Grandpa Gum and the Rainbow Road

By Esse Ashton

The book is the first of a series of imaginative adventure books about friendship, human values, mystery, and the unexpected. It is also about discovery, overcoming obstacles, and accepting challenges.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris AU
• Release date: Oct 12, 2018
• ISBN: 9781543405606

Esse Ashton

The author is a mother of 6 and grandma of 4 whose children enjoyed being told these stories so much they encouraged the writer to share the magic with others. Set in Australia and New Zealand they reflect the unique nature and animals of those countries but are relevant to all places and all times. A real delight that harks back to old fashioned storytelling.

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

Grandpa Gum is very, very old and very, very large. His branches reach so far into the sky it seems as though they could touch the moon, wave to the angels or tickle the clouds. He lives in a valley in a range of mountains that stretch a long way through his country. Towering sandstone cliffs shelter the valley like outstretched arms into which you could run for a hug. At sunset they glow pink and gold, orange and purple. Not far away is a creek full of all sizes of smooth, shiny stones, around its banks are masses of ferns and lots of bush flowers.

Grandpas branches give shade to everything that lives beneath. He is very, very wise and very, very kind and all the animals come to him for advice. Under the soil his roots reach far away, sending and receiving messages to and from the roots of all sorts of other plants as well as helping the little ones grow. His roots reach so far away he can even talk to other Grandpas on the other side of the world and Grandmas too!

It is not always easy to grow big and strong, sometimes there is not enough rain and the creek stops running. The land becomes very dry and the animals very thirsty. Sometimes there is too much rain and the creek becomes a rushing torrent. Then you have to be extra careful not to go near the soft, boggy edges as it is easy to slip and fall in. Sometimes, in summer, there are raging bush fires which are especially scary.

Grandpa Gum has seen it all and always knows what to do. He understands change and somehow makes sense of all the things that are puzzling, of all the things that hurt. When Grandpa sees bad things happen he always helps everyone be less afraid and cheers them up when they are confused or unhappy. One of the possum families, as well as many tiny bats live on Grandpas branches and an echidna family has a burrow nearby. Sometimes the little echidna babies (called puggles) become lost when they are running around looking for ants and need Grandpa to guide them home. To stray too far means danger, as quite close there is the lair of a large catlike animal. It has a really large head, splotchy black and white fur and very sharp teeth. It could be very nasty indeed and all the other animals run and hide when they smell it around.

It was a time when it had been raining incessantly, over two weeks, and the creek was running over its banks. The animals were