ClairbournPawprints2012

Pawprints Clairbourn’s Literary Magazine

Spring 2012

8400 Huntington Drive, San Gabriel CA 91775

Place to Belong

People think that I'm boisterous

I am too much more than that.

It's as if I'm always an actress,

’Cause girls are just superficial rats.

You were supportive nearly always,

I could come to you for advice.

There are so many varying pathways,

Though not all of them suffice.

I miss you now like crazy,

You've been gone nearly too long,

I feel as if people are trying to change me!

I need a place to belong.

This is not about my beloved,

No, not about him,

But more of my dear grandmother;

God, please take her in.

-Electra Williams, 8A

I feel good about myself when God protects me any-

where I go. I feel like someone is always there for me.

God helps me do my math and reading. It’s really good

that God is right there next to me. He makes me do my

work right. I like God, and I hope that you do, too.

-Catherine Chan, 1B

pawprints 44 pawprints 1

Pawprints

Clairbourn’s Literary Magazine Spring 2012

This first issue of Pawprints revives a tradition that has been dormant at Clair-bourn for over seventy years: the literary magazine. Its goal is to provide a showcase for the talents of our students, and to encourage the spirit of crea-tive writing at Clairbourn. It is our hope that Pawprints Magazine will become a permanent part of the life of our school. We have been gratified at the wonderful outpouring of support for this pro-ject, including over 200 submissions from every class in grades one through eight. The process of choosing what to publish has been an enjoyable and challenging one. The editors wish to thank all of the students who have con-tributed their work, and to encourage them to continue writing, and submit-ting to the magazine in the future. We would especially like to thank Dr. Nafie, Mrs. Stahmer, Mrs. Patzlaff, Mr. and Mrs. Bonaparte, Mr. Barker and Mr. Rivele for their guidance and sup-port, and Mr. Jay Rostamian of Print-X-press for his generous help.

-The Editors

The editorial staff of Pawprints 2012 includes: Max Vasquez 8A, Electra Williams 8A, Jasmine Gritton 8A, Alex Grace 7A, Jacob Dietle 7B, editors; and Nicholas Rivelle 4B, production assistant. (Artwork Credits: Front cover, Jasmine Gritton 8A. P. 21, Zack Dietle 2B. P. 22 (top) Michelle Wang 7A; (bottom) Christopher Thomas 7A. P. 23 (top) Christopher Thomas 7A; (bottom) Daniel Erdody 8B . P. 24, Nicole Lam 3A. Inside back cover, Sherry Fan 3A. Back cover, Emily Wen 1B.)

Birdsong

It was a spring morning,

You heard the birds sing.

Macaws, robins and bluebirds,

Their song did ring.

It did not last too long.

But I will never forget the birds’ song.

-Kristin Haegelin, 3A

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If I could be any animal, I would be an eagle because I wouldn’t have to be on my feet so much. But the only problem is, my wings get tired. If I was an eagle, it would be easy to hunt, because all you have to do is go to a place where you know fish are; then you sense the fish, and then you catch the fish. Humans have to drive all the way to a supermarket, get what they want, and then pay for it. That is a lot more work than fishing. At night it is easy to sleep because all you have to do is close your eyes. Humans have to get under a blanket and then close their eyes.

-Brian Hang, 1B

Once there were three babies. The babies were puppies. They had parents, but they all lived at a pet shop. One day, some people bought their mom and dad, so they were very sad. The next day, a few people bought two of the puppies, so there was only one puppy left. The last puppy cried and cried, he was so sad, and wondered what had happened. While all the commotion was going on, the pet shop keeper took a cat and put it in the same cage as the puppy. When the puppy noticed, he was confused. He said, “Are you my new mom?” The cat said, “Yes.” “Are you sure? Just because you are in the same cage as me doesn’t really mean you are my mom.” “It doesn’t matter!” the cat said. So years went past; the cat was taking care of the puppy. One day, the puppy asked again, “Are you my mom?” The cat did not an-swer. “Wait,” the puppy said, “you are not a dog, you are a cat. I can’t believe I thought you were my mom.” “I am not your mom,” said the cat. “But I still love you.”

-Kate Tsao, 3B

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A Special Neighbor I would like to tell you a true story about my ninety-three-year-old neighbor. His name is Dave W. Gaston. This is the story of how he became a World War II submarine hero. In 1941, Dave, who was playing football at UCLA, decided to join the Navy. He was captain of the UCLA football team, and Jackie Robinson played on his team and was a good friend. Before Dave could finish school, the Navy called him to active duty. After three months of training at Annapolis, he was sent to gunnery training at San Francisco. During this time, the Navy discovered that he played football at UCLA. Because of this, they gave him his choice of assignments. He chose sub-marines. On his way to Hawaii, they stopped at Panama. They went to a bar and got into a fight, and Dave was not allowed to leave his room as punish-ment. When they reached Hawaii, the captain told the base commander, “I can’t do anything with this guy. Do you want him?” The commander said, “How fast can you pack?” The commander was the captain of the submarine, Trout. They went on to sink more enemy ships than any World War II sub. Dave became a highly decorated naval officer, and a World War II hero.

-Ryan Frick, 3B

A 21st Century Tree House I would build a wooden tree house. It would have air con-ditioning, Wi-Fi, cable, and have four rooms. It would have glass windows, a balcony, a door with designs on it, and should be painted light purple. Inside, there would be a TV and computer, toys, blankets, air bed, pillows, board games, and books. -Jessica Rice, 3B

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The Proud King

Once upon a time there was a proud king. Every day the king woke up when the sun was already up, and opened the window. When the king looked at something good, he thought it was good luck. One day a poor man, going to cut wood, came across the palace. But the poor man woke up late, and the king woke up early. When the king opened the window, he saw the poor man. The king thought it was bad luck, so he shut the window. When the king shut the window, it caught his finger and then bumped his head. He got so angry that he yelled. The king yelled so loud that one of his guards came to ask him what was wrong. Then the king said, “Shut up! Get that poor man that is going to cut wood.” When the knight came back with the poor man, the king said, “We will kill this poor man in the evening.” But the poor man said, “I’m so poor anyway, I’m going to die. But before I do, I would like to know what I did wrong.” The king showed the big bumps on his finger and head. The poor man started to explain, “I always wanted to see the king, but every day it looked like you were the moon, and the window was a cloud, and this made me so excited. It was your fault to look at me, and it’s my fault for waking up late.” The king felt so regretful. He gave a bag of gold to the poor man and set him free.

-Elizabeth Tsai, 3B

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My Big Fat Novel

Hey! My name is Katarina Karlson, but you can just call me

K.K. Even though you might be looking in my journal, I’ll cut

you some slack and let you read it… for now.

Friday, 2/3/12

Dear Diary,

Today was not cool, and I made a total fool of myself.

How? Well, I’ll tell you. I ate my first spicy hot pepper, and I

did not like it. Sadly, what I mean by “did not like it” was

screaming all the way to the nearest water fountain, which I’m

guessing wasn’t the best impression on my new school.

Dear Diary,

Well, it’s special hot lunch today,

which is a delicious mystery meat casse-

role, that tastes like McNuggets gone

through a cow and out again. Of course,

to make sure we eat it, they don’t let us

throw in all the trash, which is really re-

pulsive, but sometimes I know how to get

away with it.

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Mothers’ Visiting Day

Mothers’ visiting day. Hip, hip, hurray! Today's the day that they may stay! We say our poem, then we rest. They said we are the best! We love our Moms, they love us, Even when we miss the bus. Moms work, we do, too. So don’t take home the glue! Moms are fun in the sun! Don’t eat your mom’s bun! Every Mom’s special But there’s one that’s really mine! So give your Mom a hug! Don’t let the hugbugs bite!

-Leila Wu, 2B

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That is a lot to ask from a person and leaves the chaos boiling

inside your body. That is the true heart of the chaos of love: not know-

ing whether or not your love loves you back. That is the reason why

love can be like war. It’s because the chaos of love is as dangerous as

the chaos of war. But, it is also the magic in our world that grants eve-

ryone happiness and gives you that warm feeling inside when you feel

it towards your family or towards your love.

Love is powerful and magical. It is the thing that makes the

world go round, and leaves most people happy and satisfied in the end.

–Audrey Vu, 8A

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“All’s Fair in Love and War”

I think it’s kind of amazing how much love and war are

similar. There’s so much chaos in love: unrequited love, passionate

love, and undiscovered love. Many people suffer because of it, and

many people are happy because of it. No one recognizes the enor-

mity of love itself. It can lead to happiness or sadness; it all depends

on the person.

People will do insane or amazing things for love and for the

person they love. They would die, hurt others, and manipulate peo-

ple just so they can have one little taste of love. It’s the closest thing

we have to magic in our world. But when it’s unsuccessful, it brings

out the worst in people, making them do horrible things and cause

chaos for those who are lucky enough to have it. Like Romeo and

Juliet. They were willing to die for each other to be with the one

they loved. I find it incredible that that kind of determination and

loyalty can be found nowadays. It’s pretty amazing.

In war, there’s jealousy, fighting, and turmoil spread every-

where. People suffer and people win battles, just as in love. There

are ups and downs in love, just like winning battles and losing bat-

tles. Some people can love someone so much, so desperately that

they can’t help but feel that the world is brighter and happier when-

ever he or she walks in the room. The excited spark of energy when

you learn that you are doing anything with him or her makes you

feel giddy with happiness when people are around their love.

But, the person you love may not notice you at all; as if you

were no more than a speck of dust in a big, wide world. That is what

unrequited love feels like: torture. Unsure whether or not you’ll tell

your love how you feel and be afraid of the consequences, or just

stay away and tell a friend or two, hoping that they will catch the

hint and set you up together. Many people aren’t strong enough and

they tell a friend, who eventually tells your love how you feel about

them. The conflicting feelings within you are threatening to tear you

apart, and can only be put to rest when that person has discovered

your feelings and tells you that he or she likes you back.

Saturday, 2/4/12

Okay, well now it’s cool-down time. I’m going to the

mall, and hopefully this trip

will go well, unlike the rest

of my life, which is as bad

as my messy room.

Later…

Well, this trip was a

disaster, too, because “Miss

Perfect” came along and ru-

ined it – the pure core of

popularity, Rosalina, the one and only. I tried to hide behind

a smoothie stand but she saw me and

gave me one of her perfect, angelic

smiles, and walked off. People say

you can’t hold grudges, but I know

they’re wrong! Wrong! Wrong!

Dear Diary,

My friend now goes to my

school and, like me at this school, we’re dorks. I think if we

can do something cool our level will go up, but Summer (my

friend) says that’s highly unlikely. She has already made

a diagram of levels of popularity, and, according to her, we’re

pretty low.

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Sunday, 2/5/12

On Sunday my parents and I went skiing, which

was not fun at all. I didn’t know that you were supposed to

put on sun screen, and when I got home after many face-

plants and falls, I took off my ski clothes to find I had

sunburn almost everywhere. So I am not going to go to

school tomorrow.

Monday, 2/16/12

Dear Diary,

Monday was pretty good considering I had to stay

at home. I watched a movie and ate junk food. Did you

know I have a pet? Yep. It is the fattest cat on our block, and

probably the laziest of them. And the downside of today

was because of him.

I was walking to yet another bowl of popcorn and I

slipped on our newly cleaned wet floor, and our fat cat, who

I call Mr. Tubby, sat on me. What makes it worse is, our cat

is more than 100 pounds, so I couldn’t get up until one hour

later when my mom came

home and found me on the

floor.

pawprints 6

The Harp David chopped through the woods with Walter at his side. David had been travelling through the woods for three days, just him and Walter, his dog. He was looking for something most people thought was a legend, but not David. David knew it was real. He was looking for the Harp. When David finally made it to the river, he saw it. “So it’s true,” he thought, “it’s really true.” Walter and David ran as fast as they could across the river to the Harp. The Harp was gleaming in the light. David couldn’t stand it; he picked it up. The Harp suddenly felt angelic. David felt like he could fly; he even tried to fly, but he couldn’t. This was what his family needed: They needed the money to survive. The journey back was more difficult than coming, but David felt pro-tected by the Harp. It took him days to return home. When David came home, he was greeted heartily by his parents. They were so glad that he got the Harp that they were ready to sell it right away. But David wanted to do something first. As soon as David started to play the Harp, people from all over the town came to him and gave him money for his beautiful playing. David was amazed: Maybe his family wouldn’t have to sell the Harp after all.

-Max Hendrix, 5B

pawprints 39

A Mermaid Life

A lovely girl, part fish part girl

Went swiftly on her way,

A swish of a tail,

To the clam hotel;

Off she went to stay.

-Kristin Haegelin, 3A

But Fireball was not quiet enough, and one of the

knights saw them. He told the knight next to him, but that

knight was not bright, and thought they were playing tele-

phone, and told the next knight that he smelled bad, which

made the knight angry. So the third knight punched the sec-

ond knight, which made that knight mad, and caused a fight.

Pretty soon all the knights were fighting except the first

one, so he had to try and get Fireball by himself. The knight

ran after them, but he couldn’t catch up. He waited for Fireball

to get worn out. When Fireball was finally worn out, the knight

shot an arrow at him, but he missed.

However, the knight was not going to give up, and he

was about to strike Fireball with his sword, when he heard a

voice he had heard before. He realized it was Pansy, and said,

“I will save you.”

“Why?” asked Pansy. “I am not in any trouble at all.

This is Fireball; he’s my friend. Please don’t hurt him. He won’t

hurt you.”

With a puzzled look, the knight said, “But I thought he

was a fire-breathing dragon.”

“He is,” she said. “But that does not mean he can’t be

nice.”

The knight thought for a long time, and then he said, “I

didn’t think a dragon could ever make a good friend.”

“I didn’t either until I met Fireball,” said Pansy.

The knight asked, “Why did you run away?”

“Because I had overheard you and all the other knights

talking to my uncle about slaying the dragon that had flown

over the village,” said Pansy.

The knight asked, “Why did you run away with him?”

“For two reasons,” said Pansy. “Because he would not

leave without me, and because I didn’t want to leave him.”

“Well, let’s get home before your uncle worries too

much,” said the knight.

“All right,” said Pansy. “I will race you back to the cas-

tle,” and she climbed on Fireball’s back and they flew off.

“Hey! You got a head start,” said the knight. “That’s

not fair!”

-Katie Christensen, 4B

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Dear Diary,

Okay, back to my family. We’re going camping! Not

in one of those wimpy camp-

ers; we’re going in a real tent.

Well, actually, we’re camping

right now, so I’ll be right

back…

Okay, I’m back…

I just stuffed my face

with s’mores for a second. Can

you believe it? Nothing’s gone bad so far, and now it’s time to

go!

I stand corrected. We got into a traffic jam and there

was a snowstorm. So now we’re staying in a hotel for the

night. I had fun. There was good food and a pool, so I guess… I

did have fun after all.

Dear Diary,

Well, you are at the end of the public part of my

“Journal Diary,” and maybe, just maybe, I’ll let you read my

next book…

-Kristin Haegelin, 3A

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The Midnight Snow Fairy The snow was falling. I was drowning into my sleep. Ahh! Midnight snow fairies dancing and prancing. Bringing snow to the world, their little white dresses glimmering. Then, all of a sudden, a beautiful fairy came. She had a gossamer white veil. Her tiny little crown was placed on her little head. She had a scroll in her hand, and in tiny voices said, “Go, my little fairies, and bring snow to the land!” Wow! It had just been a dream, but, if I could, I would really like to see them. -Allison Chang, 3A

The Secret

I ran as I wondered, “Who is he? What is he? Is it even a

‘he’?” So many questions; not enough time. All there was time for

was to repeat the words, “Keep running.”

What did he mean by, “Tell me the secret”?

What secret?

If only I knew anything interesting other than who all my

friends “like.” It is not as though I have anything a beast like that

would want.

My thoughts were interrupted when the world turned black…

-Sasha Codiga, 5A

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Pansy and the Dragon

Once upon a time there was a little princess named

Pansy. Pansy loved all creatures, and she was a beautiful little

girl. She lived with her uncle. Her uncle always wanted to be a

dragon slayer. He would slay every piece of furniture in the

castle!

One morning after breakfast Pansy decided to take a

walk. While she was on her walk, she fed all her animal

friends, and picked some flowers to put in a vase in her room.

What Pansy didn’t know was, a sweet baby dragon named

Fireball was born!

It was hard for Fireball to make friends until he met

Pansy. Pansy loved Fireball. Fireball even wanted to follow her

home, but Pansy said, “You can’t. It’s too dangerous!” So Fire-

ball went back to his cave.

When Pansy got home she missed her dragon friend

dearly. It was hard for Pansy to sleep that night because all

she could think about was Fireball, her dragon friend. The next

day, after Pansy ate all of her pancakes, she went to the for-

est. But this time she wasn’t out feeding her animal friends.

She was sprinting to her dragon friend’s cave to warn him that

her uncle’s knights had found out where Fireball was, and told

the king, her uncle. Her uncle had said, “I shall slay the

dragon, and give myself a golden sword!”

As soon as Pansy got to Fireball’s cave she told him

that he must fly away fast. But Fireball said he would not

budge unless Pansy went with him. So Pansy climbed on Fire-

ball’s back, and he started to fly high in the sky and soar like a

bird.

Unfortunately, a woman saw them and told the king

that she saw a dragon. The king thought more and more

about slaying dragons and shiny swords.

While Pansy’s uncle was thinking about shiny swords

and slaying dragons, Fireball had flown as far as he could, and

he took a nap in the clouds. When he awoke, he thought he

should see if the king’s knights had caught up to them. When

he looked down, Fireball saw the knights waiting for him with

their swords and bows and arrows. So Fireball placed Pansy on

his back and, being as quiet as he could, he crept out of the

cloud.

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Is He the One? The boy sleeps as he hears a whispering voice say, “Is he the one?” As he wakes up and feels fear, he wonders what it could be. He sees two glowing spots on the wall, and remembers that he has stolen money from his mother’s bank account. He knows that somebody must have found out and reported it. He gets out of bed and looks out the window where there ap-pears to be a squad car with a man leaning on it. The man is tall and skinny, and it seems as though he has a mean look on his face. The boy starts thinking of all the reasons the police could be here, but only one comes to mind. Just then, the doorbell rings, and he almost faints. He starts to go down the stairs, but then… He falls out of bed and wakes up from his dream.

-Ben Sacks, 5A

Spring Time

-Leila Wu, 2B

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Be Aware of Bees

If you saw a bee before, or have been stung by a bee,

you can see that a bee has yellow and black on it. If you

ever heard a bee, you can hear that it buzzes.

If you are near a bee, you should never chase it, try to

grab it, or move. You should just stay still. You don’t

even move a muscle. If the bee

comes closer to you and lands on

you, you shouldn’t move.

How to get stung by a bee:

If you ever got stung by a bee, that

is probably because you either

bothered it, or you killed it.

The hive is the bees’ home. The beehive is very impor-

tant to them because it is where all the baby bees live,

and the queen bee, and the honey. So if you bother the

beehive, bees will come out like soldiers.

-Zarah Huo, 3B

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Of Mice and Men By John Steinbeck

Of Mice and Men is the story of two men, George and Lenny, who are travelling workers, or basically, hoboes. They move from place to place around California trying to make a living. They have a dream of owning a ranch with a few acres to raise crops and livestock. George is a clever, responsible man; Lenny is mentally challenged but extremely strong. As with most of Stein-beck’s stories, Of Mice and Men is a tragedy involving laborers and farmers who have to deal with loss and death. The main characters are George Miller and Lenny Smalls. George is lean, wiry and smart. He takes care of Lenny and always sticks up for him. He says that if Lenny wasn’t with him he would have an easy, happy life. But he is also a dreamer. He wants to buy a ranch where he and Lenny can “live off the fat of the land.” The only way that this would be possible is for them to earn the money by working as ranch hands. Lenny is the opposite of George. He is big and strong, but he is autistic. He can’t remember anything and can’t take care of himself. He depends on George for everything. But he can work. He can do the work of two or three men, and so he is a valuable ranch hand. The other main characters are Candy, an old laborer who has lost a hand in an ac-cident; Slim, who is the best mule driver in California; the stable buck, who is black and lives apart from the others; and Curly, the ranch owner’s son, who is married to a pretty but clueless girl, and, because he is small, hates bigger people. The story is set on a ranch in Salinas, California. It is a large ranch, and when George and Lenny arrive, it is haying season. The work of harvesting is very hard, involving the ranch hands bailing the hay, loading it onto carts and running it through a thresher. Normally it takes two people to lift a bale of hay, but Lenny can pick it up by himself, and he works faster than the others. Before they got to the ranch, George and Lenny had had to run away from their previous work because Lenny likes soft, pretty things, and had felt the dress of a woman on the ranch. She got scared and screamed, and the other men hunted for George and Lenny. They had to hide in an irrigation ditch be-fore camping out beside a little river. George tells Lenny that if on the new job he gets into trouble, he must remember to go to the place by the river and George will come find him.

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Snakes

Snakes look like sticks Snakes do not like ticks

Some snakes feed on rats

Snakes do not feed on bats

Most snakes are scaly and small

And some you can find at the mall

Snakes’ venom may be used as potion And it also may be used as lotion

Snakes slither around quiet and sly

Snakes may slither but they can’t fly Some snakes are very cute

And people use their skin to make boots

Snakes may look very scary My friend has one, it’s called Larry

One snake is called a viper…

It’s nothing like a diaper

-Franklin Cheng, 3A

Busy

My mom is busy, My dad is dizzy,

The baby is crazy, My grandma is drowsy,

My grandpa is lazy, My sister is dozy. But I’m normal.

-Dani Qureshi, 3A

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Chapter 6 Questing Knights

One day later, all of the knights knelt down on the floor, as this was the promotion day. It was the day on which Elizabeth’s father came back. The king handed her an iron blade with the best of hilts. She went around the room tapping each knight gently with the sword. As she tapped each one of them she said proudly, “Questing knight!” At the end of the ceremony, everyone celebrated, and there was a big feast.

End of Part One

-Teddy Barker, 4A

The Barn by the Waterfall

In the daylight, the sun

Reflects on the waterfall

And the barn seems very small.

The wan butterfly light warms my face;

I wouldn’t want to be anywhere

But this place.

-Kristin Haegelin, 3A

pawprints 34

As soon as George and Lenny arrive at the ranch, Curly tries to pick a fight with Lenny. George tells Lenny to stay away from Curly and his wife. Candy overhears George telling Lenny about their ranch, where Lenny will “tend the rabbits.” After one of the men shoots Candy’s old dog, Candy asks if he can join in the deal because he has a paycheck coming at the end of the month, and also he has money in the bank from his accident. George realizes that with Candy’s money and their pay, they should have enough to buy their own ranch. The dream could be real. Then Curly comes back and starts punching Lenny in the face. Lenny gets badly beaten, and George tells him that it’s all right to fight back. As Curly throws another punch, Lenny grabs his hand and starts crushing it. George and Slim have to pry his hand off of Curly’s, and Slim tells Curly that if he tells anyone that Lenny crushed his hand, they will tell what Curly did. Slim says that Curly must say that he caught his hand in a machine. Slim gives Lenny one of his new puppies. Lenny accidentally kills it by petting it too hard. Curly’s wife comes into the barn and lets Lenny stroke her hair. He does it so much that she starts to get upset. She screams, and Lenny puts his hand over her mouth, and accidentally breaks her neck and kills her. Lenny realizes he has “done a bad thing,” and remembers that George told him to go to the place where they camped. The other men are hunting for him to hang him. George steals a gun and finds Lenny first. While he tells Lenny about their ranch and rabbits, he shoots him in the back of the head. When the other men arrive, George tells them that Lenny had the gun and George took it from him and shot him. But Slim knows what really happened, and he tells George that it was better than to have someone else kill Lenny. Of Mice and Men is a very sad and tragic story. I felt that it relates to Steinbeck’s other book, The Red Pony, in the sense that there is a conflict of good and bad, which is resolved by death. Because a stranger shot Candy's dog, George felt that he had to be the one who killed Lenny. Steinbeck writes in a very realistic fashion about life and death and the struggle of average people. Lenny is neither good nor bad; he is a force of Nature. In both of Steinbeck’s books, working people struggle against Nature, which is their real-ity, and they must live and die with it.

pawprints 11

The two main characters in this book, George and Lenny, remind me of my two cats, Henrietta and Rosemary. Rosemary isn’t very bright, but Henrietta is extremely clever. Henrietta knows how to get into the cabinet where we keep the cat treats. She always finds the best and warmest places to sleep, and she’s always first at the food bowls. Rosemary, on the other paw, is very slow-witted and afraid of everything. Sometimes she hides and misses her dinner, and Henrietta always eats her treats. However, Henrietta keeps Rosemary company. They sleep together, play together, and Henrietta even grooms Rosemary. Rosemary probably couldn’t take care of herself on her own. How-ever, if a mouse or a lizard gets into the house, it is Rosemary who is the first to catch it. Rosemary is a natural hunter and instinctively will kill anything that gets into the house. Henrietta is the clever one, and Rosemary provides the muscle. In this way, they are very similar to George and Lenny. -Nicholas T. Rivelle, 4B

Over the Christmas break, I went to June Lake. It was cold there. My brother and I went ice skating. When we came back, we tried to make snowballs, but the snow was too soft. So we got a pot of water. We mixed the water with some snow. It made the snow harder so we could make snowballs. We made a tray of snowballs. After we were done, we put the snowballs in the fridge. The next day, the snowballs felt like ice. We made a fort. It was made out of rocks and snow. We made the snowballs and the fort for a snowball fight with my dad. -Samantha Frick, 1B

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Théoden explained, “I think if Henry is with us, he can help us fight the goblins in its path.” “Very well,” said Henry’s father. He called to his son. The door opened and Henry appeared. Seconds later, Isabella, their daughter, who was only four years old, jumped onto Henry’s back and said, “Look, look! It’s my guardian!” “Yes, it is, dear,” said Vanessa. “And your guardian will be back soon.” Isabella started to cry as Henry followed the others out of the cottage.

Chapter 4 The Diamond

All of the knights greeted them when they returned to the cas-tle: Joshua, the banner keeper, Nicholas, Raymond, and Ben. “What is it?” they asked. Théoden replied, “It is rumored that a diamond is buried in the depths of a forest. We are close to questing, and that shall be our first mission.” He handed Sir Joshua a scroll. “Read, Joshua.” Sir Joshua read aloud from the scroll: “The Diamond. The Dia-mond is to be found, an ancient piece, buried in the depths of the Cor-nostrian Forest. Whoever disturbs its peaceful tomb must fight until death.”

Chapter 5 Farewell, Sir Ben

Two days later everyone lined up in front of Sir Ben in the courtyard. Then Théoden said, “I speak for my father who is in another kingdom: Thank you, Sir Ben, for all that you have sacrificed for us, from the War of the Cornostrians to this day of your departure. Have good times in Rome, and let your brother promote you even higher than we could possibly do for you. Bring with you your confidence and strength, your courage and your intelligence. Goodbye, old friend!” Ben said goodbye to the knights and to his parents, and left, to the cheers of everyone assembled.

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“Very well,” she responded. They started heading to the lower town. Down they went to promote Will’s son Henry to knighthood. It seemed the stairs never stopped, but eventually they made it to the lower town without any incidents. They stopped by the market first. “Hello, sir, what may I do for you?” the merchant asked. “Do you know where William lives?” Alex said. “Right down the alley over there,” he answered. Clump, clump. The knights’ boots crunched in the scorching sun. Knock, knock, knock. “Hello!” called Théoden. “Hey!”

Chapter 3 The Talk

“What is wrong, sir?” William asked. “Nothing is wrong,” Théoden replied. “In fact, everything is quite good. A knight is leaving from the land to visit his brother from Scotland. We need another man to take his place; no older than twenty-five and no less than fifteen. And well…” Théoden paused. “We came to ask if Henry can take Sir Ben’s place,” said Alex-ander. “Is that possible? Can—” “Oh, yes,” Vanessa interrupted. “Henry has wanted to be a knight of the realm since he was nine.” “There is a suit of armor for him whenever he is ready,” said Théoden. “May we come in?” asked Elizabeth. “Yes, you may,” Vanessa said, still pleased to hear that her son would soon be royal. They sat down, and William served everyone tea. “Why do you need another knight?” he asked. “Is there some sort of quest coming up?” “Yes,” replied Théoden. “Are you sure?” Vanessa asked. Alexander lowered his voice. “There are rumors of something called the Blue Diamond, or just, the Diamond, rather,” he answered.

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Cinquains on Spring

Spring Pretty flowers Egg and candy Little baby animals born Children enjoying Easter crafts! -Emily Yam, 4B

Dragons Love spring

They like sunlight Sunlight is their favorite

Dragons always play with sunlight -Eric Dong, 4B

Bees Are small Yellow and black Gather pollen from colorful flowers Be kind to these insects -Kelly Cesped, 4B

Ladybugs Are cool

They, popping out, Only come in Spring Come to my big yard

-Campbell Flagg, 4B

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Hate is red as the devil’s evil fire. Really mad, without shame, regret or happi-ness. Shame is light blue like a tear, falling from your cheek. Full of sadness, with a broken heart. Happiness is orange, like a bright sun or a hot summer day. Full of joy and cheer. Kind people with great smiles, as everyone should be.

-Dino Linsalato, 4A

Light blue is sad like the tears that fall from your face; like the rain that falls from above. As if the rain clouds are crying. White is calm, like a blank piece of paper. Like the moon, it is so calm that we never see it move.

-Conner Corley, 4A

Guilt is gray like jail bars. It makes me feel sad like a prisoner. Fear is green like a lonely soldier in a forest. It makes me want to scream.

-Nicholas Meyers, 4A

For Christmas, I go to a fancy place. I get shrimp and salmon. After I eat my dinner, I get devil’s food cake. Then I open my presents. We get things out of stockings; I put ornaments in my brothers’ stockings. They are always surprised. Then the moms and dads open their presents. We all go into the living room and sit next to the fire and sing Christmas carols. We give hugs to everybody. We go outside and play games. We go back inside and give everybody candy canes. We all leave and go to bed. The Christmas smells fade and the jin-gling sounds stop. Everything is quiet. The lights on the Christmas tree turn off, and we are hoping to get presents next year. -Andrew Smith, 1B

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Knights of the Realm

Part One

Chapter 1 Love

Princess Elizabeth Penbear ran across the hall to Sir Alexander, the king’s best knight. She leaped into his arms. “How are you, my lady?” Alex asked, as he did every day when he saw her. “Very fine, Sir Knight,” responded Elizabeth quietly. She had had a crush on the knight for over ten of their seventeen years. “Excuse me for my request,” asked Alex, “but do you mind if we go down to the lower town and visit William and Vanessa?” Elizabeth nodded politely. “Of course we can, Alex.” Just then Alex knelt. “Princess Elizabeth… um… Will you marry me?” She climbed down from his arms. “Ohhh, yes! Yes, I will!” They ran off together.

Chapter 2

Will The princess twirled and turned toward her chambers. As she dressed, she thought of how exciting it would be to stand up on the royal booth for the first time. She returned to Alex’s chambers and found him there, but not alone. Prince Théoden Penbear II, her brother and heir to the king-dom, Christopher, his servant, and Sir Alexander were all there, very still, very quiet. When Théoden saw Elizabeth, he screamed, “And you didn’t bother to ask your own brother, eh?! Since Father is not here, I am the one in charge!” “Father wouldn’t force us to ask him everything,” Elizabeth said, starting to orbit him. “Little sister, little sister, I am not Father, am I? I will let you go to the lower town. All you have to do is ask, and I will come.” Elizabeth stopped circling him. “Why, may I ask?” She knew the answer to that; she just did not want him to go. “Because William has a son old enough to join in our quest and take Sir Ben’s place,” he answered.

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A Trip to the Aquarium

My class went to the Aquarium of the Pacific. My favorite part was

seeing the bat rays and the stingrays. The stingrays were splashing. My class

was petting the stingrays, but I did not pet them. I didn’t pet any of them.

And I saw seals with my mom.

My group saw a lot of animals, and they were cool. After we saw lots

of things, we went out to have lunch. After we had lunch, we played tag.

Sebastian and Frederic were on my team.

-Alexander Silveri, 1A

We went to the Aquarium of the Pacific. I leaned down to touch with

my two fingers to feel the stingrays and sharks. They were soft; even the

moon jellyfish. My favorite was the sea lions. They are just like seals, but

they’re cuter than seals because sea lions are a little different. They have ears

and seals don’t.

Also, I learned that an octopus has camouflage, and suction cups to

pick up sea urchins. An octopus uses its beak to crack crab shells. The octopus

kills the crab with venom.

Sea jellies have four stomachs. They do not have backbones, which

means they are invertebrates.

-Winston Lee, 1B

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A Scene of War

A soldier with a girl slung over his horse’s

shoulders grasped his reins tightly; his breath could

be seen puffing into the cold air. The girl’s hands

were bleeding and badly wounded from her eventful ex-

perience of a war which she would never forget. The

soldier’s hands were trembling at the sight of the

wreckage surrounding them as he tried to grip his

reins.

He reached over to take hold of the reins of

the nearby, frightened, chestnut-colored horse that

the girl had been riding. The big animal’s coat was

smeared with black ash and smudged with smoke. His

once sturdy legs now quaked with fear, and his ears

twitched from side to side, hearing the sharp sounds

of the large guns.

The soldier galloped away from what was once a

beautiful little farm, but was now a no-man’s land.

Where the farmhouse once stood, a pile of burning

lumber was all that was left. The crops had been

burned, leaving the soil black as coal, covered with

layers of ash.

The barn had been razed to the ground, though

the remains of beaten-down, ash-crusted horse stalls

still stood. However, one thing was certain: None of

the horses that once had lived there would ever be

there again.

-Emily Coolidge, 8A

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The Senses of Yellowstone National Park

When I think of Yellowstone National Park

I think of vast forests of trees

And land formations dotted in abundance

Around an enormous landscape.

When I see Yellowstone Park

I see endless vistas of evergreen trees

And a land impossible for one human to fully explore.

When I hear Yellowstone Park

I hear the ceaseless cries of animals big and small

And the deafening roar of an enormous waterfall

Releasing thousands of gallons of water every second.

When I smell Yellowstone Park

I smell the sweet, fresh aroma of the pines surrounding me

And the foul odor of sulfur emitted by the many hot springs.

When I taste Yellowstone Park

I taste s’mores around a warm campfire

With sometimes a bitter taste from roasting my marshmallow too long!

And when I feel Yellowstone Park

I realize that sometimes sightseeing isn’t enough

And to fully experience a place you must explore it yourself.

Yellowstone Park provides resources to sustain the lives

Of the creatures which call it home

And holds endless, unventured possibilities.

-Chris Meyers, 6B

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Peggy the Horse Once there was a horse named Pegasus. His friends called him Peggy. He loved sunsets, and watched the sun glide behind mountains, valleys, and pretty deserts. He loved it when the cool breeze touched his soft, black hair. One day, Peggy saw a little colt named Henry. He was cry-ing because he was lost. Peggy wanted to help Henry get back to his family. It was a hard journey because there was barely any food, and it was difficult to see in the Valley of Mists. It took almost three months to get to the Forgotten River. The Forgot-ten River was near Henry’s home. After Henry’s family thanked Peggy, he could finally fly into the sunset back home. He was a Pegasus after all!

-Riya Duddalwar, 2A

Sunset

As your rays fall, As the blanket of the night comes, A million pinpricks of light appear.

As your rays, pink, scarlet,

And yellow reach over the mountain, Your yellow rays go down;

Pink rays appear.

Yellow clouds, so fluffy, so sweet, Indicate the coming of the night: A black ocean with white sand.

Then you disappear, Night is here,

A new day in the making.

-Cara Wilson, 3A

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The Universe

I am the moon, I am the stars, I am the sun you see in the sky. I am the Earth, I am the clouds that pass by. Who am I? I am life, I am Nature, I am the planets in the sky. Who am I? I am the Universe, I am your life, I am everything on Earth And in the Universe you live in.

-Carissa Coane, 3A

Mr. R’s Dance

-Leila Wu, 2A

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A Story (I made up) Warning! This story is fictional and awesome!

It was a Tuesday afternoon at the Honda dealership, and Bessie

the Cow was waiting for Charlie the Unicorn and his friend, Joe the Muffin

Man. Bessie the Cow waited eight hours when Joe the Muffin Man showed

up, and another three hours till Charlie the Unicorn showed up.

Now they all had a singing, dancing, apple-eating contest, filled

rope-like Western cross-city time, drinking milk and juice at the Daily News office. Then all of them took a nap on top of Farmer Bill’s tractor in

a hot tub.

After that, some aliens from Saturn probed them into their ship,

and Joe the Muffin Man died of eating bad nuts. Bessie the Cow and Char-

lie the Unicorn ate pie at his funeral, and lived a happy lollipop time in Dal-

las, Utah in England, California. They lived forever!

-Olivia Brown, 5B

A blue whale is the biggest animal in the world. It is

over one hundred feet long. It is light blue. It is a mam-

mal. It lives in the sea. It has a backbone. That means it

is a vertebrate.

-Henry Fogel, 1A

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Fable

Once upon a time, all animals were friends. The bears played

with the fish, the dogs played with the cats, and the alligators played

with the antelopes.

One day the bear was playing a game with the salmon. The bear

would throw the salmon in the air and catch it before it went in the wa-

ter. The bear threw it in the air, and when he caught it, some of the skin

got in the bear’s claws. Curiously, the bear licked it off. The salmon

tasted so good. The bear told all his friends. Soon, all the bears were

eating salmon.

The word got around, and all the animals were turning their

backs against other animals. Animals were eating each other! Mother

Nature got very mad, so she punished them by putting curtains over the

light. The animals got very sad. They had an idea: The birds could fly,

and so take the curtain off. So the birds went flying, and ended up just

poking little holes. Those were the stars.

Then the pigs worked with the elephants. The pigs were going

to sit on the elephants’ trunks, and the pigs would knock off the curtain.

But they just made a big hole. That was the moon.

Mother Nature saw the animals working together and said,

“You can get sun for half the day and half the night.” That is why there

are the night, moon and stars.

-Stephanie Seitz, 5B

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The monsters had landed in

the forest, 100 feet away

from her house!

But the little girl was not

scared. Everybody else was

scared.

So, Sabrina had an idea.

She used her cheetah power! She ran around the monsters so fast

that they got confused.

Then, she used her kangaroo power to kick them.

But the monsters kept coming! So Sabrina used her bull power…

Since the monsters were wearing red suits. And bulls are attracted

to red.

So, Sabrina hit them with her horn.

Then she used her elephant powers.

She stomped on them.

Then the monsters gave up and flew

away!!!!!

-Maya Balle, 1A

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Sabrina Saves the Day!!!

Once there lived a little girl named Sabrina.

She had super powers.

Animal powers.

One day, monsters came to Earth!!! So the

ten-year-old girl set off.

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Gold

Yellow coins

Shining Glowing Sparkling

They bring good luck

Money

-Jesslyn Chen, 1A

Leprechauns

Small coins

Glowing Hopping Shining

They bring good luck

Wee men

-Alicia Wong, 1A

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The Frog

So nimble, so quick,

Always trying

To eat a trick.

Ribbit, ribbit!

He hops away.

I’m so happy

To see you today.

-Cara Wilson, Natalie Chen ,Vicky Manwani, Zoe Grace, 3A

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A Snowy Trip

One day in New Hampshire during November, two snowmen decided to go on a road trip in an old Volkswagen bus. The names of the snowmen were Cal Zepher and Frank Austen. Cal was very smart, wore glasses and was short for his age. Frank was not the smartest, but he was a good mechanic. He had a small beard and low-lying eyebrows. The first day of the trip while they were driving, Cal asked, “Where are we going?” Frank replied, “Some place called saxeT.” “I just hope it’s not hot there,” said Cal. As they were driving, they heard a strange noise, and their car came to a halt. Then Cal said, “Do you know how to fix a car?” “Yep,” Frank said as he got out. He lifted the hood and looked in. “So what’s the problem?” asked Cal. “I don’t know, but it may have something to do with the flashlight I put in the engine when one of the headlights was broken,” said Frank. Then they started to push the VW bus, and finally found a mechanic who gave them a rental car, and they were off again. A couple of days later, when they were almost to their goal, Cal said, “Let me see that map.” Cal took the map from Frank and then exclaimed, “You’ve been reading the map upside-down! That says Texas not saxeT! Texas is hot, and we are snowmen!” “Uh-oh,” said Cal. “Well, we’re here,” said Frank. “Too bad,” Cal said as they melted away.

-Nicholas Rivelle, 4B

What?

My sister, My sister says things With tings and tons

Like pings and pawns, And maybe longs; fawns

And tongs are all accepted, Even zongs and gons,

Feeks and foxes, Teeks and tocks,

All the way to awws and zows. That’s what my sister says.

-Dani Qureshi, 3A

The Lost Puppies!

It was very dark, late, raining, and thundering! KAAA-BOOOM! All of a sudden, lightning, thunder and noise surrounded

the cute, tired and lost puppies. The puppies had no idea where they

were. At first, they were driving back home from the fair. Next, all of

a sudden, they heard a sharp crackling and they all tipped sideways,

followed by a loud CRASH! Then it was cold and freezing. That’s

how it all happened.

The puppies were in a big box – almost nine puppies in it. Just

then, they saw candles! A very pretty and kind woman was walking

right toward the box! She picked it up, went to her house, put it on the

floor, and opened it up.

“Wow!” she said. She tried to get them out because she liked

them.

At first, the puppies were scared. Then they began to calm

down. The woman took care of them forever.

-Madeleine Kwei, 3B

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