Snow Lion Publications

SNOW LION THE BUDDHIST MAGAZINE & CATALOG

84 pp., AMGUAL
$6.95 Snow Lion special $5.56
Order Now

Amy & Gully with Aliens Book Excerpts

Finding themselves aboard a space ship, Amy and Gully are about to learn lessons on the power of the mind to transform its experience, as well as the importance of kindness. In this excerpt from Amy and Gully with Aliens by W.W. Rowe, the children begin their adventures with alien creatures of varied capacities.

"Yow!" cried Gully. "This room keeps growing. But that's impossible. How big is this ship, anyway?"

Mala smiled. "Right now, it is the size of a tiny red speck. But here, we need it to be larger."

Gully's head was spinning. "You mean the ship is different sizes, inside and out?"

"I suppose you could call it that." Mala's eyes glittered. "You have much to learn about controlling matter. Also, about your true nature."

"Why are you testing us?" Gully asked.

"You will understand, but only after the tests. Now, if you will just—"

"Mala! Mala!" Both Snoods came scuttling through the door. Ra looked the same, but Dorg was much smaller. He was holding a big pink rose in his tentacles.

"I start to collect plants," the smaller Dorg said. "But monster chase me. Was fault of Ra. He make blunder. Ra, you are clumsy crater-brain!"

"Not my fault!" cried Ra. "Dorg make wrong readings. Dorg, you are stupid asteroid!"

Mala raised a luminous arm.

The Snoods fell silent, all eyes glaring at each other.

"Calm down," Mala commanded. "Tell me what happened."

"Was blunder of Ra," said Dorg. "He beam me down to collect plants. But he make me too small. I land on top of monster. Loud, brown monster. Monster make jumps and leaps. I fall off monster's back. Monster make roar. Also say rarf."

"Hey!" cried Gully. "I'll bet that was Elmer. You landed on Elmer, in Mr. Dryfield's yard."

"Yes!" Amy laughed. "Mr. Dryfield has beautiful roses."

"What mean roses?" asked Ra. His tentacles quivered excitedly.

"Yes!" said Dorg. "And what mean Elmer?"

Mala fixed Dorg with his diamond eyes. "The plant you are holding is called a rose." You Snoods must have incompletely programmed your language banks. And Elmer is clearly the name of a dog��a tame but loud animal who, fortunately, cannot report what he saw."

Mala laughed like musical chimes. "A big dog and a little Dorg. That's quite amusing. But enough mistakes. Ra, restore Dorg to his normal size. And you, Dorg, put the rose into a life-sustaining jar."

The Snoods waved their tentacles respectfully.

"Yes, Mala."

"And no more arguing. Now go. We need to get on with the tests."

Both Snoods scurried out the door, leaving Amy and Gully to wonder what their new tests would be.

Another Excerpt from Amy and Gully with Aliens...

David was staring at a bright-red apple in his bowl of fruit. It seemed to be looking back up at him—like a round, shiny face.

Behind the apple, David could see a leafy apple tree. Looking deeply at the apple, he could imagine the seed from which the tree had sprung—and the warm sun, helping to make it grow. He also saw the dark, moist earth in which the seed had grown—and the rain which had softened the earth. Behind the rain, he saw great clouds of moisture.

David smiled. The tree, the sun, the clouds, the earth, the seed, the rain.... They were all there, inside the apple. Nothing has a separate self. Each thing depends on every other thing. That was the true face of the apple.

It is the same with people and other beings, he thought. Babies depend upon others. So do the sick and the very old. All our lives, we depend on others much more than we realize.

* * *

More about the book . . .

In this adventure story, two school-aged children, Amy and Gully, are beamed aboard an alien spacecraft. They manage to outwit their captors�only to realize that they may have made things worse.

But appearances prove deceptive. Soon they are given interactive "tests" involving a magical movie screen. The story they see resembles the life of Siddhartha (the young Prince who eventually became the Buddha). Eventually, Amy and Gully discover that they are able to enter the magic screen and participate in the "movie" itself! They even meet and aid the enlightened Prince in a dangerous but humorous episode. Amy and Gully learn about the interconnectedness of all life, selfless compassion, and the power of pure intention. This is an independent sequel to Amy and Gully in Rainbowland.

* * *

About the author . . .

W.W.Rowe is the author of seven books about Russian literature and numerous children's stories. He lives in Sedona, Arizona with his wife Eleanor and their imperious dachshund, Princess Ozma.

Books