Date: Tue, 28 Mar 2006 13:20:53 +0200
From: Harry Anders <harry@harryanders.com>
Subject: Little-Harrys-youth-4

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============================

LITTLE HARRY'S YOUTH

The end of chapter 3 said:

Michael helped us to skin the badger and prepare it to be roasted. I went
into the bushes, and gathered lots of nicely smelling herbs to spice it. In
the meantime a few older boys had skinned my fox, and they handed me its
nice looking fur to be tanned.

Now I had two furs; a beautiful one from my badger, and a nice looking one
from my fox. With a proud face I handed them to my Dad, who promised to ask
Mom to needle something nice and usable out of them, maybe a pair of fox
boots to wear during the winter, and a real fur coat from the badger's
skin.

I nodded my consent, and felt PROUD.

-----------------

Chapter 4. Winter, fifth birthday, and lost in the woods.

The next morning I woke up in an excellent mood. I helped my Mom prepare
breakfast, and teased my Dad by calling him a lazy slacker because he
refused to leave the bed. Dad laughed, yawned, and called me an early bird.

I grinned, and decided to tease him a bit more:

"Is that everything you have to say? I'm very disappointed in you! I'm sure
you can do better."

"Not everybody is as bright and sensible as you are."

"I think you are jealous. Next time put your penis into Mom's vagina and
breed a duffer."

"I think I will do that, thanks for the advice. Or maybe I should exchange
you for a more polite little boy?"

"Do that and you will be VERY disappointed. On the other hand, maybe then I
will get another Dad who is less lazy?"

Dad jumped out of the bed, and started to tickle me until I shrieked with
laughter and gave up:

"Is that all you can do, torturing innocent little boys?"

My Mom intervened, and soon we all sat around the table to have
breakfast. Mom promised me to manufacture a nice fur coat from the badger
skin once it had been tanned, and she would try to model the fox skin into
a pair of little snow boots.

I dressed reluctantly; and went outside to join our slowly growing
group. Today we would spread out immediately, to inspect our new traps.

Micha turned to me the moment he saw me:

"Hi, do you want us to go together again?"

"Yes, of course! Is Jonno going to join us today?"

"I don't think so. Yesterday he decided to go straight to the waterfall
from now on."

"I think he's making a wise decision. He will never be a real trapper, but
maybe he will be good with other things."

At that moment Jonno showed up, and came straight up to us:

"I'm not going into that creepy forest any more. I don't like that sneaking
around, but I want to be a champion swimmer once I'm old enough. From now
on I'm going to swim lots of laps in our lake."

We told him we thought that was a marvellous idea, and wished him all the
best. Case dismissed!

We waited impatiently until everybody had joined our group, and walked
through the bushes to our clearing in the woods. We split up into couples,
after being told to be very careful not to get lost in the dense forest.

Micha took another route this time, and soon I hadn't the slightest idea
where we were. Micha seemed to know the way, and resolutely walked on
through the dense forest, now and then halting to feel around. What was he
doing? I decided to ask him later on why he was feeling around; and how he
so exactly knew the way through our woods, every time again...

We arrived at the ridge of the steep ravine, and now I recognized the
surroundings and remembered where our traps were. We sneaked to the far
end, and looked at our snares... but unfortunately there were no animals in
them. Being a bit disappointed, we carefully set up our traps along another
track, and retreated without making a sound.

All the time we didn't say a word, working together in total silence. We
sneaked back to the woods, and sat down on a flat boulder near the ridge of
the ravine. I positioned myself between Micha's legs, and silently enjoyed
the beautiful sight for the second time. Micha put his safe arms around me,
and slowly cradled me. I could feel his love radiating towards me, looked
up, and we both smiled at each other.

Half an hour later we left the ravine, and crossed the dense woods towards
our waterfall, still understanding each other without words.

A couple of children had already gathered on the ridge, and welcomed us:

"Didn't you catch another special animal this time?"

"Nah, we can't be lucky every day. This time our traps were empty."

"Just like ours. Soon it will be snowing, and from that time on we will
have to wait until spring shows up."

"Yeah, and I hope our parents will have some more luck in the gadjo world,
otherwise we will be hungry again, just like last winter."

Now they mentioned it again, that mysterious gadjo world! I so wanted to
have a look in it...

We were too cold to go for a swim, so we went home early to enjoy the
warmth of our campfire and maybe get something to eat.


The next morning a beautiful white snow blanket covered our world, and
everybody outside left a series of footsteps behind. I had some fun while
looking at them and discovering from where everybody came and where they
went, until too many footsteps transformed the snow into mud.

From now on we had to wear our clothes all day, except for when we entered
our warmed caravans and immediately peeled them off.

I wanted to go outside and started to dress, but my Mom told me:

"Harry, wait a moment. Close your eyes, and don't look until I'm telling
you to open them."

I closed my eyes, and heard my Mom leave our caravan. Soon she returned,
and I felt somebody else's energy enter our caravan as well...

"You can open your eyes now."

I opened my eyes; and my Mom and Grandma both beamed at me, showing me a
beautiful badger fur coat and a pair of superb fox boots.

I was on cloud nine, and jumped up and down with excitement:

"Yesssss! My badger fur coat is ready, and what beautiful fox boots did you
make for me! I love you, both of you!"

"Now stand still for a moment, and let's put them onto you. Maybe we will
have to change a few things first before they are fitting."

I could hardly restrain myself, but succeeded in standing still until my
Mom dressed me into my beautiful badger coat and fox boots.

"How do they feel on your body? Where are they too tight, or maybe too
loose?"

I walked around the caravan, and tried to feel where maybe my coat or boots
would be uncomfortable, but they felt good.

"I think they are fitting very well! Thank you, thank you very much!"

I embraced first my Mom, and then my Grandma. They had done a wonderful job
in working together. I looked in the mirror, and saw a small badger with a
human head and a dark fur showing a white band on its back. I grinned, and
the badger grinned back at me.

I left our caravan and stepped into the snow, looking around with a proud
face. My boots turned out to be very warm and comfortable; the soles were
made of pigskin leather, and the insides were of soft fox skin. My badger
coat felt like a cosy womb, with my head sticking out.

Our children saw me, and everybody had to feel my new badger fur:

"Wow, feel that softness! It's beautiful. You've got your coat and boots
just in time before the winter sets in."

Now I understood why Michail was wearing his fur coat all the time, both in
summer and in winter. It felt really natural to do so. From that time I
stopped complaining about having to dress, and I put on my beautiful badger
coat and fox boots first thing in the morning!

The snow melted away during the day, but the next morning more snow was
falling, and winter set in. Now I was very happy to have my fur coat!

From now on only the older boys went into our woods, always wearing
homemade snowshoes. They had to be very careful not to step into hidden
potholes and snow-covered cracks. The only animals they could catch were
some birds and now and then a stray hare. The smaller children were not
allowed to enter our woods, as the snow-clad mountains were way too
dangerous for the little ones.

As long as the snow didn't fall too heavy, the grown-ups went to nearby
towns to try to get some work and earn some money. Only Michail's big truck
with attached snow chains was able to reach the highway through the heavy
snow, to get us something to eat from the nearby villages.

One day Pietro brought a strange thing to our camp, looking like a
motorbike without any wheels attached. He told us he found it on a dump,
and wanted to repair it. He called it a 'snow scooter', and the gadjo's
seemed to use it to ride through the heavy snow in the mountains.

I was glued to the thing, and tried to understand how it worked. Its front
looked like a pair of small skis, but its back was decorated with a wide
rubber band, which Pietro called a 'caterpillar'. What was that band for? I
didn't have the slightest idea...

Pietro attached a rope to a small wheel, pulled the rope, and suddenly the
caterpillar moved around. NOW I understood how it worked. That moving
rubber band walked on the snow surface without sinking into it, and with
the skis in front you could steer the scooter.

Wow, I hoped Pietro would be able to repair the thing and ride on it. This
would be far better than wearing those heavy snowshoes, or having wheels
with snow chains attached such as Michail's enormous truck wheeled on
during the winter.

Two days later I had learned quite a lot about two-stroke-engines,
throttles, clogged nozzles, spark plugs, and a broken piston ring due to an
overheated cylinder. Pietro and I worked closely together, disassembling
everything and repairing the necessary parts. Soon we were both greased
with oil, and had to scrub each other afterwards with lots of soap and hot
water to be presentable again.

Another two days later Pietro and I had put together all the cleaned and
mended parts, with the exception of one large bolt we couldn't find any
more. Pietro thought it was not an essential thing, so we left its hole
open until we would be able to get another bolt. We fastened all the other
bolts carefully, and looked everything over for the last time. Would it
work?

Pietro let me pour some fuel into its tank from an old jerrycan. He
attached a new starting cord, and held the scooter while I pulled the cord
with all my force. Suddenly the engine coughed a couple of times, and spat
out a dark cloud.

We both cheered, and looked at each other with beaming faces:

"We DID it! There is life in the thing. Let's try it again."

Again Pietro held the scooter, and I pulled the cord. This time the engine
mumbled and spluttered, and suddenly it sounded like music in my ears!
Pietro turned the gas handle, and the sound loudly cheered. He turned the
handle back, and the engine softly murmured. We DID it.

We stopped the engine, and I filled the fuel tank to the brim having a
proud smile on my grimed face; while a bunch of grown-ups and children
gathered around our snow scooter, uttering lots of comments and remarks,
but we didn't care.

I fastened the tank cap, Pietro mounted the saddle, and I pulled the
starting cord again. Immediately the engine came to life and softly
murmured, sounding like beautiful music in my ears. I nearly got tears in
my eyes...

I climbed onto the buddy seat, held on to Pietro's back, and told him:

"Let's go!"

Pietro pulled the gear into forward, and turned the throttle handle. Slowly
the snow scooter started to move. A second later we heard a loud clang, and
the engine stopped. Everybody was dead silent, and we left our snow scooter
being very disappointed. What happened?

Pietro started to curse, and tried to kick our poor scooter:

"That's why they had thrown it away! It has a broken gear. Dammit!"

I started to think. What had caused that metallic clang sound? The engine
crank was turning around, and Pietro had already explained how the gear
connected the engine to the caterpillar by means of a chain. Maybe the
suddenly moving chain had caused that clang sound?

I squatted down, looked at the chain, and found a large bolt jammed in
between the chain and the cog wheel. There was our missing bolt!

"Look, Pietro, we've found that bolt we missed yesterday! It's stuck
between the chain and that small cog wheel over there."

Pietro looked at it, started to laugh, and ruffled my hair using his oil
covered hands:

"You're the best little mechanic engineer I've ever known! Nearly five
years old, and already repairing a snow scooter."

Together we fished the bolt out of its hiding place, and carefully screwed
it into the empty hole where it belonged. That felt safer!

Again Pietro mounted the scooter, while I pulled the starting cord. The
engine came to life immediately, and softly murmured as before. Again
Pietro pulled the gear into forward, this time a bit more hesitantly. The
caterpillar moved, and tried to pull the scooter forward. Pietro turned the
throttle handle a little bit more, the engine started to cheer, and now the
scooter really moved! We DID it.

I jumped onto the buddy seat, held on to Pietro's back, and off we went,
both of us loudly cheering with the sound of the engine.

Pietro drove very careful at first, trying out the brakes, switching the
gear into neutral and back a few times, probing the clutch, testing the
engine, until he was satisfied and knew that everything was working
reliably and safely.

Now he turned his head towards me, and grinned:

"Are you ready to hold on to me? I want to try her out."

"Okay! Let's go."

I clamped myself onto his back, and he opened the throttle and let the
engine roar. We jumped forward, spraying a fountain of snow towards our
onlookers who scolded and jumped out of the way. I cheered loudly, and felt
on cloud nine. This was life!

Pietro rode our scooter for a long time, crossing snowy valleys, slaloming
around the trees, jumping little hills, until at last he stopped.

He turned around, and looked at me with a questioning face:

"Want to try her out yourself now?"

What?... Really?... REALLY? I was allowed to ride our scooter, all by
myself? WOW...

"Yes! Of course I want to try her out!"

I jumped down, and impatiently waited until Pietro had left our
scooter. Now I mounted the saddle, and reached for the steering
handle. Pietro climbed onto the buddy seat, and I reached down and pulled
the starting cord. The engine murmured immediately.

I pulled the gear into forward, while Pietro carefully looked at what I was
doing. I turned the throttle handle a bit, and the scooter started to move
forward.

I WAS RIDING A REAL SNOW SCOOTER! Wow...

Soon I detected that I was too small to really enjoy riding the thing. I
sat in an awkward position, with my arms outstretched to the maximum and my
feet dangling free. Either I was too small, or our scooter was way too big!
Riding in a straight line was fun, but I wasn't able to steer properly in
the curves without a little help from Pietro. After a while we switched
back to our original places, and Pietro let her roar and jump again.

Finally we went back to our camp, where we were greeted by lots of jealous
children who wanted to have a ride too:

"Now it's my turn for a ride! Come on, you have been riding on it long
enough."

"But YOU didn't help Pietro with the repairing! It's a little bit MY snow
scooter too..."

After they agreed, Pietro let all the children climb onto the buddy seat
one by one, and patiently rode them around the camp until the scooter ran
out of fuel and started to hiccup. He stalled it at the back of his
caravan, greeted us, and went inside.

That evening my Dad scrubbed me over and over, until at last my skin looked
red instead of dirty:

"Harry, Harry; I certainly hope you are not going to make a living out of
repairing dumped snow scooters?"

"Of course not! When I'm a real King, my personal staff will do that for
me."

Dad laughed, and tenderly slapped my bare ass:

"Have you ever seen MY personal staff in action?"

"Well, I remember a police raid, where my Dad was escorted by loads of
cars..."

"Sigh... will there ever be a time when you DON'T have an immediate answer
ready?"

I laughed, went to the living room, and asked him:

"Dad, is there only one standard snow scooter, or could you buy larger or
smaller ones?"

"I'm not sure, but I think I once saw a really small scooter, made
especially for children."

"That's the one I want to have! Could you buy me one, maybe as a birthday
present?"

"It wasn't THAT small... I think you will have to wait for another couple
of years."

I felt very disappointed, but didn't show it to him. It wasn't my father's
fault that my little body was so immature. When would I finally have my
'growth spurt', as Micha once told me all the children are undergoing from
time to time. I was nearly FIVE years old now...

Now and then Pietro picked me up to have a ride on our snow scooter. He
constructed two extra props aside the scooter, where I could put my feet so
that I was able to sit more forward, and steer properly. It worked, and now
I let the engine roar while I crossed snowy valleys, slalomed around the
trees, and jumped little hills, encouraged by a cheering Pietro who rode
the buddy seat. I enjoyed every moment of it!

I knew that my parents had talked to him, and he had promised them to let
me never ride alone. He never did, and I never pushed him.


A very important day approached: March the third, my fifth birthday. I knew
that my parents were very poor and couldn't afford a small snow scooter, so
I didn't ask them any more to buy me one. I could feel their gratitude for
my consideration, because they really wanted to make me happy.

I had asked them for a couple of small things, and had no idea what they
would give me this year. A pair of warm gloves to wear outside, maybe a
skateboard or roller-skates, a leather football, and that's where I
stopped. What else could they give me?

I woke up early in the morning, and crawled in between my snoring
parents. My Dad threw his strong arms around me, and I snuggled closer,
feeling safe and loved. I felt my little pecker grow, and knew it was
because my body enjoyed the intimacy. When would it get wet at the top?

My Mom woke up first, and congratulated me by kissing my nose. That woke my
Dad, and he congratulated me too. We cuddled for a little longer, until I
became too impatient and left the bed to dress into my beautiful badger fur
coat and my warm fox boots.

Finally my parents left the bed too, and I helped my Mom prepare us
breakfast. Fortunately she was no longer afraid to let me use her sharp
kitchen knife, and I mingled the food carefully with some of my precious
herbs. We ate until we were stuffed, and left our caravan.

Many people had already gathered around our campfire, to congratulate their
young prince. I looked around with a proud face, while everybody laughed at
me or waved. Micha sat next to Michail, and both of them carried one of
Michail's little sons on their laps and played with them.

Pietro passed by, and ruffled my hair. Biny offered me a little kiss, and
wished me all the luck in the world during my fifth year. I started to
blush, and my Dad teased me a bit, while my Mom just laughed and called it
'puppy love'. I was a bit mad at her for calling me a 'puppy'.

Now everybody was seated, and this was the moment to get my birthday
present. What would it be this year? I looked around for a package, but
nobody carried one. Where was my birthday present? I started to be a bit
impatient and fidgety...

Suddenly Pietro appeared around the corner of his caravan, and he carried a
beautiful black-and-golden small mountain bike! I gasped, and couldn't
believe my own eyes. A real mountain bike, for me, in our own royal
colours? Wow!

Pietro stopped in front of me, and handed me my birthday present:

"This is a present from all of us, for the best little prince in the whole
world. Congratulations, my little friend!"

I couldn't help it; I started to cry. I went to Pietro, and buried my face
into his chest. He put his arms around me and held me for a while, until I
pulled myself together and looked around. What would they think now of
their little cry-baby-prince? Nobody laughed of made fun of me, most people
had tears in their eyes themselves...

I thanked Pietro and my parents, and carefully approached my present. This
was the most beautiful birthday present I ever received! Painted in black
and gold, provided with loads of extra gadgets, blinking in the sunlight,
this had to be the best bike in the whole camp.

I mounted my bike, and rode it around the camp a few times, cheered at by
everybody. I tried to switch the gears, but immediately detected I needed
some help. Fortunately Micha saw me puzzling, and came over to rescue
me. He showed me how I could change the gears by back-pedalling while I
switched them. Now I knew how it worked!

The other bike-owners got their own bikes, and soon all of us raced around
the camp and tried to outdo each other in using our brakes and slipping in
the muddy snow.


Winter passed by, and summer approached. Pietro stored our snow scooter in
an old caravan, and promised me to get it out next winter. I shucked my
beautiful badger fur coat and my warm fox boots for the last time, and went
naked during the whole day from now on. Our grown-ups went to the gadjo
world every day, and returned with lots of money to buy us enough food and
new clothes. Everything was normal again.

From now on we went into our woods every day, to set up our traps as
before. Most of the time Micha and I went together and walked a bit
further, to set up our traps along nearly invisible animal tracks at the
end of the steep ravine. There we caught the bigger animals, and sometimes
even a porcupine. We were totally used to each other, and felt like
brothers.

One day we went to our traps, and saw that both snares were empty. Well,
that was no problem; we set them up along other tracks and returned to our
place along the ravine, where we sat down and enjoyed the beautiful sight.

After a while Micha whispered into my ear:

"Do you want to train our sneaking skills a bit more?"

"Yes, of course! What do you want us to do?"

"Let's go into those dense woods over there, and try to silently sneak into
each other."

"Okay."

We left the ravine, and walked into the dense forest in silence, until we
reached a small clearing.

Micha pointed to a nearly invisible track, and whispered into my ear:

"Count to twenty, and then start moving while you're trying to find me."

I nodded; and he disappeared along the track, making only a faint rustling
sound. He was very good in sneaking, and I wanted to learn that too!

I counted to twenty, and started to follow the track. At first I had no
idea where Micha could be, but then I heard a faint sound coming from my
left side. There he was! I tiptoed to the left, very careful not to make
any noises myself. Again I heard that faint sound, as if Micha carelessly
stepped onto a dry branch. I sneaked towards the sound...

"CRACK!"

I stepped onto a dry branch myself, and the sound was nearly deafening. I
heard Micha suppress a laugh, but that sound came from my right side... how
could that be possible? How did he sneak around that fast? I turned around,
and tiptoed towards the laughing Micha, careful to avoid those nasty dry
branches and nearly invisible potholes.

Again I heard that same faint cracking sound, this time in front of me. Had
Micha moved to the left again? I followed the sound...

"Gotcha!"

Micha tapped my shoulder from behind, making me jump up in a shock. He
laughed, and triumphantly lifted me into the air.

I was very surprised, because I had clearly heard him in FRONT of me:

"How did you do THAT? I thought I heard you stepping onto a dry branch in
front of me..."

"Want to give it another try? Now it's your turn to walk away first."

I sneaked away a few steps; and silently curved to the right, still
thinking. How did Micha do that? How did he sneak around me without making
any noises, except for a couple of sounds seemingly coming from the wrong
places? What was that faint cracking sound I could hear now and then? Did
Micha cheat me, maybe by throwing something into the bushes? Could that be
his secret?

I decided to try it out, and took a small pebble from the ground. I threw
it into a bush to the left, and clearly heard that same faint cracking
sound. NOW I knew how he did it! I grinned, and took the next pebble...

I really enjoyed the next couple of minutes. Every time I heard Micha
approach me, I threw a small pebble into another direction. I could hear
Micha immediately heading for the new sound, while I followed him from
behind like an invisible predator. I could feel him starting to be nervous,
and carefully threw the next pebble. Immediately Micha turned towards that
faint crack...

I sneaked towards him from behind; and suddenly jumped onto his shoulders:

"Gotcha!"

He nearly got a heart attack, and spun around to try to get me off his
shoulders:

"How did you do THAT? I could hear you all the time, but didn't seem to get
nearby..."

"Well... to be honest, I've used your little secret against you and threw
small pebbles."

"What... how do you know? You're the first one in all those years who finds
out how I'm doing it."

"Never underestimate your little Prince..."

Micha laughed, lifted me high into the air, and told me he was very
impressed by my abilities as a young trapper. At first he could only hear
me when I changed directions too abruptly; and then he didn't hear me at
all, except for those small pebbles I was throwing to distract him. I was
for sure the youngest 'old trapper' he knew, and a cheater, and a little
devil... and he loved it all.

We cuddled for a while, enjoying our special friendship. Then we decided to
sneak around each other again, but this time without cheating or using any
dirty tricks. Again it was Micha's turn to sneak away, and I followed his
faint rustling sound after twenty seconds.

At first I couldn't hear him, but then a small branch cracked. There he
was, slightly to my left side... I tiptoed towards the sound, and heard
Micha changing directions, obviously trying to get away from me. I wouldn't
give him the chance this time, so I sneaked towards the faint rustling
sound.

Micha seemed to speed up a bit, and I heard him stumble across a hidden
pothole and mumble something that sounded like a curse. Now I knew for sure
where he was! I sneaked towards him, soundlessly and grinning inwardly...

Now I heard his faint rustling sound to the left. There he was, and I
prepared myself to surprise him. I sneaked towards the sound without making
any noises, but Micha rustled away in a sudden hurry. Had he heard me? I
followed his rustling sound. He curved to the left, and I followed him,
ready to jump onto his back, but again he sped up...

I followed Micha for a long time, and all the time he was curving from left
to right to left, obviously trying to get rid of me. All the time he made
that same rustling sound, without cracking a branch or stumbling across a
hidden pothole. I really envied him now, for being such an excellent
trapper! How did he do that? And when would he finally stop? I started to
get a bit tired...

I had not the slightest idea where we were, but I trusted him. He had
already proven to know his way even through the densest forest. He would
bring us home safely, after I had finally caught up... but every time I got
closer, he sped up a bit more. I was stubborn, and refused to give up and
call him for a rest. I HAD to catch him!

I followed him until I saw the sun shining through the dense leaves, and
knew we finally reached a big clearing or a ravine. Now we would take a
rest, and of course he would tease me for not being able to catch up to him
for such a long time...

I followed Micha into the clearing, stepped from behind the trees, and
saw... a big porcupine, looking at me with a frightened face, and hurriedly
rustling back into the safe woods.

I HAD FOLLOWED A STUPID PORCUPINE!

Well... of course Micha had followed me, all the time snickering inwardly
because of my stupidity. He would show up any time now, and tease me on
behalf of my 'old trapper' abilities for at least the next ten years!

I turned around and looked at the forest, expecting to see Micha turning up
there with a triumphant smile on his face. I waited and waited, and waited
some more, but nobody showed up. Where was Micha? Didn't he follow me?

Slowly I started to feel a bit uneasy. What if Micha hadn't followed me,
and didn't know where I was? I hadn't the slightest idea how to go home on
my own from here. What should I do now? Should I call him?

Okay, Micha had told me to keep silent, but this looked like an emergency:

"Micha?... Micha!... MICHA!!!... MIIIIIICHAAAAAA..."

My yelling voice reverberated through the trees. I listened carefully, but
nobody answered me.

I called Micha again, this time at the tops of my lungs, and thought I
heard a faint echo, coming from somewhere near the other side of the
clearing. Where did that echo come from?

I went to where the echo came from, and stared into an unknown ravine...

Now I started to panic. I had followed that stupid porcupine for at least
two hours, zigzagging through a dense forest; so there could be only one
conclusion this time: I was LOST.

There I was, a naked five-year-old tired and extremely stupid little boy,
lost somewhere in the enormous woods that surrounded our camp, not knowing
what to do or where to go... WHAT NOW?

I slumped down onto a nearby flat boulder, and started to cry. Why hadn't
Micha followed me? Where was he now? Did he already miss me? Did he go back
to our camp and alert my parents, so that they started to look for me? But
what would happen if they couldn't find me? Did I have to spend the night
here? What would happen if I didn't find my way back to our camp? Would
they eventually find my bare bones?

Suddenly I slapped my head, and told myself:

"Little Harold, don't go that way! Dry your eyes, and THINK. You think you
are intelligent? Now PROVE it! Stop being such a cry-baby, and DO something
before the sun sets and it's becoming too dark and cold!"

I pulled myself together, dried my eyes, straightened my shoulders, and
started to look around. I had enough wood around me to make a huge fire,
but how should I fire it? In our camp we always used a match or a
lighter... but here I had NOTHING. That wouldn't work out...

Maybe I could climb one of those high mountains, to look around for our
camp? I was surrounded by huge mountains, but they were too far away. That
wouldn't work out either...

Maybe I could try to follow my own track back into the woods? Yes, that was
the solution! I jumped off the boulder, and tried to follow my own track,
but I lost it within a few seconds and had to return to the clearing. That
didn't work out...

I went to the ravine, and yelled into it for a long time at the top of my
lungs, using my hands to amplify the sound. Echo's reverberated from
everywhere, but nobody answered my yelling. That didn't work out either...

I looked down, and saw a small stream meandering through the bottom of the
ravine. Could I try to reach it? No way...

"THINK, Harold! There HAS to be a way to go home! And think fast, because
the sun is already disappearing behind the mountains."

The SUN... Where did I see our sun setting every time at the end of the
day? Now look into the same direction, turn around, and that has to be
where I have to go to reach our camp! At last I had found something that
could be helpful, supposed there would be any sun to look at... but I was
afraid I would have to wait until tomorrow, because the sun already started
to disappear.

I looked for other things that could be of any help. Maybe that small
stream deep down the ravine could help me? Could I throw something into the
water, so that the stream could take it towards our waterfall?

OF COURSE! I only had to follow that water stream... and I only had to
follow the border of the ravine to reach our waterfall!

I started to walk along the ravine enthusiastically; climbing rocks,
jumping across huge cracks, walking around dense bushes, every time looking
at the small stream beneath me; and yelling into the ravine from time to
time, hoping that eventually somebody would hear me. My feet started to be
sore, my legs started to tremble from the strain, and I started to be
really tired now.

Finally I was too tired to go on, and decided to take a rest. I collected a
couple of berries and seeds to still my hunger, as I had done many times
before. I found some water at the bottom of a pothole, and drank it using
my hands and hoping it wouldn't contain too much vermin. I laid down on
some moss and took a short rest, until my legs felt less trembling.

After a while I walked on, stubbornly determined to go home.

Slowly the sun disappeared behind the mountains, the ravine went darker and
darker, and the air felt more and more chilly. I started to shiver, and
felt on the verge of giving up and sitting down with my head in my
hands... but I forced myself to go on, looking around for some kind of
shelter to use during the night. Where could I hide myself from the cold?

My teeth started to chatter, I got goose bumps all over my body, and the
darkness looked creepier by the minute...

At last I detected a porcupine lair, at the end of a small cave. I sneaked
nearby, and cautiously poked into it with a branch... fortunately the lair
was empty. I had found a place where I could spend the night, and suddenly
I was very grateful for being such a small runt.

I wormed myself into the cave, and nestled into the warming fluff that
covered the bottom of the lair. Of course it reeked of porcupine, but not
too badly. I closed my eyes, and tried to stop my thinking. Tomorrow
everything would turn out for the best...

I sat up in a shock, feeling several small animals running across my naked
body and nibbling at my toes. RATS! I yelled at them, swung my arms and
legs, and they scrabbled away in a hurry. Obviously they were more shocked
than I was. I didn't feel too happy with their visit, but closed my eyes
with a deep sigh and tried to get some sleep...

Something sniffed the air and growled at me. I sat up, and looked at a big
porcupine that stared at me with faintly glowing eyes. I yelled at it, and
it hurriedly disappeared into nowhere. The coward! I closed my eyes with a
sigh and tried to sleep...

Again the rats disturbed me, and this time I didn't care any longer. I
yelled with my eyes closed, and they scrabbled away. Soon they were back,
and again I yelled. That was the last thing I was aware of, before a deep
sleep finally overtook me.


============================

Thank you for reading this chapter of 'Little Harry's youth'.

My FIRST book, 'Little Harry', is for sale! It costs only $ 19.95 ...
Please visit my homepage http://www.harryanders.com and buy it. It's
helping lots of people to cope with their feelings!


I love your emails, please send them to harry@harryanders.com .  Maybe I
will not be able to answer all of them, but be assured I will certainly
read them all!

Here are some excerpts from your wonderful emails:

* I just wanted to let you know that I have read and enjoyed 'Little
Harry'. It made me feel good! I wish you profit from your new book and look
forward to when you finish your other stories. Do take care and stay
healthy.

* I was sampling stories for a good jack-off tonight when I thought I would
open the file entitled "Little Harry." What a surprise! My pecker sleeps
quietly, but I am moved to write you to say what an amazing tale this is!
I shall read further, of course, but right now I must go to bed and let the
rest of my body sleep.


I wish you lots of Love in your life, and Peace in your heart.
And thank you, Nifty, for hosting my stories.

Harry AnderS, alternative writer.
I'm living in The Netherlands, and my native language is Dutch.
Please have a look at my site: http://www.harryanders.com