Here is my quote: The same day so soone as we could, we set ashore 15. or 16. men, well armed, with some to fetch wood, for we had none left; as also to see what the Land was, and what Inhabitants they could meet with. Up there is my picture of this quote. Please enjoy it.
In school we have been working on an Alice in Wonderland project. So far we have been busy preparing for the Alice Comic. Our class has read all different copies of Alice In Wonderland, learned all about Lewis Carroll (or as I say Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, because that is his real name). My teacher also read us the annotated Alice so that we could see the real children’s poems against his funny ones. One of my favorite things that helped us understand Alice was 1900 house. It was an interesting TV show in 1999 teaching us what a 1900 house looked like. 1900 was close to the time when Alice in Wonderland took place so I saw what kind of house she might have lived in and I learned something about the way of life she might have lead. After watching this series we were closer to our goal to create the comics. Now we have started with our comics but we still have a lot of work to do. We have chosen chapters to make into comics and after we write the scenes in and the script. So far so good.
This is my Cinderella story I wrote for school. The whole thing about rags to riches is here. Please enjoy it.
The Magic Scarf
In a land far away there lived a lord and his lady. The lady was called Katarina and the lord, Rupert. Katarina was sitting by a simple but beautiful bed. It was made out of wood and blankets were piled on top a seven year old who was the lady’s daughter. The girl had rosy cheeks and soft blood red lips. Katarina started to weave a story as easily as threading a needle. Her voice no more than the tide sighing along the shore. Then she began.
****
I lived in a poor neighborhood outside of the Lord’s palace. Every day I went to the well to fetch water for my family. I always saw the palace in its glory. Also kids played on the coble stone streets in the court yard of the palace. My father was a worker in the mines and my mother cooked all day long for them. I kept telling her that the mines were a dangerous place to be but she always said, “We need the money and that is the only job left.”
****
Once I saw a beautiful scarf in my mother’s drawer. It was embroidered with a blue jay in a tree. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. One day my mother caught me looking at it and said, “My mother gave that to me and said, “this scarf will help you in your greatest time of need. Now I say the same to you.” And from then on I carried that scarf with me everywhere.
****
One night my mother went to give dinner to the miners but she and my father did not come back. Scared and unhappy I slept in their bed.
In the morning I woke up to get the water from the well, but when I opened the door water was already in my bucket. When I walked outside everyone stared at me. Suddenly I realized I was alone in this world my parents had died. I was eight when it happened. People finally told me that there had been an accident in the mines and my parents had died. I felt like a part of me was missing.
****
A relative took me in but it wasn’t the same. Before I left I looked for my little scarf but it wasn’t there and I thought “It will be here when I need it most,” then I left. Every day I wish it was just a nightmare and that I would wake up soon with my parents in our little house.
****
Years passed and my aunt said, “You are more beautiful than my daughters for that I shall make you our servant to erase your beauty,” and so they treated me like one. I searched and searched for the scarf but it was nowhere I could see. One day a letter came and said,
“ You are invited to
the Ball
at the Lord’s castle
24 Cherry Lane
1:00pm to 1:00pm next morning
Thursday 12.3.78
All ladies of age come
My son is looking for a wife
Thank You
The Lord.”
****
My cousins screamed and told me to make their dirndls Thursday was only three days away. All of us were of age so we could go. Tuesday and Wednesday came and went. All of a sudden it was Thursday and I had to put on make-up dirndls and hairspray into my sisters hair. Then they left. They looked like plumped up ostriches.
****
I had nothing to wear and I was heart broken I sat down and cried my eyes out. Suddenly there was a was a little breeze and I looked up and saw my scarf flouting down like a snow flake dancing in the wind. It flowed down on my shoulders and I felt a tingling sensation in my stomach. Then it stopped as suddenly as it had started. I looked down and I gasped. I was wearing an amazing dirndl with the blouse that had lace on the edges, a beautiful red skirt, and a gray and brown speckled top, there were diamond bracelets on my tiny wrists too. I also had the most lavish hair-do and a long white carriage. I got in and it drove with amazing speed to the lord’s castle.
****
On the stairs the prince walked stiffly toward me and bowed. My heart was in my throat and I was surprised that know one could hear it. The prince asked, “Will you dance with me,” and I replied, “of course.” We walked onto the dance floor and I saw my foster family. There mouths were so wide open that someone could have climbed into them.
****
Minutes melted into hours and I soon saw my foster family call for the carriage. I flew down the stairs. But alas the lord’s son so captivated held my hand and pulled off my diamond bracelet. My scarf slipped from my grasp and blew back behind me. When I looked down I saw that I was not wearing my beautiful dress and that my carriage was gone.
****
I ran home and collapsed on the floor. My relatives burst through the door and my aunt screamed, “Did you go to the ball!”
“No,” I replied.
“Liar!” she shrieked and threw me down into the cellar. I cried myself to sleep.
In the morning I saw my uncle read the paper. He suddenly exclaimed, “Girls the prince found a diamond bracelet and says who ever it fits he will marry.” All my cousins sputtered. We heard a knock on the door. They all yelped and bellowed, “Katarina get the door.” I opened the door and there was the prince in all his glory. My cousins shoved there way in front of me and my aunt pushed me into a room and locked the door.
****
I pounded on the handle but it would not move. Then suddenly the door opened I saw the scarf on the ground and picked it up and said, “Thank you my little scarf.” I put it on and saw that beautiful dress again and ran toward the sitting room. When I got there I saw my bracelet in the prince’s hand. I asked if I could put it on it was a perfect fit. We lived happily ever after.
Returning to the present she stroked her daughter’s hair and said, “The scarf will be there when you need it. She gave the scarf to her and hoped that she had great adventures with the little scarf!
THE END
By c17cd
Hi,
Guess what? I get to write reviews on anything I want. Today I really wanted to write about my summer camp. Devon. I personally think it is the best summer camp. It is not a sleep away camp though. For the activities there are swimming, sailing, tennis, arts & crafts, lunch, and a few things in between. We also have a few field trips that are, Splish Splash(a huge water park), The Aquarimarine, and a few others. Another cool thing we have is swimming meets against Maidstone ( another camp). One of my favorite things is Saturday Racing. On Saturday’s we get to brush up on our sailing skills with racing. Also we have regattas (racing against other camps). Once I got third! If you live in the country you might want to consider going to this camp. If you do I’ll see you there.
Hi I have been reading a Historical Fiction book for our study of Forced Immigration. Mine is called, “The Captive,” it is a really good book. The main character is Kofi he goes through a lot here are a few examples of his hardship. “My father was dead,” “As each sailor came back up he carried a body. I prayed for the thirty children who had passed away from this world into the next.” I felt so bad for him and his friends. The author is Joyce Hansen and I really want to congratulate this author for this spectacular book. He uses fantastic language and so much emotion. I felt like crying when I read this book. Here are a few more quotes. “I was free,” “These boys are scamps,” “Take the demon out of the African’s black soul,” and last but not least, “He brought the strap over my chest and shoulders, and it felt as if a million red ants were stinging me.” I think this would be a great Historical Fiction book to read.
We wrote Amistad poems inspired by Elizabeth Alexander. Mine was in the perspective of Sarah Margru Kinson . She got ripped away from her family to be sold in slavery. It is about the hardship in the hold of the ship they sailed on. She got sold illegally. I hope this will tell people that if the color of your skin is different you shouldn’t be treated different, and not to start slavery again.
Elizabeth Alexander came to the Dalton School on Friday, February 6th, 2009. It was a treat and pleasure listening to some of her poems and talking about them. One of the reasons, she was invited to come was to share and explain her Amistad poems and to inspire us to write our own poems.
Her writing just flowed very smoothly and when she read her poems it was as if they had feelings and lives of their own.
She told us about one of her books which was called “Ms. Crandall’s School for Girls and Little MIsses of Color.” This book featured poems of Ms. Alexander and another poet switching back and forth making it a captivating story. The book was about a teacher called Ms. Crandall who taught African American girls. The towns people got furious and raging mad knowing that they lived amongst them and poisened the drinking water and killed the school’s cat. They also burned the building down and Ms. Crandall left town forever. Even though this is a very tragic story I think it is based unfortunately on actual events.
Elizabeth Alexander really touched me and inspired me to write more poems and I hope with her being a leader and poet of African Americans that lots of people will follow her lead!
Bye
Hi,
my teacher is writing a book called, “Africa is my home.” I personally loved it, because I felt like I was in the boat, in the jail and in Africa and so part of the story.
The book is about a girl called Sarah Margru Kinson. Hard to believe, but she got sold by her father for food. I can’t believe her dad would do that. It is almost impossible to imagine that a parent can do such a horrible thing. She got through lots of hardship such as when there was no food on a boat called the Amistad. She met a man called Cinque and together they tried to survive and keep their spirits up. I was so surprised when the chef said they would be killed, salted and eaten when they allowed themselves to ask what would become of them. I felt for them and it was so unfair. They attacked and killed most of the Spanish but left a few to steer them home. My teacher said that in the night time they sailed to New Haven. I thought that if your skin is different that doesn’t mean and should not give anybody the right to be treated differently. They got to New Haven and were put in jail. I really wanted them to voice the reason why they did what they did on the ship. They got a lawyer whose name was John Quincy Addams. I thought that was amazing and cool that they got help from a former president. They had lots of trials.
Finally they got to go home. It was so heart warming when I read that. It almost made me forget all their hardship. Sarah later returned to her masters in New Haven and went to college. After studying she went back to Africa and started a school. Which was a amazing deed to fulfil. Finally her father sent a telegram saying how sorry he was and she forgave him. I thought this story would be ready to publish.
Bye
Thursday 1.29.09 my class watched the 6th 7th and 8th grade play Oliver. You probably know the novel by Charles Dickens.Well we saw the musical of it at school. Guess what my older sister was in it she was part of Fagin’s gang, a milkmaid, and the understudy to the second biggest girl part. The play was remarkable and we all loved it. We go to The Dalton School. The third graders had to leave after the first act because the second was darker and more evil. They also cut out a part were Fagin held a knife up to Oliver. For people who don’t know the play her is a list of most of the characters.
Fagin (a man who took orphaned children in so they could steal for him)
Bill Sykes (a thief and a murderer)
Nancy (a prostitute who gets killed by Bill Sykes when trying to help Oliver)
Oliver (a boy who gets sold runs away, gets found by one of Fagin’s gang and learns to pick pockets, gets misunderstood for stealing someone’s hankerchief, lives with the man the police thought he stole from, gets taken away by Nancy and Bill Sykes when running an errand for his protector, then returns to Fagin’s gang be for finally being saved by his grandfather, the man they thought he stole from)
The Artful Dodger (a talented boy part of Fagin’s gang)
Here are a few songs “Om pah pah, Who will buy, My name, Be back soon, Oliver, Where is love, and Pick a pocket or two,” I really enjoyed this play and was mesmerised. I also recommend seeing the movie by the film-director Roman Polanski (even though I would not let children 8 or younger see the movie which is rather dark, scary and violent or read the book.)
bye
Today 1/20/09 at school we went to the library and watched a change in history, Barack Obama the first African American president/elect got sworn in and became the 44th president of the United States of America. People swarmed to the capital like bees toward honey. When people waved their flags together it looked like they were one. The person who sworn in Obama stumbled and they had to do it again. He memorized his speech which I thought was so amazing because he had so much to say and he said it in a heartfelt way. Elizabeth Alexander came and read her poem that she wrote for this special day. Also Aretha Franklin sang “My Country Tis of Thee” and Yo- Yo Ma and other musicians performed. I hope that for the next four years Obama will try not to let people cut down too many trees. We breath out bad things but the trees breath out oxygen and breath in our breath which is good for them and we breath in the oxygen. Its like a trade. Cutting down trees actually also causes global warming. More or less I think he should think about the environment the Iraq war, thee economy, health care, education and lots of other things. I also hope that every child will be included in everything. Obama wrote something like that on a letter to his children and I forward that act. I hope for the best for Obama. GO OBAMA.