stories

  A Secret Dream     For Annie, the most exciting day of the week was Friday because it was the day the stagecoach came to town. As soon as the stagecoach pulled up, the team of tired horses had to be unharnessed. It was Annie's job to take the horses to the stable, while her father harnessed up a fresh team.      While all this was taking place, the stagecoach passengers got out and headed toward the hotel to wash up and eat a meal. The people were always covered with dust from the rugged trails on which they had been traveling. Although they were tired and dusty, Annie watched and always admired the women in their long, elegant dresses.      Annie observed them closely and wondered who they were and where they were going. Often, she liked to create little stories in her mind about these women. Later on, she would write the stories down in her journal. "Perhaps that tall, beautiful woman was on her way to meet her handsome fiance," she thoug...

  The Fisherman and the Fish     A fisherman sat still on the bank of a sparkling stream one bright afternoon. He had arisen before dawn that morning, eaten a healthy breakfast, packed a good lunch, and set out with his pole and other gear just as the sun was creeping up.     The fisherman sat in the shade of a tree near the cool water. He already had eaten his lunch and taken a small nap. He might have felt completely content, except that he had not caught a single fish all morning and was starting to grow impatient. "Perhaps another spot downstream would be better," He said to himself.     Suddenly the fisherman felt a tug on his line, and when he pulled the pole out of the water, he saw that he had caught a rather small fish. Removing the fish from the hook, the fisherman was startled to hear the creature speak.     "Please let me go," the fish pleaded. "I am much too small for you to eat. If you throw me back into the river, I will soon g...

  Hannah's Story     Hannah was discouraged. She had an assignment for class to write a story about how she had accomplished a goal, but she could not think of anything to write about no matter how hard she tried.      "I'd better make a list of ideas," she told herself, jotting down some notes about the time she helped her father reorganize his carpentry tools in the woodshed. Then she started another page and made a chart and diagram showing what her aunt had taught her about growing tulips. But neither of these ideas inspired her.      "Maybe it would be worthwhile just to try writing down every single word that pops into my head," she thought. She sat at her desk in suspense, waiting for some words to come, but nothing came to her. Suddenly the process of developing an idea seemed completely beyond her.      Hannah's father gave her some good advice. "Why don't you postpone working on the assignment for a few minutes, take ...

  Natural-Born Drummer     Travis had a habit of drumming on surfaces with his fingers, with pencils, and even chopsticks. Several times a day, Travis's parents, teachers, and friends commented about his constant drumming.     Therefore, Travis's parents were astonished that on the day before Travis was to try out for the school band, he was uncertain about which instrument he wanted to play. So Travis and his father went to a local music store to generate some ideas. Travis browsed the selection of rental instruments, picking up a flute and handling the keys, then examining a trombone. On impulse, he chose a saxophone and tried blowing into it. But the sound that emerged was a pitiful honk, like a wounded goose. Then Travis asked to try another instrument--the drums. He had never played drums before, but he'd certainly had plenty of drumming practice.     The next morning at school, Travis appeared at the doorway of Mr. Blees's classroom for the tryou...

 A Fresh Perspective     The students in Ms. Jensen's English class filed into the room and sauntered to their usual seats. Ms. Jensen observed them from her desk in the back corner of the room, and an idea formed. This week's literature contained characters that were experiencing changes, and she thought it was time for an experiment.      The students typically wrote in their journals for five minutes about a topic written on the board at the front of the room. Today, Ms. Jensen quickly jotted notes of her own while the students wrote, and when the five minutes were up, she walked to the front of the room to address her students.      With a smile Ms. Jensen began, "Today, we are going to experiment with change. I would like you to gather your things, because it's time to move to a new seat!"      The students began murmuring to each other and a few looked doubtful. Ms. Jensen directed the students to move to the front of the...

  Live from the X Games     This is Brad Willis, coming at you live from the scene of this year's Summer X Games. Right now, we're at Huntington Beach, where the finals of a new surfing competition known as "the Game" are being held.     The game differs from regular surfing competitions because it involves two teams of eight surfers competing in four quarters. Each quarter is broken into two 20-minute heats. Four surfers from one team go first in a heat, followed by four from the second team. The remaining surfers then repeat the cycle, and the top two wave scores are added for a team score.     Later this afternoon, we'll take you to Woodward West for the qualifying trials of the downhill BMX, the bicycle motocross event that promises to be wild and woolly. You won't want to miss our live coverage.     Mike Metzger has turned in a fine performance in the Freestyle Moto X. His backflips have wowed the crowds. Metzger joins 300 of the world's...

  Tom Sawyer's Fence ADAPTED FROM A STORY BY MARK TWAIN Tom looked at the fence and all gladness left him. Whitewashing it would take his whole day. He sighed and brushed paint along the first board. Soon, Ben stopped to tease. "I'm going fishing, but you'd rather work." Tom burned like fire, but he didn't show it. Instead, he said, "What do you call work?" Ben couldn't believe what he heard! Tom's Brush swept back and forth and Ben grew very interested. He said, "Say, Tom, let me whitewash a little." Tom kept working and told him no. Ben pleaded, "Let me try! I'll give you this apple." Tom made his face look sad, but excitement filled his heart. Slowly, he handed over the brush. So Ben sweated in the sun and Tom munched his apple in the shade. Other boys stopped by and when Ben tired, Tom traded the next chance to Billy for a kite--and so on. By afternoon, Tom had ten marbles, a bit of chalk, a piece of blue grass, a ...