2012 – 2013 Competitions | Sarah Brennan Funny & Fabulous Blog

2012 – 2013 Competitions

16. AUTUMN HAIKU COMPETITION

17. A MARTIAN CHRISTMAS STORY

18. A SSSSCINTILLATING SNAKE POEM COMPETITION

19. SECRETS OF THE FORBIDDEN CITY STORY COMPETITION

COMPETITION NO. 16: AUTUMN HAIKU COMPETITION!

What a fabulous lot of poets entered my Autumn Haiku competition this term! There were over 60 entries from 15 different schools in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taiwan, South Africa and the UK, and your haikus were really quite wonderful. Chills, breezes and wind featured heavily of course, and there was even the odd blanket and cardigan, but leaves and trees in changing colours were definitely the order of the day for most of you, for obvious reasons! As ever, it was a very hard job to judge the competition. Unfortunately, there were some wonderful poems which I couldn’t include because they didn’t meet the strict haiku rhythm criteria in my Competition Rules (5 beats, 7 beats, 5 beats). I was looking for proper haiku structure; beautiful imagery; great vocabulary; excellent spelling and original ideas! Here are the results:

Grade 1 to 3

Haikus might be short, but they are actually rather difficult to write, which is probably why we didn’t have many entries from the younger set this time. But the entries we got were really terrific!

FIRST PLACE: Kairavi Sivasankar, 7 years old, Year 3, German Swiss International School, Hong Kong

Congratulations to Kairavi for her wonderful description of Autumn and its cosy conclusion! I thought this poem was clever, and a great effort for a seven year old. As first prize winner in this section, she wins a free signed copy of one of my books – well done Kairavi!

Cold and dark mornings

Trees turn red, copper and gold

Blankets get thicker.

SECOND PLACE: Gauri Ranjan, 6 years old, Grade 2, French International School, Hong Kong

I loved Gauri’s wistful conclusion which reminds us that autumn signifies change and getting older for all of us – especially for a six year old who longs to be taller!

The end of summer

Trees grow red and leaves fall down

In fall I am tall.

THIRD PLACE: Janelle Ong, 8 years old, Class 3B, Shanghai United International School Hongqiao, Shanghai

Well done to Janelle for sending in four excellent haikus! This one was my favourite – I think we can all agree with it!

How I love Autumn

Orange red leaves everywhere

What an awesome sight!

HONOURABLE MENTION: Devika Rajesh Bhojwani, 4 years old, K2, YMCA Kindergarten, Hong Kong

My Honourable Mention goes to Devika for her very sweet haiku with an ending which made me smile! Devika also happens to be the youngest entrant in the competition, so double congratulations on a magnificent effort!

I love autumn leaves

I love to play in the breeze

Take me out now please.

RUNNERS-UP:

Amy Lee, PYP 3C, Shanghai United International School, Shanghai

Leaves are colorful.

The leaves fall down to the ground.

Wow! What a great view.

Nicholas Yeung, 8 years old, Grade 3, Shanghai United International School

When the autumn comes

The first leaf fall from the tree,

The leafs all turn brown.

Annie Lee, 9 years old, Grade 3, Shanghai United International School

Cool breeze on the air

Crunchy leaves are everywhere

Animals in rush.

Grade 4 to 6

We had many fabulous entries in this section, and as you can see the winners are very accomplished young poets with original voices and a unique eye. I was so impressed with their entries, and had a hard time deciding on the placings! Well done to everyone who entered, and a special hello to the students of Morrison Academy Kaohsiung who sent in 12 fantastic entries!

FIRST PLACE: Gabby Green, 11 years old, Class 5B, Australian International School Hong Kong.

Well done Gabby for your hauntingly beautiful entry – this is powerful and mature writing from an 11 year old, and I was very impressed. As first place-winner in this section, Gabby wins a free signed copy of one of my books.

Lonely autumn sky

The whitest moon in my eye

My troubles reach me.

SECOND PLACE: Jenna Jones, 12 years old, Grade 6, Springfield Convent, Cape Town, South Africa

Congratulations to Jenna on another winning entry in my competition! Jenna was first place winner in my Trouble in Tropical Paradise Story Competition, with a clever story in poetry form. Jenna’s wonderful imagery and use of simile in this haiku made it a clear place-winner. Lovely job, Jenna!

Burnt butterfly wings

Decorating autumn trees

Preparing for flight.

THIRD PLACE: Charlotte Wu, 10 years old, Grade 5, Shanghai American School, Shanghai

More powerful imagery and a poignant ending from Charlotte Wu who takes third place in this section. I especially loved the “wild soft brown dirt hall” and the image of the grave. Beautiful work Charlotte!

The red leaves shall fall.

On the wild soft brown dirt hall

Leaves lie in their grave.

HONOURABLE MENTION: Gabrielle Liu, 11 years old, Grade 5, Morrison Academy Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Gabrielle wrote to me that the inspiration for her poem was the colour of fall leaves, and the way they give an illusion of a fire that does not burn. What a lovely imagination, translating into an excellent haiku!

The crunch of dry leaves

The treetops blazing with fire

Glowing but not burned.

RUNNERS-UP :

Lauren Ho, 11 years old, Grade 6, Chinese International School, Hong Kong

Autumn has returned,

Once again I feel lively,

Stepping on dry leaves.

Yavanna Verkest, 9 years old, Year 5, Renaissance College, Hong Kong

Coldness has set in

Like a shadow on the land

As leaves start to fall.

Jade Poon, 10 years old, Year 5, German Swiss International School, Hong Kong

Swirling twirling leaves

A chill dances on the wind

Leaves crunch on the ground.

Vanessa Charlotte Yim, 10 years old, Grade 6, Quarry Bay School, Hong Kong

Vanessa sent in a poem of three linked haikus – a very clever device, and I especially enjoyed the last haiku in the triplet. Well done Vanessa!

Autumn, leaves fall down

Summer is gone forever,

I’m filled with sadness.

The season of love

Filled with beauties of nature

Farewell, hot summer.

I wait long enough

Looking for your arrival

The autumn breeze blows.

Anna Laytham, 10 years old, Grade 5, Morrison Academy Kaohsiung, Taiwan

If leaves are falling

And it starts getting colder

Autumn’s gonna come.

Hillary Lo, 7 years of age, Grade 4, Sha Tin Junior School, Hong Kong.

A very special mention to Runner-Up Hillary Lo who was the youngest entrant in this section, and wrote this very pretty haiku: a lovely effort Hillary. Keep on entering the competition!

Let the autumn breeze

Touch you on autumn’s day to

Light your memories.

COMPETITION NO. 17: A MARTIAN CHRISTMAS COMPETITION!

COMPETITION NUMBER: A MARTIAN CHRISTMAS!

Nee Noo WOP! What a fabulous way to start the New Year! There were a fabulous 84 entries into my Martian Christmas Story Competition, from nine different primary schools in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore and Taiwan, and from kids as young as 5 and old as 11! There were terrific poems, exciting narratives and wonderful descriptions! There were all sorts of Martians – kind and evil, generous and mean, and mostly very strange! There were Santas and Marsantas of every description! There were interplanetary wars, intergalactic voyages, rockets, bombs and craters! There were alien families with strange names, alien monsters, and aliens just like us! Jesus made a frequent appearance of course! Above all there was the planet Mars, red, cold and dusty, though sometimes surprisingly decked with gorgeous trees and flowers! I had so much fun reading all your stories, and I think you’re all fabulously clever for spending your holidays and weekends writing! That’s the best way to become an author!

This time we had an extraordinary 41 entries from the 6 years and under age group. It seemed a little unfair to judge them alongside some of the older Grade 2 to 3 children from other schools (aged 7 to 9) so I’ve judged them in a separate category of their own on this occasion.

I was looking for correct length, proper attention to the topic; the correct use of at least 3 of my Wicked Words; and I gave extra points for additional Wicked Words. In narrative stories I was looking for a proper narrative curve with a great beginning, interesting problem or challenge building up to an exciting climax, then a proper resolution and a satisfying ending. In descriptive stories, I was looking for a detailed and interesting description of Mars! And in all cases I was looking for good grammar and spelling, original and imaginative ideas and great style!

Here are the results (Wicked Words have been printed in bold). The first prize winners in each section win a signed copy of one of my books, sent to their home address!

SECTION ONE: 6 YEARS OLD AND UNDER

There were an impressive 41 entries in this section, mainly from Kennedy School in Hong Kong. Thanks to Cheryl Reddin and Jo Grainger for encouraging their students to enter!

FIRST PLACE

Daniel Kim, Grade 2 ESF Kennedy School, Hong Kong, 6 years old.

Daniel’s story was a fantastic piece of writing for a six year old, with a magnificent 6 Wicked Words used correctly, some great descriptive sentences, and a good story line with a great ending. Well done Daniel!

Christmas on Mars

Once, there was a boy called ‘Danny’. He was 8years old. Danny was fantastic at making friends because he was magnanimous. He always focused on Space and Aliens.

It was Christmas day so Danny invited all his friends and relatives to have Christmas Party. They gave and got lots of presents and ate tasty foods. They sang carols too.

Suddenly, they heard a gargantuan noise ‘Boom!!!!’ Everyone ran out the door to see what’s happening in Danny’s yard. It was a strange UFO! Danny and his friends were very frightened to see a real UFO. Danny was very interested in aliens, so he went closer to the UFO. He comes more close to the UFO, unexpectedly Danny was sucked into the spaceship. The UFO quick as a blink disappeared.

Danny fainted for a long time. When he opened his eyes he was bamboozled. It was not his home anymore, ‘Where am I?’ There was a bit cold and dark. He looked around the strange place curiously. He squinted and saw a large group of aliens coming to him. One of the alien gave Danny a small pill and alien said some words but he couldn’t understand any words. Danny ate the pill and fell asleep again. When he woke up something changed. He could breathe very well and feels good, also he could understand alien words. An alien took him to a different place. That alien’s name was Claire. That place had many kinds of food but it looked not yummy. It’s decorated by red, rusty, iron rocks. Some voracious alien slurped slime juice. Lots of aliens on the other side were singing songs. Danny listened carefully and understanding what they were singing. It was a Christmas carol! Suddenly, Danny remembered his Christmas Party. He missed his family and friends.

Claire was a magnanimous girl. She was 4ft tall and fatty. She had different size of eyes and ears were pointy. She looked not pretty but she was much smarter than she appeared. Claire and Danny became good friends. Claire told Danny that he was in the planet Mars and they were celebrating Christmas. Danny was very surprised to be in Mars and worried about his family back at home. All the Martians were wishing on a star. That star was so resplendent. Danny thought it was Earth. Danny looked lugubrious so Claire kind hearted girl asked him what he was worried about. Danny told her that he wanted to go back to home.

At that moment, ‘Vrrooom!’ A rocket spaceship appeared in front of them. All the Martians were afraid of unknown rocket. Three Astronauts came out of the spaceship. They looked like human beings. They saw Danny and all unmasked their faces. Two of them were Danny’s parents! Danny ran to his parents and gave them a big hug.

Danny explained all the happening to their parents. Claire was happy to meet Danny’s parents. All the other Martians also were happy to meet them too.

It’s time to go back home, Danny and Claire gave a big hug and said, ‘Good bye!’ Then Danny and his parents got aboard a space rocket. Claire watched until Danny’s rocket was disappeared.

SECOND PLACE

Aarza Sachdeva, Grade 2, ESF Kennedy School, Hong Kong, 6 years old

I loved Aarza’s story! There were some beautiful descriptions of Christmas, Martian-style, and I thought the idea of dancing flowers was very imaginative. Congratulations Aarza!

Christmas on Mars

It was Christmas Eve on red Mars. There were Christmas carols and people were playing biolin instead of violin. On Mars, it is so hot that it is hot snow everywhere on Christmas Eve.

There was a man and a woman whose child was named Mumin. She was very kind and helpful. They saw some people decorating their houses so they started to decorate their house with blue and green pearls. They made a Christmas tree out of wires. After that, they decorated it with flowers which could talk. The house looked resplendent.

For Christmas, Mumin wanted a button which has magical power from which she could grow flowers that can talk and dance forever. But when it was Christmas Eve, Martian the Santa fell asleep and he was in a rocket which was going to Jupiter to visit his grandpa. So a reindeer gave Mumin the button.

The next day, it was the Christmas cool pool party. Mumin and her friends were invited for the Christmas cool pool party. It was lunch time and it was a pandemonium to queue up for the food in lunch time. After that, Mumin and her friends came to Mumin’s house for a sleepover. They played all day long with Mumin’s toys. Soon it was night and all her friends went asleep with Mumin.

Next day, Mumin and her friends went for camping and they looked resplendent when they were going. But when they reached the camp ground, Mumin’s dad realized that he had forgotten the marshmallows. So they went back to their shop, got some marshmallows and went camping. In the camp, they were playing but no one knew how to dance. Mumin had an idea. She pressed the button and all of a sudden flowers appeared. The flowers were bright in color, smelled great and looked sumptuous. And best of all, they could dance forever. So the Christmas present that Mumin got from the reindeers helped her camping trip. Everyone danced a lot and had lots of fun. It was a great Christmas Eve on Mars.

So till the next time, Merry Christmas from Mars!!

THIRD PLACE

Saanvi Bahadur, Grade 1, UWCSEA East Campus, Singapore, 6 years old

Clever Saanvi wrote a free verse descriptive poem with some really lovely and imaginative imagery including 3 terrific Wicked Words. Pretty good for a 6 year old: – well done Saanvi!

Christmas on Mars

There are no Santas

And no gifts and no Christmas trees

Instead of Santa, there are flowers that give juice

Instead of gifts, Mars changes into a new place with flowers turning red

And grass turning silver and the trees are all blue

Instead of wish lists, there are boots with notes

And a wish for Christmas for the flower which gives juice on Christmas instead of Christmas trees

Girls do a dance and boys write a poem

The girls dance with a silver juice flower picture

On top of the skirt there is a silver and golden dot dot shirt

The adults organise a party for all their friends

The friends have to guess who is the person who wrote the party’s surprise letter and for who??!!!

The surprise letter does not show who gave it

It only shows who it is for

There is also yummy sumptuous food at the party

And the friends are ecstatic

There is pandemonium since people are having so much fun at the party!

FOURTH PLACE

Lindsey Mulligan, Grade 2, ESF Kennedy School, Hong Kong, 6 years old

Lindsey wrote a lovely story with a lot of excellent dialogue and some terrific alien characters! And the speech marks were very well done for a child of Lindsey’s age – congratulations Lindsey!

SANTA ALIEN!

One warm dusty morning on Mars some aliens were asleep. Suddenly Santa Alien said “HO! HO! HO!” All the aliens woke up and said “SANTA ALIEN!” Presents for you Franko, Parfy, Pohadoo and Bart but no presents for you Moko. You have been so naughty this year. And he burst out crying. “I WANT A PRESENT!” he said in an enormous voice.” Wait for a minute.” Santa replied. I forgot to give Franko, Parfy, Pohadoo, and Bart a kiss. No kisses for Moko. But let me think, I will give Moko a kiss. He loved Santa Claus for giving him a kiss but he wondered where his present was. OK you will all get a present. When Santa Alien finished talking to Moko, all the other aliens opened their presents and shouted, “This is so exciting!” “I want to open my present too” said Moko. “OK, there you are, a Robot from Mars. This is your present for Christmas, but you have to promise me to be a good girl.” Said Santa. Then Santa went to deliver more presents to other aliens.

FIFTH PLACE

Eleanor Barrett, Grade 2, ESF Kennedy School, Hong Kong, 6 years old

Eleanor’s story although short is a really good piece of writing, with some great vocabulary! It only needed a bit more of a description of Mars and the Martians to make an excellent story!

The Martian Christmas

One exciting Christmas morning on Mars some little twin aliens woke up in astonishment! Mars was not red it was white! It`s Christmas! They shouted shocked. “I`ve been waiting for this day all year” said twin 1. “Let`s go and open our presents” said twin 2. “But first we should wake up mum, dad and our big brother”. So they woke up their mum, dad and big brother. Then they went to the machine shop to get a Christmas tree. But there were no more but the twins had a spectacular idea we can make a Christmas tree out of colored paper! “You have saved our Christmas” said mum. So the Martian family made their Christmas tree out of tantalizing colored paper so they had a very merry Christmas and happy new year.

SPECIAL MENTION OF THE YOUNGEST ENTRANT

Shaye Thakrar, ESF Kennedy School Hong Kong, 5 years old

I couldn’t close this section without a mention of our youngest entrant, Shaye. Shaye even managed to use two Wicked Words correctly! What a fantastic effort for a five year old!

THE BEST DAY EVER

One day in Christmas at Mars. The Martian was evil guy. The Martian came in the building. He stole some money in the bank. The floor was red. And the ceiling is red. Full with decoration it look sumptuous. The evil guy stole more. Then some think happen. Santa came to see Mars. It took long to get there I must bring presents. Oh no! I am very late. Yippy! Presents. Santa came to Mars. Look what I have got. I don’t know! Let’s open the presents. WOW! It is pandemonium it is exciting. I want to play this now yes.

SECTION TWO: GRADES 2 TO 3, 7 YEARS PLUS

In this section there were a further 22 entries from the German Swiss and Singapore International schools in Hong Kong, Shanghai United International School, Shanghai American School and Western International School in Shanghai, and UWCSea East Campus in Singapore.

FIRST PLACE

Shaan Mutreja, Year 3, German Swiss International School, Hong Kong, 7 years old

Congratulations Shaan on an outstanding piece of writing! I think everyone will agree that Shaan’s story is hugely imaginative and very well-written, with a great story line, some wonderfully original ideas (I especially loved the pig-like “swangler” in the last paragraph!), great imagery and superb vocabulary in addition to four Wicked Words used correctly. A well-deserved first place Shaan!

Christmas on Mars

It was Christmas Eve and I was playing with my computerised telescope. I was observing a galaxy tour when I saw something amazing! Dots were flying from Mars to Jupiter, but they were too big to be stars. Little did I know what was happening.

A million miles away on Mars lived Narr, a nine-year-old Martian girl. But Narr was no ordinary girl; she was the youngest member of MARSS (Mars Alien Rescue & Spy Society). Narr was sitting on her bed reading her favourite book, The Adventures of Ligoom, the Galaxy Explorer. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, Narr saw something. Narr dropped her book and turned around to see her Mars globe changing colour from red to blue – it was a level ten warning. She thought it must be something very serious and immediately teleported to the MARSS control room. Inside everyone looked serious and gloomy.

Narr soon discovered everyone was miserable because the toys in Santa’s factory had been stolen! Santa had just outsourced his toy factory to Mars. But when he arrived by sleigh and entered to fill up his sacks he only saw the wrapping machines and no toys. Santa screamed and Ola, the Martian in charge of the factory ran to see what the matter was. Santa was standing in shock with his mouth wide open but with no sound coming out. Quick as a flash, Ola ran and hit the alarm calling the MARSS agents. How could this have happened? Millions of children around the world and no toys for Santa to deliver. Imagine the pandemonium! Every single MARSS agent had been sent to investigate.

Narr was in a team of four with Ca, Bili and Ganman. Ca’s speciality was making things; he was the best inventor at MARSS. Bili had an amazing ability to smell and he could sniff out water from two miles away. Finally Ganman, the team’s leader, was an illustrious, wise old Martian.

Narr and her team looked in every single nook and cranny but could not find anything. Suddenly Bili sensed a strange smell and had the idea to look in the air conditioning vent. There hiding was a pile of purple skin. It could only belong to the Jupitians, the archenemies of the Martians. Ever since the two moons Phobos and Deimos moved to Mars atmosphere, the Jupitians believed Martians had stolen their moons. Unlike Martians who are green in colour, Jupitians can change colour like a chameleon. But each time they change they moult their old skin so it is a bit of a giveaway, and now the picture fits! It could only mean that the Jupitians stole the toys.

Narr and her team decided to fly to Jupiter in Ca’s latest invention – the Bomb Ball- a round rocket with ten weapons that can travel at infinity miles per second. (Fun fact: Martians are not just the colour green but they are green as in environmentally friendly. They recycle objects that we put in the bin on Earth to make their equipment. A normal rocket would use 155 tissue paper rolls, however a Bomb Ball uses 992 tissue rolls.)

Jupiter is bigger than Mars and its leader is the atrocious King Ug. Ug is a big, fat Jupitian with poisonous feelers in his crown. King Ug is well known for his greediness; in fact last year he had 100 dishes at his Christmas feast all for himself.

When the team arrived at Jupiter they decided a good starting place was King Ug’s palace. Ug has a sumptuous palace which was covered in diamonds so was very easy to find. The MARSS agents hiked up Ug hill to the palace. When they were a quarter of the way up they found a clue about the missing toys. A Furby toy with a “made in Mars” sticker still stuck on it. The Jupitians must have dropped it whilst climbing the hill. They must be on the right track; the toys must be in King Ug’s palace.

The team quickly ran to the palace gates but they were locked and could only be opened with a special entry card! But this is Narr’s speciality – she is small enough to squeeze through a gap in the gate and opened it from the inside. However, the gate was old and rusty and CREAKED. They had to be quick to remain undetected. They headed to the tallest tower but a guard had heard them and pressed the intruder alarm. Luckily the presents were inside the tallest tower, but now Ug’s soldiers had surrounded the team. Ca used his watch to call the Bomb Ball, which landed on the tower roof and sucked the tower up into its boot, with Narr and her team.

On Christmas Day, Narr woke up and was not sure if the adventure was a dream or real. Her book was lying on the floor, but when she took a closer look she was very happy to find a stocking by her bed and it was filled with toys! Her senses act crazy with the glorious smell of Uncle Unflu’s roast swangler. The swangler is native to Mars. It looks like a pig with huge horns. In fact it is the horns that make the dish so delicious because they are filled with delectable honey gravy-like liquid. Narr went downstairs to a wonderful sight! All her cousins were around the tree enjoying their toys. No plants grow on Mars so the tree had been carved out of an asteroid and was decorated with real stars and glittering red rocks from the great canyon. It looks like this year’s big hit is a battery-operated duplicator that can copy anything – including Martians. Narr’s cousins have gone crazy- so instead of 5 cousins, there are now 95. Narr is happy, the 95 cousins are happy, children all over the world are happy!

EQUAL SECOND PLACE

Two fabulously descriptive stories tied for second place in this section!

Divyasha Joshi, Grade 3, German Swiss International School, 7 years old

I loved Divyasha’s story about the Stonk family, their encounter with Santa, and their Slobbergob Festival! This was a fantastic effort for a seven year old – well done Divyasha!

The Christmas Santa REALLY got lost

The Stonk family – Mummy Stonk, Daddy Stonk, Slong Stonk the son, Plonk Stonk the daughter, Nonk Stonk the baby were enjoying their holiday which is just like our Christmas – not like our single day, because their celebrations lasted for one week. They were enjoying their resplendent snack Martian purple and green slimy cookies, as they got themselves ready for their holidays called Slobbergob Day…

Then suddenly a loud roar and a blast of rocks came from the ground. The Stonks looked startled. In front of them appeared a big stranger with long white beard and wearing funny red and white clothes in his sledge and his reindeer. The Stonks had no idea who or what this atrocious thing was!

Little that they knew that he was Santa who was crying and the reindeers were snorting. Santa is lost! The sleighs Satellite Navigation had gone haywire and some how Santa had ended up shooting out of the Earths gravitation and flying to Mars. Only 33 million miles away from where he should be!

“I’m lost” he sobbed as he looked around very confused indeed.

Santa started panicking and didn’t know what to do. What strange surroundings, he thought! The ground was purple, the sky was green, and the ‘people’ seemed to have pointed orange heads with 6 antennas with twisted balls of lime green slime. Their heads very pointed and bright orange colour, with 6 waving antenna. These were tiny on the baby, bigger on the children, and enormous on the Mum and Dad. The adults are about the size of a large elephant. The children are at various stages that size. The Martians seemed to be living in little cracked eggs and rocks.

The Stonks came to see what was wrong. The astonished Stonks saw what had really gone wrong and what the problem was? Santa didn’t know how to get back to earth in time for Christmas. He was really sad but his reindeers seemed very comfortable in this new land. Reindeers were adventurers and liked magic. Reindeers could also understand Martians language. The Martians were communicating by “thoughts” and they all spoke a strange language made up of grunting thoughts, shrieking thoughts, howling thoughts, car horn thoughts which if a human was to have the thoughts in their head it would be awful.

How strange – Santa couldn’t understand what was happening? How could Reindeers communicate with Martians? He was more confused than ever before?

Then Santa thought of a plan! He thought if he could somehow talk to the reindeer and they could try and explain everything to the Stonks. Will this work – he was in a dilemma? But he had no choice but to try!

The Stonks became friendly but could not talk to Santa and the snorting sounds of the stonks was driving him crazy. The reindeers were translating everything for Santa now.

They showed Santa all the things they are going to have for their Slobbergob Festival and Santa and the reindeers told them all about Christmas and they are remarkably similar.

Santa and the reindeers were invited to lunch. Here’s what they found out about Slobbergob day.

Martians celebrate Slobbergob Day over 7 days.

On the 1st day they put up a Slobber Gob tree and decorate it with slime and goo.

On the 2nd day they decorate their house.

On the 3rd day they buy presents and new clothes for their friends and family.

On the 4th day they cook big meals for the next day. They make slimy cookies, green cake, Sticky Rock salad, Yucky sparkly mellifluous yellow yogurt, effervescence lava drink.

On the 5th day they call friends and family for the big feast.

On the 6th day they go to Harrods, which is like our Church and they pray to “Stars” (their God).

On 7th day they take out the Slobbergob tree and take the decorations out otherwise it’s a bad luck!

They were amazed to see the similarities between both festivals and Santa and reindeers really enjoyed the celebrations!

After partying, feasting and having splendiferous time, now Santa looked really sad. The Stonk know how to cheer him up.

They called in their engineers and they were able to fix Santa’s Sat Nav, everyone was happy! Santa and the reindeers had a wonderful time and now they were able to go back to earth and make sure all the lucky children would get their Christmas presents.

As they were shooting along on their way back Rudolf called out to Santa, “Santa, the sleigh weighs a bit more than it used to.”

‘Never mind’ replied Santa “it must be a mix up in the gravity fields.”

Little did they know one of the Stonk Children had sneaked on board the sleigh and is going to Earth with them!!!!!…….

Get ready for the sequel!

Russell Kwok, Grade 2, Singapore International School Hong Kong, 7 years old

What a funny and imaginative description from a 7 year old this is! Full of funny Martian names, strange Martian carols, weird gifts and food and fantastic decorations, not to mention 7 Wicked Words! There were some grammatical errors, but these were more than made up for by the originality of the writing! A wonderful effort Russell!

A MARTIAN CHRISTMAS

Boom!!Baam!! Loab!!!!!

Is it World War in Mars? Not really. That was the Martians fire work called Mardam. The Martians were celebrating the arrival of their new born king named Marsus. (Is it like our Jesus?)

Marsus was born billion years ago. Now the Martians were celebrating Marsmas every year.

“Tomorrow is Marsmas,” said Coco’s father, Muddle. Coco was a smart Martian child with a green head and three eyes on top. Muddle had a similar head but in blue, sometimes it would turn green depending on his mood. Muddle and his children as well as every child on Mars were singing Martian bells. ” merlala, canbely…” It all sounded bamboozled to us but not to them.

While they were singing, suddenly a gargantuan shadow casted over them. Everyone was scared and ran home in pandemonium. Oh, they did not know that it was actually Malgus Manta! Manta was a jolly old man about a million years old. His face was blue and extremely large. He came every year to give splendiferous gifts for everyone. There were all sorts of things like silver slimy jelly, dust pens, hydrogen drink, golden marshmallow…He did not carry any gift bag, once he opened his hand, the gift would appear like magic.

Everyone would get a gift even the most atrocious wizard from planet Naboo would not be missed. He was locked at a high security prison called Marcan. Manta gave him something called “to-be-good potion”. It was a famous antidote.

During Marsmas, the Martians ate something special too. They liked dusty choco log and pink Martian turkey with black meat. They also had something very strange called Galtegu. It was like a piece of golden ham with purple escargot and some blue ice cream. It was perhaps serendipitous to them.

The city also had decorations like floating stars and planet’s confetti, Pluto trees and signs made of Mars rainbow dust! It was very bright everywhere, a bit hyperbole. Their houses looked like ginger bread house and they were eatable indeed. However, the Martian hated the taste. Maybe we would find it tasty!

Although Martians celebrated their Marsmas in a very different way but they all looked very happy!

THIRD PLACE

Vedant Bahadur, Grade 2, UWCSea East Campus, Singapore, 8 years old

I think that Vedant’s story is great; there’s a good strong story line, with a great start and an even better ending. Perhaps the only thing missing is more description of Mars and the Martians to give a stronger sense of place. Very well done Vedant!

Christmas on Mars

My name is Ben and I have always wanted to visit Mars. One day, we got a letter from the Space Center saying “Your invitation to visit Mars with us is on 19^th Dec 2012. You are allowed to take 2 people. P.S. 24^th Dec is Christmas and we will celebrate Christmas on Mars.”

So let me tell you about our visit to Mars.

When I and my mother reached the Space Center, the Captain of the ship greeted us with a broad smile. The Captain taught us how to live on a Spaceship after which we boarded the ship. The Captain said “ We are going to take off in 10, 9, 8,7,6,5,4, 3,2,1,0….. Blast off!” The rocket zoomed through the air and out of Earth’s atmosphere. I was so happy that my dream was coming true! I looked out of the window; all of those stars I saw looked so big! Finally, it was lunchtime. The food was so sumptuous, but the food was floating all over the place! After lunch, the Captain showed us the spot where we could get a good view of space. I saw some kind of orange ball. I asked the Captain what it was. When he saw it he got very excited. He told me that it was Mars. He even said that we might be the fastest people to get to Mars! I felt even more excited because my dream was coming true on a special day and that we might be the fastest people to reach Mars.

As we drew closer, I could see how orange Mars really was. It was nearly dinner time when we reached Mars. The Captain had prepared some sumptuous food on the ship. He said “We have to come back to the ship to eat every meal. I shall put cameras all over the camp. Oops… I forgot to tell you that we are going to set up a camp site.” I said “But I don’t know how to set up one”. My Mum said “We are here also to learn how to set up a camp site sweetheart”.

After we set up the tent, the Captain said “If you need to use the bathroom, go inside the ship. Can you please get the sleeping bags in the ship and put them inside your tent”. We saluted him and did as we were told. The Captain just laughed.

The next day, the Captain allowed us to explore. For some reason, we were not floating. We walked further. We met a Martian! My Mother and the Martian were shocked but I was not. I just said “How is Christmas on Mars like?” “Ah…Martmas” said the Martian. I took out my notebook and wrote that Martians say Christmas as Martmas.

“First tell me what you are and who you are?” said the Martian. I said. “I am Ben and this is my mother and we are humans. And you?” The Martian said “I am Martan. Only people with green stockings and a Martmas tree get presents but I don’t think you will get any since there are no more trees left!”

“What!” cried me and Mother at the same time. “It’s a long story, sit down and let me tell you. A long time ago, Mars was full of trees, water and streams. Each family took one tree and placed it in their house. But after many years living happily here on Mars, 2 volcanoes erupted at the same time and it destroyed everything in the wild except us, our houses, and our trees” said Martan. “Thanks for your help, Martan, Bye” said me and my mother. We waved goodbye to Martan and walked away.

When we got back I went to the Captain and said “We don’t get presents here if we don’t have a Christmas tree shaped like a Martian’s head”.

“I got a Christmas tree on the ship, all we have to do is trim it in the shape you want it to be” replied the Captain. The Captain handed me a trimmer. With my mother’s help, I trimmed the tree to look like a Martian’s head. As the day went by I met more Martians and got even more excited, since Christmas was coming closer. Soon it was Christmas Eve, and the Captain showed us three stockings, 2 were red and one was green.

Forgetting what the first Martian said, we took the two red ones because I like red. As for the Captain he shouted “Yay” and happily took the green one.

After we ate dinner, I found it surprising that I slept fast. Normally, on Christmas Eve it’s hard for me to sleep.

The next morning, I woke up early thinking that the Captain would not get any presents! I quickly woke up my mother and told her. We quickly got out the presents we had got for the captain, sneaked to the tree and put the presents inside his stockings. We then went to our stockings and looked inside. My mother got some books for adults and I got books about Space and Mars, and how Martians speak and live. We were so ecstatic! Then it suddenly it struck me! On Mars only people with green stockings got presents. Then how did we get any? We were totally bamboozled.

The Captain smiled and said “I realized that you would not get any presents and sneaked in some for you and so did all the Martians”. I exclaimed “We thought the same since you had green stockings and had forgotten about how it is on Mars! This is SPLENDIFEROUS!”

We all smiled and said “There is no difference between Christmas and Martmas! It’s all about giving on Mars as it is on Earth.”

FOURTH PLACE

Annie Lee, Grade 3, Shanghai United International School, Shanghai, 9 years old

Annie’s story is an interesting take on Dr. Seuss’s famous story The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. I really enjoyed reading this tale of terrible rules, a clever solution and a very strange dream. The spelling, punctuation and grammar were very good too – well done Annie!

Christmas on Mars

Ms. Lizi came home from work. She was very exhausted. She fell right to sleep as soon as got into bed.

Suddenly she was on the outside of the Earth. She was on a planet. The planet was red like a fire truck, and as cold as the North Pole. She shivered. She shivered so much that she could hear her teeth were shaking. When she looked up, she couldn’t believe her eyes.

There were living creatures on Mars! They were as small as a baby and they had green skin all over. They all had sad faces. They were Grinches. The Grinches were the creatures who lived on Mars for 20,000 years. When they saw her, they welcomed her. They told it was Christmas. She was confused. It didn’t have a single decoration. They told the rules of Mars. Number one, do things bad to make others feel sad or mad! Number two, spend the whole time yourself and never help others! Number three, if someone feel lonely, make that Grinch feel more lonely or sad!

Ms.Lizi was surprised. How could the rules do that? She asked the Grinches, “Do you follow the terrible, atrocious rules? They shook their heads madly. “Who made those rules?” She asked kindly. They cried a little bit. They said in a small voice, “This rule was very old. It started after king Grinch Hinch III died and Grinch Hinch IV ruled the planet. It still continued until now, even though the queen Grinch Hinch IFFwas ruling the land!

Ms.Lizi’s face turned red. She was so mad. She thought the kings who kept the rules were ineffable. So she decided to find a solution for this, then make the rules vanish forever. She thought and discussed it over and over for ideas. They voted for the best idea.

It was: Turn on the Christmas carols for 2 weeks very loudly everywhere.

Then a little kid Grinch came rushing. “We need to take action in this right this second! Quick! The queen is about to give birth to Grinch Hinch the 10,000. She hates Christmas carols! That interrupts her so she will stop doing what she was doing and sit in the bed for 10 minutes! We will need to do it!” Ms.Lizi took a peek out the window. She saw a female Grinch that was black all over and had a wrinkly face. The other Grinch told her that the female Grinch was the queen.

They put the speakers nearest the queen’s bed, and turned on the carols. They were so lucky that the queen had opened all the windows wide. It would be louder and better to hear. When the queen heard it, she sat up and screamed, “Stop it right now!” Then the Grinch turned it on louder. Every time she ordered it to stop, the Grinches put it louder. So she gave up and called the king. “Delete the rules!!” Then the music stopped. The Grinches cheered.

They set up the Christmas tree. But it was -100 degrees centigrade. It was too cold. So every Grinch went to their homes. The next morning the Christmas tree was frozen. It still looked nice then the bell rang. It meant the king was going to talk about something. So they listened, “Dear all Grinches, I’m so sorry that I treated everyone so badly. I’ll let everyone be nice to each other, and the rules are changed to the opposite of the bad rules. I will let the Grinch Hinch 10,000 treat you very nicely. I promise I will! Plus, I’ll train the queen to get used to the carols. You can celebrate Christmas every year! Good bye and merry Christmas to everybody on Mars.” The Grinches cheered again. They were exuberant.

They put up more decorations. The next morning, it was frozen and looked very cool. It was very beautiful.

Ms. Lizi was looking everywhere with amazement. Suddenly some kind of noise was wandering. It became shiny and hot! The ice decoration started to melt. She gasped. Everyone else did too. They couldn’t live in hot weather. Ms. Lizi started to imagine about frosty winter woods. It was normal again. Suddenly, a noisy bell rang really loudly 30 times. She found out that the noise was an alarm that used to wake her up.

She opened her eyes. It was just a dream! She thought she had a mellifluous dream. When she put her glasses on, then looked at the clock, she was surprised. She was terribly late for work! She was three hours late. She imagined the students were playing wildly, jumping up and down on tables and chairs, talking loudly, chasing, running everywhere and fooling around and creating pandemonium. She went to do her daily morning things as fast as an ineffable big tornado.

FIFTH PLACE

Cherry Wu, Grade 3, Shanghai American School, Shanghai, 8 years old

Cherry’s story is a great mystery with a very touching ending! I loved some of the descriptions of Mars too – good effort Cherry!

The Unwrappable Present In Mars

Katy was a little girl living in Mars, she was eight years old. She had three blue eyes, half black half blond hair and she had three hands. She was always wearing a purple shirt on, and was living with her grandma and grandpa.

Their house had four windows, two in the front, two at the back, the windows were shaped like triangles, and they had a garden in the back of their house, the plants were actually bugs but they were just curled in a ball and never went away.

Inside the house was a couch, and it was made of jelly. The light bulbs of their lamp were actually flyer flies which made it light up.

It was Christmas time in Mars, Mars has ten blue suns all shining together, and the snow would be pink, just like cotton candy. Every Christmas there would be a little celebration where each kid would find a box! Each box was unwrappable when they found it. A shining star would appear on the ceiling of each kid’s bedroom, telling the kid where to find a book, all the clues of opening the unwrappable box would be there for you to unlock the present.

One night, Katy walked past a Christmas tree which has splendiferous decorations. Katy found a sparkling box under the Christmas tree. The box had layers and layers of ribbons, each time she pulled the ribbon off another one popped up! On top of the box, there was a word “Mystery” and it had a hole, she tried to open it but she couldn’t. Katy realized that it was the unwrappable present!!! She was so happy she danced with joy and chuckled “now I need the star.” A few days later when she went to sleep, Katy saw a star on her bedroom ceiling. Katy was so amazed she whispered “this can’t be happening.” And she asked the star “where is the clue?”

The star said wisely, “you will find a book that says Mystery under your bed, good luck!” after the star finished its sentence, the star grew dimmer and dimmer and finally disappeared.

Katy went under her bed like a fire ball and got the book!!! She flipped to the first page, and there it was, the key to the present. She bolted to the present like a flying dragon, she tried to open it but it didn’t work. When she pulled out the key there came out a little stamp, it had a picture of a present. Katy was a very curious girl so the first thing she did was to put it on her hand and opened the present again, this time it worked!!! Inside the box was a letter! It said “from AMY, your mom” When Katy saw that letter she was surprised and thrilled. Her mom has been in New Zealand for quite some time already and couldn’t come back until a year after.

The letter said “My dear darling, I know you really missed me, and I’m very glad that you opened this present. I think you are so omniscient. I want to tell you that you are always in my heart, especially in this Christmas.” And Katy led out an illustrious smile and a tear crawled down her face and she whispered “Mom you are also in my heart too.”

SECTION THREE: GRADES 4 TO 6

There were 21 excellent entries in this section, from seven schools in Hong Kong (German Swiss International and Shatin Junior School), Shanghai (Shanghai United International, Shanghai American School Puxi and Western International School Shanghai), Singapore (UWC Sea East Campus) and Taiwan (Morrison Academy Kaohsiung).

FIRST PLACE

Valerie Ang, Year 5, German Swiss International School, Hong Kong, 10 years old

Congratulations to Valerie on the standout entry in this section! Valerie’s descriptive essay is not only very detailed and highly imaginative, but also very funny! I also enjoyed Valerie’s analytical and sometimes confessional style. My only observation is that the ending could have been a little stronger. Overall this is an original and excellent effort which thoroughly deserves first place. Well done Valerie!

Christmas On Mars

Origins

The people of Mars do not celebrate Christmas but celebrate a similar festival called Marsmas. No one knows its origins (except of course the Martians) but what we do know is it is related to a festival in honor of the illustrious Martian god called Spindallo. . He is often pictured in a little blue business suit with a red baseball cap, eating tinned rhubarb crumble.

Spindallo is the god of taking away. Instead of him giving Martians presents, like Santa, the Martians have to give him presents to keep him happy. If a Martian does not give him a gift, he will stop rhubarb growing on that Martian’s property.

How Spindallo takes the Martians gift away

Spindallo owns a flying Ferrari from the year 2999. He uses this to zoom around Mars at 66666 miles per hour, collecting presents that everybody has left on their rooftops.

The Note

If Spindallo likes the Martians’ gift he will leave them a note in a random place in their house. These notes can be sold for up to 500 Vatarsa, the currency of Mars (currently 1 Vatarsa =20000 HKD).

Days leading up to Marsmas

In the days leading up to Marsmas, Martians have to get their houses ready. Here is what Martians would do.

Strip all colorful wallpaper of the walls. Replace with beige wallpaper
Put up bundles of rhubarb leaves on their front door.

Lastly, put up the largest portrait of Spindallo that they could find on their wall

Spindallo likes everything that is not related to fun. This is because he is a very old god and gets cranky very often. Spindallo also thinks fun is only related to noise

Here is a list of top five presents for Spindallo:

1. A new business suit

2. Earmuffs (to keep out the noise)

3. A new baseball cap

4. Classical music (Methoven, the Martian equivalent of Beethoven)

5. A new Ferrari

Atmosphere during Marsmas

The atmosphere is very solemn and there are no decorative items around. Some Martians try to cheer it up by walking around with big radios that are playing this song:

(To the tune of away in a manger)

Away on a mountain top,

No more rhubarb pie,

And li-ttle baby Spindallo

Sits down to have a cry.

Vendors give out free liquidized rhubarb crumble and rhubarbed pies (Martian substitute of minced pies).

A typical Marsmas day schedule

Marsmas days are tiring and long- here is what a typical family would do.

5am-7am: Wake up. Do not brush teeth or have shower, as you might accidentally wash away the note from Spindallo.

8am: Breakfast. Usually rhubarb crumble flattened into a pancake or pressed into a waffle.

9am-11:45am: Look for the note

12pm-2pm: Large lunch. This is the main meal of the day. Usually rhubarb crumble molded into a turkey shape and rhubarb instead of Brussels sprouts.

2:10pm-3pm: Go to Murch (Mars equivalent of church) and sing carols to Spindallo

This is the most famous carol about Spindallo:

Spindallo is the greatest one of all our race.(clap 3x)

He fights stu-pen-dously with a mace.

That is why, we are here to–day,

to cel-er-bra-ate Mars-mas.(Clap 3x)

(repeat 3x)

3pm: Go to town hall to see the mayor put up a 30 feet tall statue of Spindallo.

3:30pm-5:30pm: Free time. Do whatever you want

5:30pm-6:30pm: Prepare for dinner

6:45pm: Eat dinner- the most splendiferous meal of the day as everyone in the family is allowed to choose one product that has been imported from earth to have for dessert.(for example chocolate)

7:15pm: Early bed time- you will need it!

11pm: Wake up- have a GARGANTUAN and by that I mean GARGANTUAN supper. (again rhubarb crumble)

12am: Back to bed.

What Martians Eat to celebrate Marsmas

Like I said, Spindallo is often pictured eating rhubarb crumble. So of course that is what everyone eats. Well, I’m sorry if you don’t like it, you will have to put up with it. In case you didn’t know, rhubarbs are the only fruit or vegetable that could adapt to Mars’s harsh conditions. It might also explain why Martians are green- because they eat too many rhubarb leaves.

The morning after

The morning after Marsmas is very hectic and chaotic because trust me, with everyone running around trying to put up their colorful wallpaper at the same time its absolute chaos. Martians who have sold their notes get huge sums of money and are grinning with joy and wondering where to spend it.

Conclusion

So maybe now I have told you all the facts, you are wondering why Martians celebrate Marsmas. I honestly don’t know why, but Marsmas is maybe totally opposite from Christmas on Earth.

EQUAL SECOND PLACE

I confess that I simply could not choose between the next two very entertaining stories, which therefore come an equal second and third! I thought the ideas were original, the dialogue strong, and the beginnings and endings were very well-executed. My only suggestion is that there could have been a more detailed description of the Martian setting in each case. Two wonderful stories overall – well done girls!

Gabrielle Liu, Grade 5, Morrison Academy Kaohsiung, 11 years old

“Martian Night, Martian Night. Mars is calm, stars are bright. Yonder virgin, Martianette and child-” the music stopped at a strict voice.

“NO! What pain to my ears! Ugh! Melanie! What on Mars is wrong with you?! That voice of yours is a disgrace. Those notes were completely flat and off key!” Ms. Comet shouted.

I felt my antennas burn and I hung my head. I wish she wasn’t so fastidious about the concert.

“Lilly, on the other hand- what a mellifluous voice you’ve been given! Wonderful!” Lilly flashed me a smug look.

“OK class, time to go!” I dashed outside, avoiding contact with anyone’s eyes. A group of Martianettes and Martians were arguing outside.

“NO! It’s not possible!” a Martianette shouted. “We are out of ingredients! How are we supposed to make dessert at the gathering? Impossible!” She yelled again.

“I don’t know, but let’s do what we can,” a Martian said.

“Uh, excuse me,” I interrupted. “But I think I may be able to help.

“We are not in a mood for your pranks, kid,” another Martian grumbled.

“No, really, you can take red dust sugar”, I scooped some off the ground. The dust could be easily manufactured into sugar.

“Then bake some cornbread with it so it tastes like cake.”

The Martianette who was complaining before shook her head. “It’s so plain, no decoration! We have no icing or sprinkles.”

“You could use rock candy for sprinkles, “I suggested.

A Martian looked at me and said, “Come with me.”

We started walking to Mar’s dessert factory when I saw a rover with carolers in it roll past us. “We wish you a merry Christmas! We wish you-“they sang.

I hung my head down again. Why couldn’t I sing? It’s not fair! The rovers were sent here from some mythical creatures called “humans” from the planet “earth,” according to Santa Clauka.

The thought amused me and we walked in to the factory. Inside were thousands of workers. Cooking, baking, and decorating like mad. The Martian led me to an empty table.

Gathering red dust, rock candy, and cornbread ingredients, he told me “I would like you to show me your recipe.”

Moving my eight fingers quickly, I mixed, beat and poured different ingredients in to a huge pan. When the oven beeped, the Martian pulled the handle. A sweet and warm aroma filled the air. Cutting the cake with a knife, he took a bite, chewing slowly. “My,” he whispered, “I may have underestimated you.”

The Plaza was packed with Martians and Martianettes. I quickly grabbed a treat before heading toward the risers. Taking a bite, I paused- what was this? It was sweet and warm. Tastier than any other dessert I’ve had. I glanced down and gasped, it was the cornbread I bake!

“Hurry, hurry!” Ms. Comet said before I could think any further. She pushed me toward the risers.

“Before we begin,” The mayor began, “Lets thank our Christmas Committee for their work on the resplendent display!” He gestured toward the snack table.

“And the chefs who prepared all these finger-licking treats!”

A round of clicks and growls came from the crowd as they applauded.

“But this year we lacked ingredients because of that terrible sandstorm- Hurricane Sandy,” he said solemnly. “So we had to find new recipes that only used what we had. We were able to bake a treat that a fellow Martianette came up with, Melanie Grrkn.”

A moment of shock and surprise passed through me. They actually used my idea!

It was only then I realized that I didn’t need to be the best at anything, whether it was singing or cooking. As long as I’m happy, that all that matters, because that is what Christmas really is. Happiness.

Grace Hsu, Grade 5, Morrison Academy Kaohsiung, 10 years old

How Love came to Mars (An old Christmas legend)

A skinny finger pokes me in the side. I roll over and press myself against my comfortable bed. “Minky, stop it.” I say, and open my eyes to glare at my younger brother.

Minky jumps back. “Um, hi, Merdia, I’d better go.” He runs out the door to work.

I grin and get off my bed. The rest of my family is absent. I hurry off to my work at the botanical gardens.

Along the way I stop at the science lab. My dad is the head scientist there. Looking in, I see the lab is empty. He is probably at the gardens, checking our Christmas tree.

At the gardens, I notice our exuberant harvest of sour berries has finished. I scan the Martian-filled place for my mom, finding her beside my dad.

I run towards her. “Hi, Mom!” As soon as the words escape my mouth I know something is wrong. My jaw drops open at the sight of our once gorgeous Christmas tree, lying on the ground, shriveling into what looks like a twisted thorn bush. “What’s wrong with it?” I manage to say.

My father looks at me with eyes that brim with sorrow. “Old age.”

The two words stun me. Old age? From what I heard, this Christmas tree sprouted just 10 years ago. Surely a decade can’t be enough to kill this beautiful tree!

“Yes, 10 years.” My dad seems to read my thoughts. “It died in 10 years because it did not sprout here.” My father spreads his hand around him. “The only plant in this garden that is native to Mars is the sour berry.”

“What?”

He motioned for me to follow him. “There are some secrets that only scientists share.”

I step once again into the dusty science lab. Around me, shelves are lined with notebooks. My dad takes one and shows me a picture. “This is Earth.” he says.

“So?” I peer at the blue circle with patches of green.

“It’s where all our roses, poinsettias, buttercups, and of course, our Christmas tree, come from.”

“So, will we get a new Christmas tree from there?” I ask.

“Yes, of course.” My father replies. “Christmas is the only time of the year when we celebrate. It is a time when we are magnanimous. We will need a Christmas tree, so we will get a Christmas tree!”

“Yay!” the group of scientists chorus.

“We will leave tomorrow on an UFO.” My dad says. “And you can go too.” He adds to me.

I know I should be happy, but for some reason, I’m not. I have a bad feeling about this, but I shut it out.

The next morning, I step into the UFO and take my place. It is very squishy, but the mechanisms look absolutely splendiferous.

As we take off, the bad feeling comes back and grows worse. I feel so bad that I don’t even want to look outside at all the stars, or listen to the other scientist’s chatter.

Once we land, I look outside at this new white world. And it’s so cold!

My father frowns. “This isn’t the right place.” He tries to start the engine again, but it fails. “We’re stuck.”

“Don’t mind that.” A scientist gets up.

“Let’s go find that Christmas tree.” The scientists dance out the door, not even waiting for me. I don’t want to go out anyway. It’s so cold!

Instead I search around the UFO and find out that a wire was unplugged. I plug it back in just as the scientists stumble back in, white with cold. I close the door behind them and think.

I remember my weird feeling. Now I know what it was. A small voice was speaking inside me. It was trying to tell me something, but I wasn’t listening.

“What?” I whisper, close my eyes, and concentrate. What was that my dad said? Christmas is a time to be magnanimous…

My eyes snap open. That’s it! “I’m going back to Mars.” I say to no one in particular.

My dad opens his eyes and stares at me. “But we didn’t get a Christmas tree.”

I smile at him. “Christmas isn’t about the Christmas tree. Christmas is actually about…” I ponder, and finally the new word comes out: “… love.”

And that is how love came to Mars. If you ever come here, you will not regret it.

FOURTH PLACE

Joseph Hsu, Grade 5, Morrison Academy Kaohsiung, 10 years old

Well done Joseph on coming a very close fourth place, with your exciting story about interplanetary war! The action was fast and furious, as well as good fun! Perhaps next time a more detailed description of the setting and a slightly stronger ending would make your story even better!

Christmas Terror on Mars

Chapter 1: Mercury

Fire sparks exploded. The scientist Merclan de Arlson lifted the new laser gun and smiled. Then officer Gorl boomed in the laboratory.

“Is the new laser gun finished?” he demanded.

“Yes, sir”, replied Merclan,” I have added the unknown element to the laser so that it will overheat whenever it touches Martian skin.

“Good. We will pay them revenge because they angered us in Galactic War I (World War in space). They killed 9,542 solider injured more than 15,000. They will pay for it. I swear they will.”

When they arrived at the military base, Gorl made the announcement.

“We will attack them while they’re drunk in laughter and entertainment”, he explained,” we will attack with the new guns, so that the laser will overheat and burn when making contact, causing them to burn into thin air. This happens with the help of the unknown element.”

“Um”, said one of the soldiers,” how will they be drunk in entertainment?”

“Easy”, replied Gorl, “We strike… on Christmas.”

Chapter 2: Mars

“I can’t wait to join the Christmas party”, exclaimed Karix as he and his mother rushed to the mall. They entered the guarded mall after showing their passports, greeting friends on the way. Karix gazed at the shiny blue skin of his friends and smiled. Who knows what’ll happen on such an exciting day?

Then he looked at the Christmas tree, watching the little flame dance on top of it. How foolish humans were to put stars, he thought as he was tantalized from lighting the whole tree. The iridescence of the tree shimmered with bright light. Then the orchestra began to play Santa Claus, which humans changed to Deck the Halls.

“Santa Claus is coming to town Fa la la la la la la la la He will never let us down Fa la la la la la la la la …”

Then…Boom!!! The little flame grew and shined even brighter! Santa, in his green suit, jumped out and waved his hands. But before anybody cheered, alarms blared and red flashing lights flooded the room.

Chapter 3: Battle

A second after the sirens, before the crowd could make a giant pandemonium, the sound of gunfire rang out and unlucky Martians started getting hit. Because the laser was special, the bodies of the poor inhabitants evaporated the instant they were shot. Suddenly, a laser shot Santa’s skinny belly and the laser reflected, destroying one of the troops.

“What! What happened?” demanded Gorl. Santa hesitated then pulled his green coat off. Everybody gasped. Santa didn’t have blue Martian skin. His body was a mix of gold and copper. He grew silent.

“I’m a Saturan from Saturn”, he said at last. I was old friends with Santa of Mars. We decided to prank each other’s planet. Now your Santa is on Saturn. Then some other soldiers fired at Santa, but the laser reflected with a flash and destroyed the soldiers.

“My skin reflects the unknown element”, Santa explained,” I will fend them off.” And he picked up the laser.

“Here it goes”, he muttered, and he fired rapidly.

Chapter 4: Victory

Karix thought of this as the best Christmas ever. One of the great pleasures was watching Santa beating up the soldiers. Santa fired the laser at the soldiers from Mercury, making them collapse one after another. Sometimes, Santa would slide tackle a soldier or kick them hard. Once he even jump-kicked a soldier, causing it to fly hard onto the wall.

Although it was so awesome to Karix, he still hid behind a pole. All the others had already fled out of the mall. Karix suddenly heard a BOOM!

When the dust cleared, Santa was on the ground with a soldier trying to choke him. Santa tried to gasp for air, but the grip was very tight. Karix finally couldn’t bare it.

“NOOOO!” he cried. The soldier turned, loosening his grip on Santa’s neck. And a second was all Santa needed. He kicked upwards and the soldier flew backwards. He pointed the laser and shot the soldier. Now only Gorl was left.

But before Gorl could do anything, a bright blue streak of laser hit his head and he collapsed. Both Santa and Karix were shocked. Then another Santa landed on the ground with a parachute, followed by a whole parade of Saturans. It was Santa from Mars!

The Santas shook hands. Then they said

“We will award Karix for his bravery. Do you want to celebrate on Saturn or Mars?”

“I want to see Saturn!” Karix cried

And so the first Christmas they celebrated Christmas together, making it a tradition.

And just FYI (For your information) that is how Mercury decided to plan another greater attack.

FIFTH PLACE

Pranali Joshi, Grade 6, German Swiss International School, Hong Kong, 10 years old

Another terrific story, this time from Pranali Joshi. There were some great details here of life on Mars, including lava baths and weird Martian party food, though the story line about a coffee-stained dress perhaps could have been a little more Martian in nature and the ending could have been a little stronger! Overall a great effort though!

Christmas on Mars – Tincinian Day

Once upon a golden goo on Mars lived the SLIMEY family. The family consisted of Mum, Dad, Mica and Mid. Mum was a kind and nurturing person and Dad always followed her orders. Dad was very obedient and kind. Mica and Mid were twins at the age of 9. Mica being a girl was more organized than Mid as he was a boy.

At their pudding-shaped home they went through the same routine everyday: getting up, bathing their bumpy bodies in lava from Mt Melly, followed by a hearty breakfast. Mica and Mid then went to school which they absolutely hated, while Dad went to work at the Local Bank and Mum went to socialize. After arriving back home at night they had a pleasant, warm dinner. Such simple lives they had, but today was different. Today was the day before Tincinian day.

Tincinian day was the most widely celebrated and most important festival of all Minion (Million) years. Today was different because Mica and Mid stayed home from school (which they were really excited about) and spent the whole day doing preparations and being allocated a wide range of tasks.

Mum was allocated all the household duties except one, bringing hot coal from Mt Melly, which Dad did. Mica was allocated the job of helping the government to get the Quintuplet hall ready for the next days’ functions. On the other hand Mid was told to fold and take out all clothes and ornaments for Tincinian day. These jobs took up the whole day.

Finally the day had come and The Quintuplet hall would be resplendent and so would they. After their super hot lava bath they spent what they called in Martian a hone (a hour) to get ready with all their decorations and special Tincinian accessories. But suddenly…

“Oh no!” came mother’s horrendous cry from across the corridor. Hearing the cry of horror Mica flung herself across the corridor into mother’s room only to be further astonished. On mother’s perfect, baby pink dress was a dark stain across her stomach. Suddenly father and Mid came running over. As soon as they saw the stain they were frozen in their tracks.

“How did that happen?” Mica inquired.

“Mmmy ccoffeee sssspilllt ffromm ttthe dddresssing tttable,” my mother stuttered.

“Oh no. We’ll be late for the party if we don’t go soon. The quickest time to clean up a stain like that is a hone. What should we do?” said Mica. After a while of thought…

“Ah ha,” said Mica turning to mum, “You could check in your drawers and closet and see if there is anything else to wear.” She was answered by a satisfied nod from mum. Mum then rushed over to her cupboard flinging her clothes onto her bed.

“Nothing will work,” she said with a quivering lower lip. While mother was looking through her cupboard father had left the room.

Suddenly he entered holding a beautiful baby blue dress, which flowed mellifluously to the ground.

“This is your wedding dress if you don’t remember. It will do won’t it?” asked dad. With gaping mouths the family nodded. Mum suddenly grabbed the beautiful dress and hurriedly got dressed. She looked gorgeous in it. Sitting on their little scooter they finally arrived at the Quintuplet hall. Where they celebrated Tincinian day with all other families from across the state.

People were dressed up as animals as well as witches and ghosts with fangs and what not. On top of that there were huge platters of purple and blue cookies, blue cakes, blue kachoris and endless sweets and junk food. Mother has always been fastidious to never drop or spill any food or drink and to always use a spark and knave to eat. You see this was the joy of Tincinian day as during the year a government rule was the Martians were strictly not allowed to eat any of the above as they were considered as junk food. It was the best party ever. They also had a disco, which was the best as they had all the best, rock, rock bands songs playing!

After the looong party the Smileys went home and had an extra long lava shower followed by a well-deserved hoo (sleep). Their dreams were about their lovely party and thinking that they should host such a great party at their home. That was not an unique idea as every single soul on Mars was thinking the exact same thing….

Their life was the same and dull as before only lighting up during the honored festival of Tincinian.

SPECIAL MENTION

Natasha Diederen, Grade 5, UWCSea East Campus, Singapore, 10 years old

I couldn’t end this section without a special mention for Natasha’s story. Natasha has been entering my Clever Competitions for several years now and her writing is going from strength to strength. Her story, set in Ancient Greece, is very well-written and includes a large amount of excellent rhyming verse, but sadly, while it ends on Mars in the last sentence, it isn’t set on Mars which was an important requirement in this competition! So although the story is of place-winning quality, unfortunately I couldn’t award Natasha a place this time. I thought you all would enjoy her wonderful story though, so I’ve included it below:

In Greece there lived a very old man called Taras who had an old but beautiful wife called Rheia, a daughter called Doris and a son called Pelagios.

Pelagios, Doris and their parents lived in a small cottage near the sea because they all worshiped Poseidon – Greek God of the sea.

One day Poseidon burst out of the sea and went to the small cottage. “I have watched your family grow,” Poseidon said, “and it has never stopped believing in me. As a reward, you are invited to come to Olympianus. The road is hard, but not if you have these,” he pulled out an ancient map, a large golden key decorated with rocks and shells and other things from the sea, and three magic pearls.

“Use the map for the way,

Use the key for the door,

Use the pearls in dismay,

For you won’t be on shore”

said Poseidon, and like he came, he went.

Taras hid the pearls, and the family got ready to leave the next day.

Now Taras and Rheia were very old so they forgot things and Doris and Pelagios were quite young and weren’t really bothered by things. So they all forgot about the pearls.

The next day they set off with the map and the key. The map read: TO OLYMPIANUS VIA THE OCEAN. Underneath there was a way through the ocean. The door to Olympianus lay inside the island, at the other side of the ocean that a few leagues away from the cottage. Written on the back of the map was a poem:

“Go to the deep depths of the sea,

Seek the right path, not one to me.

Do not go back, do not stray,

Or else you will not find the way.”

The family entered the water and searched for their path. On each path there was a sign. The sign for Olympianus read:

“To Olympianus this path will go,

Do not tarry or be slow.

Chose one gift to be a token,

But let not your heart be broken.

You will not get your token back,

So one gift you will lack.

Pearl, map, or key,

Which one will it be?

Put it in the box’s center,

And now, I bid you enter.”

Taras looked at the map for a while, then he folded it and slowly inserted it into the center of the box.

“What did you do that for papa?” asked Pelagios.

“The pearls we left,

Our luck is bereft.

The key is for the final door,

Not any ones before.

The route is simple as things don’t cross it,

So we don’t need the map one bit.”

said Taras as they continued into the underwater world.

The journey was finished before the day was over. Partly because they left very early, and partly because nothing attacked them (Poseidon wanted the family urgently).

The ocean doors to Olympianus were resplendent, decorated with items from the sea. The pearls were iridescent, the shells were splendiferous, and the draped seaweed was such a lovely shade of dark green.

Taras turned the key in the keyhole slowly and with shaking hands, the door creaked open, but instead of Poseidon greeting them as they had expected, Ares[5] greeted them. “Welcome Euaristos-”

“There must be some mistake,” interrupted Taras, “I have come on the orders of Poseidon.”

Just then Poseidon arrived, “Ah, here are my little helpers,” he said, “There is a bit of trouble here due to Christianity. We banish Christians to the Planet Mars, but there are probably secret meetings because there are odd things happening here. Your job is to report the Christians to Zeus and I and we’ll banish them.”

“We will do that,” replied Taras, “Now, can we go to section of the city?”

The city of Poseidon was of ineffable beauty. The family was exuberant, never had they seen such splendour. The next day they set to work and followed some people into a secret meeting. When they got back to the house they were inspired to become Christians. “I tell you,” said Taras, “Christians live greater lives than us. Tomorrow I am going to speak to them and convince them to come to Mars. Then we will tell Poseidon that we are Christians and where the secret meetings are, and all of us will be banished.”

After that talk they did just as Taras said. The next secret meeting, Taras asked the bishop leave to speak, then he said his voice ringing loud and clear through the hiding spot,

“My fellow citizens, of young and old,

To Poseidon or Zeus this must be told.

When we are banished we need not hide,

Who will stand by my side?

If we are banished together,

Leave each other we will never.

So who will come? And who will stay?

Now we must go without delay”

After this was said, Taras and his family left, and following came most of the Christians.

Into Zeus’s room he and his faithful Christians came. “Well,” thundered Zeus, “What do you have to say?”

“I have come to say that all people in this room are Christians including me and my family,” replied Taras.

“Never in my life have I been so angry as today!” Zeus thundered, “I trusted you! I put all faith into you! And now? And now? You stop believing in us! Be off!” The whole city shook with his anger.

Just as Zeus finished, there was a puff of smoke and all the Christians disappeared to Mars. They arrived on Mars on Christmas Day and Taras sang

“On Christmas Day we came to stay,

When Jesus in his cradle lay.

We are free! We are free!

The stars shine for us to see.

We are free! We are free!”

Even today this song can be heard during Christmas on Mars.

TWO LAST TREATS: FROM MY CLEVER COMPETITION ALUMNI!

It was a real treat to hear from Andrea Phillips and Whitney Yu, who you may remember were regular competitors (and sometimes winners) in my competitions in the past two years. Now that they are both in high school, they are no longer eligible to enter my Clever Competitions, but they still sent me some poems about a Martian Christmas! I thought they were so good that you all might want to read them! Here they are:

Andrea Phillips, Year 7, South Island School, 11 years old

Christmas on Mars