Family Portrait (in verse)

A person who you love very much

Someone who guides you everywhere

She’s with you forever

Safely in your heart, she’s kept there

She’s friendly and kind

And has a great mind

She’s honest and loving

A hard person to find…

Can you guess who it is?

Your Mother!

There’s someone else who keeps you bright,

He’s cheerful and fun

He’s very very caring

And is just like the Sun!

He will make you work hard

But also laugh out loud

Your father is the one

Just keep him very proud

Mom and Dad are parents

With them your life is cool

They will make you work hard

But they will also take you to the pool!

He’s playful and fun

But can also really fight

Your brother is the one

Who sleeps next to you in the night.

She takes care of you

And tells you right from wrong

That explains your sister

Who’ll stay with you for long.

Siblings and parents are fun

They teach you many things

Without them your life will be lonely

I can’t imagine such a thing!

The Lonely Dog (A poem)

(rhyme: A B C B)
word giver: Shalini Akka

There was once a dog

jumping all around

he played with a ball

which was nice and round.

Once he went outside

and saw a pretty cat

he wanted a good friend

but she hit him with a bat

Then he saw an elephant

who almost cracked the wall

Should an elephant be his friend?

but it was so scary and tall!

He bounced the ball along the road

and went to visit the mouse

He asked if she could be his friend

but she kicked him out of the house

The poor dog went home sad

and turned off the light

He felt sad and lonely

Oh what a bad night!

In the morning he saw a fly

dancing around in the sky

Was this his new friend?

but she wouldn’t even say hi!

Can you be my friend?

he asked a spider in a cage

Can’t you see I’m stuck

screamed the spider in a rage!

I’ll help you, said the dog

gently taking him out

The spider landed on the ground

with a grin and a pout!

Thank you! said the spider

shaking the dog’s hand

Let us be best friends

race you to the sand!

The dog was very happy

he got a friend at last

he went home feeling good

oh what a day! what a blast!

THE END

Intelligent ice cubes?

Three words: cat, sun, ice cubes
Word-giver: Rohan and Daddy

Hi! I am Snowy the cat. I live with my mom Whiskers in Paris. Our house’s name is “The Basket”.

It was a nice sunny day and I was strolling to the park. There were some ice cubes scattered everywhere. I wondered why. “Hello!” said a timid voice suddenly. I looked back shocked but there was not a soul to be found. I kept walking to the swing still thinking about the voice. May be I was dreaming. That’s because I had a dream the night before about a puppy saying Hi to me. But that’s an other story.

Anyway, as I perched on the swing, the voice came again. “Can you help me?” it said, This time I saw that the ice cubes were speaking! It was a funny sight. Their lips were moving up and down as they talked. I couldn’t believe my eyes! How can I non-living thing speak? I jumped up startled. 

“Sorry to scare you, but we need your help” squeaked the ice cubes. 

“uh-h-h wwwhhaat happenedddd?” I stammered. 

“The hot irritating Sun is melting us” complained the ice cubes.

I suddenly realized that the ice cubes were turning into water. “So how can I help you? And who planted you in the park?” I asked.

“Some mean boys” answered the ice cubes.

“Hey! Why don’t I put you in the freezer?” I said kindly.

“What’s a freezer?”

“You’ll see” I replied, “now,  hop on my back”.

I quickly raced home with the heavy ice cubes dripping from my back.

“Why in the world are there ice cubes on your back?!” shrieked mom.

“Oh can you please put us in the freezer?” said an ice cube.

Mom jumped up. I grinned and filled her in with the ice cubes story. I thought she would snort in scorn, but she believed me.

“Get into the freezer” said Mom, pushing them one by one.

“Hey this is where we were born!” said an ice cube.

“And that’s your new home” I concluded.

The ice cubes looked very happy. “There’s no place like a freezer!” they said.

“Are all non-living things alive?” I asked the ice cubes.

“Nope!” they replied, “did you know? we are slippery so that we can slip from your hands and run away?”

I giggled. “By the way, what are your names?” I asked.

“Ice cubes don’t have names, silly!” they retorted, “ what’s yours?”

“I’m snowy” I answered, “bye, gotta go to bed!” I shut the freezer door.

I guess that’s the end of my strange adventure with ice cubes. I cuddled in my bed wondering how the ice cubes were doing. What a day!

PS. Is my bed going to wake up in the middle of the night and chat with me?

PPS: Go, open your freezer and start talking to an ice cube.

PPPS: Enough of PS’es!

PPPPS: Good night! And don’t let the ice cubes bite!

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?

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.

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!”

The Antarctica Adventure

Three words: Mittens, Shovel, Igloo, Globe
Word-giver: Big Daddy

Hi! I am Spots. I am extremely famous as I solved many adventures and mysteries.

One day, I was sitting on the couch and sipping my Tea, when there suddenly came a knock on the door. Dopey the cat, Pat the parrot and Mischief the mouse came in. The four of us are best friends.

***

“Now can you tell us?”  said Pat. “Tell what?” asked Spots. “My friend, Pongy the penguin, invited us to Antarctica”, Dopey announced. “Where in the world is Antarctica?” asked Mischief confused. Dopey shrugged. Let’s check on the globe. They searched and searched. But they couldn’t find Antarctica anywhere.  “There it is” said Pat suddenly, "at the bottom of the globe".  “There is a flight going to Antarctica tomorrow” said Dopey. “Let’s go the library and see how the weather is in Antarctica” said Spots. So they all set off.

“Can we have a book about Antarctica, Mrs. Wiggs (a pig)?” asked Pat. The librarian pointed to a shelf named “Places around the world”. So they scampered over there. Mischief picked up a book which was named “Antarctica Days”. She flipped through the pages and read: “Antarctica is a cold place. It snows there throughout the year.”  

“Let’s go back and pack jackets, mittens, caps, and scarves” suggested Pat. So they thanked Mrs. Wiggs and ran back home.

Spots gathered all his clothes which he would need for Antarctica and put them in a Blue bag. He waited for the others to come. First Pat came with an Orange purse. “Got everything?” asked Spots. “I didn’t have a scarf” replied Pat. “I have an extra one, don’t worry” Spots said. He ran upstairs and came down with a pink scarf. “Thanks!” said Pat shoving it in her bag.

Next, Mischief came with a tiny Yellow bag. Spots stroked the little mouse’s tail fondly. Finally. Dopey came with a Pink bag on his back.

“When is the flight?” asked Pat. “8:30pm” said Dopey. “So we’ll leave at 6. Then we’ll check-in and eat breakfast.” “Good idea” said Mischief. “Which airport?” asked Spots. “Wag your tails” replied Dopey. “Goodnight!” yawned Pat. “I’ll wake you up tomorrow”.

So they went to sleep. “RISE AND SHINE SLEEPING BEAUTIES” screamed Pat in the morning. She took all of their luggage and dumped it in the car. Then she dragged her friends and pushed them in. Spots knew how to drive so he started the car. Soon they reached the airport. They checked in, ate some buns, and got on the flight. Pat read a book. Dopey watched a movie. Meanwhile, Spots and Mischief who were sitting next to each other chatted.

After a few hours they reached Antarctica. “I’m so excited” said Dopey squeezing Spots’ hand. After a while they were out of the airport. “It’s freezing!” said Pat a shiver going down her back. “Let’s search for Pongy” said Spots. Suddenly Dopey ran to a little fat Penguin standing nearby. “Pongy!!!” he cried. “I’m so glad to see you!”. “Dopey! It’s been such a long time since we met!”. “Pongy, this is Pat, Spots, and Mischief. They are my best friends. Guys, meet Pongy!” “umm what’s up?” Pat said struggled to find some sensible words. Pongy laughed. “Don’t be nervours, young bird” he said with a grin, “well let’s walk to my igloo.”

As they walked, Pongy started telling them something. “You know King Oliver the peacock, right?” “Yes, so?” asked Michief. “His treasure has been stolen!” “Did youcatch the thief yet?” asked Spots. “Yes, but the crow isn’t confessing where he hid the treasure”, said Pongy.

“Now, have a seat, we’ve reached home”. “Well guys, I think we have another mystery to solve” said Pat. “And any one too!” added Spots with a grin. Everyone laughed.

“The police said that there was not a sign of any treasure in the crow’s house” said Pongy. “Too bad” sighed Dopey. “Lazypoke” said Mischief yawning. Dopey ran after her.

“Goodnight” said Pongy turning off the lights. Everyone was fast asleep except Spots. Spots was up thinking about the mystery. Suddenly something clicked in his mind.

In the morning he told the others. “I think it’s hidden under the snow” announced Spots. “Yeah, exactly!” exclaimed Pat clapping her mittens together. “But we can’t dig up all the snow in Antarctiac!” said Dopey alarmed. “You’ve got a point” said Spots thoughtfully. “We could split up” suggested Pongy. “I know” squeaked Mischief. “Maybe the crow dropped a necklace somewhere and that can lead us to the path”. “Not bad” said Pat. “Or we’ll put our feet deep inside the snow and might feel Gold” said Dopey. “Nice ideas” said Spots approvingly. “I’ll split the work. Dooey and Pat will do what Dopey said” ordered Spots. “Pongy and I will dig up some snow with a shovel”. And Mischief should go deep under the snow. Got it?” said Spots. ‘Yup!” everyone set out to work.

First Dopey and Pat were at deep work. Suddenly Dopey stomped on something hard. “Ow!” he yelped. Pat picked up a Gold coin! “Hey, Dopes look what you found!” she said delighted.

“Hey Spots!” called Dopey. Spots came running. “Look at what Pat and I found.” “Awesome” said
Spots. “Keep it up!” Spots and Pongy were doing a great job. “Come on Spots, we have to find it!” shoted Pongy. Meanwhile, little Mischief was enjoying herself swimming in the snow. Suddenly she bashed into something hard. It was a cave! She got up and cautiously walked inside half curious and half scared. Suddenly there was a fierce roar and a Lion pounced on Michief! Mischief ran behind a pole trembling. She bumped into a box. It was nothing other than the Treasure box!! Mischief couldn’t believe her eyes! She was about to scream for her friends but then she remembered where she was. And how could usch a tiny mouse lift a big box?! Then she remembered she had the Wand that Spots and Dopey had given her. She took it out of her pocket and tapped the box. At once the box grew small. She had a plan. Mischief tucked the box under her arm and ran to the lion bravely. She took a spider and put it on his back. The lion roared with laughter and irritation. In a flash, Mischief was out. Then she screamed “I found King Oliver’s treasure!!”

Everyone  including her friends lifted her up and took her to the king shouting and praising her. She handed the box over to the king and the king praised and patted her on her back.

“Don’t you wish that you also went to Antractica?!”

THE END