The Rainbow Forest

By Wallace C. Kamens

A precocious white cat named Puff is enticed by a monarch butterfly to a brilliantly colored forest in rural Vermont. Danger lurks, but Puff stumbles upon a gallant deer named Jumper, who explains the rules of the forest during a fast-paced race against time to a cave hidden behind a towering waterfall. Behind the falls Puff discovers a passageway leading to an abandoned mine, where a frightened bat causes him to step back and fall into a seemingly bottomless pit of dark shadows. Puff dangles from a thin crag in the depths while Jumper rushes to his rescue, accidentally leaning into the unforgiving force of the falls and leaving Puff to find his own way home.

The Rainbow Forest is an illustrated 32k-word fantasy adventure written in rhymed verse for middle graders. It is the first of three completed novellas that take Puff around the world as he discovers different customs and cultures, languages, and geography in the continuing award-winning series The Adventures of Puff.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Aug 1, 2016
• ISBN: 9781483575810

Book preview

Text, letter Description automatically generated

The Rainbow Forest

by Wallace C. Kamens

Published by

Innocence Publishing, Inc.

11431 Motor Yacht Cir. N.

Jacksonville, Florida 32225

www.TheAdventuresofPuff.com

© 2021 Wallace C. Kamens

All rights reserved

No portion of this book

may be reproduced in any form

without permission from the publisher,

except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

For more information, contact:

[e-mail]

ISBN: 978-1-48358-150-7

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 The Awakening

Chapter 2 Touching the Clouds

Chapter 3 The Rule of the Forest

Chapter 4 Sacred Ground

Chapter 5 A Squirrely Friend

Chapter 6 A Secret Place

Chapter 7 The Mine

Chapter 8 The Fall

Chapter 9 A Dangerous Stranger

Chapter 10 Back Home

Chapter 11 The Leap of Faith

Chapter 12 A Close Call

Chapter 13 Going South

Chapter 14 A Secret Tool

Chapter 15 The Nose Plug

Chapter 16 The Rules of the Stream

Chapter 17 The Amazing Underwater Journey

Chapter 18 About Shadows

Chapter 19 Going Under

Chapter 20 The Flower Shop

Chapter 21 Boaz Joins the Team

Chapter 22 The Battle

Chapter 23 The Snatch

Chapter 24 A Rest in a Nest

Chapter 25 The Owl and the Fox

Chapter 26 The Healing Ways

Chapter 27 All About Trout

Chapter 28 An Unlikely Team

Chapter 29 The Gathering

Chapter 30 Against All Odds

Chapter 31 Going Home

Introduction

Children have a passion for adventure. I suppose

we all do. But these days adventure stories are certainly

not what they were a century ago. Back then, stories were

tamer and more appropriate for younger audiences.

Parents could permit their children to read adventures

without too much fear of unsettling nightmares keeping

them awake at night.

Modern adventure stories, however, take a

different twist. Evil and the macabre have become

commonplace and the prevailing theme in bookstores and

theatres today. The valiant hero has become eclipsed by

pure malevolence and notorious evil. Once brilliant

dialogue has transformed into sensationalism while

writers profit from dwelling in the deepest levels of

darkness to portray the perfect archvillain.

It seems appropriate therefore—and timely, that a

new series of adventure stories rise to the surface

emphasizing sound morals and ethics. The primary

goal of children’s books after all should be to

preserve the innocence of the minds of children.

The Rainbow Forest is a beautifully illustrated epic

adventure written entirely in rhymed verse. It is the

first book in the series: The Adventures of Puff and

follows a cat’s journey through the wilds of a New

England forest.

It is a story of honor, courage, the value of loyalty in

friendship and the relentless desire to fulfill a dream.

Chapter 1

The Awakening

The sunshine streams through the window today

And dances ‘round the room in a playful way,

After passing through branches and leaves outside,

Pushed gently by the wind from side to side,

While a white cat sleeps on a silky-soft bed,

Dreams of adventures running through his head.

Exciting adventures to faraway lands

Where mountains kiss clouds above blue sea sands,

Sliding down rainbows with casual ease

While flying a kite with hardly a breeze

On a magic carpet ride above the sea—

Could anyone be as happy as he?

A ray of light shines on Puff’s sleepy face,

Awakening him to the morning’s pace

As he sleepily rolls onto his side,

Extending his legs fully long and wide,

He yawns a great yawn as only he can,

While morning begins as it always began.

Puff observes Kathy is nowhere around

So he shifts and stands with hardly a sound,

Thinking she is hiding somewhere nearby.

Maybe under the bed is where she might spy,

Or perhaps behind the dresser and chair?

Should he be concerned—or not really care?

Puff knows he must make a decision fast,

For the morning will not much longer last.

Then he feels something moving in the bed

And wants to jump to the floor, but instead

Puff pulls the blanket, with Kathy below,

Turning in her sleep where no one would know.

Then Puff’s eyes catch an orange whisp outside,

Soaring back and forth—like a kite would glide.

He leaps from the bed to the hardwood floor,

Darting his way to the chair near the door,

Then springs from its seat to the windowsill

And looks outside—remaining very still.

A monarch butterfly flits before Puff’s face,

Flapping its wings at an excited pace

After dodging the screen Puff pushed away,

Its frame now lodging where some bushes lay

As Puff stares at a branch of a nearby tree,

Bridging the perfect adventure to be.

But Puff steps back, for it is a long way down

From the second floor all the way to the ground.

So he sits and pauses, gazing ahead,

Cleaning his whiskers and his paws, instead

Of jumping to the branch before his eyes,

A little farther than previous tries.

Then for some reason, with all his might

Puff leaps, suspended in fearful flight,

Then settles on the branch with all four paws,

Stopping quickly by digging in his claws.

Puff breathes a deep breath and with a long sigh,

He smiles he is safe—for the branch is high.

Puff turns, watching Kathy sleeping in bed,

Now wishing he were with her instead

As a loud screech makes him shiver inside

And want to jump back in the house and hide.

But the jump is far should he slip and fall,

And would be hurt if he lived through it all.

Above, a mother squirrel guards her nest

From Puff, whom she sees as a hostile pest.

Her legs are bowed; she is ready to pounce

If the cat moves half of half of an ounce.

Puff shifts slowly to the trunk of the tree:

The only answer that he can now see.

Two more squirrels appear clearly in sight,

One to his left and one close to his right,

Hissing and snarling with their mother above,

Pushing away branches with one great shove

As Puff stands quiet in a breathless pose,

Watching the butterfly land on his nose.

The squirrels stare motionlessly in place

While Puff descends with no obvious grace

And soon jumps several feet to the ground,

Landing in the grass with a muffled sound,

As the butterfly glides to the field beyond,

To the Rainbow Forest past a clear pond.

Chapter 2

Touching the Clouds

Soft oranges and pinks blanket the sky,

As the Rainbow Forest captures Puff’s eye

Like a great fortress stretching far away,

Ending beyond where he could not say.

The proud trees give a wonderful show,

Dressed in every color of the rainbow.

Purple ash, and birch as white as the moon,

Fiery maple and red oaks’ deep maroon,

Blue spruce and green from balsam fir and pine

At the edge of the field, all straight in a line.

Puff follows closely the butterfly’s flight:

He begins running—his paws feel so light.

Half through the field something catches Puff’s eye,

As he stands in the grass now grown quite high,

Watching a deer buck jump high in the air,

Spinning halfway ‘round as if without a care.

The cat smiles—while danger quietly hides:

Moving closer as it slithers and slides.

Then like the deer Puff jumps high as he can,

Nearly waist high to a fully-grown man,

While a snake with white, red and yellow rings

Uncoils itself as its body springs

Directly at the cat—no longer there,

But suspended for a moment in the air.

The snake crashes just a few feet away,

Wondering how it missed such easy prey.

As Puff lands he stares it straight in the face

While it shoots its tongue to begin the chase.

Puff sprints backward through the tall grassy land,

Like a sharp knife cutting very fine sand.

The snake is gaining and springs to the sky,

Directed at Puff with one perfect try.

But an unexpected kick in the air

Pushes the surprised snake from here to there,

About as far as man can throw a ball.

Where it landed, Puff could not tell at all.

Puff turns to see the deer standing behind

That aided him from a very close bind.

Puff says, "Thank you sir, and if I may say,

You are welcome to join me this fine day."

The deer answers Puff while strolling away,

Never liked snakes much. Be careful, okay?

Puff stands where he is, confused yet relieved,

Amazed what the deer so easily achieved,

Then follows the deer as fast as he can

But the extra high grass slows down that plan.

Puff has to jump just to see where to go,

Following his friend, to where—who could know?

Soon the deer enters the forest ahead

As Puff stops to rest in a grassy bed,

Imagining balloons carrying him high

Till nearly touching the clouds in the sky.

From up there he could more easily see

Where in the deep forest the deer might be.

Chapter 3

The Rule of the Forest

Puff continues steadfast along the way;

To follow the deer’s path and not to stray,

Being careful not to run, for he knows

In this world of surprise where high grass grows

To keep a steady pace till reaching the trees,

Pulling him forward like a tempting tease.

Puff is quite thirsty, his mouth parched and dry;

He is hoping for a cool stream

Reviews for The Rainbow Forest

[James DeBruhl · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An amazing story! i was breath-taken by the great adventures of puff!
I would highly recommend it anyone wishing to step out into a grand adventure of the Rainbow Forest!

[d-fbuser-334593048 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Beautifully written and a joy to read. This would be perfect for any age level, and I bet little ones would have a great time reading the rhymes out loud. I sure did! :-)