Parable of the Prodigal Son

A farmer had two sons, but the younger son asked his father, “I don’t want to live here all my life; I want to choose what to do with my life. Can you please give me my inheritance now?” So their father brought his older son and younger son, and gave them their inheritance. Soon the younger son gathered his things and left home.

Just when he had wasted all the money given to him, a huge famine began. He was so hungry; he started serving a citizen of that land. He sent the younger brother into his field to feed the pigs. He was so hungry, he would eat the pig’s food, but no one would give him anything.

Then he thought, “Even my father’s servants have more than enough food, I’m his son, and I don’t have any. I don’t deserve to be called his son. Maybe if I go back, he will accept me as his servant. At least then I will have enough food.”

When he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming back home, and ran to greet him. “Father, I don’t deserve to be called yo…”

“I am so happy that you’re home! Bring him better clothes, and let us have a feast!”

His older brother was working in the field all day, but when he got back and heard the feast, he asked a servant, “What is all this noise?”

 The servant said, “Your brother came back home! Your father is very excited, come on in and celebrate!”

But the elder brother was very angry, and said to his father, “I work very hard for you every day, and you never let me have a feast with my friends. But when my brother who has wasted your money comes home, you give him a huge feast.”

“I gave half of what I own to your brother, everything else here is yours. It is a time to celebrate, your brother was lost, and now is found!”

Xenophon, to the sea

A long time ago during the year 400 B.C., Xenophon was travelling with the Greeks to the sea. But when they arrived at a prosperous city called Gymnius, the ruler of the land gave them a guide to help them travel through a country that was unfriendly to his kingdom. Their guide said "At the end of five days, if the sea is not in sight, you can kill me." So very willingly, they traveled with him to the sea.

On the fifth day, they were climbing Mount Theches and Xenophon was riding in the back when he suddenly heard a loud noise. He had no idea what the noise was, but he thought it was caused by enemies attacking. He thought this because they had attacked and burned the country on their way to the sea.

Then Xenophon thought "My people are being attacked, I have to help them!" So he took Lycius and some of the cavalry with him to go to the top of the mountain and fight off the attackers. When they arrived at the top, they found that the noise was actually everyone shouting "The sea, the sea!" for they could see the sea from the top of the mountain.

Everyone was crying and hugging each other because they were very happy to see the sea. So they brought stones to the top and built a big cairn to remember the moment. Then they dedicated skins and shields, and the guide smashed apart the shields, and told the rest to do it too.

So the Greeks gave their guide presents such as a horse, money, and some of their rings. The guide showed them a place that they could stay for the night. Then, when night came, he went back to his own country.

The Frogs Want a King

The frogs were living happily with no one ruling them, and nobody bothered them.  But some of the frogs thought that this way of living wasn't right, and they wanted a king.  So they decided to go and ask Jove for the king that they wanted.  When they told him, he laughed and threw a huge log into their pond.  The frogs jumped out of their skins and ran away from the log.  Later, one of the bravest frogs jumped on it and started dancing.  They saw that the log wasn't harmful.  Then the frogs asked Jove for a better king that would actually rule over them, not just sit there.  Jove got angry and put a stork there in their pond that ate the frogs.


                                                         
                                                      Better no rule than cruel rule

Belling the Cat

     Long ago in a mouse hole, the mice were debating eagerly how to eliminate the danger of the cat, but they couldn't agree on anything. Then a young mouse stood up and said "The cat sneaks towards us to attack without us even knowing.  But I can fix this problem!  We just need to find a bell and hang it around the cat's neck, so when she's nearby, we'll hear the bell and be able to go back to our homes safely."  Everyone liked the idea, so they decided that they would do it.  But an old mouse said "Who is supposed to put the bell on the cat?"  Nobody said anything.  Then the old mouse said "It is very easy to propose impossible remedies."







Rewritten version of one of Aesop's fables
Original version copyright Aesop

The Sinking of the Titanic

First, twenty minutes before midnight an iceberg was spotted straight in the Titanic’s path.  William Murdoch, the first officer, commanded them to turn the ship left.  But it collided with the iceberg less than a minute after it was spotted.  The sharp side of the iceberg cut the right side of the ship open!

Then, a distress signal was launched at 12:50 AM.  Ships received the Titanic’s distress signal, but were too far away. The closest one, the Carpathia, responded but was four hours away.  The shipline official said, “We are confident that there will be no loss of life”.

Afterwards, they started launching the first lifeboats at 1:10 AM.  But the passengers were unwilling to leave the ship and a large amount said, “This ship cannot sink; it is only a question of waiting until another ship comes up and takes us off”.  Then, the deck started to sink, and more travelers left the Titanic.  Captain Smith went down with the ship, but he said to the officers, “You have done your duty, boys. Now every man for himself”.

After, water smashed the windows and poured into the bridge.  The Titanic’s front plunged under the water.  The back later sank at 2:20 AM.  But only one lifeboat returned for people stranded in the water.

Finally, the Carpathia arrived at 4:10 AM. It stayed picking up passengers until 8:50 AM, and then set out for New York.

The Jungle Book Book Report

The Jungle Book was written by Rudyard Kipling.  It is a collection of short stories.  Rudyard Kipling was born in India.  He left India at 6 to go to school in England.  Then, he came back to write as a journalist.

The setting is in wild India.  The main characters in the stories about Mowgli are:  Shere Khan, Mowgli, Akela, Bagheera, and Baloo.  Rikki-Tikki-Tavi's main characters are:  Nag, Nagaina and Rikki-Tikki-Tavi.  The main characters in Toomai Of The Elephants are:  Little Toomai, Big Toomai, and Kala Nag.  My favourite story is Rikki-Tikki-Tavi.

Rikki-Tikki-Tavi is my favourite because it is a you-just-have-to-know-what-is-going-to-happen book.  The stories in The Jungle Book are Mowgli's Brothers, Kaa's Hunting, Tiger-Tiger!, The White Seal, Toomai Of The Elephants, Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, and Her Majesty's Servants.  Mowgli's Brothers, Kaa's Hunting, and Tiger-Tiger! are about Mowgli when he is a boy.  Rikki-Tikki-Tavi is about a mongoose who gets lost.  Toomai Of The Elephants is about a boy who works with elephants.

I really like The Jungle Book.  My least favourites are Toomai Of The Elephants and Her Majesty's Servants because they are really boring.  I think you should read The Jungle Book.  If you like his stories, then you might want to try some of his other books.  Just So Stories is another good book by Rudyard Kipling.

Red Pony book report

The Red Pony was written by John Steinbeck.  It was published in 1945.  Its setting is on a mountainous farm in California.  The main characters are Jody, his father, mother, Billy Buck, and Jody's grandfather.  His mother takes care of the house, Jody's father and Billy Buck run the farm, and his grandfather liked to tell stories of when he brought the people to the west.

The story starts when Jody is about to get a horse.  The weather starts to get bad when it keeps raining.  It never stops raining!  Then it doesn't for a while.  Jody doesn't know whether it is going to rain or not. He asks Billy Buck who is supposed to always get things right, and he's wrong!  It rains and the pony gets sick.

I really liked the book.  But to me the chapters are really long.  My favourite character is Jody because he is the main character.  This story is one of my favourites because it has spots where you just have to know what's going to happen.  I recommend that you should read it.