The Lizard In The Blizzard

• Heath Perry, Grade 4, Wanniassa Hills Primary School -
• Short Story
• 2018

Excellence Award in the 'Write Along 2018' competition

'Good morning World!', cried Leo, jumping out of bed.

It was a windy autumn Sunday morning when Leo rushed out of his burrow to go hunting. Winter was coming fast but Leo wasn’t fat enough to last through the winter. His favourite food was garlic buttered grasshoppers, lightly fried and garnished with a sprinkle of fresh herbs that he grew near his burrow.

Leo lived on the side of a mountain under a great oak tree, in a little burrow underground. There was already snow on the ground when he left his burrow.

To get to where the grasshoppers were, Leo had to go down a dangerous path under towering trees and nests full of hungry birds.

'I'll have to be quick today!', exclaimed Leo. He could see dark clouds past the tall mountains.
He started his journey south. The snow was very cold but it didn’t bother Leo because he was used to it since he had lived in the snow for a long time.

Leo had strapped a leaf onto his back so the birds in the trees wouldn’t recognise him as a delicious lizard, even if he wasn’t so fat. He made it easily to the hunting spot but the winds were getting stronger as the storm was getting closer.

‘I made it!’ panted Leo. Leo kept his leaf on his back because it helped him ambush grasshoppers.

He looked around him and saw a boulder. He scuttled to the top and from there he saw a small pond. He went over to it and filled his tummy with water.

‘Hmmm’, he wondered where he would find his grasshoppers. ‘I know! Over in the field!’

Leo scuttled over to it and looked up, checking for circling hungry birds. Instead, he saw a terrifying sight! He saw a giant grey cloud approaching quickly. It was a blizzard! Snow was swirling, and he even saw leaves and grasshoppers swirling in the wind and snow.

Leo still hadn’t taken off his leaf disguise, and the wind picked him up and swept him off his feet! ‘Argh!’ he cried as he flew through the air. He saw a grasshopper tumble past his face and he gave a snap at it and caught it!

‘Bulls-eye!’ he thought, and chewed hard on his snap-frozen grasshopper.

But he kept on swirling higher and higher and he couldn’t even see the ground below! Leo was frightened. He wished he was back at his warm cosy burrow.

Then he thought to himself, ‘There’s no place like my burrow! There’s no place like my burrow! There’s no place like my burrow’, and then his own tail whacked him in the back of his head three times. Leo had been knocked-out!

What felt like just a few seconds later, Leo was waking-up in his warm cosy bed. He gazed out his window and saw daffodils rocking with the wind in the gleaming sunlight. It was springtime! Leo was very hungry.

THE END