December 2020

Welcome to the December 2020 issue of Inklings Magazine For Kids and By Kids!

After a long break, Inklings is back, better than ever before! I had the amazing opportunity to help many of the young writers who wrote for this issue make characters, improve their plots, and beat writer’s block in the Inklings Young Writers Workshops in October and November, and some will join me again in January and February for the IYW Fantasy World Collaborative Workshops! It’s going to be great!

Again, thank you for reading this issue. You help keep Inklings going so we can offer young writers a chance to get their stories published. If you like this issue, please share it with your friends!

If you are a young writer and you want to write for Inklings, send me your stories, poems, articles, comics, and whatever else you write! Our submission guidelines are here.

Elizabeth, Inklings Editor

The Three Tricky Triceratops

By Braden Leasure

Once upon a time, in a green valley, Ty, Sara, and little Tommy, also known as Tops, were munching on leaves. They were known as the tricky triceratops to their parents. While eating, Ty looked behind a tree and saw a field of new trees with lots of vegetables and fruits. The problem was to get there, they would need to cross a stream using a fallen tree trunk.

Ty said, “We should go look over there together later. There’s not enough food here to last us until next week.”

“I wish we knew how to grow food,” said Sara.

Meanwhile, Rexington, the Tyrannosaurus Rex, was napping at the side of the stream that had the new field of trees. He heard the siblings talking about crossing the rotten log to the field.

Rexington said scheming, “They’re not going to get past me and ruin my hard work! I will need to stop them first! Mua-ha-ha-h-caw (cough, cough, cough). I need to work on that.”

Later that day, Tops, the youngest of the siblings, was curious and decided to check out the new food across the stream. He thought he was plenty light enough to make it over on the fallen tree. Tip-top, tip-top, … went his feet on the log.

“Who is that tapping on my log?” Rexington said with an angry voice.

Tops said shyly, “I want to cross the log bridge and go to the field of fresh leaves.”

Rexington yelled, “Oh no you’re not! It took me a long time to plant and grow those! Go walk down the stream on that side and look for new leaves!”

“But those leaves look the best…” Tops said.

“Go away or I’ll eat you!” Rexington suddenly hiccupped, and it sounded frightening! “Hic-aaaarrrr…!”

Tops ran away scared.

Later that evening Sara went to go cross the log bridge. Bumpety-bump, bumpety-bump…

“Who is that bumping on my log?” Rexington said annoyed.

Sara said, “I’m here to go to the meadow of leaves.”

“Oh no you are not! It took me a long time to grow those!” Rexington said angrier.

“But I’m starving…” whined Sara.

“Go away or I’ll eat you! Hic-rraaaww!” Rexington’s hiccups started again and sounded just as mean.

Sara ran away screaming and found Ty and Tops. After Tops and Sara told Ty about the mean, roaring T-Rex Ty decided that the three should go together to trick the T-Rex. When they got to the log, they saw Rexington standing on the log. Suddenly, Rexington hiccupped the loudest of all “HIC-RAAACUP!”. Then they all heard a “craaaccck”. Rexington was too busy with his hiccups to hear the cracking and fell into the stream. Luckily, he fell on the rotten log he was standing on, because everyone knows T-Rex’s can’t swim with those little arms.

“Help! Help! I can’t swim!” yelled Rexington.

The triceratops ran after him to help. They wanted the food but didn’t want a helpless dinosaur to die. He was floating down the stream, right to a waterfall. “Hold on!” they yelled. Quickly the triceratops formed a ladder. Rexington climbed up the triceratops ladder to safety.

“Oof! I stepped on a horn!” said Rexington.

“No! You stepped on my nose!” Tops argued.

After thanking them, Rexington said, “Oh no! I can’t get back to my garden now!”

Ty said, “A garden? I thought T-Rex only ate meat.”

Rexington, getting a little embarrassed, “My parents made me ONLY eat meat, and I was sick of it. I bought a field and only finished planting a quarter of the seeds.”

Ty said, “We could help you plant the rest of the seeds by using our horns and making holes. Then you and Tops can plant the seeds. We can also work together to push over a new log for the bridge to the garden. If we can eat the plants, too.”

Rexington thought it over. “I will agree if you don’t eat all the green off one plant. I will teach you.”

The group of new friends planted seeds and grew lots of plants for the next months.

“We have so many plants we won’t be able to eat it all!” Sara exclaimed.

“We can share the leftovers. We can have a little sale. Just a little.” Said Rexington.

“You’re not so crabby anymore, Rexington,” joked Ty, and they all laughed.

Tops said in his cute high-pitched voice, “...and they all lived happily ever after!”

Exypeus and the Skia Fotias

by Alex Kunce

It is said, in a time when Greece was the strongest empire in the world, and magic still played a bit in the country and in the forests, there lived a beast by the name of the Skia Fotias. With fire the heat of a Salamander, the potency of a Nuckelavee, and the strength of a chimaera, the Skia Fotias was the terror of the hillside it inhabited. A revenant of pure fire, the beast consisted of only burned bones and massive, crackling inferno that spread like liquid onto any flammable surface. The people of the nearby village, who lived only off of their wheat farming, ran when the beast entered their town, not being able to stop it from setting fire to their crops. Every night, the Skia Fotias would rampage the town and destroy the only thing its people had to sell to merchants for food and clothing. This went on for many years, every night filled with the screams of fleeing townsfolk from the burning demon. The people of the town, afraid of the Skia Fotias but desperate to rid themselves of it, called upon the hero of the hillside; Exypeus, a brave and cunning warrior. Exypeus was courageous, but came riding into the town on horseback with only one, small bag. He stopped in the town square, the townsfolk gathering around to see the famous hero perform his task.

“Citizens! I, Exypeus, have come to rid you of your monster! I have dealt with similar creatures before, and I will deal with this one! The Skia Fotias’ power comes from its fire. If I put the fire out, it will be no more!”

He drew from his bag a leather sack, stitched tightly with twine around the edges.

“This sack holds water! If I throw it upon the beast, it will douse the flames!”

And so Exypeus waited until nightfall. The Skia Fotias, wild and raging, approached Exypeus. Flames charred the crops on either side of it, the grass smoldering beneath its feet. Exypeus drew no sword, nor no spear. He, instead, pulled his canteen from his side where it hung from a rope around his shoulder. He uncorked the top, and turned the whole container upon the Skia Fotias. But as soon as he did, steam rushed from it, engulfing half the town in a haze. The Skia Fotias’s intense heat had evaporated the water! Exypeus had failed, but the next day, once the creature had left, he returned to the town square.

“Citizens! Last night, I failed, and quite miserably. But today, I will use a new tool.” Exypeus drew from his sack a new item; A hook on a long rope.

“I will climb to the highest peak of that hill, where the winds are strong. Surely that will blow the fire out.”

And so Exypeus waited for nightfall. He had thrown his hook to the top of the peak, and the cord hung down the side, ready to be climbed. The Skia Fotias’s blazing fire drew into town, it’s radiant heat engulfing Exypeus. Exypeus drew no dagger, nor no axe. He instead ran off for the rope, which he hastily climbed. The Skia Fotias followed swiftly, climbing the mountain behind him. When he reached the top, the Skia Fotias stood there, powerful and menacing. Exypeus ducked as an intense gust of wind nearly knocked him off the cliff. The fire of the Skia Fotias, however, only burned stronger in the abundant oxygen. Again, Exypeus had failed, but the next day, once the creature had left once more, he returned to the town square.

“Citizens!” Exypeus was battered and burned from the Skia Fotias. And he had fallen a ways down the mountain. “I have failed again, but this time, I have a new idea.” From his satchel he drew his last item, which made the crowd gasp.

“This tool was given to me by a very wise old friend.” It was tall and had a sharp top, and was intricately ornamented with whorls and gemstones.

Right away Exypeus got to work, as the townsfolk watched questioningly. At night, Exypeus waited for the Skia Fotias to return. It tore into the town in a surrounding cloak of indescribable sun-heat. Exypeus stood on one side of a field, the Skia Fotias on the other side. When it saw him, it charged, but Exypeus held his ground, he could almost feel the fire burning his body, but still he stayed put. And then the terrifying Skia Fotias crashed through the moss-covered hole dug by the fancy shovel Exypeus had brought with. He quickly covered it with a wetted cloth net, held together with extra sticks. The Skia Fotias roared and raged inside, but Exypeus held it on tight for hours. In the morning, Exypeus pulled away the cover, to see only the remains of a burned skeleton.

“How did you know?” The townspeople cried.

“On the mountain, the fire only grew when it had plenty of air. So I deprived it of air, and it burned out.”

And so, with the monstrous beast gone, the town cheered Exypeus as he rode off, and the town became wealthy and prosperous once again.

To Télos

December 2020: Text

NICK’S NIGHTMARE
By Michael W.
Nick was tired. He was always tired, but today, he had just had a particularly long day of school. Detention wasn’t fun, and even though he didn’t usually get it, that didn’t mean that teachers were always fair. Earlier that day, he had been minding his own business, walking down the hall, and then Grayson had jumped in front of him, blocking his path. A cold feeling of dread settled in Nick’s bones. No matter what Grayson did, he always seemed to get away with it.
“What’cha doin’, matchstick?” Grayson taunted. Grayson called him that because he was tall and thin, but it was a stupid insult nonetheless.
“Um, what does it look like, Greyhair? I thought you at least you would know what walking down the hall was. I guess not, though.” Nick was good with comebacks, but not much else. Grayson could easily force Nick into his own locker if he wanted to.
“Oh, how dare you be so mean to me?” said Grayson theatrically. “You know it’s not fair for someone with straight brown hair to call someone Greyhair! Your brother would have never done such a thing.” He threw his head back in mock shock as Nick’s face turned bright red with anger. A teacher chose that exact moment to duck her head around the hall. Grayson immediately played the victim.
“He called me Greyhair!” Grayson said.
“But he--” Nick immediately butted in.
“Detention, Nick! I don’t want to hear another word out of you until…” She stopped her sentence there. What she meant was “I don’t want to hear another word out of you ever! Or any kid, for that matter!” Mrs. Warden hated kids. Except Grayson. Maybe it was because of how they were so similar. Despite looking and acting alike, Grayson and Mrs. Warden weren’t related, which made their friendship all the more disgusting.
“Are you okay, honey?” Nick’s mom’s voice jolts him out of his memory.
“I’m fine,” Nick says, looking out of the car’s window.
At least it was just lunch detention. It would have sucked if the school had to call my mom, Nick thinks bitterly.
That night, Nick had trouble falling asleep. He couldn’t stop thinking about his brother, Nathan. The cliff. Nick’s family had been hiking the bluffs by their house six months ago, and they had stopped by an outcrop of rock jutting out from the edge of the bluff. Nathan and Nick kept pushing each other closer to the edge. Nick peered over the edge of the outcrop.
“Whoa, that’s pretty far down,” Nathan had said.
Nick’s dad yelled, “Make sure to be careful!”
A gust of wind blew Nick off balance, and he fell head over heels off the bluff. Time slowed, and for what seemed like an eternity, all he could see were the pines below him, moving in slow motion in the wind. Then, all of a sudden, a hand grabbed Nick’s foot and yanked him back up to the top of the bluff. Nathan’s hand. With the final effort of pulling Nick back up, Nathan slipped on loose gravel at the very edge. For the second time that day, someone had fallen off the bluff. But this time, the person hadn’t been saved.

December 2020: Text

Superfinger Story

By George

Once upon a time there was a finger. Now this was no ordinary finger - it was SUPER FINGER!

With his sidekick Pinky, he helped people. Well, see him 400 years ago: A long time ago he was flying all along the town when suddenly he heard someone. It sounded like “HELP!”

“Don’t worry, I will save you!”

But he heard another “help” and another. Of course this was a dream. He woke up. He felt funny and also he was acting weird.

And this was another dream! Finally, he was really up and then, “HELP!” And then finally he knew he was asleep.

Endangered Species

By Ruth Nicolaus

A lot of animals are endangered right now. Like the giant panda, American bald eagle, and the central Asian tortoise. Here are a few ideas to help.

• Plant a red currant bush to attract butterflies.

• Or if your child’s school is going to let balloons go for a party, try to stop them.

Grandpa Johnson’s Amazing Story

By Anna Hagen, Age 13

Edmund Oscar Johnson the Third coughed loudly from his seat on his bed as his grizzled grandfather, Edmond Oscar Johnson the First, entered his small bedroom.

“Oh, Eddie,” Grampa Johnson said, pulling the door closed behind him, “that cough sounds like a whopper.”

“Yeah,” rasped Eddie, forcing another one out, and another until he gasped for breath. The man laughed heartily.

“Alright, you can stop now, I am thoroughly convinced you are sick. Hey, you know what helps coughing real nice, though?” Eddie smiled as his grandfather and namesake looked around the room as if there were spies hiding everywhere before slipping his young relative a hard candy wrapped in crinkly plastic.

“Now, you have to understand that once your parents get home from work, not a word of this has to bother their poor ears, got it?”

“My lips are sealed,” Eddie replied in a confidential whisper, popping the candy into his mouth. His throat seemed to sigh with relief as the sweet flavor of the candy soothed the pain.

“Now, who wants to hear a story?” Grampa Johnson said, slapping his hands on his knees. Eddie didn’t open his mouth -- the candy was too delicious -- but he raised his hand as high as it could stretch. His grandfather pretended not to see him at first.

“What’s this? No one wants to hear my exciting, adventure-filled, action-packed tale? What a crying shame, this sure is a tough crowd, ain’t it?”

“Grampa!” Eddie exclaimed at last. Grampa Johnson grinned.

“Oh, alright, but listen -- this story is one your mom and daddy don’t need to hear, either. They’d tell you I was making it up, but cross my loyal old heart and hope to die that every last word comin’ out of my dentures is true.”

Eddie leaned closer to his grandfather as the latter took a seat on his bed next to him.

“I wasn’t much older’n you, Eddie, just by a few years. Shucks, I coulda been you … care-free, getting into trouble always … quite a handful, I was.” He rubbed Eddie’s head and Eddie giggled.

“Well, anyhow, I had me a best friend growing up, name of Tommy Clayborn. We did everything together: Swam, fished, played ball, you name it. But what we loved to do most was explore! Almost every day of every summer we would take a compass, a couple of walking sticks and a bag of ham sandwiches with extra pickles and hike through the woods, up hills, down roads, and ‘cross just about every bridge in the county. Everywhere we went, we carved our initials someplace with this same knife.”

Here, Grampa Johnson pulled out of his jeans a compact little pocket knife, and when he opened up the blade Eddie could see his wide eyes reflected in it, such was its shine.

“Anyhow, one day, Tommy and me found this little clearing we’d never laid eyes on before, and we couldn’t find our tags anywhere. So we decided to mark the spot and spread our territories. I had whipped out my blade and had scraped the first scratch of my name into the belly of a charming little birch when all of a sudden, we hears voices.

“Tommy and me looked at each other and I could tell we figured the same thing: Either them was hikers, or we were on private property, and I had a hunch it was Door Number Two. Whoo, boy, I wish you coulda seen us, Eddie. We bolted outta there like somebody’d just flicked a cigarette at a gasoline emporium and dove behind a boulder.

“And just in time, ‘cause a split second after I was sure not even my little toe was visible, these two queer-looking fellows strolled up. I mean, they looked normal enough, but they was wearing real nice clothes and fancy hats and briefcases, and I don’t know about you, but I thought that either they were funny in the head or that something was up, and once again, it was Door Number Two.

“Tommy and me watched ‘em from behind that boulder, but we were sure they didn’t see us. They walked to the dead center of that clearing, stopped, looked around like deer in the middle of a forest fulla howling coyotes, and took off their fancy clothes. Under ‘em were even fancier suits ‘at clung to their bodies like shrinkwrap, ‘cept they were as black as polished shoes and just as shiny. And if that weren’t peculiar enough, they set their cases on the ground and opened them up, and inside were more suits -- these folks really didn’t have eyes for fashion -- but these were white, and when they slipped ‘em on they looked about twice their size.

“They put their old clothes in the briefcases, locked ‘em up tight, and then one of them touched his ear like he was gonna scratch it, but starts talking instead! Said something about ‘returning’ and years and dates and nonsense, then he paused and seemed like he was listening to what his ear was telling him. He nodded, said “yessir” like he wasn’t fooling around, and stopped itching his ear, or conversing with it, or whatever it was he was doing.

“He turned to his partner, said that they were ‘clear’ for the ‘jump,’ or something along those lines, and they looked around one more time before the one who hadn’t been scratching his ear pulled out some gun-looking thing that my old man’s trusty double-barrel had nothing on. He fiddled with it, and the thing seemed to unfold, little bits and pieces popping out here and there -- reminded me of Whack-a-Mole, it did.

“Tommy and me barely breathed -- we knew that if that thing pointed our way, we’d probably get zapped to next year … which is what I think it was for, ‘cause the one with the gun said, ‘Goodbye, Twentieth Century, hello Fifty-first,’ before he blew a hole in the ground that could've easily swallowed the boulder Tommy and me were behind and still have room, and it was glowing like my skin after my mom decided I needed a bath. The two popped on some helmets that hissed a connected to the rest of their suits like they couldn’t bear to be apart anymore, and they got sealed up so tight I bet not even a gnat’s sneeze could bother them then.

“Then,” Grampa shivered as he came to the end of his story, “the gun got put away, they picked up their luggage, and just stepped into that hole like they was getting off a bus. Last Tommy or I saw of ‘em … certainly not the last time we visited that clearing, though. We come back again and again, hoping that those guys’d jump back up from the big hole they disappeared down but they never did.

“No one believed what we’d seen either, though we told just about everyone on our street about the men with the stylish suits and their big ol’ magic hole.”

Eddie looked long and hard at Grampa Johnson’s sad face.

“But Grampa,” he said quietly, “I believe your story.”

His grandfather’s stubbled face brightened and a smile formed.

“I knew you would, grandson, that’s why I told it to ya! But be sure that you don’t tell no one else, you hear?”

“I know, Grampa.”

A noise came from outside the bedroom door, and a voice.

“That’ll be your mom,” said Grampa Johnson. “I believe your dad will be home later. Well, better go say hello to my daughter-in-law -- you stay here and kick that cough. Make sure that candy’s all gone soon!”

Eddie nodded, and his grandfather left minutes later. As his mom entered his room, the last sliver of the candy dissolved in his mouth. His throat felt spectacular.

“So, sweetheart, what’d you and Grampa Johnson do? He said you were very good at coughing as well as a wonderful listener. I take it he told you one of his stories?”

“Yes,” Eddie replied.

“What kind of story?”

Eddie hesitated, and finally answered, “Just a story about him and his friend when they were kids. It was nothing special.”

“Hm. Well, it sounds,” said his mom, walking toward the door, “that you had a very nice time. I’ll go heat up some soup, and maybe you’ll feel well enough to go to school next week. Okay?”

“Okay,” repeated Eddie, and, after a moment, “Mom, do we have a compass? And a pocket knife?”

December 2020: Text

Run
By Addison M.
It’s cold. It’s dark. I am looking up at all the stars. I can smell the sap from the pine trees. Suddenly, I see a bright light coming my way. I don’t move though. The light comes closer. I see that the light is a headlight on a sparkly red car. The driver is a girl with big blond poofy hair. She starts driving from the left, to the right. She tries to stop but she hits my back legs anyway. The girl yells something to me, but I can’t understand what she said. She parked on the side of the road, ran to me, and picked me up. She places me in her sparkly red car on a pillow and starts driving away fast. Her car smelled like flowers just puked all over it. I tried to move to a different spot in her car, but I still couldn’t move. I tried to breathe, but I couldn’t even breathe. I felt helpless. I knew that it wasn’t the smell of the car that made it hard to breathe, it was the shock of pain. The pain of being run over by the lady. I know she didn’t mean to run over me though. That is the last thing I remembered before I fell fast asleep.
I woke up in a large cage. It had a bowl overflowing with food, sparkling clean water, and a little soft brown bed. I was laying on the bed, about ready to go to my food bowl and sparkling clean water. When I tried to move, I couldn’t. I realized that I had a yellow cast on each of my back legs. I was very hungry and thirsty, but it’s not like I can really move. Then I heard a door click and my head shot up like a rocket. A girl walked in, not the one that ran me over last night, but a nice looking one. She was short and thin with soft blue eyes and blond hair. She was wearing a teal vet outfit with her hair up in a ponytail. Wait a minute… A VET OUTFIT!!! I cannot believe this. I am in an animal hospital. That girl with the poofy hair brought me to an animal hospital. Oh no! Then I heard all the animals. How did I not hear all these animals before! There were woofs and meows, sniffs and squawks. The lady I had seen walk through the door came to my cage.
“Hey little guy,” the lady said calmly to me, “let’s get you in the check-up room.”
She picked me up and carried me to a room, or as she called it, ‘the check-up room’. The room was big with windows on the back wall and soft blue colored walls.There was a big white table in the middle of the room and 3 black chairs on the right side of the room. On the left side of the room there was a desk with another black chair and a box like thing. Behind the desk was a counter with a black top and white bottom. Above the counter were some white cupboards with a black handle shaped like little paw prints.
She set me on the white table, then went to grab a pair of scissors from one of the cupboards. She came back to me and started cutting away my yellow cast.
I cried in pain. The pain wasn’t as bad as when my legs got run over, but it hurt really really bad. I looked down at my legs and saw why. They had no fur covering them and they were stitched up.
“It’s going to be ok, little buddy,” she said to me.
She rubbed her hands over my long black ears and rubbed my puffy fur. Afterwards, she rubbed a jelly feeling thing over my bare back legs, they used to look like I was wearing boots, but now they don’t. Soon after she rubbed the jelly feeling stuff over my back legs, she took the stitches out. I thought that when she was going to take them out, my legs were going to fall apart, but they didn’t! Eventually, she finished up with me and brought me back to my cage. This time though, she moved my brown bed next to the bowl overflowing with food and bowl filled with sparkling clean water.
I was at the animal hospital for weeks getting check-ups by the vet lady. She would magically make words appear on the big box like thing. She would sometimes say them out loud, which in my case, was good! I learned a little more about what happened to me. Like I am now only half able to hear. This explains why I didn’t hear all the animals around me, but now that I think about it, I wonder why I didn’t see them. Maybe it is because I was so tired I just wasn’t paying attention. My fur on my back legs grew back, and now I can see my fuzzy fake boots! This all changed one day though. I had my last check-up at the animal hospital. After, I was loaded up into the vet lady’s car.
This car was red and shiny, and not red and sparkly. The inside of this vehicle did not smell like flowers puked all over it, this vehicle smelled like pine tree sap. She set my cage in the back, but I could still see her from where I was.
On the way home I was thinking about why I was just laying there on the road, not moving at all. I stared at the shiny purple bear toy that the vet lady got me for a present. My memory suddenly flew back like the speed of light.
‘I was hungry and thirsty, which then led me to being lonely and cold. I found a cave with a delightful smell coming from it. I went in to see what that delicious smell was. As I was walking into the cave, there was a mat that said “Happy Thanksgiving”!
“What’s Thanksgiving?” I wondered.
I walked in and saw a big bear with round glasses placing food on the table. There was a very large turkey and a gallon of gravy. There was stuffing and veggies, hot soup and mashed potatoes, there were even crackers and cranberry sauce. For desert they had every kind of pie, and my all time favorite, CRANBERRY JELLO!!!
The bear with the round glasses turned to me and said, “Well hello there darling. You must be so hungry. Let me get you some food.”
She turned around to grab one of their plates when another bear came in. This one was very round with big round glasses.
“Well hello there son. You must be very very thirsty. Let me get you a bowl of fresh water,” he announced with a very deep voice, exactly the opposite voice of the other bear.
This bear went to the opposite side of the cave. The lady bear turned back around and walked to the table with all of the delicious smelling food. Meanwhile, another bear came in. This time the bear was short and had HUGE round glasses.
“Hi there! You must be very cold. I will go grab you a blanket,” he exclaimed.
All the bears gave me what they said they would, and I had a great fest with them. I sat on the ground while they sat at the table. They kept giving me more food and more water. Soon enough, I was fatter than the father bear. I was like a balloon. If you combine all of their fat together, I was like 5 times that.
“Can I go outside with this little dog?” The little bear asked.
“Of course!” The big bears said together.
That was that. We went out by the road and met a big black bear. He was very tall and had a stack of honey next to him.
“Is that the dog?” The big black bear asked in a deep agent voice.
“Yes. We got him all fattened up for you. Meet you back at 8 o’clock?” The little bear replied in an agent voice.
“Yes. See you later,” the big black bear told the little bear.
The big bear gave the stack of honey to the little bear, and the little bear gave me to the big bear. Then, the little bear ran with the honey back to his cave. The big bear took me by the tail and started dragging me away. I thought that my tail was going to be pulled right out of the rest of my body, but it never did. All the food I ate plus being pulled by the tail made me want to puke, but I don’t think this bear was going to stop to let me puke. So I just puked on the way there, leaving a trail.
“Animals will now follow the trail you just left behind,” the big bear explained.
“Sorry, I couldn’t help it,” I mumbled.
“What?” The big bear yelled.
“Sorry!” I shouted back.
We walked for quite a while. We came to an opening and I saw the bear family.
“We have gathered here today to witness the Thanksgiving Sacrifice. This year is this little dog,” the big black bear announced.
He held me up high, turned around, and threw me on the road.
When I was in mid-air all of the bears yelled, “Goodbye!”
“Goodbye!” I yelled just before I hit the road.’
Finally, I was back in the real world. We turned into a driveway that led to a soft yellow two story house. When she took me into her house she set my cage down next to a brown couch on the first level.
“I’m home,” she yelled while she started walking to the kitchen, “with Nosie!”
A girl and a boy that looked very much alike came running into the room. The girl was carrying a black and white fluffy beagle with a big black nose and long black ears. She looked just like me except for the clothes that she was wearing. She was wearing a pink dress, light pink socks, and a big pink bow on top of her head.
“Is that you Nosie?” The beagle asked.
“Yeah, I’m Nosie. Are you Flower?” I replied.
“Yes!” she woofed!
She jumped out of the girl’s arms, opened the cage, came into my cage, and we hugged each other for a while. The lady that took care of me brought me some sparkling clean water and tasty chicken. She took me out of my cage and set me on my brown bed, which of course was in my cage. Then she went back to the kitchen and brought out the same food and drink for Flower. After we ate all of our food, Flower told me about the people and pets that we live with.
“To begin with, I am your sister Flower. Next, the girl is Sandy and the boy is Andy. They are twins, and that is why they look so much alike. Third, the girl that took care of you is Bea, she is very nice! Fourth, the two that hang out with each other and come home somewhere around 9 pm are George and Cassy. They are married and not twins. Finally…,” Flower paused.
A cat walked into the room and jumped onto Bea’s lap. Bea was reading a book and started petting the cat. The cat purred quietly.
“You see the cat on Bea’s lap?” Flower questioned me.
“Yeah,” I replied
“Finally, that is Chester. He is a very fat cat. Probably eats too much. Nobody really minds him being fat though. He is also very clumsy and is really friendly!” Flower explained.
I giggled! My family is great! I couldn’t wait to run and chase balls with them. Wait a minute… I can’t run around with them. I got two unfixable legs. Trust me, they tried to fix them, but they couldn’t. I heard Bea say that out loud at the animal hospital. At least I have a family that will always be there for me!
One day we were all sitting around the television when the second best advertisement came on. The first best one was for “Funny Fails”, which is the best funny show ever. Anyway, the second best advertisement was about something that could change my life forever.
The advertisement went something like this:
“It is a tool with two small wheels, two one and a half pipes, and a strong rubber piece that stretches across the tool. First, you connect the wheels to the pipes, after that, you nail the strong rubber to the pipes. Make sure that you stretch the rubber all the way across. Third, you cut two holes for the legs, double check that the legs can fit through the holes. Finally, you can once again go outside and move around, and the most important thing of all… have fun!!!”
“Mom,” Bea began, “we should make Nosie one of those!”
“Great idea!” Cassy replied.
That was that. We made it so that I was able to be a great and friendly dog once again! I was able to help around the house like I love to, and play with my new family.
Even though I was different, my family took me in, I now know that someone will always love me. They will love me during good times, and hard times! That is what family is for. No matter how different you are, there will always be love in the world!

December 2020: Text

December 2020

Superfinger Story

By George

Once upon a time there was a finger. Now this was no ordinary finger - it was SUPER FINGER!

With his sidekick Pinky, he helped people. Well, see him 400 years ago: A long time ago he was flying all along the town when suddenly he heard someone. It sounded like “HELP!”

“Don’t worry, I will save you!”

But he heard another “help” and another. Of course this was a dream. He woke up. He felt funny and also he was acting weird.

And this was another dream! Finally, he was really up and then, “HELP!” And then finally he knew he was asleep.

​

Endangered Species

By Ruth Nicolaus

A lot of animals are endangered right now. Like the giant panda, American bald eagle, and the central Asian tortoise. Here are a few ideas to help.

• Plant a red currant bush to attract butterflies.

• Or if your child’s school is going to let balloons go for a party, try to stop them.

Grandpa Johnson’s Amazing Story

By Anna Hagen, Age 13

Edmund Oscar Johnson the Third coughed loudly from his seat on his bed as his grizzled grandfather, Edmond Oscar Johnson the First, entered his small bedroom.

“Oh, Eddie,” Grampa Johnson said, pulling the door closed behind him, “that cough sounds like a whopper.”

“Yeah,” rasped Eddie, forcing another one out, and another until he gasped for breath. The man laughed heartily.

“Now, you have to understand that once your parents get home from work, not a word of this has to bother their poor ears, got it?”

“My lips are sealed,” Eddie replied in a confidential whisper, popping the candy into his mouth. His throat seemed to sigh with relief as the sweet flavor of the candy soothed the pain.

“Now, who wants to hear a story?” Grampa Johnson said, slapping his hands on his knees. Eddie didn’t open his mouth -- the candy was too delicious -- but he raised his hand as high as it could stretch. His grandfather pretended not to see him at first.

“What’s this? No one wants to hear my exciting, adventure-filled, action-packed tale? What a crying shame, this sure is a tough crowd, ain’t it?”

“Grampa!” Eddie exclaimed at last. Grampa Johnson grinned.

“Oh, alright, but listen -- this story is one your mom and daddy don’t need to hear, either. They’d tell you I was making it up, but cross my loyal old heart and hope to die that every last word comin’ out of my dentures is true.”

Eddie leaned closer to his grandfather as the latter took a seat on his bed next to him.

“I wasn’t much older’n you, Eddie, just by a few years. Shucks, I coulda been you … care-free, getting into trouble always … quite a handful, I was.” He rubbed Eddie’s head and Eddie giggled.

Here, Grampa Johnson pulled out of his jeans a compact little pocket knife, and when he opened up the blade Eddie could see his wide eyes reflected in it, such was its shine.

“No one believed what we’d seen either, though we told just about everyone on our street about the men with the stylish suits and their big ol’ magic hole.”

Eddie looked long and hard at Grampa Johnson’s sad face.

“But Grampa,” he said quietly, “I believe your story.”

His grandfather’s stubbled face brightened and a smile formed.

“I knew you would, grandson, that’s why I told it to ya! But be sure that you don’t tell no one else, you hear?”

“I know, Grampa.”

A noise came from outside the bedroom door, and a voice.

“That’ll be your mom,” said Grampa Johnson. “I believe your dad will be home later. Well, better go say hello to my daughter-in-law -- you stay here and kick that cough. Make sure that candy’s all gone soon!”

Eddie nodded, and his grandfather left minutes later. As his mom entered his room, the last sliver of the candy dissolved in his mouth. His throat felt spectacular.

“So, sweetheart, what’d you and Grampa Johnson do? He said you were very good at coughing as well as a wonderful listener. I take it he told you one of his stories?”

“Yes,” Eddie replied.

“What kind of story?”

Eddie hesitated, and finally answered, “Just a story about him and his friend when they were kids. It was nothing special.”

“Hm. Well, it sounds,” said his mom, walking toward the door, “that you had a very nice time. I’ll go heat up some soup, and maybe you’ll feel well enough to go to school next week. Okay?”

“Okay,” repeated Eddie, and, after a moment, “Mom, do we have a compass? And a pocket knife?”