The Animals Saved The Redwood Forest

By Yiren Lu, 3^rd Grade (2001)

Long long ago, in a forest far away, there lived a group of animals that were as happy as anyone could be. They lived in a quiet peaceful surrounding of the Redwood Forest and was never disturbed in any way. The group of animals was made of Dallas, the elk, Furry, the Douglas Squirrel, and Majestic, the sister butterfly. All of the animals had weaknesses and strengths. When all the powerful abilities were combined together, they lived in peace and had no fear in anything except one thing. That one thing was a human. Humans had always been in a threat to the group of animals. They broke down food chains, and destroyed habitats. But the humans had never entered the Redwood Forest before, so the animals never worried about it.

Then, one day, alarming screams came from Majestic’s little birch house. Furry and Dallas quickly went over to Majestics’s home to see what was wrong. When they got to Majestic’s house, Majestic was shaking with fear. "What's wrong" asked Dallas? "It's humans" sobbed Majestic. "Where?" asked Furry. "Right outside the window" answered Majestic. So Furry leaned forward toward the window and looked for herself, And indeed just as Majestic had said, there were humans right outside the window. SWISH! SWANG! BOOM! The humans were cutting down lots of trees. Unable to control herself, Furry spilled out the news to her friend, "Then what will we do?" inquired Dallas. "I have a plan, but you guys will have to stay at my house tonight because we have to talk about the plan" said Majestic. She got out sleeping bags and pillows for them to sleep on. Then, she heated water over a great big fire and poured the water into the big wooden bathtub and everyone took a bath. After the bath, the animals changed into P.J.s and sat upon feathered cushions as they sipped hot chocolate and talked about the plan. Finally, the animals went to bed.

The next morning, all the animals were up at daylight .They were going to work on the plan .The plan was to paint themselves to look like ferocious beasts and scare away the humans with a loud sound. It seemed like a good plan. So for hours, the animals painted and colored, drew and sketched the scariest and spookiest of their pictures. At last, they were ready. So they started to head out on the direction that the humans were . Finally after two hours of walking, the animals were finally was at their destination. And with a signal from Majestic the bufferfly, they made a sound that was as loud as a bomb bombing a city. BOOM! BANG! CRASH! With that sound, the humans ran as fast as they could all the way to the city. So the victorious animals skipped all the way home. They each went to their own homes and slept soundly for the first time in days. The next day, the animals had a picnic in celebration of their victory. And through this event, all of the animals learned that teamwork and effort is a skill that they will always need.

It was a bright, sunny day in the coast of England. Mr. Peckfoot, the blue robin, found his best friend, Magnificent, the unicorn, painting her horn with all of the colors of the rainbow. "Hello, will you want to come play with me?" asked Mr. Peckfoot. "Okay!" exclaimed Magnificent. They both headed up the green and grassy hills. Now they had the problem of deciding which game to play. Magnificent wanted to play Jacks. Mr. Peckfoot wanted to play Hide and Seek Tag. After argument over this they finally decided to play their favorite game, "Hide and Seek". Magnificent decided to be "IT". As soon as the game started, Mr. Peckfoot flew into Rainstorm forest. Rainstorm forest was full of tall trees and lovely flowers. It was a beautiful place but, in the afternoon, wolves and bears lurked there, searching for a morsel of food. Mr. Peckfoot avoided them. He found a place to hide.

Meanwhile, Magnificent had just finished counting to twenty. She trotted up the grassy hills and into the river. Magnificent looked everywhere. She slowed herself down to a canter. Then, Magnificent thought, "Rainstorm forest is Mr. Peckfoot’s favorite place to hide. He must be in there" Magnificent cautiously walked into the lush forest. It was so quiet. The woods were dark and damp. Trees towered higher than thirty feet. It was not familiar place. Magnificent was afraid.

Mr. Peckfoot was hiding in the hollow of an old, rotting pine tree. It definitely was not his favorite place to hide but then Magnificent would not find him. After a while, Mr. Peckfoot started to shiver. He was as cold as an icicle. It had been nearly an hour since he had flown into the forest. Where is Magnificient, what if she was lost? Mr. Peckfoot was worried about her. Mr. Peckfoot started to look for Magnificent. First, he looked in the trees. No body was in them. Then he looked in the bushes, Magnificent was not in them either. "This isn’t much fun anymore" thought Mr. Peckfoot.

At that time, Magnificent was wandering in wild part of the forest. Then, she heard a long, low call, it was the sound of wolf calling to it’s mate. Magnificent started to run away from the sound of the call. Suddenly, a wolf named Storm Clouder jumped out from behind a tree. He was very hungry. In a second, Magnificent was cornered. She had only two weapons, her horn and her voice. Her voice was beautiful. It could lure anybody. Right now, she used it to call Mr. Peckfoot. "Aaaaah!" Magnificent’s voice rang out like bell. Mr. Peckfoot and his friend Red Throat came to help Magnificent. Storm Clouder thought "These tiny birds will not bother me from attacking this glittering unicorn. I will let them be." With a few small chirps and whistles, Mr. Peckfoot and Red Throat hatched a daring plan. Slowly, Red Throat clung onto Storm Clouder’s neck until he choked. Then Magnificent gave him big push with the horn. Mr. Peckfoot threw heavy twigs on Storm Clouder. Bang! Bang! Bang! The three friends reach their goal. Storm Clouder was dead. Red Throat, Mr. Peckfoot and Magnificent headed out of the forest. As soon as they were out of the forest, Magnificent thanked Red Throat and Mr. Peckfoot for risking their lives to save her. Together, they laughed, "If you hadn’t been brave, that terrible wolf would be lurking in the forest. You were part of the team effort"
 

There was a ghost who cast spells on sailors. The spell was to be cast to stone whoever fell in love with her. She lived in a cave under the sea. The cave was the lair of the Loch Ness monster. The Loch Ness monster was her guardian, protecting her from angry sailors who had lost friends to her evil. People over the years have tried many ways to destroy her and many brave sailors lost their lives. The problem is she only comes out of her cave every 400 years in search of new victims for her to turn to stone.

Over the years many people fell in love with her, she was very beautiful. A young man fell in love with and asked why are you going to turn me to stone. She says true love and this way I can keep you around forever. He remembers asking an old sailor if he knew how to break the spell. The crazy old sailor said “Stick a piece of bread in her mouth”. He ran away screaming and laughing.

 He pulled the old bread form his pocket and offered it to her, not knowing of this myth she accepted it and disappeared. He successfully destroyed her because his loving heart blinded her. The people heard of his good deed and bravery. The people cheered as the people who had been turned to stone turned back to flesh. Many lost sailors came home that day.

One day on a stormy night, there was a boy sitting on the couch bored with nothing to do.  The boy’s name was Jack and he lived on Pennsylvania Avenue in California.  Jack was one of those kids who were into mummies and scary creatures. He read nothing but horror stories and his room was decorated with evil looking posters and figurines of monsters.

 While sitting on the couch, Jack heard a knock at the front door.  He opened the door and it was his best friend Charlie. Charlie told Jack that the mummy exhibit had opened at the museum. Charlie said that their other friends, Nathan and Tom were going.  Jack said, “Okay, let’s go!”  When Jack and Charlie were headed for the museum, it began to rain real hard.  Jack said to Charlie, “We better hurry up, it’s raining pretty hard.”  So they ran as fast as they could to the museum.

When they got to the museum they met up with Nathan and Tom, who were waiting out front for them. They all entered the mummy exhibit together and couldn’t believe their eyes.  There, in the middle of the room was an old ancient coffin made of gold.  Inside the coffin lay the mummy of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh from 1300 BC.  Tom turned to his friends and dared them all to stay in the museum after closing and open the ancient coffin. They all agreed and hid behind statues while the curator closed the museum for the night.

The curator soon left and locked all four boys in the museum. When they were sure that the curator had left, they came out from their hiding places and started becoming a little scared.  The museum was dark and cold and all they could here was the sound of the rainstorm from outside. Tom said to the others, “Well, what are you chickens all waiting for?  Let’s see this so called Egyptian mummy!”  Jack was curious to see the mummy, so he walked up and opened the coffin, but when he opened it there was nothing inside!  Where was the mummy?

The morning came and the curator opened up the museum. All four boys were nowhere to be found and the mummy was missing!  No one ever saw or heard from Jack, Charlie, Nathan, or Tom again. Most say that the mummy took them never to return and in other states like Florida and Ohio, the same strange problems were happening at their museums with mummy exhibits.

A long time ago, there was a little girl named Sarah. She lived in a small village. There was a school outside the village. Sarah’s family was poor but they had enough money so Sarah could go to school. Sarah’s weren’t rich, but their love for each other was very rich.

Sarah went to the school outside her village. At the school, Sarah did not have any friends. No one liked her because she was poor and thought she would give them a diesis. They also did not like her because she was very bright. All the children in that school were jealous of her knowledge. When Sarah told this to her parents, her parents said that at least when she grew up she would make friends because the whole reason they put her to school was so that she had the knowledge to earn money so she could help the needy.

Sarah had been in that school for a long time. One day, a new girl came to the school. The teacher said her name was Amanda, and then introduce her to the class. When Amanda first went into the classroom, everybody stared at her, everybody, except Sarah. Her parents once told her that it was rude to stare and Sarah made a promise that she would never do that and Sarah kept her promise. People stared at her because everything about her seemed clean and new.

At recess, Sarah came up to Amanda and asked if she wanted to play with her. Of course Amanda wanted to because she was new and did not have a friend yet. Sarah was so happy Amanda said yes because Sarah always wanted to have a friend. When Sarah and Amanda got home, they told their parents about their new friend.

As the two girls grew so did their friendship. One day, Amanda asked her parents if she could invite Sarah to her house. Then her parents agreed. When Amanda got to school, she told Sarah what her parents said. As soon as Sarah got home she told her parents what Amanda said.

When Sarah got to Amanda’s home, Sarah was surprised on how big Amanda’s house was. She was also amazed on how many cars Amanda’s father had. Sarah felt small compared to Amanda’s house. Even though she still had fun. When Sarah got home, she told her parents everything that happened.

A few weeks passed and Sarah wanted Amanda to come over. She asked her parents and they agreed. When Amanda came over, Sarah tried to amaze Amanda but it was hard because her family was poor and did not have much things. But then Sarah took Amanda to her backyard. They spent the rest of the time in the back.

When it was time for Amanda to go home, Sarah’s mom offered a ride home on their old car. Amanda said that she would rather walk but was very thankful for the offer anyway.

It was not long before Amanda lost her way. She tried to remember but she and Sarah were talking and Amanda did not pay attention to the path that Sarah was taking them. The sun was about to set and Amanda was tired and hungry. Amanda did not panic because she knew it wouldn’t help. Just when she was about to faint, she saw a house just like Sarah’s. Amanda thought it was Sarah’s and knocked at the door. Then a girl, about the size of her opened the door. Amanda was so tired that she just said she was hungry and the girl told her to come in.

Inside there was a woman and was setting the table. Than, a man came into the house and the girl said he was her father. While they ate, Amanda told the story how she got lost. After she was done with her story, the girl (her name is Eliza) told about her school and why she did not like it. (Eliza did not like it because she did not have any friends) The Amanda offered to be her friend. Eliza was so delighted and said yes.
 
After the meal, Amanda thanked them as much as she could. Then Eliza’s father asked is Amanda would like a ride home. This time Amanda said yes.

When they reached Amanda’s home, her parents were so happy. They were so happy that they wanted to give Eliza’s father money. But Eliza’s father just said he was happy to help a friend.
 
The next morning Amanda told everything that happened yesterday to her, to Sarah. At recess, the two girls invited Eliza to play with them.
 
Amanda, Sarah, and Eliza lived the rest of their lives in a friendship that they knew would never break. Even in the darkest times, they would always help each other. No matter how far apart they were they still kept contacted. They were so close that they felt like a family. Even like sisters.

There is a place unknown in the sky. It is an enchanted castle. Its rooms rearrange themselves to match the personality of the person that enters the room. It has a total of 246 rooms, 45 crystal chandeliers and 82 staircases. It may seem like paradise, but this castle is very dangerous. There are traps everywhere that will slice anyone evil (unless the princess wants a battle with them), or anyone that will soon become her enemy. The only exceptions are her army, friends, future friends, or her guards. This castle was once on earth. This is the story of the enchanted castle.

 In this castle lived a beautiful princess. She was known as The Sister of the Enchantresses. She was happy living in her castle. One night, her enemy, a serpent from Hades, locked the princess in her castle and sent it floating through the heavens. When she left, it rained on the place the castle used to be at, creating a lake. This, the princess was unhappy with. She plans her revenge to take place at her castle. The serpent won’t stand a chance against her army. The princess plans that she will appear then disappear so the serpent will become confused. The princess’s army will defeat the serpent by leading her into a dungeon and putting her in chains. There she will die of starvation. Her revenge will take place soon. When there is a hurricane in California, the battle has begun!

Once a boy named Aaron came across something shiny. He picked it up. “WOW’’ he said. It was round and big. He took it to a friend. “Wazzup’’ said Aaron. “Hey’’ said his friend. “I found this on the ground. Do you know what it is?’’ “Sure I do.’’ “What is it?’’ “A dragon egg.’’ “A WHAT!!!!!’’  “You heard me. A dragon egg.’’

Aaron left. He told his parents about the egg. They didn’t believe a word he said. Then he showed them the egg. “Wow!’’ They said. “What is it?” “A DRAGON EGG!’’ “Wow. I can’t believe it! A real dragon egg!’’ “Yes, a dragon. I tried to tell you.’’

A couple of months passed by. He took it to a magic shop. He got a book HOW TO TAKE CARE OF A DRAGON. He got home and read it. It said keep it warm and safe. Be sure it cared for properly!

He let it sit in the sun. One day it got knocked over and cracked open! A tiny head popped out, And another, and another. Soon it was a three-headed dragon. “I’ll call you Drag’’ said Aaron.

 Soon drag got bigger and bigger. He was so big he couldn’t fit in the house. Drag soon became angered. He went on a rampage. Luckily Aaron had his dragon book. It said how to calm a dragon. Say: “DRAG please stop what you are doing now or be punished!” So Aaron said it. He nearly got eaten. The dragon then stopped. He suddenly stopped. Drag lowered his head and let Aaron on his back. Drag flew high up in the air. Every one was happy.

It was a perfect Friday night to have a sleepover. I was eating some totally grubb homemade pizza that my sister made. My sister is 19 years old. It was almost like real pizza except a lot better. She used garlic bread instead of regular dough.
“So how was school”, questioned my dad?
He asks that of me everyday, and everyday I say the same thing, good.
“By the way”, I asked my mom, “can I have a sleepover, pleeaase?”
“I guess so,” she answered.
As I ran up the hallway, I screamed, “Thanks”.
I quickly called my best friend Tyra, and let her know. By the way, my name is Rose. Her mom was okay with it, and agreed to drop her off at our house. I told my parents.
“Yes!” I said.
She had finally arrived. We rushed to my room.
I said to her, “I’ve got an idea!”
She exclaimed, “Lets do our nails!”
“No”, I said.
And then in a loud voice I said, “Oh!” “I know!” and she jumped because of my loud voice.
Then I said, “ We can tell the old mystery of Goblin’s Hill to each other”.
She yelled out loud, “Yea”, ”that’s perfect”.
It was a perfect night to tell a scary story. Everything was so incredibly creepy that night. Not to mention how extremely cold it was. We got all nice and cozy with our flashlights and sleeping bags. Tyra shut off the lights to make it even creepier. I was so freaked out and could tell that Tyra was, too. I put the flashlight under my chin, pointing upwards, and it made my face look very creepy.
“I can’t believe that we’re going through with this”, Tyra said. Soon after that I began my story.
It was about 300 years ago. It was a stormy and mystical night. A happy couple was walking up through the most glamorous meadow, and they heard a strange piercing noise that sounded like this: “Yi Yi Yi”.
As fast as they could, they ran down the hill. It is now named Goblin’s Hill.
When the story was finished, we were more terrified than ever.
“I dare you to walk up to Goblin’s Hill” Tyra said.
“No way”, I exclaimed.
“Okay”, “then I’ll tell everybody at school that you’re just too scared to do it”, said Tyra.
“Fine”, I yelled.
Then I said, “Lets do it”.
This meant that we would have to sneak out of the house. It was 1:30 AM. We sneaked down the hallway, through the kitchen and out the front door.
The night sky was as dark as outer space. As we were walking to the hill, the air smelled so fresh. I kept seeing mysterious shadows in the dark. My heart was racing to the speed of light.
On top of that, Tyra kept making these incredibly spooky sounds.
It sounded like this, “OOOOOOOOOOh”
She also kept sneaking up behind me and scaring me.
“Cut it out”, I would say.
Finally, we made it to Goblin’s Hill. It was nothing but a county fair. We should have known that after 300 years people would have built and active town.  IT was full of rides and people.
“Man!” “Was that a waste”, I remarked.
“No it wasn’t”, remarked Tyra.
Then she said, “let’s stay for the fair”.
“I’ve got money”, I said, “and I have always wanted to do something incredibly outrageous”.
So that night we stayed for the fair without my parents even knowing. We were able to get back before my parents woke up.
 “Shh”, “don’t tell them”, I said.