  Christy Sparrow 12 Pennsylvania, United StatesMr. Trenton and Kitty hurried back home. Well, Mr. Trenton hurried and Kitty just took her time. She wasn't in the mood to get back home when there was so much to explore. Mr. Trenton ended up dragging her home. The first thing Mr. Trenton did after taking off his shoes and changing into a black T-shirt and pants was to grab his phone book out of the drawer.
He thumbed through the pages till he found the name "Simons". Then, he took a deep breath before grabbing the phone off its cradle and dialing the number. Mr. Trenton heard the Simon's phone ringing. Then, there was a pause before the voice message cut in. "I'm sorry, but Mr. and Mrs. Simons--" Mr. Trenton hung up and dropped the phone in its cradle.
Later in the evening after a nice, warm bath, Mr. Trenton tried calling again. This time, someone answered. "Hello?" a gruff voice asked. Mr. Trenton licked his lips nervously.
"Uh, hi. I'm Mark Trenton and I knew Darcie Simons for quite a while and then lost contact. I found her last name in the phone book and called.......Do you happen to know where she is?" There was a silence before the voice pierced it again.
"You know what, Mr. Whoever you are?"
"Mark Trenton," Mr. Trenton corrected.
"Okay, Mark. Anyway, I'm going to tell you something. I'm Darcie's husband, Mr. Jack Simons and she's not here right now."
"Oh, that's nice. I mean, that you and her are married," Mr. Trenton almost cried.
"No, we're not married anymore."
"What? But, you just said--" and then it hit him. "You guys are DIVORCED?"
"Yes, cuckoo. Now I have to go so call back anytime and maybe we'll be friends or go out for dinner or something. You know, buddies. I've always wanted one." His voice sounded so wistful.........
Mr. Trenton cleared his throat. "Sure, I'd be willing to spend my time to get to know you. By the way, where does Darcie live now?"
"Darcie ain't got no home. She's just wandering with some friends and living with each of them for two nights. I was stupid enough to even love that woman. Darcie ain’t no type for me. Well, thanks for everything. See ya." They both hung up. Mr. Trenton was shaken. He couldn't believe that after Darcie had dumped him and married Jack, they both divorced after a month! That's why she looked so lost and lonely.
Mr. Trenton suddenly felt a determination. He was going to get Darcie Simons to love him no matter what it took. She was the only person he loved and trusted. So if she knew, why would she just dump him and run off with Jack? She probably didn't even know him! Mr. Trenton put on a black T-shirt that would show off his muscles and some jeans.
After calling several of Darcie's friends, Mr. Trenton finally found the house that Darcie would be staying in for the two days. DING-DONG! Mr. Trenton rang the doorbell. He was nervous as he waited for the door to open. A woman probably in her mid-twenties with long, blond hair opened the door.
She stared at him, probably his muscles that amazed her. Mr. Trenton shoved his hands into his pockets and asked, "Is Darcie Simons here?" The woman snapped to attention.
"Uh, she went out shopping." Inside, Mr. Trenton groaned. He had been working so hard and now he'd have to wait all over again. Oh, well. It's not easy trying to woo a girl who's been divorced. "You can still come in," the woman offered, sneaking a glance at his muscles again.
Better not take the offer. "No thanks. I can come over again."
"No, it's no trouble at all! Please do come in." The woman practically dragged Mr. Trenton into the house. The woman shut the door and told Mr. Trenton to make himself comfortable. He sat on the couch.
"So, what's your name?" the woman asked.
"I'm Mark Trenton," he answered. The woman stuck out her hand
"Anita Marvit." They shook hands. "Would you like something to eat?" It was going to be a long wait. When Darcie came home, she seemed surprised to see Mr. Trenton sitting on the couch!
After trying to speak several times, she finally said in a stern voice, "What are YOU doing here?" Mr. Trenton panicked. He shouldn't have let Anita drag him in here. All she wanted to do was to flirt with him.
"Just chilling. Darcie, I need to talk to you." Darcie put down her shopping bags and took Mr. Trenton upstairs to the room where she'd be staying. She shut the door and turned to him.
"What?" her blond hair looked even more silky in the sunlight and Mr. Trenton avoided the temptation to reach out and touch it.
"You were married to Jack, right?" he asked cautiously. Darcie nodded as she looked down on the floor. "Then you divorced. Why'd you just practically DUMP me and run off with HIM? You guys probably didn't even know each other and you DUMP me and I've been dating you like a million times! We were so close? Why'd you leave me heart-broken?"
Darcie's face was in her hands. She was crying. Mr. Trenton dropped his voice to a whisper. "Why, Darcie? Didn't you love me? Wasn't I your first love? I loved you, Darcie, and I still love you enough to run after you! Please, Darcie. Let's start over. Let's......."
Darcie collasped into his arms. "I'm sorry, Mark." she stammered as her shoulders heaved up and down. She buried her face into his chest. "It.....it. My friends made me! I wanted to marry you, but they said that you were stupid and poor! They said that Jack was the perfect match for me and when I refused, they started talking about him all the time. They made threats and everything and then I couldn’t stand it. I told them I'd marry Jack and then they took me to Jack. I was so stupid! Jack instantly fell in love with me and asked me to marry him. So I did accept because I was so scared. Then, he started being mean to me. And then, after a month, I divorced him. Mark, I'm so sorry!" she wailed.
Mr. Trenton was silent. He waited till Darcie was done crying as she grabbed a tissue and blew her nose. "Do you still love me now?" Mr. Trenton asked. Darcie looked at him before flinging her arms around his neck and kissing him on the cheek!
Mr. Trenton was taken aback. Darcie smiled sweetly at him and said, "Mark, you are the sweetest man in the world!” They gazed stupidly at each other for a long time. Finally, Mr. Trenton offered to give Darcie a ride to his house. She accepted and they drove off.
Back at home, Kitty was waiting patiently at the door for Mr. Trenton. When she saw Darcie, Kitty hissed and ran upstairs. Mr. Trenton shrugged and said, “She’s not used to strangers yet. Kitty followed me all the way home and I had to keep her. She reminds me of Tod.” Darcie nodded sympathetically. She knew what had happened to Tod.
“Hey, can I take you out for dinner tonight?” Mr. Trenton asked hesitantly.
“Sure. Then we can go to the movies next week. I heard that a new one just came out!” It seemed like everything was back to normal. Mr. Trenton and Darcie dated for several weeks till they decided they should get married! After their marriage in July, Darcie started living with Mr. Trenton. Kitty seemed to get sadder and sadder every day, but no one noticed.
One Saturday, Darcie was preparing breakfast for Mr. Trenton. Kitty yawned from the windowsill. The empty food dish lay neglected on the floor as Kitty waited for someone to fill it. Unfortunately, Mrs. Trenton didn’t know to feed Kitty at this time in the morning so Kitty decided there must be something done about that. A consequence. Kitty never liked Darcie since she was a newcomer. Now, that woman had to come and take Mr. Trenton away from her! Kitty was afraid of Darcie because of the way she smelled. It always made Kitty sneeze whenever Mrs. Trenton got near her. Now, Kitty was going to have her revenge.
Sneaking quietly into the kitchen, Kitty jumped up unnoticed onto the counter. At this moment, Mrs. Trenton had been preparing bacon for breakfast and now it lay on the plate, right in front of Kitty! Making sure that Darcie wasn’t looking, Kitty snatched the meat off the plate and jumped off the counter. CRASH! Kitty collided with a pitcher of water. Darcie whirled around and turned red when she saw the bacon in Kitty’s mouth and the upset pitcher. “You darn cat! It’s hard enough that I have to deal with you and now you take my bacon! I’ll get you for that!” Kitty recognized this type of voice. She tried to hiss. It was hard to hiss with bacon in her mouth so Kitty just jumped on top of the dishes. “No! Not there!" Frightened by Darcie’s voice, Kitty leaped off the dishes, making them crash onto the floor. Avoiding Darcie’s broom, Kitty dashed out of the kitchen. Darcie dropped the broom and began to bawl.
Having been awoken by Darcie’s yelling, Mr. Trenton stumbled out of bed and came downstairs just in time to see Kitty dashing up the stairs with the bacon in her mouth. “Whoa! Wait, what?” Mr. Trenton yelled, confused by what was going on. He went into the kitchen to find Darcie crying.
“Darcie, are you alright? What happened?” Mr. Trenton knelt by his weeping wife and hugged her.
“Your darn cat,” she sobbed, “stole my bacon, and upset the dishes and everything! She hates me! Please, get rid of her or else train her!” Kitty was cautiously coming down the steps. Mr. Trenton looked at the upset pitcher and the water dripping down the counter. Several dishes were smashed on the floor and a broom lay on the ground. Mr. Trenton kissed his wife’s hair and murmured,
“I’ll be sure this never happens again.” Kitty was eavesdropping by the steps at this moment. She looked mournfully at Mr. Trenton. Why didn’t he love her? Kitty silently uttered a pitiful meow and disappeared out the front door.
Tweetie in the Morning 9 Pennsylvania, United StatesDear Sly Wolf,
We were at an unknown house. All of a sudden we heard this sound. But is not one of us. My children were too scared to move! Even my husband and me. There were the other people. The sound came again! We ran out the door, with out anything left behind. As we drove the door opened a bit! My children were scared!
Can you solve the case?
White Cat
Later, "Mail!" cried the mailman. "Thanks, a lot!" said Sly Wolf. The mailman walked away. "Hey!" said a voice. It was Puppy. "Hey, what's up? Sunny day, hmm. Anyway what do you get?" Sly Wolf said. "Hmmm, I think I got junk. Again." Puppy said. "Hmmmm, let's guess what I got." "I bet you got....no junk." Puppy said. "I bet to." "Let's go in to my house and see." Sly Wolf said. "Sure." Puppy said. Sly Wolf opened the door as Puppy walked in. "Mmmm. I can smell homemade pancakes!" Puppy said. "Yup buddy. That's right. Homemade pancakes by Sly Wolf. That's your personal type of favorite food." As they ate they read Sly Wolf’s mail. One of them was from White Cat. It said:
Dear Sly Wolf,
We were at an unknown house. All of a sudden we heard this sound. But is not one of us. My children were too scared to move! Even my husband and me. There were the other people. The sound came again! We ran out the door, with out anything left behind. As we drove the door opened a bit! My children were scared!
Can you solve the case?
White Cat
As they read Sly Wolf's mail he said,"Hmmmm, I'm not sure if I will accept it."
Then he wrote:
Dear White Cat,
I’m not sure if I will accept. That means that I will have to accept faith or death. Maybe I will accept it. I have to stand against death.
Sly Wolf
Christy Sparrow 12 Pennsylvania, United StatesBEEP! BEEP! BEEP! The alarm clock rang, startling the kitten. Yawning, the kitten started to get up, and bumped its head on the drawer. Ouch! The kitten jumped out of the drawer and scampered out of the room, waiting in the kitchen for its breakfast. Mr. Trenton groaned and slammed his hand on top of the clock.
He sat up and rubbed his eyes when he noticed several of his socks on the floor. "DARN CAT!" he shouted. It was hard enough having to do the laundry after he had fired the laundry woman when she had ruined several of his shirts. Now, that cat had to get in his socks! He should've closed the drawer more firmly.
Then, Mr. Trenton calmed himself down. The kitten didn't know. He could handle several small socks. He put the detergent into the washer and started the machine. Then, he went downstairs to the kitchen. Meowing, the kitten was pawing at the refridgerator for some milk. Mr. Trenton sighed and reached down to stroke the kitten's soft fur.
The kitten blinked and batted Mr. Trenton's hand playfully. "Ouch." Mr. Trenton got up and opened the fridge as the kitten ran in front of him. The cold air blasted onto the kitten as it scampered out of the way. Mr. Trenton took out the milk and poured it into a dish. He microwaved the milk and set it down in front of the kitten. The cat lapped it up and looked up at Mr. Trenton for more.
Mr. Trenton laughed and got the kitten more milk. He was beginning to enjoy having this cat. After breakfast and several more bowls of milk for the kitten, Mr. Trenton set off to the pet store and bought cat food along with a leash and collar for the kitten. Mr. Trenton had a hard time getting the collar onto the kitten.
It scampered around, hiding in several places where Mr. Trenton couldn't reach it. "Here kitty. Kitty, where are you?" Finally, Mr. Trenton caught the cat and slid the collar in place. The kitten pawed at the collar, trying to get it off. Mr. Trenton decided to call his new kitten, Kitty.
"Come on, Kitty. Let's go for a walk to the pet store and then the park." He snapped the leash on the collar. Mr. Trenton got his keys and wallet and, with the kitten following him, walked out the door. At the pet store, he had the letters: Kitty carved onto the collar. Then, Kitty and Mr. Trenton set off for the park.
Mr. Trenton picked up Kitty and walked across the road. He wasn't taking any chances of letting his new kitten get hurt, especially what had happened with Tod. Once safely on the pathway, Mr. Trenton set the kitten down, took the leash, and walked through the woods. After twenty minutes of exploring the scenery and watching the kitten antics, Mr. Trenton sat on a bench and watched several children play on the playground.
His kitten was lying on his lap as Mr. Trenton stroked the kitten's soft fur. Kitty purred as Mr. Trenton reached one of her favorite spots. Several women walked by and Mr. Trenton pretended not to notice them. He stroked Kitty harder.
The women stopped near Mr. Trenton as one of them cried, "Oh, sir, your cat is soooo cute! May we please pet her?"
Mr. Trenton hesitated before handing Kitty to her, all the while clutching her leash. He watched as they admired Kitty and laughed at her antics. After a short time, the first woman handed Mr. Trenton the kitten. "What's your name?" she asked.
"Mark Trenton," he answered nervously.
"I'm Sara Hillbirch. Nice to meet you." The women giggled as they walked off, laughing and chatting. Mr. Trenton got ready to go. He happened to look up just in time to see one of the women looking back at him. Suddenly, he recognized her as Darcie Simons! Mr. Trenton stared at her in disbelief. Where was her husband? Darcie turned away as she saw Mr. Trenton looking at her.
But Darcie wasn't quick enough. Before she had turned away, Mr. Trenton was certain that Darcie looked a little lost and sad. What was wrong? Had her husband died? Were they divorced? Mr. Trenton needed to find out and fast. Tweetie in the Morning 9 Pennsylvania, United States“Get out! Cat!” said Daniel. The fat cat ran away. “Grrr! I hate those fat cats!”
“They always take our food. They are too fat to take any more.” said John.
Mark said, “I wish that they will stop stealing from us, (the Snoopy Dogs), we don’t have much food left!”
“Then we have to find more food in order to live! But who will do it?!” said Wilbert.
Mark looked at John. “No way, I’m a banker. And if I die, how will we get lots money as being smart?” objected John.
John looked at Daniel. Daniel protested: “No way, I’m a music teacher. And if I die, who’s going to teach my classes as well as I do? The other teachers, the principle and even the children say: “You’re the best!”!” Daniel looked at Mark.
“No way! I’m not good at hunting for food! I’m a football player!” Mark looked at Wilbert.
“No way. I’m in a band!” Every one looked at every one. “Fine. This is fair; one dog goes out in the morning and fines food. The next day one dog goes out in the morning and fines food also. And so on and so on.” said John. The Snoopy’s agreed.
cathyheart 10 Kentucky, United StatesLizzy looked at Mary, "i'm sorry!" she said.
"but, you lied, to me!" yelled mary, she was more, mad than when, john was seen going in to her locker, when he said, it was not him.
they were walking home, they went the way that went in to a cave on the beach. there was a whole moon, they stoped at the beach,
" the water is glowing in the cave!" they both said and they ran in to the cave, it looked like day in there,
"some thing is worng said lizzy, just then some thing hapen and they started screming!
************************************************************************************************************************ | | Indigodreamer16 11 Maine, United States No kid ever went over to the Duffe mansion after school. Except one boy, but that was because he lived there. It's not his fault.
The boy was named Zakarie Danneel Duffe, but all the kids in school called him ZD. He was one of those popular kids who instead of getting popular by kindness, looks, or sports, he got it from his money.
"Zakarie, honey, please come down! Your birthday presents are ready!" his mom called.
"I coming! Did you get everything I wanted?" Zakarie yelled as he leapt out of the elevator
"Yes, and Grampa got you one thing more." his mother gestured to the pile of presents in the parlor.
"Awesome!" he yelled as her tore through the presents. "An iMoose camo phone for while you hunt!".
Present after present was opened in excitement. Until he got to the last present.
"A toy horse???? What's wrong with Gramps? I'm leaving!!!" he yelled as he lugged the presents to the express elevator.
He sat down in his room. He looked at the horse. Slowly, he stood up and walked over to the back window He thrust it open and looked down at the dumpster below. He held the horse over it by the mane.
"Just what do you think your doing?" it asked.
Zakarie blinked. Had the horse really turned into a girl? Instead of a mane, he was holding her blond ponytail. She glared at him fiercely.
"I asked what were you doing? Oh, trying to throw me out the window, I see." she pulled herself back through the window. "I wouldn't mind if you let go of my hair, now.".
Zakarie quickly let go. "Wh-who are you? Where's my horse?".
"I am your horse, dummy! The name's Mirabelle, call me Miri." she answered."But where...why...?" Zakarie stammered.
Miri rolled her eyes. "I can shape-shift, okay? I come from the land of Willithorpe. I need to toake you there.".
"How?" he asked, his eyes widening.
Miri closed her eyes. She grew until she filled the room. Silvery scales dotted her body. In a puff of smoke, she became a dragon.
"Get on!" she roared. Zakarie climbed on, without really knowing what he was getting himself into. Miri crashed through the roof and zoomed out into the sky.
"Mom's not going to be happy about this..." he muttered. Christy Sparrow 12 Pennsylvania, United StatesOnce upon a time, there lived a girl named Allison. Allison was always tired so she always stayed in bed. That became quite a problem when school started, but she decided to skip school. Now she was twenty and knew nothing about addition, subtraction, and other things. She didn't even know what one plus one was! Her mother, since her child was such a stubborn girl, decided that she would hire a tutor to come and teach Allison everyday.
However, that didn't work, since Allison pulled up several pranks on her tutor. She was way too tired to bother learning those things because all the female tutors were impatient, demanding, and cruel. When the tutor first sat down on her seat, she jumped right back up and hollered. Allison had secretly put a tack on the chair. When the tutor wasn't looking, Allison grabbed the tack and hid it in a drawer. The tutor frowned. Allison slyly said, "Oh, dear tutor, your bottom must be sore now. Allow me to give you a cushion for your seat." And with a flourish, she took a cushion from her bed and put it on the chair.
"Thank you," the tutor said as she sat down. Now, Allison had secretly hidden a whoopie cushion in the pillow so when the tutor sat down, there was a huge farting sound. Allison could barely hide her smile. "Oh my, I'm terribly sorry," the tutor apologized, thinking that she herself had done it. The tutor gave the cushion back to Allison and sat down. Then, Allison pulled her last prank. She poked the frog she had hidden under her pillow and the frog jumped out, frightening the poor tutor so badly she screamed and ran out of the house.
Allison just smiled a bit. When her mother heard what had happened from the tutor, (she didn't know how mean the tutors were to poor Allison) she sighed with frustration and hired another tutor. Prank after prank after prank Allison pulled on each of the unlucky tutors, who were all women and scared more easily. Finally, Allison's mother had an idea. As Allison was an attractive girl, she could hire a man and he would treat her nicely according to her loveliness. She dialed a number.
The next day, Allison's mother told Allison that it was a MAN this time, not a woman so she had better look nice and proper and NO pranks. Allison put on her best dress and combed her hair. She was almost frightened out of her wits for she thought that the male tutor would treat her harshly. Finally, the tutor came and when he saw her, he couldn't help but fall head over heels in love with her. Of course, Allison had no feelings for him YET. She was much too frightened to care about his looks. Allison learned a lot about the tutor on the first day. His name was Daniel and he was about the same age as her.
As the weeks flew by, Daniel grew more and more in love with her. Everyday, Allison learned more and more till she learned almost everything she needed to know. To Daniel, Allison looked even more beautiful everyday. Finally, Allison had gotten ten Master Degrees, five Doctric Degrees and lots of other awards. Daniel was no longer needed of his services and could leave in three days. Daniel was sad. He loved Allison very much and couldn't leave without her. Suddenly had an idea.
"Allison," he said on the third to last day, "I must admit that I love you." Allison seemed uninterested, although she secretly sort of liked him. He paused before cautiously asking, "Will you marry me?" Allison was surprised--she never expected Daniel to ask this! Daniel waited nervously. This was the final moment he had been waiting for his whole entire life!
Allison paused before saying, "No." Daniel was crushed as he left her that day. The next day, he firmly asked, "Allison, will you marry me?" Allison paused.
"No," she said again. Daniel left the house feeling even more crushed, than yesterday but more determined. On the last day, Daniel asked Allison, "WILL YOU MARRY ME?" Allison took longer than the past two days to answer. "Please say yes. Please say yes. Please say yes," Daniel whispered. Allison looked at him and Daniel panicked. Would she say no?
"Daniel," she said his name tenderly. Allison started crying, jumped out of bed, and flung her arms around him. Daniel felt a sudden tenderness for her as she clutched him. She seemed frightened of him. After a while she whispered, "Yes. Daniel, I love you." Daniel rocked her back and forth as she started crying all over again. Allison's mother came in to see what the commotion was all about. She looked surprised to see Allison out of bed and she and Daniel kissing each other over and over again. Then, she smiled. The next day, Daniel and Allison got married and lived happily ever after with each other.
The End Christy Sparrow 12 Pennsylvania, United States"Here you go. Fresh milk from the grocery." Mr. Trenton placed a bowl of milk in front of the kitten. The kitten's delicate tongue greedily lapped up the milk. After the last of the drink was licked away, the white kitten began rubbing against Mr. Trenton's legs and purred. "Stop that!" Mr. Trenton felt a bit cross. Even if he had let the kitten in, that didn't mean he liked cats. Even so, he felt a bit of tenderness towards the rumbling cat.
Mr. Trenton couldn't help but bend down and give the kitten a quick scratch behind the ears. The kitten rolled over and playfully swatted his hand. Mr. Trenton placed the milk back into the refridgerator. He climbed up the steps as the kitten followed. Before the kitten could do anything, Mr. Trenton went into the bathroom and shut the door. The kitten was surprised that it had been cast out. It meowed and pawed at the door.
The kitten let out a yowl as it heard some loud noises. It was only the flush, but the kitten didn't know. Its fur stood up. After a couple of seconds, the sound stopped. The kitten suspiciously eyed the bathroom door before relaxing. Mr. Trenton opened the door. "Meow." The kitten pranced around his legs as he walked back to his room.
Mr. Trenton sat on his bed before pulling the covers over himself. "Meow." The kitten tried to jump up onto his bed. It was too small and landed onto the carpet with a thump. Mr. Trenton looked down with a stern face. "No. That's what you get for trying to bother me," he scolded. The kitten looked up at him and blinked its huge, blue eyes. Mr. Trenton couldn't help but crack a smile. He went back to sleep.
Seeing that its newfound master wasn't going to let it on his bed, the kitten stretched and let out a yawn. It decided to crawl under the bed. Hmm, the kitten looked at Mr. Trenton's slippers suspiciously. It whacked one of the slippers playfully. The kitten felt surprised as the slipper bounced away. Interesting. The kitten whacked it again. The slipper tumbled out from under the bed and stopped at a chest of drawers.
Having gotten rid of one thing, (whatever it was) the kitten made an effort to do the same to the next identical object. WHACK! The slipper flew out from under the bed and landed next to the door. The satisfied kitten curled up into a ball and tried to go to sleep.
Grr. The kitten stood up. The floor was too hard. The kitten crawled out from underneath the bed and looked for a better place to sleep. Aha! One of Mr. Trenton's drawers wasn't shut properly. The kitten bounded over to the unshut drawer. It peered inside. Hmm, it looked comfortable. There was only one way to find out. The kitten leaped into the drawer. Ommph. A couple of socks fell out as the kitten landed directly into the drawer. Yes, it would have to do for now.
Yawning, the kitten curled up into a ball. The gentle snores coming from Mr. Trenton finally lulled it to sleep. Zweetok 11 EnglandMany years ago, the people who lived in Africa were few. Their numbers were minimal, and they took only what they needed from the forest.
They used to say that there was a great bond between every living thing.
The hunter, the prey, the forest, everything was perfect, but not for long.
As their numbers increased, humans started taking more and more from the forest, and creating inventions and new creations that would change humanity. They started making more and more, and taking more and more from the forest to improve their lives, and unlike the olden days, they no longer thanked the forest for all it had given them.
They started to deny the forest spirit’s very existence.
Although not all hope was lost, for in Africa not everyone could afford these inventions and they were forced to live like they used to, since no one had conquered Africa.
Eventually people noticed this, and they told the poorer people of certain tribes, “Come join the improvement, your life will be better, more food, cleaner water, better medicine. It will all be better.” The Mages of nearly every single tribe accepted, and took their clan away to join the improvement, but not every Mage agreed. Five tribes rejected the offer, The Tree Frog Clan, The Chimpanzee Clan, The African Fish Eagle Clan, The Okapi Clan, and The Clawless Otter Clan.
They lived a peaceful life in the Congo, by means of the old ways.
In the next 2000 years, The Tree Frog Clan and The Chimpanzee Clan joined the improvement.
Time passed on, and the people of the improvement almost forgot about the three remaining clans.
Actually the three remaining clans were smart, because while the others went off to live a life of luxury, the remaining clans saw their proper forest die at the heart of woodcutters chopping down the trees, where the camps of the clans that went away used to be.
It was surprising really, because the Chimpanzee Clan were actually the smartest clan, but they had fallen prey to a great beast, who sent his minions to chop down trees for no reason.
The Tree Frog Clan were the best at being nimble, and the best at keeping themselves hidden, but they too had fallen prey to the great beast.
The Okapi Clan were rather silent and calm, and they were able to keep running for a long time.
The Clawless Otter Clan were by far the most playful and the best at skin boating.
The African Fish Eagle Clan was speedy and had very good eyesight.
They all had markings on their necks. The Okapi Clan had black, brown and orange spots, The Clawless Otter Clan had wavy blue green and brown lines, The Chimpanzee Clan had black and brown squares, The Tree Frog Clan had red, orange and green lines, and the African Fish Eagle Clan had light brown, dark brown and white lines.
They lived a good life, by means of the old ways, but our story really begins when The Clawless Otter Clan Mage decided to sign the agreement of the improvement.
Middle of Midsummer 1812
A mysterious man has come to our tribe, the tribe welcomes strangers, but this one seems different. He has come to our Mage Chenaii, he has asked that she signs the agreement of the improvement. Chenaii has yet to refuse; she is still reading the agreement. I asked her not so long ago if she would sign and she said, “Probably, our home is being destroyed and if we keep living like this, we might not have anything left, but don’t worry, I will solve the problem and no matter what..” she paused and put her hand on mine. “The tribe will always stay together.” I reflected on that for some time, but I knew I shouldn’t worry; the tribe was in good hands.
The girl saw the man step into Chenaii’s shelter, and they whispered about things, about the forest, the future, the benefits. The girl heard every word.
Chenaii said to her once that she had raised her hand when she was on a hill and her eagle flew to her, and pecked at her skin, and it had given her great power.
Yes, her eagle, her pet, farming had already become widespread and Chenaii said she could keep it, but Nikita didn’t like the idea of farming too much.
The girl slept peacefully listening intently to their discussions. At one point she forgot about listening and went to sleep.
“SQUAWK!!! KAWK!!RAWK!!!” the girl heard, followed by banging. “Sky!! Shhh..” she whispered. The bird went silent.
The girl saw Chenaii step out of the shelter. “It is done.” She said to the Clan. “The Leader and I, and this man, have decided.” Everyone went still, except for Sky. “We have agreed to leave for the improvement!!” Cheers of joy everywhere, except for the girl. Chenaii approached her. “Everyone, back to what you were doing.” she said to the Clan. “Even you.” she pointed at the man with the piece of paper. He went away, heading towards the Okapi Clan shelters.
As you may well know, the Mage has no right over the Leader, so he was free to do whatever he wished.
“What is the matter, Nikita?” asked the Mage. The Leader, Corazon, was hovering over Chenaii. “The forest, I can’t leave it! It is our home and we have lived for thousands of years with it!! I cannot leave it!! Ever since I was 5, I knew how to hunt, track, carve tools, survive and I knew how to do mage-spells and I knew of the great bond of the forest. All the Clans do.” Chenaii nodded. “But to me it’s much more. The forest is where we all started, where we grew. Where we learned to hunt, track, survive, farm. We learned everything from the forest, and it gave us everything, I could never turn my back on it. Ever since my mum and dad went missing, I’ve considered the forest as a foster mum. She taught me everything; she taught all of us everything we know.” Nikita started to cry. “There, there, I’ll tell you what, we shall all have a vote, and we will see who loves the forest as much as you do.”
Chenaii made a cry like an otter, summoning everyone to her.
They all gathered, forming a huge circle, that’s why it has been nicknamed by certain tribes, the circle of gathering.
“We have come for a vote!” shouted the Mage.
The ceremony was rudely interrupted by the Okapi Clan Leader, Okauyak.
“We have decided to have a vote as well, once we heard you say you wanted one, we thought all the clans could meet up and vote.” Okauyak said. “Where shall we meet?” asked Corazon. “By the river, the African Fish Eagles have already set up camp over there.” “Goodbye!” shouted Corazon. “And may your soul animal be with you!” “You too!” Okauyak shouted back.
“Should I tell them?” whispered Chenaii. “Then tell the tribe to get ready.” Corazon whispered back. “Clan, let us be off for the river.”
Everyone hustled about and soon enough they made a line of people. The Mage and Leader positioned themselves at the front.
Nikita kept on following them, and they soon arrived.
They dispersed out and the African Fish Eagle Clan Leader, Akiak, came to greet them. “Hello Clawless Otters, I’m happy you were able to make it. Please, sit down, and we shall discuss about the vote.”
The Clawless Otters happily took a seat.
“Right, about that vote we were talking about. Shall we make a start?” asked Okauyak. “Yes we shall. All those in favour of the ‘improvement’ raise their hands.” said Akiak
Two of the elders didn’t raise their hand, and three children didn’t raise their hands.
Corazon gave the children a stern look and two of them raised their hands, but Corazon was surprised to see that Nikita still kept her hand down.
One of the elders raised his hand, but the two remaining Clan people kept their hands lowered. “All those who have not raised their hands, approach the front.” said Akiak. Nikita approached the front and so did one of the Okapi elders, Onartok.
“Do you know that you both shall be left behind, and you shall no longer be part of your clan. You shall belong to your own clan. You will be able to keep all of your belongings but if you change your mind and run back to us, we can no longer accept you, and if you come to harm, and are tortured you cannot state the names of anyone in these tribes. The forest will be your only friend, unless you sign the agreement, you both accept all of this? “Yes.” said Nikita. Once she had said this, there were gasps all around.
“You will both have to name your own clan then.”
“No.” said Onartok.
Even more gasps.
“Then you go back to your tribe. As for you, I hope you know what you are doing?” asked Corazon.
Nikita nodded.
“You shall have 3 days to decide. Back to your camps.” Akiak said.
“Nikita! What have you done!” shouted Corazon, once they arrived back at camp.
“It’s my decision. I’m old enough, the forest has taught me enough to survive and live in peace with it. I’m fifteen after all, you’re not my dad, and only he could change my mind.” “No, but I am the leader and I rule over the whole clan. Your father was only a man with a talent for mage-spells, hardly a Leader.” “Don’t say a word against my father.” “Oh but I can, he had you and died and in doing so he made you make this choice, his spirits tricked me into caring for you and then humiliated me and my pride and Clan!” he shouted at her.
“It wasn’t him, who humiliated you. It was me. So you can only blame me, even if you hated him. Oh and...” she stepped on his toes as hard as possible “I never liked you either.”
And Nikita ran off crying.
Thank you for all the comments.
If you like this story, I recommend you read my poems.
Again, thank you for your comments,
If you have anything to say please do, that is what comments are for!
Thank you for reading! :) Zweetok 11 EnglandI look outside to the endless world,
The endless world around me,
The butterflies, the ladybirds,
They all surround me.
The foxes that hide in their holes,
The trees that wave their leaves,
They all seem to hide their thoughts,
But I can hear them,
I hear them say,
Summer is here!!
By zweetok, please read my other poems.
If you think I have a talent do not hesitate to say.
If enough people send compliments I might make my own website.
I give thanks to all NICE compliments.
Thank you for reading. :) |
