- Harry AnderS -
Dutch psychotherapist and alternative writer

The wonderful adventures of a little Gypsy boy

Born as a Prince 1
Book 1: Heir to the Throne
- by Harry AnderS -

A children's series of stories

http://www.harryanders.com
harry@harryanders.com

In book 1 'Heir to the Throne'; a little Gypsy boy narrates the story of his first five years in a secluded place in the Rumanian mountains, surrounded by huge woods and dense forests.
He is the Heir to the Throne, and soon he will be our Chief Cook(ie) and a Real Trapper...

Book 2 'Our Lucky Mascot' will follow; where he discovers the gadjo world outside, is imprisoned during a police raid, has his own little snow scooter, and finally travels to foreign countries...

Chapter 9 ended with:

If you were living on your own, or far away from other gadjo people, that money didn't represent any value at all...
That gadjo 'money' did ultimately cost you your personal freedom!
There was the catch...
But, maybe I tried to be too witty now, or did I overlook something important?

    At last, I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer I started to yawn, and asked my Mom to put me to bed.
Together, we went to our caravan, and my Mom tenderly kissed me and wished me goodnight.
I closed my eyes, fell asleep, and started to dream.

    After a while, my dream changed into a nightmare...
I had to work for huge piles of LEI, that represented only the value of one old and wrecked caravan...
I woke up thrashing around, and silently crept in between my parents to feel safe and protected.
That helped, and soon I was in a sound and dreamless sleep, until the morning sun woke us up.

    Summer passed by without any major events.
Every day, we went into our woods, to set up our traps and catch our animals.
I was now totally accepted as being one of our group; and, every day, I caught my own share of our food.
Every afternoon, I changed into our little Chief Cookie, and provided everybody with nicely smelling herbs.
Life was good!

    At the end of summer, fall was approaching...
Slowly, nearly imperceptibly, the amount of caught animals started to diminish.
More and more snares turned out to be empty in the morning...
The few animals we caught were old and wiry, or too small to be able to fill our stomachs properly.
Finally, we gathered, had a serious talk, and decided we had to change our tactics.

    The next morning, the older and more experienced kids gathered us in the small clearing, and told us:

    "From now on, we will have to work individually. Fall is getting closer; and the remaining animals are more and more wary about hungry predators. They are easily chased away by our sounds and do not come back for a long time.
    "Starting today, we will split up here every morning, and sneak around without making any sounds to set up our traps as far away from our camp as possible.
    "All the younger children will be guided by one of the older and more experienced ones, until we are sure they are able to fend for themselves.
    "Please, be careful, think first, and don't get lost in the dense forest!"

    Of course, I looked for my friend Misha, because I wanted him to be my guide.
Unfortunately, another small boy, Jonno, had already attached himself to my friend...
I could see that Misha wasn't exactly pleased to have Jonno around, but he couldn't reject him without being very rude.
He looked at me apologetically, and shrugged his shoulders.

    Promptly, Biny stepped towards me, and enthusiastically took my hand...
However, a few older kids told her to leave me, as she was too young to properly guide a smaller kid.
Looking disappointed, she sauntered back to the others and moped a bit.
I had to choose another, more experienced, guide; and looked around...

    Soon, all the younger kids had found an older and experienced one to guide them.
That is, all of them were standing next to their guides, except for me!
I was still alone, looking around, and feeling a bit lost...
Why didn't anybody choose ME to be my guide?
All the older and experienced children had already chosen another young kid...

    I felt disappointed, and didn't know what to do.
Why did nobody else want to be my guide?
I started to feel like an outcast; and, slowly, tears welled up in my eyes.
Didn’t my friends really like me?
Didn't they really be my friends?
Or, was everybody, except for Misha and Biny, afraid to guide their still rather immature little Prince and so praised Chief Cookie?
What should I do now?
Should I turn around and go home, to play with the toddlers?

    Suddenly, I decided to be PROUD of myself, as my Dad had told me many times before!
I took a deep breath, straightened my back, and stepped forward.
Why shouldn't a fourteen-year-old and very experienced boy be able to guide TWO small kids?
I looked at Misha with a questioning face...
At the same time, Misha straightened his back, and looked at me questioningly...

    We stepped towards each other at the same time, and met halfway.
Both of us stopped, and grinned at each other sheepishly...
    Misha determinedly took my hand, and guided me towards Jonno:

    "Harold, this is my six-year-old nephew, Jonno. Jonno, this is Harold, our four-and-a-half-year-old Prince... and I can easily guide TWO young kids!"

    Obviously, Jonno wasn't very happy with Misha's decision...
He looked me over with his brown puppy-dog eyes, walked around, and took Misha's other hand.
Well... maybe, Misha's nephew had lost his tongue, or he didn't know what to say?
Or, he hadn't been educated properly by his parents; or, maybe, he had never heard of being polite...
I decided to pretend it didn't bother me, and grinned at him.
Jonno didn't grin back and averted his eyes...

    The older boys had made sort of a plan, and told all the couples where they should go.
We would check our old traps first, gather the caught animals, and take our snares with us.
Then, we would set up our new traps far away from our camp, and in absolute silence.
Finally, we would meet again at our waterfall for a talk and maybe a swim.

    All the couples swarmed away in silence, taking different courses to reach their old traps.
Misha took Jonno and me directly into a dense forest, and paved his way through the heavy undergrowth.
Soon, I didn't have the faintest idea where I was, or to where we were walking.
Misha seemed to know the way blindly, and only now and them stopped for a second to feel around...
How did he know his way even in the densest of woods, without getting lost?
I wanted to learn that too!

    Jonno and I followed Misha's trail very close, until Misha turned around and whispered:

    "You will have to stop behaving like mad porcupines and making so much noise! All the animals can hear you from far away...
    "Now, walk as if you are a hunting cat; sliding noiselessly, avoiding all those crispy branches, even breathing without making any noise. Do you understand?"

    Both of us were very impressed, and nodded like well-behaving kids.
Misha motioned us to follow him again, turned around, and silently disappeared into the dense forest...

    We didn't hear anything, except for a slight scratching sound where he touched the branches.
Soon, even that sound was gone, and now it looked like we were alone...
WOW! Misha was really good at sneaking away noiselessly!
He was an excellent trapper, and I wanted to be like him!

    I started to slide towards Misha, carefully sneaking through the undergrowth, like a hunting cat looking for its prey...
Within a few steps, I was totally taken aback by the sound of a mad porcupine, following me and ragging through the bushes.
Jonno didn't even look where he was walking; and, now and then, he nearly bumped into me!
    Growing rather angry, I turned around and hissed to Jonno:

    "Don't make such a noise! I can't hear myself, because you are sounding like a mad porcupine. Try to slide like a cat!"

    I started to slide again, pretending I was a hunting cat...
Within two seconds, the mad porcupine again wasted all my fun.
Now I was really mad, and repressed my urge to pummel him.
How COULD he screw up all my fun!
That way, I would never be able to learn how to slide noiselessly...

    I stormed forward to Misha, who patiently waited a few steps away, and protested:

    "How can I practice sliding like a cat, having such a truck full of rattling bricks in my tracks... That dork is spoiling all my fun."

    Misha put his arms around my shoulders, and soothingly caressed my back:

    "Not everybody can be the youngest natural trapper in our woods. Being better than Jonno doesn't necessarily make you a better human being, you know...
    "Please, be more patient with him; and, eventually, he will learn how to sneak around just like you."

    Suddenly, I was ashamed of myself, felt my face flush, and looked at my feet.
Of course, it wasn't Jonno's fault he couldn't slide like a hunting cat...
Not everybody could be a natural trapper!
I should learn to be more tolerant to the others, who maybe weren't as bright as I thought I could be...

    In the meantime, Jonno showed up; shivering, and looking at his feet:

    "Sorry. I'm doing the best I can, but it's creepy here, and I'm too afraid to be left alone..."

    Now, I was even more ashamed, and turned around to face him.
I put my hand onto his trembling shoulder, and regretfully told him:

    "I didn't know you were afraid, and sorry for my outburst. I think I'm too impatient now and then, but I will try to better myself..."

    Misha's face lit up, and again he threw his arms around me:

    "That's the spirit! I'm glad you're such a fast learner, and I think you will be an excellent King in the future."

    For a moment, all three of us cuddled together, until Jonno was too timid and turned around to have a leak.
Misha and I joined him, trying to spurt as high as we could, and Misha won.
Jonno was second, and I was a good third but didn't care at all.
    Now, Misha offered us another suggestion:

    "I will try to teach you how to sneak around, one by one. One of us will walk away a couple of steps, and the others will try to follow him on their own and as noiselessly as they can...
    "How does that sound?"

    "Yeah, that sounds like a lot more fun! Let's go."

    Misha told me to go first, and sneak away a couple of steps into the bushes.
I nodded, and started to slide as noiselessly as I could, like a hunting cat...
I was ready to show off to Jonno, and let him see how a real trapper could be sneaking...
Within two steps, I discovered that I was making a noise like a rattling truck full of bricks myself!
I did my utmost best, but simply couldn't avoid those cracking dry twigs and nasty swishing branches...
Was it really ME who had criticized that poor Jonno so much?
Now, I was even more ashamed, and promised myself to better my life immediately!

    After another couple of frustratingly loud steps, I sat down on a small stump and waited.
Soon, Misha and Jonno would follow my noisy soundtrack...

    A softly rustling sound came nearer and nearer, and a branch slightly swished.
I ducked my head and slumped down onto the mossy ground, making myself as invisible as I could...
A moment later, Misha passed by, looking around everywhere but without seeing me.
He overlooked me totally, although he nearly stumbled over my legs...
He didn't see me at all, and I had lots of fun!
Was I really that good at hiding myself?

    Involuntarily, I started to snicker; and now Misha looked down, saw me, and grinned.
He squatted down next to me, looked at me with pride in his eyes, and motioned me to be silent...
A second later, we heard the mad porcupine, stamping forward without even looking where he went.
He was nearly tearing the bushes apart... and crying.

    He passed by without seeing us, until Misha called him.
Now, he stormed towards Misha and buried his face into Misha's chest, sobbing loudly.
    Misha threw his arms around him, trying to calm him down:

    "Shush, shush, don't make so much noise! You are chasing all the animals away! What happened?"

    "I... I couldn't find you, and I was afraid nobody would be able to find me again in this creepy forest..."

    "So, you panicked. Well, you're not the first one; and you certainly will not be the last one! Now, calm down and dry your eyes."

    After a while, Jonno pulled himself together and promised us to try to better his life.

    From now on, Jonno and I were following Misha as noiselessly as we could.
Misha knew where our traps were, and took us across the dense forest directly towards them.
How did he do that all the time? It was as if he could smell them...
I wanted to learn that too!

    I was happy to have caught a stray hare, and proudly put it into the string bag Misha carried on his back.
Misha had caught a small marmot, and Jonno's trap turned out to be empty.
We took our snares with us, to set up our new traps further away from our camp.

    Misha stopped, put his arms around our shoulders, and whispered:

    "From now on, you will have to be very careful not to make any noises that could chase the animals away. I will go first, and both of you will follow me at a short distance.
    "Be careful to keep a close eye on me, and look out not to get lost in the dense forest."

    Jonno started to shiver, got goose bumps all over his body, and looked at us with fear in his eyes:

    "I don't want to get lost in ANY forest! It's too creepy here, and I want to go home..."

    We tried to convince Jonno to join us to our new places, but he was too scared and started to cry.
At last, Misha allowed him to go back to our waterfall, and wait there for us until we showed up again.
Together, we brought him back to the ravine where he knew the way, and left him alone carrying our string bag.
A happy looking Jonno went to our waterfall, nearly skipping, and swaying the string bag containing our caught animals.

    Misha and I looked at each other; and both of us saw the relief in each other's eyes...
I was a bit sad for that poor scared Jonno; but, at the same time, I was happy to leave our mad porcupine!
Now, I could really train myself in sneaking around, noiselessly, like a hunting cat...

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Thank you for reading the next chapter of my story 'Born as a Prince 1'.
This is the first book of the series, called 'Heir to the Throne'. Many more books will follow...
Enjoy the reading, and help us make our world a better place!

Have a look at my OTHER story, about a retired psychotherapist taking the now eight years old and severely burnt little Gypsy boy into his house and raising him.
The story is on Nifty in adult-youth, contains NO sex, and is callled: 'Born to be a King'...

All my stories are on my own homepage as well: http://www.harryanders.com

I would LOVE to receive your comments...
Please, write me an email now and then.
Harry AnderS, Dutch psychotherapist and alternative writer.

harry@harryanders.com
http://www.harryanders.com