( Book 1 - Heir to the Throne )

Greetings from Little Harry; and from me, Big Harry, his adopted Dad!
After the enormous success of my series of books 'Born to be a King';
(please, buy the books, or maybe read them again, by clicking on the link),
I am now helping my 'adopted son' rewrite his own story of growing up.
Have fun; and, please, send us an email if you appreciate our stories!

5. A small runt; Michail's sons; and I am our little Chief Cook.

    A few months after my second birthday, Michail finally married Felicia, his girlfriend.
We had a Big Feast, and they invited everybody to partake and congratulate the happy couple.
I congratulated my Big Friend and his beaming missus with my politest face; and wished them all the good luck.
Suddenly, Felicia embraced me and offered me a big kiss, her first one I ever got!
Michail laughed at my sour face, and tenderly ruffled my hair...

    Then, I wandered from table to table, on my way enthusiastically tasting all the nice goodies and snacks.
The other kids warned me not to eat too much; but I just laughed, and propped the next pastry into my mouth...
An hour later, my upset stomach threw up everything, and my worried Mom wanted to take me back to our caravan.
    This time, the other kids laughed at me, playfully teasing their small Prince:

    "We've told you so! You are still too little to walk around on your own..."

    "You are only jealous, because I am the fastest developing kid in our community!"

    "Yeah, well... Next to knowing all these difficult words, you are the fastest puking kid as well!"

    This time, I couldn't come up with any witty comment...
I felt frustrated; and stomped away, to kick our black-and-golden caravan a couple of times.
Fortunately, that helped, and my flaring anger subsided and finally went away.
Of course, my friends were right; but I didn't want to admit it...
Pigheaded? Hmm...

    I went back to the still snickering kids, and offered them my well-meant excuses.
They told me they didn't really mean it, and only wanted to tease their too clever little Prince…
We were friends again; and played 'hide and seek' around our caravans until dusk fell in.
I seemed to be very good at hiding, and even the more experienced kids couldn't find me for a long time.
At last, we went to our caravans to eat, after promising each other to continue our game the next day.

    However, the next morning, my worried parents took me to our Wise Woman, to have a look at my growth!
My bright mind was still developing extremely fast; but my immature body stayed too small and didn't seem to grow up.
Compared to the other 'toddlers' of around my own age, I still was and stayed the shortest one...
Yet, I was stronger than most other boys my age; and I won nearly every wrestling contest with ease!
Fortunately, the other kids didn't tease me with my slow growth; except for, now and then, calling me a 'little runt'.

    Our Wise Woman looked me over from top to toe, staring at me with her piercing eyes.
Then, she asked my parents and me zillions of questions about my eating habits and bowel movements.
Fortunately, none of our answers seemed to disturb her.
Finally, she went into a deep trance, to ask our Ancestors and my Spirit Guides for advice...

    After some time, she returned out of her trance, and told us not to worry about my development!
Nothing was wrong with me, and I didn't need any extra help or medication.
My Ancestors told her that my brain was developing extremely fast; and this demanded a bit too much of my energy.
I would grow up in excellent health; and my too small body would certainly catch up with my age around my sixth year.
However, I would always be a little bit short, for the remainder of my life.
Well, I would be able to live with that...

    After I returned from visiting our Wise Woman, the other kids curiously crowded around me.
They wanted to know what had happened; and when would I finally grow up and no longer be our littlest runt?
I told them everything the Wise Woman had told me, and that I would catch up with my age around my sixth year.
One of our older boys, Misha, thought I would probably soon have a 'growth spurt', as every kid had from time to time.
I just had to be patient...
Yeah, well... Up to now, 'patience' hadn't exactly been my strongest quality!

    Just before my third birthday, my parents had to visit another Gypsy community, as they were our King and Queen.
Of course, they asked Michail to look after me in our caravan, while they were away.
I was happy to have my Big Friend around for the whole day, and greeted him enthusiastically!
Unfortunately, he brought Felicia to accompany him, and they sat together on our couch during most of the time.
Of course, I climbed onto Michail's lap, and tried to milk as much attention out of him as I was able to muster...
Michail didn't seem to mind at all, played with me, and patiently answered all my questions.

    Now and then, I had peeked at Felicia's belly with curious eyes...
Using my inner eye, I could clearly see two tiny boys, cosily floating around in their shared womb!
It was clear that Felicia was pregnant; but why did she carry TWO children in her belly?
Vaguely, I remembered how crammed my Moms womb had been with only me in it...
Wouldn't her womb, with two growing kids in it, soon be way too crowded for two boys?
In our secluded camp, nobody else had any twins, and nobody ever told me they existed...
    Suddenly, my curiosity won over my politeness, and I blurted:

    "Felicia, why do you carry TWO children in your stomach?"

    Felicia jumped up from our couch, glaring at me as if she suddenly detected a dangerous alien from another planet:

    "How do YOU know I'm pregnant? Even Michail doesn't know, because I wasn't sure yet! You really are a freak...
"And, why do you want me to carry TWO children? I don't want to have twins! One kid will be more than enough..."

    I felt shocked by her sudden and vile outburst, and started to cry.
I was absolutely sure she carried two children, and both of them were boys!
To my horror, now I saw a nasty dark cloud, surrounding her but not her children...
Both boys would be born healthy; but something terrible was going to happen to their mother...
I refused to answer any more questions; and buried my face into Michail's chest, sobbing loudly.

    After eight months of pregnancy, Felicia gave birth to two healthy little boys.
Of course, they were twins; but they didn't resemble each other at all!
The first-born baby, Michi, was somewhat taller than his smaller brother Movi, who was a bit chubbier.
Unfortunately, their mother started to bleed after the labor; and it wouldn't stop.
Even our desperate Wise Woman couldn't help her...
Michail rushed her to a hospital in town; where she died.

    Fortunately for us, Felicia didn't die in our camp.
Else, we would have had to leave our secluded place immediately, and move on!
Our belief forbids us to live in the same place where one of us has died...
That is why all Gypsies are living in caravans, always ready to move on if necessary.

    Michail was inconsolable for a long time; all the time crying his heart out.
Day after day, he visited our caravan; but the only thing he did was sit on our couch and sniffle.
My parents couldn't reach him, and all their efforts to calm him down had been in vain.
Of course, I also tried to get his attention and talk to him, but he didn't even see me...
How would we be able to pull him out of his grief, and make him care for his little sons?

    At last, I punched his stomach, desperately, with as much power as my little fists could bring forth!
Michail flinched, started to gasp for breath, and stared at me in bewilderment...
    Now that I finally had his full attention, I admonished him:

    "Go to Michi and Movi, NOW, and be their Dad! Your sons NEED you, and I am sure they miss you terribly!
"Now that Felicia is dead, YOU are the only person in the world they have! Take up your responsibilities, and be their Daddy.
"It is okay to be sad and cry, but don't punish your sons for what they can't help... Now, stop moping, and GO GET THEM!"

    Michail stared at my blazing eyes in total bewilderment; until, finally, the life in his own eyes returned.
Suddenly, he nodded his head, pulled me very close to his chest, and started to cry again.
However, this time, his crying sounded different. It was clear that he no longer pitied himself...
A minute later, he kissed me, lifted me off his lap, and left our caravan without saying a word.

    My surprised Dad looked at me with adoration in his eyes, while he exclaimed:

    "My son; today, you ARE a Prince! I am very proud of you, and of how you helped Michail. Thank you, for being who you are!"

    "It was nothing, Dad. I was only terribly mad at him, for neglecting his sons. They can't help it..."

    Five minutes later, Michail returned to our caravan and entered our living room.
He looked a bit ashamed, but carried two little boys in his arms!
He sat them in between my old pillows; and smiled at us with a look of regret, but also with a lot of pride in his eyes.
My Mom immediately doted over both boys, and started to feed them and change their diapers.
Then, I tried to play with them; but they were way too small and no fun at all...

    From now on, I waited impatiently for my 'growth spurt'; day after day, week after week, month after month...
I also waited until my too small body no longer betrayed me by wetting my bed...
Every evening, my Mom or Dad had to put a dry diaper on me, before I went to my small den to sleep.
Every morning, despite all our efforts to wake me up in time, my diaper was soaked wet again...
I HATED living in this too small and immature body, which refused to do what I wanted it to do!
Couldn't I skip a couple of years, until I would be big enough to be dry during the night?

    Now and then, the other 'diaper kids' and I came together, to play in the bushes around our circle of caravans.
Our favorite game was 'hide and seek'; and we all became better and better at hiding and sneaking towards each other.
However, I seemed to have some natural talent for making myself almost invisible; and I always outdid them all with ease.
Unfortunately, we were never allowed to leave our secluded place; and our woods were strictly forbidden!
We had to stay in our camp, until we no longer needed our diapers or wetted our beds during the night.
Now and then, one of the other 'diapers' became 'dry', and enthusiastically left our toddler group to join the older kids...

    Every morning, I stared longingly at our group of older kids, who left our camp and entered our woods...
When would it finally be MY turn to join them, and have fun with setting traps and catching animals?
Soon, the group disappeared from my sight, and I almost burst out in tears!

    Feeling sad, I sauntered around our campfire, visited a couple of caravans, and tried to pester my Mom and Dad.
Now and then, I played again with the other little kids, but they were now too small to have real fun with.
Or, maybe, my intelligent brain was too bright for them, and for my own good...

    At the end of the day, our group of kids returned from the woods; being tired but in a cheerful mood.
They always carried several caught animals; and, now and then, baskets filled with nuts and delicious fruits.
They divided the fruits among us; and roasted their animals on stakes over our campfire, to eat them when they were ready.
I so wanted to join them... entering our woods, setting my own traps, and roasting and eating my own animals...

    Unfortunately, I had to wait, until I would stay dry during the night and no longer needed my diapers.
I knew that my brain was developing extremely fast, but why didn't my too small body follow my brain?
Couldn't I force it to grow faster, or train it to listen to what I wanted it to do?
    I asked Michail about it, but he only laughed at me and told me to be patient:

    "My dear Prince, just be happy to be such a small boy, and enjoy your early youth for as long as you can...
"Too soon, you will be an old man like me, and then you will regret all your missed chances..."

    "But, I WANT to be like you! I HATE being so little, and I cannot wait to grow up and be allowed to enter our woods.
"I want to enjoy my youth by joining the other kids; and set my own traps and roast my own animals, just like them!"

    "Well, you might be just a little bit too intelligent for your own age. Ultimately, you are only four years old!
"Yet, I can talk to you as if you were a grown-up, and you do understand everything I'm telling you...
"This is not common for a boy your age! Other kids your age are still playing with mud and sucking on their thumbs..."

    I felt frustrated, jumped off his lap, and went outside; to kick a big tree until I felt a bit better.
Of course, I knew that Michail was right, but that didn't make the waiting any easier...

    After I felt less angry, I sat down on one of our wooden benches, and waited for our happy kids group to return.
I always waited for them, until they returned from our woods and started to roast their caught animals.
Then, I started to ask them my questions, and listened to their fascinating stories...
I dreamed away; while they told me about their adventures of chasing a pig through the woods, or catching a rat or a frog in a snare...

    Unfortunately, our strict rules forbade me to help them with the roasting, because I had to catch my own animal first.
But, I couldn't catch my first animal, because I wasn't allowed to join them into our woods.
And, I wasn't allowed to join them into our woods, because I still wetted my diapers at night...
Grrrrr...

    Fortunately, my friends always considerately shared their food with their little Prince.
They knew how eagerly I wanted to join them; and the older boys always told me to be patient.
My time would surely come...
Yeah, well... but, WHEN would that time be?

    I was always rather particular about the taste of their roasted animals, and often remarked things like:

    "Yesterday, your marmot tasted better. I think you forgot to add the yellow leaves I told you about."

    "How do YOU know? You've never roasted a marmot yourself... but, I think you are right. It did taste better yesterday."

    "How about also adding a bit of that greenish moss I showed you last week? That with the strong taste..."

    "Well, I could try some... but if it tastes yucky, you will have to eat the rest of the animal by yourself!"

    "That's okay with me; but only if you allow me to put my own herbs onto the animal, and let me roast it myself!"

    "You know we cannot allow you to do that, until you have caught your first own animal..."

    "Then, let me join you tomorrow! I know how to fold a snare and set a trap, because Misha showed me how to do it."

    "You know you will have to wait, until you are dry during the night and your parents allow you to join us..."

    I felt frustrated and angry, left our campfire, and stomped away to kick and punch our caravan!
Dammit! Why was my body still too small and immature to listen to my full bladder at night?
I almost wanted to kick myself, for not growing up in time...

    My Dad heard my kicking and muttering, and showed up in our doorway.
He laughed at my angry face, sensed what could have happened, and told me to be patient...
    This made me even more furious, and I sneered at him:

    "Why didn't you and Mom breed me a couple of years earlier? Now, I am still such an impossible little runt..."

    My Dad looked a bit surprised; but he only shook his head and went back inside.
Fortunately, my anger never lasted long; and soon, I followed him into our living room.
I climbed onto his lap without saying a word, and enjoyed the safe feeling of his strong arms around my small waist.
Of course, my Dad couldn't help it...

    The next morning, after again watching our group disappearing into the woods, I decided to DO something!
I told our curious 'diaper kids' to go play without me; and went into our surrounding bushes to gather some herbs.
First, I collected a couple of yellow leaves and fresh greenish moss that always tasted good on our roasted animals.
Then, I tried out some other nicely smelling herbs that told me they might improve the taste even more...
I didn't know where my knowledge came from, but it felt natural to 'feel' the herbs and thus know what they would add to our food.
Maybe, I had once been a prolific cook, in one of my past lives? I wasn't sure...

    Feeling a bit nervous, I went to our caravan, washed my herbs in our small kitchen sink, and dried them.
Then, hesitantly, I took my Mom's very sharp kitchen knife and a wooden cutting board out of one of the drawers.
I knew she would never allow me to use it, because I was too young; but this was an emergency...
Handling the knife very careful, so as not to cut my own fingers, I chopped my herbs into small pieces; and mixed the pieces together.
Then, I put the nicely smelling mixture into a cup, to use it after my friends returned from our woods with their caught animals.
Finally, I washed my Mom's cutting board and her sharp knife, dried them, and put them back into the drawer.

    Near the end of the day, our group of kids proudly brought a fat porcupine to our campfire!
Of course, I was immediately glued to the beautiful beast, looking in awe at its razor sharp prickles.
It was provided with a very efficient defense system, effectively discouraging any nasty predator with sharp teeth!
Only, its defense had not prevented it from being caught in our snares...

    My friends adeptly skinned the animal, cleaned it out, and put it onto a stake to roast it over our fire.
Now, it was my time, to let them use my nicely smelling herbs mixture!
    I took my filled cup, teasingly put it under their noses, and told them:

    "Now, please, use my new herbs mixture, to improve the taste; but first you have to add some oil to make it sticky."

    "Wow, your herbs certainly smell excellent! But, you know we cannot allow you to help us with the roasting; until..."

    I felt myself becoming angry again, and sharply cut their words off:

    "Yes, I KNOW I am still wetting my diapers at night! But, you could at least give my herbs mixture a try!"

    This time, my friends looked at each other, shuffled their feet, and hesitated...
Again, I put my nicely smelling herbs mixture under their noses, at the same time showing them my best puppy dog eyes.
They sniffed my mixture again, now almost drooling and looking even more hesitant...
Come on; just give me a chance!

    After some more hesitation, one of the older boys, Misha, asked his friends:

    "Ultimately, Harold IS our Prince! Maybe, our rules will not apply to him so strictly? I think we should give him a chance..."

    To my delight, most others finally agreed and nodded their consent!
They clearly wanted to taste my herbs mixture on their roasted animals...
I was in seventh heaven, smiled from ear to ear, and almost fainted from sheer enthusiasm!

    Misha offered me their bottle of oil; and I put a few drops into my herbs mixture; to make it sticky.
Next, he handed me a brush; and I smeared the porcupine carefully with my mixture, trembling with pride.
I also put some extra greenish moss into the animal, together with a few leaves from a nearby tree that would accentuate its aroma.
Again, I was sure the leaves almost asked me to be used with this animal...

    A couple of strong boys took the stake, and put it over our campfire to get our porcupine roasted.
They turned it around and around, while I smeared it from time to time with the oil and the remainder of my herbs mixture.
Soon, a heavenly aroma started to caress the air, making our stomachs grumble aloud.
Even a couple of grown-ups sniffed approvingly, and asked us to be allowed to taste a piece of it...

    After the animal was ready, the older boys divided it into chunks, and sliced the chunks into smaller pieces.
Everybody started to nibble on a piece of porcupine, took a bigger nibble, and then a really huge bite!
They smiled broadly, took another huge bite, and stared at me with pure reverence in their eyes...
Our porcupine turned out to taste more than delicious, and certainly much better than they ever tasted any meat!

    I felt very relieved, while frantically savoring my own fat slice of porcupine...
We all marveled at its exquisite taste, had second helpings, and finally licked our fingers and lips.
One by one, we burped loudly, to thank the spirit of our porcupine for offering us its tasty meat!

    For a moment, everybody was still speechless, enjoying the nice aftertaste.
Then, the older boys huddled together, whispering about me...
    After a moment, Misha lifted me onto his shoulders, and carried me around our campfire in triumph:

    "Never did we taste such delicious meat. Thank you very much; and we want you to be our Chief Cook, from now on!"

    I almost burst with pride...

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I am desperately looking for somebody special who could help me better my stories!
Please, provide me with as many useful comments and suggestions as possible...
Of course, my 'proofreaders' will have all my books for free, once they are printed.

Please, send me an email!

harry@harryanders.com

And, have a look at my site, to read ALL my stories!

http://www.harryanders.com

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I wish you lots of Love in your life, and Profound Peace in your heart.

 Harry AnderS, Dutch psychotherapist and writer of 'books with a message'