Classic book inside layout

Foreword by Papa
A very special inspirational moment arrived when my first
grandchild, Grace was born on the 13th of January 2008.
My wife and I are so fortunate to have Grace as our granddaughter.
She is an inspiration to us. Her stories and poetry speaks to us in a
way no other literature has.
This book, Grace has put together is very different. It reflects and
captures a very original mind which processes things as they really
should be. Her stories and odes I believe are from a mind that
naturally wants to feel sensations and experience life the way it
should be, which is with freedom.
The uninhibited purity of her imagination astounds us, "Déjà vu".
It is so apparent to us how much her mind is in tune with nature.
Her “Ode to the Rose” and “A Conversation in the Woods” stories
are a clear impression of a pure and original mind.
In the spring of 2019, Grace initiated a fund-raiser to support
some of the victims of the Easter Day Bombings in Sri Lanka,
through the sale of homemade cupcakes and lemonade. The money
raised permitted the purchase of artificial limbs for two children
incapacitated by this tragic event.
This was a project driven entirely by her own initiative and was
documented and applauded by her school and the media. She has
now shared her desire to use the proceeds from the sale of this book
towards charity as well.
As grandparents, we are overjoyed by her outstanding initiatives
in composing “A Muddly Medley” and for her noble intentions of
fundraising for charity.
Papa is very proud of you Grace, well done 'my pretty little lady'.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the National Library of Sri Lanka
Published by Hybrid Media Pvt. Ltd 445A, Galle Road, Colombo 03, Sri Lanka.
Copyright © Grace-Sienna Maharajah. 1 st Edition September 2019
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise, without the prior consent of the copyright owner.
ISBN: 978-624-5194-00-1
Printed in Sri Lanka

Author's Note
Putting these short stories and poems together was very hard for
me because even though I like writing I am on the other hand, a
very short 12 year old with a very short attention span and have a
very annoying brother at hand.
My English in this book may not be perfect but yeah, I’m not
perfect.... nobody is.
Thank you to my friends and teachers at The Manor Preparatory
School, Abingdon for teaching me and inspiring me. Thank you
Mr. Heyworth for your advice and checking through the first draft.
Most of all, thank you to my Papa who despite being the busiest
person I know, made the time to publish this book for me with
regular reminders and deadlines to make all this possible.
I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I enjoyed writing it
for you.
Grace-Sienna

A Muddly
Medley
A Collection of Short Stories and Odes
Written and Illustrated
By
Grace-Sienna Maharaja

CONTENTS
Time Travel 06
A Conversation in the Woods 15
The Curse 17
An Ode to the Rose 21
Déjà vu 23
Lindor Chocolate 33

Time Travel
It was a normal day rehearsing Romeo and
Juliet in the Globe Theatre. The same old
same old learning lines, acting them out and
practicing when to come on and off.
The days were endless. A second felt like a
minute, a minute felt like an hour, an hour
felt like a day, a day felt like a week, a week
felt like a month, a month felt like a year,
6

a year felt like a decade, a decade felt like a
century so you get the idea.
Anyway, sometimes it was most unpleasant.
For example, the kissing scene on page 90 -
ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING! I don’t
understand why Benjamin and Julian
wanted the parts. I wanted to be Lady
Capulet on Juliet’s side of things and so I
got the part!
Why on earth would they want to kiss?
Many people threw up when they watched
this scene and when page 90 came some
actors would even go outside and wait until
someone told them it was over.
7

I find it very hard to act and manage
my school work because on Wednesdays,
Thursdays & Fridays I have to go to the
Globe Theatre to rehearse Romeo & Juliet.
On the bright side of things, I’m learning
about William Shakespeare and Elizabethan
Times.
On my way home on Friday evening, I
bumped my head on a tree and passed out.
When I woke up, I was next to the Globe
Theatre but it looked really run down….
“Good day, Catherine,” a random man said
to me.
“Run Catherine! Nathan is going to catch
you!” A random girl said to me.
8

“Oh so we’re playing 'It'. I love that game!"
Back in Stratford, Molly, Elisa and I
played 'It' all the time. Molly was always
‘It’ (because she was the slowest) but when
Athina played because she was even slower,
she was always ‘It’ instead.
Then they looked at me in awe....
“What are you talking about? My name is
Millicent and I am the fastest in school.
You should know that by now. Secondly, this
is Stratford and we are playing 'Catchers'
not ‘It’. And Athina is an actress in the
Globe Theatre. Speaking of which you
9

should be there too.”
“Oh no, I’m late for my shift!”
“Farewell then.”
Fiona is going to be soooo mad. This would
be the third time I've been late.
“Does she know that we were joking?”
“I am so sorry, Fiona!”
“Art thee well enow?” she asked me and I
wondered what she was saying.
Then I heard someone calling my name.
It appeared to be a black-haired boy that
looked like Jason. He came running to me
and said “Where hast thou been?”
Excuse me - I wondered who he even was.
10

“Sorry William Wonneth befall again”, the
boy who looked like Jason said to me.
“I desire so,” William said.
“Art thee enow thou behold puzzled?”
What does that even mean, I wondered.
And was that THE William Shakespeare?
“Wherefore didst thou cometh to the theatre
thou knoweth that thee is not allowed to
cometh inside the theatre. Explain thyself!”
“What is your name?”
“My name is Jonathan, your brother.
Mallicent was on the verge of tears when
you didn’t remember her name and now me.
How dare thee! Uncle shall know about this.”
11

Then I wondered, who our uncle was as we
set off to go and meet "Uncle". That lead us
straight to the Globe Theatre. I wondered
if it would be William Shakespeare - no
definitely not him I thought. It can't be.
“William I needeth to talk to you” said
Jonathan to William Shakespeare and before
I knew it I passed out and then when I woke
up it was Monday morning and the Globe
Theatre was new and improved.
We had a test on Shakespeare, but I wasn’t
a bit worried because two days ago I was
about to hug William, so I already knew lots
about him.
12

‘The present day is the big day of the
hardest test of thy life. Art thee all prepared
for the test?’ The teacher said to the class.
"Wherefore of course I am ready for the test
of our lives and I knoweth I shall receiveth
one hundred percent."
Well, I was so happy because the look on her
face was a wooooooooooooooo face and i know
my wooooooooo faces.
"Wow Cati! I can't believeth yond thee
understood me and hadst the guts to reply.
That's incredible thy getting one hundred
percent coequal though thee haven't done the
testeth” said my teacher and I didn’t even
have to do the test.
13

“Hello Cati. How was your weekend at Elisa’s
house?” Mum asked me. I had absolutely no
clue what she was talking about because I
was related to William Shakespeare two days
ago! So I thought I'd better make something
up fast.
“Well, it was amazing! We all went to the
Westgate shopping centre and had the time of
our lives at Hotel Chocolate. So yeah, all good
and yes, Mum, I spent my own money!”
“Excuse me dear but your secret language
is a bit puzzling to make out. It sounds like
Elizabethan English”
“Oh no.”
~ The End ~
14

A Conversation
in the Woods
Hello there Bluebell!
My name is Jake
How are you today?
I’m as happy as a big blue whale
But I don’t think you’re ok.
For you are curved like an arch
way down to the ground
“But I am fine if I do say so myself”
15

Well if you say so…
But then why are you so blue?
Have you been weeping in the woods?
Why of course, I’m in the woods
But I’m not weeping that’s for sure!
If you would like to see a plant that’s weeping
in the woods
Go to Weeping Willow over there!
No way!
I need to get back home for supper
So good day to you Bluebell
“And the same to you Jake.”
~ The End ~
16

The Curse
On a hot summer’s day a girl and her dog
were walking through the paddy fields of Sri
Lanka. The girl was called Gema and the dog
was called Lambert.
Lambert loved running around. Most of the
time he would get lost but he would always
find his way back before the next day.
17

On this occasion, Gema was walking Lambert
with her mum’s boss’s daughter - also known
as Gema’s enemy. Her name was Leni.
Leni had always wanted to do something
to Gema that she knew Gema would hate.
The only problem was that Leni was 10 and
Gema was 13 so it would be hard to scare
Gema that badly, but this time Leni had a
plan.
“So Leni, how is akki” Gema asked. Akki was
the Sinhalese word for older sister.
“Very well.” Leni replied.
“How is Malli?” Leni asked. Malli was the
Sinhalese word for younger brother.
18

“Avi is good, thanks. Actually why didn’t
Khaya join? She is the same age as me so it
would have been fine.”
“I didn’t want her to come. I wanted it to be
just you and me even though I hate you” she
uttered quietly.
“What was that?”
“Nothing.”
“Oh no! I forgot my phone. This is the worst
thing ever. I need to go back and get it. Will
you watch Lambert for me? Please please
please?”
“If I have to.” So Gema went off to get her
phone. Meanwhile Leni made an invisible
ball to put around Lambert so only Gema
couldn't touch him.
19

“Thanks for watching Lambert for me.”
‘No problem,” Leni replied sheepishly.
Gema was now under the impression that
Leni had done nothing wrong…..
even though she had and in so many ways.
“We’re finally home and astonishingly,
nothing went wrong.”
“Totally,” said Leni.
“Now please can you give me Lambert so I
can let him off his leash?”
So Leni did give her Lambert and when
Gema tried to pet him, she couldn’t. She
couldn’t even hold him.
“What have you done?” Gema cried.
And now she was trying to think if she went
too far with this.
~ The End ~
20

An Ode to the Rose
Oh Rose oh Rose
You make life go on
As long as you can dream
You might seem all prickly and spikey
But that makes you, you
Many wish for your colours
But they all can’t have
For you are the almighty Rose
The one of a kind.
21

Of course, there are many roses in this world
But you are the Rose that stands out
You are the best rose anyone has seen
But…
There is a downfall of being a beautiful flower
People pick you and keep you for their own
Then you bow your head and weep and wither
And so you lose your gorgeous colour
Your spectacular leaves begin to crinkle
and wrinkle
As they gradually break off
After that you feel hungry but can’t eat a thing
You know that death awaits
Your owner throws you away forever.
~ The End ~
22

Déjà vu
I was starting to get extremely worried
because my symptoms were getting quite
serious. The endless headaches, blurred
vision, unbalanced walking and my
behavioural changes.
“Mother, I think it would be best if we go to
the hospital immediately.” said Essi.
“I couldn’t agree more. Tessie, get into the
23

car with Essi as quickly as you can because
we’re going to see Doctor Cadle”.
“You mean Uncle Cadle,” said Essi.
“Why? What’s wrong with Essi?” asked Tessi
with much curiosity.
“We’re not sure yet,” said Mum in a
worrying tone.
So Tessi and I got into the car. I began to
feel very nauseous. Then I threw up all over
Mum’s car!
Mum began to drive even faster to the
hospital. The one thing I don’t understand
though, is why Mum didn’t call Uncle Cadle
first. It would have been a lot quicker and
much more convenient.
24

When we reached the hospital, Mum asked
my sister Tessi to take me to my uncle’s
consulting room because we knew the way
as we had been here a million times before
and we were old enough. Mum then went
off to clean her car, as if the car was more
important than me!
Whilst we were walking, I fell to the floor and
had to crawl into my uncle’s room.
Tessi noticed a nurse with a wheelchair and
asked if I could use it. Of course, the nurse
said yes. So, then we rushed to our uncle’s
room and when we got there, we shouted out,
“Uncle Cadle, we need your help!”
25

“Well look who we have here. If it isn’t
my two favourite nieces. What’s wrong?”
asked Uncle Cadle. Then, Tessi blurted out
everything and once Tessi was done, my
mum walked in through the doors and asked
Uncle Cadle “So have you figured out what’s
wrong with her yet?”
“Well, we’ll have to conduct a few tests in
order to figure out what’s going on.”
A few days later, the results of the tests came
through. Unfortunately, it was not good
news. I was diagnosed with an aggressive
brain tumour.
Uncle Cadle called mum and they had a
26

very long chat. He then wanted to speak
to me and by the end of the conversation I
didn’t know what to do.
He told me that there was something that
could fix me but there was also a chance I
would die. I didn’t know what to say because
my birthday was in two weeks and it was
my “sweet sixteen”.
But I thought it would be better to live
than to die so I did the surgery and then it
started. A few minutes later it went all dark
and I couldn’t feel anything.
27

My diary
The day I was born
There I saw a luminous beam of light
that sparkled into my eyes like a bolt of
lightning. Then a face looking at me in awe,
it felt like I was the most important person
in the universe! Next to me was my twin
sister (who was giving me a ghastly headache
at the time). Her name is Tessi and when I
got my name I was delighted and filled with
glee!
I was named Essi. Tessi is younger than me
by 10.5 seconds! So that’s another thing that
I am proud of. Then I saw my Father and
when I looked into his dark brown eyes, I
knew we were going to have a lot in common.
28

My 10 th birthday
"Essi, Tessi, wakey wakey rise and shine,
seven times seven is forty-nine".
"We’re up mum" Tessi and I replied in a
happy voice. We were finally 10 years old -
double digits had arrived. Tessi and I had
planned the party of a lifetime. I invited
twenty people and Tessi invited twenty
people and the theme was a disco and pool
party.
Ding dong the bell went and I rushed to
answer the door. It was my best friend
Hester and her twin Lester. They were
staying the night because their parents were
in Japan for business and their older sister
was in university.
29

Ding dong the bell went again. It was Saha
and my sister’s boyfriend, Tai… ooooooh
she’s in love! So, before I knew it all our
friends had arrived and were singing:
“Happy Birthday to you
five times two
We all know the answer
The answer is you”
Two weeks before “sweet sixteen”
I didn’t feel so good. Wait a minute Mum
“Yes, darling.”
“I think I have a brain tumour.”
“Well that would make a lot of sense - when
did you become so smart? You should become
a doctor.”
30

“But I don’t have much time before I die!”
“Excuse me dear but you won’t die. Uncle
Cadle will help you.”
“No. He will try but I will die before the
surgery starts!”
“How do you know all this?”
“I honestly don’t know but I feel like I have
done this before and by the way Mum, I die in
about an hour, so we need to find a cure fast.”
So we then started to run but then I fell
to the floor and started crawling. Then a
nurse came by with a wheelchair - what
a coincidence. So, we asked whether we
could borrow it and what did she say? Yes,
another surprising coincidence.
31

“Uncle Cadle help her! She is going to die in
a few minutes!”
“There is a surgery that can help but we
need to do it fast.”
The surgery began I was scared that this
would be the end of me so when I appeared
out of the doors, I was so happy to be alive.
~ The End ~
32

Lindor Chocolate
In the middle of the night,
I was in my bed.
And there was a smell,
And it was in my head.
What could it be?
Its not under the sea.
Wait a second…
Could it be…
The heaven that’s not under the sea?
33

And there
It waits for me.
Down the steps,
Into the kitchen,
Over to the fridge,
Not over a bridge.
Search for it.
Don’t go to a church for it.
Yes!
There it is!
In Heaven.
That’s not under the sea,
Or over the bridge,
And certainly not in a church.
But it was there right in front of me.
The Heaven I was waiting to see.
34

It makes your mouth water.
And drip with glee.
It’s the thing I’ve been waiting to see.
It’s not a bee.
It’s as wonderful as a new puppy!
It’s the best of the best.
It’s there to impress.
And it doesn’t give stress.
It’s a Lindor chocolate,
I’d do anything for!
But then my brother sneaks out of bed,
Creeps up behind me,
Snores and says…
“Give me more!”
~ The End ~
35

A Muddly
Medley
A Collection of Short Stories and Odes
By
Grace-Sienna Maharaja
This book is filled with an original collection of short stories and odes. Prepare
to be transported to both an imaginative and natural world with each unique
piece of writing. The young author with her thought provoking creativity would
bring joy to any reader, children and adults alike.
ISBN: 978-624-5194-00-1
£ 3.99
$ 4.99
9 786245 194001
Printed in Sri Lanka