Storymakers: Bob's Adventures

Storymakers: Bob's Adventures

By Thomas
Sixth Grade
Sylvan Way Christian School
Bremerton, WA

There once was an explorer named Bob. He had traveled the world. "I have seen everything," he would say. Bob wanted to see something new.

"Maybe I should go to the moon!" he said. So he boarded a space shuttle at the Kennedy Space Center. The rockets roared and Bob was off!

Soon the moon was in view. Upon landing, Bob walked out into the dark and silent space.

"Wow!" Bob said, leaping high into the air. "This is incredible!"

Soon Bob grew bored. He wanted to go home. He got back in the shuttle and headed back to Earth.

When he landed he thought, "I have traveled the world and beyond. I have seen everything. I want to see something new."

Bob went to the Arctic. He immediately grew sick of the whiteness and ordered the ship to bring him back home.

The explorer thought, "I have seen the world and beyond. I have seen everything. I want to see something new."

He went to Antarctica to see if it was any better than the Arctic.

He flew to Antarctica, but as soon as he jumped off the plane, he sank all the way to his nose in the soft snow. Bob immediately scrambled back on the plane and went home.

Back at his house, Bob thought, "I have seen the world and beyond. Have seen everything. I want to see something new."

He persuaded a world-famous deep-see explorer to give him a tour of the very depths of the sea.

Bob was interested at first. He loved the way the fish wiggled their fins to move through the water. As the submersible plunged through the water, illuminating spotlights made the underwater world come alive. Bob saw octopi and many fish. He soon grew bored. He ordered the submersible be turned around.

Bob went home and thought, "I have seen the world, both land and water, and beyond. I have seen everything. I want to see something new." Bob couldn't think of anywhere to go that was new, so he sat around his apartment every day.

One day, while watching The Attack of the Mutant Meatballs from the Dark: a Tale of Horror from the Kitchen on TV, a letter slipped under the door. He walked over and picked up the letter. It said:

To Bob:

Purpose: A very important exploration mission

We write to you on behalf of Pasteur Louis, the famous explorer who currently lives in Arbois, France. He invites you to join him on an expedition to India. He would like to explore the culture there. He knows that you have probably been to India before, but he would like to invite you nonetheless.

The Institute of Advanced Exploration

777-8364

Bob thought awhile before dialing the number at the bottom of the letter. He would go to India with Pasteur.

On October 14, Bob was traveling to France on a Concorde jet. When he arrived, he was greeted by a small man with a French accent.

"Allo! De famous explorer Bob, no?"

"Ahh...no, I mean yes! I'm Bob!"

Pasteur and Bob walked down to gate B and got on another jet. The engines roared and there was a supersonic BOOM!

In no time at all, they were in India. "Let's go to the Taj Mahal!" Bob said, enthusiastically.

"No!" Pasteur yelled sternly. "We go to de market."

"But we have all our supplies."

Did you forget de mission?" the French explorer asked. "Explore de culture. We will start at de market."

Bob followed Pasteur reluctantly into the market. He watched, interested, as Pasteur walked around talking with the people selling things in stands. Louis occasionally bought something and was constantly writing in his notebook.

Bob soon grew bored. He decided to look around. In the distance, the Taj Mahal was sitting proudly and Bob longed to be there. "Oh well," he thought, and he walked over to a blanket stand.

"Wow," he muttered. "These are amazing."

He picked up a blanket. It had red and black embroidered edges and there were people on it. Some of them were carrying baskets on their heads and some were pulling on hoes and plows.

"That tells a story," a voice said.

Bob looked up to see a small, wrinkled, old woman. "Really?" he asked.

"Yes," she said. "It shows the work of the citizens in India. See? It shows the farmers. It shows the women carrying water jugs on their heads.

"This one also tells a story," the woman continued. "See all the soldiers? They have just conquered a city and they're trampling the enemy underfoot."

"Wow," Bob marveled. "Did that really happen?"

"Yes, these blankets show the history of India."

"Amazing," Bob said.

Just then, Pasteur's voice cut through the noise of the crowd. "I know you are bored, Monsieur Bob. We can go to de Taj Mah-Ahh!"

Bob whipped his head around to see the French explorer teetering under the weight of everything he had bought.

"I don't want to go quite yet," he said.

"Really? What caused this change of de 'eart?"

"Well, come over here and look at these!" He led a grinning Pasteur over to the blanket stand.

"See? Look at thees Pasteur! Aren't they incredible? They each tell a story."

Good for you, Monsieur Bob. You have discovered something new. You have discovered the culture and history of these people."

Now, Bob has something new to discover everywhere he goes. When he visits a site, like Taj Mahal, he not only enjoys the site itself, but also learning the history behind it. He does not leave until he knows how, when, and why it was made, and who made it. He now knows that you can't fully appreciate something until you know a little bit about it. Bob can no longer say, "I have seen everything. I want to see something new," for he is learning something new each and every day.

Storymakers: A Creative Challenge for Young Writers, is a program inviting students in sixth, seventh, and eighth grades living in Washington State and British Columbia, Canada, to submit their own original creative writing pieces.