The Adventures of Wilhelm
Once upon a time, a group of rats took up residence in our front yard. Every evening, our dog, Penny, and I watched them from the patio door.
They helped themselves to ripe tangerines on the tree and left the peels on the stems. They gnawed bark on the lemon tree, stripped the Christmas cactus of its 300 or more sweet and tasty blossoms, left their droppings on only one windowsill, and built tunnels with clearly marked entrance gates along the house walls all the way to the alley. When we put some cheese cubes out, we could see the rats grab them and rush away in a hurry.One distinct brown rat with a grey tail and pink ears became our favorite, and we named him Wilhelm. Despite Penny’s soft barking, he was not fearful of us watching him grab some cheese or grapes. Then, one day in spring, he was gone. No more activities near the tunnels, no sightings in the evening. No cheese pickup. That’s when Wilhelm’s tale started. He had left on his journey to travel the world.
A tale is an old form of storytelling. Tall tales and fairy tales invite us into the realm of unbelievable events with exaggerations, projections, and fantasies we then imagine in our creative minds as real. Or we can get swept away into a wishful world where animals can speak, and humans understand their words and purpose among us.
That is Wilhelm’s tale. His story invites you to come along on his journey full of discoveries, challenging adventures, and joyful homecoming.
Release date: August 31, 2018