blogwithvalor

“Do you think I could defeat the big bad wolf?” Eli asked his dad.

Eli’s dad had just finished reading the story of Little Red Riding Hood to him. Eli liked the way his dad would do the voice of the big bad wolf. He would growl and howl throughout the story, which made Eli laugh.

“Of course you could, bub. Why do you ask?” His dad put his arm around him.

Eli felt a little embarrassed but said, “Because I’m not as big and strong as you are. I need that to defeat the monsters.”

His dad gave him a big hug and said, “There is a lot more to defeating monsters than being big and strong. You can be sneaky, clever, smart, and most importantly you need to have heart.”

“What does that mean?” Eli asked.

“It means to be kind, to be brave, and to recognize when to do the right thing even when you’re scared. I think you have a lot of heart.” His dad gave him a great big smile.

Eli put his hand to his chest, trying to feel his heartbeat. He didn’t think it felt big, but he smiled back at his dad and said, “Thanks dad.”

Eli’s dad closed the book and tucked him into bed. Then he gave him a kiss on the forehead before turning on Eli’s nightlight. It was shaped like a sunflower. He loved lots of flowers, but that was his favorite flower because they grew so tall. He also loved their big seeds that you could eat.

“Good night, bub. I love you,” he said before closing the door.

Eli laid on his side and stared at the glow from the yellow petals of the nightlight. Before he knew it, he was fast asleep.

…

The sun was shining on Eli’s face when he woke up. He was still in bed but, when he looked up, he saw a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. Each one was shaped like a different animal. Dogs, cats, horses, and dolphins floated high above him. All around his bed were sunflowers. Their heads all pointing towards him. He sat up and saw that he was on top of a hill covered in them. There were other hills around, also covered in sunflowers.

Eli said out loud, “Where am I?”

“You’re in the Sunflower Hills, of course.” The voice came from the foot of his bed, but he didn’t see anyone.

“Who’s there?” Eli asked.

An orange cat with a red scarf around her neck jumped onto the bed. She sat next to his feet. “Pardon me. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Alexandra. But you can call me Lex. May I ask your name?”

“My name is Elijah, but everyone calls me Eli.”

Lex stood up on all fours and lifted one paw as she politely bowed. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Eli, and welcome to the lands of Fillory. Sunflower Hills is one of many places here. I’ve been assigned to guide you back home.”

“Guide me home? But how did I get here?” Eli was very confused.

“Your bed fell from the sky and landed on top of this hill. The sunflowers reported your arrival to the Kings and Queens of Fillory. Apparently, your bed has crushed some of the sunflowers that reside here, and they would like it removed.” Lex sat down and began licking one of her paws.

Eli looked at the flowers, “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt your friends.”

The sunflowers slowly turned up towards the sky and back down to face Eli. He was confused again and looked at Lex.

Lex was watching the flowers, “They have accepted your apology. Flowers are a very understanding bunch, as long as you are kind to them.”

Eli smiled at Lex and then looked back at the hundreds of sunflowers surrounding his bed. It was one of the most beautiful places he had ever seen. “Thank you for understanding. I hope I didn’t hurt your friends too badly.”

The sunflowers began wiggling left to right and Lex translated what they were saying, “They say it is okay. The flowers under your bed have dropped their seeds and will regrow. Rebirth is in their nature.”

Eli smiled even bigger. He was talking to sunflowers! This was turning into the best day of his life.

“Come now, Eli. We must get you home quickly. The Kings and Queens of Fillory have sent the Cleaner to remove your bed from Sunflower Hills. The Cleaner is not very kind to those who enter our lands without invitation.” Lex stood up on all fours and stretched her legs.

Eli pulled off his blanket and stood up on top of his bed. He was wearing his pajamas that were covered in small images of sunflowers. The sunflowers all wiggled a little.

“What did they say?” Eli asked.

“They like your pajamas,” Lex said as she hopped off the bed.

Eli spread his arms out so all the flowers could see and said, “Thank you. I think all flowers are beautiful, but sunflowers are my favorite.”

The sunflowers all wiggled again, but Eli believed he knew what this meant. They were thanking him also.

As Eli walked to the foot of his bed, the sunflowers parted, creating a path. He hopped off the bed and caught up to Lex, who was already halfway down the hill. Now that he was on the ground, he saw that the sunflowers were all as tall as him. Their heads turned to watch him and Lex as they walked down the hill.

At the bottom of the hill was a dirt path. Lex and Eli reached it and were going to start walking when one sunflower leaned forward. Its head was twisting and turning towards Eli.

Lex sat on her haunches and said, “The sunflowers would like to give you a gift for your kindness. Hold out your hand.”

Eli held out his hand and the sunflower shook. Three seeds fell into his palm.

“They are meant for luck and will grow if you plant them. Put them somewhere safe.” Lex said before standing up and walking down the dirt path.

Eli smiled as he looked at the gift in his palm. He thanked the sunflower and carefully placed the three seeds in his shirt pocket. He walked next to Lex as they passed more hills filled with sunflowers. All their heads turned to watch them as they passed. When they reached the end of the last hill, Eli turned around and waved goodbye. All the sunflowers Eli could see were waving back. It looked like the hills were moving left to right as they did.

He was going to miss this place when he got home.

Before Eli turned around to follow Lex, he saw his bed being carried down the hill. It was very far away. So, he couldn’t see exactly what was carrying it. He thought it looked like a large dog.

He turned to Lex and said, “I think I saw the Cleaner moving my bed. Is he a talking animal, like you?”

The hair on Lex’s back stood up and her tail was straight. “You saw the Cleaner? He is early then. We need to move faster. He will come after you when he is done throwing away your bed. There is a secret passage through the woods. It is only a short distance from here. Hurry!”

He rushed after Lex along the dirt path. He was becoming more and more worried about what the Cleaner would do if he found him. Would the Cleaner throw him away too? Lex stopped on the path next to the woods and Eli stopped right behind her.

Lex turned to Eli and gave him a serious look and said, “This path winds back and forth. So please stay close. I don’t want you to get lost.”

Eli nodded. He was scared. He looked at the woods and saw that it was dark.

She walked into the woods and he followed closely. It was dark but Eli could see Lex in front of him. The trees around him were packed together tightly. The path turned left and right. Eli felt like they were going in circles, but he trusted Lex. She was his friend.

Suddenly, he heard a great big howl behind him.

“He knows we have gone through the woods. He must have caught your scent. Come quickly, we are almost there.” Lex started moving faster.

Eli hurried behind her, but she was getting further and further ahead. After a couple of turns he couldn’t see her anymore.

“Lex… LEX! Where are you?” Eli called out, but he didn’t hear any response.

Eli tried to follow the path forward but could barely see it. He heard more howls behind him. They sounded closer this time. Now he was really scared. So, he started running. He could hear growling. He tried running faster but there were so many trees.

He tripped on some roots. He could feel the cold dirt on his face. As he turned over, he saw a big bad wolf walking up to him. He was as big a bear.

“You aren’t supposed to be here,” The Cleaner growled at him. His fangs were dripping with drool.

“I just want to go back home,” Eli said back.

“It’s too late for that. I haven’t eaten a child in a long time, and I am very hungry,” the wolf said. His tongue licked his lips.

Eli was slowly backing up on the ground. His back bumped into a tree and stood up against it. The wolf opened his mouth. He was ready to bite Eli to pieces.

Lex jumped from the tree above him and landed on the Cleaner. She scratched at his eyes. He cried and howled.

She screamed at Eli. “Run! You should see light on the other side of that tree! I’ll be right behind you!”

He ran around the tree and saw a faint light at the end of the woods. He ran as fast as he could towards it. He jumped over roots and ducked under branches. The light was getting brighter and brighter. As he ran, he saw something running next to him. It was Lex. She was safe.

They both ran out of the woods onto a grassy field. The sun was shining on their faces. Eli and Lex were both breathing heavily from their run. He could see a stone wall on the other side of the field. On it was a small red gate.

Lex started walking towards the gate and Eli followed.

“Once you pass through the gate, you’ll be transported back home.” Lex said. She was nervously looking over her shoulders.

Eli was feeling better. He was almost home.

Suddenly, he heard branches breaking and a great big howl. Eli and Lex turned around to see the Cleaner standing at the edge of the woods. The trees next to him were broken and bent. He was too big to fit between them. So, the Cleaner had pushed trees over to get through. His eyes were almost shut. Lex’s claw had hurt them so badly that he couldn’t see very well.

He was sniffing in circles trying to find Eli’s scent. Slowly, his nose pointed in Eli’s direction. The Cleaner knew where he was.

Lex stepped in front of Eli. She was standing between the Cleaner and him.

“Go through the gate, Eli. You must save yourself.” Lex said.

“What about you?” Eli asked.

“Don’t worry about me,” Lex said before running at the Cleaner.

The Cleaner growled as Lex jumped at him. She clawed him in the nose as he bit wildly in the air. Then she jumped off his head and bit the back of his neck. The Cleaner cried out in pain.

Eli stood there shocked to see Lex, a small cat, fighting a big bad wolf that was so much bigger than her. She was sneaky, clever, smart and had lots of heart.

She continued to jump and duck away from his bites and chomps. When she did, she would always give him a good scratch before getting away.

Eli turned around and started running towards the gate. It was only a few steps away. He was going to be safe. He was going to go home.

Then Eli heard Lex scream. He turned around again and saw Lex being carried in the Cleaner’s mouth. The Cleaner was walking away. He didn’t care about Eli anymore. He had Lex.

Eli thought for a moment. He could go home right now. He could save himself, like Lex said. She did tell him not to worry about her. But she was in the Cleaner’s mouth, and the Cleaner was hungry. He wasn’t going to let the Cleaner eat her. She was his friend.

He put his hand to his chest to feel his heartbeat. Did he have enough heart to save his friend? His hand felt the lucky seeds in his shirt pocket. Maybe with a little luck, he could do it.

Eli ran at the Cleaner. Before the Cleaner knew he was coming, Eli jumped on his back. He started pulling at the wolf’s ears and hitting him on top of the head. The Cleaner dropped Lex out of surprise and started jumping in circles trying to shake Eli off.

Eli held on as tightly as he could to the Cleaner’s neck. The Cleaner stopped jumping and was trying to bite at him now, but Eli was too close to his head to get him. Eli needed a plan.

He felt at the lucky seeds in his pocket and got an idea. He grabbed two seeds, one in each hand, and planted them into the Cleaner’s nose. Eli thought, maybe the seeds would block his nose and he wouldn’t be able to smell him. Eli jumped off and ran to Lex. She was lying on the grass and barely moving.

He picked Lex up and started running towards the gate when he heard the Cleaner cry out in pain behind him. He slowed down and turned to see what happened. Two sunflowers had grown out of the Cleaner’s nose. He was using his paws to pull them out.

Once both sunflowers were out, the Cleaner stood up and looked towards Eli as best he could. His eyes were swollen, and he was tired. Slowly, he turned around walked away, leaving Eli standing there next to the gate with Lex in his arms.

Lex opened her eyes and looked up at Eli. She started purring. Eli gave her a small hug as he set her on the ground.

“Thank you, Eli. I wouldn’t have survived, if not for your bravery.” She said as she stood up.

“You’re my friend. I couldn’t let you be eaten.” Eli said.

“I’ve not had many friends, but you are definitely one of the best I’ve had.” She purred as she walked up to him and rubbed her cheek on his leg.

Eli bent down and gave her another hug. Her purring got louder.

“It’s time for you to go home.” Lex said as their hug ended.

“Thank you for being my guide.” Eli stood up, finally ready to go home.

Eli turned around and walked up to the red gate. It was made of wood with a gold handle. He opened the gate and walked through.

…

The sun was shining on Eli’s face when he woke up. He was still in bed and, when he looked around, he saw his room. Beside him was his sunflower nightlight and next to it was his book, Little Red Riding Hood. He sat up, realizing it was all a dream. The Sunflower Hills, Lex, and the Cleaner were just his imagination.

He rubbed his eyes and let out a big yawn. Then he felt at his shirt pocket and found something small in there. He pulled it out and found a single sunflower seed. His eyes grew wide, realizing it was all real. He had talked to sunflowers. He had made friends with a cat named Lex. He had fought a big bad wolf!

He held the seed in his hand as he jumped out of bed. He was going to ask his dad to help him plant the seed. But first, he was going to tell his dad about the adventure he had last night.