Little John Lou and the Mariner's Bow Read online



  Little John Lou and the Mariner’s Bow

  Book 1

  of

  The Odyssey of Little John Lou

  By

  Phillip Wade

  Little John Lou and the Mariner’s Bow and The Odyssey of Little John Lou

  Copyright © 2015 by Phillip Wade

  All rights reserved.

  Cover Illustration by Brady DeVore

  Thank you for downloading this ebook. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoy this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favorite authorized retailer. Thank you for your support.

  About The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

  The Mariner encountered by Little John Lou in this book is the narrator and main character of English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge's epic poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner published in 1798. Read a synopsis of it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rime_of_the_Ancient_Mariner.

  The original full-text poem is public domain and may be found here:

  https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173253

  To Nathan, Jonathan, and Breanna Marie

  Who all enjoy a good bedtime story

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1: The Tsunami

  Chapter 2: The Ghost Ship

  Chapter 3: The Mariner’s Tale

  Chapter 4: The Transformation

  Chapter 5: The Gift

  Chapter 1: The Tsunami

  It all happened when

  On the night of the storm,

  When the dogs ran away

  And the parents weren’t home,

  When the sea rose up

  From its bed in the bay

  And washed all the boats

  And the houses away.

  Then the sun peeked over

  The edge of the waves

  And caught the moon napping,

  So night slipped away.

  Then Little John Lou

  Awoke all alone

  In his home like an island

  Surrounded by foam.

  The waves splashed against

  The house with a roar,

  But he felt like a captain

  Far away from the shore.

  Though lost and alone

  On a billowing sea,

  Strange though it was

  He felt totally free.

  So his house floated onward

  On currents and waves

  ‘Til the sun slipped away

  At the end of the day.

  ***

  Chapter 2: The Ghost Ship

  It went on like that

  Over day and through night.

  John drifted along

  And the future was bright.

  But darkness descended

  One night on the sea,

  And he heard a fell voice.

  O who might it be?

  Then out of the mist

  A strange ship emerged.

  Its crewmen were silent

  But for one voice he heard.

  “Albatross, Albatross,

  Albatross he!

  I shouldn’t have shot him

  Now look where I be.

  “I’m surrounded by water

  With no drop to drink.

  How could I have done it

  Why didn’t I think?”

  And after the mariner

  Finished his cry

  He spied Little John

  And expressed his surprise.

  “By thunder,” he said,

  “Now what have we here?

  A specter has come

  Like a fog in the weir.”

  Now Little John Lou

  He declared with a huff,

  “Ghost am I none

  For there is no such stuff.”

  “Oh Laddie, Oh Laddie

  Now watch what ye say,

  For you’re staring at specters

  Yourself on this day.

  “For the master he glares,

  And the first mate, he pries,

  And the helmsman, why

  Look at the glow in his eyes!”

  Then Little John noticed

  Through shadows of night

  The crewmen lay dead

  But with life in their eyes.

  Then Little John fled

  And hid in his room

  As his house was consumed

  By a shadowy gloom.

  But the voice came again.

  It was louder this time,

  “O be not afraid

  My intent is benign.”

  But Little John trembled

  And Little John cowed

  And Little John fearfully

  Wondered aloud,

  “So tell me then, seaman,

  What am I to do?

  For I’ve never conversed

  With a skeleton crew.”

  “It’s easy my laddie,

  Just stay there to port,

  And I’ll tell ye a story

  To keep ye afloat.”

  So he led Little John

  Through a journey of woe

  As he told him a story

  Of long, long ago.

  ***

  Chapter 3: The Mariner’s Tale

  We had left back then

  On a happy voyage

  Set for lands unknown

  When a storm arose

  That blew us off course

  And made the timbers moan.

  To the south we went

  At a harrowing speed

  As the storm raged day and night

  'Til we woke aghast

  On a foggy morn

  Trapped in a sea of ice!

  Then out of the sky

  Came a bless’ed bird

  Like an angel out of heaven

  And we praised the Lord

  For this holy sign,

  For the gift that we’d been given.

  So we fed the bird

  With a cheery heart

  And it circled all around.

  Then the ice broke away

  With a thunderous crash,

  And a wind rose with the sound.

  Then the helmsman

  Steered us to the south

  And through the crack that formed,

  And that heaven-sent breeze

  Pushed us pleasantly

  Through the bright but foggy morn.

  And that albatross

  Fluttered overhead,

  Or on sail or on mast would rest.

  Like a pet he would come

  When we called him near

  And thus he would be fed.

  But then one night

  By the fog-dimmed moon

  As I watched the bird from below,

  I aimed at it

  With a foolish heart

  And I shot it with my bow.

  “Oh what have you done?”

  Cried the men with fear,

  With voices tinged with woe.

  You have killed the bird

  Who broke the ice

  And made the south breeze blow!”

  But the breeze blew on

  As if nothing wrong

  To an undiscovered sea,

  And we sailed on

  But could scarcely see

  Through the fog that refused to leave.

  So they changed their minds

  And said cruel things

  About the albatross,

  Said the bird was cursed,

  I was right to shoot,

  Because it had brought the fog.


  Those were the words

  That sealed their fate

  With a spirit in the deep,

  For at that moment

  The sails went flat

  For the bless’ed wind had ceased.

  We did not move

  Over days and nights,

  And all our hearts did weep.

  There was water,

  Water everywhere

  Nor any drop to drink.

  Our eyes couldn’t cry,

  Our throats were so dry

  That we couldn’t even speak,

  And my thoughts

  Stewed over the albatross

  And I couldn’t find my sleep.

  But even worse

  Were the eyes of the crew

  That looked on me with rage.

  Oh I wished I had spared

  That heaven-sent bird

  On the night of that fateful day!

  Then on the horizon

  We spied a strange ship

  That sailed on a windless sea,

  And as it drew near

  It eclipsed setting sun

  In a sight that we couldn’t believe.

  For the rays passed

  Through a skeletal bow,

  Through tattered and limp-hanging sails,

  And a haunting woman

  Sat on the deck

  Who caused my crew to wail.

  And by her side

  Sat death himself

  And with him she tossed a dice

  And then she declared,

  “I’ve won! I’ve won!”

  And then she whistled thrice.

  Then one-by-one

  The men fell dead

  As the strange ship took to flight,

  But their dead eyes keep watching me

  Day and night

  As I, cursed, stay alive.

  It’s gone on like this,

  Six days, six nights,

  And though I try I can’t pray,

  For I think each hour

  Of that albatross

  That I’d shot on that fateful day,

  And my haunting and tortured

  Dead crewmen’s eyes

  Refuse to turn away.

  And strangely enough

  I have found you here

  On the night of the seventh day.

  So here I am

  On this eerie night

  As I travel the ocean blue.

  I sail in the hands

  Of the helmsman of fate,

  And he’s brought me here to you.

  So now it’s my chance

  To ask you, lad,

  What I cannot understand:

  How do you live

  In a house on the deep

  Instead of on the land?

  ***

  Chapter 4: The Transformation

  With the mariner’s words

  John emerged from his room

  And said that he didn’t know

  How he could have survived

  When the sea took his house

  Or how he could still call it home.

  But he’d been there for days,

  And he’d been there for nights,

  How long he could not be sure,

  “But this much is certain,

  I’m glad I’m alive

  In this beautiful, wondrous world.”

  And after he’d spoken

  These soothing words,

  The mariner breathed out a sigh,

  “I admit, Little John,

  Through my journey so long

  That I’ve only wanted to die.

  “But your words give me hope

  And your words give me faith

  Despite the dead crewmen’s eyes.

  “You remind me, my boy,

  To have gratitude

  That somehow I’m still alive.”

  Then suddenly

  The moon climbed high

  And lit up the glassy sea,

  And the ocean glowed brightly

  With wondrous lights

  That swirled within the deep.

  Then they realized what glowed

  Were creatures, serpents,

  Swimming all around.

  They were shallow and deep,

  They were everywhere,

  And the ship they did surround.

  They were blue and green

  And beautiful

  And leaving trails of gold!

  In the mariner’s awe

  He blessed those beasts,

  And a prayer came to his soul.

  Then the ship lit up

  With a magic light,

  And the dead men came alive,

  And they took their stations

  With silent smiles,

  And the anger left their eyes.

  To the mariner’s wonder,

  The guilt he bore

  Of the albatross disappeared,

  And the dead men watched

  With pleasant looks

  As they silently sailed and steered.

  Then Little John disappeared

  Briefly inside

  And turned on his kitchen sink,

  And he filled up a glass

  Of water so pure,

  And he gave the man a drink.

  Well, the seaman he spoke

  As the crew looked on

  With grins of ghostly glee,

  “Thank you my boy

  For saving my soul

  And helping to set me free.”

  ***

  Chapter 5: The Gift

  “Now dear Little John

  Maybe both of us dream,

  Maybe I am not real,

  Maybe you’ve never been,

  "But my ship draws away,

  For the helmsman he turns,

  And where I must go

  I fear you cannot come.”

  “Oh Mariner!" cried John,

  If you must go away,

  I hope in my heart

  That you’ll reach land someday.”

 

  Well the seaman he smiled

  As the ship withdrew,

  And he shouted, “My boy

  Here is something for you.”

 

  Then the mariner tossed

  A small satchel to him

  Where John found a bow

  And three arrows within.

  And also inside

  was a finger-thin rope

  that was smooth to the touch

  with a magical glow.

  “Be kind,” the man said,

  “To all things great and small,

  For dear God who loves us

  Hath made and loves all.”

  “Now lad,” then he shouted,

  “One more thing to tell:

  Learn from my albatross

  Don’t shoot your whale!”

  As he said those last words

  The ghost ship disappeared

  Just as quick as it came

  Without rustle or cheer.

  “Then why," shouted John,

  "Did you give me a bow?”

  But his words died away

  Because John was alone.

  Oh what could he mean?

  Little John could not tell,

  For he’d never desired

  To hurt any whale.

  Then Little John slipped

  Into troubling sleep,

  And he didn’t awake

  ‘Til the sun reached his peak.

  Then Little John marveled

  At what he had seen!

  “Was it real?” he had asked.

  “Oh it couldn’t have been!”

  But then he looked downward,

  And clasped in his hand

  Was the bag with the bow

  He’d received from the man.

  So that’s how it started,

  This tale of the sea,

  How John left his home

  To voyage on the deep.


  Adventures are many

  And tales not a few

  In the great epic journey

  Of Little John Lou.

  ###

  Thank you for reading my book, Little John Lou and the Mariner's Bow. If you enjoyed it, please take a moment to leave me a review at your favorite retailer. You may also like the much longer second book of the series, Little John Lou and the Hunt for Moby Dick, also available where this book is sold.

  Thanks!

  Phil Wade

  About the author

  Phillip Wade resides in Logan, Utah, with his wife and four children. During the fall and winter, he can be found busily teaching literature at the local high school. In the spring and summer, as legend has it, he can be seen wandering the snow-capped mountains of Northern Utah or retreating with his family to the isolated canyons and secret fishing streams of the desert to the south. But on Friday nights, in a small tent pitched in his back yard, he can often be heard spinning yarns for his children, tales of oceans, rivers, caverns, pirates, heroes, and, of course, Little John Lou.