Four Picture Story
- 1. Writing 02.03.11 How I live... I live in Africa. I live with my wicked uncle who is a mushroom scientist, and my beloved cat George. I work hard all day to keep my uncle happy and to keep me on his good side. My name is Beth, This is my reality… “Get out of bed you lazy girl, I have better things to be doing than getting you up! You have very important chores to do today, and how many times have I told you to keep that cat out of my sight!” I grabbed my grey cat George tightly and held him close. That was my vile Uncle. Every morning he gives me an extensive list of jobs and chores that I have to complete. I looked down at my uncle’s scrawled writing to see what I had to do today. List: 1. Pack my bag and all my science tools 2. Pack your own bag with whatever you need for two weeks. 3. Tidy house 4. Make sure we have enough food and water for two weeks. “Do you understand this George? I certainly don’t” I complained to my cat as I took the list to my uncle. He sighed said, “As you should know by now, I am a mushroom scientist. We are going to the desert for two weeks to discover a very rare mushroom called the Oancis. Didn’t you see the list, you should not be mucking around, and you have to pack our bags. We leave in
- 2. three hours.” He walked off leaving me with a bewildered look on my face. “Oh George. What has he got us into this time?” As we got out of the claustrophobic aeroplane, the scorching desert took over and the heat was getting to me. George didn’t look too well either. Uncle said we only had another 5 minutes in the jeep till we got to the cabin we were staying in so I just sat there stroking George. “Achoo, Achoo. Beth, Why did you have to bring that blasted animal,” Muttered the voice of my uncle. “Don’t worry George he just doesn’t appreciate you as much as I do” I whispered in my cats ear, giving him a big hug. The cabin felt quite small when we arrived but cosy. It contained two beds, a table, chairs, and a small sofa. I liked it very much. Soon after we arrived, we joined my uncle in having some lunch. George crept under the table into the shade, only to find a little turtle just as hot as he. “Mr. turtle I would call him”, I thought to myself as I slipped him into my pocket trying to keep him cool.
- 3. As we sat, there was a sudden fluttering of green feathers above us. Its wings were a vibrant swirl of colours, patches of brown, yellow, white and green streaming off it. My uncle swiped out at the poor budgie, which gave me a serious urge to scream at him! Then suddenly, the little bird dived at the table and plucked up my uncle’s spoon with its claws and flew off. This made George spring out from under the table and chase the poor budgie. “George!” I screamed as I to leapt up from the table and sprinted after him into the vast desert. My uncle, looking astonished, mumbled what sounded like “Good to get rid of you anyway” then walked away quickly to find his mushroom investigation kit. Being in the desert was very tireing, as I could not leave George to chase the budgie alone. We all soon got very thirsty. I kept seeing puddles of water, running up to them, only finding that my mind was playing tricks on me. I ended up havening to carry George and Mr. Turtle because they were both starting to collapse. It felt like we had been walking for hours seeing only sand covered by the suns hot rays. As we scrambled over one of the many sand dunes, I could just make out the detail in the beautiful trees, the life saving shade and the water reflecting all this in its beautiful self. An oasis. I dropped George and used my last energy to sprint toward this rescuing thing. I never thought I would appreciate water as much as I did just then as I made ripples when I dived into absolute heaven.
- 4. I looked around, seeing George with a happy look on his face. I then realized that I could not see Mr. Turtle. I caught a glimpse of his tail climbing into a hollow tree. I peered inside the tree after him and that was when I saw it. The Oansis, the rare mushroom my uncle was looking for. He had told me all about them so I knew what they looked like. There was a magical thing about these mushrooms. They were so moist, it looked as though they had just been dipped in water. I kissed Mr. Turtle on the shell with a beam on my face, appreciating his efforts towards my uncle’s search. Finding the mushrooms would be a very exiting thing for my uncle. I imagine he would never give me chores again, always appreciate George when he does a whoops on the new carpet and hopefully let me keep Mr. Turtle. As I dreamt about all those things, I appreciated how my reality had turned out and what my story would be like next time. That was my dream and this is my reality…