Shadow

Once there was a man named Jack Shadow. His mind was almost always nearly blank. He didn’t know his address. He didn’t know his phone number. He couldn’t remember what he had for breakfast, nor could he tell you the name of his favorite song. But he had a big heart, and worked hard. His house was clean. His lawn was tidy. He dressed smartly.

Jack Shadow had three pet animals. A chameleon, a monkey, and a parrot. He surely had named them, but unfortunately couldn’t recall what those names were.

One summer Jack got a job at the local factory. It was a very important job, running the conveyor.

On his first day, the factory foreman showed Jack exactly what to do. First, put on the orange vest. Pull the middle lever to start the belt. Call “Stop!” to shut it off when the hopper was full. Jack copied the foreman exactly. Pleased, the foreman left Jack alone to do the job.

Jack’s second day at the factory he was alone. As you might have guessed, he forgot all of his training. The foreman’s instructions were lost in the emptiness of Jack Shadow’s mind.

Jack was nervous. He decided to take an early lunch break, and go back home to think. Luckily, he lived next door.

At home he paced the kitchen, wondering what to do? His job was very important. He did not want to let down the foreman or the town.

“What color vest was I supposed to wear? Think Jack, think!” he said aloud to himself.

Of course, his chameleon had been sitting on his shoulder yesterday! And the chameleon was still a bright orange color.

And his monkey had been watching him through the window yesterday. His monkey mimicked Jack’s movements. The monkey mimed reaching up, and pulling something downward.

"That’s right," Jack recalled. He needed to pull the middle lever!

But what did he need to say to shut down the conveyor belt?

“Squawk! Stop!” said the parrot.

Jack smiled. That was it! He needed to call, “Stop!”

So, Jack went back to work. The factory ran smoothly from that day forward. All thanks to the help of Jack Shadow, and especially thanks to his three incredible pets.

**

Thanks for reading. This tale was inspired by a collection of children's books that I read to my daughter -- specifically one story called "Caps for Sale". In it a peddler finds himself in an altercation with several monkeys, who are copying his actions. It made me think about animals that mimic certain things -- like monkeys (actions), parrots (spoken words), and chameleons (colors). Once I had those animals, I needed to create a character that could use their mimicry to his advantage. Thus, Jack Shadow was born. His surname is loosely based on his three pets (Say, Show and Do), although they are not given any names in the fable. I later found it most appropriate that he was called Shadow, and this is a legend about his first day at work, a time when people generally "shadow" their supervisor to learn the job.

This story is meant for kids. I test read Shadow to my own kids before creating it as a story on Vocal. The cover art was drawn by me. Although, I wish I could say my youngest drew it. But alas no, that's my own original drawing. I'm going to keep refining it until it looks good.

Anyway if you liked my story, please tip!

And if you didn't like it, please tip! There's no need for us both to be unhappy.

Thank you,

Alex Kincaid