HARRY THE CHEEKY PRINCE: SHORT STORY FULL OF JOY

Harry the Cheeky 

Prince is one heck of a story!

Well written, fast paced and highly entertaining. I was engaged right from the first page. The writer’s colorful descriptions, choice of words and humor were captivating.

“It was a town crier. His red robe and wide-brimmed hat gleamed in the sunlight as he gazed ahead; clearly enjoying the attention, he was getting from the crowd. He rang his bell once, twice, and let his voice go off again, even louder than before. ‘Oi...oi! The Princess of Wales has issued forth a son this 15th day of September, 1984. God save the Queen!’  He rang his bell once more and said again, ‘The Princess of Wales has issued forth a son this 15th day of September, 1984. GOD. SAVE. THE. QUEEN!’  Each word of his last line punctuated for emphasis.

The crowd cheered and clapped, and suddenly the air seemed to wear the decorative colours of festivity. Hands bearing cameras stretched forward to capture the timeworn face of the town crier, who stood beaming with pride. He was especially happy to see a handful of news reporters; he knew he would be on TV in so many homes within the next few hours. Happy days!

When he saw no more camera flashes, the town crier began to walk away, head held high, legs doing the goose-steps of the military. As he reached the palace gates, a cheeky male voice from the crowd was heard. ‘Is it true you’re paid millions for this job?’

The town crier froze. Then he turned mechanically towards the voice and said, ‘That’s bollocks! Did you hear me? Bollocks!’ He took a step but hesitated and made a funny face. ‘Bloody royals. They didn’t even give an old man a pint.’ A roar of laughter filled the air. His face looked as though he was crying. ‘But I love them. Oh… I love them.’

The crowd laughed again.

 The town crier let himself through the gates into the comforting embrace of a late summer sun just as two formally dressed ladies appeared from the palace and placed an official declaration of the baby’s birth on the easel.

There were gun salutes at Hyde Park and the Tower of London to mark the birth and Londoners trooped to pubs to celebrate.”

There are many lessons to draw from Harry the Cheeky Prince. One of them is, raise your child the right way. When he or she is old, they will not depart from it. Do not run away from your responsibility. It is expensive, tough and difficult to raise good children. You just cannot afford to take your eyes off for too long. Nurturing a child to be useful to the society consumes time and energy. Harry was fortunate to have good parents who were ready to stick out their necks to get him out of trouble and give him a good life. 

The author is British but I could feel her African Heritage. Laura Tata Onuigbo-Miller has a BA in English from the University of Nigeria.  In 2011, she relocated to England in pursuit of a Masters Degree in Public Relations from the Solent University, Southampton, UK. She is married and lives happily with her family in Winchester, England.  

It's refreshing to embrace a new voice. Grab a copy of  Harry the Cheeky Prince and dive into Laura's pool of splendor! 

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Enid Blyton: English children's Writer whose Books have been among the World's best-sellers since the 1930s, Selling more than 600 million copies

(11 August 1897 – 28 November 1968) was an English children's writer whose books have been among the world's best-sellers since the 1930s, selling more than 600 million copies. Blyton's books are still enormously popular, and have been translated into 90 languages. She wrote on a wide range of topics including education, natural history, fantasy, mystery, and biblical narratives and is best remembered today for her Noddy, Famous Five, Malory Towers and Secret Seven series.

Her first book, Child Whispers, a 24-page collection of poems, was published in 1922. Following the commercial success of her early novels such as Adventures of the Wishing-Chair (1937) and The Enchanted Wood (1939), Blyton went on to build a literary empire, sometimes producing fifty books a year in addition to her prolific magazine and newspaper contributions. Her writing was unplanned and sprang largely from her unconscious mind: she typed her stories as events unfolded before her. The sheer volume of her work and the speed with which it was produced led to rumours that Blyton employed an army of ghost writers, a charge she vigorously denied.

Blyton's work became increasingly controversial among literary critics, teachers and parents from the 1950s onwards, because of the alleged unchallenging nature of her writing and the themes of her books, particularly the Noddy series. Some libraries and schools banned her works, which the BBC had refused to broadcast from the 1930s until the 1950s because they were perceived to lack literary merit. Her books have been criticised as being elitist, sexist, racist, xenophobic and at odds with the more progressive environment emerging in post-Second World War Britain, but they have continued to be best-sellers since her death in 1968.

She felt she had a responsibility to provide her readers with a strong moral framework, so she encouraged them to support worthy causes. In particular, through the clubs she set up or supported, she encouraged and organised them to raise funds for animal and paediatric charities. The story of Blyton's life was dramatised in a BBC film entitled Enid, featuring Helena Bonham Carter in the title role and first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Four in 2009. There have also been several adaptations of her books for stage, screen and television.

Credit: Wikipedia

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