CLAIRE

SEA FRIENDS by Claire Cocales

One nice day, Otis the Sea Otter went out for a swim. "Ah ... the water feels so good!" Otis said as he paddled along on his back. Bonk, boom! "Hey, watch where you're going!" Turner, the Tardy Turtle, snapped angrily. "Oh my, I'm so sorry." Otis said. ''Yeah, yeah, that's what they all say." Turner mumbled to himself as he swam away. "Boy, he's grumpy today." Otis said as he swam the opposite direction, away from Turner. Kick, kick, splash! Otis dived down. "Ahh ... ahh ... I almost got i- ... ahh ... got it! Wow, look at this. It's a clam. A delectable looking clam. Mmmm ... so good. Mmmm. That is what I call a good clam." Otis said smiling and paddling on his back. "I wonder why Turner was so grumpy today? Maybe I should go check on him." Otis thought curiously. ''Nah .. .if he's grumpy, I will leave him alone." Otis exclaimed.

Paddle, paddle, kick, paddle, kick. That was the sound of Otis swimming along on his back, peacefully. "Ah ... the sun is shining so bright today." Otis exclaimed happily. "Uh, oh, Turner alert! I'll just swim as quietly by Turner as I can." Otis said to himself quietly as Turner got closer. "Hi, Turner!" Otis said. ''Yeah, sure, whatever". Paddle, paddle, kick, padd... "Oh, Turner?" ''What?'' the turtle replied. "Ummm ... water's calm today." Otis said, embarrassed. Turner paused a moment and said, ''Whatever''. Paddle, paddle, ki... "Oh, and Turner? Are you o.k.?" "I am fine, now stay out of my business and scram!!" "O.K., sorry." Otis said, surprised. Kick, paddle, kick, padd ... "Turner?" "Now what?!" Turner yelled. ''You can tell me anything, I promise. I won't laugh. I won't tell anyone, but I will help you if you want." Otis said. "I said SCR ... " Turner paused a moment, as though he were thinking about something. "AM!" He yelled. "Sorry." Otis once again replied sadly.

Otis started swimming away from Turner, and Turner started swimming away from Otis when suddenly Turner stopped swimming and said hesitantly, ''Wait, Otis? There is something wrong. \Well, you see, my mom ... she's sick, very sick." "Oh, I'm so sorry." Otis replied sadly. ''Will you help me?" Turner asked. "Of course I will." Otis replied. "Here, I will be right back!" Otis said. Kick, splash, kick, kick. Otis dived. Yank! Otis came to the surface of the water holding a big patch of kelp. "Does your Mom like kelp?" "I honestly don't know." Turner said. "Here, we'll take some of this to her." said Otis. "Okay." Turner replied happily. Paddle, kick, splash, paddle, kick. "Here, Mrs. T. Will this kelp be any help to you?" "Oh, yes. Thank you so much, Otis. This kelp will be great to eat or to fiddle with." Mrs. T (Turner's Mom) replied. ''Thanks, Otis!" Turner said. "See you later." "O.K. Bye, Turner".

It has been five months, and I've seen Turner once or twice a week. "I hope he's doing O.K. this week. I'm going to go check on him." Turner thought. Kick, spla ... boom, pow! ''Turner?'' Otis?" "Hey, Turner. .. how's your Mom doing this week?" "She is great!" Turner replied. "She's not all better, but she's much better. The kelp helped, but you coming once or twice a week with medicine really helped." "Good!" Otis said.

"Look! A clam." Turner said. "Oh, yeah!" Kick, splash, dive. ''Yes!'' Otis said as he came out from the water. ''This is a delectable clam." Otis said. "It looks good." Turner said. "Oh ... and Otis? You're a GREAT friend." Turner said. ''You are, too." Otis said, smiling very brightly.

THE END

LYLA JADE

MIA

Raccoon's Big Day &ccoon opened his eyes and blinked in the

dazzling light. He yawned and thought, "What a perfect day for swimming!" Raccoon climbed down his tree and walked over to the pond by his home and plunked his hands in. Raccoon didn't start to swim yet, he felt like washing.

Raccoon lifted his hand out of the water and rubbed them against his masked face. Then he washed behind his stubby ears. Raccoon finished washing and put his hands back in the water and waited.

He thought about that catfish that he could never catch and about what to do after he swam. Absentmindedly he grabbed the tail of something that swam by his hands. Raccoon lifted his hands out of the water and saw he had caught a crayfish. It wiggled and squirmed until Raccoon killed it with his sharp teeth. Quickly, he gulped it down. He caught a few more crayfish until he was satisfied.

Then, Raccoon jumped in the water with a splash! Little air bubbles escaped out of his mouth as he sank to the bottom. He used his webbed feet to swim up to the surface of the pond. With a dripping wet face and strong strokes, he swam around the pond with his back and front legs. Then he climbed out of the pond and shook himself.

Raccoon sat on his haunches and thought about what to do. Then he heard a rumbling sound. He looked up, his ears perked. He only had a second to realize what it was before Lynx jumped out of the bushes!

Raccoon quickly hobbled away, towards his tree. Lynx's sleek, spotted fur rippled as she ran after him 'on powerful legs. Her fur-tipped ears were perked forward and her big paws thudded on the ground. Thud, thud. Thud, thud. Raccoon reached his tree and swiftly climbed up it. Lynx's stumpy tail quavered as she bounded up after him, almost never breaking a stride. Raccoon kept on climbing, his heart pounding. Soon he got to the branches

which bent under his weight. He still climbed up, higher, higher. Lynx was climbing on the trunk. Soon it got too thin to hold her weight.

Noticing this, she yowled, "Next time, Raccoon! Next time!" Then she climbed down the oak tree and walked away.

Raccoon watched her through the heavily leaved branches. Raccoon stayed there for hours. He knew he was camofluaged with his thick gray fur and ringed tail. Then, he finally listened to his tummy and climbed down cautiously and caught some crayfish. He also caught a frog, which was delicious. The sun started to set, so he climbed into his hole in his tree and quickly fell asleep.

LOUISE

REID

Beaver's Adventure By Reid Tumey

The beaver wakes up to the smell of water. He yawns, then dives out into the water. He jumps out onto the bank. Beaver shakes himself, blinks a few times.

He walks over to a sapling, sniffs it, and eats it up. Suddenly Beaver hears a noise. "The other Beavers are still sleeping,: he thinks. "What is this?"

The beaver finds himself looking into the eyes of a wolf!

Beaver runs into the water and stomps it with his tail. Instantly the other beavers wake up. The all dive to the bottom of the pond and wait. They are down there for five minutes. Finally one beaver goes up and looks around. He goes down and tells the other beavers it is safe.

SOPHIA

TERESA

JOSH

Million Dollar Chipmunk Once upon a time there was a chipmunk

named Harry. Harry was a happy old chipmunk who was a third class traveler. His favorite thing to do was to play the electric guitar. Harry was in a rock band named" Chipmunk Fever!"

One day he got an invitation to play his guitar at his niece's wedding. Harry was totally stoked. He called all his band mates together and started practicing.

Finally, the day came. Harry got out of bed and turned on the TV. He was flipping through the channels when a lottery advertisement caught his eye. They said the jackpot was 3 million nuts!!! Harry could not wait. He sprung offthe couch like a kangaroo and bolted out the door. While he was running, he smelled something delicious!! He could not resist the scent. He went inside the bakery and bought himself a roasted acorn. Then he checked the time. It was almost 11:00 am and Harry still had to have one more band practice before the wedding!

He ran as fast as he could to the nearest lottery store and got in line. The line went out the door and down the block. Harry had been waiting for over 1 hour and 45 minutes now. When it was finally his turn he bought 2 tickets just in case. His numbers were 1-0-6-5 and 1-0-7-4.

He ran back to his house and called his buddies. They said "We are already at the wedding!!" They also said he was going to get fired if he didn't get there.

Harry didn't know what to do so he just jumped in his truck and drove to the wedding. While he was driving it started to rain, then harder, then harder till he could not seewhere he was driving and he just drove right off the road!!!!!!!

When he woke up he was in the hospital with his whole family around him. Harry could see that the TV was on and the lottery was about to be called so he told everybody to be quiet and to look at the TV. The man said the numbers were "1-0-6-5!/lHarry could not believe it!! Now it could be a happily ever after story.

JAYA

Young Gray Wolf Gray Wolf jumped out of his

cave for the first time on his own. The bright moon shined on his arctic fur. He Gazed upon the stars and it reminded him of what his mother taught him. He was nine moons (months) old which meant only one moon till he was full grown.

Gray wolf sniffed the air, he smelt the sweet blood of a springing hare. he heard the direction of the young hare and set off. The hare heard him coming and started running away. The hare had speed but the young wolf had stamina. Finally the chase was over. He caught the hare.

Gray wolf was tired after his hunt and went to find territory to rest in. He found an abandoned mother wolf den and fell asleep after the scent of a fresh water pond or lake had reached him.

In the morning he followed the scent of the lake. Then gray wolf caught sight of circling ravens and from what his mother taught him the would be circling a sick or dead elk-like creature. Gray wolf ran up to where they were and saw it was a moose. He ate his share and the ravens ate the leftovers. Gray wolf headed to drink some water and quenched his thirst.

IRENE

I woke up, stretching. I looked at the horizon. It was slightly pink. I

hopped out of my tree and set out for some food, hoping to get a rabbit or

maybe a bird or porcupine. Using my red-tan fur to blend in, I spy a brown

rabbit. I get ready to pounce. Then I wait for it to get a little closer

and ... pounce! "I almost got itl" I think as I look at the rabbit running

away. I start to walk for a while and then I see the same rabbit. "You're not getting away this time." I think as I get in

pouncing position. I pounce. "Yes! Success!" I bite into its neck. I go under a tree and

eat my rabbit. After I'm full, I lick the blood off my fur. I look at the sun. "Almost time for a nap." I say. I climb a tree, as I'm an

expert at that, find a branch to support my 16 pounds and fall asleep.

By Irene Wade