Gecko Manuscript
(pages 4-5) Marty knew three things for sure in his life. One, he was a gecko. Two, he had never been outside the forest before. And three, from somewhere deeeeeep within him he longed for adventure.The problem was he had no idea how to do that. At all.(pages 6-7) After long contemplation he decided to change that. He read books and found maps. Marty also collected notes about the experience of the other animals in the forest. He created his own little library of adventure. He would frequently go through his materials and day dream about the journeys that he wanted to go on.(pages 8-9) His family tried to understand, but none of them had ever left either. They were also all so busy with their own lives that they didn’t have any extra time to help Marty with his desire for adventure.(pages 10-11) “I’m sorry Marty, I’m just not interested in leaving the forest,” said his father.“Leaving the Forest?!” His mother exclaimed, her whole body changed to a deeper color in shock and the tip of her tail quivered.“Nevermind…” mumbled Marty. He didn’t bring it up to his mother again, he knew that she loved him and the thought of him going out alone worried her.(page 12) Marty began to lose hope that he would ever find a way to travel and visit all the cool places he had read about. But then suddenly a bird he had never seen before arrived!(page 13) “Listen to my voice,” crooned the bird in an enchanting tone “It was given to me by the Forest Sprite. Speak softly and they just might grant your wish as well.”(page 14) Marty felt his heart beat faster. As the bird was leaving he called out.
“How do you find them?”
“Follow the glowing fairy flowers…” answered the bird.
Her lyrical voice emphasized by the rhythmic beats of her wings.(page 15) Marty wasted no time. He raced to collect what he needed for his adventure. Making quite a mess of his room, he furiously threw everything into his backpack.(page 16-17) Marty left simply because he could not wait to set out on his adventure, only to realize that it's the middle of the night! Not letting the darkness deter him, he climbed until he could see the leaves on the forest floor. Suddenly something out there caught his eye. That must be the fairy flowers, thought Marty.
And so Marty began to climb. He crawled across leaves that were bigger than him. He had to be careful of each and every foot he put down. The journey was difficult and Marty was very tired.
He clambered up and down winding vines.The journey was hard and never seemed to end, but still he climbed.
He got so exhausted that he had to leave his back pack with all his supplies behind. But he never gave up.(page 23) Marty continued to follow the glow of the flowers until he spotted a glow that looked much bigger than all the others. So up he went.(page 24-25) There high up in the trees among the winding vines was the Fairy Sprite. She almost seemed to glow like the moon.
“Hello, little one.” spoke the Fairy Sprite “Do you wish for something?”
“Yes,” breathed Marty. “I wish to adventure, to go on journeys I've never been before and to see new things. But, I’m scared and don’t know how.”
The Fairy sprite hummed, the sound like twinkling bells, “Adventures come in all shapes and sizes, what about your journey here?”
Marty was stunned, maybe he had already gone on an adventure all by himself! After doing it once it didn’t seem so hard to do again. He puffed out his chest.
“I want adventure to be easier, I want to see everything!”
The Fairy Sprite began to move, “Very well, climb on my back so you can get closer.”(page 26-27) Marty clambered into her back. The magic seemed heavy in the air as he got closer to the Fairy Sprite. Marty was right in front of her face, close enough he heard the sound of little tinkling bells in each of her breaths.
“I will grant your wish for adventure, Little One. Place your hand on my nose.”
As Marty reached out his hand, he began to SEE the magic. It wrapped around him in a sparking electric embrace. The magic was warm and it felt like he was being tickled! Marty began to laugh.(page 28) Then magic in the air dimmied and then disappeared. But the ticking sensation didn’t go away, it just all went to two spots on his back. Marty paused and looked back. His back was glowing! Then it began to change shape, at first there were just tiny little numbs but then they got bigger, and bigger, and bigger! Until a pair of wings sat along the ridges in his back. Marty gasped. “Wings! Now I can go everywhere and see everything.”(page 29) The next morning Marty climbed to the top of the highest vine attached to the tallest tree and threw himself off as a gecko does. But instead of falling this time, he flew.(page 30-31) Marty and his new wings traveled all over. He saw things he had only ever read about in books and met creatures that he never imagined existed. But, he never forgot his home and frequently returned to the tree to recant his adventures to those who didn’t want to be an adventurer themselves.