Mick McArt - The Tree Fort of Wordishure

This is a work of fiction. Except in references to the Lord Jesus Christ, the events and characters described herein are imaginary and not intended to refer to specific places or living persons. The author has represented and warranted full ownership and/or legal right to publish all the materials in this book.

Tales of Wordishure: The Tree Fort of Wordishure

All Rights Reserved

Copyright 2012 Mick Art Productions

V1.0

This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphics, electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Mick Art Productions, LLC

www.mickartproductions.com

ISBN: 9781619790407

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

James 1:17

Sitting high up in his tree fort that overlooked Springwater Lake, Gideon watched the sun as it rose over Wordishure. The light seemed to make everything come to life, and the many colors of the trees made beautiful reflections on the water. Gideon knew today was going to be special, so he left his house as soon as his parents would let him.

As Gideon sat on the edge of the doorway, he looked down at his bare feet. He had lost his shoes and socks the other day when visiting friends by Oldwood Creek. Gideon didn't mind. He loved to go barefoot because the grass was cool and soft.

"Have you lost your shoes, Gideon?" came a deep but slow voice from right under him.

Gideon climbed halfway down the ladder, and facing the tree, replied "Yes, Fordywinx, and my socks too."

The tree smiled and yawned. "You've got to be more careful."

Gideon remembered the day he met Fordywinx, the Sleeping Willow tree. It was on a day that he was using his naptime invention that he called dream goggles. They were a pair of glasses with the lenses painted black so the light wouldn't get into his eyes. This helped him nap better on sunny afternoons. Gideon was at the lake collecting bubbles for his next invention when he decided to take a nap under the shadiest tree possible. That's when the Sleeping Willow noticed his goggles and remarked that he wanted a pair.

The old tree and the little boy became fast friends. Fordywinx even agreed to let Gideon build a tree fort in his upper branches, so he could work on more inventions. Word of the upcoming tree fort spread throughout all the land of Wordishure. Children from far and wide came to help build it. They had so much fun they decided to join up with Gideon and form a brave band of Tree Scouts. Their largest member, Bigby the Giant, helped the club by placing the fort into the tree.

Gideon and the Tree Scouts spent many hours in the fort playing games and telling stories. Gideon loved being a Tree Scout. Besides meeting all sorts of new friends, it taught him to be good a steward of all God's Creation. Being a Tree Scout meant spending time learning knot tying, tree climbing, and map reading. But for Gideon, it meant watching the sunrise before starting work on his inventions.

As Gideon talked to Fordywinx, he pointed at his feet and said, "I'm working on an alarm system for my next pair of shoes."

He reached down into the pouch that he wore attached to his belt and pulled out a piece of string with some bells tied to it. "I just tie them on the laces. The chimes will let everyone know where my shoes are," he said, rattling the bells in front of the sleepy-eyed willow tree.

"Try not wear to them at nap time," yawned Fordywinx. "Or I'll never get any rest!"

"That will be my next invention," declared Gideon as he pulled out a notepad and scribbled his new idea. "I'll make earplugs for trees!"

"I'll stick to counting sheep, thank you," said the tree, pointing a branch towards the sheep that were grazing in a field a short distance away. "Counting my wooly friends in Shepard's Field always gets me sleepy," he added.

"You can count on me!" the little boy replied as he stood straight up on the ladder and saluted. "A Tree Scout's oath is His Word!"

"Toot!" came a loud noise from behind Gideon. "Toot! Toot! Toot!" It startled him so much that he nearly fell off the ladder! Fordywinx, steadied Gideon with one of his branches, so the boy wouldn't fall.

"Did I startle you?" came a familiar voice from the ground below. Gideon turned to look. Standing with a bugle in one hand was another Tree Scout, a young squirrel named Revelly. Gideon nicknamed him that because Revelly marched around with a bugle making all sorts of noise. Revelly the squirrel lived in the Clankabang tree just over Shepard's Field. Revelly wore his Tree Scout uniform all prim and proper. He was very good at tree climbing, and that's how he achieved his first Tree Scout merit pin. Revelly was reddish-brown, with a big fluffy tail that straightened out whenever he would trump on his horn.

Standing next to Revelly was his little sister Jubilee, who also was a Tree Scout. Jubilee, or Jubah, as Gideon called her, had decorated her uniform with lots of pretty ribbons. She also wore one small, red Hia Rose in the small brown tuft of fur on her head. Jubilee loved to celebrate over the smallest occasion, and was really good at remembering all the special days in Wordishure. She also carried a blanket around with her because Revelly kept her up a lot with his bugling. She was always ready to catch a quick nap.

"Are we there yet?" asked Jubilee, while rubbing her eyes and yawning.

"Shhh..." motioned Gideon, holding his finger to his lips. "It's still early and Fordywinx is trying to get a bit of shut-eye. You know the older ones need lots of rest, Revelly."

"Thank you," said the tree dozily, "Maybe that earplug invention isn't such a bad idea after all!"

"Sorry," whispered Revelly as he tiptoed up the ladder of the tree fort.

"Me too," added Jubilee as she ran to the tree and hugged him.

Soon they were all up in the tree fort sitting around a crate that they used for a table. In the middle of their makeshift table sat the Jingle Jar. They called it the Jingle Jar because it was large, glass, and jingled whenever someone pulled out a shiny merit pin. A Tree Scout earned a merit pin by doing helpful tasks or learning a skill.

"What's with the Jingle Jar, Jubah?" Revelly asked his sister as he tapped at its lid, making a tinny bang noise with each tap. "Did I earn a new pin?"

"Shh..." she hushed. "It's Fordywinx' birthday. I want to give him a Friendship merit pin."

"Fordywinx's birthday!" shouted Revelly, raising the bugle to his lips, "it's time to celebrate!"

Both Gideon and Jubilee leapt up and covered Revelly's mouth before he could blow into the bugle. "Shhh," Gideon shushed. "We have another surprise."

Revelly scrambled over to Gideon's invention table, and started picking up some of his contraptions, "Are you inventing something! C'mon, I can keep a secret!"

"Not this time," replied Gideon, walking over to the map of Wordishure hanging on the wall.

"Jubah has a great gift idea, but we have to go here to get it," noted Gideon as he pointed to the map. Revelly knew just where he was pointing.

"That's Bearfruit Island!" Revelly nervously remarked. "We shouldn't go there!"

"Why not?" wondered Jubilee.

"There's a monster on that island named Hubbub," proclaimed Revelly, making his paws into antler shapes on top of his head. As Revelly talked he took slow steps towards Gideon and Jubilee. "Hubbub has big antlers, and prowls around at night making all sorts of strange sounds!"