When we were knee high to a grasshopper, our Mama used to sit my younger sister, Vanessa, and me down and tell us stories about Allie the Alligator and the Queen of England which I am attempting to recreate for my nephew Rory. This one is about when the Queen first met Allie.
You see, Allie and the Queen lived in a swamp - the Okefenokee swamp - down in South Georgia. They were quite a pair, always getting into trouble along with their friends, the Toads, Monty Macaroon the Raccoon, and his sister Martha May.
The story of how the Queen got to the swamp is quite the sordid tale. You see, she was involved in a scandal back in England which lead to her deportation into the black waters of the Okefenokee. It was quite a sight, with Old Queenie being dumped deep into the heart of that swamp, her royal blue polyester dress and bright pink and white feathered hat in disarray. She sat on a cypress stump and cried a blue streak all morning until her tears made a stream leading to the deep waters of the swamp. A family of toads swam up the stream when they heard her sobs. After all, they too had been relocated to the swamp after being caught by some tourist who was visiting their home town of Boca Rattan and wanted to use them as dissection specimens for his 9th grade Biology class. They narrowly escaped his clutches when he stopped at the Okefenokee to capture more specimens. So, after croaks of introduction, they made Queenie a pot of muddy backwater tea, by hopping in a puddle until it boiled, and even whipped up a batch of lilly pad lasagna.
There was croaking and joking all afternoon until dusk when the swamp became even more alive with sounds. Ribbit...Croak... Bzzzz ...Hissssssss... Kerplunk...Ttstststs...Bercaw...Oh how Queenie's heart beat wildly as the sounds got louder and darkness cloaked the dank swamp. Just when she thought it could not get worse, she felt something slimy and slithery slinking its way across her feet, slowly winding its way around her legs, and squeezing ever so slightly and then more strongly until she screamed with terror when she realized that it was -A SNAKE! And then, just when she thought she was a goner, Allie the Alligator, who was gliding through the murky waters looking for his evening snack, skillfully saved Queenie with a snap and supped on the snake. Allie sat guard over Queenie all that night and the next. The two became the best of friends and had many more adventures which I will save for another time. So sleep tight dear one knowing that Allie and the Queen are watching over you.
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