Smiling inwardly, I listened to the people who crowded around my new Mom while waiting for me to show up. Although their voices sounded muted and were accompanied by my new Mom's heartbeat, my inherited Shaman abilities sensed the energy of their spoken words and thus understood who they were and what they were saying. I could feel my new Dad around me who was a bit nervous; next to my new Grandmother who seemed to be even more nervous; and Michail, my Big Friend from several past incarnations, who would help me during my first six Earthly years and defend me with his own life if necessary. Of course, they were right, and I WAS wrestling with all of my might, to leave my too tight shelter as soon as possible! Since this morning, my growing baby body had started to feel too cramped in my new Mom's womb; and I wanted to leave my too tight shelter as soon as possible. Fortunately, labor had already set in, and I would be born soon.

For nine long months, I had waited and waited to be born again, while dreaming away as a steadily growing fetus in my new Mom's uterus. During the first few months, I had just floated around in her cozy womb, feeling like the famous little tadpole that wanted to turn into a real Prince. Now, after nine months of waiting, my developing baby body had metamorphosed from a tiny lump of cells into a real human being. From now on, I felt more like a too big frog that was crammed into a way too small aquarium. It was time to leave my new Mom's womb, be kissed by our Gypsy Queen (that is my new Mom too), and greet our Gypsy King (that is my new Dad) and all my beloved subjects who eagerly awaited my arrival.

Many Earthly years ago, in our Timeless Eternal Realm, several devoted Cosmic Friends and I had started to prepare ourselves to descend towards our so terribly confused Planet Earth. Guided by the Gods themselves and working closely together, we would start to turn our degenerated playground into a much better place to live on; by using our Divine Cosmic Powers, and by teaching our fellow Earthlings how to use much more Humanity, Unconditional Love, Understanding, Gratitude, and Happiness. Not surprisingly, everybody immediately chose ME to become the next Gypsy Leader. Because, during several past lives, I had trained myself thoroughly to be a very powerful Shaman and Cosmic Mage; my Soul now possessed all the necessary abilities to perform such an Important Task on Earth.

Before I left our Timeless Eternal Realm, many devoted Eternal Friends and powerful Cosmic Helpers had preceded me, to prepare my Earthly arrival in advance. During my first six Earthly years, they would help me grow up in this secluded Gypsy camp. Then, the Royal Gypsy Family and I would be forced to flee to a foreign country, where we had to redeem some old and very nasty Karma. Both my new Mom and my new Dad would perish in a blazing fire, and only I would survive. Two Earthly years later, I would meet my Eternal Soul Mate who once had been our 'Beloved Gypsy Monarch Harold the Great' while I was our Vice Leader and his Best Friend. During my last life on Earth, he had been my 'trapper Dad'. Now, during my present life, my 'trapper Dad' would adopt me as his own son and therefore be my Dad again! We would again love each other dearly, while he would help me with everything until I would be old enough to be our next Gypsy Leader, marry a nice Gypsy girl, and raise my own son. From then on, all our Eternal Friends and Helpers would start working together as a powerful Cosmic Team, to transform our so terribly confused Planet Earth into a much better place to live on.

Now, I was waiting to be born as a Gypsy Prince, and to greet my new parents for the first time. Nine Earthly months ago, I had left our Timeless Eternal Realm, to descend towards our Planet Earth and reincarnate here as a brand new human baby. Patiently, I had waited, until my new Dad and new Mom made love and one of his sperms swam to her ripen ovum and kissed it. Feeling full of anticipation, I had attached myself to the tiny lump of cells, to embody it and bring it to life. From then on, I had waited until I would be reborn, while several Cosmic Friends and Eternal Helpers assisted me by keeping my Soul awake, so that I could bring several useful Shaman and Mage abilities into my steadily developing human awareness.

Unfortunately, my happy remembrances from our Timeless Eternal Realm were already fading away, making me feel a bit unsure. My awakening human brain was already taking over by forcing me to think; while, at the same time, it closed down all the memories of my soul. Soon, I would be able to remember my Eternal Origin only through my so-called 'intuition' or 'inner awareness'. Fortunately, my inherited Shaman and Mage skills would still provide me with many 'supernatural gifts' and 'psychic abilities'. And, all my Beloved Ancestors, Cosmic Helpers, and Spirit Friends would always be there for me, whenever and wherever I needed them. I could always reckon on them, and they could always reckon on me!

By extending my enveloping aura and feeling around, my clairvoyant Shaman abilities told me that my new Dad tried to assist my new Mom, while he nervously waited for our Wise Woman to show up. I also sensed my new Grandmother around me; and my good friend Michail who would be my Big Friend and powerful Cosmic Assistant, next to being our Gypsy Vice Leader and my new Dad's best friend. They all crowded around my new Mom, while talking about their unborn Crown Prince with very much love and reverence. Although their voices sounded muted and were accompanied by the ever-present 'bump-bump, bump-bump' from my new Mom's heartbeat, my Shaman abilities helped me sense the energy of their spoken words, so that I could understand most of what they were saying. Now, I was very happy to have inherited such a useful 'sixth sense' that let me feel the surrounding energies and translate their muted words into a meaningful conversation.

During the past nine months, time hadn't existed, life was good, and I had nothing to worry about. All the time, my steadily developing baby brain had been dreaming away; until slowly, nearly imperceptibly, my new Mom's womb started to feel too tight. From then on, my growing baby body became too big to float around, so that every involuntary movement pained my new Mom. Fortunately, she never complained, but always told me she loved me dearly and would endure her inconveniences in joy! I sensed the meaning of my new Mom's words, felt her motherly love engulfing me, and knew I would be more than welcome. Being loved like this, in advance, was a wonderful feeling; although my new parents didn't know who I was, and our Wise Woman only found out I would be a boy. Therefore, I already started to love my new parents very much in advance; and I even tried to help my new Mom, by restricting my movements as much as I could.

Now and then, my new Dad had put his hands onto my new Mom's belly, trying to contact me and feel my moving and kicking. At first, my tiny baby body had been too small to be able to do much, because its undeveloped muscles had to grow some more first. Now that my body was bigger, it was easier to feel where my Dad's hands were; and I pushed my feet towards them to greet him. I also wanted to let him know I knew he tried to contact me, and that I was very happy to have him as my new Dad... My new Dad reacted elated when he felt our first real contact, and he exclaimed:

"Wow, Maria, I think my son already recognizes me, and he kicks my hands on purpose! What a wonderful boy!"

"Yes, Janov; I am sure your son recognizes you as his new Dad, and he already loves you very much in advance."

"Thank you very much, Maria, for giving me such a wonderful child; and I love both you and him with all my heart!"

As a steadily growing little fetus in my new Mom's womb, it felt wonderful to feel loved like this by the two people who soon would be my new parents. Now, it was time to show up and greet them! Labor had already set in; and my clairvoyant abilities sensed how my new Dad helped my new Mom squat down onto the carpeted caravan floor, to give me birth. In advance, I had already worked my baby body upside down, instinctively knowing this would be the correct way to enter my new world. Now, my new Mom's contractions started to push my head into a narrow gap, to where my instinct was sure my way out would be. Teasingly slowly, the steadily widening gap opened up more and more; until the crown of my baby head suddenly showed through, obviously having blond hair... Earth, here I come!

Obviously too soon, my small head popped through the steadily widening opening; and I opened my eyes and tried to look around... Only, much to my disappointment, my shoulders seemed to be stuck inside my Mom's womb, because they didn't follow my head! The rest of my baby body stayed inside, although I tried to kick around and push myself down with all of my might, to free myself. I surely hoped I wouldn't be stuck in here for the rest of my life. Could anybody please help me?

Fortunately, our Wise Woman showed up in our caravan, just in time to assist my birth. Hastily, she squatted down, to take a quick look at my panting and wheezing new Mom. Immediately, she tried to free my stuck shoulders, by pulling at my head while turning it around. I could feel her too cold hands wringing at my neck, while she tried to pull my unwilling body through the too narrow gap. Ouch, that HURT! Couldn't our Wise Woman be more careful with my brand new baby body? Ultimately, it had to serve me for the remainder of my life! Feeling helpless, I sent her my thoughts and asked her:

'Please, be more careful with my body; because you are hurting my neck!'

I was sure that the Wise Woman picked up all my thoughts, but she only answered me to be quiet, while she just went on wringing and pulling at my neck. Now, I became angry with her, while I started to fight her too cold hands. Why didn't she listen to me? Ultimately, this was MY body, and she had no right to do anything I didn't want her to do! Stubbornly, I sent her even more anger; until suddenly my shoulders popped through the already widening gap, and the rest of my body followed automatically. Without any more help, I just flopped out of my new Mom's warm belly, straight into the cold hands of our Wise Woman. Instantly, the air around me felt too chilly, the too bright light dazzled my eyes, and my tiny baby body started to cramp and shiver from being frozen... Still feeling angry with the Wise Woman, I admonished her in my mind:

'It's too cold here, and my neck hurts. Therefore, I want you to push me back into my warm place, immediately!'

Of course, the Wise Woman didn't push me back into my Mom's warm and cozy womb; but she only smiled at me while sending me her own thoughts:

'Be welcome in our Gypsy community, my young Prince; and I hope you will soon feel more at home. In the meantime, I will place you where I am sure you will like it even better.'

Still smiling, the Wise Woman laid me down onto my new Mom's belly, in between her already opening arms! At seeing her little baby boy, my new Mom started to cry from sheer happiness, while she folded her warm arms around my shivering little frame and cradled me. That felt wonderful! My anger quickly faded away, while I enjoyed our close togetherness very much. Feeling ashamed, I again concentrated on our Wise Woman and sent her my humble excuses:

'Sorry, Wise Woman, for being angry with you; and I didn't really mean it...'

The Wise Woman responded it was okay and that she understood, while she took a pair of scissors and adeptly cut the umbilical cord that still connected me to my new Mom. Within a second, I got a strange feeling in my new organs that, what I later on discovered, were called 'lungs'. My chest started to feel too tight and upset, while my squirming baby body started to heave and gasp for air. A second later, my new body inhaled its first breath of Earthly air and pulled it deeply into its quickly unfolding lungs. Yes, that was what my soul had been waiting for all the time! Finally, I was born again!

Instinctively, my little baby body started to cry, because it wanted to unfold its lungs even more, while a strangely deep and sonorous sound escaped my throat... Suddenly feeling confused, I stopped crying, while the unexpected deep sound made me wonder. Was really my new baby body making such a surprisingly deep crying noise? Tentatively, I filled my lungs with fresh air and exhaled again; and, again, my throat produced the same deep and sonorous sound, this time even louder! Suddenly feeling proud of myself, I tried to tell the surprised looking people around me:

'Do you hear that? My new body is already making beautiful sounds!'

By using my clairvoyant Shaman abilities, I sensed that the people around me reacted rather surprised at hearing such a deep and sonorous sound coming from such a tiny baby. Then, they started to laugh and nudge each other, probably because they also felt very pleased to hear such a healthy crying coming from their newborn little Gypsy Crown Prince and only Heir to the Throne. Our Wise Woman even started to chuckle, while she exclaimed:

"Wow, our newborn Crown Prince has a real baritone voice! I think that, once he is a grownup, it will lower into a bass. He has a LOUD voice as well. That could be very handy for our future Gypsy King; as such a loud and sonorous sounding voice will certainly make him be heard by everybody around."

While everybody around me complimented my new Mom with such a healthy child; my new Grandmother approached me, and her nicely warmed hands gently lifted me from my Mom's belly. She took me to our couch in our living room, where she laid me down onto a nicely warmed and fluffy towel. Adeptly, she washed my little body, dried it, powdered it, put a nicely warmed diaper on it, and finally laid me back into my new Mom's waiting arms. Immediately, my new Mom refolded her warm arms around my now spotlessly clean baby body, kissed the top of my blond head, and tenderly cradled me... Feeling thankful for my Grandmother's much appreciated help, I concentrated on her to send her my love:

'Thank you, Grandma, for caring for me like this; although I sense you cannot pick up my thoughts.'

Now that my little body was cleaned and warmed, I started to feel wonderful; while I basked in the pleasant sensation of being loved and cared for by all the happy looking people around me. Suddenly, a nice and soft thing touched my lips; and, instinctively, I opened my mouth and started to suck on it. Within a second, the most delicious nourishment I could ever imagine entered my mouth. Yummy, this liquid food tasted wonderful! Enthusiastically, I started to suck on my Mom's soft thing with all of my might, while I closed my eyes and forgot everything else around me.

In the background, a door opened, and an enthusiastic voice shouted to the waiting people outside our caravan:

"IT'S A BOY! WE HAVE A NEW HEIR TO THE THRONE!"

Instantly, many loudly cheering sounds filled my sensitive baby ears, making me shudder from the unexpected noise. At the same time, the happy sounds also filled me with lots of self-consciousness and pride! While I scanned the energy of the joyful words, my 'sixth sense' told me what they meant. Outside our caravan, my beloved subjects were cheering and congratulating each other because of ME, their newborn Gypsy Crown Prince and only Heir to the Throne!

A couple of violins started to play beautiful Gypsy melodies full of joy and happiness. Soon, I got goose bumps all over my baby body, while I stopped drinking and listened intently. Were my subjects playing these heart-warming tunes because they felt happy with their newborn little Prince? Then, they already loved me very much! By extending my enveloping aura some more, I sensed many enthusiastic people gathering outside our caravan, celebrating my birth while talking to each other with happy voices. Of course, my 'sixth sense' tried to understand what they were talking about; but all these different energies were blurring my sensitivity too much. Yet, I still sensed their combined love and happiness, making me feel even more accepted and welcome. They really already loved me dearly!

Now and then, one of my subjects knocked on our caravan door and asked to be let inside, to take a first look at their newborn little Gypsy Crown Prince and only Heir to the Throne. My visitors stepped inside, looked at me, and reacted rather surprised at seeing my curious bright blue eyes and my unruly blond hair! Then, they smiled at me, congratulated my proud parents and beaming grandmother with such a healthy child, and went outside again. Of course, our caravan door shut immediately to keep the winter cold out and the warmth in, as it was March the third and still freezing.

Slowly, I started to doze off, while lazily sucking on that yummy soft thing that still was in my mouth. Sleepily, I sensed that my new Mom got up, removed my diaper, cleaned my soiled bottom, dried me, powdered me, and put another warmed diaper on me. She put me in between a couple of soft pillows, covered me with a cozy blanket, and tenderly kissed my forehead before she returned to her own bedroom to take some much needed rest. Her motherly love made me feel even more safe and cared for; and I enjoyed my happy feelings very much, while I tumbled into a deep sleep.

A couple hours later, I woke up in darkness, and just couldn't understand where I was now. Suddenly, I missed my cozy womb I had been living in for nine months; and I also missed the reassuring heartbeat sound of 'bump-bump, bump-bump' that always accompanied me. Feeling uncertain, I tried to find out what could have happened. Where had I landed; and where was my safe shelter? Feeling more and more helpless and lonely, I didn't know what to do; and my little baby body reacted to the unusual sensation and started to cry, again producing its deep and sonorous baritone sound.

Within a second, I heard some unknown noises, and a few lights switched on. A smiling face appeared and hovered over me; and I stopped crying while staring at it in wonder. In vain, I tried to focus my unwilling baby eyes on that vague and misty thing that moved nearby and produced reassuring sounds... until two warm hands carefully lifted me from between my pillows, while helpfully supporting my wobbly head. Sensing her by now well-known female energy, I recognized my new Mom and immediately felt safe again. My Mom took me into her arms and cradled me; but she also sniffed the air and told me:

"Hi, my son, are you hungry again? Just a moment, because I have to clean you first..."

My Mom took me to our living room, where she removed my soiled diaper, washed and powdered my smelly bottom, and put another warm and clean diaper on me. Next, she carried me to her bedroom, took me onto her lap, and YES! There was that yummy soft thing again! Immediately, I started to suck on it with all my might, until my stomach was filled to the brim with that delicious nourishment. Of course, I had to burp and spilled half of it; but who cares. My Mom just cleaned me up and let me drink some more. Feeling cared for and happy again, I fell asleep in my Mom's warm and cozy arms, and didn't even notice her putting me to bed in what was now my own small sleeping den with its many colored pillows.

A couple hours later, I woke up, because the bright morning sunlight tickled my sensitive baby eyes and made me sneeze. Within a second, I sensed the presence of another person who approached me from our living room. Obviously, somebody had heard my sneezing and now wanted to know what I was doing. This time, I sensed a totally different energy, full of power and strength, engulfing me with lots of love and safety. Instinctively, I knew this had to be 'male' energy; and the person hovering over me was my new Dad! I tried to focus my unwilling eyes on him; and, much to my delight, I really succeeded in getting the vague picture a bit sharper. This darker face, adorned with an enormous moustache, was producing much louder and more sonorous reassuring sounds. My Mom's eyes had been bright blue; but the warm eyes full of love and happiness that looked at me now were deep brown, nearly black.

When my new Dad saw that I looked back at him, his proudly beaming face smiled at me, while his enormous hands carefully lifted me out of my pillows. Happily, he took me to our couch in our living room, where he sat down, took me on his enormous lap, and folded his strong arms around my tiny baby body. Immediately, I tried to melt away into his powerful aura, already feeling totally safe and welcome on his lap and in his arms, while his powerful love and care engulfed my entire body, and I basked in the pleasant feeling of being loved and cared for like this.

Within a few seconds, my Dad sniffed the air and chuckled:

"Son, I think you've pooped your diaper! Shall we wake your Mom to help you, or shall I try to clean you?"

Without waiting for my answer, my Dad laid me down onto a fluffy towel, removed my again soiled diaper, and carefully cleaned my smelly bottom. After drying me, he tried to powder my sensitive parts; but he accidentally spilled some powder into the air, which made both of us sneeze at the same time. Suddenly looking ashamed about his obvious clumsiness, my Dad continued to put a clean diaper on me, while I wiggled around in his hands and showed him my joyful face. Although my new Dad did this for the first time, I already LOVED it when he tried to pamper me! To be honest, I still do...

Despite my happy wiggling and kicking around, my Dad finally succeeded in putting a clean diaper on me. Still trying to focus my unwilling eyes on his dark brown eyes full of love and happiness, I looked up at his affectionate face and started to smile broadly. I was already sure that my Dad and I were kindred souls, and I felt very happy to have him as my new Dad! Suddenly, my Dad got tears in his dark eyes, while he told me with a choked voice:

"Boy, your bright blue eyes are looking straight into my soul. What an enormous amount of power do you possess! To me, you already are a real Gypsy Crown Prince! And, although you are not even one day old, you've already smiled back at me. My dear son, you are an extremely special boy, and I am very proud to be your humble Dad!"

My broadly smiling Dad took me into his arms, turned around, and slowly slumped backwards onto our couch. At the same time, he also pulled my tiny baby body on top of his enormous chest... That felt wonderful! Happily, I tried to spread out onto my Dad's broad chest as far as I could, while letting myself melt away in his powerful and lovable male aura. Accidentally, I put my little nose into his left armpit. At that same moment, when I smelled his strong manly odor for the first time, my inside knew I would be hooked on this particular scent for the remainder of my life! To be honest, I still am...

While my Dad and I enjoyed our close togetherness very much, I wanted to put my own arms around his broad chest, to let him feel how much I loved him in return. Only, that was very frustrating, because my tiny arms and legs absolutely refused to do what I wanted them to do. Much to my disappointment, my limbs just flapped around, because I didn't know how to find the proper muscles to control them. Obviously, my little baby body was still way too immature; and I had to learn how to use my uncooperative muscles first. Feeling disappointed, I stopped my idle efforts and looked at my Dad... For a second, my Dad stared at my disappointed face, not comprehending why I suddenly looked distracted. Then, our mutual love and togetherness made us smile at each other again, while I slumped down and slowly dozed off into dreamland. Within a minute, both my Dad and I were sound asleep, joyously snoring together on our couch in our living room.

Since that first day, I was addicted to sleeping on my Dad's stomach or lying curled up in his strong arms. Now and then, my Dad teasingly called me 'my little octopus', because I always draped all my limbs all over his broad chest and belly. Well, I just couldn't help loving him, and I also wanted to have as much bodily contact with my Dad as I could muster! Besides, thinking about it, doesn't a real octopus have eight limbs instead of only four?

Chapter 2. I am flying high, developing, and experimenting.

An hour later, my little baby body woke up; because my Shaman abilities suddenly sensed another powerful male energy that approached our caravan and planned to pay us a visit. Obviously, another 'Shaman gift' had kicked into action; and it turned out to be absolutely right! Within ten seconds, Michail, who was our Vice King and my new Dad's best friend, stepped inside our caravan, on his way ducking his head to be able to pass the doorpost. Michail was a HUGE man, always clad in his inseparable fur coat, today also wearing a pair of leather boots and warm gloves, because of the cold winter weather. He started to chuckle when he saw my Dad, sleeping on our couch, having his beaming little son spread out all over his chest...

My Dad woke up when he heard Michail; but he first looked at me, to see if everything was all right with me! When he saw I was awake and smiled broadly at recognizing his lovable face, he gently lifted me off his chest, sat upright, and took me onto his lap and into his safe arms. Now, my Dad welcomed our still chuckling visitor:

"Hi, Michail! Sorry for oversleeping; but I had to baby-sit my son, because Maria is still asleep and recuperating."

"Yes, of course; but you two also are one of a kind! Just look at your son's curious eyes. What an enormous power and intelligence does our newborn Crown Prince radiate! Although he is not even one day old, he looks at me as if he already understands everything that I am saying, while he stares straight into my soul with his bright blue orbs..."

Indeed, I WAS staring at Michail's lovable face, while basking in the happy feeling of recognizing my Big Friend from our Timeless Eternal Realm! He still had his own beautiful and vibrant aura that stretched out into all directions and engulfed my Dad and me with lots of Pure Love and Utmost Respect. I was absolutely sure that he and I still loved each other very much. In this life, he would again be my faithful and totally devoted Big Friend and Cosmic Helper.

My proud looking Dad smiled back at Michail, while he answered:

"I surely agree that my son is a special child, and I am really proud of him! This morning, he already smiled at me, just before we fell asleep and again when I sat upright. Now, my dear Gypsy Crown Prince and only Heir to the Throne, let's go outside and meet our impatiently waiting subjects; to let them have their first official look at you..."

My still smiling Dad lifted me off his lap, rose from our couch, and first laid me down in between some pillows. Next, he looked for some warm clothing to wrap me in. Soon, he found a nicely colored plaid blanket; and covered my entire body in it, letting only my face show through. Together, we followed Michail outside and stepped into our cold winter world full of blinding snow. Helpfully, my Dad turned me around, so that I could look around at where we went...

Feeling a bit overwhelmed, I started to look around with bulging eyes, not knowing what I wanted to see first. While desperately trying to focus my still unwilling eyes, I saw a blurry circle of snowy caravans around a faintly glowing campfire. Several people were already waiting for us, while their children were frolicking around and throwing snowballs at each other. All the people started to cheer when they saw my Dad and me; and all our subjects bowed and greeted their Beloved Gypsy Leader and their newborn little Crown Prince.

Two violin players started to play beautiful Gypsy melodies full of hope and glory, while my Dad stepped into a circle of wooden benches around our glowing campfire; still carrying me in his strong arms. Now, all the grownups sat down on their wooden benches around our campfire; while all the playing children left their snowballs and climbed onto one of the many laps, to be cuddled and feel loved. After everybody was seated, my Dad carried me around the circle, to let my subjects have a close look at their newborn little Gypsy Crown Prince...

All my subjects who saw me for the first time, looked very surprised, and many people told my Dad how amazed they felt at seeing my over-curious and intense looking bright blue eyes! They were absolutely sure they had never seen such extreme alertness and Inner Power in such a young child. And, for our future Gypsy King, having blond hair and bright blue eyes was an absolute first in our long row of preceding Gypsy Leaders. If this were a sign from our Supreme Being, our newborn Gypsy Crown Prince would soon become something VERY special!

I sensed the energy of their praising words, understood what they meant, and involuntarily started to blush. Did my people think I could be THAT special? Wow... After everybody had admired their little Crown Prince, my Dad announced:

"Today, we present our new Heir to the Throne to our Gypsy Community, to our Beloved Ancestors, and to our Highest Supreme Being. The official name of our Crown Prince will be 'Harold Janovski Romani'; because his Mom and I are naming him after my deceased grandfather who always will be our beloved 'Gypsy Monarch Harold the Great'. So be it!"

At hearing my Dad's announcement, all the men with little children on their laps rose from their wooden benches, while lifting their kids high into the air. After they kissed their kids, they suddenly threw them upwards, as high as they could into the sky, to greet and thank our Beloved Ancestors and our Highest Supreme Being. They caught their kids adeptly into their arms when they landed, and retook them onto their laps. The kids enjoyed the fun immensely, shrieked with delight, and immediately asked for more.

Suddenly, I had an intense sensation of flying up, high into the air, far above the other kids! Immediately, I was ecstatic; felt free as a bird, nearly cried from my powerful and overwhelming emotions, and wanted to fly even higher. This intense sense of freedom strongly reminded me of our timeless Eternal Realm, where my old Soul belonged in reality.

During a few seconds, I felt like flying Back Home.

Way too soon, I started to go down; while I still wanted to fly even higher. When I landed, my Dad adeptly caught me in his strong and safe arms. Immediately, he looked me over from top to toe, to see if everything was all right with me.

Still feeling ecstatic and full of energy, I showed my Dad my broadest smile!

Feeling reassured, my Dad smiled back at me. Now, he lifted me onto his shoulders; holding my body with one hand, while supporting my wobbly head with the other. Systematically, he started to walk me around our circle; this time to let ME greet my own Beloved People.

One by one, my Dad stopped in front of my Beloved Subjects, and told me their names.

One by one, my Beloved Subjects bowed towards me and touched my small feet, thus vowing their eternal loyalty to their newborn Crown Prince and future King.

Of course, I wanted to greet my Beloved Subjects back, to thank them for their trust and loyalty! Only, my still very unwilling baby body didn't know how to bow back; and the only things that left my mumbling mouth were small air bubbles and a lot of saliva.

After several idle tries to bow back to my people and speak to them, I started to feel annoyed. I became angry with myself, because my tiny baby-body was too small to be able to make myself understood. I also felt frustrated, because my still undeveloped muscles absolutely refused to do what I wanted them to do.

My Dad saw me drooling; but he only laughed at my frustrated face and idle tries to talk. He handed me to Michail, and asked my huge Friend to take me back to our own Royal caravan.

Of course, I protested fiercely, because I wanted to join the fun outside for a much longer time! However, neither my Dad nor Michail seemed to understand what I tried to tell them. Michail just took me into his arms, and carried me back to our green-and-golden Royal caravan.

My Mom was awake and enthusiastically greeted us from her bedroom. She smiled when she saw me drooling, and first removed my colored blanket. Then, she cleaned my face with a few tissues. Now, she took me into her arms and let me drink from her soft things she called 'breasts'; until I was stuffed to the brim, had to burp, and unintentionally spilled some.

After my Mom applied a fresh diaper on me, she kissed my wrinkling little nose and put me in between my pile of pillows, to have my next nap. Within a minute, I was sound asleep, dreaming of a beautiful future and being able to speak.

During the following few months, my extremely fast bodily development turned out to be the most exciting time of my life! Much to my delight, I was learning so many interesting new things, in such a relatively short amount of time. During the first few days, my tiny baby-body only wanted to sleep, drink from my Mom's breasts, and sleep some more. Then, my developing new brain woke up from its annoying sleepiness; and I started to look around.

From now on, my insatiably curious mind wanted to look at and learn about every interesting thing that it came upon, preferable immediately! Soon, my steadily developing new brain felt overloaded with all the possibilities, and I almost didn't know what to do first. For a while, I even disliked sleep, because it prevented me from discovering even more fascinating abilities.

Within a few days, I taught myself how to focus my unwilling eyes, so that I could see everything around me more clearly. At first, I tried to exercise both eyes at the same time, by alternately looking at several nearby and far-away objects. Unfortunately, they started to see double and blurry; but they returned to normal after I had some more sleep. Then, much to my delight, I found out how I could use my eye muscles without straining them too much. Finally, I was able to focus my eyes properly on anything interesting I wanted to look at.

From now on, my always-curious eyes immediately focused on every person who showed up in our caravan. They also followed and scrutinized every interesting object that could move, was colorful, or made appealing sounds. After some more training, I even tried to turn my head, to have a better look at all these new and fascinating things around me.

Many surprised visitors, who saw me looking at them, told my parents they felt astonished about my extremely fast development. I had to be the fastest developing baby in the universe!

Sensing the energy of their praising words, I understood what they meant, and involuntarily started to blush. However, at the same time, I felt proud of myself and of my early achievements and all those newly found abilities! Ultimately, I was only a few weeks old; and therefore I was extremely precocious, according to what my surprised visitors told my parents.

Now that I was able to look around properly, I started to concentrate on training my body. To begin with, I wanted to find out which muscles were controlling my still very unwilling limbs. I already knew how I always moved all the parts of my body at the same time, by floundering and jiggling when I became excited. Only, how could I perform all these different movements at will and independent from each other, instead of randomly and at the same time?

After lots of trying, and making many erratic movements, I decided I had to do something totally different. Therefore, I started to concentrate on flexing only one single muscle at a time. At the same moment, I tried to observe which part of my body suddenly moved.

This turned out to be a very interesting experiment! I was even angry with my Mom for taking me onto her lap, to clean me up and let me drink from her breasts.

Unfortunately, my Mom had no idea why I suddenly looked distracted, and she reacted a bit worried. She thought I could be ill, looked at my tongue, and felt my forehead to check for a fever. Then, she felt relieved that I still had a healthy appetite. After letting me drink, burp, and drink some more; she cleaned my smelly bottom, powdered me, and put a fresh diaper on me.

I smiled broadly at my Mom, to let her know I wasn't ill and still felt happy. Of course, it had never been my intent to make any of my parents feel worried about my health. If only I could talk, and explain to my Mom what I had been trying to do.

Looking apologetically, I tried to send her my thoughts:

'Sorry, Mom, for worrying you about my health. I promise I will make it up to you, once I am able to talk and can explain what I am trying to do.'

My Mom smiled back at me, while she took a tissue and removed my excessive saliva and air bubbles. Obviously, she hadn't picked up my thoughts, as our Wise Woman had done so easily. She just put me in between my pillows and covered me with a blanket, to have my next nap.

Although I had planned to go on with my experiments, I fell asleep immediately.

Within a few weeks, I had taught myself how to concentrate on only one single muscle, without flexing all the other ones at the same time. Finally, I was able to move all my limbs at will and one by one, without involuntarily jiggling my entire body.

Happily, I started to play with my two arms, by moving them into every possible direction while following them with my eyes. That was a lot of fun, now that I was able to steer my arms around more or less properly. After my arms started to feel too tired, I tried to kick my legs around; but they were more difficult to follow, because I couldn't lift my head to look at them. Obviously, I first had to gain a lot more strength in my still underdeveloped neck muscles.

The next day, I suddenly found out how I could use my arms to shove my pile of pillows around deliberately! That was even more fun; and I spent quite some time pushing my pillows to one side or rearranging them around me. Now and then, an unruly pillow fell of my bed and disappeared to the floor, making me wonder where it suddenly went. When the pillow didn't return, I soon forgot about it and started to shove the next one around.

When my arms became too tired from the unaccustomed workout, I tried to shove my pillows around with my legs. Immediately, I found out that my legs were less flexible than my arms, but they were able to kick my pillows around with MUCH more force! Feeling enthusiastic, I started to kick at all my pillows, making them jump up into the air. This turned out to be VERY much fun; especially after I started to kick my pillows around with even more force!

In no time, my sleeping den was a total mess, because I had kicked my pillows everywhere. As a result, I felt much freer, because I now could look around without lifting my head or craning my neck. Enthusiastically, I kicked at the remaining pillows, until all of them were out of my sight or disappeared from my sight onto the floor.

At last, my worn-out body felt dead tired; but, at the same time, I was very satisfied with my bodily progress. Unknowingly, I had given my muscles an intense workout, so that they started to become relatively strong for such a small baby. As an extra bonus, this early training also yielded me a huge advantage throughout the next years of my bodily development. Even after many years from now, my trained muscles were still relatively strong for my age!

Feeling dead tired but absolutely wonderful, I closed my eyes and fell asleep immediately.

"My dear son, what did you do? You have spread your pillows all over the place! Did you have a bad dream? Or, did you have a nasty cramp and couldn't get rid of it? Why didn't you call me or cry? I would have helped you."

Slowly, I woke up from a happy dream; and I needed a second to realize where I was. Then, I started to smile broadly at recognizing the familiar voice! My beloved Dad hovered over me; but he looked rather worried, while he felt my forehead to check for a fever.

Oh my, what had I done! Of course, it had never been my intent to make any of my parents feel worried about me. I had only been playing with my still unwilling limbs; and discovered many more possibilities. Only, I never thought my parents would misunderstand what I was trying to do, to develop my untrained muscles and discover even more unknown potentials.

What should I do now? How could I tell my Dad I was okay and had only trained my unwilling muscles? Would he understand my thoughts, as our Wise Woman had done so easily?

Offering him my broadest smile, I told him in my mind:

'Please, Dad, don't worry about me. I am only extremely curious for my age; and, perhaps, my developing bright brain is a little bit too early for its own good.'

Fortunately, my Dad seemed to feel reassured, because he smiled back at me. I even thought he could have picked up some of my thoughts, but wasn't sure. Would he be able to pick up a picture of what I wanted him to do now? Let's try it out. Concentrating on my Dad's mind, I sent him a picture of him taking me out of my bed and putting me onto his lap.

A second later, my Dad lifted me out of my bed and took me to our couch in the living room. Gently, he took me onto his lap, and folded his safe arms around my tiny body.

Yesss! That was exactly what I wanted my Dad to do! Had he really picked up my picture? Happily, I nestled into his safe arms, heaving a deep sigh of content, feeling very pleased to have him as my new Dad. While melting into his powerful aura, I tried to wriggle my body backwards, to deepen our bodily contact even more. It felt wonderful; to sit on my Dad's cozy lap, feel his tender caring love engulfing me, and be cradled in his strong arms.

Chapter 3. I am the fastest developing baby in our universe.

After a couple of peaceful minutes, my too energetic brain started to feel a little bit impatient. Although I cherished our close togetherness very much, I also wanted to do something more productive and interesting! Therefore, I restarted playing with my arms and legs, trying to train my unwilling muscles some more. At the end of my arms and legs, I had discovered a couple of very interesting things. My Mom called them 'hands' and 'feet'; and the thingies at their ends were 'fingers' and 'toes'. Now, I wanted to find out what I could do with them.

First, I clapped both hands together, as my Mom had taught me; and I felt elated when they produced an audible sound! Then, I had lots of fun entangling my 'fingers' into each other and pulling at them, to release them with some difficulty. With an audible 'snap' sound, both hands left each other, while spreading my arms to the left and to the right.

After some more playing with my arms, hands, and fingers, I fell silent, because I started to think. What would happen if I entangled my fingers around one of my pillows, to grab it and pull at it? Would the pillow snap loose; or would I be able to hold onto it and pull it towards me? Of course, such a new ability could be very useful! I made a mental note to try my new idea out, first thing after my Dad brought me back to my sleeping den.

Now that I found out what useful things I could do with my arms and with my hands, I started to concentrate on my legs, by trying to entangle my toes of both feet into each other. Surprisingly, my toes turned out to be almost useless, compared to my much stronger and more flexible fingers. Therefore, I concluded that my hands were useful for grabbing and pulling at things; but my feet were merely for 'walking' and kicking my pillows towards the floor. From now on, I would concentrate mainly on my flexible hands; and on all these little fingers that I could use to grab things, and hopefully to pull my pillows towards my body.

Yesterday, my Mom had playfully counted my 'ten' fingers and 'ten' toes; while kissed them one by one, making me squirm and giggle with the funny feeling. Immediately, I had pushed my hands and feet towards her again, to make her perform the same counting a second time. At the same time, I had repeated the names of all ten numerals in my mind, because I wanted to remember everything she told me, to use it for a next time. Although my human brain couldn't count yet, my Shaman inside already seemed to understand the real meaning of using numbers.

Would my two hands and ten fingers also be able to grab a 'foot'? Wanting to have a closer look at one of my feet, I first brought one foot towards my belly, by bending my leg. Then, I grabbed my hovering foot with both hands, by folding my ten fingers around its wriggling toes. Slowly, I pulled my foot towards my head, while following its movement with my eyes.

Much to my surprise, while my foot slowly approached my face, the thing magically seemed to grow bigger and bigger! This was a very strange phenomenon! How could my foot suddenly look much bigger than it had been before? Feeling very curious, I pulled my foot even closer to my face, until I suddenly saw TWO approaching feet! I released my two feet; and they neatly refolded into one foot, which became smaller and smaller.

Well. Some new things could be a little bit too incomprehensible, even for an extremely fast developing little baby! Therefore, I just accepted the phenomenon, and restarted playing with my two feet and all those wriggling toes. Again, I grabbed one foot and pulled it towards my face.

Suddenly, my 'big toe' touched my lips, making me gasp with the surprisingly pleasant feeling. Remembering how I always loved to suck on my Mom's 'breasts', I opened my mouth wide and pushed my big toe into it. Immediately, I pushed my toe even further into my mouth, while I started to suck on it with all my might, very much enjoying the unexpected sensation. Although my big toe didn't resemble my Mom's breast, it surely could do as a temporary substitute!

All the time, my Dad had watched my playing, while keeping his safe arms folded around my squirming little body. Now and then, he chuckled at my funny efforts to play with my fingers and toes; but he didn't intervene and just let me discover my own things. That is, until he saw me sucking on my big toe with all of my might, getting a blissful smile on my beaming face.

This time, my Dad started to bellow with laughter! Hiccupping from sudden fun, he nearly let me slip out of his arms; but he rescued me at the last moment and quickly pulled me back.

My Dad's sudden and unexpected reaction took me by surprise! I didn't understand what could have happened; and let my big toe flip out of my mouth with a loud 'plop'.

Then, I looked up at my Dad with a shocked face, and started to cry.

Immediately, my Dad apologized for his clumsy behavior, looking a bit ashamed:

"Sorry, my dear son. Of course, I am not laughing at you, and please don't be scared. I only could not help it, because you were such a funny sight."

I stared at my Dad's moving mouth in sudden wonder, and even stopped crying, while something VERY important started to dawn on me. Much to my surprise, I was suddenly able to understand quite a lot of my Dad's words, even without sensing their energy!

This was a MAJOR discovery!

Until now, my 'sixth sense' had always translated the energy of the spoken words, so that my brain could understand what people meant. Or, in case my sixth sense couldn't translate their words, I had concentrated on people's minds and just read their thoughts. Now, my bright brain seemed to remember all the spoken words, and put them together into a meaningful sentence!

I felt on cloud nine, and enthusiastically tried to tell my Dad about my important discovery. Alas. Again, the only things that left my mouth were air bubbles and a lot of saliva. Obviously, 'understanding a person' and 'talking to a person' were two totally different abilities. I still had to learn quite a lot more, before I would be able to have a proper conversation! Yet, feeling a bit stubborn, I again tried to 'talk' to my Dad, by opening and closing my mouth.

My surprised looking Dad tried to understand what I was doing, while he stared at my still opening and closing mouth in obvious wonder.

Hesitantly, he asked me:

"My dear son; are you really trying to talk to me? What do you want to tell me, with your wise eyes? Ultimately, you are only five weeks old! Yet, it looks like you already understand every single word that I am telling you. Am I right; or am I talking nonsense?"

Much to my delight, my bright brain again understood every word that my Dad told me! Feeling elated, I smiled back at him, while I nodded my wobbly head up and down vigorously. Then, I decided to try to project a funny picture of a happy looking little Harold into my Dad's brain, hoping he would pick up at least some of its energy.

Still opening and closing my mouth, I told him in my mind:

'Dad, you are right! I DO understand everything that you tell me. I feel so happy.'

Of course, again, my mouth produced only another lot of saliva and air bubbles. Yet, my Dad's eyes brightened considerably, while he really seemed to pick up some energy of what I tried to send! First, he cleaned my drooling mouth with a couple of tissues, pulled me into an enormous bear hug, and nearly crushed my tiny ribs in his over-enthusiasm.

Then, with a very proud face, he promised:

"My so precocious and extremely clever son. From now on, I will talk to you as if you can understand everything that I am telling you. I only hope I am doing the right thing."

Much to my delight, my Dad decided to talk to me according to the REAL development of my very old soul! This was a MAJOR step forward in our father-son relation! Again, I tried to look as enthusiastic as I could, to encourage my Dad even more. In my mind, I told him he DID the right thing; while I sent another picture of a happy looking little Harold into his mind.

This time, my Dad really picked up my energy, because he started to smile even broader. For a second, he tried to deny his strange thoughts and the funny picture that showed up in his mind. Then, he looked at me with an enormous amount of love, and with quite a lot more respect!

Hesitantly, he asked me:

"My dear son, are you really talking to me in my mind and sending me your pictures? My precocious and so extremely clever boy, who are you in reality? With all respect, you could easily be an upcoming Shaman; or our new Wise Man."

Again, I nodded my head vigorously, while sending my Dad a funny picture of myself as a little 'wise old man'. Two seconds later, we started to chuckle at each other, because my Dad sent me a funny picture back of his 'old' son, this time adorned with an enormous mustache!

Until now, I never knew that my Dad was able to use some of my 'Shaman abilities' too.

From now on, my Dad kept his promise; and he always talked to me as if I were a grownup! Because I understood everything that he told me, it helped me tremendously in developing my bright brain even faster. Soon, we also started to read each other's eyes and facial expressions, and that bonded us even more. Now and then, we had sort of a silent communication, without using any words, making my Mom a little bit jealous.

My Dad had tried to tell my Mom about his promise; but he couldn't convince her. She just didn't believe him, told him her little baby boy was still way too small to be able to understand anything important, and stubbornly continued to baby-talk to me.

Of course, I concentrated on my Mom's mind and tried to send her my thoughts and my pictures, but she just didn't pick them up. Obviously, she didn't have any of the useful Shaman abilities that my Dad could use, and that I seemed to possess abundantly.

Again, my Mom started to tell me those silly baby-words, while changing my soiled diaper. Well, I wasn't mad at her; but I hated being treated as a little baby, and responded indignantly. My Mom just laughed at me, kissed my wrinkling nose, and told me she loved me anyway.

Still trying to talk to her in my mind, I told her:

"Mom, I forgive you for your ignorance and for not listening to my Dad; but, within a few months, you will be very surprised; and that is a promise."

Women. They will never understand us men.

Sometimes, my Inside felt very strange; as if, in reality, 'I' consisted of two different entities who were trying to live together in this tiny baby-body with all its impediments and restrictions, waiting until my body would be old and strong enough to survive our combined Cosmic Powers. Until that time, the strongest entity had to be patient, while making place for the weakest one.

Now and then, 'I' felt like a tiny baby, playing with my arms and my legs, while discovering the outside world and wanting to feel safe and loved on a cozy lap or in two strong arms.

At other times, I felt like being VERY old and wise beyond my most daring imaginations, waiting until I would be able to use all my Cosmic Powers to help our confused Planet Earth!

Who was 'I' in reality, and why was I here, trying to behave as a little baby, while feeling very old and sometimes remembering our Timeless Eternal Realm where I felt AT HOME.

Suddenly, I sensed a couple of auras, obviously planning to visit our caravan, although I didn't recognize them. Ten seconds later, somebody knocked on our front door, and a couple of visitors politely asked to be allowed to see their little Crown Prince with his bright blue eyes.

Again, everybody reacted stunned at seeing my extremely fast development! Many people had started to visit our caravan more often, because all of them wanted to see and cuddle me, their extraordinary bright little Prince. Much to their surprise, I seemed to understand everything that they told me; because I always responded correctly to all their spoken words!

Otherwise, I just read their thoughts, and thus knew how they expected me to react.

Chapter 4. Recognizing Real Love; and I am sitting upright.

My 'tiny-baby' inside LOVED being taken out of my pillows and cuddled on a warm lap; or held in two warm and safe arms. Therefore, I immediately started to smile broadly at our visitors; and my happy face and sparkling eyes caused them to smile back at me and 'love' me very much!

My bright brain had already discovered that smiling caused our visitors to 'love' me a lot more than crying did. When I cried, mostly to develop my lungs, they seemed to feel a bit uneasy, and soon returned me to my Mom or Dad. Therefore, every time I wanted my visitors to take me out of my pillows and onto their laps, I immediately offered them my broadest smile!

Perhaps, I acted a little bit 'manipulative'; although, at that time, I didn't even know the word.

Of course, I knew the difference between the kind of 'love' that our visitors showed me, and REAL Love. REAL Love was what radiated from my parents, Michail, my grandmother, and a couple of others who really adored me. Their Real Love made me feel warm and mushy inside; and, with them, I felt absolutely safe and cared for. With them, I could cry whenever I felt the urge to expand my lungs or train my deep baritone voice, without any fear of being rejected.

From the first day on, I HATED being belittled or treated as a baby. Didn't my visitors know that I was an 'old soul', temporarily living in this small body, waiting until I would be big enough? They didn't need to use those silly words, because I was able to sense what they thought anyway. Just wait, until I've learned how to use my deep baritone voice to tell them the truth.

Again, my visitors started using the silly baby words that always made me angry. Soon, I felt too frustrated, stopped smiling, stared at them, and tried to send them a message.

My visitors didn't understand why I didn't smile any more; and they reacted surprised:

"Look at the little sweetheart. Why does he look so angry? Maybe, he has pooped his diaper? Hey, you little teeny-weeny; now give me a proper smile! Come on, goo-goo, ga-ga."

Instantly, I knew how I could teach them a lesson. I pooped my diaper, on purpose!

Within a few seconds, my visitors sniffed the air, quickly handed me to my Mom, and didn't 'love' me anymore. See? My visitors didn't REALLY love me.

My smiling Mom took over, cleaned my smelly bottom, powdered me, attached another diaper, and kissed my wrinkling little nose. See? My Mom did love me, with REAL love.

A couple of weeks later, I found out that I really was a special child; having extremely strong muscles and a surprisingly deep baritone voice for such a tiny baby! A 'gadjo doctor' visited our Gypsy community; and my parents had asked him to check my bodily development.

I liked the friendly man at first sight; and happily let him check my eyes, probe his fingers into my belly, listen to my lungs, and stare into my throat with a little flash light. Then, he asked me to move my arms and legs up and down, try to sit upright, take a few wobbly steps while he held my hands, and I had to follow his slowly moving hand with both eyes. At last, the doctor asked me a few easy questions; and I had to answer them by nodding or shaking my head.

After the 'doctor' had examined me thoroughly, he told my anxiously waiting parents:

"Your son is an extremely mature and extraordinarily healthy child! Although his body may be a bit small for his age, his muscles are surprisingly strong and his mind is already very bright. He also has very large vocal cords, giving him a surprisingly deep and sonorous baritone voice. I am sure that, within a few years, he will turn into a deep bass. Mentally, your son seems to be very precocious, and I have a gut feeling that he already understands everything that I am telling you, although he is only a few months old. Your son turns out to be a VERY special boy!"

My happy looking parents thanked the gadjo doctor abundantly for his help. Finally, they could be sure that everything was all right with me; and they didn't need to worry any more about my too low voice, my too strong muscles, and my too fast mental development.

All the time, I smiled broadly at the gadjo doctor; to let him know I understood everything he told my parents, and that I agreed with every word! Of course, I knew I had a surprisingly deep baritone voice; because several visitors had reacted a bit funny, at hearing such an unexpected 'grownup' sound coming from such a tiny baby. Then, they always started to smile at me, while they told my proud parents I was a very special boy with a beautiful voice!

A few days later, I accidentally found out that I seemed to use two different kinds of crying. The first kind of crying, I used when I felt bored and wanted to have my parents' attention.

Then, my parents smiled at me, while they told each other:

"Listen to our little Harold. He is developing his lungs."

The other kind of crying, I used when I felt hungry, had soiled my diaper, or didn't feel well. Then, immediately, my parents were there for me; to look after me, clean my smelly bottom, or call for our Wise Woman to heal me and give me some sour tasting medicine.

How did my parents know the difference? Although I tried out several different ways of crying, I just couldn't find the proper way to catch their immediate attention. At last, I started to feel frustrated, and cried from anger because I couldn't find a workable way to 'manipulate' them.

My parents just smiled at me, while they told each other:

"Listen to our little Harold! He sounds frustrated, but that helps him develop his lungs."

Grrrr!

From the first day, I was able to sense the different energies radiating from the people who visited our caravan. Soon, I was able to recognize them by their specific auras. My inside could clearly distinguish my Dad's energy from my Mom's, from my Grandma's, or from Michail's! Many times, I felt their auras preceding them, even before they planned to pay us a visit. Then, I sensed their energy field at least ten seconds before they knocked on our door.

At first, my surprised parents didn't understand why I suddenly became excited, at least ten seconds before somebody showed up. However, at last, they got used to my strange 'abilities' and just accepted them. Often, my Mom went to the door, to open it and let our stunned visitors in, several seconds before they actually reached our caravan.

Of course, many visitors reacted surprised and asked:

"How do you know I was on my way to pay you a visit?"

"Little Harold told us, by getting excited. We think he has a clairvoyant ability."

"That is very special! Do you think he will become our new Wise Man?"

"It will certainly be of great help when he is our new King."

I always felt ecstatic when the man I liked most, besides my own Dad, planned to visit us. Michail was a HUGE and impressive man; who always wore his inseparable fur coat, unless the weather was extremely hot. His powerful energy and Real Love always filled our entire caravan and engulfed everybody inside, including me. Therefore, I LOVED to sit on my Big Friend's enormous lap and feel his strong arms around my tiny body!

Again, I felt Michail's preceding energy enter our caravan, ten seconds before he knocked on our door. Of course, I started to fidget in my pillows, while making enthusiastic sounds!

My Mom saw my excitement, smiled knowingly, and opened our front door:

"Hi, Michail! Didn't you bring your betrothed with you?"

My Big Friend shook his head, and sat down on our couch that moaned under his heavy weight. He wasn't surprised at all, knowing that my 'special ability' always worked flawlessly. He even seemed to be very proud of his so special little friend!

At the other end of our couch, I fidgeted in between my pillows, trying to get his attention. Soon, my Mom smiled at my very eager face, lifted me from my pile of pillows, and put me onto Michail's lap. Yes, that was exactly what I wanted!

Michail folded his strong arms around my body, and 'gently' crushed my ribs against his chest.

Happily, I let myself melt into his powerful aura, while I very much enjoyed the safe feeling of his strong arms around me. I loved my Big Friend with all my heart, and with REAL love!

Michail started to chuckle at seeing my beaming face and sparkling blue eyes; and bent over to kiss my forehead. His mustache tickled my nose and made me sneeze, but I loved even that.

Now and then, he brought Felicia, his girlfriend; and, then, I had to sit on her lap too. However, SHE didn't radiate the power and love I so cherished from my Big Friend. Mostly, I first offered Felicia a tiny smile, before I started to fidget on her lap while staring intently at Michail.

That always helped. Felicia felt a bit disconcerted; and soon put me onto Michail's lap. My Big Friend certainly didn't disapprove; and I had what I wanted!

Maybe, I really was a little bit manipulative?

Hmm.

Today, after some cuddling, Michail laid me back in between my pile of pillows, to be able to drink his coffee. However, that was not to my liking. I wanted to sit on Michail's enormous lap and have his strong arms around me quite a lot more! Feeling frustrated, I started to kick at all those pillows-in-the-way, wanting to free my way towards my chuckling Big Friend.

A moment later, I had all my pillows out of the way and onto the floor. Now, I only had to move my body towards my Big Friend, who looked at my ministrations with curious eyes.

Lying on my back, I first wiggled my body around, until my head pointed towards Michail. Next, I planted my feet against the seat of our couch, and tried to kick myself backwards towards my Big Friend. Much to my delight, my body really shifted backwards! Only, because I didn't know anything about using 'symmetry', it also slowly turned towards the backside of our couch.

After a few more forceful kicks, my head suddenly bumped against the backside. Not feeling discouraged at all, I planted my hands next to my body and tried to push and kick both my hands and my feet at the same time, because my gut feeling told me I was on the verge of doing a very important discovery! Groaning with the effort, I felt how first my head and then my shoulders slid upwards against the cushioning of our couch, sliding higher and higher. Again, I kicked my body backwards against the backside even more, while wiggling both my neck and shoulders to wrestle upwards and let them slide even higher against the backside of our couch.

Suddenly, very much to my own surprise, my body sat UPRIGHT, leaning against the back of our couch. Hey! All of a sudden, I was sitting upright and looking around, just like all the others around me were doing. And, I had done it all by myself, without any help!

With a very proud face, I looked around, as if saying:

'Do you see that? I am SITTING, and I have done it all on my own!'

Of course, I lost my balance and fell back onto our couch. However, I just wiggled around until again my head pointed to the backside, put my hands and feet against the seat of our couch, and kicked and wrestled my body upright again! From now on, every time I wrestled upright, it was a bit easier; until I could turn my head and look around without ever losing my balance.

Within five minutes, I had taught myself how to sit upright, without any help from anybody!

My amazed looking Dad stared at me for a long time, as if he couldn't believe his own eyes.

Michail had a broad smile on his face, and he seemed to be very proud of his little friend.

My stunned looking Mom exclaimed:

"LOOK AT THAT! Our little Harold sits upright for the first time, and he has done it all by himself, although he is only two months old. Janov, you are right! Harold REALLY is a very special child! Now, it's time to bring him to our Wise Woman, to let her read his past lives and his possible future. Just a moment; and I will be right back."

Hurriedly, my Mom left our caravan, to tell both my Grandmother and our Wise Woman about my extraordinary and extremely early achievement! In the meantime, I tried to train myself even more in sitting upright. Every time, I let myself fall down onto our couch, wiggled my head towards its backside, and wrestled upright again; until I could do it almost effortlessly.

All the time, both my Dad and Michail looked at my ministrations with very proud faces!

When my Mom returned into our caravan, several surprised looking people followed her, because everybody wanted to have a quick look at their so extremely early little Crown Prince, who really had to be the fastest developing child ever!

Suddenly, I was the day's hero. Everybody waited outside, until it was their turn to step inside and have a quick look at their proudly sitting little Prince.

Again, our stunned visitors assured my parents I was the fastest developing baby they had ever seen! Now, they were very curious about what our Wise Woman had to say about my past lives and my possible future. For the first time, a couple of visitors ruffled my unruly blond hair; and I immediately LOVED the funny feeling!

Yes, I still do.

Chapter 5. I am 'remembering' my 'past lives' and my future.

The next morning, my parents dressed me into a smallgreen-and-golden garment that once belonged to my Dad when he was still little. Wearing such a garment for the first time felt very strange; as, up to now, my little body wasn't used to wearing any clothes other than my diaper. Of course, I started to protest fiercely, by groaning and kicking around, while plucking angrily at the itchy sleeves. I wanted my parents to remove the musty smelling thing immediately!

For the first time, my parents didn't listen to me. They only told me to be quiet and get used to wearing our official Royal garments. Today, we HAD to wear our Royal colors; because my parents were our King and Queen, and I was their Crown Prince and only Heir to the Throne.

Chuckling at my angry tantrum, my Mom went on helping my Dad with dressing into his own similarly colored garment. In the meantime, I tried to get rid of the strange feeling pieces of clothing that I already started to loathe. Unfortunately, my untrained little fingers couldn't find out how to unbuckle all those weird looking buttons. Why didn't my parents listen to me and help me out of this horrible thing I absolutely didn't want to wear? Feeling betrayed, I glared at my Dad, trying to let my eyes shoot burning daggers at him.

At last, my frustrated looking Dad pulled me into his arms, and explained:

"My dear son; we HAVE to wear our Royal garments today, because our people want to SEE their Beloved Leaders and their little Crown Prince! Could you please stop being angry, and try to behave as the Gypsy King that you once will be? Don't disappoint your waiting subjects."

Feeling very surprised, I looked up at my Dad, while my brain digested this new information. Suddenly, the real importance of wearing our Royal garments started to dawn upon me. For the first time, I understood that being a little Crown Prince was not only a lot of fun, but also brought a lot of responsibilities! Although my little brain didn't grasp the full extent of this revelation, my Inner Self told me, loud and clear, that I had been a Very Important Leader before. Therefore, in my Inside, I already knew how a real Aristocrat should behave. Even a tiny one, like me.

Instantly, I suppressed my silly anger, by regulating my breath and forcefully shutting down all my emotions. Next, I produced a huge smile, while forcing myself to be the happy looking little Crown Prince that my parents and my beloved subjects wanted to see.

Still feeling a little bit guilty, I sighed and whispered:

"Sowwy."

Suddenly, my Mom gasped from disbelief, while she exclaimed:

"Janov, you are RIGHT! Harold DOES understand you! Just look at him. He has already switched from anger to a smile, just like that! How in the world is that possible, for such a small child? And, did I really hear him whisper the word 'sorry'? I cannot believe my own ears."

Shaking her head in utter amazement, my surprised Mom stared at me with a totally new expression on her stunned face. Well, I was sure my astonished Mom would have to get used to many more unexpected surprises in our future. After all, I WAS a very special child!

A second later, I sensed the powerful aura of my Big Friend, obviously planning to enter our caravan. Immediately, I started to fidget in my Dad's arms, trying to make enthusiastic sounds.

My Dad smiled at my excitement, while he opened our front door to let our Vice King in.

Michail, this time clad in his neatest clothes, looked us over while he chuckled:

"I am in the wrong caravan! The people I'm looking for usually don't dress this refined."

While winking at me, my chuckling Dad responded:

"Well; I almost forgot how YOU look without your fur coat. But, today, you look great."

Michail also winked at me, while he reopened our front door and guided us outside.

Together, we sat down on our own Royal wooden bench; and I looked around at all those colorful caravans in sudden surprise! Vaguely, I remembered the second day of my life, when my Dad had taken me to this same circle of wooden benches. Then, everything around us was covered in blinding snow, while I was wrapped in a warm blanket that left only my face free.

Now, the snow was gone; and this colorful world differed quite a lot from the first one I had seen! This was the second time I was outside, and I looked in surprise at all the abundant colors.

Today, my Dad didn't throw me high into the air; but he sat me on his lap and folded his safe arms around me. I always loved that feeling, which reminded me of the warm and cozy womb I had been living in for nine months. Feeling safe and protected, I looked at all the colorful people that showed up in the circle of caravans around our campfire. Several people approached us, greeted my parents and Michail, and ruffled my blond hair, before sitting down. Many suntanned children were frolicking around, or chasing after each other around our faintly glowing campfire, now and then curiously staring at their little Crown Prince.

I smiled at them, and they smiled back at me immediately!

Patiently, we waited until all the grownups were seated on their own wooden benches, this time wearing their most beautifully colored garments. Soon, all the suntanned children stopped their playing and climbed onto one of the many inviting laps, to be cuddled and feel loved.

My Big Friend, Michail, sat next to us on our Royal bench. Only, he seemed to be totally caught up with his girlfriend. Much to my disappointment, both Michail and Felicia were way too busy whispering, kissing, and smiling at each other, to pay any proper attention to ME.

Of course, I tried to catch their immediate attention, by fidgeting and trying to make sounds that only created a lot of saliva around my mouth. However, this time, my Big Friend didn't even see me! He just went on whispering and kissing.

Slowly, I started to dislike the woman who had so easily caught all Michail's attention. Why was SHE having all the fun with my Big Friend, while that always had been MY privilege? Obviously, I started to feel a little bit 'jealous' of Felicia; although, at that time, I didn't even know the word. Desperately, I started to fidget even more. until my frustrated looking Mom took a couple of tissues, and first cleaned my again drooling mouth.

Then, with an angry voice, my frustrated Mom admonished me:

"Please, sit still, and try to behave as a real Crown Prince!"

Suddenly feeling a bit ashamed, I sighed and whispered:

"Yes Mum."

The sudden expression of total disbelief on my Mom's shocked face was priceless!

Now that everybody was seated, our violin players rose from their benches and started to play tender Gypsy melodies full of sadness and longing. Soon, the beautiful sound tore at my heartstrings; and I felt like crying, but desperately tried to repress my sobs. I didn't want to be a nuisance, or to disturb the heartwarming atmosphere.

My Dad looked at me, saw my tears, wiped them away, and gently rubbed my stomach to relieve some of my tension; while I repressed my emotions and regulated my breath. My sobbing faded away; and I looked up at my Dad and smiled at him. Now I saw he had tears in his eyes too, and I loved him even more! I was sure my Dad and I were kindred souls.

Our violin players let their music fade away, returned to their benches, and sat down. Now, my Grandmother rose from her own bench, to greet us and make her announcements. First, she looked around the circle, making eye contact with everybody, until her eyes rested on me. She smiled at me; and I recognized her, smiled back, and stretched my arms out towards her.

Many onlookers reacted astonished and whispered:

"Look at that! Our little Prince already responds to his Grandmother, although he is only two months old. Wow, what an extremely special child is he. And, look at those bright blue eyes! They feel like staring straight into your soul, just like our Wise Woman always does."

After everybody calmed down again, my still smiling Grandmother announced:

"Today, our little Crown Prince, Harold Janovski Romani, shows up here for the second time; this time to let our Wise Woman read his past lives and his possible future, as we always do when a member or our Royal Family sits upright for the first time. His father, our beloved King, Janov Nikkinsky Romani, has already proven to be 'one of us'; meaning he has been a Gypsy before, in at least one of his past lives. His mother, our beloved Queen, Maria Soren, also has proven to be 'one of us' before she married my son. Once we are sure that our Crown Prince is 'one of us' too; he will have the status of Royal Prince, and we will raise him accordingly. Now, my little Prince and beloved grandson, our Wise Woman will look into your past lives and your possible future; and she will share all her relevant findings with us. So be it."

My Grandmother bowed towards us, and sat down again on her own wooden bench.

Now, my Dad rose from our own Royal bench, while carrying me in his arms. First, he bowed towards his beloved Mother and previous Queen, to show her his love and respect. Next, he carried me to our Wise Woman, bowed again, and handed me to her.

The Wise Woman sat me down on her lap; while staring at me with her piercing eyes, as if she was looking directly into my deepest core. The intensity of her stare made me feel uneasy, and I nearly started to cry from sudden discomfort. I didn't want to be left with our Wise Woman! I wanted to sit on my Dad's lap, and feel safe in his strong arms! Where was my Dad?

Within a second, the Wise Woman turned me around on her lap, so that I sat across her legs. She covered my eyes with one hand, while she put her other hand against the back of my wobbly head. Then, she started to hum, producing a strangely sonorous and monotonous sound. An intense energy radiated from her hands, numbing my body and making me feel drowsy.

Immediately, my Inside felt at ease and safe; because I recognized her powerful energy, and knew exactly what it was going to do to me. I recognized the intense energy that engulfed me; and I was sure I had used this same kind of energy myself many times before! In a past life, as a powerful Shaman and Mystic Mage, I had cured and healed many ill people; by helping them remember their own past lives and healing their Karmic traumas. Now, our Wise Woman was helping me remember my own past lives, to look into them and share her findings.

My Inner Awareness left my human body and entered our Timeless Eternal Realm, where I immediately felt AT HOME. Here was where I belonged in reality; and to where I would return after I had first redeemed some very nasty Karma, performed all my Earthly duties, and readied all my important Tasks on Earth. Now that my awareness was freed from the impediments of my material environment, I remembered who I was in reality, and why all my Cosmic Friends had chosen ME to go back to our Planet Earth. I sensed many Ancestors and Spirit Friends around me; but they only sent me their greetings while telling me to go on. Another time, we would talk; but, today, I was here to let our Wise Woman look at my past lives and possible future.

After greeting my Beloved Ancestors and Eternal Friends, I drifted into a much deeper trance. At the same time, the Wise Woman changed her humming; making me leave our Eternal Realm to propel backwards along my timeline, until I entered my last past life on earth.

Suddenly, I remembered my former Dad and Eternal Soul Mate, who had raised his little son all alone after my Mom died in childbirth. We were 'trappers'; living in a forest with steep ravines and dangerous rapids, trading our deer pelts in faraway villages for food and equipment. From a young age, my trapper Dad taught me how to set a trap, sneak around, and spice our roasting animals using carefully selected herbs. Here, I grew up happy and carefree; until a grizzly bear killed my former trapper Dad, me, and our closest neighbor and dearest friend. My Inside was sure we would soon meet each other and be very close friends again in my present life.

The Wise Woman changed her humming again; making me propel deeper backwards along my timeline, until I entered another past life. In that life, I had hunted down so-called 'witches', to burn them on stakes and 'save their souls from burning in hell for all eternity'. Now, according to our universal Law of Karma, 'an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth', I first had to endure the same ordeal, to clean myself and redeem all my former sins. This Cosmic Law is not for punishment; but it forces us to gain some more Love and Compassion for our previous 'victims', thus enabling us to better ourselves. Unlike my burnt victims, I would prevail; and the profound experience would make me both much stronger and quite a lot wiser.

Again, the Wise Woman changed her humming; making me propel even deeper backwards along my timeline, until I entered an important past life where I had been a real Aristocrat!

Immediately, I recognized my former 'trapper Dad' and Eternal Soul Mate! Only, in this past life, he was our Beloved 'Gypsy Monarch Harold the Great', while I was our beloved Vice King and his best friend. Working closely together, we had founded our modern Gypsy way of living, filling it with much more Love, Gratitude, Understanding, and Compassion for each other!

I also recognized our own community and surrounding mountains; proving I had been living in this same secluded place at least once before. Then, I had been our beloved Vice King; while, now, I would be our next King and the Beloved Leader of all forty million Gypsies on Earth.

The Wise Woman changed her sound; now propelling me towards my 'possible future'.

In my future, I would grow up healthy and prosperously; while my 'old soul' would develop itself in even more Cosmic Love, to prepare itself for its Very Important Task on our Planet Earth.

A few months after my sixth birthday, I would first redeem all my old Karma; assisted by a man and his son who once were my Dearest Friends, and again would be my devoted Helpers!

Soon after my eighth birthday, according to my Cosmic Plan, I would meet my former 'trapper Dad', Eternal Soul Mate, and beloved 'Gypsy Monarch Harold the Great'. He would adopt me and be my new Dad, to help me grow up as our future Gypsy Leader. Working closely together, we would write many books about our Peaceful and Lovable Gypsy way of living; and our 'Gypsy series' books would be read all over the world! Then, I would marry a nice girl and have my own son; to raise my own little Gypsy Prince and help him follow in our footsteps!

All the time, all our Beloved Ancestors, Cosmic Helpers, and powerful Spirit Friends, would be with us and help us from within their own timeless Eternal Realm, wherever possible.

The Wise Woman let her humming fade away, until her strange sound stopped completely.

Slowly, my Inner Awareness returned into my wakening body; while my human brain already wiped out all my trance experiences. My mind felt as if I suddenly woke up from some dream, making me feel confused, while my still drowsy body started to tremble all over. Fortunately, our Wise Woman asked my Dad to take me over, because she had to recover first.

My Dad carried me back to our own wooden bench, where he sat me onto his lap and folded his safe arms around my trembling little body. Next, he filled me with his own powerful energy while rubbing my upset stomach; until I sighed, burped, and started to feel a lot better.

Soon, all the memories from my 'dream' faded away, until I couldn't remember anything of what had happened during my induced trance. I started to look around again with curious eyes, and fidgeted enthusiastically when Michail finally looked back at me and smiled at me!

After our Wise Woman recovered and drank some water, she told us:

"Our little Crown Prince has certainly proven to be 'one of us'; because he once was our own beloved Vice King! He was the dearest friend of our beloved 'Gypsy Monarch Harold the Great'; therefore, it is a good thing he carries the first name of his beloved great-grandfather. After his sixth birthday, he has to redeem some Karma first; but he will prevail, helped by all our Beloved Ancestors and Spirit Friends. Next, he will write many 'Gypsy series' of books that will be read all over the world. Then, he will marry a nice girl and raise his own son. My beloved Royal Crown Prince, be welcome again in our secluded Gypsy community; and, from now on, we will raise you according to your officially recognized Royal status!"

Immediately, our violin players started to play joyful Gypsy melodies full of hope and glory. All our people rose to their feet and went to my proud looking parents; to congratulate them with their now officially recognized Royal Crown Prince. Many of them also congratulated ME, by touching my hand, kissing my forehead, or gently ruffling my unruly blond hair.

At first, I loved all the well-meant attention very much. However, after some time, I started to feel too tired, and closed my eyes to shut everybody out for a moment. Immediately, I tumbled into a deep and sound sleep, probably because I was dead tired from all my strange sensations. I didn't even feel my Dad or my Mom putting me to bed.

Chapter 6. Dadddy..., Mommmy..., Harry luvyou deawly too.

A few hours later, I woke up in my small sleeping den, opened my eyes, and looked around. Obviously, my Mom had brought me home, cleaned me up, and laid me in between my pillows to have some more sleep. Smilingly, I realized that I now felt much happier, without wearing my itching Royal garment. Inwardly, I hoped that I never had to wear the annoying thing again! Only, now, my wet diaper started to feel itchy; and I wanted to ask my Mom to replace it.

Because I felt totally happy, and absolutely didn't feel like crying, I decided to try to CALL my busy Mom, who was working in our kitchen and rattling some pan. Ultimately, my mouth and throat had already been able to pronounce the whispered words 'sorry' and 'yes Mum'. Therefore, I only had to make my voice a little bit louder, to be heard by my busy Mom!

Enthusiastically, I started to try to make an audible sound; by willing my throat and lips to form the word 'Mom'. Only, much to my frustration, this time, my mouth and throat didn't produce any audible sounds at all! I only had to swallow a lot of excessive saliva.

What did I do wrong? I was sure I HAD pronounced the audible words 'sowwy' and 'yes Mum'; although, at that time, I had only whispered them.

Feeling frustrated, I tried to find out how I had whispered those words, just a few hours ago.

Maybe, replaying the past events in my mind would help me find out what I was doing wrong? Therefore, I started to remember how I had been able to whisper the audible words 'sowwy' and 'yes Mum', by using both my mouth and my throat.

Very much to my delight, I soon found out what could have happened! I was relatively sure I had mumbled both words while, at the same time, I had sighed from frustration because I felt a little bit guilty. And, I also knew that 'sighing' meant 'breathing out'.

Immediately, I took a deep breath, and let my lips form the word 'Mom' while breathing out!

YESSS! Much to my delight, my efforts really worked! Again, my mouth succeeded in making a whispering sound that resembled the word 'Mhommm'.

Only, my whispering wasn't loud enough for my busy Mom to hear me from our kitchen.

Obviously, I had to use my large 'vocal cords' as well, to bring my sonorous baritone voice into my whispering. How would I be able to do THAT?

After some more thinking, I decided that the only audible sound my throat could produce loud enough for my Mom to hear me from our kitchen, would be crying!

That would certainly set my large vocal cords into proper action. My throat had to cry out loudly; while, at the same time, my lips had to whisper the audible word 'Mom'.

Enthusiastically, I opened my mouth, and CRIED!

At the same time, I puckered my lips, while I desperately tried to form the whispered word 'Mom'.

Well. after hearing my own pathetic result, still echoing loudly through our caravan, I started to laugh at myself! This rather hilarious noise sounded more like some animal in distress.

Within a split second, my worried looking Mom stormed towards me from our kitchen!

She dived towards my bed, scooped me into her arms, and immediately started to look my body over from head to foot. Of course, she didn't find anything to be worried about.

For a moment, my Mom continued to look frustrated. Then, she saw my sparkling eyes and broadly smiling face! At first, she looked confused, until she sniffed the air.

With a suddenly understanding smile, she told me:

"What? You have only soiled your diaper? What the heck did you do? I thought you had fallen out of bed and broken all your bones. Please, never ever utter such a terrible scream again! Now, come here, and let Mommy change your smelly diaper and feed you."

Okay, my 'Mommy' would now change my still itching diaper, as I originally wanted her to do! However, I also felt a little bit sorry, for unintentionally alarming her like this.

Only, how else could I have trained myself to use my voice properly?

While my 'Mommy' took me to our living room, I tried to repeat the new word. In my ears, her new name, 'Mommy', sounded much friendlier than her old name 'Mom' had done!

Therefore, I took a deep breath, breathed out, and whispered:

"Mhhhommmmy. Mhommmy."

My very surprised looking Mom nearly let me slip out of her arms, while she stared at me in sudden astonishment! Fortunately, she rescued me just in time, by quickly putting me down in between my pile of pillows on our couch.

Looking at me in total bewilderment, she exclaimed:

"Harold, you are whispering again! My dear son, you ARE a very special child! Just wait until your Daddy hears you talking."

Of course, I immediately tried out my Dad's new name 'Daddy', by whispering a little bit louder:

"Dhhadddy. Mhhommmy. Dhadddy. Mhommy."

Much to my delight, my vocal cords suddenly started to produce their own deep baritone sounds, harmoniously mixing them into my already louder whispering!

FINALLY, I would be able to talk more or less properly, although I first had to practice some more. Thus, I tried to make my vocal cords sounding louder, while training to say the words correctly.

Happily, I started to repeat both new words over and over:

"Mhommmy, Dhadddy, Mommmy, Dadddy."

My very proud looking Mommy lifted me from our couch and started to dance and whirl around in our room, while carrying me in her arms and kissing my little nose!

Looking very happy, she laid me back onto our couch and changed my soiled diaper; while, all the time, I continued to train speaking louder and louder.

For a moment, I had to stop training; because my Mommy took me onto her lap, to feed me with her yummy nourishment from her breasts. Hungrily, I drank and drank; until my stomach was filled to the brim, and I burped all the excessive air out.

After cleaning my face, my Mom laid me down on our couch, in between my huge pile of pillows.

Of course, I first kicked all my pillows onto the floor, because I wanted to have my freedom!

Then, I wrestled my body around and pushed myself up; until I sat upright, leaning against the backside of our couch. From here, I could overlook our living room, and follow my Mom with my curious eyes wherever she went.

All the time, I continued to train myself to speak both new words even more loudly and properly. Stubbornly, I went on and on, until my words started to sound exactly like my Mommy pronounced them. At last, feeling more or less satisfied, I just concentrated on talking as correctly as possible.

Half an hour later, a very well-known aura approached our caravan, planning to be home early.

Immediately, I started to jump up and down from happiness! I almost fell off our couch, but regained my balance at the last moment.

Within ten seconds from now, the man I loved most in the whole world, would enter our caravan!

Enthusiastically, I exclaimed one of my new words:

"Daddy!"

My Mom looked at me with a surprised face, while she hesitantly asked me:

"Really? Is Daddy coming home, this early? I still don't know how you can be so sure."

Ten seconds later, our front door opened, and my Dad entered our caravan.

He shucked his shoes, entered our living room, and first kissed my beaming Mom.

Then, he came over to me, smiling broadly at seeing my sparkling eyes and over-enthusiastic face.

Offering him my happiest smile, I started to repeat my new word:

"Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!"

My Dad suddenly looked perplexed! Nearly stumbling over his own feet, he stopped abruptly. Slowly, he opened and closed his mouth, as a fish craving for oxygen, while he stared at me.

Then, he came up to me, while he stuttered:

"My son, you are already calling me 'Daddy'? Did your Mom teach you how to say this word?"

Enthusiastically, I bobbed my head up and down, to let my Dad know he was right.

Then, I started to repeat all my new words.

Proudly, I tried to speak them faster and faster:

"Daddy, Mommy.; Daddy, Mommy.; Hawol. Hadol. Harol. Harol.th. Harol.p."

This was VERY annoying! Why didn't my mouth speak my own name correctly? The word my untrained mouth now tried to pronounce, didn't sound like my own name, 'Harold', should sound.

Feeling disappointed, I tried it again; but, again, the name my mouth tried to speak didn't sound as it should be. Obviously, my untrained little tongue couldn't couple the sound 'Harol' to its immediately following 'd'. Or, my untrained mouth just wasn't able to pronounce my own name, 'Harold', with 'd' at the end, without breaking my tongue over it.

What should I do now? I WANTED to be able to say my own name correctly!

Stubbornly, I tried it again; but, again, my little tongue refused to pronounce the too difficult 'd' at the end of my name.

Now, I started to think. Couldn't there be an easier way to pronounce my own name?

I just WANTED to be able to tell other people my own name!

Suddenly, my built-in 'little brainiac' took over and came up with what could be a workable solution, at least for now.

My mouth and tongue had already been able to pronounce the new words 'Daddy' and 'Mommy'; so. yes, why not?

With a happy smile, I asked my parents:

"Mommy, Daddy, .Harry?"

For a moment, silence fell over our living room.

Then, both my Mom and my Dad raced towards me; while trying to embrace my tiny frame at the same time. My very proud looking Dad scooped me up first, in the process nearly crushing my tiny ribs in his strong arms.

With tears in his proud looking eyes, my Dad exclaimed:

"Harold, my dear son, you really are one out of a million! How old are you in reality? According to our calendar, you should be not even three months old. Now, I am absolutely convinced you are the fastest developing child in our universe! Please, could you say your own name again? And, my precious 'Harry', I love you dearly!"

Immediately, I answered my proud looking Daddy:

"Daddy., Mommy., Harry luvyou deawly too."

Now, both my Dad and my Mom started to kiss me all over, while my nearly crying Mom threw her warm arms around my Dad and my own little body!

For a very long time, my Mom and Dad kept me sandwiched in between them, having tears of pure joy in their eyes.

They only let me go after I started to wheeze and pant, trying to wrestle free to get some fresh air.

However, I didn't mind at all.

Chapter 7. Restricted but still teaching myself how to crawl.

A couple of weeks later, I woke up from my usual morning nap on our couch, and first produced a heartfelt yawn. Then, as usual, I kicked my pile of pillows out of the way; to have some more freedom, and to be able to sit upright and look around properly. A moment later, all my pillows were on the floor; except for one stubborn pillow that shoved just out of my reach.

Well, who was the boss here? Of course, I wanted to kick that obstinate thing towards the floor as well! I wiggled my body around so that my legs pointed towards the unruly pillow, stretched out at full length, and kicked at it. Alas, the pillow went even further away! Teasingly, the disobedient thing shoved just out of my reach, instead of following its 'friends' to the floor.

Now, I became angry at the pigheaded pillow that didn't obey me. The persistent thing HAD to listen to my will! Stubbornly, I wrung the upper half of my body towards it; while, at the same time, forcefully kicking my legs against our couch. Now, I only had to flail my arms, to roll over onto my stomach, as I had done many times before.

While lying prone, I tried to wriggle my body forward, to reach the mischievous pillow and kick it off the couch. However, my body only wobbled and jiggled from left to right; but it did not move.

What should I do now? I absolutely wanted to kick that scalawag pillow towards where it belonged!

Feeling frustrated, I decided to try out something different I had never done before. Still lying prone, I pushed my arms up against our couch and stretched them at full length.

Suddenly, the upper half of my body rose up from our couch, supported by my outstretched arms! This time, I only had to lift my head, to be able to look around easily.

Hey! Looking around like this was even more fun than sitting upright!

And, again, I had discovered it all on my own.

Now, I only had to bend my arms, to lower myself back onto our couch and lying prone again.

Only, what would happen if I bended only ONE arm?

Immediately, I tried it out.

THAT was quite a lot more fun than I had anticipated!

My body rolled around along its axis, until I was again lying on my back. Only, surprisingly, my entire body had also rolled a couple of inches towards my obstinate pillow! Immediately, I turned back onto my stomach, pushed myself up, and rolled around again, and again, and again.

Unexpectedly, my rolling little body tumbled off our couch, following all my obedient pillows.

With a loud yelp, I fell down, bumping my head on the floor.

OUCH! That hurt terribly!

Feeling frustrated and angry, because my enthusiasm had betrayed me like this, I started to cry.

Immediately, my worried looking Mom appeared from our kitchen and raced towards me. She squatted down and scooped me up from the floor, looking me over for any serious damage.

Only, I had already gritted my teeth and stopped crying. Of course, falling off our couch had been my own fault, for not paying enough attention to where I was rolling. Now, I had to pay the price for my valuable lesson, with a painfully swelling lump on my head.

Well. My lump was painful, but I was sure I would survive.

I smiled at my worried Mom, to let her know I was okay and wanted to go on with my experiments.

However, my Mom started to look around our living room, instead of putting me onto our couch.

Why did my Mom do that? Feeling a bit uneasy, I tuned in into her mind, to read her thoughts.

Now, I felt severely shocked! Much to my dismay, I sensed that my Mom thought about restricting my freedom, to prevent me from having any more accidents.

Only, I didn't WANT to be restricted by my worried Mom!

I had planned to experiment with moving around on our couch quite a lot more! And, of course, I still wanted to kick that remaining unwilling pillow to the floor.

Besides, would pillows get headaches and swelling lumps too, from falling off our couch and bumping onto the floor? As far as I knew, they never yelped.

How could I convince my worried Mom I would be more careful from now on, because I had learned my lesson the hard way? Of course, I could try to tell her what I planned to do, and that she didn't need to worry about me any more.

However, I was sure she again wouldn't pick up any thoughts or pictures. She never did.

Maybe, I could try to manipulate her motherly feelings for me?

Hmm.

I looked up at my Mom, and first offered her my biggest smile.

Then, I told her the words I had practiced many times:

"Mommy, I luvv you verry musj!"

My Mom got tears in her eyes, while she answered me with a choking voice:

"My dear Harry, I love you too; very, very much! Only, I still want to protect you from falling off our couch again. What shall I do, to protect you."

Of course, my inside was sure that I really meant what I had said. I loved my Mommy dearly, and with REAL love! Only, I absolutely loathed the idea of being 'protected', if that meant being restricted from experimenting. How could I convince my too cautious Mom to let me keep my freedom?

Feeling rather desperate, I decided to try to force my thoughts into my Mom's brain.

Perhaps, I would be able to reach her mind easier, by first bringing our heads together?

I put my small arms around my Mom's neck, and pushed my face against her warm cheek.

Now, I tried to send my pleading thoughts directly into her unwilling brain.

Hoping she would pick up some of my energy, I begged:

'Mom, please, don't restrict me. I NEED to experiment quite a lot more, and I promise I will really be more careful from now on.'

Suddenly, my Mom looked at me with a surprised face, while she hesitantly responded:

"Will you really be more careful from now on? I don't want to send my precious Harry to a hospital with broken bones or worse."

YESSS! Finally, my Mom had started to understand me! Much to my delight, she had picked up the last part of my thoughts, and she answered my unspoken question!

In response, I nodded my head vigorously; while sending her a funny picture of a very happy little Harry, safely playing on our couch. My Mom could count on me!

While my Mom sat me back onto our couch, she told me:

"Okay, but I still want you to be quite a lot safer. Please, sit still, and wait until I am ready."

First, my Mom dragged our table out of the way, thus creating a lot of free space on our floor. Then, all my pillows went back to our couch; piled up on top of the unruly one. Now, my Mom picked me up and put me onto our floor, which fortunately had a thick rug and was spotlessly clean.

Much to my delight, my Mom had a VERY good idea!

I felt elated; and immediately restarted my experiments. Again, I started to roll around and around; but, now, I first looked carefully at where I was and to where I went.

After a lot of rolling around and having fun, I decided to try out something even more difficult.

Although my little body rolled across the floor at a reasonable speed, it was a rather impractical way of moving, and a tiring way as well. Therefore, I wanted to try out something more practical; while my new movements also felt a lot more natural.

After again rolling onto my stomach, I first folded both arms and legs under my body.

Next, I planted both my hands AND my knees onto the floor, and slowly pushed myself up.

Suddenly, I sat on all fours, looking up at my watching Mom!

My body only wobbled a little bit; but I kept my balance.

Because my arms were much longer than my thighs, I sat almost upright, and was able to look around with ease. Again, I had discovered something new and usable that turned out to be lots of fun. Now, I only had to find out how I would be able to move around on our floor properly.

Because it came to me naturally, I started to shift both my arms and my legs back and forth, hoping to move forward. However, I only lost my balance, and tumbled onto my back.

What had I done wrong? I tried to think it out.

Only, even after some very heavy thinking, I still didn't understand what could have happened. Therefore, I decided to experiment some more first.

Again, I rolled onto my stomach, folded my arms and legs under my body, and pushed myself up on all fours. Now, I placed only one arm forward, while trying to keep my balance. Next, I placed my other arm forward; and it felt natural to let one knee follow, and then the other one.

YES! This time, my entire body had moved forward at least a couple of inches, and with surprising ease. Plus, I was still on all fours, proudly keeping my balance!

Now, I only had to train myself in moving my arms and legs much faster, and rhythmically.

Half an hour later, I was racing across our living room floor, at an astonishing speed.

This was the real work! This time, I was really crawling around on our carpeted floor, all on my own!

Finally, I had achieved what I had been trying to do all the time, but didn't know how to do it.

Feeling more and more enthusiastic, I started to crawl faster and faster, trying to move my limbs even more rhythmically.

Of course, in my over-enthusiasm, I again forgot to look out where I went. Unexpectedly, I bumped my still painful head against one of the walls, and stopped in surprise.

OUCH! The same lump on my head that I still had, now hurt even more than it had done before!

Feeling rather silly, I slumped down onto the floor. Again, I had forgotten the important rule to play it safe and be careful with any new things, always and everywhere.

Again, I gritted my teeth, paying the painful price for my important lesson. From now on, I HAD to look out where I was crawling; all the time, and everywhere!

I looked up at my again worried looking Mom, while forcing myself to show her a broad smile.

Fortunately, my Mom smiled back at me, feeling reassured by my again beaming face. Obviously, she was VERY proud of her so extremely fast developing little boy.

Suddenly, my inside felt a very well-known powerful aura, approaching our caravan! Did I really sense my Dad's joyful energy, planning to come home this early?

Immediately, I sat ready to greet him, exclaiming:

"Mommy? Daddy home!"

Ten seconds later, my Dad entered our caravan, and first shucked his shoes in our hallway.

Of course, I sat ready for takeoff, impatiently waiting to show off my newly gained ability!

The moment my Dad entered our living room, I crawled towards him at lightning speed. I bumped into his legs, and looked up at him with a beaming face and sparkling eyes.

Looking stunned, my Dad scooped me off the floor and took me into his arms, uttering:

"My precious son; again, you surprise me! Are you really crawling around, all on your own? Ultimately, you are not even four months old. My dear Harry, you are a real super boy; and I am very proud of your fast development! Please, could you demonstrate your crawling again?"

My proud looking Dad sat me back onto our floor. Then, he sat down on our couch, to enjoy looking at me and at my recently discovered astonishing achievements.

Of course, I took off immediately, again demonstrating my newest ability. Adeptly, I rounded all the corners of our living room, on my way avoiding the grownup legs-in-my-way.

Then, I saw one of my pillows that had fallen off our couch and onto the floor, and crawled towards it. Spontaneously, I decided to help my Mom a little bit with tidying.

I grabbed the pillow with one hand, and towed it towards my Dad on one arm and two knees.

Reaching the pillow towards my Dad, I asked:

"Daddy? Pwease, pillow up cous."

Of course, my Dad understood what I wanted him to do. He smiled at me, took the pillow out of my hand, and ceremoniously placed it onto our couch where it belonged.

Good Daddy! I am sure you will be very trainable.

My surprised looking Dad stared at me for quite some time, until he uttered:

"My dear son; I still don't know what to think of your extraordinary achievements, at such a young age. Up to now, I always thought that babies started to crawl around for the first time after they were at least seven months old. And, I was sure that youngsters couldn't talk properly before they were at least a year old. Now, I am looking in marvel at my own young son; who, according to our calendar, is only three months and three weeks old. Yet, much to my surprise, my little son already crawls around our living room at lightning speed, and he even speaks quite a lot of words! My dear son, who are you in reality? Our Wise Woman told me our Ancestors are with you, and that you have a very important task to fulfill on our earth. Is that why you are so precocious and extremely clever? Has it to do with your amazing 'gifts'? Then, I feel very blessed to have you as my son! I only hope I will be able to educate you properly, without making too many mistakes."

Sensing my Dad's doubts, I pulled myself up by his trousers, wanting to be cuddled first.

Immediately, my Dad lifted me onto his lap and folded his strong arms around my small frame, gently pulling me against his broad chest while trying not to crush my tiny ribs.

Yes, that was exactly what I wanted my Dad to do!

Feeling happy, I 'octopushed' myself against his stomach; while trying to melt into his powerful aura.

I looked up at him, and offered him my most beautiful smile.

Then, I told him, trying to formulate my words correctly:

"You awreddy aw a vewwy good Daddy, and I luvv you deawly."

For quite some time, my Dad and I stared into each other's eyes, marveling in our mutual love and close togetherness. In the meantime, I showed him a picture of a little Harold, feeling happy to be the son of such a good and lovable Dad. First, I carefully formulated the words in my own mind.

Then, I projected them directly into my Dad's brain:

"Please, Dad, stop doubting so much. You already ARE a good Daddy, and I am sure I will never find any Dad who is a better parent than you are. I love your dearly; and, please, don't worry. All our Ancestors and Spirit Friends are with us, and they will never allow you to make any serious mistakes. You only have to listen to your own heart. And, please, always let me experiment, whenever I feel the urge to develop myself or my abilities some more."

Obviously, my Dad had picked up most of what I told him in his mind, because he started to smile respectfully. Again, we stared into each other's eyes, feeling our powerful mutual love radiating between us and warming our souls.

Then, my wet diaper started to feel itchy; and I asked my Mom, using my normal baritone voice:

"Pwease, Mommy, Harry clean diaver?"

Working together, my parents removed my soiled diaper, cleaned my smelly bottom, powdered me without making me sneeze, and put a fresh diaper on me. After many more kisses and cuddles, they laid me in between my pile of pillows; where I fell asleep almost immediately.

Vaguely, I heard them talk about my extremely fast mental development, grown-up sounding baritone voice, and astonishing knowledge of all those difficult words for such a little boy.

After I woke up, my Dad and I sat across from each other on our floor, having lots of fun rolling a plastic ball to and fro. Every time our unruly ball escaped behind me, I crawled after it and kicked it back to my patiently waiting Dad. Every time our ball escaped to another place, I pointed at it.

Then, I told my chuckling Dad:

"Daddy, pwease, ged ball?"

Much to my delight, every time again, my Dad behaved as a well-trained parent! Obediently, he crawled after our ball, went back to his own place, and again rolled it towards me.

Most of the time, I caught our ball between my legs, took it in both hands, and threw it back to my waiting Dad. The few times when the naughty ball escaped from my legs, both my Dad and I had lots of fun crawling after it, trying to be there first.

After a long time of playing and having very much fun, I started to feel too tired. Therefore, I left our ball, crawled towards my Dad, and clambered onto his safe lap.

My Dad took me to our couch; where he slumped backwards with his head resting on my pillows.

Immediately, I draped myself all over his broad chest, and put my little nose into his left armpit.

This always was my most favorite place, from the first day on!

Smiling from ear to ear, my chuckling Dad told me:

"You really are my little octopus! Harry, my dear son, I am very, very proud of you, and I love you with all my heart and soul!"

My Dad started to stroke my back, slowly going up and down; and I loved the funny feeling very much. For a moment, I basked in the nice feeling of being very close to each other and loving each other like this. Then, I became too drowsy, and closed my eyes.

Within a minute, both my Dad and I were sound asleep on our couch, happily snoring together.

After we woke up, I left my Dad's stomach, dived towards our floor, and immediately started to crawl around again. However, now that I was able to move around, nothing in our caravan was safe for my insatiable curiosity! Soon, I disappeared into our interesting kitchen, where I tried to have a close look and a possible feel at every colorful or blinking thing that caught my attention.

Fortunately, my Mom saw me just in time, and swiftly took me back to our living room!

For quite some time, my parents were busy preparing our caravan for my early moving around. Working together, they placed everything out of my reach that could be opened, put into my mouth, or was too sharp to handle. Much to my happiness, both parents loved me dearly, and they never complained about their too adventurous young son.

Now and then, my helpful Dad took me to our huge front window; where he lifted me onto his knee, to let me have a closer look outside.

I always loved looking at our glowing campfire, and at our circle of wooden benches around it. Sometimes, a couple of people sat on the benches, softly talking to each other while drinking coffee.

Several suntanned children were playing around our wooden benches or chasing after each other, now and then shouting at each other, but always having lots of fun.

Of course, I wanted to join our playing kids, to partake in their obvious fun!

However, my Dad explained that I had to wait until I would be able to walk around properly, before I was allowed to play outside and join the other kids. I only had to be a little bit more patient.

Yeah well. Up to now, patience hadn't exactly been my most developed capability.

I always wanted to have my want NOW! When would I finally be big enough to walk around and join our happily playing kids outside?

Suddenly, the playing children saw me, and they even waved at me!

Now, I felt extremely happy, and immediately raised my own hand to wave back at them.

The playing kids recognized me, and they obviously wanted me to join them outside!

Unfortunately, I was still way too young and too small to be allowed to do that.

Couldn't I skip a couple of years, and be old enough to play outside immediately?

I so longed to join the happily playing kids, who were again chasing after each other.

Chapter 8. My friends call me a 'wandering question mark'.

Now and them, my parents had to fulfill some Very Important Task outside our camp, because they were our Gypsy King and Queen. Of course, they always asked their best friend, Michail, to take care of their little son, until they were ready and returned home, mostly before the end of the day.

I always loved these times, when I could be together with my Big Friend, and romp with him or play our funny games. Michail was never tired of rolling our ball towards each other; or stacking my pillows until the heap collapsed. Then, we both shrieked with laughter, and immediately started to stack the huge pile of unruly pillows again. We always had lots of fun, and Michail never complained.

Sometimes, Felicia, his girlfriend, accompanied him. Then, she always sat next to her boyfriend on our couch, while desperately trying to catch all his attention.

From the very first day we met each other, I was sure that Felicia didn't like me!

Maybe, she was jealous of all the attention my Big Friend and I were paying each other? She never helped me; and always left everything to her boyfriend, even washing me or changing my diaper.

Well, I certainly didn't protest, and always crawled towards Michail when I needed something.

Michail didn't protest either; and always immediately helped me, or did what I asked him to do.

One day, Felicia sat on our couch sulking and moping; while I saw my Big Friend growing more and more irritated. Then, Felicia also started to complain about feeling bored.

Suddenly, Michail shouted at his pouting girlfriend:

"Felicia, SHUT UP, and please leave us alone!"

Much to my delight, Felicia listened to her angry looking boyfriend. She rose from our couch, stomped out of our caravan, and slammed our door shut with a loud bang!

My Big Friend only laughed at her antics, and confidentially told me she always made it up to him, mostly after a day or so. Smiling back at Michail, I thought Felicia had been acting rather 'childish'; but I wisely kept my mouth shut.

Michail lifted me onto our couch, and sat down next to me.

This time, I crawled across his lap and past my pile of pillows, towards our huge front window.

After I pulled myself upright, I craned my neck to be able to have a look outside. Longingly, I stared at the playing children around our campfire; who again had lots of fun chasing after each other.

Every time I saw them playing outside, I so wanted to join them and partake in their happy games.

Unfortunately, I was not allowed to go outside, until my still very wobbly legs would be strong enough to walk around on my own. When would my legs finally be strong enough to support my young body; and let me walk outside to join the other children?

A couple of playing kids saw me, and they enthusiastically waved at me!

Feeling touched by their clearly visible affection, I lifted my own hand and waved back at them.

Unfortunately, that caused me to lose my balance and fall backwards onto our couch.

Obviously, my tiny legs were still too wobbly to keep me upright for a prolonged time.

Feeling disappointed, I left our window and crawled onto Michail's lap, to be held and comforted.

A few minutes later, Michail put me down onto our floor, but he continued to hold my hands. He even pulled me upright, until I stood more or less vertical on my wobbly little legs.

Why would my Big Friend do that?

By reading Michail's mind, I found out what he wanted me to do, and I felt elated!

My Big Friend wanted me to try to WALK, while he would help me by holding my hands!

YESSS! That was exactly what I wanted to learn, preferably as soon as possible.

Within a few minutes, I proudly stepped around in our living room, while safely holding myself onto Michail's enormous hands.

Now, I only had to train myself a lot more, until I was able to do the same thing without any help.

Tomorrow, I would ask my Dad or my Mom, to help me walk around like this more often.

Of course, my parents happily obliged!

After a few months of training, I finally found out how I could walk around and keep my balance.

Many times, I had taken several wobbly steps, while holding myself against my Mom's body or onto my Dad's trousers. However, every time I tried to walk without any help, I stumbled over my own feet, lost my balance, and fell down onto our carpeted floor.

My parents tried to comfort me, by telling me that my body was still too young to walk on its own.

However, I just didn't believe them, and stubbornly went on trying to walk without any help. I WANTED to be able to play outside, just like all the other kids were doing!

Inwardly, I knew I was a very fast learner, and that my leg muscles were already strong enough, due to all my training. I only had to find out how to use my legs and feet the right way.

One day, I had a closer look at how my parents and our visitors were walking without stumbling.

Almost immediately, I saw what I had been doing wrong all the time. Obviously, all the others didn't step their feet behind each other, but they stepped them NEXT to each other! That was why my own little feet always seemed to be in the way while I tried to take the next step.

Ten minutes later, I walked around in our living room, all by myself, and without any help!

Or, to say it correctly, I toddled around, wavering from left to right, but feeling very proud of myself. Although I now knew what I had to do, I still had to learn how to keep a proper balance.

Trying not to stumble too much, I toddled towards my Mom in our kitchen, and looked up at her. Then, I had to clamp onto her waist, because I lost my balance and nearly fell down.

From now on, every morning, as soon as my parents had washed me and taken me to our living room, I immediately pulled myself upright. Determinedly, I started to toddle around; trying to keep my balance, while avoiding all the obstacles that were in my way.

Within a few days, I was walking faster and faster, without grabbling around to keep myself upright.

Then, one morning, I finally raced around in our living room without ever falling or stumbling.

Finally, I was WALKING, and even RUNNING, all on my own!

Again, my astounded Mom told me she couldn't believe her own eyes.

Again, my surprised looking Dad told me he was very proud of his so rapidly advancing little son. Ultimately, I was only seven months old; thus, statistically, my little body would still be way too young to be able to walk around all on its own.

The next morning, my proud parents took me outside our caravan, to let me discover some more of our secluded Gypsy world.

After we had some healthy breakfast, my Mom put a fresh and clean diaper on me. Then, my Dad opened our door, and guided me down the steps of our caravan.

The moment I stepped onto the solid ground, my Dad released me and told me to have fun.

A fascinating new world opened up to me, full of very interesting things and unexpected surprises!

For a long time, I just stared at all our colorful caravans, and at all those wooden benches around me, neatly put in a wide circle around our faintly glowing campfire.

Vaguely, I remembered sitting on our own Royal bench, the last time I was here, waiting for my Grandma and our Wise Woman to have a look at my past lives.

This time, nearly all the benches were empty; except for a few people who were drinking coffee.

For quite some time, I just looked around, until I started to feel more at ease.

Finally, I started to toddle around, while trying to keep my balance on the rugged ground. Curiously, I started to look in, under, and behind all those new things that called for my immediate attention. I also started to try out all the interesting things that possibly could move, open, or have a peculiar taste.

All the time, my worried looking Mom followed me, while keeping a close eye at everything I did! Now and then, she stopped me from pulling burning branches from our campfire, eating tasty looking mud, or putting living ants into my mouth.

A bunch of suntanned children showed up, who had been playing a game around our caravans. When they recognized their little Prince, they reacted enthusiastic! They even tried to talk to me.

Only, this time, I was too occupied to let myself be distracted by them. I just waved my hand towards them, to acknowledge them; and immediately went on, already toddling towards the next interesting object that called for my immediate attention. A next time, I would take some more time to talk to them and partake in their games; but, today, I was too busy!

The kids chuckled, turned around, and restarted playing their usual game of 'hide and seek'.

Then, of course, the inevitable happened.

For a few seconds, my Mom turned around, to answer my Dad who had asked her a question.

At exactly that same moment, I left my parents and grabbed a burning branch from our glowing campfire! Feeling fascinated, I stared at its beautifully glowing end with all those playful little flames. Never before had I seen such a wonderful and strangely appealing plaything.

Fortunately, I didn't put the burning branch into my mouth to taste it; as I had tried to do with all the other interesting things. Tentatively, as if my Inside warned me in advance I had to be very careful, I only touched its glowing end with my fingers.

A split second later, I burst out into a VERY loud and VERY angry ROAR; while my deep and sonorous baritone voice reverberated through our entire camp.

OUCH! That hurt TERRIBLY!

Feeling utterly betrayed by the suddenly searing pain, I threw the burning branch far away!

Everybody in our camp stormed towards me, alarmed by my loudly roaring baritone voice.

Immediately, they crowded around me, and all of them wanted to know what could have happened to their so loudly roaring little Crown Prince.

One of the alerted children took the still burning branch from the steps to one of our wooden caravans, and put it back onto our campfire before it burned our entire camp down.

My parents stormed towards me, looking at my reddening hand with worried and guilty faces.

Only, I had already gritted my teeth; because this had been my own fault, for again being too incautious and not playing it safe until I knew it was safe to play with it.

While all our grownups still tried to calm me down, everybody followed my guilty looking parents and me towards our caravan.

In our kitchen, my Mom first put my painful hand into lots of cold water, until the burning sensation slowly lessened. Next, she took me to our Wise Woman, who put some soothing balsam onto my reddened burns. She also brewed a sour tasting tea and let me drink it, to dull the pain.

Although I didn't get any blisters, the pain held on for several agonizing hours. All the time, my Mom held me onto her lap and whispered soothing words, until I finally calmed down and fell asleep.

This time, my lesson had been a VERY clear one. I HAD to be quite a lot more careful with all these unknown things, until I knew exactly what terrible harm they could do!

The next morning, I forgot my painful experience and just went on exploring my new world, albeit a LOT more careful. Again, I tried to have a closer look at all those interesting things that were calling for my immediate attention. However, this time, I only looked at them, instead of touching them and trying to put everything into my mouth.

Again, my still worried looking Mom followed me wherever I went, albeit now even more closely. Until, at last, she saw I really acted a lot more careful than before, and she started to relax somewhat.

That is, until I tried to climb the steps to one of our neighbor caravans, while pulling myself up by its rickety handrail. Suddenly, I stumbled, grabbled around, and tumbled down with a dull thump!

Of course, I started to cry; not from the little bit of pain, but merely from the sudden surprise.

My again very worried looking Mom tried to comfort me, but I was already on my way towards another interesting object.

This time, my Dad laughed at my worried Mom, while he admonished her:

"Our son has to learn from his experiences, and I am sure he is clever enough not to make the same mistake twice!"

Thirty seconds later, I fell off the steps to the next caravan, this time landing upside down.

Now, I had a growing lump on my head; but who cares. I still had FUN, just gritted my teeth, and was already on my way to another interesting object.

My disappointed looking Dad only shook his wise head, but wisely didn't say another word.

Near the end of my very busy first day, I started to feel too hungry and tired, and asked my Mom to feed me and put me to bed.

My Mom looked again at my burnt hand, but both the pain and the reddishness were nearly gone. Yet, I still had to drink another cup of sour tea, to make me sleep deeper.

Okay, I would be able to live with that.

After putting a fresh diaper on me, my Mom kissed my nose and put me to bed in my small den.

That night, I slept like a log, dreaming of many beautifully glowing branches with their playfully dancing little flames. This time, they didn't singe me any more, because I had learned my important lesson and acted a lot more careful around them.

Although the burning flames and I would never be real friends, we promised to respect each other always and everywhere. Apart from that, they were still beautiful.

The next morning, all the reddishness had disappeared from my hand; and the pain was gone.

After eating my healthy breakfast and getting a fresh diaper, I went outside and immediately resumed my exploring. Again, I looked in and under everything interesting thing, albeit a lot more carefully.

Because, from now on, nothing extraordinary happened to me; my Mom slowly released her excessive wariness. At last, my parents saw they could trust me not to do any more too dangerous things; and they relaxed even more.

A few days later, my Dad and Michail were sitting on our own Royal wooden bench, talking and drinking their coffee, while I toddled around them and stealthily listened in.

Hesitantly, my Dad told my Big Friend about his promise to talk to his son as if I were a grownup.

Obviously, my Dad felt relieved when my Big Friend only smiled at him, and answered he wasn't surprised at all! From my first day as a little baby, I had been extremely precocious and very eager to learn. Thus, they could expect that I would be very early with speaking as well.

Michail even suggested that my Dad and he should try to teach me some extra words, to help my speaking develop even faster.

Feeling VERY enthusiastic, I stormed towards our Royal bench, to start with my first lesson!

From this day on, both Michail and my Dad helped me with speaking and understanding all the too difficult words, while correcting me and letting me use them in several different sentences.

Of course, their assistance helped me tremendously in developing my grammatical knowledge much faster! Soon, I had developed a really impressive and extensive vocabulary; and I was able to make myself perfectly clear. I seemed to have an astonishing memory for languages, and never forgot any new words that anybody taught me.

Many others started to teach me as well. They joined us on our Royal bench; and all their grammatical lessons and linguistic examples were helping me even more. Day after day, I sat ready on our bench; to learn and to be taught all those difficult words and their proper meaning.

Within a few weeks, I started to ask the people around me my OWN important questions.

And, they surely couldn't get away with only some vague half-reply!

One of our stunned visitors exclaimed that I had to be our youngest Gypsy 'linguistic prodigy'.

Of course, I felt very proud of my new honorary title; and I was even able to pronounce it correctly.

However, nothing in our world comes without a price. Very soon, my tormented teachers started to complain that I had changed into some 'wandering question mark'!

Of course, they were right; because my extremely bright brain just couldn't stop 'badgering' them and asking them all those burning questions.

The words I loved best, and used most, were 'why' and 'what', closely followed by 'how come'.

My curiosity was insatiable, and my 'built-in brainiac' wanted to understand absolutely everything. Slowly, I drove all the people in our camp to despair, with my sometimes impossible questions.

"Why does my Mom have blue eyes, and how come all of you have brown eyes?"

"That is because your Mom comes from a far away country, called Sweden. A few years ago, before you were born, your Dad brought her here and married her."

"What is a 'far away country called Sweden'? Why did my Dad bring my Mom here? How come I look like my Mom and not like my Dad?"

"Well. We are only simple people and don't know ALL the answers. Please, go ask your Mom or your Dad your next questions. Perhaps, THEY will be able to explain all the answers to you."

Feeling rejected, I stamped towards my parents, to ask them my burning questions.

My Mom told me about 'other countries', where people were living under different circumstances.

Of course, I now felt even more curious, and wanted to know:

"When are we going to those 'other countries'?"

"Maybe, after a couple of years, when you are old enough."

"Why am I not old enough to go to them now? You always tell me I am already a big boy!"

My Mom laughed at me; but my Dad shook his head and told me to be more patient.

My time would surely come.

Well; until now, 'patience' had never been my strongest quality.

I wanted to go and travel to those 'other countries' NOW!

My Dad tried to ruffle my unruly hair, but I felt a bit angry and retreated towards another bench.

Why were my parents always telling me I had to wait 'until I would be old enough'? I was very bright, and able to understand everything people told me; so why did I have to wait for so long?

Just wait, until I am old enough to travel to that 'far away country called Sweden' all by myself.

Chapter 9. Our camp rules; and a beautiful 'Mother Nature'.

Halfway through our cold and snowy winter, I celebrated my FIRST birthday; on March the third.

Because our camp was very poor, and nobody had much money, no Gypsy child ever got any expensive birthday presents. However, our parents always managed to make it a very special day; thus, we DID celebrate it, abundantly.

I had lived forward to my special day for several weeks; while impatiently counting all the remaining days on all my fingers and toes, initially adding those of my chuckling parents.

Slowly, I needed less and less fingers; until I no longer needed to add those of my Mom and Dad.

Finally, only one finger remained, to count the last day; and I went to bed feeling full of anticipation.

Tomorrow would be my first birthday.

Alas. My long-awaited birthday turned out to be a disaster; because I had a fever and felt awful.

That morning, I crawled out of my bed, wavered towards my parents, and started to cry from disappointment. Why the heck had my shivering little body chosen exactly this day, to make me ill and ruin my first Real Feast?

While I was asleep, my parents had decorated our living room with many beautifully colored balloons and festoons. However, I couldn't care less, and just crawled in between my pillows on our couch; coughing, shivering, and sniffling.

My Dad took me onto his lap, rubbed my upset stomach, and helped me blow my running nose.

Soon, I asked him to lay me back in between my pillows, because my trembling little body felt too dizzy and cold. I even didn't want to taste my nice looking birthday cake with one little candle, but only wanted to drink lots of water.

In the meantime, my Mom left our caravan and went to our Wise Woman, to ask her for advice.

Our Wise Woman showed up in our caravan, felt my forehead, looked at my tongue, and told my parents I had gotten a nasty flu. This week, I was the fourth child in a row that got the same illness, and she was sure that many more kids would follow suit. Fortunately, all the sniffling kids would recover within a week; and they would soon be their happy selves again.

She brought me some bitter tasting tea, and trotted towards the next sniffling child.

Our Wise Woman was right. Within a week, the nasty fever left me, and I felt much better.

Now, I really enjoyed our still decorated living room! For the second time, my proud parents and all our close friends congratulated me with my first birthday. I even got another delicious birthday cake my Grandma had baked especially for me, decorated with one burning candle!

While everybody sang, "He is a jolly good fellow", I had to blow out my candle and do my first secret 'birthday wish' for the upcoming year.

Only, I didn't know what to wish for, because I was only one year old.

Feeling a little bit shy, I whispered into my Dad's ear:

"Dad? Sorry, but I don't know what to wish for."

Fortunately, my Dad didn't laugh at me; but he continued to look serious, while he suggested:

"Well; I think you could wish for an excellent health."

Yes! My wise Dad had a marvelous idea! Feeling elated, I puckered my lips, blew out my burning little candle, and silently wished for an excellent health for ALL of us.

After everybody left our caravan, I helped my parents popping the balloons, removing the colored festoons, and tidying our room until everything in our caravan looked 'normal' again.

Now, I only had to wait until my second birthday showed up.

Only, first, SPRING showed up in our secluded valley! Immediately, the freezing mountain air became much warmer, while the remaining snow disappeared.

Finally, I would be able to go outside again!

Many times, I had looked longingly at our playing children, who were throwing snowballs at each other and having lots of fun in the thick blanket of snow that covered our camp. Only, I had to wait until I no longer wetted my diaper during the day, to prevent its wetness from freezing.

Now, finally, all the freezing danger was gone, and the outside air was warm again!

Immediately after the warming sun showed up, all our children disappeared into their caravans. They shucked their warm winter clothes, and returned clad only in their 'birthday suits', to enjoy the warm sun on their naked skins and get their golden tans back as soon as possible.

Of course, I asked my Dad to help me go outside.

Surprisingly, my Dad told me I was now clever enough to explore our secluded camp without any supervision! Last year, I had proven to be an always prudent and very mature little 'brainiac'. Therefore, from now on, I didn't need my parents' permission any more; and I was allowed to leave our caravan and go outside whenever I wanted!

Only, before I went outside, my Dad first explained a few very important rules I should remember all the time while playing in our secluded camp and its surrounding bushes. My Dad and I sat down on our couch, next to each other; while I listened intently to what he had to tell me.

First of all; I always had to think at least twice, before I planned to do anything that didn't feel good. Plus, I had to restrain from doing anything that could be dangerous or harmful. If I wasn't absolutely sure, I had to ask my Dad, my Mom, Michail, or any other responsible grownup first.

This was the most important rule in our camp, and I had to obey this rule always and everywhere!

Many years ago, our Beloved Ancestors had set a second important rule, because a couple flocks of gray wolves were living in the mountains and dense forests around our camp. Sometimes, during a quiet evening, we heard their howling; sounding from far away, especially when the moon was full.

Although the wolves never approached our camp or attacked any young children, one could never know. Therefore, all our youngsters had to wait until their bodies were strong enough to fight a wolf, before their parents allowed them to enter our surrounding woods or forests.

Of course, measuring the muscle strength and fighting capabilities of each single kid would be a way too tedious task. Therefore, our Ancestors had looked for a more easy way; and finally set a much simpler but very satisfactory rule, which said:

'All our youngest children have to stay inside our secluded camp, until they no longer need to wear any diaper and are staying dry during the whole day and night.'

That way, our parents could be sure that their youngest children had at least some basic bodily control, in case anything unexpected or dangerous happened to them. To say it briefly; I was allowed to play in and around our camp and enter our surrounding bushes; but I always had to stay far away from our surrounding woods and forests. The winding paths across our bushes, which were leading outside our camp, were strictly forbidden; until I would be experienced enough to fend for myself. Even after I stayed dry during the night, I had to join a much older and more experienced kid first, until I was an experienced trapper and no longer needed supervision. That way, all our kids would always be as safe as possible, while scouring our outstretched woods and dense forests.

My wise Dad also told me another very important rule I always should remember, in case I ever entered our woods. If I ever happened to meet a stray wolf, or any other dangerous predator with sharp teeth, I immediately had to grab a long and sturdy branch. Then, I had to push that branch into the open mouth of the predator, using all the muscle strength I could bring forth! Hopefully, the predator would start to fight the branch instead of me, and run away from the unexpected pain.

Of course, I had listened intently and open-mouthed; now and then shuddering at the thought of being devoured by some predator with an open mouth and sharp teeth. Now, I solemnly promised my parents I would always obey all our important rules; and I would be very careful.

They could count on me, always and everywhere!

Finally, after kissing my parents and telling them I loved them dearly, I went outside, for the first time all by myself. Immediately, I enjoyed the warming feeling of the sun on my bare skin very much!

When could I finally shuck my diaper during the day and go naked, just like all the playing kids around me always did? I couldn't wait to grow up some more.

During my second spring and summer, my little body continued to grow up steadily, healthy, and prosperously. Every day, I trotted outside as soon as I had eaten my healthy breakfast and put on a clean diaper. Happily, I strolled around in our camp, stared at what the other children were doing, or tried to 'help' my Dad or Michail. Now and then, I 'pestered' our grownups, by bombarding them with my thousand-and-one important questions. Fortunately, everybody seemed to like their curious little Prince very much, and they always took all their time for me.

Sometimes, I tried to play with the other children, because I wanted to partake in their usual games of 'hide and seek'. However, the kids explained that I was too young, and had to wait until I no longer needed a diaper during the day.

Of course, I tried to convince them otherwise, using all my brainy persuasiveness; but they still didn't let me join them. The mere fact that I was early in my mental development, or extremely bright for my age, or our Beloved Crown Prince, didn't make any difference to them. I HAD to wait until my parents allowed me to be clad solely in my 'birthday suit' during the day.

Until that time, I had to play with my fellow 'toddlers' in our camp, until I could leave my diaper at home and go naked, just like they always did during our warm summer.

Feeling very disappointed, I left the kids and stomped home; where I crawled onto my Dad's lap.

I didn't WANT to play with my 'fellow toddlers', because they always behaved like 'little babies' and were no fun at all! The only things they seemed to be good at, were sucking on their thumbs and playing with mud and small pebbles.

Besides, most toddlers couldn't even talk properly!

While I slowly calmed down, my Dad explained that most 'toddlers' in our camp had to wait until they were at least four or five years old, before they became 'dry' during the day.

When they finally needed their diaper only during the night, they were called 'diaper kids', and could join our 'diaper group' and partake in their kid games in and around our secluded camp.

Most kids had to wait until they were around six years old, before they shucked their diaper and stayed dry during the entire day and night. Then, they joined our group of 'older kids', who always scoured our outstretched woods to catch small animals and roast them over our campfire.

Well. I was only one-and-a-half year old; thus, I had to wait for - counting on three fingers and two half-fingers - at least another two-and-a-half year, before I became a 'diaper kid'.

Couldn't I force my tiny body to grow up a lot faster, and warn me in advance before it had to urinate or defecate? My bright 'brainiac' brain was already growing extremely fast; so, couldn't my body be able to follow my extremely fast brain and become 'dry' earlier?

Much to my disappointment, my wise Dad only chuckled at my heated arguments, and he told me to be more patient. My time would surely come.

Yeah, well. I was sure I had heard those 'wise words' many times before! Only, I didn't WANT to be impatient, or to feel restricted by my little baby-body. Ultimately, even my deep baritone voice already sounded like a grownup. Didn't that fact make me a lot more special?

Feeling more and more depressed, my too bright Inside started to doubt.

Why had I chosen to be such a 'special' child, before I left our timeless Eternal Realm and became a human baby? I was sure that my too precocious 'brainiac' brain was making my life a LOT more difficult than the easy lives of my little 'fellow toddlers' were. THEY didn't seem to have so many problems with waiting until they grew up, while playing with their pebbles.

The next morning, I tried to laugh at my silly self-induced misery, and went outside again.

For a moment, I stared longingly at our 'diaper kids', who were playing their usual games of 'hide and seek' around our caravans. Then, I stopped my stupid self-pity, and forced myself to smile!

Pretending I was only a 'little toddler', I gathered a handful of small pebbles, and sat down on our own wooden bench. One by one, I threw my pebbles into our glowing campfire, while trying to hit a specific burning log. Every time I hit the log, a shower of little sparkles appeared around it, spreading out into many different directions! After some training, I was able to hit the log very accurately, exactly at the place where I wanted the little sparkles to show up!

After I had reached my goal and couldn't better myself, I started to feel bored, left our bench, and sauntered towards our surrounding bushes. In there, I wanted to study our so very interesting forest fauna, and try to investigate all the abundantly growing vegetation around me.

Because I was still afraid of unexpectedly meeting some hungry wolf or other dangerous predator, I first took a sturdy branch with a sharp point in my hands, to be able to defend myself if necessary.

However, after nothing dangerous happened, my wariness left me; and I started to feel more at ease while exploring our so beautiful and very interesting Mother Nature.

For a second, I stared longingly along the winding paths that led towards our mysterious woods and dense forests. When would it finally be my time, to enter these paths and catch my own animals to roast them over our campfire? Every morning, our group of 'older kids' left our camp and followed these mysterious paths, to set up their traps and catch their fat marmots and other small critters.

I always longed to follow them; but I had to stay in our camp until I finally became a 'big boy' and no longer needed a diaper at all. Only then, would I be allowed to enter our surrounding woods, set up my own traps, and catch my own small animals to roast them over our campfire.

Of course, I stayed in our surrounding bushes and only stared along those interesting paths, as I had promised. I didn't want to disappoint my parents, or to forfeit their valuable trust in me. And, to play it safe, I also didn't want to be attacked by some nasty predator with sharp teeth.

Although I knew what I had to do, I wasn't sure whether my tiny muscles would be strong enough to push a branch into an open predator mouth, as my Dad has told me I should do.

While strolling around in our surrounding bushes, I soon started to be VERY interested in all the flourishing vegetation. Now and then, I squatted down, and stared in awe at all those beautifully colored flowers, attached to their stems adorned with many green leaves or several little needles.

I had already discovered that, after the flowers wilted, their remainders started to grow even more; and finally became much bigger fruits, seeds, or pods. However, some plants didn't have any flowers; but they just sprouted out of Mother Earth, like 'mushrooms' and 'ferns'.

Why had our Supreme Being created such an abundant diversity? Could there be a hidden meaning behind our Mother Nature? Would my Mom be able to give me any answers?

Half an hour later, I brought home some very interesting plants, to ask my Mom my questions about them. I was sure the plants were harmless; because I had 'sensed' their energy in advance.

The too harmful plants had already warned me to be very careful with them, by making me feel nervous or queasy. I seemed to have another very useful 'sixth sense'; which always warned me immediately, in case some unknown plant could be dangerous or unhealthy.

Much to my surprise, my Mom reacted rather warily, at seeing the nicely smelling plants I asked her to look at! She called them 'weeds'; and warned me not to touch any of them ever again, because they could be poisonous and make me ill. With a sour face, she threw my 'weeds' into our trashcan; and I had to wash my hands thoroughly before she allowed me to go outside again.

Well. I didn't want to object, but my 'intuition' told me my Mom knew next to nothing about my nicely smelling 'weeds'! She only wanted to play it safe and protect me from any harm.

Therefore, I kissed her, thanked her for her warning, and trotted outside again.

Although my 'intuition' or 'sixth sense' tried to tell me otherwise, my Mom's serious warnings had made me doubt and feel a little bit guilty. Therefore, I decided to be a lot more careful!

From now on, I would not touch my interesting 'weeds' any more, but only look at them.

Why didn't I listen to my own 'Inner Wisdom' any more, although it never betrayed me?

Maybe, Mother Nature had to teach me another important lesson first.

The next morning, I squatted down, to have a much closer look at some beautifully colored flower.

Suddenly, an insect left the flower and landed on my unclad thigh. I tried to brush the unknown beast off; but I did it too wildly, and the angry insect stung me before it ran away and disappeared.

Involuntarily, I yelped from the unexpected pain! Feeling shocked and betrayed, I stared at the rapidly reddening stitch, which already started to swell and itch terribly.

What should I do now? Should I run to my Mom, to let her have a look at the swelling stitch?

However, I didn't want to act too 'babyish', by toddling home and crying for my Mommy.

Within a second, my own 'Inner Wisdom' knew exactly what I had to do! My 'Inner Awareness' seemed to remember this particular insect, and it also knew how to cure its nasty stitch.

Was I suddenly remembering one of my 'past lives'? It had to be.

Feeling surprised about my sudden knowledge, I looked around; until I found a dark brown 'weed'.

For a moment, my mind hesitated again, because my Mom had strictly warned me not to touch any unknown weeds. Then, I just took a few of its tiny brown leaves, squashed them, and smeared the foul smelling juice onto the swelling.

Within ten seconds, the itching was gone, while the nasty looking swelling already started to diminish!

How did I suddenly know what I had to do to cure myself, after that unknown insect stung me? Could I have been sort of a 'medicine man', in one of my past lives?

Inwardly, I made a mental note, to ask our Wise Woman about those past lives, as soon as I saw her. Maybe, she could tell me some more about my unusual 'gifts'.

Fortunately, as a result from my unexpected experience, I immediately restarted to trust my own 'sixth senses'! From now on, I would only listen to my own 'inner feelings' and valuable 'gifts', instead of to my silly wariness and to the ungrounded fears of my Mom.

Before I left, I thanked the brown weed in my mind, for helping me. Much to my surprise, I thought I heard a faint 'you are welcome my friend' in my inside, but wasn't sure.

However, being thankful certainly felt great!

Chapter 10. My own metamorphosing little caterpillar friend.

The next morning, I looked in surprise at a couple of small birds that were feeding their tiny offspring in their cleverly hidden nest. All the time, they were flying back and forth, bringing their little kids many caught insects and other 'tasty' vermin.

At first, they were afraid of me; until I 'tuned in' into their tiny bird minds, and 'told' them I only wanted to be their friend. From then on, they always trusted me; even when I nearly put my nose into their nest, to have a closer look at what they were doing. Within a few days, they even greeted me when they saw me, by flying towards me and twittering loudly!

Next, I started to study a huge caterpillar in a thick shrub that was eating leaf after leaf, becoming fatter and fatter. Would my Dad be able to answer my questions about this strange animal?

For a moment, I hesitated. Could caterpillars be poisonous and make me ill, if I took them home?

Again, my Wise Inside seemed to know the answer! I could touch this insect without any fear.

I plucked the wriggling beast from its leaf, trotted home, and showed it to my Dad.

My Dad started to laugh when he saw the wriggling caterpillar in my hand; but he also told me:

"You better bring your caterpillar back to where you found it; and leave it alone until it spins itself into a cocoon and becomes a beautiful butterfly."

Immediately, I had a zillion important questions about this interesting phenomenon! Would really my caterpillar become a beautiful butterfly, after it first cocooned itself?

My Dad explained that, near the end of summer, my growing caterpillar would stop eating and spin a sturdy cocoon around its fattened body, to protect itself. During winter, it would be asleep in its safe and cozy place; while its appearance would be 'metamorphosing'. When next spring showed up, the cocoon would burst open; and a beautiful butterfly would show up and flap away!

Of course, I wanted to see my wriggling caterpillar grow up, to spin itself into a cocoon and 'metamorphose' itself into a beautiful butterfly.

Wow! Our strange Mother Nature seemed to be full of unexpected surprises!

Happily, I thanked my Dad for his advice, and hugged him fiercely.

Then, I brought my caterpillar back to its own shrub. Immediately, it started to eat again.

From now on, every day, I went to my caterpillar, to stare at it and wait until it would start to spin itself into a cocoon. All the time, I hoped that no birds of prey would see it and eat it, or bring it to their always-hungry offspring to have a feast meal.

Of course, I immediately told my little bird friends to leave my caterpillar alone, even after their children grew up and started to fly around and feed themselves.

Fortunately, my little friends listened to me, and never did any harm to my always-eating caterpillar.

A few months later, just before fall set in, my fat caterpillar stopped eating and attached itself to a rigid branch. It hung upside down, and slowly started to spin a silky cocoon around its body.

Of course, I now sat glued to the strange spectacle during the entire day!

Only reluctantly, I left my place next to it, to eat and have some sleep.

After three days of arduous work, the silky cocoon was ready; and my caterpillar stopped moving. Slowly, its cocoon became darker and darker, until I could no longer see its 'metamorphosing' inside. Now, I only had to wait until next spring showed up; which would be a couple of months after I celebrated my second birthday.

A few weeks later, an icy cold winter wind started to blow, obviously coming from our surrounding snowy mountaintops. Several little snowflakes whirled outside our caravan windows; and I stared at them in fascination! Immediately after I had eaten my healthy breakfast and donned a clean diaper, I jumped up; to go outside and play with the little bit of already melting snow.

Only, my Mom asked me to stay at home, because of the suddenly very cold weather.

Of course, I started to protest fiercely, because I wanted to go outside anyway! Nothing or nobody would stop me from going outside, to have a quick look at what my metamorphosing caterpillar had done during the night. What if a nasty predator had found my cocoon and eaten its butterfly?

Besides, every morning, I had left our caravan and studied Mother Nature. Now, all of a sudden, I had to stay at home, only because the weather was a little bit too cold?

No way!

Feeling very determined not to let any too cold weather or too wary Mom spoil my day, I stomped towards our front door, to go outside and have a closer look at the whirling snowflakes.

Although my Mom still tried to tell me something important, my wise Dad only chuckled at my angry tantrum. He even opened our front door, to let me through.

Because I was still stubbornly determined, and just didn't want to listen to my too wary Mom, I trotted outside and jumped off the steps into the already melting snow.

Of course, my wise Dad turned out to be absolutely right! Within a few seconds, I got goose bumps all over my body, while the very cold mountain wind almost choked my throat. My unclad skin started to shiver, while I hastily retreated inside and attached myself to my Dad, to feel warm again.

From our living room, I heard my Mom mutter about her little son being too 'pigheaded'.

Pigheaded? Who? Me?

While the cold snowflakes on my body and diaper slowly melted away, I clambered onto our couch in our nicely warmed living room. From there, I stared outside at the suddenly chilly weather and the already lessening whirling snowflakes.

I also stared at our growing group of 'older children', who waited for the last lazy ones to show up.

This time, they were clad in their beautifully colored garments, to protect them from the sudden cold. Soon, they lined up and disappeared into the winding paths, to search for the last edible nuts and any cleverly hidden small animals in hibernation.

Only our group of younger 'diaper kids' stayed in our camp; this time also clad in their colored winter garments. Of course, they immediately started to gather the fallen snowflakes, trying to make little snowballs out of them, to throw them to each other. A few diaper kids saw me looking at them, and waved at me. One of them even threw a little snowball towards our window!

I so wanted to join them, and throw my own snowballs.

Suddenly, I got what I thought could be a brilliant idea; and asked my Mom:

"Please, Mom, could you clad me in some warm winter garment, just like the other kids are wearing, so that I can join them and play outside in the snow?"

Surprisingly, my Mom only stared at me, as if she didn't understand my question.

At the same time, my Dad shook his head, looking at me as if he felt a bit sad.

After an awkward moment of silence, my Dad uttered:

"Well. Your Mom and I HAD planned to clad you in something nice and warm, before you went outside. Only, you didn't listen to us, and already seemed to have another plan."

While my parents stared at me with disappointed faces, my face slowly colored a deep red.

This time, I HAD been way too 'pigheaded'; and, again, I had been too impatient for my own good!

My Mom had asked me to stay home, because she wanted to clad me in some warm clothes.

Again, I had to learn a very important lesson; this time about listening to my parents first, before coming to an incorrect conclusion and throwing such a 'childish' tantrum.

Now feeling very ashamed of myself, I bowed my head in submission and mumbled:

"Sorry, Mom and Dad, for assuming you wanted to keep me inside for the whole day, to protect me from the too cold weather. Therefore, I reacted too childish, and refused to listen to you. Please, Mom and Dad, forgive me for being so pigheaded; and I sincerely promise I will do my utmost to change my too stubborn behavior from now on."

Immediately, my beaming Dad scooped me into his strong arms, while he almost cheered:

"Thank you, my precious son, for being who you are! Both your Mom and I are PROUD of you, because you are willing to change yourself for the best. Now, let's clad you into the warm jeans, watertight coat, and shiny boots we already bought in advance, so that you can play in the snow."

Ten minutes later, my Mom had dressed me into the most beautiful clothes that I had ever seen!

Vaguely, I remembered the first time when I had to wear my small Royal garment, a long time ago. Then, I had protested, wanting my parents to remove the itchy thing immediately! Now, again wearing some clothing, beside my usual diaper, was a strange feeling, as if my skin felt too tight and itchy.

However, this time, I just accepted it, because I knew I HAD to get used to wearing some warm clothing during our very cold winter. And, I still wanted to have my daily look at my now sleeping but hopefully soon 'metamorphosing' caterpillar in its cocoon.

After my Mom had dressed me, I walked towards our hallway and stared in our oblong mirror.

Until now, I had always stared back at a little toddler with light brown skin, unruly blond hair, and bright blue eyes, wearing only a diaper.

Now, I suddenly stared at a little stranger I had never seen here before.

The new boy was wearing a beautifully colored watertight coat, nice blue jeans, shining red plastic boots, and a pair of brightly colored warm mitten. I liked the new boy at first sight and winked at him; and the little stranger in the mirror winked back at me immediately!

My Mom started to chuckle at seeing my proudly beaming face, while she asked:

"I suppose you like your new winter clothes?"

"Oh yes, I like them very much! Thank you, Mom; and sorry for being too pigheaded."

"That is okay, and I understand. Now, go play outside, and have fun in the snow!"

After fiercely hugging and kissing both my Mom and my Dad, I stepped outside, halted on our steps, and first looked around curiously.

Much to my disappointment, the snow had already stopped, and most snowflakes had melted away. All the 'diaper kids' had disappeared; perhaps still trying to gather the last tiny bits of snow.

Well, our cold winter had just started; and I was sure that, very soon, much more snow would fall from the clouded sky, just like it had done last year! Last winter, I had been a one-year-old little toddler, who had to stay home because he still wet his diaper during the day. Now, I was a much bigger boy, nearly two years old, and I wet my diaper only if I felt agitated, or forgot to pee in time.

Besides, my diaper was now hidden underneath my blue jeans; and nobody could see it.

Feeling very proud of my new clothes, I decided to visit Michail's caravan first, to show them off.

Therefore, I trotted to his caravan, and climbed the few steps. Politely, I knocked on his door; waiting until my Big Friend would show up and admire the new boy he hadn't seen before.

However, when the door opened, Felicia glared at me with a distracted face!

Obviously not liking the sudden disturbance, she grunted:

"Yes? What do you want?"

"Is Michail inside, please? I want to show him my new clothes."

"Michail is too busy; so go home and forget it!"

Fortunately, my Big Friend showed up, angrily shoved his girlfriend aside, and exclaimed:

"My dear young Prince, today, you look FANTASTIC! Or, are you some new boy I haven't seen here before? Who are you?"

"You are silly! Of course, I am still the same Prince Harold; and only my new clothes are new."

"Yes, I see; and they look GREAT on you! Do you want to come in and drink hot chocolate?"

For a moment, I hesitated. Then, I thought of Felicia's angrily moping face, and answered:

"No, thank you; but another time will be fine. Today, I feel more like staying outside."

Michail seemed to understand my hesitancy; because he told me to have fun in the snow and come back a next time. By reading his mind, I sensed that, although my Big Friend didn't exactly approve of Felicia's behavior, he also didn't want to fight her.

He disappeared inside; and I turned around and went to our surrounding bushes, to have a quick look at my metamorphosing caterpillar in its cocoon. Surprisingly, I already got used to wearing my new clothes! They really started to feel nicely warm and cozy! From now on, I would nevermore protest, if my Mom told me to wait because of the too cold weather.

In our surrounding bushes, my dormant cocoon was still untouched. My little bird friends had already disappeared towards a much warmer place, probably taking their offspring with them.

The trees and bushes were losing their remaining dead leaves; and all of Mother Nature looked strangely gloomy. Its too melancholic surroundings made me feel a little bit depressed.

Slowly, I left our bushes and sauntered towards our faintly glowing campfire. There, I clambered onto one of our wooden benches, next to two parents who were sitting there with their little toddlers.

Of course, I had seen both kids before; but I had always been too busy to pay any attention to them.

Now, for the first time, I tried to have some small talk with the little girl and with the slightly older boy.

Well, 'talking' to both children turned out to be a real disaster! The little girl just sat on her Mom's lap; while sucking on her thumb and looking rather dumb. I asked her a few simple questions; but she only stared at me, sucked even harder, and didn't respond to any of my easy questions.

Chuckling inwardly, I thought that this little girl really 'sucked'.

The slightly older boy was playing with some small dinky toy, by shoving it around and around on the wooden bench. In the meantime, he was producing several rather silly sounds.

Well, I really hoped that talking to this boy would be a little bit more entertaining!

I asked the playing boy what he was doing, but he only answered:

"This is my car! Vroom, vroom."

Could this silly acting boy really be several months older than I was? Although I knew he was over two years old, he was still talking and playing like some brainless little baby! I was sure I had never seen such strangely dull and uninterested behavior before!

Could both silly kids be a little bit 'retarded', as my Dad once explained some uneducated 'gadjo' children seemed to be? Or, shivering at the thought, could this silly behavior be USUAL behavior for any 'normal' little toddlers of around two years old?

Something very important started to dawn in my too bright brain, involuntarily making me shudder at the mere thought. If both little toddlers were showing 'normal' behavior for being around two years old; then, I REALLY had to be extremely 'precocious', and a way too intelligent 'brainiac'! This idea also explained why I always wanted to play with older kids, and never looked at any young toddlers.

Although, technically, I was such a two-year-old little 'toddler' myself; both my inside and my deep baritone voice felt like being MUCH older than they were! Could my 'very old soul' be in the way, making me act much more mature than my real age would require?

Only, I didn't WANT to be such a precocious 'brainiac', or a way too bright and extremely special 'child prodigy'! Up to now, being such a 'special' child had only brought me quite a lot of extra trouble and misery. Inwardly, I desperately wanted to be a NORMAL boy, just like all the other kids of about my age seemed to be. Being a 'brainiac', 'impatient', and 'pigheaded', like I always was, had made my young life quite a lot more difficult than it should be.

Why couldn't I just sit still on our bench and suck on my thumb, or play with some dinky toy and make all those silly sounds? Thinking about it, I didn't even have a dinky toy.

Slowly, I slid off the wooden bench, greeted both parents and their 'sucking' little kids, and sauntered back to my silently hibernating caterpillar in its sturdy cocoon.

For a moment, I felt jealous of its easy way of living. Couldn't I spin myself into a cocoon and hang down for a couple of years, while metamorphosing into a more 'normal' grownup?

The next morning, much to my delight, our entire Gypsy camp was already covered with a very thick blanket of snow! Immediately, I forgot my silly depression, and almost forced my Mom to put on my diaper and my new clothes in a record time.

Teasingly, I told her the words I once heard from my Dad:

"Come on, Mom! Life is too short to waste it."

My Mom chuckled at my antics, while she forced me to wolf down some 'healthy breakfast' first.

Then, I raced outside, and immediately started to roll around and around in the soft blanket of snow!

Soon, I looked like a sturdy little snowman, with a brightly beaming face and an enormous smile that was unzipping from ear to ear. Rolling around in the freshly fallen snow like this felt marvelous!

After scrabbling upright, I brushed my new clothes off, grabbed a handful of snow, trotted towards a couple of loudly cheering 'diaper kids', and joined them in their ferocious snowball fight!

Much to my delight, all the kids immediately accepted me; because I turned out to be very good at fighting our 'enemies'. Although I was the tiniest kid in our group, my lithe little body easily dodged nearly all of their attempted attacks and counterattacks.

Within a second, I started throwing my own very accurately aimed snowballs at our 'enemies', hitting them every time. Now, I felt very happy to have trained myself thoroughly in advance, by throwing small pebbles at a burning log in our campfire!

I had the time of my life; and only reluctantly returned to our caravan to have lunch.

Soon, I raced back outside, to resume our ferocious game of attack and counter-attack.

I now 'belonged' to our diaper kids; and they finally accepted me for who I was and for what I could do, instead of for my diaper-clad little body! They even seemed to forget that I was less than two years old; and, of course, they didn't know that I still wore a diaper underneath my blue jeans.

Now that nobody could see my diaper, everybody was very happy to have their little Prince around, and they totally accepted me as being 'one of us'! To them, I was just the smallest kid in our diaper group; and, only now and then, they teasingly called me 'our littlest runt'.

Unfortunately, during our snowy winter, our kids seldom played their usual games of 'hide and seek', because the winter weather was way too cold to sit or lay still for a prolonged time.

Finally, March the third showed up; and my parents and I celebrated my SECOND birthday!

Again, my parents had decorated our living room with several colorful festoons and balloons. Again, my Grandma had baked a delicious birthday cake, this time decorated with TWO burning candles!

During all day, all the people who adored me showed up, to congratulate their little Prince with being two years old. After sipping some drink, they disappeared, to make place for the next couple of people who entered our caravan and congratulated me.

Now and then, somebody brought me a small birthday present, making me blush and feel very special. I already knew that everybody in our camp was very poor, especially during winter when nobody could find any work in a 'gadjo' town.

During the few quieter moments, I crawled onto my Dad's safe and cozy lap, to play 'octopus' onto his broad chest and feel loved. Of course, during this day, I didn't even think about going outside, or about joining my 'diaper friends' to have another ferocious snowball fight. I had to be home all the time, in case any next visitors showed up to congratulate me!

Besides, I still hadn't seen my Big Friend, Michail.

Finally, during the afternoon, Michail showed up in our caravan, accompanied by his girlfriend.

Much to my surprise, my Big Friend brought me a colored picture book, showing all sorts of beautiful butterflies and their caterpillars! With eyes full of love, he told me that everybody in our camp had collected a little bit of their own spare money, to be able to give me this special birthday present.

For a moment, I felt too overwhelmed to say anything at all. Had my beloved subjects really collected such a lot of money; and had Michail been to a 'gadjo shop' or market, especially for me, to buy me such a beautiful and splendid birthday present?

Then, I woke up from my stupor, smothered my Big Friend with little kisses, and thanked him abundantly for buying me such a beautiful picture book! Next, I also dived towards Felicia, and kissed her on her suddenly blushing cheek.

Tomorrow, I would go outside, to thank all the other people for their beautiful birthday gift!

Happily, I retreated to our couch, and started to flip through the beautifully colored book pages that were showing all different kinds of butterflies and their caterpillars.

Suddenly, I found a picture in my book that looked EXACTLY like my own huge caterpillar had been, just before it hung upside down and cocooned itself!

In total awe, I stared at the picture next to my caterpillar; showing a huge and majestic butterfly, leaving its opened cocoon while already spreading its enormous wings.

With a choked voice, and shuddering from all my welling emotions, I asked my Big Friend to read the accompanying description to me, while I followed the words with my finger.

From the description, I learned that my metamorphosing caterpillar butterfly is called an 'Admiral'; and this enormous flying insect is one of the most beautiful butterflies on earth!

Soon after spring showed up, my little caterpillar friend would have metamorphosed into what had to be the Absolute King of Beautiful Butterflies!

I nearly started to cry from sheer happiness, while I kissed my broadly smiling Big Friend again. Then, I dived towards Felicia, and again kissed her fiercely blushing cheek!

This splendid picture book was the most valuable birthday present that I could ever think of!

Starting tomorrow, my Dad or my Mom could help me reading all the accompanying descriptions, until I would be able to read everything all by myself.

Near the end of the day, our violin players showed up and started to play beautiful melodies full of joy and happiness. Now, it was my time to blow my two burning candles, and to do my secret birthday wish for the upcoming year.

Only, even after a quite a lot of deep thinking, I just couldn't come up with any wish at all.

I already felt totally happy, and I already possessed everything that I wanted; so what else could I wish for, to have during the upcoming year?

After some more heavy thinking, I finally decided to wish for a long and happy life full of Love and Gratitude, for ALL of us.

While whispering my birthday wish, I blew my burning candles, everybody clapped, my parents kissed me, and I was sure I had wished for exactly the right thing!

Now, I only had to wait for another two years, until I finally would be four years old and become dry during the night, so that I could join the 'older kids' into our mysterious woods.

Or, would my tiny body decide to be a bit earlier, because of my extremely early bright brain?

I really hoped so.

Chapter 11. Dry during the day; my King Admiral butterfly.

A few weeks after my second birthday, I was playing outside with my 'diaper friends', when I suddenly felt an extremely urgent call of nature! Of course, I had felt this same call many times before, but the feeling had always been too late to act upon it.

Now, for the first time, I felt a strong urge to defecate, just BEFORE I pooped my still dry diaper!

Hurriedly, I raced home, dived into our small lavatory, jerked my diaper from my body, sat down, and let myself go with a deep sigh of satisfaction.

FINALLY, my little body had warned me in advance, although I was only two years old.

After I had both defecated and urinated, I took some toilet paper and meticulously cleaned my smelly bottom. Then, I washed my hands in our kitchen and dried them.

Being very proud of myself, I raced to our living room, and jumped onto my Dad's lap at full speed.

Feeling extremely enthusiastic, I exclaimed:

"DAD and MOM; this time, I have pooped and peed all by myself, and my diaper is still dry! Finally, my body is growing up, and I am a real Big Boy!"

My parents congratulated me abundantly with my early achievement; while my proud looking Dad folded his strong arms around my body and held me close.

Chuckling at seeing my very eager face, my Dad told me:

"Harry; again, I am very proud of you! Are you really sure you will stay dry during the day from now on, or is this a one-time happening?"

"Yes, Dad; from now on, I will really stay dry during the day! I can feel it in my inside. From now on, my body will always warn me, every time I have to poop or pee."

"Okay, I believe you. Now, you really are our Big Boy!"

I smiled, wrestled in between my Mom and my Dad, and very much enjoyed the happy feeling of being sandwiched in between the two people I loved most in the entire world.

Both parents put their arms around me and around each other, and we continued to cuddle each other for a very long time. It felt marvelous, to be a growing-up little boy in our own Gypsy community, and to be cuddled in between my lovable parents on our couch.

At last, I grew a little bit too impatient; and carefully wrestled free from my cuddling sandwich.

Then, I asked my Mom to help me shuck my still dry diaper.

Only, my always-wary Mom immediately started to doubt again, and asked me:

"Are you really sure you don't need your diaper any more? What if your body doesn't warn you in time; and you unintentionally soil your new blue jeans? Ultimately, you are only two years old! I also don't want to clean your clothes, only because you are too stubborn to wear a diaper."

Still feeling very sure about my new achievement, I answered:

"Mom, believe me, because I am absolutely sure! I can feel it in my inside. Please, trust me on this. From now on, I will need to wear a diaper only when I am sleeping."

Hesitantly, my Mom surrendered; and she helped me shuck my still dry diaper underneath my warm winter clothes. Now, without the extra clothing around my belly and bottom, I felt much freer!

Still feeling very happy, I raced outside, to rejoin my playing 'diaper friends'. Although I felt very happy to be a REAL 'diaper kid', I decided not to tell anybody about my 'little-kid-achievement'.

My little 'diaper playmates' just didn't have to know.

Fortunately, my 'dry' body never betrayed me during the day; and I never disappointed my Mom's trust in me. I always immediately went to our small lavatory when I had to go; and I needed my diaper only during the night. Now, I only had to wait until I didn't need any diaper at all and was allowed to join the 'older kids' into our woods; hopefully soon.

A few months later, SPRING showed up, the air became warmer, and all the snow disappeared!

Feeling very happy, I trotted outside without wearing any clothes at all, and immediately joined my own group of 'diaper kids'! Finally, I could join them completely naked, for the first time since my birth, although my tiny body was only two years and a few months old.

Happily, we frolicked around, chased after each other, and enjoyed the warming sun on our bodies.

Suddenly, I thought of my still metamorphosing caterpillar in its enveloping cocoon.

During our cold winter, it had slept and slept, until spring would show up. According to my book, it was now time for my beautiful 'King Admiral' to wake up and leave its cocoon as a huge butterfly!

Immediately, I was in a tremendous hurry, left my group of 'diaper friends', and raced into our surrounding bushes, to have a quick look at my cocooned caterpillar friend.

Would it finally leave its cocoon, as a beautiful butterfly?

Alas. The dangling cocoon was still hanging upside down from its branch, slowly moving in the steadily warming breeze. Nothing seemed to have changed; and my metamorphosing caterpillar inside seemed to be still asleep. Or, could it be frozen to death, during our very cold winter?

Feeling very disappointed, I returned to my friends; although I now felt nervous all day, fidgeted around, and almost couldn't wait to have my first look at my metamorphosed 'King Admiral'.

That is, IF it had survived our extremely cold winter.

From now on, every morning, immediately after wolfing my healthy breakfast, I stormed outside and towards my sleeping cocoon, hoping its butterfly would show up today. Impatiently, I stared at the silent thing, as if urging its inside with my thoughts to leave its shelter and greet me NOW.

For several days, nothing happened; and, slowly, I started to feel more and more disappointed and lost all my interest. Maybe, both my Dad and my beautiful picture book were wrong, and my cocooned caterpillar had really frozen to death during our very cold winter.

At last, I decided to live with the facts! Tomorrow, I would take my dead cocoon from its branch, and ceremonially bury it in Mother Earth. Then, I would forget everything, and go on with my life.

That evening, I went to bed, closed my eyes, and immediately tumbled into a deep and sound sleep.

The next morning, while I was still deep asleep, a warm and soulful voice called my name!

Feeling very surprised, I woke up and sat upright. Had really somebody woken me up?

I looked around and listened, but everybody else in our caravan was asleep and snoring.

Perhaps, I had been dreaming about somebody calling my name?

Again, the same warm and soulful voice in my inside told me:

"Please, my friend, wake up, and go greet your butterfly!"

Suddenly, my Inside recognized the so well-known voice of our Beloved King of Ancestors; one of my dearest Cosmic Friends, who was still living in our Timeless Eternal Realm!

Was my dear Cosmic Ancestor really trying to help me meet my butterfly? Wow.

Hastily, I jumped out of my bed, left our caravan, and sprinted towards our surrounding bushes, shivering from the sudden morning cold. Would really my Admiral butterfly reveal itself to me?

When I arrived in our surrounding bushes, I stared at my lazily dangling cocoon in utmost surprise.

Slowly, the top of my cocoon was OPENING itself!

Much to my surprise, my Beloved Ancestor Friend was absolutely right!

Something unbelievable and wonderful was happening!

Teasingly slowly, my cocoon opened its top. Little by little, my totally metamorphosed caterpillar friend showed up, looking like some strange and almost unearthly creature.

While hopping up and down from sheer enthusiasm, I stared at the very strange looking creature that slowly showed up. In total awe, I stared at the unbelievable spectacle of seeing my beautiful Admiral butterfly reveal itself to my utterly surprised eyes.

First, it put two very tall antennas up into the air and felt around, as if testing its environment.

Then, it unfolded two enormous butterfly wings, decorated with beautiful red, gold, and blue colors.

Gasping at the unbelievable spectacle in absolute rapture, I nearly forgot to breathe from my suddenly welling emotions. This huge and splendid looking animal, which once had been a little caterpillar, WAS the Absolute King of Butterflies!

In total awe, I stared at my huge King Admiral friend, which for several months had been my little caterpillar friend. I never thought it would be able to transform into something this wonderful and unearthly magnificent.

Would my friend allow me to touch it, as a greeting?

Carefully, I stretched my hand out towards it, to greet it.

Suddenly, the tall body of my huge King Butterfly shuddered, while it quickly rearranged its enormous wings. After a few tentative flaps, it rose majestically up into the air.

Then, it landed exactly on my outstretched hand! Sitting on my hand, my butterfly friend turned around, and stared at me with two enormous eyes full of tiny facets.

Now, I was sure it recognized me and wanted to greet me!

Feeling deeply thrilled, and unable to speak from all my welling emotions, I stared back at the enormous butterfly on my hand. This was the most honoring thing that I had ever felt!

Slowly, almost reverently, I bowed my head towards my butterfly, in an attempt to greet my beautiful butterfly Friend King Admiral. In my mind, I thanked it, for being my friend for so many months, and for letting me see its wonderful transformation.

Would it understand my thoughts?

Much to my surprise, my staring butterfly Friend rose onto its thin legs, and slowly performed a very deep bow towards me! Again, it spread its enormous wings out at full width and flapped a couple of times, as if waving farewell to me.

For several seconds, we again stared into each other's eyes.

Then, my King Admiral butterfly friend flapped its wings, rose high into the air, turned around, and slowly flapped away; leaving me totally in awe and feeling deeply grateful.

I was now sure it HAD understood all my thoughts!

After my beautiful Admiral Friend flapped away and disappeared behind the treetops, I sat down onto an old stump, while supporting my head with my hands.

Silently sobbing from my overwhelming emotions, I wiped the welling tears out of my eyes.

I already MISSED my caterpillar friend! Ultimately, it had been my little friend for many months, until it transformed into a huge butterfly and flapped away.

Secretly, I hoped I would be able to find myself a new little caterpillar friend.

Would our Beloved King of Ancestors still be around me? Silently, I thanked Him in my mind, for waking me just in time to greet my beautiful Admiral butterfly.

Again, I heard His warm and soulful voice in my inside, responding:

"You are very welcome, my young friend! Soon, we will meet again and talk some more. For now, you have to return to your parents and forget everything about me."

For a moment, my confused mind started to doubt. Could I have made my Friend's warm voice up, because I expected to hear some answer? I wasn't absolutely sure.

Nevertheless, thanking my Beloved Ancestor Friend felt great!

Still feeling humble, I rose from my old stump and went home.

At home, I entered my parents' bedroom, and immediately woke my snoring Mom and Dad.

Then, I waited impatiently, until they had rubbed the sand out of their eyes.

When they finally stopped yawning and were ready to listen to me, I had an unbelievable and truly amazing story to tell. Enthusiastically, I told them everything about my sudden waking up; and watching my beautiful King Admiral show up, land onto my hand, greet me, and flap away.

Surprisingly, I forgot everything about our Beloved King of Ancestors.

A few weeks later, Michail finally decided to marry Felicia, after a long time of being 'engaged'.

Immediately, we organized a Big Feast, and everybody in our camp contributed some nice looking goodies or tasty snacks. Soon, many filled platters showed up; to be set out onto the hastily arranged circle of wooden tables. Of course, I raced around the circle; 'helping' everybody wherever I could!

At last, all our wooden tables were covered with copiously filled platters and many cups of brightly colored lemonade. Only, first, we had to sit down on our wooden benches, to listen to my Grandmother marrying the happy pair.

All the kids left their games and crawled onto one of the inviting laps, to be cuddled and feel loved.

This time, I crawled onto the lap of Pietro, our technical man; because a small girl had already occupied my Dad's lap. However, I wasn't jealous at all. Live and let live!

My beaming Grandmother married the happy looking pair; by ceremoniously binding their hands together with two colored ropes, symbolizing they wanted to be married.

Next, she blessed them, in the name of all our Beloved Ancestors and our Highest Supreme Being.

Now, the happy bride and groom embraced and kissed each other, to seal their vows.

To end the ceremony, Michail and Felicia freed each other from their colored ropes, knotted them together, and threw them into our glowing campfire.

While both flaring ropes were sent towards our Supreme Being, they were now a married couple!

My Grandmother sat down on her own Royal wooden bench, looking around with a happy face; while our violin players started to play beautiful songs full of love and happiness.

Everybody else rose from their benches and queued up, to congratulate the newly married couple.

Of course, I stepped into the forming queue, next to Pietro, and waited until it would be my turn.

For a moment, I hesitated. Should I congratulate only Michail; or his new spouse as well?

How would Felicia react, if I congratulated her too? I was sure she didn't like me at all.

When it was my turn, I just stepped towards them. With my politest face, I congratulated both my Big Friend AND his new missus, wishing them all the good luck in the world!

Totally unexpectedly, Felicia embraced me and offered me a kiss on my cheek, her first one ever!

I felt confused and forgot to kiss her back. I never thought she would like me, not even a tiny bit.

Michail laughed at my confused face and ruffled my unruly hair, while I wiped the unexpected kiss from my cheek and slowly turned around.

I needed a moment for myself; to regain my posture and get rid of my strange feelings.

Then, I sauntered towards the arranged circle of tables, to partake in our Big Feast. Enthusiastically, I started to wander from table to table, on my way tasting several nice goodies and colored snacks.

Yummy! Those snacks certainly tasted much better than the 'healthy meals' my Mom always cooked!

Still munching, I already sauntered towards the next table.

Several kids walked along the tables, carefully choosing what snacks they wanted to taste.

Happily, I joined them, on my way putting even more tasty snacks into my mouth.

One of the older boys, Misha, chuckled, while he warned me:

"You better don't eat too many snacks at once, because they might upset your stomach and make you throw up!"

However, I only laughed at Misha, while popping the next tasty looking pastry into my mouth.

Why would I listen to another kid? I was my own boss; and mature enough to decide for myself.

Half an hour later, I raced to our bushes, to let my upset stomach throw up all the goodies!

Of course, my always-wary Mom followed me immediately. First, she waited until I had emptied my upset stomach, before she cleaned my face with some water and a few tufts of grass.

Then, she wanted to take me to our caravan, because she thought I could be ill.

However, I assured my Mom that everything was okay with me. I had only eaten too many snacks, and I wanted to stay outside and have fun for a much longer time!

Shaking her head, she returned to our own bench and sat down next to my chuckling Dad.

The other kids approached me again, and Misha teased their too pigheaded little Prince:

"We DID warn you! Obviously, you are still too little to walk around on your own."

Glaring at Misha indignantly, I rebuked:

"You are only jealous, because I am the fastest developing child in our community."

"Yeah, well. You surely are the fastest puking child in our community!"

This time, my angry brain couldn't come up with any caustic response or witty remark.

Not knowing how I should respond, I turned around and stomped away. Feeling frustrated, I trotted to our own Royal caravan, and angrily kicked it a couple of times.

Fortunately, the kicking helped; and my flaring anger subsided and went away, as always.

Of course, Misha and the others had been right; but I didn't want to admit it.

Pigheaded? Who? Me?

Hmm.

I returned to the still snickering kids, and politely offered them my well-meant excuses.

Although they reacted timid, they immediately accepted my apologies. Misha even told me they didn't really mean it, and only wanted to have some fun with their stubborn little Prince.

Yeah, well. Obviously, I first had to learn quite a lot more, before the older kids accepted me.

Fortunately, Misha smiled at me and ruffled my unruly blond hair, to let me know he understood and that everything was still okay! Then, the kids strolled away, to look for the next tasty snack.

Chapter 12. Using black magic; and Michail gets twin sons.

Next to our big tree, a few 'diaper kids' had started to gather all their friends, to play their usual games of hide and seek around our caravans.

Yesss! This was exactly what I had been waiting for all the time! Finally, I would be able to partake in their games I had stared at so many times from behind our caravan windows!

Of course, now that I no longer needed a diaper during the day, and was clad just like all the other kids were, wearing only my nicely tanning 'birthday suit', I now belonged to our 'diaper kids'!

Therefore, I just joined their growing group; and they accepted their little Prince as being 'one of us'.

Before we started, one of the kids first gathered the few 'newcomers', to explain the playing rules.

During our games of hide and seek, everybody had to hide within the appointed borders; and nobody was allowed to go away or enter any of our caravans without warning the others first.

By reciting a funny 'dipping rhyme', our group chose a kid who would be our first seeker. He had to go to our big tree, close his eyes, and slowly count to twenty, before he started looking for his friends.

Now, our first seeker closed his eyes and started to count to twenty. Immediately, al the others swarmed out around our wooden benches and caravans, trying to find a good hiding place.

Very soon, I found a small but usable hole at the base of one of the surrounding shrubs, and wriggled my tiny body into it. Quickly, I covered the still visible parts of my arms and legs with some fallen leaves and a little bit of forest litter.

Then, I regulated my breath to calm myself down, forced my body to lie absolutely still, and waited.

Finally, I was playing my first real game of 'hide and seek'!

From my hiding place, I looked at our seeker, who had started to look around. Almost immediately, he tagged the first kid, who clumsily tried to hide behind one of the open cartwheels.

Then, he tagged one of our girls and another small boy, who hid together behind a wooden table.

Patiently, I waited until it would be my turn. When would our seeker see and tag ME?

Much to my surprise, even after a very long time of searching, our seeker just couldn't find me!

Within a few minutes, he had found and tagged all the other hiding kids, except for their 'littlest runt'.

Obviously feeling more and more frustrated, the seeker asked the others:

"Are you really sure our little Prince understands all our rules? Perhaps, he hides outside the appointed borders, or he has entered one of our caravans. Ultimately, he is the tiniest kid in our group that I have ever seen. How old is that little baby anyway?"

One of the other kids started to chuckle, while he responded:

"Unfortunately for you, I have seen where our little Prince hides; and he has done nothing wrong! Our 'little baby' is just way too good for all your clumsy efforts to find him."

"Yeah well. Sorry, but I give up! This 'little runt' is TOO good for me."

Immediately, all the other kids started to search for me. Soon, they went scurrying through our bushes; crawling under our wooden benches, and seeking under and on top of all our caravans.

In the meantime, I bit my tongue and tried not to snicker at their clumsy efforts to find me.

At last, one of the kids found me accidentally, because he stumbled across one of my covered legs!

Triumphantly, I showed up, while wiping the leaves and forest litter from my stiffening body.

Immediately, all the other kids started to crowd around me! They congratulated me, high-fived me, and told me I was a surprisingly good hider for such a 'little runt'.

Was I sure I was playing their game of hide and seek for the first time?

Suddenly, everybody wanted to be my 'friend', even our frustrated seeker.

Because I chose to be our next seeker, I went to our big tree and closed my eyes.

Fortunately, my Mom had taught me how to use all my fingers twice, to count to 'twenty'. Therefore, I slowly touched all my fingers twice, before I opened my eyes and started to look around.

Very soon, I had found all my hiding friends and tagged them; because my built-in 'Shaman' was able to feel their energy fields, and easily sensed in which direction their auras where hiding.

Again, all my friends high-fived me, telling me their 'littlest runt' was a very good seeker as well!

From now on, everybody wanted to be my 'friend' even more.

Well, I would be able to live with that. I appointed our next seeker, and we went on with our game.

From now on, playing 'hide and seek' was my most favorite game!

My lithe little body was able to crawl into the tiniest hole; and I could lie or sit perfectly still for a very long time, by regulating my breath to stay calm.

Nearly every time, our seeker couldn't find me, and had to ask the others to help him.

Accidentally, I found out that my 'Shaman' inside seemed to switch on some very strange 'ability', which effectively blurred the vision of whoever was searching for me. That way, our seeker totally overlooked my hiding place, unless he or she literally stumbled upon my hidden body!

Vaguely, I remembered I had developed this useful ability in one of my past lives, where I had trained myself in sneaking towards a wary prey, to catch it before it saw me and fled into the dense forest.

Hilariously, in this life, my Inside didn't seem to know the difference between a wary forest prey and my desperately searching new friends.

We continued to play our games of hide and seek; until our parents called us to our caravans, to have dinner and go to bed. Of course, before we trotted home to fill our hungry stomachs, we promised each other to restart our games first thing in the next morning!

The next morning, my worried parents first took me to our Wise Woman, to let her have a professional look at my bodily growth. My bright brain was developing extremely fast; but my little body stayed too small and didn't grow enough. Compared to all the other two-and-a-half-year-old 'toddlers' in our camp, I still was and stayed the shortest one. Yet, my muscles were much stronger than most other children of around my age; and I won every wrestling contest with ease.

Fortunately, my new friends didn't tease me with my tiny body; except for calling me a 'little runt'.

Our Wise Woman invited my parents and me in, and sat me down next to her on her couch.

First, she looked me over from head to foot, staring at me with her piercing eyes. Then, she asked my parents and me several annoying questions about my eating habits and bowel movements.

Fortunately, none of our answers seemed to disturb her. Now, she asked us to be silent, because she wanted to consult our Ancestors and Spirit Friends about me. She closed her eyes and sank into a deep trance; to ask my Beloved Ancestors and Spirit Guides for advice.

After a few minutes, our Wise Woman came out of her trance, and drank some water to recover.

Then, she told my parents and me not to worry about my bodily development, because nothing was wrong with me! My little body didn't grow enough only because my extremely bright brain developed too fast and demanded too much of my energy. However, I would continue to grow up in excellent health; and she was sure that my size would catch up with my age soon after I reached puberty.

Until then, I would probably stay a little bit shorter than most other kids of around my age.

Well; I was sure I would be able to live with that.

After I returned from visiting our Wise Woman, all my new friends curiously crowded around me.

Of course, they wanted to know what had happened to their little Prince; and when would I finally grow up some more and no longer be our 'littlest runt'?

Proudly, I told my new friends that my size would catch up with my age soon after I reached puberty.

Then, one of the 'older boys', Misha, supposed that I would first have a couple of 'growth spurts', as every normal and healthy kid had from time to time! I only had to be patient.

Yeah, well. Thank you very much, Misha; but 'patience' wasn't exactly my strongest quality!

However, I decided to keep his prediction in mind.

That same evening, I helped my Mom putting a visible mark on our doorpost, exactly at where the top of my head was now. That way, I would always be able to estimate my growth; and I could look out for my first 'growth spurt', whatever that was.

The next morning, I first tried to find out what could be happening to me while my hilarious 'Shaman' inside accidentally blurred the vision of our next seeker.

Therefore, I just squatted down behind an open cartwheel, without hiding at all.

Much to my surprise, I found out that I could switch my strange abilities on and off on purpose, by using my will as a switch! I also found out that I could deceive all my friends, by concentrating on them. I only had to tune in into their minds, access their visionary brains, and wipe out my own picture! That way, all my friends overlooked me totally; even when I was in plain sight.

For the next hour, I had the fun of my life; as nobody was able to find and tag me any more, until I generously allowed them to see and tag me again.

Then, my fun slowly disappeared, while my inside started to feel like an outcast. Wasn't I cheating terribly, by deliberately using my Shaman abilities on my unsuspicious friends?

Yet, my 'pigheaded' streak refused to give up the fun and play 'normal' again.

It just wanted to WIN all the time.

At last, my strange 'abilities' became too obvious; and a few kids refused to play hide and seek with me, because even our Natural Trappers couldn't find me any more! Now that I was winning all our games, their former fun was gone; and they started to mope and walked away.

Surprisingly, nobody around me ever found out how I was able to disappear completely from their vision; although, every time anybody looked at the place where I was hiding, I just concentrated on them and blanked their minds or wiped out my own picture.

Only our Wise Woman seemed to understand what I did; because she looked straight at me with her piercing eyes, while shaking her head. Then, she called me towards her!

With a serious voice, she warned me:

"Please, my young friend; be very careful with your powerful abilities! Always listen to your own heart first, before performing your magic tricks. You are developing into an extremely strong Shaman and Mage; but, unintentionally, you could harm your friends with your exceptional powers."

Suddenly feeling very strange and nonplussed, I responded:

"But. how do YOU know what I am doing? I am sure I never told anybody! And, how could I ever harm my friends? I am only blurring their vision, so that they don't see me any more."

"Well, to be honest, I have done the same things when I was young! Fortunately, reading thoughts or blurring someone's vision is relatively harmless. However, your developing Shaman powers could easily go too far and cause some damage, like a lasting headache or a nasty eye cataract. Therefore, I decided to warn you in advance, before it is too late."

Oh my, what had I done. Until now, I never thought I could be a DANGER to my friends! Of course, I loved everybody in our camp dearly; and I didn't want to cause anybody any harm at all.

What the heck had I been doing, albeit unwittingly.

Feeling severely shocked, I decided to be a lot more careful with my strange 'gifts'! From now on, I would always listen to my own heart first, before again using any of my developing powers. I never knew that using my Shaman abilities could work against me, by harming my innocent victims.

Of course, I knew that our 'own heart' always connects us to our Supreme Being; and it only acts out of Pure Love and never does any harm to anybody. Thus, my own heart would never allow me to use any 'black magic', but it would always tell me to act solely out of Pure Love and Compassion.

Besides, my Important Task on Earth was to bring much more Love and Light to the people around me; and I had to use my special abilities accordingly!

Our Wise Woman seemed to have heard all my thoughts, because she started to smile broadly.

Unexpectedly, she hugged me fiercely, and told me she would be very happy to be my friend and 'personal advisor'. From now on, I would always be welcome in her caravan; and I could always ask her any important question that needed an immediate answer.

Feeling strange, I returned her hug, left her caravan, and sauntered into our surrounding bushes.

For quite some time, I sat down on my old stump, while thinking and trying to 'listen to my own heart'.

Slowly, I started to understand that cheating had NOT been a proper way of playing games with my friends, unless our rules explicitly allowed me to do so. Unintentionally, I had broken my friends' valuable trust in me, by manipulating their minds without their consent.

How could I ever make this up to my friends?

Feeling very ashamed of myself, I decided to stop using all of my developing 'Shaman abilities'!

From now on, I would play 'hide and seek' with my friends only by cleverly hiding myself, without any more cheating or blurring visionary minds.

The next morning, my surprised friends found out that their searching capabilities suddenly were much stronger! All at once, they were able to find their hiding 'littlest runt' much more easily; although I still stayed one of the best hiders and seekers in our camp.

Immediately, my friends started to play our games with much more enthusiasm; now and then teasing me, because they suddenly could find me too easily! Even the moping kids forgot about their jealousy, returned to our happy group, and started to play again.

That day, I found out that playing without cheating was a LOT more fun than always winning had been. Again, I had learned a very valuable lesson, and bettered myself. Fortunately, everybody in our 'diaper group' still wanted to be my friend, because I was and stayed their best hider.

Once a month, my Mom measured my new length; while I stood upright against our doorpost and she marked the top of my head by using my beautiful picture book.

Much to her and my delight, the new mark always showed that I had been growing up a tiny bit!

Yet, I still stayed the 'littlest runt' in our group of diaper kids.

Now and then, I stared at the advancing marks; planning to keep on growing until I was at least as tall as my Dad was. Only, when would I finally have my first 'growth spurt', as Misha had predicted?

I couldn't wait to grow up some more and proudly show it to my friends.

Summer turned into fall; and fall turned into another very cold winter, forcing us to wear our warm winter clothes again. Again, my 'diaper friends' and I rolled around in the thick blanket of snow, wrestled with each other, and had several ferocious snowball fights.

Then, I celebrated my THIRD birthday, with THREE burning candles on my tasty birthday cake!

Again, everybody visited our caravan, and congratulated me with being THREE years old.

Only, this year, nobody bought me a beautiful birthday present.

Now, I only had to wait for one more year; until I would be four years old and, hopefully, become 'totally dry'! After I didn't need my diaper any more, I would finally join our group of 'older kids' into our woods; to set up my own traps and catch my own animals to roast them over our campfire.

Again, my parents had to visit another Gypsy community, to perform their Royal duties as our Beloved King and Queen. As usual, they asked Michail to look after me while they were away.

Of course, I was very happy to have my Big Friend around for the whole day! Only, this time, Michail brought Felicia to accompany him; and they sat next to each other on our couch.

Feeling a little bit neglected, I climbed onto Michail's lap and tried to catch all his attention.

Fortunately, my Big Friend didn't seem to mind, romped with me, and answered all my questions; like 'how come our sun shows up and disappears every day and night'.

Now and then, I peeked at Felicia's belly, because I felt very curious. Using my Inner Eye, I could clearly see two tiny boys, cozily floating around in their shared womb!

I was certain that Felicia was pregnant; but why did she carry TWO infants in her belly?

Vaguely, I remembered how crammed my Moms womb had been with only me in it. Wouldn't Felicia's womb, with TWO growing baby boys in it, soon be way too crowded for both of them?

In our secluded camp, nobody else had any twins, and nobody ever told me they existed.

At last, I just felt too curious, and suddenly blurted out:

"Felicia, why do you carry TWO babies in your stomach?"

At the same moment, total silence fell over our living room!

For a second, I doubted. Had I asked Felicia such an impossible question?

Then, Felicia jumped up from our couch, glaring at me as if she saw some very dangerous alien from another planet. She tried to respond to my question, but became angrier and angrier, while her face grew redder and redder with obvious rage.

At last, she shouted, staring at me with fire-shooting eyes:

"How the heck do YOU know I'm pregnant? Even Michail doesn't know, because I wasn't sure and didn't tell him. You REALLY are a little freak! And, why do you want me to carry TWO children? I don't want to have twins! One crybaby will be more than enough, thank you very much."

After Felicia's unexpected outburst, I felt severely shocked, and started to cry from frustration.

While stealthily looking at her belly again, I was still sure she carried two tiny infants in her womb, and both of them were boys. Within a couple of months, my Big Friend and his missus would be the proud parents of TWO healthy babies!

Why wasn't Felicia happy? Didn't she like children? That would be very sad.

Suddenly, I felt even more shocked, because I saw a very nasty dark cloud along Felicia's timeline, surrounding her but not her two children! Both boys would be born healthy; but something terrible was going to happen to their mother, and both children would grow up without their Mom.

Feeling horrible, I refused to see any more nasty predictions, and angrily shut all my 'gifts' down.

I didn't even answer Michail's worried questions; but only buried my face into his broad chest and started to sob heavily and uncontrollably.

Having powerful 'Shaman abilities' was not always fun.

After eight months of pregnancy, Felicia gave birth to two healthy baby boys.

Although they were twins, they didn't resemble each other. The first-born baby, Michi, was somewhat taller; while his shorter twin brother, Movi, was a bit chubbier.

Unfortunately, their mother started to bleed after labor; and it didn't stop. Even our Wise Woman couldn't help her. Michail rushed her to a 'gadjo' hospital; where she died.

Fortunately, for all of us, Felicia didn't die in our camp. Our Gypsy belief forbade us to live in the same place where one of us had died. Therefore, we would have had to leave our secluded camp, and move on to some other place. That is why all Gypsies were living in their mobile caravans, always ready to move on if necessary.

After Michail returned home, he was inconsolable! He blamed himself for Felicia's death, and cried all the time. Day after day, he visited our caravan; but the only thing he did was sit on our couch, stare into empty space, and sniffle.

My worried parents tried to talk to my Big Friend, but all their efforts to console him were in vain.

Of course, I too tried to get his attention and talk to him; but my Big Friend didn't even see me!

Yet, I wanted to pull him out of his grief, and make him care for his little sons. I was sure both boys missed their Daddy terribly, and that they needed him at least as much as I needed my Dad.

After some thinking, I decided to do something drastically, to pull my Big Friend out of his stupor.

I balled my fists, suddenly stormed towards him, and forcefully punched his stomach, using all the power my small but relatively strong arms could bring forth!

Michail flinched, coughed, gasped for breath, and stared at me in total confusion.

Now that I had his undivided attention, I told my Big Friend, using my sternest baritone voice:

"Michail, go get your sons and be their Daddy! Your sons need you, and I am sure they miss you terribly. Now that their mother is dead, you are the only person in the world they have. Take up your responsibilities, and be the Daddy they need. Of course, it is okay to be sad; but don't punish your sons for what they cannot help. Now, please, stop moping, stand up, and GO GET THEM!"

For quite some time, Michail just stared at my heated face and blazing eyes; obviously feeling totally bewildered. Then, finally, some life returned into his eyes, and he heaved a couple deep sighs of frustration. He stretched his arms out, and clumsily pulled me towards his chest.

For a second, I was afraid that my Big Friend would be mad at me for punching him, and tell me to leave him alone. Then, he pulled me onto his lap, folded his enormous arms around my tiny frame, and started to cry his heart out!

However, this time, his desperate crying sounded totally different from what he had done so far.

It was clear that my Big Friend no longer pitied himself.

After a long time of crying, Michail's heavy sobs finally subsided and disappeared.

Slowly, he unfolded his strong arms from around my crushed ribs. He kissed my wrinkling nose, lifted me off his huge lap, sat me down onto my Dad's lap, and took a couple of tissues from our table.

Then, he left our caravan, without saying a word.

For a very long time, my Dad only stared at me, with almost adoration in his proud looking eyes. Obviously, he thought I had done exactly the right thing, although I still doubted.

Hadn't I been way too harsh to my Big Friend, after he suddenly became a widower?

At last, my very proud looking Dad exclaimed:

"My so precious and lovable son; today, you ARE our Royal Prince! Please, accept that I am VERY proud of you, and of how you knew exactly what to do, to help Michail out of his sad stupor. My precious boy; thank you very, very much, for being the loving soul that you are."

"Well, I don't know. Of course, I punched Michail's stomach only because I was terribly mad at him for neglecting his two sons! Michi and Movi cannot help it; and I am sure they are missing their Daddy awfully, just like I surely would miss mine."

Suddenly, Michail returned into our caravan. Still looking a bit ashamed, he ducked his head to pass our doorpost, and stepped into our living room.

Only, he now carried his two sons in his arms, carefully wrapped up in their colorful blankets!

He laid both little kids down in between my old pillows; while he smiled at us with a look of regret, but also with a lot more pride in his still teary but again beaming eyes.

My motherly looking Mom immediately doted over both little babies; and she started to change their smelly diapers, clean them, and powder them!

Next, she cooked some milky baby food and fed both boys with it; until they were filled to the brim, burped, and spilled at least half of their food onto our couch.

Chuckling inwardly, I thought I wasn't the only fastest puking kid in our community!

After my Mom had put both boys back in between my pillows, I tried to play with them.

Only, they were still way too small to have any real fun with.

13. Four years old; 'feeling herbs'; and Chief Cookie.

Again, summer turned into fall; and fall turned into another very cold winter.

Now, finally, my parents and I celebrated my FOURTH birthday!

For many months, I had looked forward to being FOUR years old; because I hoped my growing little body would finally stop wetting my bed at night and become completely dry.

My Dad once told me that most 'diaper kids' became 'dry' after they were five or six years old.

Well, my body had already been extremely early at becoming dry during the day; thus, I hoped it would be very early again. Then, our rules would finally allow me to enter our woods, set my own traps, and catch my own animals to roast them over our campfire!

Today, my Grandma had decorated my tasty birthday cake with FOUR burning candles; and, this time, I knew exactly what my 'secret birthday wish' would be!

After all our visitors had congratulated me, and our violin players showed up to play their beautiful melodies; I blew my four candles, and closed my eyes while everybody cheered at me and clapped.

In the meantime, I wished that I very soon would be completely dry!

Now, I only had to wait.

Would my secret birthday wish come true? Or, was a 'birthday wish' only some superstitious nonsense, found out to mislead easy-believing little kids like me.

Only time would tell.

Alas. Within a few months, I had to admit that month after month had passed by, and I still needed a diaper during the night! Obviously, wishing my secret 'birthday wish' had REALLY been superstitious nonsense, as I already suspected it would be.

From now on, I would just blow my birthday candles, without having any more stupid secret wishes ever again. Our 'littlest runt' was no longer a silly 'believer'!

Morning after morning, I woke up still being soaking wet, and feeling betrayed by my too immature little body. Why couldn't my tiny frame magically grow up a lot faster, just like my extremely bright brain always seemed to do? I was growing TIRED of all that waiting.

Of course, I also waited until I would have my first 'growth spurt' and suddenly grow a lot taller.

Compared to my diaper friends of around the same age, I still was and stayed our 'tiniest runt', although my sonorous baritone voice already sounded a lot older.

Slowly, I started to feel a little bit depressed; because I started to HATE living in this too small body, which still refused to do what I wanted it to do. Couldn't I cocoon myself, as my caterpillar friend had done; to pop up when I would be old enough to stay dry during the night? I still desperately wanted to join our older boys into our woods, to set my own traps and catch my own animals.

Only, our strict rules forbade me to join my older friends, until I finally would be a real 'big boy'.

Of course, I had asked my Dad, my Mom, and Michail about growing up faster. However, they only told me to wait and be more patient. My time would surely come.

Grrrrrr!

Every morning, I shucked my wet diaper, took a shower, wolfed my healthy breakfast down, and gulped a glass of milk. Then, I trotted outside, to sit on one of our wooden benches.

From there, I stared longingly at our slowly queuing group of 'older kids', who left our camp and disappeared into our woods. I knew they went looking for interesting animal prints and edible nuts; and they always caught many small animals, to roast them over our campfire.

Every time our group of older kids disappeared into our surrounding woods, I felt more jealous; and I started to mope more and more about my misfortune of being too little. When would it finally be MY turn to enter our woods, and have fun setting my own traps and catching my own animals?

Near the end of every day, when our older kids returned, I always joined them and listened to their stories. However, I also wanted to SEE what they had been doing, with my OWN eyes.

When our older kids returned from our surrounding woods, they always were in a cheerful mood.

During summer, they always carried several caught animals; and, now and then, a couple of baskets filled with edible nuts and delicious fruits. They divided the nuts and fruits among us; and immediately started to clean their caught animals out in our small butchery near our parking lot.

First, they smeared the cleaned animal meat with a little bit of salt and some squashed yellow plant leaves they called 'spice'. Then, they roasted their prepared animals on wooden stakes over our brightly stoked campfire, to savor them when they were ready.

Day after day, I listened to their interesting stories, while they were preparing their animals.

In the meantime, I always dreamed about joining them into our woods and setting my own traps.

I so wanted to be one of them, and 'spice' my own roasting animals with their yellow leaves.

However, until now, they didn't even let me HELP them!

Now and then, they told me about chasing a small pig through the woods; or catching a rat, which always caused lots of laughter, because nobody in our camp ever wanted to eat a roasted rat.

Unfortunately, our strict rules forbade me to help them, until I had caught my own animal first.

However, I couldn't catch my first animal, because I wasn't allowed to join them into our woods.

And, I wasn't allowed to join them into our woods, because I still needed a diaper at night.

This morning, again, our older kids disappeared into our woods; while I almost burst out in tears.

Again feeling too small, a bit depressed, and very sad, I sauntered around our faintly glowing campfire, visited Michail's caravan, and pestered a couple of grownups.

That is, until everybody told me to leave them and have fun with my friends.

Reluctantly, I went to my still playing 'diaper friends'.

Only, today, they looked way too small to be my real friends! Of course, they were again playing their usual game of hide and seek; but, this time, they seemed to act too 'childish'. Obviously, my steadily developing brain was becoming too bright for them, or too precocious for my own good.

Although I was only four years old; in my inside, I already felt much older, and certainly much wiser.

I knew that my bright brain was developing extremely fast; but, why couldn't my immature little body follow my fast brain? Wasn't there some 'magic way' to force my too small body to grow faster, or to train it to listen to what I wanted it to do? Would our Wise Woman, or maybe Michail, know a way to let me grow up faster and stay dry during the night?

I asked Michail about it; but my Big Friend started to laugh at my sour face, while he told me:

"My dear young Prince, be happy to be a small boy, and enjoy your youth for as long as you can. Way too soon, you will be an old man like me; and, then, you will regret your missed chances."

"But, I WANT to be like you! I HATE being so little, and I cannot wait to grow up and be allowed to join our older kids and enter our woods. I want to enjoy my early youth NOW; by joining my older friend and set my own traps and roast my own animals, just like they always do."

"Well, I think you might be too intelligent for your own good! Ultimately, you are only four years old, and your body is too small for your age. Yet, I can talk to you as if you are a grownup; and you do understand everything I am telling you, sometimes outwitting me with your clever answers. This is not a common behavior for a boy your age. Most four-year-old kids are still sucking on their thumbs, and playing with mud and pebbles. Please, try to be the child that you are for as long as you can."

Feeling frustrated, depressed, and also a little bit angry, I left my Big Friend's cozy caravan.

Outside, I started to kick and pummel our big tree. For a long time, I raged and muttered, while trying to kick all my anger and frustration away; until I finally started to feel a little bit better and thanked the big tree for helping me get rid of my childish anger.

Of course, I knew that my Big Friend was right; but that didn't make my waiting any easier.

Ultimately, I didn't even WANT to be such an intelligent 'brainiac'! I wanted to be just like any other four-year-old boy, and feel happy with my early youth. I was sure that being 'normal' would make my frustrated life quite a lot easier! I only didn't know how to change my way of thinking.

Again, I strolled into our surrounding bushes, this time without looking for any bigger caterpillars. They would only remind me of my bigger friends, who now were setting their own traps.

Sitting on my old stump, I put my head in my hands, and started to think.

Yesterday, I had asked one of the 'older boys', Misha, about the yellow 'spice' they always smeared onto their roasting animals, next to using a little bit of salt and some oil.

Misha had answered all my questions; and explained that the yellow plant they always used to spice their food, was called an 'herb', and they used only its tiny yellow leaves.

Then, Misha added a couple of very interesting facts!

His friends and he were sure there had to be MORE useful 'herbs' among our abundant vegetation; but none of them knew how to recognize those tasty herbs, or how to use them on their food.

Only our Wise Woman seemed to know everything about 'herbs'; because she always gathered several 'healing herbs' from our woods. She used them for example to cure nasty illnesses, or to smear them onto nasty animal stitches and inflamed wounds.

Suddenly, I understood what I had done instinctively, after that nasty insect stung me and I smeared some brownish juice onto its itching swelling. Without knowing what I did, instinctively, I had 'healed' myself; by using the leaves of what I now was sure was such a 'healing herb'!

Was I REALLY becoming our new 'Wise Boy', to recite the words my wise Dad once teased me with? Or, maybe, I was turning into a so-called 'Healer', next to being an 'upcoming powerful Shaman'.

Near the end of the day, I returned to our wooden benches; where I always waited until our older kids showed up and started to prepare their caught animals to roast them.

This time, Misha suddenly shared a chunk of his own roasted marmot with me!

Of course, Misha knew how eagerly I wanted to join him and his friends into our surrounding woods, to catch and roast my own animals. Maybe, he even pitied me a little bit.

Feeling very grateful, I savored the tasty chunk of marmot meat, while the other kids smiled at me indulgently. They all seemed to like their so eager little Prince very much; and I smiled back at them broadly, because I liked them too! After I thanked Misha abundantly for his generosity, I went to our own caravan, to have dinner with my parents.

The next morning, after the older boys disappeared into our surrounding woods, I sauntered towards the bushes where I knew Misha's yellow 'spice herbs' were growing.

Feeling curious, I plucked one of the tiny yellow leaves, squashed it, and tasted a little bit of its juice on my tongue. Yes, this yellow 'spice' tasted like the nice flavor from Michail's roasted marmot!

Only, in its pure form, its taste was too strong and pungent to be pleasing. Of course, I had to smear the yellow juice onto some roasting meat first.

Suddenly, my inside REMEMBERED this strong tasting yellow 'spice', because I had used it many times before! Unexpectedly, I had a vivid recollection of being a little trapper boy; always helping my trapper Dad spice our chunks of animal meat, before roasting or preserving them.

From a very young age, I always scoured our rocky mountains, dangerous rapids, and outstretched woods, to collect several different types of spicy herbs. Strangely, I knew exactly which herb would be poisonous or make me ill; by 'feeling' its energy and 'listening' to that particular herb!

My trapper Dad knew I had a 'special gift'; and he relied blindly on my infallible 'sixth sense' of knowing which herb we could use on our daily food without being poisoned.

Feeling very surprised, I shook my head, to get rid of my unexpected 'memories from a past life'.

Then, I became VERY curious! Had I really been a little trapper boy in one of my past lives; helping my trapper Dad collect several tasty herbs and spices? Last year, I had 'felt' the energy of all the different plants; and sensed whether they could be poisonous or harmful. Would my special trapper gifts still be working; maybe as a 'heritage' from my past life as a little trapper boy?

Immediately, I started to 'feel' and taste all the different plants around me; to put their information away for later use. I also tried to 'talk' to all the plants that my Inside did not remember.

Much to my delight, all the tasty and nicely smelling herbs still wanted to talk to me; by 'telling' me on which particular food they could be used! Again, the too dangerous or poisonous herbs made me feel nervous or queasy; and I discarded them immediately.

Enthusiastically, I found several useful herbs I was sure would spice Misha's roasted marmot quite a lot better than his tiny yellow leaves had done.

At the end of the day, I returned to my bench, to wait for our group of older kids to show up and roast their animals. Would Misha again offer me a chunk of his own marmot? Perhaps, he would let ME roast his marmot, or any other mammal, to use my newly discovered tasty spices on it.

Or, would Misha be too wary about using any dangerous herbs, and refuse to try out my new plants?

Apart from that, I certainly had quite a lot of brand new and very interesting information to tell!

Soon, our older kids showed up, again carrying many fat marmots and other edible critters.

How should I tell them I had found several other herbs, next to the yellow 'spice' they always used?

Suddenly feeling unsure, I decided to wait until Misha again offered me a chunk of his own roasted animal. Would Misha really want to listen to the smallest 'little runt' in our camp?

Impatiently, I waited.

After Misha had roasted his fat marmot, he started to chuckle at my very eager face, while he again offered me a nice chunk of meat, flavored with his tiny yellow spice leaves.

Feeling thankful, I started to devour the roasted chunk of marmot. Only, now that I remembered all the other nice 'herb spices', I was much more particular about its rather bland taste. I was sure that, as a little trapper boy, in my past life, our own roasted chunks of meat had been MUCH tastier!

How should I tell Misha about my discoveries, to make him try out some of my new spicy herbs?

Hesitantly, I told my older friend:

"Misha? I am sure your marmot could taste even better! Next time, you might add some greenish moss from those trees near the border of our bushes. And, you could add a few tiny blue flowers, but not too much, to enhance the flavor. If you wish, I will help you and bring them to you."

Suddenly looking very surprised, Misha responded:

"How do YOU know about spices? For as far as I know, you've never roasted an animal yourself. Did you talk to our Wise Woman, about using that greenish moss and blue flowers?"

"No; but, after you talked about all those unknown tasty herbs and spices, I went into our bushes, to look for them. Suddenly, I found LOTS of tasty herbs that can be used to spice your animals! Shall I bring my herbs to you, tomorrow, to try them out on your next marmot?"

"WHAT? Don't you know that using any unknown herbs can be very dangerous? Many herbs are poisonous; and, if you don't be extremely cautious with them, they can make you very ill."

"Of course, I know! Only, I seem to have a 'sixth sense', which always lets me know which herb is dangerous or poisonous. Besides, I have already tasted all the usable herbs and spices; and, as you can see for yourself, I am still alive and kicking! My spicy herbs are absolutely safe."

"Yeah, well. Maybe, I could try out some of your new herbs, if I can find them. But, if the result tastes yucky, you will have to eat the spoiled animal all by yourself!"

"That is okay with me; but only if I can use my own herbs and roast the animal all by myself."

"You know that our rules forbid you to do that, unless you have caught your own animal first!"

"Then, let me join you tomorrow, to catch my own animal. I already know how to fold a snare and set a trap, because you showed me how to do it."

"I am very sorry, because I would love to let you join us; but you KNOW you have to wait until you are dry during the night, and your parents have to allow you to join us."

Because I started to feel frustrated and angry, I left Misha, stomped towards ourgreen-and-golden Royal caravan, and kicked it a couple of times, while muttering loudly.

Why didn't my tiny body grow up faster; or could it finally have its first 'growth spurt'; just like every other 'normal' kid my age had from time to time, according to Misha? Why was my tiny 'little runt' body still staying too small, and too immature to listen to my full bladder at night?

My Dad heard my kicking and muttering; and he showed up in our doorway, to have a look at what I was doing. He saw my angry face, sensed what could have happened, and again told me to be more patient. My time would surely come.

His response made me extra furious, and I sneered:

"Why didn't you breed me a couple of years earlier? Now, I am still such an impossible little runt!"

My Dad stared at my angry eyes with a frustrated face, shook his head, and went back inside.

Fortunately, my fury never lasted long. After a moment, I forced myself to calm down, regulated my breath, and followed my Dad into our living room. I climbed onto his lap without saying a word, and enjoyed the happy feeling of his strong arms around my waist. Of course, he couldn't help it.

Soon, my Dad and I had forgotten my silly frustrations, and we were best friends again.

Chapter 14.

The next morning, our group of older kids queued up and disappeared again, while I stared at them longingly. However, this morning, I decided to DO something!

First, I told my 'diaper friends' to go play without me; because I had something more important on my mind. Then, I went into our surrounding bushes, to gather several nicely smelling herbs that 'told' me they would spice Misha's roasted animal, and improve its bland taste quite a lot.

After I was sure my gathered herbs were harmless, I first tasted them critically, one by one.

Again, the yucky herbs made me feel queasy, while the poisonous ones radiated fear, sleep, darkness, or danger. Fortunately, this very useful 'sixth sense' never betrayed me; even after I grew up and collected unknown herbs from other countries.

Soon, I returned to our caravan, happily carrying several nicely smelling herbs, tiny blue flowers, small pods, greenish moss, and a couple of small yellow leaves.

Unfortunately, my parents were visiting some friends, and I didn't know in which caravan they could be. Therefore, I couldn't ask my Mom for help.

What should I do now?

Because I was already very self-supported for a four-year-old tiny boy, I just put my herbs into our kitchen sink, washed them thoroughly, and dried them using our kitchen towel.

Now, I only had to squash my herbs, or slice them into little pieces.

Hesitantly, I took my Mom's sharp kitchen knife and her wooden cutting board out of one of the kitchen drawers. Of course, I was sure my Mom would NEVER allow me to use her sharp knife; because she always told me I was way too young to handle such a dangerous thing on my own.

However, this was an emergency!

Carefully, I bundled my herbs together, and positioned the wobbly string onto the cutting board.

Hesitantly, I took the knife in one hand; while steering the unwilling herbs bundle with my other hand.

Trying not to cut my untrained fingers, I started to slice the wobbly bundle of herbs into pieces.

Totally unexpectedly, my untrained hands started to move on their own; and I was sure I had nothing to do with it! One hand steered my unwilling bundle of herbs, while the other hand adeptly used the sharp knife to chop my herbs into tiny pieces, at an amazing speed! After chopping my herbs, my hands laid the knife down onto the sink, and again started to listen to my own will.

What the heck could have happened to my hands? Open-mouthed, I stared at my perfectly chopped herbs, neatly piled up on my Mom's wooden cutting board.

Still feeling utterly surprised, I stared at my slightly trembling hands.

How could my hands suddenly chop my herbs on their own; without any conscious help from me?

I was sure it wasn't me who had chopped my herbs this neatly; because I didn't have any cooking training at all; and I had never chopped any unwilling herbs before.

Could somebody else have chopped my herbs for me, maybe by pulling my conscious mind into some 'trance'? However, I hadn't felt any influence from anybody else around me, except for that my hands had been taken over by some unknown stranger who knew how to use a sharp knife.

Of course, this was IMPOSSIBLE! Yet, the 'impossible' HAD happened; and somebody else had taken over my hands and adeptly chopped all my herbs for me.

Still feeling utterly surprised, I suddenly thought of the 'little trapper boy' I had been in my past life. Could my Inside have remembered my former cooking skills from my past life; as it also seemed to 'remember' being a powerful Shaman and a Mage? That would also explain why I 'remembered' all those unknown herbs I was sure I had never seen before.

Well, IF my 'little trapper boy' from my past life had 'taken over' and steered my hands, he had been extremely good at handling a wooden cutting board and a sharp kitchen knife!

Suddenly feeling very enthusiastic, I started to think.

What would happen, if I asked my 'little trapper boy' to show up again, to help me with the rest of my tasty herbs mixture? Would he again help me, by taking over my hands?

Hesitantly, I got a clove of garlic and a small onion from our own stock, put them onto the cutting board, took the knife in my hand, and started to peel the onion.

Within a second, somebody took over my hands; and started to slice the onion and smash the garlic, without any intervention from me! Then, my hands mixed everything together onto the cutting board, laid the knife down, and returned to my own control!

Now, I was SURE that my 'little trapper boy' from my past life was helping me.

Wow! This could be an extremely useful 'extra ability'! Enthusiastically, I thanked my little trapper boy in my mind; but he didn't respond and just stayed silent.

Still feeling very enthusiastic, I scraped my nicely smelling herbs mixture into a cup and mixed it some more. Next, I washed my Mom's wooden cutting board and sharp kitchen knife, dried them, and put them back into the kitchen drawer. After washing my hands and drying them, I went outside.

Again, I went to my usual wooden bench and sat down, this time taking my nicely smelling herbs mixture with me. Now, I only had to wait until the older kids showed up.

Halfway through the afternoon, our older kids showed up from our woods; and they seemed to be even more enthusiastic than usual. Next to carrying their usual marmots and other small critters, they triumphantly carried a fat porcupine to our campfire!

Immediately, I sat glued to the strange looking animal, staring in amazement at its razor sharp quills. Mother Nature had provided this particular beast with a very efficient defense system; probably to discourage any nasty predator with sharp teeth.

Only, its excellent defense had not prevented it from being caught in Misha's snare.

Suddenly, without using any words, I started to help Misha prepare his porcupine!

Unexpectedly, my 'little trapper boy' took over completely; and, much to my happiness, he showed me exactly what to do and how to avoid being pricked by its dangerous quills.

At lightning speed, my hands started to tear the many quills out of the dead beast and neatly pile them next to each other, as if I had done this all my life, as and experienced trapper.

Although Misha looked VERY surprised, he thankfully accepted my help.

Working together, we had plucked our porcupine in no time. Now, we carried it to our small butchery next to our parking lot; where I helped him clean it out and remove all its organs, again helped by my 'little trapper boy', who seemed to know exactly what he had to do.

Again, Misha looked very surprised at my obvious skills, but he still didn't say a word and just let me do as I liked. He even let me use his own very sharp knife.

After Misha and I had prepared his porcupine, a few other kids helped us put the heavy animal onto a wooden stake, to roast it over our now brightly glowing campfire.

In the meantime, all the other kids had prepared their own animals. They had also gathered many tiny yellow leaves, to 'spice' Misha's porcupine and their own meat.

Now, it was MY time, to persuade my older friends to try out my nicely smelling herbs mixture!

First, I took my cup of herbs from my wooden bench, and teasingly held it under Misha's nose.

Showing him my best puppy dog eyes, I pleaded:

"Misha? Please, could you use MY herbs mixture on your porcupine? You only have to add a little bit of oil, to make it sticky; and I am sure the porcupine meat will taste wonderful."

For a second, Misha hesitated, still looking VERY surprised.

Then, he sniffed my herbs mixture, sniffed it again, and his eyes grew big!

Turning towards the other kids, he exclaimed:

"Just smell THIS wonderful spice mixture! Have you ever scented such exquisite aroma? I think we should use it on our roasting porcupine, and on all our other animals as well!"

Suddenly, everybody wanted to smell my special herb mixture! One by one, they took my cup, sniffed at it, and nearly all the kids nodded their consent, with watering mouths.

However, after a second, a few wary kids started to react a bit more hesitantly.

With doubtful voices, they asked their friends:

"Although this herbs mixture certainly smells excellent; how can I be sure there isn't any poison ivy or pseudo chervil in it? I think we should ask our Wise Woman for her advice first."

Of course, all the other kids agreed immediately; looking relieved now that they could be sure my unknown herbs mixture wouldn't unintentionally poison them! In procession, we left our campfire and went to our Wise Woman, to ask for her professional advice.

Our Wise Woman showed up from her caravan, and asked us what she could do for us.

Misha explained everything to her. Our little Prince seemed to have sort of a 'sixth sense' for 'feeling' unknown plants and detecting any dangerous herbs. Now, they wanted to be sure that my nicely smelling herbs mixture would be harmless, before they used it on their roasting animals. Could our Wise Woman please test it for them, to play it safe?

For a very long time, our Wise Woman only stared at me, until she finally nodded.

Now, she took my cup of herbs mixture into both hands, 'felt' its energy, and sniffed at it.

She smeared a little bit of my greenish mixture onto her hand, and tasted it.

With a broadly smiling face, she told us:

"I cannot find any harm in this exquisite tasting mixture; and it also smells excellent! Please, could I have my own slice of roasted porcupine, if there are any leftovers?"

For a moment, all my friends around me stayed silent. Then, they started to cheer loudly, while Misha took me onto his shoulders and horsed me back to our waiting campfire!

Obviously, everybody was very eager to taste my nicely smelling herbs on their roasting animals.

One of the kids offered me their bottle of baking oil; and I put a few drops of oil into my mixture, to make it sticky. Next, somebody handed me a brush; and I smeared our porcupine with the oil and my tasty mixture, trembling with pride. In the meantime, many other kids had started to smear their own roasting animals with MY nicely smelling herbs mixture!

Two boys took the wooden stake and put it over our campfire, to get our porcupine roasted.

Misha started to turn it around and around, while I smeared it with more oil and herbs mixture.

Soon, a heavenly aroma started to caress the air, making our mouths water and our hungry stomachs grumble aloud. Even a couple of grownups sniffed the air approvingly, and politely asked to be allowed to taste a slice of our heavenly scenting porcupine.

When our porcupine was ready, Misha divided its meat into chunks, and sliced the chunks into many smaller pieces. Everybody started to nibble on a piece of roasted porcupine.

Immediately, they looked surprised, took a bigger nibble, and then a really huge bite. Smiling broadly, they took another huge bite, now staring at me with pure reverence in their beaming eyes!

Much to my delight, our roasted porcupine turned out to taste more than delicious. To me, it certainly tasted much better than any roasted meat had ever tasted before now.

Inwardly, I felt very relieved, while I frantically savored my own slice of heavenly tasting porcupine. Fortunately, everything had gone well, and I hadn't made any mistakes with my choice of herbs.

Silently, I thanked my 'little trapper boy' in my mind; but he didn't answer.

Everybody marveled at the exquisite taste of our porcupine meat, and had second helpings.

In silence, they savored their fat slices of spicy meat, with beaming eyes. Finally, they licked their fingers and their lips clean, and told me I had done a more than excellent job!

At last, we burped loudly, to thank the spirit of our porcupine for offering its tasty meat.

For a long time, everybody remained speechless, still enjoying the nice aftertaste of our porcupine and their own animals. Now and then, they stared at their blushing little Prince, showing me what looked like lots of awe and reverence in their proudly beaming eyes.

Suddenly, all the older boys huddled together, obviously whispering about ME!

Why did they do that? Could I have done something wrong?

After a moment of whispering, Misha left the group and approached me. Politely, almost reverently, he asked me to stand up, because he wanted to lift me onto his shoulders.

Hesitantly, I obliged. What could Misha be up to?

Would I now be kicked out of their group?

Much to my surprise, Misha horsed me around our campfire in triumph, while he told me:

"My dear Prince, never did we taste such delicious meat! Thank you very much, for what you have done for us; and we want you to be our own Chief Cook from now on."

While my heart nearly burst with pride, my throat choked up; and I could only nod 'YES'.

WOW! Unexpectedly, our entire group of 'older kids' had become my new Friends; and they wanted ME to be their Chief Cook and help them spice their roasting animals! This was quite a lot more than I ever could have thought of, even in my wildest dreams.

Misha slid me down onto the ground; but my throat felt too choked up to give my new friends any audible answer. However, I still nodded vigorously; until my head nearly fell off and I had to stop nodding before I dislocated my neck.

From now on, every day, I went into our surrounding bushes to gather my herbs, preferably while my Mom was away. Of course, I didn't want to cheat on my Mom, and I still loved her dearly; but I wasn't sure how she would react. After collecting my herbs, I brought them home, and used my Mom's sharp kitchen knife and wooden cutting board to chop and slice them.

The first few times, my 'little trapper boy' took over completely; until I started to get the hang of it and was able to chop and squash my herbs all by myself. From then on, my 'little trapper helper' took over only when I really needed his help, or if I politely asked him to assist me.

Soon, I started to experiment by putting several different herbs together, trying to concoct even more refined tastes. I seemed to have a natural feeling for which herbs tasted best, and for what I could mix together or not. Now and then, my experiments failed, and we had to throw away a yucky tasting animal, but who cares? It was mid-summer, and my friends always had plenty of animals as a replacement. I learned from every new experience, and my cooking skills vastly improved.

And, to be honest, I loved my self-allotted task as our little 'Chief Cookie' very much!

After a couple of days, my Mom called me into our kitchen while pointing to her cutting board:

"Harold? What did you do to my wooden cutting board? It smells rather peculiar, and I am sure neither your Dad nor I have anything to do with it."

"Sorry, Mom, for not cleaning your board well enough. I needed it, to slice my herbs."

"What are you telling me? YOU sliced your herbs? Then, you used my sharp kitchen knife too? Don't you know how extremely dangerous that knife is. I am sure you are still way too young to handle such a risky thing on your own!"

"But, Mom. Please, I NEEDED your knife and your cutting board! I am our Chief Cook now, and I have to use it tomorrow again. Please."

"YOU are our 'Chief Cook'? Do you really believe that? Now, tell me, for how long have our older kids been making fun of you like this?"

"MOM. I really AM our Chief Cook; and nobody is making fun of me! I have been slicing my herbs and spicing our roasting animals for more than two weeks."

"And, you really want to use my sharp kitchen knife tomorrow again? Then, let me see your fingers. And your hands and arms."

Sensing I was winning my plea, I spread my fingers out towards my wary looking Mom; and she looked them over carefully. Of course, my Mom didn't find any nasty cut or scratch on my entire body, not even the faintest old scar!

Still not looking convinced, she hesitantly asked:

"Please, could you show me what you are doing every day? I still think a four-year-old little boy is way too small to handle such a dangerous knife without any supervision."

Feeling a bit affronted, because my Mom called me a 'little boy', I raced towards our surrounding bushes and quickly gathered several nicely smelling herbs.

Soon, I raced back to our caravan, washed my herbs in our sink, and dried them. Then, I just took my Mom's cutting board and sharp knife out of the drawer, without asking her first.

While asking my 'little trapper boy' to help me, I started to chop my herbs into tiny pieces at an astonishing speed, while adeptly steering the unwilling bundle with my small fingers. I had also gathered a few tasty cloves and small pods; and I squashed them expertly, by using the side of the knife. Finally, I took an empty cup, and used the knife to scrape my herbs mixture into it.

All the time, my Mom had stared at my lightning fast ministrations, with bulging eyes. Obviously, she never thought her little son could be THAT good at handling a knife without injuring himself!

Of course, my 'little trapper boy' had showed off awfully; but my Mom didn't need to know that.

After regaining her breath, my gasping Mom swallowed a couple of times, until she stuttered:

"Harry, I never knew you could be such a skilled cook! Now, I am very sorry for doubting your unbelievable skills. You absolutely convinced me. From now on, I will trust you with my sharp kitchen knife; but, for heaven's sake, look out not to cut your fingers instead of your herbs."

For a moment, I stared my Mom down in disdain; because she again questioned my skills as our Chief Cook. However, at the same time, my inside felt proud that my Mom finally trusted me. Therefore, I embraced her, told her I loved her very much, and we cuddled for quite some time.

For the first time, I helped my Mom cook our own dinner, spiced by my carefully selected herbs.

That evening, my Dad took me onto his lap and held me very close, while he told me:

"You are growing fast, my son! I can vividly remember when your mother told me she was pregnant, and how happy I felt. Now, you are a tiny boy and sitting on my lap; but, way too soon, you will leave us, marry a nice girl, and have children of your own. Today, your Mom told me our older kids promoted you to be their Chief Cook, even though you are not allowed to leave our camp. And, tonight, by cooking such an exquisite dinner, you have proven to be an excellent Chef, able to perform real miracles with your tasty herbs! Only, please, always be modest, and don't think you are allowed to do more than the other children, just because you are our Crown Prince. The older kids allow you to be their 'Chief Cook', only because you are extremely good at cooking, and you have earned your honorary title. Please, always do everything in a way that allows you to be proud of yourself, and you will be an excellent Gypsy Leader in the future."

Of course, I immediately agreed with my wise Dad.

From this day on, I would always do only those things that would make me feel proud of myself!

Feeling happy and respected, I tried to melt into my Dad's aura, while enjoying his tender loving care.

Soon, I 'octopussed' myself onto his broad chest, and marveled in the nice feeling of being cared for and loved by such a wonderful man.

My Dad and I continued to hug and cuddle each other for the remainder of the evening, until I nearly fell asleep in his strong and safe arms.

At last, my Dad joined me in our small shower stall and washed me from head to toe, while both of us had lots of fun creating enormous clouds of lather. Then, my Dad dried me, put a diaper on me, and playfully tickled my belly button; making me squirm and giggle.

I always LOVED it, when my Dad tried to pamper me and took all his time to help me!

Yes, I still do.

Before I went to bed, I kissed my Mom goodnight; and again thanked her for allowing me to use her wooden cutting board and sharp kitchen knife.

My Mom smiled, kissed me back, and thanked me again for helping her spice our tasty dinner.

Now, my Dad put me to bed in my small den, and draped my blankets around my body.

Feeling dead tired, but wonderful and happy, I closed my eyes and immediately fell asleep.

Soon, I dreamed of being a 'Real Big Boy' and catching an enormous animal in my first trap!

Again, my 'little trapper boy' helped me, by making me fold an extremely sturdy snare, using a strange looking but very effective knot.

He also promised to help me be 'totally dry', so that I could join my older friends into our woods.

15. Real Big Boy; a dream; and entering our woods.

Early in the morning, I woke up and rubbed the sand out of my eyes, while thinking about my herbs. Today, I would again help my Mom with cooking, now that she officially allowed me to use her sharp kitchen knife. To please her, I would try to collect some very rare and special herbs, to spice our own food and make it even tastier.

After breakfast, I would first go into our surrounding bushes, and ask my precious herbs for advice.

Already feeling bright and shining, I stretched out as far as I could, to loosen my stiffened muscles. Then, I jumped out of bed, to shuck my diaper and take my usual morning shower.

As I had done hundreds of times before, I untied my wet diaper, and let it drop onto the floor. Now being naked, I turned around, to go to our small shower stall and wash the nightly urine away.

Only, something very strange started to dawn on my confused mind. Why didn't my naked belly feel chilly from the nightly wetness, as it always did in the morning? I also missed the strong acid smell of nightly urine that always evaporated from my wet diaper.

What could have happened to my diaper, or to me?

A split second later, I snatched my diaper from the floor, and felt its inside with trembling hands. Then, I started to dance around, while cheering from pure happiness!

MY DIAPER WAS STILL DRY!

Vaguely, I remembered waking up in the middle of the night, to take a quick leak. Feeling sleepy, I had loosened my diaper, emptied my bladder, and again fastened the still dry thing. Yawning from sleepiness, I had crawled back into my bed, and fell asleep almost immediately.

Now, finally, my nightly diaper was still DRY!

FINALLY, my bladder had warned me in time, during the night, when I had to visit our small toilet. Finally, I was a Real Big Boy instead of a 'diaper kid', and I could join my older friends into our woods. For the first time, my tiny body hadn't betrayed me any more!

I stormed to my parents' bedroom and jumped onto my Dad's stomach with a loud Indian howl:

"DAD; please, wake UP! My diaper is still DRY! Tonight, I woke up all by myself, to take a leak! From now on, I don't need a diaper anymore. Finally, I am a Real Big Boy!"

My Dad woke up and yawned a few times, while he squinted at me.

Then, he started to chuckle, at seeing my very enthusiastic face.

While lazily tickling my dry belly, he mumbled:

"What time is it? Are you sure you will not wet your bed again tomorrow?"

"Yes, Dad, I am sure! Tonight, I woke up and had a normal leak. Finally, my body grows up!"

My Mom woke up to my loud voice, turned around, and stared at me with sleepy eyes.

Still feeling very enthusiastic, I told my sleepy looking Mom:

"Mom, you can throw all my diapers away, because I don't need them anymore!"

Smilingly, my Mom put her arms around my still dry body.

First, she pulled me against her cozy breasts, while kissing my wrinkling nose.

Then, she assured me:

"From now on, you are our own Real Big Boy! Only, you are growing way too fast, and I am sure I will miss my little baby."

Although I didn't like my Mom calling me a 'little baby', I still felt extremely happy.

Enthusiastically, I started to smother my parents with little kisses, until they both giggled and begged me to stop, or else.

Would my parents now allow me to join my older friends into our woods?

While staring at my still very eager face, my Dad told me:

"Harry, my precious son; finally, you have achieved what you wanted so desperately. Now, it is your time to discover some more of our beautiful world. Tonight, you will sleep without a diaper; and, when your bed is still dry in the morning, your Mom and I will allow you to join our older children into our woods. I can still vividly remember my own first time, when I finally could accompany our older kids, so I know how it feels! Only, please, always be very careful when leaving our secluded camp, and always listen to the older and more experienced children in your group."

"Yes, Dad, I promise I will be very careful; and I will always listen to the older kids in our group."

Still feeling extremely happy, I dived in between my parents, and closed my eyes.

After we woke up again, my Dad and I decided to shower together, by sharing our small shower stall. Feeling a bit cramped, we washed each other, shampooed each other's hair, almost drowned each other in enormous clouds of lather, and had the fun of our lives.

Although my chuckling Mom started to complain about my Dad living through his 'second youth', both he and I couldn't care less; and we just went on having fun. My Dad and I even dried each other; while I tiptoed to reach his hairy chest and he squatted down to dry my tiny belly and legs.

Then, we enjoyed our healthy breakfast and glasses of milk.

Still feeling very happy, I trotted outside, to have my last longing look at our slowly disappearing 'older kids' who soon would be my new friends and companions.

Today, I was staring at them for the very last time! Tomorrow, I would accompany them into our woods, to set up my own traps and catch my own animals! Although my inside felt a little bit nervous now that my Big Day approached, I couldn't wait to join our older group.

Longingly, I stared along the winding paths that lead through our surrounding bushes into our mysterious woods. Tomorrow, I was finally allowed to enter these mysterious paths and enter our unknown woods for the very first time!

After my older friends disappeared, I turned around and gathered our 'diaper kids' around me.

First, I climbed onto one of our wooden benches, to oversee them and look a bit taller.

Then, I told the kids, with a very proud baritone voice:

"Since today, I do not need to wear a diaper anymore during the night; and, tomorrow, I am finally joining our older group into our woods!"

Much to my surprise, one of our young girls started to cry. Although I knew she was only five years old, I thought she reacted rather 'childish' to my unexpected revelation.

Then, I heard her sob:

"Prince Harold, I will miss you terribly! Who will now teach us how to hide properly? You always were the best hider and seeker in our camp."

The other diaper kids nodded their agreement; while they assured me they would miss me very much! Couldn't I wait until I would be a bit older, before joining the older kids into our mysterious woods? What if I got lost, didn't know my way back to our camp, and nobody could find me?

An older boy angrily punched my arm, while he shouted:

"This is not fair! I am a LOT older than you are, and I am still wetting my bed at night. Why are you always so early?"

WHAT was this older boy telling me? For a moment, I felt too surprised, and didn't know what to answer. Why would this boy think I would be EARLY? Didn't he know I had been waiting for AGES, until I finally would be dry during the night and no longer needed a diaper?

Then, I started to think. Could this older boy be right?

Up to now, I had always assumed I was very late in my bodily development, because I was the tiniest kid in our 'diaper group'. However, this boy was nearly six years old, he was much bigger than I was, and he was still wetting his bed at night.

On the other hand, I was only four years and three months old, and I was already completely dry! Could there really be some truth in what this bigger boy shouted at me?

Or, was he only jealous of my 'early' achievement?

Curiously, I looked around at the other 'little diaper kids'; and, for the first time, I estimated how old they were. Suddenly feeling very surprised, I now saw that nearly all these kids were quite a lot OLDER than I was! This was something important I had never noticed before.

I had always thought they would be a lot younger, because my too bright brain so easily outdid them. Now, I saw that, in reality, I was not only the youngest kid in our 'diaper group', but I was also the fastest developing one!

While I gasped for breath, this totally unexpected revelation almost knocked me down.

For a second, I closed my eyes and put my head in my hands, to digest this new information.

I was NOT physically retarded; but, on the contrary, I seemed to be extremely FAST in my bodily development. My too small body should only catch up some in its length; but it was NOT too slow.

Feeling strange and nonplussed, I left my diaper friends. Slowly, I went into our bushes, to gather some fresh herbs. In the meantime, my brain started to accept that I had been wrong all the time, about being too slow in my development. I had not been slow at all; but, on the contrary, I really was one of the fastest developing kids in our community! Why had I never realized this before?

After I had gathered several tasty herbs, I went to our caravan, put a few herbs aside for our own dinner, and prepared the remaining herbs to use them on our roasting animals.

Then, I stepped outside and trotted towards Michail's caravan, to ask my Big Friend for his advice.

Of course, I trusted my own Mom and Dad; but I was afraid they would love me too much to be absolutely honest with me. Besides, didn't every parent always think his own child was the most special creature in the entire universe? I supposed that my proud parents would be at least a little bit too prejudiced, to tell me the truth and only the truth.

My Big Friend was happy to see me; and he immediately pulled me into an enormous bear hug.

That felt wonderful! In vain, I tried to put my own small arms around Michail's enormous waist, which made both of us giggle. Obviously, I still would have to grow quite a lot taller, before I would be able to return one of Michail's 'gentle' hugs.

Michail wanted to wash his sons first; and I 'helped' him, by creating lots of lather and smearing both splashing little boys with it, until they nearly disappeared in the clouds.

After a lot of wrestling, I finally succeeded in putting a clean diaper on a wriggling little Michi, while Michail put another diaper on a squirming little Movi.

Working together, we laid them in between their sleeping pillows, and told them to close their eyes.

Finally, we sat down on Michail's leather couch in his living room; and I crawled onto his huge lap, to be held and feel a little bit safer.

Suddenly feeling nervous, I asked him my burning question:

"Michail? I want to ask you something I think is important, but it is difficult to find the right words. Am I really developing extremely fast? Up to now, I always thought my little body betrayed me, because it stays too small and too immature. Only, this morning, an older kid told me I was very EARLY in my development! But, I think he is a little bit jealous. What do YOU think? And, please, could you give me a real honest answer, without being gentle or considering my feelings?"

"Boy, what are you asking me now. A real honest answer? Well, okay, the best thing I can do is give it an honest try! Compared to all the other kids I have seen in my life, you are the brightest, most special, and fastest developing kid I ever saw. You sat upright extremely early, crawled early, talked almost immediately, and understood every single word we told you from a very young age. Now, you are only four years old, and you already stopped wetting your bed. That is very fast too, compared to most other kids in our camp. Plus, we have always been able to talk to you as if you are a grownup; and, many times, you even outdid us with your clever answers and witty remarks! So far, all of your developments have been extremely fast; with maybe one unimportant exception: your body is still a little bit too small for your age. Now, please, think for yourself. How many four-year-old kids are able to read the mind of somebody else, or are promoted to be a Chief Cook at such a young age? Please, forget all your silly doubts, and be PROUD of yourself, always and everywhere!"

Oh my. What was my Big Friend telling me now?

I had to think Michail's honest revelations over first, so that I could sort them out in my confused mind. Therefore, I left his cozy lap and went to his window, to stare at our faintly glowing campfire. From here, I started to consider Michail's real honest answers.

Firstly, my Big Friend had confirmed that I really was developing extremely fast; with the 'unimportant' exception that my body stayed a little bit too small. He also confirmed that my little body was very fast with being dry, compared to all the other kids of around my age.

Thus, the angry older boy in our 'diaper group' had been right; although he also could have been a little bit jealous. I really was very early in my development!

Now, I wanted to think another important revelation over. Was I really able to 'read the mind of somebody else', as my Big Friend unexpectedly stated?

Until now, I had never thought about any of my useful 'abilities' or 'sixth senses' as being some mysterious sort of 'mind reading'. To me, they just were my 'normal' abilities.

However, I remembered how, as a baby, I knew what other people told me, by feeling the energy of their words. I also sensed the preceding auras of people who planned to pay us a visit; ten seconds before they actually reached our caravan. Many times, I knew what my parents or Michail were going to tell me, by 'tuning in' into their minds and listening to their thoughts. While playing hide and seek, I had removed my own picture from the minds of my searching friends, so that they couldn't find me.

Only, until now, I had never seen any of my 'abilities' as some form of nosy 'mind reading'.

Could I really be such a bad person? I had heard our own people snicker about certain gadjo 'clairvoyants' who were cheating on too superstitious people, by reading their minds and telling them exactly the things they already knew by heart but still wanted to hear from them.

Besides, private is private, and we Gypsies always estimated our personal privacy VERY highly! Even our Wise Woman always politely asked us first, before she hesitantly entered our minds to look at our hidden thoughts. Maybe, I should ask our Wise Woman about my 'mind reading' first, before I again misused any of my 'powerful Shaman abilities'!

Now feeling a lot better, I left the window and again climbed onto Michail's enormous lap, to be held and cuddled. Sitting on a safe and cozy lap always was my most favorite pastime!

Immediately, my Big Friend put his strong arms around me and 'gently' crushed my ribs, as usual.

That felt wonderful, and I basked in the pleasant feeling of being loved without any restrictions or prejudices. Obviously, Michail didn't care about me being a dangerous 'Shaman' or a too nosy 'mind reader'. Fortunately, my Big Friend trusted me enough to know I would never misuse any of my special capabilities to satisfy my own curiosity.

When our hungry stomachs started to rumble, Michail told me he wanted to make sandwiches.

Of course, I immediately offered to help him, and to spice our sandwiches with my own special herbs!

While my Big Friend boiled a few eggs, I raced outside, to gather a couple of spicy herbs. I chopped them at lightning speed, while Michail looked at my skilled ministrations with a proud face.

Next, I helped him slice a few tomatoes, prepare some lettuce, and peel the eggs.

Soon, our sandwiches were ready; and we took them to the living room to eat them.

My Big Friend grabbed one of our sandwiches, sniffed at it, nodded approvingly, and took a huge bite. His surprised face started to beam; and he nearly groaned with delight!

After devouring his second huge bite, he told me:

"My brilliant little Prince, never before did I taste anything this delicious! My young friend, you are a very special boy, a real marvel, and an absolute excellent cook!"

Involuntarily, I started to blush, while still devouring my own tasty sandwich.

After we finished our tasty sandwiches and drank some healthy juice, Michail's little sons started to wake up from their nap. Of course, my Big Friend had to tend to his wakening boys, to change their diapers and prepare their baby food. Therefore, I decided to leave him alone.

I thanked Michail abundantly for his honesty, and assured him he was the very best Big Friend in the world. I was sure we would always be friends, forever!

Then, I went outside, to play for the last time with my 'little diaper friends'.

Surprisingly, now that I no longer felt like 'our tiniest runt', I felt much freer, and really enjoyed our 'childish' play! Soon, we were playing our usual games of hide and seek; and, again, the seekers couldn't find me for a very long time.

No, I did NOT cheat on them, absolutely not! I only was extremely good at our game.

Chapter 16.

Near the end of the day, I went to my bench where I always waited for our 'older kids' to show up.

Today, I had to tell them some very important news! Tomorrow, their 'little Chief Cookie' would finally join them into our surrounding woods, to catch and roast his OWN animals!

I almost couldn't wait to see their surprised faces.

Soon, our older kids showed up, again carrying several fat marmots and other edible critters.

Marmots were the most common animals in our woods, and our children always caught plenty of them. Now and then, they caught a bigger animal, like a fat porcupine or a stray hare. On rare occasions, they caught a small piglet, which had enough meat to feed everybody for a few days.

Immediately when my friends arrived, they trotted to our small butchery; to skin and clean out their caught animals. Of course, I went to my new friend, Misha, and helped him skin and clean out his fat marmot. Then, I helped him smear its meat with my own nicely smelling herbs mixture.

In the meantime, all the other kids had started to smear their own animals with my mixture, while proudly smiling at their little 'Chief Cookie'.

When everybody was ready to listen to me, I climbed onto a wooden bench, and told them:

"Starting tomorrow, I am going to join you into our woods, to catch my own animals!"

For a second, silence fell over our group, while everybody stared at me with surprised faces.

Then, all my new friends crowded around me, ruffled my hair, and congratulated me with my important milestone. They told me they were very proud of their little Chief Cookie.

Although I would be the smallest kid ever who joined them into our surrounding woods and dense forests, they were already sure I would be a valuable part of our group!

Misha, seemed to be genuinely happy to have me along; but he also asked me:

"Do your parents really allow you to join us into our woods, although you are still such a little cookie and only four years old?"

"Well, I am already four years and three months old! Since yesterday, I am completely dry and don't need to wear a diaper any more. Therefore, I am now a Real Big Boy!"

Suddenly, Misha lifted me onto his shoulders and horsed me around our campfire, while singing:

"Starting tomorrow, our Prince Cookie will join us, to catch and roast his own animals."

Smiling at my proudly beaming face, my new friends started to roast their staked animals, of course again smeared with my nicely smelling herbs mixture.

Soon, a delicious aroma started to fill the air, making a few grownups smile at me approvingly.

Tomorrow, I would prove to everybody that I could be much more than only a 'little chief cookie'!

Impatiently, I waited, until Misha again offered me a tasty chunk of his own nicely roasted marmot.

When all the animals were roasted, my friends started to divide their meat into smaller chunks. Unexpectedly, ALL my new friends offered me a slice of their own animals; so that I could pick my own share! This is what they always did, in case one of them hadn't caught an edible animal.

From now on, I REALLY belonged to our group of older kids!

Almost bursting with pride, I filled my stomach to the brim with their slices of meat. Then, my friends and I burped loudly, to thank the animal spirits for offering us their tasty meat.

Feeling happy and wonderful, we went to our own caravans, to wash the smear from our hands and faces, and join our parents.

That night, I finally slept without wearing anything at all, for the first time since I was a little baby.

Sleeping without any clothes at all, clad only in my birthday suit, was a very nice feeling; as if, somehow, I was much more alive and more aware of my own body.

From now on, I would sleep just like everybody else in our Gypsy camp always did.

I really belonged to our 'young grownups' now!

The next morning, just before I woke up, I had a dream that turned into a nightmare.

In my dream, I was a little trapper boy, living in an enormous forest with several steep ravines, dangerous rapids, and swirling water streams. My Mom had died in childbirth; and, from then on, my trapper Dad had raised me all on his own, only now and then helped by our nearest neighbor.

From a very young age, I wanted to help my trapper Dad with everything. Therefore, he soon taught me how to catch deer and other strong animals in our cleverly hidden traps. At first, my Dad always tied a long leash around my waist and watched over me; until I had enough training and didn't stumble into a hidden ravine or dangerous rapid any more. When I was able to cross even the most dangerous water streams all on my own, and knew how to rescue myself if I unexpectedly fell into the foaming water, my Dad released me and told me he trusted me from now on.

After we caught a wild deer, I always helped my Dad skin it, clean it out, and divide it into several chunks, using my own very sharp knife. Then, I helped him roast our huge chunks of dear meat, by spicing them with several nicely smelling herbs I had selected from our surrounding forest.

I seemed to have a very useful 'sixth sense', which always told me which herb would be yucky or dangerous; and my 'trapper Dad' trusted my strange but very useful 'abilities' absolutely.

Unexpectedly, my happy dream turned into a real nightmare! A hungry grizzly bear showed up, while my trapper Dad tried to rescue me with only a small knife in his hand. The enormous beast killed my trapper Dad, me, and our closest neighbor and best friend who lived half a mile away.

While my nightmare slowly disappeared, I woke up in shock and didn't know where I was.

Suddenly, I sat upright in my bed, panting and wheezing and trembling all over.

Desperately, I tried tot get rid of my disturbing feelings, while I still smelled the enormous bear with its stinking breath, ripping my body open with its enormous claws.

Slowly, I returned into the here and now, while I regulated my breath and forced myself to calm down.

After calming down, I started to think. Had really an enormous bear killed my Dad, our closest neighbor, and me? Who had been our closest neighbor and best friend, who lived half a mile away, all alone in his own log cabin? I was sure that both my trapper Dad and I had loved our neighbor very much; because he always helped us with everything.

Or, had I lived through only some strange dream? Everybody knows that dreams are never true.

Suddenly, a warm and soulful voice in my inside explained:

"My dear friend; don't feel so shocked, because you only remembered one of your past lives. Soon after your Earth has rounded your Sun two times; you will meet your former neighbor, and you and he will again be very good friends. You will also meet your former Dad, and again be his son!"

Immediately, I recognized the warm and soulful voice of my dearest Spirit Friend, our Beloved King of Ancestors! About a year ago, after I had said farewell to my beautiful Admiral butterfly, my Ancestor had promised to contact me again.

I clearly remembered His voice in my inside, telling me:

'For now, you have to forget everything about me.'

Surprisingly, I really HAD forgotten everything about my Beloved Ancestor Friend, until now.

Would I again have to forget everything about Him? And, why should I forget Him?

This time, my 'dream' stayed with me for a long time. Now and then, its strange message showed up in my mind, making me think about our sun and our earth.

Of course, I knew that our sun moves around our earth in one day, thus creating day and night. However, I had never heard of our earth moving around our sun!

I would have to ask my Dad or Michail about it.

Next to being a very strange message, my dream also was a confirmation that I really had been a little trapper boy, during one of my past lives, helping my trapper Dad spice our roasting meat with several carefully selected herbs! Thus, I had really been very good with using a sharp knife.

Only, how would my former trapper Dad be my Dad again? Of course, that was impossible, because I already had my own lovable Dad. I was very fond of my own Dad; and I was absolutely sure I could not have two Dads at the same time.

Well, it was only some very strange dream; and everybody knows that dreams are never true!

I shook my head, to get rid of my strange dream. Then, I left my bed, stretched out at full length, and again felt full of anticipation and energy.

Today was my 'Big Day', finally! Today, I would join my new friends for the first time, into the woods and forests that surrounded our secluded camp. Today, I would finally enter our mysterious woods, set up my own trap, and catch my own first animal!

Misha had already shown me how to fold an effective snare, and how to cover my trap with some forest litter, to make it nearly invisible to any wary animals.

Our woods were waiting.

Hurriedly, I went to our living room and looked outside.

Were my older friends already waiting for me?

Much to my disappointment, nobody was outside, and our camp was still enveloped in darkness.

Our wooden benches were still empty, and our campfire shimmered faintly in the crack of dawn.

Where were my new friends, the lazy slackers? Come on, let's go.

Feeling a little bit disappointed, I sauntered to my parents' bedroom, to warm up.

Silently, I crawled in between my snoring parents; planning to wait here until the sun showed up and it would be time to go outside and join my friends towards our woods.

My Dad woke up, turned around, chuckled when he felt my cold body, and threw his arms around me to warm me. That felt safe and cozy; and I tried to let myself melt away into his powerful and lovable aura, as usual. For only a split second, I closed my eyes.

I woke up at the bright sunlight, peeking through a gap in our curtains and tickling my eyes.

Suddenly, I sat upright, feeling confused, until reality dawned upon me.

WHAT? Had I really overslept my first appointment with our waiting group of older kids?

Immediately, I was in a tremendous hurry, hastily jumped out of my parents' bed, and raced to our living room to have a quick look outside.

Feeling shocked, I stared at the steadily growing group of older kids who had already gathered around our campfire; and I was sure they were waiting for ME!

Why hadn't my parents woken me up, instead of silently leaving their bed to prepare breakfast? Now, I belonged to the same 'lazy slackers' I always loathed; and this was on my first 'Big Day'.

I stormed into our kitchen, and whined:

"Mom, hurry up, because everybody outside WAITS for me!"

My Mom chuckled at seeing my panicking face, while she responded:

"Please, calm down! I am sure nobody will leave without you; and you know you have to eat some healthy breakfast first."

Because I couldn't stand still; I hopped up and down from frustration, while I hastily helped my Mom with our breakfast. Then, I rushed our plates to our living room; and started to wolf my food down, while nervously staring outside.

More and more kids were joining our steadily growing group, and they were still waiting for ME!

What if my friends didn't want to wait any longer, and disappeared into our woods without me?

Hastily, I gulped my milk down; but, now, I had to wait for my parents to finish their meals.

Come on, Mom and Dad, hurry up, because my friends are waiting for me!

Impatiently, I sent my thoughts to my parents:

'Please, hurry up, because I don't want to be late and left behind on my first Important Day!'

My Dad seemed to pick up my thoughts, because he acknowledged my impatient fidgeting.

With an understanding smile, he allowed me to leave our table early, telling me to have fun.

Immediately, I jumped up and raced to our front door; in my hurry forgetting to say goodbye.

Hurriedly, I raced outside, squinting at the bright morning sunlight that suddenly blurred my vision.

A few waiting kids looked at their little Prince, who nearly broke his neck in his hurry to join them.

Chuckling, they nudged a couple of others; until all of them started to laugh at my eagerness.

Suddenly, a couple of kids started to cheer:

"HA-ROLD, HA-ROLD."

Of course, I felt a little bit timid and slowed down considerably. However, at the same time, my inside felt very proud to be recognized like this, as being 'one of them'!

My new friends were cheering at me, and they were obviously very happy to have me in their midst!

Now, I was even more determined to prove that I could be a valuable part of our older kids group.

After I joined my new group, all my new friends crowded around me and playfully ruffled my unruly white hair. Again, they told me they were very happy to have their little Prince in their midst, and they were sure that I soon would be a valuable part of their growing group!

Then, Misha asked me, looking a little bit worried:

"Of course, from now on, you don't have to beg any more for a slice of OUR meat, because you will soon catch and prepare your own animals. Only, do you still want to be our Chief Cook and help us spice our food, now that you no longer need us?"

Chuckling at seeing Misha's pleading face, I teased him:

"I hope you don't think you can get rid of me this easily. Of course, I will still help you! Now, come on, let's GO."

"Not yet! Not everybody is as quick as you are. We first have to wait for three more kids."

What was Misha telling me now? Our waiting group had to wait even longer, for three more tardy lazy slackers who didn't show up in time?

Then, obviously, I had NOT been the slowest kid in our group, even if I had been a little bit late.

Thus, my friends had not been waiting for ME, as I had assumed in my eagerness to join them.

Well, okay. Today, I had to learn that our world didn't always revolve around ME.

Finally, three yawning sleepyheads showed up from their caravans, and walked towards us.

They grinned sheepishly, while mumbling they were sorry for oversleeping again. Then, they just blended into our waiting group, acting as if this was their normal routine.

Feeling surprised, I didn't understand how they could be so tardy, while our mysterious woods were waiting. However, the other kids didn't seem to mind, and just started to walk towards our surrounding bushes. The oldest kids disappeared first into one of the narrow winding paths, after beckoning the others to follow them. All the other kids followed them, frolicking and teasing each other, on their way creating a long and twisting line.

Feeling a little bit nervous, but also full of anticipation, I blended into our moving line, directly behind Misha. Slowly, we entered one of the paths that were leading towards our woods.

Of course, I had already entered our surrounding bushes many times before, while studying our beautiful Mother Nature, or looking for the tastiest herbs. Only, until today, I had never followed our winding paths; and always stayed far away from our mysterious woods.

From a very young age, our parents always told their young kids to stay far away from our woods, to avoid any nasty predators or dangerous animals that might attack them. We always had to be very careful; until we were strong enough and knew exactly what we had to do to fend for ourselves.

If we ever met some dangerous animal, we first had to screech and yell for help as loudly as possible, while grabbing a long and sturdy branch. Then, we had to push the branch into any open mouth with nasty teeth that showed up, to hurt the attacking animal and chase it away.

Today, I finally found out that our winding paths through our surrounding bushes ended up in an enormous clearing. Our moving line entered the huge clearing; where everybody stopped, and waited until all the others were present. Finally, for the first time, I was in the mysterious place where I longed to be for such a long time, our woods!

I stopped dead in my tracks, looked around in awe, and suddenly felt very small and vulnerable.

Thousands of enormous trees majestically rose into the sky, having their top branches entwined.

Their outspread treetops formed what looked like an enormous cathedral over our tiny heads. The spongy ground and fallen leaves were dampening all of our usual sounds, creating an eerie silence. Beneath my bare feet, the soft and mossy carpet felt like walking on some spongy moving cloud.

The sudden silence felt overwhelming; and I almost forgot to breathe from the initial shock. Ultimately, I was only four years and three months old; and I was the youngest kid in our group.

I felt tiny and fragile, while the shock slowly disappeared and my body forced me to breathe again.

For a second, I felt an urge to cry; while tears welled up in my eyes and dripped onto the ground.

However, immediately, I forced myself to be a Real Big Boy, and not be some little crybaby! What would my new friends think; when they saw their blubbering little Prince and appraised Chief Cookie?

I regulated my breath, repressed my tears, and furtively looked around at the other kids.

To my utmost surprise, everybody else seemed to feel totally at ease in these eerie surroundings! All my friends just acted as if entering this impressive cathedral was nothing special to them!

Had all my new friends already gotten used to this splendid grandeur of our ancient forest?

I was sure I would NEVER get used to it, and always feel the same overwhelming awe.

Being only a small and vulnerable boy, I also missed my Dad, my Mom, or Michail, who always were near me, to comfort me whenever I needed them.

Should I turn around and go home, like a crybaby who became homesick and missed his Mommy?

Only, then, I would no longer belong to our 'older kids'; and I would have to play again with the 'toddlers'. That definitely was the very last thing I ever wanted to do!

Hesitantly, I went to Misha, and silently worked my small hand into his much bigger one.

Misha looked at me, and smiled; while he squeezed my trembling hand and whispered:

"The first time is overwhelming, isn't it? Soon, you will get used to all these powerful forest energies, and they will no longer bother you. Now, let's follow the others towards our woods, and find out what we have caught in our traps."

I nodded my approval, while I forced my still wet face to produce a feeble smile.

Fortunately, Misha didn't think I was a little crybaby.

Stealthily, I wiped my tears away with my free hand.

With my other hand safely enveloped in Misha's bigger one, we started to follow the oldest kids.

17. Setting traps; girls without peckers; our waterfall.

Slowly, Misha and I followed our oldest kids across the enormous cathedral clearing, until our group entered another small path. Here, everybody lined up again. One by one, my friends stepped onto the rocky path full of slanting boulders, along a very steep ravine. While forming a long row, everybody started to clamber onto the mossy boulders along the dangerous looking path.

Still feeling overwhelmed by what I had experienced so far, I left Misha's hand and hesitantly stepped forward. In absolute awe, I stared at all those overgrown mountain ridges with huge boulders along the outstretched ravine. Its very steep borders were nearly hidden behind huge curtains of colored and abundantly flowering vegetation.

Seeing this absolutely splendid sight, I never knew that our Mother Nature could be this beautiful!

One by one, my friends moved forward; until it was my turn to step onto the first slanting boulder.

For a moment, I hesitated, while staring into the seemingly bottomless depth of the overgrown ravine next to me. This was the first time I saw such a dangerous creation of Mother Nature, and I felt a little bit shocked. What would happen, if I unexpectedly slipped on the mossy surfaces of those boulders, and fell down? Wouldn't I tumble into this very steep ravine, and probably break all my bones?

Stealthily, I looked at what the other kids were doing.

Much to my surprise, all my friends just walked along the dangerous path; balancing on the slanting boulders and jumping across the many dangerous cracks.

Surprisingly, they didn't seem to be afraid at all.

Well; what my friends could do, I could do too; even while I was only a tiny 'runt' and the youngest kid in our older group. I only didn't want to stumble or slip on a wobbly boulder, and disappear into the bottomless depth next to me.

Still feeling a little bit hesitant, I just followed Misha.

Suddenly, I remembered my strange dream, where my 'trapper Dad' and I were living in a dangerous forest. In my dream, as a little trapper boy, I was USED to climbing along steep ravines and jumping across dangerous cracks! I also remembered how my 'trapper Dad' first put a leash around my waist, while he taught me how to climb safely. Having me secured like this, my trapper Dad taught me how to climb slippery boulders and jump across nasty cracks, until I no longer needed his help. From then on, I became a real mountaineer, climbing all the rugged rocks and jumping across all the dangerous cracks like a young gazelle.

What would happen, if I fantasized I was still a little 'mountaineer', following my trapper Dad along this not so very dangerous ravine? Would my 'little trapper boy' from my past life help me again; as he had done before, when he sliced my wobbly bundle of herbs into tiny pieces?

Still feeling a little bit cautious, I decided to try it out.

Carefully, I stepped onto the first slanting boulder.

Much to my happiness, my untrained legs and small feet knew exactly what they had to do! With some help from my 'little trapper boy', they just stepped forward and planted themselves onto the rugged boulders with an astonishing confidence! Obviously, my 'little trapper boy' had decided to help me again, by letting me remember my 'young gazelle' from my past life.

Wow! That felt marvelous! Enthusiastically, I started to climb the steep cliffs and jump across all the nasty cracks, as if I had done this all my life.

Misha had obviously planned to help me, because he had turned around to face me.

Now, his eyes grew big, when he suddenly saw me climbing and jumping all on my own, like an experienced trapper! Halting his breath, he stared at the happily climbing and jumping 'young gazelle'; with an unreadable expression on his face. He didn't say a word; but just stayed close by, so that he would be able to lend me a helping hand IF necessary.

Although I didn't need his help, I felt very happy to have Misha around me; and I hoped we would become good friends! From now on Misha just climbed on and on, while I followed him at a short distance. Now and then, he turned around and smiled at me; and I smiled back at him immediately.

Strangely, he still had the same unreadable expression on his face, as if he felt. 'respect'?

After we left the steep ravine, we started to pave our way through a couple of overgrown bushes.

Then, we arrived at the bank of another beautiful creation of Mother Nature, a wildly fizzing and foaming water stream! All the others just crossed the very fast stream full of dangerous rapids, by jumping from slippery boulder to boulder. Here, Misha stopped again, turned around, and offered me his hand; looking at me with a questioning face.

Only, my 'little trapper boy' had already shown me what I had to do to reach the other side safely, without any help. Again, I remembered following my trapper Dad everywhere, helping him inspect our traps and set up new ones. For quite some time, he had held me on his leash, until he was sure I wouldn't drown if I accidentally slipped and tumbled into one of the dangerous water rapids.

At last, slipping off a boulder and tumbling into a rapid became fun, and I started to be very good at rescuing myself from the foaming water! From then on, my trapper Dad trusted me absolutely, and he allowed me to stroll through our forest all on my own.

Now, entering this much easier water stream, I just hopped from boulder to boulder, until I reached the other side without ever falling or slipping. This was too simple.

Misha had followed me with an astonished expression on his face. Obviously, he hadn't expected me to be this good! However, he still didn't say a word; although he seemed to have some difficulty catching up with my speed. Was I really outdoing a fourteen-year-old experienced boy, who had scoured our woods and forests all his life?

After we crossed the foaming water stream, we followed a much easier path along another ravine, and entered another huge but this time rectangular clearing. Here, we halted again; and waited patiently until everybody showed up safely and unharmed.

When the last kids showed up, the oldest boys counted our heads; to be sure that nobody was lost.

Now, we started to pave our path through another dense undergrowth; this time avoiding several nasty thorn bushes, rolling boulders, and hidden potholes.

One of our boys, Joc, disappeared into a thick shrub. A moment later, we heard wrestling and beeping sounds, coming from within the shrub.

Then, Joc returned, carrying a struggling marmot with a glistening snare around its neck!

Triumphantly, he showed the beast to us; before he killed it, by smashing its head against a boulder.

For a moment, I felt shocked, pitying the animal that couldn't help getting caught in Joc's snare.

I got tears in my eyes, while my inside started to tremble from frustration. How would I feel, if some huge giant smashed MY head against a boulder, to kill me and eat me?

Then, I saw that this marmot hadn't suffered at all, compared to being eaten alive by some hungry predator with huge teeth and sharp claws! When I looked at it from this point of view, Joc's marmot had been very lucky to end its little life like this, fast and painless!

After I found this clarifying insight, such a fast and painless death never again bothered me.

Joc went to our older boys, and put his marmot into one of the string bags they carried.

He returned to the shrub, folded his piece of wire into a new snare, and attached his snare onto a nearby branch. After he used a little bit of forest litter to cover his trap, he returned to us.

All the time, I had watched Joc's ministrations with very much interest and scrutinizing eyes.

Yes, this was what Misha had taught me to do, when he showed me how to fold a snare from a piece of wire. Only, would this nearby branch be thick enough to withstand a bigger animal, in case it ensnared itself in Joc's trap? I was sure I would have chosen a sturdier branch.

Nobody else made any comments; so I just let it go.

Now, one of our girls, Biny, disappeared into another shrub along a faintly visible animal track.

Almost immediately, she returned, proudly carrying a fat marmot. She put the beast into the string bag, and adeptly set up a new trap along another faint animal track.

To me, her sturdy and cleverly hidden trap looked much better.

This time, a younger boy, Jonno, disappeared behind one of the surrounding thorn bushes.

Soon, he returned, with a disappointed face, shaking his head. His snare was empty.

He took the same snare, and clumsily set up another trap at the back of the same bush.

Involuntarily, I shook my head, because my 'little trapper boy' in my inside suggested that Jonno would never be a good trapper. He was too uninterested; and his still clearly visible trap would warn any alert animal from miles away.

How the heck did I know this, while I had never set up a trap myself? This was becoming eerie.

For a long time, we went on and on; on our way looking for edible nuts, fresh footprints, or interesting animal tracks. One by one, our kids disappeared into a shrub; to look after a snare, collect the next animal, and set up a new trap. Only now and then, a trap turned out to be empty; and the kid just shrugged and set up a new trap along another track. Mostly, the snare had done its work, and another beast was added to the steadily growing piles in our string bags.

One time, everybody started to laugh and point at the next boy:

"Jaspi caught a RAT! Jaspi is a ratter, Jaspi is a ratter."

Jaspi glared at his teasing friends with a sour face; and threw the dead rat far away, into some thick bushes. Everybody in our Gypsy community knew that rats could infect us with nasty diseases; and we never ate their meat, not even if we were nearly starving to death.

Jaspi looked for another animal track, and set up his new trap along it. Then, we went on; looking after traps, collecting caught animals, and setting up our new traps along other fresh animal tracks.

All the time, I observed intently how my friends attached their snares and covered them with some forest litter. Every time, I tried to understand what exactly my friends were doing, and why they were doing it like this. Now and then, I even thought they were making slight mistakes, and I could have done better. How did I know how to set a trap and make it invisible to the animal, without ever having done it myself? This was very strange. unless I really had been a 'little trapper boy' in my past life, and still remembered my own skills.

Now and then, we were thirsty from all our climbing, paving through the heavy undergrowth, and setting our traps. Then, we always went to one of the many water streams, to drink its cool and refreshing mountain water. My thirsty friends squatted down and scooped some water into their mouths, using their folded hands as a cup.

Of course, I tried to copy them; but I did it a bit awkward and spilled most of the water before it reached my mouth. Secretly, I wished I had brought a cup.

Fortunately, after some more trying, I got the hang of it, and succeeded in drinking enough water before it again seeped through my fingers. At last, I drank just as the others did; folding my hands as a cup, splashing some water at my friends, and having fun.

Happily, we went on, wandering towards the next trap.

Now and then, a boy had to 'take a leak', to get rid of the excessive water. Then, he went to a tree, pointed upwards, and squirted as high as they could, trying to dislodge bugs from the leaves.

Mostly, a couple other boys accompanied them, having lots of fun while trying to outdo each other.

Sometimes, I joined my friends; but my small body and little pecker didn't let me squirt very high.

One time, Misha teased me about my lack of success, telling me I had to grow some hairs first.

Yeah, well. In our group, only the oldest boys had grown a few tiny hairs, down there and under their armpits. When a boy got more hairs, he always left our kids group and joined our grownups.

I scowled at Misha, punched his arm, and rebuked:

"Look at yourself, with your tiny wisp of fuzz! Just wait until I have had my first growth spurt."

Misha chuckled and tried to catch me; but I ducked away and ran off, to escape his wrath.

A few kids laughed at my teasing friend. They even admonished him not to pick on the tiniest ones.

Of course, we were only teasing each other; and it was FUN to have Misha as my older friend. Besides, Misha WAS right. I really had to wait for at least a few years, to be able to outdo him.

After some time, I started to wonder why our girls never accompanied us boys in our peeing contests. Of course, they too had to pee from time to time; because they drank about the same amount of water. However, so far, they had always laughed at our bragging efforts, and commented on our splashing successes.

Only, they never joined us to a tree, to try to outdo us.

Why didn't our girls accompany us, to partake in our contests and prove they could do better? Were they ill, or were their bladders not strong enough?

While observing our girls, I suddenly detected something I hadn't seen ever before. When a girl had to take a leak, she always squatted down over a hole in the ground, and let her pee flow freely!

Why did she do that? Why didn't she join us to a tree?

Dislodging bugs from the leaves was much more fun.

Feeling curious, I waited until one of our girls had to pee and squatted down over a hole in the ground. This time, I had a good look at what she was doing.

Suddenly, I felt shocked into my deepest core, and nearly couldn't believe my own eyes!

This girl didn't have any visible pecker, as we boys so proudly used to aim our pee through! She only had a small cleft between her legs, from where her pee splashed down into a hole in the ground.

Why was that poor girl 'handicapped' like this? Did she lose her pecker one day, perhaps because she had some nasty accident or underwent surgery?

Feeling shocked, I looked around, at our other girls. Then, I felt even more shocked!

To my astonishment, I saw that NONE of our girls had peckers. They all had the same small cleft between their legs, and none of them had anything usable to pee through.

A few girls were developing tiny breasts, and one of them had a faint trace of dark hair down there.

But, none of them had anything visible on the outside!

Now feeling very surprised, I didn't understand why I had never seen this clear and very obvious difference before. Why, for goodness sake, was there such an enormous difference between our boys and our girls? Did all our girls lose her peckers one day, or could they have broken it off accidentally? Or, had all our girls been ill and underwent surgery to remove their peckers?

Although I thought and thought, I couldn't come up with any reasonable explanation.

Of course, a VERY important question came to mind, making me shudder with the idea.

Would we boys be at any risk too, to lose our peckers or undergo the same surgery?

Would I be at risk to turn into a girl, if I wouldn't be careful enough with my own little pecker?

I absolutely didn't want to lose mine, because I was way too used to it! Although I had only a tiny pecker, I hoped it would soon start to grow, and finally become at least as big as Misha's.

Still feeling nonplussed, I went on thinking and pondering. Should I pity our poor girls, who had to live without a pecker to pee through, probably for the remainder of their lives?

Or, could it be 'normal' for the girls in our camp, to be 'handicapped' like this? Was this how every girl was born, without anything usable to pee through, other than a small cleft between her legs?

Why had I never seen this before?

Feeling more and more frustrated, I sat down on a mossy boulder, with my head in my hands. Silently, I tried to remember how my Mom's body looked. Of course, I had seen my Mom's naked body at least many hundreds of times. However, so far, I had never looked at how she was built. Now, I decided to have a closer look at her, as soon as I would return home.

However, I was already sure she too wouldn't have a visible penis.

As soon as I got home, I would ask my Dad my question about the risk of turning into a girl! In the meantime, I would be VERY careful with my own pecker, because I absolutely didn't want to lose it.

I trotted back to Misha and all the other kids; involuntarily folding my hands around my own little pecker, as if trying to protect it from falling off accidentally. Fortunately, nobody had missed me; and we just went on to our next trap, to empty it and set up another one.

Chapter 18.

Finally, we had emptied all our traps; and all my friends had set up their new ones.

Our heavy string bags were full of our caught animals; and a couple of strong boys carried them, now and then switching turns. We were ready for today; and I thought we would go home, to roast our caught animals over our campfire. As our little Chief Cook, I would first go into our surrounding bushes, to gather several nicely tasting herbs.

To my surprise, everybody seemed to wait for something to happen, while they stared at ME.

Why were they staring at me? What were they waiting for? What were they expecting from ME?

Had I done something wrong, maybe unknowingly? Would they now kick me out or our group?

Suddenly, Misha stepped towards me, put his hand onto my shoulder, and pointed to a small hill:

"Harold? Are you ready to set up your first trap, maybe on that small hill over there?"

Aha! That was what everybody had been waiting for.

Yes; of course, I was more than ready to set up my first own trap, anywhere Misha wanted it!

I nodded vigorously, while