Tales of Animals in War - 2009 Edition

On a bright Saturday morning, the animal friends are gathered at the Remembrance Clubhouse. Everyone is anxious to share the stories of what they did during their summer vacations! They are so excited, they all talk at the same time.

Gandy the dog is very happy to see his friends so enthusiastic, but no one can hear anything above the chatter! He asks them if they would talk one at a time.

“Simone,” says Gandy, “what did you do this summer?”

“I went to France,” answers Simone the cat. “I learned so much about what Canadians did there during the Second World War.” 

Ellie the elephant adds, “I went to Europe too. I visited Belgium. Wait until you hear what I discovered there!”  Squeaker the pigeon chirps up.  “I travelled very far from home, too. I visited a friend serving in Afghanistan, a country which is presently at war.”

Bonfire Jr. the horse introduces his cousin from Italy, Valerio the mule. The others are so excited, they hadn’t noticed him in the Clubhouse! Everyone says hello and welcomes him. “Valerio came to visit this summer and shared stories about his grandfather.”

Win the bear adds, “I also stayed home and went fishing with my friend John, a Korean War Veteran. I was so interested in his stories, I just had to learn more!”

Gandy is the last to speak. “I took part in a candlelight ceremony at Beaumont-Hamel, in France. It made me sad and proud at the same time. We should do something like that, my friends! We should organize our own remembrance ceremony!”

The Remembrance Clubhouse friends are thrilled about the idea and agree to use what they have learned during their summer vacations to plan a remembrance ceremony of their own. Read the following pages to discover what they did.

Simone's Story