Chompy

By

Ralph Piccolo

The Princess and the Dark Knight

O nce upon a time, there lived a seven-year-old girl named Anna. Anna was four feet tall and about sixty-five pounds, with long dark brown hair and an olive skin tone. Her smile could capture the world, for her heart shone

through her jade-colored eyes. Being an adventurous type of child, she loved to ex-plore new places and things. Her typical excitement consisted of pastimes most peo-ple would be too afraid to do, like exploring enchanted forests. Mike, Anna‟s best friend, shared her enthusiasm for exploring. He was also seven years old, weighing sixty-five pounds, and was four feet two inches tall. Mike‟s ad-miration of Anna was deep; as deep as any one person could have for another. It seemed like a lifetime of never-ending devotion. Mike had jet-black hair with waves of curls and a rich dark tan. His brown eyes captured everyone, for when he smiled he lit up the darkest corner. Anna‟s favorite pastime consisted of hide-go-seek in the woods, or princess in dis-tress with Mike being her savior. She always called him her “Dark Knight of the Pentacle Forest.” The Pentacle Forest was located north of any civilization, just beyond the edge of a wild imagination, and in it there grew tons of trees, brush, and flowers. Its lush, green shelter raised strange creatures from a mystical world, where a person could be lost with a whispering in a whisper. The trees towered toward the sky, blocking the precious light with their eerie branches, like interlocking fingers; layers of leaves, like a dark net. The frightening shadows deep in the mystical forest scared even Anna and Mike. In some parts of the dense woods, it would rain three hundred and sixty-five days a year. The rain forest‟s streams ran in both directions, and there was a miraculous pond that housed creepy crawlers and weird fish the children thought had probably been there since prehistoric times. Some of the trees had somehow changed to stone from all the minerals in the soil. The colors of the forest were indescribable, since the deep shade hid their various hues. The entrance led to a myriad of directions. Anna and Mike had explored only the most common paths, but the truly magical part of the forest lay deep in a barren swamp that housed a mysterious, magical creature. Neither Anna nor Mike had en-

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tered the swamp for fear of this creature, though they really had no reason to be afraid of it. Anna and Mike loved to go to the Pentacle Forest on the weekends and spend entire days exploring unknown paths, never without their colorful umbrellas. “Mike, let‟s play hide-go-seek! I know you won‟t win, I'm sure of it; loser makes lunch for the winner for a week.” Anna giggled; she had a mischievous plan in the works. “You try that all the time, Anna, and you never win, so what makes you so sure?” Mike asked hopefully.

“Ah uh, I‟m not telling you, so get ready to be beaten by the best of the Pentacle Forest!”

Anna said confidently.

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Mike started counting down from a hundred: “99, 98, 97…” As his voice faded into the distance, Anna walked from the entrance of the forest toward where several giant mushrooms grew. These mushrooms were bright red or bright green with striped tops. They were as wide as a garbage pail and taller than Anna. When she stood under them, Mike could not tell she was there. After five minutes of searching, Mike yelled out, “I give up Anna, I give up.” A sudden tap on his right shoulder startled him. It was Anna, with her big hungry smile taunting and teasing her best friend. “Where did you hide?” Mike asked. “Oh no, I‟m not telling you. Just remember my lunch tomorrow,” Anna said happily. Before they left, Mike said, “Did you notice how close together the trees are just here? I wonder how you can get through this place…” Every time Anna returned home from the Pentacle Forest, her mom always ques-tioned her about how dirty she got and why her clothes smelled musty. She also asked why her new clothes were torn. Of course, Anna would only giggle. She did not want her mom to know she spent time in the distant and mysterious Pentacle Forest.

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The Illness

O ne day Anna became dreadfully sick, so weak her mother confined her to bed. Anna‟s grandmother nursed her in the hope of curing her while her mother worked during the day. Anna had soup every day; morning, afternoon and eve-

ning, which made her very unhappy; too much of a good thing gets old fast. She had chicken noodle soup, which was her favorite, mushroom soup, split pea soup, tomato soup, and even chef surprise soup. None of the soups helped her get better, and her mom became very worried and took her to the doctor‟s office. “Hello, Mrs. Stein, what brings you and Anna here today?” Dr. Cannon asked in his cheerful voice. “It‟s Anna, Dr. Cannon. She‟s been feeling really sick lately, and she complains of pain in her muscles and seems really tired. I had to fight with her to get her out of bed. That‟s not like Anna; she loves the outdoor life. Something has to be seriously wrong with her.” “Don‟t worry, Mrs. Stein. We'll check Anna out," Dr. Cannon replied. "Nurse Kathy, let's start with a full array of blood tests followed by a chest X-ray.”

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Anna really hated needles, as most people do, but they were necessary and she felt too bad to complain. The nurse wrapped the rubber strap around Anna‟s petite arm and stuck her with the needle. “Ouch!” Anna cried. “That hurt!” The pain lasted for about a second before Nurse Kathy replied, “Short-term pain for long-term gain.” She filled several tubes with blood, and then sent them to the lab. “Mrs. Stein, would you help Anna undress and have her put on these two robes? First one ties in the back and second one in the front,” Nurse Kathy said in her mellow voice. “Anna, please undress, dear, so we can get the X-rays taken.” Anna‟s mom spoke through a wall of noticeable tears. After the X-rays and blood tests, Dr. Cannon told Anna‟s mom he would call with the results. That night, he called and told Anna‟s mom the diagnosis. “Hello, Mrs. Stein. I‟ve reviewed the test results. I‟m sorry to say this, but it looks like Anna has cancer.”

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Anna‟s mom gasped and the color left her face. “What can be done, Dr. Cannon? What type of treatment is available, and what type of cancer does she have?” “It‟s acute lymphocytic leukemia, and unfortunately it has grown rapidly and spread through her entire body.” Dr. Cannon spoke with deep sorrow. Anna‟s mom began to cry. She was not sure how to tell Anna what was happening to her body, but she knew her baby had the heart and soul of a little woman; she could handle anything. “Mrs. Stein, I will continue to search for a cure. If there is one, we will find it,” Dr. Cannon said in a sympathetic voice. “Thank you, Dr. Cannon,” said Anna‟s mom courteously. Click went the phone line. She walked to Anna‟s bedroom, glanced at her beautiful daughter, and started to tell her the news about the leukemia. Anna interrupted her. “Mom, it‟s ok. I know it's bad, but I‟ll be all right, I know I will. Please don't worry.”

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Anna‟s mom reached around her and hugged her as if there were no tomorrow. They cried together until dawn. Poor Anna didn‟t know what to say to Mike or how he would take the news, but she had to tell him. A constant flow of tears drizzled down her face as sadness overtook her world. The next day, Mike came by to find out what the doctor had said. Anna was helped out of bed. She told him about the disease and the two of them sat there with puffy eyes and sad looks on their faces. “Oh my, how did this happen? And what can they do about it?” Mike asked with deep remorse. “Is there anything I can do to help? Please tell me, Anna,” he said with a pleading heart. Later, Anna's grandmother heard the children talking. She knew they played in the Pentacle Forest. There were stories about a secret cure that lay there. She helped Anna back into bed, thinking those stories might help her to hope for recovery. “Mike,” she said, her eyes wide and her brows raised, “there's a tale about a strange mythical creature that lives in Pentacle Forest and could possibly help Anna.” “The Pentacle Forest?” Mike asked, puzzled.

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He remembered the stories about the mystical creature that lived in the swamp. Could that be what Anna‟s grandmother meant? “Yes, in the Pentacle Forest. Deep in the swamp lives a strange creature named Chompy. He's capable of wild cures with his tiny body, but they say he‟s hard to find and is protected by all the animals of the forest. Even the greatest explorers haven‟t been able to bring Chompy back,” she said. Despite herself, excitement filled her face. “Chompy is shaped like a round fuzz ball. He has soft multicolored fine hair shaded brown, black, and white, with a pinch of blue. Chompy‟s teeth are very tiny; he has wee legs and cute paws. When you see him, you will know him because he has big bright black eyes filled with joy.” Anna drifted off to sleep as soon as her grandmother tucked her in for a nap. Chompy sounds like a magical creature that could cure almost anything and would definitely cure Anna of her cancer. I could search for Chompy and bring him back here to save Anna’s life, Mike thought to himself. “Would you like some lunch, Mike?” Anna‟s grandma asked. “No, thank you, I need to go do some things. Bye now,” Mike said. “Good-bye, Mike.”

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The dear old lady wondered whether she should have told him about Chompy. Knowing Mike, he might even try to find his way through the forest to bring Chompy back with him. ”Please be careful,” she warned.

The Search for Chompy

Part One

M ike ran to the Pentacle Forest as fast as he could. He was going to find Chompy so he could save his best friend‟s life. Just like the Dark Knight he promised to be, he would risk everything to save her. He thought and

thought, trying to figure out how to get to the swamp, but there were so many paths he could choose from that confusion rattled his mind. The entrance to the Pentacle Forest has twelve paths, and Anna and I already ex-plored six of them. Of the remaining six, four lead nowhere near the center of the for-est. That leaves two paths: one leads to the west and the other to the east. The west path curves around to the center of the forest and looks really easy, but will take a long time to explore. The east path looks difficult as it also winds around to the center of forest, but that path disappears. I wonder if I should just take the east path because

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it is the most difficult. Mike pondered the thought and made a decision. As he moved along the east path, he saw many footprints of foxes, wolves, coyotes, mountain lions and bears. He also saw snake skins, lots of snake skins, lying on the ground. There were hundreds of different types of snakes in this never-ending forest, but the worst was the cobra. As Mike pushed his way into the forest, he could hear the snakes but he could not see them. The king cobra could easily sneak up on me and spit in my eyes, blinding me long enough to have me for dinner. Not a very pleasant idea, Mike thought. But he ignored the cobra threat and continued forward through the forest on the east path toward the swamp. He figured it was the only safe path, but it was a long one. Soon the path dis-appeared altogether, which meant he had to climb the trees. In front of him were rows and rows of trees with patterns like the rocks Mike had seen in the museum last summer. The pathway was tight, with narrow passages he could barely squeeze through. It reminded him of a maze, but instead of the usual sort of maze it was an elevated one. To pass some of the trees, Mike had to climb up and over limbs and branches to get to the next opening. He could see a fox, which looked very mean, but it could not get to him since the trees were made of solid stone. He knew he'd be safe, provided he didn‟t fall. The fox lunged repeatedly at the trees but his little claws could not grip the mighty trunks.

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“What do you want, Mr. Fox? I‟m not your dinner,” Mike joked, as the fox gave up and ran away. Mike continued to squeeze through the trees high in the air. But as he moved deeper into the forest, the trail disappeared. There were no branches left for him to climb over. He stood there puzzled about how he could reach the other side. He pondered going back, but there was no time; he had to find a way. His footing slipped on a moist branch when he went to step back and he fell on to a lower branch, but luckily he wasn‟t hurt. When he looked up to where he‟d been he saw the trees had unique colors along with a mystical design. The colors were purple, blue, and red. He also noticed a feather floating down; it landed on the tree branch below him. When Mike looked down he was astonished: there was the path across the forest, but it was no longer high in the trees - it was down below! He climbed down, carefully stepping on to each of the col-ored branches. First he climbed down to the blue branch, then to the red, up to the purple, and on to another red branch. Each time he would pull himself up and then back down. “Wow, this is fantastic! It's like a jungle gym, and I can do this!” Mike shouted aloud. He climbed up and down the natural jungle gym until he came to an opening. He was amazed; he wondered who had designed this beautiful forest.

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The Search for Chompy

Part Two

O n the next part of Mike‟s journey, he came to a creek with a trickle so pleasant it could put a weary person to sleep. He did feel sleepy, but he focused on the thought of Anna in order to stay awake. The sound of the creek echoed

through the forest; the water sang out to the animals. As with any watering source, the animals came to it to drink and rest. Mike could see all of the animals in the clearing and knew he should avoid them, so that's what he did. He quietly climbed down from the trees, tiptoed over to the creek and crossed it by stepping on the rocks in the creek bed. The wind began to blow lightly and the brush rattled, which filled Mike with fear. He didn't know whether it was the wind or an ani-mal searching for dinner that caused the rattling. He cautiously reached down and picked up a moss-covered stick to aid him on the remainder of his journey. He looked out at the brush and noticed an almost-hidden pattern: some thick bushes

seemed to form a trail. Each bush was connected to the next to form an „S‟ shape that stretched for as far as the eye could see. Alongside these bushes was a mud trail that Mike knew he should keep from falling into. If I walk on top of the bushes I can go across the field with no problems.

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At each step he took, he swatted the brush with his stick to chase any creatures out and scare them away. It looked as if the bushes continued for miles and he seemed to be running out of time. The sun was moving across the sky. Up ahead, he could see a big black bear, but the bear hardly noticed him; so he continued, keeping a wary eye on the huge beast. The brush became thicker and taller and Mike tapped his stick on the ground. A large spider crawled out of the brush thinking food had finally arrived. Mike chuckled and said, “Sorry to disappoint you, Mrs. Spider.” Just outside the brush, a pond appeared with frogs croaking and fish swimming around. He knew he was getting closer to the swamp, but it seemed like it was taking forever. Some of the fish in the pond were large and Mike wondered where they had come from and who had put them in the pond. Or had they come up from under the ground? Close to the pond was a field of lilies. Suddenly, he was startled by the roaring of mountain lions and howling of wolves from somewhere not far away. What startled him most were the multitudes of snake skins at the entrance to the lily field. At the sight of these, he froze in his tracks. I saw these same type skins near the entrance to the forest, and now here they are

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again. What does this mean? The lily field gave off an appealing fragrance, drawing Mike into the meadow, almost as if he were in a hypnotic trance or under a magical spell. “The colors are so vivid,” he thought and wondered how any glint of light had en-tered the forest to make the flowers grow. These are tiger lilies, and the first group is violet, the second group is lavender and the third group is yellow. This makes an arrow symbol, which points straight ahead. It was obvious to Mike that the lily field was the entrance to the swamp, and a creepy feeling made him wonder if someone was watching him. The possibility made him very nervous. Mike didn't know which side of the lily arrow to walk on, so he ventured out into the swamp. But with every step he took, the ground became softer until he began to sink into the mushy soil. After just a few steps, he could no longer lift his legs because the mud created a vacuum holding his legs down. “If only I could take off my shoes, I could continue,” Mike said. He realized he was stuck. He became even more worried as he sank deeper into the mud.

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As fear embraced him, the image of Anna played repeatedly in his mind. Could he find Chompy in time to save his friend? Could Chompy really save her? Mike looked around the swamp hoping to find a branch or vine, which he could use to pull himself up, but no luck. All he could see was mud. He grew very frightened be-cause he could see no way out. No hope was before him. His friend Anna was de-pending on him and he had failed. With a weakened voice, Mike called out: “Chompy, Chompy!” Suddenly a large stone branch crashed to the swampy ground, landing just a few feet away from Mike. He reached his hand out to the gigantic branch and struggled to pull himself forward and keep his head above the mud. How did that branch fall like that? Mike began to feel strange, as if a magical force had control over him. He began to tingle, and for some strange reason he was no longer afraid. He just knew every-thing was going to be all right. Once again he called out: “Chompy, Chompy!” And then, up in a nearby tree, he spotted Chompy. Chompy‟s large black eyes met Mike‟s and he squeaked to say hello, causing Mike to laugh. The creature was a tiny, round ball covered with soft multicolored fur, but he seemed to change size as Mike watched. His little paws seemed to move a mile a

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minute to propel him forward, and he jumped into Mike‟s hands. As soon as Chompy had landed on Mike, a large mountain lioness ran between Mike‟s sticky muddy legs, whisking him and Chompy away. She charged forward at lightning speed toward the Pentacle Forest‟s exit while Mike held on for dear life. Mike started to explain about Anna, and the cancer, and how he had come into the forest to ask for help, and Chompy gazed at him with his big black eyes and squeaked. He understood everything; and yes, he would help. He would make Anna better. Chompy held tightly to Mike and squeaked gleefully as the trees where Mike had en-tered came into focus. At the edge of the forest, the lioness stopped. Chompy bounced up and down, signaling Mike to dismount, which he did eagerly. Chompy thanked the lioness with his ear-piercing squeak, and then Mike placed him in his pocket. Growing excitement riveted Mike as he rushed back to see Anna. He felt his heart skipping beats, and Chompy bounced in his pocket. Mike was so happy about his suc-cess that the backlog of fear began to drain away, washing his cheeks with tears of hope. He could see Anna‟s house in the alluring sunset as the birds chirped their chil-dren to sleep. The birds were excited about Mike‟s visit, too, and waited near the house to witness the outcome.

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Chompy’s Magic

M ike knocked on the large mahogany door with a strong rapid beat that re-flected his level of excitement. Anna‟s mom opened the door to discover a dirty boy with twigs and leaves hanging from his hair, not to mention the

thick mud coating his pants. “Hello Mike, how did you get so dirty? And what happened to your clothes?” Mrs. Stein asked. “I was in the forest looking for something” Mike replied. “Mike, there is a pair of sweat pants in the hall closet you can change into. Please clean yourself in the bathroom before visiting Anna,” Mrs. Stein said sternly. Chompy didn't make a sound, not even a squeak, as Mike took the sweat pants out of the closet and walked to the bathroom. Wow, Mike thought as he gazed in the mirror, I don’t look anything like a Dark Knight. Maybe a Dirty Knight. He cleaned himself up, changed and slowly walked to Anna‟s room. Anna turned her head toward him. She looked so sad and weary; lost in reality, for Mike could feel the presence of her fear. Her sickness had engulfed her life; it seemed inevitable it would win. The pain she was experiencing was awful; she could barely

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move her arms as she lay there in her teddy-bear pajamas, distant from the world. She tried to smile at Mike but the pain caused her to cringe instead. She slowly moved her lips and asked, “Where did you go, Mike?” Mike's only reply was a smile as Chompy began to squeak and bounce excitedly in-side his pocket. Reaching his hand inside, Mike pulled Chompy out and everyone in the room gasped in disbelief at the furry little creature with the big black eyes. Anna‟s mom asked “What is that?” and pointed her finger. Anna‟s Grandmother replied, “That's Chompy, a mystical creature, and I hope he is here to help Anna get better.” "Yes, it is Chompy from the Pentacle Forest, from deep in the swamp; he's come to see you, Anna,” Mike said. Anna was speechless as Chompy bounced on to her bed. He stared at Anna with those big black eyes, and within a few seconds his eyes had begun to change color. They changed from black to brown, then to a misty blue. His fluffy hair pointed outward as if an electrical jolt had shocked him. “Go, Chompy! Make her well again!” Mike coaxed the furry creature.

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Chompy rolled along Anna‟s right foot and up over her toes. He slowed to a stop, then waddled around until he found a lump, and sat on it. After a few seconds he began to radiate a dull glow. He waddled up her leg until he found another lump and sat down again. Now he began to glow more brightly. When he reached her stomach, he started to drop, twist and spin until he was as bright as a sun. He continued to roll across her arms, chest, chin, and face and Anna‟s body took on a new look. He darted down the other side of her body, causing her to let out a loud cluster of laughs. When Chompy reached Anna‟s left foot, he jumped to the other side and started all over again. Anna began to laugh uncontrollably; as Mike watched, color filled her cheeks. Chompy tickled Anna with his electrifying hair and everyone in the room be-gan to join in the laughter. Chompy started dancing across Anna‟s body, rolling and bouncing, and Anna‟s brain sent out a message to summon an army of new white blood cells to fight the cancer. Her red blood cells began to replenish and grew quickly in number, and a war continued to rage inside her little body. When Chompy reached her face again, his eyes turned brown. Anna, still laughing, was astonished to see his eyes changing color! He spun around in circles until a vortex

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pulled him up and his eyes changed back to black. He fell into Anna‟s hand while she tried to regain her composure. She looked into Chompy‟s eyes and saw warmth, love, and compassion. It was the same warmth and compassion she saw every day in her mom‟s eyes and in her friend Mike‟s eyes. Chompy squeaked, started to bounce, and once again landed in Mike's hands. Chompy with his huge black eyes, and Mike with his enormous smile, had just witnessed Anna's health change. Although still weak, she was on the road to recovery.

Mystical Powers Shine

C hompy continued to squeak, telling Mike it was time to go. Mike said goodbye to Anna and her family, then carried Chompy out into the night. He ran as fast as he could to the forest while the birds were still chirping, well into the early eve-

ning. He stood at the entrance to the Pentacle Forest and the lioness roared. Chompy squeaked goodbye and jumped on to her back. Within a fraction of a second they had

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disappeared into the lush forest, protected by its darkness until the next awakening. Mike turned and looked at the evening sky as the dull background of the moon cast a shadow and the stars spread their radiance over the earth below. He could see a silhou-ette of Chompy outlined in the eastern sky. His mind began to race. “I am so happy that I proved my knighthood for my best friend,” he said aloud. As for Anna, the war was over, and she had won. No one really knew why, but because of the mystical creature named “Chompy,” Anna‟s mind had waged war against the per-ilous disease and she now had a chance to grow up. She realized the most important lesson in life that any child could learn is - to believe.

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To those who lost their lives battling cancer, and those presently fighting

it. Also to my daughter and son: Natalie Piccolo and Nicholas Gabbidon.

The U-Publishers Team

Ralph Piccolo - Lead Editor -Michigan Poppy Silver Editor - United Kingdom

Mark P. Henderson - Editor - United Kingdom Mari Sloan - Editor - California

Mike Dovers - Digital Illustrator - Illinois Ashley Eddy - Layout and Background Design - Ohio

Janey Emery - Chompy Artist - Australia

Initially edited by Jeffrey J. Reider and Marisa S.

Edits by Mark P. Henderson

More stories about Anna, Mike and Chompy:

The Trilogy of Hope:

Hurricane Diablo

The Search for Kalista

The Glowing Ember

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A disease can sneak up on anyone, at anytime, and deliver havoc upon their life; I should know, it happened to me. While you sit pondering why it’s happened to you, there is another person, only a fraction of your age, experiencing the same weary pain as you. The difference is that they don’t know or understand life, and have been tossed into the fires unexpectedly.

Chompy delivers an avenue of hope for those children; a place they can not only believe but can actually feel as the story con-tinues. The value of true friendship, the devotion of one person for another, and the adventure as Mike and Anna find their way through the darkest corners will bring a glimmer of hope to any child's heart. Once done, the believing starts because they no longer concentrate on themselves but they reach out to another. Then the healing begins.