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.

Different Kinds of Pizza

Do you like pizza?  There are many types of pizza in the world.  There are tons of popular pizzas in the world.   I can't talk about all of them because there are so many!   Some of the most interesting kinds of pizzas that I found are: Tomato Pie, Hawaiian Pizza, and Greek Pizza.

Tomato Pie is a pizza with a big tomato flavor.  It is Italian bread sprinkled with cheese and then covered in tomato sauce.  You can buy it in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Delaware.  Found in Sicilian-American communities, Tomato Pie is circular and served at room temperature or reheated.  I haven't tried it yet, but I think I'd like it.

Hawaiian Pizza has lots of toppings and is delicious!  Invented in Ontario, Canada, it is made with cheese, tomato sauce, pineapple, and ham.  Hawaiian Pizza is the only pizza I know with this many toppings.  Some varieties have peppers, mushrooms, and bacon mixed in.  It is the most popular pizza in Australia.  Hawaiian Pizza is my favourite kind of pizza.

Greek Pizza has the strangest toppings.  Greek Pizza is a pizza with Greek toppings.  It also has a special crust that is usually quite oily and has feta cheese, onions, Kalamata olives, green bell peppers, gyros meat, and spinach as toppings.  It is round, but you won't find it in Italian restaurants.  You need to go to Greek restaurants to find it.

Do you like any of these kinds of pizzas?  I really want to try Tomato Pie and Greek Pizza.  Hawaiian Pizza is so good, just looking at a picture of it made me hungry!  I hope that one of the types of pizza that I told you about are one of your favourites.  Different varieties of pizza can be very interesting.  Why not read about some?  Or go to a restaurant, or pizza place and try some other pizzas than what you usually get.