Max冬冬

Once there was a timid teeny tiny ghost.

He lived in a teeny tiny house with two teeny tiny black cats.

The teeny tiny ghost went to Teeny Tiny School.

He learned his teeny tiny alphabet, shivered at spooky stories, and heard about Halloween.

He had never been out on that night, but it sounded very scary.

Each day after school the teeny tiny ghost tried to do his homework.

"Haunting is very hard," he told his teeny tiny black cats.

They sat on the windowsill to watch.

First he boooooed, then he whoooooed, till he made the rafters rumble and he had to hide his

teeny tiny head.

The he howwwwwled, and he yeowwwwwled, till the echoes came a-calling and he had to hide his teeny tiny head.

"I'll never learn," wailed the teeny tiny ghost.

"I'm so timid, I scare myself!" And a teeny tiny tear slid down his cheek.

His teeny tiny cats climbed on his lap, licked his teeny tiny face, and purrred their teeny tiny purrs.

On Halloween night some eerie yellow lights bobbed by the house of the teeny tiny ghost.

"What's that?" he said, holding his cats close.

And his teeny tiny heart beat bumpety-bump.

Then he heard Rap Tap Tap on his teeny tiny door.

"Whoooo's there?" called the teeny tiny ghost.

"Let us in," cried the voices, and they sounded very big.

The teeny tiny ghost looked around.

Could he hide?

He slipped inside the grandfather clock.

But he shivered and shook till he made the clock chime BING...BONG... BING...BONG...BING.

The teeny tiny ghost thought his head would explode.

He undid the latch and escaped.

RAP TAP TAP came the knocking on his teeny tiny door.

"Let us in," cried the voices, and they sounded very loud!

The teeny tiny cats mewwwed and meowwwed.

"Don't be afraid," said the teeny tiny ghost.

"I won't run away. I'll keep you safe. We have to be very very brave."

The teeny tiny ghost took a long large breath.

He huffed and he puffed till he felt very big.

He boooed and he whoooed till he felt very bold.

He howwwwwed and he whowwwwwed till he sounded very loud.

His best friend, Gilbert, wore a blue sailor suit.

He tooted tiny tunes on a teeny tiny horn.

His teen ytiny teacher had a hat and cape.

"You can be a magician with your teeny tiny cats!"

Then the teeny tiny ghost with his teeny tiny friends sailed up the street on parade.

They tapped on teeny windows, they rapped on tiny doors, while jack-o-lanterns smiled in the bat-black night.

The teeny tiny ghost gave a teeny tiny giggle and whispered to his teeny tiny cats:

"HAPPY HALLOWEEN!"

Today Mom and Dad went on a trip, and Grandam and Grandpa came to stay with us.

"Bye-bye, Mom and Dad!" I said.

"Don't worry. I will take care of everything."

First, we had to do our chores.

So, we vacuumed..we mopped...and we dusted.

Then we did some painting.

I told Grandpa I was a very good painter, but the paint spilled a little.

Then we had to do some shopping.

At the store, I pushed the cart...

...and showed Grandma just what we needed to buy.

When we got home, I made a special lunch for everyone--peanut butter and pickle sandwiches...

...with potato chips, marshmallows, and chocolate syrup on top.

Grandma and Grandpa said it was the best lunch they ever had.

After lunch, Little Sister helped Grandpa water the garden while Grandma and I did the dishes.

"You have to use lots of soap if you want to get the dishes really clean, Grandma," I said.

Then we went to the movies.

Grandma likes popcorn and Grandpa likes candy...

...so we had to get lots of both.

After that, we went bowling. I helped Grandma roll the ball because it was too heavy.

On the way home we were hungry, so we stopped at Critter Burger.

I ordered a Super Burger and a Super Shake, but I dropped them.

When we got home, it was time to get ready for bed.

So we all put on our pajamas...

...washed our faces...and brushed our teeth.

"Mom says to use lots of toothpaste," I said.

Then I told Grandma and Grandpa a scary story.

It was a little too scary for them, so we had to check for monsters in the closet and under the bed.

Grandma and Grandpa were still a little scared, so Little Sister and I stayed with them all night long.

Good night, Grandma! Good night, Grandpa!

One day Little Mouse Deer went to the river.

He was hungry.

He could see leaves and fruit on the other side of the river.

Now in the river there was a crocodile.

The crocodile was hungry too.

He wanted to eat Little Mouse Deer.

When Crocodile saw Little Mouse Deer he said,

"Do you want to get to the other side of the river? I can help you."

Little Mouse Deer did not want Crocodile to help him.

"Crocodile will not help me," he said to himself. "He will eat me."

So Little Mouse Deer said,

"The king wants me to count how many crocodiles there are in the river."

"Make a line in the river," said Little Mouse Deer.

"Then I can count how many crocodiles there are."

So all the crocodiles made a line in the river.

Then Little Mouse Deer jumped on the first crocodile.

As he jumped Little Mouse Deer said, "One."

Then he jumped on the next crocodile.

As he jumped Little Mouse Deer said,"Two."

Then he jumped on the next crocodile and the next and the next.

As he jumped he said,"Three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine... "

When he jumped on the last crocodile he said, "Ten!"

By now, Little Mouse Deer was on the other side of the river.

"How many of us are there?" said Crocodile.

"There are ten," said Little Mouse Deer, "and they are all like you--foolish!"

Then Little Mouse Deer went off to eat leaves and fruit but Crocodile was still hungry.

I had a dream that I made a magic potion.

After I mixed it up, I drank the potion down.

Then weird things started to happen, just like in a spooky show on television.

I changed.

I grew pointy fangs and long claws.

I had bat wings and a long tail.

I could roar so loud that I scared everybody, and they left me alone.

Then I did whatever I wanted.

I lived all by myself.

My room looked just the way I wanted it to look.

I had cookies and ice cream for breakfast.

I never brushed my fur or my fangs and I never changed my clothes.

I got a gorilla for a pet.

I didn't go to school.

I just rode my bicycle wherever I wanted.

We ate ice cream and fudge pops for lunch.

We played outside as long as we wanted--even after it was dark.

I never took a bath--even if I was dirty.

I kept lizards and frogs and snakes in the tub.

I watched television as late as I wanted and never even had to go to bed.

I got sleepy anyway and went upstairs.

But there was no one to tuck me in and read me a story.

Then I got scared, and there was no one to give me a hug.

I began to cry.

I wanted my mommy and daddy.

Suddenly someone was shaking me.

It was my mom and dad.

"You had a bad dream, " they said.

There is a small mountain near my house.

Whenever there's a sunny day, my parents and I would go hiking.

Each time we would try a different path.

When we reached a hilltop, we would sit there, enoying a different view.

Sometimes, it's a view of the sea;

sometimes it's a view of the city;

and sometimes it's a view of another hilltop.

One day, when we got there, Dad said to me, "Listen, boy. This is life."

When Dad saw my puzzled face, he added,

"You see, there are different paths leading to the top of the mountain.

To use one path means that you have to give up another.

That is to say, you end up with a different view."

I don't know if I fully understand the real meaning behind Daddy's words.

But I do know we have to make choices in life.

And each choice makes a difference.

My baby sister always says no.

One day my friend came over to play.

But my baby sister wouldn't leave us alone.

We started to make a model boat, but my baby sister said, "NO BOAT!"

We wanted to make a blanket tent, but my baby sister said, "NO BLANKET!"

I tried to give her one of her dolls, but she wasn't interested.

She said, "NO DOLL!"

"Let's play our favorite board game," my friend said.

But my baby sister said, "NO GAME!"

We went into my room and shut the door.

But my sisiter said, "NO SHUT!"

Then Mom made me open the door.

We ran outside, but my sisiter said, "NO RUN!" and followed us.

I sat on my swing, but my sister said, "NO SWING!"

We tried to play ball, but my sister said, "NO BALL!"

I thought if I sat on her bike, she might forget about the ball.

But she didn't care.

She said, "NO BIKE...BALL!" and she carried it off.

We didn't want to play with her tricycle, anyway.

So we came back inside to play cards.

But my sister said, "NO CARDS, NO CARDS!"

So I got out my favorite cars and trucks.

But guess who said, "NO CARS, NO TRUCKS!"

We decided to watch cartoons instead, but my sister said, "NO TOONS!"

So I yelled, "MAMA!"

Then Mama said, "NAP!"

But my sister said, "NO NAP!"

But Mama always wins, and my sister took a nap.

As the sun set a little firefly was born.

It streched its wings and flew off into the darkening night.

It was a lonely firefly and it flashed its light searching for other fireflies.

The firefly saw a light and flew toward it.

But it was not another firefly.

It was a lightbulb lighting up the night.

The firefly saw a light and flew toward it.

But it was not another firefly.

It was a candle flickering in the night.

The firefly saw a light and flew toward it.

But it was not another firefly.

It was a flashlight shining in the night.

The firefly saw a light and flew toward it.

But it was not another firefly.

It was a lantern glowing in the night.

The firefly saw several lights and flew toward them.

But they were not other fireflies.

There was a dog and...

a cat and an owl, their eyes reflecting the lights.

The firefly saw a light and flew toward it.

But it was not another firefly.

It was a car's headlights flooding the night.

The firefly saw many lights and flew toward them.

But they were not other fireflies.

They were fireworks sparkling and glittering

and shimmering in the night.

Whe all was quiet,

the firefly flew through the night,

flashing its lights

looking and searching again.

Then the very lonely firefly saw what it had been looking for...

A group of fireflies, flashing their lights.

Now the firefly wasn't lonely anymore.

I know an old lady who swallowed a pie,

A Thanksgiving pie, which was really too dry.

Perhaps she'll die.

I know an old lady who swallowed some cider

That rumbled and mumbled and grumbled inside her.

She swallowed the cider to moisten the pie,

The Thanksgiving pie, which was really too dry.

Perhaps she'll die.

I know an old lady who swallowed a roll.

Just swallowed it whole --the entire roll!

She swallowe the roll to go with the cider

That rumbled and mumbled and grumbled inside her.

She swallowed the cider to moisten the pie,

The Thanksgiving pie, which was really too dry.

Perhaps she'll die.

I know an old lady who swallowed a squash.

Oh my gosh, a fat yellow squash!

She swallowed the squash to go with the roll.

She swallowe the roll to go with the cider

That rumbled and mumbled and grumbled inside her.

She swallowed the cider to moisten the pie,

The Thanksgiving pie, which was really too dry.

Perhaps she'll die.

I know an old lady who swallowed a salad.

She was looking quite pallid from eating that salad!

She swallowed the salad to go with the squash.

She swallowed the squash to go with the roll.

She swallowe the roll to go with the cider

That rumbled and mumbled and grumbled inside her.

She swallowed the cider to moisten the pie,

The Thanksgiving pie, which was really too dry.

Perhaps she'll die.

I know an old lady who swallowed a turkey.

Her future looked murkey, after that turkey!

She swallowed the turkey to go with the salad.

She swallowed the salad to go with the squash.

She swallowed the squash to go with the roll.

She swallowe the roll to go with the cider

That rumbled and mumbled and grumbled inside her.

She swallowed the cider to moisten the pie,

The Thanksgiving pie, which was really too dry.

Perhaps she'll die.

I know an old lady who swallowed a pot.

I kid you not -- she swallowed a pot!

She swallowed the pot to go with the turkey.

She swallowed the turkey to go with the salad.

She swallowed the salad to go with the squash.

She swallowed the squash to go with the roll.

She swallowe the roll to go with the cider

That rumbled and mumbled and grumbled inside her.

She swallowed the cider to moisten the pie,

The Thanksgiving pie, which was really too dry.

Perhaps she'll die.

I know an old lady who swallowed a cake.

For goodness sake, a ten-layer cake!

She swallowed the cake to go with the pot.

She swallowed the pot to go with the turkey.

She swallowed the turkey to go with the salad.

She swallowed the salad to go with the squash.

She swallowed the squash to go with the roll.

She swallowe the roll to go with the cider

That rumbled and mumbled and grumbled inside her.

She swallowed the cider to moisten the pie,

The Thanksgiving pie, which was really too dry.

Perhaps she'll die.

I know an old lady who swallowed some bread.

"I'm full," she said.

Joseph had a little overcoat. It was old and worn.

So he made a jacket out of it and went to the fair.

Joseph had a little jacket. It was old and worn.

So he made a vest out of it and danced at his nephew's wedding.

Joseph had a little vest. It was old and worn.

So he made a scarf out of it and sang in the men's chorus.

Joseph had a little scarf. It was old and worn.

So he made a necktie out of it and went to visit his married sister in the city.

Joseph had a little necktie. It was old and worn.

So he made a handkerchief out of it and drank a glass of hot tea with lemon.

Joseph had a little handkerchief. It was old and worn.

So he made a button out of it and used it to fasten his suspenders.

Joseph had a little button. One day he lost it.

Now he had nothing.

So Joseph made a story about it.

Which shows... you can always make something out of nothing.

How does a dinosaur say good night when Papa comes in to turn off the light?

Does a dinosaur slam his tail and pout?

Does he throw his teddy bear all about?

Does a dinosaur stomp his feet on the floor and shout: " I want to hear one book more!"?

Does a dinosaur roar?

How does a dinosaur say good night when Mama comes in to turn off the light?

Does he swing his neck from side to side?

Does he up and demand a piggyback ride?

Does he mope, does he moan, does he sulk, does he sigh?

Does he fall on the top of his covers and cry?

No, dinosaurs don't.

They don't even try.

They give a big kiss.

They turn out the light.

They tuck in their tails.

They whisper, "Good night!"

They give a big hug, then give one kiss more.

Good night.

Good night, little dinosaur.