A Candy Cane or Two

        Dan shivered. The wind whisked the snow around outside and the fire was dead. It was Christmas eve and Dan's family still hadn't but a single pine needle. It was held in Dan's hand, small and lonely. Just like him. Dan lived in a shabby New England house with his mother and father who, were often gone either looking for a new job, or doing the one they had. They had a very poor bank account which kept taking bits of money from them, and they had not much money to spare. At school his classmates kept jeering at him for his poor clothes, and he dreaded gym time when he'd be teased of being skinny and weak. But worst of all, Dan and his parents hadn't any money for buying Christmas decorations, and there was no tree. The only tree was the big strong oak tree out in their front yard. And it definitely wasn't a good Christmas tree, with it's scratchy bark and leafless branches it looked more like a Halloween tree. Dan sadly looked at the place where their chimney used to be. It had fallen down a week ago, too rackety and old to stand up much longer. How is Santa Claus going to get in here if we have no chimney? Dan wondered. Then he thought, Maybe that is a good thing it fell down now. Maybe it would have fallen down when Santa was in it and then he got hurt. But Dan still wished the chimney would have fallen down after Christmas was over. Dan sighed. It wasn't fair everybody got Christmas but he didn't. Oh well. He thought. At least we have one pine needle. He looked at the needle and groaned. Other kids got a whole tree full of pine needles and all he had was one. He rolled onto his stomach and fell sound asleep, dreaming of driving Santa's sleigh for him.

             The sleigh was shaking! All the presents were sliding to one side, then the other! They were going straight towards a tall house's chimney! They were going to crash! They were going to brake all the presents! They were- Dan woke with a start. His mom was shaking him gently. He groaned. He didn't want anything to do with a Christmas where he didn't get any gifts. But, annoyingly, his mom kept shaking him until he finally sat up and looked around. Dan had fallen asleep in the living room. Then Dan saw something. It was a baby Christmas tree in a pot too big for it's mini size, sitting in the middle of the living room. Dan just stared at it, his mouth wide open like a cat trying to eat a pigeon. Tied onto it's tiny trunk was a tag. Dan scooted over, his mouth closing slowly. It read, For Dan Gilltrip, a good boy. From, Santa Claus. Dan jumped up and down with excitement, then noticed five little figures under the tree. He picked them up; they were candy canes! One of them was for his dad, one for his mom, and THREE  for him! He nibbled a little on one, then he and his family sang some Christmas songs and had a very happy holiday. And from then on, Dan knew that it doesn't matter how fancy or how many gifts you get, it's the joy and excitement that counts.

                                                                             THE END

A Little Too Much Snow

The wind howled like a starving lion, and the snowflakes slammed against the window. It was a blizzard, and Harrison was watching it on the sofa in the living room, wondering if Santa could come in such weather. His mom was putting Sofia to bed in her crib and dad was making some Christmas cookies for Santa. Harrison sighed; he was very bored. And worried. What if Santa Claus couldn't make it here in time for Christmas? Then he thought, 'Maybe he can. After all, he is magic, right?' A voice made him jump. "You thinking about how Santa is going to get here?" It was his dad, who had snuck up to Harrison while he thought. Harrison answered,"Uh, yeah, um.... can he make it?" He looked hopefully up at his dad, nervously awaiting the answer. His dad sat on the couch and held him in his arms. "I used to wonder the exact same thing." he began. "But now I understand. No matter how hard it snows, he will always get here to deliver presents on time." Harrison sighed with relief, then burned with curiosity. "How do you know?" he asked suspiciously. His dad replied, "It is not possible for a person so loving and reliable to be late on such a special night. He will do whatever it takes to get here, and give you gifts." Harrison just nodded, lost in thoughts.

The fire crackled, and the snow-storm was rapidly dying. Harrison blinked his eyes open, then closed them again. Oh, was he tired! Then he remembered. IT WAS CHRISTMAS! His eyes shot open and his tiredness evaporated like dew in front of a heater. Had Santa really made it? He jumped out of bed and ran down the hall, into the living room where the Christmas tree stood. Sure enough, presents were scattered about under it's bottom layer of pine needles. Their bright colors and patterns made him feel even more joyful. He ran into his parents room and woke them up for an exciting day of opening presents. And for the rest of his life, Harrison never again doubted Santa's being late for Christmas. And neither should you.

The First Snowman ever

Once there was a dog. He was just an ordinary dog, lying on the rug in front of the fireplace, chewing his master Corvin's shoes, and chasing the neighbor's cat, Mully. But there was something wierd going on that Winter day in December. Corvin's stuff was all packed in boxes and he cried every time he looked at his dog, Witch Boy. Witch Boy didn't understand what was going on; how could he? He was only a loyal dog. Then, the next day, Witch Boy woke up to the closing of the front door, as Corvin left the house. Quickly, Witch jumped up and ran to the door, but, alas, it was too late. Corvin was driving away, crying deeply, in a huge truck. Witch Boy paced the floor, then noticed the window was open. He jumped up and out, but the truck- and Corvin- were out of sight. Whimpering, Witch Boy,plopped down in the snow, causing a little snowball a boy had left there to roll down the hill which he was on. It grew bigger and bigger, and then PLOP! it stopped at the bottom of the hill. This gave Witch an idea. He could make a Corvin of his own! He jumped to his feet and made another giant snowball, a little smaller this time, so he could lift it on to the other one. Then, he made an even smaller one this time. After he'd lifted the smallest one up top, Witch Boy put two buttons for the eyes, pieces of coal for buttons, and sticks for arms. But it still didn't look like Corvin, so Witch Boy added a scarf and hat. There. All done. He sighed, and lay down to sleep. Just then, three boys rounded the corner, talking. Then they spotted the the man made of snow and ran home to tell their parents. News soon spread about the 'snowman', as they called it. All the children in town started building ones just like Witch's, and it wasn't long before the newspaper found out. And, Witch, the 'snowman dog', spent the rest of his life making snowmen with the boys and drinking hot chocolate with them.

THE END

The Color-blind Bee:Chapter 1

The sun was shining. The flowers were blooming. And everyone in Buzzy Hive was out and about, collecting honey, stirring it, or simply making breakfast. That is, everyone except one mother bee, who, at that moment, was in her egg nursery in one of the holes inside the hive. Her second group of eggs were just starting to hatch, to soon start school and help the hive get richer in suclles (SUH-kle: every centimeter of honey's a suclle). The hive was a big one, a whole wall in fact, inside the Hill Land museum in Pacifica, CA. And all the while, the mother bee, whose name was Brenda, was thinking hard about what she would call her children when CRACK CRACK POP! out came the first bee, a male it turned out to be. Next came his sister, CRACK, CRACK, POP! Then 10 more came, CRACK-ITY CRACK-ITY POP POP POP! But one still remained still, not even shaking. One of the boy bees asked in a squeaky voice, "Why is that egg not hatching?" Then, not waiting for a answer, he scuttled over and poked the egg. Then, CRRRAAACK! CRRRAAACK! POP! A boy bee popped out of the egg. Brenda gasped. His eyes were, well, different! Instead of being blue, brown, or green, they were gray! TO BE CONTINUED...