The Adventures of Horatio Hope and Clara Compassion

By Michael Morel

Horatio and Clara confront the dark forces
Horatio Hope and Clara Compassion love adventure, especially when it means being sent on exciting missions by the beautiful Fairy Faith, Queen of the Clouds. Together with Suzy Smiles, Jimmy Joy, Leo Laughter and all their other friends who make up the warriors of faith, they face many challenges while learning about the human race and its struggle on Earth. Horatio and Clara become shining examples for the whole universe, but their missions are difficult and dangerous because the dark forces of their archenemy Emperor Ego are never far away.

Horatio and Clara travel to the mansion in the sky
After a great battle between the warriors of faith and the army of the dark forces, Horatio and Clara are decorated for their bravery and Fairy Faith makes them knights of the Order of Human Companions. She then sends them on a mission to accompany the human race on its journey towards the mansion in the sky, the ultimate destination for all souls. They face many trials and challenges, and Horatio and Clara need all their wits and bravery to succeed.

Horatio and Clara rediscover the lost law of the universe
Fairy Faith sends Horatio and Clara on their most challenging and exciting mission. They must travel through the Land of Impossibilities, a cold and friendless place of great danger and malevolent forces, to rediscover the lost law of the universe. The people of planet Earth have lost their creative spirit and are in danger of self-destruction.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Michael Morel
• Release date: Dec 1, 2011
• ISBN: 9780987195821

Michael Morel

What’s the difference between the Traditional Mind and the Organic Mind? Put simply, the former has boundaries and the latter has complete freedom. Not only does The Organic Mind reveal what you need to embrace this energy; it also tells you how to do it. This book is the result of more than thirty years’ research by a curious mind. The formula is so simple that you can reach this state of mind with your eyes shut. Michael Morel began writing in 2000 when he discovered the final piece of the jigsaw puzzle he had been putting together all his life. Twenty-five years earlier he had asked the question: God, what is life all about? In his desire to share this knowledge with others, he has written a number of books and manuals on the subject of life. A short business trip to Australia from his home country of New Zealand resulted in a stay of more than thirty years. A carpenter, builder and part-time draftsman, he has used his skills in planning and logic to put together his writings in the hope that they will benefit others. He is a Guinness World Record Holder for speaking skills (the world’s longest lecture on life, 1999), a storyteller and a proficient guest speaker.

Book preview

Book I

Horatio and Clara confront the dark forces

Horatio Hope, a wandering philosopher, and his indispensable companion Clara Compassion are sent on missions by their mentor Fairy Faith, Queen of the Clouds. On their adventures Horatio and Clara, supported by their many friends who make up the warriors of faith, face all manner of challenges while learning much about the human race and its struggle on Earth. Horatio and Clara become shining examples for the whole universe, but their task is a difficult one because the dark forces of their archenemy Emperor Ego are never far away. Horatio and Clara battle often with the emperor’s general, Danny Despair, and his vast army of evil soldiers.

Chapter 1

Earth, the jewel of the universe

Fairy Faith, Queen of the Clouds, had been created in the Land of Eternal Light. Her companions were elves, pixies, wizards and the little folk whose task it was to create the millions of varieties of flowers, birds, animals and sea creatures for planet Earth. In the Land of Eternal Light there was no darkness … no night-time, ever … just a soft, pink twilight haze that was most restful, providing a serene resting place for the hundreds of workers who lived there.

Fairy Faith was beautiful, exquisitely beautiful and she was dearly loved. The stars shone even brighter when she travelled through the universe on a comet’s tail. She would wave her wand of faith, which looked a little like a candy stick with a five-pointed star, and blow kisses to all she came in contact with.

She was one of many daughters of Mother Nature. Although no one had ever set eyes on Mother Nature, they knew she existed; otherwise there would have been no homes for the creatures that inhabited the universe.

It was Fairy Faith’s coming of age and Mother Earth and Father Sky had created a special gift for her. The gift was to be known by the other stars and planets as planet Earth, the jewel of the universe.

Mother Nature had domain over the lands beneath the stars and Father Sky ruled the skies. To make this new planet, Mother Nature and Father Sky had had to seek the cooperation of two very powerful gods: the god of fire and the goddess of water. After prolonged consultation with the two gods of great wisdom, Father Sky and Mother Nature realised they needed four elements to create the jewel: earth, air, fire and water. The goddess of water promised to shed bucketfuls of joyful tears to form the seasons and the rivers, and the god of fire promised to provide the warmth needed to enable the plants to grow and to keep the new animals warm in winter.

Mother Nature felt there would be little difficulty in creating the mass required for the planet, but she knew she would need the help of the sun, as the giver of fire, and the moon, who controlled water.

The sun and the moon were once one entity but they had quarrelled about who was the more important with such violence that they were forced to separate and now lived a great distance from each other. The sun was still angry about the split, occasionally threatening to burn up the universe, and his grumblings had been felt on many planets in the form of volcanic eruptions. The moon kept cool and distant, at times disappearing altogether, which was why she was known to be so mysterious. Occasionally the two meet in what is known on Earth as an eclipse, when they come together to try to solve their problems and get back together again, but sadly this has not happened over millions of years. After a short time together in the darkness of each eclipse, they emerge to go their separate ways once more. This saddens the great creator, who sees such behaviour as ‘ungodly’.

When the new planet was nearing completion and Mother Nature and Father Sky were away consulting with the god of fire and the goddess of water, Fairy Faith went on a short journey to the Temple of the Four Wise Winds. She observed a new star that seemed to shine much brighter than any others, and when she returned to her palace in the clouds, she sought council with Waldo the Willing Wizard to find out more about the big golden light.

He told her that the bright star was the planet where the lion of love dwelt. ‘A marriage between you two would be most pleasing,’ he told her. ‘Faith and love are most important when it comes to creating a new world. However, it would take a great deal of persuasion for the lion to leave his lair, being so content where he is.’

Fairy Faith decided at that moment that she would work very hard to make her new home attractive for a companion, and the lion of love sounded mysterious and exciting.

Fairy Faith called a meeting. Although Mother Nature herself had planned the design of the new planet, it was the wee folk who would do all the necessary work: make the seeds, plant them, decide on the colours and the textures most suited to each, and nurture them until they could look after themselves. These planners and cutters, sorters and stackers, painters and sculptors, perfume brewers and tasters would be the ones who would do all the hard work of manufacturing and colouring the millions of varieties of plants and creatures that would eventually inhabit the planet.

Those summoned included Peter Pixie Perfect, an artist of great renown she could be relied upon to design the flowers and vegetation that would be planted on Earth; Fairy Fauna, a good friend of Fairy Faith’s, who would be responsible for the creation of the animals and fish, together with the cosmic clown, who could be counted on to add a touch of spice and humour to the creatures; and Waldo the Willing Wizard, who would have no trouble building the mountains, plains, valleys and hills.

There was so much work to do before Fairy Faith’s guardians returned. They had encouraged Fairy Faith to use her own magic to dress the naked planet and she became somewhat like a mother dressing a small baby. So far there had been no mention whatsoever of human beings. The creator was not in a hurry, knowing full well that all would come in good time and all would be perfect.

Waldo managed to slow the swirling gases enough to form the tiny planet, but it was so hot that it would not have been able to sustain life, so the south wind was called upon to cool it down. When this had taken place Waldo began to whirl the planet again and again and it became bigger and bigger until it finally reached the size it is today.

The god of fire began to get a little angry because he had not been asked to do more towards the formation of the planet. He couldn’t wait until it was completed, when he would play a major role in sending forth the warming rays necessary for the seeds to germinate. He launched to Earth an army of thunderbolts that were like arrows piercing deep into the surface to become volcanoes, which took the trapped heat deep in Earth’s core to the surface.

When the goddess of water saw this happening, she cried a great cry that formed the oceans, the rivers and the lakes, and so Earth was cooled again.

Now Peter Pixie Perfect was not only a great and clever artist, but a poet as well, usually speaking and answering in rhyme. While Waldo the Willing Wizard was brewing up a spell to stop the whirling gases and thus form a solid mass, Peter began to think a big, big think. It went like this:

The new earth must have many, many seeds,

All must be perfect, without any weeds,

Seeds for the young earth, see them unfold,

Flowers for the young, flowers for the old,

Plants with a beautiful, wonderful smell,

Plants if you’re sick that can make you get well,

Fruit for the animals, man, birds and beast,

Oh! What a wonderful, glorious feast,

In all the universe, Earth will shine,

Let’s drink a toast, friends – bring in the wine.

This was followed by a lot of ‘dum, dum, diddly dum’s as he thought up new verses and hurried off to find his paints and brushes to begin what would be a work of art, the colouring for the planet Earth’s clothes: the trees, flowers and grass, and all the birds, animals and insects. But so magnificent were the seeds that Peter Pixie Perfect created and sowed on Earth’s surface in the dark of night that they grew and grew and grew and it seemed as if they would never stop.

‘We must do something,’ cried Fairy Faith, ‘or Earth will suffocate.’ And so she called another meeting of all those who had helped create the planet.

‘I can cast a special spell and make Earth disappear,’ suggested Waldo the Willing Wizard, who was always ready to help.

Fairy Faith did not think that was such a good idea, considering all the work they had done so far. She turned her gaze to Peter Pixie Perfect, who was never short of ideas and who once more began to write a poem:

Listen to the mountains speak,

From their spirit strong as teak.

Listen to the song they sing,

They will tell you what to bring.

Hark to the trees so high,

As they reach towards the sky.

Time for animals to be,

Time for fishes in the sea,

Listen, listen to the plan,

Time to sow the seeds of man.

But humans would take many years to evolve and grow to maturity, and Earth could not afford for the forests to keep growing in the meantime, for they could suffocate the inner breath of the planet and it could even die.

So Peter Pixie Perfect, in his wisdom, quickly sketched the dinosaurs. They were made big enough to reach even the tallest of tall trees, and they had large appetites. The dinosaurs grew and multiplied at such an alarming rate that there was soon another problem: if they continued to multiply at their present rate, soon there would be no trees remaining. So Titans were created to do battle with the huge dinosaurs, which were becoming more ferocious every day. The Titans were not unlike the humans of today, but they were at least five times taller and had only one eye, shining like a beacon in the middle of their foreheads.

Day and night the battle between the Titans and the dinosaurs raged, and it lasted for nearly a hundred years. Finally the big beasts were conquered, but sadly the Titans had developed a thirst for blood. When there were no more creatures to destroy, they turned upon each other in an all-out war to determine who was the best fighter. The strongest would rule the world.

Fairy Faith had never intended such terrible things to happen.

‘It’s the devil of darkness,’ she sighed. ‘We thought him long gone when he was banished to the land of nothingness, but it would appear that he has tricked his jailers and escaped.’

It was decided, therefore, to call a halt to the work and ask the west wind to use its iciest breath to brew up a gigantic snowstorm that would freeze Earth and all who lived upon it. And so began what the humans now call the Ice Age. The god of fire also created a few more volcanic upheavals, which dried up some of the oceans. The ice did not cover the entire planet, however. Many forms of life existed, in warm caves and underground, and when the sun’s rays eventually melted the ice in many parts of the planet, these life forms emerged.

Time stood still during the Ice Age. With the planet frozen over, there was little to keep Fairy Faith and her friends occupied, so they snoozed comfortably in the pink twilight in the Land of Eternal Light. When they awoke after their long sleep, they discovered a very different world. Long gone were the dinosaurs and Titans, their bones and flesh sinking into the earth to be buried forever.

The spring maiden rushed from one to another, shaking them awake, calling in a singsong voice, ‘Awake, awake, dear people. We must get back to work. We have the seeds to plant in Earth’s bosom. We must hurry, hurry … there is much to do.’

So Peter Pixie Perfect, Waldo the Willing Wizard, Fairy Fauna, Cosmic Clown, all the cutters, sorters, stackers, painters and other little people began to prepare the seeds for the new planet.

Peter worked at such speed that there was a blur like a whirlwind where he stood. From his pallet and easel came painting after painting. His helpers coloured in the daisies, daffodils and violets, bluebells and foxgloves, and all the other hundreds of beautiful plants and foliage that were to be delivered and spread over the planet. Fairy Faith clapped her hands with glee as she saw the pile become bigger and bigger. Once the task was completed they loaded everything onto the four winds, which would carry them to Earth and distribute them.

Such was the plan. Under the warm blanket of Mother Earth’s soil, the seeds would sleep for a while and, at a pre-arranged signal, they would awaken, stretch, yawn and begin their journey to the surface. They were very, very intelligent, these seeds, and knew exactly what to do and when to poke their heads through the darkness and out into the light.

The next task for Fairy Faith, with guidance from Mother Nature, was to create the seasons: spring for growth; summer to harvest the seeds; autumn to store the crop; and winter for rest (or sleep, as the case may be). Every seed was different.

Now that they had perfected this beautiful garden in the new world, it was time to resume the creation of the new creatures on Earth, which were to be called humans.

The trees, which were smaller now, had become the playground for a small band of apes that had survived in a huge underground cavern, through which flowed a river stocked with an ample supply of fish and other foods. The apes, which grew along with the cycle of Earth, learned to live in harmony with the cosmic clock, which had begun ticking. Other animals were then created and the world as we know it today came into being. Such was Mother Nature’s grand plan.

Fairy Faith became the guardian of all that lived on Earth, swam in the sea and flew in the air. As her most trusted friends, Fairy Faith chose Horatio Hope and Clara Compassion because she knew faith, hope and compassion would be in demand as the humans multiplied.

Horatio and Clara were inventions of the great creator, who knew that humans would need help from time to time during their journeying on planet Earth. Hope was the strength people called on when they felt a little lost or bewildered and had no one to turn to, and compassion was inseparable from hope. Fairy Faith knew that the two belonged together.

Horatio and Clara had so much magic within them that they could be in millions of minds at the same time. They were given their titles and their responsibilities for those on Earth. They knew that humans needed to evolve slowly, embracing charitable acts and living in the ray of hope before they could receive the gift of faith. With faith, anything was possible, but such magic was not to be misused. Only a very few were given the magical gift.

Chapter 2

Crisis at the Bank of Good Deeds

Horatio Hope was a knight of the Order of the Higher Kingdom. He had eyes as big as dinner plates and they never closed, even at night. He did not go to sleep like humans. Horatio was neither tall nor short, fat nor thin and he was small enough to sit on a mushroom. He had a generous smile, rosy red cheeks, large ears and a bald head. Horatio Hope simply was … Horatio Hope! And he was known by everyone, although many may not have been able to describe him.

Clara Compassion was not very big either but she had a large heart and warm hands. She was a touchy-touchy kind of person who loved giving people comfort. She had long black hair that nearly reached her ankles, and kind, but somewhat tired eyes, caused by the excessive tears she had shed for the unfortunate on many, many occasions. She often used her hair as a cloak, which she either unfurled as an aid when she wanted a lift by the wind god, or to hide herself in the darkness when she was on an errand of mercy whispering words of comfort in an unhappy ear.

During their time on Earth, Horatio and Clara were not always spirits. They spent many lifetimes as human beings, thus acquiring a great understanding of their problems. They lived in the Land of Dreams on an island in the middle of the Lake of Tranquility with their friends Jimmy Joy, Leo Laughter, Suzy Smiles, Gertrude the Gentle, Harry Happy, Barry Bright and many, many other warriors of faith.

One day Fairy Faith sent Horatio and Clara details of their first mission via a cosmic through-mail, an invention of the creator whereby messages could be ‘read’ within the mind instead of on a screen. The message said:

There is trouble brewing in the Bank of Good Deeds.

I need you to investigate immediately.

Horatio and Clara were most concerned that the Bank of Good Deeds was considering closing its doors. The bank was like a normal bank in that it accepted deposits, allowed withdrawals and extended credit when necessary, but it relied very much on the deposits of kindness, charity and loving selfless deeds to stay open. Due to the many wars over the centuries, and the greed and selfishness of the human race, its reserves were becoming very small indeed.

The bank was located on a high mountain in a land called Conscience. It had four round turrets, which gave it the appearance of a castle, and on top of each turret was a platform. On the flat surface of the platforms were four earthscopes, manned by four cherubs (or apprentice angels) with jolly faces and eyes nearly as big as Horatio’s. The cherubs continuously searched the lands below for good deeds created by humans. They were so clever they could tell the difference between every individual on Earth.

Each deed of kindness had a different value, and they were all fed into a very large computer, which was not at all like a normal computer. It was like a huge vacuum cleaner, sucking in positive deeds and spitting out negative ones, which it then sent back to their owners.

Every human on Earth had their own account, and records were kept meticulously by other cherubs called keepers of the records. Each keeper had at their disposal a set of golden scales on which they measured good and evil, and they were very particular concerning accuracy and balancing the books. It was of extreme importance that the computer was kept in tip-top condition. Any malfunction could cause it to retain some of the negative deeds, which created great storms on Earth, not to mention sunspots and the odd cosmic flare.

Collectively, then, it was the balance of good deeds against bad deeds that kept the Earth spinning on a correct axis. As long as an adequate number of positive deeds were flowing through every day, they acted like oil on ball bearings and the planet kept up a harmonious vibration, which meant that humans could stay on their feet and not fall off. That would have created panic and alarm, not to mention a broken leg or two.

So fine was the balance that it took up all the bank manager’s time keeping track of the energy, watching it rise and fall like the breathing of the humans. As with humans, once the breath stopped or was constricted in some way, there began an Earth wobble, which in turn caused a few minor earthquakes, a volcanic eruption or three and maybe even a strong tornado or two.

Horatio and Clara decided to visit Claude, the bank manager, a very, very old entity whose face had a rather droopy, melancholic look to it. When they arrived he was attending a conference of the council of twelve, a governing body that had been convened to decide the ultimate future of the bank. Claude immediately invited Horatio and Clara to attend.

They felt very important. It was not often that outsiders were invited to sit in on what might be known on Earth as a board meeting with very high officials and listen to the problems of the bank. Twelve very old and wise entities sat at a round table made from millions and millions of stars that glittered like diamonds as they continually rotated. The male council members all had very long grey beards, and the female council members had shoulder-length hair of a similar colour. But it was their eyes that took Horatio and Clara’s attention. They had never seen such eyes before. They were like two crystal balls protruding only slightly from kind faces, in which was reflected life itself in all its many and varied forms. To Horatio, it was like peering into the future and the past at the same time, and the experience left him somewhat bewildered.

Horatio and Clara dared not ask any questions. They remained silent and waited for the proceedings to commence.

Claude sat on his cloud cushion and waited. After a short silence, the sound of a tinkling bell could just be heard. One of the members rose to address the meeting. The figure was very tall, almost twice the size of the average human being, and seemed to float above the cloud layer on which the round star table had been placed.

‘Fellow entities.’ The voice was like quiet thunder. The figure glowed a golden glow and vibrated at the same time, giving off a kind of humming noise. ‘Many times in the past we’ve gathered here in an attempt to help out the Bank of Good Deeds, but this time I’m not in favour of more help. Goodness me! Will these humans never learn? War after war after war, destroying themselves year after year and century after century.’

‘Yes,’ agreed another. ‘After the wars they’re so full of remorse they go about doing kind deeds to build up the balance again, but then they go and drain the funds all over again with more violence and killing, stealing and plundering.’

A third spoke. ‘And there’s always yet another dangerous, stupid leader wanting to start a war somewhere. And one day they might even be having their wars in space and you know what’ll happen then. They’ll go around shooting at stars and planets and goodness knows what else.’

‘And the people who admire these charismatic leaders are equally as stupid,’ offered a fourth. ‘I wonder if it was wise to make humans with free will.’

‘In their defense,’ said the first elder, ‘they were interfered with by the soulless ones. Some breeding still carries in their genes.’

Claude thought it apt to say something at this point.

‘Fellow entities,’ he whispered in his most authoritative voice, ‘there must be a way that we can convince humans to save more; to invest more in their future. Otherwise we must cease to trade, and you know that will mean the end of the human race.’

‘Yes,’ agreed an entity whose eyes rolled as she nodded. ‘Without good works, evil will spread and we’ll see brother against brother in a fight to the death – to the death of all, until not one soul will remain. The Bank of Souls will refuse entry and what we have always feared will happen: humans will lose their souls.’

‘This is a great shame,’ said Claude with a sigh. ‘Especially since many humans are trying desperately to change the way they think, and hoping also to influence others.’

All nodded in agreement and Claude’s weary face took on a very sad appearance. ‘I feel as if I have failed,’ he moaned.

Horatio could hold his silence no longer. ‘You have not failed, sir,’ he declared boldly. ‘All humans need is a little more time.’

‘Time!’ thundered the first entity who had spoken, and the table shook as if an earthquake had erupted beneath it. ‘Time, time, time! It’s about time they got their act together. Maybe a few force-ten earthquakes would shake them up and bring back a bit of compassion into the bank vaults. Trouble is, we’re losing too many children and that’s not acceptable. Do you honestly believe they can get themselves sorted out?’

‘I do,’ Horatio said firmly, then added hesitantly, ‘At least I hope they can.’ He told the elders that Fairy Faith was moving through the human consciousness.

‘Humans are slow learners,’ Clara added, ‘but they’re also at their best when they face a crisis.’

‘They’re at that point now, we believe,’ said Horatio, ‘and even though the bank reserves are nearly depleted, Clara Compassion and I have brought with us a few acts of kindness we’ve witnessed. We would be grateful if you would accept our deposit.’

Claude smiled and it was as if the sun had burst through the clouds, bathing the whole meeting in a warm, honey-like glow.

‘Saved!’ he shouted. ‘Saved at the last moment. Thank you, Horatio, thank you, Clara. We believe you and wish you luck convincing them on planet Earth.’

The Bank of Good Deeds was open for business once more, thanks to Horatio Hope and Clara Compassion.

Chapter 3

Horatio and Clara rescue the rainbow

Horatio was resting peacefully in his hammock, which was anchored between two very large palm trees on their island home in the crystal clear waters of Lake Peaceful in the Land of Dreams. He and Clara had recently returned from their mission to save the Bank of Good Deeds.

Horatio was feeling pleased with himself and had allowed himself the luxury of an afternoon nap, something he had been unable to do in the past when he couldn’t close those huge eyes of his. After he and Clara had been blessed by Fairy Faith, Horatio found he could afford the pleasure of sleep and often took a catnap during the warm afternoons. On this particular day, however, it was not the bellbird that woke him from his siesta but a strange sound somewhere between a sob and a howl coming from the forest nearby.

‘I must investigate,’ he muttered to himself. ‘There sounds a sound that does not belong here, I do believe.’

He made his way into the peaceful gloom of the woods. The wailing, sobbing noise