Tuesday • January 17, 2012 — D1
The Sentinel at www.cumberlink.com Megan bollinger Copy Editor Phone 240-7111
Kids World
Fax 243-3121 Email mbollinger@cumberlink.com
When kids speak out, The Sentinel listens
Kids Speak Out
Tell Me A Story
I was building a snowman when... I was building a snowman when my friend came with a magic carrot for the nose. When we put the nose on it came alive and it went around town eating kids! My friend and I got away. We made a plan to destroy the evil snowman once and for all. He only eats kids and we were the only kids in town. So he chased me into a log cabin. When I got out the back door we lit a match and threw it in the cabin. It burned down and all the kids got out and the evil snowman melted. The end. Tyler Nickel, 10 (WINNER) Mt. Holly Springs Elementary I was building a snowman when the eyes started to blink, and then the eyes turned red. The arms started to move suddenly, then the branches turned into sharp fingers. The mouth began to open and close. The snowman began to sing “Frosty the Snowman.” I saw sharp teeth. The snowman began to move. The snowman appeared to be chasing me so I ran very, very, very fast but the snowman was too fast so finally he threw a snowball at me. I fell very hard to the ground and then I got up and said, “You want to play, let’s play.” So we had a snowball fight. It turns out that Frosty wasn’t scary looking. It was just in my head. Marcel Maniece, 12 (WINNER) New Cumberland Middle School Sixth Grade
I was building a snowman when it said, “Hey, don’t make me too fat or I will turn you into a unicorn!” I made him really fat, and he turned me into a unicorn. That’s why I am writing this with my hooves. KJ Keane, 10 (WINNER) Fishing Creek Elementary Fourth Grade
I was building a snowman. When I went back outside, the snowman came to life. Then more and more snowmen came. We tried to wreck them, but they didn’t wreck. We used sunshine. It worked! The snow started to rumble. It turned into a snowman. We screamed! We ran! One of us had an idea. They said, “Let’s tell the sun this ... Oh, Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun. Please shine down. Please shine down on us!” And then one of us said, “And the snowman, too!” Autumn Batzel, 6 (WINNER) Newville Elementary First Grade
I was building a snowman when it came alive. Then I saw an eye blinking. I ran home. It melted. Then my sister came out of it! Bethany Schwartz, 7 St. Patrick School Grade 2B
I was building a snowman when he asked me for a party. I said no. Then he asked me for some hot coca. I said yes. Twenty minutes later he melted from the hot cocoa. The end. Kaleb, 7 Shaull Elementary School I was building a snowman when a man knocked it down. I said, “Hey! That was my snowman.” Then I realized it was no man. It was a vampire. I pulled the mask off, and guess who it was. It was my teacher. And that’s what happened that day.
I was building a snowman when he started to talk. I was happy because I had someone to play with. He drove me to South Dakota. He started to melt. I said, “Let’s get out of here.” Then he drove me to Alaska. He did not melt because it was cold. I said we should go home because my parents might be worried. So we went home. I had a fun day. Marisa Colondrillo, 7 St. Patrick School Grade 2B
Reagan Keys, 7 St. Patrick School Grade 2B
I was building a snowman when it turned into a big yellow and green monster with blue fur and sharp pink teeth. I ran away and did not ever come back.
I was building a snowman when it came to life! I was so excited! And when I get so excited, I vomit! Eww! Actually, I didn’t really do that. The snowman danced and danced until the sun came out, and the snowman melted. I was so sad! I will never see him again.
Hannah Culp, 9 Fishing Creek Elementary Fourth Grade
Gabriel Gabasan, 7 St. Patrick School Grade 2B I was building a snowman when it came to life. He said, “I am Frosty the Snowman.” Then he asked, “What do you want to do?” I said, “Take me to Candy Land.” It was so much fun! I ate so much candy! I fell on a cookie, and then I was covered in chocolate. So my snow buddy got me out of the chocolate. Then I said, “Let’s go home.” So we did. But when I got home, it was summer because we were gone for 200 years. So we made a deal. It was that I will make him again when it is winter. I did, and I always saw him. Kate Williams, 7 St. Patrick School Grade 2A I was building a snowman when it started to snow ice cream. So I decided to build a snow lady out of ice cream. I used an ice cream cone for a nose, Hershey Kisses for eyes, licorice for the mouth and gum balls for buttons. The snow lady looked delicious.
It was snowing all day and I decided to go outside and play in it. But after I got out there, I realized that there was a blizzard. There was a lot of snow and a terrible mess so I went upstairs to wake up mommy and daddy. When we got out there, the neighborhood had already started cleaning up. When we were done, I went back to my house and built a snowman. Katie Miller, 6 Newville Elementary First Grade
I was building a snowman when I got a chill. I went inside and got hot cocoa. Then I went outside again and started to build again. Then I made a snow dog! It looked funny because it has a big ear, that’s why it’s funny. It is a girl. Her name is Ella because I like her name. Then it went crazy. It was funny!
Kirsten Weirich, 7 Hamilton Elementary Second Grade I was building a snowman when there was a snowstorm. All of the houses broke and all of the people ran away and screamed, “Aaaaaaaaaa!” So did I, “Aaaaaaaaa!” I said that. The end.
Naomi Cornman Newville Elementary
I was building a snowman when all of a sudden I heard a noise. It was fox. Then the fox ate my snowman. When the fox was done he was fat. I had to rebuild the snowman. I spent lots of time with my snowman. I named my snowman Ola.
Taylor Palmer, 6 Elmwood Elementary First Grade
Abby Henschke, 6 Shaull Elementary School First Grade
How you can get involved with Kids Speak Out Want To See Your Name Here?
Hey, kids! How would you like to get your story published in Kids Speak Out? Just write a short story on one of our prompts and send it to The Sentinel. You can also draw a picture to go with your story. Each week, The Sentinel will publish some of the stories we receive in KidsWorld and on www.cumberlink.com. Only the top three essay writers, published on this page, will receive KidsWorld T-shirts. To claim T-shirts, visit The Sentinel during normal business hours. You must be 5 to 13 years old to enter. Stories must be 150 words or less. Be sure to include your full name, age, address, school and grade. Mail your entry to “Kids Speak Out,” The Sentinel, 457 E. North St., Carlisle, PA 17013, drop it off at either Sentinel office or mail it to frontdoor@cumberlink.com with the subject “KidsWorld.”
Attention Teachers!
Request the new Kids Speak Out writing prompts; email mbollinger@cumberlink.com.
Upcoming Topics Due Jan. 20 It was snowing all day and I decided to... Due Jan. 27 I was ice skating on a lake when... Due Feb. 3 I made a gingerbread house and then my dog... Due Feb. 10 I’m going to give my Valentine a... Due Feb. 17 My favorite thing to do on the weekend is... Due Feb. 24 If I had a million dollars I would... Due March 2 When I’m riding the school bus I like to... Due March 9 I was eating lunch with my friends when...
The trolls and the great big cat Norwegian tale
adapted by Amy Friedman illustrated by Jillian Gilliland
Once upon a time in a village in the snowy Norwegian mountains, there lived a tailor and his family. Every year during the holiday season, the trolls moved into their house. They were so difficult that the family had to move away and the trolls took over. Each year, hoping this would be the last, the family prepared their house for the invasion of the trolls. They set their big table with sweets and sausages, fish and fruit, cakes and cream and porridge. They left behind great jugs of wine and beer. But every year the same thing happened. The trolls were greedy and heartless creatures. Some of them were big and tall, with legs as long as tree trunks. Some were tiny with long, twisty tails. Some had no tails at all but had instead big, bulbous noses. Some had eyes like black marbles that rolled in the sockets. Some were cruel and monstrously fat. Some were small and shrunken. But they had one thing in common: They loved to eat and drink. And they could never get enough! Every year after the trolls had eaten everything on the table, and after they had drunk up every last drop in the jugs, they began to search the house for more. They turned over the furniture and tore apart the pillows and quilts. They ripped up the tailor’s material and spilled his pins. They unspooled his threads. They climbed the curtains and tossed books and trinkets. In their search for more, every year they destroyed the house. One day not long before Christmas an animal trainer was passing through town, and he stopped and knocked upon the tailor’s door. When the tailor answered, the trainer said, “Please, sir, would you be kind enough to offer my pet and me a place to stay?” “Ah,” the tailor sighed, “it’s fine for you to stay the night, but tomorrow we leave. The trolls will be coming. Every holiday season they take over our house.” “I don’t mind trolls,” the trainer said. “We’re so cold, my pet and I, we’d just like to be warm.” And with that an enormous white bear stepped from behind the trainer. When the tailor saw the bear, he stepped back in fear; he had never been so near such a big bear. The animal trainer said quickly, “Please, don’t worry, he’s very well trained.” And that big white bear bowed hello to the tailor. Outside the snow was falling in sheets, and the wind was roaring, and the sky was forbidding. The tailor’s heart went out to the trainer and his bear. “Please, both of you, come in for the night,” he said. “So we shall!” the trainer said, and in he walked, the bear right behind. They curled up beside the woodstove and there they happily warmed their faces and their feet. They were happy to have a roof over their heads. The very next morning the tailor, his wife and their children packed their bags. “We’re leaving,” they said to the trainer. “The trolls will be here any moment now. You’ll want to be going, too.” The animal trainer shook his head. “Perhaps we could stay?” He had no desire to leave the warmth of the woodstove, and neither did his big white bear. “But the trolls ...” the tailor cautioned. The trainer waved away the tailor’s concerns. “I’m a trainer, remember? We’ll be just fine. Perhaps I’ll even train the trolls.” The tailor laughed at the thought, but he left the trainer and his bear behind, and a few hours later the trolls came. They roared into the house and quickly gobbled up the sweets and the sausages, the porridge and the cream. They downed the jugs of wine and beer. Then suddenly one of the tiny trolls spotted two big eyes staring out from under the stove. Curious, he picked up a sausage and walked toward the stove. “Here kitty, kitty,” he said, holding out that sausage. At that the bear emerged from beneath the stove, stood upon his hind legs and let out a tremendous roar. At that sound, the trolls turned and saw the monster -- bigger than the biggest troll, with longer claws and sharper teeth and rounder eyes. They shrieked and dropped their plates and cups and bowls. “Watch out!” cried the grandfather troll. And one after the other, they raced out the door. When the holidays were done, the tailor and his family returned home, but when he opened the door, the tailor could not believe his eyes. The house was in perfect order. On the table stood sweets and sausages, porridge and cream, jugs of wine and beer. It was as if nothing had been disturbed. Even the trainer and his bear were gone. A few weeks later, the tailor was walking through the woods when suddenly he heard a voice calling from behind a grove of pines. “Tailor!” the voice cried. “Is that you?” The tailor recognized the voice of the grandfather troll. “It is,” he answered, and his heart sank, for he had hoped those trolls were long gone. “Do you still have that big cat of yours?” asked the grandfather troll. That’s when the tailor understood. He held back a smile. “I do,” he said. “She’s still lying under the stove.” “And will she be there next holiday season?” asked the troll. “Indeed she will,” the tailor said. “And soon she’ll be having kittens, so there will be many more cats there.” “You shan’t be seeing us again, then!” the troll cried. Then there was silence. And sure enough, the trolls never again appeared in the Norwegian mountains.