-a-r-m?”
And the voice and the wind
wailed under the door,
“W-H-E-E-R-E’-S MY
G-O-L-D-E-N A-A-A-R-M?”
Edna shivered.
Then she peeked out.
It was beside her.
And – it jumped.…
YOU’VE GOT IT!!!
“No, I don’t!” cried Marcos.
“Leon has it!”
We chased after each other
and wrestled on the ground.
“I know a story about a boy
who forgot something too,”
said Leon.
“It’s about a big, hairy monster.”
“Well, tell us,” I said.
“We’re almost at the store.”
MONSTER GOGO
(Leon’s Story)
There was a woman
who had a son called Atu.
Their cottage was among fields
where no one else lived.
The woman kept four big dogs
to protect them, because at night
the hairy monster, Gogo,
wandered the countryside.
Gogo was always hungry.
He ate everything in sight –
animals or people –
they were all food to him.
Every day the woman cooked
a roast-beef dinner for the dogs.
And every evening she said,
“Keep watch through the night
in case Monster Gogo comes.”
The dogs would wag their tales
and say, “Sleep without fear.”
But one day, the woman
had to go to town.
“I will be back tomorrow,”
she told Atu.
“Roast the meat in the oven
and give the dogs their dinner.
Don’t forget!”
When his mother left,
Atu put the meat in the oven.
Then the dogs began to bark.
Atu looked outside and saw
his friends were coming over.
“What’s that smell?
What’s cooking?” his friends asked.
“Can we a have a taste?”
“It’s for the dogs,” said Atu.
“Woof, woof,” said his friends,
pretending to be dogs.
They joked and laughed with Atu
and they ate all the meat.
Then they left to get home
before the sun went down
and Gogo came out.
The dogs came into the kitchen
looking for their dinner.
Atu put out the bowl
with a few scraps and a bone.
“Is that our dinner?” the dogs asked.
“Take it or leave it,” said Atu.
“I’m tired. I’m going to bed.”
“It seems we must get our dinner
somewhere else,” the dogs said.
They ran far across the fields
all the way to the next farm.
Atu went to sleep.
But what was that sound outside?
PLOP. PLOP. Heavy feet
pounded the garden path.
Monster Gogo!
Atu locked the door
and went to bed.
CRASH! The door banged open.
CLING, CLANG! The dishes fell.
Atu opened the attic door
and climbed up into it.
Soon Gogo poked his head
through the opening.
Atu opened the attic window,
climbed down to the ground,
hid in a big clay pot,
and pulled the lid on tight.
SNIFF, SNIFF, Gogo came around
smelling the pot.…
BUYING CANDIES
PART 2
We came to the store.
“Can I finish my story later?”
asked Leon.
“I need chocolate – right now.”
We went in and looked around.
“Do you have the candies
that look like small skulls?”
I asked the lady in the store.
“No,” she said. “We’re sold out.
We’ll have more next week.”
So, I chose candies
that looked like purple snakes.
Leon picked a chocolate bar,
and Marcos bought gum.
“Anything else?” asked the lady.
“That will be all,” we said,
and we gave her our money.
Outside, we ate all our treats.
“Let’s play ball at my house,”
I said to Leon and Marcos.
We ran back home.
My mom came outside and asked,
“Did you mail my letter?”
“Letter?”
I looked. The letter was still
in my pocket.
“Oh, no! I forgot!
I will go back,” I offered.
“It’s too late,” said my mother.
“The post office is closed now.
You were supposed to help!
I’ll do it myself tomorrow.”
My mom was in a bad mood.
“I think we better go now,”
said Leon and Marcos,
and suddenly, they were gone.
But, I thought, we said
we would play ball!
How could they forget?
AFTERWORD
The boys were so greedy for candy
that they forgot something else!
Leon never finished his story.
It’s up to you to think up
an ending for Monster Gogo.
How will Atu escape? Or will he?
WHERE THE STORIES
COME FROM
There are folktales from many lands
about someone who has trouble
because he or she forgets
to do something.
Baba Yaga is a Russian story.
The Golden Arm comes from England.
Monster Gogo is based on
part of a tale from West Africa.
Veronika Martenova Charles, Don't Forget!
Thanks for reading the books on GrayCity.Net
