George the Greytown Wizard
The townspeople did not care for their town and it became untidy and run down. One night all colour left the town and it turned a dreadful grey. The people called on George to bring the colour back. He tried unsuccessfully until he met Rhiannon who was a young artist. Together they solved the problem The townspeople did not care for their town and it became untidy and run down. One night all colour left the town and it turned a dreadful grey. The people called on George to bring the colour back. He tried unsuccessfully until he met Rhiannon who was a young artist. Together they solved the problem
George, the grey town wizardThe illustrations in this book are mostly black and white. In the olden daysbefore computers and other similar things were invented, books were printedon a printing press, thanks to Mr Caxton. It was very expensive to print colouredpictures so many books were printed in black and white. So I, as theauthor and illustrator of this book, created it in mainly black and white so thatit could be printed and sold cheaply.The invention of computer changed all of that. Coloured pictures are an instantreality which has added another dimension to every day life today. Howeverthis story of how the town of Wannabe lost its colour has a deeper meaningthan the economics of printing presses. The story traces how Wannabebecame Betterbe through the efforts of one magician, one artist and the townspeople who learned to love their town and the extraordinary people who livedin it.This story is also set in ancient times when magic was real and imaginationmade the impossible, possible. This story is dedicated to the real Rhiannon,my grand daughter whose artistic efforts are gobsmackingly good.6
the teasingGeorge was a wizard with ambition. He wanted to be the most famouswizard the town of Wannabe had ever known. In fact, he was the only wizard,as the town was too small to warrant two wizards. So it didnʼt matter whetherGeorge was a good or a bad wizard, since there was no competition.Now if he had been a well-to-do wizard, he would have attended a college tolearn wizardry. He also would have attended the wizardsʼ conventions held inthe capitals every year. But George was poor. He lived in a little house in anunfashionable part of the town. Being a self-taught wizard, George muddledalong. Most of the time his spells didnʼt work. But sometimes, with the simplestof spells, he would have a small success. So he would try even harder.The main problem with George was that he was that he was not quite a boy,and not quite a man. He was at the awkward in-between stage. His body hadgrown faster than his brain and, as a result, he was both clumsy and impatient,which was mostly the reason why his spells didnʼt work.The people of the town thought George was a bit of a joke. They laughed athim behind his back and sometimes to his face, which made him feel verymiserable.“Why do you laugh at me?” he would shout, raising his fists in anger.“Really George! Your spells are a fizzer and your clothes — those pantaloonsabove your knees are a fashion challenge,” they would reply, giggling.“When are you going to grow into long pants?” somebody asked mockingly.“Iʼll get long pants when I have enough money to pay the tailor and I donʼtknow why Iʼm telling you this — itʼs none of your business”, George wouldreply in a fury. The people laughed at him again.George decided to take the confrontation one step further. “You people canʼttalk,” he fumed. “Look at the way you trash your town. Nobody wants to pickup the bottles and paper you litter all over the place. Nobody wants to paintfences or weed gardens or keep the town tidy. Youʼre a greedy lot. All you care7
- Page 1 and 2: 1
- Page 3 and 4: George, the grey town wizardwritten
- Page 5: CONTENTSsection one — the teasing
- Page 9 and 10: about is making money. None of you
- Page 11 and 12: The fog drifted over the owls keepi
- Page 13 and 14: The Town Clerk and his wife hurried
- Page 15 and 16: times of unusual weather reversals,
- Page 17 and 18: the grey world through their lace c
- Page 19 and 20: down and other simple spells like t
- Page 21 and 22: Still George persisted. The flame o
- Page 23 and 24: all, a rather big, heavy boy. He ne
- Page 25 and 26: the churchA couple of months had pa
- Page 27 and 28: Every Sunday the preachers blamed t
- Page 29 and 30: Travellers took the long way around
- Page 31 and 32: Her father said sadly, “I really
- Page 33 and 34: into the next week. Then the school
- Page 35 and 36: One day Rhiannon had a good look at
- Page 37 and 38: flashes of colourGeorge had noticed
- Page 39 and 40: Next he put all his notes up on the
- Page 41 and 42: Her father replied in a soothing to
- Page 43 and 44: wizard. George thought to himself,
- Page 45 and 46: He rubbed the ointment and nothing
- Page 47 and 48: possible. You and your town would h
- Page 49 and 50: Mayor would call on him to put it r
- Page 51 and 52: CAROLINE AMBRUSI was born in 1938 i
the teasing
George was a wizard with ambition. He wanted to be the most famous
wizard the town of Wannabe had ever known. In fact, he was the only wizard,
as the town was too small to warrant two wizards. So it didnʼt matter whether
George was a good or a bad wizard, since there was no competition.
Now if he had been a well-to-do wizard, he would have attended a college to
learn wizardry. He also would have attended the wizardsʼ conventions held in
the capitals every year. But George was poor. He lived in a little house in an
unfashionable part of the town. Being a self-taught wizard, George muddled
along. Most of the time his spells didnʼt work. But sometimes, with the simplest
of spells, he would have a small success. So he would try even harder.
The main problem with George was that he was that he was not quite a boy,
and not quite a man. He was at the awkward in-between stage. His body had
grown faster than his brain and, as a result, he was both clumsy and impatient,
which was mostly the reason why his spells didnʼt work.
The people of the town thought George was a bit of a joke. They laughed at
him behind his back and sometimes to his face, which made him feel very
miserable.
“Why do you laugh at me?” he would shout, raising his fists in anger.
“Really George! Your spells are a fizzer and your clothes — those pantaloons
above your knees are a fashion challenge,” they would reply, giggling.
“When are you going to grow into long pants?” somebody asked mockingly.
“Iʼll get long pants when I have enough money to pay the tailor and I donʼt
know why Iʼm telling you this — itʼs none of your business”, George would
reply in a fury. The people laughed at him again.
George decided to take the confrontation one step further. “You people canʼt
talk,” he fumed. “Look at the way you trash your town. Nobody wants to pick
up the bottles and paper you litter all over the place. Nobody wants to paint
fences or weed gardens or keep the town tidy. Youʼre a greedy lot. All you care
7
Change language