2008年4月1日星期二

The Furious Larry--THE ADVENTURES OF CHICKIE AND MICKIE I

Once upon a time there lived, in a farm, two best friends named Chickie the chick and Mickie the horse a.k.a., C&M. This farm is called Mike’s Magical farm. The two friends had many things in common and many things that differed. For example, they were both unusual amongst chickens and horses owing to the fact that they were both orange, whereas Chickie loved it, Mickie hated it (mainly because he had an ex-girlfriend who didn’t go out with him because of it). While Chickie had a foot like “a peace sign without the circle”, as his mother put it, Mickie’s was heart shaped But the most unusual thing they had in common was that they could talk, though they hid it very well…



One beautiful, bright morning, on a cool summer day the two friends woke up with a start as angry voices drifted their way.

“Oh, no, I am not selling that unusual pair, Chickie and Mickie and you know very well Larry oh you know so very well”, which was recognized at once as the hard-working farmer, Mike, also the owner of Mike’s Magical farm. “Even for $200,000!”

“Oh, really?!” demanded the furious Larry who was Mike’s impatient, hard faced cousin who had brown hair. He was the only person (apart from Mike) who knew their “secret”.

“Yes, really! I’ve raised them since they were babies!”

They heard quickening footsteps and very loud voices.

“I’ll give you one last chance, and it’s final! $300, 000, for both of them! Take it or you’ll be sorry!”

C&M both groaned silently, but they needn’t to; Mike wasn’t going to give in so easily, like he said.

“Nope, not even if you pay a million dollars, NO! Now go away; I need to feed the animals. And stop bugging me! You’re trespassing, you are!” Mike retorted gruffly, thick with annoyance. The door burst open, and a stream of light made its way in.

Mike stomped in, his face as red as a beet. Forgetting to say “hi” to them, and not seeming to be aware they were there, he looked like an angry zombie. He accidentally treaded on Mickie’s orange tail. Only when Mickie neighed indignantly did he notice them.

“Oh, morning, troops” he said in a “would be a falsely cheery voice if was without the almost surprised tone.”

Then he just kept muttering about Larry trespassing and nosing in other people’s business, until Chickie interrupted him.

“Uh, Mike, could you please give us some breakfast?” Chickie asked timidly, in his usual, squeaky voice.

“Huh? Oh yeah, sure.”

Mike served them breakfast in a clumsy manner. His lousy manner served for the rest of the afternoon.


But Mike didn’t know that Larry meant what he said, although he trusted Larry about as much as a slug could jump.

At precisely that moment, he was thinking of the best way to steal C&M. Then, after he had succeeded, he, Larry Lourdes, would be rich! First, he would sell his factory, Leaky Laundries he could put on shows with towering prices! He rubbed his hands together in anticipation and smiled devilishly. In the end, he decided to think about that later.

About at 9:00p.m, a dirty, grimy, black Ford pulled up the drive of Mike’s Magical farm. Two men dressed in pitch black suits opened the front doors. The driver gave the other man a net, a crate, and a thumbs up. The man slipped off into the darkness, sly as a fox, his feet hardly making a sound. Soon, there was a muffled shriek, and a neigh, hardly heard by anyone.



“Breakfast time, you lazy louses!” joked Mike the next day, feeling extremely refreshed after a nice sleep. Now he just felt a little bit worried because he usually would hear a sleepy yawn and a chirp. But today he heard only silence, an eerie silence that was broken by the barn door creaking open and his bewildered gasp.

The barn was completely devoid of the two friends. Mike ran to call the police. Then, a memory stirred in his mind. ‘You’ll be sorry!’ Larry’s face burst clearly in his mind…


30 minutes later, Mike arrived at Leaky Laundries. He quickly parked his car and rushed to all the half windows, which led to the dungeons, the only rooms in Leaky Laundries that the doors could be locked,-but the windows couldn’t!

Mike finally saw them. They were in room 5. They were locked in a large cage with a
What can I do? , thought Mike frantically. Call the police!

Forgetting that someone might see the open window, he rushed to his car.


Meanwhile, Chickie and Mickie were trying to undo the lock, so they could get out to safety.

“Hey, what a weird shape!” whispered Chickie. “Like a peace sign without the circle!”

Like a peace sign without the circle… Like a peace sign without the circle…a memory stirred in Mickie’s mind…

“Chickie! Your foot!” cried Mickie triumphly “It can undo the lock!”

Shaking with excitement, Chickie put his foot through the keyhole. He turned it. Click! The door opened. They were out!

They heard nearing footsteps and a distant clock chiming 12:00.They got out quickly and hid in the closet.
The door to room 5 opened and closed quickly.

“What?” cried a voice they recognized as Larry’s. “I can’t believe it.”

They heard him muttering,

“One of the workers must have taken them to the other cage”

After they thought it was safe, they walked out and stood on the cage and climbed out the open window…



After Mike had phoned the police, they came almost immediately, owing to the fact that they were 3 blocks away.

The sirens and a clip-clopping noise filled the air.

Wait thought Mike, a clip-clopping noise? He spun around and found himself face-to-face with-

“Chickie and Mickie!” cried Mike happily.

Then without another word, he through his arms around Mickie while Chickie chirped happily on his head.


Soon, after the police had come and Mike showed them the evidence that C&M were his and how they had escaped, and Larry was sent to jail, they were finally safe.
At least, for a while…

Picking Cherries

Going to pick cherries is very fun. That’s what we did in mid July, when we were going camping in Okanogan near that place, so we decided to go there.

My parents and I went to 2 farms. At both, the trees were so tall that we had to climb big ladders to get the best cherries; a man who worked at one farm said the trees were almost 60 years old!

At the first farm, we climbed old, but sturdy, wooden ladders to get fat, purple cherries. My mom is kind of afraid of heights, so she hesitated to pick the cherries with us at first, but then she saw me and dad eating the big, fat cherries so she got envious and overcame her fear. In total, at that farm, we picked about ½ buckets of cherries.

At the 2nd farm, there were some new metal ladders, but mostly old wobbly ones that were uncomfortable to stand on. I stood on one and it made me feel so nervous! But there were lots of cherries. There were even some branches that were covered in cherries!

We picked a bit over a bucket of cherries. A man who worked there had a funny accent that sounded a bit like Hagrid (in Harry Potter).

If we ever go camping in Okanogan, picking cherries will be something that I’ll look for ward to.

Loss of Hope, Gain of Freedom

In this story, we have created a fictional tale of the African slaves escaping from America to Canada through an underground railroad. This story is based on true facts before the Civil War began and slavery ended.

In the beginning of the story, we have a normal African family eating a meal. Suddenly, a drum starts beating a warning that tells Africans “White men are coming! Run!” The African family raced to the forest as the white men chases and captures them.

They are dragged onto a ship and sailed to an auction. The auctioneer sells them and different people buy them. Since the main character is the African father, we act out his new family in America. He is brought to a rich, but mean household with two daughters. He is tortured by having to pick tabbacco in the scorching sun. One of the slaves tells everyone about an underground railroad leading to Canada, where they can live in peace. Unfortunately, the owner’s daughters spied on them and told their parents about it.

Disturbed by the eerie night sounds of the forest, the owners leave in search of their escaping slaves. As they run to find out what the spooky sounds are, one by one the slaves escape. Sadly, an old slave named George loses his balance and falls, causing a loud noise. His owners find and kill him. Fortunately, all the other slaves escape successfully to Canada, never to be slaves again.

Today, Africans are scattered all throughout North America and are no longer slaves. Now, they are treated just like any other person.

We worked very hard to create this story and to act it out. Of course, we all owe this to our wonderful teachers: Sarah, Josh, and Kelsey. And to our terrific parents sending us here to Gateway academy! We hope you liked our show and come again!