Modern Grimm Student Anthology

Transcription

Modern
Grimmoire
a book of new and reimagined
fairy tales
A S mar ts ed uc ation Pr oj e c t from 53 s ta rk c ou n ty s tu de n ts
www.IndigoInkPress.org
Welcome
T
his Modern Grimm Student Anthology is made possible through a SmArts Program mini grant from ArtsinStark, The County
Arts Council, and created in conjunction with Indigo Ink Press’s third title, Modern Grimmoire: Contemporary Fairy Tales,
Fables, & Folklore.
ArtsinStark’s SmArts Grants Program encourages K-12 classroom teachers in all disciplines to integrate the tools and processes of the
arts into daily learning. SmArts encourages educators to reach out to the arts community as a resource for all students to learn and grow.
The focus of SmArts is to engage students and allow them to find meaning and make linkages across content areas. SmArts is not just arts
education-it is about using the arts in unison with traditional education.
The anthology represents students from throughout Stark County, grades six through 12, who have created new, original fairy tales, or
have reimagined existing tales. The result is this imaginative collection.
Special Thanks
We would like to offer our sincerest thanks to the 53 students who submitted their short stories, poetry and artwork to the Student Anthology, along with area educators and parents for making the publication possible! We are grateful for the support we received from
ArtsinStark and the staff, especially Robb Hankins, along with our volunteer committee. Huge thanks to Tim Belden and the Joseph
Saxton Gallery of Photography for hosting the exhibition and student celebration on First Friday, May 3, in the downtown Canton Arts District. Thanks also goes out to Sarah Lutz, designer extraordinaire, for her work in designing and laying out this beautiful
anthology.
About ArtsinStark, The County Arts Council
ArtsinStark’s mission is to use the arts to create smarter kids, new jobs and healthier communities. The organization was founded in 1968
to build the Cultural Center for the Arts. Today, ArtsinStark gives out grants, manages the Cultural Center and runs the Annual Arts
Campaign. For more information, visit: www.ArtsinStark.com.
About Indigo Ink Press
Tales and lore are enduring. They are transformational. Indigo Ink Press’s very reason for being is to publish the work of new and burgeoning writers and artists—those who have the power to transform us, but need the means. Founded in 2009 in Canton, Ohio, we are
a nonprofit independent publisher of fiction, poetry and art. Modern Grimmoire is our third title, and we are thrilled to present this
complementary student anthology to further the pursuit of the magic in the arts. For more information, visit: www.IndigoInkPress.org.
Meet the Committee
Chairman Gail Martino
Consultant for Fine Arts & Social Studies
Stark County Educational Service Center
Jennifer Hickman
Education Coordinator
ArtsinStark, The County Arts Council
Jess Bennett
Executive Director
Indigo Ink Press
Courtney Eason
Teacher
Jackson High School
Modern Grimm Student Anthology is © 2013 Indigo Ink Press. All of the work herein is the copyright
of the individual student, printed with permission. The works were printed as submitted. This book was
printed in the United States by USA QuickPrint in Canton, Ohio.
3
Modern Grimmoire
Student Anthology
Table of
contents
The Girl and the Golden Key, by Jennifer Adams, Grade 8, Tuslaw Middle School, Teacher: Mrs. Roger...................................... 6
The Music Box, by Jennifer Adams, Grade 8, Tuslaw Middle School, Teacher: Mrs. Roger............................................................... 6
The Poor Boy and His Princess, by Jennifer Adams, Grade 8, Tuslaw Middle School, Teacher: Mrs. Roger.................................. 7
First Snow, by Maggie Ash, Grade 9, Jackson School for the Arts, Teacher: Mrs. Snow..................................................................... 8
A Fairy’s Life, by Chrissy Berry, Grade 10, Malvern High School, Teacher: Mrs. Rossetti................................................................. 9
The Bad Seed, by Megan Borocki, Grade 10, Lake High School, Teacher: Mr. Wise....................................................................10-11
The Fox and the Man, by Eric Busson, Grade 9, Jackson School for the Arts, Teacher: Mrs. Snow................................................ 12
The Frog, the Bird, and the Queen, by Ashleigh Byrer, Grade 9, Jackson School for the Arts, Teacher: Mrs. Snow................... 13
Tears, by Joshua Carrico, Grade 9, Timken Senior High School, Teacher: Mrs. Ekmark.................................................................. 14
Sweetblood, by Andi Demetro, Grade 12, Glenoak High School, Teacher: Mrs. Muzi..................................................................... 15
Pursuit, by Andi Demetro, Grade 12, Glenoak High School, Teacher: Mrs. Muzi ............................................................................ 15
You Owe Me, by Andi Demetro, Grade 12, Glenoak High School, Teacher: Mrs. Muzi..............................................................16-17
Unknown Love, by Madison Dockery, Grade 9, Jackson School for the Arts, Teacher: Mrs. Snow................................................ 18
Untitled, by Ina Drummond, Grade 7, East Canton Middle School, Teacher: Ms. Eslich................................................................ 19
The Princess of Venustas, by Logan Fletcher, Grade 9, Jackson School for the Arts, Teacher: Mrs. Snow.................................... 20
A Twist of Fate, by Mackenzie Fox, Grade 9, Jackson School for the Arts, Teacher: Mrs. Snow.................................................21-22
Vanished, by Madyson Gabriele, Grade 9, Jackson School for the Arts, Teacher: Mrs. Snow.....................................................23-24
Memento, by Gabriella Gamboa, Grade 9, Jackson School for the Arts, Teacher: Mrs. Snow.......................................................... 25
The Dreamling, by Shelby Greene, Makenna Gundlach and Jenna Singer,
Grade 7, Fairless Middle School, Teacher: Mrs. Huffman.................................................................................................................26-33
The Three Little Pigs (The Wolf ’s Version),
by Alyssa Gene Howard, Grade 8, Lehman Middle School, Teacher: Mrs. Zutali.........................................................................34-35
The Perfect Happy Ever After, by Maria Jenkins, Grade 9, Jackson School for the Arts, Teacher: Mrs. Snow.............................. 36
Things Are Not Always As They Seem, by Hannah Jones, Grade 9, Jackson School for the Arts, Teacher: Mrs. Snow.............. 37
King Simon, by Alexis Lanier, Grade 9, Fairless High School, Teacher: Mr. Moritz.....................................................................38-41
The Smiling Mask, by Connor Lannes, Grade 10, Minerva High School........................................................................................... 42
Winning, by Rachel Lewis, Grade 12, Lake High School, Teacher: Mr. Wise..................................................................................... 43
Grandfather Death, by Daniel Lober, Grade 12, Jackson High School, Teacher: Mr. Piotrowski................................................... 44
Paid with Protection, by Nikk Manes, Grade 9, Jackson School for the Arts, Teacher: Mrs. Snow...........................................45-46
The Silent Princess, by Kaitlyn Marks, Grade 11, Jackson High School, Teacher: Mr. Piotrowski.................................................. 47
Greed and Generosity, by Stephanie Martzaklis, Grade 9, Jackson School for the Arts, Teacher: Mrs. Snow..........................48-49
Modern Grimmoire
Student Anthology
4
Table of
contents
A Cinderella Story, by Maryann C. Meniru, Grade 6, Jackson Memorial Middle School, Teacher: Mrs. Peters.....................50-54
The Corner of the Dark Forest, by Micaela Michalk, Grade 11, Lake High School, Teacher: Mr. Wise...................................55-57
The Necklace, by Sophia Morgan, Grade 10, Lake High School, Teacher: Mr. Wise......................................................................... 58
Mirror, Mirror, by Sophia Morgan, Grade 10, Lake High School, Teacher: Mr. Wise.................................................................59-60
Fair Maiden, by Alicia Nichols, Grade 9, Jackson School for the Arts, Teacher: Mrs. Snow............................................................ 61
The Princess and Running Moccasins, by Mia Nonno, Grade 9, Jackson School for the Arts, Teacher: Mrs. Snow................... 62
Cinderella: Happily Never After, by Mariah Powell, Grade 9, Jackson School for the Arts, Teacher: Mrs. Snow........................ 63
A Happily Ever After Just For You, by Alison Reynolds, Grade 9, Jackson School for the Arts, Teacher: Mrs. Snow............64-65
Three Soldiers: Regret, Pain, and Death,
by Hannah Rumble, Grade 10, Louisville High School, Teacher: Mrs. Mast....................................................................................... 66
The CareTaker by Hannah Rumble, Grade 10, Louisville High School, Teacher: Mrs. Mast........................................................... 66
The Wishing Fountain, by Hannah Rumble, Grade 10, Louisville High School, Teacher: Mrs. Mast............................................ 67
Down in the Forest of Dead Raven’s Point, by Ellie Russ, Grade 9, Jackson School for the Arts, Teacher: Mrs. Snow............... 68
The Ugly Duckling, by Kathryn Sanders, Grade 10, Jackson High School, Teacher: Mr. Piotrowski.............................................. 69
The Purple Jewel, by Lindsay Scheetz, Grade 9, Jackson School for the Arts, Teacher: Mrs. Snow................................................. 70
The Ones Who Survived, by Kaylah Simmons, Grade 9, Jackson School for the Arts, Teacher: Mrs. Snow................................. 71
The Quest, by Melanie Snier, Grade 9, Jackson School for the Arts, Teacher: Mrs. Snow................................................................. 72
Little Red Riding Hood, by Senna Storm (Taylor Lehman), Grade 12, R.G. Drage, Teacher: Mr. Reymond................................ 73
Num Num Blossom, by Greta Taylor, Grade 9, Jackson School for the Arts, Teacher: Mrs. Snow.................................................. 74
Untitled, by Katie Taylor, Grade 9, Jackson School for the Arts, Teacher: Mrs. Snow....................................................................... 75
Cavaliere and the Dragon, by Kyle Tilstra, Grade 9, Jackson School for the Arts, Teacher: Mrs. Snow........................................ 76
The Dance of the Spirits, by Ashleigh Vale, Grade 9, Jackson School for the Arts, Teacher: Mrs. Snow....................................... 77
Happily Ever After, by Lexee Valentine, Grade 9, Jackson School for the Arts, Teacher: Mrs. Snow............................................. 78
The Prince and the Princess, by Ripley Villers, Grade 9, Perry High School................................................................................79-82
Aster, by Mary Visco, Grade 6, Jackson Memorial Middle School, Teacher: Mrs. Peters.............................................................83-84
The Peril of the Kind Monkey, by Mitchell Walker, Grade 9, Jackson School for the Arts, Teacher: Mrs. Snow.......................... 85
The Little Woodland Creature, by Samantha Weaver, Grade 8, Lehman Middle School, Teacher: Mrs. Zutali........................... 86
Her Fatal Touch, by Shannon Weirtz, Grade 9, Jackson School for the Arts, Teacher: Mrs. Snow.................................................. 87
The Key to Her Heart, by Amanda Wise, Grade 11, Lake High School, Teacher: Mr. Wise........................................................88-89
Frog Prince, by Emily Wolfe, Grade 11, Malvern High School, Teacher: Mrs. Rossetti.................................................................... 90
Signifies Award Winner
5
Modern Grimmoire
Student Anthology
The Girl and the Golden Key
category: reimagined tale
by jennifer adams, grade 8, tuslaw middle school, teacher: mrs. roger
The Music Box
category: original tale
The Girl and the Golden Key
The Music Box
O
nce upon a time my father bought me a box. A
music box.
It played pretty music and there was a small
dancer inside. She was portrayed as evil and dark, but the
reason I wanted this box was because she looked like me.
The man at the register of the store warned me to keep
the box closed, but I soon forgot his warning.
My father and I walked home. When we arrived, I went
straight to my room to place my new box on the nightstand. My family and I went on with our lives as normal,
the box forgotten for a short while.
Many months later I couldn’t sleep. I decided to open
my music box and let it play hoping it would lull me to
sleep. It began to play and I slowly began to fall asleep.
Just as I was about to fall into the world of darkness the
box began to creak. The sweet and musical tune turned
into a dark and scary one.
The air around me began to change. Usually my room
would smell of floral perfume, but now it smelled vile;
like burnt meat. I opened my eyes.
All I saw was orange. Flames.
I looked toward my precious music box to see my ballerina gone. That moment I knew I had to get out, and I
did. But my family did not.
The only thing to survive this horrible fire was my
music box … and the dancer.
nce upon a time my grandfather gave me the
box. The iron box with the golden key. He had
found the key and box when he was eleven.
At the time he was very poor. The box and key was like
treasure to him, but in this day and age, this box and key
would be known as garbage. No one even uses keys anymore, but this box meant the world to him. The thing that
scares me the most though is on his deathbed he forbid
me to ever open it. And that’s why I must.
I’ve waited until a cold and dreary day to open it as I
don’t want anyone to know. It begins to rain and the earth
sucks it up like a thirsty toddler. I begin to get nervous.
I slide the missing golden puzzle piece into the lock.
The lock creaks as it turns. I finally pull out the key, and
slowly open the box. Light blinds me, and I see a flower.
A beautiful flower with golden petals; even more golden
than the key. I not that everything looks nicer. Better.
Cleaner. I notice the rotten apples I have yet to throw out,
are new. The wind shakes open a window and my hair
blows everywhere. It is longer and shinier. Suddenly, I
have a flashback.
“Once upon a time there was a man who had a sick
wife. He heard rumors of a flower that had healing powers, but with it came the power to whoever had possession of it …” my grandfather’s voice trailed off.
Right then I knew what this was. It was The Flower.
I had possession of The Flower. I had the power to heal
everything and I am now the most powerful person on
Earth, may it be for better or worse.
Modern Grimmoire
O
Student Anthology
6
The Poor Boy and His Princess
The Poor Boy and His Princess
O
nce upon a time there lived a boy. He was in love with the Princess,
but he was only a poor boy. They saw each other often and the boy
grew up. He asked the Princess for her hand and, of course, she said
yes; but that’s not all or we wouldn’t have a story.
So the Princess’ dad, the King, was very protective; mostly because many
men asked for his daughter’s hand in marriage. Eventually, the King decided he
would make a test of some sort for every man to take. If the man didn’t complete the tasks he was as good as dead. At this time, no man had passed the test.
When the King heard john asked his daughter to marry him and she agreed,
the King ordered that John take the test, too. The test consisted of three portions. The first was to pick one of the forbidden flowers from the palace garden,
which was surrounded by a very large fence.
Luckily, John knew a giant who was able to drop him in the garden and pick
him back out after he picked the flower. He presented the flower to his Princess
and his King. Of course, the Princess rewarded him with a kiss. John’s second
task was to find a few spices and plants that would be able to be made into a potion that would make the King’s hair grow back.
Also, luckily, John knew a witch. The witch didn’t particularly like John, but
he somehow managed to convince her true love was totally worth it. So the
witch gave John a few magical herbs and roots, of which names I do not know,
and some instructions. John went back to the palace, made the potion, and
once again earned a kiss from his soon-to-be bride. John’s last and most difficult
was to fight and kill his Majesty’s lion.
So John went into a cage with only a sword and the lion. He fought bravely
and killed the lion, which earned him his last kiss as a single man. Later that
day, the King announced his daughter’s engagement and the very next day Jon
married his Princess, and the Princess married her Prince, and they lived happily ever after. Well not quite. Eventually, the King died from a witch’s spell, and
then they lived happily ever after.
7
Modern Grimmoire
Student Anthology
First Snow
by maggie ash, grade 9, jackson school for the arts, teacher: mrs. snow
W
hen my eyes opened to muted green trees
clustered underneath gray snow clouds, my head
was blank and my body was still. I could barely
form a thought, let alone move my arm. Pine needles scratched
at my arms and the uneven ground was bruising my back. My
gray, thin excuse of a dress did nothing to ward off the hazards
of a forest. I hadn’t felt this way since...ad that is when I realized I
knew nothing.
Where did I come from? Why was I here? I closed my eyes.
By knocking out my sense of sight the others grew stronger. I
could smell the rawness of a warm winter forest. The ground was
freshly damp from winter snow, yet with not a trace of sparkly
white flakes. I felt an unpleasant stickiness on my bare skin and
a light wind rustled the few needles let of their branches. How
had I survived the snow that was now invisible? Or am I simply
confused. I tried to think,
Suddenly, pictures begin to form themselves in my head. I
have been here...
A little girl with long black hair was walking through an
enchanted forest with her father. In the springtime, tiny jewels
and diamonds bloomed like flower buds on trees; in the fall, pure
gold leaves fell from the branches. The little princess held her
father’s hand tight as he told her stories of the magic that created
this place. Stories of beautiful enchantresses, corrupt witches,
and valiant princes. All of this tales where beautiful, and filled
her with happiness.
Her jubilation grew when the princess spotted a beautiful
little hummingbird. Its wings beat faster than anything she’d ever
seen and this little creature seemed more magical than the whole
forest itself. The beating wings grew larger and larger while their
speed slowed and warped into thick red curtains.
Anxiously the young girl, only a few years older, sat on a
velvet seat of the same red. She wore a light pink dress with lace
trim that reflected the incoming sunlight. Raising her head, the
girl saw a beautiful woman in a red gown that reminded her on
an apple, with dark hair like her own.
In response, the lady smiled at the girl, but the expression
seemed forced. The woman’s features had to stretch in odd
ways for her lips to arrange themselves. Yet the girl smiled back,
staring at the lace, velvet, and jewel details of the woman’s
dress instead of focusing on her odd face. The dress was so
extravagant, so bold, that she must have been a woman of
wealth. This was the woman in red’s wedding day.
“Is this not what you have dreamed of, dear?” the lady in red
Modern Grimmoire
purred with happy tones.
The young girl felt sick and turned to look at curtains with
then faded before her eyes into a jet black. She was a girl in her
prime now. Old enough for her own wedding. But now was not a
time for celebration, now the castle mourned.
Staring at her hands, the girl saw them held by long skinny
fingers. The hands were young looking, but cold and rough at the
touch. It was the woman in the red dress. Now though, she wore
a dress of black, just as beautiful, but in a morbid way. A shudder
wracked the girl and the woman whispered in a hush.
“We shall get through this, my dear. We shall”.
The girl wanted to believe her with all her heart, but she
couldn’t. It did not seem possible. How could she live without her
father? The knights would have no leader; there would be no heir
to the throne. Suddenly, the room melted away to the enchanted
forest again, the cold air biting her skin. She felt her feet crush
leaves and branches as she ran, making too much noise. Her
breath was too fast. The air around her was too quiet.
An armored hand grabbed her arm and she cried out from
surprise. But, as quickly as it grasped her, the hand let go.
“Run! Don’t ever return” a voice exclaimed.
As she turned back on her path, daylight flooded through
the trees like a fire. A small cottage appeared before her, and
when she looked back, there was no trace of a hand, a castle, or
a woman in red. She was safe. Timidly, she approached the small
building. There was not a soul inside. Yet. Seven faces popped
into my head rapidly and I wondered where they were.
The memories returned faster now, with more detail per
second, but less organization. A woman peering into an ornate
looking glass, deer and other animals approaching the young
girl’s body, or should I say my body. So much housework, in the
castle and in cottage. I remembered faces of people, and my life
before. Abruptly, the flashbacks stopped, and ended with one
last scene.
My long hair was splayed all around the floor and my vision
was fading. I felt a round object roll out of my palm and rest on
the tips of my fingers. Above me, an old woman stood, her facade
melting down her neck, to reveal a beautiful woman in a red
dress.
Snapping back into present time, I sat up, a matted black
cape of hair falling over my shoulder onto the ground. There in
front of me, was a shiny red apple, immune to any sense of rot.
I knew who I was. I was Snow White. But where am I?
Student Anthology
8
A Fairy’s Life
by chrissy berry, grade 10, malvern high school, teacher: mrs. rossetti
The Bad Seed
by megan borocki, grade 10, lake high school, teacher: mr. wise
H
ere starts a tale of a boy. This boy was no ordinary boy. No he was far from it. The boy was
the meanest and roughest of them all. He was
always getting in trouble at school for beating up kids in
school, or causing mischief in the halls; and even at home
he acted this way, being rude to his mother all the time
and setting upon her his own rules of governing instead
of hers. Today though, would end differently than what he
would hope for.
Adam sat in the main office, slouched down in a worn
out fabricated, blue chair. He had a simple grin on his face
as he expertly folded a paper airplane out of a detention
slip. He had become extremely good at this art and as he
waited the office aids looked at him in disgust.
“Adam isn’t this the fifth time this week?” Mrs. Piper
asked with a displeased look on her face. His grin widened
as he corrected her.
“Six actually.” He said. She scowled and pushed her
glasses back up the bridge of her nose and set back to typing madly at her keyboard.
Adam didn’t like her anyway. She always nagged at him
for no reason. He retracted his arm back tossing the paper
plane out into the air and watched as it soared beautifully towards the principal’s door just as the man himself
walked out.
“Adam Parker,” He said in a tired tone as he leaned
down to pick the detention slip from its landing site at
his feet. “Come into the office Adam.” Adam sighed and
grabbed his book bag, slinging it over one shoulder as he
headed into the office behind the principal. The principal
sat down at his desk, carefully flattening the airplane and
turning it back into its original detention slip. It read that
Adam had kicked a chair out from under one of the students; they had hit their head on the back of the desk, and
passed out. The principal crossed his arms over his chest
and waved his hand in the air as if swatting at an invisible
bug.
“Adam you know that you’re on your last strike right?”
He said tiredly.
Modern Grimmoire
“So I don’t care. That means I don’t have to go to school
anymore right?” He said as he cracked his knuckles and
counted the dots on one of the Milk puzzles hanging behind the principal. Mr. P had some strange obsession with
these difficult puzzles, and if you looked on the corners of
his desk you were sure to see stray pieces that had found
their way out of the sets they once resided in.
“Adam, you don’t understand, for cases like you it is
different. We have to teach you a lesson. We can’t just let
you go out into the world with this attitude, it isn’t safe for
others.” He said as shadows started to creep into his features, darkening his face out until it was unreadable. Adam
started to feel uncomfortable.
“What are you talking about Principal P, you’re acting
all crazy!” He said as he stood up suddenly and grabbed
his book bag, having enough of his principal. “I’m out of
here P see you later.” Adam said as he headed towards
the door, grabbed the handle and violently pulled on it,
to have it not budge. He looked shocked and tried again,
putting all his weight into it as he rammed the door, to no
avail. He turned around in horror to see Mr. P still in the
same spot, a seemingly tangible dark cloud hanging over
him. The cloud seemed to be looming out from the shadows of the corners of the room. The milk puzzles behind
him no longer visible through the darkness. He rubbed his
eyes, thinking that he must be seeing something.
“Mr. P what the f@#$ is going on here?” He said demanding, but with also hints of something, a small quiver,
fear.
“You haven’t been been behaving favorably. This is our
last resort.”
He said in a deep voice, much deeper than Mr. P’s
normal voice. Adam then realized that this wasn’t the Mr.
P that he could boss around; this wasn’t the pushover. He
started to back away, bumping into the corner, knocking
over some books from Mr. P’s bookshelf as the man that
was no longer Mr. P slowly arose, now clad in all black.
“You shall pay the ultimate price.” He chuckled darkly as
Adam started to freak out, putting his hands out in front of
Student Anthology
10
him, screaming as the man kept coming closer and closer
to him, slowly erasing the space between the two of them.
“You shall pay with what you treasure most.” He said
darkly as he grabbed Adam, and within seconds Adam
passed out and his world went black…..
It was dark and cold. Could this be death? He thought
as he felt a urge of panic, of which he was not aware of
why. He tried to sit up to only head-butt a wooden panel,
hard. He groaned loudly in pain as he started to frail his
arms around, banging roughly into the sides of something wooden that was holding him captive. “Help!” He
screamed as he kept banging at it wildly, trying desperately to get out of what was holding him captive. He did this
for what seemed like hours but was probably only minutes. He started to calm down, and slowly he lifted a shaking hand to the wood around him, feeling it against his
fingertips, his hands started to quake in excitement as his
index finger came upon a small hole, about the size of his
pinky. It was to far down for him to see out of but he quickly set out to work trying to pick it away. Piece by piece his
hands became bloodier, as his desperate attempts to break
forth from his confines made slow progress.
He took a breath, shaking as he started to feel light
headed, “It’s probably just because I’m freaking out.” He
tried to reassure himself as he picked up his pace. His fingers bleed harshly, splinters finding ways into his fingers
as one of his nails started to detach itself from his finger
as he desperately picked. He fingers had made a small
hole that four of his fingers could get out of, but instead of
being welcomed by the air and sunshine, he was surprised
by large amounts of dirt finding its way inside the box with
him. Sudden realization hit him like a rock hitting a glass
window.
Adam started to freak out now. “Help! Someone please
help! I’m not dead! I’ve been tricked!” He frantically
clawed at the hole now, fortunately pulling away a big
chunk, big enough to fit his hand through as another spray
of dirt entered the coffin. “Help please! I’m not dead!” He
yelled at the top of his lungs, waving his arm frantically
from the hole. He heard someone gasp.
11
“His hand!” A womanly voice said. Wait! That was his
mom he thought as he started to wave more.
“Mom! Mom please I’m not dead!” It was silent for a
second as he listened, hoping that his mom would soon
be uncovering him from the earth to hug him tightly in
her arms. His hand kept waving in the air and after a few
minutes he started to get tired of waving his arm. “Mom?
Where are you? Get me out!” He yelled again and was immediately struck by something hard. “Oh! What the f@#$
mom I’m still alive! I’m not a zombie!” But she mustn’t
have heard him because she kept striking his hand, over
and over. He cried out in pain, begging her to stop, as
he started to slowly run out of oxygen. He got extremely
light headed and stopped flailing his arm around, and his
mom took one last whack at his forearm, causing a break
in three of his fingers. He bit his lip, refraining from calling his mother a slung of cuss words. “Mom, I’ll be good
I promise. No more messing around. Just—just please I
don’t have air left.” He said tiredly, airy as if he was not
even really there anymore. She laughed loudly and hammered her fist a few times onto the top of his coffin.
“You brat, you’ve been horrible to me ever since your
dad left! When I got the news that you were finally dead I
cried.” She paused for a second and laughed,” In joy! Now
stay dead you sorry excuse for a son and have fun going to
h@#$!” She cackled as she left him alone to ponder in his
thoughts for the few minutes that he had left. He couldn’t
believe that his mom felt that way about him. Deep done
though he knew now that he had been horrible to his
mom and to every kid he had ever met. His whole life he
had treated people like s@#$ and he was now paying the
ultimate price, death. He let out a sigh and with his final
breath said,” I’m sorry.” As his hand arched up into the air
as if clawing for the heavens as he died there in his casket.
No one showed for his funeral.
Modern Grimmoire
Student Anthology
The Fox and the Man
by eric busson, grade 9, jackson school for the arts, teacher: mrs. snow
O
nce there was a young man who decided to venture out into the world to seek his fortune. He
went out into the world, owning only the clothes
he wore, the boots on his feet and a red cloak on his back.
The man was uncertain of what he was going to do to find
his fortune. The man did not have any special talents, and
have never learned any trade. He was only but a fool.
Although he wandered from kingdom to kingdom, he
could not find a job in which he might be successful. He
never did anything right. He always broke tools or ended
up just wandering off. Eventually the man gave up, he
glumly wandered off into the deep dark forest.
As the man miserably walked, a small white fox approached him, asking, “Why are you here, in this bleak
forest?”
The man looked down and replied, “I’m hoping to find
a fortune. My luck is running out. This forest is my last
resort.”
The fox clearly saw that this man was a fool and an easy
target to prey upon. With a toothy grin he replied, “I can
help you find a fortune, but first you must give me your
boots.”
Without hesitation the man did as the fox asked. The
fox then took him to his home, a small barn where horses
used to lie. It was so long since the man had enjoyed any
shelter that it seemed to be the most beautiful home he
had ever seen. In return for giving him the boots, the fox
allowed the man to stay, and gave the man whatever food
he could gather and red him each night.
Soon winter came and the nights grew longer and cold-
Modern Grimmoire
er. The fox and the man slept in that freezing barn night
after night. The only thing that kept the fox warm were his
new boots and his layer of short fur. Soon the fox became
envious of the man’s warm, soft, beautiful red cloak.
When spring arrived, the fox asked, “You must get
rather warm at night. Why don’t you take that cloak off
tonight? Just leave it in the straw before you go to bed.
That night the man did as the fox asked him to do. As
soon as the man was asleep, the fox grabbed the cloak and
ran.
The fox ran and ran until he could not run any more.
He knew that the next morning the man would be looking
for him and the red cloak. The fox and nowhere to hide.
He could not climb trees. he could not fly. “The only way
out of this is to dig!” the fox muttered to himself. The fox
dug and dug and dug until his nice boots were as black as
night itself. Although the fox did not know it, his white fur
had turned red from being twisted in the red cloak while
digging.
The man came looking for the fox, but he could not be
found. Soon the man starved to death, for the fox no longer brought him food. He had died as a hopeless fool. The
fox did not know this, and hid in his hole, protecting his
cloak and boots. That is why even today, the fox hides in
his hole underground. If lucky, one may see the red-haired
fox quickly running through the woods, still trying to avoid
the man.
Student Anthology
12
The FRog, the Bird and the Queen
by ashleigh byrer, grade 9, jackson school for the arts, teacher: mrs. snow
O
nce upon a time, there existed a powerful king,
who ruled over the beautiful land and everything in it. This king lived in a castle with his
three daughters and many loyal servants on large mountain overlooking the town. His three daughters were all
beautiful, with long red hair and bright blue eyes. The
eldest daughter, named Adriana, was loved by the people
because she had sung to the kingdom each day. The second born, named Elise, was loved by the people because
she could play music to the kingdom each day. The youngest, named Rilynn, however, did not have a musical talent,
and preferred to be kept secluded from the kingdom each
day.
Each day, while the two princesses sang and played
music for the kingdom, Rilynn restored to her room,
distracting herself from the world around her. Outside the
castle walls, the people talked about Elise and Adriana’s
greatness, and barely praised the youngest princess.
All was well in the town, until an old, evil witch entered
the kingdom. With cunning deceit, the witch sneaked into
the castle, and captured the three princesses. She took
them into the woods, so far away that they could not find
their way back by themselves. The witch wanted the kingdom to crumble, so that she could do as she pleased with
the town. To do this, she thought, she must destroy the
heiresses of the king, since he had been such a great ruler.
Knowing that the eldest princess was loved for her voice,
the witch gave her a green potion, and suddenly Adriana
transformed into a frog, and when she tried to sing, she
found she could only croak. Knowing that the second
eldest princess was loved for making music, the witch gave
her a blue potion, and suddenly Elise turned into a crow,
and could not play her instruments with her large black
wings.
13
The witch finally came to the youngest princess and
after examining her, determined that she was no threat to
her or anyone. The third princess is useless, thought the
witch, I will leave her here in the woods with her sister and
she will not be missed. The others will never find their way
back, anyway. As the witch went off to take the kingdom,
Rilynn realized the witch’s intentions of taking over the
kingdom and set out to stop her. She looked down at her
sisters, croaking and flapping on the ground, and decided
to take them with her and save their lives. She held the
frog in her hands and the bird on her shoulder, and followed behind the witch. Many times, Rilynn had almost
lost her way, but her determination steered her straight.
Finally, she reached the castle without the witch noticing
that the princess was close behind her.
Rilynn let go of her sisters, and ran to warn her father of
the approaching threat. Luckily, the princess reached the
castle before the witch could, and the king gathered his
finest knights and warriors, and removed the witch from
the kingdom.
When the witch had been banished, and the two elder
princesses reunited with their father, the people of the
town began to notice the greatness of Rilynn’s heroic actions, and started to thank and recognize her for saving
the kingdom. The villagers had also granted Adriana and
Elise with antidotes, and they returned to their beautiful
selves once again.
Years later, when the kingdom was still in peace, princess Rilynn took her father’s place and became Queen
Rilynn. Under her watch, the town flourished, and she was
forever known as the selfless queen who saved the kingdom.
Modern Grimmoire
Student Anthology
TEARS
by joshua carrico, grade 9, timken senior high school, teacher: mrs. ekmark
Tears. They have so many meanings. The most common one
is sadness. But do they deserve there sad reputation. No.
they mean so much more. They mean happiness, joy and so
much more. I thought they only meant sadness as well but
then I figured out they meant so much more. As I learned
more and more I want to make it clear that I thought tears
were useless. But I know now that they meaning. And they
have the power to change lives, and change the world.
My friend told me life is what you make it so don’t shed
tears over the past. Shed tears of joy over the future. I did
not understand it at first. Shed tears of joy over the future.
But don’t shed tears over the past. What does that mean?
Simple put don’t cry over the past. But be joyful over the
future. So just don’t underestimate tears they have so much
meaning. Just don’t take tears as just sadness they mean so
much more than that.
Modern Grimmoire
Student Anthology
14
Sweetblood
by andi demetro, grade 12, glenoak high school, teacher: mrs. muzi
Pursuit
Poisoned Apple Award
15
Sweetblood
Pursuit
She ran from the house,
the big old house,
on the cherry licorice road,
the old witch burning in her stove.
She held a cookie,
a small little thing,
through the woods and over rocks,
when she heard the cocks,
screaming at the sun.
She cried with sugar in her eyes,
cream flowing down her cheeks,
and the taste of blood in her mouth.
Hansel,
dear brother,
forgive me thy sins,
for they tasted so sweet.
You are nothing but a burnt cookie,
Gretel knew,
but Hansel,
I didn’t leave you there to die.
You will stay with me forever,
as a black cookie,
not worth eating.
But I am so sorry,
that she feed you,
feed you the sweet crumbs of cake,
of jelly and pie,
while I tasted the blood of you.
But, hush now
dear brother,
for you are safe,
and we will be together.
He hunted for her,
the snow in the forest,
the pretty thing,
that would die.
The Mother,
not her mother,
wanted it so.
So he crept and slept,
and whiled the time away,
waiting for the snow’s first drop,
the splash on the ground,
of her sweet nectar.
There he found her,
alone and lonesome,
pearly white skin,
raven feather hair,
red bloody lips.
She tasted savory,
against the tree,
as he gave her,
a thousand little deaths,
wouldn’t be repaid.
She left,
lonesome pretty thing,
to be protected,
until she bit into crisp flesh,
the apple fell,
from her lovely lips,
and he wept,
at her coffin of glass,
when the other came,
laying lips on his sweetness,
awaking the fallen beauty.
She rode into the sunset,
happy and full,
the fruit of their time,
swaddled in arms,
while the hunter lay witness,
to his lovely’s happy life,
without him.
Modern Grimmoire
Student Anthology
You Owe Me
T
he office was immaculate, but that didn’t stop
the man from thinking that this was what hell
was like. The polished chandeliers were raised
high above his head and he could see himself in the shiny
reflection of the elevator.
He stood there in his best suit. It was from about five
years ago when his wife died of cancer, the cheapest he
could afford to attend Cynthia’s funeral. It was still drab
looking; the gray fabric on the elbow was almost rubbed
through, with the bottom of the suit jacket frayed beyond
repair. His daughter offered to get him a better suit at the
Goodwill but he felt this was better, to show Mr. Kingsley
how rough life has been lately.
The elevator pinged open and he was thankful for
that. He stepped into the chilly metal box and pushed the
button for the seventh floor. He adjusted his collar and
whistled to the dull elevator music as it climbed the six
floors toward Mr. Kingsley office. He smiled nervously at
the thought of seeing the bitter older man. If that man
didn’t scare you, you probably already met the devil. The
doors swished open and a familiar face appeared.
“Hello, Mr. Miller. He’s waiting for you.” The young
pretty receptionist pointed toward the frosted glass door
like he hadn’t been there before and proceeded to go back
to her twitter account. Miller smiled at her.
“Thank you, Portia.” Miller walked toward his doom.
Or, what he thought was his doom. Mr. Gregory Kingsley
wasn’t seated behind his desk when he entered the office. It was a younger man. If his daughter Holly had been
there, she would say he was hot.
“Good morning, Thomas. How you been?” Thomas was
a bit surprised to see Mr. Kingsley. Or rather, his son.
“Warren?” Thomas Miller asked, seeing the young man
better. He hadn’t seen Warren Kingsley in a few years. This
was quite the surprise.
“C’mon, sit down! Want some scotch?” Warren poured
himself a glass of the amber liquor while Thomas declined. He had to stay sober to keep his property. He was
surprised Warren didn’t know that.
“How have you been, Warren?” Thomas asked. Warren
Modern Grimmoire
shrugged his shoulders.
“Good, good.” The younger man took a sip of his drink,
making the ice knock into one another. Thomas nodded
nervously.
“That’s great. We should-uh-get started, yeah?” Warren
sat his glass down and sat up in his chair. Thomas could
see he wasn’t very comfortable in his suit, either. Warren flipped through the file on his desk and skimmed the
report.
“Says here you’re five months behind on your payment.
Normally, I would have to call the bank and have them testify on where your money is going. But you’re usually on
time and I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. So, where is
it?” Thomas fidgeted in his seat. He ran his hand through
his whitening hair.
“There isn’t any.” Thomas mumbled. Warren cocked his
head in confusion. Thomas went on to explain.“My wife’s
hospital bills were enormous. Then we had the funeral and
the farm hasn’t been making any money. And my daughter
is heading off to college in the fall.”
“I’ve been in debt for the past year and the only money
coming in is my daughter’s part-time job at a New Age
shop. I know the interest is mounting. I have a man coming out tomorrow to buy my farming equipment. I can
get the rent in two weeks, honest. Just two weeks.” Warren
listen to his plead. He tapped his finger in rhythm on the
desk as he thought.
“Your daughter works at a Psychic shop?” He asked.
Thomas nodded his head, muddled at why he asked.
“Then I’m willing to cut a deal.”
O~O~O~O
“Explain this to me again?” The girl stirred the pasta in
the pot as her father loosened his tie. Thomas had been
a happy mood since he got home. He wasn’t usually this
happy after seeing the landlord.
“He said I could pay half the rent.” He sang, rolling up
his shirtsleeves and knocking out the dishes in the sink.
He rinsed the tub with the hose as Holly tossed the colander into the sink. She grabbed the metal handles of the pot
and spilled out the water and noodles.
Student Anthology
16
“But?” She urged. There was always a ‘but’ in these situations.
“It’s not that bad! You’ve been telling fortunes at the
shop for months now. A sweet sixteen party won’t kill you.”
Her father set the table while she busied away with the
pasta. Holly mixed the noodles into the red sauce she had
boiling when her dad’s phone went off.
“‘Ello? Hey, Mr. Winsom. Yeah? Oh-okay I’ll head right
over.” Holly’s glare had her father running backwards to
the door.
“We’re about to eat!” She hissed. Her father gave her
an apologetic shrug. He dashed out the door when Holly
gave him the finger. “Looks like I’m eating alone tonight.”
She muttered. She went about and poured her food in
her bowl and popped the garlic toast out of the stove. She
burned the tip of her finger where the glove was growing
thin and dabbed it in butter to help the pain. Grabbing
a slice for herself, she took her food and poured herself
a glass of soda. Properly sat down, she twirled her food
on the fork and took her first hot bite when the door was
knocked on.
She rolled her eyes at the offending entry way.
“Who is it?” She called around her mouthful, still seating at her spot.
“Holly...” The voice sang. Ice rained down her spine
at the eerily pleasant voice. Holly was frozen to her chair
when the door was knocked at again.
“Go away.” She whispered, her voice barely above a
whisper. The voice laughed, fooling anyone else who was
listening as a carefree laughter. Holly was not fooled. The
laugh was cruel and evil, if she ever heard one.
“Holly Morgan, you should open this door. It is only
polite.” Against her will, because Holly knew she could do
that, Holly pushed back her chair and strode toward the
door. Each inch was agonizing, drawing her closer to the
thing, to her. She was at the door, her eyesight focused on
the door. She struggled to control her hand as it reached
for the doorknob, but it was to no avail. It was open. And
there was her.
“Well, Sugardoll, aren’t you looking pretty. That new
perfume I smell?” She was looking pretty herself tonight.
Wispy black hair was clasped back from her face and gave
her an impression of a blind person with the dark sunglasses. A blind person who knew how to dress, judging by
the Armani dress and Jimmy Choos she was wearing. Holly
was still wearing her work clothes; lacy black skirt, dusty
brown boots and a green tank with layers of gypsy coin
necklaces. But she wasn’t hear to discuss clothes.
“What is it, Pattie?” Holly hissed. She smiled wickedly.
“Your tea, Sugardoll. Had it brewed just yesterday. And
it’s not Pattie.” She sashayed into the kitchen/dining room
17
where Holly’s bowl still sat. She clucked her tongue. “All
those carbs. You really should watch your diet. Don’t want
to get fat now, do we?” Holly crushed her jaw. She didn’t
want to start this conversation.
“How much this time, Penelope?” Penelope was a good
name for a witch, wasn’t it? But she shook her head.
“Enough for a week, at least. How’s that father of
yours?”
“Fine, Priscilla.”
“Nope. Have to try harder than that, Sugardoll.” She removed a thermos from her tote bag, fluid swishing around
inside it. Holly pointed toward the fridge. She didn’t want
to be any where near her.
“I’ll get it right.” She hoped. Laughter came from her.
“You didn’t get it right when I took your locket, nor
when I took your mother’s ring. Don’t expect a miracle.”
Holly’s glare was white hot.
“When I find out your name, WITCH, you’ll pay. Expect that.” She didn’t look scared. She approached Holly,
her expensive heels clicking across the floorboards. She
grabbed the girl’s throat, tightening her hold until the girl
was choking. She pulled off her glasses and revealed the
fiery hell that was her eyes. Deep red, burning eyes that
stole the air from Holly’s body that was already deprived of
it. She released her, and Holly sucked in air.
“Learn your place, Sugardoll. You want to run with the
other bitches, you need to grow some fangs. Drink your
tea and be a good little girl. Oh,” She paused to put her
sunglasses back on and sat the tea down. She headed to
the door. “you still have that last request. Make it count.”
“Go to hell.” Holly growled. She smirked at the young
girl, who still couldn’t breathe.
What a sorry excuse of good potential.
“Can’t, Sugardoll. You still owe me.”
Modern Grimmoire
Student Anthology
Unknown Love
by madison dockery, grade 9, jackson school for the arts, teacher: mrs. snow
O
nce upon a time there were three neighboring
castles. One was Blair Castle with Sorceress
princess Ysmay and her pet hippogriff Leo.
Another was Maskerard Castle with Warrior princess
Alexia and her pet Dragon Tannin. The last castle, furthest
from the two, was Arcadia Castle with charming prince
Peter.
Both Princesses wanted to fall in love and get married
with their idea of a prince charming. Ysmay and Alexia use
to be friends, until the day that they found out the nearby
castle had a prince, named Peter, who was looking to
marry his true love.
Ysmay and Alexia then had their first quarrel of many.
They both wanted to marry Peter. Ysmay hopped onto Leo
started towards Arcadia Castle to meet Peter. Just when
she was almost there, Alexia came up right behind her on
Tannin. The dragon began spurting fire at Leo. In return
Ysmay cursed spells at the fierce dragon.
At the end of their mini battle, both girls were
exhausted and in no condition to meet their prince. The
princesses called it a truce for the day and went home
to rest in the hopes of meeting their true love soon, and
when they were in better, and more beautiful condition.
Instead of a direct approach to the castle on their flying
creatures, Ysmay and Alexia sent letters to the prince.
These letters had about the same thing written, asking to
meet Peter in person. When the prince got the letters and
decided to invite them both over, instead of going to Blair
castle one night and Maskerard Castle another night.
When the warrior and sorceress princesses arrived,
something didn’t seen right about the castle. When
they looked around the main entrance hall, they saw
everything organized, cleaned and shined. It seemed out
of place for a man’s castle.
They continued the tour of Arcadia Castle. The more
Ysmay and Alexia spent time with Peter the more they fell
in love with him and the more both of them wanted him.
Peter asked the two princesses to stay in his guest rooms
Modern Grimmoire
since it was so late and he wanted to make sure they were
safe. Ysmay and Alexia excitedly agreed and thought how
kind of it was for him to offer.
In the morning the two girls were awakened by Peter’s
maids and everyone was invited to brunch to meet
someone special to
Peter. Both princesses thought they were meeting his
parents. To their surprise there was a man sitting at the
table with Peter!
Ysmay and Alexia both thought he was just as
handsome as Peter and wondered why he was eating
brunch with them. They thought maybe he was his
brother, or uncle, or cousin. Then Peter introduced Henry
to them. The girls talked and flirted with both of the men.
Henry began to seem more uncomfortable the more the
princesses flirted. Alexia gave Henry and Peter a weird
look. Then Henry asked how long the two of them had
been together.
The two princesses looked astonished and surprised
at his question. Everyone stuttered at once. The girls
blushed and now understood what was happening. and
the princes looked really embarrassed. Peter then got
the courage to speak and held Henry’s hand and asked
Ysmay and Alexia if they would like to go to Henry and his
wedding. Henry passed them the invitations and said that
it would be a perfect night if they attended and that they
needed at least two kingdom representatives present to
overlook the wedding as witnesses. Peter explained that
that’s why he thought it was a great idea for them to come
over earlier the day before.
The two princesses agreed to go to the wedding. They
helped each other pick out the wedding gifts and decided
they wouldn’t ever let boys come between them again.
Student Anthology
18
wacky wonderland award
Untitled
by ina drummond, grade 7, east canton middle school, Teacher: Ms. Eslich
The Princess of Venustas
by logan fletcher, grade 9, jackson school for the arts, teacher: mrs. snow
O
nce upon a time, there was a young prince named
Samuel. He was tall with black hair and piercing
blue eyes. The people of the kingdom loved him for
his kindness and generosity. Not only he was very wealthy, but
he had a heart of gold too! Unfortunately, the happy kingdom
of Venustas had a mean old witch living there. She was the
greediest person that anyone had ever met. The witch was old
and wrinkled with a long nose and a snaggle-toothed smile. She
planned to find a way to lure the beloved prince into giving all of
his wealth to her.
Meanwhile, the prince was out taking his usual ride on his
horse through the woods when he noticed a girl sitting sadly on
a fallen tree. As Samuel approached her he noticed that she was
very beautiful. The girl had long, dark brown hair rippling down
in waves from the top of her head. She had sparkling emerald
eyes and tan skin. When he reached her he asked in a concerned
tone, “Excuse me, are you all right?” Surprised she looked up
to see the prince. Wanting to answer his question honestly she
began explaining to him how she had lost her parents and that
she was now forced to provide for herself. The compassionate
prince felt sorry for the girl, after all she did only look to be about
as old as he was. “Here, climb up on my horse and I’ll take you
back to my palace. We’ll make sure you get some new clothes to
wear and food to eat.” Gratefully the girl exclaimed, “Oh prince
thank you so much! My name is Elizabeth by the way.” “Well it’s
nice to meet you Elizabeth,” the prince said with a smile.
When they arrived at the palace, Elizabeth gasped at the
sight of the beautiful structure standing before her. Samuel got
her through the guards and did as he had promised, getting her
some clean clothes to wear. The girl also was invited to stay for
dinner. Prince Samuel and Elizabeth got along very well. After
that day was over the prince still didn’t want her to leave so he
suggested that she stay a few more days and Elizabeth gladly
accepted. It eventually turned into weeks that Elizabeth stayed
in the palace because they were beginning to fall in love with
each other. Word got around about the two and soon everyone
in the kingdom of Venustas was talking about the prince and
his unofficial “lover”. When the witch heard of this she was very
Modern Grimmoire
angered because now she would have no chance to begin with
the prince and taking all his money. Then she got an idea. She
decided that she would produce a potion that would make her
look just like Elizabeth so she could take all of the riches and run.
The witch worked all night trying to create such a potion and she
eventually found the perfect recipe using her special book. There
was one condition though, she had to get the prince to ask her
to marry him by midnight on the dot or else she will turn into a
doomed black cat for the rest of her life. She poured the potion
into a small glass tube and headed for the castle.
When she arrived outside of the palace, sure enough, there
was Elizabeth sitting outside in the garden. Quickly the witch
ran over and grabbed the girl. Panicked, Elizabeth screamed for
help, but the witch hushed her by turning her into a little bird.
Now that the real Elizabeth was out of the way the witch drank
from the glass tube and before she knew it she looked just like
her. She entered the castle and found Prince Samuel. She talked
on and on about how she felt that maybe it was time for them
to get married, but the prince was suspicious about Elizabeth’s
abnormal behavior.
The witch began worrying as time was running out and it
soon reached ten o’clock at night, but the prince showed no sign
of making an engagement. Suddenly a bird flew in the window
and began pecking at the witch and little did Samuel know that
it was actually Elizabeth. The bird stayed there and distracted
them all night until the witch realized that it was eleven fiftynine and she panicked. She practically begged the prince to
ask her to wed, but the clock slowly ticked and struck twelve.
Screaming the witch slowly morphed into a cat and the Elizabeth
transformed back from the bird to herself again. Prince Samuel
was shocked by what he had just seen so Elizabeth had to spend
the whole night explaining to him what happened. The next
morning the prince was so relieved that it was all over and he
decided he wanted to marry Elizabeth. He proposed and she
gladly accepted. They had a big beautiful wedding and Elizabeth
became Princess of Venustas. The two lived together in the
palace happily ever after.
Student Anthology
20
A Twist of Fate
by mackenzie fox, grade 9, jackson school for the arts, teacher: mrs. snow
W
hen we were young, our parents tried playing
matchmaker with the two of us. Being as little as
we were, we did not understand what they had
planned for our future. All we knew is that we were forced to play
together and be polite to one another, when we secretly hated
each other.
“You look quite lovely today Princess Clarissa of Aerelon.” he
would say with an insincere bow of the head.
“It is always a pleasure to see you, Prince William of Wemeir.”
I would reply with subtle mockery in my tone and a challenging
smirk on my face as I elegantly curtsied. We would follow our
mothers out to the garden where they would turn us loose
together. William would offer me his hand with the approving
smiles of our parents watching and I would have no choice
but to take it. So begrudgingly I would let him take my hand
and escort me down the staircase outside of the castle and to
the entrance of the garden. The garden at Castle Spyre was
an extravagant maze of tall bushes and trees. But because the
garden was so large it was easy to get lost in this magnificent
labyrinth of colorful flowers. Therefore we hand to follow a strict
pathway that led to a small meadow that had benches, flowers,
and bushes growing around a large and ornate fountain. As soon
as we were out of the watchful sight of our parents all pretenses
of proper, polite adorations for one another were dropped.
I remember one time I cross m arms in the most unladylike
manner and stormed ahead of him to the meadow and sat of the
edge of the fountain. Prince William followed behind me and
joined me at the fountain.
“You know I don’t like this anymore than you do.” he said
staring at our reflection in the water, lost in his thoughts.
“I know, I’m sorry. It isn’t that you aren’t nice, I just don’t
particularly like you.” I said plainly.
From that day on we made an effort to be friends. Our
teen years crept up quickly, more quickly than we realized. My
parents, King Richard and Queen Alexandra of Aerelon, started
talking more often with William’s parents, King Henry and Queen
Anne of Wemeir. I became bored with the expectations of me. I
hated all of the rules of the castle and being Princess of Aerelon.
“Do this! Don’t do that! Sit up straight! Act like a Princess!
Be on time for tea! Why don’t you wear your nice dresses? You
spend too much time riding!” My mother’s voice started nagging
shadow in the back of my mind, one I often ignored. I began to
look forward to the time spent with Prince William. Now that
21
we were older we were given more freedom. Most of our time
was spent riding our horses around the grounds of the castle.
When I was alone with him I didn’t have to worry about the
proper etiquette that a princess should have, the etiquette my
mother stressed to me every day of my life. I could be myself. My
unconventional and adventurous self.
Today I was sitting on the balcony outside of my bedroom
when I saw his carriage pulling up to the doors of the castle. I
quickly put my riding clothes on and tamed my long mess of
sandy blonde curls and made my way downstairs to meet him.
I was running down the stars when I took notice of my mother
and slowed my pace and tried to look more elegant. I didn’t feel
like hearing about it later. He quietly laughed to himself when he
saw me notice my mother because he knows how I have to act in
front of her. I smiled and curtsied.
“Prince William! What a pleasant surprise!” I greeted the
way my mother told me I should. “I would love to ask you to
accompany me on my morning ride.”
“Good morning Princess Clarissa! There is nothing I enjoy
more than my ride with you.”
My mother smiled approvingly as he took my by the arm and
lead me back out the entrance of the castle towards the royal
stables. As soon as we ere out of sight, he let go of my arm and
gave me a hug.
“Nice to see the real you once again!” he smiled as we walked
into the stables.
“I’m so glad you came! I don’t know how much more of this
I can take!” I said as I put the saddle on Suntaria, my golden
chestnut horse. He looked at me and grinned as he saddle up
his horse. I mounted and took off taunting William as he tried
to catch up with me. I rode further until Suntaria came to a
sudden halt. I hadn’t realized that we had ridden right up to our
boundary, the Eduin Forest. William rode up beside me and we
both peered into the woods. Neither of us had ever been this
close to the mysterious place. We had grown up listening to the
legends and fairytales about the Eduin forest but they never
seemed plausible, until now.
“Follow me! Let us explore it!” I said urging Suntaria forward.
“No! Who knows what could be in there! You and I both know
the stories.”
“Oh don’t be such a child! I’m going in, with or without you.”
I insisted as I urged Suntaria on. At first William stayed back, but
then he hurried to catch up. We were in this together.
Modern Grimmoire
Student Anthology
We were walking through the trees when we came into a
clearing. In the middle of the clearing we saw a cottage with
smoke coming out from the chimney.
“Who do you think lives here?” William questioned.
“How should I know?”
“Oh just a lonely old woman.” said a hoarse voice from
behind us.
I swung around in my saddle and my hand immediately
grabbed the hilt of the dagger hanging at my waist. The figure
appeared to be an old woman hunched over, glaring at us both,
studying us. She saw my hand gasping the dagger.
“That would be a mistake my dear.” She warned.
“We mean you no harm!” William blurted out.
“Your friend over here seems to hand a different idea
entirely.” she said accusingly. “Dismount and let your steeds
rest.” I realized my grip of the hilt but was wary of her every
movement. Hesitantly we both dismounted and led our horses
over to the feeding trough. She hurried over and filled the trough
with a strange looking grain.
“What are you feeling them?” I questioned skeptically.
“Trust is not your strongest trait now is it young lady? This is
just my special feed. Made with only the finest ingredients!” she
assured me, “Come! Sit! Dine with me!”
She motioned to a table and chairs that I had not noticed
before. Actually, I could have sworn there was a tree there just
moments before. William took my hand and led me over to the
table. He gave me a reassuring grin and then sat down next to
me. The old woman made her way into the cottage. When she
opened the door to go inside a dog slipped out the door and ran
over to us.
“Well, hello there boy” I said petting its head.
“Well, hello? Do you really think I am a boy? Because I’m not.
I hate it when people do that!” the dog complained. I jumped out
of my chair, William was not far behind.
“You! You can talk?” I asked in a shaky voice.
“Oh here we go again!” The dog said rolling her eyes.
“But dogs can’t talk!”
“I am talking right now. So I guess we can.”
“How did you learn to speak?”
“The old crone feeds me some special food. Actually, the
same food your horses are eating us right now!” she said as I
hurried over to Suntaria.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” she said.
“You can talk as well?” I asked her.
“You can understand me?” she said puzzled. I nodded as the
old woman swung open the door of the cottage with a tray of
food and made her way over to the table.
“Oh I see you’ve met Ethel! Are you getting reacquainted with
your horse? Oh don’t worry it’s not permanent. Unless you want
it to be! I can do that!” the old crone chuckled.
“No! I want you to leave us alone! We are not eating your food!
Who knows what it will do to us!” I yelled
“You aren’t going anywhere my dearies.” she said as her face
grew dark.
“And who’s to stop us?” I challenged. She started towards me,
Modern Grimmoire
I drew my dagger and took a step forward as I sent it flying in a
pinwheel aimed for her heart. I watched as the dagger was about
to hit home but the crone disappeared into a cloud of black
smoke and the dagger lodged itself in the ground. William looked
at me and said,
“Hurry! To the horses!”
He handed me his spare dagger as we ran and mounted our
horses.
“Easy there!” said Suntaria.
“Sorry!” I apologized awkwardly to my horse as I urged her
into a gallop. Ethel,, the talking dog grew large and vicious and
started to chase us through the woods. I turned backwards in
my saddle. I notched an arrow, drew back the string, sighted
and released the deadly arrow within a matter of seconds. The
arrow struck Ethel in the heart and she fell with a squeal of pain.
I turned back in my saddle and glanced over at William who was
staring at me with wide-eyes. I shrugged.
“I have a lot of spare time, what do you expect me to do? Play
dress-up and sip tea all day?
“Indeed. Is that not what a princess is supposed to do?”
“Since when have I ever done ‘what a princess is supposed
to do’?” I rolled my eyes and rode ahead of him leaving him
awestruck.
When we finally made it out of the Eduin Forest the sun
was setting. We promised not to tell anyone about what had
happened that day. I teased him about his face when he saw me
shoot my bow and about the events that had just unfolded. When
we got back to the castle William requested to see my father,
which puzzled me. After about an hour of me sitting nervously
waiting, William appeared in the doorway of the great hall
standing next to my father.
“Princess Clarissa of Aerelon, I have spoken with your father,
the king, and he has agreed to let me ask you this question.
Clarissa, I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life ruling
by your side. I love the unconventional and improper side of you,
the real you. With saying this I would like to ask for your hand in
marriage. Clarissa, will you marry me?” He said smiling at me.
With tears of joy rolling down my face and all proper procedures
behind us, I ran to William and threw my arms around his neck.
“I wouldn’t want to marry any other man, yes, William I will
marry you!” I said as he hugged me once more. Everything was
perfect. But there was one thing left unexplained, the one thing
we never did explain; the talking horses.
Student Anthology
22
Vanished
by madyson gabriele, grade 9, jackson school for the arts, teacher: mrs. snow
O
nce upon a time there was a little boy named
Arthur. He and his father, Frank, were going
hunting. They enjoyed hunting together
and would often go to the same spot in the forest. But
something was different this time when he went hunting.
Arthur and his father felt a silence among them in the
forest. They could usually hear the birds chirping and
the trees swaying in the slight wind. This time everything
was still and quiet. As Arthur and his father began to
hunt, Arthur turned to tell his father that he had spotted
a large buck. Arthur was horrified to see that his father
was missing. Arthur looked for his father everywhere
and could not find him. The only thing Arthur noticed
was a glimpse of yellow that was furiously running in
the opposite direction. Arthur began to run towards the
yellow spot and caught up with several people dressed in
yellow. He asked them if any of them had seen his father.
None of them would reply. They had angry looks on their
faces and continued to walk away. Arthur began walking
back towards his house calling his father’s name every few
minutes. As Arthur was about to give up hope until he saw
a man in a white shirt. The shirt looked like the shirt his
father had been wearing when he had vanished. He got
closer to the man and realized it was his father. he noticed
many tiny creatures that had horns, big teeth, one eye, and
tiny arms that were eating his father. They were dressed in
yellow too! Every time Arthur would try to step on them
to kill them, they would continue to reappear. As Arthur’s
father quickly began to disappear he said, “Arthur I believe
in you, you must always remember to crown the sun”.
Five years had passed since Arthur lost his father. he
had become a baker. it was his sixteenth birthday and he
decided to leave town and go off on his own to discover
what it meant to “crown the sun”. One day as Arthur went
outside he heard a voice screaming his name. Arthur soon
found a lady tied to a tree. Arthur untied her hands from
behind her back and asked her who had tied her up. She
responded, “I have no idea who did this because I believe
I have been poisoned by someone.” She told Arthur her
name was Hope and she wanted to cook dinner for him
23
because he saved her. Arthur agreed to meet for dinner.
Hope explained that her cottage was deep in the woods
and to follow the path that would help lead him there.
Later that night when Arthur was finally ready to go to
sleep, he promised himself that he would find his father.
Arthur didn’t believe that his father was dead, he felt in
his heart that he was still alive and needed to be found.
He also swore that he would never wear the color yellow
because that was the color the group of people were
wearing. Arthur believes they were the people that put the
curse on his father with the tiny creatures.
On the way to Hope’s house Arthur heard a bird
warning him Hope’s mother was a witch. Arthur reassured
the bird that there was nothing to worry about because
Hope told him that her mother was a sweet old lady who
would never hurt anyone. Arthur continued on to Hope’s
house. The cottage was very tiny and they had a black
cauldron outside their house. It made Arthur think about
what the little bird had said. He proceeded into the cottage
and saw Hope and greeted her with a grin. She introduced
Arthur to her mother.
Hope’s mother gazed at him very strangely and said in a
raspy voice “Hello there son, I have been waiting for you.”
She told Arthur to follow her because she had something
for him. Arthur followed her down into the basement.
There were bats in cages calling for help and warning
Arthur to leave immediately. He ignored them and kept
going. It was very dark down in the basement. It had no
windows and only one little white light coming from a big
metal pot. As soon as Arthur noticed it, Hope’s mother
reached into the pot and grabbed a crown out of it.
On the way up from the basement she told Arthur that
she was a witch, as she chucked wickedly. Arthur looked
at her in horror and didn’t say a word as he continued
quickly up the stairs. it felt like ages to get up to the top.
When they finally reached the top, Hope’s mother told
Arthur to come next to her.
She put the crown on his head and said “Son I only
want you to wear this at night and never look at the sun
when you have it on.” Arthur swore he would obey her
Modern Grimmoire
Student Anthology
commands because he didn’t want the witch to trick him.
On the way out he said “Thank you for everything.”
As the door shut, Hope and her mother snarled and
chuckled. On Arthur’s way home it was dark and the
moon was out so he kept his crown on and continued to
walk until he found a cave to stay the night in. he took the
crown off and went to sleep. The next morning he didn’t
put his crown on and continued on his way to his job as a
baker. At work his boss told Arthur he would be working
outside all day making bread. Arthur did as he was told
but left his crown inside with his boss. His boss took the
crown and put it on Arthur’s head so it wouldn’t be stolen.
Arthur couldn’t resist and he glared right at the sun. Arthur
couldn’t believe what he saw. It was his father!
Arthur’s father begged him, “Go to Hope’s house.” When
Arthur got to Hope’s, he demanded to see Hope’s mother.
Hope told him that her mother was in the basement and
he may proceed downstairs. Once he got to the bottom
of the steps he saw Hope’s mother trying to keep a pot
closed. It was the same pot that he saw the white light
coming from.
“Hello there Arthur, I wasn’t expecting you to stop in”
she snarled.
“I am here to ask you a very important question” said
Arthur. Hope’s mother looked at him with a confused look
on her face.
“Why did I see my father when I put my crown on in
the sun and looked up at it?”
“No reason...you must have been imagining it.” As
soon as she said this, Arthur went up the stairs and went
outside. .He put the crown on the ground and stomped
on it while he stared at the sun. He finally broke the crown
and rushed down to the basement to find Hope’s mother
lying dead on the floor and Arthur’s father alive. He had
come out of the pot still wearing his white shirt that he
wore the day he vanished. The shirt was glowing. Arthur
knew that he had broken the curse that was put on his
father.
Arthur’s father was happy to see his son. Arthur had
finally learned what it meant to “crown the sun.”
Modern Grimmoire
Student Anthology
24
Memento
by gabriella gamboa, grade 9, jackson school for the arts, teacher: mrs. snow
T
here once lived a princess in the kingdom of Memento
with one of the most beautiful faces in the kingdom.
She had long brunette hair, which flowed down her
back like a waterfall. Her eyes, a piercing green, the color of
a sharp thorn on a romantic rose. As the youngest, Princess
Serenity was always compared to her older sisters, Princess
Heaven and Princess Nevea who had both successfully
completed their studies with outstanding grades. Also were now
married to the two richest princes from different kingdoms and
ere preparing for their King and Queen coronation ceremonies.
As a member of the royal family, Princess Serenity needed to
focus on her studies, especially on her failing classes of World
History and Political Studies. She had no friends and as her
father had told her various times before; “Distractions are the
main faults to your failures in your life.” Princess Serenity sadly
lived by that rule remembering that somewhere out there people
are wishing they could afford her attire and education. What
she longed for is to see the real world without the worries of her
responsibilities as future Queen, but her determination to be
better than her sisters stopped her from following her dreams,.
Until one night in her room, tired of studying, the maids came
in the spur of the moment, panicking while dressing her in one
of the finest dresses she owned. Threaded with pure white silk
that was soft to the touch, embedded diamonds to decorate
the waistline of the dress and for a final touch a tiara made
of pure gold was placed upon her head after brushing it. She
was then immediately taken to the ballroom with a surprise to
see a man. Dressed in a fine suit he stared straight at Princess
Serenity in awe of her beauty. Her father, the King of Memento,
then introduced the man to his daughter as Prince Daniel from
a nearby kingdom named Afante, her fiancée. As he bowed to
greet the princess, she panicked and left rushing towards the
outside of the castle with tears in her eyes. She had always done
whatever her father asked her with condition that she would
never marry someone she did not love. She also did this for the
fact that she knew that this engagement meant she would soon
have to be Queen ad that would bring her one step closer to big
responsibilities and one step farther from freedom. Still outside
she came to realize that if she wanted to leave that she could.
Now was her chance and the gate was only steps away from
were she was standing. And so with some self-defense tricks she
learned from her older sisters, she knocked out the two guards
and fled to a nearby forest on her journey to the village. St that
moment, Prince Daniel was walking down the steps and saw
something twinkle in the corner of his eye. As he knelt down to
pick it up he realized it was a locket. Once he opened it he saw
no picture but an engraving messily made by maybe a young
child with a treading needle, which said “Always Remember”.
As he held the locket in his hand he stood there looking in the
25
distance of the kingdom of Memento and the nearby villages
thinking where the beautiful princess could have gone. Back
at the village a family of three took in Princess Serenity. The
mother named Anna with two children, Rini and Jacob, were very
welcoming and lent Serenity Rini’s clothing and gave her a place
to stay as long as she needed too. In return Serenity needed to
work. She was forced to spend the most painful weeks of her life
doing chores around the small house while Rini went to school
and Jacob to his job as a blacksmith. During those days Serenity
learned the life of the people in her kingdom and around it,
people were not as they used to, happily dancing and partying
in glory to the royal family, if she told the family that she was the
princess they surely would throw her out and if they found out
about her dress they would sell that too because they needed
the money desperately. The villages’ people were are risk. The
taxes were becoming too large to pay and more and more people
were on the streets every day. Back at the kingdom the King
had sent his guards in search for Serenity, while Prince Daniel
personally went in search of his beloved princess. He went to
different villages facing many obstacles. Beasts and trolls fought
him; bandits stole his money and horse. As if it couldn’t get any
worse, not all forest creatures were friendly, the chipmunks
and squirrels tore his clothing to shreds and the singing birds
hurt his pride with their painful melodies and songs. But he
still continued from village to village until he came to a school.
A small school but one of the first schools he had actually seen
in his long travel. As he entered he saw people the same age as
the princess, including Rini who was in the corner. At first the
people laughed at him only being in his shreds and underwear.
Then Prince Daniel described that the Princess of the kingdom
was missing and that she had the most precious face with the
silkiest hair. When nobody answered his request towards seeing
the princess he left in despair to look around the rest of the
village. While walking around he tripped over a bucket of water
and turned to scold the villager at fault for his wet shoes. He
turned to see a girl bent over looking straight at him, her eyes the
piercing shade of green he recognized until he saw the rest of her.
Messy tousled brunette hair, and a face smeared with dirt, as she
grabbed the bucket she apologized and quickly got up ready to
leave. Before she had left, Daniel grabbed her hand and said “You
have no idea what I’ve been through just to ask you this but, will
you marry me Serenity to become the Queen of Memento”? As
he let go of her hand she had noticed he had placed the locket,
once hers into her hand. All this time she experienced the life
of her dad’s people, and realized that better than any dream to
run away for pointless selfish matters, she could do something
to make the Kingdom of Memento a place others would want to
run away to. A place to remember, as her mother told her before
she died.
Modern Grimmoire
Student Anthology
The Dreamling
by shelby greene, makenna gundlach and jenna singer
category: original tale, grade 7, fairless middle school, teacher: mrs. huffman
O
nce upon a time I got sick, very sick. When I was
eight I got a “special haircut” for my birthday,
but by the time I was nine it had barely grown
an inch. I knew my mom was worried, that’s who she was,
but my dad was the opposite and told her, “she’s fine she’s
strong, like me.”
So, despite my mom’s intuition, she waved it off.
Roughly nine and a half months later, my hair started falling out. At first, it was just a clump or two in the hairbrush,
but in two month’s time I had a bald patch. This was when
my mom finally said that enough was enough. She scheduled an appointment for me to see the doctor the next day.
The results crushed me. All day I felt numb from the diagnosis, so I just layed on my bed and stared at the ceiling.
Sometimes, I got lost in the thoughts of a perfect place. A
land where there were no problems, no worries, no fears.
It was magical, and mystical, and perfect. Though I felt
a ten-year old shouldn’t be dreaming of magical things
anymore.
I was constantly in and out of the hospital until my
health took a turn for the worse. All I could do for months
was lay in my hospital bed and watch tv.
One day as I was watching crime shows, something
moved out of the corner of my eye. When I turned my
head, a girl about my age was walking slowly to the side of
my bed. She was short, pale and very skinny. Her hair was
so back it was almost tinted blue. With amber eyes, partly
hidden by her long hair, she was hard to look at.
“Who are you?” I asked alarmed. The girl stepped closer
as her thin, red lips opened. “I’m Elle.”
“What are you?” I questioned as Elle placed her small
hand on her hip. Her nails were very long.
“I’m good. I’m here to tell you about something. I’m a
messenger. I have to inform you.”
“What kind of messenger?”
“A messenger for the Dreamlings, I can help you
achieve something you want.”
“What do I want?”
“Depends. There is a logical answer, and one for people
who only want to give themselves riches and glory. But I
27
think you are smart enough to decide, Victoria.”
I understood what she meant, but not how she knew
my name. What was I supposed to wish for? Was this a
trick question?
“I don’t know what I want.”
“You don’t tell me anyways. You tell Whimsy. But in
order to have your wish come true, you have to solve the
riddle, and tell Whimsy the answer.”
“What’s the riddle?”
“Figure it out.” Elle’s smirk convinced me she was evil.
“Who’s Whimsy?” I shifted in my hospital bed and accidentally knocked the remote onto the floor.
“A Dreamling.” Elle spun around and her deep red dress
circles around her.
I suddenly felt like I was choking. “Elle!” I screamed for
her, but she wouldn’t reappear. Then suddenly everything
went black.
I found myself in my dreamland. Pastel colored willow
trees lined a cobblestone path, so I followed it toward the
setting sun. I was still wearing my hospital gown. Am I
here to find the dreamling?
The path seemed to move beneath me until I found
myself running. When I looked up, a tall figure of a girl
sped down the path ahead of me. I could only see that she
had long, curly, blond hair.
“Wait!” I ran faster, but she was very quick. I knew she
must be the dreamling, because she was so fast, and she
almost hovered over the path.
My eyes focused on the girl, not where I was running. Suddenly, I felt a falling sensation. It was as though
I dropped straight through the path. All I saw was a girl
blowing me a kiss.
“Victoria? Are you okay?!”
I opened my eyes to see my mother leaning over me,
clearly frightened.
“Yah, I’m fine.”
Part of me felt like spilling my guts about everything
that happened, but part of me didn’t want to believe in
supernatural things.
My mom stayed with me all day, and I did not mention
Modern Grimmoire
Student Anthology
anything about my wish or dreamlings. As soon as she left,
I forced myself to go to sleep, though I wasn’t tired.
At first I just layed there thinking. I still didn’t understand the riddle I was to solve. Elle didn’t even tell me one.
What was I supposed to wish for? I thought that maybe
I should request for my parents to be happy when I die,
because sooner or later that is my fate.
When I was in deep thought, I began to slip into my
dreams yet again.
I was suddenly on the path. Run Victoria, Run. Run
quicker. Don’t stop running. I ran along the path until I was
able to see Whimsy ahead of me, but still not close enough
for me to catch up to.
Water surrounded my ankles and I realized I was running right into a sea. The water didn’t stop Whimsy, but
instead she ran straight into it.
“Please stop!” I yelled to her, but she was submerged
under the water. It was a split-second decision to run in after Whimsy. The warm water splashed my face and soaked
my hospital gown. I knew how to swim, I just wasn’t good
at it, unlike Whimsy. Whimsy swam so fast I expected her
to be part fish.
I opened my eyes to see a world of sea life in the aqua
water. Whimsy was about 20 feet ahead. Then, Whimsy
slowed down, turning around toward me. This was my
chance to catch up to her. I pushed myself to swim quicker, though I was running out of breath.
When I was around 10 feet away from her, Whimsy
raised her delicate palm to her pink lips and blew a kiss. A
cloud of silver glitter swirled into the water and I lost my
last breath.
The clock in my hospital room read 3:21 a.m. My forehead was beaded with sweat. I had been unable to reach
Whimsy, and received her deadly kiss. My feet carried
me to the bathroom, and I stood in front of the mirror.
Though it wasn’t my reflection staring back at me. A tan
girl with dark brown eyes and long, straight chocolate
brown hair blinked and then disappeared. I knew her,
because that was the old me. The mirror was left with am
ugly, bald girl with sulken eyes. I hated my new appearance.
I had felt strange all day, but I was determined to get
Whimsy in my dream tonight. When my nirse arrived to
tell me it was time to go to bed, I climbed into bed and
shut my eyes.
This wasn’t my normal dreamland, this was a very
long hallway. A strained beeping noise was coming from
further down the hall. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beeeeeeep. An
array of red lines blocked me from going any further. I was
about to walk straight through them, until I realized they
29
were lasers. Stopping in my tracks, I inhaled and slid myself under the 10-inch gap from the last laser to the floor.
When I stood, Whimsy ran in the opposite direction of me.
I begged her to stop, running as fast as I could, slowing
only for a second time when Whimsy stopped and turned
around. Before I had time to act, I watched as Whimsy’s
breath filled an area. She blew me a kiss, right as I hit the
glass.
When I woke up the next morning, I couldn’t remember last night’s dream. But I didn’t know I didn’t catch the
Dreamling. Not that I had an answer to give her. This was
all so unfair! Elle told me I have to solve this stupid riddle,
but what was it? Why couldn’t she just tell me? Why can’t I
catch Whimsy and why does her stupid kisses keep making me wake up? Is it a sign?
“Victoria?” I heard my mom’s tentative voice.
“Hi, Mommy,” my voice cracked. She had been so supportive through all of this, even through divorce and the
loss of my brother when my mom wouldn’t let him go to
New York and he ran away.
“Oh, look at you sweetheart, you look so beautiful.” She
had tears in her eyes as she gave me a hug. “How do you
feel?”
“Pretty good, but I’ve had some trouble sleeping lately.”
“Oh, well why don’t you tell me what’s been going on
and I’ll try to help.” As I looked at my mom at this moment, her face filled with concern and understanding. I
knew I could tell her anything, except this, because under
all of her understanding and concern was weakness. So, I
decided that I would tell my mom, without telling her.
“Well, last night I had this dream that I was taking a
quiz, and on this quiz there was no questions, but one
unasked one. No one said it, but I could feel it in me, but
the more I tried to find the answer, the harder it was.” I
realized what I said was true and felt a little better, but a
little more confused.
“It sounds to me like this unspoken question is the
answer.” My mom looked so sure, but it didn’t make sense
to me.
“That’s … very helpful, thank you, Mommy.
Later that night I sat thinking of what my mom said.
As I thought of hat happened in my last dream I noticed
some reoccurring events; every time I asked Whimsy to
slow down, she’d speed up and as I ran even faster, she
stopped me with her glittery kiss. I sat up suddenly, making up a crazy plan that just might work.
I opened my eyes and stared at the clear, blue sky. I
slowly looked around to see I was in the middle of what
looked like an abandoned city. The building had flat roofs
and windows with no panes. I decided to sit down and
Modern Grimmoire
Student Anthology
take in the sights for a while. A small market lay a head of
me in a tight alleyway. Beautiful blankets and rugs with so
many different rich, exotic colored designs hanging out
windows. As I looked around I spotted Whimsy on the top
of one of the roofs looking out over the fields. Stretching as
I stood, I calmly approached the building and climbed the
three flights of stairs. When I reached the top I walked over
to where Whimsy sat. “No more running?” I asked kind of
snottily.
“No more chasing?” Whimsy retorted. Her voice was
magical, smooth and soothing with a mysterious twist.
Her looks were just as breath-taking. She had pale, flawless skin that was creamy like milk. Her hair fell perfectly
around her waist in silky blond waves, and her eyes were
one endless pit of never ending changes of color. “So you
think you have figured it out?” Her heavenly voice brought
me back.
“Oh, ah yeah, it’s ah, um-“
“Victoria, slow down.”
“Okay, I’m sorry. It’s, ‘nothing is given to you” in life that
is.” A smile slowly crept across Whimsy’s face.
“It was truly a pleasure, Victoria.” She leaned forward
and placed a kiss on my forehead. I felt fantastic, light
headed and free.
Beep, beep, beep. My heart monitor woke me up. “Shh,
shh she’s waking up!” My eyes flew open at the sound of
my brother’s voice.
“Jake!” I jumped up and gave him a hug. The familiar
scent of aftershave and pine washed over me. “I’ve missed
you so much!”
“I’ve missed you too Boo.”
“Sweetie,” mu mom interrupted, “we have some big
news to tell you.” Just like all the times before, I braced
myself for the worst. “The last test results show you’re all
clear.” As a wave of emotions washed over me I could feel
my forehead tingling. I was stuck in a group hug of my
mom and brother as I saw her in the corner of my eye.
“Thank you,” I thought. Whimsy just smiled in return.
Even now, as I look back on the amazing events that
has taken place, I can’t help but smile. So, next time the
outlook seems bleek, you might be lucky enough to meet
your Dreamling.
The End
Modern Grimmoire
Student Anthology
32
The Three Little Pigs (The Wolf’s Version)
by alyssa gene howard, grade 8, lehman middle school, teacher: mrs. zutali
Huff and Puff Award
O
nce upon a time there were three little pigs that
lived Raleigh, North Carolina and a big bad wolf.
He had grey shiny fur and big blue eyes, but the
wolf really wasn’t so bad; he was actually a contractor he
worked for the Valentine contracting company. His job
was to help people in remodelling their homes. So one
day there were three little pigs Fred, Bob, and Steve who
set out from home to make a life for themselves. One little
pig named Fred found a farmer named Mike. Mike was tall
with blonde hair and looked to be in his 50s. He was trying
to get rid of his hay because he had so much of it.
So the little pig said in a polite manner, “Excuse me
Mr. Farmer, but may I have your hay to make a house for
myself.”
Mike replied, “Well of course you may my dear little pig
and would you like some help because I know this excellent contractor who would help you if you like.”
The pig chuckled at him, “Thank you for your hay, but
I do not need a contractor to do my work. I don’t need
anyone. I rely on myself, Now I must leave.” The pig said in
an ungrateful tone.
So after the pig got his hay, Mike called the contractor
who was the wolf named Wolfe anyways.
The wolf went down Mike and asked to Mike, “Where
do you need me to start.”
Mike replied, “I do not need your help. It is a little pig
who I think will hurt himself if he makes his home all by
himself.”
The wolf asked, “Where is he making his home?”
Mike pointed towards a hill to a meadow.
The wolf said, “Thank you,” and started on his way in
a black minivan by the Ford Company that had Valentine
contracting on the sides in a hot pink color. When the wolf
approached the little pig, but before he could get too close
the pig ran into what was his unfinished house and locked
the door.
The wolf went up to the house, calmly, for this was
regular because he was a wolf after all, and said to the pig
through the door,
Modern Grimmoire
“Little pig little pig let me in.”
The pig said in a smart mouthed tone, “Not by the hair
of my chinny chin chin.”
As if this was a normal everyday thing, the wolf responded in a polite way, “Why little pig you have got it all
wrong. I am a contractor. A farmer called me and said he
wanted to make sure that you did not get hurt.”
But did the pig believe him? No! So the pig once again
said in the most snobbish way, “You, little liar! How dare
you try to lie to me and that farmer? Oh, when I get a hold
of him, he won’t know what to do. I promise you that.”
The wolf cut him off and screamed, “HOW DARE YOU
CALL ME A LIAR AND SAY THAT ABOUT THE FARMER!”
The wolf was so mad that he huffed and he puffed and he
blew the little pig’s house in all the wolf could do was sit
there and cry at the thought of being fired while the pig
ran to his brother’s house.
The wolf went back to the office to face his punishment. He still could not believe that he blew up at a customer like that. He was usually so polite even to the stuck
up customers because he didn’t like being judged either.
He just sat there as his hot tempered boss yelled at him.
Finally, he was finished; once he saw the wolf crying.
“I am sorry. I didn’t mean to, its just that I was been
called a liar about my job, and he screamed in my face and
said that he would fix my dearest friend, the farmer, since
he called us to help Fred.” the wolf replied.
His boss was feeling sorry now and said, “No don’t
apologize you never got in trouble so I will not fire you
and I will tell our customers before you go over not to be
frightened of you, okay?” The wolf nodded and went over
to do his next assignment at Fred’s brother’s house. The
second pig was named Bob (which was made of sticks because Bob was still looking for a job) who was giving Fred
a lecture.
“I cannot believe you said that the wolf was a liar to the
wolf’s face. The wolf is a contractor and the finest one I
know.”
“Well does he have a brother because this one was so
Student Anthology
34
rude that he blew my house down?”
The second little pig who was named Bob stopped for
a minute to think, “Well I know he does have a brother,
but he is in jail for eating Little Red Riding Hood and is not
getting out for a very long time.” The wolf was just approaching Bob’s house, which was made of wood, knocked
on the door and said,
“Hello Bob, it’s me the wolf. I am here to help you remodel your kitchen.”
Bob was about to open the door, but then his brother,
Fred, grabbed his arm and whispered, “No say we’re not
home, then he won’t try to eat us and he will go away.” Bob
shook his head and walked over to the door to open it, but
Fred said meanly,
“Go away! We do not need or want your help stupid
wolf.”
The wolf was so mad he said, “HOW DARE YOU CALL
ME STUPID, BOB! AND, SINCE YOU DO NOT WANT MY
HELP I’LL JUST.” It was too late the wolf huffed and puffed
and blew down Bob’s house. The wolf realized it wasn’t
Bob who called him stupid, it was Fred. Once he realized
this he chased after Fred who grabbed Bob and ran to the
third little pig’s house named Steve. The third little pig
lived in a nice and friendly neighborhood.
The two little pigs ran to their Steve’s house. His house
was made of brick. He was a lawyer so the inside of his
house was pretty fancy.
Steve was yelling at both of them on how the wolf was
such a nice animal and a wonderful contractor. “I still do
not believe that the wolf would blow both of your houses
down, And you, Fred, why on earth would you be calling
anyone names! I remember that you would hate getting
picked on in school. Now I am going to make things right
for he is coming over to help me with my bedroom in
repainting it so do not make any comments.”
“I am not making any promises on what I will and will
not say to the wolf,” Fred said.
Now the wolf didn’t go back to the office because he
wasn’t in the mood for another lecture instead he went
35
to Steve’s house to help him with his bedroom. The
wolf, now, did not feel sorry for scaring Fred, but he did
feel sorry for Bob because he had no home and it was
the wolf’s fault. The wolf approached Steve’s house and
knocked on the door. There was something different this
time about the house. It was made of brick so this time
the wolf couldn’t blow down Steve’s house. Steve went to
answer the door when the two brothers, Fred and Bob,
grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the door. Steve
and Bob were shaking their heads no at Fred, but Fred
started again.
“I thought that I told you that I did not want your help.
I am going to call the office and see to it that you are fired
and sent to jail for blowing down my house and Bob’s
house like your no good rotten brother,” Fred said proudly.
Now the wolf had enough Fred’s comments and
climbed up the roof and came down the chimney and
grabbed Fred and ran out the door with Fred and Fred was
never seen or heard from again.
Modern Grimmoire
THE END
Student Anthology
The Perfect Happy Ever After
by maria jenkins, grade 9, jackson school for the arts, teacher: mrs. snow
O
nce upon a time there was a young lady of fifteen years
of age whose name was Vera. All she ever wanted was to
be married and to be popular and rich like the prince,
Terrance. Every time that Prince Terrance came into town she
tried to impress him. The Prince was very polite to the people of
the small little country of Andalasia but all of his servants said
that he was mean and selfish. Vera never wanted to believe them
so she just kept fantasizing about the day he would talk to her.
Vera had a very wild imagination and was very artistic but also
very strong willed. Vera was not very ladylike and did not like
wearing dresses, but her parents insisted.
Now most of the people of Andalasia were fairly nice except
the girl at the end of the street Vera lived on. Her name was Jeza.
Jeza was the exact opposite of Vera. Jeza was very much lady like,
she was very beautiful and was perfect at just about everything.
Jeza and Vera always disliked each other and had never gotten
along. Jeza had also already talked to Prince Terrance and Vera
was very jealous of her but she tried not to pay much attention
to her.
Meanwhile there was a new boy who moved down the street
from Vera. His name was Wesley. He was also the same age as
Vera and her friends. He moved because there was a purple
dragon with little orange horns on the loose. The dragon might
have looked harmless but if a human looked directly in his
eyes he turned into a huge horrifying monster. The people of
Andalasia were praying that it never came to their country.
Some of the people who lived in the hill tops of Andalasia said
there was a little purple dragon with orange horns flying around
earlier one morning. People in the market talked about it all of
the time and when Jeza herd of this she decided she wanted to
take a journey to the mountains. She didn’t tell anyone, not even
her parents or her friends. Vera seen her that day with a satchel
and she was heading for the mountains. Vera didn’t think much
of this though she just figured she was going to do something
she was going to regret again. Later in the night when Jeza didn’t
come home her parents started to worry and as it got later they
went door to door to see if anyone had seen her. Since Jeza and
Vera didn’t like each other her parents came to her house last.
Vera’s parents answered the door and they had both said that
they had not seen her either and just as her dad shut the door,
Vera came out of the kitchen and confessed to Jeza’s mom. She
told her everything that she saw. The first thing that came into
Jeza’s mother’s head was that little purple dragon. Jeza’s parents
ran out the door heading for the palace with a whole mob of
the townspeople behind them. Just as the people reached the
palace, someone pointed to something flying from the direction
of the mountains rushing towards them. As it got closer they
Modern Grimmoire
herd screams of terror. Finally they saw it was the outline of
something huge. People started screaming, it was the dragon and
he had Jeza. Vera’s parents decided that they wanted to help so
they told Vera they would be back soon but she could not leave
the house. Of course she was not just going to sit around so she
went to find some of her friends but they were not allowed to
leave their houses. Just as she started to go back to her house
she heard someone call out her name she turned around and
saw Wesley. She was quite shocked actually,they both had same
thought as she did so they went to the palace as well.
Once they reached the palace lawn the could not see what
was going on. A man said that Prince Terrance is going to fight
off the dragon and hopefully save Jeza. As soon as Vera heard
that, she seamed really out of place to Wesley. They didn’t talk
that much after that until she saw Annabella her best friend.
When Wesley had a chance he asked Annabella what was wrong
with Vera. It took quite along time but just as she was finishing
the whole story the crowd started to cheer uncontrollably. Vera
knew what happened and she had a few tears but she could not
cry in front of her friends she tried to hide it by starting to talk
again. Wesley told her that Annabella told him everything. Vera
started to cry right in front of him. She asked if he thought she
was weird. He responded with he had the same feelings with
someone else. At that point she really didn’t want to talk anymore
but she asked one last thing. She wondered who it was and he
told her the most sweetest thing she ever herd. He had a crush on
her all along. She had never been so happy. They walked back to
their street together holding hands. They got back to her house
before her parents did so she was safe. He told her to come see
him bright and early in the morning. When her parents finally
got home they told her what had all happened. All night she
thought about what happened and she got the best night of sleep
she ever had.
That morning she rushed to get dressed and brush her hair.
She flew out the door. On the way to Wesley’s house someone
called out to her and said that Prince Terrance had proposed to
Jeza. When Vera heard this she was a little disappointed but she
was still excited. When she arrived he said he had a big surprise.
He told her to close her eyes for a minute. When she opened
them a tiny ring was in his hands. She had never been so happy
in her life. The news spread fast. Vera learned she didn’t need
wealth, looks, or popularity to make her happy as long as the
person who makes you happy loves you, that’s all you need.
Nothing more, nothing less. So they eventually got married and
both lived happily ever after.
Student Anthology
36
Things Are Not Always As They Seem
by hannah jones, grade 9, jackson school for the arts, teacher: mrs. snow
O
nce upon a time there was a small, quant village
sequestered in the beautiful country landscape. Like
a lost shard of sapphire in an abandoned mine, the
village was insignificantly tiny, but it played a major role in
the events. There seemed to be something hidden in the hills
and valleys of the land of Sesame, they smirked and shone as
if there were a secret something waiting to be found. Every day
their whispers fell into the ears of villagers telling them hidden
treasures.
A weasel of a king, King Maxwell IV, had continuously
scapegoated the innocent village of Sesame. If a town burned
down because of the King’s ruthlessness, he didn’t want to
look wicked, so the King said the villagers were jolly on spirits
and were carrying torches. If a war started, the King didn’t
want to appear a traitor, so he said the village had attacked the
neighboring country, directly after he had made sanctions to
ensure their alliance. If anything happened and no good had
happened in over 100 years it would be blamed on them! there
would come a day, though, when all the good they’d missed out
on for a hundred years would come to them.
There was a certain wench, talented beyond all the others.
She was named Elina, and had a special gift, a “savvy” if you will.
She possessed perfection. However being the timid and humble
soul she was she didn’t let a word out. She knew that someday
her power would do some good, somehow. Until then, she knew
she should keep it hidden inside of her.
One day the king ordered a special meal, seeing as a foreign
emperor would be arriving to spend a bit of time in their fair
village, and would be staying with him. The king decided a soup
was in order. Secretly Elina made such a savory a soup that not
even the strongest man would be able to resist. But alas there
had been two pots of soup in the kitchen, the first made horribly,
and the second made with Elina’s perfect hands. The king was
meeting with the Emperor, and had invited him to dine. They
were going to have soup, the king proclaimed. Mistakenly, the
servant brought to the king the first, repulsive soup, and to the
emperor the second. As soon as the king tasted the repugnant
soup, he spit it out, saturating the emperor in the despicable
flavor; the emperor was in a trance-like state because of his
soup’s quality did not notice. “What soup is this? It is not like any
other I have tasted!” he cried. Of course the king thought he had
tasted the horrific soup. The king, being himself, tried to quickly
blame the village for the horrible soup. “Please know my chefs
did not make this soup!” the king shouted. “Twas a gift from the
small village!” the emperor had gotten the savory soup of which
was the second. “This is most definitely the best soup I have
ever tasted! The world must be informed of this soup and it’s
37
creator at once! For I do believe it is perfect!” The befuddled king
tasted the emperor’s soup and wasn’t able to clear his confusion.
“But emperor you do not understand’ twas my kitchen-...”
“Nonsense.” The emperor wisely interrupted. “You first said twas
the villagers whom made the soup and intend to believe your
first words.” And so the king who believed it was proper to let his
faults fall upon the innocent village was ironically helpful to their
positive recognition. Everyone was informed of the magnificent
news at once, except for the Elina.
Walking through the town square, Elina wondered how the
royals had liked her soup. She started to ponder about the king.
He had never come across as big, strong and powerful ruler, but
rather something small and weak.
Elina passed by a dark alley, and at first tried to hurry by it,
but stopped when she saw the king speaking to a beggar. “What
do you need that money for,” His voice had become somewhat
scratchy, and persistent, “You are practically a rodent, nothing
compared to me!” The king had nothing left; all he originally had
was the fear of the people and his word, but who might trust his
word now? The beggar is of higher status than he. Elina could
not bear witness the king yell and bark at the poor indigent any
longer so Elina feeling momentarily brave, sneaked up behind
the king, and surprisingly easily, stole his fancy clothing running
away. I’ll sell the coat to a merchant then give the money to the
poor soul. That should even the odds. Looking behind; she saw
the king had transformed into a despicable rodent, fittingly, a
big fat rat. She knew there had been something odd about King
Maxwell IV. Bystanders shrieked and fled in disgust. The beggar
struck the rat king, defeating the miserable creature.
Elina admiring the beggar’s nobility presented him with
the fine coat that hung loosely on his thin frame. The beggar
was then transformed into a king, honest, and (of course),
handsome prince. The prince revealed his identity, Theodore the
Trustworthy. he gushed with thanks to Elina for all she had done;
her magical charm had gotten the best of him. However after a
moment, he saw through her superficial perfection, and realized
her true perfection was within her heart. He then fell in love
with Elina’s heart and wanted it to himself. Theodore asked for
her hand in marriage, told for all time. Elina noticed his genuine
feelings towards her and trusted him with all of her heart, the
way she could never have in all her life. They lived happily ever
after and sat on the throne of Sesame. Restoring generosity,
kindness and trust to all the land.
Modern Grimmoire
Student Anthology
King Simon
by alexis lanier, grade 9, fairless high school, teacher: mr. moritz
Broken Promise award
O
nce upon a time, an old king lay on his deathbed. He was a wise, fair king, and even trusted
the servants. His favorite servant was Faithful
John, who did anything the king asked. “Bring me Faithful
John,” he declared. Faithful John came beside the bed, and
the king said, “Most faithful John, I cannot leave this world
yet, for I fear for my son. If you are not the one to teach
and guide him, be his father, I can’t leave yet. You are the
only one I trust to do this.”
“I will serve him with guidance and loyalty, to the best
of my ability, Lord,” Faithful John replied.
“Now I can rest,” the old king replied. Then he added,
“After my death, you are to show him the entire castle,
with the exception of the room at the end of the long gallery. In it is a picture of the Princess of the Golden Dwelling. If he sees this, he will fall deeply in love with her, and
will go through great danger for her. You must prevent this
from happening.”
Once Faithful John had promised this much, the old
king died.
Fifteen years later…
The old king’s son, King Simon, wandered down the
halls of his castle, with Faithful John at his side. They
passed the room at the end of the hall, and King Simon
remarked, “You always pass this door by. Why don’t you
ever open it for me?”
“I promised your father I would never show you what
was in it. It would bring great misfortune to you and to
me,” Faithful John replied.
“Yes, but if I don’t go in, it would certainly be my
downfall. I won’t leave until I see what is in that room,” the
young king declared.
Faithful John sighed, as he realized that it was true.
He took out his ring of keys, and pulled out one that the
king had never seen before. It was pure gold. Faithful John
unlocked the door, and King Simon rushed through. In
the room, he saw a painting of a young woman so beautiful, he fell instantly in love. “Who is this woman?” the king
Modern Grimmoire
asked. “I am in love!”
“I must find her! I shall propose a marriage, once we do.
Will you help me, my most faithful John?”
John sighed. “I will ride with you to her kingdom and
help you win her heart.” The king immediately set about
making preparations for the trip. Faithful John shook his
head, as he realized what he had done.
Two years later…
The carriage bounced as we made our way through the
forest on its rocky road. There was little security with me,
as we were only going to be gone for a short while. I was
a princess, you see. The carriage stopped, and one of the
guards slid off his horse. I craned my head to see what was
going on. There was a man had just come from out of the
forest, talking to the guards. He looked as if he hadn’t eaten in days, and his clothes were practically rags. I started
to get out, but the man reached into his rags, and, fast as
lightning, pulled out a sword and stabbed the guard. Just
as fast, six other men surrounded the carriage. Robbers, I
thought, they’ve ambushed us! The guards charged at the
robbers, but they were outmatched. I opened the door and
slipped out of the carriage as quietly as I could. I snuck
into the woods, just in time. I ran and didn’t look back. I
found cover under a tree and hid there until I couldn’t hear
anything but the sounds of the forest.
When I finally built up the nerve to come out, all was
silent. I started to walk towards the road, but after a few
minutes of walking, I still hadn’t come to it yet. It should be
right here, I thought. I walked a little more, and then to the
left a bit, and to the right, but still couldn’t find it. I roamed
even more in search of a road, a house, or even a sign of
life. I sat down bitterly and cried, “What can I do now? I
can’t get out, I don’t know how to survive in a forest, and
no human lives here, so I will starve!” I started to cry, and
eventually fell asleep, with tears still fresh on my face.
When I awoke, a dove was staring curiously at me from
a low branch. “What do you want?” I asked it.
“I don’t want anything, but some peace and quiet
Student Anthology
38
would be nice,” the bird responded.
I gaped at it for a minute or two, until it said, “What?
Dog got your tongue?”
I shook out of my stupor and said, “Isn’t the phrase ‘cat
got you tongue’?”
The dove shuddered. “I’m not a big fan of cats. Dogs
are a bit more… manageable.”
“How can you talk?” I asked it.
“Don’t mind that. Why are we talking about me when
you’re practically starving? Aren’t you hungry?”
“Yes, but –”
“Good! Now, I have a key somewhere – ah. Here it is.”
The dove pulled a small golden key out from its feathers
and flew towards me with it in its mouth and dropped it
in my hand. “Now, this key will open up that tree –” He
pointed to a huge tree with his bill, then saw the look on
my face and stopped. He made a face back – well, as much
as a bird can – and said, “Humor me. Inside the tree will
be food for you.” I made another face at him and turned
to open the tree. Sure enough, a hidden door swung open,
and inside the tree was a dish of milk, and some bread.
I ate my fill, then sat down at the base of the tree. The
door closed, and the dove flew towards me again. “It must
be late at night by now! I’m exhausted,” I said.
The dove brought out another golden key. “Inside the
tree this time will be a bed for you to sleep in.”
“The same tree?” I asked.
“Yes.” The dove gave me the key and flew into its nest.
I shrugged, doubtful, and unlocked the tree. Inside, sure
enough, was a bed.
I spun around. “How?” I demanded.
It shrugged. “Same way a bird can talk. Now sleep. You’ll
have more time to annoy me in the morning.”
I ducked into the tree and climbed into the bed. I fell
asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.
The next morning, I crawled out of the tree, and the
dove was still there. I stood up, and it flew towards me.
Once more, he brought out a golden key. “You should
know the drill by now. Inside the tree will be some clothes
for you.”
I raised my eyebrows. “What? No good morning?”
“Good morning. Are you happy now?”
“Very.” Once again, I unlocked the tree. Inside was a
beautiful dress. It was even a stunning shade of gold! I
shut the door and tried it on. It fit perfectly. I went out, and
caught the bird staring.
“What?” I asked.
It smiled. Well, as much as it could. “Nothing,” the dove
said.
I lived here for several days, and the dove came every
day to provide anything I needed, though only an hour or
39
two each day. One day, though, the bird asked for a favor.
“Will you do something for me? A small favor, in return
for the days of service.”
“Of course. Anything.”
“I will guide you to a small house – enter it. You will be
greeted by an old woman, but under NO circumstances
should you talk to her. Don’t even think about responding.
On the right should be a room, and in it will be a pile of
rings. There will be many kinds of rings, ones with jewels
and such, but leave them. You are looking for a plain ring.
Get it, and bring it back to me as quickly as you can.” I
nodded, and followed as the dove flew away.
We arrived at a clearing in the trees, and in it was a
small shack. I approached, and opened the door. I saw an
old, shriveled up woman sitting in a rocker. I took a deep
breath, and walked in.
“Why – hello. Who are you?” she asked. I kept walking,
and she stood up. “What are you doing in my house?” she
shouted at me. She grabbed me, but I broke free. I ran to
the room on the right, threw open the door, and started
searching. There was a pile of rings, glimmering with precious stones. I sifted through the rings, and couldn’t find
the plain one. I looked back at the old woman, surprised
to find that she had a bird cage in her hands and was trying to sneak out with it. I went to her, took the cage, and
looked inside. There was a bird inside, with a plain ring
in its bill. Joyously, I took the ring and ran back into the
woods.
I reached the big tree, and sat against a tree opposite
of it, waiting for the dove to come. Suddenly, the tree grew
softer, and let its branches down. I stood up and turned. In
the tree’s place was a man! He grinned, and came towards
me. I backed away, afraid, but he was right in front of
me in two strides. I cringed, ready for the worst, but he
hugged me instead.
“You’ve freed me from the witch! Thank you!” he said.
He saw the bewildered look on my face, and explained.
“She turned me into a tree, but for two hours every day,
I was the dove you befriended. As long as she had the
ring, I couldn’t return to my human form. Thank you!”
He released me from his bear hug, and stepped back. He
was well built, handsome, and had on uncommonly nice
clothes. He had to be nobility. There was another man
standing off to the side. He was much older, and had less
extravagant clothes. I also notice that they both carry
weapons.
“Who are you guys? And how did you get here in the
first place?”
“Well, actually, we were going to your kingdom. We got
lost, and met the witch. She cursed us when we asked for
directions.”
Modern Grimmoire
Student Anthology
“Wait, how do you know which kingdom is mine?” I
asked.
He turned slightly red, and looked embarrassed. “I, uh
–”
“He was looking for you, miss,” the old man said. “And
my name is John. This is King Simon, of Märchen.”
“Why were you looking for me?”
“Well, miss, he saw a painting of you, and –”
“And, might I say, you are immensely more beautiful in
person. I came to propose. For the mutual benefit of both
of our kingdoms, of course.”
“Of course,” I responded, smiling.
They wandered the forest, searching for the road. The
king and princess walked ahead, talking and laughing, as
Faithful John lagged behind. He thought about this mess
he was in, and wondered if it was over. They entered a
clearing, and Faithful John stopped. “Sir! Do you mind if I
wait here for you two? I’m not sure how much more walking these old bones can take,” he called out to the king.
“Of course,” the king replied. “We’ll be back within the
hour.” The pair left the clearing and, within a few minutes,
were out of sight. Faithful John sat down against a tree,
and looked up at the sky. Three dark shapes circled above.
They descended, and he determined that they were ravens. He watched them for a while, until they finally came
to rest in the trees at the edge of the clearing. John heard a
voice, but it was much too early for the king and princess
to be back. He looked up at the ravens contemplatively. He
decided to listen in.
We found the road, and headed back for John. Simon
and I talked and laughed the whole way back. We found
Simon again, and eventually made it back to the road. It
didn’t take us long to get a ride, and we were soon back
in the safety of Simon’s kingdom, Märchen. I thanked the
driver, and watched as he rode off. He dropped us off on
the edge, so we still had quite a walk ahead of us.
A few minutes in, we came upon a lovely chestnut
horse. I noticed a look of surprise and panic flash across
John’s face, but it was gone as quickly as it came. Simon
insisted on riding it, but before he could mount it, John
hopped on its back, pulls out his pistol, and shot it!
I was horrified, and Simon was shocked, but even so, he
said, “He is my Faithful John, and I trust him. He must’ve
had a reason.”
So, we traveled onward, and finally made it to the palace without any more incidents. We walked into the hall,
and lying in a dish was a beautiful bridal shirt that looked
as if it were woven with gold and silver. Simon moved to
pick it up, but again, John quickly snatched it up, wearing
gloves, and threw it in a fire. Once more, Simon and I were
Modern Grimmoire
shocked, but again, Simon said, “He is my Faithful John,
and I trust him. He must’ve had a reason.” I was doubtful
by then, but I didn’t say anything. We had just met, and
I didn’t want to make a bad impression. John had been
nice to me so far, so I guessed he deserved a break. He also
seemed to know exactly what he was doing, almost like he
was expecting it.
A few weeks later, the wedding was arranged, and the
day had arrived. Faithful John’s actions were forgiven and
forgotten. It was a touching ceremony, and soon came the
reception. We danced and laughed, and then danced some
more. Not long after, though, I was suddenly hit by a wave
of nausea and lightheadedness, and collapsed.
When I awoke, Faithful John and Simon were standing
over me. I was in a bed in one of the rooms. Simon yelled,
“Throw him in the dungeon!” and Faithful John was taken
away.
Once I was feeling better, Simon explained to me what
happened. “You got very pale, and just fell. John ran over,
almost like he was expecting it, and carried you here. I ran
after him, and was surprised to find that he had drawn a
few drops of blood from you!” At this I gasped, and wondered why he would do such a thing. Our Faithful John
was not so faithful anymore.
He was put on trial, and sentenced to death. The next
morning, he was led to the gallows, and stood tall upon
them. “All men have a right to speak before their death,”
he stated. “I have been wrongly condemned, sir! I have always been and always will be faithful to you. On that fateful day when the Queen saved us, and you two left me to
look for a road, three ravens flew into the trees above me.
You may not believe me, but I swear to you it is the truth.
They started to talk, and I overheard them talking about
your fates. They said that, once we landed, we would encounter a chestnut horse. You, sire, would want to ride it,
but if you did, it would take you away from your beloved.”
As he said this, he started to turn to stone, from his feet to
his knees! “Unless someone were to get on the horse, and
quickly shoot it dead, you would not be together. Next,
they said, once we got to the castle, there would be a beautiful bridal shirt, and you would want to put it on. If you
did this, it would burn you to the bone. The only way to
save you was if someone quickly picked it up, with gloves
on, and threw it in the fire.” Once he told of the shirt, he
slowly turned to stone from his knees to his heart. “Lastly,
they spoke of the dance after the wedding. The new Queen
would collapse, and would not wake, unless one were to
draw three drops of blood from her. I could not let any of
these fates befall you, even if it cost me my life.” On this
last word, he was turned completely to stone, from his feet
Student Anthology
40
to the top of his head.
“Oh, my most Faithful John, what have I done?!” the
king shouted in grief regret. I felt hot tears roll down my
face as I thought of Faithful John, who gave his life for me
and Simon to be together.
Some time later, the Queen had twin sons. They grew
to be the king and queen’s pride and joy. The King and
Queen placed the statue of John in their bedroom so that
every night and every day, they would be reminded of his
faithfulness and the debt they owed him. One day, while
the Queen was at church, and the children were playing
by their father, Simon looked up at the statue and cried
out, “Oh, my most Faithful John, if only I could bring you
back!”
Surprisingly, the statue responded. “But you can, sir, if
you will sacrifice to me what you hold dearest.”
The king gasped, the concept completely bewildering
him. “I would do anything,” he pledged.
“If you cut off the heads of your two children with your
own hand, and sprinkle their blood on me, I will come
back to life.”
The king was astonished that John could even suggest
this, but he was even more terrified that he might actually
agree to it. His children were dear to him, yes, but when Simon thought about the fidelity of John, and of his sacrifice
for him, the king relented and drew his sword.
In a daze, the king brought out his sons. He raised the
sword and, in a moment, the tip of the blade had hit the
floor twice, and the poor kids’ heads had rolled to the
ground.
Once his task was done, Simon was horrified with
himself, but finished the job anyway. He took up some of
their blood, and sprinkled it on the statue. The king then
sat down and wept. A warm hand touched his shoulder,
and Simon looked up to find Faithful John’s kind old face
gazing at him with concern.
“There is no need to fret, my king; for your loyalty shall
be rewarded,” John said. He bent down and picked up the
children’s heads, and placed them back on their bodies.
Then, he rubbed their necks with their blood. The boys
jumped up and immediately resumed their playing, as if
nothing had happened.
The king was filled with joy- not only was John saved,
but his boys were too! He heard the queen coming down
the hall, though, and urged Faithful John and the children
into a closet to hide.
I walked into the room and screamed. There was so
much blood on the floor! Whose was it? A servant’s? The
children’s? Simon’s? Simon looked okay, but he was the
only one in the room.
41
I stopped screaming, at least for now, and asked frantically, “Whose blood is this? What happened here, Simon?”
He walked over and put his hands on my shoulders. “It’s
alright, darling. Calm down, everybody is okay. Nobody is
hurt. I will explain everything, first, tell me, what would
you do to have John back?”
I tried to relax my agitated mind as I thought about his
question. What did John have to do with this? Honestly, I
had been thinking about him in church, and considered
John’s great fidelity and sacrifice.
“I would do anything!” I cried. “But Simon, what happened here?!”
He grinned at this, and opened a closet behind him.
Our two boys came out, followed by John. I gasped, wondering if it was just an illusion or a dream. “Is this real?” I
asked.
“Yes, my love. It’s real,” he said. He went on to explain
the sacrifice he made to bring John back, and how he was
rewarded with the lives of our children. Tears of joy rolled
down my face, and I think that even Simon’s eyes were a
little wet. We hugged and the children played, a picture
of innocence amid the blood-soaked slats of the wooden
floor. We lived in happiness for many years after that. The
children grew up, and ended up saving the kingdom. But
that’s a story for another time.
Modern Grimmoire
Student Anthology
The Smiling Mask
by connor lannes, grade 10, minerva high school
O
nce upon a time in a small, faraway land, there was a circus that
was famous for its amazing clown named Pierrot.
The ringmaster of this circus boasted that Pierrot could make anyone laugh no matter what, and for what it was worth it was true, but one day
the king and princess of the land visited this so called amazing circus.
Pierrot had fallen in love with the princess, though not just for her beauty,
though it was nothing short of marvelous, but for her kind heart, as he had
watched her help a lost child find his mother before the show.
At the end of his performance he looked to the princess and asked for her
hand in marriage, but the king laughed in his face and told him no.
Pierrot begged for a chance and the king finally pitied him enough to let
him have a chance.
He told Pierrot that if he could make the queen, the unhappiest, angry,
and stubborn person in the world, laugh then he could marry the princess.
He only got three chances to make her laugh.
Pierrot tried his hardest, but could not get the woman to laugh, telling his
funniest jokes and juggling 63 balls with ease.
Eventually he was down to his last chance and decided to take a walk in
the woods to think, where he then met a kind old woman.
Telling her his story of love, the woman gave him a strange mask with a
smiling face on it and instructions on what to do. “This mask was given to me
by a powerful magician, who wanted to see the world smile as much as any
clown could. Put it on the queen, then say the words Ha Hee Hoo Ho, and she
will laugh!” She told him.
Thanking the kind woman, Pierrot rushed back to the castle.
Doing as the woman told him, he made the queen close her eyes and put
on the mask. Saying the words he was told, the queen suddenly began to
giggle and snicker before losing all control and laughing.
She laughed high, she laughed low, she had laughed so loud that the
castle walls shook. Finally after a day and night of non-stop chuckling the
king’s wife had stopped.
The king was dumbfounded, and began to stop Pierrot but it was too late;
both he and the princess, now his bride rode off in a carriage to make the
people of the world laugh as much as the queen had done.
Modern Grimmoire
Student Anthology
42
Winning
by rachel lewis, grade 12, lake high school, teacher: mr. wise
Toad-ally Tops Award
How many times must one win,
before they get rewarded?
An old king,
Growing closer to his end,
Wondered which of his three sons
Shall inherit the land.
The two eldest - cunning and wise
The youngest – a quiet simpleton
Of course,
A contest.
Whosoever could bring him
The most beautiful carpet,
In all of the world,
Will be greatly rewarded…
With the kingdom.
To be “fair,”
Three feathers,
Thrown into the air.
Three brothers,
To follow their directions.
East – the eldest trails the wind
West – the middle follows suit
Up, and straight down.
The youngest sits
Near his feather on the ground.
“Give up?”
He wondered.
Trap door?
He discovered.
Steps leading down.
A door.
Knock knock knock
A big toad.
Some little toads.
“May I help you?”
The youngest.
Stunned, desperate
“I need the most beautiful rug in the world.”
A box.
Produced a rug,
Fine and pretty.
Returning, winning.
But wait,
Sore losers.
Contest # 2.
Find the most beautiful ring,
In the whole world.
Three feathers.
East – the eldest followed.
West – the middle trailed
Up and down,
Again,
The youngest goes to the trapdoor.
Walks down the steps.
Knocks on the door.
Waits for the toad.
43
Modern Grimmoire
“I need a ring,
The most beautiful ring.”
The box produces
Such a ring,
No goldsmith could ever make something,
So beautiful.
Returning, winning.
Still yet,
Sore losers.
A third contest.
The most beautiful woman.
Three feathers,
East – the eldest
West – the middle
Up,
Down,
The youngest.
Through the trap door,
Down the stairs,
Knock on the door,
Wait for the toad.
“I need the most beautiful woman
In the whole, wide world.”
The toad hands the youngest
A hollow turnip,
Attached to six mice.
Frowning,
“What am I supposed to do with this?”
“Just choose one of my little toads.”
The youngest,
Chose a toad,
And put her in the turnip.
Almost immediately,
A beautiful maiden appeared,
The turnip was a carriage,
And the mice were its horses.
A kiss.
Returning, winning.
And yet, another contest.
Whosever wife can jump through
A hanging hoop,
Shall win,
Once and for all.
The two eldest,
Who brought home peasants,
Were confident.
But their wives failed them.
However,
The youngest’s maiden,
Who once was a toad,
Jumped through the hoop,
No problem.
Finally,
Winning.
Student Anthology
Grandfather Death
by daniel lober, grade 12, jackson high school, teacher: mr. piotrowski
Paid with Protection
by nikk manes, grade 9, jackson school for the arts, teacher: mrs. snow
The Brothers Grimmest Award
H
idden in the orange decaying leaves of the
Elm Forest, a lilliputian village sat in the
early hours of the morning, awaiting the
commotion of the oncoming day. Across the tops of
houses, smoke poured from chimneys signaling the day’s
arrival. However, outside the town, the forest was already
bustling with excitement. Thrown into a tree, Jasper
Shouted out in pain, “Are you mad? I was completely
unprepared and you know it!” As he struggled to get up,
using the Elm as a crutch, he swore under his breath
and walked over to his sword. Looking down at his blade
helplessly with disgust, his elder brother Aeron eerily
gazed up at the twilight lit sky as if nothing happened.
Then, moving with the speed of a god, he appeared
suddenly between his brother and the weapon, pinning it
to the ground with his foot and thus leaving its owner with
a look of defeat.
With the rest of their family gone, Jasper and Aeron
lived alone relying only on each other. Although the village
was small and insignificant it was attacked time after time
due to weak military forces. With most men of the village
working in the mines or fields not many of them found
themselves able to fight; however, the two brothers had
a dream to push each other to the end and become the
village’s saviors! That was all either of them wanted. As
Aeron grew stronger night and day, learning new ways to
fight and gaining immense speed and strength, his brother
failed one thing after another and slowly lost his hopes
of becoming a great warrior. Feeling nothing but shame
for being of the same clan as this failure, Aeron refused to
continue to train with Jasper and preached to him that,
“True power not only comes from training and gaining
new strengths but severing all weakness.” After a few days
he was seen less and less; leaving the village early in the
morning and not coming back from the forest until well
after night had fallen. However one day he didn’t return
and he was nowhere to be found.
Late in the morning months later, Jasper patrolled the
woods in search of game to sell in the market. Wandering
along, he noticed something a bit peculiar. The birds
45
didn’t sing, the wind didn’t rustle the trees, and there was
a silence throughout the entire forest. Although merely
seconds ago there wasn’t a cloud in sight, the sky had
already darkened and the rain began. However, not far
away was the village with people shouting in the market
and children singing and playing in the street. As the
clouds rolled in, the people all fell silent while they gazed
in amazement at the new black sky. Then, breaking the
silence was the piercing scream of a small child which
echoed across the entire forest including the village. The
first blood was spilt.
Although he somewhat feared for the village’s safety,
Jasper arrived back in the town within seconds excitedly
preparing himself for the moment he could finally prove
himself and protect everyone. However when he arrived
and his eyes met his opponents, he froze. There was no
longer a feeling of excitement or confidence. Now all
he felt was the icy glare of his brother standing in the
middle of a frightened crowd with several mangled and
bloodied bodies, laying lifelessly at his feet. Breaking the
silence of the crowd, I bellowed, “Why have you returned?
What business do you have here? You leave this place for
months! And is this how you great us after all this time? By
murdering our innocent!” Without even acknowledging
the question, Aeron simply cackles, “I’ve greeted you with
mercy today! I have searched for true power and I believe
I can achieve it here. So next time I will show no mercy!”
Then without even a twitch of his body disappeared,
leaving Jasper and the rest of the village to mourn the
victim’s death.
Left with a feeling of guilt, that it was his fault for his
brother’s attack, Jasper ran off searching for a place to
think. As thoughts bounced around his head, he lost track
of where he was walking and wound up stumbling into the
mouth of a glistening cave formed from gigantic red and
yellow crystals. Mesmerized by the reflections around him,
he stumbled onto a clean, perfectly cut hole in the floor
of the cafe. As he was feeling his way around the missing
pace in the floor, a sudden rush of blood shot into Jaspers
face and he could feel all the air around him disappeared
Modern Grimmoire
Student Anthology
for a moment and then all at once blew upwards. This
lasted for about Five seconds before he realized he was
falling. However by then he was sure it was too late. He
clenched his face and braced for impact. Only stopping
inches from a strange pool of water, he felt a sudden lost
then slowly opened his eyes. Then all at once, he went
splashing into the water. Swimming to a nearby ledge of
the small underground pond he noticed a man wearing a
just black shroud. The peculiar thing about the man was
that he seemed to be praying into the water. Not only out
loud but it was as if he was chanting to the water directly.
As I watched in amazement, all of the water in the small
pond began to shake and stir. Then in one swift movement
and with a loud roar from the man in the robe, all of the
water flew up and out of the cave. As Jasper stared down
the man he knew instantly that this was the work of magic.
By seeing such an immense power before him, jasper
immediately knew what he had to do what he had to do.
After explaining to the conjurer what his brother had
done, Jasper pleads to him that he needs to learn the ways
of magic and that he has no other way to save the village.
Still remaining in complete silence, the conjurer simply
nodded, grabbed Jasper’s arm then they disappeared
quicker than the water.
Weeks later Jasper returned home to find the village
still mourning their losses however, there was more of
a chill in the air than the day he left. A feeling loomed
around him as he walked through town. Moving closer
to the middle of the town with every step, he thought to
himself what he actually should do. Almost eagerly ready
to fight his brother with his new power, people around
him backed away and some even ran from him as if they
knew the ominous events to come. Then an enormous
bird, which almost looked like an ink drawing or the
sketch of a bird, flew over the town and blocked out the
sun completely. As it passed overhead, a figure jumped
down from the giant beast as it flew away. Standing before
Jasper was no longer a brother but a sworn enemy with
vicious hatred in his eyes. As Aeron began his slaughter,
he raised his sword high above his head and it shined in
the little sunlight there was. As he went to lower it onto
an innocent bow in the street he felt a sudden shock
followed by a whirring of the air around him. As the blade
flew out of his hands and onto the ground a few feet away
from him, he felt another shock and his bones quaked. As
the whirring continued around him he wailed at Jasper,
“What is this? What are you Devil?” In response to this
remark Jasper, speaking loudly enough for all the village
to hear, boomed, “You will no longer torture our village
but instead you shall protect it at all times. You will pay
Modern Grimmoire
for your crimes with a punishment worse than death.
You shall not rest, you shall not eat or drink and you shall
not think of anything besides protecting this village. Your
punishment is protection!” Then with these words Aeron
rose from the ground now shaking severely, as a bright
light encompassed his entire being and then slowly burnt
out as he descended into the forest.
Finally saving the village and ensuring its safety, Jasper
had achieved everything he truly desired. In doing so
he realized he didn’t have anything left there so he left
knowing that Aeron would always be there to fulfill his
dreams as well. As he was walking in the forest thinking
about what he could do next, he stumbled upon a tree.
Recognizing it almost immediately he fell down against
it reminiscently and laughed at himself as he sat on the
ground. Now the tree that was once beautiful and lively
is old and barren. Using it as a crutch once again, Jasper
worked his way up onto his feet again. With a sincere
feeling he placed both hands on the tree and breathed life
into it with the little magical energy he had left. Smiling,
he took a step back and he looked up at the beautiful thing
he had done.
Student Anthology
46
Seen and Not Heard Award
The Silent Princess
by kaitlyn marks, grade 11, jackson high school, teacher: mr. piotrowski
Greed and Generosity
category: original tale by stephanie martzaklis
grade 9, jackson school for the arts, teacher: mrs. Snow
O
nce long ago, in a faraway kingdom lived two
twin princes, Gavin and Arthur. Although they
were identical, one thing set the boys apart
from each other. Gavin, even as a child, grew more and
more obsessed with his father’s wealth, and wanted it all
to himself. Greed slowly overtook him, and soon Gavin
refused to share of play with his brother, and for several
nights wished that he were an only child, so he wouldn’t
have to share the throne with Arthur when their time came
to rule. Arthur, on the other had, was incredibly generous.
Many nights while the castle slept, he would disguise
himself as a peasant, and give some of his wealth to the
townsfolk. As a result, the two brothers never saw eye to
eye. Then one day, while the two explored the kingdom,
they met an elderly woman who begged the two of them
for some pare coins. Arthur agreed almost immediately,
but Gavin did not pity the woman as his brother did.
“Beat it, hag!” Gavin scowled, as he made his way
back to the castle’s gate. Arthur still felt pity for the old
woman, and threw a couple silver coins on the ground
before following his brother. The elder picked up the coins
instantly changed her form into a young, and beautiful
witch.
“Greed and Generosity are dangerous games to play.”
she spoke quietly as the coins laid flat against her palm. “I
bring upon thee an everlasting curse. Now, every day thou
shalt feel the hatred and dangers of they strengths, until
one must realize that there is more to life, that what thou
may know.” she muttered under her breath. Her fingers
wrapped around the currency, and she disappeared
into a fog of smoke. That night, as they slept, both boys
transformed from young princes, to fearsome dragons.
Scales covered their bodies, and their eyes became snakelike and yellow. They doubled in size as large tails grew,
and spikes covered them from head to toe. Huge wings
unraveled from their backs, and the two dragons, still
very similar in appearance, flew out the window of their
bedroom, and into the black sky. Everyday for several
years the two dragons, Greed and Generosity, wreaked
havoc on the kingdom they were next in line to rule.
Modern Grimmoire
The two blamed each other for their problems. Greed
blamed Generosity, saying that if he hadn’t given the witch
the coins they may still be normal. Generosity blamed
Greed, saying he was too harsh on the woman, and that
his selfishness got them into their predicament. One day
Greed decided that he was fed up with being an outcast,
and confronted his brother with a plan. “I say we take it back!” Greed grumbled. “This is our
kingdom, we deserve to rule it!”
“We cannot take freedom away from these people!”
Generosity growled. “We deserve not power, but respect.
It isn’t your kingdom to rule, but it is the people’s. if we
take it by force, we will never be good king”. Greed’s eyes
flickered with anger.
“All you care about is what others want! What about
what we want? This is our kingdom! And I will rule it, even
without you!” Greed roared.
“You will rule nothing as long as I’m still standing!”
Generosity’s voice thundered through the forest. And
with that, Greed and Generosity waged war again each
other. For centuries they fought, and each battle came to
a deadlock. Until one day, a girl arrived in the kingdom.
Her hair was as golden as the sunset, and her eyes as blue
as the sea. Generosity was first to spot her, and immediate
fell for the young girl. But Greed was also very fond of
this girl, and when he heard about his brother’s love for
her, his jealousy grew. Greed kidnapped the maiden, and
stowed her away in his cave. Generosity knew of the girl’s
kidnapping, and confronted his brother, anger boiling up
inside him.
“Give her to me!” Generosity yelled, his voice echoing
throughout Greed’s cave.
“Never! She is mine, and always will be!” Greed spoke,
crawling out of his hideout. Generosity’s fury boiled his
immortal blood, and he lunged at his brother. Greed
leaped out of Generosity’s grasp and he slammed against
the side of the cave. Greed slashed his talons across
Generosity’s face, and growled in delight as blood trickled
down his brother’s cheek. “You will lose this battle, Arthur,
for you care too much about her safety” Greed spoke with
Student Anthology
48
an evil grin.
“No, Gavin” Generosity said weakly as he lay helpless
against the cave’s stone wall. “It is you who will lose, for
you do not see. I want her for me!” Generosity jumped up
off of the ground faster than lighting itself, and wrapped
his reptilian claws around Greed’s throat as they slammed
hard among the ground. Generosity’s anger and jealousy
overthrew him as he squeezed the life out of his brother.
Within a few minutes, the lack of oxygen took its toll on
Greed, as his eyes rolled into the back of his head and he
stopped struggling. Greed took one last desperate attempt
for air, before his chest stopped moving and he lay on the
cave floor, motionless. Generosity released his claws from
his brother’s throat and threw his long face into them in
disbelief. It took him only a minute to realize the maiden
was there, at the entrance of the cave. Her big blue eyes
were full of fear as she stared at the dragon. Generosity
watched the girl, and waited for her to scream and run.
Instead she walked closer to him.
“Is it dead?” she asked, almost in a whisper, her eyes
locked on Greed’s motionless body. Generosity looked
down at his brother, and solemnly nodded. “You killed it?”.
He nodded again. “You saved me. Why?”. The girl looked
up at the dragon, waiting for an answer. Generosity leaned
down closer to the girl’s face.
“Because I didn’t want him to take away something that
should be with me” he said simply. Then, the girl backed
away as a blue mist surround the dragon. He decreased in
size, the tail, spikes, wings, and scales disappearing from
his body, revealing the long lost prince. When the mist
disappeared, the girl stared at the man that now replaced
the dragon.
“Who are you?” she asked the prince. He stood up taller
and held out his hand.
“Arthur” he answered. “King Arthur”. The girl look the
king’s hand. “May I ask yours?” he said in the same voice
the dragon had.
“Guinevere” she told him as they walked back to the
kingdom, hand in hand. The townsfolk praised the rise of
the new king, and the maiden then became a queen. King
Arthur and Queen Guinevere ruled their kingdom with
an equal amount of fairness and strictness, and with their
lesson still fresh in their minds, they lived happily ever
after.
49
Modern Grimmoire
Student Anthology
A Cinderella Story
category: reimagined tale by maryann c. meniru
grade 6, jackson memorial middle school, teacher: mrs. peters
Modern Slipper Award
O
ne doesn’t expect a princess to come from such
a squalid neighborhood, like the one in Gutenburg County Scotland.
Just like London, Gutenburg was under a cloud 99% of the
year. Gray puddles of gray rain could be lost next to the
gray cobblestone streets and the wilting plants of the same
color.
Some folk said all the flowers died when Ms. Cropfen
walked past. Scientifically speaking, that was not a possibility, and yet it almost seemed true when even a squirrel scrambled back into it’s tree when the old lady came
outside one morning to check the mail.
She opened the sorry wet box and pulled out a satiny
envelope. She carefully weighed it in her gloved alabaster
hands. She huffed, disappointed, but finally decided it was
a little more than worthless. She reached in for the next
letter.
It was then that her pesky nine-year-old son, Jet,
slipped out of the front door and carefully stepped over
Kaboodle, the Cropfens’ almost hairless cat that was
enough to frighten a great, big, bulldog.
Without batting an eyelash, Ms. Cropfen yelled, “Jet
Farley Cropfen! What on earth are you doing?” Kaboodle
commenced screeching because he, like most normal
people, did not like listening to Ms. Cropfen yell.
Poor Jet was simply on his way to Richard’s park, one
of the few places in Gutenburg that could actually be
pleasant. He was going to play ball games in the park, and
mainly to escape the house.
“Mother!” He drew in a long breath and thrust his
blue helmet to the ground, because he knew he wouldn’t
be able to go to the park. He began walking very slowly
towards his mum.
All the while, Ms. Cropfen continues weighing her mail,
and was just crushing a postcard from Puerto Rico when
the front door was thrust open again and out came Wormwood, the yellow parrot.
“Oh my goodness! Mother!!!” Came a very different
voice. A blonde girl, approximately 19 years of age, came
running outside, something white and creamy running
Modern Grimmoire
down her face. Wormwood circled the gray yard 3 times before finally
coming to rest on a low-hanging branch. “Pretty bird
birdie.” He chirped, cocking his head to the side.
“Mother, look at what that stupid bird did!” The girl
hopped from one foot to the other and tried to scream as
the stuff kept running further and further down her face.
Oh, poor Ms. Cropfen. She had started her day planning to weigh her mail and then watch soaps on the television for the whole day.
Ms. Cropfen’s long nose inhaled sharply. Her voice was
probably heard in Tokyo.
“Maaaaaaa-kiiiiiii-naaaaaa!” Surprisingly, she quickly
regained her composure and ordered her children to stand
at attention in one breath.
“Big birdie.” Wormwood chirped.
All eyes were on the battered door as 19-year-old Makina Cropfen stumbled out, quickly tying her black curls up
away from her eyes so she could see. She stood there on
the stoop, her cheeks puffing in and out as she struggled
not to laugh.
“How did Wormwood get out of his cage?” Dear old Ms.
Cropfen spoke right before Makina was about to burst.
They were such an odd trio of people, standing on the
lawn with Wormwood messing up their clothes.
Ms. Cropfen gruffly ground the last letter. Makina
quickly responded.
“Oh ma’am, Jet opened his cage again. I was polishing
your brass figurines, you see, so I missed him. But, I did
tell Jamaica to watch Jet.”
Jamaica tossed her blonde hair back. Some of the glop
flipped with it.
“I was watching him. There was this program on, and
I was tired, so I sat down. And then Wormwood pooped
on me!” She flashed a glare at her mother. “I told you, we
should’ve taught him how to use the loo!”
At this point, Ms. Cropfen did not want to talk anymore.
All the noise, Makina bringing the smell of brass polish
on her clothes, Wormwood making messes. She threw her
shoulders back and put her chin in the air.
Student Anthology
50
“Makina,” she began barking out orders. “Go fetch the
hose from out back. I can’t have Jamaica smelling this bad.
And Jet, I’ve told you to stop wearing clothes with color. I
hate color, which reminds me, I need to bleach the grass
again. And I need to change the wallpaper so it stays clear
and colorless. I also need a new couch, and a.........” Her
voice trailed off.
Makina sighed and walked over to the side of the house
to get the blue hose. She set it on warm water and quickly
rinsed Jet and Jamaica. She looked at Ms. Cropfen. “Anything else, ma’am?”
Ms. Cropfen huffed loudly. “I don’t know, Go bleach Mr.
Patkin’s flowers......they’re too pretty.”
“Really ma’am? The very thought!” Makina bit her lip.
Did she really just contradict the crazy old woman?
“Honestly Makina. If you have no idea what to do,
just grab the bird and bleach Jet’s clothes!” Ms. Cropfen
marched into the house with Jamaica behind her, and
shut the door.
“Thanks Makina!” Once they were gone, Jet grabbed his
helmet and started running to the park. Wormwood immediately hopped off his branch and landed on Makina’s
wrist.
“Good birdie.” Makina laughed, remembering the image of rotten old Jamaica with goop streaming down her
face. “You’re my favorite.”
Other than Jamaica’s whines and the television groaning, the house was mostly silent. Makina quietly returned
Wormwood to his cage and decided to go to her room.
Her room was in the dungeon, er, basement of the flat.
The room was dark and musty and heavy with a damp,
dark feeling. Slowly, sat down on her threadbare bed and
pursed her lips.
“On what planet?” Makina wondered aloud. She was
fuming. You see, she had sent her brother to go have fun
after successfully distracting her fellow family members
from noticing he was going. It had all gone smoothly, but
what would happen when Ms. Cropfen realized the flat
was unusually quiet.
Makina rubbed her ankle. She wanted to laugh again.
Old Ms. Cropfen would probably go take a snooze before screaming for dinner, and, as for Jamaica, well, she
couldn’t care less.
Makina fell back, tired. Oh how she wished her mother
was here! Or her father! He had been a widowed man
with a five-year-old girl to care for. It wasn’t long before
he found a rich woman, “With a sort of charm.” her father
said.
Then, four years later, Jet came along and Mr. Cropfen
passed.
51
It became a chain of unfortunate events. Ms. Cropfen
became sour and chose to blame the whole thing on Makina, and made her a servant in her own home.
Makina smiled as she looked up toward the heavens.
Somewhere, her parents were smiling down on her.
What a wonderful world.
Makina had just finished the lasagna for dinner when
Jet slammed the front door and came plodding into the
all-white kitchen.
“Cool! You made my favorite!” He smiled a smile that lit
up his whole face. “Did you add garlic?”
Makina nodded as she began mixing a fruit salad for
dessert. She let out a small laugh, the kind that only Jet
could bring out of her. It was rare, almost magical.
“Din-din!” Wormwood screeched from her cage.
“Already?” Ms. Cropfen’s voice asked. She bound in
wearing a basket of pineapples and guavas on her head.
“I’m annoyed, because I can’t find my basket of fruit.
Makina, can you hear me? I want you to tell me where my
fruit basket is!” “It’s on your head.” Ms. Cropfen walked out.
But, Jamaica just had to come bouncing in. “What did
you make?”
Makina watched Jamaica survey the lasagna and made
rude remarks about it’s smell, it’s color. Makina couldn’t
speak, or else she would be in very big trouble.
“There’s no pepper.” Jamaica smiled like a cat, and
tossed her now-clean hair. “I like food that tastes good.”
Makina sighed. This girl must be pulling her leg.
Jamaica knew her mother was terribly allergic to pepper grounds, and that her tongue would swell up and her
voice go deep if she ate more than one grain. “You know
Ms. Cropfen is allergic to pepper.”
At that very moment, Ms. Cropfen came back into the
room. “Can you girls,” she looked at Jet, “And gentleman
help me find my marbles? Literally, I dropped my purse
filled with them onto the floor and they went everywhere.”
Jet raised his hand. “Why did you put marbles in your
purse?”
Ms. Cropfen didn’t really know why, so she just continued. “I need help finding them after my dinner, so let’s eat
before ‘The Young and the Restless’ comes back on.”
All the children exchanged looks. They could all agree
on one thing; Ms. Cropfen was more than a little eccentric.
“Guess what I heard?” Jamaica tossed her hair. It was
the next day, and all three Cropfen’s had been sent to
buy milk, bread, cheese, more pineapples, and of course,
marbles, from the shop.
“What?” Jet happily bounced on, while Makina
watched them both, knowing she ought to watch them
very carefully.
Modern Grimmoire
Student Anthology
“You know, there’s gonna be a ball!” Jamaica twirled
in a circle. There weren’t too many people on the gloomy
streets, so there were no corruptions. “And this prince
guy, Ontario, is going to be there. My friend, Kay, is going,
and she told me he’s from this kingdom called Fallene in
Africa.”
Makina listened carefully, feeling a hint of a smile on
her face.
“And Kay said she bets he’s gonna find his princess here
in Gutenburg.” She paused. “And people from surrounding
areas are coming too, so when we go, we’ll expect some
rich Londoners and snooty American tourists.”
They were just outside the shop.
“How do you think I should wear my hair?” Jamaica
flipped her hair. “Should I get fringe? There is a beauty
salon down the road.” Jet stomped his foot. “I don’t want to go to a stinkypoo ball! I want to get ice cream from the shop!” Jamaica
frowned at him, and Makina knew things were going to get
ugly fast.
“Here.” She dug in her purse for her wallet and pulled
out some money. “Go treat yourself to an herbal essence
bath or whatever.” Jamaica’s eyes widened as she took the
money.
“Really?” Makina smiled, and the girl sped off.
“What about me?” Makina smiled at Jet. They would get
their nice little snacks, but for now, she had a ball to think
about.
Jamaica came home full of ideas. She had literally spent
every last coin Makina had given her, which had been
a pretty large amount. Jamaica had tried different nail
polishes on all 20 of her nails, and had one blue eye and
one green. “Contacts.” She explained. “I’m trying color
combos.”
On top of that, she had curled, pressed, dyed, and cut
her hair all over the place. “I’m thinking hot pink highlights.” She twirled hair of the same color as Makina was
mopping the white floor of the white music room. “And
I’m going dress shopping tomorrow. Do you think fire
truck red would look good on me?” She smoothed the gray
outfit she had been wearing and looked at Makina seriously.
“This is big. You hear me?” Makina nodded, swishing
the floor. “This is my chance to do something awesome
with my life. I’ve always wanted to get out of this dumb
town and be a popstar, but a princess is good enough.”
Jet was picking out a very bad tune on the all-white
piano. Jamaica yelled at him to shut up. Jet stuck out his
tongue.
“I’m just nervous, I guess.” Jamaica tapped Makina on
the shoulder. “Do you have any tips?”
Makina smiled. “Just be yourself. Just be Jamaica.”
Modern Grimmoire
It was almost like they were best friends for a moment.
Then, Jet pressed one key too hard and it made Kaboodle
start meowing. Then Wormwood joined in, and Jet made
so much noise that the poor squirrels outside never came
back to that house.
“Jet!” The portion of Jamaica’s face that wasn’t already
covered in makeup blushed red. “I told you to play quietly!
I can’t think with all this noise.” She stuck her nose up in
the air and haughtily glided away.
“Sorry.” Jet was sliding off the piano bench when there
was a loud crashing noise.
“Free, free at long last!” Wormwood screeched.
“Get that bird!” Makina threw the mop down and
lunged forward. Wormwood slipped through her fingers
and kept squawking and flying towards the door that was
left ajar.
“Close that door!” Makina hissed to Jet, who thrust
himself against the door just as Wormwood crashed into
the wall.
“Tired birdie.” Wormwood fell to the ground.
“Again!” Ms. Cropfen stormed into the room, two pickles over her eyes. “I can’t even find cucumbers or spinach
to use for my eye treatment, and now my musical bird is
an accomplished escape artist, come on!” Makina ignored
her, and bent down low and gently lifted Wormwood.
“Silly bird.” She walked him back to his cage and put a
piece of pear in. As she was shutting the door, she realized
the lock had been greased with oil. No wonder the whimsical bird was escaping so often. Makina had to find out
who did it.
Jamaica insisted on bringing Makina shopping with
her. “I’m being kind.” She said when Makina wanted to
refuse. “I’m not bringing Jet, am I? Someone should get to
see how fabulous I look.” She had washed her nails and
painted them red, and dyed parts of her cut hair red. She
looked as crazy as ever, but she walked as if she didn’t care.
Makina held another purse full of money. Jamaica was
taking forever. The ball was in two days, Jamaica had said
excitedly. Makina still needed to put together her dress.
Finally, the red girl emerged from the dressing room.
It had been the 20th gown that day, and Makina thought
the only difference between them was the color. Each was
a simple bodice and sleeves with a flowing floor-length
skirt. Now, Jamaica twirled around in a crimson gown and
laughed. “This is the one!” Makina laughed, and went to go
pay for the dress. Her jaw dropped when she saw the price.
“Why do you look so surprised?” Jamaica broke into her
thoughts. “Not like you were going to buy anything.” The
truth was, Makina had been hoping to buy some fabric to
sew into a gown for Saturday’s ball. The price left her with
barely enough for the style she had in mind.
“Nothing.” Makina shook herself. “I’m going to the
Student Anthology
52
fabric store, you know, to buy colorless clothes for Jet.”
Jamaica nodded, and started toward the cafe.
“See you later!” She screamed, and was visibly bursting
with positive energy.
Makina was sitting on her bed, surveying the cloth she
had bought. Some squares of yellow and pale purple. Some
lace and frills. She sighed, but maybe this could still work.
She spent the next four days alternating between work
and sewing. All day she would do the odd jobs while
Jamaica fussed about the ball. At night, she would sew by
candlelight.
Finally came the day of the ball. In the spirit of the holiday, Makina had baked cake and made a special casserole
for their early dinner. Ms. Cropfen even let Makina eat with
them for once.
“My stomach hurts.” Jamaica moaned, overcome with
nervous feeling. She was absolutely a wreck. It was as if her
entire life depended on this moment.
Ms. Cropfen took the pickle out of her glass of water.
“Do you need to take pills? Such a shame, the princess-tobe gets sick before meeting her prince.”
Makina sighed. She had wanted to keep her attendance
a secret, but now she had no plan. Who would be sure Ms.
Cropfen wouldn’t call her at night to get pickles or to do
some other thing? And she had to watch Jet. She didn’t
want to give it all up, though. Maybe she wouldn’t leave Jet
home practically alone with his lunatic mother.
“I’m going too.” Jamaica’s face displayed mock horror,
and Ms. Cropfen mirrored her expression.
“You mean you have a dress and stuff?” Makina nodded.
“Let me see.” Jamaica stood up, and pulled Makina
along with her.
“It’s just a simple little thing I made.” Makina had lain
the dress across her bed and let Jamaica survey it.
“It’s pretty.” Anger was boiling up inside of Jamaica.
“Too pretty.”
Before she knew what was happening, Jamaica had
seized one end of the dress in each of her hands. In one
move, she had torn it in half. “Too pretty!” She screamed. “I
can’t let you steal my glory, my night. My prince!”
Makina lunged forward to pick up the scraps. There was
no way she could mend it. She had not thought Jamaica
would get mad. She had thought that they might’ve been
becoming friends in the past few days. She remembered a
verse she had read in a book. “Once a mean heart is overcome with hate and anger, it can take more than friendship
to take away it’s spell.”
Jamaica was not nice in the way she had hoped. This
hope dissolved like water.
“I hope you’re happy.” Makina did not face her, she let
her tears well up in her eyes. Jamaica huffed, and smiled
53
and stomped up the stairs. 10 minutes later, the limousine
was that was ordered drove away, leaving her alone.
“I’m an idiot.” Makina wanted to cry forever.
“Makina!” Jet clattered down the stairs. Makina sat up,
startled.
“I heard what Jamaica did. She’s a witch.” Jet plopped
himself down on her bed. “Come upstairs. Me and Wormwood have a surprise.”
Makina guessed he had planned a magic show or
something, and decided to try and distract herself from
thoughts of the ball.
Upstairs, Wormwood was loose again, squawking and
hovering over something light and blue. A dress.
Makina’s chest heaved a gasp, and she started forward.
“Is this,” She looked at Jet and the bird. “Is this mine?”
Jet smiled. “I....... found it lying around.” His eyes
danced.
Makina smiled a smile so wide. “Look outside.” Jet gestured towards the door. Outside, there was another limousine, only this one wasn’t the cheaper, two-hour rental one
Jamaica had ridden, this was the exclusive movie star limo.
“Thank you so much!” It had been a while since Makina
had screamed in such joy at such a high decibel. She
smiled and smiled.
“the babysitter is in the kitchen.” Jet said.
Even a babysitter, Makina thought. This boy’s a true
miracle. He’s my friend. And the girl went off to change,
and soon she left.
“Idiot!” Wormwood squawked. Jet looked at the bird
angrily.
“What! I gave her the dress and everything!”
“You forgot to tell her the stuff will disappear at midnight!”
“It disappears?”
“You ever read books boy? Of course it does.”
“Well, Makina’s smart, she probably knows already.”
“Well, the wizard wants to take a nap.” And Jet put the
magical bird back in his cage, just as the babysitter called
him for milk and cookies.
The first thing she noticed was the music. Makina loved
the sound of the orchestra playing a waltz. The grand room
was full of people dancing, wearing the most marvelous
clothes, though none came close to her dress.
“Is she a princess?” A nobleman poked his dance partner. “Where’d she get such a beautiful gown. Just look at all
that lace, and her slippers are quite fine, I must say.”
Makina blushed. People thought she was a princess! She
smiled, and set to watching the others dance.
This was all she came for. The music. The dancing. She
watched Jamaica from afar, who looked more out of place
than a beetle amongst butterflies. She still tried to sweet
Modern Grimmoire
Student Anthology
talk the prince.
The prince! Ontario was bowing to fine women and
smiling. He had nice coffee skin and was wearing a crisp,
clean suit. His entourage was almost surrounding him,
and Makina marveled at the sight of so much fine and
colorful clothes.
Then, suddenly the prince was right in front of her. It
surprised her so, and for a moment, she could not speak,
until he asked her to a dance.
The orchestra struck a new tune, and Makina found
herself floating on air. She danced and danced more than
she had ever before. Each time the song ended, the prince
would ask for another. All night, she had his hand.
Suddenly, the clock struck 12. At first, Makina didn’t
notice what was happening. But suddenly the music
stopped, and she became aware that everyone was staring
at her.
Because she was back in her gray outfit of misery.
“Wait!” Ontario called after her, but she kept running.
People made way as she thundered out the door and
clattered down the stairs. One of her slippers came off.
Whatever, she had to keep running.
Soon, she reached the familiar streets of Gutenburg. No
one was tracking her down here. She had escaped in one
piece, though a tourist or journalist might have at least
gotten her picture.
So she crawled back to the flat and saw that everyone
was already asleep. Her wonderful night was over. She
didn’t mind, she only wished it had been longer.
An hour later, Jamaica came home with stories to tell
about how this girl who looked like Makina had stolen
him the whole night. “Of course she wasn’t there.” She said
with a sneer. “She didn’t have a gown, right?” Ms. Cropfen
had been watching soaps at the time, and really didn’t
care.
“Did you all hear the news report!” She burbled. “The
prince is looking for his, ‘Cinderella’ and he wants to
marry her.”
Makina blushed.
“He found her slipper and will be coming around tomorrow to see who she is. If the slipper fits, that girl will be
a princess.”
Jamaica tossed her hair. “Of course it wasn’t me, and I
have big feet. So I’ll go put on really small shoes so my feet
will naturally contract.” She huffed and bounced away.
Makina wanted to hug the world.
The next day, Jamaica put the dress and makeup back
on. “I’m going to Fallene today.” She laughed. “I’m going to
look beautiful.”
On the television, they kept live coverage of the search.
In each home, they showed rejected girls crying and
laughing and screaming as the prince left their homes. The
Modern Grimmoire
commentators laughed. “This people are ridiculous.” One
said. “You either danced with him or you didn’t.”
Jamaica waited impatiently all day for the entourage
to reach their street. She had fallen asleep on the couch
while Makina had waited wearing a bright yellow shirt and
jeans. Ms. Cropfen was making pickle casserole.
“Hello?” Came Ontario’s thick voice. Jamaica bolted out
of her seat and flew to the door.
“Please do get comfortable.” She smiled, showing teeth.
“It’ll only take a minute.” Ontario took her bare foot
and tried to get it into the slipper. Even after squeezing it
all night, it still couldn’t fit.
“You belong with me!” Jamaica wailed. “I’m a princess
in and out.”
Ontario looked around. “Is there anyone else here?”
Jamaica howled. “Just Makina, but she’s just a boring
slug.”
Ontario ignored her, and went and slipped Makina’s
foot into the slipper. It fit like a glove.
“So you’re Makina?” Makina smiled.
“Makina Cropfen, Your Highness. When does our carriage leave?”
Ontario smiled. “Now.”
Jamaica stayed inside and howled while the commentators wrapped up the show. Jet ran outside. “Congratulations Makina!”
Makina smiled. “If you want, Ontario says you can
come along with us.”
Jet had his bags packed in a minute.
The colorless flat slowly disappeared from sight.
Makina smiled. The sun was shining for the first time all
year. She looked up, and felt her parents smiling down on
her. “There’s our little girl.” they said. “There’s our little
princess.”
Student Anthology
The End
54
The Corner of the Dark Forest
by micaela michalk, grade 11, lake high school, teacher: mr. wise
Best Grimm Fusion Award
T
he day Daddy died was the day we decided to
run away. The decision may have seemed rash
to an outsider—a million worries stumbled
through my mind as I packed my sack—but we needed
to escape our stepmother. A spare dress, a sweater, water,
and a compass bulged out my too small bag. Hansel would
take care of the rest.
We set out before sunrise; morning stars twinkled their
last gleam in the black sky. We set out before she could
notice we went missing. Even what lay beyond the Butterfly Fields and Troll River, what we might encounter
in the Dark Forest, frightened us less than our wicked
stepmother. When Daddy still lived, he tried to protect
us though he had no control over the strikes we received
when he turned his back. Our stepmother never wanted
our daddy’s love or his children. She wanted one thing
only—the money she thought we had. Wasn’t it quite a
surprise for her when she came to the humble cottage in
her silk-woven wedding dress? At first I thought she was
beautiful—something I’d hope to grow into. But when I
saw her face turn ashen and angry at the sight of our measly three-bedroom house, I knew there was no measurement for the ugly she hid.
Still, we learned to live with her, outwardly portraying
the happy families the village expected. Our façade ended
last night.
“Actually,” I said as we traveled, brushing past blades of
tall grass. “This is beautiful.”
It was. We were at the outskirts of Butterfly Field. The
fairies stole rides on the wings of these creatures, cascading glitter to the uncontrolled plants below. Stepmother
wouldn’t see the beauty, only that the field hadn’t been
plowed for months. Luckily, it was my brother whom I
shared the scene with.
“Yes,” Hansel smiled. “Look at the orange sun, spreading its arms for the new day.”
A prism of colors emerged from the sky and danced
across our faces. “A new life,” I whispered as a ball of hope
began to burn inside me as fiercely as the sun.
A few more miles and we had reached the river. Its blue
55
rapids rushed downstream, unafraid. Watching it made
my throat ache. I reached for my water but Hansel put
his hands out, stopping me. The bridge that led our away
across the river and to the Dark Forest began to shake, the
panels of each wooden step clattering. Involuntarily, I took
a step back, crushing a daisy in the soil.
A furry, yellow demon popped up. He analyzed us, trespassers, with unblinking eyes while his breath oozed of the
pond scum. I had never seen a troll before but I’d heard
the stories.
“Those who cross the bridge must pay the price,” I said,
beating the troll to his line.
He smiled, bearing pointed teeth. “Good.” His voice
was husky. “Then you know how I work.”
“What is it exactly you want?” Hansel asked, sounding
impatient. The longer we waited here, the closer she was to
catching us.
There was a malicious glint in the troll’s eye. “I want…a
lock of her hair.”
I gasped, feeling the golden curls that twist around my
shoulder cringe with me. To think this monster should
have a part of me! Who knows what he would use it for? A
knowing look from Hansel reminded me this was our only
chance. He handed me over the pocketknife. It glinted in
the sun. I cut the strands quickly and we crossed.
Hansel and I had just wanted an extra piece of bread.
We were starving. Every meager cent my father made
slipped through his hands and into stepmother’s greed.
Instead of necessities, we watched her gather clothes,
possessions, decorations. Hardly any money was left for
Hansel and me. We ate broth every day. But that night our
stomachs were torturing us so, grumbling at us like a giant
walks in the clouds. We snuck out of bed to the kitchen,
hoping we didn’t get caught…it had been nearly a week
since our last beating and I was nervously anticipating the
next. We stopped in our tracks, suddenly losing any appetite we thought we had. Daddy was slumped over in his
chair. The hands that caressed my golden hair hung pale
and limp. A goblet lay spilled over on the table, red wine
dripping to the floor.
Modern Grimmoire
Student Anthology
She poisoned him. We had to run.
“Hansel,” I moaned, emptiness clawing at my insides. I
hated seeing him waste our bread crumbs behind us.
“It’s so we can find our way back, in case we need to retreat,” he had told me as he started sprinkling them when
we entered the Forest. I had suspected the birds would
steal our food, but Hansel was older and wiser, so I didn’t
argue.
“I know, I know,” he said. His stomach growled, too.
“We’ll find something soon,” he promised.
So far, the Forest had been just like my belly: empty,
void. Except for the trees that provided shade for us above,
there was only nothingness. No monsters came, even after
the sun set. We traveled night and day but there was still
nothing.
No fear. No hope.
”Gretel!” Hansel called to me excitedly. I was in a daze,
but his shouts knocked me from my trance. My head shot
up.
“What?”
“I think I see something.” I strained to see whatever illusion comes to my brother but he took off sprinting. I was
quick to follow.
This was no hallucination. Here in the edges of the
Dark Forest was a cottage entirely made out of candy. One
tall twisted tower spirals its way above the roof. Parades
of lollipops lead their way to the front door. The windows
entangle together with licorice. Sugarplums decorate the
door handle.
My hunger is my weakness and at the moment, I had
no care for whose house this sugar palace belonged. I fell
to my knees and thanked the Lord as I licked anything and
everything in sight. Hansel did the same.
The door cracked open. I dropped a sugarplum,
startled. “Well, well,” remarked the voice of an old woman.
She stepped into view. Is this what beautiful looks like?
Although the woman was elderly, her grey hair accented
her charm and her smile was inviting. Something sinister
pranced in her deep green eyes, but I ignored it. “What
hungry children you are. Come in and I’ll have for you a
real meal.”
The promise of real food was almost too tempting. We
followed her inside.
“What lovely locks you have child,” the old lady observed when I joined the table. I brush a curl from my face.
Ever since Hansel and I have crossed the bridge, my hair
had grown rapidly. Now, it cascaded in golden swirls to
my feet. I couldn’t help but think the troll had something
to do with it. I managed a “thank you” while I dug into the
hearty soup.
When the bowl was drained, I leaned back in the chair,
Modern Grimmoire
clutching my ribs. A satisfied grin on my brother’s face
mirrored how I felt. The old woman cleared all of our
dishes and took us to a bedroom. The white fluffy beds
drew us in. They looked so much more comfortable than
the hay-stack bunks we had back in what once was home.
Sleepiness evaded my mind, altered my memories. I fell
onto the blankets and faded into dreams.
I woke up in a prison cell, cold and alone. “Hansel?” I
called, my voice croaking with sleep. My only answer was
the shining beams of the golden sun in the arch window.
Panic and bile rose in my throat as I scrambled to my feet.
“Hansel!” I yelled again and banged on the iron door that
barred me in. Thud, thud, my long weak fingers didn’t
even chip the surface.
A cackle sailed into my ears while I heard the ‘click’ of
the lock coming undone. It was the voice of the old woman; her green eyes filled my vision when she opened the
door. I stumbled back away from her and tripped over my
own hair as I did so. The golden strands were long enough
to make a circle around my feet now.
“What did you do with my brother?” I demanded, tears
stinging my eyes. I was stupid to trust this woman. Hadn’t
I learned from my stepmother the pain a stranger can
bring?
“Oh, that little boy?” the woman replied and licked her
lips. “He made a nice breakfast.”
I gasped and doubled over. She might’ve as well as
ripped my heart out. Hansel…my brother…my only companion.
“And what do you want to do with me?” I asked once I
could breathe again.
The woman’s lips flickered upwards. “I think I’ll keep
you as my plaything. But for now, here’s your food.”
A silver platter appeared on the ground before me. The
old woman left, closing and locking the door behind her.
I eyed the tray with disgust. I’d rather starve than eat from
the woman’s hands again.
Days passed…weeks…months…who kept track of time
anymore? The sun came and went, becoming the only
friend I could know, the only thing I could be certain of—
and even that would fall someday. Every morning a silver
platter would appear at my feet and every morning I only
ate the crumbs the birds brought me from the path we laid
out so long ago. Every day my hair grew; the troll harnessed power from the one lock he kept. I knew it was he,
though he did me no harm. Monsters and witches could
do miraculous feats if in the possession of a lock of human
hair. I remembered my mother telling me the bedtime
stories before she died…if the monster was doing good
deeds, the human hair grew. If the monster did terrible
deeds, the hair shrunk, so that the human knew whether
Student Anthology
56
they served evil or angel. While my hair flowed to the floor,
I felt the tiniest singe of happiness to know that at least
someone had used me for good.
I spent most of my time gazing out the window. I was in
the tallest tower and it seemed as if I could see the whole
Forest, all the way to Butterfly Fields. I let my imagination
take over my reality in compensation for my boredom.
Were the things I saw real or just part of my visions? I will
never know. A girl with a red hood stood, talking to a wolf.
A boy grew a beanstalk that’s even taller than where I was
trapped. A goat bullied the troll at the river.
When the woman came, I went motionless. She cast
her spells and played with me. I tried to forget. I reminded
myself what’s outside the window. My visions helped take
away the pain.
One afternoon, I heard a name I haven’t heard in ages—
my name. “Gretel!” I woke from the nap I was having
against the stone walls. “Gretel!” It came again.
Wobbly, I stood up and ventured to the window. Below,
a man in armor so bright it shone under the sun and his
black horse waited. The man grinned at me.
“Ah, Gretel, let down your hair!”
It must be one of my visions. I tried to rub him away
from my tired eyes but a moment later, he was still there.
“Alas, is it true?” I answered. “Are you real?”
He laughed. It sounded like the songs of the birds. “Yes,
Gretel. Please let down your hair. I can climb up and break
you free.”
I wanted to, but I paused. “How can I trust you?” Too
many strangers have hurt me to let another.
“Oh, Princess. I know it’s difficult but you must.”
“I’m not a princess. You must be mistaken.”
“No?” There was a glint of humor in the man’s eye. “You
soon will be.”
I sighed, but what other option did I have? It was either
trust this man or be locked up here forever. My hair took
up most of the room now. I gathered it in bushels and sent
it tumbling down the stone and candy walls. The knight
grabbed the locks and began his climb. His grip was gentler than any comb.
When he reached me, I breathed him in. He was real.
His aroma of horses and water and peppermints drew me
in.
“I am Prince William of Navalone,” he told me and, for
some reason, I believed him. He didn’t talk like my stepmother or the old woman. Though he sounded sure of
himself, his voice was also sweet and gentle, as if one word
could break this trust I was warily building.
“Why me?” I had to ask.
“Because my heart calls to you.” He stepped closer.
“Can you not feel it?”
57
Even in my despair and mourn, I could. My heart
tugged closer to him than I thought it would any person,
until my mouth was next to his. His lips were as sweet as
his words. We broke apart, breathless.
“We have a witch to take care of,” he indicated the door.
I nodded.
He kicked the iron door with an ease that made me
jealous. We flew down the steps in nervous excitement.
The old woman was bending over an open oven when we
penetrated the kitchen. She looked up in surprise.
“I’ll take care of her,” I told Prince William. With a force
of a mountain I’d been holding in for months, I shoved her
into the oven. She burst into flames, each crackle of flesh
disintegrating into ash. The only thing left of her was the
agonizing scream that still echoes through those walls.
Prince William took hold of my hand. He could sense
my discomfort. “Let us go,” he whispered.
Nothing, I knew, would be the same. I had lived a life of
horrors and the phantoms would follow me everywhere.
Keeping both my parents and Hansel in my heart, I shifted
them, allowing room for one more person. Upon his black
steed, we rode past the Dark Forest into a new life…the
one I’d been waiting for.
Modern Grimmoire
Student Anthology
The Necklace
by sophia morgan, grade 10, lake high school, teacher: mr. wise
Influenced by The Rose
The Necklace
A Mother waits,
Surveying trees and open fields frosted with white snow.
She waits for a child,
a bundle of bright blue.
He arrives home to his mother,
bright eyes
Hope filled to the brim.
No wood crackles in the fire,
no other voices surround them.
They are alone,
just the two.
But they have each other.
A gift is given,
the gold shining with the light from a sunset.
A small, brilliant rose clings to the silver lining.
It is a curse,
bringing a new face.
It is a curse,
bringing worry and surprise.
It is a curse,
bringing the death of a loved one.
A mother waits,
surprised by the radiant glow.
She waits for her child,
yelling in panic.
He lies there deathly still,
chilled to the bone
limp and stiff.
The boy runs off into the sunrise,
no one to stay by her side.
She is alone,
just the one.
All she has is a golden rose.
Modern Grimmoire
Student Anthology
58
Mirror, Mirror
by sophia morgan, grade 10, lake high school, teacher: mr. wise
Runaway Romance Award
S
he rests in waiting. Perched on her velvet chair. She
peeks shyly out the window; scanning the wide-open
courtyard three stories below her. In her mind, she
makes mark of every detail. Counts every flower. Admires every
color that radiates from the garden. She imagines herself plucking a flower from its stem and resting it behind her ear. Pulling
her blonde hair to one side and letting it fall off her shoulders.
She spins around in circles. But she is quickly thrown back into
reality.
“Eva, darling,” a soft voice carries from across the room. She
stands, brushes a piece of hair behind her ear and greets the
voice.
“Yes mother?”
Her mother’s kind face peeked around the edge of the door,
“It’s time.”
Eva took a deep breath and nodded. Her mother rested her
palm on her daughter’s cheek and kissed her forehead. “Do
something with your hair, darling. Do you need help with the
gown?”
“No, mother. I will be down soon. Feel free to begin without
me.”
“Don’t be silly, you’re the main event. Just hurry, hurry.”
After a few moments, Eva’s mother leaves the room and she
walks back to the window. She takes in another deep breath as
she stares. Brushing her hair back behind her ear again, she turns
to the vanity mirror. “Mirror, mirror on the wall... save me.” She
reaches for the comb and begins to brush out her hair and eventually pulling it into a braid.
“Madam!” another voice squealed from across the room.
Startled, Eva almost screamed, but she calmed herself when the
face of the speaker became visible. “Your mother fetched me to
help fix you up. She says, kindly, that you were taking too long to
make yourself decent. I hope I didn’t startle you too extremely, it
‘twas certainly not my intention.”
“No need to fret, Martha. You only spooked me a little. Not
enough to send me shaking for sure.”
“Madam, do you feel well?” She whispered calmly.
“I’m alright. Fetch me my undergarments, will you?”
“Oh, yes,” she said with excitement. Reaching for the tulle
that was laid out on the bedspread. “Here you are.”
“Thank you,” Eva spoke kindly, grabbing the skirt and pulling
it on. “And the gown?”
Martha walked over slowly, gown in hand. She handed Eva
59
the magnificent piece of silver cloth and smiled. “You’ll look
absolutely stunning. His majesty won’t be able to keep his eyes
off you. I’m sure of it.”
“I hope that is not the case. In fact, I wish the opposite. Truly.”
Eva sighed, pulling the large gown over her hips and up to her
chest. “Tie the back, will you?”
“Yes, but mam’, if you don’t mind me asking, what do you
mean? Why would you not like his eyes on you?”
“Just tie, Martha. Please, mother and the guests are waiting.”
“Yes madam.” She pulled the final ribbon tight, causing a
breath to forcefully escape Eva’s lungs. She had to grab hold of
the vanity to keep from falling over. “Oh! I’m sorry miss!”
“It’s okay. Just leave me be now, I must finish tidying up.” And
with a nod, Martha slid out the door- shutting it firmly behind
her.
Eva sat back down on her velvet chair and attempted to catch
her breath. Looking into her mirror she almost began to cry;
letting only one tear escape from her left eye, which she quickly
wiped away. “Mirror, mirror-” she began but something in the
courtyard caught her eye. Movement by the fountain placed at
the very edge, by the rose patch. She jumped out of her chair to
get a better look.
The figure maneuvered its way around the fountain and
sprinted toward the apple tree. The after a few short seconds it
sprinted to another tree that rested below Eva’s window. A small
amount of light shone through a window on a lower level and
revealed the figure. He glanced up at her window with a smile.
His dusty black hair fell roughly, almost covering one of his eyes.
Even from three stories up, dirt was noticeably crusted on his
cheek.
“Oh,” Eva whispered to herself with pure relief. She put her
palm to the glass and smiled. The man nodded and Eva sprinted,
herself, to the door. Flinging it open and almost coming nose to
nose with her mother.
“Eva,” She said sternly. “We’re waiting. You must come down
at once. Are you tidy?”
“Yes, well... no, not exactly. I still have one more thing to do.”
“And, what would that be?” She asked
“Well, you see,” Eva took a minute to think. “I wanted to put a
rose in my hair, so-”
“Don’t worry, there are plenty of flowers downstairs. I will just
take one from a bouquet and slip it into the top of your braid.”
“But, mother. I want a certain flower. A rose. One from the
Modern Grimmoire
Student Anthology
garden.”
“Eva, come now. You can just take one from the flowers
downstairs. There is plenty, I assure you.” She growled, grabbing
tightly onto her daughter’s wrist and pulling her behind her. Eva
struggled to get loose, but there was no use. Her mother’s grip
stayed strong and she continued to pull. Dragging her down two
flights of stairs and the long thin hallway that led to the main
dining hall. Finally letting her loose as they reached the view of
guests. Eva rubbed her wrist and put on a fake smile. Her mother
grabbed a small carnation and stuck it at the top of her braid and
pushed her towards their guests. Eva quickly straightened her
posture and greeted her guests.
“Welcome. It’s good to see you,” she speaks with a curtsy. “You
look well, Madam.”
“As do you. Stunning, as always, my dear.” A woman with dark
hair responded with an almost devilish smile. She was tall and
wore a long, silky black gown with a train that extended a few
inches behind her. Draped around her shoulder was a whitefurred fox. Eva smiled, but was intimidated by the woman. She
quickly turned away to greet other guests. Among them: a man
with a dark blue beret and a thin white beard, another man in
a dark suit that didn’t speak much and his wiry mistress, and a
small woman with bright red hair that didn’t look like she belonged in a crowd like this.
Eva tried to greet all the guests as quickly as possible and
sneak out to the courtyard, but just as the moment presented
itself it was swiped away.
“Eva, you look gorgeous,” he whispered from behind her, setting his hand on her waist.
“Anthony, good evening. Thank you... you..you look well as
well.” She says hesitantly.
“Is everything okay, darling?” Eva looks into Anthony’s eyes
and trys to force a smile on her face. She examines his features,
his perfect brown hair, calm lips and bright blue eyes. Understanding why her mother is pushing for them to be married.
They would be the perfect couple, from the outside.
“Of course. I’m perfect. Just overwhelmed I guess. Too many
people to greet.” She said calmly, She pressed her lips to his
cheek. “Would you mind keeping track of everyone while I take a
quick breath... outside in the courtyard?”
“Yes darling.” He leaned in to press his lips to hers but she
knelt down and he kissed her forehead. She slipped around him
and it took every ounce of strength she had to keep from sprinting to the door. But, she kept on a calm face and walked to the
large glass door that led to the courtyard. Nodding and smiling at
people as she passed them.
She pulled open the door. Nearly stumbling as her heel
caught on the back of her dress. She looked around a moment.
He was gone. She looked under the tree and he was no longer
there. She felt her body get warm with fear and a tear, once again,
escaped her eye. She tried to get herself to speak but nothing
came up. A pair of cold hands grasped onto either of her shoulders and she jumped up in fear and tumbled to the ground. She
began crying harder, but stopped as soon as he put his hand out
for her to grasp. She smiled and wiped the tears from her cheek.
Modern Grimmoire
Dirtying them up from the soil she had gotten on her hands. She
grabbed his hand and he pulled her up and into a tight embrace.
“David. I thought you-”
“Hush beautiful. No need to fret. I’m here.” He whispered
reassuringly and kissed her cheek. She looked deep into his hazel
eyes and she was lost. His face, though dirty, was perfect. And the
dimples he got on either cheek when he smiled. She knew she
couldn’t lose him.
“We have to go tonight. You have to take me. They are going
to make us marry and I don’t love him.”
“Come,” He pulled her to the fountain. “Sit.” Eva nodded and
took a seat on the small marble bench that sat in front of the
fountain. “Wait.” He said and dashed behind the bushes.
Eva took in a deep breath and looked up at the sky. It was dark
now and the stars were out. The sky was clear except for one or
two small clouds that floated calmly among the darkness. Birds
were singing, and somewhere in the distance she could even
hear a wolf howl. She smiled. Then she heard a rustling noise in
the direction David had vanished. Quickly, she pulled the pink
carnation from her braid and dropped in to the stone ground.
She pulled a white rose of the stem closed to the bench, cutting
herself by the thorn. She slid it in place of the carnation and
licked the blood off her thumb. She wiped the extra blood off
onto her skirt, which already had dirt marks from when she had
fallen.
She heard the rustle again, then saw the head of a black horse
emerge from behind a tall bush. Eva stood and ran toward the
beautiful creature. The sudden movement startled the horse and
caused him to cry out. Eva rested her palm on the white star the
stretched across his forehead and hushed him. She glanced up
and David sat tall in the horses back. He looked more strong and
mighty than Anthony could ever be. He stretched out his hand
to help her up. Right as she grabbed him voices emerged from
the other side of the courtyard. Both a male and female voice
screamed Eva’s name. She recognized the voices as that of her
mother and of Anthony.
“Go!” Eva whispered sternly as she hoisted herself onto the
back of the horse. She wrapped her arms around Davids waist
and smiled. Thinking to herself that she was finally free. Her
mother caught a glimpse of the horse as he picked dashed off,
but wasn’t quick enough to shout to Eva. She turned and ran
back inside the house. She screamed for the guests but no one
was quick enough. Anthony walked over to the marble bench
and picked up the carnation. He stared at it for a moment then
looked up.
Eva and David were already far from the courtyard. Eva rested
her head on David’s back. Grasping onto him tightly. She smiled
and whispered to herself, “Thank you mirror.”
Student Anthology
60
Fair Maiden
by alicia nichols, grade 9, jackson school for the arts, teacher: mrs. snow
T
here once was a fair maiden named Ruth, she lived
with her father and mother in a castle. Her parents
had forbidden her to go outside the walls around their
caste. Due to the evil people on the other side of the walls. One
day, when Ruth was out in the courtyard picking fruits a peasant
walked up to her. This was no ordinary peasant. This peasant was
a warlock and his name was Eric.
“Fair maiden, don’t you ever think of wishing you could see
the land outside the castle walls?” Eric asked mischievously.
“Yes I do, I dream of seeing the world and finding the right
knight and shining armor,” Ruth expressed surprisingly.
“Ah, but I can help you with that. All you have to do is take
this potion and give it to the guards, or anyone that you don’t
want to see you leaving the grounds,” Eric said with a smirk.
Ruth took the potion not knowing what to do with it and put
it in her basket. When she looked up, she was amazed that Eric
had disappeared. She continued to pick fruits and vegetables for
dinner that evening.
When Ruth woke up the next morning she thought this would
be the day to leave the castle walls. After dinner her plan was to
provide the guards with the potion, then go grab some clothing
from the maids closet and then ride off as a normal villager.
It was dinner time and Ruth finished eating then asked to
be excused from the table. She hurried up to her room grabbed
the potion that Eric provided found the guards and asked if they
would be interested in trying a taste. They enjoyed it so much
that they drank it all. Ruth hurried to the maids closet grabbed
an outfit and discarded her clothing. She then found a horse to
escape the castle walls. Riding the horse as fast as it would take
her she made it to the first village by sunset. Once reaching the
first village she slowed the horse down due to the condition of
the roads were very rough. As she was trotting by she heard two
peasants talking.
“The jousting tournament is at high noon.” one peasant said.
“Really? I heard that this is going to be the best one there is,”
the other peasant said.
“This could be my chance to find my knight and shining
armor,” Ruth thought. So when the time came Ruth saw the
jousting tournament. While she was watching one of the knights
recognized her.
“Are you Ruth the fair maiden of the king and queen? For I am
Sir Charles,” Charles said as he bowed down to her.
“Why yes I am, please don’t do that due to I do not want
61
anyone to know who I am and that I’m not on the other side of
the walls,” Ruth said quickly.
Meanwhile Eric is on his griffin in the crowd of the jousting
tournament observing Ruth and this man talking. He is getting
angry due to his feelings for Ruth. Ruth and Charles end up
leaving the tournament headed back to Charles’s castle to catch
up since they have not seen each other in several years. While
on their way to Charles place, Eric forcefully makes his presence
known to them.
Eric requests that he talk to Ruth alone so that he can express
his feelings towards her. Charles is not comfortable with letting
Ruth go talk to Eric alone. Ruth explains to Charles that it would
be alright to talk to Eric due to they have met before. Charles has
a suspicious about Eric that he does not like. As Ruth and Eric
walk away to talk, Eric forcefully takes Ruth and kidnaps her on
his griffin. Charles follows on his shire as fast as he could. Ruth
is screaming to Charles for help but knows that Eric will be to
powerful for Charles.
Charles takes and heads back to the castle to get his dragon
to chase after Eric. Charles found them fairly easily due to the
griffin was left outside of a cave. The dragon and the griffin
ended up having a horrific fight. In which the dragon ended up
winning by burning up the griffin with his spit of fire. Eric exits
the cave and sees the animals fighting and is crushed that his
griffin was killed.
Now is Charles chance to rescue his beloved Ruth from Eric.
Charles attacks Eric with his sword and they fight to the death.
Eric brings forth his warlock powers and they go back and forth
for some time. Until Charles whistles for his dragon to come and
assist him in this fight. The dragon devours Eric.
Ruth exits the cave to find that she has been rescued from
Eric by Charles. She thanks him for rescuing her from Eric and
they head back to Charles’s castle on the dragon. They spend
several weeks together and remember their childhood memories
from falling in love with each other. Charles remembers that he
promised her that when they became of marrying age that he
would ask her to marry him. So Charles got down on one knee
and asked “would you take my hand in marriage.” Ruth said,
“yes.”
Ruth and Charles went to their family’s to announce the news
that they would be getting married in the next couple of weeks.
And they lived happily ever after.
Modern Grimmoire
Student Anthology
The Princess and Running Moccasins
by mia nonno, grade 9, jackson school for the arts, teacher: mrs. snow
O
nce upon a time, in a land far far away, there was
a princess named Gretchen. Gretchen lived in
the castle of Arnold with her dad, King Arnold,
her Mom, Queen Rebecca, and her mean big sister Gracen.
Gretchen’s favorite thing to do was run. She ran the most
when her sister was mean to her, when Gracen was mean
to Gretchen, she ran and ran even longer than normal,
and in no particular direction.
So one day, Gretchen went to put on her favorite pair
of running moccasins. They were pure gold covered
in the finest diamonds in the land. She kept them in
the safest place of the castle, the royal safe. Just before
she went in the safe, Gracen came out with her glass
slippers. Gretchen ran into the safe only to find one
of her track shoes was knocked off the rack and now
missing 5 diamonds! Furious, Gretchen knew exactly
who had knocked it off, the only reasonable explanation,
Gracen. So now Gretchen slipped on her shoes, collected
diamonds, and ran. She ran so far, that she got lost.
Gretchen usually knew her way around, but when the
only sign she could find read, “Forbidden Forrest,” she
was worried as to where she had ended up. She heard
something in the bushes and she saw an old lady wearing
a robe appear, “Hello honey, are you lost?” she said with a
raspy voice.
“Y-yes I think,” replied Gretchen, still startled by the
woman.
“I could tell you the way back to anywhere in the whole
village of Caspian!” said the hag.
“Well I’m looking for my castle, the castle of Arnold. Do
you think you could help me find it? I can pay you back in
any way that you would like.” exclaimed the princess.
“Well the way is simple! Just go over the troll bridge,
and through the path, but watch out for the trolls! The
answer to their riddle is different every time so I can’t help
you with it. That will cost...three diamonds.”
“I actually have a few with me! Here are three and now
I’ll be on my way!”
So Gretchen did exactly what the hag told her, she
correctly answered the troll’s riddle, and she saw a castle,
Modern Grimmoire
but it wasn’t her castle. She read the sign, “Castle of Eric,”
she had never seen a price with a castle to himself before
so she hesitantly knocked on the door. A handsome
man introduced himself as prince Eric, she told him her
dilemma, and the prince gladly said he would walk her
home. Just as they were leaving, the hag appeared with a
sparkling drink and said that she knew better directions.
Gretchen Said, “No thanks, we’re fine,” and quickly
dismissed the matter. Eric, however, had no problem
with the hag so wen the hag said, “At least have a glass of
juice to ensure you will last the walk,” he gladly accepted.
Before she could stop him, he was passed out on the floor.
Gretchen dragged him away quickly, all that running has
been paying off, she set him down and splashed him with
water. He jolted awake and they continued. Once they
returned to the castle of Arnold, the princess saw the hag
slip Gracen three the three diamonds from Gretchen’s
shoes, so Gretchen reclaimed her diamonds.
After the prince and princess knew each other for a
while, they decided to get married. Gracen was sentenced
to the royal dungeon for 5 years and the old hag was never
heard of again. Soon, the King and Queen died, and while
Gracen was in the royal dungeon still and could not claim
her position as queen, Eric and Gretchen became King
and Queen of Caspian, and they lived happily ever after.
Student Anthology
The End
62
Cinderella: Happily Never After
by mariah powell, grade 9, jackson school for the arts, teacher: mrs. snow
I
t had been exactly two years since Prince Charming and Cinderella
got married and it was their second anniversary. They were throwing
another ball to celebrate the wonderful occasion. They had invited
almost everyone in the kingdom, even Cinderella’s Fairy God-mother. The
only people who didn’t get an invitation were Cinderella’s evil stepmother,
Lady Tremaine, and Cinderella’s evil stepsisters. Since the kingdom was small
news of the ball traveled quit fast and when Lady Tremaine and her daughters
heard that they were not invited they were furious. They all paced around
their cottage saying things like, “How could we not be invited?!” and “This is
surely a mistake!” Lady Tremaine simply would not miss such an occasion so
important. She continued to pace when suddenly she shouted, “I’ve got it! We
can just sneak in ! Since everyone in the kingdom is going to be there, there
is now way they would notice three more guests.” The daughters cheered and
clapped, showing their approval of their mother’s plan.
The night of the ball, Lady Tremaine and her daughters got ready, they
got out finest clothing and wore their best jewels. They surely had to look
magnificent considering they were go to the biggest party in the kingdom.
As soon as they had finished dressing they left their cottage and headed for
the Prince’s palace. When they got to the palace they saw that there were
no guards outside, so they continued walking with the crowd trying not to
draw attention to themselves to they would not be caught. Once inside,
they stopped and looked around at all the guests and still could not believe
they were not invited. Lady Tremaine spotted Cinderella’s Fairy God-mother
and immediately got an idea for revenge. After all, in Lady Tremaine’s eyes
Cinderella had stolen the man that one of her daughters was supposed to
marry, and on top of that she didn’t even invite her to her anniversary ball.
She decided she that she would use the Fairy God-mother’s wand to cast a
spell on Cinderella to punish her for all she had done.
Now that she had a plan, all she needed was to distract the Fairy Godmother so she could get her wand. She told the daughters to do something
to distract the Fairy God-mother so they decided that one of them would
accidentally spill their drink on her so that when she would go to get herself
cleaned up their mother could grab the wand. They quickly executed the
plan and got the wand. All three of them ran outside to that no one would
see them. Lady Tremaine decided to cast a spell that allowed to her change
the past, so that one of her daughters would marry the Prince instead of
Cinderella. She did so and before she knew it she was sitting in the palace at
the wedding of the Prince and one of her daughters. She looked around and
saw that Cinderella was nowhere to be found and she knew her plan was a
success. Lady Tremaine was satisfied knowing that she had finally gotten her
revenge.
63
Modern Grimmoire
Student Anthology
A Happily Ever After Just For you
by alison reynolds, grade 9, jackson school for the arts, teacher: mrs. snow
O
nce upon a time there was a stunning princess
with golden wavy locks flowing down her back
and dazzling blue eyes. She wore the most
extravagant dresses and always had the look of innocence
and beauty on her face. She lived in a vast castle with her
breathtaking husband to be. They had a beautiful wedding
and lived happily ever after. The end’ See honey, no matter
who you are, you will always have a happy ending.”
Constance’s mother told her this story before bed while
she was a little girl. Reassuring her that she will have a
happy ending, but Constance questioned her mothers
thinking. “Momma, what if no one will love me. What if my
husband dies like daddy? Momma, are you happy without
daddy?” Her mother looked down at the floor, smiled
and said, “Your daddy blessed me with the most precious
little girl in the whole wide world. Of course I miss him,
but I am happy with you Constance.” Constance’s mother
was caught her when she would fall and would never let
anything disappoint her.
Constance was now eighteen and living on her own.
She had not seen her mother since she was then years old
and she knew she would never get the chance to see her
ever again. Constance knew she made a vital mistake that
had caused a separation between them.
“Constance! Come back here! You walk out that door
and you’re fired!” Constance’s boss shouted out these
words to her, but that did not stop her from walking.
She stormed out of the building. Then she stopped and
realized what she had just done. Constance started crying
and bean to run into the sea of people that filled the
streets. Tears filled her eyes making everything blurry and
she ran right into someone knocking them both on the
side walk. “Get out of my way!” She screamed at the blurry
figure. She heard a man’s voice say, “I’m Sorr...hey? Are
you crying?” Constance rolled her eyes and sarcastically
laughed, “Yes, yes I am crying.” She still could not see very
clearly and couldn’t tell if she knew who this man was.
She jumped when she felt a finger sweep its way under
her eye. She could now see who she had run into. “There
is no reason to be upset on a beautiful day like this. Come
Modern Grimmoire
with me, your leg is bleeding.” He spoke softly. Constance
found that she could not take her eyes off of then man.
She didn’t care that she had never spoken to him before.
He was breathtaking.
They arrived to a large estate when Constance said,
“I can take care of myself.” She said these words secretly
knowing she wanted him to take care of her. “Hush, come
inside and let Madeline take care of that knee of yours.”
Questions rushed through Constance’s mind “Who is
Madeline? Is she this man’s wife ? Why did I even let him
take me with him? I don’t even know who he is!” Her
thoughts were interrupted when she heard the voice of an
older woman. “Oh my! Come here let me fix that for you!
Constance whispered, “Now I really hope they are
not married.” Constance spoke up and said, “Who are
are you?” The woman laughed and said, “My name is
Madeline. Come, your knee needs attention.”
The two ladies walked into a room with bright pink
walls and Constance loved the color. “Sit here,” the woman
said and she began to clean up Constance’s knee. There
was yelling outside the door and it sounded as if two
people were arguing. Suddenly the man she had run into
in the street came through the door and said, “I want to
take you to dinner! Madeline, get her ready.” He began
walking out when he said, “OH! My name is Robert!” He
walked out as Constance yelled her name. She was so
excited, no one had ever made her feel the way he made
her feel. “Robert” she whispered to herself, but then she
realized she was still wearing her work uniform. She
spoke in panic, “Madeline! What am I supposed to wear?!”
Madeline just laughed. Constance was confused, why was
that funny? Suddenly her old worn out jeans and t-shirt
transformed into the most extravagant dress she had ever
seen! Her long blonde hair suddenly curled its self and
Constance felt she had had never looked so beautiful.
“M...Maddeline! How did you do that!” Madeline laughed,
“Magic of coarse!” as she said this she slowly vanished.
Constance was very frightened now! “Robert?!”
She ran out of the room running right into him again.
“Robert you wouldn’t believe what just happened!” he
Student Anthology
64
looked at her and couldn’t take his eyes off of her. he said
“Constance, you look so beautiful!” Just then the halfway
they were standing in was gone and they were all alone.
They were sitting at a table filled with food. “Robert I’m...”
he interrupted her and said, “Will you tell me about
yourself?” Constance’s face turned red, for she never talked
about herself. “There isn’t much to say.” Robert laughed.
“I’m positive you are a wonderful human being. I will tell
you about me first. I can not tell you everything, but what
I can tell you is that my mother ruins everything for me.
She does not like that you are here. She never wants me to
be married. I caution you to avoid her.” Constance looked
down at the floor. Robert continued, “My father died when
I was a little boy. My mother said he was ill, but Madeline
says he just disappeared one day.” Constance looked up
at Robert, “My father died when I was a little girl.” Robert
had a sad look on his face, “And your mother?” Just the
thought of her mother made Constance want to cry. “My
mother and I were very close. I was all she had and she
was all I had. She always told me that everyone will always
have a happy ever after.” Constance paused trying to keep
from crying. “But, when I was ten years old, she took me
ice skating at a nearby lake. I loved ice skating, We skated
together for almost five hours. It got very dark and cold. I
came to a spot in the water where it felt different. The ice
wasn’t as strong. Robert, I fell through the ice. My mother
dove in after me, and lifted me up out of the cold water.
When I turned around she wasn’t there. The water was so
dark I couldn’t see anything. She saved me. If I wouldn’t
have been so careless my mother would still be here.”
Tears were pouring down Constance’s face. “Constance I
am so sorry!” Robert said. She wiped the tears away and
said, “When she died I had no one and still don’t. I will
never have the happy ever after she always told me of.”
Just then there was a huge bang. “LEAVE MY SON
NOW!” a voice yelled. Robert had a look of anger on
his face. “Mother leave her alone!” Just then a woman
appeared in the room with them. She looked at Constance
and yelled, “You dirty girl! No one is good enough for my
son! You are nothing but a dirty rat! Just then Constance
65
was no longer there and in her place was a rat! “Mother
what have you done!” Robert yelled to his mother. She
smiled and said, “I am protecting you son.” Robert was
furious. “PROTECTING ME?! You are a hideous monster!
Madeline come quick I need you!” Madeline came
running and said words in a different language and
Robert’s mother was gone! She disappeared! “Take her to
Magie l’eau de puits! Hurry!” Madeline yelled. “Thank you
Grandmother. “Robert said as he picked up the little rat
and disappeared.
He went the city in which he was born and ran toward
a well. He put the rat in the water and said, “Magie l’eau
de puits!” Constance took the place of the rat and hugged
Robert very tight. “I’m so sorry Constance.” Robert said.
Constance looked around and said, “Where are we?”
Robert whispered in Constance’s ear, “This is the land
of Espèrer. This is where my family is from. My mother
was queen but now that she is gone I will rule. And I was
thinking that since you said no one is there for you, I could
be the one to take care of you. Constance, will you stay
here with me?” Constance smiled very big and said, “Of
course I will!”
That night Constance walked out on the balcony on her
new castle and looked up at the moon. She said, “Mother,
Robert is going to give me my happy ever after, just for
you.”
Modern Grimmoire
The End
Student Anthology
Three Soldiers: Regret, Pain, and Death
by hannah rumble, grade 10, louisville high school, teacher: mrs. mast
The CareTaker
Three Soldiers: Regret, Pain, and Death
The CareTaker
Regret: “My dear friends and comrades I tire of war. I look out
there on this field and see all the friends I will never share a
drink with again. At night when I close my eyes, I see the faces
of the lives I have taken.”
A small boy will wander here.
In fact, he is really quite near.
With a boom and a crash, he falls through my door.
My first impression was that his entrance was quite poor.
He takes a seat to hear the tale.
I take a small swig of ale.
Pain: “Regret I feel your pain; it is no longer my death that
haunts me. The first time I killed I knew I had taken one too
many lives. I feel like a monster out here on the field. Then I
go home, and they cheer for me as if I have done something
great. There is nothing glorious or great about war.”
Death: “War is neither glorious nor fair. At the end of the day
when I bury the dead, I see those who deserve life. I also see
men walking among us who deserve death. Who chooses
the fate of these men cares not if they have family, friends, or
loved ones. To them we are just pawns on a chessboard. When
the games are over they walk away and play another day. They
do not feel our pain, sorrow, and fear. The players never die
they just try their luck at a new table.”
Regret: “I am going to pay my respects to those who have
fallen.”
He sits there quietly to hear me start.
The story that comes from my old heart.
Usually I snarl at those stupid kids to go away.
But he was different, so I let him stay.
With a tiny cough, he asks if I wouldn’t mind.
With a rare smile, I nod and my thoughts rewind.
This graveyard here was once alive.
Here the dragons did thrive.
I was given the honor of being their keeper.
Only our relationships I say went a little deeper.
All was well until the knights came.
They wanted these wild creatures tame.
The dragons were rounded up and caged.
Oh! The terrible sound of their rage.
It was up to me their lone friend in this cruel place.
I unlocked the cages in a mad race.
They were slaughtered, unable to feel the wind once more.
Now my child the sad story of the valiant dragons is yours.
Pain & Death: “Brother, we shall accompany you.”
Random soldier: “My lords that soldier you are praying for
t’was our enemy.”
Regret: “My boy at the end of the day it matters not which
side we were on. We are all men who fought for those we have
loved. This man deserves my prayer as much as you do.”
Random Soldier: “Forgive me my lords but I could not help
overhearing your conversation earlier. If war scars you so why
not just kill yourself and spare yourself the pain?”
Death: “Look around you my boy. We are no longer living for
just ourselves.”
Teary eyes looked upon me
And I heard a mumbled “I see”.
I paused then asked the child what he saw.
His face became clouded with a look of awe.
He told me not to fret.
That the dragons had not died yet.
And that he would rule.
A better and a little wiser fool.
In a state of puzzlement and stupor I sat.
That boy left with a wizard in a tall hat.
Just as he promised, the dragons came.
The knights quit their silly game.
I cried, but I’m not much of a weeper.
Once again, I became a dragon keeper.
That is the story of the small boy with whom I had a chat.
Did you know you are sitting where King Arthur once sat?
Sword in the Stone Award
Modern Grimmoire
Student Anthology
66
The Wishing Fountain
Millions of wishes I’ve made come true,
They were vibrant desires with many hues.
Wish to face, It’s a connection I rarely make.
Bur for a single man I did a double take.
He wished for something I couldn’t give,
For the dead simply cannot relive.
He turned and left after a few words.
They were so quiet I barely heard.
I’ll never forget his teary eyes,
Somehow they took me quite by surprise.
This wish gave me an emotion I’ve never bore,
So I did something I’ve never done before.
I created a painting, a work of art,
Depicting the image of his distorted heart,
It may mean nothing, but for this man it was perfection.
Yes, please look I believe it is called a reflection
The Wishing Fountain
Down in the Forest of Dead Raven’s Point
by ellie russ, grade 9, jackson school for the arts, teacher: mrs. snow
O
nce upon a time, in a distant land, there lived a young
girl named Zenith. Zenith was a princess of a land
deep in the mountains. Her father was King Coward of
Hidden, and they lived in Safe Castle; which could be found
on the highest peaks of Hidden. Now Zenith had always known
that she was cleverer braver than her father Coward. However
she never realized that she was much cleverer she was than then
the entire realm. No one in her town ever seemed to wonder why
there were so many rules in Hidden that had been placed even
before her father had acquired the throne. Every citizen was
taught the code at a very young age. The first and foremost rule
of the code was the code most abided by the people of Hidden;
you are never to question any decision or rule that the Hidden
government placed upon you. But if you disobeyed a single one
of the rules then you were to be banished to the bottom of the
mountain. You are never to leave the mountain unless through
banishment.
Any person discovered to be reading keeping, holding,
buying, or selling a book that is not in the list of appropriate
books will be immediately banished.
All persons must present themselves to the Hidden
government for weekly attendance.All people must eat only what
is personally prescribed by the Hidden government. If a person is
put under banishment no contact will be permitted with the said
person.
When Zenith was taught the code she knew something
strange was happening in Hidden and she needed to find out
what that was. But she knew the only way to discover the truth
was to see it for herself. She would have to leave the mountain.
However, Zenith was not ready to make her journey quite yet;
she knew she needed to be older, stronger, and ready to fight.
The night before Zenith turned eighteen she knew she was
ready. She had acquired as much information on Hidden as she
could; the space below the mountain was known as Dead Raven’s
Point. All she had when she left the only place she’d ever been
was a cloak, a satchel full of food, and a bow with a quiver full of
arrows. Since Zenith was well known in the kingdom she had no
problem finding distractions for the guards at the bottom of the
mountain. The only emotion surging through her was pure terror
as she left Hidden and walked carefully into a dark misty forest.
After about an hour of aimless walking Zenith started to
wonder what she was looking for, when she suddenly heard
whispers. “Human, human, human, this is wrong,” the whispers
chanted repeatedly. At first it was one voice then soon she was
surrounded by hundreds of eerie whispers. Panic surged through
her as she begins to see hundreds of crooked, deformed shapes
stagger out of the mist. But Zenith could not run. There was
something in the back of her mind telling her to stay. So, she
stood her ground and watched and the largest of the shapes
approached and began to speak.
Modern Grimmoire
“Wh-yy do yo-u com-e to this lan-d?” the creature
stammered, “What do you seek?”
“I mean you no harm. I only seek the truth.” Zenith tried to
sound brave as she stammered back, “I am from Hidden”
The creature smiled and laughed hauntingly. “Why dear, you
are not from Hidden, you are hidden”
“I’m sorry, but I do not understand!” Zenith exclaimed.
“Hidden from what exactly?”
“You live safe and hidden from the souls, from your souls
to be exact.” The shape explained “Many years ago the humans
started stealing dead souls from heaven and hell to keep as
shadows. Pets, as you would call it. The souls of the poor were
pets to the wealthy so the rich would no longer be lonely. But
the souls went insane in a place that they did not belong. They
started getting hungry, hungry for their owner’s own soul. That
was when it happened. One soul could not fight the hunger
and he swallowed the soul of a little boy. The little boy was
condemned to a fate much worse than death. The boy and every
one of the people devoured were turned into broken bodies,
broken but immortal.
We are the soul’s slaves now. We will wander forever! When
your people discovered what the souls were doing they moved
up to the mountains where it is safe and hidden. You hide where
the souls cannot find you. But the souls are still here, we are still
their slaves. Your people on the mountain forgot about us, they
don’t know what is below and they are content without knowing.
That is what you were missing little one. And you are surrounded
by your enemy’s slaves. The enemy you didn’t even know existed.
You know you will not make out of this alive, that is... by your
definition of alive.”
The Soul-slave grinned wickedly, “It’s your fault that my
people and I are like this. You could have helped us but you ran
away and hid. Now you’ll have to stay here for eternity.”
Zenith’s body shook violently. Sickening cracks sliced through
the air as every bone in her body was snapped into pieces. Her
skin slowly melted into her face so it sagged like candle wax. Her
eyes were suddenly pierced with thousands of invisible needles
and as she clutched her face with agony her fingers were seamed
to her cheeks. She could never looks the look of fear or lower her
hands. Her shrieks and screams echoed through the supposedly
empty forest. By the time the shrieking had seized the beautiful
girl, Zenith was no more, and in her place was a soul slave.
King Coward never saw his daughter again, the mountain
people still remain in the peaks, while the Souls, and the Soulslaves still remain down in the forest of Dead Raven’s Point.
Remember, the next time you go on a hike, watch your
back, for you never know what will come out from the shadows.
Student Anthology
68
The Ugly Duckling
by kathryn sanders, grade 10, jackson high school, teacher: mr. piotrowski
The Purple Jewel
by lindsay scheetz, grade 9, jackson school for the arts, teacher: mrs. snow
Beautiful Baubles Award
O
nce upon a time, it was Princess Emily’s 19th birthday.
Her husband, Prince Henry, had gone hunting a day
before. He liked to hunt and could communicate
with all animals. He also enjoyed the beautiful nature that was
surrounding him. When Prince Henry was hunting in the forest,
he found some precious jewels. He had washed them off and
realized that they weren’t just any ordinary jewels, but diamonds.
He was flabbergasted.
“Oh, my!” he exclaimed
Prince Henry put them in his pocket to take back to the castle.
He was going to give them to his wife the next day at her birthday
ceremony. They would make beautiful jewelry that would look
dazzling and stunning on her. She had a lot of jewelry with
pearls and expensive jewels, but not many diamonds.
When Prince Henry got back to the castle, he walked into his
room with great pride. He reached into his pocket but found that
the diamonds were not there. They must have fallen out.
After dinner, he went out to search for the diamonds. It was
hot and exhausting, and he began to grow very weak and tired.
He bend down at a nearby pond to splash water in his face. As
he glanced at his reflection, he noticed and old woman standing
behind him.
“You startled me!” said Prince Henry.
“I am very sorry. I just decided to go on a nice hike in the
woods today.” she said with an unsteady voice.
The prince asked her if she had happened to come across
any diamonds. The old woman said she hadn’t seen any, but,
Prince Henry actually noticed the diamonds through a hole in
her pocket! The witch ran through a field of long grasses so that
Prince Henry wouldn’t question her about the jewels she stole.
Prince Henry walked back to the castle not knowing what to
do. On his way home, a bird was following him. It was chirping
on and on. He stopped and turned around. The bird landed
right next to him.
Since Henry could communicate with animals, he
understood that the bird had seen the witch who had his
diamonds. The bird led him back to the witch and was chirping
as loud and as fast as it could. After the prince questioned the
witch for many minutes, the bird started to attack her. It tore
open the pocket of the witch’s robe, and out fell the diamonds,
along with a purple jewel. Henry quickly bent down to snatch up
the diamonds and the jewel. The witch was hurt very badly. The
prince ran as fast as he could back to the castle as the bird, still
following him, sang joyful songs of victory. Henry was ecstatic
and terrified at the same time. He quickly hid the jewels in a
secret place so that they would not get lost again.
The next morning Prince Henry joyfully woke up from his
sleep and got the diamonds and special jewel. This unique,
Modern Grimmoire
purple jewel was glowing. It was such a magical sight. As he
started to make the jewel and diamonds into gorgeous necklaces,
he realized that he did not know how to do it. Since the bird
knew how to eave a nest, Prince Henry wondered if it could make
the necklaces. He called for the bird and it was able to help him
make pretty necklaces. The prince loved this bird that he named
Hope. Hope was so magical and helpful that it even put a spell
on the purple jewel! The jewel would be able to protect the
princes whenever she wore it. Hope stayed around the castle for
many years and helped the prince and princess tremendously.
The next day, Princess Emily and Prince Henry both got up
early to get ready for the ceremony. In no time, many people
were already making their way into the castle. The ceremony
began, and they all celebrated with special drinks and food.
Emily received many wonderful gifts. The last one she received
was from her husband. She opened it and her eyes immediately
widened. She took out the diamond necklaces and held them
to her neck. She was amazed and couldn’t believe her eyes. The
princess then notices and purple light shining below her. She
took out the necklace with the purple jewel and everyone gasped
and stared in awe.
Emily felt as if she were in a dream. No one had ever seen
anything like this. They all froze in their positions as she held
this one to her neck. She loved it more than anything in the
world. She was lucking to have such a compassionate husband
who cared about her very much. Tears of joy came streaming
from her gorgeous face.
Emily kissed her husband and went back to the shining jewel,
but, it was not there! The witch was back! She had snatched
them when no one was watching. Emily saw the witch running
though the trees. She screamed for help. Hope, who was
angrily tweeting, flew fast to attack the witch. Hope scratched
her and started biting. The witch was injured and could not
get up. Then, the bird quickly built a long rope with things
from the forest. It tied the witch to a tree. Hope finally got the
purple jewel back and gave it to Princess Emily. The witch never
bothered with the prince and princess ever again.
Princess Emily always kept this unique necklace on her body.
The beautiful light continuously shone on her neck. Every time
she looked at it, she remembered her husband and the day of
her 19th birthday. Since the day Emily began wearing it, nothing
bad ever happened to her. It was her good luck charm. Everyone
looked up to her and her husband. They inspired many people
to always dream and to never give up. Prince Henry and Princess
Emily lived happily ever after, and later became the greatest king
and queen that had ever lived.
Student Anthology
70
The Ones Who Survived
by kaylah simmons, grade 9, jackson school for the arts, teacher: mrs. snow
O
nce upon a time, there was a young girl named Elizabeth, but
everyone in her town called her Miss Liz. Miss Liz was known for
the happiness that she brought to people. She would come into
town at least once a week to being people joy and other food or money.
Miss Liz was the peacekeeper, but people in the town just thought of her as
the daughter of a royal family. People thought she was just too young to be
considered royal. MIs Liz lived in the biggest house in the town, the royal
castle. There were gates, guards and alarms to protect her family. At least
that’s what she thought.
Miss Liz had a magical power to talk to creatures. No one knew about
this, not even her family. Every morning Miss Liz would go sit in the garden
and talk to the animals. She always brought them food and blankets so they
would warm at night. One morning Miss Liz went out to the garden as usual,
but something seemed different. Miss Liz thought that someone had been
in her garden. When she went to feed this different animals, they wouldn’t
take her food. Miss Liz found this strange because they always took the
food she brought them. But when Miss Liz could even ask them what was
wrong, she turned around she saw an evil witch hiding behind one of the
tall tree trunks. She was old and ugly with a dark green nose and face. Miss
Liz remembered hearing stories and myths about her. Out of no where she
popped out behind the tree trunk and scared Miss Liz so much that she fell
to the ground. The evil witch flew over to go capture the creatures, but Miss
Liz knew something that the witch did not know. Miss Liz used her magical
powers to tell the animals where to run off and hide before the witch could
get them. They ran for miles to get away from the evil witch. After minutes of
searching the witch gave up. She yelled, “I’ll get them next time Elizabeth,”
and flew away on her broomstick. After she was gone the creatures and Miss
Liz reunited and went back to their daily lives.
The End
71
Modern Grimmoire
Student Anthology
The Quest
by melanie snier, grade 9, jackson school for the arts, teacher: mrs. snow
O
nce upon a time, there lived a poor farmer and his wife
in a little house just outside the little village of Paters.
This couple had no children, but had been trying for
many years. They weren’t exactly young. There was nothing they
wanted more in the world than a child for their very own.
One day, the man was in his garden, trying to harvest some
carrots from the meager crop, when along came the old woman
from down the lane. he ran inside, closing and locking the door.
“But what could she ever want with us?” his wife wondered
frantically, looking quickly out the window.
“I haven’t the faintest idea, but-” said the man, as he was
interrupted by a knock at the door. he reluctantly turned the
knob to find the old woman standing there. “May we help you,
madam?” he politely asked.
“Yes, yes you may. As a matter of fact, helping me will help
you!” the old woman shrieked hysterically at the looks on their
faces. “That is, if your dearest desire is for a little child of your
own! You see, many, many years ago, your father,” she began
looking at the man as he backed away from her unblinking stare,
“your father decided that he would steal my lovely, magical
bluebird! Imagine him, crawling over my wall with my bluebird,
as the bird tweeted and with every tweet a jewel would fall out of
the bird’s mouth! Your greedy father stole it!” she screeched, once
again placing a challenging stare on the man. “And so I put a little
spell on him, and his family, too! That your family tree would
produce just one more child, you, and no more!” She cackled
joyfully, as the man and his wife stared at her, horrorstruck. “But,
of course, all spells can be reversed.”
“Anything, anything at all, madam!” the man exclaimed,
grabbing onto the old woman’s cloak.
“Very well. By the end of three midnights’ time, bring me one
tail feather of a golden dove, one apron as blue as a robin’s egg,
and the sweetest smelling flower. Bring me these in three days’
time and you shall have a perfectly wonderful child,” proclaimed
the old woman.
That very afternoon, the man and his wife set out for their
quest. Within a few hours, they came upon a single, gray dove.
Following the bird as it flew away, they found an entire flock of
gray doves, with one lone flash of gold going by every now and
then.
“It’s that one! It’s there, no, wait, it’s there!” shouted the wife,
attempting to track the bird. “A-ha! Gotcha!” She exclaimed
triumphantly as she jumped and grabbed hold. Pulling out a
single tail feather, she said, “look! One down just two to go!”
Yet, it was already getting dark. The man and his wife climbed
into a tree and quickly fell asleep.
Modern Grimmoire
The next morning, they woke to the cheery whistling of a
young girl skipping down the path. Coming up silently behind
her, the man grabbed her as the wife pulled off the child’s apron.
“What do you think you’re doing? That’s mine!” the young girl
yelled defiantly.
“I’m deeply sorry, miss, but may we borrow this apron? It
may be our only way to make our lives complete,” the wife said,
looking very forlorn and pitiful as she did so.
“I don’t care! That’s mine!” she exclaimed.
“Please, it is our only chance. We swear to return it to you if
we are able,” pleaded the wife.
“If just a simple apron can be that important...yes, yes you
may have it!” she decided, giving them the apron then taking off
down the path once again. The man and his wife looked at each
other, mirroring the joy on the other’s face and took off once
again. They walked and walked then finally took to a tree once
again.
That morning, the man and his wife arrived at a meadow,
where they sniffed flowers for hours, with no success of finding
the right on. But, as it was hearing dark once again, the man got
an idea.
“Maybe the flower is in the old woman’s garden!” he
exclaimed. So, the man and his wife set off to the old woman’s
cottage. As they came up to it, the man climbed over the wall,
dropped down, and began smelling flowers. As soon as he came
upon the sweetest flower, one he could barely tear his nose away
from, he plucked it and hurried as fast as he could back over the
wall.
Walking up to the old woman’s door, and looked on in wonder
as the man and his wife presented the three objects to her.
“Very, very well. In twelve months, you shall receive a child
as perfect as any child could be,” the old woman proclaimed. As
the man and his wife left, she went out to her garden and began
to replant the flowers they had torn through, saving the sweetest
one for last.
Sure enough, exactly one year later, as the clock struck
midnight, there was a baby girl delivered to the man and his
wife, as perfect as a child could be. The old woman, unknown
to the man and his wife in their joy, looked into the window. She
turned and walked away, turning first into a golden dove, then a
young girl missing an apron, and, at last, into a beautiful, young,
enchantress.
Student Anthology
72
Little Red Riding Hood
by senna Storm (taylor lehman), grade 12, r.g. drage, teacher: mr. reymond
Num Num Blossom
by greta taylor, grade 9, jackson school for the arts, teacher: mrs. snow
T
here was once a far away cottage, and in that
cottage lived nothing. A young girl was on her way
to her grandma’s house but she suddenly took a
wrong turn and ended up at this far away cottage.
This girl, named Belle, lived in a house in the forest with
her mother and her pet rabbit, Blossom. In the morning,
Belle’s mother decided to make her special recipe. Bell
would be forced to eat it but she did not like the special
recipe at all. Bell at the recipe and she thought it would be
a good idea if she walked the rest of it to her grandma. Bell
took off with Blossom, into the woods. Belle kept walking
and Blossom kept hopping when Belle realized the sky was
turning dark. They walked and hopped a little faster.
Belle couldn’t see in the dark very well and she knew to
get to her grandma’s house she had to keep going straight
for three miles and then turn right. Bell kept walking and
she turned right but she went a little to far but she never
realized it until she never saw her grandma’s house. Belle
and Blossom didn’t know where they were and they were
carrying her evil mother’s special recipe. They didn’t know
what to do. Belle got scared and she heard noises really
close to her. Belle and Blossom didn’t know what to do so
they started running straight. They never stopped running
until they were out of breath. They came across and old
lady with a broom and a long tall hat. Her name was
Isador. Bell stopped to ask, “Excuse me, can you tell me
how to get back to the woods?” Isador replied, “Well why
won’t you come with me, I’m headed that way.” Belle and
Blossom jumped for joy as Belle said, “Oh thank you very
much.”
Isador didn’t take them back to the woods, she took
them to a cottage far, far, far away from the woods. Isador
wasn’t an ordinary person, she was a person with magic.
Anything you ask her to give you, she would give it to you.
You would only have to say three magical words, Poof,
Poof, Puff. When Belle walked into this cottage, there was
nothing on the ground, and nothing on the walls. To her
it was just a cottage, but to Isador, it was her home. Belle
never knew that Isador had magic until Isador said, “Wish
for something good!” Belle was confused but finally said,
“I wish to have many different creatures with magic!”
Modern Grimmoire
Isador replied, “No, No, No, not so fast. Say the magic
words.” Belle replied, “Abracadabra?” Isador said with a
weird look on her face, “No, it’s Poof, Poof, Puff!” Belle
wished, “Poof, Poof, Puff!” Belle’s wish came true. There
were over 100 different magical creatures in that cottage.
Belle and Blossom had so much fun with the creatures,
they would wish for a new blanket for the winter, a new
picnic basket to carry food in to bring to her grandma,
and a new rain coat for the rain. But then suddenly Isador
made it all disappear. She told Belle if she wanted another
wish and to return home, she would have to hand over
Belle’s mother’s special recipe.
Belle was getting scared, as well as Blossom. Belle and
Blossom ran towards the door but Isador stopped them.
Isador finally spoke out, “Belle, Belle, Belle you know what
I am?” Belle replied, “No?” Isador replied laughing, “I am
a witch, not just some old little lady with magic, I am an
old little witch who likes to steal recipes.” Belle wondered
why Isador the witch wanted Belle’s mother’s recipe but
she gave her the recipe even Belle knew it tasted bad.
Isador took the recipe and wouldn’t let them go until she
said the magic words. “Poof, Poof, Puff!” Belle said loudly.
Isador tricked them wants again, “That’s not the magic
words.” Belle and Blossom looked at each other nervously
thinking about the magic words. Belle tried once again,
“Abracadabra?” Isador was surprised that she had guessed
correctly and let them go. Belle ran out of the cottage as
fast as she could and Blossom hopped as fast as he could
out of the cottage. But the problem Belle and Blossom did
not know how to get back home. They were nervous and
shaky but Belle realized something.
Belle remembered where she was when she met Isador.
Belle and Blossom kept going straight for four miles, then
turned left. They finally found there way back into the
woods, and found there way back home to her mother.
And when belle returned home, her mother said, “I found
a name for the recipe, it’s called Num Num Blossom.’
Because It’s the name of your stupid rabbit.
Student Anthology
74
Untitled
by katie taylor, grade 9, jackson school for the arts, teacher: mrs. snow
N
ot bad. It won’t be true love though, Ilayda
thought to herself when she saw her arranged
husband by peeking into her royal family’s
magnificent foyer. He’s rich, he’s handsome. This may turn
out decently. No it won’t. I just know it won’t. There’s no real
love. I’ll never be happy with a prince.
“Oh yes, it would be absolutely lovely to spend some
time with Ilayda so that we might get to know each other
well,” she heard him say. His voice was not very kingly, yet
it seemed that suited a prince. It was almost nasally, yet
masculine. It seemed staccato, yet he spoke smoothly.
Well he seems respectful and courteous. He’s just putting
on a show. I can never love anyone who has been arranged
to wed me.
“I truly hope I can win over her heart,”
He sounds genuine and loving. No, I know he’s not.
“I’ll have you meet her now. She has yet to leave her
room today. Probably nervous to meet you,” Ilayda’s
mother babbled as she turned to show the prince to
Ilayda’s room.
Oh dear, Ilayda thought. She began to run back to her
room when she was distracted by a light mist from the
Northeast wing. At first, she thought about screaming or
running the opposite direction, but something about it
pulled her in. Slowly, she started down the hallway. While
following the mist, it became thicker and thicker. She
could now smell it. The scent was a delightful one, filled
with warm pumpkin and sugar-like aromas. When she
finally got to the room in which the mist was spewing out
from, the door opened before Ilayda.
“Come in, come in,” a small and pleasant voice
directed. Being polite, Ilayda did just that.
There was a small girl, only the age of twelve or so. She
was very pretty, but it seemed she was hiding her beauty
with a black robe and a shielding black hat. Ilayda was
very frightened until she heard what the which like girl
had to say.
“In this tunnel, you should go
In there will be a ring aglow.
That it may be yours if you can find:
a true love and some peace of mind.”
75
Ilayda simply stared.
“But... Your true love awaits;
In this world he is; Let your mind allow.
With this prince outside you won’t be happy if you don’t
go now.”
With this, Ilayda assumed she would meet the true
love she’d always dreamed of. She jumped in and began
to fall in a way that seemed to be against gravity. Soon
enough, she landed; in the middle of a meadow where a
ring appeared on her finger. She wondered why, but soon
stopped as she was distracted by the beautiful scenery
surrounding her. She began walking to a small village she
saw.
“No, I...” a man was cut off after running into Ilayda
while walking backwards.
“My apologies,” She looked down then began to walk
away.
He ran after Ilayda and spun around her then planted
himself in front of her so that she could not move. She
looked up at his face. This must be a dream. I can tell by
looking at his deep brown eyes how faultless he is.
“Beautiful! Beyond compare of all things I’ve seen in
my lifetime!” he exclaimed.
Ilayda hoped he was speaking of her, but her thought
was interrupted when he pulled her for a kiss. Her ring lit
up everything around her. Within seconds, she no longer
felt his warm hands embracing her. She opened her eyes
and she was back in her room.
“Here we are!” Her mother declared and busted open
the doors abruptly.
Ilayda almost began to cry even knowing that she
would never see her true love again. As she forced herself
to look up, she saw the prince’s dark brown eyes that she’d
looked upon before. Her face lit up and she ran towards
his to be held in his warm arms yet again.
Modern Grimmoire
Student Anthology
Cavaliere and the Dragon
by kyle tilstra, grade 9, jackson school for the arts, teacher: mrs. snow
Epic Slayer Award
T
here once was a knight who slayed dragons. He was a
bit odd because he had blue hair and he did not look
like a knight but non-of-the-less, he killed dragons and
got paid in gold. This “knight’s” name was Cavaliere. He would go
on journeys to hunt down and kill dragons if someone would pay
him enough. One day he was comfortably laying on a rock with
his hat down and a piece of straw sticking out of the corner of his
mouth. A local farmer trots up to him and in a shaky, exasperated
tone he said, “Dragon slayer we need your help, there is a dragon
burning our houses and destroying our crops.”
Cavaliere didn’t even twitch and in a low voice said, “Ya so,
what’s in it for me if I do decide to go after this dragon?”
“We have money,” sighed the farmer, and with that Cavaliere
jumped right up, drew his sword, and casually marched his way
down the hill towards the farms where he could already see the
pillars of smoke rising.
When Cavaliere reached the farms, he looked back and saw
the farmer had retreated to his family. He turned and there in the
field surrounded in smoking, black, trampled corn stalks were
two massive, snake slit eyes. He smiled and started analyzing
his assets. he had his sword and his shield, which was tied to his
back. He also saw a valley not too far away. Maybe if he could
back the dragon into it, he would have the high ground. As soon
as that thought came into his mind the dragon slithered out
of his smoky concealment. “This is one of the bigger ones,” he
thought as its crimson red mouth snarled in anger with smoke
billowing out of its nostrils. Its claws digging into the freshly
turned soil reminded him that this was the first dragon he
had fought in a while. Hopefully, he wasn’t too rusty. With that
thought the sneaky monster struck with the top of its head right
into Cavaliere’s chest. Cavaliere went flying to the side smashing
into the fence that loosely protected the corn field. He rolled
over and as soon as he stood up and managed to slide his shield
into his hand, the dragon shot its long, razor sharp, axe head
of a tail right into his shield. Cavaliere stumbled back until he
was on the edge of the valley he had seen earlier. He looked
back towards the dragon and saw its misty eyes once again as
it stalked towards him. The dragon looked oddly amused like it
was taking its time and leisurely trying to kill him. And as quick
as anything Cavaliere had ever seen, it lunged teeth first for his
neck but he was already ducking down as the dragon’s whole
body sailed harmlessly above him and tumbled down into the
valley. Cavaliere jumped up and saw the dragon flailing around
on its back trying to right itself again. Cavaliere cautiously
Modern Grimmoire
started moving down the hillside waiting for a chance to strike
with his sword and finish the dragon. He got to the dragon a
second too late. It stood up and shook itself off. When it turned
around its mouth opened up and picked up Cavaliere up. It
happened so suddenly Cavaliere didn’t even realize he was in
the beast’s mouth! As soon as he thought of that he immediately
stood up, opening the Dragons mouth. It was startled to see that
Cavaliere was still alive. As Cavaliere stood up he brought his
sword straight up until it plunged into the soft pallet roof of the
dragon’s mouth. The dragon tried to shake the man now stuck in
its mouth out. But it was no use, they were stuck the dragon with
its mouth hinged open with Cavaliere inside standing up with his
sword up in the dragons mouth forcing it to not close its mouth
and killing Cavaliere, because if the dragon were to bite down
to kill Cavaliere, it would send the sword directly into its brain
killing them both. So they were at an impasse. Finally the dragon
in a garbled voice because there was a man with a sword in his
mouth and said.
“Hmmm...well this is a problem.”
“Wait, what you can talk?!” Cavaliere said in a startled tone.
Actually being so startled that he lost pressure on the sword and
nearly got eaten.
“Of course I can talk all of us dragons can. Well I guess it’s just
me now” the dragon said.
“What are you talking about?” Cavaliere asked.
“I’M THE LAST DRAGON. All you dragon slayers murdered us
all off and now I’m the last”
If he is the last one, killing him will put me out of business,
and that means no more gold thought Cavaliere.
“If you let me go I will let you chase me down and fake kill me
so you can earn money and I won’t die this day.” Said the dragon
Cavaliere saw no down side to that plan he gets money for
fake killing a dragon. So he readily agreed to the dragons plan. So
the dragon spit him out and Cavaliere put down his sword. They
both took pride in their new found mutual friendship.
The next day a different farmer woke him up and said
“We need a dragon slayer!”
Cavaliere smiled to himself and thought here comes round
two.
Student Anthology
76
The Dance of the Spirits
by ashleigh vale, grade 9, jackson school for the arts, teacher: mrs. snow
I
t was exactly two months ago when Lana crept up the stairs
and into the attic for the first time. She couldn’t fall asleep,
so she threw her long, flowing black hair into a bony-tail,
grabbed a lantern and went adventuring through her family’s
new castle. You see, her father was just crowned ruler a few weeks
before. The townspeople of Cree protested against their previous
ruler and he was thrown out of power. Although Lana’s father was
only a butcher, he was very well respected in the town. He was
an obvious choice to take over the throne because of his kindness and generosity towards others. Lana and her father shared
a lot of the same qualities, despite the fact that Lana was full of
curiosity and wonder.
In the town of Cree, night was not an acceptable time to be
outside. There was dagger in darkness. The only people who ever
saw the moonlight were the huntsmen. It was forbidden for anyone in the town to even lay eyes on the night sky. Consequently,
windows were prohibited. Anyone who broke the rules was sent
to a chamber to never see the light of day again.
That night, two months ago, Lana had found a door to the
attic. Slowly and cautiously, she turned the knob and walked
inside. The walls ere lined with bookshelves with all kinds of
books labeled and sorted by genre. Lana held her lamp up close
to one of the shelves and examined the books. One book titles
Dance of the Spirits caught her eye. She pulled the book out and
began to read. As she was reading, Lana saw a pink, luminescent
glow. It began to grow closer and closer to her. It was a fairy.
Fairies were common in Cree during autumn.
“My name is Aurora,” said the fairy.
“I’m Lana. How did you get in here?”
“I came in the window over there. Every year all of the fairies
participate in the Northern Lights. It’s a beautiful show; it’s such
a shame nobody in this town gets to watch it. I hope you don’t
mind me, I’ve just been coming in here to warm every once in a
while,” Aurora replied.
“Window?”
Lana and Aurora talked for hours. Aurora told her everything
she knew about the Northern Lights. Eventually, the sun began to
rise and Aurora had to go. Lana went back downstairs and took
Dance of the Spirits with her. She spent the entire day reading
the book. That night, Lana went back up to the attic.
Lana remembered what Aurora had said about the window.
She approached it hesitantly. She was absolutely amazed by
what she saw. The sky flashed shades of green, blue, and pink.
77
The Northern Lights were the most beautiful sight she had ever
seen. Every night for the next month, Lana watched fairies in the
Northern Lights.
One Night as Lana was walking to the attic, her father came
up behind her.
“Where are you going?”
“Oh. Well father, can I show you something?”
Lana led her father up the stairs. He followed her over to
the window. The Northern Lights had just begun. Just when
Lana thought her father was going to scold her, the sky lit up in
kaleidoscopic, beautiful colors and they both grew quiet.
“Ah, you’ve met a fairy, haven’t you?”
Lana replied, “Yes father, I have. I know it’s against the rules to
look at the night sky, but look what we’re missing out on! I wish
everyone in the town could get a chance to see the Northern
Lights. It’s the most beautiful and spectacular thing I’ve ever
seen”
The next night, Lana noticed her father had put a lock on the
attic door. Furious, she ran straight to his office to confront him
about it. He wasn’t there. Lana ran down a flight of stairs to the
main floor.
“Father?” she cried out, but nobody replied.
Suddenly, Lana saw a pink light. It was Aurora. She called out
to her, but her light began to grow farther and farther away. Lana
followed her and he was lead to the front door. She turned the
knob and walked outside to see everyone in the town standing in
awe of the sky.
“Lana, my dear, I knew you would wander up to the attic
eventually and find the window. Now that I’m in power, I’ve
decided to make an exception to the laws against the night sky.
Windows to view the night sky will no longer be prohibited,
and during the months of October and November, I will allow
everyone to go outside to watch the fairies in the Northern Lights
and celebrate. You’re a wanderer. And you wandered to the
attic without any purpose of reason, and discovered something
beautiful. And that’s something to celebrate.”
Modern Grimmoire
The End
Student Anthology
Happily Ever After
by lexee valentine, grade 9, jackson school for the arts, teacher: mrs. snow
O
nce upon a time there was a beautiful princess
named Alexandria. She wasn’t just any old princess; she was the Princess of Light. She lived in
a magical place called Sugarplum Landia. Everyone was
always happy and giddy except one person. This person
was the Prince of Vampires, otherwise known as Dimitri.
Dimitri needed to find a bride in order for him to become
the King of Vampires, and he knew who he wanted...Princess Alexandria.
He had tried nicely to convince her mother and father,
but was denied for he was a Vampire Prince. Alexandria
had overheard the entire conversation between them, and
was confused as to why he wanted her hand in marriage.
Later that night Dimitri sneaked into her room and lifted
her from her bed. He had to use his super speed as he
heard footsteps coming down the hall. As he was walking
aback to his kingdom, he was stopped by three witches.
“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” one of the
witches said.
“It seems as if your prince has brought us dinner
tonight,” the other witch cackled.
“I’m sorry ladies, but she’s not your dinner, and I
suggest you keep on her good side for she will one day be
your queen.”
“Can’t we just have a little taste, since she looks so
delicious?” the third witch asked while stepping closer to
Alexandria. Dimitri hissed, showing his fangs, and telling
them to leave. Once they left, Dimitri saw that the princess
was still asleep.
He carried her back to his kingdom, and laid her upon
his bed covering her up. He felt ashamed when he realized
that she would probably never see her mother or father
ever again. He jumped up startled by the high pitched
cries coming from the princess. She looked absolutely
terrified. She started to speak, her voice shaking slightly,
“What do you want from me, sir? Why have you taken me
away from my kingdom? Oh my! My mother and father
must be worried sick. Please, sir let me leave!”
“Love, I only ask that you marry me. If you would
accept, we could make pace throughout both kingdoms.
Modern Grimmoire
I promise you that I will not harm you, my lady.” Dimitri
said in a hopeful tone, nervously waiting for a response.
“If it will spread peace throughout our kingdoms, then
yes I will give you my hand in marriage.” Alexandria spoke
with a smile at the thought of peace.
“Then it’s settled. We will get married in an hour.
You best get dressed, darling”, he said in a rush. She had
obeyed his commands and was there in an hours. Right
before the two lovers could share the kiss that would bind
them together for eternity, her parents burst through the
door. They looked angry as they marched up to the two
and yanked them apart.
She saw her father pull out a sword. “No father, please
spare him. He has done nothing wrong. Please father, I
love him!” she said, crying, while trying to free herself
from her mother’s grasp. She escaped just in time to knock
Dimitri away and grabbed the sword that was a few feet
away. Though as much as it hurt her to do so, she took the
sword and stabbed her father with it killing him instantly.
Her mother ran out terrified and never showed her face
in either kingdom, which now had peace. The two lovers
ended up getting married and had three children. The
couple and their children lived happily ever after.
Student Anthology
78
The Prince and the Princess
by ripley villers, grade 9, perry high school
T
here once was a beautiful princess her name was
Ripley. Ripley was the loveliest princess the Eastern
Kingdom had ever known. She fell desperately in love
with a handsome prince named Joseph. Joseph was the smartest
prince the Western Kingdom had ever known. He fell in love with
Princess Ripley. Here are their stories.
Ripley grew up on the Eastern side of England. She got every
thing she ever wanted, she was so spoiled. Ripley was homeschooled, got the newest dolls, and even had a pet tiger. But she
still wanted more. She wanted someone to love. No matter what
her parents bought her, they could not fill the missing love in her
heart.
Ripley thought to herself, “One day I will find someone to love
forever”. She stuck to that.
Joseph on the other hand was not to be known. His uncle was
an evil sorcerer that wanted to be king so Joe’s parents hid the
birth of their new son from everyone in the kingdom.
Joe often said to himself, “Keep your identity a secret, and let
no one know who you are”. He stuck to that.
But he deeply wanted someone to love. He saw many
princesses but none were what he was looking for. One day Joe
was old enough to let the kingdom know of his existence.
The day of his appearance he was so excited he decided to
show up a few minutes early. On the way he met an old beggar.
Little did he know it was really his evil uncle in disguise. He gave
the old man a few coins, enough to buy a few loaves of bread.
The man, excited, told Joe of a magic road that could take him
anywhere he wanted to go ten times faster. The road was magic,
but it did not lead in the right direction. Unknowingly, Joe
decided to follow the old beggar down the magic road. Soon the
old man collapsed suddenly on the road. Joseph ran to help the
poor man. But it was too late the man was not breathing. Joseph
believed the man was dead.
So he ran down the road hoping to get to the town soon so
he could get help. When he looked back the man was gone. He
slipped away when Joe was not looking. He walked slowly down
the road thinking about what had just happened. He saw a
town in the distance. He stated running faster and faster he just
wanted to be in a town so he could get some help. When he got to
the town he saw he was far away from the kingdom.
Little did he know, Joseph was approaching the Eastern
Kingdom. As Joe walked into the kingdom, his appearance drew
attention. It was very unlikely to see a young man, dressed in fine
clothes, walking down the road unprotected.
“HALT!! State your business here!”
79
He was suddenly cornered by the kingdom guards.
“My name is Prince Joshua of the Western Kingdom,” He
stuttered. The guards laughed, “Well, we have a Western. Take
him to the king immediately!”
Joe was reluctantly dragged towards the castle. He had heard
stories about the Eastern King from messengers, He was said
to be mean and strict. How would he react to Joe’s appearance?
They were coming up on the castle. He could see a girl picking
flowers in the castle garden. When the guards approached, she
looked up. The girl walked straight up to the guards, no fear in
her expression. Whoever she was, she was brave.
“Why are you here? Who is that? Daddy is in a meeting.
Where did you find this man? He is not from around here,” She
demanded, hands on her hips, frustration in her expression.
“Princess Ripley, this is a Westerner. We found him wandering
into town alone. We want to ask the king what to do with him.”
Ripley moved to get a look at this Western.
“Prince Joseph,” he said bowing. She blushed,
“Princess Ripley.” She turned to the guards,
“Go. Leave him. I will take him to father.”
The guards, mumbling complaints under their breath, left.
“Follow me,” Ripley said sweetly.
Joe followed her through the garden to the back entrance
of the castle. “My father is busy. He might take a while. Are you
hungry? Do you need anything?”
She spoke sweetly to him. If the stories about the king were
true, she was the exact opposite.
Ripley gave Joseph food and water. She looked at him.
Something was special about him. She felt affection for this man
she had just met. He was very handsome and kind. Could this
be the person she had been searching for? Joe turned to her.
She looked away, pretending she had not been staring. But he
must have seen her because he, like her, stared, deep in thought.
Could this be the one he was looking for?
Determined to talk to him, she asked,
“So, where are you from? Why are you here?”
Josh, amused by her many questions replied,
“I am from the Western Kingdom. I was on my way to the
village when I was tricked by a beggar and ended up here.”
“Well, you are a long way from home.”
Later that day, the King finished his work and wanted to
see the man the guards told him about. Ripley led him to the
courtroom. As they were walking, she took his hand in hers.
Joseph felt his face get hot but smiled. They stopped in front of a
large door. Ripley lightly knocked on the door three times.
Modern Grimmoire
Student Anthology
“Come in,” a voice replied.
She gave him a loving smile and opened the door.
The courtroom was a large room. The walls were covered in
banners and paintings. The King sat in the back of the room, on
an elegant throne. Ripley dropped Joe’s hand and hurried up to
her father. She hugged him then whispered something in his ear.
She smiled at Joe. The King smiled and nodded.
“Well Prince Joseph, I understand you are lost. I will send my
finest soldiers to guide you safely home.”
Ripley turned to her father,
“Daddy, can I PLEASE go? I never get to leave the castle.
Please?”
The king thought for a moment,
“Alright. You may go. Please be careful but stay near the
guards.”
Ripley hugged her father again and led Joseph out of the
room. She talked to some of the soldiers then told Joe,
“We leave tomorrow morning. Tonight, you can sleep in my
brother’s old bedroom.”
It was getting late. Joe changed into silk pajamas one of the
maids had given him. As he was climbing into bed, he heard
a knock on the bedroom door. Ripley entered the room. She
looked around, taking in every last detail. She sat down on the
side of the bed. Joe asked,
“Are you sure your brother will be fine with me sleeping
here?”
He saw a tear trickle down her cheek. She quickly wiped it
away.
“Ripley, where is your brother?” She took a shaky breath.
“H-he is d-dead.” Ripley began to sob quietly into her hands.
Joe put his arms around her and comforted her like a mother
comforts her crying child. After about five minutes, Ripley sat up
and wiped her eyes.
“I was around 11 when he died. He was about 15. Edward
and his friends were playing by the creek. The current was strong
that day. I told them to be careful. But they didn’t listen. No one
listens to little kids. Edward and one of his friends were wrestling.
They both fell into the creek. The current pulled them under.
I ran to my father. People searched everywhere for them. Four
days later. We found their bodies. My mother died of a broken
heart soon after”
Ripley burst into tears again. Joseph, who never had siblings,
could not imagine losing a family member. He tried to feel her
pain, but couldn’t. He eventually calmed Ripley down.
“Well it’s late. I should be getting to bed. We have a big day
tomorrow,” Ripley said. Before Joe could say goodnight, she
kissed him. At that moment they both knew. They had found “the
one.” Ripley pulled away. They stared into each others eyes.
“Well goodnight,” she said and left the room.
Joe fell asleep with a smile on his face.
“Wake up! We are leaving soon!” Ripley’s voice drifted sweetly
through the air. Joe stretched. “Good morning,” he yawned.
He dressed and followed Ripley to the stables. Her long
auburn hair was tied back in a long ponytail. She was humming
a joyful tune.
“Our horses are waiting, we need to hurry.”
When they reached the horses, Joe took Ripley’s waist and
helped her onto the horse. He then mounted his. The horses
were elegant Clydesdales. Her horse neighed quietly, almost
Modern Grimmoire
purring.
“Edward. We’re going for a walk.”
Edward nudged her hand. They were talking, like old friends
would. Joe patted his horse’s head.
“I have no idea what your name is but you are a beautiful
horse.”
“That’s Joshua,” Ripley laughed.
Joe laughed too. He laughed because he made her laugh. She
turned and rode out of the stable, looking back every now and
then. Joe sat and thought.
“I think she likes me. I’m pretty sure. And I like her. A lot.”
“Hey, aren’t you coming??”
Ripley’s voiced snapped him back to reality. He followed her
out of the stables. She rode ahead to speak to the soldiers. Joshua
purred quietly and walked faster, trying to catch up. Joe caught
up in time to see something or someone grab Ripley off her horse
and into the bushes.
“RIPLEY,” Joe screamed!
He heard her scream, “Joe!
He jumped off of his horse and ran to the bushes. He saw
someone dragging her. Ripley was trying to scream but the hand
of her kidnapper covered her mouth. Tears were streaming down
her face. She turned and saw Joe. She kicked the kidnapper
and ran to him. He stretched out his hand, she took it. But the
kidnapper took her other hand. He threw a bag on the ground
and smoke went everywhere. He couldn’t see but held onto
Ripley’s hand. She was being pulled away. But he just followed
her. He was not going to lose her.
Black cloths were put over their eyes and their hands were
tied together once they smoke had cleared. They were thrown
into a cold, dark room. Ripley tried to get up and run, but a
noise told him that a fist in her stomach had stopped her. She
staggered to the corner of the room and fell to the floor. Her
breath came in short staggered sobs. A heavy door shut behind
them. Locking them in.
“Ripley,” Josh called out.
Ripley sobs became quieter then stopped.
“W-what?”
“Where are you??”
“Over here. Wherever that is.”
“Come over here. Follow my voice.”
She staggered to her feet and slowly walked to the other side
of the room. Once she found him she fell to the floor. Joseph
felt around in the darkness and found Ripley’s hands. He untied
her and sat quietly as she untied him. They took the blindfolds
off and stared around the dark, dull room. Joe glanced at Ripley
as she studied her surroundings. Tear tracks etched down her
dirty, pale face. Her cheeks and eyes were red and puffy from her
crying. Ripley turned and faced him. He could see the fear in her
tearful green eyes.
Joseph wanted to hug her tightly and comfort her, telling her
everything was going to be okay. But something held him back.
They stared at each other in silence for what felt like centuries.
Suddenly she pulled him into a hug, crying into his shoulder. He
comforted her, stroking her hair, rocking back and forth like a
mother and her child.
“I w-want to go home,” she whispered.
Ripley, exhausted, soon fell asleep curled up beside Joe. He
stared out the small barred window. The sun was setting and the
Student Anthology
80
room was flooded with a sickly mixture of orange and red.
“I really hope we get out of here,” he said to himself and fell
asleep.
Joe awoke to a loud burst of thunder. He glanced around the
room. Ripley was pacing back and forth, mumbling to herself in
the middle of the room.
“Ripley.”
She ignored him.
“Ripley!”
Still nothing.
“RIPLEY!”
She turned to him,
“What?”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes. I know how we are going to get out.”
“Really?”
“Ya, but don’t be mad about what I have to do.”
“Ripley, what do you mean?”
She bit her lip and walked to the corner of the room into the
shadows. She reappeared with a large piece of plywood. A small
tear trickled down her dirty, pale face.
“What’s your plan again?”
“Don’t worry. Just trust me.”
Joe nodded, aware of her plan. Ripley raised the plywood and
brought it down upon his head. Everything went black as he fell
to the floor.
“Help! Someone help. He’s unconscious!”
A guard appeared from around the corner,
“What are you blabbing about?”
“He won’t wake up. I think he’s hurt.”
“Move out of the way. I’m coming in to check on him.”
The door swung open and a hulking guard came in. He put a
hand to Joe’s chest. Ripley had to act fast. She lifted the plywood
she had kept in her hand and brought it down upon him. The
guard fell to the floor with a thud. She took his keys and dragged
him out of the room, into an empty room, locking him in.
Ripley ran back to Joe and shook him awake.
“We only have a few minutes before they send someone else
down here.”
“Ripley, I love you.”
She stopped dead, staring into Joe’s deep brown eyes. He
kissed her, trying to get all his emotions and feelings into the
wordless kiss. She must have understood.
“Josh, I love you too.”
There were footsteps coming from around the corner. Ripley
grabbed Joe’s hand and ran. The lightning outside flashed
violently, causing huge claps of thunder. Rain was slashing
through the barred windows, making puddles on the floor.
Ripley stopped and looked around. No guards in sight. They ran
through a long corridor. There was a door at the end. She slightly
cracked it open and looked outside.
Ripley walked out into the courtyard. Small shops and
produce carts were abandoned along the walls of the village.
“Where are all the people,” she muttered.
“Ripley, come on!”
They needed an escape plan, fast. Joe scanned the courtyard,
mostly useless carts and stands. But then he saw them, two
elegant horses directly across form them. He grabbed Ripley’s
81
hand and ran to the horses. He helped her mount one, and then
mounted the other. There was a gate at the end of the village.
If they could get there, they were free. Suddenly ten villagers
appeared behind them. Joe’s horse galloped towards the gates.
But Ripley stayed. She saw something in their faces. Sadness,
they didn’t want to be here.
Ripley dismounted her horse and walked towards an older
guard. She knew who it was. As she approached the man, the
others backed away, as if a giant hand was pushing them aside.
She held out a hand and he grasped it tightly. They stood there
silently for a few moments then hugged, laughing.
Joe turned around and saw that Ripley was no longer beside
him. Confused, he dismounted his horse and walked over to
Ripley. She looked over,
“Joe, this is Daniel. He was my teacher when I was little. I
haven’t seen him in years.”
She turned to Daniel, still talking to Josh,
“He disappeared right after my studies were done. We haven’t
heard from him since.”
Daniel spoke up,
“I was kidnapped. Towards the end of your studies, I was
approached by a man. He wanted me to work for him. I refused
but he did not give up, returning many times. One day he
appeared with three men. They forced me into a wagon and
dragged me here. We all were forced here. Every time we try to
escape, the guards appear and violently beat us.”
Tears formed in Daniel and Ripley’s eyes.
“Well,” Josh started, “we’re gonna get you guys out.”
The gates were unoccupied, easy escape. The villagers
mounted horses and moved towards the exit. An arrow shot
by their heads and pierced the wall in front of them. Dozens of
guards had appeared behind them, all armed with swords and
bows and arrows. The villagers grabbed their own weapons and
rode towards the guards.
“Go, Daniel screamed, “Get out of here. NOW!!”
Reluctantly, they rode through the gates and into the forest.
Ripley stopped feeling a sharp pinch in her stomach. An arrow
had pierced her.
“Joe,” she called out, and then fell to the ground.
Her horse galloped off into the woods. Joe jumped off of his
horse and sprinted to Ripley.
“It’s okay. You’re gonna be okay,” he whispered.
He gently picked her up and put her on his horse. He
mounted behind her and yanked at his horse’s reins. They
galloped quickly through the forest.
They arrived at a small village minutes later. He rode up to
and older man.
“What is the quickest way to the Eastern Kingdom?”
The man pointed to a path near the woods. Joe quickly rode
towards the kingdom. Ripley mumbled something, but it was too
distorted to understand.
“Almost there.”
He was right. The Eastern Castle was in view. They arrived
at the entrance of the castle. Joe carried Ripley into the castle
running towards the throne room. He burst into the room. The
king was in the middle of a meeting.
“Sir, Ripley’s hurt.”
The king jumped up, fear in his eyes.
Modern Grimmoire
Student Anthology
“Follow me.”
They ran through the corridors.
“Quickly, the infirmary is right here.”
They ran into the room. Three nurses appeared, with shocked
expressions. “Put her down right here,” one nurse pointed to a
bed. Joe gently laid her down, a single tear running down his
cheek. “She’ll be fine. You can come see her later.”
The nurses wheeled the bed into another room. Leaving Joe
and the King to sit and worry.
Joe sat down on a bench, head in his hands.
“This is all my fault,” he thought, “If I wouldn’t have shown
up, none of this would have happened. I’m so stupid.”
He must have known what Joe was thinking, because the king
sat down next to him.
“None of this is your fault. I know you were protecting her.
She really loves you. Did you know that? She wrote me this
letter.”
He handed Joe a neatly folded piece of paper.
It read, “Dear Daddy, I think I’m in love, with Joe. I KNOW
I’m in love with him. Every time I see him, my heart skips a beat.
His voice is comforting. And I feel safe in his arms. Of course I
haven’t told him any of this. Well I have to go. See you soon. Love,
RipleyJ”
He refolded the note and handed it back.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
Joe walked out to the garden, the garden where he first met
Ripley. Overwhelmed with emotions, he slumped against the
castle wall. Did he love Ripley? Of course, with all of his heart. He
suddenly came up with the perfect plan.
Running back into the castle, he smiled with excitement.
He whispered his plan into the king’s ear. Smiling, he nodded
in agreement. Joe wrote a short letter to his parents, telling
them that he was okay and telling them to come to the Eastern
Kingdom is one week.
A week later, The King and Queen of the Western Kingdom
had arrived and were staying in the castle. Also, Ripley was
allowed out if the infirmary. She was going to make a speech
tomorrow for the kingdom. That’s when Joe was going to go
through with his plan.
Ripley, Joe, and the kings and queen all entered the balcony
that over looked the town square. The entire kingdom was there,
waiting for the princess’ speech. Ripley stepped forward, took a
deep breath, and started,
“People of our lovely Eastern Kingdom, I went on a very
interesting and fun adventure this week. I also met one of
the nicest people I’ve ever met, Prince Joseph of the Western
Kingdom.”
Joe stepped forward,
“There’s something I need to say,” He said turning to Ripley,
“Over the past week I have realized something. I am absolutely
and madly in love with you. And,” he continued, getting down on
one knee. “I want to be with you, forever. Ripley, will you marry
me?”
Tears filled Ripley’s eyes.
“Yes I will,” she replied, hugging Joe.
The King turned to the people,
“A wedding is in order. And everyone is invited.”
Ripley took Joe’s hand and pulled him back into the castle.
“I love you,” she whispered.
Modern Grimmoire
“I know,” he whispered back.
She leaned forward and kissed her groom-to-be.
Two weeks later, it was the day of the wedding. Ripley wore
an elegant, mermaid style dress. Joe wore a sleek black tuxedo.
Beside them were their parents, proudly smiling at the beautiful
wedding they had planned. Just as they were saying their vows,
a large black smoke drifted in, blocking all sight. A wicked laugh
was heard.
“Well, well, well. What do we have here?”
People looked around frantically, searching for the source of
the chilling voice.
“If it isn’t my wonderful nephew Prince Joseph. Who is that
gal you got? She’s pretty. I’d be a shame if someone were to, oh I
don’t know, TAKE HER.”
It was Joe’s evil uncle. “Stay away from her!!”
He heard Ripley cried out in pain. “Ripley, where are you?!”
“Joe! Help!!”
She felt someone tightly grasped her arm and pull her. A sack
was placed over her head.
After the smoke cleared, Joe searched desperately for Ripley.
He began to panic. “HE TOOK HER,” he screamed.
His parents tried to stop him as he ran out of the church.
But their efforts were useless. Joe ran and ran and ran. He didn’t
know where they had gone. He ran into the woods, searching
for any sign of them. A muffled scream caught his attention. He
turned to see Ripley, once again, being dragged off.
As Joseph ran towards the attacker, he withdrew his sword.
“Ripley, I’ll save you!”
“I don’t think so.”
The sorcerer took out a small dagger and held it up to Ripley’s
neck. With his other hand, he took the bag off her head.
“I want you to be able to look at your love as I take her life.”
“NO!!” Joseph ran at his uncle, his sword piercing into the
wicked man’s chest. As he took his last breath, he smiled. Ripley
gasped as the dagger stabbed her back.
Joe grabbed Ripley and ran back towards the castle. Ripley
reached up and touched his face.
“Joe, I love you. It’s going to be okay, don’t worry,” she
whispered.
“I love you.” Joseph burst into the infirmary and was
immediately surrounded by nurses. He found himself pacing in
the same waiting room he had a few weeks earlier. Ripley slowly
emerged into the room with the assistance of two nurses.
He ran and hugged her, quickly retracting when she winced in
pain. “Sorry.”
“Hey,” she smiled, “we still have a wedding to finish.”
Joe’s mother approached her.
“Oh honey, I’m so glad you’re okay! But look at your poor
dress.”
The bottom of dress was torn and dirty, while the back was
covered in blood.
“It’s just a dress,” she laughed.
The wedding continued, after her dress was replaced. The
kingdoms were united as one. Years later, Joseph and Ripley had
two children, Eleanor and Michael. They eventually took the
throne and ruled wonderfully over their beautiful kingdom. And
they all lived HAPPILY EVER AFTER.
Student Anthology
82
Aster
by mary visco, grade 6, jackson memorial middle school, teacher: mrs. peters
O
hhhhhhhhhhh!” screamed Queen Talia as she ran to get
her daughter, Princess Aster. The queen had just received
the most exciting news! Aster was selected to be the host
of the kingdom’s annual “Spring Banquet”. The Stonewater Kingdom spring banquet was the opportunity of a lifetime.One princess
was randomly selected to plan and prepare for the national spring
banquet where everyone in all the kingdoms came to celebrate the
coming of spring. It was a lot of work and a big responsibility for a
young girl to host. Most girls would consider it the biggest event in
their lifetimes.
“Aster!” continued the queen as she finally found her
daughter. “You won’t believe what kind of news I have for you!”
“What, did the new shoes you ordered come?” asked Aster,
staring out the window feeling as bored as ever.
“I know new shoes are very exciting dear,” answered Queen
Talia, hinting the sarcasm in Aster’s voice.
“Huhh.” sighed Aster as she tried to block out her mother’s
words.
“But, I thought you might like to know you’ve been selected
to host this year’s Spring Banquet,” finished Queen Talia, hoping
her daughter would be even more excited than she was about it.
“What again?” asked Aster as she began to yawn.
“The spring banquet, you know, you get to host the
banquet?”said Aster’s worried mother, hoping she had just
misheard her.
“Oh. Okay.” Aster replied, leaving the room with her nose in
a book. “Wow, what an honor,” Talia stared at her daughter and
called for her maids.
“Kannitha! Bethanne!” she started. “Somethings’ wrong
with Aster! Come quick!” The maids hurried into the room and
kneeled in front of the queen.
“Get up girls!” Talia ordered. “Go find Aster,now!”
“Ye..Yes ma’am!” replied Kannitha and Bethanne. The maids
hurried into the princess’s room. Aster was sitting on the bench
by her window and sighed at the beauty beyond her room.
“Aster! Aster!” screamed Bethanne as she rushed to Aster’s
side.
“What’s the matter? Are you okay?!” questioned Kannitha as
she kneeled by the bench and waited for Aster to reply.
“What?” exclaimed Aster,very confused. “I’m fine! Are you
sure you guys are okay? You look exhausted!”
“Huhh?” asked Kannitha.
“Queen Talia told us there was something wrong with you.”
83
stated Bethanne as she checked Aster for a fever.
“I wonder why,” sighed Aster.
Aster was locked in her room and guarded day and night.
“It’s very important for the princess to be protected when
she’s about to become the host for the banquet.” said her mother
before locking the doors and saying good night.
“Mom!”whined Aster as she tried to talk to her. “I don’t need
to be watched or guarded. I’m not doing the banquet!”
“Emmalyn Aster Powell, are you not excited for the
banquet?”asked Queen Talia.
“No, and I never am for anything you have me host! You pick
what I eat, what I wear, where I go, and now my life! When will I
get to do what I want?” shouted Aster as she slammed and locked
her own door, furious with rage.
“What has this girl gotten into to?” thought Talia to herself as
she walked down the stairs.
Aster looked out her window with tears on face, watching her
sisters, Rebecca, Dahlia and Lillian, and brother, Chase, playing
outside as the sun set. “Why doesn’t she go protect them,”
thought Aster as she drifted to sleep.
In the middle of the night, Aster awoke with a plan. She was
going to journey far beyond her castle to find a place where she
could be free. She looked out the window and saw someone had
left a ladder outside, next to her window. She opened the window
and carefully started to climb down the ladder. She dropped
to the ground and hesitated before starting to walk away from
castle.
“Creak! Creak!” went the cold and mysterious wind hitting the
shutters as Aster walked by.
“Plop! Plat! Plop!” went the small drops of rain as they
splashed into a puddle one by one.
“Whooo! Whooo!” went an owl as it flew by the moon, around
the trees, and landed on ashort and stubby tree next to her.
“Ahh!” screamed Aster as she stared at the owl. It hopped off
the branch and flew towards Aster, looking up at her.
“Princess Emmalyn, may I accompany you on your journey?”
asked the owl as he waited for Aster to scream and start asking
him questions. Sure enough, Aster screamed and the owl started
to answer her questions.
“Who are you? Why can you talk? How do you know who I am
and about my journey? questioned Aster.
“I am Gilden the magical messenger owl. I see and know
all,”said Gilden as if he had heard this question millions of times.
Modern Grimmoire
Student Anthology
“Umm..” replied Aster.
“Let’s start, shall we?” asked Gilden as if meeting a princess
and accompanying her was a normal thing to do. The two
started their journey and set off into the night. Aster mounted
her horse. She felt a little uncomfortable with a magical owl on
her shoulder. Aster rode her horse, Star, a little slower than usual
until Star tugged to go faster.
When it became morning, the three stopped to rest. While
Gilden had a conversation with Star, Aster sat under a tree and
calmed herself down. She looked at the sky and watched as the
clouds moved slow and slower.
“Neigh!” went Star as Gilden started to laugh.
“Wow!”said Gilden,amazed by Star’s story.
“Whoosh! Whoosh! went the wind as they hopped back on
Star and continued.
Later the three walked through the woods until it became
very dark out. They were hungry, cold, and needed a place to
sleep. They walked and walked until they reached a little house
in the middle of the woods.They knocked on the door and
nobody answered. They knocked on it again and again but the
result was the same. Finally, Aster opened the door and tied the
horses to some trees. “Creak!” went the door as Aster walked
inside. She looked around for a candle,but none was found. They
left the creepy house in disappointment and were about to turn
around when:
“Hello dearie! You must come in. I am looking for some
company and I know you are needing a place to stay,” said a
voice coming from the house. An old lady walked onto her porch
and squinted to see us. She had thin blonde hair and was a very
small lady. She wore glasses, a giant hat, and a large brown coat
that was much too big for her. They started to walk towards the
house and Dahlia tied the horses to the trees like before and
Gilden flew up to a tree to sleep.
“Don’t be shy dearie!”she said in her high voice. “Come right
on in, and make yourself cozy!”
“Thank you so much,”said Aster
“Oh,no problem dearies,” said the little lady as Aster followed
her into the now lit house.
“Ruuf! Rooo!” screeched a shaggy brown dog.
“Hi, my name is Aster,” she said, trying to get the lady’s name.
“Ohh! My name is Witch Melinda. Would you like some grilled
cheese or soup?” replied Melinda.
“You’re a witch?” questioned Aster.
“Why yes I am!” exclaimed Melinda as she went back to
making soup and grilled cheese for them.
“Cool! you must shows me your magic!” stated Aster
“Maybe later dearie, here’s your supper!” she replied. They
talked and ate until it was almost nine pm.
“My, it’s late,” said Melinda as she cleared the table. “I should
show y’all where you will be sleeping.”
“You are so much nicer than the witches in stories I’ve read.”
said Aster as Melinda showed her a nice bed next to the fire. After
Aster went to bed, Melinda sat by the fire and began to cry.
“Why are you crying?” asked Aster to Melinda as she came by
her side.
“Oh, I was just remembering my son, Jones. He left home
Modern Grimmoire
and said he didn’t need me any more last year and I haven’t seen
him since. If I could just see him once more,” she answered and
started to cry some more.
“It’s okay,” said Aster, trying to comfort Melinda. “I’m sorry,”
Aster began to realize how much she missed her own home.
The next morning she woke up to the sound of chirping.
She hopped out of the bed and ran outside. Gilden was perched
outside in his nest he had built. “I’d like you to meet my children,
Gilda, Lola, and Greg,” said Geldin as Aster “awed” at the owlets.
“No Gilda, don’t cry, Daddy was only trying to help you,” said
Gilden as he moved Gilda to the middle of the nest. Aster thought
to herself.
“Melinda, Gildin and the owlets had reminded me how much
I was loved, cared and worried for,”she started.
“And how much our mother loved and must miss me, I never
should have left,”sobbed Aster as she ran back inside.
“I’m sorry Miss Melinda, but I have to go now, thanks for
everything!” exclaimed Dahlia as she wiped her eyes.
“No problem. How ‘bout I just flash you home? I am a witch,”
she replied.
“Thanks so much!” said the princess while Melinda, with a
whip of her wand, flashed Aster, Gilden and all the owlets to the
castle. When they got home, Aster kissed Gilden on the head and
thanked him.
“I’ll miss you,”cried Aster.
“Don’t worry, I’ll always be around, just call for me,”
Whispered Gilden as he disappeared. Aster ran into the castle
and ran to her mom.
“I missed you so much!” sobbed Queen Talia as she hugged
Aster tight.
“I’m so sorry,” whispered Aster as she let go.
“I know you were just trying to do what’s best for me.” said
Aster.
“And I am excited for the banquet.” she replied. “I think it will
be really fun!”
“You know that I’ll be there to help you, don’t you?” said the
Queen to her daughter. Aster smiled with relief and hugged her
mother. So the princess had her adventure, made new friends,
but most importantly, learned the most important lesson of all,
that love is a strength that only gets stronger and stronger with
every lesson.
Student Anthology
The End
84
The Peril of the Kind Monkey
by mitchell walker, grade 9, jackson school for the arts, teacher: mrs. snow
D
eep in the jungle, there once lived a
beautiful kind monkey who had kind
friends and lived in a kind community.
However, there was an exception to the compassion
of the population. Rumors claimed that there was a
mean, old, and ugly macaw who brewed potions in
her caldron and raised humans that could talk and
aided her in her evil experiments. Although these
familiars were said to run freely at night and terrorize the animals, sightings of them seldom occurred.
Since all of the animals feared her evil, none of
them ventured near her cave.
As the kind monkey did every morning, she scavenged
for the day’s food. However, once day when she was
searching, a wild human suddenly appeared.
“Hello there stranger,” it said in a raspy voice. Having
fear of the freak of nature, the kind monkey frantically
called for her attractive friend, Oscar the monkey.
“Oscar! Oscar” she called. As the familiar approached
to drag her into the witch macaw’s clutches, Oscar the
monkey appeared and assisted her in disabling the
human. However, the human was just too strong and
escaped with the kind monkey.
“Fear not,” called Oscar as the kind monkey was taken
away. “I’ll be there to rescue you soon!” Hoping he was
correct, Oscar guessed that the kind monkey was taken to
the macaw’s lair.
After what seemed like hours to her, the kind monkey
finally met the evil macaw.
“Hello my sweet,” the macaw greeted in a spooky tone.
“We meet at last.”
That night---the first night of her imprisonment--the kind monkey slept fitfully because of her fear of her
situation; however, she was confident that Oscar would
rescue her. On the other side of the jungle, Oscar was
planning his rescue operation. He would sneak into the
cave without rousing the macaw, find the kind monkey,
and stealthily leave.
85
The macaw, however, had just made a new switching
potion and needed a subject on whom to experiment.
In order to keep her subject, the kind monkey, and
experiment at the same time, she planned to switch
herself with the monkey so Oscar would think that the
macaw was the kind monkey and the kind monkey was
the macaw. In her plan, she would be smuggled into the
jungle city, disguised as the kind monkey and be able to
poison the community with mind-control potion.
On the second night, the macaw began using the
switching potion on herself and on the kind monkey. At
the same time, Oscar planned to implement his rescue.
Before he left, though, a friend of his lent him a special
mirror that showed beings as they were morally, not how
they physically appeared. In this mirror, the kind monkey
and rest of the community would appear as smiling and
welcoming while an evil person would appear with a
frown and an angry facial expression. In addition, if one
looked into the mirror with another person, the mirror
could predict their future relationship together.
When Oscar found the cave and went to the kind
monkey’s chamber, he found her sleeping. Since Oscar
had an interest in possibly marrying her after he rescued
her, he looked at himself and at the macaw, disguised as
the kind monkey, in the mirror. Although he hoped to see
a happy and smiling couple that would suggest a happy
relationship, he instead saw himself with a disgusted
expression next to an ugly bird. Realizing what must be
happening he looked in the macaw’s chamber and found
the kind monkey, disguised as the macaw, in a grand bed.
Repeating the mirror test to see how their relationship
would be in the future, he found that the “macaw” was
really the kind monkey with a potion applied and he and
the kind monkey would be happy if they married. Instead
of just taking the kind monkey back, the took the macaw,
too, so that the animals of the jungle could punish her.
Later, Oscar and the kind monkey married and the
community decided to punish the macaw with permanent
imprisonment. Oscar and the kind monkey lived the rest
of their days happily and without fear.
Modern Grimmoire
Student Anthology
The Little Woodland Creature
by samantha weaver, grade 8, lehman middle school, teacher: mrs. zutali
Be Yourself Award
O
nce upon a time, there was a little woodland creature
named Sal. He was such a mess. Everywhere he went
he made a mes. When he went to Sally Seahorse’s
house, he broke her new lamp. Sally was very mad at him.
She said, “Sal, leave my house this minute.” Sal was very polite and tried not to cry. He offered to buy another lamp for her.
Sally just refused and asked again for him to leave.
“Everywhere I go I make messes and break things.” Sal said to
himself, “I have no friends because I have broken everything.”
He wasn’t allowed in the Brown Coat Closet. He had broken
the shop’s door and spilled the coffee that Cindy the owner had
given him. He was allowed to come in, but only when Cindy was
watching him. And the last time he was inside, he spilled the
customers’ complimentary coffee on the dresses. This time the
ants, coffee ants, came and ate the dresses. Coffee was the ants’
favorite drink. The more they ate coffee, the antsier they became.
They began to jump and stomp on the precious items.
But that was a long time ago and Sal had not been allowed
back inside. It made Sal sad that he couldn’t go back inside. His
old friends go there all the time.
“I wonder if they ever think of me,” thought Sal.
Since it was almost summer time, he got to play in the river
near the banks. The banks of the river are where the best sunrises
and sunsets are. It’s always so bright. One day though, a surprise
happened to Sal.
While Sal was watching the fish swim by banks, a stranger
stumbled up to him. And by stumbled, really stumbled. He fell in
front of Sal. It was a large green... thing.
“I’m so sorry”, said the thing.
“It’s okay.” said Sal. “I don’t mean to be rude, but what are
you?” The green thing looked at him and said, “I’m an ogre.”
For the next hour, they talked about the river and how the
beavers were doing a great job at the dam. The ogre’s name was
Greg. They talked about how they had been rejected by the fellow
villagers.
“Animals are always laughing at me because of my green skin
and my huge feet.” said Greg. “Animals make fun of me too because of my feet!” Exclaimed
Sal.
Sal was surprised that other beings were made fun by the villagers because of their huge feet.
“Wow, I can›t believe I’m not the only one who gets made fun
of by his villagers, thought Sal.”
Modern Grimmoire
“Have you ever seen a sunset by the river.” “No, but I have heard about how beautiful they were.”
“Oh, well if you stay long enough you might be able to see it
with me.”
“I would love too!” Exclaimed Greg.
The more they talked, the less lonely it seemed. When the sun
was slowly going down, they stopped talking to enjoy the beautiful scenery. “Wow!” Greg said in awe. “It really is beautiful.” Said Sal.
For the past two months since they had met each other they
have been planning to help other people that it›s okay to be
yourself. They had been called mean names by the villagers and
they wanted it to stop so everyone feels respected. They were
only planning on doing something small like a party but as soon
as they started telling people about it, they got sponsors. Some
people really wanted to help, others just wanted to get their
name out there. Two villages were helping to get the word spread
that mean is not cool; it hurts everyone. They can›t help that they
were born that way.
The next thing for the best friends was to get posters for
the rally. Greg and Sal had been setting up all day for the rally.
The mayor was coming and so was the whole village. Greg and
Sal had been thinking about why they got labeled as outsiders
because of their feet. They wanted to organize a rally for people
who are ‹outsiders› to the other villagers. They wanted people to
see that being weird is a good thing, it expresses that you aren’t
afraid of being yourself.
Some of the sponsors had said that they had been called
mean names because of the things they invented. But some of
the things they invented were actually useful. Of course, there
are some things that couldn›t be used. One of those people was
Thomas Furrison who had invented a device that helped people
see at night. His device called the lighting bugs to the place
where the person was to help guide them. It was really useful to
many people, since most people got lost easily.
It really was turned out to be a big event for villagers. They
were supportive of this because it made them feel happy and
free to be different. Sal and Greg really made a difference in the
animals’ lives. Sometimes the most unlikely individuals become
friends during the time they need help most.
Student Anthology
The End
86
Her Fatal Touch
by shannon weirtz, grade 9, jackson school for the arts, teacher: mrs. snow
O
nce upon a time, there were a king and queen who
ruled a far away land. They were very selfish monarchs
and were cruel towards others. There was still hope for
a better ruler, though, for the queen was with child with a baby
girl--a princess who would one day become the next queen.
One dark, stormy night, an ugly old hag knocked on the large
wooden doors of the castle. “Please,” she pleaded to the king and
queen, “I’ve been traveling for a long time and as you see it is a
cold stormy night. Could you please give me a place to stay?”
The king shouted, “Get away, you old witch! You are not
welcome here!” The queen simply looked at the old woman in
disgust.
“Please, I beg ou! It’s just one night! I won’t cause any trouble,”
the witch begged one last time.
“This is no place for you! Now off with you before I have my
guards burn you at the stake!” roared the king.
The witch threw off her black robe and her gay hair turned to
golden silk, her wrinkly skin turned to smooth porcelain, and she
became a beautiful maiden. The king and queen were astonished
and gasped with fear.
“Your selfishness is a disgrace!” boomed the witch. “Your
kingdom does not deserve to survive. Because of your cruelty,
you will be cursed! That child,” the witch pointed at the queen’s
pregnant belly, “that grows within you will pay for your sins! Her
touch shall be fatal to anyone she dares to lay a finger on. Your
little princess will never be able to feel the touch of another life.
She will be the last of your family and you will never rule again.
Unless,” the witch said, and the king and queen looked at her
with hope, “you can find the one who is immune to her touch.
The one who lives at her hand will be her destiny and only he can
break this curse!” and with that, the witch was gone.
Only a few months later, the princess was born. At first, the
king and queen ever very careful and anyone who was around
the princess covered their hands. But the one, when the princess
was eight-years-old, one of the servants forgot to cover her hands
when she touched the princess, and she immediately fell dead
to the floor. The king and queen were devastated. The princess
would be a danger, a hazard to anyone she came in contact with.
And so a hard decision was made. The king and queen sent their
daughter to a secluded tower, guarded by three soldiers. The
king and queen visited their daughter often, of course, but the
princess was still lonely, and the soldiers were no company at all.
“How,” the princess wondered in frustration, “am I to ever find
the one who will break my curse, if I never see a soul beyond this
87
prison?”
On this princess’s fifteenth birthday, the king and queen
decided it would be time to look for the destined individual. The
princess was brought back to the palace, and one by one the
bravest men came to see if they were the one who was immune
to the princess. One by one she touched each, and one by one
each fell to the floor, dead.
The princess was horrified and she decided from that day on
that she would never touch anyone again. She refused to keep
looking for the destined one, and though the king and queen
were upset by this, they accepted their fate and hers.
Three years passed and at this time a new guard was needed.
A young, handsome soldier who knew nothing of the princess’s
curse, was assigned to this position. That night, the princess’s
dinner was delivered, and the new guard brought it up to her.
“Princess,” he said, knocking on her door, “your supper is here.
Would you like it now, or shall I leave it?” There was no answer.
“Princess?” Again there was no answer.
The soldier slowly opened the door and gasped at the sight
he saw. The Princess Lay asleep in a dirty tattered dress on a
small bed. But that was not what surprised him. Her beauty was
astonishing. Her hair was as black as a raven’s wing, which curled
into ringlets around her face. Her skin was a lovely alabaster with
lips rosy and pink and slightly flushed cheeks. She was truly a
sight to see.
He went over to her, pulled the blanket over her, and tucked a
loose curl behind her ear. Her bright blue eyes fluttered open and
her face took on a look of shock and fear. She sat straight up and
brought her knees to her chest. “Who are you?” she asked with
wide eyes.
“I’m sorry I startled you, princess. I was just bringing up
your supper for you. I didn’t mean to--” “You touched me!” the
princess shouted in surprise. “How can you touch me?!” When
the soldier looked confused, she told him of her curse. “You are
the destined one! You have broken my curse!”
The soldier and the princess rode off to the palace to tell the
king and queen good news. They were overwhelmed with joy
and, after eighteen years, they finally hugged their daughter. The
soldier married the princess and several years later they became
the rulers of the kingdom. This time, they did it justly and with
compassion. And they lived happily ever after.
Modern Grimmoire
Student Anthology
The Key to Her Heart
by amanda wise, grade 11, lake high school, teacher: mr. wise
I
grew up on a small farmland with my mother only,
and I was the one who did all of the work around my
home. My poor father died last month of a great sickness that only comes around once a year, the flu.
In the winter time, where the snow lied deeply, covering the ground, I was beckoned to go out, and fetch wood.
When I had cut enough wood, and packed it, I wished,
as I was so freezing with cold, not to go home at once,
but to light a fire and warm myself. So I scraped away the
snow, and as I was clearing the snow from the cold frozen
ground, found an iron chest. On top of this iron chest was
a golden key on a golden chain.
“If this small key fits,” I thought; “No doubt there may
be valuable items in this chest.” I searched, but no keyhole
was there. At last I discovered one, but it was so small
that it was hardly visible to the eye. I tried it and the key
perfectly fit. Then I turned it once around, and unlocked
it, opening the iron lid.
In the iron chest was a wooden box. Picking it up, I
saw that there was a carving of heart with a dagger going
through it. Then suddenly, I felt a beating from inside. It
can’t be.
Opening the lid to the wooden box was something
predictable, but most horrible of all the sights in the world!
There, as it lied was a cold beating lively heart. It glowed
lightly red, and its beats hummed in my ears. Making a
sweet melody, I hummed along, not realizing what I was
doing. The melody was so precious, and sweet, almost like
hearing a young maiden singing.
“Why do I hum with this…heart?” I spoke unsurely.
“Why is there a heart in here?” As I questioned myself, I
heard a noise from a far off distance, and quickly looked
to see what it could be. Noticing that it was black soldier, I
hurriedly closed the box with the heart in it, taking the box
with me as I ran, because the heart was too contagious for
me, I had to bring it. With the logs on my shoulder, they
were slowing me down from my fast pace.
“Halt!” I heard the soldier shout. “Come back with that
box, in the name of the Queen!”
I ran even faster now, jumping over a fallen tree, and
Modern Grimmoire
trotting in high grown grass. Feeling the snow soak into my
boots, my hands frozen hurt with pain as I moved them,
my face chilled with frost, and my breathing was deep for
as I gasped for air. As I looked back, I saw the soldier no
more, but then as I turned back, I fell over a small man.
“Hey! What is the matter of running over a poor dwarf
like me? Let me tell you sir that I am not the dwarf to be
messed with!” He stood up, and when I was on my feet
again I noticed that he came up to my hip.
“Pardon me sir, for I was running from the Queen’s
soldier.” I apologized. Looking back again, no soldier was
there, but the foot prints I left behind in the snow.
“Soldier or no soldier my trippy friend, watch where
you’re going next time!”
“Alright, you grumpy, short minded buffoon. I said I
was sorry, and how hard is it to understand where I am
coming from here?” I replied.
“Oh, like I never heard that one before! My name is
Grumpy, so come up with something better.” He folded his
small stubby arms across his chest, and looked up at me
with a smirk.
I looked back at him with surprise, but then turned
around to hear footsteps coming closer to us. There
among me were six other little dwarfs, just like Grumpy,
with stubby little arms and legs. They wore stocking hats,
patched clothing in different colors, and wet boots.
“Who are you?” asked one of the dwarfs, who actually
had glasses.
“My name is James.” I answered him. “Who are you?”
“I am Doc, and the rest of us are brothers. This is
Sleepy, Sneezy, Bashful, Happy, Dopy, and Grumpy who
I assume you have met.” He said kindly as he pointed to
each dwarf, and I was astonished for what mother would
name their child these names?
“Well, it is a pleasure.” I said to them, and they all nodded their heads.
“Yes, it was a pleasure. Now scram!” Grumpy spoke
from behind me.
“Grumpy! Let the boy stay, he looks chilled to the
bone.” Happy said with a sad look upon me.
Student Anthology
88
“Yes. He could meet Snow.” Bashful silently whispered.
“That’s right! She is making us dinner as we speak.” He
thought for few seconds, and turned towards his brothers. “Let’s go men! We have to clean up, or no super!” They
all started to run to a cottage that wasn’t too far away
from where we were. I stood there for a second, trying to
capture everything that has happened so far, and started
to walk after.
As I walked into the small little cottage, I heard gasps,
harsh voices, and unpleasant language. I looked near a
table where the dwarfs crowded, seeing a beautiful young
girl with red blood lips, white as now skin, and glowing
golden brown eyes. However, next to her was the Queen
herself, with a wicked grin, piecing black eyes, and mocking laugh.
“There is my heart.” She laughed, and stood up. “Young
man, if you will please. Hand over the wooden box.”
I started to move forward as if I was in a trance, hearing
the thumping of the heart in my head, and only focusing
on the Queen herself.
“No!” cried Snow. “Don’t do it! Please!” As if by command, the dwarfs started to gather around me, ready to
fight.
I stopped, unsure of what to do, and I stared at each
person in the room. “To whom does this heart belong to,
why was it kept away from you?”
“To take away my freedom, from Rumplestiltskin himself, so that Snow White may have her freedom from me.”
She said coldly, and looked at me with a hatred expression.
“Now hand me the box.”
I looked at Snow White, her eyes seemed to be telling
the truth more, than the Queen speaking of this nonsense.
The dwarfs came a bit closer, eyeing the wooden box in
my hands, and were ready to snatch it when I showed my
least bit of attention to it. If they are wanting such a heart,
do they wish to destroy it, or do they plan to give it to her?
“No.” I replied, opening the box, and staring down at
the heart as I picked it up.
“What are doing? Stop! I command you!” She
screeched, and started to run forward. While she made
her way, I made a tight grip over the heart, and started to
squeeze it. She stopped, clutching her chest where her
heart was, and kneeled down to the floor.
The heart started to turn into dust, and so did the
Queen. I remember how she looked in pain, choking in
agony, and her eyes looked as if they were being pushed
89
out of her head. Saying no word, only small crying noises,
aching from her throat, and was more disturbing than a
bloody scream.
Once she was gone, I looked at Snow White, smiling
and she ran over to me. Kissing me upon my lips, and she
embraced me tightly. Pulling back, and smiling heavenly.
“Thank you. You have done my job for me.” She
stepped back, and a thick puff of purple smoke rose up
out of nowhere, revealing the person I hated, the one who
caused misery, and the one I thought I just killed. “Without you falling for the trap of retrieving the box for me,
and bring it here as my soldier chased you, I believe none
of this would’ve happened.”
Her laugh was mocking me, as well for the dwarfs,
where they crowded around poor Snow White. They had
tears down their faces, and anger in their eyes, with broken hearts.
“One Princess down, and many more to go.”
Modern Grimmoire
Student Anthology
Frog Prince
by emily wolfe, grade 11, malvern high school, teacher: mrs. rossetti
Dutiful Princess Award
The End
www.IndigoInkPress.org

Modern Grimm Student Anthology

Transcription

Similar documents

Snow W hite with the Red Hair

European Union Film Festival - Canadian Friends of Finland

Pink Princess Escallonia

Which MY LITTLE PONY friends are on your wish list?

Calamagrostis x brachytricha

Make It Easy! - New Castle Town

ISTANBUL MEDIPOL UNIVERSITY Course Learning Outcomes of