Colonel E Brooke Lee Middle School - Cougar Yearbook (Silver Spring, MD)

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The Two Foxes Once upon a time there were two foxes who in the winter were always very hungry. In fact they were almost famished. In the winter they were always trying to steal food from neighboring places or from people passing by. They both had one problem. They had too much pride. One would never let the other one know that he was actually starving. One fox would say to the second one, I have all the food in the world. Then he would try to stop his stomach from grumbling. The next one would say, I have all the food in the world, plus everything else. Then he tried to hold back a groan. After that at the same time they would say But I could use a tiny bit more. The only thing was that every time they tried to steal food from the closest farm, they would get caught. So the smarter fox said, Why don't we get to- gether and I will hold the door and keep watch while you steal the chickens. The second fox who had the most pride said, ..Nah'., In about a week the second fox started to die from starvation so he said, Allright, I'll go. So they went and got the chickens. The second fox was weak the rest of his life from having too much pride. Moral: Pride cometh before a fall or united we stand, divided we fall. By David Meister A CAT by Kathleen Chow Once there was a cat Who ate a fat rat. After he was nice and full He felt as strong as a bull. He said to himself I'm king of the jungle. I'm king, he mumbled I'm strong But not for long, Said a voice behind him It was Tim, The real king of the jungle. Now the cat Who ate fat rats Never said when he was full He felt as strong as a bull. The Peacock and the Wolf by Kendall Butts One day a peacock was basking in the sun admir- ing himself. A wolf was watching hungrily behind a bush thinking of a plan to catch the conceited pea- cock. Eventually the wolf came out and asked, Pray tell, peacock, what are you doing? The peacock answered, I am admiring my beauti- ful tail feathers in the bright sun. Why do you ask? Well, the wolf said, I thought that you were trying to change your ugly color. Besides, what feathers are you talking about? I don't see any. The peacock, becoming very angry, stomped up to the wolf and put his feathers right under the wolf's nose. Mr. Wolf, now do you see these beautiful feathers? asked the bird. No, I don't, they are tickling my nose, put them in front of my eyes, the wolf said. And with this he gobbled the peacock up, feathers and all. Then the wolf said, Self-conceit may lead to self-destruction. My First Big Catch by David Delmar The captain of the Sea Gull greeted my family and me as we boarded the boat for a day of flounder fishing. While we stored our gear below, the boat eased slowly backwards out of the slip, and then moved rapidly into the sea lanes. The nearer we came to the trolling area, the more excited I became. I baited the two sharp hooks on my line, with slimy squid and squirming minnows. I dropped the line over the side of the boat and released the reel. I could feel the weight bumping along the rough bottom of the bay. I felt a tiny nibble. Quickly, I set the line. Suddenly, I was jerked from my chair by a giant force. Just as I thought I would be pulled over the side of the boat, I felt a pair of strong arms fold across my chest. Give him some line. It was the voice of the captain. Now, take up the slack in your line. For over fifteen minutes, I see-sawed the line in and out. Just when I thought the unknown creature was eidiausted, he would lurch forward again. Some- one called, Get the boat net. Then I saw the outline of the demon near the surface ofthe water. I yelled, Get the boat hook. It was an enormous Sting-ray, weighing about sixty five pounds. Needless to say, I did not want to net this catch. Not wishing to come closer to his barbed tail, the captain pulled the line to the side of the boat and carefully cut the bat-like creature free. He slithered gracefully away, probably none the wiser for the ordeal. WQCD

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The Bullfrog and the Toad r Once upon a time there was a croaking contest, or a singing contest, but for frogs it's croaking. Bully, the bullfrog, the five time champion of the contest, was signing up for the contest when Twerp, the Toad, came hopping along. I think I'll try to win the croaking contest , said Twerp. Ha, ha, bellowed Bully. You can't beat me in croaking. I have the loudest voice in the county. Well, I can try, said Twerp. I guess I'll just have to practice a lot. I don't have to try very hard, I'm the best. Good luck, you'll need it. So the next few weeks Bully stayed at home and sat in front of the television eating meatballs, while Twerp was out practicing. Finally the day of the contest arrived. Bully went first. He came out and let out one of the biggest croaks you ever heard. Then came Twerp's turn. He got up to croak, opened his mouth, and let go of a croak that could have broken your eardrums. It went something like this: Crooooooooooooooooooooak. He broke the world's record for croaking. That just goes to show you that: Even a toad can beat a bullfrog if he tries hard enough . By Jimmy Creegan By Yourself by Dora Edelson I once knew a girl named Christy Malone, as snotty as she could be, She wouldn't say Hi she wouldn't say Bye to people like you and me. She had a mother and father who both possessed great wealth, So she wouldn't associate with anyone 'cept those as good as herself. ' She scorned them all, both young and old, with rudeness unsurpassed, They should have kicked her, really hard, right in her little . . . derriere Finally no one could stand it, a meeting was called to decide Justbwgliat to do with that awful shrew' whom nobody could a 1 e. Her parents begged and pleaded, they said, Christy, change your ways! Christy turned and looked at them, then said, Oh, go away! At that fateful meeting, fBy the way, t'was a Tuesday nightj The mayor got up and said to the Miss, Please emigrate from our sight. Said she, I will clean up my record, erase every scratch, every mark. But they all shook their heads, and then went to bed, Cause Christy had gone too far. 1 John Colt's Wreslin' Match by Richard Shore l In this 'ere story, I'm gonna tell y'all about the greatest wreslin' match ever was. It was 'tween John Colt an' the Devil hes'self. s John Colt was the greatest wrestler ever. Ne'er a man was alive as could beat 'im, John was a real nice guy. But he shor weren't humble. He bragged, on! an' on. His usual brag was that he had won every wreslin' match 'ed been in. Well, one day 'e was at a party, an' truth to tell, he drank too much. 'e started bragging louder than ever. 'e said 'e could beat man an' spirit alike, why, he said 'ed beat the Devil if he got a chance! W Well, down in Hades, the Devil 'eard this piece o' braggery, 'e told his demons that he would go ,and teach John Colt a lesson. So, 'e went out an' ,met John on 'is way home from the party I told y'all about. The Devil told John that 'ed wager anything John wanted that 'ed beat 'im in a wrestlin' match. Catch was, if John lost, he had to come to Hades to serve the Devil for eternity. Well at that party John 'ad said 'ed beat the Devil at wrestlin' and 'e never backed out once 'e said somethin', so 'e took the wager. 'e even said 'ed wrestle the Devil anywhere, so the Devil said they'd wrestle in Hades. Q Well, they got to Hades an' began to wrestle. When e'er John touched the Devil, hes skin sizzled. Why the Devil must've been near two thousand degrees fahren- heit! Well, for the first three hours, the Devil was beatin' John. But then John got jus' plain mad. 'e picked up the Devil an' threw 'im straight high up in the air. The Devil hit the top of Hades fwhich is naturally the bottom of the crust of the earthj so hard 'he dented it an' made a mountain up top. Ev'ry time they hit the Ceilin' o' Hades they made another mountain! Well, this time th' Devil threw John an' John got mad. 'e picked up th' Devil, an' shore as I'm standin' here, threw 'im up so hard 'is head popped right outa the earth. Well now, the Devil, 'e jus' couldn't get outa th' 'ole 'ed made. This got 'im so mad that 'e jus' became 'otter an' 'otter til' the rocks around 'im were so heated up, they started nieltin' an' 'e fell through an' all the way down to the bdttom o' Hades. Where his head popped up in th' earth's crust, the very first volcano was formed. Well, when he hit th' ground, he had to admit he was beat, an' that ol' John could have what e'er he wished fori. Colt said that the only thing 'e needed was a jacket to keep 'im warm during the winter. So 'e cutoff aipiece of the Devil's hide to make it. If you ever see 'im, you'll recognize 'im by a bright red coat 'e wears, 'cause 'e ne'er takes it off. r i l L

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l l ii vmnrriuiuimiti- ,lf 456 .. f' ' 104 as 'f'l'l .fl A Friend by Michelle Cohen Who helps the fallen rise up again, Who helps the sick get well, Who aids the poor and weak, ls a friend I can tell. 'That is what I want to be, It is my lifetime goal, Just to make someone happy, By using my heart and soul. Why doesn't everyone join hands, In the tight against greed. Let's get rid of it, With the utmost speed. l've seen a lovely rose, And a blucbird sing, l've seen many lovely wonders, But a friend is the most beautiful thing. A Horse by Melissa Panick Fast as lightening, Swift as the wind, Smooth as silk. Running in a race, Cantoring in a show, Galloping in a field. Brown, Black, White and mixed, Beautiful, Fun and Work, I lov'em all. .4 it it ti in T K ' 7 ' Z 'Yi l i THE BULL FIGHT or AN EASY WAY TO BECOME A HERO by Erica Greenberg The roaring crowd, waiting for action, Thirsty for blood, hungry for the slaughter Wild with anticipation. The bull is led in, The devil of the laybrinth, He is feared by all mankind, So muchgthat they insist on making his death a sport. The arena is now as silent as a funeral, which in all truth, it is The Picador enters, lance in hand, On horse, no doubt. Why risk his life for a lousy bull fight. After he starts the blood flowing and gets the crowd thirsty for more, he leaves, What an easy way to make a living. A cheer goes up He is here! Our hero! He who will provide for us an afternoon's entertainment, A week's worth of conversation. He dismountsg the tight has begun! My, isn't he graceful. If he's lucky, he could live to be 40. What for? Why? What sport do they find in this? If he's so graceful, let him go into ballet If he's so courageous, let him jump the Snake River Canyon. But enough! The bull is clown, will he ever regain his feet? Or is he to be distributed in the streets of Spain? No, the tight is over. The crowd cheers the brave matador. He mounts his horse and circles the arena. Gallantly, like Johnny come home from the war. Flowers and money fly everywhere. All is quiet. The money has been swept up. The crowd has long since left. The matador and his friends are gone. 4 The bull has just been taken away. T But the blood and the sweat that the bull excreted remains forgotten evermore Ole ! 40 l