Ned Kelly Local Hero

• Emily Cook, Grade 7
• Short Story
• 2013

My heart racing , sweat dripping off my brow. I had dreamt of the day I nearly drowned.

" those damn Kelly's have stolen another of our beautiful mares" dad roared as I left the house. I had to get to the lake were I had dropped my penny in yesterday, I hadn't told mum because she would have killed me. And I couldn't stop to get it because Dad had told me to get home and check if we still have our beautiful mare. You see we live next to the Kelly's and they are forever " borrowing" them but they never seem to get returned.

I hoped onto the rock were I had been standing the day I had dropped my penny in. I lent towards the water when I overbalanced and grabbed onto a heavy rock to save me from falling in but no such like. The rock came in with me, landing on my foot. I tried to move it but it wouldn't budge. Everything started to go blurry when I felt a figure dive into the water then black out.

My eyes opened to see my family surrounding me and then I saw the dreadful Ned Kelly. " what is he doing here I sneered". Ned explained how he jumped in to save me. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought Ned Kelly would ever save me I would have thought he would be the one to drown me.

We all so thankful of Ned Kelly we spent a years wage on having him a specially made green silk sash with a trimmed gold fringe. In my eyes Ned Kelly was a hero.