Storytelling: Jonathon and Mr. Piddles meet a Water Sprite

Jonathon and Mr. Piddles were very bored on their Thanksgiving break. Jonathon's teacher. Ms. Hawkins had told them that they should practice their multiplication tables and finish their spelling worksheet. Jonathon had made sure to do that the first evening home so he would not have to worry about it. (In reality Jonathon's father had made him do it so that Jonathon could help cook Thanksgiving dinner.)
"Mr. Piddles what if we went and explored the backyard some more? We haven't been out to visit Mr. Hanuman in a very long time!" Jonathon had tried to tell Ms. Hawkins about their monkey friend, but she didn't believe him. This was a common occurrence for Jonathon and Ms. Hawkins.
"Sure! I could do with some wilderness exploration." Mr. Piddles was always up for going into his natural habitat, the backyard.
Jonathon and Mr. Piddles snuck out into their backyard and climbed under the fence that kept in the family dog, Max. Quickly they were into the unexplored forest, searching for Mr. Hanuman.
“Mr. Piddles, do you remember where we first met Mr. Hanuman? All of these trees look the same to me today!” Jonathon was peering around trees and staring up into the branches.
“I think maybe that way, or that way?” Mr. Piddles crossed his arms, pointing each hand in an opposite direction.
“That is not helpful! Maybe we should go down by the pond and look for him there?” Jonathon always loved to go to the ‘pond’ in their backyard. The ‘pond’ was closer to a puddle, but no one ever wanted to correct him.
“Yea, that’s a great idea!” So off they went in search of the backyard pond.
What they didn’t know was that after Mr. Hanuman had come into their lives, lots of magical creatures had started to find residency in their backyard as well. In this case a little water-sprite had come to make their backyard pond home.
“Here it is!” Jonathon stopped just short of running into the pond He looked around to get his bearings (and his stuffed polar bear).
“Hello there! Who are you?” Jonathon jumped away from the pond to try and find where the voice was coming from. Suddenly he saw a little man sitting on the boulder next to the pond, nestled in moss. Jonathon quickly forgot all about trying to find Hanuman.
“I’m Jonathon, and this is Mr. Piddles. Who are you?” Jonathon was not so much surprised to see a magical woodland creature as he was to see how small the man was. He could not have been much more than six inches tall!
“I’m Cornelius, the water-sprite of this pond! I have come to make it my home and protect it from all others!” Cornelius then crossed his arms in an attempt to make himself look tough.
“Oh, well it is very nice to meet you Cornelius!” Jonathon stuck out his hand to shake Cornelius’ and then realized he need only use his pointer finger.  Cornelius shook his finger and then returned to gazing out into the trees. Jonathon took this to be the end of their conversation and reached to clean his hands in the water.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” exclaimed Cornelius. “You can’t have any of my water without answering my riddle!” Cornelius was very protective of his home and used riddles as ‘locks’ for his home.
“Oh! I’m so sorry! I didn’t realize that I couldn’t clean my hands in the water. What is the riddle so that I can use it?” Jonathon had managed to get plenty of dirt and bark residue all over his hands in the midst of their original search for Hanuman.
“The riddle is as such: what makes a good water-sprite?” Cornelius had a smug look on his face, because this riddle had never been cracked before!
Jonathon and Mr. Piddles sat together and talked back and forth about what the answer could be. Finally, they came to an answer they both could agree upon.
“A good water-sprite is kind and loving. They are gentle and care for nature, and are the most loyal friend you could ever have!” Jonathon had added the last part to try and win over Cornelius, just in case their original answer wasn’t quite enough.
Cornelius was shocked! No one had ever called him kind or gentle before. In that moment Cornelius grew two inches, merely to compensate for the growth of his heart!
“Oh my goodness! You managed to guess correctly! You may use my water whenever you are here, you are good friends Jonathon and Mr. Piddles.” Cornelius shook Jonathon’s finger again and Mr. Piddles’ paw. The three spent the rest of the afternoon getting to know one another and enjoying the lovely fall weather.

Water Sprite

Author's Note:
I based this story from the Jataka Tales written by Ellen Babbitt. I really liked the story about The Princes and the Water-Sprite. Although, I took several liberties with how the water-sprite acts and the actual plot line, I tried to keep the same moral: that kindness is always key! I also wanted Jonathon and Mr. Piddles to have another adventure together in their own backyard. With Thanksgiving just having occurred I thought that Thanksgiving break would give the two the perfect opportunity to go in search of their friend Mr. Hanuman originally, but wander into meeting more magical creatures. I also just watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas this weekend and couldn't help but steal a few details from it as well (growing two inches, a growing heart).  I have had a lot of fun writing about Jonathon and Mr. Piddles so I hope you all enjoy!