Keziah Sharpens Pencils

 

I’ve been having some fun with my five-year old niece, coming up with new ideas for some short pieces. These are two stories- one is about sharpening pencils, and the other is about facing some fears, at the pool. It was fun to share ideas with a fresh, young imagination. The spaces in the first one are to mark each page.

                    KEZIAH SHARPENS PENCILS

                            By Vicki-Keziah’s aunt 

                                (Victoria Simpson)

Keziah was sharpening pencils. They were all  dull. 

 

“They need to be sharper,” she said.

“Ok,” said her Aunt Vicki. “But don’t sharpen too long.”

“But I have a lot of pencils,” said Keziah. 

And she sharpened and sharpened. 

She sharpened all afternoon.  

 “You need to stop!” her Aunt Vicki said. 

But Keziah said, 

“I can’t- I have A LOT of pencils. I’m going to be sharpening all day and all night for two days to

get this done, and I won’t be able to stop for food or water, or to go to the bathroom.”

“But then you’re going to disappear in all the shavings!” said her Aunt Vicki.

Keziah was called to dinner. “I’ll be right back,” she said. “Don’t worry. Please watch my pencils and

make sure that no monsters, or elephants get them.”

“Ok,” said her Aunt Vicki. 

And so, Keziah went to dinner-it was her grandfather's birthday- and she ate everything BUT her 

broccoli. She came back and kept on going. 

She sharpened all day, and all night and while she was working, her Aunt Vicki wrote this story. 

Keziah ate left-over ice cream and cake with sprinkles and icing.  

And so that she didn’t get too thirsty, she drank raindrops at night and the dew from flowers.  

And sometimes her Aunt Vicki let her go to the bathroom.  

And finally….

after two days……

… she could draw this picture. 

                                       

  

                             KEZIAH VISITS THE POOL

                                    by Victoria Simpson

Keziah sat on the grass. She was very hot. She wanted to go swimming. 

“Then jump in,” said her Aunt Vicki.

“I WOULD but I can’t,” said Keziah. “I think it’s pretty obvious that it’s really likely there’s a very big sea monster waiting at the bottom of the pool. If you care to notice.”

“That could be,” said her Aunt Vicki.

Keziah moved to the edge of the water. She looked in.

“Hey, SEA monster!” she yelled. “This is a POOL- get out and go back the way you came!”   

And so a GIANT sea monster with many legs and two tails and fifteen ears jumped out of the water and onto the deck. He got water everywhere.

“See,” said Keziah. “I’m usually right.”

“Could you please move? You’re stepping on my towel,” Aunt Vicki said to the monster. 

He moved to the right. 

Keziah stood there in the sun. It was still very hot. 

“Well, it looks like the coast is clear,” said Aunt Vicki. “Everything’s safe.”

“Not really,” said the sea monster. “Not if you count the wild orangutans. They’re all still here.”

Aunt Vicki looked doubtful.

“This is a pool-there aren’t any monkeys around.”

 “Not monkeys- orangutans,” said Keziah, nodding. “And yes, there are. Obviously you can’t see them because you’re reading, but they’re here. They’re hanging from the trees!”

“That’s right,” said the sea monster. 

“Really,” said Aunt Vicki. 

“Sure,” said Keziah, and she took a step across the patio. 

“Ok, crazy orangutans-ok, great APES, that’s it! Everybody down! Everyone out of the branches!”

Keziah and Aunt Vicki and the sea monster waited. And then fifty-seven orangutans dropped from the pines and landed on the ground.

“Really? FIFTY-SEVEN?” said the sea monster, surprised. 

“It’s hot,” Keziah explained. “EVERYONE wants in the shade.”

 “EVERYONE. And I can still see them. And I’ll tell you-I’m coming to get you!”

And so, she took a long walk. She got the snake out of the garbage, and the tiger out of the recycling and the rats out the filters. She got the dragons out of the bushes, and the three-toed porcupines out of the snack box. And then she got the genie out of the sunscreen, and the snoring armadillo to come out of the shower.

 “That’s much better,” she said. 

The armadillo scratched his ears.

“It IS really hot,” he said.  

"Time to go SWIMMING!"