This July, the Westfield Athenaeum held a Short Story contest open to anyone and everyone. Writers in Westfield were encouraged to submit a short story with a 1,000 words or less. We had children and teens in grades 3-7 submit stories. You can find their stories below!
First Place Winner: MY HOWL by Gianna B.
Nighttime.
I sneak out of my den.
I race to the edge of our territory. Papa’s territory. He worked so hard to create a safe place that keeps out the one thing I love: humans. He says they are bad, selfish creatures, but I beg to differ.
I look into the distance and see Papa in his beautiful white fur coat circling the den with his limp. He sits down on his rock and his head lowers. He supports his wounded paw with his other leg. Pictures of the snare Papa got stuck in flash in my head, but I push them away.
I put one paw over the territory line. Then another.
I slip between rocks and fly past rivers. My mouth is wide open, and I’m enjoying what could be my last night as a wolf. I run to a shelter made of debris and slip inside. I cannot see him, but I know he is there.
As soon as I set foot in the hut, my silver fur turns into hair, and my fur coat turns into a dress for my elongated limbs. I sit down on the chair next to the wooden table and examine the walls. I know the vials on the wall are dangerous. I can’t read what they say, but I can smell that they mean trouble. From another room, he clambers in.
“Luke,” I say. He brushes his greasy brown hair out of his face. “Mallory. I reckon you enjoy being human, since you’ve been coming to my magical hut every night?”
I nod, but don’t look at him. All I can see is the fur coat he is wearing, and the animals pinned on the wall. He takes a glass vial out of his coat pocket and says, “This can turn you human for a day without the magic of my hut. You could go to the human village. Be a part of their pack.” I try to grab the bottle, but he pulls it out of reach.
“It comes at a price.” Luke whispers. I stare at the vial. “I want access to your father’s territory. Its magical boundary is the only thing stopping me from taking his fur and becoming rich. I have a supplier who just adores wolf fur. Your father’s fur is exceptionally soft, I’m sure?” Luke waves the vial at me.
Take it, take it, my mind taunts. These are not my thoughts. And yet, the vial…
I take it and drink the contents. As I hand the empty vial back to Luke, thundering realization sweeps over me. What have I done? What have I promised?
I watch as Luke smiles at me, saying, “The promise you made is enforced by magic. You can only stop the promise if you wake up your father and he destroys my magic vial.” Luke puts the vial in his pocket. “I have this in the bag since you can’t howl anymore.”
I try to howl, but my throat just won’t let me.
“Now, about that access,” Luke starts to say.
I don’t listen, because I am running, faster than ever.
My feet are bare, and I feel every sharp rock and piece of moss as I run past trees and rivers. It’s not long before I see Luke in his beat-up truck driving along next to me. I try to howl for Papa, but I can only gasp. “Papa!” I cry. “Papa!” I’m close to our territory now, and I can see Papa asleep on his rock. One final jump…
Luke pulls his truck around in front of me, so I can’t jump into my territory. I holler for help, but the truck blocks all sound. Papa is still asleep. “Let me in!” Luke yells at me. He gets out of his truck and tries to run into our territory but gets bounced back. “I can turn you into a human forever if you just give me access to your territory.” I think. Live as a human forever or save Papa.
Just when I make up my mind, Luke smiles at me. It is not a nice smile, like Papa’s. It is a smile full of greed. I give myself a boost of
energy and…
I leap to our territory.
“Papa!” I howl.
He wakes up.
I turn back to a wolf cub.
And I sink into the peaceful sound and inky shadows of nighttime.
EPILOGUE
Nighttime.
On the rocks in the distance I can see shards of the glass vial that could have changed my life. But I don’t care about that now. I’m happy with who I am.
I snuggle with Mamma and Papa in the den, feeling safe. The vial is gone. Luke promised to be nicer. I look at Papa lovingly. I know I made the right decision. I know that everything is okay now because I thought of others, and not myself. I know that Papa and my family is safe.
I cuddle close to Papa. He smiles. He smiles a smile of pure happiness, not greed.
Papa howls and then turns to me. He puts both his paws, even his wounded paw, on mine.
I howl gently. It carries into the brisk breeze and still black of nighttime.
Whenever you hear a wolf howl, and you feel like it’s calling you, it’s me. I mean no harm. In fact, for a night, I was one of you. So when you hear my howl being carried by the wind of nighttime, I’m just reminding you to think of others. And, If you feel ever so obliged, feel free to howl back.
Second Place Winner: Bo the Armadillo and The Pie Snatcher by Anthony B.
Snuff, snuff. I smelled a delicious smell coming from the kitchen. Mama Armadillo was baking an apple pie. I came downstairs and asked, “Could I have some apple pie?”
“No,” she said softly. “It is too hot; we have to let it cool.” She put the apple pie on the windowsill and went outside to pick some vegetables for dinner. “Are you coming, Bo?” she asked.
“I’ll come,” I answered.
After we picked all the vegetables, we came inside to wash them up in the kitchen sink. “Whaaaaaa… What a horrible sight to see! THE PIE IS GONE!” Mama Armadillo yelled.
“Maybe it was stolen,” I screamed!
“It can’t be! You don’t suppose it could be that nasty pie snatching weasel we read about in the newspaper, do you?” Mama screeched.
“Well, I’m going to look for some clues,” I said. I took my magnifying glass from the counter and started to investigate outside the windowsill. I found a little bit of white hair on the windowsill where the pie was. I looked at it under my magnifying glass and yelled, “It’s weasel hair!”
“Oh, no, not weasel hair! The pie snatching weasel snatched our pie!” cried Mama.
We decided to go into town and see Sheriff Dom Weasel to ask about the pie snatcher.
We both got ready. I grabbed my satchel and put my magnifying glass, my notebook, and the sample of white weasel hair in it. Mama grabbed her hat and purse and then we walked into town.
I spotted the small building that said, SHERIFF, on it. I said, “There it is, mommy!”
“Good job,” she said.
Sheriff Dom Weasel was standing near his desk talking to Lilly the Sheep. Mama and I overheard Lilly talking about the pie snatcher that snatched her blueberry pie. I clenched my fists and Mama gasped after hearing that Lilly’s pie was stolen too. “Bo, may I see that weasel hair?” Mama asked.
“Sure,” I answered. As I was giving her the hair, I asked, “Why do you want it?”
“I want to see the color of the weasel hair because Sheriff Dom Weasel is a WHITE WEASEL!”
“Well, the hair is white.” I gasped and said, “Do you think Sheriff Dom Weasel could be the one who stole our
pies?” Mama nodded.
Just as Mama was about to step into the Sheriff’s office, Lilly the Sheep came running out muttering, “I wonder who ate my pie?”
“What are you saying?” I asked Lilly.
“Oh, somebody ate my blueberry pie,” Lilly said, sniffling.
“Someone ate our apple pie too,” I said. “Did you find any evidence near where the blueberry pie was stolen? I found a sample of white weasel hair near where our apple pie was stolen.”
“I found a blue string,” said Lilly the Sheep.
Mama’s eyes bugged out. “Sheriff Dom Weasel is white. Bo’s weasel hair he found is white. Your string is blue, and Sheriff Dom Weasel wears a blue bandana!”
“You’re right,” said Lilly.
We all barged into Sheriff Dom Weasel’s office. Sheriff Dom Weasel was sitting in his black swivel chair when they all came in. He whipped his body around quick, and in his hand was a plate full of apple, blueberry, peach, strawberry rhubarb, and chocolate pie pieces. With a full mouth of pie he said, “Huuuuuuuh?”
They all pointed at Sheriff Dom Weasel. “You ate our pies!” We yelled.
A couple crumbs fell out of Sheriff Dom Weasel’s mouth while he was swallowing hard. “I did eat your pies and I am very sorry. I was just so hungry, and they looked so tasty.”
“It is not good to take people’s pies without asking them,” I said.
“You’re right.” Dom said with sad eyes. “I am going to go apologize to everyone I stole a pie from.”
Everyone forgave Sheriff Dom Weasel. We all ate pie at a big party hosted by me and Mama Armadillo; and we all lived happily ever after.
Third Place Winner: The DNA Defenders by Sadie S.
Dr. Allie Nova is in her lab and she has just received a message from someone who volunteered for her altered DNA experiment which gives average people Super powers. She did the experiment a month ago by exposing 5 people to games which made them have superpowers. Most people would then go use them to impress their friends or stop a bank robbery and become a hero but Brad Jones had another idea. He was going to take over the world one place at a time and soon it would be the U.S. he would claim.
Nova thought about what to do, she warned the president, the military, every branch of government, and the special forces but they all thought she was crazy. She decided to take matters into her own hands and create a team of her own. She called the other people from the experiment, Jenny Sage, Kamala Davis, and Adam and David Jones. “Alright guys I need you to help me save not just the U.S. but the world. Brad is coming so we need to become a team, we need to become what I dreamed this project would turn into, we need to become The DNA Defenders.” Said Nova hoping for a yes or a we’re in. “I’m in” said Jenny, “As long as we get cool nicknames.” “Then we’re in too.” Said the rest of the team. “Then let’s go train”,said Nova. “because the fight is coming for us.”
Dr. Nova led them all into her basement which had an empty space perfect for practicing their powers. She had them all line up and start by just using their powers. Jenny then shape shifted into a griffin and flew around the room a few times. Kamala shrunk to the size of a dime and no one could see her she then grew back to her normal size halfway across the room. Adam flew into the air while grasping David who created whirlwinds by blowing air out of his mouth.
Dr. Nova studied everyone carefully and told everyone to return to their spot in line. ” Alright everyone, you need to work together as a team now. So, I want you all to retrieve this mannequin from this cage without tripping the alarms.” Said Nova. “Piece of superhero cake.” said Kamala. They decided to have Jenny and Kamala sneak into the cage by turning into a fly and shrinking. Adam and David looked around the cage and saw that the alarm system gets triggered by anything touching the bars. “Guys it’s like operation! Just don’t touch the bars!” Said David, happy to help out the group. “Is there a way to open the door?” Asked Kamala. “There is a handprint pad but that’s it.” Said Adam. I might be able to get into the pad from behind and crash the circuit which could cut the alarm system and then we can pry open the door.” Said Kamala. “I can turn into an elephant and pry it open with my trunk” said Jenny. Jenny flew Kamala up to the pad and she leaped inside. She punched her way through the circuits and the alarm system shut down. Kamala then went back through the cage and turned into an elephant, then she pried open the cage with her powerful trunk. They got the mannequin out and Dr. Nova came out to meet them saying just 3 words. “You are ready.”
They went into the neighborhood and Adam flew up higher and higher until he saw Brad making his way towards them. “Alright guys he’s coming which means only one thing left to do. Nicknames!” Said Adam. “I know!” Said Jenny “I’ll be Creature, Kamala you can be Penny-Sized, Adam you can be Soar, and David you’ll be Tornado.” Everyone loved the nicknames and they headed towards Brad. “Hello my good friends,” said Brad. “Let’s just get to the fighting and get it over with Brad.” Yelled Jenny annoyed already. David sent a wind tunnel toward Brad and he fell into a dumpster. Then Jenny turned into a gorilla and grabbed Brad’s arms behind his back. Suddenly Brad broke free and launched the dumpster toward Jenny. Kamala turned small and tripped Brad with a plastic bag. Adam grabbed Brad and dropped him into Jenny’s arms. Brad tried to break free but couldn’t and he had to surrender. The police came to get him and he was brought to jail. “Super strength can’t save him now.” Said Jenny. They all went back to Dr. Nova and they all celebrated with cake and toasts galore. Now if another villainous person comes along, The DNA Defenders will be there to defend everyone. The End
The Unforgivable Stones by Natalie T.
Once there were four stones: the earth stone, the fire stone, the ice stone and the water stone, and they were in a cave. They had been destroyed by the sun because they were delicate and they couldn’t resist heat except for the fire stone. They were each broken to pieces.
A guy discovered the cave and the only way to fix the stones, he thought, was to put the ice stone in ice, the earth stone in the ground, the water stone in water and the fire stone in fire. He made a fire pit with the fire, then put the fire stone in the fire, and took it out carefully. The fire stone started glowing and fixed itself. Next he dug a hole in the ground with a shovel and put the earth stone in the ground. It started glowing, and it fixed itself. Next he waited until winter, found a waterfall and dropped the ice stone on the ice, and it started glowing and fixed itself. Next he waited until the summer. Once the ice melted, he went on his boat, and he put the water stone on his paddle and put it into the water. Then he grabbed the water stone, and it was fixed. Next he took all the four stones and started working. He tried to make a necklace for each one, for himself. But, before he could make them, a bear came into the cave (for it was the bear’s cave) and destroyed the man. The stones were lost and scattered.
One day there was an earthquake and the stones all united in the sky. Then they fell into a roof of a house, and they were in the floor of a room. Once a three-year old girl found 0-them except one, and they were put in a bag and kept. When the girl was 9-years old, she gave the fire stone to her sister. Her sister became the keeper of the firestone. The girl was the keeper of the ice stone, and she gave the water stone to her best friend. Now her best friend is the keeper of the water stone.
If you ever see a stone that looks like the color of green and blue, always think of this story because it could be the earth stone, and you could have great power if you keep it and protect it. You could change the whole earth. You could control the weather and you could even control anything to do with nature, and you might even be able to control people. But while it’s not in the girl’s hands you should look for it because of the power it could give you. The end.
The Scary Story by Juliette T.
Once upon a time there lived a pack of wolves, and people were hiding from the wolves. The wolves had five babies in their pack. In all, with the babies, too, the pack number was twelve. And every day they would go out trying to find the people that were hiding. The people that were hiding were trying to find a good camp spot, and that camp spot they were trying to find had trees, camouflage and no wolves.
They were all carrying camping bags, tents, and packages of lots and lots of food. That exact day when they were hiking to the camping spot, the wolves were sneaking up on them. And those wolves with the babies tried to fight for the other wolves. And the wolves that were not fighting were trying to protect the babies. And the babies were pretending to fight, too. The babies thought they were tough, but they really weren’t.
One baby wolf was named Scruff, and one baby girl wolf was named Blossom. It’s difficult having four brothers. The four brothers’ names were Scruff, Ruff, Tough and Buff. One puppy, Scruff, snuck behind a human and then Scruff’s mother jumped and barked at Scruff. And then picked Scruff up by the scruff. The human felt like Scruff’s mother was going to destroy him. The human felt very, very, very, very scared and all the other humans saw the camp spot and they ran from the wolves to the camp spot and then wolves followed them. The wolves became the human’s guardians and if anything wanted to attack the humans, the wolves would destroy them. That person that was very, very, very, very scared was scared to have the wolves as pets. Eventually the wolves became their friends because they were nice and they were tame now. The end.
The story by anonymous
Grandma Grandma we are going to grandma’. Ok we are here, said mama. GRANDMA. We will be back to pick you guys up Sunday ok? Ok. Come on in I’ll tell you a story, said grandma. Come come sit down so let’s start his story is called Mystery of the 5 ghosts.
A few years ago we went to put the library bin back into the classroom as soon as we were about to leave just then the light flickered the door shut and the windows got sealed shut and then a voice whispered get out never come back i do not want to see you ever again…It has been a few hours later we were still stuck in the classroom and then i told you to leave you two did not heed my warning now you are going to pay said the ghost and then i said no this is like our 2 home you can not take this from us! And then we started to scream for help but then we heard more voices. Fools don’t you know the curtains are soundproof no one can hear you WAHAHAHAHAH the 2 girls scream but it was no hope no one can hear them… But then the girls got hungry but they could not find food except celery which the girls hated the most then they went snooping around the teachers desk but then they found the teacher lunch with some cofy. We didn’t know what to do. Should we eat it or leave it, we eat it. Well we are hungry and it is lunch time sooo… LET’S DO IT! So they gobbeled on the teachers food and when the teacher went to get her food the door was locked she opened it but it was sealed shut then she saw the two girls and wondered what they were doing in there she hit the door with all her force the girls could not here her for the walls were soundproof so when the girls saw the teacher trying to get in they used all their strength to open the door but they could not escape but then the teacher also pushed and the door opened then they all ran to the exit of the school they couldn’t get out the the ghosts came down to the school
and took the girls 3 of the ghost took one girl 2 of the ghosts took the other girl they took her to a palace they said you need to help us BUT WHY!?!? WHAT’S GOING ON!?!?! TELL US!?!? LET US GO!!!We need your your guys help we need to get free from here just then the master came in they all bowed down except for the 2 girls they stood still what is going on in here he demanded a answer then he left then they started again we need your help your the only ones who can free us your the only ones who can unmask the master then when the master was sleeping they just took his mask of the ghosts didn’t even think of that and it translate out the so called master was mr.rogers he was doing it for the money the superintendent was paying him but why he never told then they got an award for best mystery solvers ever now they solver all the mysteries.
Wow grandma did that really happen? No child its all made up now bedtime go to sleep
. The Triplets. by Mackenzie
Ally, John, Helen (the triplets) like to cause mischief. At breakfast one morning, the triplets had a food fight. “No!” said their mom. “No food fights!”
“Okay” said the triplets.
When the triplets went to school that day, at recess they played a prank on their classmate Grace. They gave her a fake one-hundred-dollar bill and when she tried to use it, she got tricked. “No!” said their teachers. “Don’t do that, triplets!” That day they had to go to the principal’s office. When they went the principal explained that they should not have done that. Then they had to call their parents. They had to get picked up from school. The rest of the week they could not come back to school. There were no video games, no play dates, no TV, and no playing outside. They next week when they finally went back to school they didn’t play any more pranks. Instead of getting 50s like they usually did, they got 100s because they paid attention in school. The triplets started to like school. Every day at recess they had fun going down the slide until one day John said to his friend Mia “I dare you to jump off the playground.”
“But that’s not safe” she said.
“I dare you.” said John. So Mia jumped off.
“Owww” yelled Mia. “I think I broke my arm.” So Mia’s mom had to come pick her up. The next day Mia came in wearing a cast on her arm and explained to the teacher that she broke her arm. John ended up getting in trouble and wasn’t allowed at school. But, Ally and Helen were allowed.
When John was allowed back to school, he, Ally, and Helen got pranked. Grace and Mia gave the triplets each a pillow for their chairs. But really inside of each pillow was a whoopie cushion. When they sat down for snack it made a huge fart noise. Mia and Grace cracked up. Then the teacher told Grace and Mia they couldn’t come back to school for a week. But it was worth it getting back at the triplets.
The triplets felt embarrassed but now they know how Grace and Mia felt. The triplets have learned their lesson, and never did anything like that again.
THE END
Thank you and congratulations to everyone who participated. It takes great courage to submit your writing for others to judge. Keep writing, you’ll only get better!
