Balmoral Hall School - Optima Anni Yearbook (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada)

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22 A Horse Named Spirit Spirit was born among loud shouts and the sound of guns, for his mother, Lady Ellen, and his father, Flag, were horses that carried soldiers and oflicers to and from battles. When the men saw Spirit they could not decide what to do. We will have to shoot him, said some. We cannot spare Lady Ellen and Flag and we cannot look after him ourselves. Then Lieutenant Carter stepped up to the Colonel and said, May I have him, Sir? Very well, said the Colonel. but I do not see what use he can be to you. Time passed quickly, and in a year the war was over. During that time Spirit grew to love his master more and more and even the Colonel was beginning to think Spirit had some good in him. When the time came for Lieutenant Carter to leave Holland for his home in Kamloops, B.C, he had a lot of trouble getting Spirit on to the boat for Spirit had never seen such a large boat. When the Lieutenant reached Kamloops his wife, Ann, met him with a sad face. Things haven't been going well, have they? he asked her. No, they haven't. Ever since you left things have been going wrong, answered his wife. We may have to sell the farm. We won't do that, said her husband Hrmly. Then he led her over to where Spirit was waiting for him. Maybe hes the answer, he said. His name is Spirit and hes as fast as greased lightning. I'm going to enter him in the Fall race. The prize is two thousand dollars. So Spirit spent the summer in hard training for the race. The day of the race was cold and nippy. It was just the kind of day the Carters had been hoping for. just before Ann took Spirits blanket off, she whispered, Please do your best, pleasef' Then the Lieutenant came up, mounted, waved, and rode away. Good luck, Ann called after them. Good luck. Five minutes later she was sitting in the grand' stand, her hands clenched and her face white. She watched the horses coming down the home stretch with Spirit gaining fast on the leading horse, Black Boy. Then, in a flash the race was over, and Spirit had won. Later, after Ann had congratulated her husf band, she went over to Spirit, put her arm around his neck and said, You're a wonderful horse, aren't you? and Spirit agreed with a nod of his head. KATHRYN NBILSON, Grade IV I Wonder Why I wonder why the grass is green, I wonder why the winds not seen, I wonder why the birds can fly, I wonder why. I wonder why the bubbly stream Makes people want to lie and dream, I wonder why the weedless field Has so much corn and wheat to yield, I wonder why. I wonder why the colourful flowers To grow, need sun and gentle showers, I wonder why the nightingale sings, I wonder, oh! so many things. LAURIB GRANT, Grade V The Fiery Dragon There once was a King. He had a beautiful palace, trees, and everything a King could want. But there was only one thing that worried him. It was the Fiery Dragon. That dragon could make fire come out of his claws, out of his mouth, eyes, and tail. At night he would come to the Kings palace and take the most beautiful maiden away. At last the King got tired of it, and said he would not have it any longer. One brave and handsome knight, called Black Beard, thought of all the beautiful maidens taken away by the wicked dragon, for among them was the one he was going to marry. He went to the King to see if he would let him go and search for the dragon. The King said he could. He travelled and travelled. One day he found an old cave. He heard somebody come out of the cave. and it was the dragon. He quickly dressed in his dragons costume, and paced an electric tube so that fire would come out of his claws, mouth, tail, and eyes. He went over to the real dragon and asked, Why do you torment people? If you are a dragon, you should behave like one, came the reply. Well, you see I come from a different land. Different land? He had fainted. Black Beard got a sword and stabbed the beast twice, because dragons have to be stabbed twice before they are killed. He went in and rescued the twelve maidens, but there were only eleven horses there. So the one he was going to marry rode on his horse. When they got to the palace, Black Beard got married to the maiden, and at the feast they had dragons meat, and they lived happily ever after. Junrm CLOUGH, Grade IV

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21 The Fiery Dragon Once there was a boy named Terry. He had a dragon for a pet. His name was Blackie. Terry's mother did not know what to give Blackie to eat. She thought perhaps the dragon could talk. One day, while Terry was at school, she asked Blackie what he would like to eat. Blackie could talk. He told her he just loved matches and paper. He liked a bit of wood for dessert. At lunch time she fed him. After she fed him, he started breathing fire. She screamed and phoned the fire depart' ment. The firemen came and put out the Ere in Blackie's great big mouth. Then Blackie thanked them for the drink of water, because he had been very thirsty. The firemen, very surprised, went back to the fire station. When Terry came home, his mother was taking Blackie to the veterinary. Terry wanted to go too so his mother took him. Wlien the veterinary saw Blackie, he told them he was homesick for his cave. Terry did not know where he could find a cave at Hrst, but he found out that there were caves in the mountains nearby. So he turned Blackie loose and told him to find a home. He did not know that Blackie found a cave and lived happily ever after. NANCY NELSON, Grade III Moving Moving is a real chore, Men in and out of every door, People packing boxes, people carrying things, What a lot of trouble movingfday brings! KATHRYN NBILsoN, Grade IV Courage King Albert Arthur had courage. He always faced his enemies face to face. He had knights, too. He had a wife and two daughters and one boy. He had cooks and maids. He had gold, silver, dia' monds, and rubies which he wore around his neck. One night the castle was surrounded by strange knights. They said that if he did not give them what they wanted, they would burn his castle. King Albert Arthur had courage. He would not give them everything in the castle including his wife, two daughters and his boy. He would fight if he had to. He put on his armour and took his sword and went out to challenge them one by one, and he won the battle. It took courage too. Now King Albert Arthur is an old man but he still remembers the day well. VIRGINIA COLWILL, Grade III Shadows I like to play outside with my shadow. I play and play and play with my shadow. I keep my shadow near me. I have lots of fun with my shadow. I dig and it digs. W'hen I play, it plays with me too. I love to have fun with my shadow. I go up the hill, it goes up the hill. Wlien I go down the hill, it comes along. Some boys came and made lots of shadows. The house makes a shadow too. Some birds in trees make shadows. Sometimes the shadow is big. Sometimes the shadow is small. RI-IONDA SMERCHANSKI, Grade II GRADE ONE ON THE SLIDE

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23 The Golliwog's Dream One night as the Golliwog lay in his old big bed, he dreamed a very peculiar dream which I will tell you. The Golliwog dreamed that he was walking in the woods one day, picking flowers. But he didn't know he was walking into the witches' forest. The trees he passed weren't really trees, but they were really goblins of all sorts. As he went on, he often leaned against a tree, and one he leaned against was a very ticklish goblin. The goblin at once began to giggle and the Golliwog heard him. Then all the trees started changing into their goblin faces, and at once the Golliwog began to run. The trees were in a straight line each side. Then he realized he was getting out of breath. At the end, the big old witch jumped out in front of him and cackled and cackled. Then the Golliwog started to go back, but one of the trees stuck out its branch and the Golliwog tripped over it. The old witch was just about to pounce on him when suddenly one of the springs popped up from the old bed, gave the Golliwog a pinch, and woke him up. But I don't think he would have wanted to finish the dream anyway. HEATHER CAMPBELL, Grade V Lester B. Pearson This is a personal story about my uncle, Lester B. Pearson. As you probably know, he is very amusing. When he stays with us, and that is usually for a few winks of sleep and a piece of toast, he always manages something that makes us roar with laughter. He has a gift for turning upf setting situations into funny ones. When I was a little girl and just learning to ride a bike, Daddy would put me on it and pushed me down the hill. I always fell off in the thistles at the bottom of the hill and cried. Then once when Unca Mike came, he rode my same small bike down the hill. We laughed so hard I comf pletely forgot to be sad. And what other grown' up besides Uncle Mike would run down our hill in a strong wind with his coat flying behind, using it as a sail? When we heard late in October that Pearson, as the papers call him, had won the Nobel Peace Prize I did not understand what it meant, therefore I did not know how great a man it took to win the award. When he again came to stay, he was going across Canada making speeches. All I could say was, i'Congratulations. Gee you're lucky. Thank you, was the calm answer. Uncle Mike was the first Canadian to win this Prize and the first in two years to receive it. He was so surprised and moved that the papers say he was thunderstruck by the news. Only a few people have ever won this award and among them is the famous Albert Schweitzer. I am very proud that Uncle Mike was given this very great honour. JANE Moonr, Grade VI GRADES TWO AND THREE