So my grade school did this thing where we would write a story and it would be made into a hard cover book that could be checked out like a library book. Then we got to take it home.

I found my 2nd and 4th grade books a while back. Not sure what happened to the one from 3rd grade, or to my taste in genres.

A fave author in 2nd grade was Beatrix Potter, and it kinda shows. Don’t remember who I was reading in 4th grade, but not as warm and fuzzy. Definitely a precursor to my later tastes. I can only imagine what the typist thought while doing my story.

So here, I suppose, are my first ‘published’ efforts, interesting puncuation included. I don’t even know how much editing was done to our stories, probably just spelling from the looks of them.

 

Fluffy – 2nd Grade

Once there was a squirrel named Fluffy who lived with his mother and father.

They lived in an old pine tree.

Every summer they would gather nuts for the long winter.

This is hard work, too.

None of them would do it alone because it was too hard for one to do all by himself.

So they all did it together .

Then when all the work was done, they’d go home for the long winter.

and wait for spring to come.

 

The Adventures In Witchland – 4th Grade

Once a long time ago, there was a boy named Joseph who always wanted to go to Witchland.

It was a place far off where witches would give gold to those who out-smarted them.  But those who didn’t were fed to the witches’ pet dogs, who fed on human flesh.

So Joseph went on his adventures, for he knew he could out-smart the witches.  He travelled through the galaxy until he reached the other side.

There he looked for a planet that was gray and dull.  He found it, and went in for a landing.

He went to find the witches and get some gold, but they found him instead.  He told them what he came for, so they gave him a number of tests, which he answered all correctly, which stunned the witches, for no one was able to out-smart them.

Then came the last test, which no one was able to pass.  That was for Joseph to go throught the River of Death and bring back three souls and the skulls of three people who had tried to get the gold, but had been eaten by the dogs and sent there.

Joseph went on a boat across the river, which started to rock and toss about.  But Joseph hung on and made it across.

He then looked around and found a cave which had a sign that said, “All who enter here shall not exit”.  He read it but wasn’t afraid of it.  He went in the cave and found it was dark and spooky and cold.

He struck a match that he had and looked around.  He gasped at what he saw, for there were headless skeletons digging at their graves.  He knew that he couldn’t get past them without looking like them, so he made a cape-like cloak to look like them.

He walked in there and started to dig at the dirt, and found three skulls and souls.  He ran with them and tore off his cloak.  He jumped into the boat and started across the river to the other side, made it, found the witches, and got the gold.

He started home, where the people had heard all about his adventures, and held a party in his honor.