Story Hour
Nicker's Ami Tess
Written by Gene B. Williams
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Note to the Parents: In this story, Nicker crosses the Atlantic Ocean, swims up the English Channel then the Seine River into Paris. Have some real fun with this. Get out some maps and photos. Let the kids see just what Nicker got to see.
Do you know where France is? Nicker does. At least he does now. He found it almost by accident. That’s fair because France found Nicker almost by accident, too. Nicker also found something else. Nicker found a new friend. Her name is Tess.You see … it was this way.
Simon was on patrol. Nicker tagged along for a while, but then Simon had to teach a bad creature to not BE a bad creature. Nicker decided that he would rather be somewhere else right then. Don’t you think that was a good idea? (Simon can be rather ... well, noisy … at such times.)
Nicker swam along happily across a big ocean. He wasn’t quite sure where he was, but that was okay. Sea dragons sometimes don’t know where they are. That’s why they are sometimes spotted in unusual places. But, they always know how to get home, no matter what. So, Nicker wasn’t worried. Besides, he could see land ahead. Land on both sides. Nicker lifted his nose into the air, sniffed deeply, and said, “MMmmmmm!”
You probably already know that sea dragons can smell things so very well. Nicker didn’t know what this was, but whatever it was, it sure smelled good to Nicker!
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| How Nicker got to France | The tower Nicker saw |
He followed that wonderful smell to where a river came into the channel. Then he swam that twisty river until he came to a city with a very tall tower. (Can you guess where he was?) He had to leave the river to follow the aroma (that means “smell” in a good way). The place wasn’t at all like the desert of Arizona! He had to be very careful so people wouldn’t see him. Some did, but he moved fast, and hid as only sea dragons can hide.
Now and then, someone would see a flash of green and yellow. Then they would shake their heads and ask, “Que?” which is all they had time to say because Nicker was already gone. (My friend Pierre told me that this sounds like “K” and in French means “What?” But that doesn’t matter much because they didn’t know that “what” was a snoopy sea dragon named Nicker.)
The smell (okay, aroma) was getting stronger. Many people were gathered, and there was lots of happy music, happy voices, and in some places happy dancing. Nicker saw many grown-up humans, and a lot of young humans – like Danny, and like you.
He knew what this was. He’d heard about things called “carnivals” but had never actually seen one. Now he WAS seeing one and it was wonderful. Best of all, he found that delicious smell (yes, I know, AROMA). It was coming from a table with a bright cloth roof. A sign said, “Barbe e Papa” on it.
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| Pierre’s stand with cotton candy, the duck game, and much more |
The duck game |
I didn’t know what that meant until Pierre told me. It means “Papa’s Beard,” and that’s French for something all of us – including Nicker – know about. It was cotton candy! (Have you read "Nicker Learns About Cotton Candy" right here in Story Hour?)
Oh, my, it smelled good. (It had to. There is no such word as “aromaed,” not even in French.)
He saw some kids holding long sticks with strings on them. It was something else he knew. It was called “fishing.” Nicker was confused, though. They couldn’t be fishing. They were holding the sticks over a trough of water. There couldn’t be fish, at least none worth catching. It was too shallow. Besides, it had lots of pretend ducks floating in it.
“Aha!” he said to himself. “They’re not catching fish. They’re catching ducks. They’re not fishing … they’re ducking!”
The sticks had strings. The strings had round hooks. They weren’t sharp and didn’t have to be. The floating ducks had loops on their backs. A hook would catch a loop and the duck would be lifted from the water. “I got a prize,” a child would say, giggling. (Actually, the child would say, “J'ai obtenu un prix,” but I don’t speak French very well, and Nicker even less, but Pierre helped us to understand what they were saying, and “J'ai obtenu un prix” means “I got a prize!”)
Nicker worked his way under the table. The ducks were quiet, but the children were laughing. They were having fun playing the game. Nicker just had to see what was going on. Very carefully … very slowly … he lifted his head around the edge to take a peek. And then …
… before he knew what was happening …
… a hook …
… caught him in the nose and lifted!
“I got it!” a happy voice cried out. “I got it! I got it! I got the BIG prize!”
“OUCH,” said the big prize. “OUCH OUCH OUCH,” said Nicker as the hook tried to lift him up by his nose.
Nicker wanted to hide under the table, but the hook was in his nose. You’ve probably never had a hook in your nose. I sure hope not! But you can imagine. Poor Nicker was really stuck. This was worse than having his head squeezed in the cabbages. (Do you remember the story of when Nicker went to the grocery store?)
He was pulling down again when he felt hands on him from behind. He was lifted, then hugged, then heard a bunch of words he didn’t understand (and Pierre has stepped out of the room just now so I don’t know them, either). But it didn’t matter. Not to Nicker. The hook was gone.
The hugging arms were still around him as he went back beneath the table. Such a very pretty little girl was looking at him. Smiling. So Nicker smiled. And the girl smiled more. So, Nicker smiled more.
“Je suis Tess” she said. (Pierre just came back in and told me that this means, “I am Tess.”)
Nicker didn’t know what to say, so he just snuggled into her shoulder.
“Mon ami,” Tess said. My friend.
He was safe. He had a new friend. And the hook out out of his nose. Very happy, Nicker lifted that nose and sniffed. Can you guess what he was thinking?
COTTON CANDY!
And if you’re ever in France, you can visit Pierre and Tess, have some barbe e papa (cotton candy), and maybe even obtenu un prix (win a prize)!
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| Meet the real Tess! | Look at all the toys you could win. |
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