Flappy and the terrified Googly Monster tribe are marched into battle after Chab gets The Great White Knight as a Christmas present. Flappy must summon a great deal of courage to find a way!

Flappy the Warrior

I looked the White Knight in the eyes and walked towards him, unarmed.  My belly flashed white with fear. I closed my eyes and imagined my great, great, great, grandfather flying behind me.

I could feel his dragon heart glowing.  I breathed into my heart and my heart glowed too. As I came near, I could hear the armour of the White Knight rattle. I could see his eyes were large. I could feel his heart beat. I could smell his fear, like an old cheese sandwich. 

Kara Stonehouse is a transformative artist who believes that spiritual and emotional intelligence is a key to creating a healthy world. She is a recognized evolutionary leader and mother of two lovely children who inspire her to make bedtime stories. « Flappy and the Googly Monster Tribe, the characters and settings in the book were my real toys, imaginary world, home and family from my youth. Using my real connections to my loved ones makes the books dear to me and so enjoyable to create and share.»

Flappy and the terrified Googly Monster tribe find themselves marched into battle after Chab gets The Great White Knight as a Christmas present. Flappy must summon a great deal of courage to find a way in such a difficult situation! 

“But what can we do? ” called out Harry. “We HAVE to fight and defend our honour as monsters!” “I think there is another way,” I proclaimed. The way was not yet clear to me, but I had a feeling there was something important for me to do. “I must face my greatest fear. I am going to talk with the White Knight, Fiery, Peachy, is it ready?” I shouted up to them. “Yes!” They called from the top of the dresser, waving.

Everyone looked up at the dresser to see them standing beside a pretty cloth covering a large lump. Everyone was curious!  I nodded and stabbed my sword into the block I was standing on.  

He looked at me again, but this time with curiosity and intensity. He was not afraid anymore. I nodded, and he slowly lowered his sword. I stood tall and addressed him formally. “I am Flappy, leader of the Googly Monster Tribe, and protector of the Holy Grail of Peace. Who comes to prove his worth of such a treasure?” The knight stood tall and said, “I am Alistair Castile, White Knight of Purity and Victory. I seek The Grail to bring honour and riches to my King.” “Then you have failed before you begin,” I said dismissively.

“The seeker must be motivated by a heart’s desire. What is your deepest desire from, your heart?” The knight stepped back as if I had hit him in the chest. “Well, I, uhhh ….” He pressed his sword into the ground, stood still and closed his eyes. “My heart’s desire is to be free and go on great adventures and discover new places.” He looked at me with raised eyebrows, waiting for my response.

“You speak the truth from your heart. You passed the first test.” I said. A small smile cracked on his brave face. “Your next task is not so easy. You must face your greatest fear!” I bellowed. His brows furrowed tighter together over his eyes. He glanced at my tribe of monsters and back at me. He rubbed his belly. “The truth is,” he sighed, “I’ve never been to battle. My great, great, great, grandfather slayed the terrible dragons all across Kingsland. My father was killed when I was young and we lost The Grail. I have to get it back and I fear I won’t live up to his courage and fierceness. Here I am facing you. You are my greatest fear, but somehow, you are not scary. I feel like we are meant to meet.”

I was amazed! We were so similar! Behind each of us, the armies were getting noisy, in their excitement to attack each other. “So, what do we do?” he asked me. I motioned for Fiery to bring The Grail down. The king began to ride over on his horse. The knight put out his hand to stop him. They exchanged a long stare. I felt that the knight was signalling the king to trust him. That also meant that the knight trusted me.

Harry, Scary and Larry were excited to fight!  

But I could see everyone else was looking at me for strength.

I practice deep breathing into my heart to make it glow brighter than my fears.

One day, I had to face my greatest fear. A new Christmas toy arrived at Chab’s house. It was a knight in shining armour.

Chab set up a large battle with knights on one side and monsters on the other. We had never been in a battle before. As leader, I was set in front of my terrified tribe.

Peachy and Fiery were arriving with the grail. I didn’t know what the third test was! I closed my eyes and asked my great dragon ancestor for guidance. I spoke as if it was him speaking from the great beyond.

A tear welled up in my eyes. My heart was shining with the power of LOVE. I raised The Grail up over my head and a miraculous thing happened. 

“Great White Knight! Our ancestors have shed much blood and many tears, and never have we learned in all these years, the true meaning of the Grail of Peace. But it is time now to be released. Your third and final test of honour, is to lay down your sword and combine its power of JUSTICE with the Grail’s power of PEACE.”

I couldn’t believe it! He was as afraid of me as I was of him. “Great White Knight.” I said. “We have the Holy Grail you seek, behold!” I waved up to Fiery to reveal the golden grail, with gems and sparkles. The sun shone in the window giving The Grail a magical shimmer. Pinky-Green was dressed like an angel singing, “Awwww, awww, awww, aw!”

The White Knight looked up, amazed. His eyes twinkled and then narrowed in determination. He raised his sword quickly to strike me! “WAIT!” I said clearly and calmly. “You may have The Grail if you pass three tests of honour.” He stared at me, sword still raised above his head. I met his gaze as I glowed my heart brighter. He noticed it.

The Knight looked down now and could see that The Grail was just a spray-painted plastic cup and his sword, a plastic toy. He picked up the grail and walked towards his king, who was staring with his mouth gaping open. “My King! I present you The Holy Grail! May you rule with peace in your heart and justice in your hand. I hereby quit my service to the crown to roam freely on the Earth to follow my heart’s desire.” He felt the presence of the spirit of his father who was proud of him.

Flappy the Warrior 2022 Story and Illustrations by Kara Stonehouse. Reading by Victoria Evans and Kara Stonehouse. Acknowledgments This book, number 5 of the series, was inspired by participating in Peace Weekend 2020. Jude Currivan inspired us with rich themes of connection, surrender and freedom. Richard Olivier encouraged us to live into an archetype we are less comfortable in and my daughter Victoria suggested I do a Flappy and Chab book on it! Special thanks to Diana Claire Douglas of Wise Child books for the idea to use the imaginary world of my youth to tell the spiritual, emotional intelligence stories I am yearning to share with the world! Thanks to my mother, a legendary school principal, for love, encouragement and editing!

You wouldn’t think of me as a warrior. Usually the monsters are the bad guys.

In fact, my great, great, great grandfather, Flapister Von Fierce was killed by a knight in shining armour. 

I looked all around for some way to flip this situation. I looked at the powerful enemy soldiers. They were ready to slay us, the ‘evil’ monsters. I looked at my tribe. They were huddled, defenceless and worried. I could imagine the knight beating me so quickly with his Sword of Justice. It would be just like in the storybooks of my family many years ago.

I noticed Fiery getting ready to join me. She was taking a drink from a plastic party glass.  It looked like the ‘Holy Grail’ chalice from the old stories.  The Holy Grail was what my great, great, great grandfather was guarding with his life. 

300 years down the line, I am just Flappy, leader of the Googly Monster Tribe.

I don’t like to admit it, but sometimes I am so AFRAID.

A beam of light came in the window and his sword glowed like The Grail. He bowed down and placed his sword on the ground and removed his helmet. “With all my honour,” He said in a strong voice, yet cracking with emotion. “I surrender my sword, I open my heart to the power of Justice and Peace combined for all time.”

“Rise, champion!” I exclaimed with joy. “You have earned the world’s most precious treasure!” He ceremoniously combined his Sword of Justice with the Grail of Peace. A shock wave of light expanded through the whole room. A great roar of cheers arose from both sides of the battle field.

When I feel afraid, my belly flashes white.  I want to run away or get angry and fight.

So, instead of letting fear take over, I practice to master my reactions.

As leader of the tribe, I want to set a good example and stay calm, even when I am afraid, so I can make the best decisions for my tribe.

I go walking in the dark to feel afraid. I breathe and relax myself with calm thoughts.

I had a flash of inspiration. I called Peachy and Pinky-Green over help with my plan. They smiled and hurried over to talk to Fiery. Now I had energy and courage to speak to the tribe. I clinked my sword on a metal car and held it high in the air. “Googly Monster Tribe!” I called out in my bravest voice.

“Today, history has come to repeat itself in an epic battle of good versus evil. They think we are evil and we think they are evil. These knights have come to find a secret treasure. This ‘Holy Grail of Peace’ is entrusted to us from our ancestors. We will not fight the knights for it, they are too strong and organised.  And we will not simply surrender it to them.  It is ours to guard fiercely. So today, we will be warriors of the heart.”

The White Knight walked away and we never saw him again. When Chab asked us where he went, all we could say was, “He went the right way.”

The King looked at the plastic grail with finger prints in the paint and plastic gems falling off of it.  He looked at the Great White Knight walking away and watched the armies celebrating together, singing and dancing. He decided to lead with fairness, kindness and guidance from our ancestors. 

He came over to shake my hand.  We offered him chicken fingers and he stayed and danced the night away. It was the greatest party our bedroom had ever seen. 

Chab’s mom couldn’t believe the mess she found in the morning. 

Thanks for ready my story! A lot happened! I am curious what you are learning from my experiences. I feel afraid to walk at night but I do it anyways to build confidence. What makes you feel confident when you are afraid? What scary thing might you be able to do once you build up your confidence?

I earned The White Knight’s trust even though our ancestors have been fighting for centuries. How do you know when you can trust someone? What are the feelings in your heart and belly?

I did not want my tribe to fight the big battle.  My motto is, “Find a way.”  So, we offered The White Knight another way to get what he wanted by playing a trick. 

We painted a plastic cup to look like The Holy Grail. Do you think that was bad behaviour? Why or why not?

The knight was ready to attack me but I chose not to fight. By being calm and confident and slowing things down, there was space for understanding and heart connection. That is how little miracles happen. After asking a few deeper questions, it became clear that the White Knight and I are very similar. If someone begins to get angry and agressive, how can you slow things down rather than being agressive back?

When I don’t know if the baby monsters are safe…

The Grail began to glow so brightly, that everyone gasped! “Awwwe!” The Knight had water in his eyes as he met my gaze again. We saw each other as friends, as family, as mirrors of ourselves.

 He lifted his sword straight up.  His heart began to glow too! 

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