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YOUNG WORDSMITHS Young Wordsmiths is the online magazine of Lekha Writing Center. It is dedicated to publishing writing BY and FOR children. FOUNDER: Jyoti Yelagalawadi

Text Copyright by Lekha students as noted in the Lekha Anthologies published by Lekha Publishers LLC. Material in this magazine is drawn from student writingsâ€™ from Lekha Anthologies published over the years as well as from current student writingsâ€™ from our Lekha Writing Center classes and camps.

Images Used are Copyright Free and Royalty Free. Fonts Used: Comic Sans MS If you believe that you or your child has a story that children would enjoy, we would love to take a look at it. Send your submissions to the following email address: submissions@lekhaink.com

LEKHA AUTHOR RUCHIRA KHANNA’s NOTE. Fiction is make-believe. It’s like dreaming with your eyes open but keeping all the small details in mind such as mannerisms, reaction, and actions of the characters besides the plot. It is also important to pay attention to all of the senses such as what do things sound, smell and feel like. The author ought to write in such a manner that the reader can actually feel all the emotions of the character and the surroundings where a particular scene is happening. It’s all about showing the reader so that she/he can visualize what you as an author are trying to say.

Fiction’s genres are a crime, fantasy, romance, science fiction, inspirational and horror. Fantasy genre contains unrealistic settings. It’s all about magic, mythical beings, supernatural forms. Alice in Wonderland, The Hobbit are classic example of the fantasy genre. Harry Potter comes to mind although this book comes in between the genres of magical realism and fantasy. However, the author has introduced unrealistic settings such as a school that teaches magic, and it is set in a medieval universe. All age groups like the fantasy genre primarily because of the plot, the theme, and the setting. It is a genre that will thrive for years to come since it allows man’s dreams to come true with just the whack of a wand and an Abracadabra command!

Lekha Author, Ruchira Khanna is a biochemist turned writer who gathers inspiration from the society where she writes about issues that stalk the mind via tales of fiction.

Ruchira published her first book, a fiction novel for adults called Choices. She then wrote the children’s book The Adventures of Alex and Angelo: The Mystery of the Missing Iguana, which was published by Lekha Publishers LLC. She got a thumb’s up review from Kirkus Reviews. Her other fictional novels include, Voyagers into the Unknown, Breathing Two Worlds. Her latest publication is R.S.V.P. A Novel. She maintains an inspirational blog of daily mantras on Blogspot, called Abracabadra. Many of her write-ups have been published on LifeHack and Hubpages. Ruchira currently resides in California with her family.

Inside this issue….. Magical Fairies

...Page 6

Fairies do come out at night

….Page 7

Doodles and Tigers

…Page 8-11

Picture Prompt Responses

...Page 12-13

An Otter named Otto

...Page 14

An Ant named Jeff

…Page 15

Firebird

...Page 16-22

Candyland

...Page 23

The journey of the Appalachians

…Page 24-28

Lucy the Hero

…Page 29

Wild Girl

...Page 30-37

Why ducks fly south for winter

...Page 38-39

The long wait

...Page 40-43

YOUNG WORDSMITH is a quarterly magazine. This is the 3rd issue of 2018.

EDITOR: Radhika Rajesh Raikar

EDITOR’S NOTE Dear Wordsmiths and readers, Believe in unicorns and fairies?? our wordsmiths do…… Life is full of ups and downs, they know that too…. Dogs can be heroes and some tigers too…. Fly on the wings of a Butterfly seeking to understand Beauty Read the tale of a strange girl accepting her mystical duty… Enjoy the short tale of Otto, who is a Cutie… Enjoy reading the words of Lekha’s Young Wordsmiths !!

MAGICAL FAIRIES By BORI KIM, AGE 7 One day my friend and I were imagining that we were magical fairies. We dreamed that we had fairy powers. I made a bubble, so we could travel to the rainforest.

We saw a lot of different kinds of pretty stuff. We saw the sky-blue rainforest.

Then my friend used her ice powers to make snowflakes. On the way back home, we saw more pretty stuff. It was unreal. Then we went home in the magical bubble. At school we were happy, very happy.

FAIRIES DO COME OUT AT NIGHT BY APOORVA RACHAKONDA, AGE 7 I was sitting in my bedroom looking outside through the window when I saw tiny little things flying in circles calling out for more of those things. I had no idea what time it was that night. Then my mom said it was sleep time, so I went to sleep. Last night too, I crept out of bed and went out the front door even though it was 12 o’clock. Then I saw those tiny things again. I did not what they were but they looked very pretty so, I wanted to take one of them. By the time, I went to get a jar those tiny things had gone away. It was weird, but I finally understood that they only come out at night, and not in the day. So, I decided to be ready at nighttime by sleeping during the daytime. I did stay up in the night and was able to catch one in my jar. But, it was really hard to see what the tiny thing was at night, especially when I was trying to find my lamp. Then, I took a magnifying glass to see what it was . It was cool. I saw a head, a body, two arms and two legs. It was a fairy! I thought it would be nice to share what I found with my friends but I knew they wouldn’t believe me so I decided I should keep the secret to myself.

Those who don’t believe in Magic will never find it….. Roald Dahl. Novelist and Poet. 7

DOODLES AND TIGERS by KATHERINE ZHANG CHAPTER 1: SMILEY In a jungle far away, there lived a fierce tiger. He could kill any creature. He was the strongest animal in the jungle. He was scared of only one thingâ€”dark places. One day, the tiger saw a smiley face. The smiley face began to run and the tiger ran after the smiley face. After a long time, the smiley face took a nap. As the tiger prepared to pounce, the smiley face jumped up and cried, "What are you doing?"

The tiger jumped in the air, surprised. "I was just looking at you." "Well, stop staring at me!" the smiley face retorted. "Oops, sorry," said the smiley face. "I shouldn't have let my temper get the best of me. Anyway, my name is Smiley Doodle and I need you to..."

"Wait!" exclaimed the tiger. "My name is Admiral Claws." Smiley continued, "Well, I was saying, I need your help. In Doodleland, where I live, there is a terrible Eraser; he just erases everything! I almost got caught yesterday!" Admiral Claws broke in, "Oh! Thatâ€™s terrible!" He was feeling bad about trying to kill Smiley.

CHAPTER 2: WE'RE OFF! Smiley and Admiral Claws ran ahead into the jungle. "So, how far is Doodleland from here?" asked Admiral Claws. "A day's journey or so," replied Smiley. They ran, and ran, and ran. "Time for lunch!" cried Admiral Claws. The two of them flopped down. Admiral Claws turned to hunt, but Smiley stopped him. "I have fresh fish and meat in my sack." "Oh, great!" yowled Admiral Claws. The two of them ate.

CHAPTER 3: HYENA TROUBLE As they ate, Smiley and Admiral Claws heard cackling. "Oh no! It's the hyenas!" growled Admiral. "They'll want to eat you," he warned Smiley. "Hide!"

Smiley climbed a tree nearby and held on to the branches. Hyenas surrounded Admiral.

Admiral growled, "Get out of here, smelly cowards!" but nothing happened. The hyenas just stepped closer and cackled and snarled. Suddenly, a Bang! rang through the jungle and the hyenas scattered. After the dust cleared, Admiral saw Smiley holding a pistol.

"It's harmless," said Smiley, seeing Admiral's shocked face. "Well," said Admiral, still shocked, "let's go on." 9

CHAPTER 4: WE'RE THERE It was almost evening. Smiley and Admiral still trudged on and on. "We have to stop!" exclaimed Admiral. "Don't worry," said Smiley. "See those gates?" Admiral did. "They are the gates to Doodleland." They both ran ahead. When they were at the gate, which was doodled, Smiley pulled out a key. He inserted it into the lock, and the door opened. "Come in," whispered Smiley. When Admiral did, he gasped. Everything was doodled! Doodled houses, farms, dogs, cats, trees, grass... "This is amazing!" cried Admiral. "Shh!" warned Smiley. He then knocked on a door. It opened and a smiling triangle and a smiling heart stepped out.

CHAPTER 5: GREETINGS "Smiley!" exclaimed the doodles. "They are my mother and father, Lucy and Tri," Smiley explained to Admiral.

"Who's that?" asked Lucy. "It's Admiral Claws. He is going to help us defeat the Eraser." "Oh good, my boy," said Tri heartedly. "Many villagers are in our home because it's protected by a pencil fence and their homes have been erased."

"Yes!" Lucy exclaimed. "I've never had to cook so much in my whole life as a doodle." "So, tell the villagers to attack at...midnight. Get torches and pencils for protection," said Admiral.

CHAPTER 6: ATTACK! At midnight, all the residents of Doodleland gathered with torches and pencils in hand. The villagers crept into the evil Eraser's village. Silently, they set fire and hid. Pretty soon, the erasers poured out of the village screaming. As they did, the doodles and Admiral jumped up and surrounded the erasers. The erasers were petrified, so they surrendered.

CHAPTER 7: KING ADMIRAL CLAWS After the erasers surrendered, the doodles crowned Admiral Claws as king. King Admiral sentenced the erasers to one year of imprisonment and then they would have to live with the doodles in peace; they were only to erase when needed.

As for King Admiral, he lived in a large palace. But he insisted upon having a dozen nightlights and twenty candles in each room as he was afraid of dark rooms, remember?

And both the doodles and erasers have been happy ever since.

TOOTLE-A-DOODLE!

In the last issue of Young Wordsmiths, a watercolor creation by Pankaj S Pawaskar was used as a Picture Prompt.

This PICTURE PROMPT seems to have stirred the imagination of many Wordsmiths. A sampling of the responses…….

PICTURE PROMPT

SILENCE OF A CHILD By Dr. Rahul. D Pawaskar and Sonia Pawaskar.

The young girl above is an orphan whose life events have drowned her in the sea of pain and suffering. The lonely little orphan girl is looking for a ray of hope and seeks rescue from Nature. Her name is Mercy. This young girl has only her cycle which her dying mother left behind for her. With a basket full of flowers she heads off with her cycle towards the sea, hoping and intensely praying that her Mom would come back somehow. She feels her mother’s touch in the breeze that strikes her skin and believes she can hear her mother’s voice in the breeze that hits her ear-drums. How will I survive??, she wonders and cries out loud to the sea

BRING BACK MY MOM…... BRING BACK MY MOM…… 12

Some other brief responses were as follows:

Watching the whales Ron

Waiting for her dad to come back home from voyage overseas. Elle

Looking at a beautiful sunset against the backdrop of a colorful Lighthouse

Watching the rising tide and is mesmerized when she sees the long tail of a giant sea creature. Is it the Loch Ness Monster?? She wonders.

Suzie

Neal.

Here’s a poem written by one of Lekha’s Young Wordsmiths…….. WONDER By KAITLYN UNDERHILL I turn to look back at the seas Hoping they'll inspire me I wonder what it's like to be free, Free from trouble and sorrows. The sunshine is shining through the trees I see the rays coming through Bright enough to shine on my knees I look at them and wonder, is this me?

AN OTTER NAMED OTTO KATHARINE HAMPTON There once was an otter named Otto who could not swim. Sometimes he would get teased by Bear and Beaver. They could dive deep in the water and splash all around. Otto tried. He would pretend to swim but would actually just run quickly around the shallow end.

So when they had a race, his sister saw him running on the bottom of the lake. She stopped him and she bought him a pair of floaties. He wore them. He loved them.

One fateful day Otto took the floaties off. He started to worry, but as soon as he started kicking and floating and diving and he discovered that he actually could swim. From that day on, Otto did swimming as much as he could.

The downs and ups in lifeâ€Śâ€Ś.. 14

AN ANT NAMED JEFF

MICHAEL ASHE There was once an ant named Jeff. He was a very mean ant. Everyone stayed away from Jeff, until one day when he was sleeping and everyone else planned a surprise party for Jeff. The next day when Jeff woke up, everyone was outside his door. He was confused. Then, when he went outside, they all yelled, "Surprise!"

Jeff's heart grew and grew, and finally, he became a nice ant. From then on, he never did a single bad thing, and he had lots of friends. Everyone was happy.

One day, Jeff and his friends went away on vacation. When he was on vacation, a bad storm happened. His house was destroyed. When he got back from vacation, he was so sad. All of his friends let him stay at their houses, but he wanted to rebuild his own house. When he was building his house, he hit his head on a brick and his heart shrank, and then he became gloomy.

The ups and downs in lifeâ€Śâ€Ś. 15

This book was written during the Lekha Summer Camp of 2008

STORY AND ILLUSTRATIONS BY LAUREN ANTLE.

Once there was a firebird. He was big and had red and orange feathers. He lived at the top of a mountain in a cave. 16

A little village lay at the foot of the mountain.

In that little village there was a house. It was not just a house, but a old little house and a poor family lived inside it. 17

A little girl named Emily lived in it with her mom and her dad.

When Emily had nothing to do she would just go over to her window hoping the firebird would come out. Emily thought that he was friendly. 18

Emily was the only one in the village who believed in the firebird. Everyone else thought it was just a tale.

One day while Emily was walking home a strange man appeared and started to talk to Emily. He asked her, “Do you want me to go up to the top of the mountain, and come back down to tell you there is no such thing as a firebird up there?” Emily said, “OK” 19

When he got to the top of the mountain he walked into the cave and was never seen again. Now the firebird was mad because he doesnâ€™t like to be disturbed so he killed him! The firebird wanted to destroy the village.

The next day the firebird flew out of the cave and circled the village. Everyone got scared and went into the basement, Emilyâ€™s parents wanted to take Emily home but she refused. Her mom and dad told her to be careful. 20

The firebird flew down and landed right in front of Emily! It started to walk toward her so she took one step forward then she stopped. She put her hand out to the firebird’s nose so it could smell her hand and he liked her because she was being nice to him. So, she took two more steps and petted the bird.

Then Emily put a rope around the firebird’s neck. Them Emily yelled, “ It’s Ok! You can come out now.” 21

Everyone came out and gathered around Emily and said, “Thank you for saving the village Emily.” Emily’s parents were so proud of Emily and she was so proud of herself.

From now on, Emily has a pet that is the firebird. Emily named him Hero and they lived happily ever after. 22

CANDY LAND SEYEON PARK

Once there was a land called Candy Land. Right when you walked into Candy Land, you felt you wanted to stay there and relax. There was candy everywhere. If you ate a piece of candy, another one would appear. There was baby candy everywhere. If you ate a moving piece of candy, you got a bonus, and the bonus was that the moving candy you ate tasted extra, extra good. There was a lot of candy, but some of the best candy tasted sour, sweet, crunchy, and some of it tasted like chocolate. The candy was not in wrappers. The colors of the candy were red, green, blue, yellow, orange, white, brown and black.

You could also pick candy from candy plants. The candy plants were short. The colors of the candy plant were red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. You had to take a basket and scissors to cut off the candy, or make a wish to magically put the candy in a basket.

Don’t you wish we could all live in CANDYLAND……..

THE JOURNEY OF THE APPALACHIANS: THE FORCE FROM HOME EWING GAO, AGE 12 INTRODUCTION Atsila Tsigili jumped across the river. She loved how the wind blew in her face, and how the tall grass gently brushed her hands. As she ran, her hair flew like the wings of an owl, each strand like a feather rustling in the wind. As she slowed down the setting Sun sank faster into the horizon. Atsila came to a stop and climbed one of the large river rocks. Then she turned around and watched as the sky turned from puffy white clouds and light blue sky to pink and orange clouds and twilight hues. Before long, the sky was covered in a deep blue curtain speckled with twinkling lights. After the Sun had gone to sleep, Atsila turned around and ran back towards the circle of wooden houses, letting the stars light her path.

CHAPTER ONE: MORNING FRIENDS Atsila woke up to the sound of Kawani running and barking outside the plaster and river-cane house. Kawani was Atsila's loyal dog friend that had fur the color of the Flower Moon itself. Throwing off her blanket, Atsila got to her feet. As soon as she was outside, Kawani came running. Atsila kneeled on tbe ground, exclaiming, â€œHi Kawani! Okay, okay! Good to see you too!" The silver-gray dog jumped up and licked her on the face. Kawani was always an energetic ball of fur. "Let's go find Awi and Agana!" Atsila sprinted across the village with Kawani at her heels. The Tsigili House, or the Owl House, was across the village from the Tsugiguli (Feather) and Wehali (Eagle) Houses. Each house was named after the family living in it, and each family was named for their most distinct trait.

Atsila wove in between the many rows of houses, and finally reached the Wehali House, where she found Agana by the door. "Agana! Agana!" she shouted. Picking up her pace, she saw Agana finally look up. "Hi Atsila! Are we going by the river today?" Like all the other children in the village, Agana, Awi and Atsila all had chores in the morning. Sometimes it was to work on the farms or help prepare meals, but today the trio got to do their favorite choreâ€“ berry picking! All they had to do was take a basket and pick the tiny plump fruit off of their bushes or trees. "Yes we're going to go berry picking, but first let's go get Awi. The two walked and talked until they finally got to the Tsugiguli House. Awi heard them approaching and looked up from her gourd art. 24

"What took you two so long?" she asked, with a mischievous look in her eyes. .Agana and Atsila looked at each other, and they all broke into eruptions of laughter. Awi went to go put her gourd art inside the house. When she came back out, they walked to the middle of the village and picked up three baskets. They continued on out of the protectives walls and into the wilderness.

CHAPTER TWO: BERRY PICKING Atsila watched her dog Kawani jump across the river, then following her into the forest. This was the three friends' favorite patch of berry bushes. When they got to the bushes, they decided to split up, with Agana picking the raspberries, Awi picking blackberries, and Atsila the blueberries. Walking up to the blueberries, Atsila carefully plucked the blueberries off their branch and into her basket. When she had finished picking blueberries, Atsila walked to the strawberry bush, where she found Agana waiting. Awi however, was nowhere to be seen. Usually, Awi was the first of the three to be done with anything and was rarely distracted when given a task like this. "Hasn't Awi finished yet? Did you see her?" he questioned Agana. Agana shook her head.

CHAPTER THREE: AMERICAN SOLDIERS The soldiers, in blue uniforms, were speaking quickly and quietly while pointing at something. Atsila had learned a bit of English from her parents, but the soldiers were speaking too quickly for her to understand. She could only use her eyes. When Atsila followed their fingers, she finally saw what they were seeing. Atsila held her dog close, and she could feel Kawani's body shivering in fear. After the soldiers returned into the shadows of the forest, the three girls and Kawani just looked at each other. Then Atsila commanded, "We'll pick the strawberries, and then hurry back to the village. We need to tell the Peace Chief about these soldiers."

"Why tell the Peace Chief?" asked Awi. Atsila looked her in the eye, then replied, "They were looking for the village." The girls quickly plucked the strawberries then ran, baskets full, back to the village. The girls left the berries at Atsila's house, because she lived closest to the Peace Chief's house. The trio then ran to the Peace Chief's house. When they got there, they were out of breath and had to catch it before speaking. Luckily, they didn't have to use any more energy to knock on the door because the Peace Chief was waiting outside. The Peace Chief saw then running and waited patiently for them to catch their breaths. Then she asked, â€œIs there something wrong?" Atsila, still out of breath replied, "There were soldiers in the forest. They were looking for the village." The Peace Chief stared at her. Agana backed her up by saying, "She's not lying. We saw them too." The Peace Chief relaxed her gaze on the girls, and said ,"I understand. You may go."

CHAPTER FOUR: TREATY There was no more sign of soldiers for the next moon. Then one cold autumn morning, three soldiers came right up to the village, one holding a piece of parchment with writing on it. They demanded to see the Chiefs, so the War Chief and the Peace Chief walked out to greet the soldiers. Then they went outside the village and did not come back for a few hours. Agana, unaware of the current situation, asked, "What's going on?" This time, Atsila could only reply, "I don't know." At noon the Chiefs came back, the first one fuming and the latter was deep in thought.

Suddenly, everyone started crowding around the two Chiefs asking questions about the situation. To avoid all the noise and confusion, the Peace Chief called a meeting in the Great Hall. Atsila, Agana and Awi shuffled in behind all the adults. Atsila buried her face in her hands. Awi was pacing back and forth while Agana sat across from Atsila, resting her chin on her hands. They had learned during the meeting that the Americans wanted the Cherokees and many other tribes to give their lands to the government, then move into a reserve. The Chiefs had sent for help from the Supreme Court because there was peace between the two, but their decisions could be turned down by the president. "I don't want to leave. This is where I grew up and have lived my whole life, I don't know how to live any other way in any other place." Atsila was worried. Frightened. Confused. She got dizzy thinking about it, and couldn't stop until Awi assured her, â€œWe all do, Atsila. None of us wants to be forced away from home." "It's not that! I'm scared of the journey!" â€œWhat will we do if they come? Will we have to run away before they get us?" Agana asked. "We can run, but where will we go? Awi pointed out. "lf we run in endless circles, we are going to get caught!" Atsila looked east. There was a place they could run. The Appalachian Hills. 27

CHAPTER FIVE: WINTER TIME The snow had once again started to fall. There was not a lot this year, but it was thick enough to still have a lot of fun. Everyone had layered up for the dropping temperatures. News had come from the Supreme Court that the judges decided the Cherokee could stay in their homelands. Agana pressed snow into a ball. Then when Awi turned around, she chucked the snowball and the latter girl's face. Awi stood there, mouth open, and getting angry (but playful). She made her own ball and threw it at Atsila, who was laughing her head off. When she was hit, Atsila made two snowballs and chucked them at her two friends. The next few minutes were a flurry of snow and Kawani attempting to catch the falling snow on her tongue. All was well.

Or at least so it seemed. After the trio had returned to the village for some stew, Awi heard a stomping noise. "Do you hear that?" "Hear what?" "The stomping." They all went silent and heard the feetstomping. Atsila looked up from her stew. "Pack your bags and meet me at the front of the village!"

CHAPTER SIX: RUNNING The girls hurriedly packed their bags, keeping their load light and only bringing the things the needed. Then they all ran to the front gate and out the door. Awi wanted to see if the soldiers really came to force them out, but they didn't need to because a soldier went in and pushed the Chiefs out, making them walk. At that moment the trio, along with Kawani, fled into the forest.

Sometimes life is interrupted and one is faced with the challenge of dealing with the unexpectedâ€Śâ€Ś... 28

LUCY THE HERO SUDITHI MANTHATI AGE 9 Once upon a time, there was a Golden Retriever named Lucy. Her favorite color was yellow since she had a glossy yellow coat of fur. She had many friends, and though she didnâ€™t have any real super powers, she could smell very well. Her hearing was also very good. She could always hear from miles away, and could tell other dogs if there was danger nearby.

Lucy and her friends lived in a tiny cage outside a shelter in a big town. The only problem was, people kept trying to steal the dogs. They thought, "No one will see us since the dogs are outside the shelter." After that, every morning Lucy found fewer and fewer dogs in the cage. This made Lucy scared. She barked until a worker named Sally came rushing out. Sally said, "Oh. no! People are stealing the dogs!" She rushed in, told the other workers. They came our again and brought in the remaining dogs. Luckily, Lucy and the remaining dogs were not lost. Still, everyone wondered, "Where are the stolen dogs?" No one noticed Lucy, who was busy sniffing the ground until she gave a sudden loud bark. Another worker named Mimi clipped on her leash and all the other workers and remaining dogs followed the pair. Lucy and the others found themselves in front of a big mansion. They rang the doorbell. A servant opened it and said, "Come in." They all went in. Then, they found all the lost dogs in a tiny cage! Mimi called the police, and the police then freed the dogs. All the dog workers clipped the leashes onto the rescued dogs and pet Lucy. The dogs all barked, "Lucy. you are our hero!"

Lucy just beamed.

WILD GIRL DARIA SYSKINE, AGE 13 A dragon, a phoenix, and a unicorn stared down into a pool of water that was held in the roots of the green, oak Worldtree. A trained eye could make out the image of a girl among the little ripples, holding a charge of all creatures known to the world. The jet-black dragon lifted it head, and told the other two, "She has arrived."

Eve yawned in the early morning glow. Sunlight trickled into her room through a haze of smog. Running a band through her auburn hair. she groaned as she felt bits of tiny leaves, no larger than her big toenail brush against her fingers. Glancing at her arm, she saw that her skin had once again taken on the faint, spring-green tint that had come and gone many times since her childhood. It always seemed to be around the same time when the leaves grew back. Eve was a teenager; just turned fourteen. She would have been tall and graceful, and quite pretty too, with large, holly-green eyes, if she wasn't always so sickly from the mysterious illness she'd had for as long as she could remember. She would have had friends at least, if she wasn't so different. After all, what normal child has faintly green skin, and hair that hurts as though it was a limb when the barber tries to cut it? As it was now, she didn't mind that much. She was sullen and stubborn to a fault. Anyway, looking at a photo of a tree, she relaxed a bit. Seeing it always gave her a good feeling, though it still couldn't stave off her dark moods for long.

Burying her head in her soft-as-a-cloud pillow, she resolved to wait for her mom to come in and drag her out of bed to her doctor's appointment. The pale, winter-green door soon creaked open, and her mother entered the room. "Eve honey, you'll have to eat breakfast in the car. It's time to go to the doctor's! Oh no! Not again..." her mom sighed, spotting the leaves. Slowly and reluctantly, Eve climbed out from the warm embrace of her chocolate-brownblanket. She dragged her feet on her way to the closet, and changed into long blue jeans and a light pink, long-sleeved shirt. They covered up most of her, shall we say, unusually shaded skin. On the drive to the doctor's, whose clinic was on the other side of downtown Slateson, she pressed her head against the window, wishing they could have walked. The rumble of the motor set her teeth on edge. Then again, if we walked, there'd be all that smog and haze and metal and concrete, and not a single blade of grass! she thought to herself. She met her mom's eyes in the rearview mirror and sighed. Soon enough, they got out of the way of the thick, slow-moving morning traffic, and parked in front of the skyscraper that held the clinic. Eve leapt out of the car and into the waiting room, like a shot from the cannon. She kept her head down, yanking her mom along, straight to her doctor's room, passing through sterile, antiseptic-scented hallways with white tiles and fake potted plants. Tears burned in her eyes as she felt the stare of others. Though she ought to be used to it by now, she felt like a zoo animal "Eve..." her mom her pleaded,"...slow down!" Eve hurtled into the doctor's room. She collapsed on the examining table, completely worn out and panting. The doctor was not long in coming, and tut-tutted as her mother complained to him about Eve's sullen demeanor. "Don't worry, it's just a teenage stage," he said, and turned to Eve. "Now, how are we feeling today?" Still gulping in air and trying to suppress sobs, she stared," Worse. My head hurts, and it's hard to just sit up." Her mother raised an eyebrow at her but said nothing. The doctor who had thin brown hair and kind blue eyes, smiled a bit sadly and asked, "Would a trip to the countryside agree with you? I've thought about it, and decided that since looking at pictures of trees helps..." Eve didn't really think that would help at all. But her mother nodded and thanked the doctor. "We have friends who own a farm, and a couple of acres of outright wilderness. I can send Eve over there, and I'll stay with her dad at our apartment until she returns."

Eve was a little bit excited at the idea of going on a trip, but by now, she didn't believe that anything could actually help. Of course, being a teen, she hid her emotions, and sulking along behind her mother on the way back to the car. "I think the leaves are getting smaller, and your skin's not as green." Her mom said chirpily, attempting to start a conversation. Eve just grumbled as they climbed back into the car. Sighing, her mom turned and with some uncertainty, offered something quite unexpected: "lf you can get packed quickly enough, I could drive you there today, sweetie..." Despite herself. Eve brightened. "Okay! Wait, for how long?" "A week or two at the most. You do have school... I'll miss you, and so will Dad." Less than an hour later, she was standing at the door to the hallway of the apartment building, being hugged by her pot-bellied father. "Bye honey!" he whispered and waved as she hurried to the car with her mom. Dragging the floral-patterned suitcase into the back, Eve plopped into the front seat and watched as their building went out of sight. This was the first time she was going to be away from home on her own. As the urban jungle of the downtown receded and was replaced by rolling, green fields of corn and other crops, with the occasional orchard, Eve felt the strength return to her limbs and sat up straighter, feeling better than she had in ages. She chattered non stop for most of the drive, much to her mom's surprise. As she got out of the car, lugging the suitcase, she waved goodbye cheerily, and introduced herself politely to her mom's friends. She explained her condition, and immediately asked if she could explore the surrounding wilderness. They agreed, but told her not to go past the white-painted fence. "That's where the real wild begins, and you'll get lost," they warned. Promising to return in time for dinner, she trotted away from the stables, past the chicken coop, past the cow, and immersed herself into the woods. Breathing in the mixed scent of oak and bay trees, she laughed aloud startling several small, brown birds that flew off twittering. She felt wonderful, as if she was dancing on clouds, as if she had wings, as if she could run as fast as she could for miles and miles. All this green, all this leafy shade, all of this nature around her.... A deep sense of contentment settled within her, and she walked through the grass and trees, absorbing the emerald and blue kaleidoscope that surrounded her, the warm sun on her skin, and the fresh and unpolluted breeze in her face. She closed her eyes. Listening to the small rustles and woodland noise, she strolled ahead through ankle-high grass. If she had opened her eyes, she would have noticed the section of white fence extending to her left and right.

When Eve opened her eyes again. she realized her skin was, if anything, more green, and the leaves in her hair were larger and more virulent. She was standing in a small glade of birch trees, and a little brook bubbled through the middle of it.

There were vines next to it, with lavender-star flowers. She noticed something growing among the vines, and bent towards it, curious.

When she cleared the vines, she gasped. A beautiful emerald sword lay there, with a hilt in the shape of a tree. And what detail. An animal from every phylum was carved on the tree, and every leaf was beautifully etched. She reverently lifted the sword from its bed of vines, and held it in one hand. It seemed to fit her hand perfectly. It felt like an extension of her arm, like a part of her.

When she could bring herself to look up from the blade, she nearly fainted, falling backwards against a nearby birch. In front of her were three creatures that she knew simply couldn't exist. A pitch-black dragon, a glowing white unicorn, and an ash-grey phoenix. The dragon stepped up to her, and pressed its head against hers, staring fiercely into her eyes. In his vibrant, turquoise eyes was an intelligence of intense capacity which terrified her. Then the dragon leaned away, and snorting out a puff of smoke, said in a surprisingly gentle tone, "She will do." Eve's knees were weak, and the blade hung by her side, nearly falling from her hands. "Who. .. what's...?" she stuttered in confusion.

The unicorn responded, in a melodic voice that was nearly a song of its own, "Excuse Oblisk for his theatrics. We have some... explaining to do." It hesitated, "But not here. We should go to the Worldtree... Climb onto to my back, it will be the fastest way to get there. And bring Riejen." Seeing her look of confusion, the unicorn explained, "that is the name of your sword." Eve clambered onto the silver-white back of the unicorn, and they were off. Later, when she tried to describe the experience, all she could say was that it was like flying along the ground, with oil paints dripping from each side, blurring along the edge of her vision. When they finally stopped, she was dizzy and uncertain on her feet. It was twilight, at least it was wherever they were, and the sky was a delicate shade of lavender-blueindigo; or at least, what she could see of it from beyond the thing which she could only assume was the Worldtree. As the name implies, it was indeed a tree, but what a specimen! It was as tall as the Sears Tower, and its girth was as wide as a small house. And when she looked closer, she could see all sorts of animals carved into the bark, images of bears, squirrels, wolves, swans, wolves, otters, giraffes, antelopes... every single animal was represented there. The few stars that had already come out seemed to be caught in the tree's tangle of dark ropes. And at the base of the tree between two massive roots, was a small drill pool of water.

She bent down and looked into it. At first, all she could see was her reflection, but then, strangely enough, another image became visible. A boy with blue eyes and hair that seemed to almost be made of waves held a sword, chillingly reminiscent of Riejen. only it was blue. He led the... water? She couldn't quite tell what it was, but it engulfed a continent, with him riding on the crest. Aolontisa, she realized with a shiver. And there was only a small rock left, with a little girl that cried and pleaded... when he threw down the sword and lifted her to help, the water-thing engulfed both of them. Eve blinked, and the image was gone. She wasn't sure what she had seen, butâ€Śâ€Ś

"Eve. We must tell you what you are to do." Glancing up, she saw the dragon waiting on a thick root, flicking its tail impatiently. "Come up here," it repeated, and unwilling to keep it waiting, she scrambled up the root and over to where the three creatures were sitting. The phoenix, whose eyes were golden and shone with an inner light, began.

"The humans, animals, plants of this earth, and the elements, used to live together peacefully and in harmony. And the humans became more and more intelligent. The world was a green, beautiful place, with azure skies everywhere, but eventually the humans lost the Language of the creatures, the wind, and the land, though they still honored our pact and were gentle. Different, certainly, but still they did not turn on us. Soon, though, humans began to be born that had forgotten our language, and forgotten our similarities, and forgotten about our agreements. They began to build, and to destroy, and to bend nature to their will with crops and fire and irrigation. Their mastery of nature, their creation of the artificial, became more and more dangerous. They began killing animals for their skin, destroying trees for their wood, tearing apart the land, and destroying our children simply because they were in the way. But nothing could be done... until we banded together and created your sword, Riejen. Something went wrong, and none of us could use it. It has the powers to allow the bearer to communicate with plants, animals, and the elements alike, and, if passed over a tree that has been chopped down, to regenerate it. A strange rainstorm passed through here, and soaked up water in this pool, which is imbued with the sap of the World-tree. Then the rainstorm passed over the city of Statesville and a soon-to-be-mother opened her mouth, and drank the one droplet that came from here. And you were born." The phoenix paused, and looked at her intensely.

"Eve, you alone have the power to help us regain what we have lost, to help us take back what was once ours. You must lead a charge of animals against the humans, and balance the world again." Even as the phoenix spoke, Eve felt the truth of its words. She had never felt quite right among other humans. She had always felt different. And these plants around her, how good she felt! To see green, vibrant woodland, filled with life, where now there was only concrete and metal... yes, that would be wonderful, not to mention talking with animals, plants, stones, and elements!

An exhilaration, at having this power, at having this ability to save creatures of the earth, filled her up to the brim, making her tremble nervously. Taking a deep breath, shaky breath, she whispered, " I will.â€? Though the modern world may know a million secrets, the ancient world knew one-and that was greater than the million; for the million secrets breed death, disaster, sorrow, selfishness, lust and avarice, but the one secret confers life, light and truth. Manly P. Hall Author and Mystic

WHY DUCKS FLY SOUTH FOR THE WINTER

BY KRIS AU-YEUNG 11 YRS Every year the Animal Association Council (AAC) chose a winner to receive a new facility for the winning animal's group to use. It could be a new barn, a trough, or a pond. Over the years, many different animals had won however, the ducks had never won. The ducks were a humble group of animals, and each year they wondered why they were even nominated as one of the finalists.

One sunny afternoon in May, they found out what others thought. A peahen and a peacock were strutting about on the gravel beside the duck pond. The peacock spoke, "I don't know why they even let the ducks get nominated for the prize! Such impudent creatures!"

The Peahen said spitefully," Let's be glad that the animals don't like the ducks anyway. That's because they don't do anything all day! They don't even do anything to help the farmer, unlike the horse." The Peacock replied with a very superior tone, "The council knows that we are the most magnificent and the most beautiful animals on the farm! Besides, that is all that really really matters. Plus the ducks don't really have a say in the council." The Peahen whispered to the Peacock while taking a sudden glance backward at the ducks wadding in the pool, "Let's leave before they notice us."

So, they strutted down the gravel path with the astonished ducks staring after them in disbelief. 38

That night the ducks held a secret meeting in the dead of the night. "They don't appreciate us!" declared the leader of the ducks. "Yes, Yes! Do something about it, Leave, leave!" Cried the crowd of ducks simultaneously. "Be patient fellow ducks! We must wait for the time to leave! We shall leave at the beginning of the winter. If our plan works, they will be sorry they treated us so bad! Take notice of our plans, and dare not defy us!" proclaimed the leader.

"Hear, hear!" cried the angry crowd erupting in a cheer. As the farm animals prepared for the winter, there was lots of anticipation about the AAC competition. Everyone wanted to know which group would win. The ducks though, knew that they would not win, and they were busy making plans to leave. On the day of the announcements everyone was busy getting ready and no one noticed the ducks leaving in the confusion and excitement. One by one they lifted into the sky with not a single sound and flew off in a "V" formation, resembling a flock of swans graceful in flight. They flew south and landed in the sunny lands of the south. Back home, it was time for the announcements. "And, the winner is... The Ducks", read the person on the stage. It came as a surprise to all the animals, especially to the peafowl that the ducks won. The ducks did not come up and everyone went looking for them. When they saw that they were gone, they sent for them immediately. The ducks accepted and in the spring they flew back home. Apologies were made by the peafowl. The Peafowl were sorry that they mistreated the ducks because they thought they were better than them. That is why the ducks fly south every winter, to take a break from the animals' bragging. Kris Au-Yeung won second place in Kay Snow writing competition for this short story in her age range. The Kay Snow awards are awarded annually by the Williamette Writers group in Portland, Oregon. 39

THE LONG WAIT BY KAVYA MUNNANGI, AGE 12 YRS In the time of butter and her friends, nature rose to power and all animals could talk. This period was called the period of nature. In this period, there was no such thing as pollution or cutting trees. This period was very peaceful and calm. Here is how the story goesâ€Ś Hi, my name is butter. I am a butterfly. I am usually quiet cheery, but just a few days ago, I started noticing that everyone was prettier than me. Things that I didn't care about before are starting to make me feel queasy. Then it hit me. I didn't fit into the crowd. Everybody wore clothes from expensive stores, every-body wore pretty jewelry, and everybody was better than me at things I used to be best at. Everybody that is, but me. I tried so hard to make myself fit in, but, as usual, nothing worked. I wondered what beauty was. Why were some more beautiful than others, especially me? One day, I decided to go find my beauty. Since I wasnâ€™t looking any better, I thought others somehow found their beauty. I left around midnight, because it was supposed to be an auspicious hour and to my pleasure I was accompanied by lots of crickets and a few owls. I wandered around for about a mile before getting tired, so I decided to take a nap.

That night, I had a funky dream. It seemed as if I got to talk to god. He didn't actually say anything, but his eyes said a lot. He told me to not give up and showed me a picture of me with extraordinary colors. I couldn't believe it. I mean it was too good to believe. I wished I hadn't woken up from that dream, but I had to. When I did, I looked at myself and found that nothing had changed. I thought of the beautiful picture that god showed me. I looked at it very thoroughly. As it started fading away, I noticed an old lady with a hunch, carrying a cane in one hand and a blanket in the other...

I made up my mind to search for that woman no matter how long it took. I knew that she would help me in some way or the other because god must have put her purposefully in the picture. I was getting kind of excited because I found a part of the answer to my questions. Now all I had to do is to find the old woman. I knew I was on the right track, but I wished that a miracle could happen. With high hopes, I started on my way. I could hear a faint hymn of music coming from the west. HMMMM…..Hmmmmm…….hmmmmmmm As the sun went lower and lower, the music faded away into the cool fall breeze.

My expedition was going well. I made lots of new friends along the way, who liked me for who I was, not how I was. The sad thing was that as I continued on my way, I had to leave them. As I was walking on the river side, I saw the most popular birds in school. They were twin flamingoes. Their names were flame and flami (pronounced flomy). Everybody liked the two hot pink, attractive, and snobby siblings. If they didn't like the looks of someone, they would completely ignore them. I thought they were really mean because of how they treated animals. I wondered how they got to be so mean. I remember my mom telling me that people who are mean, are mean because when they were little, people hurt their feelings and now they want to show people how it feels. The weird thing was that when they are around parents, they act as if they have never been mean in their whole life. As usual, they were looking at themselves in the mirror that they always carried around with them. Apparently, they couldn't live without it. Since they were alone, I decided to say hi. That was my first, big mistake. If I never went their way, I would have been fine. But being the little miss know it all that I am, I had to go and be friendly. They were like, "Who are you?" "And like we don't like know you, like ya and like why are you like talking to us?" I was kind of surprised because I thought they knew me from school, but I guess not. Anyway, I asked them how they came to be so pretty. They said in unison, "When we were like umm... lit tle, ya little, our parents did this like ceremony and we like got so attractive.” "Also, our friends gave us many awesome presents.” “And ever since then, we keep ourselves clean and beautiful, unlike some others."

I was kind of embarrassed because I wasn't that clean myself. I guessed their culture was different than mine because my parents didn't do any ceremony for me. 41

I went on through the forest, stopping often for water. In my mind, I was wondering how long it would take to find the old women. Would I just give up and go home? Would I ever find her? And if I found her, what would I say? Would she understand my feelings? I was so confused. It was like diving into a pool with no water, how was I supposed to swim? Maybe I should just give in and go home. With somewhat strange thoughts crowding my muddled mind, I drifted to sleep on a fluffy bed I made. As the last bird left, everything was quiet. The next morning, it was quite gloomy. It made me feel really lazy and feverish, so I went and took a shower in the warm waters of the bubbling lake. When I got out, I felt so much better and the rest of the day, I slept in my cozy bed. I woke feeling very happy. I loved the feeling of being able to do anything that I wanted and nobody stopping me from doing it. I wandered around until I found a cozy Italian shack. I asked one of the worker bees if they saw an old woman with a kind face, a rolled up blanket in one arm and a stick in the other.

Fortunately, one of the bees saw her, but she stopped at the shack yesterday night. He also told me that she didn't have a home. Whenever she was tired she would build a little house and rest in there. After ordering a nice, warm hot berry drink and some food for the future, I took the trail into the forest.

It was kind of spooky. The trees looked like ghosts and the wind gave the Ghost affect.

It gave me goose bumps. It was starting to feel sort of hopeless about my mission, because I had been away from home for a month and I missed my parents. And after a while, the food I had been saving was completely gone and I was starting to become extremely tired.

I slept next to the lake for a while. I was nearly unconscious. I didn't want to get up but once again, I did. I saw a light reflect in the lake. I turned around with excitement. I saw an old lady walking up to me, and her face looked somewhat familiar. IT WAS HER!!! The woman from the picture. Oh my gosh, how could it be? Lots and lots of questions popped up into my head. But the first thing I asked her was if she had anything that I could eat. Luckily, she did and I gobbled it up. I was so happy. I didn't know what to say.

Since I wasn't saying anything, she introduced herself. Her name was Winta. She asked me my name and why I was so far from home. So, I spilled out everything from why I came to why I was looking for her. She was speechless. Then I asked her the question that I had been holding in for so long. I asked her why I was so ugly and why everything was changing. She told me that I was being very kiddish. But I was a kid so what else was I supposed to do. She told me that if I didn't believe that I was pretty, I would never be pretty. I didn't understand what she meant. I guess my face showed what I felt, so she told me that all I had to do was believe that I was beautiful.

That was that. The magic then came to life. I was prettier than I ever thought I would be. Not only that, but I was pretty from the inside too.

Embracing your true self radiates a natural beauty……………. 43

BUILDING CREATIVE YOUNG MINDS Young Wordsmiths is the online magazine of the Lekha Writing Center. Lekha Writing Center is committed to developing a generation of children who think beyond the book! We do this by teaching them to write creatively, using a blend of time-tested and newly-developed methods that stir oneâ€™s IMAGINATION.

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