Have a look at Susanna Leonard Hill’s blog if you’d like to enter her “Spring” writing competition.
All you need to do is write a children’s story in poetry or prose, maximum 350 words and the story must be about something that really says “Spring” to you. Also, the last line must be “[Character Name] knew Spring was really here!” or “[Character Name] knew Spring was here at last!” (You can also write in first person if you want – e.g. I knew Spring was really here…. and present tense is fine too.)
Post your story on your blog this weekend and add your post-specific link to Susanna’s link on her blog.
Here’s my entry:
Poor Mouse
Out in the meadow and under the trees,
A little mouse picked some fragrant lilies.
Her soft small nose began to twitch.
Her soft small nose began to itch.
And Poor Mouse moaned, “Oh, woe is me,”
As she began to wheeze and sneeze.
Racing away from the vibrant lilies,
Poor Mouse spied a gaggle of geese.
Said the mouse to the geese, “Oh please, oh please,
Can you cure me of this wheeze and sneeze?”
“Well,” said the geese, trying hard to please,
“How about trying some fresh garden peas?”
The peas tasted good like Mouse knew they would.
But they didn’t quite help like she thought they should.
Her soft small nose still itched and twitched.
And Poor Mouse groaned, “Oh, woe is me,”
As she continued to wheeze and sneeze.
The geese, not wishing to catch the sneeze,
Waddled off over the hills with ease.
Then skittishly scrambling around the trees,
Raced rowdy rabbits, teased by fleas.
Said Mouse to Ma Rabbit, “Oh please, oh please,
Can you cure me of this wheeze and sneeze?”
“Well,” said Ma Rabbit, devouring some leaves,
“How about trying some luscious berries?”
The fruit tasted good like Mouse knew it would.
But it didn’t quite help like she thought it should.
Her soft small nose still itched and twitched.
And Poor Mouse whimpered, “Oh, woe is me,”
As she continued to wheeze and sneeze.
Ma Rabbit, not wishing to catch the sneeze,
Bounded home swiftly with all her babies.
Then, from out of nowhere, with knobbly knees,
An ostrich ran into the tall thin trees.
Ruffling his feathers, in the gentle breeze,
He disturbed a hive full of bumble bees.
The bees buzzed and swarmed and gave Mouse a fright.
She staggered and stumbled off into the night.
Distracted by those bothersome bees,
Mouse no longer wheezed or sneezed.
Excited and tired she fell asleep fast,
For Poor Mouse knew spring was here at last!
Poor, wee Mouse, I am so glad there was a happy ending.
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Yes, I wanted Mouse to be rid of her wheeze and sneeze by the end of the story. Thanks for reading.
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What a cute story! As I read it I could visualize beautiful illustrations in my head. Good luck!
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Thank you and thanks for the lovely comments.
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Sweet! Lovely little . . . A-A-A-CHOO! . . . tale about a sneezy little mouse. 😀
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Thank you!
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Allergies are definitely a sign of spring. Nice idea. And, your poem was so so sweet. Love your opening.
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Thanks for reading my story and leaving the lovely comments. I hope my story still came across as light-hearted and fun as I didn’t want Spring to sound negative with all the sneezing and wheezing!
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Oh, poor mouse – I know exactly how he feels with a wheeze and a sneeze! Love that you wove the bees in. Did you know that local honey can help? I know a honey-man who says the stings have cured his own sneezes.
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Thanks for your comments. I had heard that local honey was good for your health. We have Manuka honey in our pantry and take a couple of mouthfuls when we feel a sore throat coming on. Interesting that the bee stings have cured his sneezes.
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Now that is a twist on Spring! Poor mouse!! The visuals were fun to read.
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Thanks for reading my story.
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Oh my, poor mouse…I sympathize completely because my allergies started acting up back in February, for goodness sake! 😉
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Yes, a lot of people do have problems with all the pollen in the air. My nose gets itchy too!
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I love this entry!
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Thank you!
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Hi Rachel…so nice to meet you via Susanna’s Spring Contest.:)
I love your story…poor mouse…scurrying around to find a cure for his nose issues.:) Your language is lots of fun!
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Hi Vivian,
Nice to meet you too. I’m glad you liked my story and thanks for commenting. I must have a read of all the other stories on Susanna’s blog too.
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Poor Mouse! Yes, I also know spring his here when my nose starts to itch. 🙂
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Thanks for reading my story and commenting. My nose itches too!
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I enjoyed the repetition in this piece. And the ostrich was quite a surprise! 🙂
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Hi Laura,
Thanks for reading my story and commenting. I must go and read all the other stories now.
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LOL. Who knew allergies were funny?! Poor sneezy mouse!
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I thought I’d try to make fun out of a sneezy situation. Originally I had her sneezing then wheezing then coughing then burping and then hiccuping but I thought it might have been a bit too much!
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One can tell you really know the sorts of images and words which will appeal to children.
Your salary bill on the extras must be rather heavy! 🙂
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I tried to use lots of interesting words and alliteration with this story. I’ve been reading some of the other stories in the contest and have found lots of creative sentences, awesome descriptions of sights and smells and great words – good to read others’ work and get some ideas!
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Poor little mouse 😦 I’m glad everything worked out! I guess allergies are a sign of spring for lots of people – who would have thought for a little mouse? I loved the racing rowdy rabbits and the bothersome bees – fun language! Thanks for a great entry, Rachel!
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Thanks for organising such a fun competition Susanna. It was so good to read everybody’s stories about what spring means to them. There’s so many talented story writers out there. I found it particularly hard to vote today – they were all so good.
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Poor little wheezy, sneezy mouse. Who woulda thunk that animals could get allergies-adorable Rachel. :0)
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Thank you. Originally I had a mouse, a fox, a Siamese, the rabbits, a chimpanzee and then the ostrich so I thought the smallest, cutest animal should be the one running about trying to cure her sneeze.
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You thought well Rachel. :0)
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How precious! Little mouse is a great character…really nice job!
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Thanks for the lovely comments Penny. Glad you enjoyed my story.
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I love everyone’s different takes on spring 🙂 and you hit on one of the most annoying things of spring for many people. Thankfully not me lol! Great job, Rachel 🙂
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Thanks for reading my story. I’ve just been catching up reading a stack of the spring stories and they are all so creative and very different. It was hard to vote! Glad you don’t get the itches and sneezes.
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This is such a cute poem for Spring, Rachel!
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