Hard Times

• Tessa Grigor, Grade 1, Bowral Public School
• Short Story
• 2015

Finalist in the 'Read Write Repeat 2015' competition

A long time ago Elena, a little girl of seven, awoke to a cold winters morning. Elena could hear her little baby brother George crying in the next room. She felt tired and sad. The night before she had overheard her parents talking about moving to Australia. They were very poor and Australia was supposed to be a lucky country but to her it just seemed a long way away.
Her mother called her for breakfast. She quickly got out of bed and put on her only play dress and went downstairs. As usual it was goats milk and bread. After breakfast her parents asked her to come in their room for a moment. They explained to her that they had no choice but to travel to Australia and start a new life. They had not enough money to take care of the house.
Elena pleaded with them to stay but they said they had to go. Elena went into her room and started to cry. She didn’t want to leave her best friend Toula behind. After awhile she dried her eyes, picked up baby George and rocked him back to sleep.
Her father watched Elena as she rocked George to sleep. He slowly walked over to her and sat down beside her putting his arm around her. He told her it was all right and that once she got there and met new friends she wouldn’t feel so sad. He even promised her that they would have more land for animals. Elena smiled.
The next month they got on a ship to go to Australia. Though Elena was still sad, she still said goodbye to her friends.
When Elena got to Australia she couldn’t believe her eyes. She loved the views so much. Her father smiled at her and she smiled back. It was true what her father had said.