Amy's Magic Christmas (youngsters:adventure, 21065 words)
Author: JoeD	Added: Jun 22 2007	Views/Reads: 15306/8567	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Amy Clayton is a ten year old with a heart of gold. She wants her family to have a joyous Christmas, but it doesn't seem like they will this year due to Amy's father having lost his job. Being the oldest of three children, Amy sets out to try to do s

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why I was trying to get this job.” The woman nodded her head in 
comprehension, then walked with Amy to the entrance of the store.  A 
tear formed in Amy's left eye as she departed the toy shoppe and headed 
to the escalator. Now she would have to go home unemployed, she was 
thinking, and there would be no toys for Justin or baby Nicole this 
Christmas, or for herself either.  There might not even be a turkey or 
ham, she pondered, as she crashed into a well dressed older chubby man 
in his sixties. “Ooops, I'm sorry,”  Amy announced, looking up at the 
man. The man, clad in a dark blue suit, expensive blue top coat, and 
the shiniest black shoes Amy had ever seen, smiled down at her. “Oh, no 
problem, my child,”  the man told her.  “I think it was my fault 
anyway.  I apparently wasn't looking where I was going.  You see, my 
eyes were busy gazing at that elegant doll in the window over there.  
That is some spectacular doll, isn't it?“ Amy turned her head in the 
direction the man was indicating, and she saw the doll he was referring 
to. “Oh, yes, ” Amy said with a sigh. “That's a very pretty doll.” “Do 
you think a four year old girl would like that doll?“  he asked Amy. 
Amy gave him her opinion swiftly. “Yes, ”  Amy replied.  “I'm sure any 
four year old girl would love to have that doll.“ The man smiled as his 
eyes looked over at the doll in the store front window more intently.  
As he did this, Amy's own eyes focused in on his face.  She could not 
believe how much this man looked like her late grandfather, who had 
died of a heart attack just last year.  His hair was as white as her 
grandfather's had been, and he even had a somewhat ruddy complexion, 
and blue eyes, which seemed to twinkle when he smiled, just like her 
grandfather's used to. “Well, thank you, young lady, for your help,” 
the man said. “I think I shall purchase that doll for my granddaughter. 
 It will be my gift to her this Christmas.“ “I'm sure she will like 
it,”  Amy commented.  “Well, I have to be going now.  I have to get 
home.” “Doesn't look like you did much shopping today,” the man said to 
her, noting that her arms were minus shopping bags. “Oh, no, ”  Amy 
informed him.  “I didn't.  I came here for a job, not to shop.” “A 
job?”  the man chuckled.  “Why on earth would someone as young as you 
be seeking employment, may I ask?“ “Well, ” Amy sighed long and hard, 
“my dad lost his job at the insurance company, and my mom has to stay 
home to care for my baby sister, so there isn't much money anymore. I 
thought if I could get a job after school and on weekends, I could help 
a little.“ The man nodded his head in affirmation, contemplating what 
Amy had just explained. “I see,”  the man said at last.  “It sounds 
like you and your little family are in quite a  fix.“ “That's for 
sure,”  Amy rapidly agreed.  “I just wanted us all to at least have a 
nice Christmas this year, you know?“ “Yes, yes of course,”  the man 
stated. “But I didn't get the job,” Amy said, pouting a bit. “The lady 
there was real nice, but she said I was too young.“ “Yes, I would think 
so,”  the man responded. Again, the man seemed lost in thought, and Amy 
was about to go when he spoke again. “Tell me, child, ”  he went on, 
'how old are you?“ Amy knew she was never to reveal any personal 
information about herself to strangers, much less talk with them, but 
telling this man , who looked so much like her deceased grandfather, 
her age, did not seem so terrible, so she decided to tell him she was 
ten. “Ah, ten,”  he sighed. “That is a wonderful age.  Tell me, have 
you ever heard of The Wishing Well, child?“ “No,”  Amy said, somewhat 
curious.  “What's The Wishing Well?” “It's a very special place,” he 
informed her.  “Quite magical, so some say.  Let me give you a card.“ 
Amy waited impatiently as he pulled out his wallet, took a white 
business card from it, and handed it to her. “Go there soon, dear 
child, and tell them Mr. White sent you.  That, and this card will get 
you inside,“  he explained. “Thank you, ”  Amy said, tucking the card 
in her jacket pocket, without reading it.  “It was nice talking with 
you, sir, but I really have to be going now.  My parents don't know I 
came here for a job, and they will be worried if I don't get home 
soon.“ “Of course, ”  the man said, flashing her a broad smile once 
more.  “Be sure to go to The Wishing Well soon.  It could just prove to 
be the answer to all your problems.“ Amy smiled in return, then scooted 
rapidly down the escalator stairwell, two steps at a time, not even 
waiting for the electronic stairway to transport her to the main floor. 


CHAPTER  TWO 

It was indeed snowing outdoors, and Amy pulled her hood up as she
ventured onto Clover Boulevard, some six long blocks from where she 
lived.  She arrived home just before four o'clock.  Her mother was in 
the kitchen. “Well, there you are, finally,” her mother, a short auburn 
haired woman in her late thirties, said to her, as she kissed Amy on 
the cheek.  “I was getting worried about you.  You are usually home 
from school long before now.  Did the snow hold you up, honey?“ “Uh, 
sort of, Mom,” Amy fibbed. Amy was not a liar.  She never lied to her 
parents, her teacher, or anyone, for that matter. But she didn't want 
her mother knowing that she had been out searching for a job.  It would 
just upset her mother, Amy knew, and with all her mom's other troubles, 
she did not wish to add on any more problems. “Well, I'm just glad you 
are home,”  her mother said.  “You had better get out of that wet 
jacket, and perhaps change your clothes, Amy.  We will be having dinner 
as soon as your father gets home.“ “Where is Daddy?”  Amy inquired. 
“Out looking for work, as usual,” Mrs. Clayton said.  “I just hope he 
finds something soon,” she added, sighing deeply. “Is the baby 
sleeping?”  Amy asked. “Yes, honey, she is,” her mother replied.  “And 
your brother is upstairs in his room sulking.” “About what?”  Amy 
wanted to know. “He is unhappy because we can't afford to get him the 
hockey equipment your father and I promised him some time ago. He 
doesn't understand, like you do, that we just don't have money to spare 
now that your father is out of work.“ Amy nodded, then decided she 
would have a talk with Justin, her younger brother, and perhaps explain 
more in detail what the family financial situation was.  It was just as 
Amy was mulling over in her mind what she might say to Justin that her 
father arrived home.  She heard him stomp his feet in the laundry room, 
freeing his shoes of snow, then he came into the kitchen.  Amy smiled 
up at him and greeted him with a big hug.  He hugged her back and 
smiled down at her. “Hi, Daddy,”  she said.  “You are cold!” “Yes, I 
sure am,” her father replied, patting her on the head lovingly.  “It's 
freezing out there.  I'm glad to be home.” Then he turned his attention 
to his wife.  Mrs. Clayton could tell from the expression on his face 
that nothing positive had developed today in his search for employment. 
“Hi, Honey,” Mrs. Clayton said to her husband, smiling as she said it.  
“No luck, huh?” Ed Clayton shook his head in a negative fashion. “No, 
Dear, ” he uttered.  “I'm afraid not.  There doesn't seem to be much 
out there these days for an insurance investigator.“ “Well, I am sure 
something will break soon, ” she told her husband, trying to sound 
optimistic.  “Why don't you get that wet coat off and sit down for 
dinner?  It's almost ready.“ Then she turned to Amy. “Honey, please 
call your brother down for dinner, will you?“ “Yes, Mom, ” Amy replied, 
and headed for the foot of the stairs. Amy's baby sister, Nicole, slept 
soundly in her crib as the remainder of the Clayton family ate their 
dinner. After Amy had helped her mother clear away the dishes, she went 
upstairs and looked in on her baby sister, who was still fast asleep.  
Amy watched her breathe and smiled to herself. I just have to do 
something, Amy whispered to the baby.  I have to help somehow so that 
we can all have a merry Christmas this year.  She leaned over and 
kissed her baby sister on the cheek.  Nicole stirred a bit, but did not 
awaken. Then Amy headed to her brother's room where she attempted to 
relate to him the bad financial situation their family was currently 
undergoing. By the time she finished her twenty minute talk with 
Justin, she felt he had a good understanding of things, and she left 
his room and headed for her own.  It was time to do her homework.  Her 
teacher, Mrs. Evans, was a wonderful educator, but she had no patience 
or tolerance for students who did not get their assignments in on time. 


CHAPTER  THREE 

The snow had stopped falling during the night, and as Amy headed for
school the next day, it was bright and sunny outdoors.  It was still 
very cold though, she noted, as she headed for the corner where she 
always met up with her best friend, Lucy Clark. “Hi, Amy, ” Lucy 
shouted out, when she caught sight of Amy approaching the corner. “Hi, 
yourself, ”  Amy smiled.  “It sure is cold this morning, huh?” “Yeah, 
it is, but at least it isn't snowing any more,“ said Lucy. The two 
girls began walking briskly now towards Thomas Jefferson Elementary 
School. “Did you get all your homework done?” Amy asked her friend. 
“Yeah, but I'm not sure I got all the math right, ” Lucy muttered. 
“Some of those problems were really tough, you know?“ “I know,” Amy 
replied.  “I'm not sure I got them right either.” “Oh, I'll bet you 
did,” Lucy countered. “You always do.  You're the top student in the 
class.  You seem to get A's on everything!  I don't know how you do 
it.“ “Well, I study,”  Amy responded.  “That's all you need to do.” 
“Yeah, I guess,”  Lucy shrugged.  “Well, at least I'll bet I did better 
than Emily.  Did you see what she did yesterday in class?“ “No, what?” 
“When Mrs. Evans gave us that math quiz with all the problems about 
subtraction, Emily put in plus signs and added the problems instead of 
subtracting them!“ Both girls laughed. “She always does that,”  Lucy 
said.  “She hates subtraction” “Well, I don' think Mrs. Evans will put 
up with that too much longer,“ Amy said. Just before reaching the 
school, Amy and Lucy met up with their mutual friend, Christina Baker.  
Christina came running over to them. “Hey, are you two going to enter 
that writing contest?“ Christina asked her two friends. “Maybe,”  Lucy 
informed her.  “I don't know yet.  I don't know what I would write 
about.“ “Well, I'm going to enter it,” Christina said excitedly. “The 
prizes that author talked about sound really super!  How about you, 
Amy?  Are you going to enter the contest?“ “I think so, ”  Amy told 
her.  “I'm not sure yet.” “What are you going to write about, Chrissy?” 
 Lucy wanted to know. “I'm going to write about a girl in the fourth 
grade who wins the state lottery and becomes a famous movie star!“  she 
proclaimed, beaming with enthusiasm. Both Amy and Lucy giggled upon 
hearing that. “Yeah, and I'll bet her name is going to be Christina, 
right?“  Lucy inquired, still giggling somewhat. “Well, ... maybe,”  
Christina said, pouting slightly.  “It could happen, you know?” “I 
don't think so, ” Amy cut in.  “First of all, a girl in the fourth 
grade is way too young to play the lottery, and what does winning the 
lottery have to do with becoming a movie star?“ “Well, I can dream, 
can't I?”  Christina replied, then smiled broadly. “Besides, that 
author man said we could write about anything we wanted to, so there.  
And it is supposed to be fiction, isn't it?“ “That's fiction all 
right!”  Lucy said, as a grin swept across her freckled face. Now all 
three girls giggled heartily. Just after the lunch period, Mrs. Evans 
called for everyone's attention. All of the children sat upright at 
their desks and gazed at their teacher.  Mrs. Evans then began to 
speak. “Now, children, as you know, we had an author here the other 
day, and he proposed a writing contest for all the fourth graders here 
at Jefferson.  You do not have to enter this contest, but I am hoping 
that all of you will.  It is an excellent opportunity to show off your 
writing skills, and to use your imagination“ Then, looking at a few of 
the boys, she continued on. “It is a fiction contest, so you can write 
about anything you choose. However, I do not want to see any violence 
or bad words in any of these stories.“ A few of the boys in the class 
seemed to squirm a bit in their seats. “So, the stories are due on my 
desk in two weeks, and the author will be picking them up then.“  Mrs. 
Evans told the class.  ”Any questions?“ “How long does the story have 
to be?” a student named Zeke asked. “It can be as long as you wish it 
to be, but it has to be at least three pages in length, Zeke,  and no 
writing on the backs of the pages,“ Mrs. Evans said.  “It also has to 
be neat, and all of the spelling must be correct.  This would be a good 
time to use your dictionaries, everyone.“ “Can we do it on a computer?” 
 asked another student named Olivia. “Yes, you can, ”  Mrs. Evans 
replied. Amy decided there and then that is how she would write her 
story, although she wasn't at all sure yet just what it would be about. 
“Is that author guy really going to bring us pizza if we write a story 
for this contest?“  asked Jeremy Flanders, who had a keen interest in 
food, especially pizza. Some of the kids in the class began to giggle. 
“I am sure he will,” Mrs. Evans said, frowning a bit at Jeremy, “But 
that is not why you should write a story, Jeremy.  You should write a 
story because you want to showcase your talent.“ “Jeremy's only talent 
is eating!” came the cry of Donald Johnson, who was Jeremy's best 
friend. The entire class erupted in laughter, and even Mrs. Evans found 
it difficult not to laugh. “All right, settle down, class, ” Mrs. Evans 
spoke out. Once the kids had quieted down again, the white haired 
teacher, with over thirty years of educating children to her credit, 
continued speaking. “So, children, let's get busy on this project.  I 
would be very proud if the winner of this writing contest came from our 
class.“ She seemed to be looking directly at Amy when she made that 
remark. “I think Mrs. Evans expects you to win the contest, “ Lucy said 
to Amy on their walk home from school. “Why do you think that?”  Amy 
inquired. “Well, because she was looking right at you when she said she 
hoped the winner would be from our class.“ “Oh,”  was all Amy had to 
say to that. When Amy arrived home, she was elated to see that her baby 
sister was awake and crawling about in the used play pen her father had 
bought for her.  The baby smiled when she caught sight of her older 
sister, and Amy bent over and picked her up.  She placed a kiss on 
Nicole's cheek, and the infant gave off a cooing sound, much to Amy's 
delight. When her father arrived home, Amy found out that still another 
day had passed without him finding a job. That night, as Amy laid in 
her bed, she decided two things.  First, she would go to that Wishing 
Well place after school tomorrow, and see what that was all about.  
Secondly, she would begin writing her story for the contest as soon as 
she came home from that place.  She figured she had better get busy on 
her story while her family still had a computer.  Maybe they would have 
to sell it, she contemplated, just before falling asleep, to pay bills 
or to buy groceries.  However, she still had no idea what she would 
write about.  The answer came to her in the form of a very vivid and 
very lengthy dream that night. Her dream was about a wonderful tropical 
land that was somewhere far away, though Amy was not sure of exactly 
just where this land was located.  When Amy awoke the next morning, it 
took all of twenty seconds for her to realize that it was a dream, and 
not real. 

CHAPTER  FOUR Amy had no trouble finding the address that was on the
card that Mr. White had given her.  The Wishing Well was located in an 
office on the third floor of the six story Barton Building, just south 
of the mall.  Amy made her way onto the elevator and pressed the button 
for the third floor. Upon exiting the carrier, she turned left and 
found The Wishing Well two offices down the hall.  A large gold sign on 
the glass door told her she was in the right place. A lady, about her 
mom's age, greeted her with a smile from behind the reception desk 
where she was seated. “May I help you?  the lady asked. “Uh, I hope so, 
” Amy said softly. “A nice man gave me this card and said I should come 
here.“ Amy handed the business card that she had received from Mr. 
White to the lady.  The receptionist looked at it, then smiled again at 
Amy. “Well, you are in the right place,”  the lady told her.  “Mr. 
White is the CEO here.“ Amy had no idea what a 'CEO' was, but she just 
smiled and nodded her head, happy that she was at least in the proper 
office. The woman then handed Amy a clipboard with a pen attached to 
it, and a form. “You need to fill this out,”  she was informed.  “You 
can sit down over there to do so.” Amy took the clipboard and nodded 
again to the lady. She took a seat on the big leather sofa, and gazed 
at the form.  On it were questions such as name, age, address, 
telephone number, and who had referred her to The Wishing Well.  Amy 
filled it out carefully and neatly, then returned it to the 
receptionist, who looked it over, then nodded her approval. “Did I do 
it right?”  Amy asked. “Oh, yes, dear,” the woman told her.  “You 
filled it out just fine.” “May I ask you something?”  Amy inquired. 
“Certainly,” “What is this place?  I mean, what happens now?” “Oh, 
didn't Mr. White explain that to you when he gave you his card?“ “Uh, 
no, Ma'am, he didn't.” “Well, The Wishing Well is a funded organization 
that was started a few years ago by Mr. White and a few others.  
Drawings are held here for those in need of financial aid, and the 
winners receive cash prizes.  Our next drawing is in a few weeks, just 
before Christmas, and some lucky winners will receive cash at that 
time.  You will be in that drawing, by the way, so I wish you the best 
of luck, young lady.“ “Oh, I see, ” Amy said, now a trifle excited.  
“Can I ask you how many winners there will be, and what the prizes 
are?“ The woman smiled widely now at Amy. “Again, the prizes are all in 
cash.  There are three winners at each drawing, and the amounts are 
$1,000 for first place, $500 for second place, and $250 for third 
place.“ “Oh, wow!”  Amy replied, now much more than just a trifle 
excited. “That sounds wonderful!  Our family could really have a great 
Christmas with any of those three prizes!“ The woman then handed Amy a 
ticket stub with a number written on it. "This is your ticket stub, " 
she told Amy.  "Be sure not to lose it. You can come back on the 
twenty-first of December and see if your number is on the list that we 
post on the office door." Amy took the ticket stub and stuffed it into 
her coat pocket. “Well, I wish you the best of luck, Amy Clayton, ” the 
lady told her, glancing down at the form to see what Amy's name was. 
“Thank you,”  Amy said happily.  “Can I go now?  I mean, am I all done 
with what I needed to do?“ “Yes, you surely are, ” the receptionist 
said.  “Best of luck to you, and don't forget to come by on the 
twenty-first to see that winners list.“ “Oh, don't worry, I'll be 
here!”  Amy exclaimed, with a huge smile on her pretty face.  “And 
thank you again, and please thank Mr. White for me if you see him, 
okay?“ “I will, Amy,”  the woman replied. Amy didn't even realize that 
she was smiling all the way home.  Perhaps she wouldn't have been 
smiling at all if she had been aware that over ten thousand people were 
entered in that drawing of December the twenty-first. That evening Amy 
got busy writing her story.  She of course had enlightened her parents 
about the writing contest, and they were both pleased that their 
daughter was keen on entering it. Thanks to her dream of the previous 
night, the words just seemed to flow, and Amy had a hard time getting 
her fingers to work fast enough to keep up with her brain.  It was her 
mother who came over to the computer some time later and told Amy that 
she had done enough for tonight, and that it was past her bedtime. 
“Please, Mom, just let me finish this one page, okay?“ Amy asked, 
almost in a begging tone. “Well, okay, young lady,”  her mom gave in.  
“But that's it.  I'll give you five more minutes and that's all.  You 
need your sleep.“ “Thanks, Mom,”  Amy said, then she was briskly 
hitting the key board again.  It only took her four minutes to finish 
the page.  She pressed the 'save' button, then turned off the computer. 
This has been a super day, she was thinking, as she laid down in her 
bed and shut her eyes.  Sleep came quickly for the worn out ten year 
old that night, but no dreams. 

CHAPTER  FIVE 

It was on the twentieth of December that the author visited the
Jefferson elementary school again; this time to pick up the stories 
from the fourth graders who had taken part in the contest.  Amy's story 
was one of the seventy-two entries. Mrs. Evans told the class that the 
author would be back in early January, after the annual winter break, 
to announce the winners and pass out the prizes. “Will he be bringing 
the pizza with him?”  Jeremy Flanders wanted to know. Several giggles 
could be heard throughout the class room following Jeremy's question. 
“Yes, I am sure he will, Jeremy,”  Mrs. Evans said with both a smile 
and a long sigh. Then she added, “I want all of you to know that I am 
both pleased and proud that all of you turned in a story, and I wish 
each and every one of you the very best of luck in the contest.“ That 
was the final day of school before the winter break.  Mrs. Evans took 
all of her students stories home with her that evening, as she had made 
copies of each story that had been turned in, prior to turning over the 
originals to the author that day.  She planned on reading them over the 
winter break.  That night, after dinner, Mrs. Evans prepared herself a 
hot cup of tea, and settled in her favorite chair.  Snow was beginning 
to fall outside, and she had no plans to go out in it.  She began 
sorting through the children's stories, most of them being rather short 
in length.  She read the three page one that had been submitted by 
Jeremy Flanders, which was a tale about a boy who wins a pizza 
franchise in a raffle, then goes on to eat his way to oblivion.  Doris 
Evans just shook her head and smiled knowingly as she finished reading 
Jeremy's entry. The next one that caught her eye was the story that her 
brightest pupil had written.  It was entitled, "Faraw, A Faraway Land". 
Doris Evans then took another sip of her tea, then began to read the 
story. FARAW, A  FARAWAY  LAND by Amy Clayton Fourth Grade Mrs. Evans 
class The land of Faraw is located in the balmy region of the South 
Pacific Ocean.  It is a beautiful land, spread out over three islands, 
and is surrounded by water on all sides.  The three islands are not far 
apart from one another, and can be easily accessed via Faraw's sturdy 
bridges, although at least one of these bridges is rather dangerous to 
cross. 

The average year round temperature of Faraw is a very comfortable
seventy degrees, sometimes reaching eighty degrees during the summer 
months and perhaps lowering to sixty-five degrees during the months of 
December and January. 

The southern portion of Faraw boasts some very inviting beaches, which
are overflowing with warm white sand and the bluest waters on earth.  
Mountains, tall and majestic, filled with greenery, except for one, 
occupy the northern area of Faraw, and from these spectacular peaks one 
can overlook the entire land of Faraw. The lone exception to these many 
mountains of greenery is the awesome Miguel Moron-Riposte mountain of 
Faraw, which is covered with snow and ice year round in spite of 
Faraw's tropical weather.  This frosty alp stands some 4,000 feet high 
and is named after Faraw's naval commander,  Miguel Moron-Riposte, the 
only person who has ever successfully climbed to its summit.  No one 
has ever been able to unravel the mystery of what a snow clad mountain 
is doing in such a tropical paradise as Faraw, but it has been there 
for thousands of years, and is truly a breathtaking sight to behold. 

There is only one main town in all of Faraw, and that is the town of
Amy, named quite appropriately after Faraw's ruling leader - the wise 
and well liked Queen Amy.  Faraw is a monarchy and has been such for 
many, many centuries, and the small population of this enchanting land 
prefers it to be. There are no motorized vehicles in Faraw, as the 
Queen forbids them.  Neither she or the citizens of Faraw want the 
pollution that such contraptions bring.  Thus, the main transportation 
of Faraw are horses, bicycles  and boats. 

At the foot of the mountains lies an abundance of rich farm acreage,
which provides the citizens of Faraw with plenty of good vegetables and 
fruits of all types.  The lush sea ports of Faraw reap a swarm of 
various fish, lobster, shrimp, and other ocean treats for the Farawites 
to feast on year round.  There is also a stunning rain forest on Faraw 
and one can find several exotic species of birds and animals located 
there.  The people of Faraw lead a healthy and happy life.  That is, 
they did until some three months ago when the news of a dragon roaming 
their small country sent them into panic and fear! 

It was on a typical sunny morning in Faraw when Queen Amy first received
the news that a dragon was apparently running amuck in the plush green 
hills in the western region of Faraw.  The Queen, after a hearty 
breakfast of wild berries, milk and waffles, was seated upon her throne 
in her main office, dictating notes regarding the upcoming annual Faraw 
festival, to her personal maid and loyal secretary, Maiden Veronica, 
when the buzzer on the intercom atop her highly polished oak desk rang 
out.  It was Veronica who responded to the buzzer. “Yes, who is it?“  
Veronica inquired. “It is I, your Highness, Captain Donald, your number 
one Royal Security officer,“  came the voice over the intercom. “This 
is not Her Highness,“  Veronica pointed out.  ”This is Veronica.  Her 
Highness is quite busy at the moment, Donald.“ “Oh, hi, Veronica,“  
Donald said.  ”I realize that Queen Amy is probably very busy arranging 
for the big festival and all, but I really do have an urgent matter 
that I need to discuss with her.“ “Can't it wait?“  Veronica asked him. 
“I'm afraid not, Veronica, “ he replied. ”It truly is a matter of great 
urgency.“ There was a slight pause while Veronica spoke with Queen Amy, 
then she returned to her phone conversation with Captain Donald Johnson 
of the Royal Guard. “You may enter, Captain Donald,“  Veronica told 
him. ”The Queen will see you.“ “Thank you, Veronica,“  Donald 
responded, then hung up the phone in the reception office.  He knocked 
on Queen Amy's office door and was admitted.  The Queen looked up at 
Donald, as he stood before her, clad in his blue and white neatly 
pressed uniform.  He bowed to the Queen, then saluted her. The Queen 
smiled in his direction.  She always liked it when her subjects bowed 
before her.  It gave her a sense of authority that only one as regal as 
she could comprehend. “You may be seated, Captain,“  Queen Amy said to 
him, motioning to a plush velvet chair in front of her desk. “Thank 
you, my Queen,“  Donald said as he sat himself into the chair. “Would 
you like some kiwi or perhaps a glass of mango juice, Captain?“  the 
Queen inquired. “No, nothing, your Highness, thank you,“  he replied.  
”I already had breakfast some two hours ago.“ “Very well,“  the Queen 
said.  ”Now, what is this matter of great urgency that you spoke of to 
Veronica?“ “It is regarding a dragon, my Queen,“  Donald said.  ”It 
seems a dragon has been spotted on our land early this morning, out 
near the Lucy Clark cove.“ “What?“  the Queen exclaimed.  ”A dragon, 
you say?  That is absurd, Captain!   Why, we haven't had a dragon on 
Faraw in centuries!“ “I realize that, your Highness,“  Donald said, 
almost apologetically.  ”Nonetheless, my Royal Ruler, one was 
apparently spotted this morning.“ “Spotted by whom, may I ask?“  the 
Queen wanted to know. “By Princess Christina,“  Donald informed her.  
”It seems the Princess was riding her steed near the cove when she 
spotted it.  She claims the dragon is quite large and was breathing 
fire and smoke, but it ran off, out of her view, when it saw her.“ “Ah, 
Princess Christina,“  the Queen said with a slight smile.  ”Ever since 
I made that girl a knight she does nothing but ride her white horse all 
over the land and flash her sword at every living thing.  She doesn't 
even tend to the beautiful flower garden I gave her any more in honor 
of her getting rid of  that evil pirate Joshua last year.“ “I saw her 
at her flower garden yesterday, your Highness,“  Veronica piped up. The 
Queen turned her head slightly and looked at her faithful dark haired 
maid and secretary. “Well, that is good news,“  the Queen said. ”I am 
delighted she is spending time there.  It is a beautiful garden and 
needs to be attended to on a regular basis.“ “Do you doubt Princess 
Christina's word, my Queen?“  Captain Donald asked his royal leader.  
”I mean, do you think she did not see any dragon this morning?“ “Oh, 
goodness, no,“  the Queen said quickly.  ”I do not doubt Christina's 
word.  She is quite reliable and would never tell a fib, I don't think. 
 I just wonder if perhaps what she saw was maybe something else.  Maybe 
something that looked like a dragon but wasn't.“ The Captain pondered 
Queen Amy's comment for a moment before speaking again. “I don't think 
that was the case,“  Donald said flatly.  ”In fact, your glorious 
Highness, Princess Christina said she got quite a good look at the 
beast before it ran off.  She even told me that the dragon was a 
female.“ “What?“  the Queen exclaimed.  ”A female, you say?  How on 
earth was Princess Christina able to determine that, I'd like to know?“ 
“Well, my Queen, “  Donald replied, a bit nervously,  ”Christina claims 
the dragon had extra long eyelashes and also said that when it ran off, 
it ran like a girl.“ Both the Queen and Veronica giggled upon hearing 
that. “Well, that's good enough for me,“  Queen Amy proclaimed.  ”So be 
it then.  It does appear we have a girl dragon running amuck on our 
land and we must do something about it quickly.  I won't have our 
annual festival being ruined by this, and we are only two weeks away 
from it.“ No one spoke while the Queen sat deep in thought at her desk. 
 A few moments later, she turned to Veronica. “Veronica,“  the Queen 
spoke out in a commanding tone, ”get Dean Clark on the phone for me at 
the Lucy Clark college.  I want her to research all we know about 
dragons. If anyone can tell us what we need to know about this beast, 
it will be Dean Lucy Clark.“ “Yes, your Highness,“  Veronica replied, 
and she immediately began to dial the college on the Queen's private 
phone. “And you, Captain Donald, “  the Queen spoke out,  ”I want you 
to round up all of my ministers and advisors and have them meet with me 
at the Parliament Hall at one o'clock this afternoon. “Do you wish me 
to fetch Lady Emily too?“  Donald wanted to know. “Yes, of course.  
Lady Emily is very wise.  We shall need her input.  I also want all of 
my royal Princesses there, too,“  the Queen informed him. “Well, I am 
sure I can locate Princess Teasia at her gym.  She is giving a class 
today on self defense to our female citizens.  And Princess Kayleigh is 
no doubt at her castle because she is busy redecorating it, I do 
believe.  I am sure I can find Princess Breanna at the beach, your 
Highness.  She likes to lay in the sun there at this time of day.  You 
can of course always find Princess Lucy at her college since she is the 
Dean there, but I am not sure just where on our great land Princess 
Christina might be,“  Donald said.  ”She moves about rather rapidly on 
that horse of her's.“ “Just find her, and all the others,'“  the Queen 
said.  “And make certain they are at the Parliament Hall at one 
o'clock.  I shall leave it up to you, Captain.“ “Yes, my Queen,“ Donald 
replied.  ”Should I also summon Duke Zeke and Lord Chris?“ “Yes, I 
would like them there also,“  Queen Amy confirmed.  ”I will have 
Veronica reach all the other Parliament members by telephone.  You had 
best go now, Captain Donald, and get busy on your task.“ “Yes, your 
Highness,“  the Captain said.  He then stood, saluted his Queen, and 
left on his mission. “I have Dean Clark on the phone, your Highness,“  
Veronica announced, just as Captain Donald was leaving.  She handed the 
receiver to Queen Amy. “Good morning, Lucy,“  the Queen said. “How are 
you?“ “Just fine,“  Lucy said cheerfully.  “And you, my Queen?“ “I am 
fine also,“  the Queen told her.  ”But a bit annoyed this morning.  Did 
Veronica inform you that we apparently have a dragon on our land?“ 
“Yes, she did, Queen Amy,“  Lucy replied.  ”That is dreadful news!  How 
can I be of assistance to you, O Royal One?“ “I need you to do some 
research and quite quickly, too.  Please see what you can dig up on 
former dragons that we once had here on Faraw and bring all that you 
find to the Parliament Hall at one p.m. today.  We will have a meeting 
there at that time to see what we can do to be rid of this horrid 
creature that is stalking our wonderful paradise,“  the Queen said. 
“Yes, your Majesty, I will get on it at once,“  Lucy promised.  ”I will 
bring all that I find to the Royal Parliament Hall at one o'clock.“ 
“Very good, Dean Lucy.  Thank you,“  the Queen said, then the 
telephonic conversation was ended. CHAPTER  TWO It was just before one 
o'clock that same afternoon when Queen Amy arrived at the grand royal 
Parliament Hall on Kaylan Wang Boulevard in the center of town.  She 
was driven there of course in her royal coach by her trusted chauffeur, 
Javier Villa, who was also a distinguished Count, as well as a member 
of  the Faraw Royal Guard.  The Queen was accompanied by Veronica and 
four royal coachmen, who also on occasion, served as extra guards for 
Her Majesty.  Several citizens of Faraw were gathered just outside of 
the hall, awaiting Queen Amy's arrival.  News of the dragon had already 
been leaked and the people of Faraw were frightened. 

Queen Amy, being the good and strong ruler that she was, took the time
to answer some of her subjects questions, and did her best to assure 
her people that the dragon would soon be captured or killed, and that 
no one had anything whatsoever to worry about, even though the Queen 
herself was not so sure that would prove to be the case. After calming 
the crowd down that had gathered at the Great Hall, the Queen entered 
the Parliament chambers and received a loud and lengthy ovation from 
those that were awaiting her entrance.  Trumpets blared and everyone 
stood as Queen Amy walked to her gold plated and velvet covered throne 
and sat down. After everyone had settled down, Maiden Veronica 
approached the oak podium, just to the left of Queen Amy's throne, and 
called the roll. “Princess Kayleigh,“  Veronica spoke into the 
microphone atop the podium. “Here,“  came Princess Kayleigh's response. 
“Princess Dean Lucy,“  Veronica called out. “Here,“  Princess Dean Lucy 
said softly. “Princess Teasia“, Veronica called next. “Right here,“  
Princess Teasia shouted. “Princess Breanna,“  Veronica said into the 
microphone. “Here,“  Princess Breanna replied quickly. “Princess 
Christina,“  Maiden Veronica said loudly. “I am here!“  Princess 
Christina shouted out, as she tapped her sword on the desk she was 
seated behind. Everyone turned to look at Princess Christina, due to 
the tapping sound she had made with her weapon. “There is no need to 
tap your sword on the table, Princess Christina,“  Veronica told her.  
”Everyone here knows that you are a knight as well as a princess.“ Most 
of the people there giggled a bit at Veronica's remark, except for 
Princess Christina, who tapped her saber once again, then said aloud,  
		“Yes, and I am the only female knight in Faraw, too!“  Then she 
smiled widely. Again, most everyone there giggled somewhat. “Let's move 
on, shall we,“  Queen Amy spoke out, looking at Veronica. “Yes, of 
course, your Majesty,“ Veronica said. “Lady Emily,“  Veronica called 
out. “Present,“  Lady Emily replied in a majestic tone.  Lady Emily, 
who was also a princess of the Royal Court, preferred to be known as 
Lady Emily these days, though no one was quite sure just why.  Lady 
Emily was considered to be extremely lucky and was the proud franchise 
owner of the only MacDonald's fast food restaurant in Faraw.  She had 
won the chain franchise in a contest, it was said.  However, Duke 
Jeremy Flanders, who owned several dining spots on Faraw, including a 
famous pizza parlor, had been tying for months to buy Lady Emily out. 
“Duchess Kaylan,“  was called next. “I am in attendance,“  came the 
voice of Grand Duchess Kaylan Wang. “Marquis Jason Harrold,“  Veronica 
said. “Right here,“  the Marquis bellowed, as he smiled broadly. 
Marquis Jason was well known in Faraw, not only for his wealth, but 
also for his often outrageous pranks.  He once spray painted two of 
Queen Amy's finest white horses a deep purple color, something the 
Queen did not appreciate at all! “Countess Olivia,“  Veronica called. 
“I am present,“  the wealthy aristocratic Countess Olivia Martinez 
proclaimed. “Duke Zeke,“  Maiden Veronica said into the microphone. 
“Here,“  Duke Zeke exclaimed in a hearty voice. “Lord Chris,“  Veronica 
announced. “I'm here.  Count me in,“ Lord Chris, who was also the 
Minister of Agriculture, hollered out. “Naval Commander Miguel,“  said 
Veronica. “Present,“  the smartly dressed commander bellowed.  He was 
wearing his dress white uniform today, complete with all  of his 
medals, Veronica noticed. “Count Javier,“  Veronica cried out. “Here,“  
the Count and trusted chauffeur replied in a booming voice. “Countess 
Felicia Kennedy,“  Veronica uttered. “I am here,“  the elegant Countess 
Felicia murmured. Countess Felicia had the distinction of having had 
the Faraw International Airport named after her. It was now known 
simply as Kennedy International. “Defense Minister Rudy Hayes,“  
Veronica stated into the microphone. “Here,“  the Defense Minister 
affirmed loudly, standing slightly and bowing to Queen Amy as he 
answered the calling of his name. “Secret Service Agent Raul Navaho,“  
Maiden Veronica cried out. “Present,“  Agent Navaho, who was also known 
as double O trouble, answered with in a firm tone. Agent Navaho, who 
frequently sported various disguises, was wearing a trench coat, felt 
hat and a fake beard today. “Count Manuel Karafuto”,  was the next name 
Maiden Veronica called. “Over here”,  Count Manuel responded, smiling 
widely, as he answered the roll call.  The Count was an honorary member 
of the Royal Parliament, and had been since he and his three extremely 
rich partners from the USA built the new cathedral in Faraw some two 
years ago. “Captain Donald Johnson,“  Veronica called out. “I am here, 
of course,“  came the voice of the Captain, who was the undisputed 
leader of Her Majesty's Royal Security Force. “Duke Jeremy Flanders,“  
Veronica said, finally. “Right here,“ Duke Jeremey bellowed, in between 
bites of pizza. “Everyone is present and accounted for, your Majesty,“  
Maiden Veronica said to the Queen. “Very good,”  Queen Amy spoke out. 
“You may all be seated now.  We have some very disturbing business to 
discuss today, so I want everyone's full attention.  Is that clear?“ 
“Yes, your Highness!“  the entire congregation shouted in unison. 
“Good,“  the Queen said.  ”This Parliamentary meeting is now in 
session.  As all of you surely know by now, we have a dragon running 
amuck on our tropical paradise.  It is a female dragon and was spotted 
early this morning by Princess Christina.  We must all band together 
now and rid our land of this horrible creature, and it must be done 
swiftly, as we have our annual Faraw festival coming due in two weeks 
and it must not be ruined. Several royal dignitaries from foreign 
nations are scheduled to visit our land during our festival, so it is 
imperative that this wicked dragon be gone by then.  I will not allow a 
dragon, or anything else, to mar our annual festival.  Is this clear?“ 
“Yes, your Majesty!“  the small gathering in the Parliament Hall 
clamored simultaneously once more. “Now, Princess Christina, since you 
are the lone person who Christina so far seen this dragon, why don't 
you tell us all what you saw this morning?“  the Queen stated. “Okay, I 
can do that, Queen Amy.  No problem,“  Princess Christina said, as she 
stood now and began to speak about her adventure earlier in the day. 
”Well, I was just riding along on my new white horse, Snowflake, seeing 
if I could find any villains anywhere here on Faraw, when I heard this 
really loud noise over by the Lucy Clark Cove.  It was sort of like a 
booming sound, you know? Anyway, I rode over there, and that is when I 
saw it in the flesh!  It was a huge bluish-green colored dragon, and it 
was spitting out really big amounts of fire and smoke!“ Many gasps and 
moans could now be heard in the Parliament Hall, mostly from the 
females there. “Oh, my God, Princess Christina,“  Lady Emily cried out, 
“were you scared?“ “No, not at all, “ Christina replied.  ”After all, I 
am a Knight, you know?  And we Knights are brave.  We don't scare 
easily.“ “Well, what did you do after you saw the beast, Christina?“  
Count Javier asked her. “I said 'Hey, dragon, what's up?'“, Princess 
Christina told the Count.  ”It was right after I said that to the 
dragon, that it looked over at me.  It hadn't seen me until I spoke to 
it.  Then, it stopped belching all that fire and smoke stuff and ran 
off.  I was unable to catch it,  I am sorry to say, but I did try to.  
If I had caught up with it, I would have run it into the ocean just 
like I did that evil pirate Josh, when he showed up at our sea port 
last year and tried to steal our gold.“ “Yeah, you sure taught him a 
lesson, Christina,“  Minister of Defense Rudy piped up. “And a wet one 
at that!“ Everybody cheered!  They were all very much aware of how 
Princess Christina had boarded the pirate ship and gotten rid of the 
pirate Josh by winning the sword fight she had with him.  It was 
because of that, in fact, that Princess Christina had received 
Knighthood from the Queen. “Tell us more about this dragon, please?“  
Countess Felicia asked of Christina. “Okay, I will, “ Princess 
Christina replied.  ”Well, first of all, it's a girl dragon.  I know 
that because it has really extra long eye lashes and also because when 
it ran away, it ran just like most girls do.“ There were a lot of 
giggles and some snickering, too, at that comment. “Also,“  Christina 
went on,  ”I saw a metal chain with a tag around the dragon's neck and 
I was able to read it before it fled.  It read 'Meagan' on the tag, so 
it is for certain the dragon is a girl. Meagan is a girl's name.“ There 
was an abundance of “ooooo's“ and ”awwww's“ at that remark. “A dragon 
with a necklace and name plate?!“  Dean Lucy shouted out.  ”That can 
only mean one thing!“ Everyone was silent as they all awaited an 
explanation from Princess / Dean Lucy as to what she had meant by what 
she'd just said. Finally, Queen Amy spoke out. “What do you mean by 
that, Lucy?“  the Queen inquired. “Well, your Royal Highness,“ Lucy 
began, ”as you instructed me to do this morning, I thoroughly searched 
my trusty computer for all the data I could obtain on former dragons 
here on Faraw, and I was able to learn a lot.“ Lucy put on her new 
glasses, which were chic looking, and which gave her a definite look of 
intelligence when she wore them. She peered down at the notes and 
papers on the desk before her.  Everyone held their breath as they 
waited anxiously for Lucy to go on with her revelations. “It would 
appear we have had many dragons on Faraw,“  Lucy spoke out loud and 
clear, ”but it is the last two that we should really concern ourselves 
with. Some 900 years ago, my Queen, there were two dragons that showed 
up here on Faraw.  They probably entered our land from the ocean, 
though that was never actually verified.  Once on Faraw, your Highness, 
the two dragons spent most of their time in and around the Cove.  I 
should also point out here that one dragon was a boy dragon and the 
other was a girl dragon.  They were young when they arrived on Faraw, 
but once they grew up, Queen Amy, they apparently were married in a 
dragon marriage ceremony atop Miguel Mountain.  It seems shortly after 
that, they had a baby, and that baby was named Meagan.  It has been 
written that soon after their baby was born, they and the baby 
apparently froze to death atop Miguel Mountain and were never seen or 
heard from again.  That happened about 900 years ago, as I have already 
stated.“ The members of the Royal Parliament were stunned by what Dean 
Lucy had just said, and they began chattering noisily amongst 
themselves. “Quiet down, everyone!“  said the Queen from her throne, 
but the chattering went on. “I said quiet down!“  Queen Amy bellowed.  
äOne, two, three  -------“ When the Queen began reciting those numbers, 
the noise ceased at once! “Much better,“  the Queen said.  ”Thank you!  
Now, Dean Lucy, do you mean to tell me that these two dragons actually 
had a marriage ceremony?  I have never heard of such a thing.  Please 
explain this to all of us, won't you?“ “Yes, my Queen,“  Lucy continued 
on with her fascinating saga.  ”They did indeed get married.  It seems 
these two particular dragons were very special and unusual.  They were 
also quite smart and could actually talk.“ More noise broke out with 
that revelation, and the good Queen Amy had to repeat shouting numbers 
again.  The noise subsided immediately! “Talking dragons?!“ the Queen 
exclaimed questionably. “Yes, your Majesty, they could indeed talk,“  
Lucy confirmed.  ”They also were really not vicious at all.  They were 
pretty nice dragons, from all the information I could gather, and they 
were friendly with the Farawites who lived here back then.  That is, in 
fact, how that name plate came to be.  You see, my Queen, when their 
baby girl dragon was born, a man named Frank, who was the local 
blacksmith here on Faraw way back then, made a name plate for the baby. 
 He made the necklace that the name plate is attached to also, and he 
made it extra long so that when the baby grew up, it would not choke 
her.  That baby was named 'Meagan', needless to say.“ More chattering 
erupted at this point and Veronica blew the whistle she always wore 
around her neck, and the noise halted. “So, if I am hearing this 
correctly, Dean Lucy,“  Queen Amy stated, ”this dragon we now have 
running amuck on our land is Meagan, who is now some 900 years old.  Is 
that correct?“ “Yes, that would seem to be the case, O Royal One,“  
Lucy quickly answered. “Meagan must have been frozen all these many 
years, and now somehow managed to get loose.“ “Do you think she is 
dangerous?“  the good Queen wanted to know. “I -  I can't honestly 
answer that, Queen Amy,“  Lucy admitted.  ”I have no way of knowing 
whether she is or isn't dangerous.“ “Well, I think she is dangerous!“  
came the booming voice of Defense Minister Rudy Hayes, as he stood up 
and waved his arms about.  ”There is no such thing as a good dragon!  
She is probably bent on revenge!  She probably blames the Farawites who 
lived here centuries ago for the demise of her parents, and now she 
seeks to gain revenge on all of us!  As your Minister of Defense, and 
winner of several medals of honor, my Queen, I beg you to issue the 
order to find this loathsome dragon Meagan and destroy her!  And I say 
do it now before any of our good citizens are injured or killed by this 
destructive creature!“ “Wait a minute!“  Princess Lucy cried out.  ”We 
don't know that Meagan is a bad dragon!  She may not be harmful at all. 
 Should we not find out more about her before seeking to destroy her?“ 
“Good point, Princess Lucy!“  Countess Olivia chimed.  “I'm with you!“ 
“I'm not!“  shouted Duke Zeke.  ”I agree with Minister Rudy.  Let's 
find Meagan and slay her!  The sooner, the better, too!“ Several 
arguments ensued at that point, some in favor of finding and destroying 
Meagan the dragon, and some against.  Maiden Veronica had to blow her 
whistle four times before everyone became calm and silent again.  Then, 
the Queen spoke out. “It seems we have a problem here,“  The Queen said 
to one and all.  ”Therefore, we shall resolve this matter by voting.  
Those in favor of seeking and destroying this dragon raise your hands 
now, but remain seated.  Those who are opposed to destroying the dragon 
and finding out more about her first, please stand up, but do not raise 
your hands.“ Maiden Veronica calculated the votes, and by a majority of 
two votes it was decided that the dragon Meagan would be sought after 
and destroyed upon sighting.  Dean Lucy and Countess Olivia, who had 
opposed the majority ruling, began to cry softly. “Very well,“  the 
Queen said.  ”We have voted and the ruling is to seek out and destroy 
this dragon.  So be it.“  Then Queen Amy issued the royal order to 
Captain Donald. “I will gather my finest soldiers, “ Captain Donald 
told the Queen,  ”and we shall hunt down this creature at once, your 
Majesty.“ “See that you do, “ the Queen told him.  She then dismissed 
the Parliamentary session and everyone left the spacious chamber. 
CHAPTER  THREE It was in the outer hallway that Princess Lucy and 
Countess Olivia met up with one another. “We must not let this happen, 
Olivia,“  Dean Lucy said softly to the Countess. “But what can we do 
about it, Lucy?“  the Countess asked.  ”the Parliament has voted and 
Queen Amy has already issued the royal order to destroy Meagan.“ “We 
must get those that voted against killing Meagan to join forces with 
us, then reach Meagan before Captain Donald and the others who want her 
destroyed,“ Lucy told Olivia. ”There is no time to waste if we are to 
save Meagan from slaughter!“ Very soon, teams of sort were formed.  
Dean/Princess Lucy, Countess Olivia, Naval Commander Miguel, Secret 
Agent Raul, Princess Breanna and Princess Kayleigh banned together, all 
six of them hoping to save Meagan from harm. Minister of Defense Rudy, 
Duke Zeke, Marquis Jason, Lord Chris, Count Javier, Baron Manuel and 
Princess Teasia joined up with Captain Donald and his soldiers to try 
and find the dragon and destroy her.  Countess Felicia agreed to let 
Captain Donald and his group use her airport as a command center. Lady 
Emily volunteered to supply both groups, free of charge, all the 
hamburgers and french fries they could carry with them on their 
mission. Duke Jeremy offered to keep his pizza parlor open later than 
usual, in case anyone wanted pizza instead of burgers.  He claimed he 
was temporarily out of pepperoni though.  Duchess Kaylan supplied fresh 
horses for Princess Lucy's group, and consented to also be a guide for 
them.  The dark haired Duchess was one of the few people who had 
successfully crossed the perilous Veronica Corona-Mann bridge at night 
time, and both teams knew that treacherous bridge might have to be 
crossed in order to locate Meagan the dragon. It was close to sunset on 
Faraw when at last both teams were ready to try and find Meagan.  Their 
missions started out in opposite directions.  Captain Donald and his 
crew headed west, and Princess Lucy and her gallant squad decided to 
head east. It wasn't long before darkness blanketed all of Faraw.  The 
ocean breezes began to blow and howl on this particular night, and of 
course that signaled to one and all that a major storm would soon be 
coming.  The beautiful bright stars which were usually visible in the 
skies over Faraw were not to be seen on this night.  Instead, dark 
stormy clouds hung angrily overhead. “It looks like we're in for a 
horrible storm,“ Countess Olivia said to Lucy as she rode alongside her 
on her faithful horse, Skyhawk. “Yes, it appears that way, “  Lucy 
replied, looking upward towards the dark clouds, as she steadied her 
jet black horse, Midnight, who was bucking somewhat as huge raindrops 
began to fall on his head.  “We aren't going to let the weather stop us 
from saving Meagan, are we, gang?“ she shouted back to her troop. “No!  
We must save Meagan at all costs!“,  they all responded loudly, and 
with hearty enthusiasm, as drops of rain began to pour down from the 
clouds above them. Meanwhile, in the northern sector of Faraw, a rain 
soaked Princess Christina was preparing to mount her trusty horse, 
Snowflake.  She tapped her sword for luck, then shouted out, “Giddyup, 
Snowflake!“  And off she rode, headed for the area where she had seen 
Meagan earlier in the day. On the other side of Faraw, far to the 
south, Lady Emily, who had now closed her McDonald's franchise for the 
night, and Countess Felicia, who had left her airport in the hands of 
Captain Donald's command post personnel, were preparing their very own 
expedition to locate Meagan.  Thunder boomed loudly and large streaks 
of lightning flashed across the sky as these two brave girls mounted 
their horses and took off for parts unknown. Queen Amy, being the regal 
soul that she was, had no intention of getting herself rained on.  She 
was at this hour seated most comfortably in front of one of her many 
palace fireplaces, watching her devoted maid and secretary, Veronica, 
stoke the fire while she dined on a tasty pizza from Duke Jeremy's  and 
sipped a soda from a crystal glass. CHAPTER  FOUR The storm grew 
increasingly more severe, and all those that were out in it were now 
soaked to their skin.  Nonetheless, the hunt for Meagan continued 
onward by one and all, and just after two a.m. in the morning the 
dragon was finally spotted.  It was Lord Chris who spotted Meagan, 
breathing fire and smoke from an area on the other side of the menacing 
Veronica Corona-Mann bridge. “There she is!“  Lord Chris shouted out to 
his Captain.  “Let's get her!“ Without waiting for a response from 
Captain Donald, Lord Chris charged full force ahead on his horse, and 
it was just a few seconds later when a loud splash could be heard from 
below.  Lord Chris and his horse had fallen into the turbulent waters 
beneath the unsafe bridge.  Duke Zeke and Marquis Jason had to dive 
into the perilous waters to save him, and save him they did.  Captain 
Donald built a campfire to warm Lord Chris, and as he and the rest of 
Donald's crew stood around the campfire, trying desperately to get warm 
and dry, Meagan escaped into an enormous cave that was just north of 
the bridge. It was just moments later that Princess Christina arrived.  
However, since she had departed for the hunt from the northern sector 
of Faraw, she did not have to cross over the precarious  bridge.  She 
spotted the fire across the bridge, where Captain Donald and his 
assemblage were trying to warm themselves, and she shouted over to him. 
“Hey, Captain Donald, “  Princess Christina called out.  ”Have you seen 
any sign of the dragon?“ “Yes, “ Donald bellowed.  ”She is in the cave 
over there.“ Donald pointed out the cave with his hand and even in the 
dense rainfall, Christina could see it. She looked towards the cave and 
just as she did, a huge burst of fire and smoke shot out from within 
it.  Christina backed up a few steps, then hunched over, trying to see 
into the cave, but it was way too dark for her to see anything. “I'm 
going in after her, “ Princess/Knight Christina shouted out to Donald, 
as she drew her sword from its resting place. “Don't be crazy, 
Princess,“  Donald hollered, just as a fierce streak of lightning 
illuminated the sky.  “That dragon is huge and she will eat you like a 
marshmallow!“ Just as Christina was deciding whether to really enter 
the cave or not, she heard the sounds of horses galloping nearby. She 
turned to see Princess/Dean Lucy and her band of courageous riders come 
into view to her left.  They too had not needed to cross the dangerous 
Veronica Corona-Mann bridge. “Wait, Christina,“  Lucy called out, as 
she halted her horse nearby and leaped to the ground.  “Don't go in 
there!  You could be seriously injured or even killed!“ “I must go in, 
“ Christina replied.  ”I am a knight and it is my duty to rid Faraw of 
this dragon.  That dragon is dangerous.  She has already spit out fire 
and smoke from the cave. She will kill us all if we don't destroy her 
first!“ “She isn't dangerous,“  Lucy protested.  ”She's just scared is 
all!  She is only spouting her fire and smoke in self defense because 
she knows she is being hunted.“ Princess Christina thought about what 
Dean Lucy had just said, and finally relented, just as Lady Emily and 
Countess Felicia rode up to where Captain Donald and his troops were 
across the way by the campfire. “What's going on?“  Lady Emily asked of 
Donald.  “Has anyone seen Meagan yet?“ “Yes,“ Donald informed her.  
”She is over there, across the bridge, hiding in that big cave.“  He 
extended his arm and pointed out the cave to Lady Emily and Countess 
Felicia, who now dismounted from her mustang, named Sally, and came 
over to warm herself by the fire. “Princess Christina was going to go 
in the cave after Meagan,“  Donald told them,  ”but I think Dean Lucy 
talked her out of it.“ Lady Emily, Countess Felicia, and the rest of 
Donald's troops watched through the stormy weather as Dean/Princess 
Lucy and Countess Olivia now approached the opening of the cave.  
Princess/Knight Christina stood steadily nearby, her sword in hand, in 
readiness. “What are Dean Lucy and Countess Olivia doing?“ Count Javier 
inquired of Captain Donald. “I'm not sure, “  Donald replied,  ”but it 
looks like Olivia and Lucy are going to go inside the cave.“ “Well, 
that will be the end of those two girls!“  Minister of Defense Rudy 
yelled out.  ”They must be insane!  That dragon will eat them alive!“ 
“I hope not, “  Princess Teasia cried out.  Tears of fright for Olivia 
and Lucy were streaming down her cheeks and Baron Manuel had to console 
her. Across the bridge, where Lucy and Olivia were getting closer and 
closer to the cave's opening, Princess Breanna shouted out to them,  
“Please be careful, Lucy and Olivia!“   She was shaking fearfully and 
worried about their safety. Lucy crept closer to the cave's opening, 
followed gingerly by Olivia.  Then, the two valiant girls entered the 
cave and no one could see them any longer. Much to everyone's surprise, 
there was no belch of fire and smoke from Meagan, as expected by one 
and all. Everyone waited with breathless anticipation and anxiety as 
Lucy and Olivia ventured further and further into the cave.  It was 
cold and extremely damp inside, and after twenty steps or so, it was 
Lucy who first saw Megan's bright eyes. “Hi, Meagan,“  Lucy said 
softly.  ”We mean you no harm. We are here to rescue you, not to hurt 
you.“ Lucy and Olivia stood there patiently, waiting for some sort of 
reaction from the large dragon, but Meagan just sat there and did 
nothing. “I know you can talk,“  Lucy spoke out again to the large 
beast,  ”so won't you please talk to me?  We are your friends, not your 
enemies.“ It seemed like an eternity before Meagan spoke out, and when 
she did, both Olivia and Lucy smiled broadly. “Are - are you really my 
friends?“  Meagan at last spoke out in a soft and delicate tone. “Yes,“ 
 Lucy assured her.   ”We are.  We know you were just spitting out all 
that fire and smoke in self defense because you were scared.  We also 
know that you have been caked in ice for many, many years, and now that 
you are free, we would very much like you to come out of hiding and 
live freely with us here in Faraw.  We are truly sorry about what 
happened to your parents, Meagan, but that was long, long ago and 
certainly not our doing.“ “Do - do you really want me to come out and 
live freely here in Faraw?“  Meagan said, hopefully.  ”And are you sure 
no one will try and harm me ever again?“ “Yes, we do, and I promise you 
no one will ever try and harm you ever, ever again,“  Lucy promised. 
“Oh, thank you!  Thank you!“  Meagan said, and she extended her lengthy 
tongue and licked Lucy's face delicately. Then she did the same to 
Olivia.  Both girls giggled from the face tonguing they had received 
from Meagan. Meagan, Lucy and Olivia talked and talked of many things 
during the next few hours, and dawn was just breaking when Meagan 
exited from the cave.  The storm had ended and the sun, bright and 
yellow, was coming into view as Lucy and Olivia, seated cozily atop 
Meagan's back, emerged from the cave. A tremendous roar of applause 
came from all who were still there outside the cave when Meagan saw 
Olivia an Lucy riding out of the cave slowly on Meagan's back.  Meagan 
batted her long eyelashes at everyone in friendship, and together, with 
Meagan, marched back into Amy Town. Bells rang from the palace and the 
citizens of Faraw poured out from their houses to greet Meagan in the 
street. 

CHAPTER  FIVE Captain Donald and his soldiers, under orders from Queen
Amy, erected an enormous make shift cave just behind the Dean Lucy 
Clark college, and that is where Meagan spent most of her time, when 
she wasn't playing with the citizens and children of Faraw. Faraw's 
annual festival was held on time, as planned, and Meagan led the parade 
down the main street of Faraw.  Meagan was a big hit with the royalty 
who visited Faraw for the festival, as none of them had ever seen a 
real dragon before!   Queen Evans of the land of Ooblahdee wanted to 
buy Meagan and take her back to Ooblahdee with her, but Queen Amy told 
her politely that Meagan was not for sale at any price. Meagan also 
came to the rescue at the festival when some of the barbecue pits 
failed to function.  It was no problem at all for Meagan to cook the 
many steaks, chops, burgers and hot dogs with a simple belch of her 
fire.  Everyone remarked, in fact, how much better  they  tasted cooked 
that way! If you ever have the opportunity to visit Faraw, be sure to 
look in on Meagan.  She and all the people of Faraw now live together, 
happily and freely, in that wonderful tropical paradise  ------   THE   
END   ----- 

All Mrs. Evans could do was sigh after reading Amy's story.  What a
wonderful story, she was thinking, and she could not help but smile as 
she pondered how Amy had so expertly crafted all the characters in the 
story to resemble the names and personalities of her classmates.  She 
was still thinking about Amy's story when her husband came through the 
front door, home from his weekly club meeting. "Hi, Sweetheart,"  her 
husband said.  "It sure is snowing hard out there." "Oh, Harold, don't 
track the rug with those shoes.  Take them off and let them dry,"  she 
said to him.  "You will get the entire house wet otherwise." "Yes, 
dear,"  he mumbled. "So, how did your meeting go?" "Same as always,"  
he said, as he removed his wet shoes. "What have you been up to to?" 
"Oh, just reading some of the stories my students wrote for that 
contest I told you about." "Any good ones?" "Yes, one so far.  Amy 
Clayton wrote a truly impressive tale about a fantasy land where a 
dragon was roaming about.  That girl really has quite a gifted 
imagination.  Her story is  absolutely wonderful." "Did any of them 
write about a lovely, kind teacher, who makes her husband a hot cup of 
tea when he comes home on a snowy night?" Doris Evans laughed. "No, I 
haven't read one like that so far,"  she told her spouse. "But I got 
the hint." She then rose from her chair and headed to the kitchen to 
make the tea for him. CHAPTER  SIX It was close to noon the next day 
when Amy entered the Barton Building and headed up to the office of The 
Wishing Well.  The snow fall of the previous night had melted, and it 
was dry today, but still very cold outdoors. Amy had no idea what time 
the drawing was held, but she hoped it was already over, and that the 
list of the three winners had been posted. As she got closer to the 
office, she could see a white sheet of paper on the glass door.  Her 
little heart began to beat just a bit quicker.  Once she reached the 
door, she peered up at the paper. In bold lettering at the top of the 
sheet it read, 'RESULTS OF THE WISHING WELL DRAWING OF DECEMBER 21.' 
Amy looked down the page and saw that ticket number 01768 had won first 
place, and the cash sum of $1,000.  It was then that she quickly 
withdrew the ticket stub from her pocket and looked at it.  The number 
on her ticket stub did not match the $1,000 winner.  Amy sighed, then 
looked at the second place winning number.  It read 10035.  Amy looked 
again at her ticket stub, then back to the sheet of paper on the 
window. "That's my number!"  she shouted aloud, then began jumping up 
and down in the hallway.  She had won the second place cash prize of 
$500!  She swiftly pushed open the glass door and raced up to the 
reception desk.  The same lady as before was seated behind it. The 
woman smiled widely as she caught sight of Amy approaching her desk. "I 
won!  I won!"  Amy exclaimed, handing the woman her ticket stub. " I 
won second place!" "I know, " the woman said.  "Congratulations, Amy." 
The receptionist looked at the ticket stub Amy had handed her, then 
tapped a few keys on her computer key board, and glared at the screen. 
She then rose from her chair, with the ticket stub in her hand. I'll be 
back in a few minutes, Amy, " she said.  "Why don't you have a seat 
over there while you're waiting?" The receptionist indicated the same 
area, across the way, where Amy had filled out her entry form earlier 
that month. Amy nodded, still smiling brightly, and headed for the sofa 
and chairs on the opposite side of the office lobby area.  It was then 
that she first noticed the dark haired woman who was seated there, 
holding an infant on her lap. A small boy, about six or seven years of 
age, was seated quietly next to the woman.  Amy selected a seat two 
chairs away from the dark haired lady. The baby on the woman's lap 
stared at Amy, then smiled brightly.  Amy could not hep but smile back. 
 The infant reminded Amy of her own baby sister. Amy then looked up at 
the woman. "She's so cute,"  Amy said.  "How old is she?" "It's a he," 
the woman replied softly, "and he's nine months old." "Oh, I'm sorry," 
said Amy.  "It's hard to tell at that age whether they are girls or 
boys." "I know, " the woman replied.  "No need to apologize." Amy 
studied the woman's face.  She appeared she had been crying. Her eyes 
were red, and she had that look of despair about her. "Are you here to 
collect on a winning ticket?"  Amy asked, hoping that she was.  It 
looked to Amy like this woman could use a lift of some sort.  "I am. I 
won second place in the drawing." "I know, " the woman responded, 
trying to force a smile. "I heard you when you came in." "Oh, sorry,"  
was all Amy could think of to say.  "I didn't mean to be so noisy.  I 
was just very excited.  I still am." "I don't blame you.  I would be 
too if I won, but I didn't." The woman looked like she was about to 
start crying again, and Amy hoped she wouldn't.  She detested seeing 
people cry. It reminded her of her own mother, who had been crying a 
lot since Amy's dad lost his job. "I'm sorry.  I thought maybe you were 
waiting for your prize money, like I am." "No, just resting a bit 
before we head for home, " the woman muttered. "We came down to see if 
we had won anything, but we didn't.  So, I thought I would rest awhile 
and warm up some before heading back home.  It is awfully cold out 
there today, and it is supposed to snow again later on." Amy nodded, 
then was sorry she had mentioned her winning second place in the 
drawing.  Perhaps this woman thinks I am showing off, Amy was thinking. 
 I shouldn't have done that. "My name is Amy, " Amy said, extending her 
hand towards the woman, who was unable to shake it due to her hands 
being occupied with holding the infant on her lap.  Amy withdrew her 
hand slowly. "Helen Lopez,"  the woman uttered. "Nice to meet you, 
Amy." "What's the baby's name?"  Amy inquired. "Shane, after his 
father, "  Helen told her.  "And this big boy is Cody." Helen Lopez 
turned her head slightly to indicate she was referring to her oldest 
son.  The boy smiled at Amy, fidgeting a bit now in his seat.  Amy 
returned his smile. "Isn't your husband here?"  Amy inquired. "No,"  
Mrs. Lopez replied, almost on the verge of tears again. "My husband was 
killed in a car accident three months ago.  That's why I entered the 
drawing.  I was hoping to get some cash to get some things for the 
children for Christmas, and maybe pay a few overdue bills, too." Now 
Helen Lopez did begin to sob a bit, and Amy felt horrible.  I am so 
stupid, Amy was thinking.   Why am I saying all the wrong things to 
this poor lady?  Amy reached into her coat pocket and took out a clean 
handkerchief.  She handed it to Mrs. Lopez, who let go of her baby just 
long enough to take the handkerchief.  Then she dried her eyes. "Thank 
you, " Helen Lopez said, in between sobs. "I'm so sorry, " Amy said 
meekly.  "I - I didn't know.  I shouldn't have asked that question.  It 
was dumb of me." "That's -- that's okay, " Helen told Amy.  "You had no 
way of knowing my husband was dead, or the situation we are in." "Is 
there anything I can do?"  Amy asked with sincerity. "No, no, we'll be 
all right." But Amy wasn't so sure of that.  She looked towards the 
door near the desk.  The receptionist still had not returned.  Then an 
idea came into her young mind. "Mrs. Lopez, may I treat you and Cody to 
a nice lunch at the mall before you head for home?"  Amy asked. "Oh, 
no,"  Mrs. Lopez replied quickly.  "You don't have to do that, Amy. 
That's very generous of you, but we'll be just fine.  Thank you 
anyway." She then handed Amy back the now wet handkerchief, and Amy 
tucked it back into her pocket. "I'd really like to, Ma'am,"  Amy said. 
"I mean that.  I'm just waiting for my prize money, then I can treat 
you and Cody to a nice lunch. I'll bet Cody would like a big juicy 
burger and some fries, right?" she added, looking over at Cody and 
smiling at the boy. Cody grinned widely, and nodded his head up and 
down eagerly. "Well, if you're sure you really want to, "  Helen Lopez 
said weakly. "I would, " Amy assured her.  "I really would." Just then 
the receptionist returned. "Amy, can you please come back here?  You 
need to sign a paper, then you can be on your way with your money, " 
the receptionist informed her. Amy rose and headed for the open doorway 
where the receptionist was standing. She turned and looked back at Mrs. 
Lopez. "I'll be right back, "  she said.  "Then we can go have a nice 
lunch." Mrs, Lopez nodded and smiled.  Cody smiled at Amy, too. It took 
about five minutes for Amy to sign the necessary paper and collect the 
second place cash prize.  She had never seen a hundred dollar bill 
before, much less five of them.  Amy folded the notes carefully, then 
put them in her coat pocket.  She thanked the receptionist, wished her 
a very Merry Christmas, then hurried back to the lobby area.  Much to 
her surprise and dismay, Mrs. Lopez and her two children were gone. A 
feeling of despair and disappointment swept over Amy.  She had so much 
wanted to do something for this little unfortunate family of three.  
Very quickly she exited The Wishing Well office and looked down both 
ways of the hall, but there was no one visible.  Slowly, then, she 
headed for the elevators, and pressed the down button.  A moment later 
a bell sounded and the doors to car two opened widely for her, but Amy 
did not enter it. Instead, she swiftly turned around and headed back to 
The Wishing Well office. The receptionist, who was once again seated 
behind her desk, was surprised to see Amy returning. " Did you forget 
something, Amy?"  she asked. "Oh, no, " Amy replied.  "I came back to 
ask you something." "Oh, what?" "Can you please give me the address and 
phone number of that lady who was just here? Her name is Helen Lopez." 
"Why do you want that, Amy?" "Well, I would like to give her some of 
the money I won.  I think she needs it more than I do, "  Amy replied 
truthfully. "Well, that is surely very generous of you, Amy, and I wish 
I could help, but we are not allowed to give out addresses or phone 
numbers of any persons who enter these drawings." Amy just stood there, 
not knowing now what to do. "I understand, " Amy said.  "But I really 
want to help that lady and her children." "Well, as I said, I can't do 
that,"  the receptionist repeated.  "However, I don't know of any rule 
that says I can't let you borrow our phone book, " she added with a 
wink. Amy smiled broadly as the telephone book was handed to her.  She 
turned the pages rapidly and soon found a listing for 'Lopez, H. at 
1260 Olive Avenue'.  There was another listing just below that one for 
'Lopez, S.' at that same address, which Amy assumed was for Helen 
Lopez's late husband, Shane. Amy borrowed a pencil and slip of paper 
from the receptionist, wrote down the address and telephone number of 
the Lopez residence, then departed the office of The Wishing Well, 
after thanking the receptionist for her help. Amy figured the Lopez 
family would not be back home just yet, as Olive Avenue was quite a 
distance away, so she decided to head for the mall, look around a 
little there, then try to telephone Mrs Lopez from a pay phone. The 
skies were overcast as Amy walked the short distance to the mall. It 
surely looked like a snow storm was coming soon, just as Mrs, Lopez had 
told Amy it would. CHAPTER  SEVEN Amy walked around the lower floor of 
the mall, looking at almost every store front window.  When twenty 
minutes had passed, she decided it was time to place the call.  Luckily 
for Amy, she had some change in her pocket, and would not have to try 
and break a hundred dollar bill at some store.  She headed for the bank 
of pay phones near the Sears store, and put the proper amount of coins 
in the slot.  Reading from the slip of paper, she carefully dialed the 
number she had gotten from the telephone book at The Wishing Well 
office. On the third ring, she received an answer, but it was not the 
answer she was hoping for.  It was a recording, and it informed Amy 
that this number had been disconnected, and that there was no new 
number to replace it. Amy dialed the number again, and got the same 
recorded message.  She hung up the receiver with total disappointment. 
Not one to be denied so easily, Amy decided then and there that she 
would simply go to the Lopez home in person.  There seemed to be no 
other alternative for the determined ten year old with a heart of gold. 
Amy left the mall and headed for the bus stop on the corner of Fourth 
Street.  She had checked her change prior to leaving the mall and 
discovered she had just enough for bus fare.  Flurries of snow were 
starting to fall as she waited for the bus.  Some three minutes later 
the bus pulled up and Amy was glad to be on it, feeling the warmth of 
the heater inside the big vehicle.  She had to transfer at Park Avenue, 
and in less than a minute she was aboard that bus.  Amy knew her town 
rather well, thanks to the many auto rides she had shared with her 
father when she accompanied him in the past.  Mr. Clayton had often 
taken Amy and Justin for rides on Saturdays. They usually  stopped for 
ice cream, too.  But that was back when he was employed, Amy was 
thinking, as the bus rolled along down Park Avenue. "Olive Avenue, " 
Amy heard the bus driver call out loudly, and she reached up and pulled 
on the buzzer. The bus made a hissing sound, then stopped a few seconds 
later, and Amy was back out in the cold once more.  The snow flurries 
had intensified, and Amy pulled her woolen cap down over her ears as 
she headed down Olive Avenue in search of the Lopez house.  She located 
it two blocks north of the bus stop.  Amy stood on the sidewalk for 
just a few seconds surveying the house.  It was old and not in the best 
of condition.  Amy walked quickly up the sidewalk leading to the front 
door, then pressed hard on the door bell.  She could hear it ringing as 
she stood there. A few seconds later the door as opened by a very 
surprised Helen Lopez. "Amy!"  Mrs. Lopez exclaimed.  "What on earth 
are you doing here?" "You didn't wait for me, "Amy told her.  "I was 
supposed to take you to lunch, remember?  I tried to telephone you, 
Ma'am, but your phone doesn't work, so I decided to come here in 
person." "Oh, my goodness, child," Mrs. Lopez said, beside herself with 
concern for this ten year old girl.  "Come in.  Come in, and get warm, 
please." "Thank you, "  Amy replied, rubbing her hands together as she 
entered the Lopez house. "Please sit down, " Mrs Lopez said to Amy, and 
Amy sat down in a worn chair near the window in the living room.  "I 
think we have some cocoa left.  Would you like a cup?" "Oh, no, thank 
you anyway, "  Amy replied.  "I can't stay long. I have to get home.  
It's starting to snow again, and I need to get home before my mom 
starts to worry." "I'm sorry we left The Wishing Well without telling 
you, Amy, " Helen began to explain.  "You see, I just felt somewhat 
uncomfortable having you buy us lunch.  I hope you understand.  There 
is no sense denying we are in a bad fix financially, but taking 
charity, especially from a child, is something I would rather not do.  
Since my husband died, Amy, I have been working for a house cleaning 
outfit, so we do have some income, though not much, I must admit, but 
we get by.  My mother has been good enough to watch the baby while I 
work, and I am always home by the time Cody gets home from school. But 
I hope you are not insulted that we left, and hope you understand why 
we did." Amy nodded her head affirmatively.  As she looked around the 
living room, she could see that this little family was in worse shape 
than her own. Just then Cody walked into the room, holding a battered 
fire truck in his hand.  He was surprised to see Amy, and smiled widely 
at her. "Hi," he said. "Hi, Cody,"  Amy said with a smile. Then Cody 
turned to his mother. "Shane is finally asleep, Mom, " he told her. 
Mrs. Lopez smiled and ran her fingers through his hair. "Well, I better 
get going, " Amy said, rising from her chair.  "But first, I want you 
to have this, Mrs. Lopez, and please don't say 'no', okay?" Amy reached 
into her coat pocket and withdrew the folded five one hundred dollar 
bills.  She had intended to give just two of those bills to Mrs. Lopez, 
but now she decided to give her all five of them.  She placed them in 
the woman's hand.  Mrs. Lopez looked down at the money. "Oh, no, Amy, I 
can't take this!"  she said quickly, trying to give the bills back to 
her. "Yes, you can, " Amy told her.  "I want you to. Please?  It would 
really make me happy if you did." "But -- but this is your money, 
child!"  Mrs. Lopez proclaimed, a tear forming now in her left eye, 
touched by what this young girl was doing for her family.  "You won it. 
 Surely, you must need it." "Oh, no, " Amy told her. "I don't need it.  
I have lots more at home, and my father has a great job and makes lots 
of money.  I don't need any money." Amy hated telling such a fib, but 
she was sure she would be forgiven for having done so, under the 
circumstances. "Are -- are you sure, Amy?"  Helen Lopez said, tears of 
happiness now streaming down the dark cheeks of her face. "Oh, yes, "  
Amy assured her.  "You take it, please?  Maybe you can get your phone 
fixed, and get some toys for the children, yes?" "Oh, yes!" Mrs. Lopez 
replied loudly. Then she took Amy into her arms and gave her a tight 
hug.  Amy hugged her back. "I better go now, " Amy said. "I wish I 
could drive you home, " Mrs. Lopez told her, "but we no longer have a 
car.  I had to sell it." "That's okay, " Amy murmured.  "I just live on 
the other side of the woods.  Maybe I'll just cut through there." She 
was referring to the large wooded area known as Briar Woods, which 
separated the east side of town from the west.  Amy did not wish to 
tell Mrs. Lopez that she didn't have enough change left for bus fare 
home. "Are -- are you sure, Amy?"  Helen Lopez asked with concern.  
"Those woods can be rather dangerous, especially in winter time." "Oh, 
I know those woods pretty well, " Amy replied.  "I'll be okay." Amy was 
about to head for the front door when Mrs. Lopez stopped her. "Wait!"  
the woman said. Then Mrs. Lopez headed out of the room.  When she 
returned a few minutes later, she was holding a pair of ear muffs, a 
pair of mittens, and a big red scarf.  She handed the items to Amy. 
"Put these on, Amy, "  Mrs, Lopez told her.  "At least they will keep 
you a bit warmer." Amy put the items on and then thanked her for them. 
They both wished each other a Merry Christmas, then Amy left the Lopez 
house.  It wasn't as cold as before, Amy noted, but the snow was 
falling heavier now.  Amy wondered if the temperature had increased, or 
was the reason for her not being so cold due to the warmth she felt 
inside her from having given the Lopez family that money? CHAPTER  
EIGHT 

Snow covered the streets and sidewalks now, and Amy decided she would
indeed take the shortcut home through the woods near Mrs. Lopez's 
house.  She assumed doing so would save time, and that she would come 
out of the woods on Pine Avenue, which was just a few blocks from her 
home.  She had been in this  wooded area before, but never in the 
winter time, and never in this part of it. She couldn't wait to get 
home.  Maybe her mom would fix her a nice hot cup of chocolate.  She 
decided she would tell her parents about the man in the mall, The 
Wishing Well, the drawing, and of course that she had won five hundred 
dollars, but had given it away to someone who she decided needed it 
more.  She just hoped they wouldn't be mad at her for doing all that, 
but she didn't think they would. They might be upset with her for not 
telling them sooner, Amy was thinking, just as a snow covered branch 
from a tall tree brushed against her woolen cap. She was walking 
briskly now, and her legs began to cramp, but she moved on, giving 
thought now to whether she was going in the right direction or not.  It 
was snowing so hard now, she was unable to ascertain that. She felt 
pretty sure she was headed towards the area that came out onto Pine 
Avenue, but was she? It was some three minutes later that Amy tripped 
over a snow covered rock and twisted her ankle. "Owww!" she cried 
aloud, then fell down into about one inch of fresh, cold, white snow. 
Amy was unable to walk now without pain.  She moved towards a large 
tree, and the branches of it offered her some refuge from the falling 
snow.  She sat down beneath it, pushing her coat as far down as she 
could, so that she was seated on part of it and not in direct contact 
with the wet ground. "Oh, my!" she cried out loud.  "I can't walk!  
What am I going to do?!" She then yelled out as loud as she was able 
for 'help' but there was no one around to hear her pleas. 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------- An hour later, unknown to Amy, Mr. and Mrs. Clayton calle
d the police, and informed them that their ten year old daughter was mis
sing.  An Amber Alert was immediately put out, and a search party was fo
rmed to hunt for Amy, who was currently crying her eyes out under the la
rge tree in Briar Woods.  Twice, she had tried with all her might to get
 up and walk, and on both occasions she had been unsuccessful. The local
 TV station got news of the Amber Alert and came to the Clayton home to 
gather information for their five o'clock broadcast.  Mrs. Clayton was f
ar too distressed to deal with the reporters, so Mr. Clayton had to hand
le it.  He gave one of the reporter's a current photograph of Amy, and w
as promised that Channel Six would use it that night on their news broad
cast if Amy wasn't located prior to five p.m. The search party, consisti
ng of several policemen, firemen, neighbors, and even some of the parent
s of Amy's class mates, formed quickly, and two of the policemen had dog
s with them.  They headed out in different directions of Ridgeville, as 
instructed by the police captain who was heading the search team. That e
vening at five p.m., Mrs. Helen Lopez watched in awe and shock, as the C
hannel Six newscasters broadcast the news that Amy Clayton was missing. 
 They showed her photo on the screen, and immediately after having seen 
it, Helen Lopez raced out into the cold and snow to her next door neighb
or's house to use the telephone.  She telephoned the police, then the ne
ws station, and less than five minutes later, two police cars, along wit
h the Channel Six news van, were at her home on Olive Avenue. Helen Lope
z related to both the police, and the news reporters, the entire story o
f how she met Amy at The Wishing Well, how Amy had come to her house, gi
ven her the $500, and the fact that Amy planned to walk home through the
 woods. The police captain then immediately informed all search teams to
 concentrate solely on Briar Woods.  The news reporters went back to the
 Clayton home to pass Helen Lopez's story on to Amy's parents, and it wa
s then they discovered that the Clayton's were anything but 'rich' and t
hat Mr. Clayton did not, in fact, have a 'great job', as Amy had led Hel
en Lopez to believe.  Both Ed and Cathy Clayton just shook their heads w
hen they heard the whole story. It was almost nine o'clock that evening 
when a Ridgeville policeman and his German Shepherd dog, Ellie, found th
e shivering and shaking ten year old Amy Clayton at the base of the larg
e tree she had been huddled under since earlier that afternoon.  Ellie l
icked Amy's face, then the policeman picked Amy up in his arms, after sh
ining his flashlight as a signal to the other search party members, that
 the missing girl had been found.  Shouts of elation and relief could be
 heard throughout the wooded area as Amy was carried to an ambulance and
 whisked away to Ridgeville Memorial Hospital. After Amy was properly an
d carefully attended to there by two doctors and three nurses in the eme
rgency center of the hospital, she was placed in a bed in a warm, privat
e room.  Amy fell asleep at once, not even having tasted one spoonful of
 the hot soup that had been given to her.  She wasn't even aware that he
r parents were in the room, along with her teacher, Mrs. Evans, watching
 her sleep. CHAPTER  NINE The Channel Six ten p.m. news featured the ent
ire story about Amy, and also an interview with Helen Lopez, who spoke i
n depth about the kindness that Amy had bestowed upon her little family.
  The reporter ended the news story with well wishes for Amy and her fam
ily, and how happy he was, along with everyone else in Ridgeville, that 
Amy had been found safe and sound, though with a twisted ankle and possi
ble frost bite. "She is now resting at the Ridgeville Memorial Hospital,
 " the news man said, "and we wish her a full and speedy recovery, and a
 very Merry Christmas to her and her family." The next morning when Amy 
awoke, she was feeling far better than the night before, although she wa
s still unable to walk. She saw through the window of her hospital room 
that the sun was out and the snow storm was over.  She also saw several 
vases, and pots of flowers, and plants throughout the room, and she coul
dn't imagine where they had come from. As she was giving thought to that
, a young nurse walked into the room, carrying a tray of hot oatmeal, to
ast, fruit, juice and milk. "Well, Amy, "  the nurse said, flashing a bi
g smile, "how are you this morning?" "I feel better, "  Amy said, smilin
g back.  "Thank you." The nurse then placed Amy's breakfast down on the 
swinging tray and raised the bed. "Hungry?"  she asked. "Oh, yes!"  Amy 
replied.  "I'm starving!" "Good. That's a good sign." "What are all thes
e flowers doing here?"  Amy asked the nurse, in between bites of her oat
meal. "They arrived early this morning, " the nurse told her.  "And I su
spect there will be more as the day wears on.  They are for you, Amy, fr
om people who want to wish you well." "Really?"  Amy asked, somewhat puz
zled.  "Why?" "Well, your story was on TV last night, and lots of people
 think that what you did for that lady and her children over on the east
 side of town was pretty special and generous.  I think so, too,"  the n
urse answered. Amy didn't know what to say to that.  She was somewhat co
nfused. She didn't honestly feel that helping out the Lopez family was s
uch a big deal. Once the nurse left, Amy got out of the bed, and hobbled
 around the room as best she could, looking at all the cards that were a
ttached to the flowers.  She didn't recognize most of the names, but she
 smiled when she saw that one vase of pink roses was from Mr. White. Amy
 just managed to get back in bed when the doctor walked in.  He smiled a
t Amy, took her temperature, then checked her ankle.  A moment later her
 parents came into the room.  They rushed over to Amy and hugged her snu
ggly. placing kisses on both her cheeks. That made Amy giggle. "You're n
ot mad at me, are you?"  Amy inquired anxiously "No, sweetheart, we shou
ld be, but we aren't, " her father told her. "We're just happy you are s
afe and well." "Where is Justin and baby Nicole?"  Amy wanted to know. "
Mrs. Cummings from next door is watching them for us," Amy's mom told he
r. "Justin says to tell you "hi", sweetie, and he can't wait to see you.
  He was every excited to see your picture and hear all about your story
 last night on television.  We let him stay up to watch it." "Television
?"  Amy asked with surprise. "The nurse here said I was on TV, but I tho
ught she was just kidding.  Was I really on television, mom?" "Yes, you 
were, dear,"  Mrs. Clayton confirmed.  "It was quite a story. Our teleph
one started ringing right after the news show, and then again this morni
ng, starting at six o'clock." "It seems everyone in town thinks you are 
quite a little heroine, honey," her father chimed.  "We think so, too.  
What you did for that lady and her kids was really unselfish, Amy.  We a
re very proud of you." Amy didn't reply to that, but her face flushed re
d from embarrassment. "How long do I have to stay here, Daddy?"  Amy ask
ed. "The doctor told us you can probably come home tomorrow or the next 
day, honey, " her father informed her. "They just want to be sure you ar
e one hundred per cent okay before releasing you." ---------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------- Through
out that day and the next, several more flowers, plants, and even boxes 
of candy, arrived at the hospital for Amy.  Two reporters from Channel S
ix even came to see her, as well as the police captain who had headed th
e search for Amy, and Amy was totally surprised when the mayor of Ridgev
ille showed up to visit her in her room, bringing his wife with him, and
 the largest box of Christmas candy Amy had ever seen.  But the best sur
prise of all was when her teacher, Mrs. Evans, paid her a visit.  They t
alked for almost an hour, and Amy was thrilled by her visit. It was the 
morning of Christmas Eve when Amy was finally released from the hospital
.  She decided to leave all of the flowers and plants, and most of the c
andy, with the staff at the hospital beacuse all of them had been so nic
e to her.  She only took with her the large box of candy that the mayor 
had brought her, when her parents picked her up that morning. When she g
ot back home, she found, much to her delight, that her house was filled 
with even more flowers and plants and, best of all, it was also filled w
ith her friends from school, including Lucy and Christina, and others.  
Mrs. Clayton made pancakes for everyone, and the phone seemed to ring co
nstantly throughout the day. Amy was awed by all the fuss everyone made 
over her recent ordeal. but after her friends had left, she had time to 
think about Christmas.  She was in her room, thinking about how she stil
l had no gifts for anyone, and it saddened her.  There wasn't even a Chr
istmas tree this year.  She wondered how much money had been spent by he
r parents to buy all that pancake mix and milk that had been prepared ea
rlier that day for Amy and her friends.  Amy was just about to cry when 
she heard the doorbell ring. She limped to the open doorway of her bedro
om, and she could hear voices coming from downstairs. Then, she heard th
e front door of the house being shut.  Amy hobbled to her bedroom window
, pushed aside the window curtain, and peered outside.  She saw a blue a
nd white mail truck driving away from their house.  Then she heard her m
other calling her. "Amy, you better get down here, " her mother called o
ut. Amy scurried downstairs, as best she could, with the cane the doctor
 had given her.  She saw her father dumping an immense bag of envelopes 
onto the living room floor. "What's all that?"  Amy asked, as she reache
d the bottom of the stair well. "Mail, " her father told her, shaking th
e bag now to make certain all of its contents were on the floor.  "It's 
all for you, Amy.  It just arrived." Ed and Cathy Clayton, Justin and Am
y, spent the next two hours opening all of the cards and letters that we
re addressed to Amy, while baby Nicole watched and made funny sounds fro
m her play pen across the room. There were over six hundred cards and le
tters, and almost all of them contained cash and checks, and even a few 
money orders.  Some had just a dollar in them, but others contained much
 more money, like the one with the hundred dollar bill in it, from someo
ne who wished to remain anonymous. Looking at that hundred dollar bill, 
Amy felt sure it was from Helen Lopez, due to the folds on it. "Wow," sa
id Amy, who was totally marveled by all this. "I can't believe there are
 so many wonderful people out there!" When it was all counted up, there 
was a total of $835 in those envelopes.  Both of Amy's parents had tears
 in their eyes, and Amy was about to say something when the doorbell ran
g again. It was Amy, with cane in hand, who answered the door.  A man in
 a brown UPS outfit was standing there, a big smile on his face.  He was
 holding the huge teddy bear that Amy had been so fond of when she was a
t Jennies' Toy Store awhile back seeking a job. "Amy Clayton?"  he asked
. "Yes, sir.  That's me."  she answered. "Sign here, please?" he said. A
my signed her name, and the man handed the colossal sized bear to her. "
Sorry it isn't boxed," he said, "but we didn't have a box big enough for
 this bear." "That's okay, "  Amy replied, hugging the bear.  "Thank you
, sir, and Merry Christmas!" "Merry Christmas to you, too, young lady, "
 he replied, tipping his hat as he left. There was a card attached to th
e giant bear and Amy read it silently. 'Be sure to come and see us again
 when you turn sixteen.  We have a job waiting for you.  Merry Christmas
, Amy Clayton.  From the staff at Jennies' Toy Shoppe.' "Wow, that bear 
is really big!" Justin remarked, as Amy placed the bear inside the play 
pen with Nicole, who went to it at once. "Daddy, can we go buy a Christm
as tree now, please?"  Amy asked her father. "Well, I suppose we can do 
that, sweetheart,"  he said, smiling at her. "Hooray!"  Justin piped up.
 Amy, Justin and their father went out for the tree, while Mrs. Clayton 
remained at home to watch over baby Nicole.  They returned a little over
 an hour later with a wonderful looking tree.  Mrs. Clayton put on some 
Christmas music, and they were all busy decorating the tree, and munchin
g on popcorn, when the door bell rang still again.  This time Amy's dad 
answered it.  It was Mr. White, and he had bags of groceries with him, a
nd two helpers who were carrying carts of food, that smelled delicious! 
After announcing who he was to Amy's father, and shaking hands with him,
 he entered the living room.  Amy smiled the biggest smile she could upo
n seeing him. "Mr. White!"  Amy shouted out, almost scaring her baby sis
ter. "Hello, Amy, " he said, a big smile encompassing his chubby face. "
I heard about what you did, and figured it was high time that someone di
d something for you, and this nice family of your's." Amy didn't know wh
at to say.  She was shocked by the knowledge that such an important man 
was in their home. Mr. Clayton introduced Mr. White to Mrs. Clayton and 
Justin, then asked him to please be seated. Amy's mother was overwhelmed
 by all the groceries and the catered foods, which she noticed came from
 the most expensive food store in town. Happily, she escorted Mr. White'
s two helpers into the kitchen, and they assisted her in putting everyth
ing in its place, including the big turkey that was already cooked and r
eady to be consumed. Mr. White stayed for Christmas Eve dinner, at the e
ntire Clayton family's insistence, and Amy relished the tasty treats, al
ong with Justin, that Mr. White had seen fit to bring along.  The two he
lpers did not stay for dinner though, even though they were asked to.  T
hey told Mrs. Clayton politely that they both had to get home to their o
wn families, but thanked her heartily for the invitation. It was certain
ly turning out to be a wonderful Christmas, Amy was thinking, after her 
little belly could not consume another bite of the tasty food.  But the 
best of it all, as far as Amy was concerned, was when Mr. White offered 
Amy's father a job. "I own an insurance agency, " Mr. White said to Ed C
layton, "amongst other things, and I sure would be honored to have someo
ne with your background and experience in insurance aboard.  That is, if
 you don't have anything else in the works." Amy saw her father's face l
ight up at once. Mr. Clayton said nothing for a moment, taking a sip fro
m his coffee, and obviously deep in thought. "May I ask you, Mr. White, 
how you know about my background in insurance?"  Ed Clayton asked polite
ly. "Oh, sure, "  Mr. White replied.  "I heard about it on the news the 
other night when they were talking about Amy.  They happened to mention 
that you were in the insurance field, but temporarily out of work.  I ju
st happen to need a good investigator, as the one I had moved out of sta
te last month." "I see, " Ed Clayton replied.  "Can I ask you what the  
pay is, sir?" When Mr. White told him the figure he would be starting at
, Amy's father almost knocked over his coffee cup.  It was almost twice 
the amount he had been making at his previous job.  He smiled, and so di
d Cathy Clayton. He extended his hand and Mr. White shook it. "I accept,
 sir, and thank you!"  Ed Clayton said happily. "You can start right aft
er the holidays, " Mr, White told him.  "But there is one condition." "W
hat's that, Mr White?"  Ed Clayton asked, a bit nervous now, and the smi
le disappearing from his face. "That you stop calling me 'sir' and 'Mr. 
White' and call me Tom, okay?"  Tom White told him, smiling broadly. "I 
can do that!"  Ed Clayton told him, his smile now returning. "And thank 
you so much, sir.  Er, I mean, Tom." CHAPTER  TEN It was shortly after n
ine a.m. Christmas morning, that Amy heard the door bell ring again.  Sh
e was sitting by the Christmas tree, holding Nicole in her lap, and tryi
ng to keep her baby sister from grabbing at the decorations on the tree.
  Her parents were in the kitchen talking and drinking coffee, so Amy di
d not know whether they heard the door bell or not. Amy got up, placed N
icole into her play pen, then with cane in hand,  made her way to the fr
ont door. When she opened it, there was no one there, but she caught sig
ht of a large truck driving away.  On the side of the truck, in bold let
tering, it read  'THE WISHING WELL FOUNDATION'. Then Amy's eyes shifted 
downward, and she caught sight of big, white envelope laying on the door
 step.  She bent down carefully, and picked it up.  Once back inside the
 house she opened the envelope.  Inside it was five gift certificates, o
ne for each member of the Clayton family, and a note. The note read,  'M
erry Christmas, Amy.  I noticed when I was at your home yesterday that t
here were no presents under the Xmas tree, so I thought I would send alo
ng these gift certificates, one for each member of your family.  Again, 
what you did for the Lopez family was extraordinary, and just amplifies 
the old saying that it is truly better to give than receive. Please than
k your parents for me for their charming company last night, and please 
tell your father that I am indeed looking forward to working with him.  
Again, Merry Christmas to you, Amy, and to your entire family. It was si
gned, 'Tom White'. Amy went into the kitchen and showed the note and the
 five gift certificates to her parents. Both her mom and dad were overwh
elmed. "Mr. White obviously thinks you are a very special girl, Amy, " h
er father told her, as he pulled her close and gave her a super sized hu
g. "We think so, too, " her mother said softly. Amy's face turned red. "
Well, I don't know about that," Amy piped up.  "But I do know that Mr. W
hite is a very special man." CHAPTER  ELEVEN The very next day, the Clay
ton family went to the mall and purchased gifts with the certificates th
ey had received from Mr. White.  Amy got herself a new coat.  Mrs. Clayt
on bought some appliances for her kitchen that she'd been wanting for a 
long time.  Justin of course bought all the hockey equipment he could ge
t with his certificate, including a new pair of ice skates, and Mr. Clay
ton used his certificate to buy a new suit for his upcoming new job.  It
 was decided by the entire family that baby Nicole would get a brand new
 play pen with her certificate, complete with all the trimmings on it.  
It took Ed Clayton the remainder of the day to put it together for her. 
 Baby Nicole smiled her best winsome, toothless smile when she was at la
st placed into the brand new apparatus. Amy spent the remainder of her w
inter break from school writing thank you notes to those persons who had
 included a name and return address on the cards and letters she had rec
eived. Just before New Year's Day, Amy received a telephone call from He
len Lopez, who explained she had managed to get her phone back in servic
e.  She also informed Amy that she too had received a generous gift cert
ificate from Mr. Tom White.  She also informed Amy that she had a new jo
b.  It seems someone who had viewed the story on TV had called her and o
ffered her a much better job than her old one.  Amy was happy for her, a
nd they promised to stay in touch with one another. The night before sch
ool was to start again, Amy laid in her bed, waiting for sleep to come. 
 As she went over the events of the past two weeks in her mind, she knew
 she would always remember this particular Christmas season with great f
ondness, no matter how long she lived.  I will remember it as Amy's magi
c Christmas, she told herself, just before slumber overtook her. EPILOG 
At eleven o'clock, on the fifth of January, true to his word, the author
 showed up at the Jefferson Elementary School, accompanied by an older m
an in a suit, and also a lady, who looked to be perhaps his assistant. A
t least that is what Amy thought, as she sat in the third row of the sma
llish assembly hall, along with all the other fourth graders. The school
 principal, Mr. Grant, shook hands with the author, then spoke into the 
microphone atop the podium at center stage. “Well, boys and girls, it is
 time to announce the winners of the fourth grade writing contest, and a
ward the prizes.  After our author, Mr. Carter, does that, there will be
 a special treat for all of you in the cafeteria. I understand several b
oxes of pizza have been delivered to our cafeteria, so please follow you
r teacher there when this assembly is concluded.“ Mr. Grant then introdu
ced the author, Mr. Carter, and a huge round of applause greeted the man
 as he stood at the podium. “You children certainly turned in some very 
fine stories.  I had to enlist some help in the form of my capable assis
tant, Ms. Jenners, and also a few other people, to decide just whom the 
top three winners should be.  It wasn't an easy job because there were s
o many wonderful and creative tales written by the fourth grade students
 here at Jefferson.  At any rate, don't feel badly if your story was not
 in the top three, because, as I have said, all of these stories were go
od.“ Mr. Carter then looked over at his assistant, and she rose from her
 chair on the stage and came over to the podium, where she handed Mr. Ca
rter some envelopes. Amy wondered if her story had been good enough to w
in one of the three prizes that would be given out, but she did not cove
t any prize.  Her Christmas had turned out so special and so magical, th
at she knew it would be selfish of her to wish for anything more. “The t
hird place winner is Kevin Simpson of Mrs. Kelly's class for his story, 
“The Space Walkers”.  Come on up and collect your prize, Kevin“, the aut
hor said. Everyone in the auditorium clapped their hands as Kevin got up
 from his seat and walked to the stage.  He was smiling proudly.  Even A
my clapped loudly, and she was happy for Kevin. Mr. Carter handed Kevin 
Simpson an envelope that contained a twenty-five dollar gift certificate
 from the downtown mall.  He shook hands with the boy, then waited until
 Kevin was seated again before announcing the next winner. “In second pl
ace,” Mr. Carter bellowed into the microphone, “ is Christina Baker of M
rs. Evans' class, for her story, “How I Won The Lottery And Became A Mov
ie Star.“ The combined fourth grade classes erupted in laughter at the m
ention of the title of Christina's story, but they nonetheless applauded
 eagerly as  Christina headed for the stage, a glowing smile fixed on he
r comely face.  Mr. Carter shook Christina's hand, then handed her an en
velope, which had in it  a fifty dollar gift certificate.  Christina was
 beaming with joy as she returned to her seat.  Amy smiled at her and wa
s thrilled that her friend had won a prize in the contest. “And now for 
our first place winner, ” Mr. Carter spoke out. There was total silence 
in the auditorium as everyone waited anxiously to find out who the first
 place winner would be. “First place goes to Tina Flowers of Ms. Zaleski
's class for her story, “The Cat That Got Away”.  Congratulations, Tina!
“ Amy  joined in the applause for Tina Flowers as she headed for the sta
ge to receive her prize.  She was given an envelope with a seventy-five 
dollar gift certificate enclosed within.  Amy flashed a big smile as Tin
a passed her seat. Jeremey Flanders, who was seated right next to his te
acher, looked up at Mrs. Evans. "Is it time for the pizza now?"  he aske
d in a loud whisper. "Shhh, Jeremey, "  Mrs. Evans told him sternly. Som
e of the children were starting to rise from their seats, thinking the p
roceedings were over, but Mr. Carter tapped on the microphone, and then 
asked everyone to please remain seated. "We are not done quite yet, boys
 and girls, " the author proclaimed. "We have one more order of business
.  Is Miss Amy Clayton present today?" he added. “She's here!”  Lucy Cla
rk shouted aloud. Then she nudged Amy with her elbow from the seat next 
to her. “Amy Clayton, would you please come up to the stage?"  the autho
r said into the microphone. Amy wasn't at all sure what was happening, b
ut she rose from her chair and headed towards the stage on wobbly legs. 
 A thunderous round of clapping from her school mates took place as Amy 
approached the stage. She had no idea why the author wanted her on the s
tage. All three prizes had been awarded, so why was he calling her to th
e stage? Once Amy was on the stage, the man in the suit rose from his ch
air, and headed over to her.  He smiled at Amy, then shook her hand. “Fo
r all of you faculty members and kids who don't know this man, he is Mr.
 Arnold Zimmerman of Bonanza Magazine in New York City.  They publish ch
ildren's stories each month, and they want to publish Amy's.  I have kno
wn him for many years, and when I read Miss Amy Clayton's story, I knew 
I had to call him.  I e-mailed him Amy's story and it didn't take him bu
t one day to get back to me and tell me that he wanted to publish it,"  
said Mr. Steve Carter.  " We didn't feel that it would be fair or proper
 to award Amy Clayton a prize in this contest, considering her story wil
l soon be published." Everyone, including each and every staff member, w
as applauding noisily.  Some even had tears in their eyes, like Mrs. Eva
ns, who was so proud right now of Amy that she thought her heart was goi
ng to burst. Mr. Carter then looked down at Amy, who began to tremble so
me now, still not quite certain just what was going on here. “Well, what
 do you think of that news, Amy?”  Mr. Carter asked her. “Does that soun
d good to you?” “I -- I guess that would be okay,”  Amy managed to utter
. A lot of laughter followed her comment. “You see, Amy, we all thought 
your story was so wonderful, that we felt it deserved a higher level tha
n first place.“  Mr. Zimmerman explained.  ”I'd like to purchase the rig
hts to your story and publish it in our magazine, you see?“ Now Amy was 
getting the message. “You mean buy my story, sir?”  Amy asked, with bate
d breath, her whole body now shaking. “Yes, that is precisely what I mea
n, Amy,”  he told her. "We will have to gain consent from your parents f
irst of course, but we would be willing to pay you seven hundred and fif
ty dollars for the rights to your story." It was at that point that Amy 
Clayton let out a shriek and collapsed on the stage floor.  Amy had fain
ted! Several of the faculty members rushed onto the stage, including the
 school nurse, Ms. Landers, and soon they had Amy revived and up on her 
feet again.  Amy's face turned beet red from embarrassment, but then she
 smiled out at the assembled crowd, letting everyone know she was okay, 
and she received still another round of applause. Amy's story was publis
hed the following month, and she wrote two more stories after that, with
out having gotten the ideas for them from a dream. Amy hopes to be a wri
ter when she grows up, and maybe that will happen. Almost anything is po
ssible, if you try hard enough, Amy's teacher once told her, and Amy kno
ws those are very good words to live by. 


--  THE  END -  


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