"Ava in Fairyland" has been released!

The "Ava in Fairyland" eBook has been released! FULLY ILLUSTRATED! Buy it today for $2.99!

Ava Paige was a sweet little girl who loved the color yellow. Rupert Appleton was a tubby man with a colorful bag. Somehow, they ended up on the same train together, a train bound to a magical country called Fairyland! Join Ava and Rupert on their adventure in this new fully illustrated book by T.K. Wade! Meet Jasper the Bunny who is trying to get back home before an army of foxes capture him. Read about the friend’s they encounter along the way like Rocky, a wolf made of stone, and Hyjinx, a hyena who likes to tell stories. In the tradition of “Wizard of Oz” and “Alice in Wonderland,” this story will spark the imaginations of children everywhere!

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/546199

Rodent Spotlight: Bosavi Woolly Rat

Introducing a rodent that I really rather enjoy: the Bosavi woolly rat! We have already spoken about rats in general--two times, in fact. I like rats for their ability to survive anything and also because they make great villains. But here we have a species of rat that is just plain big.

The Bosavi woolly rat is HUGE. Are you sure you want to know just how huge they are? If you detest the little pests, you might not want to read this next part. These rats average in size at a whopping 32 inches from head to tail-base and can weigh around 3.3 pounds! Now, consider how you would react if you discovered one of these massive fellows crawling around your basement.

The latter consideration bears the need for more explanation. Here is an interesting tidbit: the Bosavi woolly rat has absolutely no fear of human beings. That's right. He might try to eat you! What are you going to do about it--hit him with a broom? Goodbye, broom! Ladies and gentleman, the crowned king of the rats!

In all honestly, we don't know too much about this big guy other than the obvious. They were discovered in 2009 during the filming of the TV series "Lost Land of the Volcanoes." Their classifications are a bit sketchy at the moment, but they are out there--probably planning some form of world domination. Yes, I am sure the screaming old ladies will likely be the first to go.

And now... fiction. Obviously, the Bosavi woolly rat represents the king of all rats. They are the bosses, and all the peons on the street bow before them. While the normal rats cower before the humans, Woolly steps bravely ahead. The rats all see his unwavering aplomb and are driven to march behind him with likewise pride. It's the end of the world! Give them your cheese and bow before your rat overlords! This story is, of course, just fiction... that is, until those big guys find a way out of Bosavi. Until that day, enjoy a life of freedom.

Thanks for reading this blog. If you enjoyed it, you can comment below, or you can email me at tooie@tooiekangaroo.com. Big squeak!

The Sun Went Down

"The Sun Went Down" A poem by T.K. Wade

A bunny of pure yellow came to a cliff,

Laying down alone, he let out a little sniff.

On the verge of tears, he watched the sun set,

Thinking of the fate that his friend had met.

He came here for closure, not for the view,

Thinking of the things that he could not undo.

With a quivery voice, he spoke out aloud,

As if talking to a gray passing cloud,

“The sun is falling once again,

It’s like I’m losing my best friend.

Underground it goes so slow,

To be with my friend is where it goes.

The snake came again and took him away,

It could have been a really good day.

But it was sad, and now, I am alone,

So I sit here watch until the sun is gone.”

His words did not escape that which lurked nearby,

The very snake who caused his life to go awry.

It looked to him sighing on the vista so sad,

The opportunity this presented was none too bad.

He slowly approached the hapless thing,

Thinking of the pain his fangs could bring.

Evil thoughts filled its mind,

Fear he could not elsewhere find.

“Prepare for death,” he said coiling around,

“It is time for your sun to fall on down.”

The bunny starred towards the sunset still,

Not flinching for a moment, his response was nil.

The snake disheartened by the lack of reply,

Wondered if the bunny wanted to die.

He opened his jaw, showing him death,

The bunny let out an apathetic breath.

The snake was disheartened once again,

He thought the bunny to be insane.

He wanted fear and cries for life,

Painful agony and terrible strife.

He grabbed him tighter and hissed at him good,

Trying to scare him as much as he could.

And no matter what the snake tried,

The bunny simply would not provide.

Finally the snake could take no more,

The bunny’s response, he could not ignore.

He let him go and rested there too,

Thinking about this bunny he could not subdue.

He thought about the pain that he caused him when,

He killed his best friend, a terrible sin.

He lay with the bunny, hurting inside,

Feelings he never had, these he could not hide.

The bunny looked at the snake in confusion,

Thinking him to be in delusion.

“Why don’t you eat me? I will not run away.

I will not try to struggle. I promise to obey.”

The snake shook his head and looked at the thing,

“I cannot eat anyone, too much suffering did I bring.

Everyone that I killed has hurt yet another,

A parent, a friend, or even a brother.”

The bunny felt sad, he did not mean to bring,

Such suffering to such a vile little thing.

He put his arms around him and held him close,

Wanting to comfort him, pawing at his nose.

The two laid there together as the sun went down,

Soon to become friends, the talk of the town.

Predator and prey, side by side,

And no more innocents would have to die.

The snake preyed on wolves, the vicious kind,

Using the bunny as a lure, he did not mind.

With each new kill, another one rose,

They hunted them down, killing each foe.

On they went, jaws gaping everywhere,

This bunny and snake would cause many to stare.

Their friendship lasted until the last day,

And that is the story about how a predator can befriend a prey.

Rodent Spotlight: Kha-nyou

Also known as the Laotian rock rat, the kha-nyou (pronounced kah' - nyoo) is a very interesting species of rodent located ONLY in the Khammouan region of Laos. I am sure there is a possibility you do not even know where that is in the world. Laos a tiny little country in southeast Asia bordered by Burma and China. That would make this rodent incredibly hard to find in the world. Unlike most rodents, the kha-nyou is all but extinct.

But extinction is not what caught my attention about this little guy. They had just recently been discovered. I think the people living in that region likely knew about the rodents before the scientific community figured out they existed. Back in 1996, you could buy kha-nyou meat at markets, and none of the tourists really knew what in the world it was. There were various sightings afterwards--but nothing living. It was not until 2006 that a live one was finally captured and photographed for all to see. Maybe, they are not so much going extinct rather than they are just really good at evading the paparazzi. Anyways, they are out there, and we know about it now.

The kha-nyou look like fluffy rats with long squirrel-like tails. They are slow and seem to be a bit dimwitted which is likely why they seem to be on everybody's menu rather than running around as pets. Personally, I thought they were adorable.

There is not much more I can tell you about these rodents because there is just so very little discovered about them. There are even those who debate what the creature really is in relation to its cousins, but they all seem to agree that it is actually a rodent. It must be sad to be so entirely outside of the spotlight that your existence is barely acknowledged.

Still, I like the kha-nyou! I even see them as characters in fiction. Of course, they would be a very cloistered species who rarely show themselves outside of their own society. They are a bit moody; however, they don't really give their problems to people they don't know. A kha-nyou would be quiet and almost entirely reject a proffered conversation. He would sit in the a dark corner trying to be unnoticed. But within these tightly-locked away rodents resides a mystery. If you can get to know a kha-nyou and break those chains that bar his trust, you are liable to find him an interesting rodent and perhaps a friend for life. However, the task may be harder to accomplish than you may expect, and the fellow will only become more distant till he has disappeared entirely.

Thank you for reading this blog. If you enjoyed it, you can comment below or you can email me at tooie@tooiekangaroo.com. Ciao!

A Travesty

"A Travesty" by T.K. Wade (From the pages of "Wild.")

Malory crawled through the tunnels with a giggle. Her adolescent friend, Lucy, was right behind cracking jokes. “I can’t believe how big your butt has gotten since the last time I followed you in here.”

Malory giggled and kicked some dirt back at her. “Will you stop it?! No wonder nobody hangs out with each other anymore. You’re unbearable.”

“Aw, you’re just jealous that you aren’t as funny as me. But what’s so bad about two gophers getting food from the farm together?”

“Not a lot of us do it together is all. The farmers have a big crop this year. Everyone’s in a tizzy over it. I’m looking to get a good share for myself.”

Lucy laughed. “Your butt is just gonna get bigger if you keep eating this way!”

Malory huffed, “I’ll eat what I want and there’s nothing you can…” There was a sudden sound of clanking metal from above, and the girl let out a gasp followed by a gurgle.

Lucy bumped into her friend and backed away. “Why did you stop?” There was no response other than a few twitches. “Malory? Malory?! Are you okay?! Why did you…” Blood began to pool down the path from where Malory lay. Lucy saw it and her heart sunk. It was obvious what had happened: Malory had fallen into a deadly trap. She screamed, “Malory! Nooo!”

Only one day after the incident, the gophers of the farm all gathered just outside to have a meeting. Although it was not at all customary for such creatures to do so, the topic at hand was too important to be settled by each individual. Miss Ellen was the presiding and eldest gopher in the region, so it just made sense for her to lead the meeting.

“I know you are all probably very disturbed by what has transpired recently,” Ellen went on to say. “The loss of Malory presents a very troubling reality. It would seem that the farmer who presides over these crops have deployed traps that are intended to kill us!”

The gophers in the crowd were prattling nosily from hearing those words. Miss Ellen continued, “I know what you all must be thinking: what on earth have we done to deserve this? All we have done is come here to eat. We have done it for as long as I can remember. Why would the farmer be so cruel?!”

One of the gophers in the crowd spoke up, “Why did she have to die?!”

“Nobody knows. We’re not sure what brought on this sudden act of violence. If I was able, I’d give those humans a piece of my mind!”

It just so happened that as these gophers were congregating about the travesty at hand, an old owl was watching them from a tree. He was very confused by their words and desired to interject himself into the discussion. “Excuse me!” he said from where he perched.

Miss Ellen raised her head with the rest of the crowd. The owl fluttered down to a lower branch and politely stated, “If I may be so bold, Miss Ellen, I want to point out that I find it baffling that you did not see this coming.”

The elder gopher was nearly insulted. “Are you out of your mind?! One of our own was just stabbed through the heart for no reason at all! What have we done that deserved such a cruel death?!” All the gophers present seemed to agree with her judgment.

The owl ruffled his feathers for a moment before answering. “Was it not the farmer’s crops that you have been stealing all of these years? I have watched for a very long time, and I have seen you take far more than what you rightly deserve. I would even go so far as to say that you did not deserve any of it at all.”

Once again, Ellen was offended. “We have done nothing that we have not always done! We have every right to those vegetables! You are a fool!”

The owl sighed. He thought to himself how strange it was how thieves could come to accept their ways as normal. He did not have too much hope for the group. “Very well. You obviously don’t want to listen to me, but at least listen to my advice. These grounds are no good to you anymore. Whether you accept it or not, the lot of you are thieves and you have suffered a just blow. If you yearn for more food, I suggest you find it elsewhere.”

Ellen snapped back, “Leave us alone, you annoying bird! Can’t you see we have been hurt enough?!”

The owl–finished with his vain attempt–spread his wings and flew away. There was nothing more to be said and certainly nothing to break those gophers free of their own lies.

-Author Notes-

I have seen multiple cases where human beings have out rightly stolen things and actually feel that it was owed to them. I always found this to be very bizarre. People will go out of their way to selfishly step on others in order to get what is usually a frivolous gain of some kind, and when they are accused of wrongdoing, they have no idea that any misconduct has taken place. This lack of concern for others is a very dark side to humanity, and I have little remorse for these people when they are thwarted.

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Check out my ebook "Wild" available for free at Barnes and Noble! Just CLICK HERE!

Rodent Spotlight: Long-Eared Jerboa

Jerboas are commonly known for their wonderfully decorative tails. In a previous blog, I made them out to be rather proud of those tails--something they can flaunt and use to make them feel better than everyone else. Maybe, they ARE better than everyone else!

Eh. Maybe not.

In this blog, we have a somewhat different take on the species. Introducing... the long-eared jerboa--a creatures not at all known for its pretty tail. That is not to say that its tail is ugly. I would say that the tail of this particular rodent is no better or worse than its cousin. As the name suggests, it is the ears of this creature that can be considered quite noteworthy.

The long-eared jerboa boasts ears that are so large that they are one-third larger than its head. That's huge! You might expect that they have no trouble at all hearing things, and you would be right in this expectation. This rodent actually hunts insects by sound. They can hear even the slightest movement around them, and when they realize their prey is near, they pounce upon them with their springy legs.

So... not only are the ears huge, but they are very useful as well. I am sure that they would be very proud of them. There might even be ear-measuring contests among them to see who gets the most praise. I would not throw it past them to do such a thing.

In fiction, I really saw them as skilled information merchants. There is a lot to be said for a rodent that can hear a conversation taking place in the next building over. Of course, the downside of this trait would be that no one would want to be any where near them. After all, you couldn't possibly NOT recognize them when they entered town. Being friendless is not important anyways, for a jerboa's best companion will always be himself.

What do you think? Would you dare tell secrets anywhere near this guy? Well, if you did, you should be prepared for those secrets to come back to haunt you. There can't be many whispers that can get past a long-eared jerboa.

Thank you for reading this blog. If you enjoyed it, you can comment below, or you can email me at tooie@tooiekangaroo.com. Can you hear me now?

On the March

"On the March" by T.K. Wade (From the pages of "Wild.")

The loud announcements never seemed to stop. “No talking! No deviating from the trail! Never stop marching! Always remain three antenna’s length apart from each other! Remember: you… are… nobody! Together, we… are… everything!”

Number Fifty-Six groaned at the constant repeating of that mantra. It was almost enough to drive nearly anyone into ripping their own head off. No wonder most of the ants only survived about ninety days. If the constant danger did not kill you, the monotony would.

The groaning ant looked behind him. Twenty-Eight was following him at the approved distance. Before speaking to his friend, Fifty-Six checked around him to see if he was being watched by any of the officers. “Hey Twenty, you ever wonder what it would be like to just… leave the trail?”

The other ant responded, “Are you crazy?! That’s cause for execution! Heck, I bet even the queen herself would do it.”

“Why is a little excursion so wrong? There are so many other areas of this structure that I haven’t seen.”

“What’s wrong with what you have already seen?”

Fifty-Six shrugged. “What do you mean? I don’t call the rear end of another ant very scenic.”

Obviously the ant up ahead heard the remark and rightly took offence. “Hey, will you two knock it off? You’re gonna get all of us in trouble!”

Twenty-Eight sighed. “You might wanna listen to him and button your mandibles.”

Fifty-Six continued to groan. A passing officer yelled him back to his senses. “Straighten up! You are marching for the queen, boy!” Fifty straightened up for the time it took to get out of sight.

Twenty went on to say, “That was pretty close. Are you gonna stop bugging me about all this excursion nonsense?”

It was almost as if Twenty-Eight was ignored. Fifty went right back onto his own topic. “Did you hear what happened to Trail Nine the other day?”

“It’s not my place to know. They don’t want you dealing with anything that’s not associated with your own trail.”

“I heard they all died. Poison, I think.”

“So what? You want to go bury them? We got our own ants to deal with.”

“Well, it kind of makes you think: we could be walking into poison right now. Nobody buries the poisoned. They just get left there to die alone.”

“Well, who would wanna go in there anyways?! It’s all contaminated!”

“I don’t wanna go in there to begin with! I just think this whole trail thing is gonna get us killed someday, Twenty. And what then? We just get left out on the ground to be swept away by a broom someday?”

Twenty snapped, “Okay, just shut up! You’re making me depressed!”

Fifty returned with an equal demeanor, “Well, at least I can see it bothers you too! Come on, Twenty, let’s just ditch this trail and find our own paths!”

An ominous voice asked from the sidelines, “What was that?!” Fifty-Six gulped. It was one of the officers. “Did I just hear what sounded like an individual?!”

Fifty was not sure how to answer, but Twenty spoke up to defend his friend, “He’s been a little off his game, sir. I’ll push him back into submission in no time.”

Fifty nodded profusely. “It’s true! He has to do that to me sometimes. Please, don’t kill me.”

The officer followed them for a little while before saying, “All right. But I’m going to file a report on you anyways. What is your number?”

Fifty-Six gulped and said, “Forty-Nine?”

“Right, get back to the trail!”

The two ants saw the pile of sugar up ahead. Fifty-Six peered back at his friend one last time. “You think its poison?”

Twenty-Eight shrugged. “Guess we’re about to find out.”

“Any chance you wanna switch places with me?”

“Just shut up and grab what you can. We need to get it back to the queen, A-S-A-P.”

“Jeez, you’re starting to sound like the officers. Are we ever gonna break free of all this monotony, Twenty?”

“Maybe someday, but right now, let’s go dive into that poison over there.”

Fifty-Six groaned, “Very funny. If it is poison, you’re gonna feel sorry for making that joke.”

To which Twenty replied, “If it’s poison, I won’t be feeling much of anything.”

Fifty sighed. “Good point.”

-Author Notes-

This story could easily be misinterpreted as an anarchist propaganda tale. In reality, it is actually very patriotic. Some people take for granted what freedoms we actually have in the United States. There are other countries out there that do not even come close. There have even been cases where a country will demand you sacrifice your life for the greater good, and if you refuse, they will take your life as punishment. Where I live, I can make that choice myself, and nobody can force me to do anything.

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Check out my ebook "Wild" available for free at Barnes and Noble! Just CLICK HERE!

Rodent Spotlight: Pallid Gerbil

The pallid gerbil--also known as the pale gerbil--is a North African species of rodent found mainly in Egypt. They are notable for being unusually skinny with protruding eyes which are very expressive. As it is with many species of gerbils, they are very friendly and enjoy the company of others... and THOSE are the basics. This would be a really short blog if I didn't have more to say on the matter.

I'll be honest, I am clearly running out of rodents to write these blogs about, but there are some species that catch my interest purely on the basis of imagination. The pallid gerbil appeared like it had an interesting personality whether I look into the research or not. That said, the research was very interesting.

Picture--if you will--a group of three pallid gerbils in a cage sitting around a food bowl during their lunchtime. I know what you're thinking! You think that I am about to tell you some sort of cute story, aren't you? You're fears are not unfounded!

"Ah! To be eating together with all of my fine fellows and friends!" said one of the gerbils to his mates. "I doubt we would enjoy these little nibbles if we were alone!"

"I know it," agreed another. "I hear many other rodents dislike being alone. What are we going to do after we finish?"

A third suggested, "I propose we do something silly."

"Why is that?" asked the first.

"Well, if we did something proper, it would hardly constitute a celebration of this fine feast. We have to be a little silly once in a while."

"Agreed," said the second. "I like the idea of being silly. But if we are going to be silly, what sort of silly shall we be?"

The pallid gerbils all looked at each other but could not think of anything silly at the first of it. Then the third gerbil had an idea. He sneakily moved his head over to the tail of the one aside of him, and gave it a little nip. The victim was so startled that he hopped straight into the air bumping his head into the top of the cage.

"Oh! It is war then, is it?!" cried out the bitten. "Then let there be war!"

Following this, all the pallid gerbils chased each other around the cage while giggling madly--nipping tails whenever they could. Being silly was a nasty business, I suppose; however, they wore themselves out enough to have a fine sleep afterwards. They did this in a little pallid pile in one corner of their cage. Life could not be any happier.

Following this incident, the traditional tail chase became a daily event. While some of this activity may have proven slightly painful, they all agreed that it was silly, and silly was a wonderful way to end a meal.

Thank you for reading my blog. If you enjoyed it, you can leave a comment below, or you can email me at tooie@tooiekangaroo.com. Hehe!