Walt Whitman Junior High School - Pioneer Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

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HOWLING PUP Our next-door neighbor's puppy was a Hhowlingn success. His howl- ing and yelping was a source of end- less headaches. Whenever he was left alone, he would whimper, and scratch at the window facing our apartment. Since our windows adjoin,the commo- tion was unbearable. No matter how often we complained about the noise, our neighbors, who were always away when the dog howled, accused us of exaggerating. Of course, whenever they were home, the dog no longer lonesome, had no reason to howl. One day my father decided once and for all to do something about it. Since the dog was alone and howl- ing more than ever, he set up his tape recorder and accurately record- ed the howling and scratching. Bright and early the next morning, he played the recording at the neigh- bor's window loud and clear so that everyone could hear. Within ten minutes, our bell rang. Our neigh- bor's son had come to beg us to stop playing the recording. He remarked that his mother could not listen to the whimpering any longer. Now she thoroughly understood how we felt about the dog's being left alone. From that time on, they always took their dog with them when they went out. Kenneth Gilstein

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MELVIN AND HIS ANTLERS While Melvin, the moose, was mind- ing his own business one day, his antlers got caught in some branchesa As he tried to free himself, thrash- ing this way and that, kerplop! he fell into a trap set by hunters. As he picked himself up and looked a- round, he thought, UThis is the re- sult of my clumsy antlers. Why, they're heavy and cumbersome. After much effort to free himself from the trap, he realized there was no possible escape. A loud moose call brought a fellow moose who tried vainly to help Melvin up. UI shall go for he1p,N he cried. UPlease hurry before the hunters comein Melvin pleaded. After waiting impatiently for about an hour and a half, Melvin heard a hopeful noise overhead which proved to be a bird flying through the trees. Poor Melvin! His patience was about to give out when crash! Into the trap fell a huge grizzly bear! Melvin again thought of his antlersg this time about how he could use them to save himself. As soon as the grizzly got up, Melvin charged at him, antlers down, After several blows, the bear was oozing blood from chest, legs, and neck. That was the end of the bear, Melvin knew. But how to get out of the trap? Melvin finally found out by climbing upon the bear's body. As he ran through the woods, Melvin thought of how his antlers had saved him from the bear and vowed never again to complain about them. Donald Soloman AFM if 4-Q95 J ,Z- .. A ,

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THE MYSTERY OF GRAND NATIONAL PARK NEverybody keep back! I know that all the wild animals have been disappearing and that it's my job as head ranger to find out what's been happening. Now I'1l do my best and I'm sure that there's a rational answer to all this. Everybody relaxlu But in my mind I wondered if there was an easy answer to what was happening to the ani- mals. However, a week later, I saw a young deer walking straight to the cliff and jump to a ledge below. Ujump off the cliff! Jump off the cliffln boomed a com- manding voice. A shrunken mouse only a half inch tall standing two feet from the deer gave the order. And to my amazement, the deer fol- lowed his instructions. Then the mouse followed. Down, down, down they fell until they both disappeared. Before I could catch my breath, an avalanche of rock gave me no choice and I, too, plummeted over the cliff to what I believed was certain death. But the crash didn't come. I found myself instead heading straight toward the river at the bottom of the canyon. I tensed myself for the im- pact of hitting the water, but miraculously I plunged through the water, through the riverbed, through the rock base to the center of the earth, There I was in a gigantic cavern that was brilliantly lighted. I had hit the cavern floor hard and I was in terrible pain. The half on a mission broken back, with a magic inch mouse this time of mercy sprayed my legs, and arms, fluid. I had blacked out. When I came to, I found myself in a plastic cast. I waited patiently day after day. No one came to see me. No one brought me either food or water. One night I was determined to find out what kept me alive-- ----some night nourishment per- haps. I saw no one. The followinggmorning I was hungry and thirsty for the first time since my fall. I wanted food. I found, instead, hundreds of shrunken mice in a life and death battle. The mouse I had met on the surface was the lone survivor. He motioned for me to follow as he climbed up a steep slope. I soon found myself on the sur- face again safe and sound. What had happened to the animals and why I shall never know. Deep down in the center a little mouse is still saying, UI'm glad I survived. Too bad I cannot tell the forest ranger the whole storyln Larry Manevitz 35