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2007 — 2008 Writing Contest (March 08):
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Buddy the Border Collie By Abby Raleigh, North Carolina Joyfully, Buddy the Border collie trotted down dusty Huckabee Lane. He was heading toward the little yellow farm house with the smooth white shutters and the crisp pink lace curtains. He had lived there since he was a puppy. His life consisted of herding sheep and sleeping next to Mrs. Perry, who knitted by the fire and ate warm soup which smelled like beef, tomatoes, potatoes and so many other good things. As he was walking up the drive, he saw a rabbit looking very forlorn. "What's the matter?" Buddy asked the small tan animal. "I'm Daisy, and I lost my carrot," she shyly replied. "I have a little brother, Thomas and we're trying to live through the winter. When I found the carrot and was walking back home, I heard a voice and dashed away, leaving it." Buddy said he'd look into it, but while herding sheep he could think of nothing. Suddenly a thought came to him. Running up to Mrs. Perry he feelingly poured out Daisy's story. He soon realized all that was coming out were barks and whimpers. Buddy was not one to give up and thought of another plan. Mrs. Perry taught English to fourth graders! So Buddy secretly walked to the school each day for a week and soon learned the human language. Border collies are smart and learn quickly. One night he went to Mrs. Perry and poured out Daisy's story again. This time she understood. "Why of course you can have a… wait a minute! I'll build a cage and then Daisy and her brother can stay with us." So that was the way it went. Now Mrs. Perry and Buddy had someone to talk to on those long summer nights. The Escape By Melissa Knightdale, NC It was a busy November morning at the airport. Hundreds of citizens swarmed about the lobby, trying to get tickets and find their terminal — all desperate to get home for Thanksgiving. With only five minutes left until take off, Loid Henley grabbed his ticket and rushed off to catch his plane. Heaving a sigh of relief, he saw a long line of people waiting to be boarded on the same plane as he. As he stood waiting, he noticed a young boy staring at him. "May I help you, young sir?" Loid asked with a peculiar British accent. The young boy pointed curiously, "What's that on your back?" "Well, my dear boy! This is a jet pack! First class, I'll have you know." With that, Loid boarded the plane, leaving the child to wonder how he ever got past security. The trip was to be a long one. Knowing this, Loid had packed a few things to keep him occupied. He spent the majority of his time eating fruit snacks and playing with a rubber chicken. Amidst his amusement, Loid noticed that something was not right with the plane. He felt strange jolts and heard yelling from the cockpit. Sensing that the plane was nosediving, he strapped a specially made bed sheet to his arms and shoulders. He then ran to the escape hatch, shouting like a madman. Loid leaped out of the plane and surveyed the landscape. He figured that he could make it home on his jet pack if he headed directly Northeast. So, with that front, he guided himself home and landed safely in his own front lawn. He was glad to have escaped alive — though, he greatly regretted leaving his dear rubber chicken behind. The Cat Wears Pajamas By Alyssa Age 10 Hattiesburg, Mississippi At Cat Academy were all the finest cats whoever walked on Earth, and because of that the school was level five. It was not something you would except for a cat school, but they learned useful things. Things we humans wouldn't even imagine cats could learn. They learned math, reading, language, science, and social studies... all except one cat. Instead of being like all the rest of the cats, this cat was a unique and independent cat. This cat was so unique and independent that he wore pajamas to school everyday. "Hey Lenny, want to come to our sleepover?" said the group of the boy cats. "Why?" asked Lenny. "Well we're going to polish our nails and wear makeup!" But Lenny had had enough. "Stop teasing me!" said Lenny angrily. "What's wrong don't you want to wear cute pink pajamas?" said Troy, the most popular cat in school. "Leave me alone!" retorted Lenny. With that, Lenny ran to the principal and told him about all what Troy told him. The principal told Troy to tell Lenny to be sorry and said he would never tease Lenny again. Alien Visitors By Wyatt Age 8 O'Neill, Nebraska Once an alien visitor was spotted on earth! His space ship landed in my backyard. So I got on my shoes and robe and went out to the backyard. Suddenly I stopped. It was right in front of me...an alien space ship! Coming out of the space ship was an alien. So I ran behind the bush. I couldn't tell but the bush was a rose bush. Uh-oh! I forgot I'm allergic to roses! AAAACHOO! The alien looked up. He saw me. He pulled out his net gun. Then he shot the net out. The net got me! Oh no! He's coming. The alien got me!!! The alien took me into his space ship. He put me on a table and looked at me. Then the door opened. It was my dog, Scruffy. "Scruffy," I yelled. "Come and get him!" RUFF! RUFF! Scruffy got him. Then my dog bit the net and pulled it off of me. Scruffy scared the alien. He threw us out of the space ship. We landed hard. Then the space ship went away. "Thanks Scruffy." Then Scruffy and I went back into the house. As the space ship zoomed away, the alien said, "That was the scariest, biggest, kitty I ever did see!" Penguin's Peanut Butter By RHWWW (Reno Homeschool Wonderful Wacky Writers) Ages 10 to 16 Reno, Nevada It was a cold and blizzardy day. All that was needed was shelter… Three purple penguins wobbled over to a cave and found three huge bags of peanuts inside. Though knowing this treasure was not their own, their hunger surpassed them. The chubby penguins each grabbed a bag and slid away across the ice on their tummies with grins on their faces. Suddenly, out of an iceburg burst a beastly mammoth, large as life, with curling tusks resembling roller coasters! Thinking the fowl were harboring gems, the tennis-shoed beast stomped after the terrified penguins. With a swift swing of his trunk, one penguin went soaring, a rare treat for the flightless bird. (He landed on the wing of an airplane and enjoyed his vacation in warm and sunny Honolulu.) Spilling his bag of peanuts, the second penguin tripped, falling through a thin spot in the ice. In panic, the last penguin started sliding around in circles. Just as the mammoth was about to stomp on him with those gigantic tennis shoes, the clever penguin pulled his wits together. He decided to sacrifice his peanuts to save his feathers by flinging his bag beneath the crushing blow. With a great crunch, the bag of treasure became a sticky, slippery puddle; and peanut butter was born. Perusing the peanuty patch of protein, the purple penguin politely produced a pod of plum preserves and presented the perplexed mammoth with his first "P. B. and J." I Miss You By Bryanna Age 9 Sarasota, FL Once upon a time there was a little girl named Sarah. But she always missed her grandma because she lived far, far away. "Grandma, I miss you. I wish you were with me," said Sarah in a sad voice. "Sweetheart, what is wrong?" said Sarah's mom. "I have a broken heart because I miss grandma." "Oh, well maybe we can call grandma and see if she can come over from England to America to spend the weekend with us. Well we can call to see if she can come." So the two girls called grandma. "Hello?" said a voice from the telephone. "Grandma!" said Sarah. "Hi, Sarah," said grandma. "Uh…" Sarah said nervously, "can you come to my house for the week?" "Oh sweetie, I would love to, but I would only be with you for two days. Would that be what you want?" said grandma. "Yes!" said Sarah, "I don't care as long as I get to see you because I miss you," Sarah yelled on the phone. Then soon a little teardrop fell from Sarah's eye then Sarah dropped the phone and ran to her room. Then Sarah's mom picked up the phone and said, "I'll go talk to her so I'll let you go. Bye." "Bye," said grandma. "Sarah!" said Sarah's mom, "that was very rude." "How can it be rude, all I want is grandma," said Sarah sadly. "Grandma said is it what you want? But I want her to come down for the weekend," said Sarah, "so she will." "I'll call her and tell her that you want her to come," said Mom. So then it was Saturday and it was a very bad week for Sarah because her grandma was very sick. Then Sarah was really mad and sad because her grandma didn't come to the house for the weekend. Then grandma called Sarah to say sorry. Soon the next week came and grandma came to the house and Sarah was happy. "Grandma!" cried Sarah. "Sarah!" cried grandma. "I've missed you so much grandma." "I've missed you too." So they lived happily ever after. The Bragging Baby By Michael Age 10 Sarasota, FL It was a hot 245 on the Sahara plains in Africa... A desert turtle named Freddy was always very proud of himself, even though he never did anything special. One day he came upon his friend elephant and started boasting about how tough he was and how strong he was, He said, "to prove it, I want to have a tug of war with you!" and elephant accepted his challenge. After they agreed to have the challenge they said that they would have it tomorrow evening., When turtle got home he started to think about what his bragging and boasting had gotten him into, so he started thinking of a strategy but could not think of one. So what he did was went to bed and thought he could think of a fresh idea in the morning. Morning came and he still did not have any sort of idea to stop from getting yanked like a rag doll. Since he couldn't think of an idea he started to warm up. To warm up he did all of the basic exercises like jumping jacks, push ups, and for the rest of the time he jogged in circles. The time had come for the tug of war and turtle knew that he was hopeless. Every one was there, lion was even sitting at his throne. As the rope they had a 100 yard vine, and to split the difference was a tree. On the way back to his side of the vine turtle saw his good friend hippo. Then a superb idea hit the turtle and it was to get hippo to do the tug of war for him. So turtle gingerly asked hippo to hold the vine while turtle went back to his home for a minute. As soon as he left hippo heard a loud whistle and began to tug. For hours and hours both elephant and hippo tugged. Soon night fell and the loud whistle blew again and the two came to the middle to shake hands. As soon as everyone saw hippo they were flabbergasted. Seconds later everyone agreed that they were the two strongest animals in the desert. The next day the desert threw a search party for turtle but could not find him. Later that day they found out that he had made his new home in the Amazon rainforest. The Loose Tooth By Zameer & Sumeera Ages 7and 6 Ohio There once was a little toothless girl who had a little brother who was full of teeth. One day he woke up very upset. The toothless sister asked concerned, "Brother, why are you so upset?" Brother tearfully cried out, "My tooth is loose!" The toothless girl had much experience on this matter. She knew just what to do and say. She smiled and gently said, "Brother dear, that's just grown up stuff. You are becoming a big boy now. Be proud!" Little Brother was already angry and made up his mind. He knew he was never going to listen to her. After all, she gave it to him. Little Brother angrily bursted out, "SISSY, YOU ARE CONTAGOUS! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT I'M LOSING MY TOOTH!" Little toothless girl was in great dismay and walked away with her head swung low in great despair. She thought for many hours on how she could solve this problem. She knew a lose tooth wasn't contagious, but he refused to listen to her advice. Words were not enough. It was time for serious action. She suddenly had a great idea! She wrote a letter to him. It said… Dear Brother, I know you're not happy. I just wanted to say Congratulations for your future loss of a tooth! Here's one of my teeth that I was saving. You can have it. I hope that makes you happy. I love you. Love, Sissy She slid it under the door. Suddenly, the door flew open and out ran Little Brother with a big hug for his sister. He opened his closed fist and showed her two teeth. She looked up at his beautiful smile… Toothless girl now had a toothless brother. The Lightings By Waylon (12), Tina (12) and Shayna (9) San Francisco, CA Once upon a time, there was a tiny village next to Giantland called Tinyville. Everything in Tinyville was… tiny . In this village, there were 3 heroes called J, JJ, and JJJ. J has the power to levitate things and he is a shifter . JJ could make super throws, and JJJ could blow extremely gigantic and strong bubbles to trap evil villains like Dr. Madbones. His plan is to turn everybody evil and rule the world. One very dark stormy night, Dr.Madbones was testing his newest invention. He calls it Evil Cannon of Doom . "There is just one more thing to complete my Evil Cannon of Doom," he said. In a few minutes Dr. Madbones was done with his invention. "AAHHHHHHHHHHGGGG " yelled the people. "I heard trouble" said JJJ. "BOOM" went the cannon. Sounds like a job for the LIGHTINGS. "With my levitating power, I will levitate The Evil Cannon of Doom and send it all the way into the ocean," said J. "Ha, ha, I made an extra one just in case ," yelled Dr.Madbones, in a high pitched voice. "I'll take it here ," said JJ. JJ made a huge throw and hurled Dr.Madbones all the way into space. Then JJJ blew a gigantic bubble and trapped the "Evil Cannon of Doom" and sent it all the way to Europe. Tinyville was saved and they will never see Dr.Madbones ever again. The Lost Key By Aubree Age 10 Reno, Nevada It was a bitter, cold day and all Coconut saw were cages... Anxiously waiting for her friend Sammy, who was at school, Coconut paced back and forth in her cage. Between the bars, Coconut barely managed to see golden hair. Did Sammy finally arrive? Jumping up and down, Coconut chattered as she swirled her furry brown tail. Sammy came over and whispered, "Let's get you out of here so we can get cotton candy." Coconut wiggled her ears and chattered because she was so thrilled. When Sammy reached into her pocket, she could not find the key. She examined everywhere but it was lost. Informing the monkey, Sammy whimpered, "The secret key, it's lost." Coconut reached through the bars and reassuringly tapped Sammy on the head. Sammy sobbed, "it's okay. We'll find it." Walking to the flamingo cage, Sammy started searching. Through the bushes, she managed to see something shiny. In excitement, she reached down and picked it up. Sammy's enthusiasm faded when she discovered it was just a dime. Although she spent the whole day looking, she had no luck. When Sammy returned to the monkey cage, she was discouraged. Sadly, Sammy told Coconut of her unfortunate search. Coconut tried to comfort Sammy while she was sobbing. It was useless. Through Coconut's blurry and teary vision, she managed to see something shiny. Pointing to the raccoon cage, she chattered and tapped Sammy's head, getting her attention. Sammy excitedly ran to the raccoon cage. She tried to grab the key, but the raccoon quickly took it. She offered the raccoon some cotton candy, causing the raccoon to drop the key. After grabbing the key, Sammy ran to the monkey cage and unlocked Coconut. They ran off together and had a grand day spending time together. The Neon Era By Morgan Age 12 Bellevue, Nebraska Since 2931, these years are in the Neon Era. These years are the craziest years ever. Shall I tell this zany tale? Let's begin... It all started with a girl named Lya. Lya's dad was a painter. He had many magnificent pieces such as "Doggy Boarding" and "Chic Chicken." Her mom had kept track of all his supplies. One day, Lya wanted to paint, so her mom got her some bright neon paint to make some pop art. Lya couldn't open the containers. She took the tubes outside so if she did open them, paint wouldn't splatter all over everything. She jumped on the tubes. Nothing. She had her dog chew on it. Nothing. All she gained from that was a bucket of slobber. Gross! Then, she desperately got a hammer and pounded on the tubes. Something! The paint splattered everywhere! It was on every street corner in the world. Each and every dog, cat, house, car, hairdo, and everything else imaginable was neon! Lya stood, stunned by the amazing colors. She slowly picked herself up from the pink grass. "MOM!" she yelled. Her dad and mom rushed out. "What hap-" was all they choked out. "LYA ANNE SMITH! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE? GO TO YOUR ROOM!" As Lya stumbled towards her room, she paused. Everything was painted, and I mean EVERYTHING! In the house everything had been painted. None of the families were ever able to fix anything. So, every orange skinned human on the face of the Earth learned to live with it. So still we are in the Neon Era. And we all wonder if one day, it will all wash away, like a sandcastle on a beach, but yet, our whole imagination had been colorized. Somewhere deep in everyone, we want to stay neon painted. The Day we Got Stuck in a Tree By Victoria & Miranda York, Pennsylvania One hot day at our Grandma Molly's house, we decided to get a snack. Then Tori (Victoria) said "Let's have our snack in the big tree." So that's what we did. First we climbed up a branch or two and sat down to eat. After the snack we started to climb even higher. We climbed until we got about two YARDS from the top and….then we got stuck. Now before we started grandma said to call for her if anything happened. So we were out there screaming, "Grandma Get Us Out Now!" After screaming that about 100 times. Tori's little brother Aaron came. Of course Aaron can't get us out. So Tori told him to go get grandma and mom. He came back and Tori said, "Aaron where's mom and grandma?" He said, "Not believe me. Not believe me, sissy!" So we kept telling him to go tell them again. Finally they got suspicious and came out. Then our grandma got a giant ladder and got Tori down. But before they could get me down I screamed so loud every one tried to catch me but…. I didn't fall. I then hollered "BUG!!" Then leaped down and was completely safe. And that's how we got stuck in a tree! Alphabet Jumble By Joy Age 8 Charlotte, North Carolina One hot summer day all the lower case letters were walking with their mamas to their favorite store, Alphabet Babies. All the letters were in order, in a single-file line as they always walk. The mama letters were buying their babies a baby thing that starts with their letter. The B mama was buying a Bottle; the R mama was buying a Rattle; the D mama was buying a Diaper. Suddenly, there was a loud jack-hammering sound streaming out of the construction site. When the letters walked past, they got bounced and jumbled all over the place! The W got bounced and stuck in a Water fountain; the N got wrapped up in a Newspaper; the G got stuck in a Grocery bag! Luckily, Professor A.B.C. (Alfred Billy Collins), the alphabet scientist, happened to be walking by on his way to the book store. He was humming a tune happily when he saw the alphabet all jumbled up. "What in the alphabet world happened here? I have to fix this crazy alphabet jumble!" The Professor got to work immediately. He stopped the jackhammer and started to sing the special alphabet song. The special song made the letters grow wings, and they flew to the Professor. He told the mama letters to find their babies. Quickly and carefully he lined them up in order; starting at A and ending at Z. "Be careful when you are near rumbly things; they could jumble you guys all up again," the Professor warned. And with that they set back on their way to Alphabet Babies. The Alien Who Came to My Backyard By Furkan Age 7 New Castle, DE One day I was playing in my backyard... Suddenly, I saw a spaceship landing in my backyard. I thought I was just imagining. I was wrong. It landed. I was really curious. I was too shocked to speak. Suddenly, two aliens walked out. I hid under the slide. "Hey, Larry, this looks like a great place to settle down," said an alien. I whispered, "They can't settle down here." I really wanted to ask them a question. I could barely speak. Suddenly an alien slid down the slide. He said, "Hey, Tom, this is fun." The other Alien said, "We can't play now. We have to do work." They moved all the playground stuff. They were about to move the slide. As soon as they moved it, I ran behind the other toys. I wanted to talk to them. But my dad had told me not to talk to strangers. I couldn't stand it. I said hi to them. They said hello to me. I asked their names and ages. One said that his name was Larry. He was 20. The other alien's name was Tom. He was 12. I asked what their best color was. They said black. They asked me if they could stay for a while. I said yes, but stayed hidden. Finally I went to bed. I just made new friends. Suddenly I heard a noise. It came from the backyard. Tom asked Larry, "What are we going to do next?" "I know," said Larry, "Batman will be here soon. We will trap him." "Our plan to rule the world is in motion," they both said. Then I knew they were bad guys. Soon they slept. Suddenly, Batman landed. I talked to him. He gave me super powers. We needed to catch the bad guys. In the morning, I found Batman and me in a cage. Then I heard laughter. It was Tom and Larry. They told us they were very smart. The Case of the Missing Candy Bar By Melissa San Jose, California Speckles and Wafer were two cats who were always interested in being detectives, so one day they decided to create a detective's agency. The two of them made a sign like this: We'll solve any crime by… whenever you want it solved. $1.00 a case If it's dangerous, make it $3.00! They put it in front of their mailbox in the front yard of their house so everyone could see it and went inside to wait. Pretty soon they heard the doorbell ring. Speckles and Wafer rushed to the door and opened it. They found a terrified duck trembling at the doorstep. "Please help me!" he begged. "I just bought a candy bar, and suddenly a masked animal knocked me out and stole it!" "Leave it to us!" Speckles and Wafer said in unison. They took with them a rope, and with that, they were off. "I see him!" Wafer yelled after they had walked for awhile. The masked animal turned around to see them, and then ran. "Hey, come back!" Speckles shouted. "Let's get him, Wafer!" They ran after him. As they were getting closer, Wafer took out the rope and threw it around the masked animal; then they went back to their house, where the duck was waiting for them. "Here's your villain!" they said proudly. "I forgot to tell you," the duck admitted. "I just ate the candy bar and fell asleep. The story I told you was probably a dream I had…" "So, we did that for nothing?" Speckles asked in shock. "Then why is this animal in a mask?" "It's not a mask!" the animal yelled. "I'm a raccoon! This is part of my face!" Mother Kangaroo Comes to Tea By Molly Age 11 Raleigh, North Carolina Mother wasn't expecting any visitors, much less a kangaroo. After all, I had a dentist appointment. Nevertheless, who should come to the door -- right as we were leaving -- but a kindly mother kangaroo who smelled faintly of fresh lilacs. We tried to explain that it was not a good visiting time, as I had a dentist appointment. But all the while Mother Kangaroo grinned broadly and nodded emphatically, as if she knew and understood exactly what we were talking about, but I knew she didn't, because the broader her smile, the more numerous the teeth showed, and though I was not a trained dentist, I could tell immediately that these teeth had never seen a dentist. Ever. There is a time for persistence and a time for surrender. Mother and I chose the latter. As Mother called the dentist, our guest leaped onto our sofa, and I tried to make conversation with her. "Do you know how to read?" I questioned. "How do you play?" she asked. "I will teach you," I said. "This is A. When you see it, say AAAH. Now, what does this say?" I asked, holding up A. "It has a mouth?" she asked, surprised. I continued throughout the alphabet. "This is W," I said. "Say WUHH when you see it." "Why WUHH?" she asked. "If it's double-U, it would be UH-UH." We continued with X and Y. Then I drew a Z. "This is Z," I said. "Say ZZZZ." "Wake up," said Mother Kangaroo. Just then Mother came in. "Your dentist appointment has been rescheduled for tomorrow," she said wearily. The next day, as we were leaving for the appointment, we swung open the door and saw... Mother Kangaroo! The Cat Contest By Melissa Age 14 Hanover MA Once upon a time there was a melancholy cat named Lewis. Lewis always had a sad expression on and rarely spoke to anyone. He was a very small orange cat whose only friend was bird named Freddy. Freddy wasn't much fun though, considering he was a parrot and repeated every word Lewis said. Lewis wanted to have other cat friends and join in on the CAT CONTEST in June. To join the contest you had to be musically talented. Lewis always dreamed of playing the piano for a large crowd and watching them applaud his original composition. All of the cats living in town were going to be part of the contest. The best was Rosie, who played the violin. Her music was played smoothly and was very beautiful. Every year Lewis always watched the contest. This year he wanted to be a participant. It was April, so he had only three months to practice. Each day he practiced and practiced for hours. Then June 1st came, the day of the CAT CONTEST. Rosie was on stage performing the perfect show, then she missed a note and it came out as a squeak. She was so surprised at her mistake she couldn't finish her performance. Lewis was next, and very nervous, but he got up on stage and performed his very best. The audience applauded and cheered. Lewis had won the CAT CONTEST and fulfilled his dream. He also gained many new loyal friends. Christmas By Miranda Age 13 Winchester, Virginia Christmas is here! What is that I here? Bells just a dinging, doorbells just a ringing, wrapping paper getting ripped, hot chocolate being sipped, Santa's reindeer flying along, families just a singing a song, Christmas is definitely here! |
Sunshine Paradise By Adayla Age 12 Tyndall, South Dakota Strolling through the park, I noticed an odd smell in the air. It wasn't a smell that would be classified as disgusting, but it seemed I was the only one noticing it. The smell had been coming from a little girl speaking to an elderly woman. She was saying, "Grandmother, thank you for letting me wear your perfume to church this morning. I really enjoyed it." Okay, the little girl didn't say it in that way, but that is what I assume she was uttering. When I came to a horrid, pink house around the block, I noticed that same strong smell of the perfume the little girl was wearing. A junior high (I assume) girl exited the house yelling, "I am going to the mall to get more 'Sunshine Paradise'! I used the last of it this morning. I'll be back by seven!" I turned a corner to escape the pungent taste forming in my mouth from the scent of the perfume. When I arrived home, I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth, but when I glanced into the mirror... That's how I discovered that I was allergic to the perfume "Sunshine Paradise". My Own World By Cheyenne Age 14 Tyndall, South Dakota I'm sorry to say, I slept the time away, while listening to my Math teacher. It was the weirdest dream, I'm lucky I didn't scream, because everything was abnormal. I dreamed cartoons were cancelled, bananas never ripened, and pants no longer had pockets. I dreamed the internet had crashed, every Halloween pumpkin was smashed, and pop was made illegal. I dreamed ice cream was runny, movies were never funny, and picnics were inside. I dreamed sneakers were banned, celery was canned, and rhino was spelled without "H". I dreamed boys could be named Ashley, chess cheerleaders had a rally, and a frog who's croak sounded like a bell. To my great dismay, the frog's ringing tempo wouldn't sway, somehow it sounded closer. With one more ringing croak, my tired sleep broke, and my crazy dream world was gone. But dare I open my eyes, to see what lies, in my very own world? The Day of Cheyenne and Elvis By Evan Age 10 Tyndall South Dakota Cheyenne waited patiently at the train station to see Elvis. It has been two hours since she got there. Then she fell in a deep sleep… She dreamed of home back in Minnesota. Of the freshly cleaned pig pen. And the bristles she scraped off the backs of the pig so she could go on this long journey. She dreamed of Swiss Rolls (Ho Ho's)... Suddenly she heard a loud whistle. Cheyenne jumped up fearing that the noise was a hungry Monster Truck coming to eat her; but it was just the train. Cheyenne sighed with relief . She looked up at the big clock at the train Station, "Could it be 12:00 already?" She started to look at the smoke to see if Elvis was there yet. She started to think (which wasn't usual ) if Elvis read all her fan letters. When she heard a bark she knew Elvis was there. She started day-dreaming of her Wedding Day with Elvis when they were about to kiss… Someone knocked down Cheyenne to the floor. Elvis. Elvis started to slobber her when she opened her eyes. With a disappointed look on her face she saw Elvis but, with a twist though. He's a Dog. The Banana Bunch By Steffan Age 6 Macomb Twp., Michigan Once there was a bunch of bananas. They saw a dude coming to eat them. They didn't know what to do. So they thought of an idea. "Let's hide." "But where could we hide?" Tim said. "On top of the refrigerator," Mister said. "But, how will we get there?" said Misses. "Well, we can bounce. Everyone knows bananas can bounce." said Joe-Joe. "Oh no, he's coming quickly, we don't have time! He's reaching in! Wait, he's actually reaching over! He's grabbing the chips! Poor chips". "Yeah, Bananas! Bunch for one and one for bunch!" A Story of Grammatical Errors By Amy Age 12 Melbourne, Australia James Prenzy was a boy who received detention because of an ungrammatically written story. He got an F for his accomplishment. i dont waant to do engleesh............ "hand en ur english homework, did the tesher ask the students all staired att each ather in horra, nun ov them compleated there homework!!! oh what shall we do eveyone had all cried out in harror dunno said phill shrugging get a life phill says hillary coscetionsly silense ordeers da eeglish teasher eveyun rans owte the room teasher gasps in allarrmm she didn't fink four a momeant vat vey wooled do this she calls the principal, the door opens the students walk in and vey vook appy! huh? the teasher questins hillary beams and says she gayve us sum gum! amanda says oh hillary, u ar so dum!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Henry is in deep trouble people!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ipsee's Adventure Series: Ipsee and the T-Rex By Adrienne Age 5 Santa Fe, New Mexico Ipsee is a pipistrelle bat who lives in a bat house with her mom and dad. Ipsee loves adventures! One night Ipsee discovered a cave. She decided to dig in the cave for some dinosaur bones. Out of the blue, there was a cougar staring at her! It was scary! She hoped it was a friendly cougar. So she asked her to help her dig and the cougar said "yes!" The cougar said "My name is Kiracca. If you need to break through that rock, I can help you." Ipsee said "Thanks! I'm looking for some dinosaur bones!" Kiracca crashed the rock with her claws. Ipsee dug with a shovel. They found 800 bones! Then they loaded all the bones onto a wagon. Kiracca tied a rope to her tail and pulled the wagon along. Ipsee flew above and directed the way. They got to Ipsee's house, and asked her mom and dad to call some more bats to help put this giant dinosaur together. 8,000 bats came at once. When they finally got the dinosaur bones together they were panting, especially Ipsee, that one little bat! Ipsee got all the bats to flap their wings to lift the dinosaur back onto the wagon. Then they pulled it to the Bat Natural History Center. Ipsee told them, "Stop the pulling! Get that thing into the Center!" The bats flapped their wings and lifted it off the wagon right into the place she pointed to. When they finally finished, they were still panting, but they were delighted with the sight! Ipsee and her bat friends sure had a great adventure that night! My Grandmother and I By Alyssa Age 10 Hattiesburg,Ms When I got to Grandmother's, it is nice. When I walk in the door, She hugs me ever so tightly, that I might just slightly, ever so lightly, hug her back. When we talk, I never get tired of hearing her voice. But when we say goodbye, I feel so, so, sad. Even though we shall visit her again, It seems next time is a lifetime. Beezo By Mikaela Age 10 "Oh my gosh, it is the honey stick. Where did you find it?" …Wait, let's start from the beginning: "Ding, ding, ding. nnm," I groan. I sit up and grab my alarm clock and go to school. You might be thinking, why am I taking my alarm clock? Who am I and what is this story about? Well my alarm clock is made out of honey, and it is also my lunch. My name is Beezo and I am going to tell you my life story… I'm a regular bee going to Insect Academy. My best and only friend is a fly. We have a lot of things in common, but I have a problem that no one else has. I am not special. You might think everyone is special; I'm not. For example, fly's Mom and Dad are King and Queen of Flyville. My parents are honey designers, which explain my alarm clock / lunch box. All I do is warm it up at school. At school I have no friends but fly. The worst part of the day is lunch. Why? Well, at lunch I sit alone. You might be thinking, what about fly? He sits with his other royal friends. He only likes me after school. I know why. Who wants to be sitting by a nobody? After school one day, I was trying to find a friend. I saw a very old bee that looked like he needed help carrying something. I flew down to help. The old bee said "You young bee, why are you in the forest alone?" I told him that I had no friends because my parents weren't famous. He said, "I will give you one gift. You will have to use it wisely or you will get punished. Help other people like yourself". Then he said, "Look behind you". So I did. I grabbed the bag then turned around to see nothing. The bee was gone. There was a card on the bag saying "Open this with your parents". I flew home as fast as I could. I flew through the door knocking down anything in my way. I grabbed my parents and opened the bag. We were all so excited. "You found the honey stick" said Dad. If you don't know what the honey stick is, well, it is a magical stick that makes the sweetest honey in the Kingdom. From that day on, I became famous and rich. I am now famous and have lots of friends. I have learned that you don't have to be famous to have friends. I try to be friends with everyone. I don't want anyone to feel lonely like I did. Underwater Dancing By Joey Age 13 East Greenwich, Rhode Island "Ring, ring, ring," is what abruptly woke me up from my eight-hour slumber. It was like a built-in fire siren screaming in my ear. But among the displeasures of waking up at this time of the morning, it was a special day. We were going to the beach; my favorite place to go in the summer! So I got dressed, brushed my teeth, combed my hair, put my bathing suit on, and before you know it, we packed up the van, and we were on our way to the state beach. As soon as I stepped put of the car I could smell the salt water, and the crab cakes, and the sand, and I was so delighted that I didn't even wait for my family to join me when I ran past the huge mob of people, kicking up dirt as I flied by them, and threw my body against the powerful, thrashing waters. The water was cool, and comfortable, and so blue. I couldn't resist myself any longer, and dove straight down, down, down to the bottom of the ocean where a huge tide pool sucked me and a bunch of crabs into the depths of the ocean. The scene went by in a blink, but then, when I opened my eyes, I could see all types of sea creatures dancing to the rhythms of the waves in some type of underwater world, and something started to tingle inside of me, and then, I started to dance! Slow at first, but then, I became one with the music, and the water, and all the other sea creatures. I became a beautiful creature, and I danced for eternity with all my new sea friends. And then I danced some more. The Race Around the World By Danny Age 12 Pittsburgh, PA The race around the world was coming, and Jack was training like crazy. This year he wasn't going to lose to Zappy the lightning bolt or Spots the cheetah. Then the day of the race finally came. When the racers heard "GO", they sped off. The first track was the jungle. Spots was in the lead, with Jack right behind her. Then, Zappy pulled ahead then stopped at the cliff. It was time for the next track, the sky. Zappy sped off while the others got into jets. While Zappy wasn't paying attention, Jack sent some smoke screen off. This put Jack in the lead. Next was the ocean. Jack was still ahead at the ocean, but while he was getting on his jet ski Jaws got ahead of him. Jack was worried. If he didn't pick up the pace, he'd lose the race, again. So Jack sped up his jet ski with Zappy and Spots right on his tail. Jaws was far ahead. Then, Jack's jet ski started to slow down, and Jack fell to last place. When Jack got to the end of the ocean, there were no more cars to drive down to the finish line. Jack was very sad. Now he'd never win the race. Then, all of a sudden, Jack's feet started to speed up a lot. He must have been running 100 mph. He started pulling ahead, but he wasn't sure if it was enough. Now it was between Jack, Zappy, and Spots. Just as they reached the finish line, Jack pulled ahead and crossed the finish line first! Jack was overwhelmed with joy. The crowd was wild. He couldn't believe he'd won the gold medal. He'd finally fulfilled his dream of winning the race around the world. Cat, Cat, Kitty Cat, I Got a New Cat! By Nataleigh Age ? From ? Cavelena lived in a yellow house in Concord, California. In her 2 story house she had 11 rooms. 1 guestroom, 1 sleepover room, 3 bedrooms, 1 kitchen,1 dining room, and 4 living rooms. In her room she had a dresser with pink crystal knobs. In her closet were dresses. Every color. But she didn't have a gray dress. She had a bunk bed. You know why? One of her beds was for night time, the other for when Cavelena was sick. On her window were 4 little sunflowers. One day Cavelena and her family decided to go Disney World. Her friends Annie and Buet were coming with her. At Disney World there were so many places or rides to go to. In the theme park were 2 places the 3 girls recognized; Universal Studios and SeaWorld. When Annie, Cavelena, Buet and Cavelenas parents returned to Concord, the 3 girls had to go to school the next day. Their school was Linolns National Elementary School. They would go to Ms. Quelas 6th grade class. After 12 months of school Cavelena had her driving licence. She was driving to her Grandmas when Cavelena saw a cat on the road. Cavelena got out of the car and grabbed it. She put it in the car and stopped by The Pet Express. She got a collar, I.D.tag, leash, bed, litter box, toys, food, kitty litter and a kennel. She called her Grandma and said she couldn't make it. She went home and put her cat in her room. I love my new cat, Cavelena said. My Grandma's Apartment By Jacqueline Age 7 West Memphis, Arkansas When my mom pulls into my grandma's apartment (her mom's) I can already hear the dogs barking, and I can already see myself swimming in the warm pool water. When we get to the door the dogs are on it, scratching the glass door of the apartment, and my grandma is standing on a chair yelling at them. When we knock on the door the dogs bark even louder and my grandma just stands there on the wooden chair, staring at us, not even blinking. We stare right back at her but we all blink eventually. She scrambles off the wooden chair and opens the glass door. Then she runs to us and gives us all a tight hug and a kiss on the forehead and pulls us into the little apartment of hers that doesn't smell so pleasant even though it has a candle in it. Then the dogs sharp claws sink into our skin as they lick our faces. We sit down on the hole-covered sofa that's not that comfortable and we talk a little and have a drink and a snack. I didn't think it was that late until I looked out of the window. All of a sudden I hear an alarm clock go off. I looked out the window and it was daytime already. I must have fallen asleep while talking. My mom came into the room and told me to give grandma a hug and get in the car so I did. I found my sister in the car waiting. A few minutes later my mom came out with my grandma both crying. My mom got in the car told her mom she loved her and drove away on the bumpy road. The Fruity Wonderful Time By Zanzi Age 13 Los Angeles Ca. Mary and Kate went to the orchard. They picked some apples from the tree. Kate's apples begin to talk. Kate screamed! "Augh!" Mary looked at the apples, to see if they were really talking. The apples were saying silly, goofy jokes. The apples jumped out of the basket and ran and hid in the bushes. They peeked through the bushes at Mary and Kate. Mary and Kate said to the apples, "Come out of those bushes so that we can eat you." The apples said "No!", and began shaking with fear. Mary reached into the bushes and grabbed an apple. The other apples began to run as fast as they could, but Kate began to smash them with her shovel. Mary started to eat the apple that she was holding, but the apple yelled, "No! Please don't eat me!" The apples pleaded with Mary and Kate to stop. They said to Mary and Kate, "we are good apples and just want to be your friends." So Mary and Kate stopped and said, "We're sorry that we hurt you, you are just silly, goofy apples and we should not eat you, we should be your friends." So Mary, Kate and the apples decided to have a "Make A New Friend" party. Kate and Mary invited all their school mates, Sally, Josey, Posey and Mosey and the apples invited their friends, Banana, Orange and Grape. The party was wonderful, and the apples told all their silly goofy, jokes and everyone including Kate and Mary laughed, and laughed and had a fruity wonderful time. Pricilla the Cell Phone By Carrie Age 11 Pricilla is a pink cell phone and she has pink buttons on her. Pricilla's best friend is an I-Pod named Ivan. One day Pricilla whined, "Why haven't I been shined in a while? I feel like everybody has forgotten about me!" She was lying on her owner's bed. Ivan the I-Pod was charging up on the owner's desk. Ivan responded, "You don't look so good over there! You look like your bars are fading." Pricilla said, "I do feel REALLY sick." The next thing Ivan knew, she shut off. Ivan started to cry. "My friend died right in front of me!" Ivan has no one to play with. Suddenly, the door opened, and in walked the owner. She had freckles and brown hair. She saw Pricilla lying on the bed with no battery. She plugged Pricilla into the charger and left the room. The next thing you know Pricilla screamed, "I'm ALIVE!" Ivan yelled, "It's a MIRACLE!" COUSINS! COUSINS! COUSINS! By Miranda Age 13 Winchester, Virginia Tori and I, yeah we are cousins. Sometimes we wish we came by the dozens! Sure we get into fights, and we sure do yell! But sometimes there are things you can not even tell. It is that...we love each other, and we do not even know... sometimes we need one another to go. Sometimes we just have had enough of each other. And need a break... to chill with our mothers. Gotta go! Catch Yu later! Do not turn into an alligator! The Adventures of a Thump By Sean Age 11 Pittsburgh, PA Mrs. Thump was a lady who often forgets things. In her lifetime, she always had a hard time remembering what she was doing, and got everything mixed up. After a long and thorough investigation, the Thumper Investigation Squad (TIS for short) was able to gain a rough understanding of why Mrs. Thump always forgot things. One day, Mrs. Thump (before her "memory incident") went into a store for some candy. She was just about to reach for a candy cane, when suddenly, a huge 27-pound Hershey's Chocolate Bar slipped and thumped her right on her head. Mrs. Thump didn't get hurt though, and the owner of the candy store even let her eat the giant 27-pound Hershey's Chocolate Bar, or at least what was left of it. However, Mrs. Thump didn't know that a bit of the chocolate was still stuck in her hair, and had wormed its way into her brain. The tiny chocolate particles somehow mutated into little creatures. Now, whenever information came into Mrs. Thump's brain, the chocolate creatures would eat it up, so Mrs. Thump would forget. The TIS asked Mrs. Thump if she remembered any part of this, and of course she forgot. The TIS has no better explanation, so the "mutated chocolate creatures" story was accepted. However, scientists all over the world are still arguing about whether or not this is true. The Horrible Day—Not Really By Yardana Age 7 Dayton, Ohio Sally woke up and got dressed. She was walking and tripped on a rock. When she got to school a new boy took her seat. She tried to get him out of the seat. She could not. The teacher said, "Sit on the floor". So she did. At lunch time she forgot her lunch box. So she went back in the classroom and got her lunch and when she got back in the lunch room, lunch was over. Then she woke up and realized it was a dream. She got to school and in the lunch room she told her story. They loved it so much. She told the teacher her story too. She loved it, too and said, "Go to the principal's office." She said, "Why?" "To tell your story to the principal!" the teacher said happily. "Oh" said Sally. She told her story to the principal… and he loved it too. The Homework Helper By Gavriela Age 8 Dayton, Ohio One day Jake came home worried. He had a really hard homework assignment and he needed help with it. "Mom! Mom! I have a really hard homework assignment and I need help with it." "I can't help you with it right now dear," Jake's mom said. "Dad! Dad! I have a really hard home work assignment and I really need help with it." "I can't help you right know with it, dear." said Jake's dad. "O.K." said Jake. Suddenly, Jake had a great idea. "Mom, can I go to the store?" "Sure, do you need some money?" asked Jake's mom. "No," answered Jake. "I don't think I'll need it." When Jake got to the store, he asked the store keeper, "Do you have something that costs five dollars and twenty-five cents?" "Sure, I have a box of washable markers," said the storekeeper. "O.K." said Jake. Then Jake asked the store keeper if he had something worth two dollars and fifty-six cents. "This notebook costs two dollars and fifty-six cents," said the storekeeper. "O.K." said Jake. "How much would it be for the box of markers and the notebook?" "Seven dollars and eighty-one cents", said the storekeeper. The storekeeper got the notebook and the markers. "Here is your stuff," said the storekeeper. "Oh, I'm sorry. I don't want to buy anything. I just wanted to know if I did my homework correctly!" King Furkan and the Upside Down Boy By Nur (Age 9) and Furkan (Age 7) New Castle, DE In one special town, there was a king. His name was King Furkan. People from all around the world came to ask his advice. Upside Down Boy was a crazy boy who was always standing on his head. He made jokes and tried to become famous by giving advice, too. One day, someone came to the king for advice. As usual, Upside Down Boy was next to him. A little boy asked the king, "King, someone gave me some money. I wondered what to do with it. My big sister said to use it for school books. My little brother said to use it for toys. What should I do?" Upside Down Boy said, "Use it for toys! Toys!" King Furkan looked at Upside Down Boy angrily. "No," he said. "It's your money, you decide. Maybe you can save it." The boy giggled at Upside Down Boy and said ok to the king and left. Later that afternoon, a man came for advice. He said, "I found a bag of gold coins in the middle of the road. What should I do?" Upside Down Boy said, "Keep it! Keep it!" He was bouncing on the floor on his head. The man tried not to show his laughter. The king said, "Go to the police station and tell them to announce that you found the bag. Do not keep the money." So, the man nodded and left. A few hours later, a little girl came. "King," she said. "I found a box of kittens in the middle of the road. They have no collars. My sister is allergic to cats. What should I do?" "Take your sissy to the hospital!" Upside Down Boy yelled. The girl laughed out loud as he did a funny dance. The king said to give the kittens some food and to look for homes for them. The girl nodded, laughed again, and hurried away. At the end of the day, Upside Down Boy complained to the king. He said, "All the people follow your advice. I can't be famous now. No one cares about my advice." Then, he asked for advice. "How will I get to be famous?" King Furkan smiled and said, "You can only be famous in something that you are good at. Think of something you are good at." Upside Down Boy did not know that his problem would be solved the next morning. The little boy, the man and the little girl who asked for advice yesterday went to the palace. With a group of people, they made a loud racket, shouting, "Upside Down Clown is the funniest clown ever!" "That's it," said Upside Down Boy. "I'm a clown!" From then on, people came from all over the world to ask the king for advice, and to listen to Upside Down Clown's jokes. At last, Upside Down Boy was famous. Joanne's Box By Rukmini Age 7 Houston, TX Once upon a time there was a little girl called Joanne who had a special little box. Joanne believed if she lost the box she would be punished. In the box was a great power. Joanne lived beside the beach, and loved to go for swims. Once, out swimming, she nearly lost the box. After that she kept it with her at all times, but she never dared to open it. One spring afternoon she was out for a walk in the meadow. She was picking beautiful colored flowers. As she walked along she saw a glowing flower. It was white. She was attracted, for never before had she seen such a magical glowing flower. Dark clouds were gathering and a cool breeze brought a rainstorm. The rain was heavy and she could not see very well. She was about to run when she heard a strange voice call out to her "You are welcome to come shelter under me." Joanne could not see anyone, nor a place to shelter, so she asked "Where are you? Who are you?" Then she saw the flower grow larger. When it was big enough she crawled under it. All of a sudden Joanne let out a loud scream and ran for her life. She had seen a frightening snake with two big fangs, tucked under the flower. In her rush she dropped her box. Joanne later learned that an injured snake lived in the flower and attracted people and creatures to it so he could get some food. He tried to find food in Joanne's box. When he opened it, the power in it cursed him because he was stealing. That was the end of the snake. After that Joanne lived carefree and happily. |
