Once upon a time #3

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The Literary Magazine of SCH Girls’ Middle School

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October 1, 2013

The Literary Magazine of SCH Girls’ Middle School

This issue of Once Upon a Time proudly presents: When I Think

Beauty

A poem by Annie McDonald, 6th Grade

A poem Anonymous

Page 2

Page 2

Light

A Different Perspective

A story by Hannah Cohen, 6th Grade Page 4

Two Haikus Anonymous Page 5

March 2014

The Marketing Swim Team Thief A story

Anonymous Page 3

Valentine’s Day Poem A poem by Sarah Segal, 5th Page 5 Grade

A story by Jane Herron, 6th Grade

Page 4

Uncle Ron’s Snake Incident A family story by Emily Schwartz, 7th Grade Page 6

When I Think

by Annie McDonald

branches twist and turn, the way their bark has patterns of the little birds who fly on and off, of leaves that fall and flowers that bloom.

The sky above them, other trees on either side the fallen limbs, the ones that reach, their leaves of colors,

shapes and sizes

by Anonymous

Beauty.

What do you see when you look in the mirror?

Beauty.

Beauty is in the air It’s in the trees and depths of the ocean Where is there beauty?

Everywhere.

You don’t have to look, but you always find it.

In the shine of sun and your reflection in the mirror There’s beauty everywhere.

Find it.

When I think about drawing trees, I think of the way their

of them,

Beauty

The Marketing Thief Anonymous Dawn came with an unexpected urge. It smelled of clay and cocoa pods burning. As the sun rose Adebowale felt tension in the air. But still, he arose from bed and went to breakfast.

“Goeie More Ma,” Adebowale said.

“Good morning Ade,” Ayo said sadly.

“Ma, what is wrong? You never say good morning in English on marketing days,” Ade said timidly.

“Well Ade sit down,” Ma replied.

Ade sat. Ma had always been the bit of happiness the village needed. Adebowale didn't understand what could be wrong. Marketing days only come once a month and Ayo always loved them.

Ayo sighed, “Ade, yesterday I realized … that we were low on supplies. This only means either someone is lacking work or -” “Or what?!” Ade exclaimed.

“Or someone has been stealing our crops and goods,” Ayo weped.

Adebowale’s heart was broken. Never in his entire life had he seen his mother cry. She was incredibly sad and the worst part was he didn't know who the thief was… so he couldn't help his mother.

“Dont cry, Ma. You can't cry.”

“What else is there to do? The village chief will kick me out and I … I,” “ You what?”

“I wont ever see you again.” Ayo cried and weped and blubbered.

“Aww, Ma, its going to be ok.”

Ayo sat down, her eyes sore from crying in despair. Finally she stood up and said, “I’m going to see the Babalawo.”

Ade did not realize the problem was this serious so he went with her.

Find out the ending of this story in a future issue!!!

Swim Team

by Jane Herron

I enjoyed swim team over the summer. I felt great, in shape and happy. The water felt cool and refreshing. The ref blew the whistle and I jumped in! I fled through the water and got my best time yet in the fifty free. The best part was that I beat my time by three seconds, which is hard to do! I was so happy and overwhelmed. I beat my best time in the championships. I have to give some advice: technique isn’t everything; confidence is what pushes you the farthest.

A Different Perspective

By Hannah Cohen After the long tiring walk from my little hole in the moist ground, I finally get to my destination. I stop and look up and see large letters is green that say “Whole Foods.” I see the word “Hole” in it so it should be safe. I crawl under the huge glass sliding doors.

My whole body swarms with excitement. The long crowded aisles filled with fabulous food! There has to be a least a little crumb of food for me to take back to my hungry family. Every shelf is packed with food of all the colors! There are grapes, berries, chips, popcorn, yogurt, milk, eggs, bread, spices, donuts, cookies, cheese, soup, and on and on. Especially from my perspective.

People are crowded everywhere, reaching for things on the highest of shelves. Men and women grabbing things and putting them in loaded carts.This is like a wonderland of glory! Eventually I spot a small green grape laying on the floor. I crawl over to it carefully, trying not to be seen. I grab a hold of it and roll it slowly under the door. I smell the juice flowing inside the grape; it is slightly rotten. WOW! I can’t wait to do that again!

Light

Anonymous

Colorful sails Salt water splashes my face Bright laughter and wind Dew reflecting sun Dressing the garden in jewels Dreaming of sweet spring

Valentine’s Day Poem by Sarah Segal Roses are red, violets are blue, ...But it doesn’t make sense because, how are violets blue if they are violets? I mean really, that doesn’t make any sense to me. I mean, don’t you think that violets should be violet because violet is a color, and hello, these are violets we are talking about here? Ugh, you know what, just forget about it, let’s just get on with the poem. All right, here we go.

Roses are red, violets are violet, and I love you too. You are sweet and funny, and I know this may sound funny, but I wish I had a bunny. You smell like sweet honey, I love you anyways, and I always will.

Uncle Ron’s Snake Incident

by Emily Schwartz

Uncle Ron had been hiking along the ridge of a mountaintop in the wildlife sanctuary near

Renovo, Pennsylvania. He was sixty-one years old at the time, so he was an experienced hiker. The air smelled clean and had the fragrances of the forest such as honeysuckle and blueberries. The woods were completely silent except for the crunching of his hiking boots on the rocky trail. It was starting to get dark and the forest was thick with trees and brush, so Uncle Ron was not able to find a place to set up his tent. This was a problem because if he had nowhere to sleep, he would have to sit outside all night long. Through the darkness and shadows of the woods, Uncle Ron saw an opening of moonlight. He spotted a cliff edge covered with rocks. He knew that one of those rocks had to be large enough for his one-person tent, so he set out for the rocky area. Uncle Ron carefully walked down the dark rocky trail to reach the outcropping of rocks. He was about to step down from one rock to another when he heard, “Chck chck chck chck chck.”

“Who’s there?” asked Uncle Ron. He heard no response except for the repeating noise. “Oh no,” thought Uncle Ron, “it’s a rattlesnake! What do I do!?” Uncle Ron thought of an idea, but he needed a small rock. He started to search around with his hands for a rock, but without his flashlight, which was deep in his backpack, this was challenging. “Finally,” said Uncle Ron, “I found one.” Uncle Ron listened very closely for the noise. “Chck chck chck chck chck,” sounded the rattlesnake. “Ah ha!” said Uncle Ron. He drew back his arm and threw the rock where he assumed the snake would be, based on its annoying noise. All of a sudden, the sound of the rattlesnake stopped. “Wow! I actually killed it!” thought Uncle Ron. “I am now safe to carry on. All finished!” said Uncle Ron as he was examining his hard work of putting up the tent. The only flaw was that he had set it up on a very slanted rock, which was the only “flat-ish” rock that he could find. After setting up his tent, Uncle Ron relaxed and looked up at the stars. The night sky was completely black and filled with countless brilliant stars across the haze of the Milky Way. Every now and then a meteor would flash in front of his eye.

It was the third time that Uncle Ron had woken up to find himself at the very bottom of the tent.

Due to the slanted rock, he had been sliding down to the edge of the tent slightly every second.

Occasionally he would indeed find himself where gravity wanted him to be, at the bottom of the tent.

This was, however, not the only reason that Uncle Ron had woken up for the third time during the night. The “chck chck chck” sound had started again. “I thought I killed it,” exclaimed Uncle Ron, “but obviously not.”

Throughout the night, when Uncle Ron was awakened by the sound of the rattlesnake, he would slap the side of the tent, which would stop it for at least ten minutes. Although the rattlesnake would not completely stop its rattling, Uncle Ron did not have the guts to try to kill it again. He tried to distract himself by thinking about what he was going to do the next day and then he hoped to get some sleep. In the morning, Uncle Ron woke up early. He unzipped his tent door, and carefully peeked outside, looking for rattlesnakes. "Whew! The coast is clear," he thought to himself. He got out of his tent and made breakfast. As he was leaving his campsite, out of curiosity he walked over to the spot where he threw the heavy rock in the dark. Sure enough, there his campsite, out of curiosity he walked over to the spot where he threw the heavy rock in the dark. Sure enough, there was a dead rattlesnake squashed under the stone. However, he realized that all night long, he had been sleeping near a den of rattlesnakes! As he walked along the beautiful high mountain trail on the way back to his car, Uncle Ron could see lush giant ferns growing everywhere. The ancient trees were covered in moss and the whole scene reminded him of a prehistoric landscape. He half expected a dinosaur to come rushing out from the trees! “This was definitely a hike to remember,” thought Uncle Ron. “I can’t wait to tell my wife about everything!”