dazed and confused

friends love # 9

friends love # 8

keep calm and…

friends love # 7

i am going to reblog this at need

friends love # 6

chuckling joey makes me fall in love with him all over again

friends love # 5

need a nap partner, now!

friends love # 4

london, baby! – friends goes london and i cannot, but want to so very much – i miss london, so this is london calling indeed!

 

it’s so good, it deserves two clips – enjoy!

friends love #3

morning’s here!

friends love # 2

we’ll discuss it in the morning

friends love # 1

favourite friends moments – today: chandler quits smoking

keep calm and …

not long now

short daily catherine tate # 3

did you hear about our john – daily catherine tate # 2

daily catherine tate # 1

fairy tale story, part 3

The prince took the Magos Meros, thanked the old man and rode along the first road. He found everything as he had told him and was soon preparing to land on the island. However, he waited for night to fall and chose a remote little bay to maneuver his boat to shore. He wandered a long time across the island till he suddenly saw a huge fire not too far off. As he sneaked closer, he could distinguish gruff voices.

“Heyya, old friend, who’s on watch this week,” one giant asked his neighbor. This one, an espe­cially large of his kind, answered in a loud growl: “Jakmakran is on watch. I felt the danger of someone’s interfering soon, so I wanted to best man there.”

“How’s he better than any of the others?” the first one asked.

“He is smarter, stronger and cannot be wounded but on the tiny spot behind his right ear. Have you never wondered why he wears this hideous hat? It is to cover up this vulnerable spot.”

“I did indeed wonder. He is so vain otherwise. Why doe he not get himself a decent hat?”

“O, that is quite a story. Have you never heard about it? The old hat was once pretty and given to him by Jojona.”

“Jojona of the Great Island far out in the sea? Why did she do that?”

“She really is a daughter of our island. She and Jakmakran were madly in love as youngsters, some four hundred years ago. Her parents didn’t like that and she was married off to the Lord of the Great Island far out in the sea. Jakmakran still bears great love for her, even though he has never heard from her again. Apparently he tried to get to her, but her parents had paid an old witch to cast a spell upon him, so he can never leave the island again. And he was such a great sailor in his younger years.”

It was getting late and day would soon arrive. The prince had heard enough and left. He busied himself with gathering leaves and flowers before finding a hiding place for the day. By the fol­lowing night, he had finished what he had been working on: a beautiful new giant hat, which left uncovered both ears. He had also written a note, saying:

My sweet Jakmakran,

I have not forgotten you. My love for you is still unbroken. I have been treated badly not only by my own parents, but also by my husband, who knows I will never love him as I love you. He has prevented me from contacting you, which would have been consoling to me, as it would soothe the pain of never seeing you again. Until now I have been prevented from writing to you. By chance, a traveling storyteller came by our summer castle and has taken a fancy towards me which he has cunningly hidden from my husband. He has promised me to take this note and a new hat, which I made with all my love for you, to you. He wishes however to be unknown. I advise you therefore not to inquire who he is. I remain yours for ever,

Jojona

When night had fallen, the prince crept close to the place, where the giant Jakmakran sat, leaning against the hollow tree. He watched the giant for a good while and studied his manner. After some time, he used the moment of the giant’s drinking from his water bottle to throw over the package to the giant’s feet. As the giant opened it and stared at the note in wonder, the prince tiptoed around behind the old tree. Just as he had assumed, Jakmakran took of his old hat and tried on the new one, forgetting over the joy of having heard from Jojona, about his vulnerable spot. This the prince had been waiting for and now pierced the place behind Jakmakran’s right era with a poisoned needle, which did not kill but set Jakmakran to immediate sleep. The prince reached into the tree and pulled out a beautiful golden horn. ‘Ah, this is my fiancée’s second wish.’ he thought. ‘I will see how it works.’ He blew the horn and soon enough many giants were rushing up, eager to find the source of this delightful music. Their hatred of intruders had vanished and they became fast friends with the prince, asking him to name anything and they would help him to fulfill his wish. As the prince desired nothing better than to leave his new friends, they accompanied him back to the shore, wishing him luck on his quest and making him promise to visit again with his wife during their honeymoon. If you are interested in the end of Jakmakran’s and Jojona’s story, you will have to read the chronicles of the giant islands.

As soon as the giants had left to return to their island, the prince mounted his horse, took out the Magos Meros and asked to be returned to the wicked crossroads, where he greeted the old man and quickly rode of to his second adventure.

fairy tale story, part 2

“Do not be afraid,” he said, “it is I, your faithful friend.” With a yelp of surprise she rushed up to him, looked into his eyes and found that he had been telling the truth. They sat on the sofa and the prince, which he of course was, told her his story.

After his father’s death, a distant aunt had come to the castle and asked him to give up the crown to her or she would curse him and his mother badly. The prince had refused and had been trans­formed into a fox, his mother into a vixen, the castle had sunk underground and all his subjects had been changed to resemble trees and make up the large forest. He had been allowed to merely live in the forest und could never leave it. The only cure for the curse would be to find a girl, willing to follow him through the forest to his home and trusting him completely.

“I have been rummaging the forest for many a year now and succeeded in scaring away many pretty girls. You were the first one that trusted me and therefore I will not only ask you to stay with me in my castle, but also to marry me,” he concluded his tale.

The girl could not have been more surprised, but was anxious as she could not believe this lad to really adore her and as her mother had always told her that only fools marry without true affec­tion. She therefore asked the youth to bring her three proofs of affection: a white horse, that car­ried its rider to every possible destination in an instant, a golden horn, that made everyone who heard it blown happy and peaceful, and last a bottle of the water from the fountain of life that assured the drinkers would not only life for ever, but also find their true love. As soon as the prince had heard the girl’s task, he prepared to leave. He was eager to prove his love, which in­deed was great. Before his departure he only asked to be allowed to take a string of her hair, which he formed into a ring and wore around his left middle finger. “This way you will always be with me and I will be sure to return to you. Stay in the castle and feel yourself to be at home. I will return soon.” With these words he mounted his faithful horse Arrow and rode off.

Soon he had left his kingdom, which was indeed rather small. He rode on and not much later the road ahead parted in three directions. The prince was unsure which he should take and sat on a large rock to think about this new situation. ‘If I go the wrong way, it will take me a long time to come back here and take another one. I would loose too much time. I also cannot go back. My sweet girl would never agree to marry me if I came without her gifts. I will just have to sit here and wait for some kind person to help me. If no one comes I shall be miserable forever.’

He did not have to be patient for long. A very old and wrinkled man came by and asked him, what he would be doing there, all alone and with such a sad face.

“Alas, dear grandfather,” cried the prince. “I am in such a miserable situation. I need to find a white horse, that carries its rider to every possible destination in an instant, a golden horn, that makes everyone who hears it blown happy and peaceful, and last a bottle of the water from the fountain of life that assures the drinkers would not only life for ever, but also find their true love. If I cannot bring these things home, my sweetheart will not marry me.”

The old man laughed and answered: “Son, if that is your only problem, it is not such a great mis­ery at all. I can help you.”

“How so?”

“Easily, if you will just promise me one thing, I can provide you with the means of accomplish­ing your task very soon.”

“Anything, my dear friend!”

“Invite me to your wedding and let me sit next to your lovely bride in her father’s stead.”

“I will give you my whole-hearted promise to let you come to my wedding and I am sure my bride, who is an orphan, will gladly love you as a father.”

“Then I will help you in an instant. Just know that you will have to be tremendously brave and not give way to your fears.”

“I will do anything you ask of me, if I can just get these gifts and bring them home as soon as possible.”

The old man searched his carpet handbag and pulled out a curiously shaped object. It was of indefinable color, shining greenish-blue one moment and changing to reddish the next. There were glittering stones set all over it and it seemed to shift its shape very, very slowly.

“What is this?” asked the prince, prying the object.

The old man replied: “This is what will help you on your further travels. It is a Magos Meros, a magical time reverser. Take the first road, which will lead you towards the sea. You will have to take a boat and row out to an island off the shore. Mark that this island is inhabited by vicious giants. You have to outsmart them and get to an old hollow tree exactly in the middle of the is­land. There you will find something, of which the giants do not know what it is, but what they nevertheless guard carefully. It will help you get safely off the island. Once back on the shore take the Magos Meros and ask to be returned to the wicked crossroad, for that is the name of this place. You will be back here at the same moment at which you left. You can now take the second road, which will lead you to the fountain of life. There is no immediate danger involved in get­ting the water. You need however hurry to use the Magos Meros once you have the water safely in a bottle for there are evil spirits close by, who cannot themselves fetch the water, but would kill you to get by it. At last, you can go the third path, which will lead you to the most dangerous part of your journey. You will come to the ruin of an old robber-knight castle. There you will have to spend three nights and not fear anything you will meet. When the third night is over, you will be rewarded and can instantly return home. You will have lost no time.”

fairy tale story, part 1

this is a fairy tale i wrote for children in an orphanage in sri lanka after the tsunami hit in 2005 – part 1

The Fox Prince

Once upon a time a girl was left all alone in the world. Her parents had died and she had no home, no food and no clothes to wear, but the old dress, she was presently wearing. She was strolling around in the woods, singing to herself, when she came across a fox, who – to her sur­prise – addressed her thus: “My dear girl, where might you be going?”

The girl was not the least bit scared and told him her sad story. The fox showed himself very compassionate. He invited the girl to accompany him to his house, deep in the woods. “My old mother will take good care of you and I will make sure, you get enough food.”

“But, dear fox, I couldn’t possibly live in a burrow,” the girl answered. “My burrow is spacious and I will gladly give you the best room available.”

They went on for three long days to the middle of the forest. During this long and perilous jour­ney, the fox not only protected the girl, but also provided food and curled up next to her at night to keep her warm and comfortable. As the third day drew to a close, they reached a wide open space, in the middle of which a large single maple tree stood. “This is my home,” the fox proudly announced. The girl saw the tree and the narrow entrance in the ground. She worried about her size and thought to herself: ‘I’ll never be able to fit in comfortably, but I will be content to settle on this wonderful glade with my new friend as a neighbor.’

To her infinite surprise, she could easily fit through the hole in the ground and found herself in a large entrance hall. “Did I promise too much, now?” the fox asked. She was soon put into a spa­cious apartment and provided with beautiful dresses. The surprises did not end with that. After bathing and dressing herself in fine silken clothes, she went to find the fox and be introduced to his mother. She had not gone long, when she found herself in a comfortable sitting room. The walls were adorned with paintings of beautiful people. She assumed that they were of one family and amused herself for some time with looking at each picture. In the end, she came across the picture of a handsome youth with a melancholic look on his face. The girl could not help, but stare at this picture for a long time. She was however disturbed by someone opening the door, swung around and saw herself faced with the same handsome lad.