Stories from September 2007
These stories were written from
sentence beginnings or
titles (I filched these from song titles!) or
they had to contain certain words or phrases.
Some clever writers used more than one starter!
Quickly I hurried towards the garden gate to see what was causing the commotion.
It soon became apparent that our gate, with its spiked top, had caught one of the gang of adolescents trying to break in to take a short cut through the gardens of our small housing complex. Several of the other residents were there, muttering threats of calling the police, informing the offender's parents, etc. However, before anything could be done, there was a rending sound and a piece of torn denim was left on top of the gate. Then came the disappearance of the youth to the road side of the fence, the sound of fleeing footsteps and squealing brakes as cars came to an abrupt halt. When the gate was unlocked, the road was completely empty.
by Freda Lambert
Me and You and a Dog Named Boo
My friend and I were out walking. We had no dog with us as Scottie, my friend's dog, had recently died. We were playing hide and seek on a rough piece of ground, covered in small gorse and broom bushes. Suddenly we found that there were three of us in the game. A medium sized rough coated dog of indeterminate breed kept popping out from behind a gorse bush, doing a sort of bark that sounded like Boof! and grinning from ear to ear. We stopped for a picnic lunch; so did the dog and accompanied us for the rest of the day. We tried to find his owner and reported him at the police station.
No one appeared to own him, so I took him home, where he was a good companion to the family for many years. I shall always remember the lovely day we met him. Me and you, and a dog named Boo.
by Freda Lambert
Elusive Butterfly
My sisters and I were sitting outside on a beautiful morning just talking. The sun was shining so brightly and there was an illusive butterfly flitting about - and we tried to catch it - but it would not be caught and flitted from flower to flower and left us all fascinated by its beautiful colour.
Suddenly we were aware of a great deal of movement close by and to our surprise a circus tent was being erected and people were rushing about bringing animals in trucks, and there was so much noise and activity that no one had ever seen anything like it in their lives.
by Alison Davies
Me and You and a Dog Named Boo {#2}
When we started out on our journey no one knew where we were going - and it was a big surprise when we came over a hill and saw the beautiful valley below us. There was me and you and a dog named Boo and two others - and we all raced away down the hill into the thicket of trees with wild creepers all in bloom. Then we were aware of cattle, so we had to carefully weave our way through them. It looked as though we were in for an adventurous time.
by Alison Davies
Help!
If you can hear me, please answer!
I don't know where I am. It's dark, and warm, and there are funny little noises all round me - and decidedly unpleasant smells!
I don't know how I got here - wherever 'here' is. I only remember waking up and feeling thirsty and drinking from the cup of water beside my bed. Then suddenly I had what could only be described as a shrinking feeling - a sort of condensation.
And now I'm somewhere unpleasant, and I need help.
If I move my hands - funny, they don't feel like hands - I can feel something soft and warm. It is warm, but I am cold with fear.
If only it were light, then I could see where I was.
It doesn't make sense, but it feels like fur all around me - and it's moving. Help, help!
Suddenly there's an ear-splitting noise, like a great siren, and my world seems to leap upwards, and then steady, as thought it - we - have landed somewhere.
Now there's a new noise, a throbbing, like a giant motor running.
Where am I? If I ever get back to normal, I'll kill my nephew, and definitely take his chemistry set away from him.
But wait. Now things have settled, it's actually quite comfortable. I just feel - hungry! And if I take a bite of the - er - ground under my - er - feet, it's very tasty. Maybe it's not so bad here after all.
Up on top of the brick wall, the tabby cat stopped purring, gave another peevish 'Mee - ow!' then began to scratch at that annoying flea.
by Noeline Carlson
On the Road Again
It was such a beautiful day I felt like dancing in the street. I hadn't a clue where I was, it was a place i had never been to before, but I had found a large amount of money in the pocket of my trousers.
Having so much money was very exciting. I danced and I danced until I was so tired and dusty from the road, I had to stop.
When the dust finally settled, I saw a beautiful big mansion in front of me. It was such a beautiful place I had to see more of it.
I walked up the path and knocked loudly on the door. No one answered so I turned the knob.
The door opened and I found myself in a lovely nig hall. I could hear a loud noise coming from a room at the end of the hall. I went in and saw a large industrial vacuum cleaner. This was being operated by a person who looked like a mythical creature. He had large pointy ears and a very long thin nose and a great slash of a mouth. He turned off the vacuum cleaner and came towards me. I was terrified but I thought he walks like a man and then he spoke in a most beautiful voice and said, "Would you like some tea before you go on the road again?"
by Eileen Clay
There it was, lying right in the middle of the road.
Surely it couldn't have been there very long, or it would have been run over by now. That would have been a disaster. Or someone else - less honest than I am - would have come along and picked it up.
I stopped my car carefully on the side of the road and - also carefully - dashed out and picked it up. Then I carried it back to my car, where I examined it carefully.
Was it real? Yes. Unbelievable. It really was beautiful. Heavy too, and valuable beyond belief.
I was totally boggled. How in the world could it have got there? And what in the world would I do with it?
Well, actually, I knew perfectly well what I should do with it.
Sighing, I continued along the road to Buckingham Palace, Her Majesty's ceremonial crown on my lap.
by Moira Dahlberg
Midnight at the Oasis
The stars glitter overhead in the black sky and all around is silence. But after a while, this still quietness of the desert is not quite silent. There are snuffles from the camels, darker humps in the darkness. Occasionally there is the small sound of a desert creature becoming dinner to one larger.
From the tents of the travellers, the sound of sleep, soft snores and not-so-soft snores, mumbles and grumbles and the occasional grunts of sleeping men.
Into this not quite silent darkness, an animal shape intrudes, moving cautiously to the water's edge and then skulks away into the darkness. As it passes a dying fire, the small hyena grabs up a bone and rushes off with its treasure.
It is midnight at the oasis.
by Moira Dahlberg
Old Hand Written Manuscripts
The old man sat, sprawled in his big old carved chair. Scattered around him were piles of very old hand written manuscripts. Some were torn, some faded with time. Some were mere fragments. They covered the floor, in piles and drifts of paper, papyrus and skin.
On the desk before him, many more lay in disorganised heaps. Around the room, on shelves and cupboards and tables, there were more manuscripts.
On his lap lay the one he had been reading before exhaustion finally overtook his. It was hand written and decorated in vivid colours, edged with gold.
Like the others, it contained the wisdom, knowledge and humour of the ages.
This was the wizard's library.
by Moira Dahlberg
The Haunted Mansion
The old Victorian mansion stood forlornly in the middle of a tangle of overgrown trees and shrubs, the trees so dense than the house was hidden from the road. Next to the curving driveway a FOR SALE sign swung precariously from one remaining hook.
You had to walk halfway up the drive to see the house. It was a magnificent old property, its mullioned windows remarkably unbroken glinting in the rays of the dying sun. The stone portico sheltered a heavy oak door decorated with brass studs and a large lion head knocker. It had the appearance of being not lived in for several years.
The estate agent had not been able to sell the property. He had stopped trying. He explained to prospective purchasers the problems associated with the house.
The old house had been the scene of a tragedy. In the year 1912, a wealthy young man had bought the property for his new young bride. They had had two happy years there before the advent of World War 1. John Winneger then joined the Army and was shipped over to France with the rank of Captain. Sadly, he was killed in the battle of the Somme. His distraught young wife Sarah never recovered from the shock of losing her beloved husband and six months later her lifeless body was found floating in the ornamental lake on the property. No one knew if it was an accidental drowning or if she took her own life.
Attempts to rent the property or to sell it had proved unsuccessful. Tenants reported seeing a ghostly figure in the house or on the grounds at dusk. This sighting was accompanied by an aura of terrible despair and misery which affected all who saw the apparition. It was reported to be a lady dressed in white but no one had got close enough to really see her.
None of the tenants could handle these appearances and so the house sat empty, unrentable and so far unsaleable.
James Mallory, a middle aged bachelor, recently retired and looking for a place to write his second novel in peace and quiet, fell in love with the house at first sight, especially the price. The agent explained this had been considerably reduced because of certain ghostly happenings over the years, with a lady in white spreading sadness whenever she appeared. James laughed this off, assuring the agent that a ghostly lady was preferable to a flesh and blood one in his opinion.
His offer on the house made and accepted, James moved in within a couple of months. He loved the space of the house with its five bedrooms and huge living room. Even the remains of a glass conservatory filled him with plans and enthusiasm for the next years of his life.
As he was stowing things away in the closet of one of the bedrooms, he came across an old sewing box. It had been pushed away to the back of one of the highest shelves. It was a lovely old box, about twelve inches by eighteen and was made of some kind of light coloured hardwood. The top was inlaid with a darker wood in shapes of various animals. When he opened the box it did not contain sewing materials but letters and postcards, all marked France and two old pictures. One was a wedding portrait of a handsome young man and a pretty young woman who was clad in a white wedding dress with a pearl encrusted veil. The other picture was of the same man, this time in an officer’s uniform, with words on the reverse saying 'Light a candle for me. We will be together soon, your loving husband John.' It was dated 1917, the Somme.
The postcards were hand coloured with sentimental verses, lace bound edges and lovely ladies pictured, shoulders wrapped in tulle and holding red roses to their breasts. A feeling of sadness swept over James as he reflected on the love and wasted lives of these two young people.
James closed the box with a sigh. It was just one sad story of many, he reflected. Later that day he had an idea. He took the sewing box up to one of the bedrooms and covered an old dresser with a lace cloth he found in a cupboard drawer. He placed the box in the centre and the photographs one on each side of the box. Next he placed candles in holders on each side of the photographs and lit them, saying, "John and Sarah, you are welcome here in your house." He then went out of the room, closing the door behind him.
A week or two later he had a call from the estate agent inquiring if he was settled and happy with his new home - and had he seen the ghostly lady? James said that no, he hadn't. He then added that he had once caught a glimpse of a young couple walking in the grounds, but when he had looked again they were gone.
Stories from July 2007
The following group stories were all written in this manner:
The person whose name appears first selected a story beginning. Nine people participated.
After 2 minutes each writer stopped and passed the sheet on to the next person,
who continued for another 2 minutes, etc
When the story had gone round and returned to the person who started,
that person then had 5 minutes to complete the tale.
The ** indicate a new writer.
Writers : Joyce Cynthia Barbara Noeline Dot Wendy Moira Ethel Eileen Joyce
When the wicked witch waved her wand and turned me into a cat I felt quite pleased with my new looks. I was lithe and slim and a gorgeous shiny black with gold eyes. I flexed my paws and admired my
** beautiful coat. I have to find my mistress or master and work out a few ground rules like
** when my dinner was to be served and was it to be fish or other yummy food that cats like. I love cream. I do hope they won't expect me to catch my dinner - mouse is
** all right, I guess, but very low-class. I yawned and stretched and walked into the house, hoping it was dinner time - but it wasn't going to be that easy! My way was barred by a large, ferocious black dog. I backed up
** and spoke softly, hoping to give the impression I was a friend. He only showed his teeth. I spoke to him and said, "You are nothing like 'Rex', that is 'Inspector Rex' who I see every Thursday. He is a lovely dog - why don't you
** go outside and see if you can find him." I knew that if I could forestall him, I may be able to slip past and make my escape. Only trouble was. I don't think he knew who Inspector Rex was. Oh well!
**Well, at least I had managed to get the dog confused - not difficult, dogs aren't as bright as cats - so while he was trying to work things out sneaked past him and into the kitchen. Ah! There was a plate of fish waiting for me. Oh dear! It was actually on the table. Well, OK, I can jump up there.
** Up I went to get the fish, but Inspector Rex had followed me in, and while I didn't think dogs liked raw fish, I did my very best to eat as much of it as I could before he decided that he could
** eat fish. I was happily chewing away when all of a sudden I heard a loud voice, a human voice. Get off that table you bad cat, you've eaten all my fish. I didn't know what to do. I jumped off the table right
** away and purred my loudest and rubbed against the human's legs - it works every time - What a lovely pussy cat you are said my human. Would you like to live here with me and my doggy? Right on! I purred, flicking my back leg in the direction of Doggy Woggy.
Writers: Cynthia Barbara Noeline Dot Wendy Moira Ethel Eileen Joyce Cynthia
I woke up to see a big brown bear sitting by the fire and wondered how he could possibly have got into the house. Now I had to work out a way to get him outside.
**I was very careful to move slowly around him as bears do not like sudden movements. I gently opened the door wide and got behind the
**bed, hoping he would decide to go - but no, he didn't move, except to fix his big brown eyes on me and growl gently. I couldn't help feeling scared, but decided that wasn't going to remove a bear. Perhaps - bears like
** honey so I went to the food cupboard and saw sugar and honey. 'Thank goodness,' I thought. 'I'm saved!!'
The brown eyes looked greedy when he saw the goodies, I lay them
** out on the floor in front of him. When he saw the honey he grabbed the jar, but couldn't fit his huge paw into the opening. At first he seemed quite puzzled, but then, realising he could tip it out, began to pour it all over my beautiful carpet. To my horror, he stooped down and began
** slurping up the honey, managing to spread it everywhere.
This was too much! I forgot I was afraid of bears and grabbed the broom.
"That's enough of that! Out! Go on! I had that carpet shampooed last week and no bear is going to make a slobbery honey mess on it."
But the
** bear seemed to take no notice at all. It was just as if I was hitting a fly. I thought maybe if I asked him to go nicely he would, but no, he just wouldn't. I know bears like honey, so I got a jar of honey and
** the door jamb. Good grief, I thought, he's invited his friends. I rolled the honey jar out through the door opening and the bear chased after it. I sighed with relief.
Writers:
Barbara Noeline Dot Wendy Moira Ethel Eileen Joyce Cynthia Barbara
I knew a lady who owned sixteen elephants. She was a very rich and powerful ruler in India. She used the elephants to do all the hard heavy work. They would all
** queue up in the morning outside her palace, and she would instruct the mahouts, or riders, on their tasks for the day. One day, only fifteen elephants and their riders appeared outside the palace.
"Where is my sixteenth elephant?"
** Everyone quivered with fright, she was not a nice person and most likely somebody's head would be chopped off if the other elephant did not appear. They all shouted and tried to figure our where it could be. Then they heard a
** childish little laugh, and rounding the corner of the palace wall appeared the missing sixteenth elephant, with a small child, who looked to be about eight years old, riding on its back. She
** wasn't actually a little girl after all; she was a genie. The genie had heard about the elephants and decided she wanted one.
Being a genie, she possessed magic gifts. She looked at the owner of the elephants and then, with a snap of her fingers, gave the elephant the gift of being able to fly.
**So away he went up into the sky, and flew all over the world, and was able to see places he had never dreamed of. Eventually he came over Australia and looking down, he saw these strange animals.
**They were standing on their hind legs and had pointed faces and ears, and their fore legs up in front of them. They were jumping and hopping about. The genie saw them too and decided the land the elephant in the middle of them
**Oh dear, my poor trunk, it is hurting, surely it's not broken.
Writers:
Noeline Dot Wendy Moira Ethel Eileen Joyce Cynthia Barbara Noeline
I woke up to see a big brown bear sitting by the fire. At first, I thought I was dreaming, but when the creature looked at me and growled, I knew I was very much awake. What to do? Bears and humans don't usually mix very well. Perhaps
** What else could I find? I had a tray of scones cooking in the oven, but they probably weren't quite done, and when they were, would still be quite hot. He eyed me suspiciously as I tried to work my way around the table without making too much movement. As
** I got closer to the over the bear started to get to its feet. It was VERY large when it stood on its hind legs. I managed to open the oven and pull out the tray of scones, but before I could do anything else a big paw grabbed them. The bear started
** to eat a scone, but of course it was very hot, so he was soon looking for some water to cool his mouth down. I felt like saying "Serves you right," but he really was a big brown bear and I was really too afraid to say anything to him.
**I quickly got a big bucket of water and he plunged his mouth in and took a huge mouthful. He looked up at me with big grateful eyes. I thought how awful of me to think bad things about him. He wasn't
** all as aggressive as I thought. I remember my teacher saying that you shouldn't judge people by their looks.
** Usually bears do like to take a nap after they've eaten and that is exactly what he proceeded to do. He lay down in front of the fire, closed his eyes and soon his loud snores were shaking the house.
Writers:
Dot Wendy Moira Ethel Eileen Joyce Cynthia Barbara Noeline Dot
The first manned space mission to Mars took a cat with them. He was small and black. His whiskers were quite long and his eyes a lovely bright golden colour. He was quite happy among the men on this trip,
** even thought they always put him out at night, to wander the planet. It wasn't too cold though and he loved to fossick about and see how many little Martian creatures he could find. There was the very fast tiny green jelly
** octopus, which ran around on all its legs.
On the rare occasions the cat caught one of these, it really didn't know what to do with it. He did nibble on one green leg and it tasted awful!
The explorers didn't know it, but there were already cats living on Mars. But
** they were so very different from the cats that he had known on earth. These strange creatures were green. Also they were shiny because they had no fur. And their eyes, well, they were so very very crossed,
** and their ears were very long and went to a sharp point at the top. Compared to our cats, they were not a pretty sight, but they had beautiful natures, and they never got nasty.
** wondered how they kept warm in the cold climate. At least it wouldn't
** It actually made the Mars cats very lazy, and all they did all day was lie in the empty canals and let the Mars mice run all over them. Yes, there were mice on Mars, too - but they had fur, and
Writers:
Wendy Moira Ethel Eileen Joyce Cynthia Barbara Noeline Dot Wendy
I knew a lady who owned sixteen elephants. She must have had a very busy life, having to care for such a large amount of large animals, but she managed. Each morning she woke up very early to a cacophony of loud trumpeting. Of course, the elephants were very hungry.
** It must have cost her a fortune in hay and fruit and vegies, but she seemed happy enough.
Until the day she acquired a cat. The cat was given to her by a neighbour, whose cat had recently had kittens. It was black and white and a very determined and self centred beast.
And it hated all other animals!
** It looked so funny, this tiny cat running around the elephants, but although it hated the elephants, they did not seem to mind it, and seemed to tread very carefully when it was around, because it would have been disastrous.
**One day one of the elephants picked up the cat with his long trunk and swung him up onto his back. Puss sat up there and felt very important. He could see new things as well at his new high level.
** What a task for a little cat, trying to lead sixteen elephants. What games they could play, or would
** they be kind to him and let him sleep in a warm spot in the corner. He promised to get rid of the mice who
** infested the elephants' quarters, and in return they would let him ride along on all their expeditions. This arrangement was going well, until the lady decided to get a dog. Mayhem and pandemonium! The dog hated the cat and the elephants
** and they in return hated him. They decided to have a meeting to decide what to do about this horrible interruption in their lives and were all given a slip of paper to write their suggestions on. After about five minutes the papers were collected.
Writers:
Moira Ethel Eileen Joyce Cynthia Barbara Noeline Dot Wendy Moira
I woke up to see a big brown bear sitting by the fire. Even worse, it was busy eating my breakfast.
"Hey, stop that!" I yelled. "I need my coffee and bacon and eggs to get going in the morning."
The bear looked back at me and snarled, then drank the last of my
** coffee which I had really been looking forward to having, and of course I was not very happy that I had not had any breakfast either. I was quite ready to hit him, but he was
**looking at me so fiercely I was afraid to do so. I went up to him and said quite cautiously "Why have you eaten my breakfast? You can hunt your own." He looked at me with his great brown eyes and two big tears rolled down his cheeks. Whatever
** is the matter? I said. The bear gave a great big sniffle. Nobody likes big brown bears around here, he said, so they don't leave any food out for me to eat.
** he go to meet friendly people. Perhaps he could stroll down to the school where the children were. He was sure to find lots of
** children who liked bears - after all, Christopher Robin did! He said, "Goodbye," to me, and trotted out of the door, heading for the school. The school bell had just gone, and the children were slowly and reluctantly filing into school. When they saw
** this huge animal they screamed and ran.
"Please don't be afraid," the bear called to them. But they took no notice and hid behind the desks and chairs.
I've had enough of this, the bear thought, and punched out the windows. They made a terrific noise
** as the glass smashed. He managed to squeeze through the biggest hole, but cutting his foot pad as he climbed out. It hurt a lot, but he pressed on regardless, leaving a trail of bloody footprints on the
** playground.
All the children and teachers were yelling and shouting and running around in a panic.
The bear ran back to my house. He wasn't just sad, he was cross and his foot hurt.
I was busy making myself the coffee I had really needed, when the bear burst back into my house.
"They're all scared of me!" he cried. "What can I do?"
I rolled my eyes. "Why ask me?" And then I remembered my next door neighbour was a witch. I ran to her for help. She turned the bear into a cat. Everyone lived happily ever after.
Writers:
Ethel Eileen Joyce Cynthia Barbara Noeline Dot Wendy Moira Ethel
I woke up to see a big brown bear sitting by the fire warming his toes. He was quite big, and a deep chocolate brown, and such lovely big brown eyes. He had a book which he was reading and when I looked it was Pooh Corner,
** Now everyone knows the bear Winnie the Pooh and the stories that were told about her, but I couldn't understand what a bear would be doing reading Winnie the Pooh.
How come you are sitting there reading Pooh, shouldn't you be out in
** the countryside rambling through the grass and enjoying the sunshine?"
The bear sighed. "You see I'm not an outdoor bear. I much prefer to
** I did so enjoy the time I spent in your house. I was
"I'm sorry, you can't stay here.
** I have ten children, my father and mother in law, my own parents so you see I have no room."
"What about a tent in the garden?"
"Sorry," I said, "but the garden is full of gnomes." This didn't stop the pleading for a space in my house, but I was
** determined not to let the bear stay. They are such messy things, dropping hair all over the place, and really only like to eat fish, you know. I could never keep up with the food bills, and imagine the smell!
Apart from anything else, they want to sleep all winter, and it's hard enough getting my husband up in the mornings, let alone ten kids and a bear Just imagine
** the grumpiness and then the tantrums after it had been asleep all winter.
Not to forget it would be dreadfully hungry!
But the bear kept hassling me and pleading to be allowed to stay. Finally I decided the best thing to do would be to find someone who'd take him off my hands and out of my house! But it wasn't
**that easy. None of my friends wanted him, they thought about the same problems that I was thinking about. Sleepy bears, mess everywhere. Then I thought, what about a zoo. The children all love the bears in the zoo, so that's where he went and to my knowledge he is there to this day. Because as you know bears can live to be quite old.
Writers:
Eileen Joyce Cynthia Barbara Noeline Dot Wendy Moira Ethel Eileen
I knew a lady who had sixteen elephants, she lived in a great big house that had a huge cellar. this was where the elephants were kept.
The lady had names for all the ellies, Rose, Nanny, Pearl, Jane, Margo and Sally; they were all the girls. The boys' names - well they didn't have any!
**The elephants worked for the local circus where they performed wonderful tricks and the children who came to see them clapped and cheered which made the elephants happy.
** Some children were naughty and tried to run after the elephants and grab their little tails. Fortunately
** their tails were out of reach of little hands!
They liked doing the balancing acts where they had to stand on a small strong box - it was very tricky trying
** obey. So I took some sweets to make their lives happier and decided to start a campaign to close circuses and suchlike that use animals. I found many people agreed with me and gradually these shows
** all agree with not using animals. Quite reasonably, all the lion tamers, bareback riders and monkey owners found it difficult to retrain. They didn't know what to do with themselves. many of them missed the animals they had raised from cubs, or foals, or whatever.
**So they went to the owner of the circus and said, What about we have the animals back but we make their living conditions better and make sure they get plenty of exercise and the best of food. The owners considered this and then agreed. So everyone was happy and the little children who normally wouldn't get to see some of the animals, were able to go to the circus and see them all. So all ended well for everyone.
copyright © 2007 BSCC Writing Group