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

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THE QUEEN'S DECISION by Michael Yette Once upon a time three thieves, a mouse, fox, and horse were seen kidnapping the king of the beasts' wife. The king, the strong and powerful lion, was furious at the capture of his lioness. He immediately sent a search party. A few days later they were found and brought to the palace. The king was so angered he didn't know what to do. He had them put in the dungeon until he figured out what to do. The lion in a few days said that he would have a contest of survival. He sent them away with five soldiers each, to bring their best food from home for the lioness. He said to be back in three hours, and the one who does the best job will live, but the other two will die. When they got back the fox presented grapes and fruits for the queen. He said conceitedly, These are the finest grapes and fruits you'll ever see! The mouse brought a large variety of expensive good cheeses and said very modestly, I hope you will like the cheeses, your majesty. I think they're all right. Third, the horse stepped up with oats and hay and said, These oats are fine foods, so Ihope youill like them. The queen responded by saying, The fox's food was all right, but he was too conceited. The mouse's food was very good, but he was too unsure of it. The horse's food I like least of all, but I want the horse to live. He wasn't too conceited or too modest. Very well, then, announced the king, the horse will live. Thou who are too conceited or too modest, fate may await them. THE GREEN GRASS by Jackie Costantino I wonder why the grass is green? Why it makes such a beautiful scene? When the sun shines down, It seems to wear a frown. But when the moon comes out There is no doubt Why the green grass is about. I wonder why love comes and goes? Why it has its ups and downs? It's the kind of thing that knows Just when to hit and leave your town. It may hurt some. But to others it's like a piece of gum. Just to chew it up, Then throw it away. Or maybe like a pup, Who has lost his way. Be sure you know what to do When this emotion comes to you. 7 ' r 4 I IT'S TIME TO SAY GOOD-BYE by Chris Schuck l I hardly see you any more, It's like you hardly know me. Our togetherness is from time of yore, Have I lost my amiability? . I Your grim, harsh glare, I Your cold, cold heart 1 You're not being fair, I I fear we must part. l I I v I thought that you loved me, I I thought you really cared Now I know I thought wrongly, My heart'll never be repaired. I guess I should be going Y I I Perhaps I'll find another t In my heart it's raining and snowing Good-bye, Mother. l l How The Zebra Got His Stripes I by Alan Stearn I Z was king over all the white horses and he had control over food and water. I One day an evil horse asked for an audience with the king. The horse said, King 'Z', if you do not make me Minister of Food and Water, I will tell the horses that you are the devil. The white horses would then behead King Z . The king made the horse Minister of Food and Water. I Now the new minister was actually a prince from the Kingdom of Mustang II. He had his armies come in and pretend to be slaves who had been captured as spies. Now the earth was quite young and thel people were not very wise. Since the kingdom of Mustang II had just resolved a war with the Kingdom 'f Pinto and they were very short of food and wa er. The Minister of Food and Water and his men wereistealing from the white horses' storehouses. And even though the earth was very young and the people were not so wise, they soon realized that their storehouses were being robbed. They called King Z a fool jfor not consulting his advisors. They decided that the King should be marked so that all who saw him would know that he was a fool, but they did not kndw how. They asked, How can we mark 'Z ? One man said, We should write the word fool on his siddsf' The artist of the kingdom did his deed. Z was then exiled. I Z wept bitter tears over his exile. The tears flowed in profusion, and we all know that paint in those days was not waterproof. The paint ran and the word fool smeared and became stripes - and that is how the zebra got his stripes! 1 I 1 4 48 5

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THE ADVENTURES OF KONG by Jimmy Creegan Once upon a time, in the magic land of Aargh, there lived a prince called Morton the Monster. Mor- ton had a problem - he always talked backwards. In the neighboring land of Shriek there lived a gallant knight. His name was Fang. They called him Fang because if people didn't do what he wanted, he bit them in the leg. In the neutral zone between Aargh and Shriek lived a horrible monster called Kong. Kong was an expert at cross-word puzzles. Kong ate up all the trees in the neutral zone, so he decided to invade the Land of Shriek. Trees are what Kong likes to eat best, and everyone knows that Shriek has the best Snap- Crackle-Pop trees in the whole world of Boo. It was a fierce battle. The Howl soldiers, led by Fang, couldn't hold him back though. Kong was on the outskirts of the capital city, Groan, when Fang blew his top. He ran right up to Kong and bit him onthe leg. Kong turned around and ran all the way past the neutral zone and into the magic land of Aargh. By now Kong was so hungry he started eating the magic Kick Me trees that the magic land of Aargh is famous for. After Kong had finished his third tree, every tree seemed to be growing. This was not so for him, however, he was shrinking. The magic trees made him shrink. By the time Morton the Monster got to the spot, Kong was two feet tall and shrinking. Lrans, said Morton. That means snarl. Eht dnal fo Keirhs sah tnes mih ot yortsed su. So Morton got his army ready to attack. When he tried to yell forward , he yelled drawrof! So his soldiers sat down and started to draw roofs. In the end, all turned out well. The land of Shriek that Kong had destroyed was fixed or grew back. Morton had some pretty pictures of roofs, and Kong was happy. The more he ate, the more he shrunk. The more he shrunk, the more food he had. The more food he had, the happier he was. The happier he was, the more he ate. The more he ate, the more he shrunk. And on and on and on and Ol'l... 74 - 75 by Lynette Traynelis As the school year draws to an end We still have memories of 9th grade, then Basketball winnings, papers unwritten Tests unstudied for, plans unaccounted for. But still the fire burns within For the year which draws to a hurried end. X .I LB. Alfred and Sidney There were two young ducks. Alfred, whose moth- er did everything for him, and Sidney, whose mother made him do things for himself. One day the young ducks were talking about being old enough to be out on their own in the big beautiful world. Alfred said it would have to be when his mother told him he was old enough. Sidney said he had made up his mind. He was leaving early. He had too many responsibilities at home, and if he had to work that hard he should only have to do things when he wanted. This could only be when he was on his own. So time passed, and Sidney left for the big world. He still had to work hard and had many responsibili- ties. Life was not as easy as he thought. One day he met his old friend Alfred who had only been on his own a few weeks. He was down on his luck - no job, hadn't had much to eat and was delighted to see Sidney. Sidney could do everything and anything - so Alfred asked Sidney to help him. It was like old times. Alfred, the man of leisure, and Sidney doing it all. Having Alfred around made Sidney think for the first time. His mother had done so much for him by teaching him how to do so many things that she must have loved him very much. Moral: There is a good reason for everything, if you will only have the good sense to think it through. By Kimberly Greer If . . . Then Why? by Cindy Stewart If a man loses his right to do as he wishes, to love whom he may, and to speak what he thinks . . . If a man isn't allowed to live in his own way, If he can't do things how he pleases, when he pleases, and where he pleases, Even though he doesn't hurt anyone else . . . If he's loved by no one, and ignored by all . . . If a man feels so hassled, that he considers himself a failure . . . If he's not appreciated by others, or happy with himself . . . Then, what is he living for?

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A Fable By David Delmar A lion cub romped happily through the forest, pouncing at each moving leaf and creature he saw. It was growing dark, and a firefly flickered infront of him. As he started to swat the tiny insect, it said, Please, handsome lion, do not crush me with your paw. Someday I will repay your kindness. The cub decided that the small creature was not worth chasing, and continued to play. As it grew darker and darker, he wandered farther and farther into the forest. Each leap took him away from his family den. He suddenly realized that he was lost, and he began to cry, Please, someone, help me. Then out of the darkness came a bright glow. It was the tiny firefly and his friends. They led the lost cub back hom to the safety of his family den. You cannot live by brute force alone. Everyone needs friends no matter how small. The Bridge, the Peacock and the Fox One fine summer day a sly and witty fox had an irresistable craving for a peacock. He didn't know how he could catch a beautiful bird such as the peacock, and all day he pondered over an idea to catch a peacock. Then the sly fox got an idea when he saw two bears on a narrow bridge arguing over which of the two should step to the side and allow the other to go past. The fox observed the two bears arguing. He heard the smaller of the two bears say, Please, sir, if you would kindly step aside and allow a smaller and helpless creature to go by, I will be grateful. The larger bear allowed the smaller one to pass him and then walked off in the direction of the setting sun. Now the fox, who was a very wise fox, figured, Well, if I should meet a peacock half way, flatter it, and then allow the bird to go by first, I could pounce on the peacock while its back is turned! Then I'll have a feast for supper. A The fox hid behind a tree until he saw a fine, fat peacock crossing the narrow bridge. The fox darted out from behind the tree and on to the bridge. There he met the peacock half way and said, My, I should sit on the railing of this narrow, narrow bridge, and let a far more exotic creature then myself go by ll'Sll.,, Now the flattered peacock waited until the fox seated himself on the railing, then he said, Thank you, dear fox, for letting me go first! With that the peacock strutted past the fox with his head held high, and a conceited look on his face. The fox then pounced on the bird, and had a fine meal that night. Moral: Don't trust former enemies, and don't be taken in by flattery. By Linda Hsiao Round-Up Rob and His Hosses by Erica Greenberg Sure, I 'member ol' Rob. There ain't no one in all these parts who don't. Was way down in Oklahoma he got his start. He worked for old Judge Stonehart. You might not 'member him, he's long gone, he is. Buried down near San Antonio. Gone now for nearly ten years. Was sad, might sad. But I'm sure you don't wanna hear 'bout the Judge. But its cuz of him Rob got his start. Used to go way down South to the Rio Grande, he would. The Judge used to let him buy hosses for him. Rob sure had a good eye for hosses, only the best. Then Rob would take a good long look at 'em, pick the wildest one outa the bunch an' break em right then an' there. Then I'll be darned ifin he didn't ride that beast back up north roundin' the whole bunch of em. Folks say he did it jus' so's the Judge would give 'em a raise. Well, some of them fellers who worked for the Judge used to cheat 'em whenever Rob weren't 'round. You see, they used to up an' steal some of the J udge's finest hosses an' git 'way with it, cuz Rob weren't 'round to stop 'em. Well, I'll be dammed ifin' one day the Judge him- self is out makin' the rounds, an' he see's his own hands leadin' 'way his favorite hoss. So's the next day Rob came back an' fast as lightin' the Judge dragged him into his office, sat him down an' told him 'bout it. The two of 'em sat there an' sat there fer three days, seein' as neither one of 'em wanted to lose the help. Finally though, wouldn't cha know it, Rob de- cided to rebrand all the hosses, jus' in case. So he an' the Judge wen' out durin' the night, so's none of the help would find out, an started a big fire to heat the brandin' iron. Well, wouldn't yo' know it, them two got mighty sleepy brandin' hosses all night long, finally so's it happened, the Judge fell asleep. Rob kept at it, 'til at long last he only had the new herd jus' in from Rio Grande to brand. This herd was full of them young, wild broncs, an' even Round-up Rob had a hard time. He go so fed up with 'em that finally jus' put on his hobnail boots an' stuck 'em in the fire an' stepped on them thar hosses, very lightly mind you', but heavy 'nough so's to make the skin burn 'way where's even the hobnails touched. After a while the ol' Judge died, an' the ranch fell to shambles. Ol' Round-Up moved on, an' ifin ya go out for a ride or walk you'll probably see some of them Hobnail Hosses still runnin' 'round.