Exceptional A story for little ones. Has Anyone Told You? by Heather Knight

'Has anyone told you that stars can dance?' asks Little Rabbit. 'Mum has always said they twinkle in the sky,' this is Little Cat, who is very shy. The two friends keep on walking. They hold hands and gasp. The forest is black. And the silence noisy. Little Rabbit stops. He listens, he frowns. Little Cat looks at his friend and shivers inside his fur. 'Is anything wrong?' This is barely a whisper. 'Nah. I was just thinking. Has anyone told you there are dragons on top of Craggy Mountain?' 'What a weird question!' says Little Cat, 'Dad always says dragons don't exist.' Now Little Cat and Little Rabbit sit down under a willow. 'Maybe we should have gone back home when the sun started to hide.' 'Don't be a scaredy cat' says Little Rabbit and then bursts out laughing. Little Cat just sulks. His friend asks, 'Has anyone ever told you that, when the wind blows in the forest, it means a giant is huffing and puffing his way towards you, walking very slowly on ginormous feet?' Little Cat, who's starting to get angry, says, 'My sister once told me that's just a made-up story to frighten little kids.' Little Rabbit asks another question in between a yawn, 'Has anyone told you that there are forest beasts that can eat little animals in just one bite?' 'My Mum and Dad say the forest is the best place to play, but that I mustn't go by myself. Will you stop trying to scare me? The friends stop talking and Little Rabbit is snoring in a second flat. Little Cat is so scared that he lies on his back, barely daring to move.Then he stands up and starts pacing, always looking into the darkness surrounding him to make sure he's safe. Finally, the sky stars changing colour. Light, happy shades Little Cat loves. His fear gone, he has an idea. He's going to give his friend a big fright. He deserves it. Little Cat looks like a tiny tiger, stripes and all. He'll walk slowly towards Little Rabbit, who's still sound asleep, and then will pounce on him. He practises his roaring- which is not very impressive. It doesn't matter, the surprise factor is in his favour. He walks slowly towards his unsuspecting prey and, when he's close enough, he roars. It's only a middle-sized roar. Together with the pouncing it's very effective though. Little Rabbit sits up, he's very, very pale. His grey fur looks almost white. He's also terribly scared. He rubs his eyes and then he sees Little Cat grinning opposite him. 'Why have you done that? We're supposed to be friends.' 'We are friends, but I wanted you to know how terrifying it feels when someone tries to scare you non-stop.' Little Rabbit looks embarrassed and somewhat ashamed. 'Sorry', he says after a while, 'I'll never do it again.' 'Let's go back home. Our parents must be worried.' 'I'll race you to the village,' Little Rabbit says. And once again, they are best friends.   Author Notes I'd love to write children's books and be able to illustrate them. The problem is I can't draw to save my life. Thanks for reading.

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