Story by MOLLY , for Maiko

Once there were some animals that lived on an island in the middle of the sea. They had a king who was a leopard named Leo. They were very happy, because there were no hunters .

One day a young otter named Nonny came up to King Leo and said :

"Leo, leo"she cried "there's a boy!!!!!!!"

King Leo rushed to the shore, and sure enough a boy lay on the shore. The animals stared at him and the wreckage beside him with wonder. In a few minutes the boy woke up and screamed. All the animals rushed into the forest. Leo called a meeting.

"What should we do with this boy," he said.
"Eat it," shouted a dim-witted coyote.

All the animals laughed and Beu the bear scratched his head in confusion. While they were talking, the boy whose name was Jimmy got up and hurried into the forest, right into the middle of the meeting.

Immediate silence followed.
Leo started at the boy and said, "How did you get here?"
Jimmy looked scared. He finally said "I was shipwrecked."
Nonny's mother who was a very loving otter went up and said, "Poor boy."
Jimmy said "I'm not poor. I 'm just shipwrecked."

The animals helped him make a bed and he stayed there that night. He stayed there a year until a rescue ship found the island. The animals had hid in the forest but Jimmy hungry for humans rushed out onto the beach and waved his hands. The ship stopped at the island and a big man lifted Jimmy onto the ship.

The ship slowly sailed away and Jimmy called out, "Goodbye. Goodbye!" The animals were very sad to see him go. Leo had a tear in his eye and Mrs. Otter went flatout and sobbed.

Epilogue: Jimmy found his parents and lived to be very old. The animals still missed him.

The End

Story by: MOLLY, age 10

Send comments to: MOLLY