Sunday, February 12, 2012

Why you should help a spider


Hi I am Elizabeth, Elizabeth Brown. I’m 7 years old and I live in an apartment in London with my mom Susanna, my dad Martin, and my 5 yr old sister Kelly. My nickname is Lizzie. I’m going to tell you something queer that happened to me last summer.
It was a hot day in June and I was walking with my friend Annie Hills to the park. “You know I’m going to the zoo tomorrow. Want to come, Lizzie?” asked Annie. “Sure!” I replied excitedly and we sat on the park bench. “There’s gonna be a peacock show” chirped Annie (she was a chatterbox). “Any spider show?” I joked. She shuddered at the thought. Annie had Arachnophobia, fear of spiders. Then we started talking about school and stuff, and we walked back home. “See you tomorrow!” I shouted as I rang the doorbell.
“How was your day Lizzie Pie?” asked Dad. “Good” I answered jumping on the couch. “I say, can we go to the zoo tomorrow, dad?” “Why! that’s exactly what mom and I were planning!” said Dad with surprise. “Yippee!” I screamed and ran upstairs, almost bumping into Kelly. “What happened?” Kelly asked. “We are going to the zoo with Annie tomorrow!” I said. “Cool!” said Kelly as she went to her bed. “Go to sleep, girls!” yawned mom. I slept dreaming about peacocks and spiders.
“Wake up sleepy head!” screamed Kelly in the morning, “we have to go to the zoo now”. “So early?” I murmured. I quickly brushed my teeth, combed my hair, and put on a Pink blouse. Then Kelly dragged me to the car. “What’ve you been doing so late?!” said Mom jumping in.,“We have to pick up Annie on the way”. “Lazy Lizzie” Kelly grinned. I punched her playfully. After a minute, we reached the Hills’ house. Annie and her parents joined us and the parents greeted each other. Finally, we left. It was a long drive to the zoo. “No wonder we left so early” said Annie. “Yes!” I said, “I couldn’t get up in the morning”. “Are we there yet?” groaned Kelly. “Yes, here!” said Dad as he parked the car.
“There are peacocks and spider cages over there” I said pointing to a sign. “Dad, why don’t you, Mr. Brown, and Kelly go to the Dog Show, while the rest of us go to the Peacocks suggested Annie. “Good idea” said Dad and left. 
Annie and I enjoyed watching and petting the peacocks. But none of the people thought about visiting the little spiders. All of us were obsessed with the peacocks. I spotted some more kids from our school. Suddenly I heard a tiny sob. I jumped up, startled. “What happened?” asked Annie. “Didn’t you hear that noise?” I said. “You must be daydreaming, you seriously gave me a fright.” she said. “Sorry” I said though I was still looking around cautiously. I didn’t see anything so I went back to watching the peacocks. But as I fed a baby peacock, I heard another sob.I looked at the peacocks in the cage but all of of them were enjoying their attention. Then I looked at the spider cage and spotted a tiny spider in it. I thought to myself “May be Annie is right and I’m dreaming. But I should still go and confirm if the sound is coming from the spider”.
I quickly ran towards it. “What happened?”I whispered gently because I didn’t want others to think I’m silly for talking to spiders. “m-m-my leg is s-s-s-stuck” sobbed the spider. Now I knew for sure that the spider was indeed crying! Its leg was stuck in the cage mesh. It took me a while but I succeeded in taking its leg out from there. “Thank you!” said the spider with a smile, “what’s your name? I would like to pay you back somehow”. I couldn’t believe that I was talking to a spider! May be magic for real. “My name is Elizabeth” I said, “what’s yours?” “Bethany” replied the spider, “Ok I think you have to go home now, bye!”. I waved good bye to Bethany and ran to the car.
“Where have you been?” asked Annie. I told her about Bethany. At first she didn’t believe me, but then I explained how I also didn’t believe but that spider was actually talking! “Super girl saves Sobby spider!” teased Annie. I laughed at it. After an hour, we dropped off Annie and reached home. I got out of the car and ran upstairs to my room.
I took out my toy paper airplane and started flying it around. As I played, the plane went under my bed. I tried reaching it but I couldn’t. Suddenly, there was a flash of green light and Bethany appeared before me. I couldn’t believe my eyes. She crawled under the bed and spun a web from the plane to my hand. I pulled the web and the plane came out with Bethany sitting in the pilot’s seat. I stroked her back gently.
Then Kelly came into the room asking / shouting “Oh my God! there’s a spider in your hand and you’re petting it. What’s happening here?!” 
Oh well, I have to tell the story all over again.
PS: Now, will you help a spider in trouble?

Thursday, February 9, 2012

J. K. Rowling - My Inspiration

(Essay for Shilp Dew, school publication)



If I had to choose a personality as my inspiration, it would be J. K. Rowling. As everyone knows, J. K. Rowling is a famous author from England who wrote Harry Potter. I have read all the books in that series and liked them very much. I have often dreamt of becoming an author  like her and I read and write in my spare time.

Why is she my inspiration?

First, she has a very nice style of writing in which she adds adventure and emotion to her stories. Her stories are also humorous and gripping. As a result, even people who never liked to read books picked up the reading habit from Harry Potter books! I would like to create interesting fantasy plots just like she does. Interesting fact: J. K. Rowling came up with the plot for Harry Potter while sitting in a train!

Next, she went from rags to riches by working hard and believing in herself. Did you know that Twelve publishers rejected Harry Potter before it was published? That shows her confidence and determination. She did not give up until she reached her goal and hence she succeeded in her life. That is very inspiring indeed!

So, in summary, I want to be creative and determined like J. K. Rowling, and become a good writer myself! She is a true inspiration for all of us children who want to do something great in our lives.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

How to stop a bully


There was once a boy named Fred. He lived in an apartment in Paris with his mom Julia Jinkie, his dad Alex Jinkie, and his little dog Spots. Fred was 8 years old and all he worried about was his worst enemy - Max Cherry - a mean boy with many followers.

It was a bright and sunny day. Fred and his friend Sam were walking to school. “How I wish Max would leave us alone” sighed Sam. “Yes, but too bad he has hundreds of followers supporting him” said Fred. “But we can make a plan to get rid of him or make him kind” he added thoughtfully. 

“Good morning children!” said Ms. Pattie when they reached their classroom. She started taking attendance. “Hey Jinkie Stinkie” Max teased Fred. Fred ignored him. “Today we are going to learn about angles. Can anyone tell me a type of an angle?” asked the teacher. “Obtuse, Acute, Right, and Reflex angle”said a smart girl named Jenny. “For the twentieth time, can you please raise your hand first, Jennifer” said Mr. Pattie irritated. She asked questions here and there and scolded them if they answered wrong. Finally, it was time for the worksheet. “Open your notebooks” the teacher instructed. “I can’t see the board because you changed my place to the last desk” said Fred squinting. “Poor thing, I think you should to go the optician” sniggered Max. Ms. Pattie smiled fondly at Max. All teachers loved him because he acted really sweet in front of them. “Sit in front and I don’t want any more grumbles” said the teacher. The children finished their work quietly and got it corrected. “Indoor playing time!” said the teacher.


Fred and Sam started playing with the Lego blocks in the corner of the room. “Did you get your eyes checked?” smirked Max as he walked past Fred. He kicked their lego statue down. Fred stared at his hard work which had fallen into bits. He was about to jump up and give Max a piece of his mind. But Sam stopped him. “Cool down, old guy! It’s no use” he explained calmly. Fred sat down, tears in his eyes.

Next they had Science, Fred’s favorite subject. Fred got his book out and - BUT WHERE WAS HIS PENCIL!. Fred searched and searched but the pencil was no where to be found. He scratched his head. After a few minutes, their teacher Ms. Lacey entered the room. As soon as she came in, Fred raised his hand. “What’t the matter?” she asked. “I can’t find my pencil!” exclaimed Fred. The teacher raised her eyebrows. “Did you check everywhere?” she asked him. He nodded. “Let me check in the locker under his table” Max said sweetly. “I already checked there!” said Fred, putting his hands on his hip. “Not properly” winked Max. When no one was looking, Max silently took a brown pencil from his pocket. Fred stared at him suspiciously. “Make it fast” hurried the teacher. Max ran to Fred’s table. He opened the desk and acted as if he was searching. After a minute, Max showed everyone the brown pencil in his hand. “Found it!” he snorted. There was a minute of silence. Then everyone burst out laughing. “Silence!” shouted the teacher. She nodded at Max. “I never expected this from you Fred!” she sighed, leaving the room.


“Home Time!!” Everyone started packing their bags. “I have an idea” said Max putting his pencil box in his bag. “Tell me tomorrow” replied Fred. He mounted his bike and set off home. Finally he reached and rang the door bell. His mom answered the door. “How was school?” she asked. “Good” he murmured. She kept her hands around him but he lightly pushed her away and ran upstairs. Meanwhile, his dad was on the computer. “Dad” said Fred. “If someone keeps on bullying you, what should you do?” “Well, if you ask me, tell the teacher” said his dad. “But Max keeps on bullying me” protested Fred. “Then whatever he did to you, you should do the same to him” replied his dad.

Fred dashed off to his room and sat on his bed thinking. He stroked his dog’s soft and silky hair. “I think we should follow dad’s advice, right Spots?” said Fred. Spots nodded as if he understood every word. “Time for dinner, Fred!” called his mom. Fred ran down and started eating the hot and tasty noodles his mom had made. After he finished eating, he went upstairs to brush his teeth and tucked into bed. “Goodnight Spots!” he said turning off the lights.


The next morning, it was time for school. Fred quickly dressed up, ate his breakfast, and joined Sam on the road to school. “Now can you tell me what your plan is?” asked Fred. “I’ll tell you in school” answered Sam. “Come on!!” protested Fred. “Patience, my boy, patience” said Sam. When they reached the school, the teacher took the attendance. “Play time!” she announced. “Max is going, now is our chance” said Sam. He quickly ran to Max’s locker and got out a stuffed toy Bear. He hid it behind the aquarium. Fred realized what he was doing and got to work. They hid Max’s things inside pots, under tables, etc. Sam was putting an eraser behind a pot when the pot fell down and broke. Someone came running to the class hearing the noise. It was Jenny’s friend Sara who was the class monitor. “What happened?” she scowled. “uhhhh”said Sam. Sara started at the broken pot with wide eyes and ran out of the room. Sam shrugged. “Be careful next time” scolded Fred. “Now let’s stop and go for recess” said Sam. But the recess was already over because the teacher was entering the class.

“I am excited to see Max’s face when he opens his locker” giggled Sam. “Me too” said Fred. “Look! He is opening it!” Suddenly, Max gave a scream. “My desk has been robbed!” he squealed. The girls started chuckling. Fred and Sam’s sides were aching from laughing. “I can not do anything!” the teacher shouted above the voice. Max started to sob. “Cry baby!” sniggered Sam. Fred walked over quietly and took out all the things he had hidden, dumping them onto Max’s table. Everyone started to laugh even harder. To think that the most popular kid in the class was acting like a fool! 



By now it was time up. The teacher left the class. Max went to Fred’s table and apologized. “I’ve been really silly this year, I promise that I will leave you alone” said Max. “It’s ok Max” Fred said, with a grin. The boys shook hands. “Anyway” said Fred, “race you to the gate!”