- Apr 8, 2008
- 52
- 5
- Faith
- Non-Denom
- Marital Status
- In Relationship
- Politics
- US-Republican
[FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]This is an excerpt from my second children's book, Jacob the Donkey. Let me know what you think!!! note: some of the questions probably don't make sense because not all of Chapter One is here haha. Enjoy!
Christie Gerschutz
myspace .com/christiespiritfire
[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][/FONT] This is the story of a hero. Not your most noble hero, nor the brightest or most handsome, mind you. But without him a very special event may not have occurred, at least not where it did and when it did. This is the story of Jacob, a donkey. Let start at the beginning, shall we?
It was a wintry night in Nazareth. The stars blinked on slowly, one by one. A lone white calf looked up at them, watching her breath float up and evaporate into the chilly night air. She shivered.
"It will be a cold night for the new ones birth. Maybe Elijah will let the mother stay in the stable tonight." The sound of Elijahs voice prompted her to find out.
"NATHAN!" Athalia brayed at the top of her lungs as the labor pains grew more intense with each passing breath.
The farmer Elijah was monitoring the colts progress, trying to keep Athalia comfortable at the same time. "Whoa, my dear. There will be time enough for noise later. You need to stay calm for your little one here."
Athalia took several shallow breaths. "Oh, if only you knew, Elijah. I sure wish I could give you a piece of my mind right now! NATHAN!"
A tall, light gray donkey tore into the stable, out of breath. He came to a clattering halt beside his beloved, nearly slipping on the clean straw. "Is it time? Is it time? Im so sorry, dear, I was out with the sheep and David and I were talking about the crops and the rainfall and Peters new mate and I just totally lost track of time and"
"Nathan, just be quiet would you?" Athalia asked wearily.
Nathan took a few deep breaths and lay down beside her. "How are you doing?" he asked more calmly.
"Im all right. I hope our babys okay, too."
He touched noses with her reassuringly. "Itll be fine."
A few more animals drifted into the fairly large stable. Two doves perched on one of the cedar rafters, turning their heads and cooing at the long-awaited miracle. The white calf and her father had poked their heads in. Three mice sneaked in along the wall so the farmer wouldnt notice them.
Elijah wiped his forehead. "Whew!" This colt is taking longer than I thought it would. You hang in there, girl," he said, patting Athalias [bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse].
"Come on, dear, you can do eet," chattered one of the mice in an accent that no one recognized.
Foam began to build on Athalias reddish-brown sides as the time of her colts birth drew near. Nathan stayed by her side and coached her breathing, trying not to faint himself.
The female dove was busy instructing everyone as to what their duties were in the birthing process. "All right, everyone, we got a big deal going on here so give this girl some room, animals! Thats it, thats it, move it back there. Hey, you three," she hollered at the mice. "You the fastest. Go tell the animals down at Josiahs farm that Athalias come due. Hurry! This colts not gonna wait much longer!"
They scurried off, muttering something about being bossed around by a bird. The dove flew down and landed on a post near Athalias head. After watching Athalias labored breathing and heaving sides, she offered some encouragement. She spoke softly. "You gonna be fine, honey. I seen plenty of birthings round here and you doin just fine. Wont be too much longer so hang in there."
Athalia gave another hard push. She felt the colt kick and maneuver and remembered how she never thought her firstborn would be so active.
Elijah chuckled to himself. "There, there, now little one. Not much longer." He looked up to see three cows, ten sheep, six donkeys and fifteen mice huddled around the stable door.
As the last of the animals were shooed out by the tired middle-aged farmer, Athalia, Nathan and the dove who finally introduced herself as Leah watched with amazement as the little colt took his first weak, wobbly steps. He gave a feeble, quavering bray as he fell, which caused a shocked look on his face. Leah laughed so hard she nearly fell off the rafter.
"Poor little guy," she chuckled. "Look how anxious he is to get up and move. I understand he was quite the little kicker, Thaly."
The colts mother laughed. "Tell me about it. I dont think I slept a wink those last few days. But you know what? I didnt mind. I knew he was healthy and that was all that mattered." She smiled fondly at her son. "Nathan?" she asked.
The proud father turned to look at his beloved. "Hmm?"
"What will we name him?"
Nathan thought for a moment as the newborn dark gray donkey was fighting to keep his balance. Finally, one, two, three steps in a row. He gave a little jump as he turned to walk the other way.
Nathan grinned. "Jacob. He will be a strong donkey, a leader among them. I have a felling he wont be one to back down from a challenge or to let another come before him."
"Ive always loved that name," a soft voice said from the back of the stable. The other three animals turned and watched as an old donkey, nearly white with age, slowly walked into the light.
1 Vocabulary
a. Evaporate
b. Maneuver
c. Engrossed
d. Reverie
2. Why was Nathan so late in getting to Athalia?
3. Who was Dorcas first love?
4. What happened to Dorcas Jacob?
5. Why do you think Dorcas is sad when she talks about her Jacob?
Project: POETRY
Write a poem about baby donkeys or babies in general.
Christie Gerschutz
myspace .com/christiespiritfire
[/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][/FONT][FONT=Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][/FONT] This is the story of a hero. Not your most noble hero, nor the brightest or most handsome, mind you. But without him a very special event may not have occurred, at least not where it did and when it did. This is the story of Jacob, a donkey. Let start at the beginning, shall we?
It was a wintry night in Nazareth. The stars blinked on slowly, one by one. A lone white calf looked up at them, watching her breath float up and evaporate into the chilly night air. She shivered.
"It will be a cold night for the new ones birth. Maybe Elijah will let the mother stay in the stable tonight." The sound of Elijahs voice prompted her to find out.
*
"NATHAN!" Athalia brayed at the top of her lungs as the labor pains grew more intense with each passing breath.
The farmer Elijah was monitoring the colts progress, trying to keep Athalia comfortable at the same time. "Whoa, my dear. There will be time enough for noise later. You need to stay calm for your little one here."
Athalia took several shallow breaths. "Oh, if only you knew, Elijah. I sure wish I could give you a piece of my mind right now! NATHAN!"
A tall, light gray donkey tore into the stable, out of breath. He came to a clattering halt beside his beloved, nearly slipping on the clean straw. "Is it time? Is it time? Im so sorry, dear, I was out with the sheep and David and I were talking about the crops and the rainfall and Peters new mate and I just totally lost track of time and"
"Nathan, just be quiet would you?" Athalia asked wearily.
Nathan took a few deep breaths and lay down beside her. "How are you doing?" he asked more calmly.
"Im all right. I hope our babys okay, too."
He touched noses with her reassuringly. "Itll be fine."
A few more animals drifted into the fairly large stable. Two doves perched on one of the cedar rafters, turning their heads and cooing at the long-awaited miracle. The white calf and her father had poked their heads in. Three mice sneaked in along the wall so the farmer wouldnt notice them.
Elijah wiped his forehead. "Whew!" This colt is taking longer than I thought it would. You hang in there, girl," he said, patting Athalias [bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse].
"Come on, dear, you can do eet," chattered one of the mice in an accent that no one recognized.
Foam began to build on Athalias reddish-brown sides as the time of her colts birth drew near. Nathan stayed by her side and coached her breathing, trying not to faint himself.
The female dove was busy instructing everyone as to what their duties were in the birthing process. "All right, everyone, we got a big deal going on here so give this girl some room, animals! Thats it, thats it, move it back there. Hey, you three," she hollered at the mice. "You the fastest. Go tell the animals down at Josiahs farm that Athalias come due. Hurry! This colts not gonna wait much longer!"
They scurried off, muttering something about being bossed around by a bird. The dove flew down and landed on a post near Athalias head. After watching Athalias labored breathing and heaving sides, she offered some encouragement. She spoke softly. "You gonna be fine, honey. I seen plenty of birthings round here and you doin just fine. Wont be too much longer so hang in there."
Athalia gave another hard push. She felt the colt kick and maneuver and remembered how she never thought her firstborn would be so active.
Elijah chuckled to himself. "There, there, now little one. Not much longer." He looked up to see three cows, ten sheep, six donkeys and fifteen mice huddled around the stable door.
*
As the last of the animals were shooed out by the tired middle-aged farmer, Athalia, Nathan and the dove who finally introduced herself as Leah watched with amazement as the little colt took his first weak, wobbly steps. He gave a feeble, quavering bray as he fell, which caused a shocked look on his face. Leah laughed so hard she nearly fell off the rafter.
"Poor little guy," she chuckled. "Look how anxious he is to get up and move. I understand he was quite the little kicker, Thaly."
The colts mother laughed. "Tell me about it. I dont think I slept a wink those last few days. But you know what? I didnt mind. I knew he was healthy and that was all that mattered." She smiled fondly at her son. "Nathan?" she asked.
The proud father turned to look at his beloved. "Hmm?"
"What will we name him?"
Nathan thought for a moment as the newborn dark gray donkey was fighting to keep his balance. Finally, one, two, three steps in a row. He gave a little jump as he turned to walk the other way.
Nathan grinned. "Jacob. He will be a strong donkey, a leader among them. I have a felling he wont be one to back down from a challenge or to let another come before him."
"Ive always loved that name," a soft voice said from the back of the stable. The other three animals turned and watched as an old donkey, nearly white with age, slowly walked into the light.
Questions
Chapter 1:
1 Vocabulary
a. Evaporate
b. Maneuver
c. Engrossed
d. Reverie
2. Why was Nathan so late in getting to Athalia?
3. Who was Dorcas first love?
4. What happened to Dorcas Jacob?
5. Why do you think Dorcas is sad when she talks about her Jacob?
Project: POETRY
Write a poem about baby donkeys or babies in general.
