Jacks Sunday

• Patrick Rose, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2018

JACKS SUNDAY
By Patrick Rose

Sunday morning on the outskirts of a bushy national park there lived a boy named Jack. When Jack woke up from his sleep he said to his mum, “can I go out into the forest to look for some gorgeous looking colourful birds today?”. Jack’s mother agreed, but wanted him back before the sun goes down at around 6.00pm.

Jack said goodbye, grabbed some supplies and set off. Jack knew the way as he spent most of his weekends exploring the forest. Along the way Jack saw a dog which looked like a sheepdog. The dog seemed to have no owner and the dog ran up to Jack with plenty of energy. The dog had a collar around its neck, with the name saying Flash. Jack and Flash then continued to walk straight into the forest.

When they walked into the forest there were lots of bird’s and other animals. Jack adored the forest and he thought that it was quite a beautiful place. Jack and his new companion Flash, spent the day bird watching and Flash was always trying to catch the birds and barked at them constantly. They walked past a beautiful waterfall and followed the nearby stream for some time as well.

Time flew by quickly and towards the late afternoon Flash took off suddenly after a quick drink in the stream. Jack tried to keep up as he followed Flash into a small cave. Jack didn’t like the cave as he heard strange noises and it became dark straight away. Jack could hear Flash but could not see him. There were mice and rats everywhere and Jack was calling Flash to come back.

As it got darker Jack got stuck between two large rocks that moved from a ledge. One of Jacks legs were stuck and he was unable to free himself. Jack could not see but luckily he was not injured but unable to push himself off the rocks. Jack started to call HELP HELP as the sounds of Flash became closer. Flash found Jack and the dog started barking with a cry. I think Flash knew that his friend was in trouble.

The time was now past 6.00pm and Jack’s mum became worried about her son as he was a good boy and was always home on time. Jack’s mother walked into the forest to look for Jack. Jack’s mother hardly entered the forest but luckily followed the same track that Jack and Flash took earlier in the day.

It was not long after that Jack’s mother heard Flash’s cries and soon after spotted Flash running towards her. The sun was now set and Jack’s mother used her mobile phone torch to guide her through the cave to her son. She reached Jack and removed the rocks that were in his way. She got Jack out of there and Jack gave her a hug and thanked her for coming to his rescue.

Jack thought that Flash was a hero and Jack’s mother let him keep the dog if they couldn’t find Flash’s original owner. The three of them walked out of the national park and all got home safely just in time for dinner.