The Three Children and the Mean Person

By Team 21

This is a story that Team 21 wrote as we explored the world in stories.  We included lots of incredible language features like similes, repetition, and inferencing.  We learned a lot about speech marks when we were writing this story.

Ever since the start of the term, the three children had taken the long way home from school.  It would have been easy for each of them to cross at Bridge Street but every day they left school at Kenderdine Road, ran across Puhinui Road - How dangerous! - and crossed the railway tracks at the station.  Nobody suspected the reason why Krishay, Brooklyn and Soldier made their way home like this each day.

The trouble started on the first day of the term.  As usual, the three children were walking across the bridge excited about seeing their friends again but when they got to the middle of the bridge a dirty, spindly figure jumped over the railing of the bridge and stopped the children.  It was hard to tell if it was a person or an animal.  He had grey mud all over his face, yellow fang-like teeth and layers of dirty rags covering its body.  It demanded that the children give him their lunch money to cross the bridge.

Without planning to do it Krishay, Brooklyn and Soldier turned and ran back to Cambridge Terrace.  Brooklyn tripped and the other two turned to help her up.  The despicable figure was following them but was as slow as a koala with a baby koala on its back.  The children escaped to the safety of their street.

“What should we do?” asked Krishay.  “Should we call the police?”

Brooklyn whispered, “No.”  She didn’t want anyone else to know.

The three friends decided to take the long way to school and keep the mean person a secret.  He didn’t approach anybody else.

But now it had been four weeks since their terrifying encounter.  After Krishay almost got run over crossing Puhinui Road, Soldier decided it was time for the three of them to stand up to the odious man.  The friends devised a plan.  It was a plan as cunning as a fox and as simple as breathing.

First, Krishay, the smallest one walked across the bridge.  His knees were knocking when the mean person jumped up to him.  “Give me your lunch money,” he demanded.  

“I don’t have any but my friend who is coming across next has some,” stammered Krishay.  

“Ok then, you can cross the bridge,” spat the horrible figure, “but next time I want your lunch money.”

Next it was Brooklyn’s turn.  Her knees were knocking and her stomach was churning when the nasty man approached her.  “Give me your lunch money,” he demanded.

“I don’t have any but my friend who is coming across next has some,” stuttered Brooklyn.

“Ok then, you can cross the bridge,” spat the terrible figure, “but next time I want your lunch money.”

Finally it was Soldier’s turn.  He was bigger than the others and started to walk across the bridge with confidence.  Secretly though his knees were knocking, his stomach was churning and his teeth were chattering.  The creepy figure leapt out in front of Soldier.  “Give me your lunch money,” he demanded.

“Stop!” yelled Soldier.  “When my friend comes you can take his lunch money.  He has way more money than I do.”

“Ok.  You may run along now but next time I want your lunch money!” shouted the man, in a very angry voice.

Suddenly, Krishay and Brooklyn snuck up in the back and took the man’s black cap off.  They realised that it was only a kid that just really wanted friends and people to like him.  The next day, the boy came to school and saw his new friends Krishay, Brooklyn and Soldier.  The boy promised that he would never ever ask for money in his life.