The Darkness of the Night (29 August 2008)

One rainy, moonless, autumn night, I heard the sound of a bare tree branch scratching my window. The swift sound of the chilly wind kept me awake on my bed, wondering what the darkness of the night held. All of a sudden, a wild rattle of leaves broke the silence. In my curiosity I got out of my bed, making a creak at the same time. As I walked down the creaky steps to the door, a sudden screech caught my attention and I eyed everything with caution.

With every step nearing the door, I felt a chill run up my spine and my hair stood on ends. As I reached for the door knob, the freeze of the cold metal chilled my veins. I turned the door knob, the door creaked open and I felt the cold wind rush past my face to fill the void. Just when the door was half open I heard the rattle of leaves again but saw nothing.

When the door was finally open, I saw the tree that kept me awake. When I heard the rattle I turned and again saw nothing, but as I turned my attention to the tree house a dark figure rushed passed the small cabin's window.

Instead of running, I walked towards it, partly out of curiosity and partly for the need of conquering my fear. As I walked up the old twisted steps, I was starting to regret my decision. Suddenly, a soft sharp howl made me want to turn back but when I opened the tree house door whatever that was in there was gone without a trace, was it my imagination? I asked myself. As I was looking around the tree house I saw something glitter in the shimmering light. I bent over to pick it up, and in a few moments under the dimming starlight, I found out it was a piece of silver, maybe it wasn't my imagination after all.

When I got back into my room, the bare tree branch was still hitting my window, and the cool wind still so soft and swift. I looked down at the piece of silver in my hand and after a few moments, I lied down and went to sleep. The next morning, I took the piece of silver and stuck a string into it to make a necklace, and ever since I remembered that mysterious autumn night.

A Small Poem: The Cat and the Mouse (12 September 2008)

In alert the mouse runs,

In a hurry but still having fun.

In through a mouse hole and out through the door,

The cat chases it up to the second floor.

Under big tables and over peoples waste,

The cat has its claws out, ready for a taste.

The mouse sees freedom across the road in a clean green patch.

The mouse passes the cars, and the cat unable to get his catch.

Written by Zechariah Tan

Definition Essay: What is Courage? (22 August 2008)

"Courage is knowing that you are afraid and still go on" quotes from Dan Rather.

Courage is not a title or something you are called when you kill a giant or do something impossible, it can be an everyday thing. Courage can be shown when you raise your hand in school to ask a question or help someone who got bullied, even admitting that you fart or belch is being courageous.

The denotation or dictionary meaning of 'courage' is the ability to disregard fear.

I think that a real test of courage is in our every day lives, admitting you did wrong is being courageous. Example of this is when you confess to your mother that you did not do your home work. Another situation is when you try a question you do not know; this to me is considered courageous.

One of the most courageous acts is being yourself and enduring peer pressure. Being able to endure peer pressure and be different from others is what most teens are not able to do. But those who did it, they are one of the most courageous people of all.

The ability to speak our mind and to chase our dream is being courageous and standing up for our belief is courageous, too. Being courageous is to dare to take the tougher but right way and to dare to take responsibility even though things go wrong.

Finally to sum it all, being courageous to me, means to be yourself, take the challenge and to take up responsibility. I end off this essay with this quote,

"Courage is not defined by those who fought and did not fall, but by those who fought, fell and rose again" quotes written by someone unknown.

Puppet Script: I WAS FRAMED!! (30 July 2008)

News Music
News reporter says:	This is John Taylor reporting in Pupetia, the scene for the murder of the two little pigs. Now let's go live to the court house to hear the wolf's defense.
Judge:	Wolf! Make your final defense!
The wolf:	Well your honor, my final words is just my story… (change scene)
Change of scene	In a village called FARFAR away
Wolfy	Oh noooooooo! (sniffle) I'm out of sugar!(sniffle) How am I going to bake a cake for my granny!(sneezes) I hope my three little pig neighbor has a few cups of sugar or I'm doomed. I promised her a cake!(sneezes) I hope my cold holds back while I ask for sugar.
Change scene:	First pig's house.
Wolfy:	(wolf walks to first pig's house)(Wolf knocks on door) Little pig, may I have a cup of sugar? (sniffles)
First little pig:	Go away!
Wolf:	May I just have a…ah…ahchuuuuuuu! Oh no! His house was made of straw! (Gasps) little pig! (Tugs little pig) are you dead? Hmm… no answer. Well he looks like a good piece of ham, my favorite (wolf eats pig). I still don't have that cup of sugar. Let's see if his brother has sugar. (sniffles)
Change scene:	Second pig's house.
Wolf:	(Wolf knocks on door) Little pig, may I have a cup of sugar? (sniffles)
Second pig:	Go away I am shaving!
Wolf:	Pleaseeee, I have a cold and I felt a big sneeze coming ah…ah…chuuuuuuu!!!!! Noooooooo! Even if his house is made of sticks I can still sneeze it away! Sniffles (gasps) little pig! Oh no, not again. Little pig please wake up!? Again no answer, well this hurts me more than it hurt you (wolf eats pig).I still have no sugar. One last chance to get that cup of sugar. I'll go see the two pigs last brother, Pigthree.(sniffles)
Wolf:	(wolf walks to Pigthree's house)(Wolf knocks on door) Little pig, may I have a cup of sugar to bake a cake for my granny? (sniffles)
Pigthree(third pig)	Nooooo! (crying and weeping) I saw how you blowed away my two younger brothers house and ate them up, your granny can sit in the mouth of an alligator.
Wolf:	I can expla…did you say something bad of my grandmaaaa!(clenches teeth)
Pigthree:	Yeah! She can sit in an alligator mouth.
Wolf:	I'll have you know my grandmother wrestles alligators! You're a very selfish and rude pig!!! (sniffles)
	Huff puff (gets ready to blow)
Pigthree:	Hey!!! Don't you try to blow this house down!!!(background siren)
Police officer:	Ok wolf time to go to jail!
Wolf:	Huh!? What for!?
Police officer:	Well let's see, we found your paw prints at two, totally destroyed, house, and most importantly you ate two pigs and you insulted the pig and tried to blow down the house.
Wolf:	I can explain(interrupts)
Police officer:	Uupupup! Tell it to the judge (walks away)(hand cuffs wolf)(drags wolf to car).
Change scene:	Court house
Wolf:	So you see your honor, I blew away the two houses because I sneezed so hard. I ate the two pigs because they were already dead, and I insulted Pigthree because he insulted me.
Judge:	(Claps) very good, you are free to go.
Wolf:	Thank you your honor. And just for your information it was the news reporter that made me the big bad wolf!
John Taylor:	Oh no oh this is John Taylor signing off for the last time.
Wolf:	There you are! (wolf tackles John)
Close:	The end(scene close)

Speech: About Alexander the Great (14 July 2008)

We all call Alexander "Alexander the Great", but why is he so great?

The great Alexander was born in the year 356bc, three years into his father king Phillip's reign. Alexander's parents were king Phillip the second of Macedon and Olympias Epirus .Alexander was just a child when he saw some older people were trying to tame a wild horse. Alexander noticed that the horse was afraid of his own shadow. Alexander then turned the horse facing the sun. Since the horse could not see its own shadow Alexander jumped on and rode the horse without trouble. Alexander named the horse (byoocefles). After talking to the horse, (byoocefiles) turned around and rode back to the stadium.

When Alexander's father, Phillip, was king, king Phillip tricked Greece to make him king by telling them that he will destroy their enemy, Persia. When Phillip was assassinated, Alexander took over, destroyed Persia and ruled in Babylon while Alexander was in Babylon he wanted to rule the world and he did rule most of it. When Alexander went to India he fought with the Indians, Alexander won, but was badly injured and had to go home.

Before Alexander could reach home he died at the age of 32 on 323bc. Nobody knows how he died this is still one of the biggest mystery. My theory is that he died of malaria. So Alexander was so great because he was a great king and one of the best generals.

I feel that Alexander wasn't a very happy man even though he conquered most of the world but wanted to conquer more and more. He wasn't happy because he didn't have Jesus. Think about it, why did he die when he had nothing else to conquer?

Sci-Friction Essay: The Millennium of The Freeze

IN the year 3001, the sun was weak and the world was cold. A boy named Morcial was walking home from school, when he saw a big rock that broke through the stillness of the sky and saw it hit the earth and felt the tremble. Morcial soon saw the fire near his home he was terrified by the thought that his home would be destroyed. Morcials heart dropped like a heavy rock on a precipice. Since Morcial was so terrified, he used a teleportation device to get there.

 

When he reached home he saw an alien that looked liked a big wolf that walked on both hind legs and has wings, and he was so scared that he felt his legs give way and he fainted. When Morcial woke up he saw the alien in his room with him, the alien began to talk and asked him if he was all right, Morcial was shocked but he picked up his courage and communicated with the alien and they started to talk. After hours of talking, Morcial found out that the aliens name was Benwolf and that according to Benwolf, the earth's sun was going to "die" in two weeks. Morcial eagerly asked what to do to stop that from happening. Fortunately this was why Benwolf came to earth, to help to save the sun from dying. Benwolf asked for the following things: one litter of melted gold, one 90cm iron plank, five 33cm square (area) mirror. Benwolf reminded Morcial that their sun was going to die, that's why they would be building a heat generator.

 

Before Morcial went to buy the ingredients they need, Morcial told Benwolf not to leave the house in case he got reported to the police, Benwolf agreed, and then Morcial left.

 

While Morcial was making a deal with the jewel shop, he saw the news on television and heard that the C.I.A. was investigating the crash site (his house). When Morcial finally got the items and reached home, he could not find Benwolf, but Morcial knew exactly where he was.

 

Morcial went to the C.I.A. to reclaim Benwolf but it did not work he feared the worst. Morcial brought an invisibility device and made himself invisible to get pass the guards. When he got in he was inside, he secretly took Benwolf out and brought him back home.

 

Morcial gave Benwolf the ingredients and Benwolf got straight to making the heat generator. After days of hard work, Benwolf finished making the generator then Benwolf took out a controller and clicked one of the buttons and a space ship came out. The two of them got into the ship and zoomed of to the off to the sun. They wore a special space suit that let them walk on the sun, they placed the generator where it should be and flew back to earth.

 

Created by Zechariah Tan on Wednesday April 23, 2008

DISCOVERY OF LODESTONE

Without the discovery of lodestone the Chinese wouldn't have invented the compass, and magnetism would be found much later. I think that the discovery of lodestone made the Chinese invent the compass , this is my version of the story.

One day a man named Com Pass had just finish his shift at his uncle's fish farm and got his share of money. Just a few blocks away from his home he spotted a spoon shop, so he decided to take look. When he was inside the shop he saw lots of spoons. Then one spoon caught his eye, he didn't have a spoon so he asked the shop keeper how much was the spoon. The owner replied "two shillings". Com Pass thought it was cheap and bought the spoon.

That night while he was enjoying his new spoon he noticed something strange. Whenever he let the spoon down it always turned in one direction, but he just ignored it and went to sleep.

The next day he saw that the spoon shop disappeared; he looked every where but saw no trace of it. Then he remembered the turning spoon, he ran back home to get the spoon but by the time he got back, it was time for work and he can't be late.

When he got to work he saw his uncle packing then he remembered the fishing trip. He tried to talk to his uncle but it was hard to talk to him when he was so excited. So Com Pass had to go with him. What Com Pass doesn't know is about to change his life. While he was at sea, there was a great storm, the wind howled and the waves crashed until they were carried from the North Pacific Ocean to the South Pacific Ocean.

After two days at sea they ate their last pot of grain and they were lost at sea. When Com Pass finally let down his spoon it turned to the north again. Then an idea came to Com Pass he remembered the "north, south, east and west" then they navigated home.