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      The Old Willow Tree

    By

      Grace McDavid

 

          Around 500 years ago, a young boy’s parents died. Brett Char, the boy, lived with his grandmother after that. He didn’t like his grandmother and she didn’t like him. Grandmother did not like him because of Brett’s father.  Grandmother didn’t like his father and Brett was just like him, so she disliked Brett. Grandmother didn’t care where he went, as long as Brett was out of her way.

         Once Brett said, “I am off to play in the woods with some of my friends. Is that alright?”  Can you guess what grandmother said?

“Do I care where you go? No! You can go kill yourself if you want or run away and never come back for all I care!”

For once, I listened to her, as I said, “I will run away!”

The next night Brett Char ran away to the woods. He told only his closest friends and asked them to come too. They told him that instead of them running away, it could be their clubhouse.  A place they could all get away if they needed it.  Brett agreed and was often visited by his friends.  His grandmother never came looking for him but Brett never cared, as he learned to live with nature.

About twenty years passed, Brett’s house got mysteriously burnt down and the boy got badly wounded. The next night a young woman came to Brett’s burnt down cabin.

          “Hello Brett, I am a good friend of your mother and father and they heard about your accident and they have not stopped weeping since then. I decided to help my friends (your parents) by helping you,” is what she told him. Brett had to think for a minute. Who was that? What is she going to do to me?  Then, Brett looked closer and saw the woman wearing strange clothes.

          “So they will stop weeping if you live,” said the woman.

          “What do you mean?” asked Brett.

          “Your parents want you to live and that is what you are going to do!”

           “What?” was the word that Brett wanted to say, but the woman interrupted.

           “If the Old Willow Tree is never cut down, you will live. Only if the great tree is cut down, you will die.”

          “But you can’t do that,” replied Brett.

          “Oh, but I can. I am Mother Nature.”

Then, Brett fell asleep and Mother Nature left.

           Well, Brett set up a program and saved over 300,000 trees and plants in one year. Brett called the program, “No Them, No Us!”

Unfortunately, five years later an enemy of Brett cut the Old Willow Tree down late one night. (Some people thought it may have been the ghost of his grandmother who did it.) The next morning Brett went to the Old Willow Tree. Brett was astonished that he did not die. Mother Nature came to him and said, “Since you saved my children, you can live as long as you want.”

          “But the Old Willow Tree got cut down,” said Brett.

          “Brett, that was one tree, you saved over 300,000 trees and other plants. You can live as long as you want,” said Mother Nature.

          “Thank you,” replied Brett.

            Brett had a pretty good life after that. In fact, he is still living today and has saved over 600,000 trees and plants.
Tree.jpg
Actual Picture of the Willow Tree

Cabin Survivor

By

Joshua Baquedano

 

Chapter One

The Opening Show

 

    “Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen and welcome to Cabin Survivor,” said Nick. “The object of the game is to survive in the wilderness the longest by building your own cabin and of course, having no electricity.’’

“Now, let us meet our contestants," said Nick. 

"From the great city of Boston, Owen Howe!"

“Howdy y’all,” said Owen. 

“Our next contestant, from Australia, Ben Wade!”

“Peace out,” said Ben.

“Okay, our next contestant is Josh Granadeno from California!”

“Hi,” said Josh.

    “Our next player is Chad Wisnowski from Denver.”

“That’s me,” said Chad.

“That’s all the time we have tonight,” said Nick.  “Join us next Thursday at 8pm on the Game Show Channel for the exciting conclusion.”

 

Chapter 2

Disqualification

 

“Hello everyone and welcome back to Cabin Survivor,” said Nick.  “Last week we introduced our players and now we are ready to get started.  The four of them each have to build their own cabin in the woods behind Tuckahoe Elementary School,” said Nick.  “Will they be able to do it and survive?”

“Hold on folks, it appears we have some controversy," said the announcer.  “Josh Granadeno has been eliminated after it was found that he used an electric chainsaw to cut wood for his cabin!”  “Wow!” said Nick, “That is the fastest elimination I have ever seen.  Josh does not seem happy!”

saw.jpg

Picture of chainsaw!

    “I need to get an interview right away,” said Nick, “Here he comes now.” 

“So Josh, how does it feel to be eliminated this early?”

“Well, I certainly set a record for quickest elimination,” said Josh.

    "I guess you did” said Nick. “Thanks for being on the show.” 

    “Well, that’s our show for tonight.  Please come back next week to see what happens,” said Nick. 

 

Chapter 3

What about the Roof?

 

    “Hello ladies and gentlemen and welcome back to Cabin Survivor,” said Nick. 

“Let’s do an update on our players.  A check means that they are doing well (surviving easily), a dash means that they are doing all right (surviving but with some problems), and an X means that they are doing horribly (possibly near death).  Owen Howe has a check, Ben Wade has a check, and Chad Wisnowski has received a dash.  Now we need to take a short commercial break,” said Nick.

“Welcome back,” announced Nick.  “We have some news from inside the wilderness.  Chad has been eliminated due to his inability to build a proper cabin.  He never built the roof and was soon overcome by the dangerous elements of the wilderness.  Let’s get an interview.

"Chad, what was going through your mind when you failed to build a roof?” asked Nick.

"Well, since I am from Denver, I thought I could handle the cold weather but I realized that I could no longer go on or I would have died of frostbite.  Am I upset with myself?  Of course I am but there is nothing I can do about it now,” said a frustrated Chad.

cabin.jpg

The cabin without a roof!

 "This means that Ben and Owen are the finalists.   Well that’s our show for tonight, see you next week for the final episode of Cabin Survivor."

 

Chapter 4

The Champ

 

    “Hello ladies and gentlemen and welcome back to the fourth week of Cabin Survivor,” yelled Nick. 

“This week is the beginning of our finals.  We could have a champion by the end of the show.  Now here is an update on our players.  It is the same scale from last week.  Owen Howe still has a check and Ben Wade has dropped to a dash.  Now for a commercial break.”

“Welcome back folks and we have a winner!  Let’s see,” said Nick.  “The winner is ………………………Owen Howe!  Ben was eliminated after using matches to try to help light a fire.  The rules clearly stated that there was to be no outside use of items unless they were found in the 18th century!”

matches.jpg

Picture of the illegal matches!

 "Ben, what were you thinking out there?” asked Nick.

“I panicked Nick!  I knew I was in trouble and I decided to risk trying to use the matches I kept hidden in my pocket.  I am just too angry to continue this interview,” replied Ben.

Owen, how do you feel to be the cabin survivor?” asked Nick.

Well, I knew I was the man to beat out here because of my experience in the woods.  I am truly not that surprised,” said Owen.

“Well, that’s all we have this season,” said Nick.  “Come back next season for Cabin Survivor!”

Time in the Temple

By

Nigel Moore

 

            Once upon a time, there was a man who sat around and drank soda and ate chips.   One day, he got a letter from his nephew.  It said:

                       

Dear Uncle,

                                   

We’re going on a trip to Greece.  Would you

                    like to come?

                                                            Sincerely,

                                                            Nick

                       

P.S.  They have chips and soda too!

 

            “I will go,” he said to himself. 

  A month later, he arrives in Greece and meets his nephew.  “It’s good to be here.  Now where are those chips and soda, Nephew?”

            “We can eat and drink later.  Now, let’s go.”

            “Where are we going?”

            “The Great Temple!”

            “Oh man, I don’t like the sound of that.”

  “We have a tour guide, so don’t worry.”

When we arrived, my uncle quickly fell behind us.  Probably from eating too many chips all of his life.  Eventually, he caught up to us and we went inside.  When we opened the door, a burst of water came rushing in.  At the sight of this, my uncle fainted. 

            Now, when he woke up, it was the year 55 B.C.  He was on a beach, when he saw a mythological creature come up and say, “Are you a friend or foe?”

He said, “I am a friend.” 

“Then hop on my back,” said the creature.

When they reached the mythological creature’s camp, his friends were making a plan to sneak into the enemy’s base.  In the middle of the night, they will take some hammers and chisels and chip a hole in the base.  Then, they will take all the riches.

They were able to drill the hole to get to the riches, but when they were taking all the gold a guard caught them.  He got more guards but the guards all got killed by the powerful creatures.  Nick could not believe this was happening to him.

When Nick was running to get out of the temple, another burst of water hit him.  He fainted once again, and when he woke up, it was 6:00 at night and his nephew was yelling at him to get up. 

To this day, Nick is unable to explain exactly what happened to him.  His friends all say it was a dream but Nick does not believe he was dreaming.  He often wonders if he will see his mythological creatures again.

plaza8.jpg

A picture of The Great Temple visited by Nick and his uncle.

Prixie and Jimareo

By

Katarina Vandish

 

“Run, Catrin, run!” Prixie shouted as she urged her mouse friend to go faster. “Eeeee, Chitter, Chitter, Eeeeee!” Catrin squeaked as she tried to scamper from the bird.  You see, a falcon was flying over Prixie, (a pixie/fairy) and Catrin, Prixie’s mouse friend. They were trying to escape from the atrocious bird before they were eaten.

It was a natural day, being chased by birds, and running to their village before they were eaten. Prixie knew how to escape the bird. It was an old pixie trick. She flew up behind the bird, and called the birds’ mating call. She would then return to the ground, and the bird would go off to find its’ mate. They would then return to their village unharmed.

Prixie went to her hut when she got back. “Prixie, I saw you with that bird! You are no longer allowed to use that pixie trick! You have to learn to fight birds! So tomorrow, I’m going to take you bird catching! I’ll take no “no’s” for an answer!” Prixie’s mother, Thumbillina cried. Prixie stormed back out of the hut, and went to the pond.

Just then, a bird picked Prixie off the ground! It was the same bird that was chasing her! It carried Prixie up and to its’ nest. “Help! Help! Let me go you stupid bird! AHHH!” Prixie cried, as she landed with a thump in the middle of its’ nest. Prixie sat in the nest, rubbing her head, murmuring something about some stupid bird. “Well,” the bird said annoyed, “You told me to let you go, and I do not fancy you calling me stupid!”

           “Y-y-you c-can talk?” Prixie asked baffled.

 “Yes, yes I can,” the bird said proudly.

           “Well, lets’ get back to business. In that call you made, you said you’d find my mate. Now where is she?” the bird said.

“Oh,” Prixie said, “I don’t have someone for you, I just did that to get you away.”

“Well, if you don’t have one for me, you can at least help me find one,” the bird said spreading his feathers.          

“Okay. Oh, and by the way, my name is Prixie. I’m sorry I called you stupid.”

          “Mine is Jimareo, and it’s okay that you called me stupid, I get it a lot,” the bird said.

Prixie climbed on to the bird’s back and held on tightly to the soft, velvet, and brown feathers. They lifted off into the sky as Jimareo cried out a sweet melody. Prixie called the mating call, as Jimareo echoed both, having a sweet melody, blending and binding together in the sweet, summer breeze. Jimareo soared low enough to touch the ground, just low enough so both Prixie and Jimareo could swim, and just high enough to let only ankles get wet. Both giggled, so loudly that Prixie’s mother heard.

Suddenly, Prixie’s foot got tangled in a cattail, and she cried of pain. Prixie was pulled from Jimareo’s back because of the cattail, and fell into the water. She was knocked unconscious because of a rock. Jimareo picked at the cattail, as he tried to help her get out. Thumbillina gasped, and ran for Prixie. Thumbillina threw a spear and it landed on Jimareo’s right wing. Jimareo screeched and flew lopsidedly away. When Prixie woke up she was in a hospital-hut. She rubbed her head and looked up alertly.

“Jimareo, where’s Jimareo!” Prixie cried.

“If you mean that awful bird, it flew away! Oh honey, I’ll never make you tame a bird ever again!” Thumbillina cried as she held Prixie.

“Let go of me! I need to find Jimareo! He needs me!” Prixie cried as she tried to get up and fly away. But she couldn’t fly away.              

“With a broken wing, you can’t fly!” Thumbillina said.

“Well, I’ll have to try!” Prixie said firmly.

She ran towards the door and ran outside to the pond. It hurt to fly, but she flew as hard as she could just to find Jimareo. Prixie’s wing stopped moving instantly and she started to fall. She fell, and fell, and fell until she landed upon soft moss. She woke up and hit her head on some type of shell. It was a turtle shell!

“Ahh!” Prixie cried as she jumped back from the shell.

“Who’s that,” said a slow voice from inside the shell, “I was sleeping soundly until somebody knocked on my shell.” A turtle started sprouting from the shell.

“Er, hello sir, er-.”

“It’s madam!” said the turtle, “What are you doing here?”

“I’m looking for a bird, have you seen one?” Prixie asked.

“Why yes, I have, he’s up on that hill-thingy near that tree. Don’t forget to walk on the green rocks! I hear the kids say it all the time!” said the turtle.

“Kids?” Prixie said, swirling around to face the turtle. But the turtle was fast asleep. Prixie ran to the hill and ran up it. Only on the green rocks, Prixie thought.

When she reached the top, she saw Jimareo. He was lying on the ground limply. She ran over and carefully took out the spear. She took a leaf and wrapped it around his wound. She took some water and sprinkled it on him. Jimareo finally woke up.

“We have to go home,” said Prixie. Jimareo stood up and let her get on his back.

“Okay,” he said as he flew over the waterfall and fell.

“Ahh!” Prixie and Jimareo both cried as they fell and oddly, landed on top of the turtle Prixie had met before.

“Huh, what, who’s there? Oh, it’s you, that fairy thing. Huh, did you find that bird, oh, you did! I told you I knew where he was!” the turtle said.

         “I need a lift home!” cried Prixie, as the turtle took Prixie and Jimareo home.  The two became friends and always enjoyed each others company. 

 turtle.jpg

The turtle that took Prixie and Jimareo home.

Squirts Big Move

By

Emily Gursky

 

One day in Smallville, everybody was busy! Squirrels were gathering nuts for their breakfast in all directions. Birds were buying twigs (instead of getting them off the ground) to make nests for their young ones. It’s springtime, and as you know, a time that animals give birth. Oh, I’m sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Mary and I am a bunny. Let me tell you a story from last week. It all started on a beautiful day, as I was resting in my living room.

“I wish there was something I could do.  I think I will go for a walk,” I thought.

When I was right outside the door, I saw a huge crowd outside my next door neighbor’s house.

“What’s going on here!  Squirt was supposed to have an assembly at Smallville Hall but he never did, so all of us came to his house instead,” Beaver said.

“Hmmm…. Do you think he is sick?” I said.

“No,” he replied.

Okay, now I was getting puzzled. Did he know that a crowd was right in front of his house? I made my way to the front door. I knocked three times. No answer. I was just about to knock on the door again when Squirt answered.

“What do you want,” he growled.

“We want to know if you are going to have that town assembly?”  You are our leader!

“No,” he replied and closed the door.

We all stared at the door with dull eyes.  I knew something was wrong with Squirt. Suddenly, he opened the door and found a lot of eyes staring back at him.

          “Do not knock again,” he said in an icy voice.

          I ran out of there as fast as my little legs could carry me.  I knew when Squirt was upset that it was best not to bother him.  I walked through the forest and arrived at home. At dinner, I was reading The Forest Times but was soon interrupted by a knock on the door.  I got up and opened the door. Boy, was I surprised! It was Squirt.

“What are you doing here?”

          “I want to talk to you,” he said.

“Okay, what do you want?” I asked.

"First, I want to apologize for being so rude.  I just want to retire from all of my responsibilities.  I only have a few years left to live, you know, so I umm… well…. okay, have decided to move,” Squirt replied.

“What!” (Did he have to move!)  “No!” I shouted like I was a child.

“Yep, I’m moving to Townsville. It’s just three miles from here and it will give me a chance to relax and enjoy life," he said.

                   I started to cry.  I was going to lose a good friend.

“I think I should go now,” Squirt said. “I’ll talk to you later.”

“Bye Squirt,” I said through my tears.   

Two weeks later, he was gone. However, I missed him a great deal. Squirt was my best friend. We did stay in touch through the telephone.  Squirt even became a writer in Townsville.  I guess it was because he had all of that free time. Well, that is the end of my story. I hoped you liked it!

           “Now where was that recipe?”

bunny.jpg

A picture of me (Mary) in my garden!

           

The Goddess Everyone Loved

by

Emma Banchoff 

 

Chapter 1: Wonderful Life

 

      Celinda is the goddess everyone loved. She was the beautiful Goddess of Youth in the Royal Gardens in Bonn, Germany. When you wished to be young, you would just pour water into her magic jug. Then, when you took the water out of the jug and drank it, you would magically turn ten years younger.

      Whenever old, crippled people are about to die, their loved ones bring them magic water from the Goddess of Youth. Celinda enjoyed being loved. She liked to make people younger so they could live extra years.

      One day, Celinda overheard some people in the garden talking about two evil burglars. They were greedy for everything. They had already robbed ten houses in Bonn and have always gotten away with it. However, what they wanted most, was to be young again.

 

Chapter 2: Stolen!

 

      It was dark and Celinda was sleeping. She was dreaming about the burglars stealing her. Then, a sudden noise shook her awake. She looked into the dark night but couldn’t see anyone. Then, she felt something. Two people, a man and a woman dressed in black suits, lifted her high into the air.

     “Help me! Get off me you evil people!” She screamed. She was terrified.

     “Come on little goddess! No time for chit chat,” the woman burglar, Julia, whispered loudly. "Now be quiet!”

      The man burglar, Joe, carried her and Julia stood guard so they wouldn’t get caught. They put her into a cage and threw her into a large truck. Then, they rode her out to their little cabin in the countryside.

      “Get off me! Get off me!”

      “No Missy! Go down there! No one will find you there!”

      They threw her into the cellar in a small cage. Every now and then they slipped a little food threw the bars of the cage. Frequently, they would come down to make themselves younger. They did it until they were in their teens.

 

Chapter 3: Deaths

 

      “She’s gone! She’s gone!” People screamed in the Royal Gardens. People had gone to the Goddess of Youth that day to heal an almost dead man. His family went crazy!

      “What are we going to do without her? Don’t die father! Please don’t die!” His daughter cried.

      As the man grew weaker, his daughters and sons were running around trying to bring him water and food. His heart was beating very slowly. Thump… Thump… Thump… Thu-.

      Another person was a hundred year-old woman. She had breast cancer and needed help from the Goddess of Youth. Her granddaughter was in tears. The old woman leaned her head back and breathed her last breath. There you go another death.

     Back in the cellar, Celinda thought about what was happening in the Royal Gardens. Five people were dying a day on average. That night, Celinda knelt down on the floor and cried. She couldn’t help people dying. Then, she had an idea.

 

Chapter 4: The Escape

 

      That night, Celinda worked out a plan. She poured her secret water on the bars of the cage. The bars became “younger” and eventually shriveled up into tiny wires and she easily got out. Then, she built a stone statue of herself. Next, she put magic reverse water in the fake statue’s jug. Whenever you drank that water, you would magically turn ten years older. She wanted to teach the burglars a lesson. She wanted them to become old.

      She quietly slipped out of the cellar door. She grabbed some crackers and cheese from the kitchen counter because she was starving. She stepped outside and caught the local bus to the train station. Then, she took a train to the Royal Gardens and planted herself on the ledge where she has always stood.

      People were overjoyed to see her. They actually had a welcome back party for her. Everyone you could think of came. Even the German Chancellor came from Berlin. The party was a big success. The Goddess everyone loved was back!

 angel2.jpg

Actual picture of Celinda and her magic jug!

 The War of the White Temple

By

Chad Wisnowski

 

             In the middle of the planet Rioghro, a place outside the Milky Way Galaxy, The War of the White Temple was about to begin.  Joshua, a General for the Knights, was getting his army ready to fight the Royals.  The Knights were fighting for the White Temple and so were the Royals.  They both knew the magical powers the temple had.  It had the ability to heal people from deadly diseases and injuries.

          When the attack started, someone in Joshua’s army fired the first shot.  His name was Ben.  Ben was a solider, who believed in the power of the temple.  During the battle, Nick, a soldier in the Knights army was captured.  Nick was very important because he knew the code to get into the temple once it was captured.  Without Nick, the Knights would never be able to use the temple’s great powers.  The Knights were eventually able to defeat the Royals, as the Knights forced them to retreat back to their camp.  However, Nick had to be rescued.

Joshua and some other soldiers went to find Nick.  They found Nick in a prison camp where the Royals hideout.  The Knights rushed the prison and saved Nick’s life and the code. 

The soldiers quickly returned to the White Temple.  Nick knew he had to hurry if the temple was going to save the wounded soldiers.  Nick entered the code, T-U-C-K-A-H-O-E, and rushed into the temple.  One by one, the White Temple’s magical powers healed the wounded men and women.  To this day, the Knights have controlled the White Temple, which has healed over 200,000 men and women on their planet.  They have even opened it up to the Royals, as a peace treaty was signed with them.  This guaranteed everyone’s right to be healed and guaranteed a peaceful planet.

plaza5.jpg

    The actual White Temple that heals so many!

Portal of the Past
By
Ian Smith
 
          In the year 6016, there was a boy named, Nai11 Smith and his great, great, great, great, great grandfather's name was Ian Smith.  One day, Nai 11 was walking around his house and noticed a clipping of his ancient grandfather.  He took the clipping down and noticed there was something on the back of it.  He had found an htcp code and he took the code over to his sequence writer and put the code on a disk.
        Later in the week, Nai11 went to the library and used the disk.  He found out that the htcp code was a hidden message for the person to go to the Tuckahoe Foundation (once known as Tuckahoe Elementary) and touch a specific stone.  After finding out where to go, he quickly took off for the Foundation and the stone.
        When he arrived, he saw the stone and went over to it.  When he touched the stone, he instantly started to spin and when he stopped, he found himself standing on the stone beside an unusual building.  The building said Tuckahoe Elementary School.  Could it actually be?  He went inside to get help and bumped into a boy.  The boy's name was Ian.
        Nai11 stood there in shock.  He quickly figured out that Ian was his great, great, great, great, great grandfather.  Ian took Nai11 back to his home and they spent the next two weeks together.  Ian was amazed that he would eventually produce a time machine. 
        Nai11 went back to the stone and touched it but nothing happened.  What was wrong?  Oh, No!  Ian has not invented it yet.  Nai11 was stuck there until Ian could figure out how to invent the machine.  Unfortunately, Nai11 was stuck for the next twenty-six years as it took that long for Ian to setup the device.  However, Ian set the device time to send home Nai11 to the exact time he came.  Nai11 transported back to the exact day and all was saved.  Nai11 took the stone out of the Foundation and kept it in his home.  He knew his great, great, great, great, great grandfather would want it in his hands.
Classof.jpg
Actual picture of the magical stone taken by Nai11! 

My Life in 48 Hours

By

Nora Chamma

 

        There I was in my mother’s arms, lying with my body all curled up at age two. I can’t remember the time I was born, but I do remember that there was a family of ghosts watching through the window, but the mother ghost was not in that group. Anyway, I couldn’t wait to get out of her arms! Also, I could hear my mommy crying. Then, all of a sudden, a voice from the television was saying, ”You mothers out there should be careful, because at midnight, the horrifying ghost of lives will strike one of you and grab your child and then curse it to only have a life of 48 hours. Although, you will not get to keep your child!”  Some more crying went on, which I figured was because of this horrible message, and oh yeah! Did I tell you? I have magic, and don’t ask why because I have no idea.

         While I was watching my lovable cartoons, another alerting message cut in. It said, ”Oh, and mothers, the ghost will take the child to the nearest sundial and when that sundial hits midnight of the second day, your child will turn into a ghost too. Your child will do the same thing to another child because of all the hatred and unkind treatment it will get! However, remember that this will only happen to one of you!

“As soon as I heard that last sentence I calmed down because out of a million, there’s just a .001% chance it will be me. I was safe!

          That night, while my mother and I were sleeping in my bed, (okay, okay, so I was half asleep and it was my mom’s bed) I heard a swift of wind and before I knew it, a big ghost that looked like a father, came and threw his hands over to me and pulled me to him. Then he started to hug me! The hug felt like he was my very own father, which is so not true because he’s a ghost and I’m a human. The next thing I knew I was sitting in front of an old, ancient sundial by myself in the haunted woods.

     sundial.jpg  

             Picture of the Ancient Sundial

          There I was just looking at it. Then, I realized I was the lucky one to get picked to have only 48 hours to live. “Huh? What am I saying? I only have 48 hours to live! AHHHHHHHHHHHH! I won’t get any food! I want my bah bah (bottle)!”

          Later, I finally calmed down and wondered why I hadn’t thought of this before! I would go fishing! (So that I wouldn’t starve) Before I left, I checked the sundial! It said 8:00 a.m. I was still upset about only having two days to live, but I had to get over it. Now, I have two days to do everything I always wanted.

          So, I started down towards the lake when an animal, which I think was a porcupine, started to run after me. When he finally caught up with me and saw my face, he said randomly in a very high, shrieking voice, “Hi, I’m Bob. You must be Leslie! Oh wait, your not Leslie, you’re a….a….a…ahhhhhhh! You’re a ghost.”

Okay, now that he said I was a ghost I definitely thought this weird figure had some crazy problems. The porcupine stopped screaming and threw a mirror down at the floor and yelled, “Look in the mirror, you ugly faced ghost!” Then, he started to laugh so hard he suddenly fell to the ground.

Well, I thought he was dead! I grabbed the mirror and looked…ahhhhhhhh…That porcupine gave me a fake mirror that had a picture of an ugly face ghost! Somehow, the porcupine started to say in a scratchy, slow voice, “No…that’s …really…you!” He then died, but as soon as he had said those last words, I fainted.

          Then, I woke up and I found myself sleeping on a tree trunk. Whoa! The next thing I knew a white figure that looked like a father and looked very familiar, like I’ve met him before when I was a baby was standing in front of me. It was floating in the air! It looked like a ghost…a ghost?…ahhhh! He then told me to calm down. That was the exact same ghost I had seen at my house who had stolen me. He interrupted my good nap. Oh, he is going to pay! Okay, okay, so I wasn’t exactly sleeping but what if I was!

The ghost started to say, “We already lost you but we won’t lose you again!” Then, he finally left.

I wondered what that was all about. Then, I headed back to the sundial to see what time it was. I looked at it and it said 6:00 P.M. I had slept through the whole day.  Well, I slept practically the whole day without realizing it! Anyway, I was still sleepy so I went back to sleep on a tree trunk.

          When I woke up, it was the next morning. Suddenly, a swift of air like before came and that same ghost, that appeared earlier, came back. He grabbed me by the arm and we disappeared together.

 He took me flying to see someone. Okay, so I’m like totally freaked out right now for being in a ghost’s arms.  I was going to scream in two seconds, but before I knew it, I was in front of a family of ghosts. The ghost family said, “Moody, come, we are your real family. Someone stole you a while ago when you were born. They got the babies mixed up. Also, if you haven’t figured it out yet, you have magic. This proves that you are part of our family because we have magic too!

  If you want to know how we got into the human hospital, we used our magic and sprayed ourselves with our eyes. We also sprayed you. The spray only lasts for two years. Now, if you haven’t noticed, you look like one of us. “Oh, I thought that porcupine was scared because I was a ghost, so the mirror wasn’t fake? Aww... I don’t like being an ugly ghost.”

  My supposedly real parents said, “We paid the news guy to say all of those untrue things on television so we could come get you. We have been watching you for two years from the sky, over your roof. Now, we plan to get you back.” Then, they said, “Later today, at midnight, we will come here, at this sundial and you will need to choose whether you want to come with us, or stay here by yourself. Also, please believe us.” Then, they disappeared like that.

“This is so freaky! So freaky that I could scream right now. I guess I’m going to have to go with the ghosts or my supposedly real family.” I didn’t know if I should trust them, but I was starting to believe in them.

          Midnight came and I was barely awake trying to keep my eyes open. Then the ghosts came, standing in front of me, ready for my decision to come out. Then I blurted out, “I want my own family, which is you ghosts I believe.” Then, for some reason, we both started to cry because we were happy. They grabbed me and we all headed home to live a new life together, forever and ever.

A SEQUAL TO THIS WILD STORY OF HOW WELL THINGS GET ALONG IN THE GHOST FAMILY IS COMING OUT SOON!

A Weird Day Can Change Your Life

By

Nick Billingsley

 

           One May day at Tuckahoe, a tree named Hickory was swaying gently in the spring breeze.  He enjoyed his home in the Colonial Village.  He rested and thought, “Gee, I am glad I am here to see the children greet me each day.” 

           The children were outside playing around Hickory.  Suddenly, the sky became rather dark and it appeared that a storm was fast approaching the Tuckahoe area.  Everyone at Tuckahoe prepared for the storm and some children ran under Hickory for shelter.  Everyone under the tree was looking at the sky and wandering how a storm could come so fast without any warning. 

           All of a sudden, out from behind the clouds, an object began to appear.  Everyone thought that is was a plane but before anyone could get away, a huge UFO flew down to Earth.  The UFO swooped down and sucked Hickory into the UFO and disappeared. 

 The UFO took Hickory to its examining room and inspected him carefully.  Hickory was asleep the whole time.  When he woke up, he was back on Earth in the same exact spot.  He thought he might have been dreaming of the whole episode but the Aliens left him a little something on his branches.  He found a photo of the Aliens.  He noticed that they had green eyes and bluish-gray bodies.  They were at least ten feet tall.  It really frightened Hickory to see the photo.  He knew it definitely was not a dream.  However, Hickory felt very different since the UFO took him away.  He realized that he could walk, talk, and he could even see.  But, he didn’t know what really ever happened to him to make him this way.

           Ever since the incident, everyone enjoyed visiting with Hickory.  Hickory loved to talk with the children and tell them stories.  The Tuckahoe children loved Hickory very much!  He would even help them out with their homework.  Hickory was a true friend to everyone.  To this day, as Hickory gently sways in the breeze, he always wonders about the Aliens who gave him such a wonderful life.

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A picture of Hickory!

The Water Forest

By

Jessica Linton

 

         Once, there was a boy, who had been abandoned in the woods as a baby. A deer adopted him on the spot. The deer lived in a nearby water forest. To get to the water forest, you had to paddle on a log and find a door that was covered in vines.

         There is a very peculiar thing about the water forest. It knows and keeps every secret anybody has ever had.

         Every year, on the 7th of June, the same cloud is positioned over the Water Forest. In this cloud, is the evil queen of the Water Forest. When her cloud is positioned right, she sucks up fifty secrets through a hole called, The Secrets Hole.

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   Picture of the evil cloud! 

         The Water Forest was losing secrets fast. The deer thought the little boy was the key to stopping the queen before she stole all of the secrets. When the queen got the secrets, she could use them to make herself rich by selling them to all the wrong people.  Once all the secrets were gone, the Water Forest would shrivel up and die. The secrets were the main purpose for the Water Forest.

 

(Ten Years Later)

 

         “Alan a storms brewing up, so you better come in,” said the deer.

         “Just a minute,” called Alan.

         Alan was ten now and the deer was ready to speak to Alan about the fate the people had decided for him. When Alan came in, she told him to set the table. He happily agreed. The deer had decided to tell him at dinner.

         “Alan we have to talk.  The animals of the Water Forest have decided to ask you to stop the Queen,” said the deer.

         “Sure mom,” replied Alan.

         Alan knew about the secrets and the cloud. He knew it wouldn’t be as easy as pie. However, Alan still had a year to train for June 7th and he started right away. He began with swordplay. In a few days, he had mastered that. After that, he learned his way around the Water Forest. He learned to make traps in one day. He read all the books in all the libraries on the Water Forest. He even made a machine that could fly and a robot to help him. Finally, on June 6th, he was a prepared for the queen.

         On June 7th, he went to the secret hole and waited. Eventually, he saw an opening in the cloud and a strong wind came out and sucked him up, along with forty-nine secrets.

         The Queen didn’t notice him when he arrived. He jumped out of the beam and hid under her desk. He hooked up his robot to her computer and read all her secrets. After he read them, he sent them to the Gauge of Secrets.

         Then, he snuck over to her vault. His robot quickly got him in with the password. The vault had many secrets and lots of riches. He sent them to the library so they could sort them out. In the vault, he saw a key that would turn off the system and cover up the hole forever. Alan snuck out of the vault and had almost turned the key, when he heard a voice.

         The queen said, “Hello Alan, what a nice surprise.”  Alan knew this was the time he had to do it!  He turned the key and threw it into the fire. “Noooooooooooo,” she cried.

         Then, he noticed the cloud was melting.  Alan had to get out of there before he became nothing but small parts of atoms.  He ran to the edge and jumped. His robot automatically shot out a parachute. Alan floated down. When he landed, he ran to the library. He saw all the secrets were there and ran home. When he got home, all the Water Forest citizens were there and they all cheered for him.

         “Look up,” he said. They looked up and the cloud disappeared into thin air. From that moment on, the Water Forest never had another problem.  Alan was truly a hero!

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Picture of the Water Forest that Alan saved!

The Fate Gate

By

Charlie Whelden

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There was little talk at a normally social event in the town of Gramble Stone. Everybody was at the temple.  Normally, this was a joyous occasion but today people bowed their heads.  All were mourning the death of the town’s greatest warrior. Amongst this crowd, was his son, Sir John Infri, a well-respected demon slayer, who had once closed a gate that released one of the most powerful demons.  The Slayer was a ferocious Disciple of Bhall the Lord of Murder.  However, with his father dead, all this seemed irrelevant.

What was bothering him was his father was killed in a most demonic fashion. However, he had to shut the gate so no demons could get through.  He sighed, as the preacher said the final words of the sermon. As John was about to leave, the preacher walked up to him and said, “You are included in your fathers last will, sir.  If you want to receive your father's items, please arrive at the church at 10:15 tomorrow.” 

John said, “Very well, I will be there.”

The next day, John arrived at the church.  He sat down at the table and the preacher began reading his fathers will.

“Dear family, if your are reading this, then I have died. I hope you will not mourn for me, for my will to live wore thin anyway. To my sister Eleanor, I leave my summer home in Berogost.  To my loving wife, Ophelia, I leave my life savings in the amount of 18,000 gold bars.  Last but not least, I leave my son, John, my magical sword, known as the Dark Light Fire Star; its magical enchantments are endless.  Please my son, take care of this sword, it meant more to me then life.” 

The preacher then says, “You may depart from the building.” 

When John walked outside, the buildings were set ablaze. The townspeople were fleeing. Women and children were running into the church for shelter. John gasped, as his father’s sword whipped out of its holster.  He got into a fighting stance and to his horror; some kind of magical door flew up from the ground.  John immediately knew what it was.

The door opened and in that door, was the Slayer.  He hopped out of the gate. John looked at his father’s sword and wondered if he could vanquish this demon. The blade began glowing and all of a sudden, John’s strength increased massively.  His small stature was overcome with muscle. John charged the gruesome creature. He brought his blade down and heard the sound of air being sliced.  He felt a creature tap him on the shoulder.  He turned around and saw the Slayer.  He counted 1-2-3 and threw the blade directly up in the air and stepped back.  The Slayer stepped forward and delivered a mighty slash with his hand. John pointed in the air and the Slayer looked up and saw that the blade was three inches away from his neck.  The Slayer knocked the blade away with his claw and looked around for John.  He was nowhere to be seen.  The Slayer yelled, “Show yourself coward!” 

John said, “Okay, here I am.”   All of a sudden, the Slayer's feet came out from under him.  Then, John said, “I must use this opportunity to escape until I can work out a battle plan.”  John scurried as fast as he could.  He never stopped to think that running in church clothes was not easy.  He hid in a shelter and formulated a plan.

John decided, if he killed the person whom opened the gate, then, the Slayer would be sucked in like it was a black hole. John thought, who could possibly have the spell to open the gate?  All of a sudden, it hit him like a ton of bricks.  "The preacher," he said to himself. 

He went to the church and yelled, “Preacher!”

The preacher walked up to him and said, “How may I help you?”

Sir John noticed him reaching into his shoe.  He pulled out a dagger.  John said, “You know very well how you can help me.  You can show your true form Bhaal John Boomed!” John whipped out his blade.

Bhaal said, “Very well," and began to chant some kind of magical spell.  Suddenly, all of his disciples appeared.  John pulled out his father’s blade and began chanting some runes of exorcism.  Though, he was certain it would do no good.  Then, John’s words began to show up on his sword.  When he finished his runes, he yelled, “Demons from Haiti’s, I decree that you are not worthy to touch human soil!”  With those final words, a huge blast came at Bhaal, whom fell dead. Almost instantaneously, John heard an explosion of magic coming from outside.  John looked and saw the portal was sealed. The townspeople had a banquet in his honor, as well as gifts of gold and riches.  The Fate Gate was forever sealed and he lived happily ever after.

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The picture represents the spot the gate was closed and the town was saved!

When Dragons Attack

By

Tino Bordone

 

Long ago in a distant land called Tuckuhouea, there was an evil sorcerer who was trying to take over Tukuhouea.  The evil sorcerer had the unique ability to make special seeds.  Once the seeds were made, he planted them in the ground.  The evil sorcerer tended to his plantation in hopes the seeds would show its special powers.  At anytime that the evil sorcerer was in trouble, the powerful seeds would summon an army of dragons.

The dragons were called upon to attack several villages.  The fire that came out of their mouths left the villages destroyed.  The dragons turned on their planter, the evil sorcerer, and over threw him.  The dragons continued on their destructive rampage.  Finally, the dragons set their big, red eyes on the palace of Tuckuhouea.

The palace of Tuckuhouea got word that the dragons were heading their way.  They decided to combine all the armies of Tuckuhouea to help defeat the dragons.  When the dragons arrived to the land of Tuckuhouea, there was a bloody battle.  The armies of Tuckuhouea fought hard but in the end the powerful dragons won.

The head leader of the dragons was known as King Dragose.flamingdrag.gif  After defeating the armies of Tuckuhouea, King Dragose ruled the land in the huge castle that stood on the steepest hill in Tuckuhouea.  There he spent many splendid hours in the throne room.

However, off in the distance, the group known as “The Resistance” was planning on overthrowing King Dragose.  They were not pleased to see their armies defeated in Tuckuhouea and they set out their brave warrior for revenge.  Using a grappling hook, the warrior scaled the wall of the palace to the throne room that King Dragose spent his days in ruling the land.

King Dragose did not see the mighty warrior until he was inside the throne.  At that time, the ultimate fight began.  The warrior used his shield to protect himself from King Dragose’s fire that would pour out of his mouth.  The warrior was smart to use the shield because the fire was deflected right back at King Dragose.  The kingdom was saved and everyone in the land of Tuckuhouea was forever indebted to the brave warrior.

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The land of Tuckuhouea!

The Hidden Passage

By

Josh Granadeno

 

       In 1814, the battle of the World Army against the Alien Militia started.  The aliens wanted to take over the planet Earth.  Their home planet was running out of food and water and they knew Earth had the resources they needed to survive.  The people of Earth offered to share their resources with them, but the aliens wanted it all. 

       In the beginning, the aliens appeared to be too superior for the World Army.  The army could not penetrate the alien’s base.  If they could not destroy their base, the army could not win the war.  The aliens just had too many supplies. 

                On a cold winter day, general Woodson, a commander for the army, found an abandoned cabin for his troops to rest.  They desperately were trying to find a way to win the war before it was too late.

                “What are we going to do, sir,” said a soldier.

                “I am just not sure.  So many of our troops have failed penetrating the great wall of their base,” said general Woodson. 

                “We have to find some way to get inside of it!” said an angry soldier.

                “General, come take a look at this,” said lieutenant Smooth.

                “It looks like an underground tunnel.  We should check this out,” ordered Woodson.

                The general and his men went through the passageway.  They were not sure where it was going to lead them but they knew they were safe underground.  Eventually, the passageway led them right to the heart of the alien’s base.  The general knew this was the break they needed to defeat the evil aliens. 

                The entire World Army was commanded to head to the cabin and use the underground tunnels.  The aliens thought the army was retreating and they were on the verge of world domination.  However, before they could sit down to enjoy their apparent victory, the World Army flew up out of the tunnels and ambushed the aliens.  The aliens never knew what hit them. 

                It is now the year 2004 and the aliens have never returned.  Some people think they became extinct and others think they conquered another world.  Millions of people have visited the great cabin since the early 1800’s.  The cabin is a symbol of victory for many soldiers.

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A picture of the cabin that saved Earth.

Ant Wars

By

Alex Bruns

 

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The year is 6001.  In the country of Antplaza, the Jedants, the Blackant warriors, are training to improve their skills with a grassblade (lightsaber). They are training so they can defend the ancient ant temple, called Antokia, from a rumored attack by Count Dookant, who is the leader of the Redants. 

In the Temple of Antokia, a student Jedant, named Antikan Skycrawler, is training, so he can help defeat the Redants.  Count Dookant is planning to destroy the Temple of Antokia, so the Blackants can’t create their grassblades.  They would not be able to create the grassblades because it had to be done in the temple.  If it were created anywhere else, the grassblade would fall to pieces and be useless.  The reason is unknown, but if the temple was destroyed in an assault, the Jedants (warriors) would be useless to the Blackants and Count Dookant and his army of Redants would be victorious.

One day, when Antikan was training in Antokia, the temple shook.  He was on the top level of the temple, so he went down to check on the lower level.  When he looked down, he saw a terrible sight.  Redants were swarming in the temple and some were riding cockroaches, the deadliest of all “war bugs”. 

Antikan immediately signaled for all the ant troopers and Jedants to help defend the temple.  “We are in trouble!” said Obant.  Obant quickly ran to the temple and realized something very important.  He knew it was a Cicada year and that the Jedants could even up the odds against the Redants.

“Now, we can use their shells as ant fliers (their version of ships) to help move our forces quickly,” yelled out Obant. 

In no time, Antikan and Obant were fighting the Redant Droids.  Ants of both sides were all over the place, as Cicada shells fell from the sky.  Then, all the Redants stopped in their tracks, and the room suddenly stunk. 

“Why did they stop and what is that smell?” asked Antikan. 

“Who knew this many ants could be slain in such a little amount of time!” said Obant. 

“That smell isn’t from all the dead ants!  The smell is coming from a stinkbug!” yelled Antikan.  A stinkbug had rammed through the wall and started body slamming Jedant warriors. 

“We need to destroy that stinkbug!” shouted Obant.

“It has a control device on it that makes the cockroaches do whatever it does.  If the stinkbug attacks something, so will the cockroaches.  If we destroy the stinkbug, all the cockroaches will blow up!” shouted Antikan. 

“Okay, lets go for it,” said Obant. 

When the stinkbug was swatting at an ant trooper, Antikan jumped on it and stuck his grassblade into it.  The stinkbug went berserk, fell down, and died.  The temple was filled with the sound of blown up cockroaches.  The red ants, who were riding the cockroaches, were crashing into the temple walls and dying.  Obant was unconscious because a cockroach rammed into his head but he would survive.  The Jedants had defeated the enemy and saved the temple.  However, everyone knew that this was just the beginning. 

Unfortunately, the temple needed cleaning because the floors had slain ants, dead cockroaches, and Cicada shells on them.  Luckily for Obant and Antikan, the cleaning job fell on the Loaferants and not the Jedants.

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A picture of the battle!

Holidays/VDburstinghearts.gif May you rest in peace for your life on this Earth was too short. Holidays/VDburstinghearts.gif

Thomas and His Family

By

Olivia Cope

  

       It was late at night and Thomas Plum came home with a load of food for the night for his family, who lives underground in the Peter Rabbit Garden.  Every night Thomas goes out into the Peter Rabbit Garden and steals vegetables.  Thomas knows he is wrong.  However, his family is starving, so he has to do it.

                One day, a fourth grader, named Jean, was in the garden and she noticed that all of Tuckahoe’s vegetables were missing.  She wanted to know who was stealing all of them!

                One night, Jean stayed after school to observe the garden.  Suddenly, a rabbit came out of the bushes and started taking all of the food.  Jean could not believe a rabbit was stealing all of the vegetables. 

                There was a pause for a moment.  Then, Jean said, “Hello.”  Thomas was scared but he managed to say hello back to her.  Jean asked Thomas why he was stealing the vegetables and Thomas shyly replied, "Because my family is starving and this is what I have to do to keep them alive.”  There was silence for a while. 

                “I am sorry,” said Jean

                “It is okay,” replied Thomas.

                “How about you take some of my family's food?” Jean asked.

                “No, I do not like to take items from someone I know,” said Thomas.

                “How about you and your family live in my backyard and you can eat items there?” asked Jean.

                “Okay, we can give it a try,” replied Thomas.

                Thomas and his family had a much better life now and Jean had ten happy rabbits living in her yard.

                However, one day Jean had to move!  The Plum family had just moved into their new home and now what were they going to do.  Jean wanted them to come with her but they refused.  Jean knew the new family would want to get rid of them.  This would cause them to starve again!  Jean would not listen to Thomas saying it would be okay, so Jean did a bad thing.  She took all of the children so they would not starve.

                Thomas was so sad that he turned to stone, as well as his wife.  Of course, Jean felt terrible about what she did but she thought that all of the rabbits would die of starvation.  She had no idea what had actually happened to Mr. and Mrs. Plum.

                When the rabbits were all grown up, they asked Jean who their mother and father were.  Jean would not tell them, so they told her that they would leave if she did not help find them.

                Jean went to the Peter Rabbit Garden and found out exactly what had happened.  She felt terrible inside.  She did not want to tell the young rabbits because she knew it would be too painful.  However, the rabbits would not accept her quietness and they decided to leave her.  Jean felt extremely lonely.  She now knew what it must have felt like for Thomas and his wife.  She tried to find the rabbits to apologize but they were long gone.

                When the rabbits found their parents, they hugged them and cried.  Then, a miracle occurred.  Thomas and his wife turned back into rabbits.  The children’s tears created the magic needed to reverse the stone curse.  One of the rabbits was actually an artist and he decided to make a stone sculpture of his mother and father.  Their sculpture can be found in the Peter Rabbit Garden, where people can visit each day.

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The sculpture of Thomas

MIRACLE FALLS

BY

KATHRYN WIRTZ

 

BOB

     Jess sat under her tree, inside her cattails, in her forest, sitting with her pet squirrel, Chestnut.  Chestnut chattered loudly scrounging for food.

           Suddenly, a flash struck the sky. Jess was scared.  She didn’t know what to do! (If you were wondering how I know, I was there. I’m a worm, and my name is Bob. I saw the whole thing.) She started to think (Or at least she probably was, you see she can't speak her mind.), “Should I leave my spot or should I just stay here and …well…sit?” She ran through the cattails. Her metal watchband clinked as she ran. Suddenly, she stopped and stared at the waterfall that laid before her.

     She stepped into the water. Then, interrupting her awe, there was another flash followed by a scream. Jess went on through some trees and saw a hunter. She was isolated. Since she wasn’t moving, I crawled onto her shoulder. She watched as a woman defended a fawn.  The hunter threatened to shoot the woman if she didn’t move. Then, the buck charged into the hunter and knocked him out. The woman saw Jess (and me of course) and took us to her home in the woods. Chestnut hopped onto the woman’s shoulder. “Chee-ee-ee-ee” Chess chattered as he was jostled along.

            “Who are you?” the woman asked.

            “I-am-J-J-J-J-Jess,” Jess replied. She sounded like a child just learning to speak.  “Why are you here?” Jess asked.

            “My husband, Mark Larino, died here ten years ago with our two year old daughter.”

            “My father died here too,” Jess said as she looked down at her watchband.  In golden letters, it said, Mark Larino.  The golden lettering danced in the sunlight.  “I think this belongs to you,” Jess told the woman.

            “Little girl, what’s your name?” the woman asked.

            “Jess,” she replied.

            “Where did you get my husband’s watchband?” the woman questioned.

            “My father died, but before he did, he managed to put it in my hand,” Jess stated. “My full name is Jessica A. Larino or at least I think it is!  What is your name?”

            “Well before I got remarried it was Caitlin Larino but now its Caitlin Viclin,” The woman replied.  “And you Jess, are my missing daughter. So after that, Mom (as we now call her) took us all to her cabin.

            It got late and dark, and dark and late (whichever you prefer), so Jess and Chess (Chestnut) went down to the previously seen water fall/stream to catch some fish for dinner. I don’t know what happened when they were gone. I was asleep.

            The door creaked open and fumes of fish danced through the house. I arose from the dirt and crawled up and across the table and sat on top of my plate.

            A chunk of fish was set before each of us. I stuffed a bite into my mouth. “So Jess, you are coming with me to my house in the city!” said mom.

      I was shocked! My jaw dropped. The fish fell out of my mouth. Jess picked me up and put the fish back in my mouth.

     “But mom, I don’t want to!” Jess slammed the door and ran outside. (I was still in her hand.) She ran to the waterfall and sat on a rock with her feet dangling. Her toes pierced the water as she kicked her feet back and forth. “I don’t want to go!” Jess said to herself.

            “But, you have to go! People live in the city, not the wild!” I contradicted.

            “I’ll go if you will,” Jess said to me with a sad look on her face.

            “I can’t!” I yelled. “There isn’t enough dirt!”

            Suddenly, Mom came running at us with Chess not far behind. She grabbed us and shoved us into a thing with wheels. “We’re going to the city, NOW!” she yelled. I crawled out the window. I wiggled my head around to symbolize a wave. Jess waved back.

CHESS

       We hopped into the thing with wheels. I think it was a car because my sister got runded (ran) over with one when I was only two. Gee, that sister was the besets (best), that is, till she was turnded (turned) to road kill.  Well that’s beside the point.

       So as I was saying, we all got in the car. Mom and Jess wrapped themselves in ropses (ropes). “Chess you need to buckle up,” Jess said. Suddenly, a rope squisheded (squished) my tummy and the car started bouncing and a bad noise filleded (filled) the car. I think it’s called a radidoe (radio). Then, we finally reached Bookland (Brooklyn) and settled into our new big tree. Jess and I climbed up the stairs. We sat on Jess’ bed and looked out the window for hours. “I think there is a state park here,” Jess said suddenly.  I climbed out the window and across the sputter, or maybe, no. As I pondered my word options, Jess climbed down the tree next to the window and I hopped off the futter, as I decided to call it.  We got in the car and drove to the train station and got on a train.

              The sounds of the tracks lulled me to sleep. Then, the train lurched to a stop. I was lifted out of my seat and cold water was splashed upon my face. I opened my eyes and I was on a lily pad in the pond. Bob crawled over to us and we were reunited. To this day, we still play in the falls. 

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A picture of the falls that Jess, Chess, and Bob enjoy visiting.

Kid Heaven and the Magical Plant

By

Owen Howe

 

           A very long time ago, in a universe far away, there was a boy who lived in a town called Annandale.  His name was Owen Howe and his nickname was Big Freeze.

         One day, he was playing in the forest. He noticed a plant that would shine in the light when he touched it.  Also, the magical plant would send him to a far off place called Kid Heaven.  To get back home, all he had to do was retouch the plant.

         When he was in Kid Heaven, he was offered a luxury resort in Jamaica. Big Freeze (Owen) could not pass up that offer, so he went to Jamaica. When he got to Jamaica, a man came and said he had a closet full of Butterfingers. He also had a huge flat screen television with every game system and game. Big Freeze could not believe this was happening to him.  He ran to the lobby to touch the plant, so he could tell his friends back home.

         On his way to the lobby, he saw the biggest pool in his life.  The sign on the pool said, For All Kids in Kid Heaven!  He thought to himself, that this pool must be at least three miles long and wide. Big Freeze rushed to the lobby in excitement and touched the plant. He was transported back to his home and he quickly called his friends. 

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         He called Glen Sousa, Daniel Nely Josh Baquedano, and Josh Granadeno. None of his friends believed him, so they all came to his house. They all went to the forest and saw the plant.  Owen and his friends touched the plant and nothing happened. All of his friends started to laugh at him. Then, Owen remembered that it was the plant next to it, so he and his friends touched the plant and were transported to Kid Heaven.

         When they arrived, there was a big sign that said, Welcome to Kid Heaven! All of Big Freeze’s friends were amazed.  Owen showed them his room. They all asked him if they could have their own room too. Owen and his friends went to the lobby to see if they could get some more rooms. The lady at the front desk said, “sure!”

         All of Big Freeze’s friends got a room of their own.  They were very happy. Big Freeze and his friends went to the big pool near the lobby. After the swimming, they played soccer on the nicest soccer field they had ever seen. Then, they went to the basketball court and played basketball. After doing all those activities, they had lunch.  All of them thought that lunch was the best lunch ever because they had their favorite foods and it was free!

         Josh said, “Let’s go home because it is getting late.”

         “I want to get a Butterfinger first,” said Glen.

         All of them agreed to get a Butterfinger before going home. Once they finished eating them, they went to the lobby and touched the plant but nothing happened! They were all scared because now they could not get back home. They told the lady at the front desk that the plant was not working.  She said they could not go back without first helping the people of Kid Heaven. We were all puzzled.  The woman went on to tell us that adults wanted to take over the place.  They thought it was wrong for kids to have a place where they had no responsibilities.  “We will stop them,” said Big Freeze.  “Nobody will take away our fun!”

         “How did adults ever get inside Kid Heaven?” asked Josh Granadeno.

         “We have three special guardians that help seal the environment from unwelcome visitors but because of old age, it appears the seal has been broken,” said the lady at the front desk.

         “We will handle it!” said Joshua Baquedano.

         Big Freeze and all of the other kid recruits gathered to plan for the invasion.  Big Freeze and his friends were named the bosses of the kid army. The Kids Heaven guardians gave the children supplies to help them fight the evil adults.  They gave the kids special ammunition to help transport them out of Kid Heaven, 50,000 helicopters, 20,000 tanks, and 100,000 hummers.

         The kids launched an all out assault on the adults.  They used their helicopters, tanks, and hummers to penetrate their base.  The adults were no match for them.  Big Freeze and his gang used the special ammunition to transport all of the adults out of Kid Heaven.  The guardians made sure to fix the seal, so no more evil party poopers could get into Kid Heaven.  Big Freeze and all of the other kids could now rest peacefully as they did not have to worry about adults telling them what to do when they were in Kid Heaven.

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A Picture of the Magical Plant!

Thumb Wars and the Temple of Tiki-Tiki

By

James Heo

 

          In a galaxy far away, there was a small planet called Thumb-Thumb.  There was a hero named Duke Thumbwalker and his master Sobewankanobee.  They had a mission to save the queen. 

The evil enemy’s name was Hairy Doodyhead.  He had an evil army of Thumbdroids. 

Thumbwalker and Sobewankanobee were going to the temple of Tiki-Tiki to save the queen.  They had to bring reinforcements, which were more thumbs.  Their weapons were thumbsabers. 

When they got there, the body armor of many thumbs were damaged.  They fought until the end.  They were fighting quickly, and while they were fighting, Sobewankanobee got hurt. 

      Soon, it was only Thumbwalker and Doodyhead left fighting because all the others were hurt or killed.   They were getting very serious about it.  While they were fighting, Doodyhead started acting crazy.  He was so hyper that he just attacked without blocking or doing any moves.  He ended up destroying Thumbwalker’s thumbsaber.  So, Thumbwalker used the power of Sobewankanobee by using his thumbsaber.  With this power, he crushed Doodyhead and won.  However, he was not happy because his master had disappeared.  He had vanished into thin air and was never seen again.  They later put up a statue to honor and remember him.  Thumbwalker rescued the queen and the Temple of Tiki-Tiki was no longer a prison for the Dark Side. 
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Lame Myth

By

Amy Frame

 

“Hello Mars!  Today on our game show, we have the Tooth Fairy and Hebe the Goddess of Youth!  I am Bryan Beacrese and this is Lame Myth!  This is how our game is played. There are three rounds, and if you score the least amount of points after the three rounds, you lose and are the lame myth.  Let’s get started and find out who the lame myth really is.”

“The first round category is spelling!”

“Here is your first word.  The word is political.”   (Buzzzzzzzzzzzzz!)

“Okay, Tooth Fairy how do you spell political?”

“P-O-L-I-T-I-C-A-L.”

        “You are correct, Tooth Fairy!”

       “Here comes you next word.  The word is computer.  (Buzzzzzzzzzzzzz!)

        “Hebe, you buzzed in first, so spell computer.”

        “C-O-M-P-U-T-E-R”

        “You are also correct!  Wow, what a first round!  We have a tie score of one to one.”

“Let us move on to the second round. Now, our next round is a dare.  (Oooo’s and ahhhh’s from the audience) Okay, the dare is to jump into a pool of slime and swim to the other side! Oh and by the way, whoever gets there the fastest, will win! Ready, set, go!”

“Hebe the Goddess takes a short lead!  Oh! No! Hebe is stuck in the slime.  The Tooth Fairy comes out of nowhere to win the race!  The score is now Tooth Fairy 2 and Hebe 1.”

“Okay lets move on to the final round.  This round will test your athleticism.  Your goal is to pop a wheelie on a motorcycle.  Are you ready?” 

“Yes, we are Bryan,” said Hebe.

“Ready, set, go!

“Wow, Hebe was no match for Tooth Fairy!”

“Tooth Fairy is the winner by at least twenty-two teeth.”

“Yes! I win the show!” said Tooth Fairy.

“Well, there you have it folks.  Hebe the Goddess is today’s lame myth.  (hysterical laughing by the audience)  Tooth Fairy has just won brand new wings.”

        “I am so happy because I now can collect teeth from all of the children in the world!”   

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A picture of Tooth Fairy and her new wings and a very angry Hebe!

Cyborgs vs. Robots

By

Ben Wade

 

 In a universe far away, it is the year 4921.  The cyborgs have built a great moon base for their battle against the robots.  Both the cyborgs and robots want to control the galaxy.  (The name of the galaxy is Tuckahoe.)  Unfortunately, if the cyborgs are unable to defeat the robots, it could mean total enslavement for them.  (The cyborgs have always stood for peace and the robots have always stood for war.)    

 The lead commander’s of the cyborgs are Benjamin Zero, Chad Xero, and Nick Zoid.  The commanders are currently on the robot planet and about to attack.  They are extremely confident since completing their new moon base and secret weapon.  It truly is the first time they have had an advantage over the robots.

            “I’ll setup the weapons for us,” said Xero.

            “Xero, look out behind you. There is a robot speeder with a phaser,” yelled Zero.

            “Thanks Zero! I have him in my sites now and I’ll use my sonic cannon to defeat the speeder,” said Xero.

            Chad Xero was able to hit the robot right in his computer section of his abdomen.  This was a weak spot for the robots.  Xero knocked down about 200 more evil robot speeders but Xero knew the worst was yet to come.

            “Look out they are sending in the gigantarobots,” yelled Zoid.

            “We have to destroy them.  This is for our freedom!” said Zero.

            Zero tries to take over one of the gigantarobots but is unable to do it alone.  He calls on reinforcements from his team.  In return, the team sends a message to the moon base.

            “Base, it is time for the weapon!”

            “Understood, we are sending it now,” replied a cyborg officer.

            “There it is Zoid!” said Xero.

            “The DOOMSDAY machine,” Zoid said to himself.

             Ben Zero, Chad Xero, and Nick Zoid were all able to get out of the way of the Doomsday machine before it launched its super high frequency destructor.  They escaped in a pod back to the moon base.  When the DOOMSDAY machine went off, everything within 3000 miles was completely destroyed.  The cyborgs had defeated the evil robots thanks to some great leadership and teamwork of Benjamin Zero, Chad Xero, and Nick Zoid.  The Tuckahoe Galaxy was saved from the robots.   
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