After reading Asian folktales the Barracudas wrote one of their own. Here are a few examples:
Carla’s Island
By A.A.
Think of others not just yourself.
Introduction
When I was very little my mom and dad lived in Chile which is next to the Pacific Ocean, even though they spoke English. One day my mother went out onto the ocean by herself. Once she was farther out she saw something move in the water, once she got closer she recognized it as the whale she had spent hours admiring when she was little. They stared eye to eye until my mother saw something, it looked like a ship. As the ship drew near she saw it was the Patriot Ship. As the Patriot Ship got closer it scared the whale. In the Whales hurry it ate my mother and our bout leaving only memories of my mother behind.
A New Life
Once I was two and a half years old my father and I went out to sea with everything we would need in search of a new life. After a week or so we found an island. No one had ever found this island before. This is our own island now it is also where our adventure begins.I am eleven years old now and my name is Carla. You are probably wondering if I have any friends, the answer is yes. My best friends are Kiki the seal, Felix the lizard, Joey the rattle snake, and Leo the pelican. Even if Kiki, Felix, Joey, and Felix are my best friends all the animals on the island are my friends. Every month a ship comes three miles away from the island to bring us supplies that we can’t get or make on our island. The ship brings us food, clothes, and other stuff. Today I got some books and for seven hours I read nine out of fifty books. Gone Everything had been going well until my twelfth birthday.
When I was playing hide and go seek with Felix my dad was making a special dinner because it was my birthday. After ten games of hide and go seek I heard a loud boom. As I turned around I saw smoke and rocks flying, the volcano was erupting! As I ran for the water I remembered my dad and my friends! I turned and ran towards the house the ground shaking under my feet I could feel the air getting hotter and hotter as I ran. It seemed the forest went on and on forever. Finally our house came into view but I was too late lava was already destroying it. The lava was pouring out of the windows swirling, twisting, and turning it was almost magical for that one moment. Then I realized how close the lava was coming so I turned and ran for my life.
I made sure that all my friend where safe. After helping a duck and watching it fly away I felt the air getting hotter and hotter so I looked around and I saw the lava drawing near. I ran I ran for my life away from the lava. Soon after I saw the sand of the beach ahead it never felt better to be on the beach. As soon as I felt the water on my feet and the ocean spray in my face I dipped under the waves and swam as fast and as far away as I could from the island.
Home Again
As I turned I saw a boat coming towards me, at was at first I was scared since it was moving fast. I swam away my clothes dragging me forcing me to go slower as I cut through the water. Then I heard someone call my name behind me. I spun around to see who called my name. The person calling me was my dad. He drove the boat closer and I pushed myself out of the water and onto the boat. Out of breath I flopped down on the boats floor and fell asleep.
When I woke up I felt much better. I looked up and saw my dad gazing down at me. I slowly got out of bed and gave my dad a hug. When I looked around the room I saw I was in my old house in Chile. It looks like my future has been turned around in a good way. Life in Chile is nice but I will never forget the island because it will always be our island.
The Boy with the Magic Rock
By: M.Y.
Once upon a time there was a boy named Joseph Jacobson who lived in a Cabin on Mount Yeh. Joseph’s mother had died many years before, but his father had remarried to his wicked stepmother, Gladys. Gladys had always taunted him with many chores but there was nothing he could do about it, even Joseph’s father was deathly afraid of Gladys.
Everyday he would go back to Gladys and receive a new list of chores to do while Gladys would be watching his every move. One day while Joseph was wandering alone in the forest, he found a very unique rock, light blue on the top, green on the bottom and small colorful crytals of light moving in the middle. Joseph was told by Gladys never to have any fun or excitement while doing his chores but this was “Incredible,” Joseph thought. He had never seen anything this exciting in his life. Joseph thought to himself what this brilliant rock could be used for.
Joseph started thinking about the past when his mother was still alive and how they played games and had fun together. He thought about why Gladys was so mean and cruel and how she got to be like this. Then, Joseph got furious that this rock was the only excitement in life. He threw the rock down as hard as he could to get all of the madness and pain he had suffered away, he hated life! Suddenly a portal opened up. It was filled with bright colors and lights, Joseph looked down and he saw that it was the rock! Everything became frozen around him the portal was getting larger and larger, he could not see anything. The skys became filled with light, the animals disappeared and then everything was gone. Joseph’s mind went blank! The whole world was spinning around him. Joseph found himself lying down having fainted.
He stood up and found himself in a world filled with people everywhere was wearing great big dresses and suits. Then Joseph saw a very unusal guy; he had brown hair, blue eyes and was wearing a big crown and a long red robe. “It is time for a very important ceremony! I must now be crowning my daughter, Gladys, who is about to become our new queen of China!” Then Joseph realized that Gladys wasn’t ugly and evil at all, she was nice and calm. Joseph saw that the rock was lying on the ground; he realized that the rock was not just a common old rock; it was a magical time traveling stone.
Joseph saw that the king was crowning Gladys and some guys were hiding in the bushes with swords and maces waiting to attack. The guys came up and kidnapped the king. The knights came and grabbed Gladys to protect her. Gladys screamed and asked the knights if her father would be okay. Joseph realized why she was so cruel and evil; he had to save the king. Joseph ran up and followed them to the castle, he saw that the king was being asked to give his wealth to them. The king replied saying that if his family would be okay he would do it. The guys huddled up discussing it. Joseph came and untied the king and brought him back to safety leaving the guys locked up in the king’s palace.
“We shall thank this young man for his bravery for saving the kingdom and all of China,” said King Jacobson. Joseph ran up to the king and was crowned ruler of Mount Yeh, and was promised to be treated respectfully from the king. Later that day Gladys was crowned queen of China. Meanwhile, Joseph found the rock gray and colorless with no use, knowing that he used it for the right thing. The
Story of Carnidous Island
By: B.S.
Once, on a jungle island called Carnidous Island in the middle of the ocean, there lived a few animals; tigers, chimpanzees, and various birds. Also, there was a very nice, strong, giant who lived in harmony with the animals; he patrolled the beach for dangers and sea life. He also played with the animals. They got along very well together.
However, there was a small stretch of land that appeared once a year on the first day of spring. This stretch of land led to another small island, the island of Suodinrac. On this island, there was a cave. In the cave, there lived a fire breathing dragon with flames coming out of every pore that wanted the world to end, and he wanted to cause it. His first victim, Carnidous Island. This brings us to the story.
One fine sunny day, on Carnidous Island, the animals were playing tag with the giant. “No way you’re catching me!” said one of the birds, “Oh, yeah? I got you anyways!” said one of the tigers, specifically the one who was “it.” “Good luck finding me!” said one of the chimpanzees. “Really? Thanks, but I don’t really need it. Tag!” said the bird. “Darn, how am I goi-“ said the chimpanzee, but he was interrupted by a loud noise. RUMBLE!!! The land bridge slowly rose out of the ocean, frightening all of the animals back into the jungle.
Slowly but surely, the dragon came out of the cave and started to cross the land bridge to Carnidous Island. Once he got there, he set fire to a little bit of the forest with the hottest flame he had ever breathed. This scared the animals back out of the forest, vulnerable to the monster’s attacks. The giant, who heard the rumbling, came to check that all the animals were ok, and doing so, saw the dragon.
The giant began to fight the dragon, to protect the animals, but the dragon was still attacking the animals. “Uh-oh,” thought the giant. But the animals had formed a plan. A tiger went and jumped into the shallow part of the ocean and said, “Nyah-Nyah! Bet you can’t hit me here!” The dragon, being stupid, changed to aiming at the tiger. He breathed one of his hottest, while the tiger dove underwater. Doing so, this evaporated some of the ocean and made salt. The tiger quickly swam to shore to hold the dragon away from the chimpanzees and the birds. A chimpanzee grabbed a large leaf and started to pile salt into it, and when he was done, handed it off to a bird. The bird grabbed the leaf by the top so it wouldn’t leak, and flew up as fast as he could, while the fire was spreading below. When he got to the clouds, he let go of the bag, and it flew up and released the salt into the clouds. This made it rain. The rain put the fire out, and also made the monsters flame breath useless. Now, the dragon was in a bad spot, because after that, the giant picked him up by the tail and threw him as far as he could into the ocean. This was the last time that Carnidous Island saw the dragon.
