These are the characters:
Victoria
Friday, July 15, 2011
Password to Peril
Chapter 1: The curse
The wind rushed in the trees. I froze, my smaller sister's blanket trailing. Once, twice, there was a piercing scream. I watched, as the haunted house drew nearer, I fainted. The scream was mine.
As I woke up, I realized I was alone. My sister had to have been in one place. The wind lifted my blonde hair from my head. My name is Emily Basillan. I was left on my own a lifetime ago.
Anyways, I could see her. I knew I did. She went inside the creepy house. I
Just then, a hissing voice said, "Who are you..." I let out a scream, my face pale. I let out all the fright in one long breath. I smacked my hands against the icy breeze.
Huh. Nothing there. I guessed it was just my imagination.
I quietly tiptoed inside the victorian mansion. The first room was decorated, being the main hall, with ornate-- but scary! --stairs, a couple of coat hooks, and shadows of what I at least hoped were shadows. I shivered. My eyes were drawn up to a strange oil portrait of a shriveled old man who appeared to be staring at me a cold icy glare. I lifted a shaking foot onto the first stair and the next and so on until I was on the 2nd floor. I noticed a small room where a door was left ajar.I made up my mind to open it, but promised myself it would only be worth it if I found Gina. I looked around inside the room. There was a plaque placed behind the faded, empty gilten bed. I, feeling light headed, looked at it. It read:
I declare this mansion fine
to be cursed by colly feline.
Thy covered in vine
which must yet entwine
For this house was never
a joy mine
Thy house shall never be fair
Oh thy dwellers, be aware
Of your worst nightmare.
This will be at 12:00 time
Post Meridiam grime
Never shall these words be mimed:
Be prepared you ignorant host
of this matter importance most
at this hour you’ll see a ghost
not one but 91 at your bedpost
When you sit at the hour by your stair...
Jalim Porpola Calé BALIMA
I found this information enchanting and somewhat scary. According to the plaque, this haunted house was... real!
Chapter 2: Peril
When I got out of the room I was shivering like crazy. I crossed the floor, almost not, to be honest! I heard a low moan. “Mmm...let me free... help me...help!” It seemed to utter. I listened. Again it was as quiet as death. I listened. What was that? I lifted a shaking hand to my ear and all I heard was my icy heartbeat and the presence of someone--or something, to be exact-- watching me.
I peered into the darkness. What was this? I thought. I pondered. What if there was another room? And then I heard it in a low, raspy voice, scraping at the chalkboard of my life. I heard, “It happened 200 years ago, human. “ “What happened?’ I wanted to ask, but this was not a person talking to me. I looked. All I saw was a small light, much like a torch. “Jalim Porpola Calé Balima...” It hissed. I could see some kind of a truly evil face, staring me in a way that chilled my bones like ice. I stared at it back. Where was Gina when I needed her? Thinking of my missing sister made me shake. I looked for the dim light coming from the cracks in the poorly boarded window. I tried to peel the rotten boards off, trying to catch a glimpse of the ghost that had scared me so much. That was #1.
Standing on my calloused toes to see outside, this was the scary scene I saw: Twisted, gloomy, broken trees framed the graveyard. The earth it mounted itself on was dry, cracked, and I’m pretty sure I saw a silver bone creep out of the earth. I tried to cover myself with the boards, but they crashed to the ground and vines started to come out of the window. I was too petrified to speak. So this was what the curse was like. I stepped back and tripped on a mouse skeleton. A gray dark shadow oozed out. That was number #2.
I wondered, no, knew this was the curse taking effect! I had two questions: Where was Gina, and what in the world would happen if I didn’t find in her time?
I crawled on my feet to a door. I opened it. With a low, depressing groan it let loose. I crept in. A candelebra was melting on an old fashioned table. I took it, sucking on the burn on my finger. A cup of moonwater was also on the tiny cabinet. The mirror, though, was too dusty and faded to see anything but a shadow, much unlike my own. I relit the candle. I gasped as the light showed me an creepy library. I saw a big bookshelf with books, their topics relating to the sinister room they were shelved in. An uncomfortable-looking armchair rested in a corner with the bony wood scraping the inside of the chair. I sit in it, wincing as the sharp wood dug under my thin bones. I looked up and saw a picture of a house, its windows and doors covered in boards, and the ‘go away’ sign beckoning the character away. I figured out this was a picture of a house. Just then, I accidentally knocked the painting off the nail. It crashed down and collapsed on a stack of books.
The frame split in two, and on the back of the canvas was a detailed map of the haunted house. I struggled to find the library. I found it. And there was another room attatched to it! I only saw one door. And then it dawned on me. Usually haunted houses had a secret room of some kind! I brushed my fingers across the bookshelf. There it was! My heart beat as I opened the splintery cabinet. I went inside. It was a rather dim room, and I saw a cauldron on the floor. A snake-like ghost crept around me, as if saying, “Silly human...”... I cupped my hand over my mouth. If I hadn’t I would have screamed. That was #3.
Chapter 3: The Graveyard
I ran to the wall, pounding on it to let it open. It let loose, and I thrust myself into the thick bramble, crying out with pain. I squirmed out, my patchwork quilt bloodstained in some places. I came across a graveyard as I walked through a thorny trellis built into an aged stone wall. On one side was the graveyard; on the other was a patch of witch hazel and nightshade. I aimed toward the graveyard as vines crept out of the house.
It was quaint and creepy. I could see the dark shadow of the cursed house looming over me. I remembered Gina. Where was she? Was she safe? I hoped the answer was yes. Just then I tripped over a gravestone. The skeleton creeped out of the soil and grasped me. “Aaaaahh!!!!!!!!”
I screamed. I hit, pushed, scraped its bony talons off me as I ran to the waterfall and jumped in, determined to stop the bleeding from the thorns and the skeleton that was following me, drooling with enthusiasm. I ran onto the window, breaking the glass as I threw the vines onto the skeleton, who collapsed on its own grave. Number 4 was done. I was just about to go in when #’s 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 came after me. I dove inside and pulled the boards down on them. “Go away, go away,” I said through clenched teeth. I ran into a door, cracking it all the way down. I skidded across the floor and jumped out the splintery window witha bump and a horrid sprain coming from the very marrow of my weak bones. I landed in front of a pale figure of a girl who
unpleasantly resembled Gina. She wore a colorful quilt and a happy face full of invisible misery. I could barely tell who she was, but she wasn’t Gina.
She was... a ghost.
Chapter 4: Ghostly Gina
I was so scared. But there was no time to be so. A deafening smash from the hall had my eyes widened and turned to the noise. I couldn’t believe my eyes. The first thing I saw was a skull, and then the skull disappeared and in front of me was the ugliest creature I had seen in my life. There it was cackling, looking at me with such fire that I wanted to scream and jump out of the window. Try as I might, I couldn’t scream because my mouth was dry. The next thing I heard was a shriek and a smack as the witch discinigrated right in front of my own eyes. I bit my lip and walked across the room, trying to open the door. And then I heard something. A moan... wailing for someone. “Emilie... Emilie...”
It was me! Gina was calling! “Gina!!! Are you okay? Speak to meee!!!” I listened for a reply. There was none. I felt like crying.
The wind rushed in the trees. I froze, my smaller sister's blanket trailing. Once, twice, there was a piercing scream. I watched, as the haunted house drew nearer, I fainted. The scream was mine.
As I woke up, I realized I was alone. My sister had to have been in one place. The wind lifted my blonde hair from my head. My name is Emily Basillan. I was left on my own a lifetime ago.
Anyways, I could see her. I knew I did. She went inside the creepy house. I
Just then, a hissing voice said, "Who are you..." I let out a scream, my face pale. I let out all the fright in one long breath. I smacked my hands against the icy breeze.
Huh. Nothing there. I guessed it was just my imagination.
I quietly tiptoed inside the victorian mansion. The first room was decorated, being the main hall, with ornate-- but scary! --stairs, a couple of coat hooks, and shadows of what I at least hoped were shadows. I shivered. My eyes were drawn up to a strange oil portrait of a shriveled old man who appeared to be staring at me a cold icy glare. I lifted a shaking foot onto the first stair and the next and so on until I was on the 2nd floor. I noticed a small room where a door was left ajar.I made up my mind to open it, but promised myself it would only be worth it if I found Gina. I looked around inside the room. There was a plaque placed behind the faded, empty gilten bed. I, feeling light headed, looked at it. It read:
I declare this mansion fine
to be cursed by colly feline.
Thy covered in vine
which must yet entwine
For this house was never
a joy mine
Thy house shall never be fair
Oh thy dwellers, be aware
Of your worst nightmare.
This will be at 12:00 time
Post Meridiam grime
Never shall these words be mimed:
Be prepared you ignorant host
of this matter importance most
at this hour you’ll see a ghost
not one but 91 at your bedpost
When you sit at the hour by your stair...
Jalim Porpola Calé BALIMA
I found this information enchanting and somewhat scary. According to the plaque, this haunted house was... real!
Chapter 2: Peril
When I got out of the room I was shivering like crazy. I crossed the floor, almost not, to be honest! I heard a low moan. “Mmm...let me free... help me...help!” It seemed to utter. I listened. Again it was as quiet as death. I listened. What was that? I lifted a shaking hand to my ear and all I heard was my icy heartbeat and the presence of someone--or something, to be exact-- watching me.
I peered into the darkness. What was this? I thought. I pondered. What if there was another room? And then I heard it in a low, raspy voice, scraping at the chalkboard of my life. I heard, “It happened 200 years ago, human. “ “What happened?’ I wanted to ask, but this was not a person talking to me. I looked. All I saw was a small light, much like a torch. “Jalim Porpola Calé Balima...” It hissed. I could see some kind of a truly evil face, staring me in a way that chilled my bones like ice. I stared at it back. Where was Gina when I needed her? Thinking of my missing sister made me shake. I looked for the dim light coming from the cracks in the poorly boarded window. I tried to peel the rotten boards off, trying to catch a glimpse of the ghost that had scared me so much. That was #1.
Standing on my calloused toes to see outside, this was the scary scene I saw: Twisted, gloomy, broken trees framed the graveyard. The earth it mounted itself on was dry, cracked, and I’m pretty sure I saw a silver bone creep out of the earth. I tried to cover myself with the boards, but they crashed to the ground and vines started to come out of the window. I was too petrified to speak. So this was what the curse was like. I stepped back and tripped on a mouse skeleton. A gray dark shadow oozed out. That was number #2.
I wondered, no, knew this was the curse taking effect! I had two questions: Where was Gina, and what in the world would happen if I didn’t find in her time?
I crawled on my feet to a door. I opened it. With a low, depressing groan it let loose. I crept in. A candelebra was melting on an old fashioned table. I took it, sucking on the burn on my finger. A cup of moonwater was also on the tiny cabinet. The mirror, though, was too dusty and faded to see anything but a shadow, much unlike my own. I relit the candle. I gasped as the light showed me an creepy library. I saw a big bookshelf with books, their topics relating to the sinister room they were shelved in. An uncomfortable-looking armchair rested in a corner with the bony wood scraping the inside of the chair. I sit in it, wincing as the sharp wood dug under my thin bones. I looked up and saw a picture of a house, its windows and doors covered in boards, and the ‘go away’ sign beckoning the character away. I figured out this was a picture of a house. Just then, I accidentally knocked the painting off the nail. It crashed down and collapsed on a stack of books.
The frame split in two, and on the back of the canvas was a detailed map of the haunted house. I struggled to find the library. I found it. And there was another room attatched to it! I only saw one door. And then it dawned on me. Usually haunted houses had a secret room of some kind! I brushed my fingers across the bookshelf. There it was! My heart beat as I opened the splintery cabinet. I went inside. It was a rather dim room, and I saw a cauldron on the floor. A snake-like ghost crept around me, as if saying, “Silly human...”... I cupped my hand over my mouth. If I hadn’t I would have screamed. That was #3.
Chapter 3: The Graveyard
I ran to the wall, pounding on it to let it open. It let loose, and I thrust myself into the thick bramble, crying out with pain. I squirmed out, my patchwork quilt bloodstained in some places. I came across a graveyard as I walked through a thorny trellis built into an aged stone wall. On one side was the graveyard; on the other was a patch of witch hazel and nightshade. I aimed toward the graveyard as vines crept out of the house.
It was quaint and creepy. I could see the dark shadow of the cursed house looming over me. I remembered Gina. Where was she? Was she safe? I hoped the answer was yes. Just then I tripped over a gravestone. The skeleton creeped out of the soil and grasped me. “Aaaaahh!!!!!!!!”
I screamed. I hit, pushed, scraped its bony talons off me as I ran to the waterfall and jumped in, determined to stop the bleeding from the thorns and the skeleton that was following me, drooling with enthusiasm. I ran onto the window, breaking the glass as I threw the vines onto the skeleton, who collapsed on its own grave. Number 4 was done. I was just about to go in when #’s 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 came after me. I dove inside and pulled the boards down on them. “Go away, go away,” I said through clenched teeth. I ran into a door, cracking it all the way down. I skidded across the floor and jumped out the splintery window witha bump and a horrid sprain coming from the very marrow of my weak bones. I landed in front of a pale figure of a girl who
unpleasantly resembled Gina. She wore a colorful quilt and a happy face full of invisible misery. I could barely tell who she was, but she wasn’t Gina.
She was... a ghost.
Chapter 4: Ghostly Gina
I was so scared. But there was no time to be so. A deafening smash from the hall had my eyes widened and turned to the noise. I couldn’t believe my eyes. The first thing I saw was a skull, and then the skull disappeared and in front of me was the ugliest creature I had seen in my life. There it was cackling, looking at me with such fire that I wanted to scream and jump out of the window. Try as I might, I couldn’t scream because my mouth was dry. The next thing I heard was a shriek and a smack as the witch discinigrated right in front of my own eyes. I bit my lip and walked across the room, trying to open the door. And then I heard something. A moan... wailing for someone. “Emilie... Emilie...”
It was me! Gina was calling! “Gina!!! Are you okay? Speak to meee!!!” I listened for a reply. There was none. I felt like crying.
Danger Pyramid
Rubye and Thomas Faramay lived in Giza, Egypt with their French-Egyptian mother Cecilia and their American father,Greg.They had lived in this country all their life and never expected that they would run away. But they did.
One realisticly sweltering day the siblings snuck out the back door.The sound of Cecelia Faramay washing dishes sent a chill down Rubye’s back, but the twelve year old girl did manage to find her way ,however cautiously, down the stone steps of her home. When she was at the bottom she ran to the well to meet her 8 year old younger brother.”I always wanted to see the pyramid of Giza!”the boy mumbled through an oversized banana lolipop.”I never said anything about the Great Pyramid.” Rubye scolded.
“We’re going to Llywellyn’s house.”
“You can’t make me!” shouted Thomas.
And so it was that the boy and girl set off for the long journey to the Pyramid. It took a matter of days. Here is where this story starts.
Rubye ran out the gate with a smash as the door crashed behind her.The land beyond the small house was mostly sand. Sand fell in mountains from the ever collecting hills on the A frame roof. Rubye walked through with regret as the annoying clumps of damp sand fell into her tangly brown-blonde hair. As the rather young girl trudged through the ankle deep sand, the clumps of sand and hair burst and fell to the duny desert floor. “Rubye, I’m ahead of you!” Thomas said loudly. “Well...wait for me!” Rubye stammered. She sped ahead of her younger brother, her sandy olive colored feet swishing in the heavy sand that overflowed out of her sandals. As battered as they were, they protected Rubye’s feet from the hot sun that burned her face and the rest of her that didn’t have a lot of sunscreen on it. Cecilia had a habit of putting a lot of sunscreen on her children. Exactly why Rubye and Thomas detested their trips outside.
But this time was differenet. The kids were going to the pyramid of Giza!! And there was nobody to judje them of their doings...
Chapter 2╓
Rubye looked in utmost wonder at the beaty ahead of her. “The pyramid of Giza,” she said dreamily as her brother snorted and said,”Mph. It was my idea--until you came along to agree. I WOULD have liked to go alone and...”
“And it’s simply wondrous!” Rubye sighed. “Imagine, 3,000 years ago it was built and it’s still standing even now!” “Hah! Without me we’d have been at Llewellyn’s house.” he smirked. “So you say. I’m glad I agreed.” Rubye said.
One realisticly sweltering day the siblings snuck out the back door.The sound of Cecelia Faramay washing dishes sent a chill down Rubye’s back, but the twelve year old girl did manage to find her way ,however cautiously, down the stone steps of her home. When she was at the bottom she ran to the well to meet her 8 year old younger brother.”I always wanted to see the pyramid of Giza!”the boy mumbled through an oversized banana lolipop.”I never said anything about the Great Pyramid.” Rubye scolded.
“We’re going to Llywellyn’s house.”
“You can’t make me!” shouted Thomas.
And so it was that the boy and girl set off for the long journey to the Pyramid. It took a matter of days. Here is where this story starts.
Rubye ran out the gate with a smash as the door crashed behind her.The land beyond the small house was mostly sand. Sand fell in mountains from the ever collecting hills on the A frame roof. Rubye walked through with regret as the annoying clumps of damp sand fell into her tangly brown-blonde hair. As the rather young girl trudged through the ankle deep sand, the clumps of sand and hair burst and fell to the duny desert floor. “Rubye, I’m ahead of you!” Thomas said loudly. “Well...wait for me!” Rubye stammered. She sped ahead of her younger brother, her sandy olive colored feet swishing in the heavy sand that overflowed out of her sandals. As battered as they were, they protected Rubye’s feet from the hot sun that burned her face and the rest of her that didn’t have a lot of sunscreen on it. Cecilia had a habit of putting a lot of sunscreen on her children. Exactly why Rubye and Thomas detested their trips outside.
But this time was differenet. The kids were going to the pyramid of Giza!! And there was nobody to judje them of their doings...
Chapter 2╓
Rubye looked in utmost wonder at the beaty ahead of her. “The pyramid of Giza,” she said dreamily as her brother snorted and said,”Mph. It was my idea--until you came along to agree. I WOULD have liked to go alone and...”
“And it’s simply wondrous!” Rubye sighed. “Imagine, 3,000 years ago it was built and it’s still standing even now!” “Hah! Without me we’d have been at Llewellyn’s house.” he smirked. “So you say. I’m glad I agreed.” Rubye said.
Canadian Belles
Canadian Belle
The girls sit in the chair, looking through a magazine.One girl gets up to get herself ready to go to town.The other follows.The oldest girl, Elizabeth Anne Victoria, takes a long time. The younger girl, Rosetta Emelie Josephina, is finished first and goes to town. Beth Anne, however, turns on her phonograph and dances in her petticoat and chemise.Then she gets dressed and ready for her trip to the store. She buys some perfume and then returns home to see her beloved Rose storming down the stairs to see her.
“Oh we must leave. I cannot understand this place.” Beth Anne doesn’t know whatever Rose is talking about. “The trains. It’s them. They splatter mud on me. Look!” Beth Anne looks and is puzzled. Her plaid green taffeta is splattered with mud. “And also there are robbers. I saw them steal someone’s parasol.” Beth Anne looks around the enormous room for her sister. Then she gasps. “Your fan...” she asks. Rose bursts into tears. “Oh we must leave!”
The two girls carefully pack three of their thousands of dresses. They carefully cage their pets. Beth Anne buys train tickets and then they leave their house. A few minutes later on the train, Beth Anne in her lace dress and pinafore, and Rose in her cream silk, ride from busy New York City to an uninhabited town in Canada to rest. And they jumped out the train window, without knowing where they are!
“Are you okay, Rose?” “I think I tore my dress.” “Anyways, it was worth it.” replied Beth Anne.
They eventually walked to a busy town. The two girls walk into a small hotel and rent a room. There they undress and get ready for the opera. The snowstorm starts and Beth Anne catches a cold. But Rose decided she will go anyway, after giving Beth Anne some medicine and her pet bunny. After two hours, Rose does not return. So Beth Anne bundles up and goes out. She goes through the heavy snow and finds a person. “Avez-vous vu une fille avec des cheveux bruns bouclés et des lunettes d'opéra?” He pointed to a cottage with bricked-up windows. Beth Anne runs up to the house and peers in. The large, heavy door is locked, but she notices a back door for servants. Beth Anne opens it and sneaks up to a second floor. An impressive oak door greets her at the top step. She hears a piano being played. She can’t open the door to the next room, so she goes into the room where the person is playing the piano. “Is there another way into the room next to this?” “What are you doing in this house?” “I was wondering where my sister is.” “Right here,” he says, pushing on a brick. He opens the door and Beth Anne lies down on a cot at the end of the room. A face sleepily looks at Beth Anne. She faints and doesn’t wake up until the next day. When she does, her sister is putting something on her head. “Ouch!” Beth Anne springs up and says “Rosetta! Oh my goodness, you’re back!” She hugs her sister who gives Beth Anne a note.
“Ball held at Flatiron Building, New York City. Midnight May 30th.”
“But that’s right at the subway stop,” Beth Anne whispered. “Yet it’ll be a good excuse to go back to our real home.” grinned Rose.
“Thank you for saving me from the robbers.” Beth Anne was confused. But she had something else to think about.
The two sisters left after bidding thanks to the man in the next room. The next day they are in New York City. Beth Anne stops to throw up in a waste basket. And then the sisters stopped for dresses for the ball. After the ball, the two sisters go to bed in their own beds and have a good night sleep.
The girls sit in the chair, looking through a magazine.One girl gets up to get herself ready to go to town.The other follows.The oldest girl, Elizabeth Anne Victoria, takes a long time. The younger girl, Rosetta Emelie Josephina, is finished first and goes to town. Beth Anne, however, turns on her phonograph and dances in her petticoat and chemise.Then she gets dressed and ready for her trip to the store. She buys some perfume and then returns home to see her beloved Rose storming down the stairs to see her.
“Oh we must leave. I cannot understand this place.” Beth Anne doesn’t know whatever Rose is talking about. “The trains. It’s them. They splatter mud on me. Look!” Beth Anne looks and is puzzled. Her plaid green taffeta is splattered with mud. “And also there are robbers. I saw them steal someone’s parasol.” Beth Anne looks around the enormous room for her sister. Then she gasps. “Your fan...” she asks. Rose bursts into tears. “Oh we must leave!”
The two girls carefully pack three of their thousands of dresses. They carefully cage their pets. Beth Anne buys train tickets and then they leave their house. A few minutes later on the train, Beth Anne in her lace dress and pinafore, and Rose in her cream silk, ride from busy New York City to an uninhabited town in Canada to rest. And they jumped out the train window, without knowing where they are!
“Are you okay, Rose?” “I think I tore my dress.” “Anyways, it was worth it.” replied Beth Anne.
They eventually walked to a busy town. The two girls walk into a small hotel and rent a room. There they undress and get ready for the opera. The snowstorm starts and Beth Anne catches a cold. But Rose decided she will go anyway, after giving Beth Anne some medicine and her pet bunny. After two hours, Rose does not return. So Beth Anne bundles up and goes out. She goes through the heavy snow and finds a person. “Avez-vous vu une fille avec des cheveux bruns bouclés et des lunettes d'opéra?” He pointed to a cottage with bricked-up windows. Beth Anne runs up to the house and peers in. The large, heavy door is locked, but she notices a back door for servants. Beth Anne opens it and sneaks up to a second floor. An impressive oak door greets her at the top step. She hears a piano being played. She can’t open the door to the next room, so she goes into the room where the person is playing the piano. “Is there another way into the room next to this?” “What are you doing in this house?” “I was wondering where my sister is.” “Right here,” he says, pushing on a brick. He opens the door and Beth Anne lies down on a cot at the end of the room. A face sleepily looks at Beth Anne. She faints and doesn’t wake up until the next day. When she does, her sister is putting something on her head. “Ouch!” Beth Anne springs up and says “Rosetta! Oh my goodness, you’re back!” She hugs her sister who gives Beth Anne a note.
“Ball held at Flatiron Building, New York City. Midnight May 30th.”
“But that’s right at the subway stop,” Beth Anne whispered. “Yet it’ll be a good excuse to go back to our real home.” grinned Rose.
“Thank you for saving me from the robbers.” Beth Anne was confused. But she had something else to think about.
The two sisters left after bidding thanks to the man in the next room. The next day they are in New York City. Beth Anne stops to throw up in a waste basket. And then the sisters stopped for dresses for the ball. After the ball, the two sisters go to bed in their own beds and have a good night sleep.
Janelle Bloekentishn
Part 1 Janelle’s Party Invitations
You can have a treat, because everything you did was just so good and everything you did was so energetic because you did it!
And then you can go to anything you want in the sidewalk!
And what are you going to talk about, because you're going to go to my house! You can write a message to your friend Carrie and Janelle. It's going to be a very good message. When you find Lisa you can go with her into the car. And that's what you're going to do when you go to the Shickadee Shickadee Club.
What you are going to go when you want to whenever you have to go with Mr Carrie and Mrs Carrie to the park, and swing on the swings with me and Carrie. You will slide down the slide and jump in the periwinkle club. It's a wheel that goes round and round and round and round. It's at the park! Yeah!
And you are going to find some energetic things you are going to see at the park. I will go to your house and we can have another tea party there, and it will be so much fun. And when you eat your food, and after that you are going to home and have another tea party with me. And your Grammy and Granpa are going to come too! Yeah! It's going to be very very energetic at the Velvet Velvet Velvet Velvet Club.
Part 2 Janelle at the Movies
The girl is named Janelle and she's with her Mom and Dad. The movie is called Af.
You can find movies like this one, on each day to keep making new stuff to find out what all the stuff is.
You can find a movie whenever you find there, and you can find lots of what you want to look at. The movie is about skeletons and fish tank and cow and lots more.
Part 3 Janelle’s Yard
What are your wishes? You can go to any house you want to! Janelle's address is 12865 Mental Street in Boston Mass. You can find lots of gardens in a store next to her house, and there's a farm. She has lots of pink machines there, and soon I'll tell you all about her farm!
Would you like to go to a new place at Janelle's house? Janelle is making a playground there, and she will make lots of places to dig, and she'll make a sandcastle that is very hard and you can't take apart because there will be little hard sandgirls inside. There are little hard dollhouses inside the sandcastle, and it will be so cute that you will have to make tiny furniture to put inside. It will be so fun to play with it. I think you will have so much fun playing and sliding and swinging. It is so much fun that Janelle is working on making some instruments in an instrument box, and a list of all the trumpets.
Part 4 Maggie, Honalele, and Janelle
Takasa pinta le Honolulu a lula cimba a kintaba nasha keka seka Tia kom meto she shintako. This means This is a girl who is playing a ukulele and singing, while she is on a surfboard. Honalele is a girl.
This is the tea party I first had, because I like tea parties. I copied it from my book called It's A Tea Party with Janelle in it. I am putting things on the people at the tea party. Tea is pretty yummy. You must come there - there is really yummy tea! You should come! You really should come! I like you - you must be Maggie. Maggie, I love you. I'm going to send you a letter later. Come to the tea parties I have. You can invite me to your new house! This is your letter. You can share it with your little brother, because you are so fun. Make sure you let your Mom and Dad read it, because you're just 4-3/4. I love you so much! I am 5-1/2.
Part 5 The Science Rescue Fair I Like
It is the castle things are my favorite and my dolls go in it. Whenever they need help they call on their phone numbers. They don't have phones, instead they press these buttons.
“Hi I'm Janelle and I would like to be your friend because I miss Maggie and Maggie went to Pennsylvania. When I get bigger I'll move to Virginia, then I'll move to Iceland. That's where some music people live. Then I'll make something out of clay and sell it at the store.”
Part 6 My Fairies
Fairy Land is my favorite, because fairy land is a great place. They are so pretty that I like them. So fairies have fun. I like the fairy with long hair and a pretty dress. I wonder if I can have another favorite. There's a baby fairy. I could find a baby fairy. Arabella Buckley is what I'm naming the fairy with long hair.
Fairies are
pretty as today
There are smiley faces to be made into fairies
Fairies are flying creatures
That are really people
There are also Flower Fairies
(some are not quite really flowers)
Sometimes they are so funny.
You can have a treat, because everything you did was just so good and everything you did was so energetic because you did it!
And then you can go to anything you want in the sidewalk!
And what are you going to talk about, because you're going to go to my house! You can write a message to your friend Carrie and Janelle. It's going to be a very good message. When you find Lisa you can go with her into the car. And that's what you're going to do when you go to the Shickadee Shickadee Club.
What you are going to go when you want to whenever you have to go with Mr Carrie and Mrs Carrie to the park, and swing on the swings with me and Carrie. You will slide down the slide and jump in the periwinkle club. It's a wheel that goes round and round and round and round. It's at the park! Yeah!
And you are going to find some energetic things you are going to see at the park. I will go to your house and we can have another tea party there, and it will be so much fun. And when you eat your food, and after that you are going to home and have another tea party with me. And your Grammy and Granpa are going to come too! Yeah! It's going to be very very energetic at the Velvet Velvet Velvet Velvet Club.
Part 2 Janelle at the Movies
The girl is named Janelle and she's with her Mom and Dad. The movie is called Af.
You can find movies like this one, on each day to keep making new stuff to find out what all the stuff is.
You can find a movie whenever you find there, and you can find lots of what you want to look at. The movie is about skeletons and fish tank and cow and lots more.
Part 3 Janelle’s Yard
What are your wishes? You can go to any house you want to! Janelle's address is 12865 Mental Street in Boston Mass. You can find lots of gardens in a store next to her house, and there's a farm. She has lots of pink machines there, and soon I'll tell you all about her farm!
Would you like to go to a new place at Janelle's house? Janelle is making a playground there, and she will make lots of places to dig, and she'll make a sandcastle that is very hard and you can't take apart because there will be little hard sandgirls inside. There are little hard dollhouses inside the sandcastle, and it will be so cute that you will have to make tiny furniture to put inside. It will be so fun to play with it. I think you will have so much fun playing and sliding and swinging. It is so much fun that Janelle is working on making some instruments in an instrument box, and a list of all the trumpets.
Part 4 Maggie, Honalele, and Janelle
Takasa pinta le Honolulu a lula cimba a kintaba nasha keka seka Tia kom meto she shintako. This means This is a girl who is playing a ukulele and singing, while she is on a surfboard. Honalele is a girl.
This is the tea party I first had, because I like tea parties. I copied it from my book called It's A Tea Party with Janelle in it. I am putting things on the people at the tea party. Tea is pretty yummy. You must come there - there is really yummy tea! You should come! You really should come! I like you - you must be Maggie. Maggie, I love you. I'm going to send you a letter later. Come to the tea parties I have. You can invite me to your new house! This is your letter. You can share it with your little brother, because you are so fun. Make sure you let your Mom and Dad read it, because you're just 4-3/4. I love you so much! I am 5-1/2.
Part 5 The Science Rescue Fair I Like
It is the castle things are my favorite and my dolls go in it. Whenever they need help they call on their phone numbers. They don't have phones, instead they press these buttons.
“Hi I'm Janelle and I would like to be your friend because I miss Maggie and Maggie went to Pennsylvania. When I get bigger I'll move to Virginia, then I'll move to Iceland. That's where some music people live. Then I'll make something out of clay and sell it at the store.”
Part 6 My Fairies
Fairy Land is my favorite, because fairy land is a great place. They are so pretty that I like them. So fairies have fun. I like the fairy with long hair and a pretty dress. I wonder if I can have another favorite. There's a baby fairy. I could find a baby fairy. Arabella Buckley is what I'm naming the fairy with long hair.
Fairies are
pretty as today
There are smiley faces to be made into fairies
Fairies are flying creatures
That are really people
There are also Flower Fairies
(some are not quite really flowers)
Sometimes they are so funny.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
The Hag's House, by VNB and CJH
The Hag's House
by Catherine Henaire and Virginia Bradford
Illustrated by Catherine Henaire and Virginia Bradford
Chapter 1 Catherine and Ginny
Chapter 2 Mrs. Vansetta the horrible
Chapter 3 The Hag’s House
Chapter 4 The Top of the oak
Chapter 5 Visit with the Hag
Chapter 6 Down by the river
Chapter 7 The Safehouse
Chapter 8 The bears’ den
Chapter 9 The Necklace’s Secret
Chapter 10 Captured
Chapter 11 The “Power of us”
Chapter 12 Lost
Chapter 13 Oak in the woods
Chapter 14 Witch’s brew
Chapter 15 Thank you spikes
Chapter 1
Catherine and Ginny...well, where should I start?
They were two terribly unmannered farm girls who were both BFFs and liked to cause mischief rather than do the prissy things they were taught. Their worst enemies were the two rich friends living on the practically deserted prairie whose names were Marissa and Zoe. Actually, Zoe wasn’t that bad when she was away from her best friend. But first you must know the girl’s names. They are Catherine and Virginia. Ginny’s mother died a long time ago, and Cat’s parent’s mysteriously disapeared. One sunny day Ginny crawled out from under her friend’s house. She pulled on a shabby school dress and tied on her blue faded sunbonnet. The almost 10 year old girl ran to her sunny cottage that matched the almost perfect flower garden and the dry long grass beyond. She could see no trees, but she saw the figure of her fun-loving friend. They walked to the one room school. Her friend had stayed overnight.
”Ginny, thank you for letting me stay at your cottage!” They headed to school with shared giggles as their weathered dresses swished back and forth in the luxurious spring breeze. Nothing, not even Marissa’s lacy mansion, was as simply amazing as this day. And still they knew they would have to enjoy it while it lasted, because no day could not end up spoiled by its conclusion.
Chapter 2
Once at school they practiced their words.They were cat, dog, sophisticated and finally beach. Catherine mumbled,”These are too hard.”while Ginny glanced at their worst enemy. Maria thought they were easy, so she bragged of how she could spell the words quite exactly while they were practicing.
”These really are too hard for you. Oh poor, poor Catherine.You’re as bad as spelling as you are poor. While I magnificent Maria-”
”And Zany Zoe!”interuppted Zoe Fortuna.
”Will you be quiet Zoya!”said Marissa.
Ginny walked away from the argument,while Catherine daydreamed of what her cottage would look like pretty.
Catherine and Ginny wore their hair down.They weren’t supposed to, but they did. They couldn’t afford bonnets. In fact they could barely afford to go to school since their parents had died and only left them 2 dollars each in their savings.
“We know our words.” Marissa sneered princessly.
“Yeah,” Zoe tagged on like Maria’s maid ‘
’’Bla bla bla!” Ginny shrieked as Catherine got back to day dreaming. Catherine’s house settled upon a grassy but pineneedley area.The cabin was made of scratched and moldy wood. Inside the house was a big quilt lying on a moldy old bed, wet from the crack and leakage from the pine trees. One little steaming pot sat for vegetables and onions. A little spout on the outside of the former stone fireplace held a bucket that traveled down to an empty well. The mystery killer and stealer only left the 3 things: bed, one compartment for clothes, and a steamer pot.
“Hey Cat!” Ginny said. “Are you back to this earth yet?” she questioned again.
“Ohh...sorry...” Catherine replied. Getting back to the words, Ginny’s hair was about shoulder length, and Catherine’s was shoulder length, and blonde with brown. You could call it dirty blonde.
While the two mean girls sat slumped in their seats bickering,Ginny and Catherine quietly daydreamed until a smack from the teacher’s stick broke the silence.
”Attention!”she yelled.
”uh...um...sorry...ma’m...” mumbled Catherine as Ginny yawned. Let me tell you a bit about this teacher. She had her short mousy hair held tight in a bun, and she wore tight, tight dresses squeezing her plump body as if she was trying to look pretty. She held the day’s paperwork in one hand and The Stick in another. She was very strict, and famous for her punishments. You could get sent to the bad room, but the worst punishment of all was when Mrs. Vansetta threw those notorious little porcupine quills on her wrist. Despite her dirty looks the two mischievious girls constantly performed antics on snooty, rich Maria. Today Ginny and Catherine had decided to pour corn seed on Marissa. So when Ms. Vansetta rang the bell for recess, Ginny got her small bag of cornmeal out of her rusty lunch tin. She had decorated the tin with a scrap of Marissa’s silk evening gown. She giggled,
”Hey Cat...you ready?”Catherne nodded, her shabby lunch tin filled to the brim with water. The two worked together to pull the wooden ladder directly above the place where Zoe and Marissa usually hanged out.
“Now!” screamed Catherine, her face glowing with opportunity. Ginny, balanced on the top, dropped all the cornseed on top of the two. Marissa jumped up.
“I’ll get you!”she yelled as the teacher walked up to Maria, Ginny, and Catherine.
”TO THE BAD ROOM!”she boomed.The three reluctantly shuffled to the dreaded room, but the friends shared a secret smile.
They looked all around at the nose slots and wood for holding bad students. None of them really wanted to do anything, so they just sat on the carved and rotten wood. It had nasty things on it, and though Marissa squealed and stood up quickly, the two others, being used to this, just shrugged...“Ya know it’s all your fault?” Marissa sneered.
“Ohh...yeah... a little...” Ginny blustered. Catherine nodded.
“Oh no! Catherine, you don’t get in a fight!” Ginny said, pulling Catherine back. Actually, she agreed.”1, 2, 3 !”they chanted and both gave her a whoop in the glasses. Her glossy lips curled as she shouted,
”Mrs.Vansetta! Mrs.Vansetta!” Mrs.Vansetta scurried there and she questioned,
”Really Marissa. What is wrong and.... what in the world happened to your glasses? Go home to see your mother and get your glasses welled. You all hear me?”she asked. “And you get back to whatever you have to do. You hear me ?”she snitched.
Chapter 3
As the school day passed, Zoe and Marissa,mean as usual, walked past Catherine and Ginny skipping joyfully.Ginny decided to go home to her sunny cottage. A little while later, lonely Catherine walked down to her useless wooden slum. She got very bored and decided to go for a walk in the pine forest.Ginny slept in her feather bed with her mean, greedy step father downstairs, mean as always. Ginny had a floral bedrest, shabby but soft; however Catherine had a soggy, motheaten, blanketless mattress.
Back in the woods, Catherine gasped a shrill cry. For in that spandifulous hut was a witch. Her ebony cauldron boiling over an extremely warm fireplace. It was very tempting for Catherine to resist, since she was in the bonechilling dark forest. As the woods filtered with the echoes of Catherine, she saw the witch’s door swing open and the hag stepped out her door and down the forever creaking steps. Catherine huddled in a rotted wooden log. It was humid and moist in the hollow hideout. After the hag went inside, Catherine, being sure not to make a sound,”Oh Catherine! Catherine,you’re back! What took you so long?” Ginny asked as she ran outside, the sprigs of garden herbs tickling her bare feet. Catherine was astonished her friend was awake.The nine year old girl told her friend all about what had happened in a huffy puffy voice. ”Wow!” Catherine said in amazement. Ginny had stepped outside in a homemade red velvet dress. Now you may think this is a normal everyday thing, but Catherine had hole filled wet dresses that she made by gathering towels or cloths and pasted them together with whiskey or tree bark sap.That’s why she had so few things to wear. “Would you make me a dress?” Catherine asked.”Sure!” Ginny chimed in. She started climbing an oak tree.
Chapter 4
As Catherine reached for the first branch,Ginny shouted,”No offense,but you’re not too good of a tree climber. Well, Catherine took it to offense. So she took the branch and worked her way up and up until she was a foot below Ginny. The next branch was tough but Catherine didn’t want to ask her friend how she did it. Then it would sound like she needed help.As Catherine reached for that branch there was a loud THUD. Ginny’s face fell. She leapt down to her friend. “Ugh... umm...” Catherine stuttered. “My arm,” Catherine mumbled, and flopped to her other side. Ginny gasped. “A few bones are broken!”
Later Catherine was lying on Ginny’s duck-feather bed moaning,“Ughh.” Catherine had just realized Ginny held out gauze on her arm along with some medicine. How will we hide this from Ms. Vanzetta? Ginny thought. Catherine was already asking herself this question. “How will we hide this...” “...from Ms Vanzetta?” Ginny finished. The girls went straight back to the tree. Ginny wanted to get to the top. At about the fourth branch, again fell Catherine, but this time she was caught. “Should we go to school?” meekly asked Catherine. The two dirt-caked girls thought about the hard question. There was a moment of silence, and then a strained dizzy Catherine moaned “Maybe I shouldn’t go to school.” “I agree,” said Ginny. “Anyways, we’re in trouble already.” Ginny gasped, pulling on her friend’s good arm, as her other arm grasped the rough texture of the tree. Where mud had splattered her nose and dried in the sun, it itched. All in all, it wasn’t the most comfortable state. She groaned and reached for her friend’s leg also. She pulled her onto the heavy branch she was mounted upon, and grasped the next branch. And the next branch, and so on, as Catherine trod slowly behind. In a minute, Ginny grabbed hold of a branch she could wrap her hand around. She was at the top of the tree, but she didn’t stop there. Her dirty, sunburned bare leg paining with the outside of the branch. Her friend was now holding her and Ginny pulled the unconscious girl to the branch she was on. “Thanks,” Catherine mumbled when she awoke. The sky overhead was painted with red and orange and pink. The sun was bright and seemed to touch the far prairie. Ginny was growing bored of forever climbing. Since at last she was at the top, and figured it would be forever until she got down, she decided to snooze. “Perhaps we will go to school tomorrow,” she murmured, and then dozed off. The last thing she heard was a smack as Catherine crashed into a nearby branch. What she didn’t know is that while she was sleeping, Ginny had sprung into a jumping-jack position, her homemade velvet dress hanging from her knees. When Ginny awoke, she screamed. “What in the world am I doing?!” She pulled herself onto the barkless branch. Catherine woke in a happy mood. “Morning, Ginny,” she mumbled. “Good morning,” groaned Ginny. “We have to go to school today.” “Why?” Catherine asked. “The landscape you see is like a map, and I’ve discovered something.” “What about it?” “Well, as you can see, Maria’s house is closest to the bad room. She could escape through a window or something.” “What?” Catherine asked. “Well, we’ll just have to watch her extra carefully,” said Ginny. The two girls silently sprang out of the tree, landing almost perfectly on the ground, although Ginny did get a bruise. “C’mon, let’s go to school now,” Catherine whispered.
Both girls tiptoed quietly out of Ginny’s back yard, which was in the dismal damp forest. When they saw the first trace of prairie grass, they were relieved.
Chapter 5
Once at school, the two were sitting at their double desk as Marissa raised her hand to tell Ms Vanzetta that she knew all her words. What interrupted her was a grunt from Catherine. “You all right?” Ms Vanzetta questioned. “Yeah, fine.” Catherine replied in a scruffy voice. “Well then, carry on,” she said to Marissa. Marissa snapped, “Ms Vanzetta, you were saying... Whoops. My mistake. You weren’t saying anything.” Ms Vanzetta calmed her tone down. Marissa turned away from Zoe. “I know all my words,” Marissa sneered. “Great, but I don’t see what’s so big about bragging,” said Catherine. “But I know I wasn’t!” Marissa replied. Ms Vanzetta raised her voice again. “Enough! To the bad room!” Maria got up, her pink dress and pinafore apron flowing behind her. Catherine and Ginny chuckled quietly. Catherine’s gauze moved like hiccups under her muddy dress. At recess, Ginny and Catherine planned to go to the old hag’s house after school. “Now we will...” Ms Vanzetta’s voice trailed off the girls’ minds. They thought only of their trip to the hag’s house. Ding ding! Ms Vanzetta rang the bell that meant that school was out. They pranced through the woods, and peered through the hag’s moldy window once they got there. Inside were two boiling cauldrons which gave a green glow rising from within. “Ginny!” Catherine whispered. “What?” Ginny asked. Inside the cottage was the hag. She was putting a yellow moldy rat into one of the cauldron’s goo. “Eew!” Catherine said. Suddenly a dragon’s finger was plopped into the pot. “Disgusting!” Ginny added, as the cackling witch inside plopped a bloody, warty, moldy dragon’s finger into the steaming pot. “Eh?” replied the hoarse-voiced hag, “Who’s there?” She snapped her long, overgrown fingers and started toward the door. “You!” she screeched, in a voice like one of her fingernails scratching on a chalkboard. She harshly pulled the girls’ hands together, both of theirs. Then she threw them into the trapdoor leading to the cellar. “Ouch! Is this the hag’s cellar?” moaned Catherine, rubbing at the bleeding scar on her chin. Both girls had a scar. Catherine was an orphan, and Ginny was missing her lovely, fair mother. “Hmph! We never did check on Maria,” Ginny said, feeling grouchy. It was not a wonder. Splintery wood fell from the dangerously low ceiling that looked as if it could fall down at any second. Old yellowed papers were scattered on the floor, and a broken mirror lay face-down on the floor. Pieces of glass were scattered everywhere. “Ugh. Does this glass have to be here?” Ginny complained, twisting the straps of her torn bonnet. “I’ve got bare feet!” replied Catherine. “It could be worse.” That was pretty much all there was in the witch’s cellar. The girls had no idea what they’d do if they stayed here forever. Worst of all, out the window was Marissa, with a spike in her hand. Marissa especially treasured this spike, for she had never had a spike thrown at her before. She had plucked this one from the teachers’ bracelet.
Quickly the best friends hid behind a large bed held sideways on the packed dirt floor.”A well!”Ginny smiled.
Quickly the best friends hid behind a large bed held sideways on the packed dirt floor.”A well!”Ginny smiled.
Ginny helped her friend into the large metal bucket.In an hours’ time she and Catherine were lifted up onto the first floor.The hag shrieked and hit them over and over with a pan,but nothing worse than that.Eventually she gave up and Ginny sighed.”Okay,I’ve got an idea.Try to coax Marissa inside.Then I’ll lock her in the basement.”
Catherine started protesting.”Listen,your job is much more fun...”Ginny convinced her.Catherine grinned.”Maybe the Hag’ll think she’s us!” Ginny said.“Yeah,O.K.!”she agreed.Ginny waited by the well as Catherine came in.She was smiling,and clutching a squirming Marissa.Ginny carefully put the heavy human into the bucket.Then she locked the rusty well door. She seemed to look like the Eleanor the lily maid in Shakespeare, as Ginny remembered.She only hesitated to rub the rust off her dirty hands.Catherine waited, her ear pressed against the door to see if Marissa was screaming.”Help! Help! Lemme outa here!’”
Chapter 6
The next sun filled morning the two girls awoke to sun streaming through their windows.They sprinted to the river,grabbing their dirty clothes as they ran.They walked past the tall oak,one of the few trees before you reached the forest.That was where the river was.Then they strode down to the stream.The sun filtered over the water, reflecting silvery early-morning shadows.Ginny yelled across the river,”Put your clothes here! “They pushed their dirty clothes into the sun-heated river. Ginny catapulted herself into the river, followed by Catherine.They heard a sudden roar but didn’t think much of it. Ginny’s thoughts drifted away while she sunk down like a quarter dropped in a fountain.
“Bear! Bear! Bear!”Catherine screamed, splashing water at the soaked girl to get her attention.The two sopping-wet girls raced out of the lukewarm water,splashing generous amounts of it behind them.They met at the oak,quickly climbing the scratchy tree.Ginny leapt onto a middle branch,sighing a sigh of reach.They thought the bear ran away,instead it turned and snarled up the tree.The wet girls were covered in goosebumps,not because of the chilling wind,but they were petrified to speak.Still,they jumped for their lives and landed flat on the ground,dirt clinging to their petticoats.Then they went inside Ginny’s house.Sighing,the girls noticed they had no garnishes to wear. The bear peered through the oldest girl’s house.The bear spotted them and ran closer to the house.Ginny saw Catherine close her eyes. “Wake me when he’s gone!” she said.”Grrr!” the bear roared, pressing it’s furry masses of power on the window.Of course, the thin paper glass bursted in as the scared girls sputtered under their bed.The clear glass was like candy when it hit the floor.The girls just sat there, stunned, frightened.The glass was still at first, until after a sudden second,as Ginny would have sid, a heartbeat,pranced in the air and then crashed to ground and shattered!! It fell,dramatically,under the bed.What made it bounce was the bears’ snout sticking through the once glass filled window.Minutes later the beast left.The gathered paper and sapped it to the wall. “Ughhh...”the two girls uttered,falling on Ginny’s duck feather bed.”Our clothes!”Catherine wailed.”We’ll have to go back!” Ginny said,her pearly blue eyes full of tears.They nervously opened the door,then ran back to the cabin, far more wet than before.They scattered about the floor,rushing to collect the pieces of glass and get rid of it before Ginny’s dad found out.They pondered, after throwing the glass piles away, who’s clothes were who’s. Finally Ginny grabbed her last article with a low sigh. “Can we stop now Catherine?” she asked wearily. “Um... I’m missing my necklace!” Catherine gasped, holding onto her neck to be sure it was still there. They slumped to the door of Ginny cottage. When they arrived back to the stream they saw the bear and ran. But the bear somehow heard the twigs breaking and followed its instincts. “Where... is... the necklace...” Ginny sputtered. “It was my mother’s!” Catherine wailed. Ginny heard her friend’s sobs and said, “I think it’s at your place.” “I’ll stay here in the woods.” Catherine mumbled. Ginny nodded silently and ran for the house to search for Catherine’s cross locket. But she was wrong to look there. Then Catherine heard the bear, roaring and disgusted. She ran for her life to her shack, pounding on the door to get in. Ginny locked the door, thinking of the bear. ”GO AWAY! GO AWAY!” she shrieked. “No! It’s me!” Catherine shouted, but for some weird reason Ginny wouldn’t fall for it. “It’s me, Catherine,” Catherine said huffily. Ginny froze. She tried struggling the lock open, but the old grease melted and left Ginny locked inside and Catherine outside. Catherine ran for the stream and dived in. With a splash she started freestyling. She swam, swam until her arms cramped up. She popped her head out looking confused. She was in the middle of nowhere. Frightened, she saw five paths of clear blue water surrounding her.
Chapter 7
Now she remembered where she was. A big plug came into her view. Her parents had never shown it to her, but she had heard them talk about it. The nine year old girl opened the plug and climbed up the smelly pipe. The bears’ snout gave a roar and Catherine forgot about her family thoughts.. Catherine covered her mouth hand, while making sure not to fall with the other.She peeked out a crack at the end of the tunnel. She was staring at the gun that killed her parents. Catherine went into a room. The room was small, and vaguely resembled the hag’s dungeon. Small patches of dead grass were scattered throughout the place, and she could see an ebony raven-black gun. It was practically stuck to the packed dirt floor by the time Catherine found it, but she did. She grabbed the gun tightly. Then Catherine pounded at the drain for the bear. “Hey! Hey! Hey!” Catherine shouted. Just then, heart pounding, she noticed the door. She opened it. With a crunch, she saw her friend outside the door open-mouthed, as Catherine entered her house. “Um, hi!” she stuttered. The two girls stood for a second in the dingy safe-house, and then Ginny came up to Catherine, who was feeling sick from swimming too much. She went into the room. Ginny grabbed a bear’s claw from Catherine’s splintery window and used it to screw out the old rusty bolts. Ginny pulled and pulled while Catherine pushed the nails out of the wood.The bear was flinging its hand around the knob on the other side. “Ow!” Catherine cried as Ginny pulled her friend onto the now soaked wooden dirt floor. She held out her gun. “Ummm....” what’s that?” Ginny asked, slowly backing away. “It’s okay.” Catherine said softly. “It’s... it’s the gun.””Oh.” Ginny replied, her face dropping sadly. Catherine flinched, still holding the gun as if it were a million dollors. Ginny lifted her friend’s woolen stockings. “ Just a scraped leg.” Ginny said. Catherine took one claw from her leg and took th second dead one from the doorhole. Catherine tied her new, well, actually old gun to the claw. Catherine got up like a flash from the floor and said sternly,”Wait. Bear.” “Wait! Wait! I’ll come with you!” Ginny shouted.
They passed through the green woods to the lake. No bear was to be seen or heard. They tugged as hard as they could with all their might. The plug loosened and fell onto the surface of the water, floating like a sailboat. Ginny and Catherine dived underwater returned to the nasty pipe with no sightings of the bear. The empty slot showed where the 90 pound gun had last shot. They saw the small dry drops of blood that looked like tiny red peas. Sweat was dripping down the best friends’ heads despite the frigid water that could freeze anything. The pipe was abnormally hot and the girls didn’t want to think about. The girls went down to the end of the river where the pipe was, though, and they sunk their heads into the cold icy light blue water. It made them forget all their worries. All of their hair swished and swirled around while the two closed their eyes and popped their heads into the steaming dry tube, their hair still soaked and hanging from their instantly dry heads. They traveled to the top of the tube and smiled at each other.
Chapter 8
Ginny took Catherine outside. “You’re back! I was wondering where you were!” She never knew about Cat’s adventure without her. “I didn’t actually know where I was... either.” Catherine mumbled in her half-sleep. Ginny went back to her own house and lay her friend down on her own bed. “I’m fine now,” Catherine said. “You sure?” Ginny asked. “Yep.” Then Ginny said “Wow, I can’t believe we just got out of there.” Catherine said, half-dazed, “Uh, yeah...” and collapsed with a thud. Ginny picked her up and the two set off for Catherine’s disturbing hut. As they entered through the puny door that led into Catherine’s room, Ginny crawled onto the wet, hole-filled bed, and Catherine followed her. All there was to look at from the bed where they lay was the shelf where Catherine stored her ugly dresses. They were silent for a moment, and then Catherine said “You’re almost done with my dress?” Ginny was thinking the same thing. “Uh... no. Too many things on my mind. Remember Maria and the tree?” “Oh yeah!” Catherine realized. “Anyways, Catherine, you never showed me the safehouse you found earlier. So... why don’t we go there now?” Ginny asked. She tiptoed to the moldy door as Catherine rushed past. They pulled open the safehouse door. Ginny found the drain cover. It was just wide enough for an almost-ten year old and her air. It wouldn’t open. Still, they tugged and tugged and the drain let loose. They followed the rusty pipe to the curve where it ended. The two girls stepped lightly out of the tube, and tramped along the rivers edge, partly splashing their shoes in the glistening stream.They saw the catfish float,coming only below the top of the water. Someone probably smuggled them. Ginny respectfully passed the fish, running around searching for old cloth and string. Catherine was amazed. She never could make a proper dress. “Oh, thank you for taking the time to make my dress.“ Catherine said admiringly. “Sure, no problem!” Ginny replied.They huddled in a bears’ den. “Ginny, I have an idea, but I won’t tell you yet.
Chapter 9
In the other bear’s den, Ginny grabbed a handful of wool that the bear probably stole fpom a nearby farm.
Ginny sat tired from a long day yesterday. She hadn’t got enough rest to cover for the hours. She collapsed on a hammock that lay in the woods. She drifted off and dreamed easily. Catherine was still thinking her friend was following her. Miles later, Catherine asked her friend she thought was there. “You’ve been quiet,” Catherine said. There was no answer. Catherine spun around. “Ginny! Ginny!” Catherine screamed. Ginny heard her friend’s cry and sat up. The hammock fell upside down, and she hit her head on the ground. “Ouch,” she mumbled. Her hand was polka-dotted with blood. She looked around, confused where her friend went. Catherine’s voice rose higher in pitch. She huddled against an oak, wondering what she would do next. Trees hung over her and streams circled. It was like being on a deserted island. It looked like night with the trees covering the sun. “Come on!” Catherine urged when she found her friend. “We came here to do something.” Catherine looked at the gun. They searched through the woods, leaving trails of water on the leaves from walking in the stream. The leaves were plastered down to earth like a dinosaur had laid down on them. “BOOM BOOM BOOM” From outside the bear’s cave, Catherine shot three times. One, two, three shots. The bear knocked over, wearily dead. Catherine and Ginny wouldn’t have done it, but it could kill other animals or people. They took bark and a rock and carved the bark into a knife, then they skinned the bear using its coat as a blanket or clothing. As for meat, they would cook it and ask Anna to make wasabi. Then they would coat the wasabi on the bear meat so it would taste like beef jerky. Marissa would steal it from Ginny at lunch. Now was the time they would try to poison Marissa. They glided toward the old schoolhouse. Ginny checked her bearskin sack, finding her pouch of wasabi jerky. “We do have to do this,” Catherine said. “Yeah, I know,” said Ginny. They stepped beside the still land. They saw Marissa’s mansion, and right next to it, the run-down school. They slowly ascended half the way up a tree. Zoe appeared in sight. Then Thomas, smiling and admiring Zoe. “You know Marissa doesn’t like you,” Zoe said softly. “So?” the boy who’d just moved from Dixie said, grabbing an apple from the tree. Ginny said something that Catherine didn’t hear, except she made the ‘be quiet or you’ll be heard’ signal to Ginny. There was a pause for a moment, and then Thomas said, “You look really nice.” “Why thank you! You don’t look bad yourself.” Zoe blushed in her very decorative dress, but Ginny nor Catherine thought it was a dress. They thought it was a nightgown. They turned their eyes to the other person who was sitting on a broken log. He was wearing white leggings, very elegant jeans, and a blouse with long black boots. “Eew,” Catherine made a puke signal. She knew that she was holding hands with Ginny right now, but that’s not what the “eew” was about. It was because Zoe was holding hands with Thomas. Ginny followed Catherine’s signal until the lovers had left. Ginny had forgotten her tricks.
Chapter 10
”Ginny! Ginny!” Ginny woke up, tired and wet. “Catherine, Catherine!” she loudly whispered. She smiled at her friend and said, ”I’m so glad we escaped that bear!”
Catherine frowned and fingered the cross necklace. She prodded it open and looked at her late parents’ smiling faces. “Something is strange about this,” she said. “What are you talking about?” asked Ginny. “I dunno,” she said, and walked to her clothes compartment to dress. “Where was the bear anyways, when you first saw it? Where?”
Catherine just shrugged. “I seriously don’t know what part of the river I jumped in, well, at least I don’t remember.” Ginny sighed. ”I’m asking you where the bear was before we jumped. You wanted to find the bear,didn’t you?” Catherine nodded. “Well that’s a help.But where?” she asked. All of a sudden her friend remembered. “I saw the bear near the the oak -you know, the place where we washed our clothes yesterday - yeah, he was there and I dived after him. Now I remember. The necklace - I lost it right near there.” She gasped. “Oh my, the necklace I’m wearing is fake! How did this happen?” Ginny was speechless. She managed to say ”What did your real one look like?” before she threw herself onto Catherine’s simply disgusting mattress. Then she sat up. “I think we should go there - I mean, back to the place where you dropped your necklace?” she said quietly. Then Catherine said, “I do remember my old locket had pictures of my parents on both sides.” “Perhaps we should open this one first...” Ginny offered, forcing the necklace off Catherine’s neck. “Let me try.” said Catherine, accidentally causing the necklace to fall down to the floor, breaking the attachment. “Huh? It usually isn’t this hard...” she muttered. Ginny looked out of the crack in the loft ceiling. She could see the gray-blue sky, the towering pines, and the sun, shining brightly in her eyes.
“What? There aren’t any pictures in here at all!” All of Ginny’s attention was now focused on her best friend. ”Where’d you get your necklace?” she asked. She felt hungry. “I don’t know.” Catherine murmured. “I’m hungry. Are you?” asked Catherine.
Ginny nodded eagerly.
Seated at a homemade picnic table the two girls ate. Their minds flew back to the house they found. “I think that witch knew about your necklace. Maybe she was the one who switched them,” said Ginny. “Well, we certainly don’t need to waste our time talking about that old hag. We must get back your necklace.” Ginny continued furiously. With that, both girls hurried to the door. Catherine pushed open the door - at least she tried, until Ginny suggested taking the pipe back. So Ginny and Catherine tiptoed to that rusty old door. With a huge pull, Catherine managed to... pull the door off. So the two stepped over the giant broken door piece. They walked through the creepy room and into the narrow tin tube. In no time, they were at the river, but the day wasn’t over yet.
Chapter 11
Ginny dove above the surface of the water. “Catherine, I see somebody!” she yelled. Catherine was at the far end of the river. She swam over to Catherine, whose dirty blond hair was stuck to her face. “Who is it?” Catherine asked. “It looks like the hag, but---” “The hag?” gasped Catherine. “She’s not paying attention to us, but I bet she will, when you shout.” whispered Ginny, quietly coughing up water. She tiptoed up onto the riverbank. “No! Ginny! You’ll be seen!” Catherine shouted. Immediately they had the hag’s attention. The hag strode toward the two. A chill ran down Ginny’s back. Catherine shuddered. They both noticed the necklace around the hag’s neck.
Back at the hag’s house, the two girls sat, locked in the witch’s basement. They wondered if they could ride the well again. But the bucket had long ago been hauled to the top. There was only one way out, and they wouldn’t take that way. “It’s even worse than being in the Bad Room!” moaned Ginny, rubbing her sprained ankle. Catherine’s arm was getting better and was no longer wrapped in gauze. “Marissa’s not here though,” mumbled Catherine. “That’s good,” added Ginny. She looked down at her wet, muddy, formerly mauve gown, and her friend’s heavily patched lavender gown. “Gee, I wish there was a way to escape,” Ginny said. “There is!” replied Catherine. “Yeah, I know, the window,” said Ginny, in a voice that meant that she probably didn’t want to bring it up again. Ginny stood up and stared out of the window, with its rusty bars. The sun was going down, and the sky was colorful and peppy. But Ginny wasn’t feeling colorful or peppy. She felt down and without hope. So she picked up some splintery wood and wove it into a rough blanket. She lay down on the mattress. Her friend had found an old golden bed. With the mattress on the bed, it made the night something to look forward to. And the day was over now.
Chapter 12
Catherine woke up first. She waited for Ginny to ascend from their bed. “Ginny, I’m glad you’re awake!” Catherine said. Her sleepy friend smiled. “I’ve been thinking. How will we get through the window? It’s so high!” Ginny wondered aloud. She stepped out of the bed and into one of the many piles of crumbled brick, rubble, and broken glass. She stood up. Catherine was in front of her. “Do you have any ideas?” Ginny asked. “I’ve a lot!” Catherine replied. “Well?” started Ginny. “We could climb the wall...” “How?” interrupted Ginny. She’d gotten started, or so it seemed to Catherine. “I can’t possibly climb all the way up!” Ginny cried. Catherine started “Ummm... I give up.” Ginny then collapsed into the rough mattress blanket, lying on top of the bed that was as hard as a rock. “How will we get up?” Catherine asked, feeling bored. “I can’t climb very well now,” Ginny said. “Climbing is the reason I have this!” Catherine pointed out, showing Ginny her broken arm. “I can’t do it!” Ginny yelled. Catherine looked like she’d seen a ghost. “Please be quiet!” she whispered. “I can’t do it, Catherine. I’m too too tired.” Ginny whispered back. “You can do it with the power of us.” Catherine said this in a way that made Ginny repeat it over and over. “The power of us. Can you do it instead?” she asked. “No!” Catherine said. “You can!” Ginny insisted. “Alright, but you’ll need to help me.” said Catherine. And so it was. Ginny pushed Catherine as far as she could reach. “I’m not there yet.” mumbled Catherine. But as Ginny jumped, both Catherine and Ginny had a hand on the awful-feeling windowsill. With a groan, Ginny’s hand slipped off. “Aww, I was almost there!” she moaned. “Don’t worry, you can get up there with the power of us!” Catherine happily said. Catherine was on the windowsill. “Oh Catherine! Don’t hurt yourself!” Ginny said, a worried expression on her face. Ginny grasped her best friend’s hand. “The power of us!” they chanted. In no time, they were out of the hag’s basement and in the creepy dark dismal woods.
Chapter 13
Ginny reached for her friend’s hand but somehow it wasn’t there. She opened her tightly closed eyes. Catherine wasn’t there. “Catherine!” she shouted, her voice ochoing throughout the heavily shaded woods. Immediately she shut her mouth. Only Catherine’s warning echoed in her head. Catherine was absolutely nowhere to be seen. Suddenly the nine year old girl got and idea. She sprinted far away, and then ran back with a tremendous leap as high as the house. She fell back down again. So she set her bleeding bare foot on one of the bricks that stuck out of the house. There were marks on the brick that showed that someone had obviously tried to cut it off , but had been nowhere near to succeeding. But Ginny, straining and nearing completing her goal, was very close to succeding.She pulled her body onto the next brick. As she felt it crumble under her foot she quickly grabbed the next one. She was sweating, and figured that while she she tried to get out of the window she had lost all her strength. “ I ...must...find...Catherine...” she sputtered. She could feel her face turning the color of her red apron that was tied to her arm now so it wouldn’t rip. There was a strict rule at her minuscule school that made it illegal to enter without occasional accessories.
Underneath an oak tree sat Catherine. She awoke from her unconsiousness with a two foot long scrape on her leg. It was bleeding like crazy, and the scar on her chin hurt so much she thought she would faint again. She too had no idea where she was. But wherever she was away from the hag and the hag’s house and... what about Ginny? She also figured she would never regain her most prized possesion. So Catherine sighed and felt the tree. She touched her head. There was something on it. A bat. The girl plucked it off. Both were somewhat helpless. Back at the hag’s house was Ginny. She was seated bon the extremely slanted roof, hoping that she wouldn’t fall. One foot was one one side, and ther other foot was slung over the other side. She called, “Catherine!” but since she had to be quiet, since the hag still thught that they were inside, she thouhght Catherine wouldn’t hear her. But she was wrong. Catherine was now seated at the top of an oak, her hands scratched and dirty. They both felt they would never see each other again. How would they find each other?
Chapter 14
Catherine sat quietly, sprawled at the top of a branch of the oak. It was a long way down, and she dared not look that way. She could not see all the trees in the woods, her tree was so small. Catherine saw the hag’s house and yet she didn’t see Ginny. She jumped down from the branch and ran through the the thick forest, the thorny brambles brushing her dress. “One thing I’ll need to do when I get back--ask Ginny to put some more patches on this dress.” she muttered.
Ginny ran through the thickets, searching the woods for the tall oak. From the low roof of the hag’s house she had seen the river with the pipe in it. Her pale face brightened when she spotted it. The oak was easy to find, it was so big. It didn’t take her long to climb it, much to her surprise. Once at the top branch Ginny noticed a purple splotch zooming around. “Catherine!!!” she screamed, glad to be able to shout. This time her friend didn’t hear her. For some reason Ginny felt attached to the tall tree and did not want to get out. So she layed her eyes on the purple dot that roamed even farther away. Suddenly she opened her half closed eyes noticing that she had fallen. Briskly she took hold of a rough branch just near her reach. It wasn’t until her full attention was restored until she noticed that she was holding the lowest branch. Her feet were on the ground and Ginny wondered why she hadn’t known before why she was on the ground. But she remembered that Catherine was far away. Near a field of yellow grass. She had noticed that thepurple dot had stopped at the field and maybe was still there Ginny climbed the tree again and vowed to pay more attention next time. Sure enough the purple dot lay sstill in the field. “Catherine!!! Catherine!!! Catherine!!” she screamed., tears running down her cheeks and the worst of memories played on some sort of phonograph in her head. They were pictures of her mother. Pictures of her dying, pictures of her dead, pictures of her crying. Ginny sobbed more than she had ever before.
And then right in front of her was Ginny’s friend. “Ginny!” Catherine said with a smile.
Chapter 15
The girls newly reunited returned to the Hag’s House quest. Ginny vaguely remembered where it was. “I’m so glad I found you.” Ginny mumbled. “I knew where you were the whole time!” Catherine giggled. They both walked, laughing toward the house. “No, I did! “ Ginny laughed.”You know, what are we gonna do?” she asked. She knew about what she’d do but not Catherine. She knew about the witch. “The witch. How must we rid ourselves of the witch.” Catherine reminded her friend. Before long they were at the Hag’s House. “You stay here,” Catherine said, sounding like she meant it. Ginny paced in a circle around the splintery door. She wanted to know what Catherine’s idea was. She knew her smart friend had changed it. Suddenly she couldn’t wait any longer. Ginny promptly swung open the rusty door, and tiptoed inside. Catherine’s jaw was dropped. It was obvious to Ginny that something wasn’t going according to the plan. “Catherine, I’ve got an idea!” she whispered, just loud enough for her friend to hear. “Say it!” Catherine whispered back. Ginny had read her lips and mumbled, “Come here.” Ginny waited as her friend slithered across the floor like a grass snake. “Witch’s brew.” Catherine managed a small smile. “There’s a cauldron in the parlor.” she said back. “Right.” Ginny whispered, crawling on hands and knees to a room that looked like an abandoned ballroom. “Ew.” she said, passing a small dead bird of some kind. She paused as she worked on untangling her dress from a wooden peg right about to come out of the moldy rotten boards. The nine year old girl kept going until the pantry size cauldron closet. The cauldron was dark purple and somewhat sparkly. There she found, next to it, a cabinet stocked with spices. The smell was eough to make anyone barf. Ginny swallowed that. She grasped a smelly jar as she held her breath. Catherine poured a thing of water into the large pot. “Now.” whispered Ginny, poring the complete contents of the bottle into the steaming pot. “But how will we get the hag get in?” Catherine asked, as Ginny grinned. “Won’t she be looking for the cauldron soon?” And Catherine knew what she meant. “Now where’s my pot?” asked the witch. They dunked her in the soup before they could be taken to the dungeon.”Now that’s what I call witch’s brew!” they said together, as Catherine grabbed her necklace.
Chapter 16
Ginny yawned as she stepped out of her bed. “Morning Cat,” she yawned. Catherine was sleeping under her bed. She was wearing a long silken
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