By Julie

White Whale

The sun rises ‘bove the waterline
While morning starts with subtle motions
A wise white whale rises to the surface
Two knowing eyes fixed to his ocean
They slide so swift over the city
The whale looks down upon his land
Dolphins who were once cavorting
Are sleeping, blind to morning’s grand

The wind rolls wide upon the water
A caress upon the distant shore
A million tiny lives are thriving
Upon the tidepools’ rough floors
And through the fog, he sees a pair
Two seals- a mother and baby dear
And watching them as well as he
Scattered lobsters, who think them plenty queer

Within the cold hug of the sea
A million hearts live, warm as him
Each one asleep and nestled far
From shallow scrape of ocean’s rim
Adoze are urchins, stars, and many
Tiny things often looked over
His eyes peer through the screen of water-
A million corals and sea clovers

Each particle a world inside
Together made one careful life
So fragile and yet knit so strong
So seldom any mean of strife
The whale watches kingdom below
Each tiny person bound to sleep
And thinks about his own in many
Lives within the ocean’s deep

He basks in life’s dear wistful silence
Contemplating all that he surveys
While the world spins, so life thick around him
He sets back off into his waves

The air smells like rain
Like the day has worn it
And it setting it back upon a dresser
To be worn again tomorrow
Colors streaking across the land of the heavens
Painting across the sky
Casting the day’s final gift of shadows
Shading eyelashes upon my cheeks
The waters across the way reflecting
The pigments saved until the end
Collected, concentrated
When the day closes

The roof shingles rough under the weight of my hands
Heat dusting across my face
The last glimmers of light dancing
Across my hair, fading its color
As it crosses into the world of night
My eyes beginning to pencil in
To the tones that end the day
The roof an angled surface under me
Legs stretched, arms propping me up
The darkened eyes upon my face focused only on the sunset
The ending of the light of our world

The night rimming the horizon
A scattering of stars beginning to peek out
Their faces bright
Peeking into the air ready to be renewed
For the next day
An innocent touch of pink like fingerprints
Smudged through the shadowed clouds
Touches of deep orange, the picture of life
Almost artificial in their perfection
The last stars of the light
Shining their bright, inspirational hope upon the land
An invisible caress on my brow
As the sunset rages on above me
Subduing into night
The feather of life
The sunset

Bashful
Cautiously, even though he
Knows me well
He approaches in a slow gallop
The sound of his hocks
Padded and slightly a faded yellow
Muffled by the carpet
The iSnooze singing
Classical music
Over the vague whistle
From the white-pink button of his nose

Two ears flopping
Like hot furry shields lengthwise, protecting
The sides of his head
Limp tail like a cotton ball
Sewn to the back of him, shadowing close behind
Dark eyes like
Ebony Marbles
Focusing pools of dark chocolate on me
He creeps closer.

A moment like a soap bubble
Of delicate simplicity
Fragile and precious as it floats through the air
He places his front paws on me
Silk against the roughness of my blue jeans
Wiggling, breakable claws kneading
He stares up at me, his nose working at the air
And replaces his paws upon the floor
He hops gracefully back across the carpet
Resting his head on his paws
He pushes himself into the floor
And the bubble rises
Into the heavens

We proudly present
Another quiz from the unofficial
PENGUINS-AND-BUNNIES-ARE-AWESOME QUIZ COMPANY!!!!!!
And Julie, the CEO of this wonderful company and of Awesomeness In General.

Hope that we aren’t bugging you to death with all these quizzes.

WHAT KIND OF ICE CREAM ARE YOU?

1. You like people to think of you as…
a. an adventurer that likes to have fun
b. a good and loyal friend
c. someone with good ideas
d. responsible and smart
e. funny

2. Your only downside is…
a. sometimes you do stupid things
b. you demand a lot of attention
c. you are a bit judgemental
d. you sometimes are really shy
e. you are bossy sometimes

3. At the mall, you…
a. head over to the sports store and check out a climbing wall
b. call up some friends or family to have lunch
c. take some surveys
d. window shop
e. see what is new at your favorite stores

4. On the weekends, you…
a. go to your sports games
b. go to your friends’ house and hang out
c. stay at home
d. do any work you do before having fun. A stitch in time saves nine!
e. think up some new idea

5. The best of these colors is…
a. dark green
b. bright blue
c. light orange
d. light pink
e. purple

If you answered mostly As, you are…
ROCKY ROAD!
You are adventurous and will go wherever the road will take you. You never refuse the chance to have some extreme fun! You are liked by everyone because you are friendly and never refuse a dare. You would make a good tornado chaser.

If you answered mostly Bs, you are…
VANILLA!
You are totally original, and a great friend. You are loyal and true blue all the way through. You are liked by all your friends, family, and beyond because they can always count on you anytime! You would make a good newsperson or police officer.

If you answered mostly Cs, you are…
CHOCOLATE!
Everybody loves chocolate! You are direct and persuasive, so everyone likes to be around you and hear your opinions and ideas. You are liked by your friends and family because you are sweet and fun to be around. You would make a good judge or movie critic.

If you answered mostly Ds, you are…
COOKIES AND CREAM!
You are sensitive and maybe just a little bit shy. You try to be the very best person that you can be all the time. You are liked by everyone because you rarely let them down. You would make a good fortune teller or weather forecaster.

If you answered mostly Es, you are…
COOKIE DOUGH!
You have many different sides, and people like all of them. You are passionate about things and you sometimes like to be a little bit wacky. You consider yourself strange, but good, sometimes. You would make a good CEO, or business owner.

If your answers don’t match up, or if you don’t like them, that’s fine. And it’s ok if you don’t get your favorite ice cream flavor either. It’s just for fun!

The second awesome quiz from the unofficial PENGUINS-AND-BUNNIES-R-AWESOME QUIZ COMPANY!!
From Julie, the CEO of this wonderful company and of Awesomeness In General

What kind of iPod are you?

1. You like things to be…
a. compact, nice-looking, and secure
b. organized and effective
c. a ton of things put together
d. something you can contact your friends and family with

2. One of your best qualities is..
a. friends and family can count on you
b. always responsible
c. a come-to-me-if-you-need anything person
d. you have a lot of friends

3. Your room is:
a. a little hard to find stuff in…
b. neat and organized
c. you own almost everything.
d. a museum of photos (ect.) of you and your friends and family

4. In your free time, you like to…
a. dance/move around
b. make sure you have everything under control before doing anything else fun
c. do one of your many things you own to do
d. call up a friend

5. Your favorite of these ice cream flavors is:
a. chocolate
b. vanilla
c. rocky road
d. bubble gum

If you answered mostly As, you are like an…
IPOD SHUFFLE!
You like things to be durable and hard to loose, since you occasionally loose things. You don’t mind not being able to find things too much. But you like things to look nice, too.

If you answered mostly Bs, you are like an…
IPOD NANO!
You like to be able to reach everything. You like everything organized and in its place, and you also like to know what everything is. You are also a very responsible person.

If you answered mostly Cs, you are like an…
IPOD TOUCH!
You like to have a ton of options and to be able to do almost anything. You don’t like rules and limitations. You generally are an open-minded person.

If you answered mostly Ds, you are like an…
IPHONE!
Okay, it’s not an iPod but it’s still pretty cool. You like something that has use for people other than yourself. Such as, they can call you on it. You are social, kind, and generous.

Hope you enjoyed this quiz! If your answers don’t match, that’s okay. It’s just for fun.
Also, it doesn’t mean that you have to like your iPod match better than what your iPod is, if you have one.

WHAT KIND OF RABBIT ARE YOU!!!!????
By the unofficial PENGUINS-AND-BUNNIES-ARE-AWESOME Quiz Company
Copyrighted to Julie, CEO of this awesome company and of awesomeness in general

What kind of rabbit are you?

1. In your free time, you like to:
a. brush your hair.
b. try to get over pinkeye, or whatever else you have now
c. hang out with your many good friends
d. look like a cute ball of puffy fur
e. hop around
f. hang out, read, or listen to music

2. At the rec center, you like to:
a. hang out in the weight room
b. chew on things from the vending machines
c. stay under a tree outside, in the shade
d. walk around aimlessly, looking like a cute ball of puffy fur
e. hop around on the gymnastics equipment
f. meet a few friends there

3. When you’re with your friends, you like to:
a. talk about things
b. do manicures, pedicures, ect.
c. make exotic food
d. practice looking like cute little balls of puffy fur
e. make up dance routines
f. find food

4. You would describe yourself as…
a. playful and social
b. occasionally getting sick, but always hungry
c. popular and interesting
d. a cute ball of puffy fur
e. perky and athletic
f. laid back.

5. When you look in the mirror, you see…
a. a muscular person with awesome hair
b. fancy-looking. But still with pinkeye!!!
c. kind of exotic, but nice
d. a cute ball of puffy fur
e. well-liked and sweet person
f. really big. but cool-headed and laid back.

If you scored mostly As, you are an…
AMERICAN FUZZY LOP!
You are active, playful, and social. You are also pretty muscular. You have giant floppy ears. You also loooove attention from your buds. Oh yeah, and you have a ton of hair.

If you scored mostly Bs, you are a…
CALIFORNIAN RABBIT!
You are a fancy rabbit. You like to groom yourself and your friends. You’re pretty shy, but cool. You also love to eat and chew on stuff. And you have kind of scary pink eyes.

If you scored mostly Cs, you are a…
DUTCH RABBIT!
You were once extremely popular. And are still one of the 10 most popular rabbits. You are also neat and like a clean room. You don’t like too much heat or sunlight, and you’re sorta exotic.

If you scored mostly Ds, you are a…
LIONHEAD RABBIT!
You have very small ears. You are also very round. You are usually cinnamon colored. But best of all, you are one of Julie’s favorite rabbits b/c you are a cute furball.

If you scored mostly Es, you are a…
HOLLAND LOP RABBIT!
This is the kind of rabbit Julie has. You are well-liked, cute, and very athletic. You like to do binkies and hop around. You also enjoy being sweet and thumping your foot.

If you scored mostly Fs, you are a…
FLEMISH GIANT!
Like your name, you are like the biggest rabbit in the world and occasionally scare small children. But you are also sweet and nonagressive compared to most rabbits. Oh, and you’re pretty laid back.

Hope you enjoyed this awesome quiz!

The older witches were right. Luna had junk everywhere. It was scattered under her bed, propped up against a dresser full of robes in her closet, stuffed into gaps in the bookcase and grinning down from the top of her headboard. “You start in the closet,” Luna said, swinging aside the rickety door (painted with a moving picture of a clown juggling balls). “Anything babyish goes in that pile, any trash goes in that pile, and anything cool like in Eve’s room goes here. Ask me about stuff that’s not clear, okay? I’m starting with the bookshelf.”
“All right,” Luna said feebly, positioning herself outside Basil’s closet. “I’ll start with this corner, put stuff in appropriate piles, and ask you about anything unclear.”
The problem? Everything was unclear. Luna had no idea what was considered trash, babyish, or cool to a witch. “Basil?” she called, holding up what seemed to be a tattered diary. “Oh,” she called back. “A spellbinder. That’s cool. It writes down all the spells you’ve done as soon as it’s in your possession and it’s opened. See?
“O Great Spirits, let me tell
“And cast a yummy yummy spell
“Let me feed these hungry doves
“Bird food filled with filling love.”
Bird food materialized near the ceiling and was suspended there for a few seconds before falling back down. The doves scrambled and darted after each bit of food, catching most of them before they hit the floor. After Luna was finished watching this. Written on the book was
Dove Feeding Spell
Composed by Arrow IX
1399
“Cool, huh?” Luna asked. “But I’ve already got one.” She pointed to another book resting on white textured pedestal. The same spell was also scrawled on its pages. “You can have it, I have no use for two of them.
Luna set it down gently in a separate pile. “What about this?” she called, holding up three balls that were rapidly juggling themselves in her hands. “Babyish, duh,” Basil called. “I can juggle by myself now.” Luna set them down in her pile. “And this?” she asked, holding up a vial of ashes. “Oh, those are the ashes from the first magical fire I created. I kind of want to keep them, throw them in with the cool stuff.”
“I suppose this is…” Luna panted around an hour later. The closet was about half cleared, and Luna had been working constantly with no breaks. She pointed to a wooden pedestal with wooden vines snaking up the edges. “I don’t need it, you can have it to put the spellbinder on.” Basil replied, throwing a big bag of bird food into the cool stuff pile. “I found another box of books,” Luna called after dragging the pedestal out. “What should I do with them?”
“Are they spellbooks? Or baby books? Or regular novels?” Basil asked. “Spellbooks, I’m pretty sure. Here’s one called One Thousand Magnificent Cooking Spells composed by Hilda The Fiftieth.”
“Then they go in the box for books that belong to Midnight. He’ll like that one, it’s a brand-new-looking copy.”
“What about these sneakers?”
“Trash. Totally normal. Nothing magical about them.” Basil clarified. Luna didn’t want them, so she tossed them into the miniscule TRASH pile.
“It’s eleven-thirty girls. Any progress?” Dawn called.
“Uh, kind of. Can we have a snack?” Basil called, scanning the trashed room.
“What do you want?”
“Do we have any more bat wing?”
“Nope. All gone. And Mallory isn’t in the mood to fix you anything.”
“Oh, fine. Just bring up some soup, will you? Cream of Carrot is good, and we’ll still be pretty hungry for lunch,” Basil demanded. “Do you want this smoky paper maker? I always use Dawn’s because this one’s pretty banged up.”
“I’ll take it,” Luna said gratefully. A smoky paper maker! She’d be able to send her own letters!
“What should I do with the rocking horse?”
“Babyish. Totally. I thought that that thing was babyish when I was still a baby. Seriously, I don’t know why I haven’t already thrown that thing out.”
Luna thought that it looked like a cute and sweet little thing, so she dragged it down to her room before continuing to sort through the closet.
“Here’s your soup, girls,” Dawn called, setting a large bowl of thin orange soup on a table filled with witches’ comic books. “I’m so happy you’re finally cleaning this room out,” she said in a jolly way, “I hope you do Luna’s tomorrow.”
“Sure,” Basil cried as Dawn hurried back down the stairs. “If we finish this one before the world ends!”
Luna agreed.

Winter came down to our home one night
Quietly pirouetting in on silvery-toed slippers of snow,
And we, we were children once again.
~Bill Morgan, Jr.

Lights
Dappling light glows on,
Faerie eyes a-twinkling…
Christmas trees festooned with love
Stars serenading from above
Swirls of snow due from the north
Faerie voices ringing forth
Carols, voices, knit together
Crystal snowflakes, faeries’ weather
Bells
Short and silver ringing on
Faerie laughs a-tinkling…
Scents of pine and scrumptious pies
Holiday cards and pleased replies
Creatures nestled in trees’ hollow
Sow raccoons with pups to follow
Excitement, joy, and love a-clinging
Masterful the faeries’ singing.

When Luna stumbled out of bed the next morning, she first almost ran into Dawn and then a rather large stone anvil that had not been sitting in the middle of the hallway last night.
“O Great Spirits, let me tell
“And cast upon this thing a spell-
“I do not want that anvil, that,
“Turn it back to a shadow cat!”
The large stone statue shrank down until Little Dip was sitting in its place, looking extremely annoyed. The shadow cat bounded away down the stairs. Luna peered down at the floor. A deep rectangular shape was sunk in. “Well,” Dawn said optimistically, “At least she didn’t crash through the ceiling. That happened once when I accidentally turned her into a boulder.” Little Dip flicked her tail in irritation at the bottom of the stairs. “You turned your cat into a boulder?” Luna said with shocked amazement. “Yes. And an elephant. That was a disaster.” Dawn chuckled. “I never really mean to. I just get annoyed at her sometimes or try to turn her into something useful.” Luna squinted at her. “A giant anvil is useful?” she asked. Dawn blushed. “Not really. I just wanted to see if I could do it.” Luna rolled her eyes and walked back into her room. It took her only a second to realize that she’d gone a doorway too far and was now in Basil’s room.
The room was amazing! It was very large, like Midnight’s. A real rocking horse whinnied near the doorway and licked Luna’s hand. A few doves were roosted on golden swings that were fastened to the ceiling. Mobiles of planets and orbs and witches and cats and fish slowly turned around on the ceiling and a small statue of a mermaid sang from atop a navy desk. A display case showed off two brooms, one tiny one and one a few inches shorter from Basil’s broom now. Statues of monkeys and moving pictures were on the walls, along with a bookshelf full of thin books. Basil was throwing feed up to her doves. She didn’t jump when she noticed Luna wandering around, gaping at each new potion or magical toy. “Wow,” Luna finally managed to say. “Yeah, it’s okay. But it’s too babyish. I want to redecorate so it looks more like a room for a witch my age. I haven’t changed it since I was six. I mean, please. I have a rocking horse and a mobile of witches with green skin. And picture books.” She pointed to the bookcase. Luna was astonished that anyone could be displeased with this room. “I want a room more like Eve’s. C’mon, I’ll show you.” Basil finished feeding her doves and led Luna out of the wonderful room and into a doorway at the far end of the hall painted blue with clouds on it. Luna’s eyes widened when she saw that the clouds were slowly moving. “It’s enchanted to look like the sky.” Basil explained. “There is so much you don’t know.” Basil pushed the door open. A beautiful bronze statue of an elf juggled golden balls off to the side, and a magnificent silver statue that was molding itself and then shrinking back to a lump caught her eye. Everything was white or navy or black or gold or silver. Chimes produced beautiful tunes as a warm breeze blew in through the open window. The room was lined with magical things and had a rather maze-like interior filled with more magical items on pedestals. Luna fell in love with the room at once. She loved Midnight’s room for its dozens of books and Basil’s for its coziness and wonder, and now she loved Eve’s room for its beautiful and interesting items and for its sophisticated elegance. Basil led Luna through a short tour of the maze before finally finding the way back out. Luna was already thinking about ideas for a room of her own. Luna and Basil hurried to breakfast, Basil muttering something about redecorating. After Misty and Mallory rattled off a few spells to fix injuries in Cuba and fix televisions somewhere in the United States, Basil brought up the subject of the witches’ bedrooms.
“Misty, oh please can’t we redecorate my room today? Or at least clean it out?” Misty sighed. “Basil, we’ve told you a million times. You may redecorate if you clean out your room and redecorate it all by yourself. We don’t have time to pick through items in little witches’ bedrooms. Will you finally do it today, and stop whining about it?” Basil thought about it. “Eve, will you help me?” Eve looked rather sad. “Sorry, Basil. I’d love to, but I’ve got to fly down to the Isle of White to get some business settled with a rather strange coven.” Luna raised a hand. “I’ll help,” she said. Basil’s face glowed with please. “Oh, thanks! Tell you what, how about we work on my room and then when it’s done we’ll start on yours. I’ve got lots of ideas. Let’s start right away!” Pegasus and Basil danced up the stairs out of sight. Dawn sighed. “Will we ever end this redecorating business? No offense, Luna, but you have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into. She’s got so much baby junk up there.” Luna almost scoffed. It wasn’t junk. They were valuable witches’ items! She shrugged and stepped out of her chair. “Basil, wait!” she cried as she darted up the stairs. “Thank goodness Basil has finally got herself a playmate,” Mallory grunted just before Luna was out of earshot.