SAMPLE: Butterfly StoryBook, 10th Anniversary Edition

THE STORY OF THIS STORYBOOK

Every year, since2013, the RotaryE-Club of theCaribbean, 7020 has produced a book of ten short stories by young authors. Starting in 2012 young children across the northern Caribbeanwereinvitedto write stories about goodness and kindness. This bookcontains the hundred winning stories from the first ten years of the “Butterfly StoryBook Writing Contest.” Each year,ten contest winners are selected, and their writing is published in a paperback book sold worldwide through Amazon websites.

The stories have a Caribbean flavour, which helps young readers around the world to learn more about the culture and way of life of the people who live in the many islands in the Caribbean Sea.

All of the authors in thisbook are between the ages of seven and eleven. Their writing encouragesothers to write their own storiesas well as helps other young children to understand how to composea story using correct sentence and paragraph construction.

We hope our readers, both young and old alike, will enjoy and be inspired by this book of stories about the Caribbean region as well as kindness and respect for others.

Title

Author

The Hard-Working Iguana

TheButterfly with No Pattern Rover’s Gift of Kindness A Rare Encounter

The Rescue TheDance Competition

The Boy who Helped a Homeless Person

The Madras Doll Fluffy Gets Lost Annie theAgouti andPablo the Parrot Makennah Wright

By Jayda Adams Aged 11

THIS IS MY ISLAND

AlwynAllisonRichardsonPrimary School Anguilla

Chad, the Iguana, was fast asleep in a grape tree on the beautiful island of Anguilla when he was awakened by a loud commotion on the beach. “Who goes there? Who is on my beach?” he shouted. “Ssshh!” said his mom. ”Go back to bed, as it is just turtles, sea turtles, coming up from the sea.” Then one of them shouted, “Your beach? This is my beach, my home.” “Who are you?” asked Chad.

“I am Maykela, the turtle, and this is my island home. Every year, I comeback to mybeach andlaymyeggsrighthere. I was born here, mymother was born here, my grandmother was born here, and my grandkids will be born here. This beach is mine, and this is my island home.” “Mom, isthat true?” asked Chad. “Yes, Chad, itisalltrue,” saidChad’s mom.“Maykela’s familyhas been coming herefora very long time. This is their island too.” Chad tried to sleep but was sad. “Turtles on my island,” he thought.

Early the next morning, Chad headed to his favourite rock to sun. The rising sun in the Anguillian skies was a beautiful sight. Still tired from the disturbance from the night, Chad stretched in the sun to warm his body and closed his eyes to sleep.

Suddenly, he was awakened by the sound of moving feet. “Excuse me, excuse me, please,” a small voice said. He opened his eyes and saw a most peculiar sight. He saw what looked like hundreds of creatures crawling on by. “What are you, and what are you doing here?” he shouted. “Hi, I am Josh, the soldier crab.” ”Soldier crabs!!” Chad shouted, “Do you live here?” “Yes, I most certainly do. We have lived here since the beginning of

time!” “Ooh,” said Chad, “and where are you hurrying to?” “We are going to the sea for the annual Shell Exchange Festival. Every year, we march down to the beach and exchange our old shells for new ones because we would have outgrown the ones we have. Well, I got to go. I would want to get the best shell I can -- a shell that will make me feel proud. See you later!” Josh yelled, as he got carried away by the crowd.

As the day moved on, Chad thoughtabout hisbeautiful island home, how much he loved his home, and that he would not want to sharehis home with anyone else.Just then, he heard amost unusual sound. “Who are you?” he said, “and what are you doing here?” ”Coo,” said the Turtle Dove. “Coo,” said she, and she trotted around with her head held high. “A pleasant Good Day to you,” she said. “I am Ariel, a turtle dove. Haven’t you heard about me? I am the National Bird of Anguilla. They sing songs aboutmeandwritebooksaboutme.Thisismyisland, myhome. I am their pride and joy, you’ll see.” Chad lookedat her and said, “How could this happen?”

Chad dragged himself over to the rock where his mom lay. “Mom, why are all these creatures here in my home land, my island”? “Your island?” asked his mom with a smile. “Chad, although other iguanas have been here for a very long time, we are certainly new to Anguilla. We are Green Iguanas. We came to Anguilla from other islands, carried by the winds of hurricanes on the sea. The creatures here have all welcomed us. We share their food and their land; they made us feel at home here; and so you, my dear, you must do the same and be kind to all you see.”

As the sun began to set, Chad climbed up into the seaside grape tree to join the rest of his family. As he closed his eyes to sleep, he whispered softly, “This is our island, our beautiful island -- but this tree belongs to me.”

HOPE’S INSPIRATION

By Celina Allen Kensington Primary School Aged 11 Portmore, Jamaica

The airof nervousness lingered over the classroom, and hushed the murmurs of everyone as theyfastened their eyes on Mrs. Bolt, their teacher, who clumsily opened the envelope containing the results of their final exam. Formost of the class, this was not only their results, but the only route to a successful future. The tension was so unbearable for Sky that tears streamed down her anxious face while she gripped Hope’s hand.

Mrs. Bolt finally broke the silence. She read the results of each child alphabetically. “And now for the final name on the list, Sky Williams.” Mrs. Bolt cleared her throat and continued, “You have received a 97% average in your final exam.” The class erupted in a thunderous applause. Sky embraced her friend, Hope, and whispered in her ear, “I could not have done this without you.”

At dismissal, all the students except Sky raced out of the classroom to hurry home and share the great news. Sky stared at the four walls of the classroom as she skimmed through the pages of her memories to where her success all began.

“Class, this is Sky Williams, your new classmate,” said Mrs. Bolt. “I want you to be very nice to her. She is new to this school and the community.” Brave shouted, “Miss, Bad Man don’t talk to trash. We dump trash.” “Enough!” shouted Mrs. Bolt as she tried to quiet the disruptive class.

No one wanted Sky to sit beside them. She was smelly, her uniform always dirty, and she itched a lot. She had no friends and was often seen talking to herself.

During the lesson on heroes in Social Studies, Mrs. Bolt wrote the words of Paul Shane Spear to introduce her lesson. “As one person, I cannot change the world, but I can change the world of one person.” Hope wrote down the quote and was inspired to “light up” the lives of her classmates one life at a time. During lunchtime, she went into the bathroom and heard sobs. It was Sky. She huggedher and dried her tears. Sky felt comfortable to share with Hope the death of hermother and the struggles of her father to find a job. Hope invited her home to have a bath and a freshly cooked meal. Sheshared with her someof her clothes, school supplies, and snacks. Hope’s acts ofkindness began a friendship between both girls. Every day, she brought lunch for Sky and helped her with her schoolwork.Sky transformedfrom a shy, glum student into a confident girl. The class now accepted her, except Brave. He saw her as the perfect target to bully, and once again proved the shell ofa boy that he was. Both Sky and Hope sat under the palm tree in the schoolyard enjoying their lunch. Brave walked maliciously to Sky, ripped the gold watch from her hand, and trampled on it. Sky burst into tears. The watch was the only thing she had to remind her of her mom. While Sky sat on the ground in disbelief, trying to fix the broken watch, Hopefirmly gripped Brave and quizzically asked, “Do you know what is respect?” “No Smarty Pants. Care to share what’s respect?” he asked jeeringly. “Well, it’s when you show by yourbehavior that youthink someone or something is important,” responded Hope.

“You can tell that to my Dad who comes in every night drunk and slaps my mom and me across the face.” Brave looked around and saw everyone staring at him as the tears streamed down his face. Hope held his hands and said in a calm voice, “Maybe your dad doesn’t think he is important in your lives, so show and tell him that he is.”

Hope and Sky helped him to write little notes to his dad to reaffirm his importance. Brave’s dad gradually transformed and quit his alcohol addiction. This impacted Brave, who started to show respect to his peers.

With all the excitement, Hope did not realize Sky was not with her until she got to the school’s gate. She went back to the classroom and found Sky sitting in deep thought. She interrupted her, “Sky, aren’t you going to share the great news with your father?” “Certainly,” smiled Sky, “Hope, you are a candle that consumes itself to light the way for others.”

THE LONELY OLD DOG AND THE GOOD FAMILY

By Jordan Allwood Kensington Primary School Aged 11 Portmore, Jamaica

It was the day before Christmas, and my family was shopping for candy canes and gifts. As soon as we finished our shopping, we got into the car to go home. My father started driving. On the way home, we passed a very large moving box. “Daddy, stop!” I shouted. “I see a moving box.” When my father stopped, I jumpedout of thecar as quickly as I could. I opened the box to see what was inside. Two large frightened eyes looked at me.I picked up what was inside. It gave a loud bark. It almost fell from my hands. I brought it into the car. Immediately my mother bellowed, “Get that thing out of my car now!” “Please, Mom, I want to give him a good home,” I said pitifully. “OK, all right, but he is your responsibility.” “I know, Mommy,” I said. When wefinally got home, I rushed to the basement to find a good place for it to sleep. I gota warm blanket and a big cozy-looking basket, and wrapped my new house guest in. I warmed some milk, buttered some biscuits, and fed the dog. It licked my face and ran around the basement. I watched it doing what it seemed it had not done in a long time. I was very happy for having stopped. After many weeks, the puppy grew into a big dog. He could no longer stay in the basement. My mother and father said that they would help me build a kennel for him. We worked tirelessly during every spare time. My dog Rusty was overjoyed to be put in his new dwelling. Rusty and my mother became good friends. Every evening, Mother would take Rusty on her walk through the neighbourhood. On weekends, my friends and I would take Rusty for runs along the beach. It was exciting to see how much Rusty had grown.

One evening, late autumn, I came home to silence.

I hurried to the kennel and was surprised to see the door opened. I became very nervous, and started calling for Rusty, but no answer was forthcoming. I searched around the yard, thinking probably he was injured, but Rusty was nowhere in sight.

I started to cry and dashed to the phone to call my mother and father who luckily wereon their wayhome.As soon as my parents came in, they assessed thesituation, and called other family members who came soon after. We dispatched ourselves in all directions in search of Rusty. I was so worried! I called out his name many times, begging him to respond. My parents kept close to me.They too were calling for Rusty. We were getting tired and hungry because the search had gone onfor hours.

It was almost midnight, and as I wandered away from my parents with my flashlight, I heard a whimpering sound. I cautiously moved towards the sound. As I got closer, the whimpering became louder. I recognized the sound of my dog, Rusty. I screamed for my parents, then rushed towards Rusty. He whimpered and groaned painfully. I tried to lift him, but his feet seemed to have been caught in a trap. My parents and other family members came and removed the shackle from Rusty's feet. My dad lifted him and wrapped him in the blanket we had taken. Rusty looked at us with gratitude in his eyes; he licked Dad's face. We were so happy to find Rusty. We took him home. All family members were glad to help to make him as comfortable as possible.

Grandma and Grandpa, who stayed behind, had made tea and coffee for us. The children drank hot cocoa, while the adults looked after Rusty. The vet was called, and Rusty was given medication for his injury.

Afterwards, all family members hugged and thanked each other for the support given. Rusty regained his strength a few days after. Mom, Dad, and I constantly look after him. After all, he is a member of our family, and families should take careof each other.

THE

LOST KITTEN - AN ACT OF KINDNESS

By Robert Arch Cayman Prep and High School Aged 10 Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

It was a beautiful, sunny morning, and Jordan and I were hanging out in our yard until, out of nowhere, we heard something that sounded like a tiny kitten. We looked around, scanning for any signs of where it was coming from. We decided we must be hearing things, so we continued playing, until ... we heard it again.

“Okay. Seriously. What is that?” I whispered.

“I don't know. Let's go check itout,” replied my brother. We slowly moved towards the noise, which became louder and louder as we approached. Jordan parted the branchesof a bush and, for a second, we wereflooded with disappointment. “What? There's nothing there!” Jordan exclaimed.

“Jeez, calm down Jordan! Look! There's something curled up to the right.” I crawled under the bush and gently grabbed the mysterious, small, cotton-like figure. Even though we had heard mewing, I was shocked when I realized it was a calico kitten, with fur as soft as silk, cute stubby legs like a miniature goat, and the eyes of the brightest blue.

“Mom!” I yelled at the top of my voice! “Yes dear?”

“Mom, we found this tiny kitten outside in the bushes. Should we feed it and give it water?”

“Yes, that's a good idea. Feed it, and we'll take it to the Cayman Humane Society, okay?”

I secretly wished we could keep the kitten, but I listened to my mom. We have several dogs, and they would not be impressed by the introduction of a cat! “Okay!”

After the kitten had something to eat and a little milk, we hurried into the car and drove to the Humane Society. We showed them the kitten, and they carefully took him to the back room to treat his scratches and remove all the ticks.

About 30 minutes had passed, and I was nervously pacing up and down in the small reception area. I stared at all the photos of dogs and cats desperately seeking homes, and I felt really sad knowing that the little kitten might be waiting a long time to find a new home too.

Finally, the veterinarian came out and said he was okay, and he was lucky to have been found, as he might have died. He assured me that he would find the baby cat a fabulous home, as they had a long waiting list of fabulous families waiting to adopt.

I looked at my mum and her eyes were full of tears at the sight of the tiny puppy being brought in. We couldn't adopt the kitten, as much as I wanted to, but we adopted the four-monthold puppy that was just surrendered instead! We named him Oliver, and we love him to death.

You see, kindness should be something that comes from within, not something that's forced. Acts of kindness should be to people and animals alike. “Do unto others what you would like them to do for you,” as it says in the Bible.

Jamaican people would say, “Wha gone bad a mawnin caan cum gud a evening.” This means you can make a mistake by hurting somebody, and chances are you won't be able to fix it.

So bekind, not just “Cayman Kind” but human kind. Help each other! Be loving, caring and respectful to each other. Let your kindness and love shine through, and be grateful forall the people around you who love you.

The smallest act ofkindness can go so far.Even a smile can bring light to someone's day.

THE SHARK AND THE TURTLE

By Chloe Bentick Montessori by the Sea Aged 8 Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Once there was a Turtle. He loved to play and dance with his friends. The Turtle looked like a gigantic green stool: his shell was dark brown with the pattern of a firework.

The Turtle lived in the beautiful blue ocean around the Cayman Islands. He had a friend who was a Shark, who was very mean and grumpy. He looked like the deep blue sea, and the Shark had marks and scars on him from all the times he had been caught but let go.

The Shark loved to tease the Turtle. He would follow him around all day, calling him silly names and scaring away all the other fish. This made theTurtle very sad, and he felt so lonely. Why wasn’t Shark nice to him?

One hot and sunny day, Shark saw that Turtle was in trouble. The Turtle had gotten caught in a net, and he wiggled and wiggled and wiggled, but he couldn’t get free. Turtle was so worried, he was shouting for help. All the other fish stared in horror.

The Shark just looked, and began to swim away. All the other fish said, “Aren’t you going to save your friend?”

As the Shark was guiltily swimming away, he began to feel bad. Shark said, “I have to save my friend. Even though I’ve been mean to him, I should do the right thing now.”

He turned around and started swimming towards the boat, went to the surface, and jumped out of the water with his mouth wide open. The fishermen could see all his teeth and were scared away. The fishermen let the Turtle go free!

All of the other fish cheered for the Shark. He had saved the Turtle!

The Shark felt good for doing the right thing. He made a promise to the Turtle never to tease him again. The Shark was never mean to anyone again, and he always helped a fish in need.

Turtle and Shark were best friends, and lived happily ever after in the deep blue Cayman Island’s sea.

Georgia Birkweiser Deep Creek Middle School Aged 11 Eleuthera, Bahamas

As I sat against a big palm tree with my faceagainst my hands, I heard the voiceof a familiarly vague old lady. “Come now child, don't be upset 'bout one little ting like dis; we can' control nature, so what happening to you child een' fair.”

The voice was soothing, but awakening at the same time, so I looked up to see an old lady standing over me, her gray hair cut short, and her traveller's cloak billowing in the wind. How did this happen? I think to myself. Then, I remember ...

It all started last weekend when I was playing with my three other cousins at my grandparents' house. We were playing charades, and my youngest cousin was hysterically trying to be a monkey, when a rickety old truck approached,and parked somewherein the back where we couldn't see. We peeped our heads in the back and saw a man approach from a slick black car. He approached my grandfatherwith a frown on his sunglasses-covered, clean, bald face.

“Sir, I'm sorry to tell you this,” he said in an emotionless way, “but we will have to sell your house or take it away from your possession because you haven't paid your mortgage.”

“No, no, I have a month sir!” said Grandpa John. The bald man thought, “Only because I feel generous, I'll give you one month to come up with the money, but that's it!”

My cousins and I gasped. We went over the options. “We could sell stuff,” said the eldest. We thought about it. They all shrugged and headed home. They would come back tomorrow.

After they left, a strange man with yellow teeth came out of the truck. I knew he was Mr.Gibson, the man who sells conchsalad by the bay. “Hello Mr.Gibson,” said my grandpa. “Oh. hello. I heard you were in financial trouble.” “Yes, actually, and…?”

So next, Mr. Gibson who was quite wealthy, told grandpa he would cut him a deal. “Sir, if you cangrow mefifteen pineapples by next month, I'll give you fifteenmillion dollars for your trouble.” Mr. Gibson shook his hand and left towards his truck. My grandfather stoodin happy shock.

I was not in a happy shock. This was simply because I knew there was no way to grow 15 pineapples in one month.

It was two weeks of hopeless searching to find a way to save Grandpa John's house. I ran a lime-aid stand, sold random things, and gave the pineapples fertilizer so that they could grow faster, or at all. The pineapples didn't seem to be growing anymore, and I was about to find out why.

I was walking to the store because a genius idea had just struck me. Why not just buy 15 pineapples and sell them to Mr. Gibson instead?

When I entered the store, I waved to the cashier and asked her where I could find the pineapples. The cashier looked at me like I just asked her where I could find the flying unicorn named Moe. She replied to me saying, “Pineapples are out of season. But why not buy a fruity bar? It's artificial pineapple flavor! Only 15 cents.” I realized she was trying her hardest to sell me some junk, so I quickly walked out.

I felt hopeless, desperate for something that could help my poor grandpa out of this sticky situation. Who on Eleuthera could make a pineapple grow when they're not in season?

As I sat on the grass with myheadburied in my hands, a familiar yet distant and vague voice said from above me… As you recall, this is where we leftoff in the beginning.

“Come now child, don't be upset 'bout one little ting like dis; we can' control nature so what happening to you child een' fair.”

The voice was soothing, but awakening at the same time, so I looked up to see an old lady standing over me, her gray hair cut short and her traveller's cloak billowing in the wind.

“But I have to do something!” I said.

“And you will. We cannot control when things grow and how they do, but this will. You plant this in your pineapple fields and everything gonna shoot up! Now, go plant it, and tomorrow you will have 20 healthy pineapples,” she said. Then she vanished in thin air.

For a moment I hesitated and wondered if it would work. I decided it was worth a try, and I hurried back to my grandpa's house.

The next day my grandpa asked mehow I got the pineapples to grow so quickly, but I smiled and told him I didn't know. He paid his mortgage, and we still play at the house to this day.

HELPING FAMILY MEMBERS

Written and Illustrated

By Fritz Boynes III

Guy H. Benjamin School Aged 9 St. John, US Virgin Islands

I live with my mom and my turtle. The rest of my family lives apart, but we still stay in touch. I always help them clean their house.

Sometimes, I have to pick up my turtle's poopoo, but I still love my turtle. I love helping my father pick mangoes. We all love mangoes. My father climbs the tree to get the mangoes. They look very big and juicy. They taste outstanding! When they are yellow, they

are ripe. When they are green, they are not ripe. We put them in boxes, and give some to different people, and some to my grandmother. We do this because my grandmother is too old to climb trees to pick her own.

My family finds ways to defend themselves. Nothing can happen to us. I take Tae Kwon Do to protect my family. That's so I can defend myself. It is fun to take Tae Kwon Do. It is important to defend yourself and your family. My father has a nice, charming black dog that can defend him. He takes care of it. That's why it defends him.

I love helping my mother clean the house. We always need to clean. First, we pick up everything off the floor so no one gets hurt. Next, we sweep and mop the floor. Be careful when you finish mopping the floor because you could fall. I clean my bathroom, and my mother cleans hers, so it doesn't smell. Finally we clean our bedrooms. We want to be sure that, if somebody sleeps over, they won't get hurt on toys that are on the floor.

I love my family, and my family loves me. It is important to love your family. I hope you keep that in mind, because when you get older, you will need help too.

WINNIE‛S BIG SURPRISE

By Hana Bridson & Tom Bridson Cedar International School Aged 10 and 8 Tortola, British Virgin Islands

There weretwo boys called Jamal and Kareem. Kareem was Jamal‛s best friend, and he was visiting Jamal‛s house. Jamal‛s dad was named Desmond and his mom was Sandra. Jamal‛s grandma, Winnie, was also comingover to Jamal‛s house for dinner. So, Jamal and Kareem decided to cook tamarind stew and mango pie as a sweet treat forWinnie. It was Winnie‛s birthday and she loved tamarind stew and mango pie.

They went to go pick nice tamarindfor Winnie‛s stew, and brought Desmond to carry the ladder so they could reach the tamarinds in the trees. They pickedbig tamarinds and small tamarinds, fat tamarinds and wonkytamarinds. Once their basket wasfull they started to find mangoes to pick for the mango pie, so Desmond took his long ladder to get the best mangoes for the pie. Soon, their basket was full.

Desmond went home to cook the tamarind stew for the boys. Meanwhile, Kareem said to Jamal, “Do you want to play hide and seek?

Jamal answered, “Yes, I‛d love to play hide and seek with you!” They wondered who would be "it" for the hide and seek, so Jamal said, “Let‛s do rock, paper, scissorsand the person that doesn‛t win is 'it'".

Jamal and Kareem said, “Rock, Paper, Scissors…shoot!” Jamal made the symbol forscissors and Kareem did rock.Kareem won! Jamal started to count to ten, and Kareem hid far away in the tall trees. Kareem couldn‛t see Jamal anymore and he was lost. Kareem came across a bigdamp rock and behind it, he saw

a giant orange tarantula. It was the size of a dinner plate! Kareem ran as fast as hecould to get away from the spider.

As he ran away, he bumped into Jamal. “Ouch!” That was right on my funny-bone!” said Jamal. “Sorry” said Kareem.“I sawa jumping spider. It was bright orange, and it was the size of a dinner plate!”. “Wow!” said Jamal. “Now, let‛s go home. I‛ve got the mangoes, Kareem.”

“Okay, Jamal”, said Kareem.

As soon as the boys got home, they started to prepare the mangoes for the pie. Desmond finished the tamarind stew and Sandra prepared the pastry for thepie.

Once their cooking was finished, it all looked so nice. Thefamily was setting up the table together and Kareem told everyone what happened during hide and seek.Sandra said Kareem was very brave. Soon Winnie arrived at the house. Jamal asked if Kareem could stay for dinner. Sandra said yes, but she insisted that Kareem goes straight home after dinner. Winnie sat down and they all shared a lovely meal of rice and curried chicken. For dessert, the family asked Winnie to close her eyesand they sang the Happy Birthday song. When Winnie opened her eyes she said “Tamarind stew and mango pie! My FAVOURITE! What a lovely surprise!” Kareem then told Winnie what happened during hide and seek. He started bysaying “It‛s a long story,” and everyone started laughing.

A MAGICAL CHRISTMAS

By Joshua Callendar Enis Adams Primary School Aged 11 Tortola, British Virgin Islands

Long ago, Christmas in the Virgin Islands was spent with family and friends sharing with each other.People visited houses in the villages, ate ham and tart, and drank guavaberry wine. They went from house to house singing songs of the season. They were a very happy people, who lovedto share.

As time went on, people changed. Their ways became selfish and no one shared. Somefamilies had very little, but no one cared.

The Winter family lived in the country in a very small cottage with very little furniture. They had one small pot to cook meals, and the family of threehad only one bed to sleep on. They were so poor they could not afford anything new for Christmas. One day, a stranger knocked on thecottage door. Thefunny little man gave Mrs. Winter an invitation to a grand Christmas party. She wondered why anyone would invite her to such a fancy affair.Shehad nothing to wear to the party, but the little man would not listen. He told her that she and her family must come.

The Winters put on their best clothing and headed out to the party. They walked for a long time before they got to the Botanic Gardens wherethe party was being held. When they got there, they were surprised to see that they were theonly ones there, yet there wasa large table filled with enough foods to feed the entire village! There was a tall century tree garnished with lights and tinsel, and gift boxes of different sizes lay beneath. Thestrange little man was there with a big smile and welcomed them. He told them theywere the guests of honour

and the party was for them. They could eat whatever they wanted, and all the gifts belonged to them.

They were very excited, but felt it was wrong. Mr. Winter told the little man they should call all his neighbours and let them enjoy the feast. The little man smiled even bigger. He was pleased that the Winters were such kindhearted people. He agreed for the neighbours to come as well.

They ran and called everyone in the village-those who had plenty and those who had very little. Everyone came and enjoyed the feast. There were gifts for everyone and everyone was happy. They started talking about how Christmas was, and they agreed it should be that way again.

At the end of the night, the little man was nowhere to be seen. No oneknew who he was. Not even his name. No one had ever seen him beforethat night. But all the people in the village were happy he cameand helped them to see the magic of Christmas once more.

THE GREATEST AWARD IS KINDNESS

By Kadreanna Campbell Shortwood Practicing School Aged 11 Manor Park, Jamaica

Ravenis justlikeanyothernormalgirl.Sheliveswith her parentsinNewKingston. Shehadalotoffriends, butshe wasn’t popular.Ravenjust wanted to beknown to a few persons butnotbymany.Shehadalwaysdreamtofhelpingasmany personsasshecould.Shehadalwayslovedhelpingotherswhen theyareinneed.Ravenknewthatstudents who do gooddeeds willreceivea specialaward, andthatwasheraim. Sheandher bestfriendAlexiaalwaysdesiredbeinggiventhisspecialaward. Theyhavebeendoinga lotof gooddeedsfor thepastfew monthsandtheyweresurelyacknowledgedforwhattheydid. Throughouteachday,thetwo girlswouldhelpelderlypersons to crossthestreets,andhelpoutintheirschoolkitchento cookmeals andwashthedishesamongmanyotherthings.They would basicallylendahand to anyonewho neededtheirhelp,and to personswho didn’tevenknow thatthey neededhelpfrom the girls. But somethingwasn’t feeling right to the girls. They still feltlike theyneeded to do just alittle bitmore. Oneevening,RavenandAlexiacametogetherandmadea masterplan.Theirplanwastogo to ahomeforelderlypersons to do asmuchwork astheycould.Thiswassuretoputthem ina prime positiontowinthespecialaward,theythought.They continuedto talk moreand moreabouttheirplanto the point wheretheir conversationwasoverheard byoneof their friends, whose namewasSidney.Sidneywasimmediately impressedwith theirplan, wantedto helpout, andsheknew exactlyhowshecoulddo so.Hermom worksasacaretakerata homefor elderlypersons nottoo farfrom theirschool.Shewas justgoingto ask her Mom if Ravenand Alexia could help out

foraday,andifshegotthego-ahead,shewouldsurprisethe girlswiththenews.

Sidneygotonherphoneandcalledhermom rightaway. She told hermom aboutherfriends; andhermom did,indeed,say Yes, that they couldhelpoutif theywantedto.Theycouldeven comethe followingday.Considering thefactthattomorrow was Saturday, itwouldhavebeenperfectfor thegirls.Sidneythen wentto Ravenand Alexia andtoldthem thatshe overheard themtalking andwhatshedid.The girlsweresohappythatthey huggedand kissed Sidneyonhercheeks, andthankedhera thousandtimes forall shehaddone.

Thenext morningRaven and Alexiawent to Sidney'sMom’s workplaceveryearlyinanticipationof doingallthattheycould, andboydid theydo a lotof work.Theydideverything thatthey couldimagine. Theywashed, theycooked, theycleaned, and theytold jokesto the elderlypersons whentheywereaskedto. Thegirlsthoughttheydid allthattheycouldandthey were veryexhausted,but theywerealsohappyatthe sametime. Theywerehappy withthemselvesthatthey wereabletohelp outas muchas theydid,andtheywantedto do itagainand for asmuch astheycould.

Theywereno longerinterestedinwinning thespecialprize, becauseto them, helpingthoseelderlypersonsandbeingableto makethemsmilewasmorerewardingthananyprizethatthey couldeverreceive.Thegirlswerejusthappydoingwhatthey weredoing.Intheend, theywereacknowledgedfor thegood deedsthattheyhavedone;andeventhoughtheydidwinthe prize,thegreatestawardtheyreceivedwasbeingableto help thoseelderlypersons.

THE BLUE IGUANAS

By Ella Capetta Footsteps School Aged 9 Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Once there was a girl who loved to look for shells. Her name was Cate, and she lived with her mom, dad, older sister Grace, adopted sister Ash, and her dog Popcorn.

One morning, the girls woke up to the smell of smoke. They knew that it was their mother because whenever she tried to cook something it always went wrong. After they had their burnt breakfast, they went to the beach to play catch.

“Coming at you!” yelled Cate. But when Cate threw the ball, she missedanditwentinto a bush.“I’llgetit,” saidGrace.When she reached thefar sideof the bush, she jumped back and screamed. She slowly walked closerand suddenly… “Hello.”

“Wait, you want our help with what?” said Grace, speaking to the talking blue iguanas she had just discovered! The iguana who was speaking was named George. “We need a new home. This one is dirty with trash!” complained George. “We want to move to a new island,” he demanded.

“The magic shell!” said the girls! They had a magic shell that allowed them to travel wherever they wanted and stop time. Ready for their exciting adventure, Cate held the magic shell up to the sunlight and…. “Ahhhhhhhhhh!”..........

“Where are we?” said Cate. Music was playing in the distance. Ash did a roll call and everyone was here. Theywalkeddowna narrowpath thatledto anoutdoorstage! On the stage were people singing and dancing! They had on

brightorangedresseswith beadsandflowers.Theyheldonto theendof theirlargeskirts astheytwistedandtwirled.There was a large sign above the stage:“Trinidad’s Best Dance: Bélé!” “Oh!” said Cate.“NowI know wherewe are.”“We better get searching or the iguanas will get mad,” Grace said. They walked off into the distance. Once they had found a spot with rocks and sand, they asked for theiguanas’opinion. “It’s too sandy,” saidGeorge.“It’stoosharp,” saidEliza.“It’stoo small,” saidthe Sammys. (They are twins.) All the other iguanas agreed. It was time to look elsewhere. Cateonce again held the shell to the sky. “Ahhhhhhhhhh!”...... “Where arewe now?” Grace asked. There was no music playing. They took a look around. It was dark and gloomy. Cate suddenly stumbledthrough somesortof root-linedpath and face-planted herself. “Cate!” they all screamed. But when they went to check onher, theyfollowedinCate’sface-plantingfootsteps.Ontheir feet again, they discovered a forest. It kind of looked like a forest you would see in Cayman. There were Australian pine trees, tourist trees, and rubber trees surrounding them. They walkedthrough thesmallforestandoutonto a largebeach.The sun was shining. They could hear thesound of the waves on the shore, and the song “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” sung by Bob Marley. There wasa small sign that read “Bahamas: Seven Mile Beach!” Onceagain, they started to search for the perfect home.

The iguanas hated it even more than the last one. “I really thought that this would be the island," said Cate. Then suddenly she had an idea. If theiguanas were not satisfied with anyhomesthatthegirlssuggested, thentheiguanascouldcome home with the girls! It was brilliant! After Cate had shared her idea with the rest of the group, they had a vote. The moving to the girls’ house plan had won!

So it was decided.

“Ahhhhhh!”... Time has been unstopped...

Youseebeforethegirlscoulddo anythingaboutmovingthe iguanas in, they had to go through their mother.She was stubborn. She worked at an endangered species rescue company. Let’s hope they can do it.

“Did you say blue iguanas?” The girls' mom asked in awe.“You heardmeright,” saidGrace.Hermotherapproachedherwith a face looking like she wasabout to explode in anger and then… “Oh my gosh! Please take them into the yard right now! Are they hurt? Are they…”

“Mom, they're fine.” said Grace, calmly, but she was secretly excited! When she got outside, instead of seeing the rest of the team waiting by the door, they were playing in the backyard. This adventure does have a happy ending, she thought. Everyone is safe, happy, and calm, just the way you’re supposed to be.

FATHER AND SON DEEP FISHING TALE

By Sole A. Chinnery All Saints Cathedral School Aged 10 St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands

Every morning, Adam and his son, Liston, would travel from their country village to town. This village was named CAPS, for it was the jewel of Dominica's countryside villages. Adam and his son would wake at 5:00 a.m. every morning. Adam would pass time by asking Liston questions or riddles. Adam would say with a heavy chuckle, "Son, tell me whathas four wheels and flies?"

Liston would always reply "Dad" then scratch his head, lick his lips, and blink his left eye several times and say, "I don't know, but I bet you can tell me." This would take place every morning as the father and son bonded.

Adam was a country man. Adam wasstanding at 6'9”, 240 lbs. with hands of steel from casting and pulling fish traps. Adam was always funny to his fellow villagers with his jokes and riddles.

Liston, being the son of a CAPS village man, was proud and laid back with a demeanor of a young 13-year-old boy going on 31. Liston would help the village elders with chores and errands that they themselves were not able to complete.

Adam and Liston woke up on a gloomy, overcast Thursday morning.

This morning felt strange to both father and son as they continued with their morning routine. This morning, Adam chose not to ask any riddles or questions. They drove to town where Adam's vessel by the name of Spartan was docked. They arrived at their vessel. Thefather and son crew were on their way out to pull their fish traps. After being at sea pulling traps, a problem came. Adam heard his marine radio ringas it

was lunch bell going off. The local Government issued a returnto-port to all fishing vessels. There was a storm by the name of Sole on its way. Adam told Liston to grab his life vest and secure the deck. As Adam tried to swing the key to start the vessel, it would not start. Adam was worried because the storm was bad, and his main concern was Liston being in the storm. Adam decided to drop anchor and brave the storm. As the waves and wind battered the vessel, both father and son just prayed.

The port master of the Emerald of the Sea was green with concern as he realized, after five hours, the vessel Spartan carrying the father and son crew did not return to port. The port master got on the radio and contacted the villagers of CAPS to report the fate of the father and son crew in the storm.

The villagers, now concerned for the father and son crew, took it upon the village to start a rescue for their fellow villagers. The village dispatched twelve of their best vessels with crew to search for the father and son. The villagers searched until finally they came upon the vessel anchored in a cove. Liston and Adam left their vessel in the cove.

Happy with life, thefather and son braved the storm with fellow villagers to return to port. The villagers, along with Liston and Adam, returned to port to find the rest of the village there to greet them. Adam with his heavy chuckle asked Liston, “My son, what is family?” Without a scratch of the head or lick of the lips and several blinks, Liston replied "My village and my father are what I call my family."

ISLAND BEAUTY AND ENJOYMENT

Written & Illustrated

Prospect Primary School

By Nyla Christian Aged 10 Grand Cayman Sunrise

Shining in all its brilliance, the blistering, morning Cayman sun smiled at the hard-working residents as the colourful catboats glided gracefully across the azure, calm waters. Chirp! Chirp! The enthusiastic Cayman Parrots chirped sweet melodies as they flew across the perfectly painted turquoise sky. The breath-taking view of Wild Banana Orchids stood with majestic posture while they glanced up and down at me like Mother Nature's security guards. The brilliant, bright, blue iguanas sunbathed lazily on the scorching hot pavement and their gaping mouths seemed to exclaim, "I love the Cayman Islands!"

I live in the picturesque, one-of-a-kind Grand Cayman, where people are caring, helpful, and respectful. The best part is that it's summer every day of the year! I love to go to the Famous Seven Miles Beach, and whenever I go, myfavourite part is to feel the pearly white, soft sand between my toes!

SPLISH! SPLASH! The gentle tear of water embraced the sand with a big hug asa wave erupted from thecool, calm, crystal clear ocean and crashedonto the sandy shoreline making clusters of puffy, white seafoam appear.

After an adventure filled with laughter on the beach, I travelled on a fast fancy boat to Stingray City which was filled with spectacular stingrays of all ages and sizes. I was fascinated, but careful not to get stung by the venomous tails of these mysterious creatures. At myfirst stop to Stingray City, I enjoyed a refreshing swim in the sea which was filled with colourful coral and a variety of beautiful fish. "What an

adventure," I sighed. Wouldn't you like to travel to the beautiful Cayman Islands?

After a long day at thebeach, it was time to answer to my growling, hungry stomach. I set outto a famous restaurant to consume someof theisland's finest, mouth-watering cuisine. As

I approached the restaurant, an old tourist walked leisurely up to me. He pleasantly asked, "Oh kind, young lady, it's my first time travelling to the beautiful Cayman Islands. Can you suggest a satisfying dish that I can eat at this popular restaurant?”

"You should try the famous Caymanstyle beef," I said. Then I introduced myself and told the friendly man about my breathtaking island. He really seemed to enjoy my company and I offered him the Cayman-kind hospitality.

As I glanced on the interesting and tempting menu, I found it almost impossible to choose what to eat because everything seemed inviting while tempting my impatient taste buds. I finally ordered some delicious, Caymanian turtle stew. My new friend was eager to taste Cayman's cultural dishes. As we waited patiently, the lip-smacking aroma of the turtle stew slowly found its way up my nostrils. My mouth started to drool as I craved for the sumptuous food more.

As soon as the food arrived, my friend and I acted like a ravenous lion ready to pounce on its prey. We gobbled up the flavourful food in a short while. The cool, refreshing, homemade swanky lingered in my mouth and then slowly crept down my throat while bringing joy to every taste bud it encountered. When the visitor to our islands thought it couldn't get any better, we were served slices of lip-smacking cassava cake for dessert. My sweet tooth started yelling for more of the sweet Caymanian treat, but my stomach protested that there was no space for another bite. I was torn! Should I succumb to the desires of my sweet tooth or listen to the protests of my stomach? The tourist was really enjoying himself and his empty

plate told me that cassava cake wasobviously the right choice of dessert.

Before my new friend departed, he thanked me a million times. He was very respectful in the way he behaved as we talked and dined. He told me that my kindness had made him fall in love

with Grand Cayman and he will return to our beloved Isles to explore the Brac and Little Cayman on his second trip. The Cayman culture is rich and diverse. The seafaring culture, the flora, fauna, cuisine, and people of Cayman add to the mystique and appeal of this island in the Caribbean. With its all-year-long summers, why would anyone want to live anywhere else? "I love my verdant Isle Cayman!"

THE NIGHT I GREW UP

By Siena Clemens-Orr Footsteps School Aged 10 Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

I stared at the old Cayman-style house. Inside was an old man who wassupposedto tellmeaboutlifewhenhewasyoung. "Why would I want to know about that?" I thought. "It‛s not like I‛llever need it. Oh well, it‛s only an hour and then I can go to the movies."

I unlocked the gate and stepped onto a pebble path lined with sun-bleached conch shells. The garden was white sand, dotted with young trees creating smallpockets of shade beneath them. The little house itself was painted a sky blue with a wavy metal roof. I steppedonto the shadyporch, knockedonthe door andstepped back. When the door didn‛t open, I began to walk away, butI wasstoppedhalfwaybyacheerfultunethatfilled theair. I turned and headed back, but this time I cut through the smooth, sandy garden and went around the house to the back where I found the source of the cheerful tune. An old man stood pruning a floweringbush. “Hello?” I said. The old man stopped whistlingand turned around. “Oh, I wasn‛t sure you was comin‛. But I guess we can get to it. Comesit down, I‛ll get us some tea.”

Aminutelaterhewasback, handingmeamugandtellingmeit was fish tea. I wrinkled my nose. He just sighed, shook his head,and drank someof his own. “Now wheredo I begin?”

“I hadalwaysbeena headstrong child, off doing myownthing— swimming, exploring, fishing. But when I went to sea, that all changed. I realizedthatona shipyouhaveto work togetherto stay alive. We all had to listen to the captain and do what he instructed. I didn‛t really understand why, until my fifth turtling trip. It was one I will never forget.

The last turtling boat had just been secured on deck. As we were taking sail, I heard a low rumbling sound like a stampede of animals. The skies darkened and I saw a large black cloud rolling across the sky, bolts of lightning and deafening roars of thunder coming only seconds after. I froze. The captain yelled and I was jolted back to action. I tied down ropes and raced around doing everything I could to prepare. It was a race against time. A race between life and death.”

Theoldmantookadeepshudderingbreath, andI realized that I was barely breathing, waiting forhim to continue. “The captain called out to batten down the hatches and secure the sails. As he turned to give the next command, a huge wave slammed us broadside. The block and tackle came loose, swinging wildly in the wind. It struck the captain, knocking him unconscious. Hewouldhavegoneoverboardifithadn‛tbeenfor two men grabbing him at the last second. Then everyone began to panic. I looked around and the first mate was nowhere to be seen, so I shoutedto two mento getthecaptainto hisquarters and tend to him. Just then I saw another huge wave and shouted, “Rogue wave! Hang on!” After the boat righted itself, I sent everyone downstairs, keepingthree men with me as skeleton crew. I took thehelm andtold two men to man the sails while the otherkept look out. I tied a ropearound my waist to keepfrom goingoverboard,and the other men did the same.

It was the longest night of my life. After hours of being cold, wet, scared, and tired, the storm finally died down. The crew stumbled back up onto thedeck. Grateful that the storm was over, wewereallmorethanreadyto sailhome. Wehadbeenat sea fora month, and I longed to seemy family again. When we finally saw land, we seemed to fly toward it, skimming the water.

By the time we docked, everyone was waiting for us. I greeted

my family with a mixture of laughter and tears. When we got backto thisveryhouse, I sleptforhours. WhenI woke,I told my family the story of thenight I grew up, over a feast of turtle, breadfruit, fish tea, and fritters.”

Suddenly going to the movies didn‛t seem so important. I stayed until sunset, listening to story after story and drinking fish tea.

Welcome Home, Roy

Sample

ROY’S HOMECOMING

By Kyshaun Connor Alwyn Allison Richardson Primary School Aged 8 Anguilla

AsRoylookedoutof theplane’swindowattheroyalbluesea and the island it surrounded below, he could hear the stewardesssaying, “Pleasefastenyourseat-beltsandreturn your tray to its full upright and locked position.”

In just a few minutes, he will be back on Anguilla. He had been awayfortwo yearsstudyinginEngland. Hecouldhardlybelieve that it had been two years since hehad been home. Two years since he swam in the crystal-clear waters, two years since he had climbed Papaw’s trees, two years since he has seen his Grandmother Jojo. HecouldstillsmelltheJohnnycakesandjacksfrying, andcould still hear the radio blasting old-time Calypso in the background. He smiled to himself as he picturedseeing Grandma Jojo dancing to one of herfavourite songs. In one hand, her everpresent white handkerchief;and in the other, herwoodenspoon, which she used for a variety of things - from turning cornmeal to flipping over Johnny cakes, and not to forget the occasionallash onthebehindto keepyouinline.“Savetherod and spoil the choile,” she would saywhile she sharedout punishment.

Ashesteppedoutinto thearrivalhall, heheardafamiliar voice shouting out, “Roy Jones Jr., Roy Jones Jr., come to yo ’ grandma!” It was Grandma Jojo. She gave him the longest, tightest hug ever. “It is good to seeyou m’dear. Oh, how I missed my little Roy,” she said. “It is good to see you too,” Roy replied. “Come, let’s go!” And they both climbed into Grandma Jojo’sold’87 Brougham, Ole Glory, asshecalled itand drove away

Whentheyarrivedhome,Roysawthattherewerepeopleouton the gallery. “Buh hurry up nuh boi!” one of them yelled in a disguised voice. As he got closer, hesaw it was his cousin, Roger.“Wait a minute, dere! You ain’t tell me that you weren’t coming homefor the summer?”Royasked, ashe sprinted up the steps to meet his cousin and neighbourhoodfriend. “Gotcha!” Roger said. They all laughed and the two quickly joined the others in playing a gameof dominoes. Grandma Jojo had thrown him a surprise welcomehome party! He spent the night with his friend, eating, drinking, and chatting about days spent at the beach swimming,fishing, andracingboatsmadeoutof cork with sea grape leaves as the sails. The next morning when he woke up, Roy could hearGrandma Jojo singing in the kitchen and could smell the Johnny cakes frying. He got up and washed hisface, brushed his teeth, and went into the kitchen to havebreakfast. He had Johnny cakes with cheese and two cups of bush tea. “Aaah! Thebreakfast of champions,” hejoked as he put his empty cup down. “Thank you Grandma Jojo,”hesaid.“You’rewelcomemychoile,” shereplied. Just then, there was a knock at thedoor. “Inside!” Roger said, and opened the screen door to let himself in. “Mawnin’ Grandma Jojo!Andhowareyoutoday?” heasked, ashehelpedhimself to some breakfast. “Choile, look me here, holding on by grace alone,” sheanswered. “What’s up boi? Glad you came back after so long,” said Roger.“You ready to meet some new friends? We are going to the park to play somecricket; would you like to comeand join us?” he asked. “Of course,” Roy answered. He got up, gotdressed, kissedhisGrandmaJojo goodbye,andthey left. Roy spent his summer days playing cricket, dominoes, swimming, fishing, and of course, making boats out of cork, with sea grape leaves as the sails.

THE BOY AND OLD MAN JAMES

By Steven Connor Adrian T. Hazell Primary School Aged 10 Anguilla

Every summerKyle lookedforward to spending time with his friends. They enjoyed goingfishing, swimming in the river,and eating all the fruits that were in season. This was all Kyle dreamt about in the last weeks of school. Unfortunately, Kyle‛s summer was about to change. Summer was finally here, and Kyle had carefully planned out his first day. As he was about to rush out of thehouse to meet his friends, his mom shouted to him and asked him to havea seat because she needed to speak to him. She expressed to Kyle that sheknew how excited hewas about his summer vacation but she had a bigfavour to ask of him. Kyle‛s mom then told him a verysad story of Old Man James who lived all alone. Kyle knew Old Man James; many Saturdays Kyle would go and help him take careof themany goats and sheep that heowned. He liked helping Old Man James because he would always be rewarded with pocketmoney. It was this money that Kyle saved and bought his new BMX bikeall his friends loved.

Two months ago, Old Man Jamesfound out he had cancer and he was now undergoing treatment, and he needed someone to help with work around the house. Kyle‛s motherhad volunteered to have Kyle live with Old Man James for the summer. Kyle was 15 yearsold, and his mom knewhe would be of great help around the house and helping Old Man James takecareof the animals.

Kyle was very unhappy and upset about the decision his mother had made for his summer. Kyle told his friends all about the situation. They all were sad that Kyle was not able to join them in the summer plans they all looked forward to.Trying to be very

understanding about the situation, Kyle and his friends decided that they would have more summers together. Kyle, being the obedient child he was, knew he had to help his mother whom he loved dearly. Every morning, Kyle woke up at 7:00 am and started on the daily chores he had around the home of Old Man James. Old Man James was very grateful for the kindness Kyle and his mother showed him. As the weeks went by, Old Man James seemed to have gotten worse, and before the summer was over, Old Man James died. As Old Man James waslaid to rest, Kyle realized there were many people at the funeral, but he never saw many of them visit Old Man James when he was sick and all alone.

A year went by and Kyle did very well in his CXC examinations. He was given the opportunity to attend one of the best schools in England to study Medicine, but money was always a problem for Kyle and his mother.Kyle‛s dad died when he was a little boy and his mom worked hard asa housekeeper at theFour Seasons Hotel. She always did her best to give Kyle what he needed, but now she had no idea how shewas going to help him this time, and this made her very sad.

Then it all happened. One day a mancame to the house and gave them a letter. Kyle and his mom then learned much more of Old Man James that they did not knowbefore.Old Man James was the owner of the SUNRISE Supermarkets which werefound all over the island. Kyle could not believe what he was hearing. Old Man James was also the owner of two other homes and he also left an account with $400,000.Kyle and his mom wereconfused. The man then explained to Kyle and his mother,because Old Man James had no family members, he considered them as hisfamily. Old Man James was very grateful for all they had done for him, and in his will, he left everything he had for them both. Kyle could not believe what he washearing! Kyle was now able to fulfill his dream of becoming

a doctor and at the same timehave his mom enjoy the rest of her life by travelling and seeing the world.

WHEN I BECAME MUMMY TO ELEVEN BABY CHICKS

By Catrise J. Connor Creek Infant School Aged 7 Cayman Brac

Since hurricane Paloma, there have been a lot of wild chickens all over Cayman Brac. The roosters are so annoying, because from early morning and throughout the day, all they do is crow! They wake me up long before I need to get up for school; and on weekends or during holidays when I can sleep late, they won’t let me because of their annoying sounds.

The hens are always scratching and digging up our yard. Then I have to rake it over as that is my chore! Sometimes I wish that there were no chickens!

But then one day, several months ago, I changed my mind. One day after school, as my friends and I were playing in the neighbourhood, we saw a big brown hen scratching along the roadside. By her were eleven baby chicks. My friend Annie and I thought they were so cute.

Suddenly, the mother hen decided to go across the road, and a car was passing at the same time. The carhit her! We screamed in shock, but it was useless. The cardidn’t stop, and the mother hen had died!

Her eleven baby chicks scattered all over the place, chirping and tweeting! They were so scared and so were we!

Quickly, we decided to try to catch them. It was not easy to do. They kept us running back and forth. Then they would stand still and not make any noise so we couldn't find them!

One by one we caught them and put them in a clothes hamper that my Mother used. They looked so tiny and afraid. I felt

especially sad for them because they didn’t have a Mummy any more.

When my mother came home from work, we told her what had happened. She told us that because they were so youngprobably only a day old - they might not survive the night because they needed their mother to keep them warm and protect them. This made me determined to help them.

I got old clothes and put them in the hamperand covered the hamper with an old window screen. Finally, they settled down, and I felt all better. During the night, I got up to check on them, and they would look at me with little sad eyes. I felt like crying.

The next morning, the first thing I did as I awoke was to go check on them. We had put them in the garage for the night. I was so happy they were ALL alive and well! My mother told me to wet some bread and feed them with it. They started eating it right away! Now we had to decide what to do with them. Should we let them go? Or try to raise them until they could take care of themselves? I told my parents I wanted to raise them, and they told me that it would be my responsibility to take care of them. I agreed. My Dad built a little chicken coop and we put them inside. I could even get inside it and stand up! The little baby chicks got used to me feeding them and giving them water. When they saw me coming, they would make tweeting noises like they were happy to see me.I think they thought I was their Mummy! Weeks went by, and they grew. My Mother asked me if I was going to ever let them out of the coop. I didn’t know what to do! I had grown to love them so much. Finally, I decided to open the door of the coop to let them out. They looked at me strangely, then one by one came out. They scratched and dug at the ground so happily. The young roosters

(there were four of them) looked like they were play-fighting with each other! The young hens flapped their wings like they were showing off their beauty. It was a sight! The strange thing about MY chickens, as everyone started calling them, was that they would go off scratching/digging/crowing/c1ucking all day, but every evening they would all return to the coop to sleep. The roosters would crow at 5:00 a.m., but I had gotten so used to them by now that it didn’t wake me. Stranger yet was that the hens started laying eggs in the coop -so many that my Dad made it all biggerfor them. We hadfresh eggsforbreakfast and to put in cakes!

My Grandmother, who grew up raising chickens as a child, said that because we had rescued and raised the baby chicks, they were returning the favour by providing us with alarm clocks and eggs.

I like that idea of hers. And I like that I did something nice.

COURAGE

By Isabella Cottone Enis Adams Primary School Aged 9 Montego Bay, Jamaica

Sunny High School was in St. James,Jamaica. It wason a hill which had a good view of the sea, which usually was calm and where you could watch the seagulls flying around and the dolphins jumping. By the school parking lot, there was a small river with a little bridge over it, and this was in front of the main entrance to the wooden building. Next to it was a big Bombay mango tree, and also breadfruit and starfruit trees by the windows. Someof the children used to build a fire and roast breadfruits under the treefor their lunch.

Ten minutes away from the school was a small, old house where 14-year-old Emma lived with her mother.

“Listen to your teacher today, Emma.Later I will cook chicken and rice for dinner,” said Mama as she hugged her daughter and rushed out of thehouse to go to work.

In the morning, Emma went straight to class to do Language worksheets which shewas good at.At lunchtime, she sat next to her two bestfriends, Conroy and Jacob, and they ate cheese patties and ackee and salt fish. They planned to go swimming after school. In the afternoon, theyworkedon a Geography project of Africa.

After a few minutes, Emma turned to Ryan and asked, “You feel hot?”

“What!!!! I sweating like crazy and I smell like something burning,” replied Conroy. Suddenly they saw thick, black smoke coming into the room through the open window. Children started to cough. Then fire

ran from the door on to the teacher's desk. Bits of wood were falling as it spread quickly.

“Aaaahhhhh!!!!” Screams filled the room. The children ran asfast as Usain Bolt! Emma tripped and fell on the burning floorand sprained her ankle. Her arms and legs were burned. She was so frightened and she felt numb. Then Conroy and Jacob noticed she was not outside, and they ran back to the classroom, their hearts beating fast with fear. They could not see her at first because of the fire and smoke; but then they found her crying, lifted her up, and pulled her quickly out of theroom. Her eyes wereswollen, and she had so much pain that she was shouting at the top of her lungs. The children ran and ran away from thehot flames and choking smoke.

Some parents who lived nearby sawthe smoke and heard the screams, and they ran up to help thechildren and also to use water from the river to throw on the fire.They were glad to see their children, and to know they were not burned. Emma's motherarrived a few minutes later.She was crying with tears of joy thatEmma was not badly hurt. She hugged Emma and did not want to let her go.

“Is Conroy and Jacob save me Mama. I almost dead!” Emma told her. The boys felt satisfied that they had done something special for their friend.

Thank you, thank you with all my heart. I was so scared. You are too strong boy! Thank God the children all right. I going take Emma to the Doctor now. But how all this start?” Mama asked. “Every time the children roast breadfruit for them lunch, they make the fire too close to the window. Teacher talk to them all the time and they won't listen! Today they don't pay attention to the fire and they leave without outing it. It catch up and burn the wood.”

“Where they going have class now?” Mama asked the teacher.

don't know. but from now theyhave to take the breadfruit home to roast!” Teacher Kenya replied. “And best of all, those boys have so much courage, even though they were really afraid. They still saved their friend out of the fire.Today we learned a good lesson from this.”

“We

BIG BIRTHDAY SURPRISE

By Vanda L. Crawford Alfredo Andres Elementary School Aged 10 St. Croix West

In my family, the week of someone’s birthday is their birthday week. So, we celebrate as if the person’s birthday was the whole week. I was excited because somebody’s birthday week was coming up. I like to celebrate birthdays, even though it's not my birthday. But this was not just anybody’s birthday week. It was my mom’s birthday week, and I was filled with excitement! On my mom’s birthday week, our family wanted to make it extra special.

A few days before my mom’s actual birthday, I wanted to do something special for her. But, I didn’t know what to do. I went to my room, laid on my bed, and kept thinking and thinking. "What should I do for mom?” I thought. I wanted to help my dad wash her truck and he said, “No sah! Ge’ yo own present fo’ she!” So, I then asked my older sister, Victoria, the same question. Victoria snarled, “Find someting else! I already doing someting!” She really did not want me to know what she was doing. Boy did they ‘cuss’ me up!

Then, I decided that I should makea song as mom’s birthday surprise. So, I rushed to mybedroom, goton my laptop, and wrote a song formom. Victoria heard me singing it over and over, and she asked, “Can I sing with you? That song is catchy!” I rebutted, “No! I asked if I could do something with you, and you said no!” Then I thought about it. I remembered the golden rule, “Do unto others as you want them to do to you.” I replied to Victoria, “You can help me write the song, but you can’t sing it with me. Okay?” Victoria gulped. (She can really sing well, but this was my special gift to mom.) Victoria agreed. Whew! We

created the song, and I practiced singing it day and night until mom’sbirthday.

We wanted to make sure that everything took placeaccording to our plan. Victoria decorated a jarand she put notes in it for mom to read to cheerher up, and some money too. The next morning, I woke up, got ready, and practiced my song one more time. Then I popped into the kitchen and sang my song to mom with all my heart. She cried tears of joy. With a quiver in her voice shebawled, “This is too much!” Then Victoria handed her present to mom. We wereall cheerful!

The next morning, it was time for Mom to leave the house to head to work. When she opened the front door, she saw that her car was clean, and she was ecstatic. When mom returned from work at night, we lit the candles and sang happy birthday to her. “Mmm…..” I said as I smelled the chocolate cake that Dad bought for her. It was very appetizing. The next day, I made Chocolate Chip Belgium waffles for breakfast. The waffles were as big as my face. I put blueberries and strawberries on the waffles to make a happy face. It even had a nose made of whip cream, drizzled with caramel sauce. Mom was delighted! We were delighted! And our stomachs were delighted too!

My mother’s birthday week wasn’t special just because we did all these nice things for her. It was special because each person in our family showed her that we love her and that she is very important to us. Doing little things to show people that you care about them can make a huge difference for the giver and receiver. The effect is so much greater when we all work together!

A FISHERMAN’S TALE

By Taiden L. Culmer Kingsway Academy Aged 10 Nassau, Bahamas Illustrated by Author

“Hi Hee, Hi Hoo, catching fish is what I do.

Hi Hee, Hi Hoo, catching fish for meand you.

Hi Hee, Hi Hoo, it’s the only thing I like to do.”

Josh Rolle, a young fisher boy, sangcheerfully as he skipped to the dock with his silver fishing rodand red pail of bait. Josh was eager to start his day of fishing. His Grandpa Joe wasa well-known fisherman in Harbour Island. Josh worked along with him to sell fresh fish at the market. On this Saturday morning, Grandpa Joe told Josh that from nowon he would have

to fish without him. He explained that he was getting up in age and his old bones were aching. Josh saw this as an honor and did as he was instructed.

Josh jumped into his wooden dingy boat and threw his fishing line into the crystal clear water. He started to catch a lot of fish like barracuda, grouper, and yellowtail snappers. While Josh was fishing, he heard an alarming sound to the east of him. Josh was amazed to discover a long, shiny blue marlin glistening above the waves of the turquoise sea. He was even more stunned when the blue marlin said, “Hello Josh” in a brassy

voice. The mysterious grey eyesof the blue marlin mesmerized Josh. He was astounded by the real, yet mythical creature. They chatted for hours about the adventures under the sea. This soon became a regular occurrence, and they became greatfriends. One Saturday afternoon after theirusual conversation, theblue marlin exclaimed in a dreadful voice, “Theboys of three, look out for thee.” As quickly as those words were spoken, the blue marlin plunged underneath the sea. Josh was puzzled by this utterance. He scratched his head and pondered for a while. He finally jumped off hisboat to unload his "catch." He then placed the fish alongside the dock and went back to the boat to get his fishing equipment. When Josh cameback, his heart dropped. All of his fish were gone. Josh was petrified and searched endlessly. His efforts proved to be in vain.

The next day, Josh went to the dock to fish. The events of yesterday still plagued him. While fishing, the blue marlin appeared. He asked, “Why such a long, sad face today, Josh?”

Josh replied with much disappointment, “My fish, all the fish I caught yesterday was stolen.”

The blue marlin flipped his sharp tail and cried, “The boys of three, look out for thee!”

The blue marlin then vanished into the depths of the sea. Josh was confused once again and shrugged off the comment. After he was finished fishing, he placed his fish in a pail. Josh then went to get his fishing supplies.

When Josh returned, he discovered his fish were missing. Josh yelled, “No, not again!” in disbelief.

Josh remembered the words, of the blue and marlin. He finally realized he was warning him. Josh then decided to come up with a plan to catch the thieves.

The next morning, he tied a piece of ropearound a mango tree with a gold bell attached to it. Shortly after this, he placed his bucket of fish by themango tree. Before hecould blink his eyes, heheard the sound of thebell. Josh ran asfast as a hungry potcake dogto the area. When hegot there, to his surprise, he saw three boys sneaking up on his fish. Josh yelled, "Hold it you thieves!"

One of the boys was so startled that he ran and accidentally fell off the dock. Josh knew that even though the boy treated him unfairly, he still had to rescue him. Josh ran with all of his might towards the dock. The blue marlin suddenly appeared and yelled frantically, “Hop on my back, Josh!”

Josh took a leap of faith on the marlin’s back and the animal launched him high in the air. Josh dived in the clear, cold water to save the boy. He pulled the boy out of the water and brought him back on land.

From this day on, Josh and the boys formed an unbreakable friendship. Josh was praised throughout the island for his act of bravery and kindness. His peers now had the highest respect for him. However, after this day, Josh never saw the blue marlin again. He swam into the sunset and Josh wondered if he was just a figment of his imagination.

MISTREATED CHILDREN

By Catya Dauba École Primaire de Sainte-Marie Colombier Aged 11 Saint Barthelemy, French West Indies

In the world, there are many children and adolescents who are not well treated by their families – around 700 a year in France. I am going to tell you a story of Fatoumata, who was 7 years old, who was happy, like every other child in her area, with her parents. She went to school and she played with her friends.

One day, a terrible earthquake hit the region, destroyed the majority of the buildings, and took many victims, plunging the region and the population there into total distress.

At the moment of the catastrophe, Fatoumata’s parents were not home by chance. Fatoumata was able to get away from the house before it was destroyed. Several days passed, and Fatoumata was not able to find her parents. All her village was destroyed, and she was placed in an orphanage with the many other children who were in the same position.

That day, Fatoumata’s life took a drastic change because there was a woman, with a terrifying look in her face, not very rich, but ready to take her in, in exchange for her services.

Right from the start, she said,“Here is what I want.” Immediately, they gaveFatoumata a broom, made her do the cleaning and the laundry, taking out the trash, and other menial tasks which she did not do when shewas at home with her parents. There was no love and there was no compassion. The only times when Fatoumata felt a hint of hope, she was at school and recognized a few of her friends. Fatoumata spent the rest of her energy in learning how to read and write

properly because this would give her a chance and some power to be able to get out of this type of life.

The days were long and arduous. Fatoumata would never get to bed before 11:00 p.m. because she had to finish all of the laundry and the cleaning and the taking out the trash before she went to bed. If she had not completed all her work, she was not allowed to go to school the next day. Thatwas one of the conditions under which she was able to live there.

After many long years of living with this woman, her heart had the biggest surprise of all. One afternoon, during her classes, she was called out with the message, “We found your parents. They are still alive. They are waiting for you in my office.”

Fatoumata thought she would faint. It was the best dream, and it was coming true! She ran to meet her parents. They were waiting for her, and everyone burst into tears! They had been looking for Fatoumata the entire time, not losing any hope that they would find her, because in their hearts, they knew that she was still alive.

Fatoumata continued her studies in the area of child support so that children who had been mistreated as she had been would never have to go through the same arduous journey that she did.

A HELPFUL CHAP

By Bevin Davey Shortwood Practising School Aged 7 Manor Park, Jamaica

It was a very graceful encounter that I experienced which led me to write this story, just to prove to you that the negative statement that says, “This generation of viper” is not completely true.

I am growing up in a country where children are taught by their parents to have manners and to take good care of old people. We are also told that old age is a blessing.

One rainy Tuesday morning, a little boy looked outside his window to see Miss Ivy on the roadway, trying helplessly to tie her goat to feed it. She was too weak and shaky to climb up the slippery hillside to complete her mission, even as she was assisted by a stick.

The little boy left his house for school in the morning rain, just in time to assist poor, weak, old, shaky Miss Ivy trying, without success, to tie her goat. What do you think happened? He walked right over to her, and with a bright and pleasant face said boldly, “Good morning, Miss Ivy. I will tie your goat for you.”

“What?” replied Miss Ivy, as she stared blankly at him, not believing what she heard. So, shehanded him the rope, and her weak, feeble hands trembled violently due to old age. The boy took therope gently from her, carefully climbed the wet, slippery hillside, and tied the goat, as she looked steadfastly on him in amazement.

“Thanks mi son!” exclaimed Miss Ivy to him, as the boy's action puzzled her. She continued “Dis a likkle bwoy yah diffrant, mi

nev nuo sey dem yah pickni yah still deh bout, him well braut up, him cum awfa gud table.”

However, after hearing these whispers coming from Miss Ivy, the boy said in a soft voice, “Miss Ivy, mi dun tie di goat maam, so mi gann.”

“Ah rite mi son walk gud,” said the old lady as she started walking towards her house. As she reached her house, there came Mr. Rogers, who stopped by and said, “Good morning Mother Ivy.”

“Good morning, Pasta” she replied.

“Why are you out so early in the rain?” he asked.

“Pasta tell yuh di truth sah, a mi goat mi go tie out, mi couldn't even manage, but wan likkle bwoy help mi wid dig oar sah.”

“Who?” replied Mr. Rogers.

“Wan likkle bwoy,” said Miss Ivy.

“This boy is different from many other boys in this community,” he said.

“Well Pasta, mi nuo sey dis likkle bwoy is diffrant, mi neva nuo sey pickni did still ave mannas and still a help ole people.”

Surprisingly, Pastor Rogers spread the good news about this boy's kindness, and he was rewarded for his good deed.

Remember to sow good seed, for the seed you sow today is the fruit you reap tomorrow!!!

A VIRGIN ISLANDS CHRISTMAS

By Alli-Anna Davis Enis Adams Primary School Aged 11 Tortola, British Virgin Islands

Christmas in the BVI is like no placeelse. Our main reason for celebrating is the birth of Jesus. We celebrate Christmas by spreading joy, happiness, love, and kindness. I want to tell you a story, one that shows the true spirit of a Virgin Islands Christmas.

Ms. Margo wasa little old lady who lived in the village of East End. She was not the typical old lady who was happy and gave children candies around Christmas time. Nope.She hated Christmas and everything about Christmas. She hated Christmas so much that when carolers stopped by her house during the Christmas season, she would scream through the window “Ayo geh from myhouse now!” This happened yearafter year until no one stopped at Ms. Margo‛s house anymore.She was the Scroogeof East End. But this year, The Enis Adams‛ Hawks carolers decided to spread Christmas joy to everyone, Ms. Margo included.

Up on her porch they went, and struck up a Christmas tune. The banjo, the squash, and the triangles made a sweet sound in the area. “Mama bake yuh Johnny Cake,” they began to sing. Then in a crackling voice Ms. Margo lamented, “Ah tyaad tell ayo doan comehere!” “Get from ma place widdis set ah noise!” The Hawks were surprised and sadly turned to leave. While leaving, a neighbor said, “Doan worry. Shealways like dat at Christmas time.” The children wanted to knowwhy Ms. Margo was a grouch at this time of the year.The neighbor told them that Ms. Margo‛sonly son had left to go to college in the States many Christmases ago.Every yearhe promised to come home to spend Christmas with her but nevercame.So poor Ms. Margo

was always alone at the most joyous time of the year. She was just really lonely.

Standing in the street, the carolersgot a great idea. They decided to remind Ms. Margo what it was like to havea good Christmas with people who cared about her. They had to work fast because it wasfive days before Christmas. The Hawks got decorations and lights and asked their parents to bake cakes, to cook ham, and bakea turkey. They even bought gifts for Ms. Margo.

On Christmas Eve, they went back to her house and started to sing. Ms. Margo started to shout, and the carolers sang even louder. When she realized they were not going away, she came out onto the porch and saw them with all of thefood they had prepared. They then started to decorate heryard and house with the lights and decorations while still singing. Ms. Margo stood on the porch speechless. Thenshe started to cry. Every child gave Ms. Margo a hugand a small gift. She thanked the carolers for helping her feel the joy of Christmas once again.

FOR ANOTHER

Written and Illustrated

By Jessica Dawson Aged 10

“Come on, Casey!”

CaymanPrep andHigh School GrandCayman, CaymanIslands

Ayanna's voice cut through the sound of splashing. Spurred by the encouragement, Casey pulled herself through the water, kicking her feet rapidly. She felt something pull past her and the spray of water in her face as the feet in front of her showered her with liquid. No! Shecouldn‛tlagbehind.Shehadtofinish thisracepreferably winning it - but maybe that was too much to aim for. Casey strainedherself, puttingallherstrength into this swim.She had to bealmost there, right?

The shrill screech of a whistle pierced through the water. That meant the race was over! Casey straightened, looking around.

The blinding sunlight shone down on her, reflecting on the sparkling azure Caribbean water. Casey blinked, trying to get the salty water out of her eyes. Where was everyone?

Somethingcaughtherattention.Caseygazedatthebeach and saw that her teammates wereout of the water. They seemed far away. Wait - they were far away.Casey had swum much fartherout than she was supposed to. Thebeach looked tiny!

Suddenly feeling tremendously tired, Casey began the arduous swim towards her team. Each stroke seemed so much harder than the last; this was why she wasn‛t a long-distance swimmer!

Finally, Casey‛s feet brushed fine sand. Sighing, she trudged up the beach to her teammates, who were lounging on the wooden picnic tables underneath twisting sea-grape trees. One of them, Ayanna, tossed her a ragged towel.

“Got a bit off track, hey?” She teased as Casey sat down.

“You can‛t speak! You‛re not even competing!” Casey shot back. Then she realized that Ayanna was joking, and blushed.

“You did well, though, Case.” A tall boy jumped down from the tree above the table, grinning. “You got past Dan, that‛s for sure.”

A dirty-blond head appeared over the side of a box of sandwiches. He looked around, waved at Casey, and then went back to eating.

Ayanna rolled her eyes, yanking the box away from Dan. “How‛d you feel about being overtaken at the last second? By a lot?”

“I didn‛t know she had that much power in her!” Dan protested, whilst everybody laughed.

Casey grabbed a sandwich, then another. That swim really had made her hungry. After devouring both triangles, she looked up.

“How‛d Will do? We all know he‛s better than us all by far,” she stared at the tall, dark-haired boy. Will blushed.

“Yeah, you guys never stood a chance. He just zoomed off right at the start,” stated Ayanna.

“So, how do you think the big race is gonna go tomorrow? Think we‛ll do well?” Dan grabbed another sandwich.

Casey sighed. The race made her nervous.

“I still think we can do it! Don‛t think about... her.” Leave it to Ayanna to be the optimist.

“But she‛s really good!” This was the main thing Casey was worried about. Her nemesis, Dayana, was known for being amazing at sprints.

“Don‛t stress. We‛ll give our best shot tomorrow, and if not, there‛ll be another race!”

“I guess.” Caseyglancedather watch.“I haveto go. I‛llmeet youatGovernorsBeachfortherace! See ya!”

“Bye!”

Dan continued munching his sandwich.

It was race time. The whole team met up at Governors half an hour early. They were ready. A while later, everybody was ready, lined up at the top of the beach.

3, 2, 1... the swimmers ran down into the water, and the race began!

Will launched ahead – like healways did- leaving everyone else behind.Yep, Caseyknewwho wouldwin.Danlagged behind, and eventually Casey was separated from all her teammates.

But wait- what was that?

Something was thrashing in the water, screeching. Casey saw it was Dayana!

“Help!I can‛tswim! I‛m injured!” screamedDayana. The race didn‛t matter. Casey swam over and lugged Dayana to safety. The officials took care of the wailing girl.

“Hurry up! They‛re giving out the awards!” declared Ayanna. The race had finished. Casey held her breath.

“In second place we have....... William Solan!”

Casey squealed, excited for Will. But if he had only gotten second, and he was ahead of everyone, who had gotten first? “And...drumrollplease...infirst place, wehave Casey Meloeise, for giving up the race for others!”

Casey gasped, grinning. She knew she had done the right thing.

KINDNESS

By Jahzara Dawson St. George’s Primary School Aged 10 Tortola, British Virgin Islands

A while back, I got a little lesson in kindness. My friend and I were sitting on Cane Garden Bay beach eating sea grapes, when a goat dashed over and snatched hers. Instead of offering her mine, I laughed at her. I feel it is needless to say she got upset, and we got into a stupid argument about if she was overreacting or not. That incident ruined our whole hangout. I went home, mad at myself for messing things up, just when we were starting to have fun. The next day at school, I told her I was sorry and asked if we could meet up at the beach again; but sadly, she told me no. I begged and I pleaded until I couldn't anymore and just gave up. She didn't study with me the whole day. Whenschool was over and I got back home, I rushed to my phone and called her to try again.Onceagain, I wasturneddown.I didn'tknowwhat elseto do. I decided to sit down and think.After about an hour of thinking, I finally got it! I put my plan into order and prayed it would work. I went back to school the Monday, really nervous that it wouldn't work, but it was too late to back down now. It was already happening. When she opened her bag, she found an anonymous note that told her to look in her lunch kit. When she did, there was a ziploc bowl with saltfish and johnny cake (her favourite food) and underneath the bowl was a note that told her I was really sorry and that this was to make up for it. It also instructed her to meet me outside the cafeteria, and so she did. She bolted down the stairs and hugged me so tight I think she broke my spine.

0 0

Sample

She stopped hugging me and laughed and told me that she forgave me, then went right back to hugging me. Before I knew it, we were back on the beach where the conundrum first began. I asked her if she only forgave me for the food, and she said that it was because she knew I was really sorry because of how hard I had tried. "But I'm not going to lie," she joked. "It's partially for the food."

The moral of this story is: Every chance you get, bekind. You can lose people who are very important to you if you are not careful. Some people are easily hurt, and you don't know how certain things will affect them. It can happen when you do something that was meant as a jokebut actually impacted someoneina horribleway.So, trytoavoidpushinga person's buttons to the best of yourabilities. If not, you could upset someone very nearand dear to you.

And let's be honest: we all want to bring out the best in others, so just be kind.

FINDING YOUR MANNERS AT SEA

By Molly de Saram Cayman Prep and High School Aged 8 Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

One day, Little Dolphin was having dinner at home with his parents. Their little bungalow was in the famous Pearl City, where Neptune himself lives! Pearl City is right below Cuba; so if you went for a casual swim down the waterways, you might see bright coral reefs and maybe catch a glimpse of Neptune's palace!

While they were eating dinner, Mama Dolphin noticed Little Dolphin's bad manners.

“Little Dolphin, your manners are terrible!” she said, almost crying as Little Dolphin slurped up his seaweed smoothie noisily.

“Who cares?” shrugged Little Dolphin as he gobbled up his noodles with his flippers.

“You are coming with us on a swim around the islands of the Caribbean to learn some manners,” said Papa dolphin firmly. The next day, they set out.

“Where should we go first?” mused Papa Dolphin as he pored over a map drawn with squid ink on a piece of seaweed.

“I know!” exclaimed Mama Dolphin. “Let's go to Little Cayman! We can visit Grandma Turtle.”

In an hour or so they were ready to leave. They set out on the long ride to Little Cayman. Grandma Turtle invited them in with warm welcomes and big bowls of shellfish stew.

Little Dolphin started to gobble hisgreedily, but Grandma Turtle corrected him immediately. “No, Little Dolphin. Tuck in your chair, sit up straight, and THIS is how you hold your knife and fork."

By the end of the evening, Little Dolphin knew how to hold his knife and fork. As a reward, Grandma Turtle gave him two whole Shellings. “Good job Little Dolphin!”

“Where shall we go next?” asked Papa Dolphin. “I know!” replied Mama Dolphin. “Let's go to Jamaica. We can visit Cousin Shrimp!”

It only took a couple of minutes to get to Jamaica, so they decided to swim. (Before, they had gone in a chariot pulled with sea horses).

Cousin Shrimp lived all by himself on the edge of the big city called Coral Caves. His house was small and thatched with a drafty warehouse attached to the back.

Cousin Shrimphimself wasa tall and aging shrimp. Hewore glasses and the same old bottle green trousers, black belt with a golden buckle, white shirt, and dirt brown waistcoat every day.

However, hewas very strict on manners and, though loony, could sometimes be a bit fierce.

Today, as they sat down at the table, Cousin Shrimp barked, “Stop slouching! Sit up straight! Oh my goodness, take your tail off the table!”

As you guessed, Little Dolphin dearly paid for this. He has learned the hard way NEVER to put your feet (or tail in this case) on the table.

“Where shall we go next?” wondered Papa dolphin. “I know!” Mama Dolphin cried. “Let's go to the Bahamas! We can see Uncle Eagle Ray!”

Uncle Eagle Ray was the opposite of Cousin Shrimp. He was plump and jolly, with a grey back splattered with tiny white spots.

“Ello, Ello!” he boomed with a hint of French accent. “And hi, Leetle Dolphin!”

Little Dolphin didn't reply. His shoulders were hunched as he stared at a little pocket video gamehis parents had bought him forhis birthday.

After a while, Little Dolphin shouted, “Yes, I've reached Level 10 of Pearl Palace!”

“Little Dolphin, your uncle said hello!” said Mama Dolphin blushing. “Hmph,” grunted Little Dolphin rudely. “Eet's okay,” Uncle Eagle Ray boomed. “But Leetle Dolphin,” he added in an earnest whisper, “remember to sayhello to people when they say hello to you. Don't mumble; look them in the eye and smile!” He gave Little Dolphin a thumbs- up, beamed, and led them inside forhippo mutton and roast crocodile.

One more manner learnt!

The next day, Little Dolphin's parents told him they were ready to go home. When they got home, they sat down to the same dinner as before. Little Dolphin picked up his knife and fork correctly and sat up straight.

“Well done!” said his parents.

Next, Little Dolphin started to put his tail on the table, but then remembered and put it back down again.

“Awesome!” said his parents.

After that, the Post-fish poked his head through the door. “Hi,” he said. “Hello,” Little Dolphin said back. “Amazing, Little Dolphin,” his parents said. “We're very pleased with you. You learned so many manners!”

“Hmph,” said Little Dolphin with his mouth full. “Oh no ...”

THE LOST TURTLE

By Jayden Dilbert Edna M. Moyle Primary School Aged 10 Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

One sunny day, a girl named Charity was going on a hike. She was very tall, with brown eyes, and skin as smooth as silk. She was standing in a large field not far from the beach. She looked all around her, feeling peaceful as she listened to the sound of the waves in the distance.

Suddenly, across the field, she saw light coming out of the ground! She slowly walked towards it. As she got closer, she saw a silver and shiny well with writing on it. She stood by it; then the well spoke, “Here, take this seaweed and put it inside of the bucket and spin the wheel until it stops.” So, Charity did as she was told. Then she felt the bucket moving.

In a flash, she pulled up the bucket. When she looked inside, she saw a baby turtle. Looking closer, she noticed that the baby turtle was hurt. It had a deep cut on its neck. She was so surprised, but felt she had to do something; so she pulled the rope to bring the bucket out of the well. She reached into the bucket and took the turtle out. She hurried back home, hoping the tiny turtle would not die along the way.

When she arrived home, she took the turtle inside the house to show her family. Her mom looked at the turtle and said, “Oh my! Poor little turtle. Let me get some supplies to clean this cut.” So Charity’s mom went and got some cotton and a bandage. She cleaned the cut on the turtle’s neck and gently wrapped the bandage around it. The little turtle looked so happy.

Afterwards, the family all came together to eat dinner. Charity’s brothers, Leyton and Peyton, were holding the turtle. They took it and put it into an old fish tank that they had in their bedroom. They made sure the turtle looked comfortable

and then went to eat dinner.

“What should we name him?” asked Peyton during dinner.

Hmmm, I know! Sammy!” replied Leyton.

“Oh, I like that! It is perfect!” exclaimed Charity’s mom. From that day onwards, Sammy became part of the family. Years later, there came a terrible storm. Everywhere was flooded, and Charity’s home was destroyed. The fish tank where Sammy lived was washed away by the storm and Sammy along with it.

Sammy was taken by a strong current and brought out into the open ocean. He got scraped by a razor-sharp rock and started to bleed. The blood drifted through the water and, suddenly, two hungry sharks appeared in the distance.

“Please don’t eat me!” Sammy whimpered.

“But we haven’t eaten in days and you are the perfect meal for us,” replied one of the sharks.

“Please, just help me get back to my family. I am no ordinary sea turtle. I live on land, and if you help me, I will make sure that my family finds food for you,” Sammy said desperately.

“Yeah, right!” said the other shark laughing. “Nice try, little turtle, but you are going to be our dinner. Come here!” The sharks started chasing poor Sammy who was trying his best to outrun them.

Just at that moment, Sammy heard a boat. He looked up, and before he could figure out what was happening, he was snatched up into a large net! Sammy was terrified and knew this was going to be the end of him. Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice, “Oh Sammy! There you are! We were so worried about you!”

Charity grabbed Sammy from the net and hugged him tight Sammy looked at Charity and said, “Actually, do we have some

food we can give them?”

Charity looked at Sammy in shock. “You want to help them?”

“Yes,” said Sammy, “I feel bad for them. They haven’t eaten in days. Just give them what scraps we have.”

So, Charity threw some bread and fish into the water. The sharks gobbled them up and then turned towards the boat. “Thank you, Sammy, for your kindness. No one has ever done that before. We hope you can forgive us for wanting to eat you.”

“Of course,” said Sammy. “If you ever need more food, just come back to this spot and there will always be food waiting.” The sharks replied, “Thank you so much. How can we repay you?” Sammy smiled and said, “You already did. You didn’t eat me.” With that, they all swam away and lived happily ever after.

GRANDMA’S SURPRISE

By G. Navarre Donovan Isabella Morris Primary School Aged 10 Road Town, British Virgin Islands

It was five and a half weeks after school closed for the summer, and all the children in Carrot Bay were getting tired of their toys. Al and Valerie were two of the most bored children in all of Tortola. “This is the last straw that broke the camel's back,” barked Al, as he angrily threw a rock into the roaring ocean. “It truly is,” concurred Valerie, who always agreed with everything her older brother says.

Al was just about to go on a rampage when he had a brainstorm. “I know!” chirped Al. “We'll surprise everyone in the village!” “How?” questioned Valerie. “Val, haven't you ever felt sorry for all the needy people in Carrot Bay?” answered Al. “Now we'll be able to help them!” “Ok, let's do it!” chirped Valerie, all eager to get started.

That same afternoon, the two ran home, got out some construction paper and got a schedule together. “So, who's first?” asked Valerie. “Grandma!” retorted Al. “Oooh, I like her!” cooed Valerie. They were just going to call their mother when they heard the screech of brakes. “Yippee! Mommy's here!” “Okay, Val. You ask Mom if we can go to Grandma's house, while I get something for Grandma.”

After they got permission, and Al got something for Grandma, they were off. Their grandma lived three blocks away, but they knew a shortcut. When they finally reached, their grandma was sleeping, which is what they wanted. They knew that Grandma always kept her key under the Welcome mat on the porch. When they unlocked the door and sneaked in, they carefully placed the present on her nightstand and then sneaked out.

When Grandma woke up, she saw what they had brought – a flowerpot with flowers! She always wanted one of those! She called all of the neighborhood to figure out who it was but didn't find out. Only two people know who it was, and of course they are Al and Valerie. And as far as I know, they are still surprising people.

MY CINDERELLA STORY

By Mikage Che Naveah Dorcelus Ruby Labega Primary School Aged 9 Sint Maarten, Dutch West Indies

Rayna hasneverbeeninvitedto a party - notthatshewould have gone, since she had nothing to wear.

Every year, the Grade Six students attend a party at the Starlight Diner; and this year, her class would be the envy of the other classes. The girls in her class spoke of nothing but the party. However, Rayna’ s thoughts were on her mom, who lay sick at St. Ann’s Hospital. The cancer was back; and like before, it changed everything. Her dad worked two jobs to help with the medical bills, and she had so much more to do at home -cleaning, cooking, and washing the dishes.

Rayna secretly wished that she could go to the party, but dismissed that thought and continued her chores, with just enough time to complete her homework and take a quick shower. She grabbed the sandwiches she prepared for herself and her father and rushed down the hill, not even stopping when Mrs. Thomas inquired about Lizzy, her mom. Her dad was waiting for her at the bus stop so they could visit her mom before he went to his second job.

Rayna’s father could barely keep his eyes opened on the bus. He looked so weary. She snuggled up to him and held him very tightly as if to squeeze the exhaustion out of him. Without saying a word, he reassured her with a kiss on her forehead. She greeted the receptionist, who smiled at her warmly, and ran to her mother’s room. Her mom looked so small, but always gave Rayna such a big hug.

Nurse Chai came into the room and overheard Rayna’s mom telling her how sorry she was that she would not be going to her

class party.

Nurse Chai’s daughter, Sylvia, was in the same class as Rayna. Rayna thought the party was not a big deal, considering all her parents had to deal with. Nurse Chai informed them that visiting hours were over. Meanwhile back at home, Sylvia couldn’t decide whether she would wear the dress her mother bought her or the one that she received from her godmother. Nurse Chai arrived at her home, told her daughter about the conversation she overheard in the hospital room, and informed her of what the family was going through.

Sylvia’s mom reminded her of how fortunate she was; and much to her surprise, her daughter suggested giving one of the dresses to Rayna. It was Friday, the day of the party. Everyone but Rayna was talking about this grand event -- makeup, dresses, and other party-related things. Since it was Friday, Rayna would meet with Mrs. Thomas after visiting her mom, and they would go to church for prayer meeting as usual. As Rayna expected, Mrs. Thomas reminded her that if she believed and prayed, her mom would get better. Her parents thought the same. Rayna did not believe because she had prayed so many times before and her mom had not been healed. This she would never admit to anyone.

As Rayna arrived home from school, the phone rang. When she heard Nurse Chai’s voice, she assumed something was wrong and began crying. Nurse Chai assured her that nothing was wrong, but she and her dad had to be at the hospital right away. At the hospital, her mother and the nurse had this smile, so at least whatever it was, she thought, had to be good. “Mom what’s going on?” Rayna enquired. “Well, Nurse Chai has agreed to be your godmother,” her mom responded. She and her dad exchanged a confused look. The nurse took her by her hand and led her to

the nurses’ quarters, where she was transformed into Cinderella. She walked into her mother’s hospital room and her parents were in tears, though her father quickly wiped his tears away.

Sylvia’s mom drove them to the party; and though Rayna was afraid that something would go wrong, the night was magical! It’s been two weeks since that wonderful night. Rayna’s mom is showing signs of improvement, and Mrs. Thomas said it is God’s work. The doctors think it is the new drug, but it really doesn’t matter because in a few days her mom will be home. Thank you, God.Hatsoffto the doctors, and kudos to fairy godmother. Rayna has started a diary. Thedetails of that magical night are written in it. Who knows? Maybe one day she will tell you about her Cinderella Story.

A SOUP FOR TWO

By Zara Garofalo St. Ignatius Catholic School Aged 10 years Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Happy and healthy. We were together. She was cuddling me. We shared our secret smile. I wrapped my arms around her ... but then I woke up ... and she wasn't there. There she lay. She lay alone in her dark, gloomy room. The only light was from the blazing sun coming through the window. Chrissie clung onto her stuffed rabbit like it was the only thing she had left.

“Chrissie!” Aunt Angie called her into the kitchen. She had taken Chrissie in as her own when her parents had died. Aunt Angie is caring and sympathetic towards all living things.

“Good morning, sleepy head!” she laughed. “I'm making your favourite lunch today - coconut soup! However, last time I made this, we ran out of coconuts. Would you go get some from the beach?”

“Okay, I'll be back soon!” Chrissie called from the door, and she set off.

On the pebble path, toward the beach, Chrissie began to sing a Caribbean song to her parrot, Tiki. Flowers danced to the music. The wind whistled along. In the distance, the waves crashed among rocky beaches. Palm leaves reached out and brushed Chrissie's smooth skin. The trees enveloped her as she continued to walk.

At last, Chrissie arrived at the beach. She hurried to where all the coconut trees stood. Since Chrissie had done this many times before, she was extremely good at climbing. She shimmied up the tree trunks and grabbed six coconuts – which was more than enough for two people.

As Chrissie slid down the last tree, she heard someone shouting. Who could it be? Why were they shouting?

Chrissie ran hard. She was desperate to find the voice. All of a sudden, she stopped in her tracks. Someone or something was three feet ahead of her. Chrissie crept closer, quietly. When she got a better look, she could see that the shadowy figure was a lady. The woman turned around. “Hello there!” she said with a smile.

“Uh ... hi ... my name is Chrissie. Are you okay? I heard you shouting from over there.” Chrissie pointed to where the palm trees stood.

“I am fine. I just tripped over a rock. My name is Mary-Anne. Pleased to meet you!” Mary-Anne held out her hand. “What are you doing out here all alone?” Chrissie asked. The lady somehow looked older as her smile faded. “I live here.”

A homeless lady, Chrissie thought. She felt so bad for her, always having to search forfood orbuild a shelter at night. Chrissie winced at Tiki's claws in her shoulder, but continued to think. Ever since she moved in with her aunt, Chrissie had been miserable about losing her parents; meanwhile this lady didn't have a family at all. Chrissie broke the silence by saying, “It was very nice to meet you; however, I must get these coconuts to my aunt!” They waved goodbye, andChrissie hurriedback home through the treesand bushes. Shehad a plan. Her aunt was waiting for her when shegot there.Together, they made the soup (delicious as always) and Chrissie told Aunt Angie about her encounter.

“Well Chrissie, I think we should let Ms. Mary-Anne have a taste of this soup. After all, we haveplenty extra!”

So Chrissie and her aunt packed a basket with apples, water, and, of course, the coconut soup. Back to the beach Chrissie

went, but not noticing the nature around her, as she was excited to see Mary-Anne.

The woman was still there when Chrissie arrived. “Mary-Anne! Mary-Anne!” Chrissie shouted. With a startled look, the woman searched around.

“Chrissie? What are you doing back here? What is this?” she asked, accepting the basket.

“It's my aunt's coconut soup! We decided to share it with you! I felt really bad that you had nothing to eat. So, we can eat together!”

“Oh, that is so kind, dear. You've made my day!”

Together, they sat in the Caribbean sunlight, sipping the coconut soup. The waves tickled the sand as the clouds watched from above.

Chrissie had found a friend to share stories with, and the stories would last forever.

THE GIRL WHO MADE A DIFFERENCE

By Adrianna Garvey Naz Children’s Centre Aged 11 years Montego Bay, Jamaica

Once upon a time, there was a girl born in Jamaica named Stacy. Although she was not rich, she still dreamed of making her island a better place. She worked very hard for a 10-year-old. After school, she would be sure to do something kind for other people, like taking out the garbage for her elderly neighbors, picking up litter in the school yard, mowing the lawn for the one-legged uncle, or donating money she saves from her allowance to the people on the street.

For all her generosity, people she helped would reward her with smiles and gratitude. She loved to help and make others happy, even when her friends at school laughed at her.Sometimes, she would see the naughty boys riding bikes down the hills turning over the people's garbageand littering the streets as they passed by. Stacy would talk to them and tell them what to do and what not to do. Believe it or not, sometimes they listened and took the responsibility to clean up their mess. But sometimes they got so annoyed thatthey shouted, “Shut up!” and rode right past her.

Stacey didn't give up. She couldn't quit so easily. Another thing she enjoyed doing was to lighten the days of other people. In her neighborhood, most people are pretty grumpy. Her closest neighbor, Mr. Anderson, barely came out of his house. In fact, she never saw him smile until she visited him. Most times, Stacy would go over to his house and describe to him all the wonderful colors of the evening since he was blind and could not see. He would listen attentively, then share stories with little Stacy of the wonderful places he has seen in the past. Her favorite one was when he went to the Emancipation Park. He said it was

beautiful. There were pretty pink, purple, yellow, and red flowers. It was filled with peace and quiet only to hear the sweet sounds of chirping. The sky was beautiful and blue, not a cloud in sight. He would visit the park every day. That story Stacy enjoyed. From that moment on, you would see more and more smiles from Mr. Anderson. Thanks to Stacy, boringold Mr. Anderson turned into sunshine and rainbows. Because of Stacy's kindness and courage, everyone praised and thanked her for her kindness and helpfulness. She was the girl who made a difference.

DOMINICK

By Alex Glabach Gifft Hill School Aged 10 St. John, US Virgin Islands

It was a rainy day in St. John and a girl named Colleen and her friend Julia were walkinghome from school. They found a baby donkey lying in a patch of soft, green grass on the side of the road. Colleen thought he looked veryslim. Colleen and Julia called their parents.

"Mom, Dad, we need help! We found a baby donkey on the side of the road," cried Colleen. "We'll be right there! What street?"

"Seagrape Avenue," answered Colleen. Colleen's parents got there in a quick snapof their fingers. "Is he okay? Will he be fine?" The girls immediately started asking questions. We don't know yet," answered Colleen's dad. They walked over to the baby donkey.

"Why don't we name him Dominick," said Julia. "I absolutely love that name!" Colleen shouted.

Julia's mom is a paramedic. Julia and Colleen thought that she could come with an ambulance, or a big enough vehicle to fit Dominick.

"Why that's a great idea. Let me call her," said Colleen's mom. Suddenly they heard a loud siren approaching.

"Hi!" screamed the two girls to Julia's mom.

"I'm here to help! What can I do to help?" questioned Julia's mom. Colleen told her what was going on and how she could help to put Dominick in the ambulance and bring him to Canines, Cats and Critters on Centerline Road. They got to Canines, Cats, and Critters. Julia and Colleen walked into the cold building. She

saw a parrotand a very nice lady sitting at a desk. Julia started shouting, "EMERGENCY, EMERGENCY!" Julia's mom and another doctor rushed in with a loudbang from the doors. It was almost night-time, and they weresitting in the waiting room waiting to hear somethingback from the vet. Suddenly a vet came walking out of a room. "The baby donkey needs to stay here for a couple of days, but he's fine," the vet said. "Oh, thank goodness. Girls, let's go get some sleep. We will check on him in a couple of days," Colleen's mom said. "OK," replied Colleen. So they went homeand got some sleep.

Two days passed and they heard nothing about Dominick. Another day passed, still nothing. "OK, I'm worried sick! Let's just go to the vet's." said Colleen's mom.The girls got to Canines, Cats, and Critters where there was a lady wearing a green dress and it looked like shewas waiting forthem. "Hi! The donkey HAS RECOVERED! He is doing excellent! You can take him back out if you would like," exclaimed the kind lady.

"Yes, yes!," cried Colleen and Julia.

"I guess that's a yes," said Colleen's mom. Later that day, after feeding Dominick, Colleen, Julia, and Colleen's mom tried to find a group of donkeys. Luckily they found some. They took Dominick out of the van they were driving to see if theother donkeys recognized Dominick. They all walked up to him and cuddled him like family.

"I think that's his family," said Julia. "We better leave him with his family," said Colleen's mom. So they did.

A few days later, they celebrated alltheir hard work to help Dominick.They celebrated at Gibney Beach with goodfood like pates, johnny cakes and fried chicken. They danced to carnival music all day long! They still really miss Dominick. They think

about him every day! They learned that helping out and giving care that was needed is always good! It is great to give!!

RESCUE OF THE KIDDY GOAT

By Savir Gookul St. George’s School Aged 9 Road Town, British Virgin Islands

One good Sunday afternoon, my neighborsRhea, Pooja, Pedro, and I were playing in our parking lot. It is very spacious, and we usually have a lot of fun riding our bikes and scooters. Suddenly, we heard a noise and thought something fell down, so we ignored the sound. After a few minutes, we started to hear a goat bleating, so I went to check if everything was okay.

When I went down the hill, I saw our landlord's goat but I didn't see her kiddy. I looked carefully through the thorny bushes and I saw somethingmove. I thought it was a snake, but it started to bleat and I realized it was the kiddy. It was tangled between the bushes. I yelled for myfriends, and they came running. We carefully separated the thorny bushes from the kid. We finally got him loose, and when he ran out of the bushes, he stumbled and fell. Therewas a huge thorn in the hind leg. It was bleeding!

My friends and I ran to the kiddy. We carefully lifted him and took him to the landlord. We watched while he gently pulled the thorn out. Then hecleaned the wound and wrapped some bandage around it. I asked him if I could do anything else, but he thanked me and said no, that I had done enough, and he was very grateful. I ran and told my parents what had happened. Everyone called me a hero and I liked that!

So I started to do a lot of things for random people. Every time I play in the parking lot, I keep an eye on the goats. As well, I keep a pack of bandages in my pocket. I make sure people don't litter, and I stop arguments. I enjoy keeping an eye on people and saving them. I like to be a HERO for people and save the day!

LOOKING BACK AT HURRICANE IRMA

By Amoya Grant Ruby Labega School Aged 9 Sint Maarten, Dutch West Indies

HurricaneIrmahitSt.MaartenonSeptember6, 2017. Iwas excitedatfirst,butwhenthemeteorologistannouncedthat Irmawillmakelandfallasacategory5, Ibecamefearful. A day beforethehurricanehitus, mymotherand I wentto Le Grande MarcheSupermarketandboughtsomenon-perishable food items.Isuggestedto Momthatsheshouldbuysomeextra tins of foodto sharewith myfriend, Isabella, who livesinour communityanddidnothavemuch. Isabellaliveswithher motherwhoworksthreedaysof theweek asababysitter.

On our way home, we dropped off Isabella’s food. When we reached home, I helped my mother to fill up some containers with water. Shortly after that, the water went off. I remember that Isabella’s roof had a leak and all the doors were badly damaged, so I asked my Mom if Isabella and her mother could stay with us during the storm. My mother agreed. Isabella’s mother was grateful for the offer. They came with a few pieces of clothing. I was happy to see my friend. Oureyesweregluedto the WeatherChannel.Wetalked about thedamagethata Category5hurricanecan cause.Welearntin Science classthatbuildingscanbe completelydestroyedbya Category5hurricane.We becamefearfulandwehuddled togetherinoneroom.

From midnight onwards, I remember hearing heavy rain like bullets on the roof and howling, frightening winds. I felt terrified. I had no idea when I fell asleep. Whenwewokeup,weboltedoutsideandsawuprooted,leafless trees, crumbledsheetsof zinc, badlydentedvehicles,and damagedroofs. Mostof theroadswereblocked,preventing

vehiclesfrom passingfreely. The roof of Isabella’shouseflew offandallthethingsinsideweredestroyed. Isabella andher motherstayedwith usforsixmonths andwelivedasafamily. Wesharedourfoodandclothingwith them. Iwassadthat Isabella’s housewasdestroyed,but Iwashappy thatwewere together.Iwillalwayscherishourfriendship. Although I was able to be there for my friend throughout the terrible moment of the storm, I would never like to experience such a disaster again.

RETURNED

By Alec Harding George Town Primary School Aged 10 Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

There once lived a boy named Chang. He lived in a small mountain village in China. He and his family lived in isolation for ten years. Every night he prayed that he could have a true friend, someone who would be there in a time of need.

One night while he was sleeping, someone set fire to the entire village. Luckily, he made itout of hishouse in time. The whole village was in grief.

From that moment, the small tribe hiked to find a new settlement, barely stopping for a break. Chang whispered to himself silently, “This is my chance to meet a true friend.”

At one point, the villagers wanted to give up their journey, but the elders of the village managed to persuade them into persevering. About a half mile later, they neared a city. Chang was the first to drop his things and run off towards it.

For a boy who has been living in isolation for ten years, seeing a city that looked somewhat enticing is a new wonder to him. His mother called off to Chang, but he was too far away to hear what she said.

As Chang wandered around the city in hopes of finding a good place to relax, a silhouette of a figure sprinted passed him. It ran so fast Chang really didn’t get to see what it was, so he decided to follow it. He ran through the busy streets of China in hope of finding a true friend.

The creature ran into an alley. It was now cornered. It had nowhere to go. The boy neared the stray animal and realized it was hurt. He decided to carry the dog back to his tribe and nurse him back to health. The first thing the boy did before

heading back home was name the creature. He decided to call it Wang.

Chang carried Wang back to the village. Luckily for him, the tribe was still in the same location it was before. His mother was sitting in her tent. Chang then told her about Wang and his injury. His mother was a very understanding woman and told him to go to bed because he had a long day.

After a period of threefull weeks of caringfor Wang, the dog was healed. By that time, the villagehad decided it was time to start moving again. On the journey to find a new home, they had to trudge up a mountain.

On the trip up, tiny pebbles started to pelt them. The villagers didn’t care, and continued to struggle on. A few feet later, a huge landslide occurred. It buried all of the villagers, including Chang.

Wang the amazing animal was the only one who managed to escape. He ran back looking for his friend in the pile of rubble. Wang heard a tiny cry for help. He rushed towards it, finding his friend covered in dust from head to toe. The mysterious dog quickly rushed to help.

The champion nudged the rocks away one by one, until finally Chang was free.The duo rushed to rescue the other villagers. In the end, the villagers were saved, and found a resting place they called home, on top of the mountain.

Chang and Wang lived together side by side for many years. Everything was back to normal. He stopped praying for a true friend because his true friend was a dog who risked his life for him.

Wang showed true courage and friendship. That is what being a true friend is all about - being there when you are needed the most, even in times of crisis.

Moral: Care for others even though they might not be able to care for you.

THE PEBBLE

By Nathaniel Harlowe Cayman Prep & High School Aged 9 Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

The storm was getting stronger. CRASH! Thunder roared!

It looked like Lightning ripped the sky in half! Thehuge storm was getting stronger and louder as the night went on! The sound rang through my head. I ran through the darkened corridor rushing to my room. I hopped into bed and tried to get to sleep. It was hard, because the thunderous claps were still ringing in my ears, but I managed eventually.

I woke up in my bedroom as usual. My room is a cosy place. It makes me feel safe. I clambered out of bed to look out of the window. The sun was shining bright over the lawn in the garden below. Steam was rising rapidly as the rainfall began to evaporate. This Friday was special. We had arranged to go to Granny's house today. My sister, Lizzy, shouted “Threehours until it's time to go to Granny's!” We were so excited because Granny has a gorgeous, fluffy dog,and we hadn't seen her for what felt like years!

I went for a quick walk along the deserted beach to amuse myself foran hour. There was so much seaweed, it looked like the whole of Australia hadbeen washed up on our tiny island. The waves must havebeen lashing at the shoreline. Suddenly, I tripped! I looked to see what I had stumbled on and saw a sparkling, tawny brown rock in the shape of a heart with the fossil of an anemone right in the centre! "Wow, that's special! I've never seen anything like it before." I thought, "I could

give that to Granny. She's special; she deserves it." I scooped it up and slipped it into my pocket. I glanced at my watch and realised I needed to run home!

Finally, after what felt like hours, my sister called out, “Time to go to Granny's!” I ran up the slippery steps, still wet from the storm, as quickly as a mouse running away from a hawk! We scrambled into our glistening red car. I held the pebble closely to me. "I so hope Granny likes my special pebble," I thought to myself.

We could see Granny waiting for us right outside herhouse. I grabbed the pebble, rushed out of the car,and gave her a HUGE hug. “Come inside, it's starting to rain again,” she said. Granny had prepared pound cake and delicious coconut and mango cookies, made from fruit picked fresh that morning! “It's stopped raining. Should we go for a walk?" Granny asked, after a while. “We could go past thePark on Bel AirDrive and down to Red Bay Beach.” “Yeah, sure!” I replied.

When we were half way down the118 steps, I remembered to give Granny the special pebble.“Granny, this is for you!” I said as I handed her the pebble.She smiled happily.

We went snorkelling in the sparkling turquoise ocean. SPLASH! Granny dived down to the bottom of the ocean and came up with a silver pebble in the palm of her hand. After a while ,we swam up to shore and she handed it to me. I felt overjoyed and so lucky!

When we arrived home, Granny went into her huge cupboard and took out an old dusty box. I closely observed the container. It was carefully decorated with pictures about 60 years old. Granny opened the memory box. Inside there were old pictures, letters, and artifacts. We sat looking and reading each

individual piece for about two hours. It was very interesting because Granny tells the best stories!

Eventually, she picked up a plastic bag containing special rocks, shells, and fossils. She picked up the special pebble I had given her and she put it in her bag. She put the bag in thebox, and put it back in the cupboard, togetherwith all her other special memories.

"I feel really special that you choseto give me your pebble," said Granny. "I feel special to have such a special Granny," I replied.

THE LONELY LIZARD

By Ananda Hernandez Gifft Hill School Aged 11 St. John US Virgin Islands

Once upon a time, there lived a cranky lizard with no friends. That lonely old lizard sat in his log all day eating bugs and being lazy. Every time a forest creature would come around, he would snap, "Get off of my property, youfilthy woodland creaturesl"

One day he ran out of food. "Ah man," he sighed, "I'm going to go scour the forest for some ladybugs; they're the best!" he thought to himself. So, he went out deep into the forest to scout forthe biggest ladybug he could find. All of a sudden, he stumbled across a HUGE rock. "HELP!" someone cried.

“What in the world was that?" he wondered aloud. The lizard climbed over the rock; and to his surprise, there was a pixie caught in some branches. "Whoa !" He exclaimed.

"Oh, please help me I'm trapped in these branches, and I can't get out," the pixie begged.

"Why should I help you?" The lizard asked. "Why should I help anyone? Everyone is too happy and cheery," he thought to himself.

"PLEASE !" the pixie cried. “Oh, all right," he grumbled. So, the lizard set off to work untangling the branches. "I'm sooooo going to regret this," he thought. After the pixie was untangled, she thanked the lizard for his kindness. "Can you do me anotherfavor?" the pixie askednicely.

"NO!" The lizard replied angrily.

"Oh, please! Don't you see me? I'm a disaster! My wings are missing. I can't fly. If I can't fly, I'll die! Plus, if you do it, I'll give you a wish," the pixiebribed.

“UGH, fine but only for the wish," the lizard grumbled.

“Great, thanks. A goblin stole my wings, and to find the goblin you must go to the swamps of the ghouls and search for the big oak tree right in the middle of the swamp," she ordered.

“A what?!" the lizard replied, confused.

“Ugh, just find the goblin." The pixie sighed.

“0k," the lizard mumbled. He set off right away to the swamp of the ghouls.

“Hmmmm, what should I wish for? Maybe a castle fit for a king, or maybe a ton of gold and jewels. With my wish I could become king of the forest!" he said greedily. Soon he stumbled across the swamp of the ghouls and started to look for a big oak tree.

“UGH. This part of the forest is disgusting," he said as he stumbled into a puddle of mud.

“Whoa!" he muttered as he stepped onto the roots of a huge oak tree. The lizard climbed and climbed, and soon reached a little entrance that maybe a rabbit could fit through.

“ARGH!" bellowed something inside the tree. “Stupid animals, always telling me false stories!"

“Hello?" the lizard asked.

“What, huh, who's there?" the goblin grumbled.

“lt's a lizard," the lizard replied.

“Come inside. I want to get a better look at you," the goblin ordered. So the lizard went in with butterflies in his stomach and a bad feeling.

“Hello," the lizard said formally.

“Why are you here?" the goblin asked suspiciously.

“Oh, because I heard you were the meanest most dangerous goblin ever to live. I also heard you stole pixie's wings. Wow, can I see them?” the lizard asked slyly.

"Oh, um sure!" the goblin said, astonished that someone actually appreciated his meanness. The goblin came back out with the pixie wings in his hands.

"Wow!" the lizard gasped. "Can I hold them?"

"Sure. I'm going to make some tea. Then we can talk more about how great I am," the goblin said as he walked toward the kitchen.

While the goblin was gone, the lizard sneaked away with the pixie wings and brought them back to the pixie. By the time the pixie congratulated him, he was so proud of himself that he forgot about the wish.

"For your good deed, you get one wish," said the pixie. He thought for a moment, and then decided on something. "I wish for all the forest animals to be my friend!" the lizard said happily.

So, the lizard lived happily ever after, and all the forest animals were his friends.

MY BUTTERFLY, BUTTERFLY

By Tijauni Hinds Shortwood Primary School Aged 9 Manor Park, Jamaica

Butterfly, butterfly fly to the tree.Butterfly, butterfly come back to me.Butterfly, butterfly to the door; butterfly, butterfly sit on the floor. Butterfly, butterfly up up up; butterfly, butterflydowndowndown.Butterfly, butterflyinin in; butterfly, butterfly freefreefree!

A butterfly is a pretty insect, and it flies around without any harm to uschildren. I lovethebutterflybecauseitisso kind and peaceful, and it is interesting to watch it morph from a caterpillar to a beautiful piece of nature. I like butterflies because they taught mehow to be good to other children and bullies.

One day in July at school summer camp, our class members and teacherswentonanoutingto theHopeZoo inKingston. Onthe bus, the class bully – Billy - began to tease some students and they started to cry. My favourite teacher, Mrs. Young, told Billy to stop hurting others and to go and sit down in his seat. He obeyed Mrs. Young, but he still kept saying unkind words to myfriends. I toldmyfriendsto stopcryingbecauseBilly would continue to say mean things to them. But he never stopped teasing them. ThenwereachedHopeZoo,andstartedto lookatthe animals. A group of us, including Billy, went to the butterfly house with Mrs. Young. He tried to swat someof the butterflies even when he was told not to do that. Billy did not listen to Mrs. Young until a large group of butterflies started flying around him. He started to be afraid when different types of butterflies were buzzing around his head

and he began to cry.

The rest of us were playing with thebutterflies when we heard him crying and shouting, “Help! Help!” We ran over to see what was wrong and to help him. I told him to not worry as the butterflieswereplayingwithhim. Myclassmatesalso toldhim that thebutterflies wereharmless. We were with him whena pretty Monarch butterfly perched on my shoulder and Billy started screaming. I told Billy to not be afraidof butterflies as they arefriendly insects. Another friend sat with Billy and calmed him down.

Mrs. Young also comforted Billy and talked to him about how kind we were to him when he was introuble with the butterflies. Shetoldhim thatheshouldthink aboutbeing kind to others. Billy looked up at us and got up from wherehe was sitting. He came over and said, “I am sorry and thanks for helping me when the butterflies surrounded my head.” Then suddenly, he hugged us, and told us he would behave himself from now on.

On the way back to camp, all of us were very happy, laughing at Billy‛sjokes, sharingcookies, snacks,water,andjuiceswith each other. After that day, Billy turned into a friend to all of us in the class, and started to play with butterflies when we would see them at school. Also, Mrs. Young never had to put him in the naughty corner ever again. All of us felt good, and Billy became a good pal to all of us.That is why I lovemy Butterfly!

Butterfly, butterfly fly to the tree, Butterfly, butterfly come back to me. Butterfly, butterfly to the door; Butterfly, butterfly sit on the floor. Butterfly, butterfly upupup; Butterfly,butterflydowndowndown. Butterfly,butterflyinin in; Butterfly, butterfly free free free!

NOT ALONE

By Marlie Hughes

First

Impressions Primary School

Aged 10 Tortola, British Virgin Islands

It was cool and windy day. Three girls named Becky, Zariana, and Vicky were walkingon their way to school. The girls soon passed Mrs. Epperson's house, an old woman who lived in town. “Goodmorning Mrs. Epperson,” Vicky greeted Mrs. Epperson proudly. As the girls passed her house, they began to mutter amongst themselves. “Don't you guys notice how lonely Mrs. Epperson is?” Zariana said, shivering. “Yeah, she never gets visits from anybody,” Becky pointed out. “Maybe we should visit her one day,” Vicky said. “Yeah,” Becky and Zariana said in unison.

When walking home from school the next day, Becky said, “Okay guys, I've made up my mind. We'll visit Mrs. Epperson on Sunday and spend some time with her so she wouldn't be that lonely.” The girls agreed they would visit Mrs. Epperson on Sunday to see what was going on. Sunday came quickly, and the girls hustled to Mrs. Epperson's house. Unfortunately, she wasn't there, but the door was mysteriously open. The girls walked inside to see the dreaded life Mrs. Epperson was living with dishes not washed, clothes all over the place, objects all around the house. “Okay, I'm so glad we came here. Mrs. Epperson needs a lot of help,” Zariana pointed out. “We should come here tomorrow afternoon and help her clean up,” Vicky suggested. “I think every afternoon would be better. This could take a while,” Becky said.

After school the next day, the girls hurried to Mrs. Epperson's house to start working. Mrs. Epperson was upstairs sleeping, so the coast was clear. The girls started on the first task - the clothes. “Okay, first we need to clear out the clothes to see

where the dresser is,” Becky suggested. The girls folded the clothes and found that the dresserwas upstairs. The girls finished the task in no time. They also washed the dishes until they were as shiny as a newly polished pearl. The next afternoon, they cleaned other rooms and put objects in their rightful places. Soon the house was spotless. “Well, I think we're finished here,” Zariana added. “I don't even know if we're in the same house!” said Becky. The girls left the house and walked home.

The next morning Mrs. Epperson was speechless; her house was shining! Then she noticed Becky, Vicky, and Zariana outside on their way to school. “You three girls, did you do this?” Mrs. Epperson asked in a soft voice. Thegirls nodded. “Why?” “Well, we saw you were in need and you couldn't help yourself, so we did.” Becky explained. “Well, thank you,” Mrs.Epperson said softly.

The girls grinned from ear to earand felt happy that they'd helped Mrs. Epperson. When other students from their school heard whatZariana, Becky, and Vicky did for Mrs. Epperson, it inspired them to help others who are less fortunate than they are.

THE RACE

By Leena Hussein Cayman Prep and High School Aged 10 Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

It was a warm summer’s day, and the yearly race was being held. Everyone looked forward to the race. It is a time when the weather was pleasant and everyone could have a fun workout.

There weretwo people who took therace way too seriously: their names were Pete and Ronald - Ron for short. Pete was an uptight sore loser, full of bad thingsto say about people, but Ron was a kind, friendly person. His one flaw was that hehad to win everything. Both of them had one thing in common - that they were both competitive.

Pete and Ron had met before because of the previous races. They weren’t very fond of each other; in fact, they hated each other.

Pete was extremely rude to Ron when they first met, saying things that a bully in school would say. But that wasn’t the worst thing Pete had done to Ron. Ron did try to be nice and pleasant to Pete, but all Ron got from that was a fistful of mean comments. So, after a while, Ron gave up trying to be nice to Pete.

Sadly, Ron had never won before. He had tried the race five times, but only twice did he come close to winning.

Pete had done the race more than eight times, and won all of them. He was the champion when it came to racing. No one in town could beat him.

Ron got sick of losing, and was determined to win next time, so he started practicing and training. Over the time, Ron got really good. He was going to be some tough competition.

The day of the race was getting closer, and Pete could not care less. He got a little too full of himself. He couldn’t be bothered to practice, and Pete thought he would always win.

Ron had bumped into Pete accidentally when he was shopping, and could not help but to notice how out of shape Pete had become since the last race. Ron also noticed all the unhealthy junk food in Pete’s trolley.

Finally, it was the day of the race, and everyone was super excited, especially the participants. The whistle blew, and it was time to start running.

At the beginning, Ron waskind of slow, but soon he gained speed and was way ahead of everyone but Pete, who wasclose behind. Ron was shocked that he could have gone so fast after all that junk food hebrought.

Ron managed to keep in the lead, but just five steps away from the finish line he tripped, and a log fell on his foot. He was stuck. Ron tried and tried to get his foot out, but it was too hard.

After a few minutes, Pete came by. Ron begged for help to get out. Pete had a hard decision - either to help Ron or win the race and keep his streak going. Pete thought maybe if he helped, he would finally have a friend. Pete made his decision and helped Ron. Ron was so happy that he could actually have a chance to win the race and thanked Pete. From then on, Pete started to be nice. Pete lost that race, but it was worth it because he made a friend.

KINDNESS MATTERS

By Brandaen Illis Ruby Labega School Aged 8 Saint Martin, French West Indies

This story is dedicated to my great grandmother Dorothee Cyrille Laurence-Halley affectionately known by all as Ms. Tee Tee. She gave of herself and never expected anything in return.

Longago inthetinyfishingvillageofGrandCase, St.Martin, thereliveda veryspecialladywho everyoneknewasMs.Tee Tee.SheandherhusbandNello werefromhumblebeginnings andknewhowhardlifecouldbe.Ms.TeeTeewasashopowner sellinggroceries,andherhusbandNello wasafarmerwho raised goats,sheep,chickens,andmilk cows.

Everymorningat4:00 a.m., Ms. TeeTeeandNello would begin theirdaywithbaking freshbreadandmilkingthe cows.The scentof Ms.Tee Tee‛s fresh breadwould wakeupthevillageas everyonelovedherdelicious bread.Butmanyvillagersdid not alwayshavemoneyto buyherbreadto eat,andMs.TeeTee knewthisalltoo well.

One day, a littleboynamedJohnny keptwalkingupanddownin front of Ms. Tee Tee‛s shop. “Johnny boy,” said Ms. Tee Tee, “come here!” Johnny slowly walked into the shop towards Ms. Tee Tee with his head hanging low. As she watched him come in, Ms. Tee Tee could not help but to notice that Johnny was wearing dirty clothes and had no shoes on his feet.

Ms. Tee Teeasked, “Johnny boy, where is yourmother?” But Johnnydidnotanswer.WipingJohnny‛s face, Ms. TeeTeeasked him abouthismotheragainand thistime,Johnnybeganto cry. “What‛s thematter,Johnnyboy?Whyareyoucrying?”

Johnny replied,“I am hungryand wehave nothing to eatat home.” Ms.TeeTeeimmediatelytook somefresh bakedbread

and some whipped butter and gave it to Johnny to eat. Johnny ate the breadquickly,and by the timehe was finished, Ms. Tee Teehandedhim acupofbush tea.

After themeal,Johnnywasfeeling better, andMs.TeeTee handedhim a handfulof peardropswhich madeJohnny smile from earto ear.ThenJohnnytold Ms.TeeTeethathismother hadno moneyandtheyhadnofoodathome.ThismadeMs.Tee TeeandNello sad.

Theypackedabasketwithfreshbread, freshmilk,sugar, butter, cornedbeef, salt beef, saltfish andcornmealandtold Johnny to takethebasketstraightto hismother. Johnnyquicklyjumpedto hisfeetandtook thebasketfrom Ms.TeeTeeandranout thedoorwith thebasketonhishead. Nello shouted,“Don‛trun!You will spill themilk!” ButJohnny waslonggoneupthesandyroad.

A few days later, Johnny‛smother passedbyMs.Tee Tee‛s shop to thank herfor herkindness and generosity. Ms.Tee Tee shook herhead andsaid, “No needfor thanks; I did itout of the kindnessof myheart.” Ms.Tee Tee and Johnny‛smother had along chat.

Ms.TeeTeeexplainedto herthattheywerenotalways fortunatetohaveinabundanceasNello camefrom averypoor singlemotherwithfivechildren.Heknewalltoo wellwhatit feltliketo havenothingto eat.Buthetooreceivedanactof kindnesswhenhisfamilywasinneed,andknewthedifference it made.Andwith that,Nello promisedhimself toalwayshelp thoseinneed.

As Johnny‛s mother was leaving, she promised to repay Ms. Tee Tee for hergroceries that she had sentwith Johnny. Ms. Tee Tee said, “The only repayment I ask of you is that you pass on the kindness to someone else in need.” Johnny‛s mothershook her head and promised as she left with tears in her eyes.

Over theyears, Ms.TeeTeeandNello touchedsomanylives with kindnessastheydidfor Johnnyandhismotherthattill today, theoldpeopleof GrandCase, especiallyJohnny, stilltalk about theirkindness.

In 1974, Ms. Tee Tee passed away suddenly. It was one of the saddest days in Grand Case. Many villagers came to the shop to see if it was true. There was no fresh bread baking and Nello was sad. The entire village of Grand Case and beyond came to mourn and bid farewell to the kindest lady of the village. Her kindness still flows in the village of Grand Case.

TRY TO CHANGE

By Tyler Ingram Liceo Montessori de Jamaica Aged 9 Montego Bay, Jamaica

In the town of Redtown, which wasnear Ocho Rios in Jamaica, there was a little house wherea family of six people lived. From the house, they saw thebeautiful blue of the Caribbean Sea. Beside the house was a magnificentbreadfruit tree whose branches covered part of the house,and there were also mango trees close to the house. In the little vegetable garden,there were carrots, corn, and tomatoes. Father was a farmer and Mother worked in a shop. Roy and Ty were brothers in the family and they were best friends.

One day Roy and Ty left hometo go to the football field. They saw the bully of the school, whose name was Bobby, coming towards them. He would always hurt people by calling them names and pushing them. He took their ball away, and said, ”You are two foolish little boys.” They became angry and were sweating with fear,and then they started to cry.

Bobby's big sister saw what was happening and ran home and told their mother.Shecameright away and shouted at Bobby, ”Why you doing that to these two little boys, Bobby? I am angry with you! You must learn to treat people better than that.”

She made him give back the ball. Hefelt bad and said, “I'm so sorry, Roy and Ty, and I'll never do that again. But I don't know how to change.” “Try to be kind to everyone. Try to do good things for people. Don't hurt their feelings again,” said his mother.

Roy and Ty decided to help Bobby and so they asked him if he wanted to play with them. He was so surprised that they

wanted to play with him. “YESSSS!!!” he shouted. He was so happy.

Then they all played football together and laughed together as they told each other jokes. They had so much fun that they decided to play again the next day and the next. Roy and Ty found out that Bobby was feeling sad and left out and lonely. That made him angry especially when he saw other children playing.

So, a little kindness and friendship changed his anger into feelings of happiness and unity.

NECTAR NEEDED

By Elise lsenbek Gifft Hill School Aged 9 St. John, US Virgin Islands

Nestled in the woods near St. John's only baobab tree lived a charm of hummingbirds. The charm's members were adults, juveniles, babies, and one wise, elderly hummingbird. They had lived in that spot for generations. "Here, you can have my last sip of nectar. You look hungrier than me," said the elderly hummingbird to a young female hummingbird.

"No, I'm hungrier," whined a young male hummingbird.

"You two can split the last sip. I'm sure you're equally hungry.

And no more fighting," said the elderly hummingbird sternly. The charm of hummingbirds that lived near the baobab tree was in need of nectar because it hadnot rained in weeks. No flowers were blooming. It was aridand scorching hot. Empty stomachs had made thecharm's hummingbirds cranky, and fighting had broken out.

Later that afternoon, the hummingbirds were resting on a branch exposed to the sunlight, trying to conserve energy. A small iguana crawled onto a nearby branch and offered to the charm, "You all look very hungry. You're welcome to share my berries."

"Thank you for the offer," responded an adult hummingbird, "but we can't get nectar from berries."

"Oh, I'm sorry," replied the iguana, and he scooted away. "I wish this horrible drought was over," whimpered a baby hummingbird.

"I think we all wish that," said an older female wistfully. "None of us wants to leave the baobab tree for flowers."

About an hour later, a rainbow-colored parrot flew onto a branch facing them.

"Hello," she cawed. "If you would like, I'd be willing to share some of my cashews with all of you."

"We appreciate your offer," said the young female hummingbird, "but we can't get nectar from nuts, only flowers."

"Oh," said the parrot. "Well, I must go now, but I'll come back and tell you if I see any flowers nearby."

"Thank you," called the charm as the parrot flew away. A few minutes later, one of the young hummingbirds called out, "Look,

over there! See a thick tangle of leaves covering that long branch? We can fly there and rest in the shade."

Soon all the hummingbirds wereresting on the shaded branch. The shade wasa welcomedbreak from sitting in the scorching sun for hours.Everyone was relieved; but then the wise, elderly hummingbird called out, "I know weare thankful for the shade, but we all still need food."

All the hummingbirds were sitting silently on the branch, daydreaming of beautiful, colorful, nectar-filled flowers, when an adult male hummingbird abruptly called out, "We need nectar. I have decided thatI will go scout the land for flowers." With that, he started his search forflowers.

"Wait," hollered the elderly hummingbird. "Won't you need assistance? Aren't you too tired?" But the scout was already out of sight and didn't hear.

The elderly hummingbird noticed that the charm was looking worried about the scout. She said to the charm, "There's no need to worry, everyone. I know he's strong and he's trying to help us. He'll be fine."

About an hour later, the scout returned, grinning widely.

"What? What did you find?" cried the hummingbirds. "Flowers?" "No. Something much better. Something that will come to us," he proclaimed. "Really?" the charm cried. "Yes," he replied. "Rain."

The charm huddled together safely under the tangle of leaves on the branch. Dark clouds rolled in. Rain began to fall harder and harder by theminute, soaking the ground. The rain fell overnight, and the charm eventually fell asleep to the soothing sounds of raindrops. After sitting on the branch securely under the leaves all night, the hummingbirds finally opened their eyes and lifted their heads to see treeswith green leaves, bushes with emerald-colored leaves, and finally they saw the best

flowers. Flowers of every color, shape, and size grew high on trees, low on bushes, and up along vines. The charm of hummingbirds cried out with joy as they rushed to the flowers. The elderly hummingbird exclaimed, "It's almost as if the rain came to us because it knew we needed it. Now we won't have to move."

There were plenty of flowers for everyone, and it seemed as if they were going to last a long time. Everyone thanked and praised the brave scout for helping every hummingbird in the charm calm down. The flowers stayed in bloom for months, and there was peace within the charm for a very long time.

LOST AND FOUND

By Shanniqua Jackson New Providence Primary School Aged 10 Liguanea Plains, Jamaica

ItwasSaturday,sotherewasnoschoolforten-year-old Destiny and herdad,Mr. Jackson,wouldnot begoingtowork. Hedecided that theybothneededabreakandso,during breakfast,hetoldher that theywouldbegoingtothebeach fortheday.Destinywasso excited, becausesheenjoyed splashingaroundinthecoolwaterand building sandcastles.

Little did she know that the day would also offer her some new experiences.

When they got to the beach, Destiny was already wearing her bathing suit, so she ran into the warm Caribbean Sea under the watchful eyes of her dad. She splashed around for almost an hour, pretending she was a dolphin, until she decided it was time to make a sandcastle.

Destiny’s beach pail hada little shovel that she usedto lift the sand intoplasticcupssotheycouldformthecastle,butwhile shewas doingsosheheardthesoundofachildsobbing.She lookedupfrom whereshewas sittingonthesand,andsawa littleboy,aboutfour yearsold,cryingandsaying,“Iwantmy mommy!”

Shegotupandputherarmsaroundhim andaskedhimwhatwas the matter. Hesaid,“I can’t findmyparents. Canyou helpme findmy mommy?”Destinytoldhimthatshewouldhelphimto findhis parents. Shetookthelittleboytoherfatherandtold himwhathappened. Destiny’sdadledthembothto thelifeguard,seatedhighonhis lookout,andaskedhimtoannouncethattherewasalittleboy looking forhisparents.Thelifeguardaskedthelittleboywhat washisname andheanswered,“MynameisRicky.”The lifeguardthentookuphis megaphoneandannounced,“Thereis alittleboyherebythenameof Rickywhoislookingforhis parents.”

Just as the lifeguard was about to make the announcement for the third time, a couple rushed from across the beach and started hugging little Ricky – they were his parents. They explained that the

mother thought Ricky was with the father who went to buy ice cream, while the father thought Ricky was with his mother who was sunbathing. They thanked Destiny for her kindness and offered to reward her for her help.

Ricky’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas, told Destiny that they owned a toy store and invited her to come at any time to choose a toy as their special gift to her. They thanked her and her dad and said that they looked forward to seeing them very soon.

AfterRicky andhisparentsleft,Destinyturnedto herdad andsaid, “Itpays to bekind, Daddy.”Mr. Jacksonheldherhand andsaidto her,“But evenwithout getting agift, wouldn’t you stillbehappyjust helpingRickyfindhisparents?”

“Yes,Daddy,”Destinyanswered.

“Well, that means that kindness is its own reward. Do you know what I mean by that?” Her dad asked.

Destinythoughtawhileandsaid,“Yes,Daddy.ItmeansthatI am happy tobe kind,evenifI getnothingelseinreturn.”

Mr.Jacksonsmiledat her andsaid,“Yes,myprecious.I seethatyou understand.”

LIGHTING UP SOMEONE’S LIFE

By Lianna Jones Kensington Primary School Aged 11 St. Catherine, Jamaica

Matthew and Mark Wilson are two brothers who live in Portmore. Their family is not wealthy, but they have loving parents who work hard to provide a comfortable home for them. For the past few months, the boys realised that their friend, Johnathon, was no longer participating in class discussions and activities. They also noticed that Johnathon’s uniform was untidy, his shoes were dirty, and he had an unpleasant odor. He was, therefore, a target for ridicule by other children because of his appearance.

One day, the brothers decided to ask him what was wrong. He was not very open at first, but they decided that they would be friendly to him until he decided to speak about his problem. Johnathon finally told them that his mother had died and that he was living with his older sister who did not pay him much attention. The boys were shocked at the unfortunate news. They tried to make him feel better by offering him their sympathy. Their minds could not focus on anything else that day after hearing of their friend’s plight. That evening, they told their parents about the situation and asked their advice. Imagine how happy they were when their parents told them that they were willing to assist their friend!

The boys then packed some of theirclothes and toys in a bag for Johnathon. After getting theirparents’ permission, they decided to speak to their teacher, Miss James, about the situation. The following day, the boys’ mother visited the teacher, and they contacted Johnathon’s sister. They learned that she was quite young, only nineteen years old. She worked in

a fast-food restaurant and had to work late at nightsfor very little money.

Later the boys’ parents told them that they had decided to allow Johnathon to come to stay with them, as his sister was unable to care for him properly. They had a spare room so they could more than accommodate him. They were shocked but happy at the news. A few days later, they all went to Johnathon’s house to collect his things. When they arrived home, the boys excitedly took Johnathon to see his room. His eyes opened wide when he saw the comfortable room decorated with his favorite superheroes. The boys had also made a poster that read “Welcome Home Johnathon” and placed it on his pillow. Tears came to his eyes when he saw it.

Gradually Johnathon’s behavior began to change, as he started to attend school early, in clean fresh clothes, and now had parents to assist him with his homework and projects. His grades began to improve, and he started participating in class again. Eventually the bullying stopped. All this happened because Matthew and Mark were willing to show Johnathan kindness. After the Wilson boys realized the difference they had made in Johnathon’s life, they decided to regularly donate some of their things to charity. In fact, this became a practice of all three boys. At school, others began to respect and look up to them because of their kind deeds. Many children like the Wilson boys live in Jamaica and even in the wider Caribbean. They may not have some of the privileges that children in wealthy, developed countries enjoy, but they can still influence their country and the world by showing kindness and respect to others.

There are also many children like Johnathon in our schools and communities who do not have anyone to care for them. Some may come to school looking untidy. Some do not have enough school books or lunch money. Many do not have supportive

parents to assist them with their homework, and as such, they get poor grades. This makes them feel sad, and leads to low self-esteem.

Some may not even attend school at all, but are at our stoplights, begging or wiping windscreens. We should not shun them or bully them because of their differences. We may not be able to take someone into our home like the Wilsons, but we can make the world a better place and light up someone’s life by doing simple deeds of kindness.

What can you do to light up someone’s life today?

CRASHED IN THE CARIBBEAN

By Zoe Jordan Lyford Cay International School Aged 9 Nassau, Bahamas

“I’m tired!” theCanada Goose huffed. He had been flying for days all the way from British Columbia trying to get to Mexico. Without looking, he banged his leftwing into an old palm tree. “Ow!” hecried out. He crash-landed near a flock of flamingos and bumped into one eating shrimp.

“Oops! Be careful! Welcome, I am Eliana. What is your name?”

“I’m Gus! Whereare we?” Gus asked, holding his injured wing. “We’re on Paradise Island, which is in the Caribbean. Why are you here?” Eliana asked.

“Well, I was migratingfrom Canada because of the cold weather; but on the way here, my left wing hit a tree”, he explained.

“Oh no! Should I put some medicine on it for you?” Eliana asked. “Thanks!” Gus replied.

Eliana grabbed an aloe vera leaf with herbeak. She opened it up and spread it across Gus’s wing. “In the Caribbean we use aloe vera for everything! We use itfor cuts, burns, and it even improves your digestive system. We’re very proud to grow aloe vera herein the Caribbean!” Eliana explained.

Gus was very curious, and his head was swimming with questions: "What was Caribbean history? Whatdid the Caribbean people like to do? Are theyfriendly here?" As the aloe vera sunk into his feathers he smiled, "I think I am going to likeit here!"

The next day, Eliana woke Gus up really early. It was time to test out his wing. Gus rolled out of his small sandy nest and

looked at Eliana. How did she sleep standing up the whole night? And on one leg?

“Let’s test out your wing! Our goal is to make it from the Bahamas to Cuba. We can do it!”

The feathery friends flew straightto Cuba. They needed a few pit-stops to rest his wing, but they arrived in only a few hours. Gus was amazed, “Wow, Cubais so tiny compared to Canada!”

“Just wait until you feel the rhythm of theRumba here! It’s the most exciting dance you’ll ever find in the Caribbean!” Eliana exclaimed. Gus was having second thoughts, but he remembered how much fun the Bahamas was, so decided Cuba must be awesome too.Thebirds sawa group of locals starting to dance Rumba. “This is so boring! They’re moving too slow!”, Gus said with a hohum look on his face. “Rumba is not boring! You might notlike it, but many people do, especially Cubans! You have to learn to be respectful of other cultures even if they’re different or not as exciting as you thought. This dance represents Cuba’s African Influences, which is so important to their culture,” Eliana explained.

“You are right.” Gus was abit embarrassed. “I should respect other cultures even if they are not like myown.” Eliana started to teach Gus themoves, and the next few hoursflew by quickly with lots of smiles.

“Can we see another Caribbean country? I would love to learn more!” They got back into the air and continued south. Next stop: Haiti!

When they arrived, there was a parade happening! Gus couldn’t believe his luck; it was January 1st – Haiti’s Independence Day! The island was celebrating its 217th birthday!

“Let’s listen in!” Eliana said, “We can learn more about their history!” The birds moved closer to a tall, dark man standing on a stage before hundreds of people.

“We are proud to celebrate today, not only because it is our day of independence, but the independence of the first black republic in the world!” Then the crowd screamed wildly.

“Wow! I had no idea,” Gus was amazed. “I can’t wait to go home to Canada to shareall of this cool culture with my Canadian Friends!”

Eliana looked at his wing. “Do you think you could make it all the way back to Canada? You know, I have never been outside of the Caribbean!”

“I feel reborn with this energy! Let’s go now!” Gus beamed. “You mean, I can come with you?” Eliana said shyly.

“Of course! Except, Ihave never led a journey before." “This is myfirst timebeing a leader,and look how fun it was! There is a leaderinside all of us, but you just haven’t found yours yet. Being a leader is such an important experience,” Eliana assured him.

The new friends started soaring. Gus felt powerful and happy being the leader and making such a great friend. And look! There was North America on the horizon!

JOHN THE MONGOOSE

ByDéSjaniah A.R Lake

Aged 10

Methodist Agogic Centre Browlia F.Maillard Campus Sint Maarten, DutchWestIndies

OncetherewasamongoosenamedJohnwho woreacoconutas a hat. John was always smiling and hadlot of friends. John‛s favorite flavored cake was mango pineapple, which he looked forward to eating, especially on his birthday which was today. John thought that his friends were going to surprise him for sure with his favorite cake,and he imagined how muchhe was going to enjoy it. He went looking for hisfriends, but everyone just ignored him.John couldn‛t believe his friends had forgotten his birthday. He was so sad.So John just went back to hishouse under a tamarindtree.Whenhewasaboutto open the door hesaw a letter stuck to the door. It read: Hi John, I need some help with something. Can you come to myhouse please? Signed: Maya the Monkey.

John was excited that one of hisfriends wanted his help, and maybe shehad cake, any cake. So John ran as fast as hecould to Maya‛s banana tree. When he got there, heknocked on the door andsaid,“Maya,Maya.”Butno oneanswered.Johnwassad and just went back to his house. As he walked back, he saw another note in his window. It read: Hey John, I was running late, but if you go to Mullet Bay I mightbe there.Signed: Maya the Monkey.

John liked the idea of cooling out on the beach under a coconut tree. So, as the letter said, he wentto Mullet Bay Beach. When he got there his toes touched thehot sand. John wanted to go into the water to splash around. He said to himself that he will as soon as he finishedhelping Maya. As hewalked across thebeach, he sawpeopleenjoyingthemselveswith their friends. He

wanted to do that too, but hecouldn‛t find Maya. He stepped on a pieceof paperinthesand.Ashelookedcloser, hesawanother note saying: John, if you‛re going to help me, first you must go to the nearest shack and collect a black suit, fancy shoes and a blue tie.

So, as the letter said, he bought ablack suit, fancy shoes, and a blue tie. John started to get curiousand wondered why Maya wanted him to get these things. “Is it for ameeting or to go to church?” John askedhimself. John looked out into the sea, and saw that the sun was going down. He stood on the beach, looking at howprettyitwas.ThenJohnrealizedhewouldhaveto hurry if he was going to meet Maya. He checked the note again and it also said: If you go to the Cause Way Bridge you will see me on the golden motorcycle. But as he ran, he sawa little fish yelling, "Help! Help! Please help! I can‛t get back in the water. Help!" So John stopped running and helped the little fish back into the sea. The little fish thanked John for putting him back into the sea. Then John ran as fast as he could to meet Maya. When John finally got there, he sawthe goldenmotorcycle, butno onewasonit.Thenhesaw a paper on it. John assumed it was another note, so he took the paper and read it. It said: Sorry John, looks like there is only one place you can meet me. Comeback to the village and go to Chippy the Lizard‛s orange tree.

So, as the note said, John would head back to the village. John took thegolden motorcycle, and rodeback to the village. Ashe got there, John went to Chippy the Lizard‛s orange tree, and knocked on the door.This time someone opened the door. It was Maya. John was so happy to see Maya. John said, "Maya ,I must ask this, Why where you late today?" Maya said, "Come inside and see." So John went into Chippy‛s house and was shockedwhen everyone yelled, "Surprise!!Happybirthday,John."

John was so happy to find out that his friends didn‛t forget his birthday. They were pretending all along.

John took his coconut hat, and started knocking them together in a beat. And John and his friends partied all night, while they enjoyed his favorite flavored cake, mango pineapple.

A LADY WAS MISSING

By Noah Leese Cedar International School Aged 8 Tortola, British Virgin Islands

A lady was missing. Her name was Sherry. She was 53 years old. We had seen pictures online that a lady had disappeared from Josiah's Bay. People were trying their best to find her. My mum and I decided to see if we could help. We drove for hours searching. We went to the hotel where Sherry and her husband were staying. People there were talking about where they had searched and were talking about Sherry. We learned that they had just arrived and had walked to Josiah's Bayfor dinner. Sherry hadgone to use the restroom. A little time passed; and when she didn't return, her husband tried to find her.She wasn't there.He began to look around the beach and the buildings and asked everyone he met if they had seen her, but no one had. He was very worried, asSherry had the start of Alzheimer's, a disease which can make you lose your memory. He walkedback to thehotel, but Sherry hadn't comeback. Night passed. Early the next morning, we headed out again to drive/walk around the area. After a few hours, we went back to the hotel to see if there was any more news. There was to be an organized search led by the police. We said we would help. The police had gone door-to-door and had a lead. People started arriving to help. It was all adults, but I didn't mind. I just wanted to help. Then the police arrived and spoke to us about the search area. There wasn't much space for cars, so we had to jump in the back of a truck with others to follow the police up there. When

we arrived, we were very high up overlooking Josiah's Bay. All I could see was thick bush and trees. We were put into groups, and ours was the first to split off from the others, off the track into the bush. The plan was to go from the top, through the bush to the bottom. At first, the bush wasn't too bad, and we were able to walk through. We kept shouting "Sherry!" We found a house which looked like it wasn't finished being built.

On the floor, I saw some freshly squeezed lemons. Had she been there? I showed everyone, and we decided to follow the lemon trail into the bush. Eventually, the trail stopped and the bush got thicker. An hour or two had passed. We had a policeman with us who was having to clear the way with a machete. In places it got very steep, and I fell down. I banged my hip on a rock, which hurt, but I wanted to carry on. We were tired, hot,and thirsty. A while later, someone's phone rang. Sherry had been found by one of the other teams. We all cheered, but she was hurt. She had fallen. It was possible that both her legs were broken. It was too steep to go any further down, so we had no choice but to start the climb back up the hill. It was the most exhausting thing I have ever done! Sometimes, I was on my hands and knees because it was so steep, but we kept going. We had thistles in our hair and torn clothes, but we had scrambled back to the very top. My mum and I got a ride down to Josiah's Bay, where we met back up with some of the other people. They were hugging each other and crying. But no one was sad; they were tears of joy.

The paramedics had to climb to get to where Sherry had fallen. Eventually, Sherry was brought down on a stretcher, and it was a great moment to see her husband lean over to hug her. We all celebrated at the hotel. It was an unbelievable day.

We learned that Sherry had been inside the house. The next day, she didn't know where she was, but tried to make her way down towards the beach, and at some point she had fallen. Sherry unfortunately passed away the day after she was rescued. I didn't understand how or why. It seemed so unfair, after everything she had been through. I felt so upset. I now believe we were meant to find Sherry so that she could say goodbye to her husband.

When help was needed, a group of people came together and shared something none of us will ever forget. My mum and I had an incredible experience, and made some very good friends that day, who we know will share a special bond with forever.

SMALL ACTIONS CAN HAVE A HUGE IMPACT

By Trinity Lettsome St. George’s Primary School Aged 11 Tortola, British Virgin Islands

“Grrrrrr,” I growledasI clutchedmy belly tightly. I lamented, as I could notstand such immense agony.Iwoke uplate that morning, had a quick showerand dressed. But, before I could eat breakfast, Mom shouted, “Comeon, Amy! The bus has just turned in the alley.” I threw onmycoat, grabbed myschoolbag, and bolted downthewooden staircase before snatchingabrown lunch bag out of mother’shand. “ByeMom, I love you,” I shouted as I raced through the door and vanished up the street to where the buswasparked.

Time seemed to be travellingon a turtle’sback thatmorning. Studentassemblyand prayer took forever.Math class began at 9:00 a.m. promptly, but time was trudging and10:30 a.m. seemed days away.I felt as though Iwould faint from starvation. I did everything I could to distract myself so that I would notfeel theagony of hunger.Suddenly, a zephyr blew in and with it the smell of tamarind stew with a slighthint of pepper createdsuch anaroma in theair. Oh, the thoughtof pholouries*was torturousas itfueledmy hunger. Mytongue tingled at the thoughtof theheatof thepholouriesdraped with sweet and slightly peppered tamarind sauce. Iwas carried off in a day dream.

Recess time finally decided to arrive, and I sped to the school’scafeteria.

“Tantie, can I have $5.00 pholourie please?” I asked.

“Amy, gyul wha you goin and do wid so much pholourie chile?” asked Ms. Bhagwandene.

“I’m hungry,” I retorted.

“So much fryfood nah good, yah sure yahwantall dat?” asked Ms. Bhagwandene.

“Yes, tantie,” Iresponded.

I took thebag of pholouriesand ranbehind the schoolbuilding. That wayI wouldensure that I got to eatall bymyself. But, as I waswalkingfurtherbehind thebuilding I could hear crying. It was Jim. Hewas ingrade 3, and hewas usually shabbily dressed.

“What’s thematter, Jim?” I askedashe jumpedat the soundof my voice.

“Nothing!” hesaid.

“Who criesfor nothing?” I asked.

“Is nothing, is jus thatmama didn’t givemeno food,” he said in a low voice.

My heart sank athis saying.“Here, havesomeof my pholouries,” I said.

“Thanks Amy,” he saidas hesnatched thebag outof myhand. There goes mymeal, I thought to myself asI witnessedJim ravenously consumingevery oneof my hotand delectable pholouries, onebyoneas he sharedhis plight with me. Iwas astonished tofindout that Jim’s fatherwould leave hisfamily and go into theothervillages in searchof work. Sometimes, he would not findany work and could not providefoodfor hiswife and eightchildren. Jim was behind the schoolcrying that morningbecause hehad noteaten anything for the entire weekend and hisbelly was paining him.Jim also told me thathe only comes to schoolto get the freelunches thatare given. I became quite disturbedby this news. The next day I went to Mrs. Parkerand sharedJim’sstorywith her. “So what are yougoing to do to help?”askedMrs.Parker.

“I am only a child. What can I do?” Iasked.

“So much,” said Mrs. Parker. Immediately a thought entered myheadwhich I sharedwith Mrs. Parker.I decided to use my allowances, and I also asked my friends and schoolmates if they could assist in giving some money or foodfor somechildrenin need.They wereallonly too happy to help. Bytheendof thefirst week, I had amassed $157.24 which I gaveto Mrs.Parker who thengave to Jim’s mom.I continued collectingmoneyand fooditemswhich Mrs. Parker droppedoff atJim’s houseon Fridays. After about two months, Jim’s mom told Mrs. Parker thather husband hadfound work.She thankedmefor being so kind andcaring.The principal of myschool learntaboutwhatI had done,and hewas so elated by myactions that I was givenour school’s leadership award for demonstratinggreat leadership qualities and compassion to my schoolmateand hisfamily. ButI was blessed by thebirth of a newfriendshipbetweenmeand Jim’sfamily.

*Pholourieisan Indiandelicacythatis afrieddoughballandis eaten with tamarind stew, chutney, or pepper sauce.

THE LINDSAY FAMILY

By Ashanti Lindsay Kensington Primary School Aged 11 Portmore, St. Catherine, Jamaica

My parents taught me that afamily that prays together always stays together, and the Lindsay family does exactly that.

The Lindsay family has six members: Mama and Papa Lindsay, Chantel who is the eldest sister, Mario the eldest brother, myself Ashanti, and the youngest Agway. We are a Christian family. Mama and Papa always ensure that we read our bible, pray, and every Sunday we attend church. Even Saturday morning we would have our family prayer meetings. This shows how much we believe in God.

Mama was a secretary for eleven years, and Papa was a supervisor at Yummy's Bakery. However, this did not last long, as both Mama and Papa lost their jobs. Days went by and I often heard Mama and Papa praying in their room. The more they prayed, things did not get any better. Our attendance at school went down, and some days we could not find food. This did not stop Mama and Papa from praying, and they encouraged us as children to do the same, as this was a period that will soon pass. The problems continued and this became a concern to me. Feeling sad and down, I said, “Papa when will this be over?” Papa replied, “God will provide, my child.”

Shortly after, God revealed a great idea to Papa. Papa was delighted as he shared the great news. God said to Papa, “You have a big back yard; why not use the space to start farming?” We were all very excited, as each person shared theirown ideas of what foods and fruits could be planted. The next day we got started. We planted yam, banana, sugarcane, ackee, mango, and

lots more. While we watered the plants, Papa planted the seeds. It was fun working together on the farm. In a couple of months, we reaped our first crop.

Mama and Papa started selling to the community; and within another couple of months, the business expanded. We were now able to provide food for our family and to attend school daily. On the weekends, with the exception of Sundays, Mario, Chantel and I - oh yes, even Gawanye, my youngest brotherassisted with the business.

As we all looked back on days past, Mama smiled as she shared, “We can do all things with great family love and care.”

THE TURTLE TRACKS

By Minty Lumsden Cayman Prep & High School Aged 10 Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Thursday was a beautiful afternoon, with the sun hiding behind thick clouds. Thebreeze was brisk, it was unusually cool for the height of summer, and the golden sand felt as soft as powder.

I ran lightning-fast along the beach with Zebedee, my dog, tugging on the other end of the leash, eagerly racing, pouncing and leaping, trying to attack the waves.

Finally, I gave up the chase and, dropping Zebedee‛s lead, I collapsed to the ground. The dog stopped and looked at me, her tongue hanging out of her mouth at full length.

I was gazing out at the magnificent waves crashing and foaming on the reef when something caught my eye.

It looked as if a giant tractor had driven over the smooth beach and into the ocean. “Mummy! Daddy! Come here!” I yelled over my shoulder, as I followed the tracks up the beach to a large hole with a mound of damp sand heaped next to it.

I peered at it, trying to see if anything was inside but the clouds had turned dark and threatening, so the hole was shadowy. I turned my attention back to the grooves in the sand. The middle looked like a shallow river with all its water drained out. On either side of the shallow river, the tracks resembled flipper marks.

By now my parents were on one side of me and panting; Zebedee was on the other. “They‛re turtle tracks!” they cried.So, we headed home to callup Department of Environment (DoE) on 949 8469.

I asked to speak to Jess Harvey, who works for DoE and came to our school once to talk about turtles and the environment.

“Hello. Jess speaking, how can I help?”

“Hello, my name‛s Minty, and I‛ve found turtle tracks in the sand.” I told her.

“Oh, O.K!” came the cheery reply. “Where is it?” “Do youknow Vienna Circle in South Sound?” “Yes.”

“Well, we‛re by the beach opposite that.” “I‛ll be right there!”

Jess met my dad and me on the beach. She had brought a notebook to record the information,but had to put it in her large scarlet satchel when rain started bucketing down. As we peered into the hole together, the rain was hammering the sand very heavily.

Jess Harvey said with a smile that I was responsible enough to take care of the turtles on my own and she would leave it with me. Back at home, I called my friend, Bella, and asked her to comeover to help.

A while later Bella arrived with her mother. After we welcomed them warmly, my Mum made two cups of tea ,and Bella and I ran upstairs, leaving them to drone on about boring, adult nonsense.

“What about lights?” Bella questioned. “What about them?” I wondered. “Baby turtles use the light of themoon and stars to direct them to the sea, but if house lightsare on, they will go the wrong way towards the road and would be sure to die.”

“We could watch the beach every night.”

“We can‛t patrol the beachfor60 nights!” cried Bella.

“Whatever do you mean?” I asked her.

“Well the tracks are new, and it takes 50-60 days to hatch.”

I pondered for a while and then exclaimed happily, “So we can make a flyer saying to switch all lights off during July and August!”

“Finally!” said Bella. “Let‛s get to work!”

The making of the posters took longer than we thought. We used rainbow markers and worked hard all evening, breaking only to eat snacks.

Bella ended up having a sleepover. Although we worked through half the night, we were not at all tired in the morning because the excitement kept us going as we skipped along the beach, knocking on doors and handing out flyers.

From then on, I went out most school days at dawn with my Mum to make sure there had been no lights on and the nest was not disturbed.

Weeks passed, and there was still no sign of baby turtles. One Wednesday, BEEP BEEP BEEP went my alarm clock. I sat up and yawned, switching my ringer off. Slipping on my flip flops, I went to the beach. I didn‛t need to look in the hole, for already I saw lots of little hatchling marks leading to the sea.

That‛s when I knew we‛d saved the turtles. We‛d done the right thing.

THE BANANA MAN

By Shevaun Lynch New Providence Primary Aged 10 Liguanea Plains, Jamaica

Rob Lynch was a kind and honest man who lived with his wife, Sonia, and son, Keith, in the district of Green Hills in Eastern Jamaica. Sadly, his wife and son died in the Covid-19 pandemic, and he went into deep mourning. His friends and family felt sorry for him, but had decided to give him time to grieve.

Rob lived in the hills in a small two-bedroom house. His mother had died and left it forhim. He planted lots of bananas, plantains and yam and was well-known by his community as “The Banana Man." Everyone in the community of Green Hills always received green or ripebananas from him.Thekids would pass by for their fingerof banana each morningon their way to school.

Rob loved his wifeand son. They meant everything to him. His wife was a Christian woman and was the only dressmaker in Green Hills. Rob would always kiss his wife every morning before he left for the fields and tell her that she is his sunshine. His son, Keith, was extremely intelligent and a very good footballer, and had dreams of one day becominga ReggaeBoy with Jamaica’s national football team.

The people of Green Hills realized that Rob, the Banana Man, had changed after hisfamily had passed. They stopped seeing him deliver bananas to his neighbours; the kids stopped getting their little snacks in the mornings, and his fields were starting to dry up, and weeds started growing everywhere. He locked himself in his house and wasn’t responding to any calls or visitors. The community started worrying, and decided to all gather at his home to get him out of his sadness.

Deep inside, Rob knew he couldn’t hide away forever, and he knew that if he didn’t get up soon all his crops would waste away. Rob knew the children, and also his neighbours, must be missing his ripe bananas. He knew this, but his depression made him feel helpless and lonely. Then it happened that he could hear the distant voices of people outside his house, the crackling of fire, and the chopping sounds of the machetes. Rob slowly got up and peeped through his window to see the entire community at work in hisfields. He was so astonished by the act of kindness that he started crying, something Rob hadn’t thought he could do. Not even when his family died had he shed a tear, but hefelt all the emotions of pain and loss. But for some reason, seeing his friends coming together and helping him had caused all the resentment and loneliness he was feeling to all break down like walls being demolished.

On that day, Rob decided thathe would not lie in bed anymore and feel sorry for himself. He wipedthe tears from his eyes and said to himself, “I’ll get up, dust myself off, and make my wife, son, and community proud.”

When Rob emerged from the confines of his house and his neighbours looked up and saw him, they all clapped, whistled, shouted praises, and some even cried.

Rob now realized that although hiswife and son were gone, he still had a community that loved and respected him. He put on his mask, touched elbows with his neighbours, and went straight to work alongside them. Hefelt great; hefelt like the man he once was; the man his wife loved and cherished, the man his son saw as a role model.

Three years laterRob's field had flourished. He even opened up a bakery where he sells any and everything that could be made from bananas and plantains. He named the bakery Sonia’s in

memory of his late wife. Banana Bread and To-To (a small banana cake) were his specialty.

The community was also developing, and now had a football field named after his son. Keith Lynch Park was now the location of all community events such as Independence Jonkanoo parades, Christmas grand market, and sports days for the community's all-age school.

Rob Lynch, the Banana Man, was nowproud of himself, and knew his wifeand son were proud of him too.

DESTINED TO BE KIND TO OTHERS

By Shandrigia Marsham St. Joseph Primary School Aged 7 Sint Maarten, Dutch West Indies

Stacey-ann has an Albino disease. She has pale skin, blonde short hair, and blue eyes. She was born on St. Maarten; both of her parents are from Dominica. She lives in Dutch Quarter with her mother and her two brothers because her father walked out of her life when he found out that she had inherited Albinism.

Stacey-ann attends the Oranje Primary School in Philipsburg. Before she leaves for school in the morning, she has to walk to French Quarter with a bucket on her head to fetch water for her family to bathe with. When she returns, she has to feed the animals and get her younger siblings ready.

When she is finished, she walks to school with the other kids from her neighborhood. Every day, Stacey-ann cries on her way to school because she is bullied at school, and she is afraid to tell an adult about what is going on in school.

One day during snack time, the bullies came by her desk to tease her about the way she looks and the color of her skin. She started to cry and ran out of the classroom and into the bathroom. Her classmate, Destiny, followed her to the bathroom to see what was wrong. Destiny reassured her that everything would be all right, and they returned to class.

Theysatdowntogether,andDestinytookoutherfood to eat. She saw Stacey-ann shakingherbag out with a sobbing face. Destiny askedStacey-ann what was wrong. She said, "I don't have anything to eat because my motherlost herjob anddoesn'thave moneyto buy food."DestinyfeltsadforStacey-ann, andofferedherhalf of her peanut butterandjelly sandwich.

Afterschool, Stacey-ann andDestiny walkedhome together. When Destinygothome,sheexplainedtoher motheraboutthe girl who was being bullied,and who didn't have any foodto eat. When Stacy-ann got home,hermother askedhow her day at school was. She liedand

toldhermother that everything was good;but deep down inside she really wantedto burst out in tears and explain to her mother what has been happening in school every day.

The following day, Destiny waited for Stacey-ann by the school gate and handed her a cup of bush tea and a tuna sandwich.

Justthen,thebulliescameandthrewhersandwichonthe floor and threw the hot tea on herclothes.

Destiny put up a fight and protected her friend. The bullies were scared of Destiny and never harassed Stacey-ann again. For the rest of the school year, Destiny secretly made sandwiches for Stacey-ann.

DREAM

By Sierra Martin Montessori by the Sea Aged 10 Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Thereonce was a young boy with a huge imagination and even bigger dreams.Onenight,hehada ratherextraordinary dream. His dream was about three small islands known as the Cayman Islands. The largest of the three was Grand Cayman, the smallest Little Cayman, and the middle-sized was Cayman Brac.

In the dream, theboy found himself on a rickety old Cat boat that his great grandfatherhad built many moons ago. As the boyhauledhisfirstbigloadoffishaboardthewoodenboat, two white pelicans flew over to him.“Excuse me, but do you know where we canfind a large school of fish?” asked the first pelican in a squeaky voice.“W… Well…. to behonest umm, err, I don‛t really know,” said the boy nervously. “Hmm, now that I think about it, I don‛t recognize youfrom around here,” said the second pelican with a sense of annoyance in its voice, looking at the boy curiously. “Here, have someof myfish. I have plenty to share. It‛s only me so Ireally don‛t mind,” the boy said kindly. The pelicans greatly thanked the boy and continued their journey.

The boy gently sailed along with the warm Caribbean breeze toward land. He came across a mudflat held together by mangroves. Stuck in the mudflat, theboy saw whathe recognizedto bea dolphin.Themagicalcreatureseemedtobe struggling to free herself from theshallow waters.

Immediatelytheboyanchoredhisboatandwadedthrough the water. “HELP, HELP!” cried the youngdolphin. “It‛s ok, it‛s ok, calm down,” the boy said comfortingly. The dolphin calmed a little, butwasstillthrashingaround. Theboypulledand pushed with all his might, and finally managed to get the

dolphin to deeper water. “There youare, little one. Go find your pod, and please stay safe my friend,” the boywhispered sweetly to his newsea mate.Notlongafter,theboyjumped backinto hisboat, and sailed further around the island. This island was Grand Cayman. He rested on the hot sandy beaches and enjoyed the fresh fish hehad caught earlier that day. “I wish the islands willalwaysstaybeautifulandwild,” theboy whisperedquietlyto himself.

After somerest, the little boy continued on his adventure across the crystal clear, turquoise waters. He could see turtles bobbing theirheads up for air next to him, eagle rays gliding majestically just under the surfaceof the water, and the occasionalsharkcruisinggracefullyalongthebottom.Howlucky he was to behere. Finally, he reached a very, very small island with a large reef with waters deeper than he could imagine! ThiswasLittleCayman,andhehadfoundhiswayto the Bloody Bay wall. The boy darted about chasing fish and finding the most unusual looking sponges and corals.

Soon, theboy made his way back to Grand Cayman. As he drew closer to the land, all he could see were tall buildings. It was no longer the landscape he recognized. His heart sank. The boy's wish was denied. How could people do this? How could they not seethebeautyof thisislandstaring them intheface?Theboy sailed hesitantly to shore. He listened, but there was no parrot song. The Cayman parrots hadfled. The dinosaur-looking Blue Iguanas were no longer to be seen.The mangroves had been torn away, and without them the landhad begun to erode. The dolphins that had once roamed the Cayman seas passed by the islands to find cleaner oceans.

Suddenly,theboyawokefrom hisbreath-takingdream.Onhis awakening, he swore to do everything he could to protect the threegorgeousislandsandtheirwatersatanycost!Allhe needs now is for the adults to listen.

ASHORE

Aracely Matute-Trejo West End Primary School Aged 10 Cayman Brac, Cayman Islands

“Crash!” Lighting struck the waters of the Caribbean Sea while Edward was in his tiny fishing boat 70 miles off Grand Cayman. The waves started to get stronger while Edward rushed into the cabin of the boat. He shut the trap door as tight as he could before the waves crashed onto the deck. He hid behind boxes hoping he would make it through the storm. Until… “BOOM!” A huge wave smashed down on the small boat, destroying everything into little pieces. Edward got hit in the head by a crate, and everything went black.

“Mommy, he awake?” Sasha asked, while poking Edward with a stick.

“I dunno Sweetie.” Edward jumped, coughing water out of his mouth. “Where…where am I?”

“AHHHHH!!!!” Sasha and her mother screamed like they had seen a ghost. Sasha hid behind Mrs. Scott. Edward slowly got up and brushed the sand off himself.

“I’m so sorry,” Edward said in a nervous voice. “I’m Edward. I was on a boat, but wha happen? Where am I?”

“You’re in Cayman Brac. You were in a boat in last night’s storm?” Mrs. Scott asked surprisingly. “Yes ma’am,” Edward said while staring at them.

“Well, I can’t leave you out ya, so follow me.” Mrs. Scott grabbed Sasha’s hand and started walking to their house. Edward followed.

“Here you go, Edward,” said Mrs. Scott as she gave Edward some swanky to drink and fritters to eat. Sasha was on the floor playing with her two messy-haired dolls.

“So, what exactly happened out dere lass night?” Mr. Scott said in a deep voice. “Well, I was fishanin for turtles. Then ma engine had some trouble working, and I end up drifting. Then a humungous storm came out of no whey! Last thing I ‘memba was hiding in the boat cabin.”

“Well, you lucky Sasha and my wifefound ya,” said Mr. Scott, with a mouth full of fritters.

“What I don’t understand is why were you on the bay walking?” Edward said, confused, while scratching his head like a monkey. “Every time there is a storm, me and Sasha go down to da bay to see what wash up,” said Mrs. Scott.

Edward gasped. “Now how am I going to get home?!” Edward said disappointedly. “Who’s ya family? Where ya come from?” Mr. Scott asked questions like he was interviewing Edward.

“Oh, I’m from Grand Cayman. My family owns the turtling company called Blue Squabs and my daddy name Johnny Bodden from East End. But how you ga get ahold of dem?” Edward asked, looking down at the hardwood floor.

“You kidding? I ga a brother that ga a CB radio! He kin contact dem and make yo family come get ya.”

Mr. Scott and Edward finished their meal and set out by foot to his brother’s house, two miles away, to use the CB radio. As Mr. Scott’s brother, Owen, saw them approaching the house, he greeted them.

“Hello? Everyting ok?” he asked. “Yeah, we found this boy washed up on da bay, shipwrecked. He say his family lives in Grand Cayman.”

“Who dey is?” Owen asked in a concerned voice. “He say they own Blue Squabs, the turtling company,” Mr. Scott said.

“You mean dem Boddens from East End? Ok, lemme see if we kin getta ‘hold a dem and make dem send a boat!” Owen said cheerfully.

“Ok, they can't send da boat for two days,” said Mr. Scott thinking, back at the house.

“What will I do ‘til then?” Edward asked sadly.

“Edward, you don’t worry about nothing. You kin stay with us,” Mrs. Scott said.

For the next two days, the family gave Edward food, water, clothes and a place to sleep. Edward felt so thankful for the things the family did for him. Edward placed all the stuff they had given him into a croker sack and ran to hug his parents when the boat arrived. They were so thankful for everything that the Scott family had done to help Edward. To show appreciation, they brought a boat load of supplies for them. “We better get going, Edward,” his parents said.

Edward sat down in the front of theboat, so when they were sailing away, he could wave goodbye to the amazing family that took careof him.“Goodbye!!” Edward yelled as the boat sailed off into the distance. Edward would never forget them.

By Raheem McLean Aged 8 Cayman Brac, Cayman Islands

West End Primary School

My family and I have a farm. On our farm, we have animals, and we grow our own food. We help each other pull weeds out from the ground so that the plants can grow. Mother tends to the garden. We grow tomatoes, peppers, carrots, cucumbers, pumpkin, and lots of other good stuff. Father milks the cows so we can have fresh milk to drink. I tend to the pigs, and my sister Sally gathers the chicken eggs and washes them so we can eat them for breakfast.

My favourite thing about our garden is getting to eat fresh carrots that we picked together with my family at dinner time. My mom loves to serve the carrots with ranch dressing, which is my favourite. On our farm, we have to feed the animals healthy

food and lots of water to drink. We feed vegetables from our garden to the animals on our farm. It keeps the animals healthy and happy.

My least favourite thing to do is helping my dad clean the pig pen. The pig pen is full of mud and is very stinky. But I do it to make my dad proud. Farm life is hard but working together makes it a lot easier. Working together as a family is my favourite thing to do because it's very important. I really enjoy helping my family.

I even enjoy helping my mom with washing the dishes. We take turns washing them. My sister Sally helps my mom sweep out the house. My dad takes care of all the big stuff around the farm and the house.

Sometimes, we give neighbours food and eggs from our farm. It feels good to share with others. They help us too when we are in need because we have been nice to them. Farm life is about families working together and helping each other.

MY PAPA

By Jason McCoy West End Primary School Aged 8 Cayman Brac, Cayman Islands

My Papa was the nicest, most loving, and helpful person I've ever known. His kind heart was always giving to those in need. He would not only help his family and his friends, he would help strangers. He would take money out of his pocket to fix someone's car and appliances. He would give his jeep to his friends, and he would walk where he had to go. Papa tried his best to make everyone happy.

Papa always brought my brother, Jairon, and me fruits and many other things. We loved to go to his house on Sundays, and he loved to know we were coming. He made sure that we had food when we came; and before we left, he always gave us a kiss on the cheek.

Papa's turtle meat dinner was so delicious that it made me drool. Every Sunday, I had to have it for lunch. He would also drive around the island to take some for his friends. Many times, Papa and I sat and ate plums, watermelon, and other fruits, but we had to have lots of salt with it. YUM!!!

Papa was excited when my aunts and cousins would come to visit for Christmas, summer, and Easterholidays. He had all of us together. The adults would sit together and eat and talk, while my little cousins and I played tag in the yard. It was a lot of fun!

Family time was what he loved most. Papa didn't like to take pictures, but we still got him to take a few. He didn't like gifts 'cause he felt like giving us everything was the most important. Although he is no longer here with me, I will always remember

what he taught me: being helpful and kind to others is what I should do, and that family is the greatest love in the world. Every day, I thank Jesus for my loving family.

THE GRATEFUL STINGRAY

By Gabriella Lulu Mills Montessori by the Sea Aged 8 Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Once upon a time, deep in the Atlantic Ocean, there was a stingray who was called Ben. Ben was a lovely stingray who was caring, friendly, and thoughtful. There was also a little stingray called Tiny. Tiny was sad and lonely. Tiny had no friends because she had no tail. Her motherand father died when she wasonly a baby. One day, Ben went to the seashell park, where there were pretty and colourful coral flowers and sea urchin balls to play catch with.

Tiny went to the park too, but she went to be sad. She was so sad her tears fell like a waterfall. Ben and Tiny bumped into each other. Ben noticed that Tiny was crying and that she had no tail. Ben said, “Are you all right?” Tiny whimpered, “No. I wish I had a tail like everyone else. That's why nobody likes me.”

Ben felt very sad for Tiny. He thought he should give Tiny his tail. So, Ben told Tiny he would givehis tail to her. Tiny jumped up with excitement and said, “Oh, thank you very much!”

So the next day Ben got the dolphins, clownfish, squid, swordfish and needlefish to help him get his tail on Tiny. The dolphins and clownfish were there to make her laugh because Tiny was crying. The squid was there to suck out all the nervousness. The swordfish was there to cut off the tail of Ben. The needlefish was there to sew the tail on Tiny. After it was all done, Ben said to Tiny, “Can I take youout to lunch for somesquid?” Then Tiny said, “Yes! How can I repay you?” “Oh, no you don't have to do that,” Ben said.

The next day, Ben went to the Queen, who was a queen angelfish, and asked, “Your Majesty, may I adopt someone?” “Of course. Choose any creature you would like. Do you have anyone in mind?” “Oh, yes, your Majesty. I have one in mind. She is a stingray. Her name is Tiny.”

The Queen said, “Oh, yes, Tiny. She is one of my favourite animals.”

The next day, Ben went to Tiny's house and told him he just adopted her. Tiny said, “Thank you, Daddy.” And they went out for cookies and milk.

THE ADVENTURE OF CHICKEN AND IGUANA

By Xara Ki Mon Desir Cayman Prep & High School Aged 8 Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

One bright and early morning, in theCayman Islands, outside the historic Post Office, Iguana washappily watching the cars pass by. Meanwhile, around the corner, Chicken was looking for foodand was rapidly pecking on anything she could find. Aftera while, Iguana decided to take a walk and stretch his legs. As he turned the corner, he began to heara clucking sound. He followed the sound, which led him to Chicken. Chicken was too busy to notice him until Iguana spoke up and introduced himself. Chicken was most impressed because iguanas were extremely shy and quiet. Although Chicken andIguana had just met, they became friends very quickly, and soon Iguana invited Chicken to lunch.

Chicken was delighted and said, yes. They agreed to meet at the Water Front behind the Lobster Pot on Tuesday. Soon Tuesday came. Iguana was about to crawl across the road when he heard Chicken clucking, “Hello.”.Iguana suggested that they scamper across the road because it was quite busy. As they started to run over to the Lobster Pot, a carbegan coming towards them. Chicken was not looking, but Iguana bolted to safety. After making it to the otherside of the road, Iguana stopped to catch hisbreath.Then he turned around to see if Chicken had made it safely as well; but unfortunately, she had not. Much to his distress, Chicken was lying in the road and her leg was badly damaged. She was squirming, with her feathers fluttering frantically. As Iguana waddled his way into the middle of the road, he noticed that cars were still coming towards them. He jumped back onto the pavement. He knew he had to do something

quickly, but what? As he was thinking, he had a fantastic idea. He would get a rope, throw one endof it to Chicken, and he would hold on to the other, while pulling her in. Iguana worried, because if his plan failed, Chicken could get even more seriously hurt, or worse, diefrom being run over by a car. So, Iguana took a deep breath, found the courage within himself, and searched for a rope.Suddenly, out of the corner of his eyes, he spotted a white object that looked likea rope. Iguana cautiously turned and saw that it was. Then, in a flash, Iguana bolted to the rope and fetched it. He dragged itover to the side of the road, tied a loop at one end and threw it to Chicken so that shecould hold onto it with her wing. Iguana used all his strength and hauled her towards him, until she was safe.

By the time she got to Iguana, Chicken was frozen in shock and only spoke about five minutes later.She was so grateful, and asked him if there was anything shecould do to repay him for his kindness and bravery; but Iguana insisted that there was nothing. He said, the only thing he wanted at that very moment was to get to her the help that sheneeded. Once she was all right, maybe they would still have enough time to make it for lunch at the Lobster Pot. So, Iguana carried Chicken on his back as they made their way towards the Lobster Pot. In themiddle of the journey, Iguana started to get tired, but he pushedthrough until they made it. Once there, he caught his breath and found some leaves for his friend Chicken to rest on. He then took someof the leaves and wrapped them around Chicken's damaged leg. This made Chicken feel much better and she was able to hopalong without much pain. Iguana then noticed a bin nearby, and began to rummage through it. Hefound a half-eaten piece of corn-on-the-cob, gave it to Chicken, and for himself he got a few pieces of lettuce that were partially nibbled. They both sat and ate with 194

relish. After lunch, Chicken said, “Thanks.” Iguana made sure that his friend was safe, and then heleft.

Since then, the years have passed. Chicken still walks with a slight limp and Iguana is no longer as quick on his feet as he used to be, but one thing is for certain – the bond between these two special friends had grown deeper and stronger with the passage of time.

THE BEAUTIFUL BUTTERFLY

By K'Ranii Mornix Orealia Kelly Primary School Aged 10 Anguilla

One bright and sunny summer morning Noel and his mother went for a ride in the park. As they werepassing through the neighbour’s path, he sawa brown caterpillar with black spots lying on a bright green carberry leaf. “What is thaton the leaf mommy?” he asked.

“It is a caterpillar,” his mom replied. “A caterpillar?” heasked with his face skin-up. “It’s an ugly worm,” he continued saying in disgust.

As they continued their journey, a beautiful brown spotted butterfly flew in front of them. “Look Mommy! Look! A butterfly!” he yelled with excitement and a smile on his face. “Why are you so excited to see a butterfly?” his mother asked. “Do you know that butterfly was once an ugly caterpillar just like the one we saw on the leaf?”

“Ah?” he asked surprisingly.

“Yes, it was,” his mom replied, “Thetransformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly remindsme of a story of a little boy named Greig who lived in a tiny, lush, serene village on Rosemary Lane on an island in the Caribbean we call Paradise Island.”

“Tell me the story, Mommy!” Noel said anxiously.

Greig was thefourth son of a single mom who had to work very hard to support herfamily, leaving him alone with his three brothers to be raised by the community. As Greig got older, he was loved by a gang of boys he called his friends. These friends caused him to love thestreets and fighting and other wrong doings. In school Greig fought, skipped classes, and

disrespected teachers so much that he was often told, “The ship that can’t be guided by the sailor would meet the rocks,” and “Who don’t hear does not feel,” and “You ain’t gonna turn out to be a thing but a bum.”

Greig took all the words and becamejust as he was told he would be. After completing school, Greig remained the bad boy he was, and ended up in jail. It was there where he realized that the people who say theyare yourfriends are not. Greig served his time. Afterhe was released, Greig decided to move to the United Kingdom. In the United Kingdom, Greig went back to school and began cooking as a career. Today, Greig is known as the Top chef of Great Britain. Hegives back to those who never thought he would become something, and shares his testimony as a mentoring guide to young boys. Greig was oncean ugly caterpillar, who ended up in a bottle forsome time,and transformed into one of themost colourful butterflies anyone can see. He spread his wings and flew.

“Wow, Mommy! This story is truly a beautiful transformation! Can I becomea butterfly too?” hecontinued asking.

“Yes, you can, son. You can, and I know you will,” replied his mother with a big smile.

“I will, Mom. This story will go with me all through my life, and I will be a colourful butterfly flying so high, brightening the day for other boys and girls, just like Greig.

ADVENTURES OF THE TROPICAL BUTTERFLY

By K’Myla Moses BVI Seventh Day Adventist School Aged 10 Tortola, British Virgin Islands

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful Butterfly named Lola Bloom.She wasborn on the island of Tortola, but was sent away to the island of Bahamas by hergrandparents to start a new life. She was colourful like a tropicalparrot, and was the Master of all butterflies. Lola guided big and small butterflies who were not able to be on their own. Lola was the most adventurous butterfly of them all. As the leader of the butterflies, she embarks on epicadventures. Lola decided to go on a really big adventure back to her hometown Mae Berry Botanics which is located in Tortola, BVI. She flew day and night to getback home. However, on her way she bumped into some otherbutterflies. The butterflies she met were Sam, Berry, and Joseph and they all became friends. All of them werekind and helpful. They always helped Lola do the mapping, and if she is too tired, they will give her water. All of them were heading back to the BVI but from different islands. On the trip, she also saw different countries like Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, and many more.It felt like Lola was flying for ages just to get to Tortola,but finally she reached. Lola flew all around and still couldn’t find her Hometown Mae BerryBotanics. As the night raced in, Lola went to sleep with doubt, and hopes of finding her home and learning more about herself. After that long break, Lola decided to pick herwings and continue on her way back to MaeBerry Botanics. The next day, Lola flew past a sign that said Mae Berry Botanics. Shehad thebrightest smile on her face. When Lola got there, she saw hergrandparents, and they flew and hugged each other. They told Lola that theyregretted flying her away and leaving her on her own. Lola forgave them

because she was very loving and kind, and she stayed with them forthree months.

One day, when flying around the Botanics, many of Lola’s neighbors said that she reminded them of hermom. They said they were both brave, bold, intelligent, and looked beautiful. Lola was brought to tears and decided to ask her grandparents about hermother. They realized that it was time for Lola to get her mother’s last wish and note.When they gave Lola the box, she quickly opened it, and flew around in haste because she was nervous. She first saw her Family’s heirloom,and she burst into tears, and her little colourful wings stopped fluttering. The heirloom was beautiful. On it was a note, “Be brave, be strong and never give up - Love, Mom”. Lola was filled with joy because a piece that felt missing now felt whole. Shefelt a part of her mother that she never felt before. After that day, Lola decidedthat it was her mission to help other butterflies in the same predicament as her to bea guide. Shefell in love with doing that, and was very respected in the butterfly community. Lola is the queen of herbutterfly family, and 20 years later, is still helping other butterflies. Lola continuously exhibits love, peace, passion, and hope to everyone.

BLOOMER

By Aaradhya Murukesan St. Joseph’s School Aged 7 Phillipsburg, Sint Maarten

Once upon a time, there lived a magical fairy, named Lizzie. She lived in a beautiful flower garden with otherfairies, butterflies and more. Lizzie’s job was to make sure everyone wasdoing whatthey’resupposedto, andto helpthosewho need it.Lizzie waslikea leader,butshewasneverrudeor demanding, just helpful. Many of thefairies looked up to Lizzie.

Lizziewasflyingaroundthegardenwhenshesawacaterpillar pushing around her friends. Lizzie quickly flew over to the caterpillar to see what was happening.

Lizzie asked, “Caterpillar, what is your name?" “Myname is Rosie,”respondedthecaterpillar.

“Well,Rosie, I sawyoupushingyourfriendsaround. Why were you doing that?”

“BecauseIwillbethefirstcaterpillar to turninto a butterfly, and I will be the most beautiful of all. So I need to eat the most food.”

“Well,” started Lizzie, “all of you will turn into beautiful butterflies and no one will be prettier than the other, as you willallbeunique.Youallwillgrowat your owntime.” ButRosie ignored herand continued to eat.

Then Lizzie turned to the other caterpillars and asked, “Would you like me to take you guys to a different plant to eat?”

“No, it’s okay. We don’t want to leave Rosie alone.”

Lizzie started thinking. Rosie needed to understand that everyoneisbeautifulanduniquein theirownway,andno one is better than the other. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. She needed to learn how to be patient.

Lizziecameupwith aplanto helpRosieunderstandthat. Lizzie decided to use her magic to slow down Rosie’s life cycle so Rosie will only be able to transform when she realizes her mistakes. Days went by, and Rosie continued to eat and grow.

One day, Rosie was eating some leaves when she noticed a few silkychrysaliseshangingonatwig."Oh, myfriendshave already turned into chrysalises," thought Rosie sadly. Lizzie saw Rosie, and came to her.

“Hey,Rosie, whyare youso sad?”

“Well, it'sbeenso long,andI'm notturninginto a butterfly. I don’t understand what’s happening.”

“Well,Rosie, everyonegrowsdifferentlyandyourtimewill come. You just have to be patient and understand that patience and kindness are the keys to success.”

In that moment, Rosie realized how valuable her friends were, even after the way she treated them. Soon all of her friends turned into beautiful butterflies. They all had different colouredwingswith uniquepatterns onthem.Theyflewoverto Rosie when they saw her.

“Hey, guys, you look so beautiful, and I’m so happy for you. I’m sorry for the way I treated you. It was very unkind and thankyoufor never leaving me.”

“It’sokay,Rosie!Wewillalwaysbehereforyou.Youwillalso turn into a beautiful butterfly very soon."

Lizziestoodafar,listeningto theirconversation.Lizziewas so happy to see Rosie’s changes. Just then, Rosie began to feel tired. Shefound a nice comfortabletwig, and decided to wrap herself in a silky blanketand fell into a comfortable slumber.

Rosie’s friends and Lizzie wanted to surprise her with a special welcome party. The party will have lots of dancing and music. Theywillalso playherfavouritesong, La Rumba.Finally, theday

was here and the surprise was ready.

Rosiestartedto awaken.Sherealizedthattherewasa tight covering around her, and she was not able to get out. She also heard musiccoming from outside. She pushedandpushed, trying to getout. Shebrokefree,andto her disbelief, shehad a pairof beautifulblueandgoldwings.Allherfriends surrounded her, clapping happily and congratulating her. Rosie joined the party, and everyone had so much fun! Rosie and her friends promised to remain together in all situations. Lizziecameoverto thegroupandsaid, “Congratulations, Rosie, and the rest of you! Now it’s timefor you to go explore what this wonderful world has to offer you,

Wherethechainsof mountainsgreen Variouslyinsunlightsheen Oh, I love thy Paradise Nature beautyfairlynice.

Moral of the story: Unkindness keepsyouback, whilelovetakesyouastepforward with true, kind, and helpful friends.

THE READING CLUB

By Ellie Nickason Cayman Prep and High School Aged 9 Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Cayman Prep students, Mia and Becky, chattered in class when they should’ve been listening. If the teacher hadn’t signalled silence, they might never have used that opportunity to help brighten the world of others.

Their teacher started handing assignments out. Mia read the paper and passed Becky a sticky note. It said, “Can I work with you?” The assignment was about a volunteer work project to help light up the world of others with acts of kindness and respect. Becky grinned and wrote back “Yes.”

That day after school, they walkedover to Becky’s house. “So, what do you want to do the projecton?” Becky asked.

“Well,” Mia started, but her phone beeped and interrupted them.

“Ugh,” Mia grunted. “Grandma says I have to get the groceries, so bye.” Mia said.

Talking about Mia’s grandmother gave Becky an idea for the project. “Wait! Why don’t we read to the elderly? Elderly people are often lonely, and I bet reading to them would light up their lives.”

“Brilliant!” Mia exclaimed, and jogged down the path, waving to her friend until she was out of sight.

Once Mia arrived home and unpacked the groceries, she asked her grandma to help pick out some books that the elderly might like.

They looked everywhere for books - in her grandma’s bookcase, at the public library, and at Becky’s house. In total, they picked out 58 books. After all that work, they were exhausted, so they fell asleep easily and dreamed lovely dreams.

When Mia awoke, she stuffed the books into several knapsacks and went to Becky’s house. Since it was early in the morning, Mia started throwing some pebbles at Becky’s window to wake her. Becky showed up with massive bed head at the window, and Mia beckoned her to come outside.

When Becky came outside, Mia showed her the books she had gathered. “Oh, hold on! I have some too.” Becky rushed inside and came out with a large bag filled with books.

The girls then went to find Jerry, Becky’s 18-year old cousin, and also her next-door neighbor. He opened the door with a large cup of coffee in his hands. “Hey, Jerry, we heard you are an amazing driver. Will you give us a ride to the Dolphin Ridge Nursing Home?” Jerry looked taken back by how fast Becky talked, but he agreed.

Fifteen minutes later, they were standing at the front desk of Dolphin Ridge, explaining their project to the receptionist, and asking if they could read to the elderly.

“Wow, girls, what a great idea and great thing to do! Yes, you could start right now,” the receptionist named Lisa replied. “There is a woman named Pattie who loves classics,” Lisa said. “Great, we’ll go grab our books,” Mia exclaimed and ran to the car to get the books. Lisa then showed the girls to Pattie’s room. They picked out Pattie’s favorite book titled Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery and set to work reading.

They read thefirst fivechapters, and then Pattie interrupted and said, “You haveread mea lovely story, but I must take a turn and tell you my story.” Pattie then told the pair what it was like to grow up in her homeland, Jamaica, longago. Forthe first time in her life, Mia realized the importance of communication between the youth and the elderly, and how rarely it happened. She realized that not only had she brightened Pattie’s day, but Pattie had brightened hers too.

Over the next few weeks, Mia and Becky returned to read at Dolphin Ridge. They read to many elderly people, but their favorite was Pattie for the stories she would tell. After they submitted the assignment, they still kept reading to the elderly. One day after school, Mia invited Becky over to her house. They wrote a letter to the Minister of Youth and Culture asking if they could have $500 to start a club to read to the elderly. A few weeks later, they were excited to receive a cheque from the Ministry. They used the money to print posters, buy more books, and create a website. The club was such a big success that eventually the government recognized it. The reading to the elderly program spread nationally and then globally.

Now, Mia and Becky’s story ends here, but this may be where yours starts. How can you help brighten the lives of others through an act of kindness?

JACOB AND JAMIE TO THE RESCUE!

By Srinivas Nidval Cayman Prep and High School Aged 9 Georgetown, Cayman Islands

Jacobwasa12-year-oldkidwholivedina beautiful, tropical islandintheCaribbeanknownasGrandCayman.He liveda relativelynormallifeandlivedwithhismum anddad.He wasnot a verypopularkidatschool, buthehadafewgood friends.He lovedto swiminthelovelyCaymanbeaches, andhe swam alot (andImeanALOT!), playedvideogames(likeother kidsathis school), andloved toplaybaseball.Helivedinhis two-storey, brick house.From theoutsidehishouselookedlike anaverage Britishhouseyouwouldsee, if youwereto go takea lovelystroll through theBritish countryside. OnenormalSaturdaymorning, Jacobwasmunchingonhis favorite, grilledcheesesandwich andsippingona citrusyglass oforangejuicewhenheheardsomethinginterestingonthe news.Thenewsreporterwastalkingaboutsomeillegal smugglingandtraffickingofblueiguanasandCaymanparrots from thenationalreservesof theIslands.Hethenrealized that itwas7:40 a.m.andthathewaslateforschool.Jacob sprinted outsideandsaid"ByeMom!Gottogo!"Hehoppedon tohis greenbicycleandrodeallthewaytoschool.Jacob explainedhis plantobreak thesmugglingringto hisfriends duringbreak time.Thefriendsformedfifteenteamsto hide outinthe nationalreservestocatch thesmugglers.Each team hadone phoneso thattheycouldcommunicateandcallforhelp. Bob andJeff were inTeam One andwentinhiding atThe Blue IguanaNationalReserve(BINR)laterthatevening.At exactly teno’clock inthenight, Jacob spottedaslendermanin a black hat, black trousers,andblacksweatshirt.Jacobsignaled to the otherkidstobealert.Therewereonlyfivesmugglersso

Jacob was confident that he and his large team could handle the smugglers.

Jacobhadalreadydevisedawaytodefeatthosewretched thieves.TheypaintedJamie(Jacob'spetiguana)ina shadeof bluethatwasthesameshadeofcolourasablueiguana.Then theyletJamieoutto enticethesmugglers.Suddenly, allthebig mendressedinblack, hurriedtowardsJamietheiguana.While themenwerebusy, Jacob's crew wentaroundtheback of the smugglers'truck, andtransferredallthecapturedblueiguanas and parrotsandloadedthem into Jacob'sdad'struck.(Earlier thatday,Jacob hadconfidedhis planto his dad.Hisdadwas happytohelp,andhadbroughtthekids tothereserveinhisbig truck.)Thereptilesandparrotswereterrified; Jacobandhis friendsstrokedeachoneof them inacomfortingway.

Oneof themen sawJamieandsignaledto otherstocome closer to theiguana.TheburlysmugglersrantowardsJamie and trappedhim.Justatthismoment, officersfromCayman Police, who werealertedbythekids'team,rushedinand nabbedthe evilsmugglers. Thefollowingday,theCaymanIslandsGovernmentissueda statementthatthesmugglershadbeenarrested,andthat they wereplanningto selltheanimalsforhighprices.The smugglers hadahigh bountyworldwideforsmugglingexotic animalsfrom SriLanka, India,South Africa, andAustralia. The kids were rewarded by the Government with a lifetime supply of cassava cake and snow cones. They also got rewarded with a huge sum of money for their bravery. Jacob and the other kids donated a part of the money to the Cayman National Trust to continue their good work on conservation projects.

Jamie, the pet iguana, was also rewarded with lifetime supply of iguana food, and as a mark of appreciation, a statue of Jamie was installed in GeorgeTown.

GOOBER AND THE FEEL-GOOD FRUIT

By Ameer Norman Juanita Jardin Elementary School Aged 9 St. Croix, US Virgin Islands

Goober was a boy who never felt good. His dog Ace was very playful but Goober was never in the mood.

One day, Goober‛s teacher, Mr. Ford, told them about the Feel-Good Fruit. “The Feel-Good Fruit isamazing! It makes you feel like you can do anything! But to findit, you must travel to the Juju Forest.”

But Goober thought it could never be true. That same day, Goober visited his favorite uncle, Uncle Rudy. When Goober told him about the Feel-Good Fruit, his uncle said, “Ah yes it‛s true. I also have eaten thefruit. What a wonderful experience!”

Goober begs his uncle to please takehim; and he says Yes, but first they must ask Goober‛s parents. Goober‛s parents have never seen him so excited, so they say, “Of course you may go, but you must take Ace with you.”

So the next morning, Goober, Uncle Rudy, and Ace traveled to the Juju Forest. They went deep into the forest and came up to a mountain. Themountain was called Rockfall Mountain. It got its name from the huge rocks that would come tumbling down once you reached half way up. So they started to climb. It was incredibly hard and dangerous. Goober started having doubts, but his uncle believed in him. When they got halfway there,they split up because they thought that giant rocks sliding down every time someone climbs here was weird.

Finally, after many hours, they got to the top. Right before them stood a huge tree, full of ripe, luscious, golden fruit! Hiding behind the tree were two men.

Uncle Rudy asked, “Who are you and why are you here?”

“We are the Norman twins,” they answered. “We‛re here because this tree has delicious fruitand so we guard it. We roll boulders down the mountain becausewe believe people will steal the fruit this tree has. Why have you come up themountain?”

“We have come to find the Feel-Good Tree,” Uncle Rudy answered. “Ah, theFeel-Good Tree! Well you have come to the right place. Infact, there is the Feel-Good Tree right there!”

They looked over to where the twinswere pointing, and there stood a smaller, older tree with small, hard, redfruit. “Since you have travelled to the mountaintop, you make take one of thefruit. Take itback down themountain, and through theJuju Forest. Eat it right before yougo to bed. And then you will see.”

Goober didn‛t ask them what hewould see, but he went up to the tree and picked afruit. Goober and Uncle Rudy thanked the Norman twins. Ace barked. Then they made their wayback down the mountain, through the forest and to home. That night, before going to bed, Gooberate thehard, redfruit.

The next morning, bright and early, he didn‛t see anything special. He didn‛t feel anything special. So hegot up and went downstairs where his Mom was busymakingbreakfast. “Good morning, Mom. Can I help you make breakfast?”

“Sure honey,” Mom said. After breakfast, Goober helped his mom clean up. Then, he went outside and helped his dad wash the car and trim the hedges.

After helping his mom with lunch, hewent over to Uncle Rudy‛s house. Uncle Rudy was busy workingin his yard, so Goober asked, “Can I help you work in your yard, Uncle Rudy?” He helped Uncle Rudy rake up dead leaves, then mow the lawn, and

pull weeds from the garden. After that they went inside and vacuumed the carpets and took out the trash.

“It sure seems as though that Feel-Good Fruit has you feeling really good!”, his uncle said. Goober thought for a second, then he said, “I don‛t know Uncle Rudy. I think I feel just about the same, but I noticed one thing though.”

“What‛s that Goober?” his favorite uncle asked. “I really like being helpful”, he said.

So after Goober helped Uncle Rudy, he went home and helped Mom with dinner before going to bed. He was very, very tired. When Goober woke up the next morning, he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked around. Then, making a contented sigh, he got up, and started helping all over again.

DIFFERENCE!

Jordanne Ogbourne Edna Moyle Primary School Aged 10 Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

One warm, sunny day in April, I was picking mangoes from a tree in my backyard when I heard my little sister Rosie scream loudly. My heart skipped a beat. I abandoned my task and rushed inside to see what was going on. As soon as I entered the living room, I saw Rosie standing as still as a statue, with a disturbed look on her face. She was trembling as if she had just seen a ghost. My heart pounded wildly as I asked her what she was screaming about. “Her,” she whispered as she pointed towards the verandah. At that moment, mom dashed into the room with her hands perched on her hips and gave my sister a stern look. “Why did you do that?” she asked in a soft, but angry voice. While mom washaving a serious chat with my sister, I went to see what scared her. It was just a girl who was sitting on the sofa with her mom, but when she turned and looked at me, I was as terrified asRosie, but I kept mymouth shut. It was a girl with a deformed face! Her left eyewas lower than her right eye; she had no eyebrows or eyelashes. I'm trying not to be mean, but the left sideof her face looked so wrinkled that it made her look like a 90-year-old grandma. I said “Hi” and she shyly waved at me. While my mom tried to makeRosieapologize to the girl's mother, I tried to cheer the girl up, and it kind of worked because we began to talk.I asked her if she wanted a mango, and shesaid sure, so we atemangoes in my backyard and joked around. I found out that her namewas Sally and that she was 12. It was quite a joy to hear that because I was 12 as well.

We both laughed and talked for a while until her mom interrupted us and said, “I see you two are getting along. That's great, but we need to go now.”

Sally's smile disappeared, and she suddenly looked sad. “Don't worry. You'll see her at school tomorrow,” Sally's mother whispered as she tried to comfort her.

I am not sure whether anyone else could tell, but I could tell that Sally was excited to go to school the following day, and I figured it had something to do with me.

That Monday morning, Sally and I walked to school together. I had been attending St. Jude's Primary School for what seemed like all my life, but it was Sally's first day there. As we strolled down the street, we saw other children walking to school just like us. Each time we saw one of them, they would either whisper in the ear of the person next to them or make a disgusting face like they saw a piece of goo from the sewer. When we arrived at school, it was the same thing, but they also started teasing. Sally was good at ignoring them, and somehow, we managed to make it through the day. That evening, as we walked home, I told her something that might have saved her life.

“You are not ugly. I know that because I know you and I know how much fun you are. I know how emotional you are, and I know how caring you are. So, if anyone says you're ugly, just know that it's because they don't know you well,” I told her.

Sally thanked me for my kind words. She made me know how happy it made her feel. We arrived at my house shortly after. Then we hugged and went our separate ways. It had been a great day!

Over the next few months, the children got to know Sally, and she also had several surgeries that made her look a little more like the rest of us. She also said I was like a sister to her.

Now, Sally and I are both lucky enough to be going off to the University of the West Indies – the school of our choice. I have a feeling that we will be best friends for a long time, and each time I think about it, I experience a feeling of joy. I am happy that I looked beyond Sally's physical appearance and got a chance to know her because we have so much in common!

BEING FRIENDS

By Malena del Olmo Gifft Hill School Aged 9 St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands

Once upon a time, there were a bananaquit and an iguana that once lived on a small, beautiful island in the Caribbean calledGroovy Island. One day,they met at a grassy hill and started talking.

“How are you on such a fine day?” asked the iguana. “I'm good,” replied the bananaquit.

So they talked and talked and talked until it got dark. Before they left, the iguana asked, “Do you want to be friends? You are very kind.”

“Sure! I would love to be your friend,” the bird smiled. So they became friends.

The next day, the bananaquit woke up in her large nest and told her dad about the iguana.

“I met this really nice iguana! He was really interesting, and he wanted me to be hisfriend,” said the bird happily.

“Awesome! I’m so glad,” said the dad. So they had yummy sunflower seeds for breakfast and watched the news.

“Thisjustin!Themayormadeanewlawthatotheranimal speciescan't be friends. Thanksforwatching,” reported the reporter.

“Oh no! I have to tell iguana!” criedthe bird.

The bananaquit flew out of her nest, and got very tired and took a break. A few minutes later, she started flying again until she got to a very tall palm tree, which was the iguana's house. She finally arrived after those few minutes. She told the iguana about the news.

Theiguana feltitwasterriblyunfair andhesaid, “Thisis unfair! We need to change this! But how?”

After a few seconds, the iguana yelled, “Oh! I have an idea! We canshowthemayorhowmanyanimalsdon'tlikethislaw.I'msure wecangetalotofanimals.”

So they both went around asking all the animals. By the time it gotdark,almostthewholeislandwasinterested!Theiguana knew itwouldbeagoodidea.Alltheanimalswent,followingthe iguanato a dark, dark forest to go to the mayor's spooky office. They arrived, and the iguana explained, “Mayor, can you please just listen? Imagine if a hurricane passes by and everything is a disaster! We need all animals to help so we can make a better clean-up and replanting and building. We need teamwork. Justthink about it.”

"I didn't think it was a great law, because I haven't made a law before, and it was the only thing that popped out of my head. I wanted to see how it would turn out. I guess you have a point. I guess if it is so unfair, I will change it. I guess I was a little harsh and dumb anyway. Sorry,” said the mayor in a notso-grumpy way. The whole island went wild! They celebrated with a feast with yummy food andfun games. And so, the iguana and the bananaquit were the best of friends and got to travel to many places together, do cool activities, and they all lived happily after.

THE FRIENDLY FLAMINGO

By Eniye Omoregie Ivan Dawson Primary School Illustrated by Enoye Omoregie and Chrisanya Dias

Aged 10 and 8

Tortola, British Virgin Islands

It was a sunny day in the salt pond in Beef Island, Tortola, home to several families of RoseateFlamingos. On that sunny day, there was a special, intelligent, and friendly flamingo. Her name was Emily. She went to look for food for herself and her family, who lived at Number Five Mangrove Gardens. On her way, she saw another flamingo crying. Shehad never seen this flamingo before. Herfeathers werevery pale pink and her legs quite wobbly and pink-red. “What isyour name?” Emily asked the strange flamingo.“My name isElla and I am lost. I was trying to use my map to return home, but I lost it in the tropical storm that passed the waters two nights ago!” Ella replied. “Oh!” Emily exclaimed, “Youmean Tropical Storm Matthew! It‛s good that it didn‛t turn into a hurricane. We in the BVI areblessed, as storms usually shy away from our territory! Do not worry Ella. You can come to my house. We have lots of food and you can meetmy family,” said Emily. Ella stopped crying. Eleven minutes after, Emily reached to her beautiful home, and Ella said it looked like the perfect mangrove palace. The roots of themangroves crossed over each other in interesting patterns. They were all shapes and sizes. There was plenty of shade from the Caribbean sun, and you could hear the cars passing nearby the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge.Thecars stopped to pay the toll, and then drove over the bridge.There wasa healthy population of Roseate flamingos. Emily was definitely the friendliest of them all. For dinner, Ella, Emily, and Emily‛s family

ate algae, brine shrimp, and aquatic plants. It was delicious, but Ella thought that the ones in Anegada tasted much better. Ella started to miss home again. “Are you ok, Ella?" Emily asked.“Youlook sad,” Emily continued. “I just miss Anegada,” Ella replied. “I used to live in a beautiful mangrove community in the area called Flamingo Pond. Sadly, the area was so beautiful, but has started to be more developed and now has morebuildings around it. My family and I decided to fly away in search of a new home. I got caught in the tropical storm and ended up here."

“We had friends who visited us from Flamingo Pond every summer to observe the celebrationsof theBVI‛s August Festival activities. They were excited to see loud varieties of fungi, calypso and socamusic, moko jumbies galore, colourful costumes, and dancers in the street, and excited people jumping off the bridge just overhead. We heard that many flamingos left Flamingo Pond and other ponds in Anegada. We also heard about the Conservation Agency who was trying to bring flamingosback to Anegada‛s salt ponds,” said Emily. Suddenly Ella had an idea. “How do you get to Beef Island Airport?" she asked. Then a loud noise startled Ella. “What is that noise?" Ella asked. “A plane is landing at the airport. Takecover!” replied Emily. Then Ella remembered her plan. She remembered seeing the workers from the conservation agency takinga plane. She thought that, if they saw her, they would take herto her other family members. “I would miss you so much,” sighed Emily, “but I hope that the plan works and you can find your friends and family in Anegada.” Emily and Ella rushed to the airport, and sneaked near enough so that theRotary workers with the Conservation agency would see them.

Sure enough, the plan worked. Ella was taken on to the plane and was joined with the otherflamingos. Emily never saw Ella again,bu t heard that today, in a great pond in Anegada, there are no roads where the large colonyof Roseate Flamingos live. Emily never forgot Ella, and Ella never forgot how herfriend from Beef Island, Tortola, took careof her when she wasin trouble.

JUNK-A-NEW FRIENDS

By Raign Plakaris P.A. Gibson Primary School Aged 10 Eleuthera, Bahamas

It was just before Junior Junkanoo time when I met my new friend Ashley. Junkanoo is like a mini Mardi Gras for the Bahamas. It originated many years ago when slaves on plantations on many of the islands were given a day off from work to celebrate the holidays.

Junkanoo was held around Christmastime, Boxing Day, and New Year’s Day to be exact. During thisperiod, all Bahamians ate well, danced in the streets to music created by any and all sorts of instruments, and made costumesusing whatever materials found.

Ashley and her family had moved to the Bahamas from England, so these festivities were very new to Ashley. She knew absolutely nothing about Junkanoo or of our Bahamian culture.

At first, Ashley was very shy, and I could tell she was lonely. The other kids laughed at her because of her strange British accent and made fun of her curly, long, blonde hair. I would often see her sitting alone at break and lunch time.

She appeared to be very depressed. Finally, one day I went up to her and introduced myself.

As I approached her, Ashley seemed to be a bit nervous and turned bright red, but she flashed a great big smile. “Hello,” I said. As I told her a little about myself, I could see that she was starting to feel a little comfortable.

Still a bit reluctant, she started to open up and told me that her family moved to the Bahamas for job opportunities from England. We hit it off after that.

I told her about the school and how it got its name. I also told her about the teachers - those who were nice and helpful, and those not so nice. I even told her about some of the students, especially those to avoid, like the bullies and the ones who did not focus on their schoolwork. I surely did not forget to tell her about all of the great things at our school too. We ended up spending the entire break together, getting to know each other, and decided to become friends.

Ashley said that she had two brothers: one was two and the other was twelve. Her father worked, and her mother stayed at home. To our surprise, she did not live far from me, so we decided to walk home together. During our stroll home, I mentioned that I was in my church dance group and invited her and her family to church. We became inseparable. We would get together every day during break and lunch time. We became very good friends. By the time Junior Junkanoo came, which is for kids, we were like two peas in a pod.

At Junior Junkanoo, I took Ashley to the best spots to see the beautiful floats and talented dancers. Ashley wanted to get a closer look at the costumes, so she had wandered off. After some time, I realized that she had not come back. I called out her name. However, there was so much noise from the cowbells and drums that my voice was drowned out and she could not hear me.

When there was no answer from herand I could not see her anywhere, I started to panic.I quickly pulled myself together, took a bigbreath, found the nearest police officer,and asked forhelp. I gave theofficera full description of Ashley. He told me to remain with my parents, and he would start a search for her. I was so worried about my friend! I prayed for her to be okay.

It felt like hours had passed and there was still no sign of Ashley. I was losing hope. Suddenly, I saw her, and I embraced her with a hug.

When I asked her where she went, she said that she had gone closer to the road to get a better view of the parade. I explained to her that she should never go off on her own because it can be dangerous, seeing that we were so far away from home.

She said that she understood, and promised never to do it again.

It has been a full year since we have met, and we are still best friends!

SAM’S UNDER SEA ADVENTURE

Written and Illustrated

Cayman Prep and High School

By Oliver J. Porter Aged 8 Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Under the sea, just off Star Fish Point in the Caribbean Sea, there lived a striped parrotfish called Sam. He lived in an abandoned red bucket which a child had left behind one day. Sam lived with his family -- his mother and father, his brother, Jake, and his baby sister, Dilly. One day Sam, the fish, was looking for fun. Other than watching the boats go by, he wished he could find something to play with, or go out with one of his friends. He tried his best looking for Timmy Turtle, his best friend.

He swam over to see Sidney, theStar Fish, to ask if hehad seen Timmy. Sidney said, "No notat all! I have not." Next, up at the coral reef, Sam swam into -- no really, he actually swam right into – Mr. Sergeant Major Fish who was out riding his seahorse. "Easy there, young Sam!" said the Sergeant. Sam asked the Sergeant if he had a clue where Timmy could be.The Sergeant said, “He might be at thetop of The Great Coral Tower.”

Sam was scared because divers and the tides makeThe Great Coral Tower dangerous for sea creatures. Sam knewhe would need to be brave to find hisfriend. He suddenly saw Timmy ahead of him, and called out to him, but Timmy couldn't hear him because of the noiseof the boat above them. The swirling water sucked Timmy awayfrom Sam.

Sam swam to catch up with Timmy, but he was at the topof the Coral Tower.Sam saw a sign saying, "No Sea Kids Allowed at the Top of the Tower." It is known to be dangerous. Sam lost sight of Timmy. Luckily, the boat moved away, and Sam was able to swim safely again. But it was still not safe, and the guards were coming up. Sam could hear the guards come up, so Sam hid in a hole. "I thought I heard something," said Guard 1. "Me too!" said Guard 2. "Phew!" said Sam, as the guards swam past into the storage room.

Sam wasable to swim up the smooth staircase of TheGreat Coral Tower,afterboth guards wereout of sight in the storage room, so hecould look for his friend. Sam called out for Timmy.

He could not see him, and it was getting dark. He knew the Great Coral Tower would shut at 9.30 p.m. and he did not want to get shut inside it for the night. He had to find Timmy before it was too late!

When Sam got to the top of the tower, he found Timmy. Timmy was yanking at plastic because a six-pack ring had come in through the window of the tower and tangled up all Timmy's fins and his head. Sam tried to help Timmy, but he was stuck. Timmy said, "Help, help!" in a nervous way. Sam needed help because this was not a job for one Sam. He can't do that by himself. "I will come back with help," Sam promised Timmy.

Sam swam as quickly as he could down to the bottom of the tower, being careful to avoid the guards. He knew who could help. He went to find Barry the Great Barracuda and explained what had happened to Timmy. Barry said, "We had better hurry! I could use my lucky sharp tooth to snap the plastic.”

Together the fish swam back to thetower and up the smooth staircase. They sawTimmy. Barry tried his hardest to get his tooth right through the plastic. Sam tugged at the plastic to help free his friend. Suddenly the plastic broke. Timmy was free!

The guards came in, but Timmy was laughing so hard because he was so happy to be free. Barry told the guards what had happened, and they were taken to hospital where a nurse, the friendly nurse shark, checked Timmy over. Timmy had some tests, and the nurse said he was OK to go home.

Sam, Timmy, and Barry learned their lesson and were much more careful in future.

THE GRATEFUL MONGOOSE

By Sho'Nique Powell Lockhart Elementary School Aged 10 St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands

This little mongoose was very shy, kind, and helpful. He loved to help keep the environment clean. He wasn't much of a talker, but he was very nice and quiet. This is his story.

"Mommy, Mommy!" the twins cried out, "Tell us a story!"

"All right, my little pumpkins," Mom replied. "Once upon a time, there was a mongoose and he was stuck on top of a roof."

"How did he get up there?" the twins enquired.

"To gather and pick up trash to keep the neighborhood clean," Mom replied. "He knew that the high winds had blown the trash on the roof. This could make the guttering full with garbage and then go into the cistern when it rained again.

Mom continued, "He was forgetting that he was scared of heights. He saw the trash on the roof and got busy cleaning. He was not aware he had gone so high. When he realized how high he had gotten, he froze and started to panic."

The twins started to cry. "Will he get hurt? Will he stay there forever? What is he going to do?" They were anxious to find out.

Mom looked at them with kind eyes and was surprised that they were so concerned for the mongoose's safety. "Calm down a little and I will continue," she said. "The mongoose looked around and saw an iguana lying on a tree close by."

He called out, "Iguana, Iguana, I climbed up too high and I'm really frightened."

The iguana shouted back to him, "If you come over to me on this tree, I can help you down."

"But I'm scared to move from here!" cried the mongoose. The iguana had an idea. Last week when he was in the schoolyard, he learned a song from the students in music class. He began to coax the mongoose with the song, "Sampolo," lyrics by Bill Lamotta. Iguana sang, "Sam-po-lo---ma-ma call-in' you…" Mom continued. Slowly Mongoose began to move towards Iguana in the tree. Soon he was easing himself down the tree and was soon on the ground."

The twins, who were holding their breath, released it slowly. They now wanted Mom to sing the song again. After singing, Mom continued with the story.

The next day was a beach picnic, andall the animals were there. President Hummingbird forthe Environmental Club walked over to Mongooseand thanked him for risking his life inkeeping the environment clean. Mongoose was amazed, and told her that it was nothing, and he enjoyed keeping the neighborhood clean. The Club then presented a fruit basket, to Mongoose's surprise, which he shared with Iguana. Mongooseknew that you have to begrateful to those who help you.

KHALID AND THE STREET CHICKENS

Lockhart Elementary

School

ByXhian VenzD.Refil Aged7 St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands

Once upon a time, on the island of St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, in a place called Savan, a boy named Khalid was known to everyone as a bully. One day, his mother cooked a yummy boiled rice and fried fish. "This food was very delicious mommy," Khalid said. Though the food was very good, Khalid had some leftover rice. His mom took it and went out to the backyard where she scraped the food off the plate. He asked her, "Mommy what are you doing that for?" She told him that it was not good to waste food so she was giving it to the street chickens.

As soon as his mother threw the rice in a clearing on the ground, a flock of chickens gathered, and started to peck the food.Khalid stayed in the backyardwhile his mom entered the house. As soon as he could no longersee his mom, Khalid took some tiny rocks and threw it after the chickens. Immediately, the chickens scattered in every direction. Henny, the leader of the chickens, said to herband of chickens, "You have to save and protect yourself." Rusty chickenanswered, “Yes, we have to run; that boy is mean." The chickenswent to hide in the hut behind Khalid's house. Henny chicken said, "We have to findanother place and stay away from that house." Everybody agreed.

The next day, Khalid's mom put their leftover food in the backyard again, but no chickens showed up to eat the food. The following day, Khalid went to the backyard to play and noticed there were lots of flies and the place smelt awful. Then he saw that was the food was still there, and had soured, and too, the ants and flies were gathering around it. At the same time,his

mom cameout, smelled the spoilt food, and told Khalid she could not figure out why the chickens did not come to eat the food. She then said to Khalid, "Please clean this up before you go to play!" Khalid was angry he had to do an extra chore instead of going to play, but knew it washis fault that the chickens did not comeby. Still very upset after cleaning up, Khalid wanted to climb the "genip" tree. As he was walking, andnot looking where he was going, hetripped on the roots of the tree, and his left foot got stuck. Khalid could not get out. He started to cry. "Help! Help! Somebody please help me!"

“Waah! Waaah!" Khalid's crying got louder and louder. Henny chicken stopped pecking in the hut. She lifted her head. Therewas that cry again.Sheknew that voice sheheard crying. Speaking to herself, she said, “Thatsounded like Khalid crying. He must be in trouble.” She turned to the other chickens saying, "Looks like something happened to Khalid. We must help him!"

“Oh no!" exclaimed Rusty, "Not thatbully!" But Henny explained that even though Khalid was not kind to them, there was always food in his yard, and they needed to help anyone who was in danger. All the chickens then went to whereKhalid was trapped, and started scratching at the roots until his foot got loose. Khalid stopped crying, and was surprised that chickens helped him though he was nasty towards them. "Thank you for freeing me. I promiseI will be kind to all ofyou from now on. You have helped me understand what my Granma tells me when I am terrible to others. She says, 'Do unto others as you would like them do to you.' You were very niceto me, although I did horrible things to you," Khalid told to them. "It is all right. Forget it. You are safenow," Henny said. They then helped Khalid into the house.

The next day, Khalid brought some leftover food to the backyard and called out to his new friends. “Here chicky, chicky, here chicky, chicky!" The chickens came running happily towards Khalid. They would be best friends forever.

THE THING I LOVE THE MOST

By Nikolai Richards Kensington Primary School Aged 9 Portmore, Jamaica

A nine year old boy who has a great love for football

NikolaiRichards is surely my name.

Playing football, that‛s my game. A team of eleven players and a ball that‛s round, At the end of half time, a whistle issound. Your legs and knees will need a shield.

Oh! Football is played on an open field.

Players are changed most of the time, So sitting on a bench you‛re next in line.

There are rules that seem so hard.

When a wrong moveis made, you‛re given a card. Kicking the ball straight through the net, My team will win, you wanna bet.

Winning a game, you have to score goals, So always remember to do what you‛ve been told. A football game can be so much fun. You better be sure you can run. Oh my God! There‛s so many things it seems, When it comes to afootball game, there‛s got to be a team. In this game, energy is a must.

When the ball starts rolling, there‛s gonna be dust.

For a football game, I have all the love. It‛s a God-given talent straight from above. In my mind, I surely can think Of all these words to a football link. So comeon now. Here we go. Just rememberI said so.

F – Is for football. I yield to the call. This game I lovemost of all.

O – Overtimebeing played all the time. This takes place after ninety minutes time.

O – Over ourheads and into the net. At that time our needs of a goal has been met.

T – Tall or short everyone can play, rain or sunshine all through the day.

B – Between those posts when goals are scored, cover your ears and listen for the roar.

A – Anytime, anywhere over the world, football is loved by young and old.

L – Laugh out loud when there is a joke. Warning is given when the referee spoke.

L – Live, love, look and learn.When football is playing, goals must be earn.

I love football, I have the skill.Football I will play from now until.

TROUBLE IN PARADISE

By Stephanie Richards Cayman Prep and High School Aged 9 Georgetown, Cayman Islands

Bubbles and Finn were the best of fish friends. Both were born in a small cove that all the sea creatures called Paradise Cove. However, thepeoplelivingonthe land calleditsomething different-HogsSty Bay.BubblesandFinngrewtogether. It wassoonobviousthat Finnwas growing likecrazy, and Bubbleshardly grew atall. That didn’t changeanythingthough;theyweregreatfriends! Bubbles, beinga Sprat, wasalwaysgoingtobea littleguy; while Finn, borna Barracuda, gotSObig, thathe couldn’tfit into their mazeofsmallcracksandcavesinthecoralheadsthey playedin askidsanylonger. One windy day, (which they loved) they were playing in the waves breaking on the Ironshore when they spotted something white rolling around down on the sea floor. It looked like a really big, bloated, jellyfish; it was so weird! It must have been dead because it didn’t really move. In fact, it was their first encounter with a shopping bag.

Being curious, Finn nudged it with his nose, and his teeth caught it because the white bag busted open! Strange things came out of this white jellyfish. It was good that both Bubbles and Finn had started school, as they were able to read some words. A red and white thing rolled out and when it stopped there was a weird word on it that said “Coke” in wiggly writing. There was another item that didn't roll away as it was a lot bigger and flat. It was mostly white and had the words Cayman Herald on it. They both swam closer, and a picture caught their eyes.

Itwasaphoto of theirhome!Itwasso coolbecausetheyhad neverseena viewof itfrom thesky!Theywerereallyexcited to takeitback to theirparentsto showthem theirdiscovery. Theyshoweditto theirparentswhowerehorrifiedwhenthey readthewords“NEWPORTAPPROVED.”Theirparentswere reallymadandsad.BubblesandFinnwerealso sadwhenthey realisedtheirhomewasgoingto bedestroyed.

Acoupleof dayslater whentheyweremessingabout, they lookedatthebigwhiteobjectagain,thewordsweremuch harder to readfor somereason, as thelettershadbecome very blurry, butthey could see a pirate’sface. Lots of them infact. Bubblesknewwhatapiratewasbecausetheywouldsee them everyyearactingverysilly!Finnsuddenlyshouted through his big teeth, "It’sgoing to befireworksnightsoon!" Theyloved this night, as itmade thewater sparkleand shimmer.Allthesea creatureswouldgettogetherontheseafloorto gazeinwonder atthesurface.

That was when Bubbles got an idea! “Let’s do a protest!”

They got all of the sea creatures together and made a plan. Many of them thought Bubbles’ idea was crazy, but word had spread about the funny creatures on land and their plans, so they all agreed to protest, even those lazy lobsters!

Onthenightof thefireworks,allthefish,starfish, jellyfish, sharks, stingrays,andeveryoneandanyonewhocouldswim got into position.Theyallstaredinwondermentasthefireworks glistenedupabovethesurface.Whenthefireworksweregoing reallycrazy, theyknewtheendwascomingandtheygotinto theirspots.Theplanwasaboutto begin3,2, 1!

They all held fins; and tentacles wrapped around shells; and then together they all began to swim to the surface. They were so many, thousands and thousands.

Onqueue.theglowwormsandthejellyfish -those bigdinner

plate ones, lit up! The people on land thought it was part of the show and were flabbergasted! The animals had formed a note saying HELP!

ThenextdayBubblesandFinnwereswimmingbythe ironshore, whentheysawabigpostersayingNOPORT! They wereso pleased!BubblesandFinnwentto telltheothersand allof the seacreaturesshouted"YAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!" Everyone,evenlittlecreatures,cando somethingto helpthe environment.

DOING RIGHT

By Lezli-Ann Richardson Gladys A. Abraham Elementary Aged 11 St. Thomas US Virgin Islands

There was a group of three boys in my 6th Grade class called the "troublemakers." They hung out together, and did everything together. They were always disrespectful to their classmates, teachers, and whoever got in their way.

One day our class had some visitors. Two 6th Grade students from a school in St. Croix came to visit our class. They were winners of a Science Fair Competition, and one of their prizes was to visit schools in St. Thomas and St. John to share their projects. Then they would go to Florida for a National Science Fair Competition. Our teacher, Mrs. Glasford, reminded us, "I want you to remember to be on your best behavior. We want our guests to feel welcomed, and we want to be able to hear their presentations."

Of course, everyone, except for the "troublemakers," listened to Mrs. Glasford. You could hear them whispering, "Those nerds are so dumb and who cares about their silly projects." I think they were just jealous, and I couldn't wait till lunch was over to look at the projects.

When it was finally time to go to the library, everyone was shocked to find out that someone had stolen some items from the project and a part of it was broken. "Who could have done this?" shouted one of our visitors. I had a feeling, but didn't say anything. I knew what the "troublemakers" did to snitches. All the adults were disappointed and upset. I'm sure Mrs. Glasford knew it was the "troublemakers." But after searching for clues as to who could have done this and finding none, she

couldn't prove that it was them. The project would stay at our school until it was fixed.

Mrs. Glasford didn't know what else to do to help the "troublemakers" change their ways. That night she said an extra prayer for those boys, and asked God to show her the path to help them.

The next morning, Mrs. Glasford came in a little earlier than usual and even seemed happy. We started our morning routine with no mention of what had happened yesterday. I really thought the whole class was going to get punished for what had happened.

Suddenly, Mrs. Glasford asked us to listen up to our next project. "Not another project!" the class moaned. She went on to explain the project, but said this one would be different from any project we had ever done before. This project would be one that would help us grow and become better people. This got our attention. It even seemed like the "troublemakers" were listening.

She explained that our project was called "Pay It Forward." We each would spend the week doing good deeds for others without expecting something in return. We could even do it anonymously. At the end of the week, we would do an oral presentation on our experiences.

She did not want us to mention what we had done, but to explain how we felt about what we did. As simple as this project seemed, we were all wondering who we could help. I looked over at the "troublemakers" and noticed that they didn't look too excited anymore. I guess they thought this was stupid.

Just then I got an idea. I thought to myself, "What if my first good deed was to help the "troublemakers?" I decided that

the next day I would bring them each a snack, and place it on their desks before they came. They never brought snacks and nobody liked sharing with them. The next morning, I came to school early, and placed a snack on each of their desks. They were excited to get their veryown snack! They seemed to be in such a good mood, and the whole day went by really well. By the middle of the week, people weredoing good deeds, not only in our class but in other classes as well. Even the teachers were doing good deeds. Everyone was paying it forward.

But the best thing that happened was when someone put back the stuff they had stolen from thescience fair project and fixed what had been broken. When the day came to make our presentations, everyone talked about how good they felt doing good deeds. No one used the word troublemaker any more. We all were a little bit more caring and willing to share. Our school felt like a whole new place and all because we started doing good deeds.

HOMELESSNESS CREATES A POSITIVE IMPACT

By Jeremy Richolle St. Joseph’s School Aged 7 Sint Maarten, Dutch West Indies

This story highlights steps taken by the homeless in a Caribbean community to care for their environment and shows the impact it created.

EverydayJohncouldbeseensleepingoncardboardboxes under thebigmango treeatthe cornerofJumpStreetandGuinep Lane inBrownsTown, St.Maarten.Since beinghomeless, John’s days mostly consistedofsleepingandbegging passersbyfor moneyandfood.

He had plenty of pride and was very ashamed to beg, but it was the only way for him to survive. Sometimes passersby would stop and hand him something to eat or some money.

John, being the kindhearted person he is, would always share the food and money he received from strangers with his fellow homelessfriends.

Now, can you imagine living on the streets with no shelter, no clothes, and nothing to occupy your mind? The reality of being homeless was sickening. The living conditions were horrible. The streets John saw daily were nothing like the well-kept ones plastered on billboards and TV screens. St. Maarten is advertised as an island paradise; however, Browns Town is a neglected community far away from areas frequented by tourists.

Didn’t John and his friends deserve a clean home too? Were they not people just like anyone else?

On one bright sunny morning, the warm rays of the Caribbean sun dancing on his face woke John from his sleep. As he looked

aroundandsawpilesofgarbageyetagainthrownonthestreet, hedecidedtohimselfthatenough wasenough.“Ihavetorid thestreetofallthegarbagepeopledumphere,”hesaid.

John decided to meet with his homeless friends and solicit their help to clean up the streets. They all hated how dirty and smelly the streets were, so they agreed to help John.

Every morning they would be up at the crack of dawn picking up garbage. Plastic bottles, food boxes, soda cans, and gum wrappers were some of the items littering the streets.

John and his friends would pack the garbage in black plastic bags they found on the street, then walk about a quarter of a mile to put the garbage in the big, green dumpster on Camille Drive.

Afewweekshadpassed,andpeoplestartednoticinghowclean thestreetswere.Atfirst, folksthoughttheMeadowlands CleaningCompanywasresponsibleforcleaninguptheareauntil theyrealizedthatitwas Johnandhisfriendsdoingallthe work.

People of the community were amazed that the homeless men took it upon themselves to clean up the community and did so without even asking for anything in return.

Slowly but surely people’s attitudes began to change once they saw the homeless men setting such a good example. People became more thoughtful in the way they disposed of their garbage and began to care more about the environment.

Communitymembersrewardedthe homelesswithactsof gratitudeby givingthemfreehaircuts, cleanclothesandhot mealseachday. Folksevenstarted greetingthem ina warm, friendly manner and begantreatingthem asvaluedmembersof society.

The Government eventually got word about the homeless men cleaning up the streets of Browns Town and decided to set up a 252

program where they would get paid for their work.

BecausethegovernmentsawtheimpactJohn andhisfriends madeinthecommunity, they decideditwastimetoset up programsin schoolsandcommunitiesto educatepeopleon keepingtheenvironmentclean.“If the homelessmencouldcare enoughaboutthe environmentandtakeituponthemselvesto keep itclean, whynot us?!”saidGovernorEugeneHoliday.

Over time, numerous signs and trash cans were displayed in different areas in the community which served as a reminder to everyone to properly dispose of garbage.

John and his friends were extremely moved by the implementation of these programs. They were thrilled to know that by taking the first step to clean their community others were motivated to do the same.

Theywereproudto telltheirstoryatthe monthlyschool and communityprograms, lettingtheyoungandoldknow the importanceof sustainingthebeautyof the island.

They would go on to be known as The Caring Homeless.

THE GIFT OF LISTENING

By Khushi Saneji Methodist Agogic Center Primary School Aged 8 Sint Maarten, Dutch West Indies

One day my teacher told the class that we all will be visiting the Old Age Home tomorrow. Next, she explained how we should behave in the Old Age Home. She asked, if we want, we can bring some fruits or greeting cards for the elderly. I was amazed by the idea and was wondering how the visit would be.

When I went home, I told my mom about it. My mom got amazed and gave me some fruits and I made a few greeting cards for the elderly. Next morning when I woke up, I was excited to visit the Old Age Home. I made sure I took the fruits and the greeting cards I made.

After reading to school, the whole class was ready to visit the Old Age Home. We started to walk to the Old Age Home with our teacher. When we reached at the Old Age Home, it was their breakfast time. Most of them were sitting in the breakfast area. The nurses were attending to them with love, care,and attention. I asked my teacher if I can share thefruits and greeting cards to the elderly people. She said “yes” to me, so I started to share thefruits and the greeting cards I brought from home. I went by each elderly person and said to them “Good morning” and “How are you?” Theyfelt happy and nice.

One of the elderly ladies was looking at me when I gave hera greeting card. She asked me, “What are your favorite hobbies?” I told her that I likepainting, dancing, swimming, and singing. Then she said that she loves to do painting. We both talked for quite a long time. Sheenjoyed my company and I saw happiness and joy on her face. It was time for us to go

back and I promised herto keep in touch with her.

Later that day when I reached home, I told my mom about our visit. She explained to me that in this age, if one can givean ear to someone, it is also a great act ofkindness and love. In the world of technology, internet, WhatsApp, and Facebook, real connection with the people is really being lost. She told me that she was proud of me,and said that I should continue visiting the Old Age Home at least one time every month.

THE PERSONAL ASSISTANT

By Raju Saunders Angel’s Academy Aged 10 Abaco, Bahamas

Ms. Ferguson held the test papers in her hand and said, "Boy, I ga cut ya hip! You better get these grades up! You think I is play! All this money on school fee!" Her son Raju ignored her because Ms. Ferguson was having Ms. Valencia move Rajus' desk to a new spot in the class, right next to her desk. Raju then became upset because he was being moved away from his classmates and would feel left out of the group by sitting away from them. Raju then walked out of the classroom and went to sit in the car. When he arrived at the car, he got so frustrated that Raju started to cry and think about how he wouldn't be

able to play around with his friends or pass messages to them during class.

The next day, as Raju got ready for school, he was very nervous. All he could think about is what his friends would say because he was sitting next to the teacher, and how Ms. Valencia would be staring at him during her lessons and calling him first to answer questions. As they arrived at the school, Ms. Ferguson explained to Raju that he would sitting next to the teacher because he doesn't focus on his work during class. He hopped out the car and walked to class. Raju placed his bag on his hook and grabbed his book and slowly walked to his desk. "Raju!" Miss Valencia called. Raju's heart was beating quick. "Grab the math books from the shelf and give them out to the class." Raju gulped with fear as Ms. Valencia stood in front of the class with her hands on her hips and watching him closely. Scared by what she may say, Raju tried not to look at her. "Attention class! Raju is my PERSONAL ASSISTANT, also known as my P.A. from now on and will sit next to me!" He was shocked. She made it seem like a reward, and not a punishment. It was better than he could have imagined. He was her assistant. By sitting next to her, he could hear her better; none of his friends would speak to him and distract him. He wrote down all his homework; he remembered his assignments; he got questions right! His grades went from C to A. He was so happy, his friends couldn't believe how he was getting everything right. He looked forward to going to school.

After three weeks, when Ms. Ferguson came to see Ms. Valencia to see how it was going, Raju was proud to hear the report given. Ms. Ferguson held the test papers in her hands and was proud at how well her son had done. She hugged him and said, “I knew you could do it, if you focused.”

Raju said he realized that being a student wasn't all about how much fun he could have. It's about being focused and concentrating on the school work! It was agreed that Raju’s desk would be returned to its usual spot in the class and that he would have to keep his grades up. He was now aware of what he did before, and knows what to do now so he wouldn't have any problems.

Raju continued doing a great job. He respected the wishes of his mother and teacher, and he became an example of a great leader to his friends by becoming an A+ student. He is a better student than ever before.

AND PAIGE

Raeann Scott West End Primary School Aged 10 Cayman Brac, Cayman Islands

On September 17, 2005, two animals met in the Caribbean. Here’s how it started. That day a new creature was about to be born. It was a soft and silky parrot with vibrant colors, and it was a female. The nest she hatched in was in a cow pen on a tree. The cow that stayed there was named Paige. The parrot hatched, and fell into a stack of hay only two feet away from where the cow lay.

“Hello?”mumbledthekind-heartedparrotto thecow. Thecow heardthemumbleandsaid“Howdy! Thename’sPaige. What’s yaname?” “It’s...um...Coco…um,” stuttered the parrot. “Coconut?” said the cow before the parrot could confess, “I don’t have a name, yet. I fell out of my nest when my mama was out, I guess, because when I hatched, I didn’t see my mama. But I’d love for my name to be Coconut!”

“Oh, okay, Coconut. Wantto befriends?"said theblackand-whitemilk cow.

Swoosh! Another bird flew in and perched on the tree above on Coconut’s nest and chirped, “Hello. I’m Chippy. You must be Aunt Bella’s new hatchling. I’m here to tell you that your mom has gone on a journey to study leadership, respect, and kindness. Would you like to come and live with me and my family while your mom’s gone?” offered Chippy.

“No, thank you. I’m fine with my leader, Paige the Cow,” said Coconut. “Okay!” said Chippy and flew off. The next day, Coconut woke up, flew into the forest, got some berries, and ferried them back to the pen. She woke Paige up and squawked, “Breakfast is served!” Paige was overwhelmed with joy because of her friend’s courtesy and

ambition. Theysplitthescrumptiousberriesandate them, whilediscussingthe approaching weather.

Throughout that day, the weather got worse, so Coconut decided that she was going into the forest to get some more berries to stock up on for the bad weather. To her surprise, when she returned to the pen, Paige was gone! Tears came to her eyes. Coconut searched for hours looking for Paige until, eventually, she got soaked in rain and could barely fly. She landed at the entrance of a cozy cottage where a lady named Ms. Sue lived. Ms. Sue was a veterinarian. Coconut pouted and cried on the entrance until Ms. Sue took her in and placed Coconut in a comfortable cage with sunflower seeds inside. The nasty weather lasted for several weeks. Coconut never gave up hope of seeing her friend Paige again. She wept more as each day went by, but never lost faith of one day reuniting with her friend Paige.

Ding-a-ling! Ms. Sue’s phone rang. It’s Farmer John! He is pleading for help. “Please come over my cow. She needs help. She seems ill. Come to my barn, please!”

Ms.Suearrivedbackhomeaftertreatingthecow,andexplained to Coconut, "There is a very ill black-and-white milk cow suffering from loneliness. This all started at the beginning of the storm. Her friend went out to get food for the storm, and while her friend was gone, the cow’s owner, Farmer John, took the cow into a cave for shelter from the storm. He didn’t know the cow had a friend, and was confusedbythecow’sloneliness.”

Coconut’s eyes opened wider; she got more enthusiastic. She thought the cow Ms. Sue was talking about was Paige, her friend, so she said, “Please may I come with you on your next visit?”

“Sure can!” said Ms.Sue. “Hallelujah!”shoutedthebird.

The next day, Coconut and Ms. Sue went to Farmer John’s barn. When they got to the barn, they knocked on the door. Farmer John walked them through the barn to the back door, into the cow pen where Paige was!

Paige saw Coconut on Ms. Sue’s shoulder and she jumped up! “Coconut!” said the cow.

“Paige!” Coconut said, flying towards Paige. “I picked dozens of berries for us to eat,” said Paige.

“Really, you’re the best friend ever!” They stayed together for as long as they could.

Coconut's mom came back from her journey and can now give her daughter, Coconut, strong life lessons. Coconut told Paige stories of how she never gave up looking for her and never lost hope.

They lived a wonderful life with a strong bond as friends.

Moral: NEVER give up. NEVER lose faith.

GUACO AND HIS SAVIOR

By Che Scott Creek & Spot Bay Primary School Aged 8 Cayman Brac, Cayman Islands

This is a story about a curious young Iguana and a kind-hearted little boy. Guaco is a young Rock Iguana, who lives with his family on the Island of Cayman Brac. Most baby iguanas stay close to home and around their families until they mature. However, Guaco is not “Most” baby iguanas. He likes to wander off and explore this curious new world he has been born into.

One day while eating some tasty green leaves from a patchof sweet potatoes with hisfamily, Guaco quietly crept away. He hadhearda lotof excitingnoisescomingfrom theothersideof the green field of tall grass. It sounded like laughter and lots of fun. He wanted to see what all this commotion was about, so he madehis way across thefield and thenhe got to the edgeof the road. There were a lot of cars passing by. Guaco was afraid to try and go across. Hismum had told them about this thing called a road and also about cars. She told them how dangerous it was for a little iguana, and that they should never wander further than the tall, green grass in the field. He was already at the edge of the tall grass. Heknew he should turn back, but the laughter continued and his curiosity grew with each giggle. He lifted one of his front feet and placed it on the road. He hearda carcomingandquicklypulleditbackin.Hewassoafraid of getting hit bya car, but healso wanted to be brave.Thishad Guaco thinking. Heremembered that his mum had told him that their kind was very special: they arean endangered species, so they are protected by the Law. People look out for them and take care of them if they can. It is part of their culture. If a car is coming and sees one of them on the road, it would usually

stop so they can go across. Guaco made up his mind. He decided hehadto go andfindoutwhatwashappening, thenhurryto get back home before dark. He listened closely and looked both ways. He didn‛t see any cars in sight, so he mustered up the courageand made a run for it. He got up high on all four legs and ran across the road as fast as he could. He didn‛t stop to look around or look back. Thankfully, he made itacross safely.

Oncehegotto theothersideof theroad, hesawallthekidsat the school playing on the playground. This was where all the laughter was coming from. Guaco decided to get a closer look and see if hecould play too, but when he got there, someof the children started throwing rocks at him and whacking him with sticks. Guaco was scared and thought he would be killed, until a brave young boy named Che jumped in front of him, opened his arms wide to protect him, and shouted at all the other kids saying STOP!! He saved Guaco and told all his friends and classmates that these iguanas are special. They arean endangered species, so they are protected by the law. After that, they all wanted to pet him and play with him. They understood how important he was now, and promised they would help if they ever sawone in need. Thebellwasaboutto ring, so thelittleboyaskedhisteacherif she could help them take Guaco back across the road to the green high grass wherehe would besafe. When they released him, Guaco looked up at the little boy, then he ran through the grass back to his family. He knew hewould be in big TROUBLE with his mum; but he didn‛t have a choice, hehad to go home. Besides, it was all worth it becausehe madefriends and had fun. When he got home, his mum and sister hurried to him and hugged him. They told him how worried they were. He then told them all about hisadventure, and the brave, kindhearted little boy that saved his life.

FAMILIES WORKING TOGETHER

By Tiandrah Smith Petersfield Primary School Aged 7 Savanna-La-Mar, Jamaica

James is the third child of three children. He is eight years old. His parents own a farm, and on weekends they sell eggs, milk, bananas, and oranges to the people in the community. On weekends, everyone works togetherto clean the house and gather the goods to have them ready for sale.

Mother Jenny told James, his older brother Paul, and his sister Elizabeth to go to the farmhouse to feed the chickens and collect the eggs for sale. James asked, “Why do I have to go? I'm tired.” His mother replied, “James, we all have to work together so we can get the job done quickly.”

She gaveJames thebasket to put the eggs in. James slowly walked behind his siblings, swinging the basket. When they reached thefarmhouse, James gavehis sister the basket and then ran offinto the field shouting, “I am going to look if the goats have enough water!”

Paul and Elizabeth collected the eggs, fed the chickens, and still there was no sign of James. They went outside to look, but he was nowhere in sight.Elizabeth said, “Paul, let's go because Mother is going to beangry if we don't get back in timefor lunch and for Dad to deliver the goods.”

When they got to the house, Mother asked, “Where is James?” Paul told her what happened. Mother was very angry. They all sat at the table and had lunch. James still didn't return. Paul and Mother helped Dad load the donkey with the goods while Elizabeth cleared the table and washed the dishes.

As they stood at the gate waving bye to Dad, Mother saw James running towards the house, and she called out to him,

“James! Where were you? Your brother and sister returned almost an hour ago and had lunch, helped clear the table, and loaded the donkey so that Dad could deliver the goods. Everyone was working while you wereout in the field playing."

James replied, “I am sorry, Mother;I did not realize the time was getting late.”

Mother said, “Because you do not like to help with the chores, you will rake the yard all by yourself, and then you prepare your own lunch.”

It was almost an hour, and James still wasn't finished raking the yard. He was tired and hungry, so he decided to go to his brother and sister forhelp. He told them that he was sorry for not helping today. Paul and Elizabeth decided to help James rake theyard, and they were done infifteen minutes. He washed his hands, and quickly prepared a sandwich, as he was very hungry. After clearing the table, he went to the verandah to speak with his mother, brother, and sister. He said, “Now I understand why it is so important to work together and help each other. We get the work to befinished quicker. It is much easier when we all work together, and we have more fun too. Thanks Paul and Elizabeth forhelping me rake the yard. It was so much easier.”

Mother smiled, and from that day James always wanted to help with chores.

LEARN TO LISTEN!

By Omowale Tafari Liceo Montessori de Jamaica Aged 10 Montego Bay, Jamaica

Once there were three boys who lived deep in the mountains in Villa Town in Portland. Jerry lived in a two-storey house, and Bob lived in a three-storey house.

It was a hot place, but it would rain a lot. The river gushed down from the mountain, making beautiful waterfalls as it went, and it was one of their favourite places in Jamaica. The three boys were going down to the river, passing Mr. Brown’s garden. Mr. Brown shouted out to them, “Where are you going?”

Bob said, “We are going to the river.” Mr. Brown said, “The river is infested with snakes!! They have come in after those heavy rains we had last week.”

Bob burst out into laughter. “This is not a joke,” said Mr. Brown. “Well, we will see you later!” said Bob. “Make sure you stay away from that river!!” Mr. Brown warned. But Bob and the boys went anyway. They thought it was a joke. “I don’t see any snakes. Do you? I knew he was wrong. I will go in first, okay?”

He took off his shirt and shorts and went closer to the bank under the huge, overhanging branch of the old guango tree.

Suddenly, Tom saw a snake dropping down from the branch. He was terrified. He squealed out, “SNAAAAKE!!” But it was too late. Bob clutched his foot. “OOOOUCH!!”

He screamed in pain as the snake slithered away.

“RUN, RUN and get Mr. Brown!! QUICK!!” Tom shouted as he held his friend, trying to comfort him.

The old man came running. He was panting hard. He knew this was not the time to get upset.

He called the hospital. They heard the siren of the ambulance ten minutes later, and Bob was rushed away.

“He will be okay, fellas,” he told the boys. They were all so worried.

Two days later, they got the news that the snake was not a poisonous one and that Bob was ready to come home. They were overjoyed, and they knew they had learned a valuable lesson.

They knew that Mr. Brown was always there to help them, and they silently vowed to always listen to him, and also to take care of him too.

CAYMAN KINDNESS

Written and Illustrated

By Amiya Tahal

Aged 10

West End Primary School Cayman Brac, Cayman Islands

Crash! Boom! The sounds of the boat crashing into the reef from a huge wave! The boat bow got damaged. The boat started to take in water. Sam and Joe were so afraid. "Oh! what are we going to do?” Sam asked in a tough voice. Joe calmly said, "Sam, put on your life vest and we will swim to the little island ahead." So, they quickly put on their life vests and swam to the shore line of the little island.

There were several people who were running towards Sam and Joe, as they got closer to the shoreline, to help them out of the water. Sam and Joe were safely rescued. They were so tired from swimming, they lay on the sand and looked up at the sky. Sam said, "Thank you, thank you for rescuing me!"

Sam and Joe had been sailing from Cuba to Cayman Brac to visit their aunt Marsha for three days. All their clothes and supplies were damaged in the crash, and they had nothing to eat or wear.

One of the men who helped rescue them, by the name of Bobo, told them they could stay in his tiny blue Cayman style house with the thatch roof on the Bay. Sam and Joe were so excited and very thankful for Bobo’s help. They said, "Ohhhhh, that would be soooo good."

Sam and Joe walked towards the tiny Cayman-style home. As they got closer, Joe said, "Ohhhhh boy Sam! This isa nice island-style home. I likeit." They quickly rushed into the home and looked around with excitement.

Bobo went to Star Island Restaurant close by and got them some great food for dinner; they had fried fish and fritters and a bottle of sorrel drink. Sam and Joe ate their belly full, and Sam said "Ohhh, dinner was great! I never had such kindness from anyone in my lifetime." Joe said, "Bobo, I can't stop thanking you for helping me."

Sam and Joe spent the night on the Bay in the tiny home. When they woke up the next morning, Sam said, "Joe, I had a good night’s rest. I slept like a baby." Bobo came to visit them and brought some nice Cayman-style oatmeal porridge for breakfast.

Later on that morning, Bobo took Sam and Joe to Bluff View Store to buy some new clothes. Sam was so excited he started to sing and dance. Bobo also took Sam and Joe to Tibbetts Enterprises to buy some snacks. They were so happy! When they returned to the tiny home, they both had a change to clothes and they were dressed very fancy. Aunty Marsha was on Grand Cayman for that day. She later returned from Grand Cayman and visited them in their new-tothem tiny Cayman-style house on the Bay. She was so happy to see them. She brought them some conch soup, turtle stew, and some swanky. They all went out on the sand and had dinner; it was so beautiful out on the Bay. It was dark, but Sam and Joe had found a lamp and took it with them to give a bit of light. They sat there chatting, and Aunty Marsha told them old-time Caymanian stories.

The next day, Aunty Marsha brought them two thatch hats, a basket, fishing rods and hooks, and soldier crabs so that they could go fishing.Sam and Joe went walking on the Bay, and they met up with a fisherman named Sheldon. They told Sheldon they wanted to go fishingbecause their Aunty Marsha gave them somefishing rods, bait, and hooks. Sheldon told them "Sure! no problem. I can takeboth of you out on my boat."

Sam and Joe were so excited, theyran towards their new tiny Cayman-style home, and told Aunty Masha that they met Sheldon and he would take them fishing. They asked Aunty Marsha whySheldon offered to take them fishing. Aunty

Marsha was so happy. She smiled and said, “Son, it’s called Cayman kindness” and she allowed them to go fishing with Sheldon.

Sam and Joe returned several hours later with a basket of fish. They told Aunty Marsha they would like to give some to the people of Cayman Bracbecause“They were so kind to us, and they don't even know us.” So, they gave some away and cooked the remainder.

They had steam fish and dumplings with lemonade made from civil oranges. Dinner was delicious! After dinner, they all went on the Bay and were wondering how they would return home. Aunty Marsha said, “Don't worry. I will ask Cayman Airways for two tickets for both of you to return to Cuba. Sam and Joe exclaimed, "Really, Aunty. Are they going to help us?" and Aunty Marsha said, "Son, this is what Cayman kindness is all about!"

They were so excited, and sure enough, two days later, they were on a flight to Cuba. They waved bye to all the kind people they met on Cayman Brac.

When Sam and Joe returned home to Cuba, they told all their friends and families what had happened to them, and how the Cayman Brac people were so kind and helped them. They later sent Aunty Marsha, Sheldon, Bobo, and all the other people they had come in contact with a Thank You card.

BETTY, THE KIND, FRIENDLY LEADER

Raidayne Thomas West End Primary School Aged 10 Cayman Brac, Cayman Islands

Betty was a kind and friendly leader. She would stand up to bullies and tell them to stop bullying.

Betty was one of those people who were not afraid to tell the truth. She was not afraid to be the one to report all the bullying happening in the school. Most of the bullies did not like her. Sometimes she would not have any friends to play with, but that didn’t bother her. She was friendly.

Anytime she saw a child who was not playing, she would play with them. She liked to share. Also, when her friends had no pencil to write with, she would give them one of her pencils. This is how Betty became a great leader.

On the first day of school at SteepEnd Primary School, Jonah, the bully of the school, along with the other two bullies, Jermy and DeShawn, was bullying a boy bythe name of Steve. They were teasing him and calling him names.

“Bald-Headed Baby,” said Jonah. Jonah continued “Jack in the Box.”

Steve started to cry at his locker.Afterwards, when Betty turned the corner and saw Jonah, Jermy, and DeShawn bullying Steve, she said, “Stop that right now!”

“Why should I? Are you going to report me?” he said mockingly. Jermy and DeShawn laughed.

“You can stop that right this minute!” she said seriously, with a face as serious as a dead man.

Jermy stopped laughing and said, “It’s time to stop bullying people. It’s not fun. I’m done bullying.”

DeShawn ignored them. “Why are you finished bullying people? Don’t you know that it’s fun, DeShawn?”

Jermy had bullied Betty once, so he apologized to her. “Betty, I am really sorry for bullying you. Will you forgive me?” he said as he apologized.

“Yes. I will forgive you,” Betty said forgivingly. Afterwards, they both forgave each other, and they became friends.

Jonah and DeShawn couldn’t believe that Jermy quit bullying and had left the gang. They were in disbelief. They were so upset because they have known each other since they were four years old. They were the kings of every school they attended, and bullied everyone who didn’t stand up to them.

“I just can’t believe that Jermy quit on us. He’s such a fool!” Jonah yelled, with a look of disappointment on his face. Both DeShawn and Jonah walked away from Betty and Jermy. They were extremely upset, but this was not enough to stop them from bullying others.

The next day, as Jermy and his new friend Betty were walking and talking from their Social Studies class, they saw Jonah and DeShawn bullying Steve again.

This time they were laughing at him because he got the lowest score in the Science test. His classmates were laughing at him. However, his best friend James was not laughing.

James asked John, one of his classmates, what was happening. “They are making fun of Steve because of the low score he got in Science,” he said in a mean tone.

James made his way to the front, where Steve was being bullied, and shouted as loudly as he could, “Enough! Stop making fun of him right now! How mean can you be?” With that he stormed off to get Betty.

Betty was there in a flash. “You are bullying him again for what reason? How would you feel if you were called names and made fun of because of your grade in class?”

Betty told them how wrong their actions were, and told them that the problem with bullies is that they are really just cowards.

The two boys were shocked that Betty stood up to them. “We never thought of it that way,” they muttered. Then, they apologized to Steve for bullying him.

“We are really sorry for bullying you, Steve.”

They both apologized with their heads held down. They were so embarrassed, they couldn’t even look at the crowd. Half of the school followed Betty and cheered, “TAKE A STAND, LEND A HAND!” They chanted all around the football field.

From that day on, there was no bullying in the school as long as Betty was there.

THE GIFT OF DANCING

By Sacha Tobias Methodist Agogic Center Aged 8 Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Dutch West Indies

My mom told me that my cousin felloff her bike and broke her leg and that we were going to seeher at the hospital. We went to see her during the visiting hours. She was lying on the bed and her leg was in a white cast. Shelooked unhappy and she said she was in pain. There was another girl in the hospital as well and she did not look happy either. I felt that I wanted to cheer them up. So, I imagined that I had music in my head and I started to dance for them. After dancing for them, they told me that they liked the dance.Theirfaces did not look unhappy anymore. I stayed a while longer and talked with my cousin and the other girl.

I went home with my mom that dayand I thought of my hospital visit to see my cousin. I suddenly had a brilliant idea. I could dance for thechildren who are sick in the hospital. I like to express myself through dance. Since I like to danceboth ballet and hip- hop, I thought I would do both. I canmake a dance joyful or sad. But the dance has to be lively though, but it cannot be too loud because I do notwant to annoy the patients. Dancing would be something specialthat I can give to someone special like my cousin and other sick children in the hospital. So, I told my mom about my idea and she liked it. She told me before dancing in the hospital for the sick children, I would need to get the permission from thepersons who arein charge at the hospital. So my mom wrote a letter to the director in charge explaining what I wanted to do. Shementioned in the letter also that she would always accompany meand that we would always get the permission from the nurse that is in chargeat that time. The nurse will let us know whether it would be okay. I will go on a Sunday afternoon once a month and dance

during the visiting hours. We waited for thereply, and I was surprised that they said yes. Maybe they said yes because I am a child, and they actually liked my idea. My mom took me to thehospital ona Sunday afternoon in the month of October. I greeted the children that were there and told them that I would like to dancefor them. I was a bit nervous but I danced a hip hop dance for them that I learnt in dance class. After the dance I sawthe happy faces. A little girl clapped for me and she told meto dance again. So, I did. This time thegirl moved her head to the beat of the music. After the dance, I spoke to them for a short time. I told them that I hope they will get better soon. I thanked them for watching me dance. They thankedme also for coming. I said goodbye and I left. It went better than I thought and I was happy. I wanted to do it again.

HELPING POOR PEOPLE

By McKay Townsend Cokes View Primary School Aged 10 Savannah-Le-Mar, Jamaica

Kimmy was seven years of age and loved school. His mother had taught him kindness, so he was always sharing with others. Some children were unkind to him, but he continued to be kind anyway.

One day while he was on his way from school, he saw a very ragged little boy: his shirt was torn and worn, his shorts were old and dirty, and his hair was untidy. He learnt from his friend that this was a poor family in the community. He felt sorry for the new boy, because he looked hungry. He wanted to help him. Kimmy went home that evening and told his mother about what he saw. He said, “I want to help them.” His mother was busy, and Kimmy quickly shouted to her that he would bake some cookies and make some drinks for them. You see, Kimmy was really eager to do such a deed by making someone happy. He had learnt in class that week that when you do something good, you would be followed by good in return. Kimmy was not like the two boys down the road who would throw stones at this new boy only because he was poor.

That evening, his mother and he picked out some of the clothes that he had outgrown and stuffed them in a bag. He and his mother then hurried to the homes of persons in the community who they knew would have some food and other things to give. Many others were happy to support, and that evening they went home with two large bags of things for the poor boy and his mother. They also gathered more foodstuffs that they had in the cupboard, and Kimmy and his mom were on their way to the poor boy’s house.

When Kimmy and his mom reached a certain part of the community, they were not sure which of the shabby houses belonged to the boy, and no one seemed to know whom they were asking for. Luckily for them, as they were about to return home sadly, they heard someone shouting for Kimmy.

Kimmy looked around and saw the boy whose name he did not know. Kimmy bolted towards him and hugged him and asked his name. He told him his name was Eran. Kimmy told Eran that he and his mother had brought them some stuffs, but he wanted to see where he lived.

Eran was happy to takeKimmyand his mother to their shabby little one-bedroom house way at thefar bottom of the neighbours’ land. They had to walk through a damp narrow track. When they reached the house, Eran’s mother sat on the step wondering what was happening, andwhy these strangers were coming with Eran. She stood up, wiping her hand on her dirty dress, which it seemed she hadon forever. When they came near to her, Kimmy’smothercalled a hello and she responded. As they came closer to her, Eran told her this washis new friend he was telling her about at school. He was the boy who was thefirst to ever hug him when others were hurting him.Eran’s mother felt relieved, and must have realized that these were somegood Samaritans coming to their rescue.

Kimmy’s mother rested her large bag of goodies in the hands of the mother while another was handed to Eran. They were eager to see what was in the bag and opened it right before them. The mother began eating some of the cookies while Eran chose to have some of the drinks. They were hungry.

Kimmy and his mother learnt from Eran’s mother that his father was killed on the farm he had been working for many

years. They were very poor, and that was the reason Eran was not at school regularly and was teased whenever he showed up.

Eran’s mother further said the owner of the land they were living on was kind enough to let them have a space at the bottom of the land. They had been thrown off the place they had rented before his father had died.

When I looked at my mother’s face, she was so sad, and I could not believe when she said Eran could come over and stay with me so he could go to school. His mother she said could work for us in the house.

I felt very happy, as I moved over and hugged Eran, and my mother did the same to his mother. Eran’s mother was so happy that the next morning she was at our door ready to begin her new job. Mother was happy to have her, because since my father died from cancer, we were lonely though we had everything.

I slept soundly that night because I knew that I had done a good deed.

THE HARD

WORKING IGUANA

By Mitchell Turnbull Jr. Gladys A. Abraham Elementary School Aged 9 St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands

Thereonce was a hardworking Iguana named Mitchell. He lived on the Caribbean island of St.Thomas with his family. His two best friends were Deshavion the Mongoose and Jadeja the Yellow Breast Bird. They all were in5th grade at theGladys A. Abraham Elementary School. Every day after school, Mitchell the Iguana would first finish his homework then go to his farm in Fortuna to plant. He planted pumpkin, mango, sugarapple, and soursop, while Deshavion the Mongoose and Jadeja the Yellow Breast played kickball. Mitchell would say to them afterschool every day, “Would you come to meh farm and help me plant?” They would say. ”No deh man, wehave to play morekickball.” Mitchell would sadly go home alone to work in his garden. He worked hard, watering and weeding his fruits and vegetables. After working hard in his garden, hewould then go to play kickball with hisfriends.

Hurricane Marilyn was heading to St. Thomas, and Mitchell the Iguana decided to gatherhis crops and get his homeprepared with his family. He placed the crops in his storage room, then boarded up hishome. He told his neighbors and best friend, ”Ah hurricane is coming.”

They laughed and said, “It's just a little rain.” Later that night, hurricane Marilyn hit St. Thomas. Itdestroyed most of the houses, stores, and crops. No oneon the island had electricity.

The next morning, Mitchell the Iguana went to look for his friends. When he saw them, they cried out to him, ”We sorry we didn't listen to you. Meh belly hurting; we have no foodor shelter.” Mitchell the Iguana said, “I have deh crops I gathered

before the storm; you can have some. You can also stay with me until your family build deh house.You can helpmeplant more crops, and I can help your family rebuild deh house.”

A few months had passed, and Mitchell the Iguana showed his two best friends how to plant sugar apple, mango, sour sop, and pumpkin in his garden. He also showed the other children in Fortuna and Bordeaux how to plant these crops. Mitchell the Iguana, Deshavion the Mongoose, and Jadeja the Yellow Breast were known on St. Thomas as great farmers. They would take their extra crops to the market place to sell to the locals. They used the money they earned to expand their farm from Fortuna to Bordeaux, rebuild his friends' family home, and save some for college. Deshavion and Jadeja realized that the hard work you put into planting not only provided foodfor them but also for their community.

THE GIRL WITH THE WELL-WORN UNIFORM

By Nagely Andujar Vargas Ruby Labega Primary School Aged 10 Sint Maarten, Dutch West Indies

It was the beginning of the school year. We felt excited to return to school but a bit sad because the summer vacation had ended. We got the chance to introduce ourselves in class. We also shared how we spent our summer vacation then all the students discussed the class rules. We all wore new uniforms except for one student. Her uniform was well worn, and her school bag was the same one shehad two years ago.Shealso wore a sad look on herface.

During the recess, a group of children teased and pulled the ears of Mary, thegirl with the well-worn uniform. Mary started to cry. The tears dropped from herchin. I yelled at them to stop, and then I ran and told the class teacher about the mean students‛ behaviour.

After the unkind treatment to Mary, I decided that I was going to become a friend to her. I learnedthat her parents had died and she was living with an aunt who was not working and has five children. I told my parents about mynewfound friend, and they decided to help her.

They bought two school uniforms, a school bag, some casual clothes and a pair of shoes for her. She became a part of my family. My mother told her that she is always welcome to spend weekends with us. Mary was always happy when we visited the beach and toured the island. She also expressed her love for my mother‛s tasty meals and she was always thankful. It made me feel thrilled to see her so joyful. After a while, the mean students changed their attitude towards Mary. Theybecame kind and friendly, and they tried

to let her feel special. Mary no longerwore the sad look on her face.

My parents and teacher were pleased with my effort to assist Mary, but I told them that it givesme a feeling of joy to help others especially those who are lessfortunate. The storyof my new friend also helps me to appreciate my parents more and to be thankful for what I have.

THE ISLAND HOPPERS

By Luuke Vinke St. Maarten Montessori Aged 9 Sint Maarten, Dutch West Indies

It had been a hot summer in Sint Maarten. Thankfully, there had been no hurricanes this year, but summer had passed too quickly, and now school was just around the corner.

Liam was thinking about how to spend the last few days of vacation before Grade 6 when the phone rang. It was his best friend, Jordan.

“Do you want to fly around the Caribbean with me and my parents?” Jordan asked.

Liam’s dream had come true. He had wanted to do that since he was four years old. “Of course,” Liam beamed.

“Ask your parents if it’s OK to come,” Jordan encouraged. “They can come, too.”

Liam’s parents said he could go, but they would stay home. Liam was sad, but he knew he would not be sad for too long. Jordan wanted to give his best friend a really special gift, because he knew it was Liam’s dream to visit every island in the Caribbean. They would hop on Winair and fly around. First, they thought, “Let’s go to Saba!”

As they flew, they told Jordan’s parents, “We wanted to go to Saba first because we’ve heard that the landing is really exciting!”

The pilots landed safely and smoothly on Saba’s short runway. The boys took a deep breath.

In Saba, Jordan and Liam explored the smallest island that either boy had ever set footon. They climbed the steps to the top of Mount Scenery, thehighest point in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Even on a hot day, the rainforest was cool and misty. Happily, the clouds cleared as the boys reached the summit. They got a great viewoverthe sea. After a busy day, the boys returned to the plane. New passengers entered, and they flew back to Sint Maarten. The next day, it was a short hop to St. Eustatius – known as Statia -- where the runway is more than a kilometer in length.

The boys were eager to visit the beach at the foot of the cliffs where turtles are known to nest.

Then it was on to the French island of St. Barth, and another short, steep descent that felt likeriding a roller coaster!

With Jordan’s dad at the wheel, the boys jumped into an opentopped rental car for a look at the fine stone buildings and super-modern yachts that line the harbor of the island’s capital city, Gustavia.

Back in Sint Maarten, the boys realized they could visit another country without flying. All they had to do was drive across the border to Saint Martin, and they would be in France!

Together with Jordan’s parents, the boys had fun on the zip line in the tropical canopy at Loterie Farm. They even got a close-up look at the island’s famous guavaberry trees. On the way home, Liam couldn’t stop smiling.

“Hey, what are you thinking?” Jordan asked.

“I just realized something great,” Liam smiled. “We’ve visited some of the islands we can see from Sint Maarten – Saba, Statia and St. Barth.”

“We haven’t even been to St. Kitts, Nevis, Montserrat or Anguilla yet,” Jordan added. “And then there are all the other islands up and down the Caribbean that we can’t see from home.”

Jordan and Liam smiled happily at each other. Jordan asked, “Hey, are you thinking what I’m thinking?” “Yup,” Liam nodded.

“Let’s ask our parents about doing some extra jobs around the house to earn a little pocket money,” he added. “It looks like we’ve got a lot of flying to do!”

THE HOUSE OF LOVE

By Arria Walsh Julius E. Sprauve School Aged 10 St. John, US Virgin Islands

The entrance next to the white picket-fenced house was beginning to become packed with cars. The Alexanders' neighborhad also allowed them to occupy their parking area. Children were playing on the sidewalk. Others weregreeting each other as they made their way to the party that was inside. It was Mr. and Mrs. Noplace's wedding anniversary. Mrs. Alexander had volunteered their house for the surprise party.

As the music and talking grew louder, we heard an even louder noise. It was a crash sound from their family's portrait which hung along the staircase. Mr. Jafacewas quick to blurt out that this was odd. Indeed, it was strange, as no one was walking along that area. Mrs. Fondu, who always had some folk tale, superstitiously exclaimed that something terrible would happen.

The party continued even after that crash. The house was like a melting pot. Different countries were represented in Mr. and Mrs. Alexander's house. The Alexanders were from Haiti. They'd left their country in their twenties, leaving families behind. Some friends started leaving.

The telephone rang, and Mr. Alexander answered it. He spoke for just a moment. He looked like death for a second. It seemed like he had gone into a trance. He got a hold of himself to inform the few persons who were present that an earthquake had just shaken Haiti. The phone line had gone dead before any real conversation could have been relayed. “Ring!” Mr. Alexander dashed for the phone. Now a tsunami warning had been given. The room was still, as everyone awaited more news.

Mrs. Alexander turned on the TV to CNN news. A live coverage was being given. The phone line went dead again, and all eyes were fixed to Mr. and Mrs. Alexander knew that their trip back to Haiti was long overdue. This was not how they wanted to return. Their family needed them. It was an emergency. The Alexanders immediately decided they would leave after a week. They had to gather resources to assist their families. One of Mr. Alexander's relatives, who was in Texas, decided to assist the family. His family had been divided because of land. He was joyful to hear that the relative would help.

The journey to Haiti was long, and the Alexanders were very anxious to see their family. They prayed fora safe tripand that God hadkept their families safe. When they arrived in Haiti, their heart sank, for thecountry that they once knew was no more.They werefortunate to get there too. Mr. Alexander's family came to meet them. Most of what theyhad brought wasfor theirfamilies. Theycame with non- perishable items - clothes and shoes; and theirhearts filled with love and sympathy for thefamilies who lost their loved ones. Mrs. Alexander lost her parents and only sister during the tsunami.

The sister's four-year-old daughter survived. The child could not understand English; however, she did her best teaching her the language. Mr. Alexander gave his support, as the child reminded her daily of her loss. It was not easy. Mr. Alexander and his family came together to rebuild. They realized that fighting with each other was no good. They should be loving each other and be an example to their children. They decided to reuse some of the items that made the very home that brought them trouble, in remembrance of their love for each other. The young ones carried the bricks that were not broken.

Shattered pieces of glass were used fashionably at the front of the house as reflectors. The children worked at locating flowers to replant at the entrance. Mr. and Mrs. Alexander's new child would find a home in their home soon, and all worked hard to construct the house.

They slept in the tents provided by the government while they built.

It was through their rebuilding process that Mr. Alexander's family healed from broken hearts. They understood the importance of each other as they mourned with Mrs. Alexander. The house, when completed, amazed the other Haitians. At the entrance was a stone that read “The House of Love,” for the Alexanders did not know hatred anymore - only love. Today everyone who passes on that street stops and gazes, as it is the most beautiful house on that street.

HORRID HURRICANE ETA

By Gabriela Webb Prospect Primary School Aged 11 Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Early one gloomy Saturday morning, I was munching on my breakfast, when suddenly, the house went dark. ‘‛The light is out!‛‛ I hollered! POW! POW! Things slammed and shattered outside as the angry rain pounded against my windows. I panicked and knocked on my parents‛ door. “We need to close the shutters and get the flashlights!‛‛ my dad bellowed!

Remembering my pet, I rushed outside to get my beloved dog and put him under the verandah. He was so scared that he shivered with fright and made some funny sounds. “Poor puppy” I said softly as I hugged and comforted him. Although my dog was not a human, we all treated him like a member of the family. He leaned his wet, furry coat against me and rubbed his frightened face against mine. His scared eyes seemed to say, “Thank you for saving me. I love you!”

Meanwhile, Eta was really in a very bad temper because she was behaving outrageously outside. HUFF! PUFF! She raged at everything in her path. Rushing water started to flood the place. My brother helped me to get my dog inside because he had started to cry and whined loudly like a human baby. Green water had risen in the lagoon and was now ankle deep. “Please Lord, I prayed, let Eta go away and bring back the light!” BLIP! Golden light suddenly bathed the house. “YAAAY!” I screamed on top of voice. My lungs felt like they would burst with all my screaming and excitement. God had answered my prayers. I was so happy. “Thank you, Lord!” I shouted. My parents and I kept on praying and soon, Eta calmed down out of her tantrum. Oh, outside was such a mess! Blankets of multicoloured seaweeds were everywhere! The trees had broken their backs, my back yard was flooded, some of my neighbour‛s houses were also flooded and we saw some strange visitors had invaded the roads…Can you believe it? Several fish were swimming crazily on the flooded roads! What a strange, unbelievable sight!

After gazing in awe at the surprising sight, families and neighbours got into action and started to help each other to clean up the mess. People had to share food, water and other necessary items with each other because we had just gone through a very scary and unfortunate experience. We united and helped each other until more help came. My family was happy to help and so was I!

Caymanians are loving people and we always try to reach out to the less fortunate. Even the angelic sun came out to play! It seemed to smile at us as we helped each other. We all joined hands and praised God from protecting us from that devastating Eta. WHEW! What an experience!

THE BUTTERFLY WITH NO PATTERN

By Rezoni Webster Valley Primary School Aged 11 Anguilla

Many moons ago, there lived a villageof beautiful butterflies, who all existed together in their tiny houses on a small beautiful island. Every butterfly hadits own special pattern. However, there was one particular butterfly who stood out from the others. Her name was Danielle, she was chocolate brown in colour, and shealways got made fun of, because she didn't have any pattern at all and nobody wanted to beher friend, which made her extremely upset. The entire village thought she was dangerous, orhad some sortof horrific disease. At school, everybody kept their distance from her, including the teachers.All she wanted was to feel included and have a pattern like everybody else, but she knew this would never happen. At home, hermom always told her she didn’t need a pattern to be pretty, but her dad wasashamedto be seen with her so she had to fly alone to school every day.As forher brother, he would play with her at home but at school he behaved as if she was a stranger to him, and this made her unhappy. One day, after school, she begged her dad not to go back. “I can't go back there. Everybody hates me!” She exclaimed. Herfather sighed and replied, “The answer is no. You're going to school.” She flewoff to her room and slammed the door. In an instant, she began to cry. But after a few moments, she decided she'd go outside to clearher head.

After a while, sheflew out of her window so her dad wouldn’t see her. She flewfar, far away to abeautiful beach. Here she was able to relax and think. She hovered under a shady papaya tree. The smell of the salt water filled the air and there was

a nice, gentle breeze blowing the leaves of the trees. Despite her surroundings, she sighed and tears trickled down her chocolate-coloured cheeks. That's when she saw another butterfly in the distance,. She flew over to her, and as she got closer, she noticed she was just like her. The girl was indigo in colour and she did not have a pattern either.Sheflew over to the girl and noticed she was crying. "Are you okay?" she asked, as shegot closer. The girl quickly turned around and her eyes widened. “You're just like me!” the girl exclaimed surprisingly. “Yes, but why were you crying?” Danielle asked. “Everybody hates me, they think I'm dangerous just because I don't have a pattern like them. That's why I came here,” the girl answered softly. They talked for hours, but the sun was setting, and it got dark pretty quickly. “It's late, we need to get home,” Danielle proclaimed. “Yes, but I never got your name." "My name is Danielle,” she answered. “I’m Nellie,” she replied as a little crooked smile emerged across her face. Even though they weresad, they were excited to havefound each other, so they promised to meet back at the samebeach the next day to continue their conversation. Then they flew back to theirhomes. When Danielle got back home, she flew to her room and went straight to bed.However, Danielle couldn’t sleep. She was overjoyed that shemade a new friend, one who was exactly like her. Thenext day, she happily woke up, ate breakfast, and got ready for school. She flew downstairs, took a deep breath, and flew to school. When she got to class, everyone slid their tables away from her like they always did. Soon after, Mr. Web, their teacher, announced that they had a new student. Before hecould finish his sentence, Nellie flew through the door. Nellie was the new student. Soon after, Mr. Web madeNellie introduce herself, which she did, and while she was doing that shenoticed Danielle at the back of the classroom, and she sat next to her. As the day

went on, they talked and realized that they had so much in common; and even though everyonemade fun of them, they weren’t botheredbecause they nowhad each other.That afternoon, Nellie’s mom invited Danielle’s family over for dinner. They becamebest friends and visited the beach where they met very often. They didn't listen to anyone who made them feel bad because they knew they were special. From that day on, they were known as thebutterflies with no patterns.

ROVER’S GIFT OF KINDNESS

By Adam White Hillel Academy Aged 10 Manor Park, Jamaica

OnehotsummerdayinSt.Ann, Jeff andhissiblingsJimmy, Jack, andJessiedecidedto godownto theriver tofish.They walkedbytheriverbank andsearchedforaspottofish.They satbya shadytree, andstartedto putthebaitontheir fishing lineswhenJeff noticeda straydogwho lookedinneed of care. Jeff said, “Look overthereat thatdog.Doesn’t he look hungry andhot?”

“He does look hungryandhot,” saidJessie, “Can’t we givehim somebaitfrom ourbaitbucket?” Jimmyagreedandtooksome of thebreadout hisbucketand threw it over to thedirty, skinnydog. The dog walkedpoorly to the breadand ate it,then slowly approachedJimmy and satathis feet.“Heisn’tasmean as I thoughthe’dbe,” said Jimmy. Jack gavehim a paton the head. Jack decidedtogivethedogtherestof hisbread.The doggobbleditup.

Ontheirwalk back ,thechildrendecidedtheywouldeachsavea littleof thedinner for theirnewfriendtheynamedRover. Everyeveningfor afewweeks,theywouldtakesomeof their supperina napkinandask if theycouldgooutside.OnSundays, Jack wouldsavesomeofhisriceandpeasandhischicken bones, Jeff savedhim a chunkof hisyamanda spoonof saltfish.Each daytheyvisitedRover,hebecamestrongerand fleshier.Soon, hewasrunningandbarkinghappilyto meetthem bythesideof theroadwhich ledto theriver.

Onefatefulday, Jessiedecidedto feedRoversomeof her stewedchickenandboiledbananasfrom lunch byherself.She didn’twant to wait forherbrothersbecauseshewas too eager to spendsometimewith thedog,andshewantedto go fora

swim before her brothers got there. She put the food down and called for Rover, “Come boy, it’s your favourite, chicken!” She hopped from stone to stone to get to the other side of the river where she saw Rover chasing a bird. She didn’t notice that the river was swelling and became rougher because of the morning rain. She slipped on a rock covered in algae. She struggled to get out, but she couldn’t fight the current. Rover noticed Jessie straining to get out of the water. He could hear a huge gush of water coming towards them. He barked so loudly that all the birds in the nearby trees flew away. Jimmy noticed the large flock of birds flying away from the river. “Wait, did you boys notice that? By the way, where is Jessie? Isn’t it time to go feed Rover?” They left a message with their mother to tell Jessie that they were heading to the river and she should hurry along.”

Astheywalkedalongtheroad, theycouldhearthefaintsound of Rover’s bark.Jack started running towards thesound of Rover’s bark.“Jessie!Jessie! Try to swim towards thebank!” heyelled.Hisbrotherssawthewater rushingandtook off behindJack.Jessiestartedsinkingasthewaterapproached. Roverjumpedinto theragingwaterandswam to Jessie.He grippedtheback of hershirtwithhisteeth andforcefully pulledheroutof thewater.Thebrotherscameto helpas Rover gotto theshore.Jessiewascoldandherteeth chattered.Her lipswereblue, andshecried.“Whatwereyou thinking?You couldhavereallybeenhurt!” Jeff saidto his sister.“Ijust wantedto feedRover bymyself,” shereplied. Jeff wentto fetch theirmom andtoldherallaboutRover, the dogtheyhad beentakingcareof, andhowhepulledJessieout of theriver.

Their parentswere so happy andgratefulfor thedog’sbravery andloyaltythatthey decidedtomakeRovertheirnewpetdog. SoonRoverdidn’t have to waitfor the children to bring him

food, ashehadhisownbowlrightbythedinnertable.The childrenstillplayhappilywith theirdogRover.

A RARE ENCOUNTER

By Diamond White Prospect Primary School Aged 9 Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

George the blue iguana was never happy. He was always getting bullied at school by green iguanas. They were always teasing him because he was different, but poor George wasn't brave enough to stand up for himself. Every night he would go outside and watch the waves roll in. The foamy clear water always made him feel better. What this iguana didn't know was that his life in a nutshell was about to get a whole lot better. The next day was sunny and pleasant, yet George was as nervous as a mouse in a mouse trap. The forecast for that day called for a few clouds and a lot of sunshine. George was shivering all over from nervousness. He wished he did not have to go to school. He still had to face the school's many bullies. The walk to school became an obstacle course, turning a 15minute walk into a 30-minute walk with each step overflowing with fear.As he made ninja-like movements towards the school in a zigzag pattern, thoughts of what the bullies would do to him danced in his head. Once he got inside the school, he would just keep his head down as the treacherous, towering green iguanas manoeuvered their muscular bodies down the corridor.Every time helooked up, he would see their menacing red-hot eyes bolting into him. Then he would dash off as fast as his scrawny legs would carry him all the way to his classroom. Oncehe was there, he would choosea seat that was in the front, away from the bullies in the back. The only part of school that was good was his class work. He would get straight As on all his tests. When the teacher came in, she dropped a bombshell: a new student was joining our class and it's another green iguana!

George just couldn't bear it, so he closed his eyes. But the whole room went silent so he had to open them up. It was over. The student had already taken his seat. George tried to enjoy the day but it was impossible, since there was an extra weight on his shoulders. It was almost snack time even though it feltlikehoursawaytohim. Whenitfinallycame,George didn't think he had the energy to out-run an extra bully today. Sure enough, when snack time came,he found himself in the same running position. He ran and ran, but the new student was just too fast. He did the only thing he could do, close his eyes and wait for the inevitable; but it never happened, instead the student introduced himself. “My name is Sam, what's yours?” he asked. “Uuum! I'm George,” he replied nervously. For the rest of snack time they talked to each other and had fun. From the first time Georgemet Sam; he realized he was different from all the other green iguanas. Since Sam was not teasing him like the others, Georgedecided to tell Sam about the problems he's been having with the bullies and hope he will be able to help him.It turned out he did not just have bad luck after all. Sam knew that, since he was a green iguana, theother green iguanas would listen to him. After a short while, all George's bully problems wereover.He was now a fully confident blue iguana and was no longer hidingin the dark. All George needed was a special friend who would stand by him and help him out.Sam was also happy to do something special forhis friend George whom he thinks is special and rare.

THE RESCUE

By Diamond White Prospect Primary School Aged 9 Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

“Wow! I did not know that stingrays didn’t have any teeth,” James exclaimed ashe read a fascinating book about animals. James went to his father and asked if they could go to Stingray City the next day. The next day, the swimming clothes and towels were packed, and the boat was ready. They started to sail down a narrow canal. James saton the bowof theboat. As it sped down the light blue waters of the Cayman Islands, the boat gleamed in the sun, and Jamessang “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.”

After a while, the boat stopped. “We‘re here!” a voice boomed out of thecabin. The boat engine stopped running. The only noises were the cry of birds and the waves slapping gently against the boat. James went into the hull of theboat to change his clothes; soon hecameout with a bright blue-andblack swimsuit complete with goggles and flippers. “Here I go,” as he jumped into the warm blue water. Gray stingrays waded past him. His father watched from the boat. James went under the water and saw the stingrays. Their sleek bodies looked like wings, and their pointy tails waved peacefully as they moved through the water.Suddenly, a small, light gray stingray approachedhim and spoke to him saying, “I have lost my motherand father.Can you help me find them?” James was puzzled, and looked at the tiny stingray in disbelief. He quickly swam over to the boat and told his father, “I just saw a stingray that spoke to me.” His dadlaughed and said, “You must be hearing things. Go back and swim with the stingrays.” James looked out at the water, deep in thought; but in the middle of 310

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thinking, the same little stingray popped out of the water and shouted, “Help me!”

“See, I told you the stingray was talking. We must go and rescue his parents.” His father said, “Why should I?” “Because they are endangered,” James replied. “I read it in my book.”

The stingray swam beside the boat as it directed them where to go. “This is as far as I know,” said the stingray. Suddenly James saw a piece of paper flying in the sky. It landed right at his feet. “Hey look! A map!” shouted James. A red line was drawn across it. “Maybe if we follow the red line, we will find the boat.” “Great idea!” exclaimed the stingray. So, they sped and sped. After a while, they caught up with a boat. The little stingray recognized the boat, and told James. James shouted to a man on board, “Hey you! Give those stingrays back. They are endangered.” The man was wearing a red shirt, hada thick black beard, and looked very mean. He refused and sped off.

“We will have to chasehim,” Jamessaid. His father put the boat on thehighest speed. “We arerunning out of gas,” James said as he picked up the red bottle with the extra gas and poured it in. Suddenly a sputtering sound came from the man’s boat, and it came to a complete stop.James’father dialed 911. “We have a smuggler here;he is taking away the stingrays from Stingray City.”

Soon the police arrived. “What proof do you have?” asked one of the police officers. “It’s all because of this baby stingray here,” started James, but he was interrupted. “That man stole my parents! I am sure of it,” said the baby stingray, to the surprise of the police officers. The police officers searched the man’s boat and found two stingrays in a large white ice cooler filled with water. “I did not steal those

stingrays. I don’t know how they got here.” The police arrested the man and took him in for questioning.

The baby stingray thanked James for believing in him, for being his friend, and helping rescue his parents. “There is one more thing I need to ask you. Can you take us back to Stingray City? You see, we love living at Stingray City where we entertain all the people who come to visit us daily. We love lighting up their lives.”

“Sure,” said James. So the three stingrays trailed behind the boat as James and his father guided them back to their home at Stingray City.

THE DANCE COMPETITION

By Shakimbewha White & Jalea Benjamin Aged11 & 10 Enis Adams Primary School Tortola, British Virgin Islands

Shak andJay were best friends. They did everythingtogether. So it was not surprising that they were members of the same dance team. They were both very athleticand enjoyeddoing cartwheels, handsprings, and splits.

One afternoon while on theirway to dance practice,the girls decided to take a stroll through Queen Elizabeth Park to feed the turtle doves that gatheredthere regularly. This day it was different. While feeding the birds, Jay noticed a shadowy figure hiding behind the oleanders. It was a little boy. He was about theirage, but he was very thin andwore torn clothes. The girls were very worriedabout him, but he ran away when they got close to him.

It was getting late and the girls knew they had to hurry on to dance class. But the strange little boy was on their minds. They knew they had to find him and help him in some way.

Two afternoons later, Shak and Jay left school andhurried down to the Park. This time, not only were they looking forturtledoves, they were hoping they foundthe little boy. You see,they both packed extra snacks in theirlunch bags, andwantedto give them to him. Shak spottedhim by the swings.

She ran up to him andasked if he wanteda push,but he said no and tried to leave. Jay came over andasked if he wantedone of her snacks. At first, he seemedhesitant, but he took the snack. He told Jay andShak that his name was Andrew. He also told them about his life and how he andhis mom ended uphomeless. The girls wishedthey coulddo more than just a few snacks.

When the girls left Andrew, they felt even sadder. They knew they had their warm beds to sleep in while he had nowhere to call home.

Every day the girls went to find Andrew andtook snacks for him. Then one day at dance class, Ms. Cindy toldthem about a

dancecompetition forpairs. The first prize was $5000. All the girls could think about was how much groceries andnew clothes Andrew and his mom couldget. They had to win the competition. Andrew was depending on them.

They practiced day and night. Harder than they had ever practiced before. They practiced so much that they hardly got to see Andrew. He thought they had forgotten all about him. The night of the competition came. The other teams were good. Shak and Jay were nervous, but they couldn't back down now. Then,it was their turn. The lights dimmedand the audience in the Cultural Centre was hushed. When the musicstarted playing, the girls danced as if their lives dependedon it. Shak tumbledand flipped, while Jay did handstands andsplits. They sashayedand even two-stepped. It was an amazing performance. The girls stood on the side and waited for the judges' decision. They won! They couldn't wait to find Andrew to tell him the good news. They did it! The best part about winning was that they would finally be able to help their new friend in a big way.

THE BOY WHO HELPED A HOMELESS PERSON

By Kymani Williams Gladys A. Abraham Elementary Aged 11 St. Thomas, US Virgin Islads

One day, a boy found a twenty-dollar bill. The boy was so generous that be bought food with the money, and gave the food to a homeless person on the street. He did not like to see people looking hungry. The homeless person was so thankful for the gesture, and itmade the boy feel really great about what hehad did.

That act of kindness then encouraged the boy to start a charity in his school for homeless people.

Children from his school started bringing in clothing, money, and food for the homeless people in need of them. This charity then grew from a small one to a big one. What started out with one single boy grew into the entire school participating and donating.

The charity eventually became nationwide, and people from all over the United States started giving money, clothing, and other things to homeless people. The people brought in so many things that there were less homeless people on the streets. This charity became so large that it started hiring the homeless people to help it function. The larger it grew, the more homeless were hired.

That boy from that school changed many people's lives from that one twenty-dollar bill that he found.

His good deeds have encouraged adults and children to make changes in their lives and communities. Some examples of people helping out the community include a lady picking up trash at a beach and then getting the help of others, and charities to continue keeping the beaches clean. Another example is that,

after a natural disaster struck, people joined together, and step-by-step, helped to rebuild whatever was destroyed by the disaster.

The boy's random act of kindness helped to prove that if you believe in something that can help out the community, let your belief come true by making it happen.

So, people of the world, whatever you believe in, make it happen! I am sure it will make a difference in someone's life or in your community.

THE MADRAS DOLL

By Tashani Williams Julius E. Sprauve School Aged 11 St. John, US Virgin Islands

In the Virgin Islands, on the small island of St. John, lived a little girl named Yana. Yana loved to play with dolls. It was her favorite thing to do. She had six dolls and she knew each one by name. There was Suzy, Brandy, Emily, Tasha, Kim and Kishma. Each doll was unique and special. Suzy was a gift from her grandmother in the United States. Brandy was a gift from her mother; she was a beautiful porcelain doll with a lace dress and a painted face.Emily and Tasha were Barbie dolls that her auntie had given her for Christmas.Kim was a pretty rag doll that her dad gaveher for her birthday. Kishma was her favorite doll. She was made right inthe Virgin Islands, and she had been given to Yana by a very special friend, Yana remembered when shegot Kishma. She was very sick. The doctors said that shehad Leukemia.She was very sad, and did not feel well at all. She didn't even want to play with her beautiful dolls. Every day blurred into the other.It was nothing but hospitals and treatments. One day she got a visitfrom a special girl. The girl's name was Tashani. Tashanifelt very sorry for Yana and all the pain that she felt. Tashani started to visit Yana in the hospital often. Her visits made Yana feel better. When Tashani came to visit, they would play with Yana's dolls. That made Yana happy. Tashani noticed that Yana was happiest when she played with her dolls. The only thing that Yana loved almost as much as playing with her dolls was going to Carnival. Yana loved playing the games during Carnival like Popping the Balloons and Basketball. Every year, she would get her face painted and her daddy would buy her sno-cones and cotton candy. On the last night, she would sit

on her daddy's shoulders and watch the fireworks. But this year was different. Instead of going to the Carnival, Yana would be in the hospital. She would not get to enjoy any of the things that she loved about Carnival. As Carnival got nearer and nearer, Yana got sadder. Not even visits from Tashani could cheer her up. Everyone was worriedabout her. Finally, it was Carnival. Tashani went with her mom to enjoy Carnival. They had some cotton candy and sno-cones. Tashani remembered Yana and how much she loved Carnival. She wanted to bring her something very special to remind her of Carnival, but she didn't know what is would be. Then she remembered how much Yana loved dolls. Her mom agreed that they should get her a gift. One afternoon, they made their way through the booths looking for something special.

FLUFFY GETS LOST

By Jayda Woolery Montego Bay Christian Academy Aged 9 Montego Bay, Jamaica

Once there was a little girl named Gabriella. Gabriella had a puppy named Fluffy. Gabriella was a smart and intelligent girl. Fluffy, her puppy, was a Pomeranian dog. She was very cute. Fluffy had a white coat.

Gabriella got Fluffy at the animal shelter when she was twelve years old – two years ago. Fluffy was one year old when Gabriella got her. Gabriella got her for Christmas.

When Gabriella got Fluffy, she promised to always take good care of her.

Gabriella and Fluffy has so much fun together. They went to movies and walked to the park. Fluffy was the best thing that happened to her. Fluffy was her best friend.

The next day, Fluffy wandered off and Gabriella couldn’t find her.

Gabriella was very worried. She searched and searched, but still no sign of Fluffy. She checked at the animal shelter, but Gabriella still couldn’t find her.

It was getting late, and Gabriella got more worried. Gabriella had to go home because it was getting dark. When she got home, she told her mother that Fluffy was lost.

Gabriella cried the entire night because she missed Fluffy. A bright and early day, Gabriella searched the woods, the river, and the beach. She started praying, “Lord, please let me find my one and only puppy.”

She searched in the neighborhood one more time, until she saw something white and fluffy lying in the street. She realized it was Fluffy! She was extremely happy!

Fluffy was all right, but extremely hungry. She carried her home, gave her a nice warm bath, and fed her.

After Fluffy was dry, she hugged her and kissed her and never ever let her out of her sight again.

They lived happily ever after!

ANNIE THE AGOUTI AND PABLO THE PESTERING PARROT

Written & Illustrated

By Makennah Wright Prospect Primary School Aged 10 Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

CACAW! CACAW! Pablo, the parrotwas pestering Annie, the Agouti again with his tuneless song. "When will this annoying parrot let me have some peace?" she wondered. Pablo was perched on the dry twig of a treein the cool, calm, eastern coast of Grand Cayman when hesawAnnie hiding in the nearby lush, overgrown bushes.The sagegreen leaves covered a marvelous mango tree like a leafy blanket. The tree was laden with ripe, mouthwatering, deliciousmangoes and whenever the wind gets into a playful mood, it makes music with the leaves of the trees. SWIISH! SWIISH! Leaves rustled noisily as the playful morning breeze tickled them, and the golden-reddish fruits were rudely ripped from their slender stems. BIP! BAP! Sweet, yellow, finger-licking juiceoozed from the mangoes as they hit the jagged edges of small rocks, and rolled to the dry ground. SQUELCH! SQUELCH! Succulent mangoes spat on Pablo's faceas his sharpbeak pierced the smooth, soft skin of the mangoes. Pablo and Annie both loved mangoes but these fruits always seemed to be saying hello from the top of the tree. This way, only Pablo, the parrot was able to eat most of the delicious mangoes.Suddenly, the wind got angry and blew one juicy mango off the tree. Feeling ecstatic, Annie sprinted to the mango.Her beady, black eyesshone brightly, and she was about to take a huge bite when Pablo swooped down and pecked Annie in her neck with his razor-sharp, ivory beak. "Ow!" Annie yelled in agony "Do not eat my mango! You are so annoying!"Pablo screeched. Annie was flabbergasted that her own friend would act so cruel and hostile towards her.

Iggy, the independent iguana was enjoying the warm sunshine after eating his stomach full of sweet, ripe mangoes. He could not believe what hehad just heard and seen. His eyes almost popped as he gasped with fright and hung onto the green canopy with shock. Luckily, he decided to be the bigger person in this bad situation. So, likeSuperman to the rescue, Iggy whipped his long spiky tail and hollered, to Annie, “Mangoes look out! Off these trees they are coming for you!" Iggy then jumped enthusiastically off the tree to assist Annie in securing big juicy, ripe mangoes. The sad agoutiwas now beaming from ear to ear and she was so grateful for everything that Iggy had done to help her. Pablo, on theotherhand, felt badfor how badly he had treated Annie. Pablo apologized for what he did, and promised to change his behavior. Later that day, Pablo brought two tasty mangoes from the tree - one for Annie and one for himself. "Annie, I am truly sorry of howI treated you earlier today. I am begging you to forgive me,"Pablo said ashe stared at the ground. "Of course!" Annie exclaimed. "Pablo, you really hurt my feelings today because I was starving, but I appreciate you taking responsibilityfor your unkind act; it really means the world to me," replied Annie. Pablo spent the next few days working on his behavior and every day he would pick three of the best mangoesfrom the tree and give to Annie. Pablo ran into Iggy one day ashe was handing Annie the mangoes. As soon as Pablo saw him, he flew up to the tree and brought threemangoes down forIggy as well. "You have learned your lesson well, Pablo, and I respect you for showing kindness," said Iggy. Pablo responded, "I respect you too, Iggy, because you did not makean argument when you realized how selfish I was acting. Without a fuss, you showed me what it is liketo bea good leader. Iggy swished his tail in the air from side to side as he laughed and said, “You know, Pablo, we might becreatures of thewild, but we are Caymanian creatures. If wemust survive in these bushes, we need to stick

together, show kindness, treat others with respect, and lead by good examples as Caymanians always try to do.” “These are excellent ways to show the true Cayman Kind," chanted Iggy, Pablo, and Annie joyfully.

Empowering young writers and promoting literacy Sample