As I am writing this series of stories of the loveable characters of the Hundred Acre Woods I realized I don’t have a stuffed animal for Owl. Tomorrow I will go on a hunt to get one. I do, however, have a picture of an owl drawn by our beloved illustrator Laurie Wong. You see, we will have another series of children’s books coming out in 2016 called Grandma’s Tales.

Grandma was the forest story teller and she told the young animals about all the adventures of her dear friends as they served the Lord in the marketplace, the mission field and the pulpit. I, dear reader, am Grandma Owl and the stories are true stories about my friends and their adventures serving God. I have made them into animals for your children to relate to. Each book will have an opportunity for your child to go on an adventure with God by asking Jesus into their lives.

When I first began to write that series, some tried to discourage me from using an owl as the story teller. My first thought, however, when choosing the story teller that would represent me, was of the owl in Disney’s The Fox and the Hound. Her loving nature was what I wanted to depict as I told the adventures of: Annie the Intercessor; Howie the Evangelist; Otter from Britton Beach;

Feb. 09, 2012 – Birmingham, England, United Kingdom – This is the incredible photo of an otter seeking guidance by praying. This once in a lifetime snap was taken by Hertfordshire based photographer Marac Andrev Kolodzinski. Marac had to wait over two hours in the freezing cold before he captured the divine moment. .(Credit Image: © Marac Kolodzinski/Caters News/ZUMAPRESS.com)

Mercy Mouse and her family that were missionaries for three generations in the deep jungles of Peru. These are just the beginning stories of wonderful animals!

The owl in Fox and the Hound was a female such as the story teller in our books (me).   Owl in Pooh’s adventure, however, is a male. It seems to me most of the characters in the 100 Acre woods are male except for Kanga, mother of Roo. Do you suppose that was so because the stories originally were for the author’s son?

THE FOX AND THE HOUND, Big Mama, Tod, 1981, (c)Walt Disney Pictures

Owl was indeed considered the wise one of the forest and a creature of many words, often too many words. Do you suppose our A.A. was making a point of the very learned? Could he have been showing us that they often overdo with words? Hmm. Mr. Milne has much to say to us in character building on that point. Less is best.   Very best is to not get so lost in all we have to say that we are the only ones listening. Owl could go on and on and on.

Enough said and here I shall end this piece. Short and hopefully sweet.

Blessings,

Melody