One Christmas Eve

I'm Comet, Santa's reindeer. Santa just saddled me to the sleigh and I'm next to Cupid, as usual. Jingle, an elf, is waving the take-off flag. We push off the icy ground and the sleigh soars high up in the air. I wish Cupid would lose that flea. The first stop is a little house in Finland. Rudolph (you know, that super-shy reindeer at the head of the sleigh) touches down on the roof and Santa slips down the chimney. I hear the tree rustle as he stuffs the stockings with goodies. He did the same in Brazil, Africa, China, and Australia, and many other places as well. At our last stop, where we are bringing a pillow pet, fire truck and squinkie carriage, I smell carrots. When we get back to the workshop at 3:00 a.m., I hungrily devour my share of the scrumptious vegetables. Joy to my stomach, I think as I drift into a deep Christmas sleep.

On "Victoria, Princess Royal and Albert Edward, Prince of Wales" by Thomas Musgrave Joy

In the living room, my baby brother Albert sits with his rattle. I am giving Blackie, our dog, his morning biscuit. Albert can't help because he is only 6 months. My name is Victoria and I am 4 years old. Blackie is 1. He is old for a dog. Albert giggles and shakes his little golden rattle rapidly. There is a ball on the floor. Blackie, after devouring his biscuit, sinks his teeth into it and rolls about. He is so funny.

Snakenstein

Once in Ratopolis, 2 rats named Victor Swissenstein and Henry Gouda finished at Muenster College. At that time, the city was going through the Great Cheesepression (they could not find enough cheese) and Victor decided to help by creating a snake that could reach places rats couldn't. When he was almost finished, he decided that to help it see better he would install a light on the top of its head. He found one and managed to get it on. For one moment, he thought it had worked- but then a spark of electricity flew down from the bulb and sizzled on the snake's head. The snake swelled and hissed a great hiss, and though Victor tried to stop it it slithered out the door of the lab and into the streets of Ratopolis. A giant form of one of ratkind's greatest enemies was loose in the city.

During the weeks that followed, there were many close calls and much damage was done to the city of Ratopolis. No one could think of a way to stop the giant terror and Victor still confided in no one that he had been the monster's creator. Almost a month passed before finally Victor realized he would have to tell someone, and so late one night he and Henry Gouda sat together as he told him the whole story. Henry sat for a long time until he finally told Victor "We need to get rid of the light bulb."

The next morning the plan was ready to be carried out. Victor lured the snake to his lab with an egg, and when they got there Henry was ready with a large jar. Victor tossed in the egg and the snake stuck its head in to grab it but got stuck. It thrashed wildly until finally the light popped off and it became motionless . The light landed in a test tube and inspired the invention of what we call the "flashlight." That was the end of the Great Cheesepression since the cheese miners could then see what they were doing.

The End

On "The Secret Garden"

Title: The Secret Garden

Author: Frances Hodgson Burnett

Main Characters: Mary, Dickon, Colin, Martha, and Ben Weatherstaff

Summary: Mary Lennox's parents die and she is sent to live with her Uncle Craven at Misselthwaite Manor. There she finds out about a garden that no one has entered for 10 years and a robin shows her the key which has been buried. She enters with a boy named Dickon and they help bring the garden back to life. Back at Misselthwaite Manor Mary meets a boy named Colin whom everyone believes will not live and shows him the garden. By the the end of the book, Colin can walk. My favorite part is when Colin stands for the first time.

On Renoir's "Julie Manet with Cat"

In the living room, I sit in a large, comfortable chair with my cat, Ginger, asleep on my lap. It is 12:00 in the afternoon and I have just finished my grilled cheese sandwich. Ginger fell asleep with her face in her milk during lunch, and my brother Pierre yelled across the table when he saw her. We mopped her up and now she's curled up on my white and golden skirt. She's a tabby, and some of her stripes look golden, too. I am thinking about falling asleep. Pierre is apparently thinking about it too, because he is arranging a pillow and blanket and lying down on the sofa across the room. Ginger purrs in her sleep. It sounds like she is having a good dream.

On Manet's "Gare Saint-Lazare"

At the train station, my mother and I wait for our train. We are going to my Aunt Lauren's wedding and I am to be the flower girl! My dress is short-sleeved and light blue with an indigo sash. Our train should arrive at 11:00. It is 10:45. Our dog, Mr. Tiny, yips. Apparently he either does not like the silence or the story in my mother's lap upon which he is sitting. I calm him down with a dog biscuit. My mother sighs. The train should be here in 5 minutes. To keep myself from growing too bored, I try to read over Mother's shoulder but the words are too hard and I give up. Finally, I hear the train's whistle. Time to trail flowers at Aunt Lauren's wedding.

On Catherynne M. Valente's "Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making

Title: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making

Author: Catherynne M. Valente

Main Characters: September, Ell, Saturday, and the Green Wind

Summary: A girl named September is bored with her life, so a Green Wind whisks her off to Fairyland on the Leopard of Little Breezes. Once there, she meets two witches, Hello and Goodbye, and a wairwulf, Manythanks, and goes on a quest to steal Goodbye's spoon back from an evil Marquess. On the way she meets a Wyverary (his parents were a Wyvern and a Library) whom she nicknames Ell, and a Marid named Saturday. They have many adventures. My favorite part is when Ell tells September about how his father was a Library and his mother was widowed by an real estate agent.