Suppen Kaspar - Martin Thoburn

Jason Smith recently sent us a few tales to read from the book Struwwelpeter. We were partial to the naughty boy Augustus who would not eat his soup. Things do not end well for August. Children, eat your soup, mind.


I shall have mine with toes upon crumpets.


So you shall. Enjoy.





Suppen Kaspar
Created by Martin Thoburn

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The Crooked Man: Animated Short - Dries Bastiaensen

Our lovely friend and contributor Ken Lamug revealed this gem to us the other day and we wanted to share it with you. It was all I could do to get it out of Tex's greedy little grabby hands.

My eyes saw it first. I was only going to add it to my...selection of...delectables.

We hope you enjoy this animated short before Tex eats it all up.






The Crooked Man
Animation by Dries Bastiaensen


Don't forget to check out our July issue.

The Wait - Wyatt Willis & Evan Heasman

Adèle sat in the highest bough of the red eucalyptus tree with her tiny, white hands folded in her lap. Below sat the Wolf running its tongue along its pearly, sharp teeth that glinted in the moonlight every time Adèle looked down. The Wolf’s lips curled back into a wicked grin.

I can wait, child. For years I can wait. You will grow weary and I will be here.

Adèle found herself slouching from exhaustion and pulled her back up straight to help keep alert. How long had it been, now? Three hours? Three days? Time cannot not be measured when the moon never moves and the sun never returns. She rubbed her toes that were beginning to tingle from the lack of blood.

She lay back into the rustling leaves of the tree. They gave off a red glow on her skin. Like blood, she thought. She looked up into the black sky that seemed so near for all its darkness. She had to put a hand in front of her face to remind her that her eyes were still open.

“I cannot fall asleep,” she thought, “or I will fall through these thin branches and be eaten, surely.” But her lids were heavy like stones and with each blink her body said, yes, yes it is nice to sleep, isn’t it?

Whether it was a sound or a movement that woke her, Adèle sat up with a start. She was already slipping through the arms of the tree.

Do not worry, precious gem, the Wolf hissed below, I am still here when you fall.

Not ‘if’ but ‘when’. Adèle shivered at the sweetness of the Wolf’s call. She would not close her eyes again.

She looked out over the land that was dotted with murky figures; forests spread out in clumps. She could only imagine what sort of horrors lived in those trees when something so terrible as the Wolf lived out in the open. She could barely distinguish the land from the sky; the varying black shapes seeped into each other. Off in the distance, little dots of light winked. She couldn’t tell if they were a village or the stars.

Adèle looked up into the velvety sky trying to get the image of the Wolf out of her mind but all she could see was its razorback fur and its haunting red eyes. She squeezed her eyes shut but could not get rid of the image. She rolled over and rested her head against the leaves.

“I’ll only lay here a moment and then,” her mouth stretched into a yawn, “I’ll figure out what to do.”

I will be here, child.

It wasn’t long after Adèle drifted off that she realized there were two red eyes looking directly at her. And then four eyes. And then hundreds of red eyes glowed around her. Every way she turned there were red eyes bearing down into hers.

“No!” She screamed. “No! NO NO NO-NO-NO!”

But it was too late.

Adèle’s tiny body slipped through the sparse twigs of the red eucalyptus tree and fell down, down, down into darkness and pearly, sharp teeth.

The Wait

Written by Wyatt Willis

Illustrated by Evan Heasman 

The Zoo - Tanya Andrious (sneak peek)

      She looked up at the sky. In all her time living in England, Elizabeth could not recall the sky ever looking like Hell was about to break loose. The once slightly moody sky gave way to an intense concoction of red and black. 

     The wind steadily picked up speed and the rain turned to a wall of sleet causing the temperature to drop significantly. Elizabeth considered herself grown up; she thought she was mature for her age, what with being 13 and all. Still, slithers of fear began to creep across her body. Then a drumming of hail pelted the path and for the first time Elizabeth conceded the notion that she might never leave the London Zoo.

The Zoo
Tanya Andrious
lifesdenouement.blogspot.com


For the rest of The Zoo plus many more exciting and horrifying tales and art, come back tomorrow for the July issue! 


And don't forget to enter our contest  by telling a friend about Underneath The Juniper Tree. You could win one of Tex's favourite books! 

Welcome to Underneath The Juniper Tree

Hello Friends. Oh my, you are looking sparkly today. Welcome to the first day of Underneath The Juniper Tree. As Geraldine McCaughrean of The White Darkness would say for Titus Oates, 'Warm, isn't it.'

Yes, darling.

Yes, thank you Tex. Introductions are always sticky, aren't they. For records and notes and Keepers of Minutes Or Things Such As That, I'm Marjorie and you can read about how I came to be The Keeper Of The Stories in the About page. Tex is my faithful companion who sleeps in The Attic with The Stories so they don't run off and get lost.

To make a long introduction short, Underneath The Juniper Tree is an online magazine dedicated with it's whole soul to children's literature and artwork; particularly the creepy, prickly, what's-that-noise kind. The pricklier and more creative the better. If you are looking for something soft like warm pudding you've come through the wrong door little poppet. Hurry back, now.

Before the wolves come out.

Quite. For the rest of you, we welcome you with open arms. You will like this place, I'm sure.

Each week we'll gather on the stairs to share some of the spine-tingling stories we've found up in The Attic and with them delicious pieces of artwork for your eyes to feast on.

Each month there will be a contest for both writers and artists. You can enter one piece of work only for each contest and if yours is selected, it will be in the next month's issue. Artists, if you work is selected it will be displayed in our lovely Featured Artists space in the right side bar as well as the monthly issue. You can see the contests and their deadlines/requirements by clicking on the Contests tab. Please read carefully for fear that you may not be chosen if you don't follow the guidelines properly. The contest beginning today is the Sinister Summer Stories contest. Please remember that anyone can enter, but all work shown on Underneath The Juniper Tree is for children nine years old up to ninety-nine years old.

I'm a centenarian.

Then to nine hundred ninety-nine, how abouts? There will always be chances to submit work beyond just the monthly contests so please come back often and see what perks your monster under the bed.

There is also an opportunity to help out Underneath The Juniper Tree by becoming one of our editors. The Attic is stacked full, my darlings, and there is much to do. We also are accepting book reviews for any children's books that you think should be lifted up and shown to the world.

So welcome. Stay for awhile. And always come back. We miss you already.