CRAB MOVES

Tomasito. Tanya photo, 2009

Dear KIDS and PARENTS and FRIENDS:

I hope you are enjoying the adventures of Constable Crab as much as I am!

In fact I like the stalwart crab so much that I am going to concentrate on telling HIS stories!

I am going to move my drawing pencil, color pencils. pen and scanner to HIS OWN BLOG SITE and I hope you will follow him there.

Just click this link: The Casebook of Constable Crab . and you'll be THERE!

Tomasito, 2009


...

Crab Wakes Up

A slight noise awakened me.

I sat up and for a moment wondering where I was--on the beach, of course--my usual place in the sun.

But--Arthur? Merlin? My Quest?

All a most wonderful dream.

But WHAT had awakened me?

Looking up I could see very high in the sky, a circling crow--and beside me a small twig was lying--perhaps the crow had accidentally dropped the twig which made the little sound which woke me from my marvelous dream?

Perhaps...

Tomasito, 2009


...

The Round Table Seat

Merlin and King Arthur led me across the room to the great Round Table and paused waiting for me.

As I came up and around them I could see A New Seat at the table--and on the high back of the seat was carved MY OWN NAME: Crabaine!

"This is your reward, Sir Crabaine--you are now a most worthy knight of the Round Table!" Arthur said.

Surely this was the proudest and happiest day of my life!

...

Return to Camelot

Suddenly, as if by magic, I was back in Camelot--in the great throne room where the round table stood--and coming to meet me with welcoming expressions were King Arthur and Merlin.

"I have done it! With the help of many new friends I have completed the quest!" I cried excitedly.

"And what was in the Box of Destiny, Sir Crabaine?" Arthur asked.

"Only a message written on an old piece of paper." I replied.

"And the message?" Asked Merlin.

BE
YOUR
SELF

I said.

"Ahhh, GOOD! That is enough." They said together.

"Well done, Sir Crabaine." Merlin said. "Come now with us to the great Table Round and receive your reward!"

...

QUEST Realized

I realized that I had indeed achieved my QUEST with the help of all my new good FRIENDS!

It was a wonderful moment for me!

...

A Note from the Past

Inside the beautifully-wrought Box is a yellowed scrap of paper.

I reached it out with my claw and read:

BE
YOUR
SELF

"That's very GOOD." says the talking twig from the Tree of Knowledge.

...

The Tor at Last

At last: The Tor--old--very old and crumbling--for the Jumblies are gone--long gone.

I enter the stone tower through the open door and find myself in a small circular room.

And there in the dim light at my very claws is My Quest:
The Box of Destiny--a small box shaped like some fantastic animal.

I put down the twig from the Tree of Knowledge and carefully lift off the lid which forms the top of the animal-shape...

...

Onward

"I kept my eyes on the Tor and advanced as rapidly as I could with the talking twig from the Tree of Knowledge gripped tightly in my claw.

I was not going to let anything stop me now from completing the quest!

...

Awake at Last

"What do you mean?" I said (still a little foolishly) to the twig. "I am--uh--I am--uh--Well, I MUST be somebody!"

" That is true." said the twig, "But WHO? I'll give you a little hint: King Arthur..."

"You Mean I AM KING ARTHUR?" I said in surprise.

"NO! King Arthur made YOU a knight and gave you a quest..."

"YES! I remember now! I am Sir Crabaine and my quest is to find the Box of Destiny..."

"Beneath the Tor ..." Prompted the twig.

"In the Perplex Plain!" I finished. "Of course! How COULD I have forgotten?"

"Crabs DO forget things here in the Perplex Plain--even IMPORTANT things." said the twig. "Now pick me up again and hold me close. Keep you eyes on the TOR and I will help you remember who you are and what you are doing! Now, let's GO!"

...

Talking Twig

I could hardly believe it! The TWIG was doing the talking that had awakened me from my comfortable snooze!

"Did YOU say something?" I asked the twig--feeling a little foolish to be addressing a plant.

"Of course." Replied the twig.

"I didn't know plants could talk." I said, politely.

"We can when we have something important to say. Some of the wisest creatures around are old trees--you can learn a LOT about LIFE from them--if you listen!

And I am a twig from one of the very oldest trees--the Tree of Knowledge. It is high time, Crab, for you to wake up and remember who you ARE and WHAT you are doing!"

...

Sleeper awake

I heard something.

Kind of like a voice, but a different kind of voice--a planty kind of voice I would describe it.

"Wake up--WAKE UP!" It seemed to say.

I opened one eye and looked around, but didn't see anyone so I closed it again. Ahhhhh--warm sun!

"SLEEPER AWAKE!" Said the voice, and I opened both eyes.

There was nothing around but the twig Shadow had given me--which had fallen from my claw.

...

Sleeping in the sun

Oh, good, warm, lazy day!

This is what crabs were Born for--to sleep in the sun!

Oh, good---good---good!

...

Why Remember?

The day was a perfect wonder--and on such a day, isn't it better to simply lie on one's back in the soft green grass and watch the puffy clouds sail through the blue sky?

And I soon did just that!

No worries, no cares--no--now what WAS it I was supposed to do?

No matter!

Lie back, Crab, and ENJOY!

...

Onto the Perplex Plain

This was more like it!

Bright sunshine, gentle breezes and Shadow's Twig of Knowledge grasped in my claw.

I ventured out onto the Perplex Plain, which I could see was a vast, meadowlike land with a rising hill in the distance--and on that hill I could see The Tor--my goal.

I moved quickly at first--but the warm sun and the gentle breeze, scented with some delightful perfume, made me want to slow my pace a bit--just to enjoy the wonderful day.

It was the most splendid day I could remember--ahh--remember--uh, remember?

...

New Boy in Town

New Boy in Town (Tanya photo, 2009)

Hello.

We have stopped traveling, found an apartment, and are now living in Escondido, California--a bit north of San Diego--just a few miles from Mexico.

We are not quite settled in--so will not continue our blogs for a while, but we will continue soon.

Tomasito, 2009

...

PAUSE

Tomasito 2009, Tanya photo.

Dear Crabulous Friends,

I know you are VERY curious about what happens next.

Can Sir Crabaine cross the Perplex Plain and find the Box of Destiny?

My goodness, we HOPE so, don't we?

BUT!

We'll just have to wait a bit to find out because Tomasito, the creator of this story is moooving and will be away from desk and computer for a week or so.

SO...

Keep the faith and we'll SEE YOU SOON!

Tomasito, for Constable Crab, January 27, 2009


...

The Twig

"Ahhh, yes. You ARE ready." Shadow said. "Just remember WHO you are and WHY you are here!"

"I am a knight errant of King Arthur's Court!" I said proudly, "And my quest is to find The Box of Destiny and to return it to him!"

"Ahhh, yes. I THOUGHT so." Shadow replied. "This IS the Perplex Plain-- and yonder on that distant hill IS the TOR you seek. Give me back the Jewel of Light which helped you in your time of need in the Dell of Gloom--and take this twig from the Tree of Knowledge which may help you further in your quest.

Remember!"

And the large black crow flew swiftly into the sky and disappeared.

...

The Perplex Plain

And there, stretching out before me was a vast, rolling prairie--"The Perplex Plain"--I said to myself.

There was a sudden flutter of black wings beside me and I was looking into the bright eyes of Shadow the Crow.

"GOOD!" He croaked. "You made it through--and now you are very close to the goal of your quest. The Perplex Plain lies before you and the famous Tor stands in the middle of the plain."

"Shadow! Well met!" I replied. "I remember what the Rock Crabs said:

Under th' Tor in the Perplex Plain
An' 'there it ever shall remain
'Til the knightly Crab brings it home again!

"Now I am ready to cross this plain and get to the tor."

...

Sunlight Again

With the friendly moths flying around my Light Jewel, I made my way swiftly through the last of the Dell O' Gloom.

Soon the trees were growing less densely overhead and more natural sunlight could penetrate the darkness.

The same tiny voice whispered in my ear: "We moths will not come with you into the light of day since we are creatures of the darkness, but good fortune be yours, Sir Crabaine--and return, if you can, when you have completed your quest."

"Thank you friendly Moths, and you too live happily and be well!" And with these words, I emerged from the gloom into the sunlight.

...

More Light

I lifted the Light Jewel as high as I could and the light seemed to become brighter and brighter.

The fearful eyes I had seen were really moth wings--and there were LOTS of them.

This was not so bad after all!

...

Congratulations President Obama

. .

Moth

A tiny voice whispered in my ear: "Hold up the Light Jewel and you will see who I really am."

I immediately held up the jewel Shadow had given me and could see by its light that what I thought were menacing EYES--were really the WINGS of a beautiful moth.

"You haven't got far to go to be back in the sunlight." The moth said in its tiny whispery voice--"Just be brave and carry on!"

...

EYES

I had the creepy feeling I was being followed--so I turned suddenly!

And--YIPE!

Two big scary eyes were shining in the dark RIGHT BEHIND ME!

YIPES!!

...

The Thing in the Dark

Darker and darker.

It was so dark in the gloom of the old forest that I could barely see the path in front of me--I could barely see my own claws!

But I had the VERY creepy feeling that I WAS NOT ALONE!

...

Darker

It was dark in the forest and getting darker with every step--I glanced back to see the sunny day I had just left--then I looked forward into the almost impenetrable darkness in front of me!

A cold shiver went up my spine--

But I was determined to carry on!

And I did!!

...

The Dark Forest

There was only one path leading away from the edge of the slippery slope which I had just climbed--and it headed right into a dark forest.

The forest's trees were immense and seemed as ancient as the earth itself.

Soon, even though it was a bright and sunny day where the path began, the forest blocked the sunlight, causing the light to fade into a gloomy twilight.

It was cooler too--in fact downright cold--but I plodded on and on--deeper and deeper.

...

"Wonderful snack!" I said with enthusiasm, wiping the bread crumbs off my face with the red and white checked cloth provided by my rock crab friends.

"Yes, certainly", Shadow said and continued with a slight shiver, "Now we must prepare you to pass safely through the Dell O'Gloom on your way to the Perplex Plain."

"How can I be better prepared?" I asked, "I am as ready as I'll ever be!"

"Not quite!" said Shadow the Crow. "In the Dell O'Gloom what is most needed is a little light--take this."

And Shadow gave me a small jewel.

"Good luck, courage--and, if all goes well, I'll meet you on the other side of the Dell O'Gloom! Fare well!"

And Shadow, my new helper and friend, flew away so quickly he was soon just a tiny dot in the sky.

...

Snack

"Perhaps you would like a little refreshment?" continued Shadow the Crow, "I have a snack prepared by your rock crab friends down below the Slippery Slope: some bread, Stilton Cheese and a bottle of Ring-Bo-Ree..."

"Wonderful!" I exclaimed. "I have never had such faithful and thoughtful new friends!"

"That's questing." Remarked Shadow.

...

The Top

With a last heave on the rope and a scramble of claws I stood at last on the tippety top of the Slippery Slope--panting from the effort, but safe.

I saw that the rope was tied to a stout tree near the edge of the slope--and sitting on a branch of that same tree was a very large crow.

"Welcome to the top, Sir Crabaine!" Croaked the crow.

"Thank you VERY much!" I replied, "Are YOU the one who helped me with the rope? Do I know you?"

"You don't know me--but I know YOU!" said the crow.

"Yes, it was me who threw you the rope!"

"Your quest for the Box of Destiny is important--not only for yourself, but for others--and whenever someone undertakes a serious quest, help comes from many sources, sources unknown to the quester himself."

"My name is Shadow", said the crow and I am one of your helpers."

...

The Ascent

There was the rope and there was the slippery slope!

I had to take the chance--there was no other way for me now!

I took the sturdy rope in my claws and, using it to brace my way, began to slowly climb back up the slippery slope.

It was not easy, but the rope held and I made good but slow progress until I could actually see the top!

Just a few feet more...

...

A Rope

Dazed from my tumble and half buried by slippery stuff from the slippery slope, I gazed around me--it was the exact same place where I had started my ascent.

What to do?

It seemed totally hopeless to climb up again!

I was dumboozled--when suddenly a sturdy rope uncoiled down the slope and the end came to rest practically on top of me.

What could it mean?

Could there be someone at the top that wanted to help me climb the slippery slope?

...

I Slip

This really WAS a slippery slope!

I slowly crawled higher--but the way just got slipperier and slipperier!

But I was nearing the top when I started to slide back.

Faster and faster--my slide became a tumble--head over claws rolling madly back down the slippery slope!

Right back down to the bottom where I had started!!

...

Up the Slippery Slope

Just as the Rock Crabs had said--as soon as I left Aunt Agatha's stone dwelling, the way became steeper and slippery.

At first it was a gentle slope--but the slope became steeper and more slippery with every step!

Soon I was climbing uphill with all my strength--but I found myself sliding back down almost as much as I struggled up!

...