I was seven when I was first visited by my miniature friends. I remember the night just like yesterday. I was in trouble with my parents because I started a fight with a couple of kids at school. After scolding me, they sent me to my room for a time out. While sitting on the floor I heard some noises coming from the corner of my room. To my great surprise I saw miniature people coming out from a hole in the wall.
There were four miniature people, two miniature horses, and a miniature dog. The horses were about as big as grasshoppers, the dog as big as a small ant, and the people about the size of flies. I scooted against the wall in both terror and curiosity. They walked closer and closer to me, which made me uneasy.
"Don't be afraid. We come in peace," said one of the miniature people.
They told me that they liked to visit kids who seemed like they needed some extra friends. They introduced themselves as Jeb, James, Janice, and July. They introduced the horses as Pete and Pat and the dog as Rufus. I introduced myself as Henry, they climbed into my hand, and we became friends.
That day we talked about dreams, aspirations, friends, and about life in general. They listened to what was on my heart and cared for what I was saying. They were fun too! We played soccer with a red bead and with me using only my finger. We played and talked until we all heard my parents walking down the hall. My miniature friends told me to be well and said that they would return when needed. They also told me to keep them as a secret, or the magic would be gone and they wouldn't be able to return. I watched them crawl back into the hole in the wall and disappear. My parents came in and noticed my strange behavior, but just tucked me into bed.
I didn't see my friends again for another couple of weeks. They came into my room one night after I had had a not very good day. I found out my so-called friend Timmy didn't invite me to his birthday party even though everyone else was invited. I picked them all up and placed them on my bed. They listened to me and helped me feel better. Rufus, the dog, curled up on my finger while I talked and comforted me.
"It will all turn around. Try to find true friends to confide in other than us," said Jeb.
They left later that night and life got a little bit better.
Over the next couple of years I only saw my miniature friends when I was in trouble or in a bad place emotionally. They were my safety net and wanted to see me go down the right path in life. I missed them greatly when they were away, but I knew that they were always watching over me. As I got older and older, I saw them less and less. They helped me through elementary school with finding new friends, through middle school during my parent's divorce, and even through high school with puberty and peer pressure.
Right before l left for college and moved away from my childhood house for good, they came and visited me for one last time. We all sat on my bed surrounded by boxes and they told me that they would always be there for me wherever I am in life.
"Try to use your head and follow your heart and to never forget who you are," said Janice.
"Why can't I ever see you again?" I asked
"It was time for you to move on so we could help the next kid that needs their own set of extra friends," they all said together.
I said goodbye to Jeb, James, Janice, and July and pet Pete, Pat, and Rufus for the last time. They disappeared into the hole in the wall and I finally understood that it was time to start the rest of my life. I am forty years old now with a family of my own and continue to appreciate all that my little friends did for me. They kept me on the right track and made me the man I am today. I hope that everyone has that support group for them as these friends were to me.
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Author's Note: This week I decided to read the Chinese Fairy Tales Unit. This story in particular is called
The Little Hunting Dog. In the original story, it is about a scholar who wanted to live away from all other people. He went to go live in a Buddhist temple by himself. One night he woke up to noises of two little knights riding on two horses, a hawk, and a hunting dog. They were all the sizes of insects and walked into the temple. The scholar pretended to be asleep while they walked around. They later disappeared but accidentally left behind the hunting dog. The scholar picked up the dog and they became friends. They snuggled in bed together and enjoyed each other's presence. In the morning the scholar accidentally rolled over in the bed and killed his little dog. This is how the story ends. I really liked the sense of using little people in my story, kind of like the movie,
Honey I Shrunk The Kids. I wanted to do more with the story so I made the little people and the human friends. I made them more into a support group that helped the boy, Henry, through life. The stories are not very similar by their story lines, but I liked the idea of the people involved.
Bibliography: The Little Hunting Dog. The Chinese Fairy Book. By R. Wilhelm and translated by Frederick H. Martens. 1921
