Halloween Story

Every Halloween, when the clocks chime at midnight, all the spooks come out to the nearest graveyard for a special celebration. The ghosts spend the year making decorations, and the rats search their food stores, for this is by far the best night of the year for a spook. The werewolves howl in the moonlight, and the spirits sway to the sound. The wind moans as the mummies and vampires slowly creep to the table of rotting fish and month-old lemons. The jack'o lanterns glow as the the headless horseman rides past, his shadow vivid in the moonlight. The people for miles around are asleep, not smelling the food, nor hearing the howls, not feeling the chills, and not seeing the fearsome glow that surrounds the graveyard tonight.

Harere's Diary, Part 30

Epipi 14

Dear Diary,

Today we went for a walk through town. We went past the food shops, and the cloth shops, and all those little shops down on the main street. Suddenly Femi stopped and growled at a bush. Ab went over to investigate and came out holding a small dog. Femi growled louder. ''We should see if anyone is missing a pet dog. Let's go see.'' I asked if I could hold Femi on the way back, since she was growling louder than ever now. We knocked at all the doors, asking about the puppy (and getting anxious since Femi was almost roaring now). Finally, we got to the house at the end of the row, where we were able to give up the puppy (much to the excitment of Femi ) and left for home, my eardrums bursting from the noise of Femi's growling.

-Harere

Harere's Diary, Part 29

Epipi 13

Dear Diary,

Today Awi pronounced that he wanted a pet ''hippatimuss''. When Mut told him he couldn't, he stamped his foot and loudly whispered to Ab that the next time he went hippo hunting, he wanted the first ''hippatimuss'' that Ab caught. He then ran up to his room, and came down with a wooden toy boat and announced that now we could go get him a hippo. When Ab asked him where he was going to keep it he answered ''In my woom. Hippatimuss in my woom.'' Apparently, hippo was going to eat lentils and sleep in Awi's crib with him. He is obssessed.

-Harere

Harere's Diary, Part 28

Epipi 12

Dear Diary,

Today I took Femi to Mie's Cat Cleaning Services to get her fur brushed. Femi hates getting her fur brushed, though, so this did not go as well as I would have prefered. The second an assistant came towards us with a brush, Femi yowled and almost ripped my hair out, so you can imagine what she looked like walking home. When we plopped her in the tub, she wriggled so much she got soap in her eyes, and screeched at the top of her lungs so that we were forced to leave the shop, so as not to cause any more trouble. I now realize my mistake. From now on I will pick her up while she is sleeping to put her into the tub, and pin her arms to her sides while I soap her.

-Harere

Harere's Diary, Part 27

Epipi 11

Dear Diary,

Today we went to a party at Merit's house. It was being held for the new baby. I only found out about the party minutes before we went to it, so all I had time to do was borrow some parchment from Ab, quickly write a congratulations card, and get dressed extremely quickly, before we ran out the door faster than I'd ever gone before. I gave them the card and sat down in the living room to catch my breath. The house was decorated lavishly, and the food looked wonderful! There was music playing and there were dancing girls in the far corner. I sank my teeth into a honeycake and was in instant heaven. I decided then and there that I would absolutely have to get the recipe. While I was doing that, Awi had walked over to Nanu. ''Happy Bawfday!'' Ugh! Awi, why can't you keep quiet? I restrained a giggle. When the party ended,(which I very much wished hadn't happened) I told Merit's mother to give my compliments to the chef and left with the rest of the family. I really hope we go to another party soon.

-Harere

Harere's Diary, Part 26

Epipi 10

Dear Diary,

Today I helped out with the animals in the garden. I got the food from the kitchen to feed to the cattle, and I tried to put some fresh straw in their pens (though in the end it was to much work for me, and Oshairana ended up doing it instead.) I then watched as the cattle were herded back into their pens, and slowly began to eat. I mean to teach them some table manners. They were so sloppy! When Mut called me in for lunch, I quickly ate my lentils and pomegranate and ran back outside. Unfortunatly, Awi chose that moment to hurl his lentil as hard as he could at the back of my head, and when Mut asked him to say sorry and pick up the lentil, he said that the lentil had thrown itself at me, not him, and an argument followed that caused me to miss the cattles' lunch. Darn it, Awi!

-Harere

Harere's Diary, Part 25

Epipi 9

Dear Diary,

Today Emuishere and I practiced dancing together today. She likes to wave chrysanthemum chains while she dances, and I like to play the tambourine. We both love to dance. I really like the frisky beats while she enjoys doing cartwheels. We made up a song called ''Funwheel''. It is danced by Emuishere doing countless gymnastics, and Harere singing and playing the tambourine as she sprints around Emuishere, who then proceeds to shower everything with chrysanthemums. It is a very fun dance.

-Harere

Harere's Diary, Part 24

Epipi 8

Dear Diary,

Today Emuishere tried to teach Awi some new words. Remember how he used to say ''pomyganate''? Well, now after Emuishere's ''wise'' teachings, he pronounces it ''pomergainit''. He also now calls Mut ''Mutty'' and Ab ''Add''. I tried to get him to say ''Harere'', but I only got him to say ''Waway'' instead of ''Wewe''. Buikhu tried to get him to say ''Buikhu'', and Emuishere tried him on her name, but now all they get is ''Buckoo'' and ''Shaiwy''. I laughed so hard that I started crying. I laughed so hard that my sides were splitting. ''Waway, why you waghing?'' I couldn't answer I was laughing so hard. Finally, I calmed down enough to ask him his name. With a sudden burst of giggles, he leaped round the room with one long, loud, '' Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!'' Uh-oh. I burst into fits of giggles again.

-Harere

Harere's Diary, Part 23

Epipi 7

Dear Diary,

Today I went out with Banafrit to the market to see if we could find something to get for Nanu, like a blanket or a toy or something like that. We stopped first at the store where they sold handmade quilts and blankets, and sometimes scarves. I purchased a wool blanket with pictures of flowers and fruits, and Banafrit chose to save her coins until she saw something that was very much needed. We next traveled to the toy shop, where I searched and searched for something to please Nanu. Then I remembered Nanu's love for that dusty old rattle at Merit's house, and bought her a more brightly colored nicer new one, and we proceeded on to the next shop. Then we went to the store that sold fruits and vegetables. I longed to buy Nanu a nice juicy pomegranate, but since I'd left the rest of my money at home, I couldn't. However, Banafrit had not spent any of her money yet so she bought the pomegranate and we took it all to Merit's Mut, who thanked us before we left for lunch.

-Harere

Harere's Diary, Part 22

Epipi 6

Dear Diary,

Merit has a new baby sister! They're naming her Nanu. I went over to help out today, and she is so cute! She gurgled at me and grabbed my ear. When it was time for her nap, Merit rocked her and I hummed for her while she sucked contentedly on her homeade quilt. When she awoke, I picked up her rattle from a stool next to the table. She shook it about, and shrieked with joy when it jingled. Merit and I burst into peels of laughter! I'll say it again, Nanu is so cute! Strike that, cute and funny.

-Harere

Definition:

Nanu: Beautiful

Harere's Diary, Part 21

Epipi 5

Dear Diary,

Today Buikhu and I tried to introduct Nomti and Femi to eachother. For all the good it did we might as well have just let the matter be. The second we let go of them they ran/flew at eachother! A fight began. Actually, two fights at once: Femi vs. Nomti, and peace wanting owners vs. war wanting pets. The tussle finally ended with a flying ball of feathers and fur zooming around the room half-airborne. The ''points'' went like this: Buikhu: 2 scored by: running wildly around/ Harere: 2 scored by: screaming loudly/ Femi: 70 scored by: clawing everything with feathers on it/Nomti: 73 scored by: screeching, scratching, and overall wreaking havoc / Mut: 1,000 scored by: threatening to throw out Nomti and Femi's dinners if they didn't stop right now. I hope that NEVER happens again!

-Harere

Harere's Diary, Part 20

Epipi 4

Dear Diary,

Today we went fishing. Nomti, as usual, brought back the best results, but Femi wasn't half bad, either. Akil, the new monkey, kept screeching and pointing the opposite way we wanted to go. We threw out our lines and came out pretty well with a total of 15 trout, 13 salmon, and 20 sardines. The only bad thing that happened the whole time was when Awi screamed " Muh, a whawl got by hook!" He nearly toppled the boat! When Mut and Ab came over to investigate, Awi was shrieking "Muh, whawl gonna eat me! Whawl gonna eat me!", but the thing on his hook was only a salmon. We docked the boat and went home after that. It was hysterical!

-Harere

Harere's Diary, Part 19

Epipi 3

Dear Diary,

Today we spent the morning out in the garden. Sometimes I like to help out with the crops. One of the maids, Oshairana, often shows me how to tend to the corn and the dates that we grow in the garden. I also like to watch the cattle sometimes. I love animals. My favorite is one I call Manu. He's the fastest bull I ever knew. I also like to practice dancing with Emuishere. We both LOVE to dance. Then sometimes we just like to relax and rest a bit in the shade of a pomegranate tree. I must go now. Mut wants my help with Awi.

-Harere

Definition:

Manu: Harbor

Harere's Diary, Part 18

Epipi 2

Dear Diary,

Today I made my own show. It was about the creation story. I got some help from friends, and tied wood to the bottoms of some of my smaller toys, like Ati, to make them look taller. I only hope I'll be able to get it off again before I go to sleep tonight. Everyone was seated in front of the 'stage', a bunch of wooden boxes on which the actors stood. Buikhu was Atum, Ati was Tefnut, and Awi was Shu. The only problem was that Awi kept yelling very un-Shu like things like '' Muh, you shawr yowr pomyganate!'' Okay, so maybe Awi didn't make the best Shu, but everything else went just fine. I hope to do it again sometime.

-Harere

Definitions:

Atum: The first of the Egyptian gods

Tefnut: The Egyptian goddess of mist and moisture

Shu: The Egyptian god of the air

Harere's Diary, Part 17

Epipi 1

Dear Diary,

Today we went to the theater across town. We went to see a play about the story of how Set tricked Osiris into getting into the coffin and everything. It was my first time at the theater, and it was great! The actors were wonderful! Some of the masks were a little weird, though. It was awesome how they had them fly on those strings! I never knew a thread could be so strong. I think I might pretend to make my own show with Ati and my other toys. I could invite Buikhu, Emuishere, Awi, Mut, and Ab to watch it. I hope we go to the theater again sometime soon! It was reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaally fun!

-Harere

Definitions:

Set: the Egyptian god of chaos

Osiris: the Egyptian god of the dead

Harere's Diary, Part 16

Payni 30

Dear Diary,

We went to the market today. The first stop was a little shop somewhere in the middle of the rows and rows of stores, that sold fruits and vegetables. Mut told us we could each pick one of whatever we wanted, so long as we could pay for it. I chose the biggest, juiciest pomegranate I could, Buikhu took a couple grapes, and Emuishere and Awi both chose dates. When Mut had finished buying a large order of carrots and beans, Ab took us all down to buy more papyrus for him to take to work. However, this was a slightly more expensive shop, so I was not able to purchase anything here. I munched on my pomegranate as Buikhu steered the family towards a shop full of the pet shop where he had gotten Nomti, not to buy something, but to let Nomti catch up with his falcon friends who had not yet been sold. However, Ab took a liking to a male baboon, and purchased it for a family pet. He decided to name him Akil. It took some persuasion to tempt Nomti down from the rafter where he had flown, chatting with a brownish falcon about his size. We only managed it by Buikhu announcing loudly that he would be leaving now and half walking out the door that we got him down again. Next, Emuishere got to choose the shop, and unsurprisingly, went for a shop where there were sparkling jewels in the windows, but when she couldn't have one, she settled for a headband. Awi took a ball from a toy shop, and I took a new dress from a clothes shop. It was so much fun!

-Harere

Definition:

Akil: Smart

Harere's Diary, Part 15

Payni 29

Dear Diary,

Today we went hunting. Buikhu brought his falcon, whom he has finally decided to call Nomti. Femi came too. Nomti appears to be a great fisher. When we stopped near a river, Buikhu suddenly realized that he couldn't see Nomti anywhere! Seconds later, Nomti appeared, carrying about 20 or so fish! Femi's nose led us in the direction of an ibis, and we found a herd of gazelles, too. We then brought out our fishing hooks and caught: 7 trout, 27 herrings,(Thank you, Nomti!) and 14 salmon. We had a delicious supper of trout to look forward to as we trudged home with our catches.

-Harere

Definition:

Nomti: Strength

Harere's Diary, Part 14

Payni 28

Dear Diary,

Today Buikhu went to his friend Nebi's house, so I almost had the house to myself. I went out to the yard and made chrysanthemum chains for a bit, wore one to the orchard, and crushed some pomegranates to give Ati a new coat of paint. I then proceeded inside and ran to my room to feed Femi lunch. I played with my top, ball, and wooden cat Ain until evening and Buikhu came home with Ab, and we ate supper together.

-Harere

Definitions:

Nebi: Panther

Ain: Priceless

Harere's Diary, Part 13

Payni 27

Dear Diary,

Nebibit came over today. We played with our dolls, Ati and Khait, tried to get Femi to jump over my bed and into the trout bowl, and ended up having to swat Femi off of my head. We then played 7 games of senet until we got bored, and ran outside. Buikhu was already outside, so we played tag with him. He was it first to be it, so we ran giggling around the yard while he struggled to keep up. We then proceeded inside for lunch. After we finished lunch, we went to the living room and helped Mut get rid of the flies with the fly-whisks for the rest of the afternoon. It was so much fun!

-Harere

Definitions:

Khait: Crowned

Fly-whisk: the ancient Egyptian form of a fly-swatter

Harere's Diary: Part 12

Payni 26

Dear Diary,

The pet show went great. We were third to last to show a pet to the judge. We were right after a gazelle who could run faster than any other I'd ever seen, and we were very nervous. Finally, we went up to the front. The owner of Nafrititi's House of Honeycakes was judging. I brought out the hoop and told Femi, ''All right, it's time." I held back the hoop and crossed my fingers. Femi took a running leap and back flipped through the hoop. We went back and watched the other acts finish, and then the score was announced, and this is how it went.

first: a funny turtle dove

second: Femi!

third: the fast gazelle

It was great!

-Harere