Once upon a time there was a young princess who lived in a castle far away.

Her name was Adrianne and she was very beautiful. Her hair was long and blonde and her eyes were blue like the sea. Her mother died when she was a baby and her father remarried a woman who didn't like the princess. Adrianne was very unhappy because her new mother treated her badly. She always gave the girl difficult chorus around the house and called her ugly and stupid all the time. Her stepmother was a witch but she was the only one who knew. One night, when Princess Adrianne turned 21, she saw her stepmother in the garden transforming herself into a horrible witch. She didn't know how to tell her father because she was afraid for his life. She couldn't sleep all night thinking how to save everybody from that creature. The next morning she found in her garden the strangest animal she had ever seen: a blue rabbit! The strangest thing was that he could talk. The rabbit came close and told the girl she had nothing to be afraid of...His name was Adrian and he was a good wizard transformed by the witch into this strange creature. A few years ago the witch was stealing children from their parents in order to breathe the youth out of them. Then she transformed them all in trees. Two years ago she needed thirteen children. The 13th was his cousin who was ten years old. The wizard came after the witch, saved his cousin but he failed to save the other children and he got changed by the witch into this blue rabbit. Since then he is searching for the witch and he found her because he heard that close to this kingdom some children were missing. Years ago he promised he will save all the children from that bad witch's spells. The princess agreed to help him defeat the witch. The wizard told Adrianne that to help him change back she had to steal a key the witch was wearing on a chain around her neck. She noticed then a collar around the rabbit's neck and a lock. The key could open the lock and transform him into a human again. They thought up a plan and the next day the princess spilled a drink "accidentally" on her stepmother's dress. Pretending to help her clean the stain the girl stole the golden key and brought it back to the wizard. She opened the lock and the rabbit transformed into a handsome young man with long blue hair and hazel, warm eyes. They liked each other very much and decided to spend the rest of their lives together as husband and wife. As promised, the wizard went and made a spell that turned the wicked witch into dust and she was taken away by the wind. Afterwards they told the truth to the king who cried, thanked them and apologized to his daughter for doing nothing himself all these years. He agreed on their marriage and gave them his blessing. Because all promises must be kept the wizard turned into a beautiful golden eagle, took the princess on its wing and they both went and saved all the other children. They brought them back to their families who were very happy and grateful for seeing their sons and daughters again. The eagle flew with the princess on a cliff where the wizard had his castle and they started the most fantastic wedding you've ever dreamed of. And they lived happily ever after.

Queens ate Kings danced Wizards on Drank champagne with all the elves

cream with wooden

and the

berries fairies shelves

WHAT I WANT TO BE IN THE FUTURE When I grow up, I want to be a musician. When I was in Primary Three I was deeply obsessed with music so I decided to join the Ensemble. Now I am playing the recorder in the Ensemble and I am very happy. I would not mind playing any instrument and I will be content as long as I get to be a musician. However, I love playing the piano. I have wanted to be a musician since I was in kindergarten when I first learned how to play the piano. I like to play the piano because playing the piano always cools me down when I am angry. Besides playing music, I also like to listen to classical music. I would like to be an accomplished pianist playing classical music in concerts. I hope many people will attend my concerts. I will give part of the money from the concerts to charity. If I want to become a musician I will have to practice very hard and pass all the eight grades of the music examination. I hope I will become a musician because if I do not become a musician I will be very disappointed and I will be very unhappy. A BIRTHDAY BIKE Michael's birthday was coming soon, so he asked his dad for a bicycle so that he would not need to walk to school anymore. However, Michael's dad had lost his job and did not have much money. Michael got a book instead but he did not complain. One bright and sunny day while Michael was walking past a convenience store on his way to school, he saw a big boy on a bike. The bike was too small for the boy. As the boy was turning around a corner, the bike skidded on a puddle of water and crashed into a lamp-post. The boy was a prefect in Michael's school. Michael recognised him. The boy's name was William. William seemed to have broken his leg. Michael picked up William's bike which was not damaged and rode to the nearby hospital to get help. A few minutes later, an ambulance came and brought William to the hospital. Michael rode William's bike to school so he would not be late for class. After school, Michael quickly rode the bicycle to William's house with a book and a jigsaw puzzle for William. William was not too seriously hurt. He was discharged after his leg was put in a cast. To Michael's surprise, William was getting a new bike on his birthday in two months' time and Michael could have William's old bike. Michael was overjoyed. From then on, Michael and William became good friends. Michael visited William every day till William's leg was healed.

A TRICK It was late in the night, everybody was asleep except for my brother and me. We decided to play a trick on our parents. We crept into our parents' bedroom. I took a large sheet of construction paper and drew a morning scene and hanged it on the window. Meanwhile, my brother advanced the time on the alarm clock to just ten minutes before seven. We went back to our bedroom and waited. Soon the alarm clock rang. My parents jumped out of bed. My father went to the bathroom to brush his teeth while my mother came over to our room to wake us. She was surprised when she found us awake and laughing. My parents were angry and scolded us for playing a trick on them at such a late hour and for waking them up. Nowadays they locked their bedroom door when they go to bed.

HOME ALONE

My brother and I were alone in our apartment. My parents had gone for a function and had left me in charge. I was doing my homework while my younger brother was watching television. Suddenly the doorbell rang. Ding-Dong! Ding-Dong! My younger brother rushed to the door thinking that our parents had come home; he unlocked the door and opened it. Outside, stood a tall man wearing a black raincoat and black rubber boots. He said that he was a salesman and asked politely if our mother or father was at home. Without thinking, my brother said, "No." He asked if we would like to buy some comic books, which he was selling. I quickly explained that we were not supposed to buy anything without our parents' permission. Then, as I was about to close the door, he forced his way into our house. He took out a knife and forced me to tie up my brother's hands with some rope which he took out from his pocket. I tied up his hands but I tied it in a special way so my brother could untie himself. The man then tied my hands up and locked both of us in the kitchen.

Soon, he went upstairs to search the bedroom for valuables. I managed to teach my brother to untie the rope on his hands. He then untied me. I rushed to the telephone to call the police, but the line was dead. The doors were all locked from the outside and I did not have the keys to unlock them. Luckily, the robber forgot to lock the kitchen window. My brother managed to get out of the house through the window and I told him to go to the neighbourhood police post and call for help. My brother brought the police to our house and the robber was caught. We had to go to the police station to make a report. At the police station, we found out that the robber was a wanted criminal whom the police have been trying to catch for a long time. The police thanked us for our good work. By that time, our parents had come home. We told them the whole story about the robbery. My parents were thankful that we were not hurt but they lectured me for not stopping my brother from opening the door to strangers. I learnt a lesson on safety and responsibility.

Lilith s Fairy Dust Hat

Lilith, the littlest fairy, had lost her flower petal hat. ''I need a brand new one'', she said, and flew off to look for a new one right away. The littlest fairy picked the first flower she came to and popped it on top of her head. ''How do I look? she asked a dragonfly that was hovering close by. ''As silly as can be'', he replied. ''Then, how about a red poppy hat?'' Lilith asked him when she had chosen another flower. ''Poppies make you sneeze, and by the way, you have a smudge of black pollen right on the end of your nose!'' and he fluttered back to his home by the river tittering all the way. Next, Lilith tried a daisy hat, but it was far too heavy and a wee bit old-fashioned. ''I know!'' cried the littlest fairy. ''A foxglove bell would fit me just beautifully!''. But she was wrong. The hat was so big, Lilith was lost inside and had to call for help. Now, the Fairy Queen (who always knew what was happening to every fairy), was absolutely brilliant at choosing hats.

''For you, the softest thistledown'' said the Fairy Queen, and with a wave of her magic wand, and a sprinkling of fairy dust... there was Lilith's new hat! How it sparkled and twinkled, how it glittered in the sunlight. ''A perfect hat for my littlest fairy'', said the Fairy Queen smiling at Lilith. SMALL GOOD WOLF
I am Small Good Wolf, the grandson of Big Bad Wolf. It was Christmas and I wanted to organise a costume party. I dressed up as a lion ... ... to scare my friends ... Small Cute Pig, Small Gentle Pig and Small Kind Pig ... because their grandfathers boiled my granddad! I set off for the three little pigs' house, roaring all the way. The pigs heard my roar and thought I was a real lion. They took out their blowpipes, loaded them with darts and stormed out of their house. When I saw their blowpipes I hid among some bushes. Though I wanted to take revenge on them, I also wanted to live up to my name. I was supposed to be a good wolf. So I decided to forget the ugly past and continue to be the pigs' friend. I took off the lion skin then I invited them to my costume party. We had a wonderful time playing together

THE TIME MACHINE I am Professor Huang and I have just invented a time machine that allows people to travel into the past or the future for five hours. I thought that it would be fun to see what my father was like when he was 10 years old. I packed a small bag and got into my time machine. I keyed in the words, "1964, 11 Niven Road, Singapore" then pressed the button. There was a "whoosh" and a "bang" ... the time machine was shaking and spinning and in a moment, I was in front of the pre-war house, 11 Niven Road. I saw four children looking for a lost dog. I recognised them ... they were my father, my uncle Kelvin, my auntie Peek and auntie Janet. I introduced myself as an old friend and agreed to help them look for their lost dog, Blackie. The children wanted to climb a hill and looked into the houses below. By the time we reached the top, we were tired and decided to sit down and rest. Suddenly I heard a dog barking. "Blackie!" my father shouted. We traced the source of the barking to one of the houses. We looked down and saw a dog chained to a pole. It was Blackie and he looked frightened.

The children boldly knocked on the door of the house and demanded that the man (who came to the door) return Blackie to them. The man asked the children to prove the black dog was Blackie. My father called out Blackie's name and the dog responded with an enthusiastic woa woa. The man reluctantly gave Blackie back to the children. We went back to 11 Niven Road and I bid them goodbye. My five hours were almost up. I ran to a dark alley and in a flash I was gone. I found myself back in my time. What an adventure!

A blue Christmas

It was Christmas Eve and Mrs. Wilson, an elderly woman, was sitting in her rocking chair, listening to Christmas carols on her radio. This was a family tradition that went on for many, many years. Christmas just wasn't Christmas in the Wilson household without listening to carols on the radio. "Oh my!" she sighed. "I'm so lonely. I wish my son, Paul were here to share Christmas with me!" Mrs. Wilson lived alone in a small apartment. This particular Christmas was very rough on her. Normally, Christmas was spent with Paul, his wife Nelly, and their son Johnny. However, this could not happen this Christmas. Paul had lost his wife and son in a car accident earlier that fall. It was a very difficult time for Mrs. Wilson, but especially for Paul. Oh, how he had loved his wife and child! A few days ago, Mrs. Wilson had called her son to ask him to join her for Christmas. "Ma, I can't," Paul had told her. "I miss them so terribly. I keep expecting them to show up at the doorstep. Christmas will never be the same." "Oh Paul," cried Mrs. Wilson. "I know this is difficult for you, but do you honestly think that you should be alone at a time like this. Come on, we can have our own Christmas, just me and you." "I don't know," said Paul. "Right now, yeah, I do think that being alone is the answer." "Well "Thanks "Merry dear," she Ma," Christmas replied said to sadly. "If you change your Ma, son," mind, Merry said Mrs. I'll be here."

Paul. you

"And, too,

Christmas." Wilson.

The radio program was just finishing up for the night. Mrs. Wilson, yawning, got up and turned it off. "The radio program just wasn't the same this year," she sighed as she went into her bedroom. "It's

just not the same without Paul, Nelly and Johnny. I sure wish Paul would change his mind." Later that night, she was awakened by a strange sound coming from her living room. Quickly, she grabbed her house coat and went to see what was going on. There, standing by the Christmas tree, with his arms full of presents, was Paul. "Oh She Paul!" cried Mrs. her Wilson. son as "I'm so tightly glad as to see she you." could.

embraced

"I just got to thinking that maybe being alone wasn't the right thing," said Paul. "After all, aren't we supposed to spend Christmas with family?" "Yes, "You dear, we are," said said Mrs. Wilson, happily. "I'm glad so I glad you did came." too."

know,"

Paul.

"I'm

"Can I get you something to eat, Paul?" asked Mrs. Wilson. "I have some apple pie and icecream." "Now that sounds good," said Paul. "Come to think of it, I'm starved."

Mrs. Wilson dished Paul out a heaping dish full of homemade apple pie and a huge serving of vanilla ice-cream. "You know," said Paul taking a fork-full of pie. "Johnny used to love your apple pie and icecream. Remember the first time he had some." "Yes, I do," said Mrs. Wilson. "It was his first Christmas. Remember the mess he made. He had the pie and ice-cream everywhere!" "Nelly sure had one mess to clean up after that one," said Paul sadly. "Boy I sure do miss them." A tear formed on the corner of his eye. He wiped it away with the back of his hand. "It sure is hard on you, isn't it son?" asked Mrs. Wilson, sadly.

"It sure is," said Paul. "But, do you know something? It feels good to talk to someone about them. I've been keeping this all bottled up inside of me and it just isn't doing me any good." "I'm here for you, son," said Mrs. Wilson. "Anytime you feel like talking, I'm here." "Thanks, Mom," said Paul.

Paul slept on the couch in the living room that night. When he woke up, he could smell his favourite Christmas breakfast cooking, peameal bacon and eggs.

"That smells delicious," said Paul, sitting down at the table a few minutes later. "Is that a turkey I smell, too?" "It sure is," smiled Mrs. Wilson. "You can't have Christmas without a turkey." Paul "We "Oh can't reached have over Christmas cried and without Mrs. turned Christmas Wilson. the carols, radio either," said on. Paul.

Paul,"

"Merry

Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas to you too, Ma," said Paul.