Kings & Kids

• Kate Dodd, Grade 3
• Short Story
• 2022

Adele quietly sobbed into her pillow. She was only thirteen yet she felt that her life was the worst it would ever be. Her long brown hair slowly absorbed the tears. She thought that in only four short days, on the 6th of January, 1894, her life would never be the same.

Next door, Henry was trying to keep a brave face on. He was hurting just as much as Adele, possibly more but refused to cry or express this sadness. It was his birthday. He felt he had nothing to celebrate, so he just sat there, pretending he was fine.

Next door to Henry, sat thirteen-year-old Cassandra. She was tightly hugging her little dog, Feather, with all her might. Her wet tears dropped onto his fur which was as soft as a velvet rug. Cassandra had her short blonde hair tied in a little bun. Cassandra’s mother had been trying to cheer her up for weeks now. Nothing worked; cake, presents, hugs, had all failed.

The reason why best friends Adele, Henry & Cassandra were all so upset was because they were moving away to different places. Their parents wanted the children to get a good education yet there wasn’t a high school close enough to their town. Adele and her family were going to move to her grandma’s house because it was down the street from a big school. Henry and his family were preparing to move to his Uncle George’s house, next to a high school. Cassandra and her family were moving to her big sister, Elizabeth’s house because she lived near a school. They had begged King Walter to place a high school near their houses but the mean man had declined. They had no choice but to find a way to speak to each other even when they were far apart.

Plan A was to set up a small school themselves. They would ask the locals to kindly volunteer to teach the children how to read and write. Adele had little hope in the plan but wanted to stay with her friends so desperately, she was willing to try anything. She asked all the locals but none of them had the time. “Plan A, failure” stated Adele.

Plan B was to send letters to each other retelling their experiences of the week. Cassandra finally smiled because she had a lot of faith in this idea. They got really excited about it but then Henry said with a disappointed face, “We don’t have the money for postage”. Cassandra sighed, “Plan B, failure.”

Nosy King Walter was listening to their conversation and started to feel sorry for them. He decided to help them. He bought them an intelligent donkey that could speak! The next morning, he gave them the donkey. Their faces lit up and were overjoyed that they could send messages to each other!

“Thank you!” they exclaimed. “You’re the best king ever!”
“We’ll name it Walter, after you!”