The Ugly Duckling

Last week, my teacher told us that on the next Saturday, we have to tell the short story we had published without see the text. But we can show the pictures that related to the story. The short story that I have published isn't short at all for me LOL. So, I wanted to change the story. This story is very short. This story was made by Hans Christian Andersen. I found it from here. Hope you enjoy it! 

Once upon a time, a mother duck sat on her eggs. She felt tired of sitting on them. She just wished the eggs would break out.

Several days later, she got her wish. The eggs cracked and some cute little ducklings appeared. "Peep, peep" the little ducklings cried. "Quack, quack" their mother greeted in return.

However the largest egg had not cracked. The mother duck sat on it for several days. Finally, it cracked and a huge ugly duckling waddled out. The mother duck looked at him in surprise. He was so big and very gray. He didn't look like the others at all. He was like a turkey.

When the mother duck brought the children to the pond for their first swimming lesson. The huge grey duckling splashed and paddled about just as nicely as the other ducklings did. "That is not a turkey chick. He is my very own son and quite handsome" the mother said proudly.

However, the other animals didn't agree. They hissed and made fun of him day by day. Even his own sisters and brothers were very unkind. "You are very ugly" they quacked.

The little poor duckling was very unhappy. "I wish I looked like them" he thought to himself.

One day, the ugly duckling run away and hid in the bushes. The sad duckling lived alone through the cold and snow winter. Finally the spring flowers began to bloom. While he was swimming in the pond, he saw three large white swans swimming toward him. "Oh, dear. these beautiful birds will laugh and peck me too" he said to himself. But the swans did not attack him. Instead, they swam around him and stroked him with their bills. As the ugly duckling bent his neck to speak to them, he saw his reflection in the water. He could not believe his eyes. "I am not an ugly duckling but a beautiful swan" he exclaimed.

He was very happy. From that day on, he swam and played with his new friends and was happier than he had never been.

The Dragon Rock

Yesterday, I attended the English class after I had exercise at Lapbal. And then, my teacher give us a task to find a short story and post it in our blog. I decided to find a short stories after I had dinner. But when I wanted to find it, I fell asleep. Fortunately, today I found a children short story from here that has been made by Ellena Hasley. By the way, this story isn't short at all. Hope you enjoy this story! XD

     This story begins with Once Upon A Time, because the best stories do, of course.

     So, Once Upon A Time, and imagine if you can, a steep sided valley cluttered with giant, spiky green pine trees and thick, green grass that reaches to the top of your socks so that when you run, you have to bring your knees up high, like running through water. Wildflowers spread their sweet heady perfume along the gentle breezes and bees hum musically to themselves as they cheerily collect flower pollen.

     People are very happy here and they work hard, keeping their houses spick and span and their children's faces clean.

     This particular summer had been very hot and dry, making the lean farm dogs sleepy and still. Farmers whistled lazily to themselves and would stand and stare into the distance, trying to remember what it was that they were supposed to be doing. By two o'clock in the afternoon, the town would be in a haze of slumber, with grandmas nodding off over their knitting and farmers snoozing in the haystacks. It was very, very hot.

     No matter how hot the day, however, the children would always play in the gentle, rolling meadows. With wide brimmed hats and skin slippery with sun block, they chittered and chattered like sparrows, as they frolicked in their favourite spot.

     Now, their favourite spot is very important to this story because in this particular spot is a large, long, scaly rock that looks amazingly similar to a sleeping dragon.

     The children knew it was a dragon.

     The grown ups knew it was a dragon.

     The dogs and cats and birds knew it was a dragon.

     But nobody was scared because it never, ever moved.

     The boys and girls would clamber all over it, poking sticks at it and hanging wet gumboots on its ears but it didn't mind in the least. The men folk would sometimes chop firewood on its zigzagged tail because it was just the right height and the Ladies Weaving Group often spun sheep fleece on its spikes.

     Often on a cool night, when the stars were twinkling brightly in a velvet sky and the children peacefully asleep, the grown ups would settle for the evening with a mug of steaming cocoa in a soft cushioned armchair. Then the stories about How The Dragon Got There began. Nobody knew for sure, there were many different versions depending on which family told the tale, but one thing that everybody agreed on, was this:

     In Times of Trouble

     The Dragon will Wake

     And Free the Village

     By making a Lake

     This little poem was etched into everybody's minds and sometimes appeared on tea towels and grandma's embroidery.

     The days went by slowly, quietly and most importantly, without any rain. There had been no rain in the valley for as long as the children could remember. The wells were starting to bring up muddy brown water and clothes had to be washed in yesterday's dishwater. The lawns had faded to a crisp biscuit colour and the flowers drooped their beautiful heads. Even the trees seemed to hang their branches like weary arms. The valley turned browner and drier and thirstier, every hot, baking day.

     The townsfolk grew worried and would murmur to each other when passing with much shaking of heads and tut tuts. They would look upwards searching for rain clouds in the blue, clear sky, but none ever came.

     "The tale of the Dragon cannot be true," said old Mrs Greywhistle, the shopkeeper.

     "It hasn't moved an inch, I swear," replied her customer, tapping an angry foot.

     It was now too hot for the children to play out in the direct sun and they would gather under the shade of the trees, digging holes in the dust and snapping brittle twigs.

     "The Dragon will help us soon," said one child.

     "He must do Something," agreed another.

     "I'm sure he will."

     They all nodded in agreement.

     A week went by with no change, the people struggling along as best they could. Some were getting cross at the Dragon and would cast angry, sideways looks at it when passing. The villagers were becoming skinny eyed and sullen.

     Meanwhile, the children had a plan.

     Quickly and quietly, they moved invisibly around town, picking and plucking at the fading flowers. With outstretched arms and bouquets up to their chins, they rustled over to where the giant rock lay, as still as ever.

     The boys and girls placed bunches of flowers around the Dragon in a big circle. They scattered petals around its head and over its nose, then danced around and around it, skipping and chanting the rhyme that they all knew so well.

     In Times of Trouble 

     The Dragon Will Wake 

     And Save the Village 

     By making a Lake

     The searing heat made them dizzy and fuzzy and finally they all fell in a sprawling heap at the bottom of the mound. They looked up at the rock.

     Nothing happened.

     A dry wind lazily picked up some flower heads and swirled them around. The air was thick with pollen and perfume. A stony grey nostril twitched.

     "I saw something," cried the youngest boy.

     They stared intently.

     An ear swiveled like a periscope.

     The ground began to rumble.

     "Look out! Run!Run!"

     The children scampered in all directions, shrieking and squealing, arms pumping with excitement.

     The rumbling grew and grew.

     The Dragon raised its sleepy head. It got onto its front feet and sat like a dog. It stood up and stretched, arching its long scaly back like a sleek tabby cat. It blinked and looked around with big kind, long lashed eyes.

     And then its nostrils twitched and quivered again.

     The older folk were alerted by the screams and shrieks. The ladies held up their long skirts to run and the men rolled their sleeves up and soon the whole town stood together in a tight huddle at the foot of the hill, staring up at the large beast with mouths held open.

     "AHHHHH AAHHHHHHHHH!!"

     The noise erupted from the Dragon.

     "AHHHHH AAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"

     The families gripped each other tighter and shut their eyes.

     "AHHHHH CHOOOOOOOOO!!"

     The sneeze blasted from the Dragon like a rocket, throwing it back fifty paces, causing a whirlwind of dust and dirt.

     "AHHHHH CHOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"

     The second blast split open the dry earth, sending explosions of soil and tree roots high into the sky like missiles, and something else too ...

     The people heard the sound but couldn't recognize it at first for it had been such a long time since their ears had heard such tinkling melody. As their eyes widened in wonder, their smiles turned into grins and then yahoos and hoorahs.

     Water, cold, clear spring water, oozed, then trickled, then roared out of the hole, down the hillside and along the valley floor.

     The torrent knocked over a farmer's haystack, but he didn't care.

     The river carried away the schoolteacher's bike shed but she cared not a jot. It even demolished the Ladies Bowling Club changing rooms but they howled with laughter and slapped their thighs. When the flood sent pools of water out towards the golf course, filling up sixteen of the nineteen holes, the men just hooted and whistled and threw their caps up in the air.

     What used to be a dirty, brown dust bowl, now gleamed and glistened in the sunlight, sending playful waves and ripples across the lake and inviting all to share.

     "HMMMMM," sighed the Dragon sleepily, and showing his perfect movie star teeth. "Seeing as I'm awake ..."

     And he lumbered forward with surprising grace and style and disappeared into the cool dark water with a small wave of a claw and flick of his tail.

     They never saw him again.

     After the families had restored and rebuilt the village, and set up sailing clubs for the children, and scuba diving for the grandparents, they erected a bandstand and monument in the spot where the Dragon used to lay. Every year to mark the occasion, they would bring garlands of flowers and herbs and arrange them in a big circle. The children would have the day off school, for it was known as 'Water Dragon Day' and wearing the dragon masks that they had been working on all week, would skip and clap and sing.

     The Dragon helped Us
     As We said He would Do
     Hooray for The Dragon
     Achoo, Achoo, ACHOOOO!

     And that is the end of the story.

MY UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE

When I was in 8th grade, exactly on October 9th, 2011, all of the 8th grade students went to Jogjakarta for a study tour. First, we gathered at school at 7 o'clock. When all of us had gathered, the buses left the school. In the bus, I sat with Nadyra. There is a tour guide, we called him "Kak Digit". He is very kind and friendly. Because we felt bored, we watch Insidious in the bus. That film was scary and many people screamed like "aaaaaa aaaaaa". After watched that film, I slept because I was very sleepy.

I woke up in the next day at 5 o'clock. We had arrived at the mosque. After did the prayer, we went to restaurant in Wates. And we took a bath at that restaurant. It was the first time for me to take a bath at a restaurant. After took a bath, we had a breakfast. And then, we went to Keraton Jogjakarta. At Keraton Jogjakarta, we saw many historical objects.

After saw historical objects at Keraton Jogjakarta, we went to pottery centers. I didn't buy pottery or craft from there. I just bought es dawet. From pottery centers, we went to the hotel and then check in. My roommates are Nadyra, Nawang, Laksmi, and Santi. At the hotel we took a rest, ate snacks, and watched television. And I went to another my friends' rooms.

On 5 o'clock in the afternoon, we went to Malioboro. I didn't took a bath. because I had no much time. On the way to Malioboro, we watched a film again, but I forget what the title is. At Malioboro, I just bought some t-shirts. After that, we went back to the bus and went to hotel. On the way to hotel, I slept.

As soon as we arrived at hotel, we wanted to deliver a pizza, but unfortunately the pizza is exhausted. So, we went to our friends' room and ask some snacks to them. After ate snack, we went to the bed because it had already midnight.

When I woke up in the next day, I was sad because that was the last day in Jogjakarta. After we woke up, we took a bath, and had a breakfast. After breakfast, we check out from hotel. And then, we went to Borobudur Temple. From the entrance of Borobudur to the front of Borobudur, we took a mini train because the weather was hot and we were certain we will get tired if we walk to the front of Borobudur. From Borobudur, my friend and I bought a t-shirt and some craft for our brother.

After that, we went back to the bus and then went to the restaurant to have a dinner. On the way to restaurant, I played card with my friends. When we were at restaurant, there are some of our friends that sang and entertain us. After had a dinner, we went to Bandung. We arrived in Bandung at around 3 a.m. And then I called my mother and asked her to pick me up.

MY FRIEND'S BIOGRAPHY

Hello everyone, I want to write a biography of my friend. Her name is Fia Shaumi Setiadi. Her friends and I usually call her Fia. She lives at Setiabudi Regency. She was born on January 4^th, 1998. She is 15 years old. She likes eating everyfood. Her hobby is watching television. She loves watching Running Man. Her favourite subject is Physics. She likes Physics because another people don’t like Physics.

Fia has known me since we were in 7^th grade. We were on the same Junior High School. We were also in the same extracurricular. Our extracurricular was taekwondo.

Fia has one younger brother. Her brother’s name is Vivaldi. Vivaldi is a 6^th grade student at SDPN Setiabudi. He was born on December 26^th, 2002. He is 10 years old.

Fia wish she could enter Cambridge University because Cambridge University is the best university in the world. Her inspiring person is Rasulullah SAW because Rasulullah SAW is the best person in the world.

MY BIOGRAPHY

Left to the right: My cousin, me

Hello everyone, I want to write my biography. My name is Ayla Fauziana Rahmani. My friends usually call me Ayla. I was born on May 31^st, 1998. I am 15 years old. I live at Jl. Pacuan Kuda no. 145-A, Arcamanik, Bandung. I am a 10^th grade student at 3 Senior High School, and I am from 5 Junior High School. My school is favourite school in Bandung, West Java, even in Indonesia. I am very proud that I can study in this school, because there are so many people who wants to be there , but no one can be the student of this school if he/she can’t pass the passing grade.

My hobbies are reading novels and comics. My favourite novels are Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, The Secrets of The Immortal Nicholas Flamel, and many fantasy novel that I can’t mention one by one in here. My favourite comics are Detective Conan and Naruto. My favourite food are cuanki and meatball. My favourite subject is Math, because Math is challenging.

I live with my younger brother, my mother, and my father. My  younger brother’s name is Muhammad Faiz Ramadhan. I usually call him “Dek”, but his friends usually call him Faiz. He was born on September 26^th, 2006. He is 6 years old. Now he is a 1^st grade student at Arcamanik Endah elementary school which is my elementary school too. He loves watching cartoons, like Ninja Hattori, Daigunder, Spongebob Squarepants, Kobochan, and so on.

My younger brother

My mother’s name is Lia Muliawaty. She was born on May 30^th, 1969. She is 44 years old. She is graduated from Institut Pertanian Bogor. She doesn’t work anymore, because she has to take care of my brother and I.

My father’s name is Ayek Cahya Priatna. He was born on October 10^th, 1967. He is 45 years old. He is graduated from Institut Pertanian Bogor too, the same as my mother. He is an employee.