Sleep Travelers

Book 1 The Story of Ning, Dog, and Boss

Hello, friends! Today I want to introduce you to my book titled

Sleep Travelers  Book 1 The story of Ning, Dog, and Boss

This book will be featured at the LA Times Book Festival on the campus of UCLA. On April 22-23. I plan to read one chapter daily of this book and, when finished, a chapter a day of the sequel called Sleep Travelers Book 2, The Amusement Park.

A child’s imagination is a wonderful thing and must be encouraged. They vividly imagine being the Captain of their Pirate ship, the hero of their adventure, handsome, beautiful, brilliant, and strong. They conquer the world and do anything and everything. The lucky ones keep that childhood wonder! It is so sad many adults lose it on the long bumpy road to adulthood. This is the story of a young girl named Dawnie, who will never lose that childhood wonder. 

Okay, onward and upward!

Chapter 9. Harold goes Home

It must have been quite a sight with Harold the Hippo, Blackie the Bear, Ella the Elephant, Ning the Siamese Cat, Boss the African Gray Parrot, and Dog poofing into the Aquarium all at once. 

Dog quickly realized the size of  Harold, Ella, and Blackie was taking up so much space they could hardly move. 

Hopping up on Ella’s back, Dog said, “Everyone, please close your eyes.” They closed their eyes, and Dog did a quick “think small,” and instantly, everyone was one-third of their original size, “Thanks, Dog, that is much better,” everyone said as they enjoyed the breathing room.  

Harold’s eyes became huge as he looked through the glass pool in front of him and saw an enormous Orca Whale swim by. All eyes were on the huge Orca whale leisurely floating around its vast pool. Suddenly the Orca screeched to a stop and did an about-face, rapidly swimming back; it pushed its face up against the glass, looking at the group with sharp eyes. 

“Who are you? I’ve never seen anything like you visiting me before, except for the tiny human.”

Dawnie stepped up to the front and said, “Hello, Miss Orca; it’s nice to meet you. My friends and I are here to visit you.”

“Thanks; I’ve never seen people like the ones with you; what are they?” 

Dawnie introduced everyone by their new names and what they were. Orca said, “Nice to meet you all,” and looking a little sad, said, “I wish I had a name.”

“I think your name should be Orchid because you are so beautiful.” Harold Hippo said shyly.

Orchid actually blushed and batted her eyes, saying, “Thank you. I love it. Hey, I’ve got a great idea! Why don’t you all come in swimming with my children?”

The crew looked at each other in confusion, but Dawnie broke the silence. “Miss Orchid, only Harold Hippo is a water dweller by nature. The rest of us may be able to swim, but we need to breathe air.”

“Oh, I didn’t know. That must be why the humans sputter so much when I swish a tail full of water on them when they get right up against the glass of my pool,” Orchid said, laughing. This got the rest of the gang laughing with her.

Dog spoke up and said, “Dawnie, in our sleep state, I bet we will be able to do anything we want to do. I’m up for swimming with Orchid and her children,” He said as he bounded up the steps to the top of the pool, jumping in and making a big splash. Sure enough, he could swim like he was born to the water; breathing was not a problem. Orchid swam under Dog, lifting him, and they swam all around the pool over and under water laughing, having a great time.

Orchid brought Dog back to the edge of the pool, and the others jumped in, and Orchid called several of her children over to meet her new friends. Harold Hippo, of course, needed no help; he was at home in the water and enjoyed playing with the children but spent more time happily swimming alongside Orchid. It was evident that he liked her very much and she liked him too! They talked about more visits when Harold would “think” about a trip to Orchid’s pool. Harold wasn’t sure Orchid and her children would fit in his pool, but after seeing the “think shrinking,” maybe they could visit him, and this pleased him very much.

It would have been a sight to see a Bear, Tiger, Elephant, Dog, Cat, Bird, and a tiny girl in pajamas clinging to the backs of the baby whales swimming around over and under the water. Ella was the hit of the party when she rode on Orchid’s back and sprayed everyone she passed with water from her trunk; she even got Harold, making him roar with laughter. There was a lot of laughing and shouting. It was a good thing no workers were there to hear and see it. Of course, all anyone would see Orchid and her children playing happily in their pool. 

Ning and Boss rode together on one of Orchid’s babies named Princess. The name suited her as she refused to take them underwater for fear of losing them at the bottom of the pool, no matter how many times they told Princess they couldn’t drown. In truth, neither Ning nor Boss was that thrilled about going deep in the water.

Everyone had a great time, but eventually, they decided that since their time was limited, they should go see the other occupants of the Zoo. Orchid thanked them for their visit and invited them to come again. She decided not to go along with them and visit this time but promised she and her family would next time.  

Orchid and her children waved goodbye with their tails as the group climbed the stairs to continue their tour.

Brenda Colbath, here; thanks for listening when we read the next chapter. Chapter 10 Hunger Strikes

If you want to own the book, go to www.brendacolbathbooks.com, and you will see all 14 of my currently published books. Click on the book covers, and you will be taken to Amazon.com, where you can read several chapters and purchase any of my books in eBook or paperback form. I will be posting the links to my podcasts for your enjoyment.