Traveler’s Trunk Publishing

 

Open a world of adventure!

Jacob, Sierra, and Brent’s Page

      Jacob went to the beach this summer with his family. He had a great time playing in the sand and water. But, try as he may, he was no match for the waves of Lake Michigan. Every time he stood up against them, they knocked him right back down. Jacob laughed as the water crashed into him and sent him tumbling backwards.         “Hey Sierra, watch this!,” he shouted.

      He stood up and prepared for the next wave to strike. This time he was going to jump over it. Jacob bent his knees in anticipation of the jump. Here it came, the wave was almost to him. Jacob sprang up as high as he could, leaning into the wave and landed on his feet. He turned around, pumping his fist in the air. He looked for Sierra, “Did you see that. I did it. I beat the …”

      Jacob’s words were swallowed by a particularly large wave cascading over his head. He came up sputtering, sand and water running down his face, and saw Sierra laughing so hard there were tears in her eyes.

      “I’m going to go build a sandcastle,” he muttered as he stomped out of the water.

 

      Sierra loves animals. So when her mom told her they were going to the zoo she was very excited. When they got there Sierra looked at the map.

      “What do you want to see first?” Mom asked.

      “There is so much to choose from,” Sierra replied, “How about the monkeys.”

      They spent the whole morning walking around looking at one animal after the next. It was great!

      “I’m hungry, Mom,” Sierra said, holding her rumbling tummy.

      “Alright, let’s go get some lunch,” Mom replied.

      Sierra devoured her hotdog and licked the last of the ketchup off her fingers. She grabbed a handful of french fries and was about to stuff them in her mouth when she saw the most beautiful peacock. His tail feathers were spread and the sun shone through the blues and greens of his feathers making them sparkle in the light. Sierra got up as if in a trance and walked toward the peacock wandering just outside the food court, french fries forgotten in her hand. She got up close to it, studying its splendid display of feathers.

      “You sure are beautiful, feller,” she said reaching out her hand.

      The peacock look at her warily, then put his beak in the air near her hand. The next thing Sierra knew, the peacock was squawking and running toward her as fast as it could. She shrieked and starting running to her mother.

      “Mom, Mom, help, the peacock is after me!” Sierra turned her head, the bird was nearly upon her.

      “Drop the french fries,” her mom shouted between laughs. It’s not everyday you see your child chased by an overgrown blue bird.

      Sierra let go of the French fries and kept on running till she was safely behind her mother. She gulped and peered over her moms shoulder to see were the crazy blue bird was. Sierra began to giggle when she saw the peacock pick up a fry with his beak, toss it up, and gobble it out of the air.

      “That’s the last time I eat french fries at the zoo,” she said with a sigh.

 

   Brent got new neighbors this summer. When he looked out his window Brent saw a young boy about his age playing in the front yard of his new house.

      “New neighbors, this is awesome!” he said, running out the front door to meet them.

      Brent was so excited that he almost forgot to look both ways before he dashed across the street.

      “Hi, my name’s Brent. What’s yours?” he panted as he skid to a stop in front of the boy.

      The boy looked up and responded shyly, “I’m Joey.”

      Brent smiled. “Are you nervous about starting a new school? I was a little nervous when we moved here last year, but the kids are really friendly, except Tony Tortelli. Don’t worry about him though. I bet we’ll be great friends. We can play together everyday.”

      Joey smiled back at Brent. “I’d like that.”

      “Hey, do you like M&M’s. I got some stashed under my bed. I’ll be right back,” he said as he ran home to get them.

      When Brent got back with the M&M’s Joey was not in the front yard. Then he saw a flash of dark hair poke up above a bush next to the house. Brent ran over to see if Joey was hiding from him.

      “Hi Joey.” Brent said.

      “What do you want,” the boy said, looking up from the hole he was digging.

      Brent cocked his head to the side a little confused. “I brought the candy. Didn’t you want some?”

      “That’s right. I’m Joey and you brought candy. Yeah, give me some,” the boy said with a smirk.

      Something seemed strange about Joey. Brent just couldn’t put his finger on it. This couldn’t be the shy boy he was just talking to.

      “Did you change your clothes?” Brent asked. “I thought you were wearing a blue shirt.”

      “No, blue and black are sort of alike. You must be remembering wrong. Now how about that candy.” said the boy in the black shirt.

      Just then Brent heard the front door slam and he peeked over the bush to see who it was. Standing on the front porch, looking around the front yard, was a boy in a blue shirt. He looked exactly like the boy in the black shirt. Brent looked back and forth at the two boys and began to understand this afternoons confusion. Twins!

      Brent glared down at the boy in the black shirt. “Your Joey, huh?”

      The boy smiled sheepishly. “Only when he’s not around,” he said with a laugh. “My name’s Jimmy. Sorry I tricked you.” Jimmy put out a dirt covered hand for Brent to shake.

      Brent chuckled and reached out to shake Jimmy’s hand. “Usually I’m the one pulling the pranks,” he said with a smile. “I bet we’ll be great friends too. When we’re not trying to trick eachother.”

      Jimmy stood up, calling to his brother, “Hey Joey. We’re over here.”

      When Joey came over Brent shared the M&M’s with both boys and they played together all afternoon. Brent was glad he had two new neighbors to play with. Double the trouble and double the fun.

Sierra

Jacob

Brent