Once upon a time, in a land full of fairy tales, stories, and magic, there existed a place called Cuddlyland. This wondrous land was located between the Moon and the Earth, shrouded in a sweet smell that floated in the air. During the night, wherever you were on Earth, if you gazed at the moon, you’d feel the call of Cuddlyland beckoning you to visit. The land had no roads or paths, yet it was still easy to reach.
The special thing about Cuddlyland was that everything there was animated—it could talk! It was divided into various territories, each one governed by a special person that most closely resembled the land’s character. This story will unfold in the territory ruled over by the Cuddly Monster, who happened to be named Milo.
Now, dear reader, Monsters have various meanings in our realm. In Cuddlyland, however, it simply referred to a person that loved to hug people, similar to some teddy bears we have on Earth who can’t hug but witness all the secrets a child may confide. Milo, feeling lonely because he lacked true friends, often roamed around his dominion in the hope of finding someone to befriend. He adeptly constructed tea parties and hopscotch courses, yet no child ever arrived. One day, as Milo sat glancing up at the Earth, he noticed a little boy perched on the crescent moon. Soon after, the boy vanished, and five Earth children appeared instead—they were children who lived near the ocean, possessing gentle hearts. Kindness attracted kindness, and this was how it worked that day.
Now let me describe the children to you. The first was a girl whose hair glimmered like gold from sunrise until sunset. The second was a boy whose laughter sounded like a ringing bell; his tresses shone silver in every light. The third, a plump boy, whose soft cheeks resembled roses, appeared to hold a perpetual smile, and the others just loved to tease him. The fourth was adopted into a gentle family as a tiny infant found amongst the ruins of a house, bearing a strange mark: a cross on his left wrist, a rich, warm brown color. Nobody knew what it was. The fifth child, again a girl, could comprehend the love between all human beings intertwined in the forgiveness and affection of Jesus to all children. These were our five Earthly children.
Milo, the Cuddly Monster, noticed them first among all the other children on their net of dreams then suddenly waved at them and exclaimed, “Oh, ho! Ho, ho, ho! How merry will my tea parties be now!”
The delighted children upon Earth perceived a sudden illumination, appearing as if it were the last golden tinge of sunset before nightfall descended. Yet along with this restfulness, an inseparable sense of cheerfulness enveloped them, urging them to roll over and over toward the spot where they each saw a hill of whispers. They did so, and just then in the lovely woods of Cuddlyland, an invitation was read aloud, launching a dainty soft, velvety lawn to be formed around a table layered with fine china. Fifteen children (or more, if possible!) were encouraged to attend a festive tea party on a certain moonlit night; the lawn was able to accommodate a thousand kids if they so desired!
Who can comprehend the delight of dreams on moonlit nights?
The children realized that with such an abundance of pleasure expected, they would need special attire. The girl with the golden hair begged for a ball gown woven seamlessly into the moon’s gauzy rays.
“How lovely!” answered Milo, the Cuddly Monster.
The next wished for a tunic with a vast collar, fully embroidered with every color imaginable.
“Delightful!” exclaimed Milo, the Cuddly Monster.
The boy with the small rosy face implored to bear a crown.
“That is quite a request,” mused Milo, the Cuddly Monster. “But, well, you do need a throne too.” And a throne and crown were crafted with white-trimmed linen from the gentle waves of the sea.
At midnight, all of the dreamy children lay peacefully in their slumber, still dressed in their dressing gowns, covered by warm fur rugs. Milo—mind you, back then a monster still—gathered the clouds into a little carriage drawn by four horses and a pond to draw the curtains a little. The little clouds woke sleepily, exclaimed “Good evening!” to one another, and rushed to Cuddlyland.
Hours later, five youths awoke on the fresh, velvety football field in Cuddlyland, approximately half past eight. They stretched and gazed at each other, each clearly delighted to see one another, provided you have youths yourself, you might know what I mean when I state that.
“My goodness! How rudely uncle has behaved! Surely, we are late at the tea table,” said the rosy boy.
“Hush! There’s a bashful breeze,” stated the girl with hair like gold. “Can any mountain grow so lets us afar the merits end at last?”
“My acquaintance once said, Happiness is being colours on the flower bed,” acknowledged the girl afterward.
“It’s unnecessary,” the boys remarked.
“So let’s keep topmost at that we’ve heard late.”
Just then, a blackspaniel came galloping past, barking, “Madam, go home, go home!”
“I attempt to gallop,” said the tawny boy. Never forgetting, of course.
They laughed so heartily at this accidental saying, soon forgetting all to be angry. They jumped up and raced in the dogs’ footsteps, where everything truly was pleasant, comfortable, and…
The mowing boy screamed so: A joust? “Darling know with meekness, but never have anybody. Ho, ho! Terrible news!” Just when coming close, and loud enough to again render quiet.
“We must speak ever so gently!” But all on a sudden a thought flashed again, utterly confused.
This particular child, so you should be informed, beyond having been born in humorous, full not-known family, received certain unheard of acquired powers of hallucination.
Thus half a minute before he proceeded, best for Cuddlyland, as if entreating a coachperson and four to draw near, he directly forgot that.
However, any detail already partook of form, soon completely formed and out we came forth.
The child who hence came forth perceived the Cuddly Monster transforming throughout the really pleasant comfort the good wood had experienced.
But the very elegant and nice mouth, in similar circumstances where kids mustn’t go, ought to have pouted the leather.
Now when six little legs, or thereabouts, had speedily grown…
WISH YOURSELVES A SAFE JOURNEY BACK.