S.KRAUSE

Will it be Okay?

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             Stories For Free Children:  "Will it Be Okay?"
                        By Crescent Dragonwagon
                   Braught on ASAR by tehanu (aps-1031)

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"Will it be okay?"                               ___
"Yes it will."                                __/ / \
                                             |    |/\
"But what if a big dog comes?"               |_--\   \              /-
                                                  \   \-___________/ /
"You will know if it is friendly or not.           \                :
                        If its friendly, you run   |                :
	     ____       your fingers through its   |       ___ \    )
	    /    \__    thick brown and white fur.  \|  __/   z/\  )
|\         /    @   \   If it is not friendly, you   | /         \  \
\ \_______|    \  .:|+  stand perfectly still and    |l           ( l
 \      ##|    | \__/   unafraid, and it stops       |l            ll
  |    ####\__/   \    barking, and comes to you,    |l            |l
  /  /  ##       \|   and sit quielty beside you."  / l           / l
 /  /__________\  \                                 --/           --
 L_JJ           \__JJ

                              "But what if there is thunder and lightning?"
            ------               _____
           /      \ ___\     ___/    ___
        --/-  ___  /    \/  /  /    /   \
       /     /           \__     //_     \
      /                     \   / ___     |  "You sit at your window and
      |           ___       \/+--/        /   watch the rain beating
       \__           \       \           /    down over the houses and
          \__                 |          /    fields in the dark night.
         \     /____      /  /       |   /
          _____/         ___       \/  /\     You pay attention because
               \__      /      /    |    |    the loud thunder is calling
             /    \____/   \       /   //     you, saying:
         // / / // / /\    /-_-/\//-__-
          /  /  // /   \__// / / /  //        'Look, look!
         //   / /   //   /  // / // /         'The world is receiving
          /// // / /   /  //  / //             a deep long drink!'"
       //   //       //  /  // / /
         / / / / /     /  /    /                   (0)(0)
      ///  / / /  //  // /  // //                  /     \
         ///    /    /    / / / /                 /       |
    ///  /    // / /  // / / /  /                /   \  * |
       // ///   /      /// / /     ________     /    /\__/
                                  /        \   /    /
                          / \    /  ____    \_/    /
"But what if snakes      //\ \  /  /    \         /
 come in the night?"     V  \ \/  /      \       /
                             \___/        \_____/

                                                                    |\
"You keep a flute by your bed        -------|\----------------------|-\\-----
 and play a song, and the snakes     -------|/---------------------0---\|----
 hear, and are quiet, and happy,     ------/|---------------------------|----
 and love you."                      -----|-/-\------------------------0-----
                                     ------\|/---------------------------------
"But what if i hate everyone?"
                                    "You run away.  You pack raisins, walnuts,
       ____  __.---""---.__  ____     oranges, crackers, and a flashlight in a
      /####\/              \/####\      red bandanna.  You knot its corners
     (/~~~~~)              (~~~~~\)     together, and tie it to a stick, and
      \__oo/                \oo__/      carry it over your shoulder.  You
    __/                          \__      walk and walk 'till you come to the
 .-"    .                      .    "-.     park.  You stay all afternoon,
 |  |   \.._                _../   |  |     sitting by yourself under a tree.
  \  \    \."-.__________.-"./    /  /    When you come home again, you dont
    \  \    "--.________.--"    /  /     hate everyone."
  ___\  \_                    _/  /___
./    )))))                  (((((    \.    "But what if someone hates me?"
\                                      /
 \           \_          _/           /   "You feel lonely and sad.  You walk
   \    \____/""-.____.-""\____/    /      and walk until you come to a small
     \    \                  /    /     pond, and you see something move. You
      \.  .|                |.  ./     put out your hand and a tiny frog, no
    ." / |  \              /  | \  ".     bigger than your thumbnail, hops
 ."  /   |   \            /   |   \   ".   into it. very carefully, you lift
/.-./.--.|.--.\          /.--.|.--.\.-.|   your hand up to your ear amd the
                                           frog whispers:

		'Other people love you.
		'Maybe that person will love you again, maybe not.
		'In any case, it is all right.'"

          ________       "But what if i froget my lines in the
        -------+  \       Thanksgiving play?"
        \\\\\\\\\  \
        //_//__\\\  |    "You make up new ones then and there.
        /\0' `0~ |\ /     And later, everyone will say:
        (|^+, ^  .)|
         ( ._.  ||/     'What a sensible child, she forgot her lines,
          \ .  / |       so she made up new ones!'"
           +--/  |

"But what if no one likes the way I dance?"

"You go dancing in the woods, alone in the crackling leaves.  One day, you meet
someone else dancing in the woods.  You dance together, you throw leaves at each 
other, you lie down in the leaves.  Then you go home and draw pictures,
and drink cocoa with whipped cream."

"But what if a bee stings me?"
                                                         .-~~~-.
"You run to the kitchen and rub a                      /        }
 piece of raw onion back and forth                    /      .-~
 on the sting.  You say:                    \        |        }
                                          ___\.~~-.-~|     . -~_
   'A piece of onion? that is                { O |  ` .-~.    ;  ~-.__
    silly! that won't work!'                  ~--~/-|_\|   :   : .-~
                                                /   |  \~ - - ~
"But it does."                                /     |    \

"But what if you die?"

               __        __         "My loving doesn't die, it stays with
             /~ .~\    /~  ~\        you, as warm as two pairs of mittens
            '      `\/'      *       on top of each other.  When you
           (                .*)      remember you and me, you say:
            \            . *./
             `\ .      . .*/'        'What can I do with so much love?'
               `\ * .*. */'
     _    _      `\ * */'           "So you love thunder and lightning,
    ( `\/'*)       `\/'            dogs and snakes.  You dance with other
     \   */'                      people in the leaves, and are in plays with
      `\/'                        them. You love them, and they love you, and
                                 you eat raisins together."

"So will it be okay?"

"Yes, my love, it will."