Tuesday • May 8, 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
I was held prisoner on a pirate ship when ... Tell Me A Story
Bluebird and Coyote
I was held prisoner on a pirate ship and a big shark came and bit into the boat and I was rescued by a sea monster. The sea monster and I became friends forever ... well, until someone found me and took me home to my family. When I got home I ate so much food. I was starving! I told my mom the whole story. Ted Trimmer, 8 (winner) Mount Rock Elementary School Second Grade
A Cherokee Indian tale
I was held prisoner on a pirate ship. They made me do all of their work. I was not so happy with them. They made a mess for me to clean up. I had to clean up the mud on the deck. I also had to polish their shoes. I even had to sleep on the floor. So I left. I had a better time when I left. Madalyn Black, 7 (winner) Newville Elementary School First Grade
Adapted by Amy Friedman Illustrated by Jillian Gilliland
I was held prisoner on a pirate ship and I had to clean all day long. Then I had to cook for the pirates all day. I would like the pirates to do it theirself. Lauren, 7 Shaull Elementary School First Grade
I was held prisoner on a pirate ship one day. I would go fishing. But then I’ll get bored so I found a rat as a pet. I would build it a cage. I would sit in the watch tower. I wish I was a pirate. Karolena Santiago, 8 Hamilton Elementary School Second Grade
I was held prisoner on a pirate ship and the Navy showed up, came over to the pirate ship, rescued me, and sunk the pirate ship. Timothy Bellaire Elementary School Second Grade
I was held prisoner on a pirate ship and the pirates laughed cruel and wicked. They wanted me to stay and tell where the treasure was, but I wanted to go home. One night while the pirates slept I chewed through the rope and got to a hidden island. I found the treasure chest. I took it home. There were 100 gold coins and each gold coin was $100. Everyday I got a new toy! I even used it to buy a python and lizards and everything in the whole pet store! Xavier, 5 Carlisle
I was held prisoner on a pirate ship and they made me eat squid and sleep in a hammock. Soon I heard my mom’s voice say, “Skylar, time to wake up.” Good thing it was a bad dream. Skylar Diegel, 10 Fishing Creek Elementary School Fourth Grade I was held prisoner on a pirate ship and the captain walked up to me and said, “Are you going to walk the plank or are you just going to stand there?” I said, “I’m gonna go to the bathroom.” So he let me go to the bathroom. Then I did some makeup, then I escaped and pretended to be Captain Hook. Alexis Rhine, 8 Mooreland Elementary School Third Grade
I was held prisoner on a pirate ship and I was treated like a servant. When I disobeyed them we had a duel. I always won. One day we battled all day and I still won. Since I disobeyed them they tied me up and I used my play knife and got out and I made them walk the plank. Kylie Diehl, 7 Mount Rock Elementary School Second Grade
I was held prisoner on a pirate ship and I had to eat sandwiches and corn for dinner. But corn and sandwiches do not go together. Ohh gross! I had to sleep next to the pirate which is even I was held prisoner on a pirate grosser. He snores like a pig. But I love ship and then a pirate started to skip his cat and she loves me too! She’s around the ship. Then I found the so cute. But I threw her in the ocean. gold, it was right beside me. I found a But Captain Red Beard yelled at me. paper clip and unhooked the chains. Then I got up and went into the water. He made me walk the plank. I jumped It was so hot and now I was cooled off. in and I came back in the ship and he said, “If you throw my cat out there Then I swam and swam until I make it to the island Hawaii. It was so nice again...” so I didn’t. The next night for there. Everything was free, it was fun. dinner, for some reason I ate chicken pot pie. It was so good! It was poison Ravyn, 10 so I had a swollen face! Mt. Holly Springs Elementary Sydney Barthel, 7 School Hillside Elementary School Fourth 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.”
Upcoming Topics Due May 11 I was spending the day at grandma’s house when ... Due May 18 My favorite food is... Due May 25 The best summer I ever had was.. Due June 1 On the last day of school I ... Due June 8 This summer I plan to...
Long ago, Bluebird’s feathers were dull and brown. Some said they looked gray, but others said they were most definitely brown. “Like mud,” people said. Bluebird lived near a wide, beautiful lake, a lake that was the most beautiful color of blue anyone had ever seen. That lake was bluer than the sky, bluer than blue moons, bluer than bluebonnets growing in the nearby meadow. The lake was so blue that whenever anyone passed by, they could not help but stop and stare. All the animals admired the lake, and many stood beside its shores comparing its color to other beautiful things of this world. “It’s bluer than blueberries,” the bears said. “Bluer than blue macaws,” said the deer. “Bluer than our wings,” said the butterflies. “Bluer than sadness,” said Bluebird. The color of that water never changed because there were no streams flowing in or out of the lake. Every day Bluebird sat in a tree overlooking the lake and looked down, admiring that lake. She sang a song to the lake every single morning. “How lovely it would be to look like you ... if only I were blue, like you.” One day Bluebird decided to swim in the lake. She flew to the shore, held her breath, and dived into the water. She bobbed to the surface and splashed about, singing at the top of her lungs, “If only I were blue, like you ...” The bears and the deer and the butterflies and all the other creatures of the forest laughed at her, but Bluebird didn’t care. When she was finished, she flew to the top of the tree and shook her feathers dry. But when she looked at them, she saw they were as brown as mud, as brown as a fawn, as brown as a stump. They were as brown as a walnut and brown as the bears. “If only I were blue,” Bluebird sang. “How lovely to be blue, like you ...” Once again the others laughed, and from a distance Coyote watched. In the morning Bluebird dived in again and splashed about, admiring the blue glistening beneath the bright sunshine. When she flew up to the top of the tree, she shook herself dry and looked at her wings. But they were still as brown as the bears, as brown as prairie dogs, as brown as the branch of the tree on which she perched. The next day she dived into the lake again, and she splashed about, and afterward she flew into the tree, but her feathers remained brown. The following morning she sang to the lake once again, “One more time ...” She dived, and as she splashed about, she sang, “If only I were blue, like you ...” Then she flew up to the top of the tree, and this time when she flapped her wings, she was amazed to see they had turned blue! Bluer than blue. The most beautiful blue in the world. “I’m blue like you!” she sang exuberantly. Now Coyote came to see all this up close, and when he saw her, he could not believe his eyes. She was beautiful — as blue as blueberries and bluebells and blue moons. “How did you do that?” Coyote asked. “I dived in four times,” Bluebird said, “and I sang to the lake.” And then she taught Coyote her song. After he had learned the song, Coyote steeled himself. Coyote did not like to swim, but he wanted more than anything to be this beautiful, and so he dived into the lake, and he sang the song. When he walked out, he was as dull as ever, but he didn’t give up. “Four times I shall swim!” he said. The next day he dived in again. He did this four days in a row. Each time Coyote dived in and splashed about and sang the song Bluebird had taught him. On the fourth day he climbed out of the lake and there he was, blue as blue can be, as blue as blueberries and bluebonnets and blue moons. He was as blue as Bluebird. Coyote was very proud of himself. He was so proud that he didn’t wait to dry off. He began to run around, showing off his brand-new coat. “Look at me!” he howled. “I’m bluuuuuuuuue ... Everyone look at me!” He stared at his shadow as he ran. “Is my shadow blue too?” he wondered aloud. “Am I the most beautiful creature anyone has ever seen?” He called to every rabbit and bird and bear and butterfly he passed. He called to the deer. “Look at me! I am bluuuuue!” But Coyote was so busy admiring himself and looking for others to brag to, he wasn’t looking ahead, and suddenly he ran headfirst into a tree stump on the edge of the path. His head began to spin and he saw stars. He tried to stand up, but he was so dizzy, he staggered unsteadily and fell to the ground. He rolled over and over, howling in pain. And the ground was dusty and dirty — the color of mud, of tree trunks, of walnuts, of bears. Pretty soon Coyote was the color of the dirt, and ever since that day every coyote has been brown and dusty gray. And every bluebird is blue — as blue as the sky and as blue as the lake.