The End Of Rosie Joe

• Sarah Porter, Grade 3, Drysdale Primary School
• Short Story
• 2014

Excellence Award in the 'The Text Generation 2014' competition

In a little cottage above the park lived a young girl called Rosie Joe.
You see, Rosie wasn’t one of those kind people that say hello after they have walked past. Rosie wasn’t polite at all. She was rude, ungrateful and a very selfish little girl indeed.
One afternoon, Rosie Joe was riding home from school until a man rode past. She waited for the man to say hello but all he did was look at her, grin and then walk away. “Hmmm,” she said in an angry way. “Whenever you walk past someone you should be polite and at least say hello,” said Rosie Joe.
The man grinned and said in a brave voice, “Well if I should say hello to you then tell me why you didn’t just say hello to me a second ago.”
You see, Rosie didn’t want to tell the man because she knew if she did she knew everyone would hear about it in the town. So she said anxiously, “Because everyone knows kids my age don’t have to say hello.”
“Very well,” said the man.
I actually think he felt a little sorry for her, but anyway, who cares about my opinion. Then Rosie thought to herself and said, “People these days are so difficult!”
So all that way home, Rosie Joe was very silent until CRASH, BANG, BOOM!
Rosie Joe had accidentally fallen into her hole she dug up in her front yard in case anybody ever attacked.
So at least everyone got what they wanted, except Rosie Joe. In fact, she ended up in hospital.
She at least learnt her lesson that is whenever you walk past someone you should always say hello.