Kinard Mythology Anthology Volume III

by Kinard Middle School

Then at once, the stranger spoke again and said to liquid, “how do you feel liquid”

  Liquid replied “fine.”

  Then the stranger spoke again,” you have been summoned by the gods of Olympus to stop this horrible drought, and so I hereby declare you the god of rainfall,” she spoke again. “I am the goddess Hebe now let’s get out of this dreary place and end this drought.“

  And so the drought ended within a few days because of all the rainfall liquid created and that is how rainfall came to be what it is.

  Actions Have Choices

  By: Malia

  A long time ago there was a ruler of all the animals in a small  village, her name was Flora. Flora was a golden retriever and had a beautiful pastel colored flower crown with eyes the color of the sea. All Flora wanted to do was make sure her village had a confident, strong leader. She loved to hunt and lay around in the sunlight all day. She was content and happy.

  Flora lived in an Ancient village in Indonesia, all the animals talked and could freely discuss what they wanted. It was full of busy bustling animals of all types, full of vibrant colors and lots of activities. It sounded like a city, though it wasn’t a city at all. The smells were like nothing else around. Every shop was filled with food and treats for everyone, it really was amazing.

  Meanwhile in her palace, Flora was deciding what to do. She had to ask her mentor,

  “I don’t know Charlie, I want to keep ruling but this village needs something beyond my power.”

  Flora sat on her bed with possession of a book under her paw. “ I think this village needs Lennox…”

  “Flora, you need to do what suits you best,” Charlie stated with sympathy. “Do what your village needs, not what you need.” Flora knew what she needed to do and decided to tell her village.

  “My people, I have something you all need to hear,” Flora watched as her animals murmured among themselves. “I am no longer your ruler, you need some change and something that pushes you to be better citizens every day. I am handing the torch over to Lennox, the white tiger of the community.”

  “This is outrageous!” shouted a lion.

  “Our community needs you!” There was an up roar of shouting as Flora slowly left, she needed to prepare for her ball tomorrow.

  Flora held a ball every year. This was a event you couldn’t experience anywhere else. Flora was very upset and was hoping she would feel better after a night of mingling and drinking. She walked into the ballroom wearing her most valuable flowers and a stylishly groomed coat.

  No one was there.

  There wasn’t a single soul at her ball. No one came. They were all protesting Flora leaving unacceptably.  She was heartbroken.

  Meanwhile, roaming around hoping to get a glimpse of this years ball, Apollo, god of music, watched as Flora slumped back to her room, giant tears slowly rolling down her cheeks. Apollo was maddened because Flora was his favorite, and zoomed straight to Zeus.

  Flora went into her room and stayed there all day. Not coming out to eat or drink at all.

  In Olympus, Apollo spent an hour yelling at Zeus to do something.

  “Zeus this is unacceptable, Flora is my favorite and you're doing nothing!” Apollo was causing earthquakes in nearby lands.

  “Fine, we will send Persephone to escort Flora to Olympus, then we will discuss the matter with her, don’t worry Apollo.” Zeus then sent a message to Persephone to go get Flora and bring her to Olympus.

  “Flora of Indonesia, I am Persephone. I am here to escort you to Mount Olympus. The great Zeus has asked me to. If you are ready we can leave now. It is a dangerous six and a half day walk and will be very dangerous. Let us go.”

  “I am ready. My animals don’t care for me anyway, they will not miss me,” and Flora never looked back as she left.

  They had only gone four  hours when they heard the ground start to rumble. The ground shook and shouting was heard in the distance.

  “It’s okay Flora, it’s probably just an earthquake, nothing to worry about.” Persephone tried to calm Flora but she walked around the path trying to find the source.

  “No, I hear shouting, and it's getting louder…” Flora ran out to see what it was right as a giant stampede of angry animals came straight at her.

  “Flora!” Persephone tried to get her to move. The angry protesting animals toppled her over.

  Once the animals were gone Persephone went to find Flora.

  She found her.

  She was dead.

  Persephone slowly backed away from Flora. The horses in the nearby meadow heard the soft cry of the respondent Persephone. Zeus asked the Mustangs to carry her the 340 miles they had left.

  “Great Zeus, we shall do this deed, as we do not wish to anger you. We will arrive by sundown on the last day.” And The Mustangs slowly approach Persephone. She agreed to journey with them, shaking with fear and anger, and they started off.

  We know before that Apollo was angered by anything bad happening to Flora, but he hadn’t heard this yet, so Persephone was fearing the rest.

  As Zeus commanded all the citizens of Ancient Indonesia to report to Mount Olympus at once, everyone was properly freaked out. Lennox round everyone up, as it was his job as new headmaster.

  For days, they walked and walked and walked. Lennox made animals go find food for him, but wouldn’t let anyone eat, because he was royalty. Many animals died.

  Hundreds.

  When they finally got there, Zeus looked down upon the ungrateful animals. Zeus tried to keep calm, but his anger was raging past the point of breaking. Zeus yelled and screamed for 3 days and 3 nights. His screams carried across the earth and struck lighting to the ground. The earth was sad and the rain carried on for three days and three nights. When he finished screaming,

  Zeus had an acceptable punishment for every animal, innocent or not.

  Zeus returned with a goblet filled with a mysterious golden, fizzy, papaya liquid which was color of the sun on a mild day. It fizzed and bubbled with a strange, yet delightful odor. Every animals passed it around and carefully drank one sip, as Zeus ordered. When every animal big and small had taken the liquid and carefully drank it, their vision became fuzzy and they fell over.

  “ When you all wake up you will only be able to make one sound. Choose wisely.” And with that, he left.

  Apollo slowly followed. “ Sir, what have you done? What shall I do with the horses and poor, dear Persephone?”

  “Apollo, I want you to put the horses in the royal stable, they shall be favored forever. And prepare a feast of my finest cheeses and wine for Persephone, she must be shaken.” Apollo quickly ran to do his task. Zeus needed to punish Lennox, but how? Zeus quickly had to find him before he caused damage to his palace.

  Zeus found him and stuffed him in a tiny, rough, wooden crate with no food or water for 30 days. Then was released to be eaten by the wolves.

  As for Flora, she was crowned man's best friend and would be cherished as the gods are now.

  And no animal could complain about it, for they could not talk.

 

  Cloud Conundrum

  By: Maggie

  A long time ago in a thick wooded forest, there lived a family of three women. Peirce, the mother, had long overgrown gray hair that was once golden brown, blue grey eyes that were soft, and she was tall, her slumped back made the sense of any grace leave her, Phed, the eldest sister, had long dark brown hair, round icy blue eyes, and was tall and graceful. Par was one year younger than Phed and had short dark brown hair, oval shaped icy blue eyes, and was tall and slightly clumsy. Lastly, Glay was the youngest and ultimately the most exquisite as she had perfectly shaped intense gray eyes with gold flecks, and her gaze was soft and loving. Her soft silky golden brown hair fell at her waist in waves,and she was short, skinny, and graceful.

  They lived in a large cottage, well as large as the women could manage to make it, and lead a simple life. They would grow crops and occasionally sell them a
t the market in the town if they needed money to buy something, but that was a long journey, almost three days and Peirce preferred not to take that long journey unless it was necessary.

  Lately, Phed and Par had been complaining about their work around the house, while Glay, the disappointment of the family, did everything around the house but take the clothes inside from drying.

  “I refuse to take the clothes inside,” said Phed, even though there were only four dresses left. “It is hot outside and I don’t want to risk getting a sunburn.”

  Glay rolled her eyes at this. It was a very nice day with a warm sunshine and a cool breeze, not nearly the day that anyone would get a sunburn.

  “Okay, okay,” said Peirce, she turned to Glay and said, “Go get the dresses, me and your sisters want to wear them.”

  “Of course,” Glay replied. She walked outside and grabbed the dresses in an annoyed manner then handed them to her mother without a word.

  Later that evening, Phed and Par began complaining.

  “Mother,” said Par, “I want a husband.”

  “Well there are plenty eligible in the town.”

  “No mother, I don’t want those men, I want a nymph.”

  “If Par gets a nymph then I want one too,” said Phed.

  “But, all the nymphs are taken,” said Peirce in an exasperated tone.

  “Then maybe I will get one myself!” said Phed as she walked away with Par trailing behind her.

  Glay had heard the conversation from the hallway and she knew her sisters were not planning to go to the town and look for suitors, she knew they were up to no good.

  Later that night, after everyone in the house had gone to sleep Phed and Par snuck out to a deeper part of the forest to go take some nymphs for themselves.

  “Are you sure that this is a good idea?” said Par.

  “Not really, but we are going to do it anyway,” replied Phed.

  Par was afraid of what her sister would do if she defied her, so she went along with Phed’s plan.

  After about five minutes, the sister has reached their destination, they had found a small break from the thick trees with a small area of just luscious green grass and a the gentle sound of a river not too far from them. The sisters were amazed at what they saw, there were nymphs all across the grassy area, old, young, and most importantly couples!

  “This is even better than I thought!” exclaimed Phed in a hushed tone.

  “Wow” Par said unheard by her sister.

  Then they began walking around the field of nymphs, deciding which woman had the man of their liking. Par found hers right away; he was muscular with shaggy brown hair and long eyelashes. She studied him intently while Phed continued her search for her dream man.

  “Par,” whispered Phed, “Par, get over here.”

  Par moved from studying the nymph and walked over to Phed. When she got there, Par could tell that Phed had found her man. He was tall and lean with dusty blonde hair.

  “Now that we have our picks we have to get out of here,” said Par

  “No, they are coupled; we have to kill the other,”

  This is the part that Par wished that they didn’t have to do, and Phed didn’t feel any guilt at all. Par handed her sister a knife from the kitchen and watches her take the life of an innocent nymph, then her sister hands the Knife to her.

  “Your turn.”

  Par walked to the woman lying next to her chosen then, just how her sister had done it, she plunged the knife into the back of the woman.

  The next day Peirce went to go talk to the nymphs to see if they had any eligible men to marry her daughters and when she got there she found the nymphs crowded over two women.

  “What has happened here?” asked Pierce as she walked into the crowd of nymphs.

  “Two women have been killed,” said an elder nymph “We fear whoever did this might come and harm us again.”

  “We also have two uncoupled men now,” spoke another “We will have to couple them again which can take a few months.”

  “Well I may have a solution,” said Pierce “My two daughters need husbands and you have two men that need wives.”

  “Thank you for the offer, we will consider it but we cannot confirm anything yet.” spoke the elder.

  “Of course, let me know when you have an answer.”

  The next night the sisters and their mother go to the nymphs again but this time they had a follower. Glay had seen them exit the house and followed to see what her family was up to. She has seen them take a knife out of the kitchen, seen them almost sprint to where the nymphs were sleeping, and then most shocking of all, she saw them kill all the single women. Horrified by what her family had done she ran back to the cottage as fast as she could. As soon as she was in what her mother called a room, a broom closet, and dropped to her knees. She began confessing to the gods what her family had done, she didn’t know if any of the gods had heard her, but she was hopeful.

  Zeus and Poseidon had heard the confession of Glay and decided to create a safe place for the nymphs where Pierce, Phed, and Par couldn’t get to them. They needed something that would continue without the need for them to do it everyday, they decided that water would travel up and create a bed in the sky, and zeus would make sure that they stay afloat.

  “These clouds shall forever be a safe place for the nymphs or anyone in danger,” proclaimed Zeus with his booming voice.

  “Tonight, at sunset, we shall bring the nymphs to the clouds and see how well they do their job,” replied Poseidon.

  At sunset, Phed and Par were preparing to go execute more nymphs but little did they know that Glay’s plea had been heard. They left the house right after sunset and made their way to the opening in the grass where the nymphs lay. When they reached their destination they found a surprise.

  “Where did they go!” yelled Phed as she angrily grabbed her sister.

  “I don’t know!” Par replied.

  “You didn’t want to do this in the first place, you could have hidden them!”

  “No, I promise you I-” but Par’s plea was cut short by Phed’s knife plunging into her sister’s back.    

  Phed made her way back to the cottage without a single pinch of guilt for killing her sister, she was just thinking about what nymphs she was going to kill next. Really, she had forgotten about getting a nymph as her husband, she had been caught up in the idea of killing that she forgot about the purpose of it.

  When she returned to the cottage, she found her mother in the kitchen.

  “Mother?” Phed asked “what are you doing?”

  “Nothing of your concern dear,” replied Pierce “Where is your sister?”

  Phed hadn’t thought about what she was going to say to her family, this had never crossed her mind. Peirce saw the hesitation and was shocked and finally the smell of blood hit her nostrils.

  “She was your sister!” exclaimed Pierce.

  “I had no choice!”

  “You always have a choice! And that choice shouldn’t have been a challenging choice!” Pierce said as she grabbed the knife out of Phed’s soft hands.

  “All the nymphs were gone, I needed to kill her, she took them away them from me!”

  “I can’t believe you; I don’t want to see you!”

  Glay had heard the whole conversation and hoped that at least one of the gods had heard part of it, she wish she could put her family in place.

  Up at mount Olympus the gods were in a quarrel, they were deciding the fate of Pierce’s family.

  “They should be sent to the underworld!” said Poseidon.

  “They should be killed and their souls sent to Tartarus!” exclaimed Zeus.

  “They shall be punished for deeds, a punishment of my choice,” said Hera calmly, breaking the argument between the gods.

  “Hebe,” Hera called “Hebe!”

  “Yes Hera.”

  “I need a favor.”

  Back in the little cottage in the woods Peirce was mourning o
ver the lose of one of her beautiful daughters, and deciding what to do with Phed.

  “Mother!” Phed called “Mother!”

  “What do you want from me Phed!” called Peirce with her voice flooded with sorrow.

   

  “I would like to apologize,” Phed said as she walked into the kitchen with tears in her eyes “I do not know what I was thinking when I took her life I-” Phed stuttered as she choked on a sob “I miss her and I regret my actions and if I could have one thing in my life, I would bring my dear sister Par back.”

  “Thank you my dear,” replied Peirce “Thank you for telling me.”

  Of course after their little conversation was over Phed felt no guilt, she had faked her way into her mother’s heart, and she knew what casualty was going to be her next.

  One day weeks after Par’s death a young women came to the small cottage, she knocked on the door and in about 15 seconds, it opened.

  “Oh,” Peirce said as she opened the door, “I am sorry we don’t normally have visitors, how can I help you?”

  “I seem to be lost I was coming back from the town and thought that this was a shortcut but, I lost my way,” replied the woman.

  “Well, it is almost sunset; why don’t you stay here for the night, we will send you off tomorrow with directions to make it to your home safely.”

  “Thank you so much.”

  Pierce let the woman in and made her tea and sat down with her at the small round wooden table in the kitchen.

  “What is your name?” asked Peirce.

  “Helen,” replied the woman, even though her name was not Helen it was in fact she was Hebe helping Hera decide the fate of the family that was harmed so many.

  “What happens to be your name?” asked Hebe.

  “I am Peirce, and I have three er, two daughters named Phed and Pa- Glay, Phed and Glay.”

  “Lovely” replied the woman “Can I meet them?”

  “Yes, of course. Girls come out here we have a visitor” Glay appeared almost immediately and curtsied to the visitor, Phed appeared about a minute after Glay and said a polite hello to the visitor and stood next to Glay.

  “Girls this is Helen she will be staying the night here” said Peirce then turned to Glay and said “Glay, please start on dinner would you?”

  “Of course,” replied Glay.

  “Wait” objected Hebe “I would like to talk to girl.”

  “Of course, we will have her make dinner soon after.”

  “Well, I was going to have a long talk with her, so I don’t think that you would mind making dinner for your house guest.”

  Pierce was suddenly obedient to the somehow knowing that this stranger was important, so she decided not to upset the woman.

  “Of course, I wouldn’t mind at all”

  Hebe then led Glay into her bedroom and sat in the small wooden chair beside the bed made for a child.

  “Your family does not seem to care for you” said Hebe

  “Not really, they find me undesirable” replied Glay

  “I have heard that your family has done some unforgivable deeds”

  “I have only prayed that information to the gods” and at that moment she realized that the visitor was not a lost stranger but none other than one of the great gods from Mount Olympus, she kneeled beneath the woman as she changed form into her beautiful self.

  “I am Hebe.”

  “I am at the ready to serve you.”

  “Stand up” Glay slowly rose from her knee and looked the goddess in the eye, her gaze was like melting chocolate and even from only looking at her eyes she could tell that the goddess was stunning but she never moved her gaze from the goddess’ eyes.

  “We have decided the fate of your family.”

  “Whatever it has been decided I am okay with.”

  “Your sister, Phed, will be sent to Tartarus and your mother will serve me and my fellow gods on Mount Olympus.”

   

  “What shall I do to serve?”

  “You shall become keeper of the clouds.”

  “Clouds?” Glay asked.

  “I suspect you know that the nymphs had no longer been in the forest.”

  “Yes, I know that.”

  “Zeus and Poseidon had come up with the idea of clouds, to keep the nymphs safe from not only your family but others and we need someone to make sure they stay safe so the gods had appointed you the gatekeeper.”

  “I am honored,” Glay said as she bowed her head.

  They walked out of Glay’s room and Hebe, still in her full glory, walked into the kitchen and followed through with the punishments. Phed has sent to Tartarus and Peirce went to serve the gods. Glay was made goddess of the clouds by Hebe and to this day is still keeping the nymphs and their safe haven secure.

  The Old Man that Turned Into a God that Turns Into an Eagle

  By Squidward tentacles

 

  One day there was an old man named Aetos Dios with long gray hair and brown eyes.

  Aetos Dios said that he wanted to be younger, so he could still protect the village from the enemies which would steal the people's stuff at night when they were sleeping in their wooden beds.

  One morning, one of the younger men appeared in the room asked, “what did you like to do?”

  Aetos Dios said,” I liked to play with the village kids outside, and smell the bread cooking, like I could taste it, but now I can’t because I have to stay in bed all day long.”

  Aetos lived in a run down village that sounds really quiet and smelled like dust or dirt.

  All of a sudden, the old man said, “it is a nice day outside, I think I am going to get up and look outside.”

  The people there were very scared because Aetos could fall or twist his ankle.

  Anxiously, Aetos had thought that he had the strength to get up and he took one step and just froze.

  The people were frightened on why he had just stopped, they said, “sir are you ok?

  Aetos said, “I don’t know, it’s like there was a force field right there that would not let him get out of the room. But you guys can get out of the room?”

  Aetos was really sad because he could not get out of the room. Aetos said, “I wish I was younger and go outside and see the world.”

  Aetos had thoughts on what it would be like to be outside again.

  All of the sudden, he could see a tiny bit of light that shined through the door.

  Suddenly Aetos felt a little happy because he could see a little bit of light. Then he said, ”everyone shh, do you hear that?” Now Aetos was really happy because he could hear birds singing. Aetos said, “Only if I could see the birds.”“I don't feel good,” he added as he shut his eyes.”

  The people there knew it was his time, but they did not want him to go, because he would look out for the people and protect them from danger.

  None of the people knew that there were spies near by, and the spies now knew that Aetos was dead, so they went back to their palace and told their king that Aetos had died. The king said to the spies,”get the army ready for an attack tonight.”

  The spies said, “yes sir.”

  Aetos had not died yet and he said, “go get your army ready just in case the enemies are coming, you have to be ready for everything.”

  The people there were really scared but they did it anyway.

  Aetos said, “I will always be here for you, in the clouds.”

  Aetos felt really happy that the people listened to him, because he turned into an eagle and he watched the battle, where it was really red and a lot of people dead on the ground.

  Aetos turned into a God, then he turned into a giant eagle that tells whether people will go to heaven or the underworld.

  When Aetos was watching the battle, and saw something different about the people that were fighting, they were trying really hard.

  Aetos thought, “Am I dreaming or am I really seeing this?”

  Exceptionally, the people from the vil
lage won the battle and were really happy. Then, after the battle, a lot of people were praying about Aetos and thanking him for the help, even though he had not helped them. They did it by themselves.

  Superhumans…?

  By Shae Kramer

  Before the year 2000, people imagined superhumans, or heroes, and dreamed about having people in this world that could really be like that. On a night filled with noise, when everyone was having a great Saturday, their dreams came true, even though it was quit how they imagined . Carly Farthen, an orphan with short, dirty blonde hair, hazel eyes, and two  friends, would be that hero at 14 years old.

  At the orphanage, on a muddy and gloomy street, all that was heard was the faint echo of honking cars and faint laughs and screams.

  In Toronto, Hebe was watching from above, and took pity on all the young orphans that populated the city. At that moment, she was watching Carly and her two friends, Red and Jake, and then and there, she decided that those three deserved a better chance.

  Hebe asked Zeus, the god of all gods, if she could help those three, by turning them into gods and a goddess.

  “Father?” she questioned, “I’m about to help some orphans, because I take pity on them right now. There will be two more Gods and one more Goddess.”

  “Show me,” he declared rigorously.

  Hebe stated the 3 names and why she wanted to help, but Zeus wasn’t sold.

  “I can’t accept the fact that you’re going to turn orphans that haven’t benefitted the world at all into the most superior people in the universe.”

  “But they’re innocent and-”

  “I understand that, but just leave them be, their lives are perfectly fine.”

  Hebe told herself she needed to accept the fact that she couldn’t help everyone. But she had this urge.... She told herself over and over the punishments that Zeus would inflict on her, but her mind kept wandering to those three, innocent, young, orphans.

  Finally, she decided that she would call these people ‘superheroes’. After a long time debating with herself, she decided that it was time that she pushed over the limits, and made three humans into things she hoped could do good for the world.

  Hebe went back to her watching place, and looked for the future supernaturals.

  “And… there they are!”, said Hebe, spotting Carly and her friends in a matter of seconds.

  “I need to… disguise myself? Or do I just go in as a goddess?” she questioned herself, wrinkling her nose at the musty smell of the street.

  Coming to the conclusion that a disguise would be necessary, she transformed herself into a young adult, with short black hair and green eyes.

  “Here I go, insulting Zeus,” she said as she walked onto the surface of an alleyway in Toronto, “Wish me luck.”

  After walking around the city for a total of four minutes, she tracked down the future superheroes, and observed them until they saw her and stood still, petrified.

  “Hello?”

  “Who are you?”

  “Why are you here?”

  Questions repeatability got thrown Hebes way, with no sign of stopping.

  “What do you want?”

  “Are you interested in adopting a 13 year old today?”

  “If not-”

  “No thank you, but you have to come with me quickly please,” Hebe said, cutting them off, and causing a silence that echoed off the walls.

  “And why would you ever expect us to do that?” Red stated boldly.

  “Do you want to be a god?”

  “Uh-”

  “Nevermind, you clearly aren’t good enough for all the tasks.”

  Hebe walked away, into a small unoccupied apartment building, and the 3 children followed, not even knowing the danger that was coming their way in the near future.

  The next day, there was three unfamiliar immortals, known as superheroes. Carly Farthen, Red Marten, and Jake Helio were still humans, but superior to everyone else.

  “Okay, first lesson, never let anyone innocent die. Let the bad guy escape if it means someone else that doesn’t have to die being saved,” Hebe said strictly.

  “Sure, that’s fine,” Jake said, “When can we leave and save the world though?”

  “When we’re done here.”

  “Boring,” mouthed Red to Jake.

  “Guys, come on, this is kind of serious, if we let anyone die, we’re going to be hated worldwide,” Carly said, concerned.

  “True,” Hebe shouted, clearly annoyed.

  Jake  had had enough, they walked out, back to the orphanage, not caring what people would think. They thought everyone would love them, boy were they wrong.

  The next day, there was chaos in the streets, riots started, and people started knocking on the doors of the orphanage.

  “YOU THINK YOU’RE BETTER THAN US? COME OUT AND SEE!” they chanted.

  Slowly, orphans filed out the doors, unaware and frightened of what was going on. Jake happened to be the only one of the superhumans living in the orphanage at the time, and froze, paralyzed that this might be his last day. His best chance would be an escape, so he got on hands and knees, and crawled alongside the other's, heart beating in his chest, as if it wanted to escape.

  “Ah. Who's this?” said someone in the crowd, and picked up Jake by his shirt, “Are you the one?”

  “Staying silent, huh?” said another.

  “Kill him. Right now. He’s a danger to society.”

  The last words Jake said before his friends realized he was goner, was a pathetic, “sorry.”

  “He deserved it,” said Hebe, as the friends watched, open-mouthed, and Carly was tearing up.

  “Wha-t?!” said Carly through tears.

  “Why- why didn’t you save him! You’re a godess, what the heck!” Red screamed.

  “If he had just listened to me, he might have lived. Poor him,” Hebe said sarcastically.

  Twenty-four long hours later, the riot had lost size, and people were starting to give up and go home. It wasn’t long before Hebe started feeling bad for the young “superhumans”, and decided to attempt to comfort them in any possible was she could.

  “The riots have calmed down now. They might still be looking for you 2, but I guess you guys will be fine if you stay here, unlike what your friend did.”

  “Wow, thanks so much for bringing it up again.”

  “Your welcome, Red.”

  “Guys come look at this! Hurry!”

  Rushing over to the TV, with the click of a button, the news was on.

  “There's a murderer that's going around and hurting or killing people,” Carly said, imitating the reporter's voice.

  “I guess it's time,” Hebe said.

  “Time for what?” Red and Carly said at the same time.

  “For you to go and prove yourselves worthy,” Hebe started, but they were already out the door.

  Red and Carly caught the murderer, tied his hands behind his back, and took his weapons, before they realized that everyone was watching in awe.

  Meanwhile, Zeus, in the form of an old man, came up behind Hebe and whispered, “I’m disappointed, but I’m going to try not to punish you severely,” even though Hebe didn’t hear a word, for everyone was excited that the killing would be stopped in its tracks.

  “We did it, and they love us!” said Red enthusiastically.

  “The only thing that matters is that we probably saved a life, Red.”

  “True,” he replied, screaming over the wave of noise known as a crowd.

  They had a feast at the end, for Jake and his sacrifice, and ate the most delicious food that someone could offer.

  And that's how your favorite superheroes came to be who they are now. You know, Captain America, Batman, Superman, etc., though they’re not always believed in. They came from that one turn of events, and even though Hebe is now making less and less superhumans, they will continue to be role-models and inspirations for people all over the world, and the blue mo
on, once a year, is a gift from Hebe to Jake.

  Helios Redemption

  By Devin Lester

     

  Helios was a titan, he was tall and stunning, but he was no use to the High Council. He only wanted to be useful to his fellow gods, and every time he tried to help he was punished. The pain of being rejected was all he felt for most of his days.

  Truly, Helios lived on Mount Olympus, It was so beautiful more beautiful than Aphrodite and it smelled like fresh roses. He lived on the edge of Mount Olympus. He only dreamed of being on the high council of all the great gods and goddesses.

  Meanwhile, during a meeting with the council, they were discussing how to start a civilization.

  “They will all freeze on Earth!” Zeus yelled.

  “Then what do you propose we do?” Athena complained, “we have no light source.”

  “There's one person,” Zeus said, “Helios.”

  Helios was just walking around Mount Olympus till he got a message from Hermes,

  “Sorry to bother you, this a message from the Gods it's very important, I suggest you read it now,” said Herme,s in a serious tone.

  Helios opened the letter it said, “come to the council tomorrow right when you awake.”

  “This better not be a joke.” moaned Helios. But Helios believed the Gods so he stormed to bed.

  The next day he bolted out of his bed and ran like a gazelle to the high council once he arrived all the gods were arguing whether he was capable to do this job until.

  “Oh, we did not see you there.” Zeus said to break the conversation amongst the gods.

  “Why did you summon me?” Helios said, “did you summon me so you can pick on me and punish me.”

  “No!” Zeus shouted, “Helios we need you.”

  “And what for.” replied Helios.

  “We need you to give Earth light.” Athena said.

  Helios was thinking for a long time then he decided that he would do it at a price. Helios finally

  spoke, “I will help you but in three conditions.” Helios said.

  “NO!”  Zeus yelled at the top of his lungs, “get out of my sight.”

  Helios did not care for the gods anymore. It would now be very hard to get him to help the Gods. Up in the High Council, Zeus was furious so he summoned the goddess of revenge, Nemesis, and she came as fast as she could.

  “ I want revenge on Helios for refusing my orders.”

  “You have my word all mighty Zeus.” Nemesis answered.

  Helios was wandering about on Mount Olympus. Nemesis grabbed a arrow and poisoned the long arrow, she placed the arrow on a small bow then pulled back and released. Helios did not realize it until further on that day because he tried to use his powers, but they were gone so he was worthless in everything, he was just a mortal.

  Athena did not approve of what Zeus did to Helios, so she wanted to help Helios. So she looked for Hebe. Athena took a glimpse of her surroundings then she saw Hebe in a cave, creating a God. Athena called to Hebe for help.

  “Hebe!” Athena cried out.

  “What is it, Athena?” Hebe said.

  “I need you,” Athena, “will you give back Helios’s powers.”

  “No!” Hebe shouted, “I can't go against my father.”

  So, Athena left and went out of sight from Hebe then she turned invisible and decided to go back and steal the cup. When she did, she went to Helios only to find him dead so she spoke to Hades to bring him back. Hades agreed to release his soul if Athena feasted with him and all she had to do was one thing, so she did and it was a cranberry it tasted like underworld itself. Once Helios’s sole was released he was given his powers back by Athena. Once Helios awoke, he was furious, so he ran up to Mount Olympus.

  “Where are you, Zeus!” Helios demanded, “I’ve come here to punish you this time.”

  “Then let's fight,” Helios replied.

  “I won't fail to succeed like my fellow titans,” Helios finished.

  “We’ll see about that,” Zeus said with a grin.

  Zeus had the first strike on Helios, then Helios took the fight in the air, punch after punch no one had the upper hand. Until helios beamed him with the power of the sun.

  “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh,” Zeus shouted.

  “You win,” Zeus said.

  “I will help you now I will create the sun, goodbye Zeus,” Helios said then he vanished in the whistling wind.

  Journey to the Center of the Earth

  By Ava

  A long time ago, dinosaurs, mammoths, saber tooth tigers and dodo birds became extinct, but where did they go? Did they just rot on the surface of the Earth? No, these extinct animals were brought to the center of the Earth to live another life full of fun parties.

  One day, Dobby, King of the Extinct, went up to the surface of Earth to gather some of the last species of dinosaurs. Only this time, he forgot a very needed object, his key.

  “Oh no! How will I ever get back to Winky and my home?” Dobby squealed.

  Dobby tried his best to contact the Queen, Winky, but because of the soundproof gate, he failed.

  Dobby set up a small campground, made of sticks and a leafy bed, and the mourning King attempted to think of a plan to get back when suddenly, a t-rex reached down and grabbed him.

  “AAAAAAH!!!!”

  His scream echoed through the land as he was carried away to an unknown forest.

  Dobby woke with a start the next day as Pterodactyls screeched in the wind. He got up and walked around after his eyes adjusted to the bright sun, and found out he was in a dinosaur nest. Although Dobby might have been in a lot of trouble, he had an idea.

  Dobby had a plan that was as stupid as scuba diving without oxygen. His plan was to recruit a bunch of animals to bust down the gate. If this idea worked, he would have so many more extinct animals in his home, and he would be safe!

  Dobby began to ask animals for their help. So far, 7 species had agreed. By the end of the week, over 40 species of endangered animals and dinosaurs would go on with Dobby’s plan.

  They started walking to the gate to the Center of the Earth. Occasionally, they needed to stop for food and water because the animals started to complain, and Dobby couldn’t have them quit on him. The food and water was always refreshing after a long period of walking.

  After about two weeks, the herd comprehensively arrived at the gate. Tired, hungry and thirsty, the group needed a day of rest. Dobby was hesitant at first, but finally agreed to rest.

  Winky was pacing back and forth in her room while breathing very heavily. She had not eaten in two weeks, even though the food prepared smelled amazing, and she had gotten very little sleep.

  Dobby woke all the animals and assembled them in a line with tall animals in the back, short animals in the front.

  “Ok, on three, pound on the gate as hard as you possibly can!” Dobby announced reluctantly.

  “ONE, TWO, THREE!”

  The crashes and bangs from the animals were as loud as a volcano erupting. The Argentinosaurus, with its long neck and big feet, could reach higher areas on the gate while the short Theropod could weaken the bottom of the giant gate.

  Another seven days passed, and some of Dobby’s group gave up and left, leaving him hopeless. But the remaining species hadn’t given up. Each day, they continued to hammer on the gate.

  One day, a small hole smashed through the door. Now Dobby had hope.

  “Hurry! Let's get some sticks, claws and beaks to make this hole bigger!” Instructed Dobby.

  So, the animals gathered sticks and the Pterodactyls with their huge beaks came together to gnaw on the hole. The tiny hole was gradually getting bigger and bigger to where the Pterodactyls had to fly to reach the edges.

  Finally, the walls gave away and the gate crumbled before their eyes to show the gorgeous cave of the Center of the Earth. Dobby signaled for the endangered animals to follow him. They walked through the long corridors of rock while Dobby planned a party
in his mind.

  “Welcome to the Land of Extinct!” Dobby expressed.

  When Winky saw Dobby, she burst into tears and ran over to hug him.

  “I was so worried about you!” Winky complained.

  “I forgot my key and had to find a way back. We are going to need another door by the way.” Dobby explained.

  It was time to party! The party they held had lights, balloons, disco balls, music and LOTS of extinct animals. This was the life to live.

  How Dragons Were Created      

  By Ichiro Yamamoto

  Long ago, in Wyrmroost lived two wizards.

  One wizard was named Charolais. Charolas was average height, strong body, yet slender, short blond hair, and with ice colored eyes. He most desired to be the most powerful person in the world.

  The other wizard was named Bracken who was tall, also strong body, yet slender, short dark brown hair, and green eyes like grass. He wanted the world to be peaceful, but he also wanted to be the ruler.

  Charolais had a stone castle that was bright throughout the day, but at night it was dark and spooky. He also had a dungeon called the hall of dread that held horrible magic creatures.

  Bracken’s stone castle was nice and comfortable even at night it was well lit. He also had a place called the magic dungeon which held bad magical creatures that should not have been created.    

  Wyrmroost was a beautiful place with streams, ponds, lakes, and mystical creatures, but they did not have unicorns or dragons.

 

  One day, Charolais was reading in one of his spell books. In the text, it offered the the steps on how to make dragons, but the very last step  said you had to have another wizard because one wizard did not have enough power. So, Charolas thought of only one person, Bracken. But Bracken was also reading a spellbook and it show him how to make a unicorn.

  On a crisp early morning Charolais headed to Bracken stone castle.  

  “Bracke,” yelled Charolais.

  “What do you want?” said Bracken in an impatient tone.

  “I need your help,” replied Charolais.

  “What for?” said Bracken.

  “I need to combine my magic with yours to make a dragon,” replied Charolais.

  “Mmm said Bracken. Maybe I want to make something else?”

  “Like what?” said Charolais.

  “Oh, maybe a unicorn,” replied Bracken.

  “What! Are you nuts?” yelled Charolais .

  “No. replied Bracken in a calm voice. I think unicorns are better.”

  “Well they are not,” yelled Charolais.

  “Well if you don’t help me make a unicorn I won’t help you make a dragon,” threaten Bracken.

  Charolais was so enraged that Bracken did not want to help him and on top of that Bracken wanted to make a useless  unicorn that would just waste some of his magic. So, Charolais spun on his heels and stomped out of the hall. When he was outside, he came up with a clever idea.  

  It was pitch black outside like a curtain of night when Charolais snuck out into the cold crisp air. He made his way towards  Brackens castle and started to climb the smooth hard rock and into Bracken’s bed chamber. When he got into the room, he found Bracken sound asleep his body was rising and falling steadily. He walked over very carefully but the hardwood floor creaked under his weight. Suddenly Bracken was on his feet like a lightning bolt. Charolais froze.

  “What are you doing?” said Bracken with surprised.

  “I’m oh…” Charolais Was frozen with shock I could not speak.

  “Well?” said Bracken impatiently.

  Recovering from his shock Charolais said “I was here to ask you a question.”

  Looking uncertain Bracken said, “what is it?”

  “Can I borrow your book on how to make a unicorn?” I said.

  “What for?” said Bracken .

  “I want to help you make a unicorn but I need to see how much power I need to put into it and what type of spells it needs,” I replied uncertainly.

  “Oh. okay give me a second.” he said as he tiptoed over to a shelf and picked up a large dusty book.

  Then he said, “take care of this and protect it with your life.”

  “All right,” I said and with that I walked out of his room and down the bright stairwell.

  The next morning, Bracken woke up with a start and climbed out of his bed. When his bare feet touch the cold wood floor, he juked them right up. He looked around his room to find his book missing when he realized that Charolais came in the middle of the night and asked if he could take it. But for some reason I still felt suspicious on how he had come in his room in the middle of the night and asked for the book. Then I realized he said he was going to help me make a unicorn. At that I jumped out of my bad and got dressed into a black toga and ran down my stairs and to Charles's castle. When I got there, I found him in his great hall eating a huge breakfast that smelled delicious. As I ran to him, he offered me a seat and then gave me a pancakes and sausages which was a absolutely delicious  

  Then, Charolais said, “what can I do for you?”

  “I came here to help you make the unicorn,” I replied.

  “Oh yes I forgot about that,” he said.

  “Well then since I reminded you, I think we should get to work then after you're done eating,” I said.

  “Well said Charolais there is a slight problem.”

  “What is it?” I said .

  “Well I can’t find the book but I put in the most protected spot in my whole castle,” he said a little uneasy.

  “What I yelled are you crazy or something?” that book was the only book I know that can make a unicorn.

  “Well since I can not find it I guess we can make a dragon,” said Charolais.

  “I will not help you,” said Bracken.

  “I will do anything,” pleaded Charolais.  

  “Okay here is my proposal. I will help you if you can bet me in a battle, but if I win you help me make a unicorn,” I said.

  “Very well,” said Charolais.  

  It has been five days since Charolais lost the book of “Magic Creature Spell Book” and Bracken was getting ready to battle Charolais to see what creature they were going to make a unicorn or a dragon. Bracken was dressed in a jet black robe and his hair was combed. He was standing in a arna facing Charolais who was dressed in a blue robe with his hair combed as well.

  Then Charolais yelled “let the battle begin.”

  With that, Charolais flashed a bright light right at Bracken. But Bracken flashed his own  bright magic of his own at Charolais, that collided with Charolais magic. As the battle went on, Bracken and Charolais started to tire and they became clumsy with their magic. All of a sudden, Bracken stumbled and fell onto the hard stone ground. Bracken groaned with pain and attempted to get up but he just fell again.

  Charolais walked over and said, “will you surrender or do I have to kill you you?”

  With great effort Bracken replied, “I will never surrender to you.”

  “So be it,” he said and with that he mumbled a word and Bracken went still.     

  It had been ten days since Charolais won the battle and killed Bracken. Charolais had stripped all the power from Bracken before he killed him. Now since he had all the power he needed  Charolais started to chant and then all of a sudden there was a blinding light, Charolais covered his eyes with his hands. When the light was gone, Charolais put down his hands to see a huge dragon. The dragon was jet black, huge black claws, huge white teeth, its eyes were a the color of gold, it had huge scales on smooth thick armor for skin, and its tail had a pointy end.

  Charolais said, “oh my…”

  Charolais said, “is it okay if I call you Alexander the dragon?”

  In a low voice it said, “I like Alexand the dragon.”

  “Great.” said Charolais like an excited kid.

  “Do you want to go outside to what you can do?” said Charolais.


  “Sure,” said Alexander.

  Fifteen days have passed since Charolais made a dragon named Alexander the dragon or Alexander. Alexander was able to fly  300 mile per hour and he could breathe fire. Outside was Charolais who was teaching Alexander how to turn into a human form.

  “Come on,” said Charolais.  

  “I can’t get enough power to become a human,” said Alexander frustrated.

  “Well channel your power with your mind and then imagine yourself as a human,” said Charolais.

  With that, there was a bright flash and there stood a human. The human was a he, he had short brown hair, he was tall, slender, and brown eyes.

  “Well, I have to say I am impressed on how good you look for your first try,” said Charolais.

  “I am do like this form,” said Alexander.

  “All right,” said Charolais.”

  Charolais found out that when a dragon is in human form that he or she are wizards or witches. He now knew that if Alexander found out he would kill him to become the most powerful person in the world.           

  How the Chariot was Made

  By Zgorthnor Ziedins

  A long time ago in ancient Greece atop Mount Olympus, the gods sat as Helios pleaded his case.With the sun atop his head like a glowing wreath and golden robes billowing in the wind, he spoke.

  “The mortals want me to travel across the sky faster, but it is impossible, for I am on foot and cannot move fast enough!” said Helios, his voice booming in the empty hall, clenching his fists in anger, turning the amber skin on his knuckles white and ambulating across the floor of the sanctuary. “I need a faster way to move across the sky!”

  Zeus, perceiving Helios’ anger, prorated up in fear that there would be a fight. “If that is what the mortals need then it is what they shall get. I will parley the two best inventors in all of Greece, Charioutus and Saddlus, to make a way to transport you across the sky.”

  Zeus then sent Athena down from the mountain on which they sat, to find Charioutus and Saddlus.

  When Athena found the young men, she told them of their deed and gave them the strongest metals, brightest golds, silkiest silks and the best polished wood. This encouraged them to build whatever they could imagine.

  For weeks and weeks, the two young inventors worked and worked, thinking of something new and then building it the following day. Never sleeping or eating, Charioutus and Saddlus worked day and night.

  As the weeks blended together and the two inventors lost track of time, Helios was getting more and more impatient.

  “Where is my transportation!” shouted Helios, seething with anger.

  “Calm down Helios,” said Dionysus smoothly, although he was worried Helios would come to blows, “Have some of our delicious wine.”

  “I don’t want your WINE!” yelled Helios, backhanding the wine and sending it flying across the temple, where it shattered with a cacophonous crash on one of the far pillars, “I want transportation!”

  As the days wore on, Charioutus and Saddlus kept inventing and improving. However after almost a year Charioutus had not come up with and idea. With his hands clenched and his muscles rippling, he slammed his fists against the table in front of him in frustration.

  Then looking out the window at the Greek men in the fields an idea came to him. He would build a chair with wheels, pulled by horses.

  Meanwhile, Saddlus was having the same problem, he could not think of a way of transportation fit for a god. Then he saw the horses, and the Greek soldiers riding them, without any form of seat, and soon came up with an idea. He would build a chair that sits on a horse, so you could subsequently ride a horse comfortably.

  Helios, being more impatient than ever, sent Athena down to check each inventors progress.

  Even as Athena came down from her seat on Mount Olympus, the inventors started drawing and erasing and ripping up the paper until they were essentially buried in shredded paper.

  Then Athena saw their vigor and sent word to Helios that they were making tremendous progress.

  The inventors began gathering materials. The found the strongest leathers, the softest silks, the most glittery gold, and the best bull-whips.

  Charioutus worked and worked, fitting the wheels carving the boards and the framework of his elegant vehicle.

  Saddlus, not far behind in the making of his saddle and reins, worked and worked sewing and inlaying and drying the leather.

  Then after two more agonizing, sleepless weeks, the inventors finished their crafts. Each craft was nearly complete and extremely ostentatious.

  The chariot, as Charioutus called it, was a beautiful craft, inlayed with golds that sparkled in the sun, reds and yellows that glowed, its two golden wheels, and the seats that were made of the finest silks, so that Helios felt as if he was sitting on air.

  But then there was the saddle. It was made of leather and had comfortable footrests so that you could sit on it and take it easy, and there was silk so that you felt as if you were sitting on air and riding on the wind.

  Helios and the other gods were impressed although some did not show it.

  Then came the moment, “Helios, the time has come for you to test these elegant crafts.” said Zeus, looking back and forth between the two inventors, still wondering which had a better chance.

  Helios sat on the saddle clearly enjoying it, and although they did not show it the inventors were on edge, and still wondering what would happen to the loser in this contest of crafts.

  Helios rode a sun-horse he had created himself across the pavilion, the sun on his head glowing brightly, his golden robes flowing in the wind he came back, clearly enjoying the ride.

  After riding the saddle and enjoying it, Charioutus was afraid that his chariot would lose. But as soon as Helios sat on the cushioned seat of the elegant chariot his face glowed even brighter and taking the golden bullwhip, he rode his sun chariot across the sky.

  The other gods envying Helios’ chariot, begged for one for themselves. After several years, each god had their own customized chariot, Zeus with a whip of lightning, Poseidon pulled by seahorses, Athena with a marble and gold frame, and Hera with wheels of gold.

  How Vegetables Were Made

  By Makena

   

  Everyone tells different stories about how vegetables were made, but here is the real way. One sunny morning out by a pond, a very clear, blue, and, pretty pond. Most ponds have green water and are  so smelly it  make you want to throw up, but this water was clean. There was  a filter that went into the pond so the water could  stay clean. There were lots of kids playing, people talking, dogs running,  and kids jumping into the pond. Later in the day, it started raining so everyone went inside.

  After everyone was gone, something strange started to happen. Something started coming out of the pond. It was green and had long, spiky hair that stood out from everything else. It had something that looked like little nobs. Then,more of them came, spreading out of the pond. There were lots and lots of them; all green, yellow, orange, red and all different shapes and sizes.  Whenever people were around, the things in the pond stopped growing, but the people knew that there was something growing in the pond , but they didn’t know what it was.hey tried to get in the pond, but when they did,everything just came together so they couldn’t see anything.

  They needed to figure out what it was, but they had no way to, so they decided to just sit and wait to see if anything would. After one hour still, nothing had happened. This was a weird thing to do, but one of the parents went out by the pond and sang different songs to the things in the pond to see if they would come out and grow some more.

  After 45 minutes, they had still not come out, so she went back inside.  Everyone stayed inside for the rest of the day but the parents kept a close eye on the pond. Whenever anyone looked, they stopped but when no one  looked then they would grow. So they stopped looking for the rest of the night.

  One of the families ha
d cameras so they could see around the outside of their house. That was how they were seeing if anything was happening, and they found it was it was GROWING; maybe a little too much. It was growing really fast.

  The next day, it was another sunny day, so everyone decided that it would be ok to play  outside by the pond, but they didn’t look outside before they ran to play .When the parents saw what had happened, everyone started screaming.

  “What happened, a mother screamed, it’s going to eat our children!”

  “Help, they screamed.”

  “The parents were very scared.”

 

  A monster was climbing out of the pond and everyone ran back away from the pond.

  One woman with long green hair,  green eyes and a green body came out from behind everyone. She  was  very  pretty. Even though she was all green, she went up to the monster and grabbed it by the head and pulled with all of her might. It’s head popped off. She walked away with this monster's head in her hands.

  Everyone had their eyes as wide as an owl and their gaws dropped to the ground .

  There were no more creepy  monsters or anything coming out of the pond. All the parents got together and were whispering about what had just happened, but the kids had no idea of what had just happened, so they were playing  like they had always done. Nothing was different for them. It was still a sunny day, and they were outside, so no big deal for them, but on the other hand the parents still had their gaws down to their ankles.

  They figured out that you could eat that monster that was just in the water. They weren't quite sure if they wanted to eat it but they all tried it. They did research, and they found that eating it is actually really good for you. When they went to the store, it was by the fruits. They all bought it and put it in almost all of their dinners and lunches not so much their breakfast.

  One day, they put it in the blender with fruit and some juice it turned into a green smoothie. It was so good that they had one for breakfast almost everyday. Everyone started calling it a vegetable.  

  Now there this thing called a vegetable that people put in a lot of their meals, and it is really good for you to eat, but a lot of kids don’t like it because most of the vegetables are green. Most kid’s brains think, “ it is green so I am not going to eat it,” and a lot of parents get frustrated because kids won’t eat their veggies. They want their kids to be healthy, and maybe someday we can come up with a way to have it still be a veggie but have it be a different color so kids will eat it and be healthy.  

  Why There Are Butterflies In The Sky

  By Scarlett

  A long time ago in the middle of the sea on a secluded island, there lived two girls named Amelia and Jane. Amelia had soft, golden hair and bright green eyes and was generally outgoing and adventurous while Jane had dark brown hair, almost black but not quite, and calm, blue eyes just like the ocean.

  This hidden island was covered in thriving trees and magical beaches. These girls were Poseidon's children, the god of the seas.

  The thing these girls enjoyed doing most was playing with the little caterpillars and hoping they would turn to butterflies.

  Instantly, a clouds formed over the gorgeous hills. Hail came thrashing down onto the girls and although the held on to each other tightly, it was not tight enough. A giant tree broke loose from its roots and almost fell onto Amelia and Jane. Even though the tree caused no harm, it separated the girls. A giant wave came up the sandy beach and swept Amelia off of her feet and into the chilling, salty sea.

  Abruptly, the waves calmed and the clouds disappeared.

  Jane was torn. Her heart sank deep into her ribs. A tiny tear slowly trickled down her cheek, followed by a river of salty tears. She couldn’t believe what just happened.

  Amelia was Jane’s sister, as well as her best friend. But now, Amelia was gone.

  In the middle of the turquoise ocean, Amelia clutched onto a piece of driftwood, while her face being the only thing out of the water. Amelia didn’t even know what hit her, but she was scared and hungry. She had been floating on the water for a day and was praying for help. Because her father was Poseidon, she had no chance of anything or anyone hurting her in the wild sea.

  Unexpectedly, Amelia felt a suction. She was soon being dragged through the deep sea in an air bubble. Although it was cool to see the underwater life, Amelia was scared out of her little beach dress.

  Soon, Amelia was entering the underworld, the house of Hades. She first saw Persephone, queen of the underworld, who help her out of the traveling device. Amelia wore a puzzled face.

  “Who are you?” she muttered quietly. “I thought…”

  “Do not worry, young child. You are in the underworld, but no harm will come to you, that’s a promise.” Persephone soothed the young girl and soon, Amelia felt like it was home.

  Every day for months and months, Amelia hoped to find her way back up to the beach to find her loving father and sister waiting.

  Although Amelia wasn’t positive, Jane felt the exact same way. After all, Jane didn’t know that Amelia was still alive, but she somehow felt her presence all of the time.

  While Amelia was gone, Jane would sit under a tall palm tree with a great view of the sea, and think. She would stay there all day. Poseidon wouldn’t bother disrupting her because of her deep sorrow also.

  Amelia was starving, thirsty, and cold all of the days she spent in the underworld. One day around lunchtime, she just wanted to eat. She curved around the bodies that laid still on the ground, zig-zagged through the rivers of blood, and finally made it to the kitchen of the underworld.

  The fabulous room was filled with thousands of baked goods, fruits, drinks, desserts, and a chocolate fountain. Amelia gazed into the kitchen as her mouth drooled from hunger.

  As she put together a giant sandwich, a magical nymph ran into the room and quickly told Amelia not to eat the food.

  “Do not eat that sandwich! Or you will never see you family again!” screamed the nymph. She was wearing a gorgeous gown and golden sandals. Her hair was long and dark, with flowers sprinkled on top. From a distance, anyone could see her eyes, the brightest blue on the phase of the earth.

  “Why? I am very hungry!”

  “Quickly, I will answer your question later, we must not get anxious. You can eat when we get to the surface of the earth,” whispered the nymph, who was well known as Tiffany.

  Amelia and Tiffany sprinted through the undergrounds in search for an exit.

  “Where are we going?” Amelia asked.

  “Back to your family, where you belong, and, by the way, you have too many questions!” Tiffany replied. It took them two days to find the exit, but when they did, celebration was in the air.

  They soared through the crust of the earth and soon, saw the broad daylight before them. Briskly, farther and farther away from the underworld the wind took them, but closer and closer to Amelia’s family.

  As they passed Mount Olympus, Zeus, Athena, and Hermes waved and cheered as the young girl and lady flew by. Zeus commanded the forces of nature not interfere because he wanted Amelia to get home without a scratch. The sky cleared and the rays of the sun paved the path toward the sunny, calm beach where Amelia spent her days before the storm.

  “You...are...almost...” Tiffany lost her breath. Her lungs and soul glided right out of her, as if they had grown their own wings alike the Tiffany’s.

  Amelia was horrified! As the sweet nymph fell to the grass just miles away from the island, Amelia cried mixed tears of sadness and joy. Amelia couldn’t had been more thankful for Tiffany’s actions to get her home urgently.

  Immediately after, Amelia was positive that Tiffany was dead, sparkles started to encircle Amelia. Soon enough, she wasn’t on the ground anymore, but in the air. Now, Amelia was the happiest and most excited person alive.

  After an hour, she taught herself how to move in the air. Then, she was already halfway home, in fact, she could see her beloved isla
nd! Amelia was moving fast and was so eager to see her family again.

  She was on her land. Her heart racing. Then, she saw Jane.

  “Amelia? Is that you?” Jane exclaimed.

  “Yes, yes it is! Jane, I have missed you so very much!”

  “Wait,” Jane gasped, “you can fly?” Because of this question, Amelia was even more thrilled to be home. Shortly, Jane new all about her sister’s unplanned trip.

  That night, as the two sisters lay beneath the light of the stars, They noticed little colorful dots flying around. Jane and Amelia found out that the dots were the caterpillars that the girls have always dreamt of seeing!

  Following that, Poseidon showed up the embraced Amelia in his arms. “I’m glad you’re okay,” he murmured. He also told the girls that Tiffany’s spirit made the butterflies fly.

  The sisters were thrilled, and from that day on, they played with the airborne critters every day. Amelia and Jane never left each other’s sight.

  Rainbow Dinosaur

  By Colby G.

  Once, long ago in Ancient Greece, Apollo was watching, a.k.a stalking, his most cherished mortal, Rainbow Dinosaur.

  Rainbow Dinosaur had brown hair and dark blue eyes like the sea. He was almost completely normal except for his abnormal desire for adventure. While most people wanted to sit around all day on their couches, Rainbow Hated staying in one place doing the same thing for more than a minute. This totally made him love his job where he sat around all day selling weavings his dad and mom had made.

  The town in Ancient Greece where Rainbow lived was loud during the day but was decently quiet at night. Today, the wind was howling particularly emphatically.

  One day, another problem arose on Mount Olympus. King Midas, that guy with the golden touch and all, decided that he should climb Mount Olympus and turn all the gods to gold so he could rule as the supreme god. This was not only bad because he would take over the gods but also because he would never stop the Titans from taking control of the world!

  Apollo quickly realized that Rainbow was perfect for the job of stopping King Midas because he longed for adventure and when he finished he could have all of King Midas's gold so he would never have to work again. Apollo knew though that he would need some more bribing than that. So, Apollo decided to give him the power to make the light arrange in a beautiful array of colors if he finished.

  So, he went to Rainbow at night. Apollo said, “Psst hey. Rainbow, I am Apollo.You have been chosen to go on this quest to stop King Midas from turning us gods to gold.”

  Rainbow replied, “Won’t my parents be worried?”

  “No, because if you complete your task you will get all of King Midas's gold so you and your parents will never have to work again,” Apolo mentioned, “Also I will grant you the power to make the light change into a beautiful array of colors, but only when it is raining.”

  “Ok I will go,” Rainbow said and then paused for a second to think, “Also, can I have a weapon?”

  Apollo said, “Sure dude, I will give you a magical sword that is made of fire.” Rainbow started on his way towards Mount Olympus. His plan was to surprise attack King Midas from behind. When he got there there was no sign of him yet. The air smelled crisp though like it was about to rain.

  King Midas was ready for someone to jump out and instantly attack him because he was trying to destroy the gods after all. And so when he got to the place Rainbow was waiting, he noticed him. He acted like he did not notice but when Rainbow jumped out King Midas instantly turned him to gold.

  Rainbow was heartbroken. He had failed and the gods would get turned to gold.

  Then all of a sudden, it started to rain, and as it hit Rainbow he remembered how water turned things King Midas turned to gold back to their original state. This turned Rainbow back to a human. He was now furious to and ready to destroy Midas.

  Rainbow knew he would have to hurry. Luckily, King Midas did not realize rain turned things back to their original state. Rainbow ran a whole mile before he saw Midas.

  He snuck behind him and got ready to strike. Rainbow light his flame sword but Midas noticed once again! He was surprised though and was not ready. Rainbow stabbed his sword straight into the King’sheart. You could hear the sword sizzle  like a hot knife through butter as it went into Midas.  

  King Midas exclaimed, “Why!”

  Rainbow blatantly replied, “It was not fun to be gold.”

  Then Midas succumbed. Rainbow had defeated him and the wonderful gods would not end up as gold. Rainbow was so happy.

  Apollo came down and gave him the power to make light bend when it was raining. Rainbow could taste the victory

  Apollo exclaimed while jumping for joy, “I knew you were perfect! He didn’t even start climbing, and you have already defeated him.”

  Rainbow replied, “Thanks, I needed the adventure.”

  Apollo spoke, “When you bend light or create a rainbow, you can only do it when it is raining. If you do it other times, Zeus will zap you with lightning. ”

  Also, he gave him a ride to Midas’s home and a magical bag which instantly filled with all of his gold. Then Apollo sent him home.

  When Rainbow got home, he ran to greet his parents with his riches.

  His mom and dad embraced him in a hug and proclaimed, “How did you get all of these riches!?”

  Rainbow replied, “I went on a quest for the gods and was rewarded with these riches and the power to make a rainbow when it is raining.”

  His parents shouted with a smile, “We will never have to work again!”

  Ever since then, when it rains, Rainbow makes the light arrange in a beautiful array of colors, the rainbow.

  Creating the Supernatural

  By April Capper

  The stream trickled outside my meager house in the woods. Weaving through the trees, the wind was as small as a whisper. The lush woods were quiet and motionless as ever. The song of birds outside was music to my ears. The air smelled slightly of mildew, but I was used to it.

  I was reading a book and outside my neighbor, Demeter, was humming a lovely song as she gardened. Really, she was the only person around for at least three miles from my little shack I call home.

  I decided to go outside and wade in the stream. It was as cold as ice and as refreshing as a nice nap. I always take a nice walk, toiling in the stream.

  Every day it’s the same thing, go for a walk, read a book, listen to Demeter sing her lovely song. It can get really boring, but that’s okay, I’m used to it.

  “Hey Hebe!” Demeter called from across the stream.

  “Hey Demeter!” I reply, thinking how could she be so cheery on just another boring day? “What do you need?”

  “Oh, nothing. Have a good day!”

  I blankly smiled over at her and went back inside to my cozy spot on the couch. I got the blazing fire going, so the cool, crisp spring air wouldn’t make me too cold to read.

  While I was reading a voice called out to me, “Help the people. Give them someone to follow!” it shouted. I thought it was just my imagination, so I kept reading, ignoring the voice.

  “Hebe! Hebe!” it called, “help the people.”

  Well, there’s no hurt in calling back, I thought, that way I’ll know that it’s just in my head.

  “How can I help the people?” I called just as I plunged into blackness as great as night.

  I woke up with a start. A start I had never experienced before. I was still a little bit foggy on what had just happened when I heard the voice again.

  “Hebe, when you are older you must create the people of Athens gods and goddesses to follow,” it said in an echo. “Remember this!” What does he mean when I am older? I’m already 22. I looked down and realized that I was a child again.

  “Wait!” I shouted to the voice. “Do I have to relive my entire life?” Just as I said that, I plunged back into the obscure darkness.

  “Hey hey!” said a familiar voice. “Hey! Are you alive? Hebe! Heb
e!”

  “What?” I muttered, still a little hazy from that weird dream or whatever that was.

  “Oh! Thank the skies you are alive!” said Demeter. Was that real, I pondered. Did I seriously become a child again to get instructions from a random voice?

  “What just happened?” I ask finally getting the strength to open my eyes.

  “Oh. Well… I’m not exactly sure, but you called out saying, ‘How can I help the people?’ and I thought you were talking to me so…” she drifted off. “Anyway, when I got here to answer your question, you were spacing out and cried out ‘Do I have to relive my entire life?’ and then you fainted.” So the voice was real.

  “I have to go,” I hurriedly said.

  “Where?”

  “Somewhere. I don’t know… yet”

  I rushed out of my house and into the dark, vast woods.

  “I see that you can follow directions,” said the voice

  “What do I need to do?” I stammered, unsure of myself.

  “Go to the tree on the far southern end of this forest and cut the tree down” I headed south, trying to figure out why I had to cut a tree down. What could I possibly do with an entire tree? I decided to deliberate on the matter later. For now, I had to go find the legitimate tree.

  An hour later, I finally got to the southernmost part of the forest. “Hey!” I called out. “Random voice? Are you there?” my shouts echoed through the forest.

  “Just cut down the tree you see right in front of you and go back home. I will tell you the rest later,” the deep, booming voice called out. I picked up an abandoned pickaxe I found lying on the ground and got to chopping.

  With the help of what I’m guessing was a ghost, I carried the tree all the way back to my house.

  Once I got there, the voice called out, “Now using the tools I will send your way, make three pieces of parchment.”

  The so called “tools” he left me was my brain and my hands. Somehow, I figured out how to make three pieces of parchment in just three minutes. Now my house smelled like a little kid’s arts and crafts store.

  “Very good! Now fold the parchment into little swans and send them down the river,” it called out. What? Turn them into swans and send them down the river?

  “And I need to do that, why?” I called back. This time he didn’t answer me. Again, magically my hands did all the work for me and I didn’t even have to think about it.

  Soon enough, the little parchment swans were in the water drifting away. “Now go into the closest town that the stream runs through, and you will find that the swans are just arriving. Then open them up and there will be instructions. Then you must open the parchment and read what ingredients you must get” it said quieter than it had been before.

  After following the stream for four miles to the nearest town, I find that the little swans are just floating by, just like the voice said. I open all three up and, sure enough, there were instructions as to what I needed to do.

  Reading the parchment, I went back into the forest and gather all types of flower, plant, and animal related objects and bring them back to my cozy cottage. The last piece of parchment had how to mix and add them together. I gathered a black pot, put water from the stream in it, and put the pot over the crackling fire. After a couple minutes, I added in all of the ingredients, but something was still not right.

  “Now add the last ingredient,” the voice echoed about my house.

  “Wait! You never sent me what the last ingredient was!” I squawked after it, my voice hoarse from all of the walking and running about today. He didn’t answer, so I went outside to think.

  After wandering around for awhile, I decided to go back inside.

  When I entered my house, I realized that something was off. I couldn’t figure out what it was.

  Then, it happened. I saw it. Sprawled all over my smooth walls. Buttercup, buttercup, buttercup, it read. Buttercup was a flower! I had to go and find a buttercup.

  Outside, I found Demeter gardening and humming her delightful song.

  “Demeter! Demeter!” I whooped out to her. “Demeter!” I repeated suddenly out of breath. “Do you know where I could find a buttercup flower?”

  “ Oh yes! There is a lovely field of them just a few minutes walking down the stream,” she exclaimed in a calm voice.

  “Ok! Thanks!” I shouted as I took off running. I ran for a couple minutes and, right there before me, there was a huge field of fluffy-looking buttercups.

  I gathered up quite a bit before running back to my house in the woods and quickly consulted the random voice to check what I needed to do with the buttercups. I added the buttercups in leaf by leaf, petal by petal, and stem by stem, into my rancid, boiling concoction.

  It was time to test it out. I followed the voice’s instructions by going into town and about all of Greece to  find 13 people who were to become gods and goddesses. He told me to get a leader, a queen, a goddess of hunt, a goddess of battle and wisdom, a lord of the underworld, a goddess of hearth and home, a god of war, a god of the seas and oceans, a god of fire and the forge, a messenger god, a goddess of love and beauty, a god of light and truth, and, finally, a goddess of agriculture.

  For these I picked Zeus, the leader, Hera,the queen, Artemis, goddess of the moon and hunt, Athena, goddess of battle and wisdom, Hades, lord of the underworld, Hestia, goddess of hearth and home, Ares, god of war, Poseidon, god of the seas and oceans, Hephaestus, god of fire and the forge, Aphrodite, goddess of love and wisdom, Hermes, messenger god, Apollo, god of light and truth, and Demeter, for the goddess of agriculture. I chose all of these people because they have the right qualities to be the god or goddess they were assigned to.

  I gathered all the people at my house and explain to them what will happen. They all hastily agreed to my plan. I gave them each a golden cup full of my mixture, and they drank it all promptly. As soon as this happened, the whole house shook. I went to look out the window, and we were floating! The whole house. Just floating. Soon, we were very high. We landed on beautiful, pristine, white cloud.  “Now this is where you will live. Up above on a cloud called Mount Olympus,” said the voice. “All of you have become gods and goddesses. Except for one of you. “Hebe,” it boomed.

  “Y-yes,” I answered, a little scared of what will happen.

  “You will be the cupbearer of the gods. You have the power to make anyone immortal. And that little stream of yours shall be turned into the greatest river of all. The River Styx. Anyone who bathes in that stream will become physically invincible.”

  “Wait a minute. Who even are you?” I asked the random voice.

  “Oh,” saida very high pitched voice. “I am a leprechaun.”

  “Um...why is your voice suddenly high pitched?”

  “Oh,” the deepness returning to his voice, “I can change my voice to be any pitch, but that high one is my normal one.” Suddenly, the leprechaun jumped down from my shoulder. He was very small, as small as a baby rat. He was wearing green from head to toe.

  “What is your name?” Demeter asked. It is just then that I realized that all of the gods were still standing here, not realizing how I knew that there was a leprechaun on my shoulder. Although, I didn’t really recognize it either.

  “Oh, my name is…” he paused.

  “Wow! That is one high voice!” Hera commented after he went back his so called “normal” voice.

  “Come on, tell us,” Demeter said, voice sweet as candy.

  “It’s…um...i-it’s... Fuzzy,” he says, his face growing red.  

  “Awwww!” all the gods and goddesses chorus together.

  Now all the people will always have someone to lead them, thanks to me. So far, all the gods and goddesses are getting along. Fuzzy is my personal adviser. All is well, and I finally got the adventure of a lifetime. The one that I was seeking all along.

  THE END!

                                                 Origin
of Self Confidence and Beauty

                                                                        By Dani               

  In the city of Palos, there was a small village called Anatevka. The village always had the smell of dry leaves that crackled and fresh apple pie. It was an average day in Anatevka, and the sun was shining and people were busy doing chores. Down in a little brick house by the creek, a girl named June was getting water from the well. June grabbed the rope and leaned over the to put the bucket in.

  When June leaned over to get the bucket she saw her reflection. June looked at herself and sighed. As June walked back to her house, she cried. “ Oh my sweet daughter, why are you crying,” asked her mother.

  June answered, “ I don’t feel beautiful and I don't have any confidence in myself,” she said with big sobs in between.

  As her family ate chicken soup, she just played with the soup. Day after day June felt sad and depressed.         

  That night as June slept, on Mt Olympus Apollo, the archer god, and Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty, had watched June day after day be depressed and sad.

  “ I want to help her,” said Aphrodite.

  “I  don’t know this is very risky to talk to humans,” said Apollo.

  “I know, but this girl clearly needs some help finding herself confidence and her beauty,”  stated Aphrodite.

  “Ok we can go tomorrow. Right now, we need to prepare for the day ahead of us,”  said Apollo.

  That night, June had a dream that the gods were talking and two of them were going to come down to the earth and see her. That morning when she woke up was like any ordinary morning.

  June was usually the first one up but this time her parents and grandparents were up before her.

  “Mom whats going on? “ asked June.

  “ June go inside and bring the animals to the basement.

  There is a big storm coming so we must be ready for what's coming,” yelled Mom.

  June immediately grabbed the animals and went in the basement. June watched out the window the storm was getting worse so her family had to go in the barn. June watched as lighting struck and then a tornado. In a minute after the tornado cleared up June thought she saw two glowing figures ,brighter than the sun ,standing in the courtyard. She rubbed her eyes. She  looked out the window and nearly dropped the pig she was holding. Standing right outside the window was Aphrodite and Apollo. They were seven feet tall.

  Aphrodite was wearing a pink dress made out of silk. And Apollo was holding a bow and arrow. Slowly she went out to greet them.

  “Hiiii.” June said in a shaky voice. “Don’t be scared we are here to help you,” spoke elegant Aphrodite.

  “What do I  need help with?” asked June.

  “You need help finding confidence and beauty in yourself,” stated Apollo.

  “So tell us why you don't have any confidence and beauty in yourself ,” asked Aphrodite

   

  “Well when I looked at myself in the reflection I did not think I was pretty, so I became depressed and sad,” stated June

  “Can I tell you as story June?” commented Apollo.“Sure,” said June

  .

  “When my father said I was going to be the first acher god I was excited so I got practicing write away. When I first started I wasn’t very good so I got made and threw my bow on the ground and went to my room, then my mother came in a told me just to have confidence and myself and I would would be a great archer.    “This is what I live by everyday,” said Apollo.

  “Thanks that is really helpful,” noted June.

  “Can I tell you something June?” asked Aphrodite.

  “Sure,’’ stated June.

  “Even though I am the goddess of beauty, there are some days where I don’t feel beautiful,”  commented Aphrodite.

  “No way , but you're the goddess of beauty you're the most beautiful person in the world,” commented June.

  “You would think so,” answered Aphrodite.

  “On the days, I am feeling down I tell myself if I think I am beautiful, I am this is something that might help feel better about you self,” expressed Aphrodite.

  “Thanks.” said June as she walked over to give Aphrodite a hug with the sun shining brightly on her back..

  So after that, it was time for Apollo and Aphrodite to go.“Thank you Apollo for helping me find my confidence,” said June.

  “You’re welcome, I am just glad I could help,” stated Apollo as he hugged June.

  “Same to you Aphrodite thanks for helping me find beauty in myself,”  stated June.

  “You’re welcome,” said Aphrodite as she gave June a hug.

  In the end, June never worried about beauty and self confidence again.

  How the Lion Got It’s Claws

  By: Riley Flabbergast

  Once upon a time, there lived a little lion named Arnold. He was a gold/brown color, and he loved to be with his dad who was as powerful as a Greek god. He wanted to be just like him. Arnold was a very happy lion, he was a very fast runner, and he loved to jump and just goof around. Arnold played so much that sometimes he would get in trouble, His dad then thought about teaching Arnold how to be a good leader.

  He and his pack lived in a very hot desert in Africa. The land had lots of watering holes, and lots of different kinds of animals, for example, grazing giraffes, zebras, and monkeys. The desert always felt hot and dry. Arnold loved it there he was friends with almost everyone.

  One day, Arnold's dad decided to show Arnold all the old hideouts and places not to approach, so Arnold of course followed “where are we going?”

  Arnold's dad looked at him with fright and scarceness, “we are going to the tunnel.”  Arnold was very afraid.

  When Arnold and his dad went to the tunnel, Arnold thought, “This doesn't look like a tunnel it looks a lot like a ditch.”

  After that, his dad went into the ditch and laid in the hot sun, peacefully he laid in silence. Arnold joined.  Then suddenly, the ground started to rumble, Arnold and his dad together jumped to their paws then saw a huge herd of elk running toward them. They had nowhere to go, then his dad picked him up and tossed him on a huge boulder.

  Trembling in fear, Arnold's dad laid down sadly and was trampled and murdered by all the elk. Arnold was heartbroken. He didn't know what to do so he went and laid by his dad in sorrow.  

  Then, as the sun went down, Arnold went back to his cave and said to his sister “Dad is… is… dead.”

  He bawled his eyes out. That next morning, he set out to the top of the lions rock, and he spoke.

  “Sadly, my dad and leader of this pack has passed away, there were too many elk that they all trampled him, so I will become your new leader.”

  Everyone angrily booed they did not want a little kid to lead their pack. They all were mad and angry that a small, pitiful kid like himself could even try to rule. They thought they could pick a new leader so they decided to plot against him.

  Right after, Clovers pack (Their enemy) came over to the pride lands and said,

  After Arnold had laid down, he started to wonder if he could never find a place to stay. He started to doubt himself. Then suddenly, he heard a sort twinkling noise, Arnold looked up and saw a face made from the stares.

  He asked her, “who are you, and what is your name?”

  She replied back to him, “I am the goddess of stars, my name is starlight and  have come to give you an offer.”

  Arnold, the intelligent lion, was very intrigued, “what is your offer?”

  She replied, “I will kindly offer your whole pack a place to stay with lots of pray, and I will also give all your subjects claws so that they can survive and hunt, you just have to travel far and wide, and defeat a couple monsters.”

  He was puzzled by what the monsters were going to do to him but he was determined to earn the trust of his pack even if he does
n't win.

  So he said, “I will go and defeat the monsters, but what do if I delete the monsters.

  She replied, “you shall go to the top of mount Clara and find that I will be sitting there.”

  Falling Action: took off. Two days have passed and he just approached a watering hole. He was very thirsty, so he looked in the water and this big world pool showed up and sucked Arnold in. He was very afraid. He didn't know what to do.

  So he screamed and yelped, “Help!”

  No one answered, and there was silence. He took his paw and pushed at the bottom of the pool. And suddenly, he leaped to his feet and was free. He was so happy and decided to catch an elk so that he could celebrate his freedom. So, Arnold went out to look for an scrumptious elk. He finally saw an elk so he crept up slowly, and carefully, then he leaped to his feet and pounced on the elk and it turned into a nine headed ugly beluga whale.

  Arnold jumped and ran as fast as he could the monster was too fast, he knew he couldn't outrun him, so he decided to outsmart him. Arnold sprinted to the bay next to the drop off and caught some fish for the beluga whale.

  The beluga whale ran swiftly after him, for the delicious fish. Arnold stopped running and the beluga whale stopped running.  The beluga whale oh so desperately wanted the fish. So, Arnold told him. “I will give you these fish if you go into the bay and never bother anyone, except the fish.

  At last, Arnold had defeated the monsters, and had earned his claws. His whole packed received their claws and his whole pack earned respect for Arnold.

  How Many Months in a Year?

  By: Jimmy Johnson

  Once upon a time, about as high above as you can go, much higher than the clouds, there were 15 fearless gods. There was Apollo, Zeus, Hebe, Hermes, Poseidon, Jocasta, Juno, Leda, Leto, Asteria, Camilla, Ceres, Olwen, Medea, Rhiannon.

  Zeus, the god of lightning and in charge of all other gods, held a lightning bolt as bright as the sun. The hair on top of his head always looked the same and his blue eyes looked as deep as the ocean.

  Apollo, the god of light and an archer, was not worried about anything other than himself.

  Hebe was always quiet and held the glass of immortalism. She always just wanted to just get involved in events.

  Poseidon, who talked just for the fun of it, was always over-confident and thought a lot of himself. But, whenever he talked in front of a large crowd, he came even more cocky and began to act as he was the only one who mattered.

  Hermes, who did not like Apollo, always got angered when he talked in front of large quantities of people. All of of the 15 gods were quiet for the most part except for Poseidon.

  Zeus, the leader of all gods, was eating a breakfast of 6 tasty eggs, three pieces of bacon, and a side of heavy smelling maple syrup that made his kitchen have the delicate aroma of a maple tree. In his mansion of a house and wondered what he had for lunch a year ago. He needed someway to express what he had for lunch last part of the year. He went to the all the other existing gods and brainstormed ideas. Ares, the very unique war god, came up with an idea to have a part of the year for every god. But, 15 parts of a year was too much and was not an even number. Zeus definitely wanted an even number.

  Poseidon, the god who talks way too much and is very boisterous and obnoxious, decided to come up with a list of the gods who shouldn’t have a portion of the year represented by them.

  “The list I’ve put together on this fine night for y’all,” Poseidon explained to the gods.

  Hebe only wanted everybody to know what it was about, so she told the invited gods.

  Apollo, who is an exquisite archer, wanted to get his vengeance because he wasn’t on Poseidon’s list of gods. This fine gentleman now had a plan.

  Apollo collected the all the gods together for a meeting and a presentation of his list of gods who should have a spot as a part of the year.

  “Thank ya’ll for coming to this meeting,” Apollo announced through the black speake. Apollo stood up, and gave his speech in front of all the gods. Right when he introduced the characters contained on the list. He stood up, strung his bow, and started to aim. He hit Aphrodite and Hades. Poseidon, the loudmouth and jerk as he was, was the first one to get an injury that would cause everlasting pain.  

  After all this ruckus, there turned out to be only be 12 gods remaining, who still wanted to be part of the year. Zeus, the decider of all the parts of the year, wanted only 10 gods for the parts of the year. Apollo set up a meeting privately with Zeus. Zeus wanted two more gods to back out because of the wrath of Apollo’s arrow. But who? Athena? Or Hestia? Zeus wanted to get rid of Hades and Hestia. Apollo, with his bow and arrows, left out to try to cripple Hestia and Hades. He was on the hunt to bruise the other gods. Except, Hades and Hestia knew he was going to come after them, so they hid where he would never find them. In a huge, red barn with swinging french doors about 100 feet tall, and full of livestock.

  Apollo had no idea where they was hiding, so he looked all throughout the town. In the church. At the neighborhood garden. At their house. But, there is where he found something very suspicious. There was a note of where they were hiding. They were in the barn off of “Hide and Seak street.” Coincidentally, Apollo showed up there with his bow strung and ready to fire a large series of arrows toward them. But, when he saw them, he shot and a lamb stepped right in the way. They somehow managed to sneak out the backdoor and escape.

  Once Zeus heard the bad news, he realized that there was no need to kill anymore gods to be represented by a month. Twelve matched the description he wanted perfectly. It was even. It was less than 15. And, everybody would be happy about the result of being represented by a month in the year.

  “Although we may have not had the result we were all expecting,” Zeus continued while standing on the  two foot podium in front of the remaining gods, “I am proud to announce that all of the twelve remaining gods will now be represented by a month of the year!”

  France

  By: Lily Trescot

  There once  was a time when  there was a land, and it was soon to be named but there was some trouble brewing in the village as it was still without a name to be called , and there were two people who thought that they should be the city's name. It was soon to be named something different than Athena and Aphrodite had imagined.

  Many people of the in the town wanted the town to be named after them but the two who wanted it the most were both goddesses that were searching for something and they both wanted to walk around the town with their golden crowns held high and having the They believed that they were the best in the land  that they both lived in.

  Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty wanted the city to be named Aphrodites and she believed that there was great hope for her to win the crown and the name of the town. The beautiful young woman enjoyed braiding her hair and looking into the mirror at herself. She  had long blonde hair and green eyes that shined as bright as the dew on the grass in the morning. The city was in doubt that either of them would be able to take on the challenge of having this big of a job in the village of soon to be named.

 

  Then there was Athena, goddess of battle and wisdom and she also believed that she should be the one to have the town be named after and hs thought that she could be a fearless and protective leader to the town of nameless. Athena thought that she would be the best leader and she would name the city Athens and she knew that if she ruled everything would be perfect. The town had a meeting and they declared that there would be a battle of the goddess and whoever won the challenge would be the name of the city. Athena loved helping people and she felt like as I said, very proud of herself and she thought that she was perfect.   

  Then everyone was perfect .  Athena was a hard person to make amends with so she always had on her protective suit of armor and she set out on the land to find a battle to conquer.

        

  There was to be a battle of the goddesses and then the winn
er would be the name of the village and when the village was named the loser had the choice to stay in the town or to leave the town for good.

  The next day a young man moved to town and his name was Francis. He strolled  leisurely  through the town with his head held high and a smile across his face. Everyone thought he was crazy, no one was very happy about the new town being named but they knew that he was new in town and he needed some attention. The whole town pitched in and bought him  welcome gift with fruits and treats for him to get used to the town he would be living in. He was the sweetest boy and then he met Aphrodite and she had a few things to say to hi.

  “Hello young man what is your name and are you here to sneak my crown?” Yelled Aphrodite. He just smiled and he walked off with a grin on his face and started to dance around the town square with his new friends that he had just made that day.  

  Aphrodite had a plan to destroy that new boy in town and she planned to do it immediately. She planned a town meeting and she invited everyone but the Francis. She decided to make a spell to make him fall in love with the first person he saw the next day and her plan came into action and she made the town promise not to say a word or they would be put to death.

  The night the plan was to come into action and she came to his door with the fruit basket that he had gotten for her and she gave it back to him with a few new gifts inside and she told him that they were homemade with love. He took them and said thank you, and she told him politely, “ Eat the banana nut bread first it ta stes delicious!” she said with a smile.

 

  He smiled and he ate it with pleasure and then he made a  face at her and he told her that he thought that it didn't really taste like banana nut bread and she told him that she new and she cursed him with these words.

 

  “Go tomorow with the thought of love for I shall win and you shall get married with a dozen doves” She yelled as Francis fell asleep .  This curse was going to make him fall in love with the first person that he made exact eye contact with him and he would soon fall in love with this person.

 

  The next day she got up waiting for the big battle day to come and she figured out that she had given the wrong bread for Francis to eat and so she had to go back that night to wipe his memory of her giving him the basket and she would give him the correct bread and he would leave her alone for good and not try to steal her crown and the name of the village. She went to his house that night and he did the same thing he had done the night before and she had done the same spell and he fell asleep right on the couch of his living room. Her time had come… so she thought. Aphrodite was one of the most beautiful people in the land but she had a sense to be witty and sly. Since she had planned and gone through with this scheme of hers, she didn't know what the consequences might be when and if someone caught her.

         

  The next day had come for Aphrodite to be the queen of the village and have the town be named after her and she would be the ruler and Francis would have to move away from the town and he would never come back.  She also wanted the feeling of looking over her town with a smile on her face and knowing that the city was hers.

 

  The time of the battle was at noon. Aphrodite curled her hair and was of course, fashionably late to the battle of the goddess. She got to her corner and the loud noise was almost going to start the fight when she looked over the horizon to see Francis walking their way.

 

  Francis was walking over to watch the battle of the goddess and he saw Athena and he knew that she was the one for him, the spell had worked and he was then in love with her. Athena was walking over to the battle and she had instantly fallen in love with him as well so she decided to drop out of the battle and make sure that Francis would get to be the name of the town and that he would get to rule the land with Athena by his side and so he decided to call the town France. Aphrodite was flamed with fury when she found out this awful news and she had realized that her plan had totally backfired.

  The week after the whole fiasco had happened it was time for Aphrodite to decide if she wanted to stay in the town of France or she could pack her bags and go live with her family and do whatever she wished to do. Francis and his village kept growing and he figured out that a town like this could be one of the best in the world and so he thought maybe we could put a tower over in that area and I might just name her Eiffel.   He also had realized something else and that was that he would be in charge of everything and he figured if he was then he could  he could make some big changes in the city of France and he would make the town bigger and brighter and he might even decide to make the tower…. glow!  He knew he could do it.

  The day had come, and he said that the town would be pleased with every decision  he had because he would make sure that everyone would get a say in everything and he stuck to that throughout his time. He had planned for the tower to start being built immediately and he knew that if he could have this done soon, new people would flow into the town and maybe he would make a new town and he would place the tower there.

  What a week it had been waiting for the time to come that Aphrodite had to decide if she was going to stay in France or go and live where she had come from and so she had arrived late once again and she noticed how much she would miss the place she had grown up in and so she still went with the option to move back to the place she had come from (mount Olympus) and live with the gods for the rest of her life. The aroma  of victory had come over the city of France.

  Aphrodite had left the village three days after the decision was made and then the town decided to live in harmony and then the town found out that Athena and Francis were pregnant and they would have their baby soon and when they did they were on the verge of finding a name for the new city for the Eiffel Tower and they saw their baby girl and they called her Paris.  Since Aphrodite had moved away everyone was now happy in the land and when they found out that Aphrodite was the one who cursed Francis they thought that it would have to wear off sooner or later and it did but it didn't change anything between the two of them. He was still in love with her and she was always in love with him. Athena and him had their baby and they grew to have a beautiful family that would lead on the family name and they would all become city names and they would all get their chance in the sun.

  Everyone was happy that the village was named and a new leader was on the way, Athena became queen of the town called France and Francis was then on the king. The time had come and they would rule the village for as long a they lived and they would help this city grow and maybe it would just explode with people. The city did and as it grew the   desire of the cookies went around the town because Francis decided to give out baskets of baked goods once every week because it reminded him that he had beaten Aphrodite.

    

  Francis saw someone coming into town the next day. ‘’ Hello, welcome to France.” Exclaimed Francis with a grin.Then was the time that that town started to blossom every step of the way. He had people by his side to help and Aphrodite out of his kingdom forever. The town was as peaceful as the birds in the trees in the morning,”and everyone was happy,” and they enjoyed their days in France.

 

  Mocking Mira

  By Kierra

  In a forest long, long ago, so long ago that no one had even heard of it, there was a girl named Mira. Mira was a poor girl her mother had died in a fire, her dad, sister, and brother were all murdered, but she was able to hide and not be seen. She had to watch her family die right in front of her at the age of three and had to smell the blood and flesh.  Mira was never raised correctly for she lived in a cabin inside the forest, Mira was not very pretty. She had tangled, long platinum-blond hair, with pale skin, and two dark green eyes.

  Little did Mira know that Hera kept her alive for 13 years after Mira’s family died. Of course, Hera could not come to raise Mira, but she gave her all the essentials for life, including food, water, shelter,
and a nice warm blanket. Though Hera was not the only goddess trying to help this young girl, Aphrodite was also involved but no matter how many times Aphrodite tried to make Mira look less ugly, her face would still stay the same. One time, Aphrodite even dipped  Mira’s head inside a bowl of god’s wine, hoping maybe she would become prettier.    

   

  But one fateful day, the goddess Hera came down into the forest to see Mira, but Mira was not so respectful to Hera. Mira started to mimic her but finally Her/a started to get angry. “Young Mira you should know better then to be teasing a goddess now I expect you to apologize,” Hera stated.

  “I’m sorry,” Mira whispered while looking down at the ground.  

  Later that day in the forest, Mira met a strange man who she had never met before. He had a long gray beard, dark brown eyes, a weak body so he carried a cane, and a black cloak with a hood that covered his face so all you could see was his lips.

  “You! There, what is your name?” Mira said slowly walking towards him.

 

  “Don’t worry about what my name is. We have met before in your earlier life. Now listen here Mira you are very special so I want you to not listen to anyone even the great gods and goddesses tell you to do something, but don’t tell anyone about this little talk we have had!” the stranger disappeared without saying another word, and in his place a small, silver, leaf lay.  

  Due to what the strange man in the forest said, Mira didn’t respect anyone who came near her. Then, the day that it was time for Hera to come and visit Mira she was being especially rude. “Hello Mira, how have you been today?” Hera asked.

  “Sup. I am just chillin!” Mira says.

  “Is that any way to treat a goddess such as me,” Hera states,”I thought we have been over this before!”

  “ I thought we have been over this before!” Mira says mockingly.

  “So that's how you wanna behave, so be it!” Hera yells as she slowly moves toward Mira with her eyes glared. As Hera stated this Mira moved her hand like they were Athena’s lips. “ Goodbye!” Mira barked at Hera. “ If you like mocking and copying people so much than it should be your lifetime job!” Hera shouted while moving closer with her hand in the air as if she were going to slap Mira. But at the last moment Hera waved her hand at Mira and all that was seen in Mira’s place was a little ball floating. Hera held the ball in her hand and took it up to Mount Olympus.

  Once she arrived, Hera went to Hephaestus and asked him to make her a hard piece of metal that was shiny on one end, and had a gold trimming that made it able to stand easily. Hours had passed and finally it was finished.

  Hera now waved her hand at the shiny side of the glass and a swirling portal was seen.

  She now threw the ball and it turned back into Mira. “Hey that hurt!” roared Mira.

  “Great, now I want you to walk thru this, “portal”. Okay?” Hera ordered while pointing to the piece of glass.

  “ You weren’t even listening to me were you?” Mira questioned.

  “Sorry what did you say I wasn’t listening.” confessed Hera.

  “ Fine I’ll go in the portal,” Mira agreed while walking towards it. Mira stepped in, and Hera quickly closed the portal with Mira inside. “Hey let me out there is nothing great in here it’s just a tiny, white room.” Mira bickered while pounding on the glass from the inside. Hera made a gesture and immediately Mira was no longer able to be heard or be seen from the outside of the glass. Now, Hera stepped in front of the glass and saw her own reflection. She started clapping and jumping up and down like a homeless person who had just won the lottery.

  Hera was so pleased with her creation she disguised herself as an old woman and showed the people of earth her Mira. But she didn’t stop there she made more but didn’t have to trap other people, all she had to do was make the piece of glass because Mira was able to travel and duplicate herself that so she could be in millions of pieces of glass at the same time.

  As the years got older and Mira’s became more popular and eventually people stopped calling them Mira’s and started to call them mirrors. So the next time you look into a mirror thank Mira and the goddess Hera for creating something that you can see yourself in.

 

  The Great Race

  By Barry Bobson

  It was a normal summer day in Athens,Greece. There was a foot race going on in the city grounds. The crowds gathered to see the famed runner Achilleos in action. No one in the land of Greece could best him. People heard of his skill far and wide and some went as far as to say he was faster than Attis, the god of speed Achilleos was a handsome young man, with almond dark hair and deep blue eyes. He lived in a massive mansion with a pool and a running track. One fateful day, Attis looked upon Achilleos and wondered, “Could This mortal be faster than me?”             

  Attis went to Ethan who was the god of transformation and was a wizard . Attis asked Chronos if he could change him into an old man. Ethan was kind man, so he told Attis, “ I’ll do it.” However, Attis did a sin that he would forever want to take back. With one blinding swipe of his hand, he stole the staff of renewal. It had the power to change anybody into anything. He disdainfully looked at Ethan and said, “ You pathetic excuse of a man. This staff is mine know!” Ethan grew furious and vowed to get revenge.

           

  Attis changed himself into an old man and spectated one of Achilleos’ races. After his victory, Attis approached Achilleos. He told Achilleos, “ You are a man of great speed. But don’t get cocky for even though you are fast you will never beat the gods”Achilleos shrugged off the remark and said, “ no man on Greece can best me, so how will the gods. I will gladly challenge even Attis, the god of speed.” Attis morphed back into himself and yelled furiously “ Well here is your challenge!”.

         

  The two men went immediately to the track to race.

      

  The news of the challenge spread quickly and almost everyone in athens flocked down to the stadium to watch the great race. The air smelt crisp and airy.Chronos was still angry and wanted to help achilleos in every way possible to humiliate Attis. Achilios was the favorite of many gods such as Zeus and Athena. Chronos consulted them and they both said, “ sure, I’d love to see that jerk, Attis, humbled”

       

  Surprisingly, race started, and Achilleos jumped to an early lead. Even Attis had to marvel at the speed of his competitor. He quickly flashed his hand fervently and fired a stunning spell at achilleos. Zeus swiftly knocked it off course. They were now nearing the finish when suddenly Achilleos tripped on a rock. He saw Attis pass him and cried out, “ You beat me, but you had to play cheap to do it.” Athena lifted Achilleos on his feet and he began to run.          

      

  Just 300 feet from the finish they were neck to neck. Achilleos was not about to lose, so he ran as fast as his tired lungs could carry him. They reached the finish line.

       

  About a month later, while Achilleos gloated about his victory, Attis sat on Mount Olympus fuming with rage. He constantly pleaded to Zeus that he be allowed to take revenge on Achilleos. However, every time he asked Zeus replied with a sigh, “ No. It is not my fault that you challenged him and lost. If you try to get revenge, you will be stripped of godhood.” Attis waited and waited but, could not  hold it in any longer. He marched to Achilleos’ house and touched him with the staff of renewal. There was a blinding light and a horrifying scream.

        

  Attis had changed Achilleos’ arrogance into guilt; guilt that no mortal could bear. The next day, Achilleos consumed a whole goblet of poison, killing him from the inside and burning his intestines.Attis could not believe the sin he had just committed. He bent over Achilleos and turned him into a speedy member of the cat family with black spots and sharp teeth. This type of animal, the cheetah, would forever run.

       
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  Meanwhile, Zeus was angry that Attis had disobeyed him. He stripped Attis of his godhood and Attis forever roamed the earth as an old beggar.

  Let this be a warning to whoever reads this. If someone beats you in a contest be a gracious loser and accept defeat.