Third Place:  High School

 

Animal Crackers

 

 

 

        The Amazon was a beautiful place to live and all the animals loved it there.  The grass was lit with a green glow, trees reached the clouds, and everywhere you looked there was animals grazing happily.  The air was very clear and when the wind blew there was a fresh water breeze that rushed into all the animals.  Every animal was happy and all had comfortable homes.  Everywhere you turned you’d see animals conversing, young ones playing, and there was joy that filled everyone’s day.

 

        There were three animals that were oddly close.  They talked and hung out all the time.  There was a hippo named Slim, an elephant named Squeak, and a giraffe named Spot.  The hippo, Slim Mathers, was short, fat, grey and had big teeth.  His wishes were to one day be skinny and have a female around to love and be loved by.  The elephant, Squeak Me, was tall, fat, grey and had a high squeaky voice.  His only wish was to have a deep, comforting voice that everyone would enjoy instead of being annoyed by the present one.  The giraffe, Spot Balls, was tall, thin, yellow, and had brown spots.  He was very nice to everyone and had a good reputation with everyone in the Amazon.  He didn’t really have a big wish for himself but he did however, want everyone to always know him as a nice and good friend.

 

        They lived in the Amazon and hung out there all the time.   Sometimes they would go to the forest and hang out as well.  The forest was very crowded with a smell of maple.  The trees in the forest were very close together and helped one another grow tall, as high as the sky.  The forest stretched far.  It began pass the watering hole and beyond the Amazon.  The watering hole was also a wonderful place to hangout.  The three friends always went there to enjoy the fresh water breeze and listen to the neat splashing caused by frogs jumping from one lily pad to another and occasionally leaping into the water for a quick cool down.  The water wasn’t to cold, just enough for relief from the heat or for a little refreshment.

 

        When one of the three friends was feeling down, the others could tell right away.  On one beautiful day, the sky was clear of clouds and the grass was looking as green as ever, but something was not right.

 

        “Hey Spot!” yelled slim with Squeak rushing behind him as they approached Spot.

 

        “Hey guys.” responded Spot in a low, gloomy voice.

 

        “What’s wrong?” questioned Squeak.

        “Oh…nothing much, I’m just tired of eating grass all the time and I have a craving for some trees.” Spot answered.

 

        “Oh, but Spot, you cant eat trees because one of our good friends Crazy is a tree.” explained Slim.

 

        “Yeah but…” began Spot.

 

        “Come on, there are many things to eat in the Amazon.” Slim interrupted as Squeak nodded.

 

        The three friends walked around as Squeak and Slim showed Spot other food options besides trees.

 

        “Oh my goodness! Look here, try this.” Slim pointed toward a real fine, moist lump of grass while directing Spot to take a bite.  Spot leaned in with a grossed out look on his face and he took a very small, careful bite.

 

        “Gross, ugh, how do you eat this stuff!”  Spot complained while spitting the moist grass out.

 

        “I got an ideal, follow me.” Squeak said while beginning to walk off.  They all walked until they approached the watering hole.

 

        “Okay walk in this shallow end with me.” Squeak directed Spot and Slim.  They did so and found themselves in the middle of the watering hole starring off in wonder of what would happen next.

 

        “Ok, now, when I get hungry but don’t want to eat or can’t eat, I take a bath, like this.” Squeak filled his trunk with water and began to spray himself.

 

        “SQUEAK, you IDIOT!” Slim yelled, “WE don’t have a TRUNK!”

 

        “Oh…yeah…sorry spot.” Squeak apologized.

 

        “Its ok, you’re an elephant and Slim you’re a hippo, I don’t think you guys can help me too much.” Spot explained in a low, tired voice.  Spot got out of the watering hole and walked off.  Disappointed, Slim and Squeak didn’t follow.  Spot realized he wasn’t being followed and worked up an evil plan.  He headed towards the forest.  When he seen all the trees and how far they stretched, his eyes widened and his tongue slowly roamed his lips in circles.  Spot slowly approached the forest.  He moved faster and faster with every step.

 

        “I can’t take it anymore. I NEED trees!” Spot yelled in anger.

 

        He began to rampage through the forest biting and munching on every tree in his path.  All of a sudden he stops.  Crazy is the only tree left in his path.  Spot looks around, Slim and Squeak are nowhere in site.

 

        “Well, it looks like its only me and you now, crazy” Spot states with an evil smirk across his face.

 

        “Pl, pl, please don’t eat me!” Crazy called in a terrified crying voice.

 

        Spot takes a step forward, licking his lips while approaching Crazy.  Slim and Squeak comes running in to see Spot approaching Crazy.

 

        “Wait…no…” Slim begins, out of breath.

 

        “Think about this” Squeak takes over.

 

        Spot looks around and realizes how many trees he has already downed.  “I don’t feel so good.” Spot moaned

 

        “Grab him!” Crazy yelled.

 

        Slim jumped up from resting and threw himself under Spot before he hit the ground

 

        Oh my goodness, I’ve seen this before…umm, Squeak.  I need you to run as fast as you can to the watering hole and fill your trunk full of water.”  Crazy directed in a panic.  Even though Spot did try to take his life, he wasn’t about to sit back and watch a good animal die.

 

        “Okay.” Squeak yelled as he rushed off to do as he was told.

 

        “Hey Slim, keep his head elevated until Squeak returns.” Crazy added.

 

        Slim did as he was told while they waited for Squeak to return.

 

        “Open his mouth and pour the water in, but make sure his head is straight up” Crazy instructed.  Slim elevated Spot’s head even more and Squeak slowly poured the water in.  they watched ambitiously.  Spot’s ear twitched, his eyes slowly opened then widened as he wondered what was happening.

 

        “Someone please tell me what is going on.” Spot demanded.

 

        “Oh my goodness, you were going to eat Crazy and then you passed out and then I caught you from hitting the ground and then Crazy saved your life.” Slim rushed out all at once.

 

        “Wow.” Replied Spot.

 

        Spot then apologized for everything and quickly realized that Crazy was truly a good friend.

 

By:  Shanen Kyrstie Windell