|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Mon May 17, 2010 7:52 pm
Ask was playing at the duck pond while Shiny was reading on her bench. They did this about once a week. He rather enjoyed the tradition. The ducks were still silly but the surroundings were always worth the trip.
There were trees around the pond and reeds along the edges of the water. A small dock branched into the pond for peddle boats and duck feeding. A break in the reeds was filled with a small beach that had pretty pebbles. It was a great place to play.
At the moment Ask was floating paper boats on the water off of the dock. He had a stack of old newspaper and was fiddling with different ways of folding the paper boats that kept them afloat longer or cut through the water better. He'd already launched three boats.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 23, 2010 6:32 pm
Katya and Derek were at the golf club today, and Isolde had ridden along. With instructions to pick up them up at two, the driver had decided he would take Isolde to the duck pond and perhaps paddle around on the pedal boats. Pacifism had packed them a lunch and given them his day-old bread. Oliver parked the Bentley, and with the basket in one hand and Isolde's in the other, they walked along the path toward the pond.
"Oliver, someone's already at the pond! Look- see?"
Oliver looked. There was a little tot, probably a bit older then Isolde, and it looked like he was launching boats.
"Never fear, milady," he said, adopting the heavily chivalrous and affected voice he used to tell her stories, "it seems to be no lake troll, but a stalwart youth perfecting his boating skills. No doubt he will be able to advise us on the currents of the pond."
Isolde felt she would be very impressed with any one who knew about currents, once Oliver explained that he wasn't talking about currants in the pond. She ran ahead a little to wave to the boy.
"Hello, goodman!" she said brightly. "Oliver says you know about currents because you have boats. Oh no, a duck ran into that one! It's sinking."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 27, 2010 11:20 am
Ask was minding his own business as usual when a little girl's voice greeted him. He jumped a bit in surprise and immediately looked over at the duck that had run into his boat. He scowled at the offending duck a little before blinking when he realized that the little girl was still there and waiting for a response. "Er... Hi, I do have boats. What's this about currents?" He fiddled nervously with his newspaper. He hoped they didn't want much, he was playing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jun 15, 2010 9:44 pm
"Oliver said you know about currents because you have boats," Isolde repeated patiently. "Pacifism gave Oliver and I some bread to feed the ducks and Oliver said he would take me on the pedal boats but you have to know which way the currents go so its easier and you don't have to work at hard to pedal. Oliver's my driver! Do you want to go for a boat ride to? I bet Oliver can pedal for us both, his legs are really long. Can I help you fold your boats?" Isolde was very excited about being at the pond, especially with another kid being there. Last time they hadn't stopped for very long because Mother was with them and she said the ducks gave her a headache. But this was much better; this boy knew about boats!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 17, 2010 2:32 pm
Ask's eyes got wider the more questions that came pouring out of the girl's mouth.
"Um... I guess you can help with the paper boats... and they do tend to drift that way-" Here he pointed out into the pond and showed the route of the boats. "-before drifting back and around." Ask scooted some paper her way.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 17, 2010 2:54 pm
Oliver set down a blanket and the picnic basket a few feet back from the pond, and settled down to watch his charge. It took Isolde several times to fold the boats correctly, and her stream of talking slowed as she practiced. "My name's Isolde" fold-fold-fold "and my parents are playing golf today" fold-fold-fold-fold-fold "so Oliver has a few hours free" fold fold-unfold-fold-fold "Do you think we could put bread in the boats? It would be like Pizza Delivery except on boats, and with bread to ducks instead of with pizza to people."
Isolde eyed the duck that had crashed a boat earlier. "Or do you think the ducks would just crash all of the boats?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 17, 2010 6:27 pm
"The ducks would just sink them. Maybe when you go out on the paddle boats you can take bread with you." Ask peered at her folding, reached over to correct it a bit. He concentrated on folding his own papers. "I don't get golf, seems a bit useless. And, um, I'm Ask."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jun 17, 2010 6:58 pm
"I think golf is boring, but my mom loves it and Daddy loves her a lot so he always goes even when he's sleepy, and then Oliver or Marta or Pacifism get to watch me. Ask is a good name; it's like a word." Isolde scrambled off the dock, past Oliver, and over to some flowering bushes where she plucked a flower, and with some struggling, a smallish stick. She marched back to Ask, and announced, "I'm going to put this flower in the boat with this stick and it will be like Isolde and Tristan going to see the King in their boat."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Jun 23, 2010 2:47 pm
"Yeah, 'ask' is a word. It apparently has a mythological significance. And I don't know about Marta or Pacifism or anybody but I have Shiny over there." He pointed at the woman on the bench a ways away reading voraciously. "Now who'd Tristan and why are you that flower?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 25, 2010 10:37 pm
"Tristan was the nephew of King Mark and Isolde was the the most beautiful girl in the world that King Mark was supposed to be married to. Tristan crossed the sea to bring her back for his uncle but Isolde's mom gave him some magic wine that was supposed to be for Mark and Isolde to share so they would be in love forever. Isolde didn't know about that and during a storm all of the bottles got mixed up so Tristan and Isolde shared a bottle and then they were in love forever and ever, but Isolde married King Mark cause it was her duty and Tristan traveled far away because he couldn't bear to be near Isolde married to someone else. Tristan was handsome and he had lots of ladies who wanted to marry him but he wouldn't because he loved Isolde. Finally he got so sad he was dying and he sent someone to ask Isolde to come and see him and she was coming but one of the jealous women told Tristan that the ship Isolde was supposed to be on didn't have the right flags up for Isolde to be on so he died, heartbroken, and when she got to him she died too because she was heartbroken. It's really depressing but that's the only story I know about people on boats except Noah and the Ark and I don't think that my boat will carry that many sticks on it."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Jun 25, 2010 11:06 pm
"Oh, well that's sad." Ask poked a paper boat out further into the water. He personally thought dying of a broken heart was dumb, but it was still an interesting story. "Know any other stories?" If she was talking, he didn't have to.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 26, 2010 11:07 am
I know lots of stories but Oliver knows more. he taught me the stories. What sort of stories do you like? Oliver knows them all."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 26, 2010 9:46 pm
"I like mythology and stories about vikings and stuff." Ask liked the norse stories the best. "And who's Oliver?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 26, 2010 9:50 pm
Isolde pointed up the dock to where her driver sat on a picnic blanket. "That's Oliver! He's my mother and my daddy's driver so he drives me around, too. He knows lots of stories. If you're done playing boats we can sit up there and he'll tell us stories and you can have one of my bacon sandwiches and some potato salad or some fruit. I bet Oliver knows all of the Viking stories. Oliver's traveled everywhere.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Jun 26, 2010 10:05 pm
Ask looked from his boats up towards where Isolde pointed then back to his boats. "Well, I guess that'd be fun." He stood up and reached a hand down to help her up. "He's been everywhere? Is that possible?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
