Selected stories and poems by third graders A;shiwi Elementary, Zuni New Mexico
Spring 2001: Craig Haneke's class
THE FOREST PLACE
by Katie Simplicio
I see the trees.
I see rocks.
I see caterpillars climbing.
I see bugs crawling up on the ant piles.
I see clouds talking to the other clouds, talking in whispers.
WHEN I WAS A BIRD
by Janet Pinto
3rd grade, A:shiwi Elementary, Zuni NM
When I was a bird, I was looking for food. I was so, so hungry. I was looking for food for my family. And it was raining. My family ran on. Then we went to the house, and father ran to get food for the family. It was cloudy and cloudy. I couldn't see my father.
My father was laying on the floor - rain drops fell on my father's face. I was crying. I went to my old house to call my father bird for help. I was scared of the rain, so I stayed at father bird's. I asked him to stay with me and make it stop. And I was sad for my family. I fell asleep. When I woke up, it had stopped raining, and I went out to my house to find my family. My family was gone. I went crying for my family a long time. My family was dead. I was crying and crying for my family. The father bird said, "I will be your father." I said, "Yes."
I grew wings. I was a bird.
A Flood
by Vanross Romancito
Long ago, the people planted corn. It wouldn't rain. It was dry for many days. The corn grew but the plants tipped over. Whenever the wind blew you could hear it in the corn.
One day, the animals started running through the corn. They ran into the village. The people knew that there was something coming. "Look up in the sky," said a cornkeeper.
It started to rain. But first it started with hailstones. The people all began to run to a high cave up on the mountain.
It rained for six days and five nights. The water flooded into all the houses. Two people sacrificed their lives. They jumped into the water and they drowned.
Once the two people sacrificed themselves, the flood waters began to go down.
The people came back to their village. They rebuilt their houses. And they always remembered.
