Melvin the Evil Black Fox by Carrie Hiller

Melvin the Evil Black Fox

There once was a country called... well, that I am not permitted to tell you. In the country, an evil loomed. It was called (“I love this story!” “Christopher! Would you shut up? I’m trying to write a story here!”) Melvin. Melvin, the Evil Black Fox. (“Oh, yeah, Melvin’s a really evil name.” “Christopher!”) The Evil Fox roamed the land, and the king took many precautions against it. (“Wait, isn’t this the king of Cau-” “Christopher! I’m not permitted to hear or speak the the name of the country!” “Gosh, sorry.”) The king, named King Huron, set up a barrier around the kingdom, doubled his army, and increased the work force to dig a trench. But somehow Melvin (“I laugh every time I hear that name.” “Christopher!” “Well-“ “I said be quiet!”) got through all of these traps, and the king became depressed. The people of the land were also angered, for Melvin was ravaging their homes in the dead of night, stealing their food, and taking their money. Many soldiers lost their lives in search of the Fox to destroy him. Finally, one boy came along (“Oh yeah, this part.” “CHRISTOPHER!”) and challenged all the knights and soldiers. This is what he said: “O hail, thou knights and soldiers, for I challenge thee! Listen carefully to my words, for I shall henceforth speaketh only once. (“This kid is weird. What’s with the old English?” “It’s part of the story.” “Oh.”) Here is my request: That thy swords be sharpened and unsheathed, thy chivalry be diminished, and thy feet be quick as fire! For I challenge thee to a race! A race to find Melvin, this Evil Black Fox thou speaketh so much of. My name is Nivlem, the knight from a country I am not permitted to speak of, and I challenge thee, (“Hasn’t he already said that enough?” “Shut up! This is my story, not yours!”) once and for all, to find this Melvin! The first to do so shall be rewarded in full by me. I shall givest thou eight gold pieces if you are successful in bring Melvin to me-alive. Now, find Melvin, and then-find me!” And he disappeared. The crowd gasped in stunned silence. They did not know what to do. Then suddenly, (“Hey! This is where that one knight gives a battle cry or something and then runs into the forest to find Melvin, who is actually-“ “CHRISTOPHER SHANE WILLIAMS! How many times do I have to tell you?” “Yikes, a little aggressive, are we?”) a knight lifted his sword and gave a battle cry and raced into the forest. Five other knights, coming to their senses, raced after him.

Behind a tree, Melvin the Evil Black Fox snickered. “They’ll never find me. Or this 'Nivlem'.”

And they haven’t. Not yet. (“Except for your brother!” “Yes, except for my annoying brother-“ “I forgot what the country was called.” “Don’t try me.”) Not ever. For here he sits, writing this now, and those six knights are still running all over the forests. (“Wasn’t it Caudland?” “CHRISTOPHER!!”)

Hey, Readers, it's Carrie

As you can see this is a very short story that needs a little bit of work. There are things I need to change, but I'm not sure how to do it. That is where you come in. Here are a few questions for you to answer. You can make up a story or do a short answer, whatever you like.

-Who exactly is Melvin, why does the king fear him, and how did he come to be?

-Why can't he speak or hear the name of the town he was in? (Caudland)

-Why is with his brother?

-And why is he writing this story anyway??

You only need to answer one or two of the questions, not all of them. Send your answers to serendipityjournal@gmail.com Thanks for your help!

~Carrie for the S.J.

Poem Club!

Here is a new club for October!

Personally, I love to write poems. If you like to, here is your chance to share them! We may publish your poems, if they meet our standards on the list below. Just email your poems to serendipityjournal@gmail.com and our editors will check for any spelling errors, contact you, and publish your poem as one of the S.J.'s own posts!

I cannot wait to see everything you have.

~Carrie for the S.J.

P.S.

Here is some criteria for sent-in poems:

1. Give us a only a first name, fake name, or have us post it as anonymous.

2. Include a title or 'theme' (if you wish.)

3. No crude or profane items. (thank you!)

4. Have fun with it!

More info for the first debate

Hello Readers,

For a while, we have been getting some opposition to our answer to the first debate. (Can science prove anything?) So here is some more references for you to check out.

This one is an article that is definitely worth reading all the way through.

The Universe Confirms the Bible - Answers in Genesis

Here is a quote from a book I am reading.

.....Science work by experiments. It watches how things behave. Every scientific statement in the long run, however complicated it looks, really means something like, 'I pointed the telescope to such and such a part of the sky at 2:20 a.m. on January 15th and saw so-and-so,' or, 'I put some of this stuff in a pot and heated it to such-and-such a temperature and it did so-and-so.' Do not think I am saying anything against science: I am only saying what its job is. And the more scientific a man is, the more (I believe) he would agree with me that this is the job of science-and a very useful and necessary job it is too.

Lewis, C.S. Mere Christianity. © HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. 2001.

I hope this helps you in your search of the answer.

Sage and Carrie for the S.J.

Peanut Butter Club!

Here is the official post for the opening of the Peanut Butter Lovers Club!

Everyone- Please tell us your favorite peanut butter recipe or peanut butter memories! =]

Thank you!

The Breath-Taker by Carrie Hiller

Well, for most of you, summer is over and school has started. Some of you may already be ready for summer. So for everyone who has the school blues, I have a remedy! Here's a story to take you back to summer camp....

Strapping my white helmet painfully over my head, I walk towards the one-foot tall plank platform. I check my harnesses next - they are tight and secure. Perhaps a little too tight, but better safe than sorry.

"I need two spotters!" the counselor monitoring the rope swing called the Breath-taker calls. Two of my friends, similarly decked in harnesses, stride forward. As I climb the rickety ladder to be attached to a rope, their arms are extended upward to catch me if I fall.

The counselor double-checks all of my harnesses, then attaches the rope that everyone will pull me up with. "Everyone go to the rope!" she yells. "Now, Carrie is going to say, 'Spotters ready?' And you will say, 'Ready!' She will say, 'Trusting,' and you will reply, 'Trust us, Carrie.' Then you will all pull the rope."

After a moment I repeat what I am supposed to say. The ladder is taken out from under me. I feel myself suspended ten feet into the air. Suddenly the rope jerks, and I begin to go up. Now I am twenty feet high. Now twenty-five feet, and thirty. Forty feet, fifty....

Someone yells, "You're at the top!" I open my eyes quickly; the ground spins beneath me. The height, probably seventy-five feet, makes me dizzy with fear and excitement all at the same time, and I immediately clamp my eyes shut.

I clutch the harness straps near my shoulders, only to hold on to something. As if it will keep me from falling off of the rope. Taking a deep breath, I shout, "One, two, three, Breath-taker!" Then, I yank the small rope at my side, which disconnects me from the pulley rope, and I plummet down, hanging merely from a cable. As I swing diagonally toward the platform, I open my eyes quickly, to see that I am about to crash - Whoosh! I miss it by inches (or perhaps a foot or two). Then I swing up again. Soon I am falling back down again, and up, and down, like the pendulum on a clock, all the while clinging to the harness' shoulder straps.

Just when I have a sick churning in my belly and can stand it no longer, the counselor hits her forearm against my leg, to slow me down. I go up and down once more; again, she hits my legs.

All of my muscles are still taught as I come to a halt. The ladder is put in front of me once more, so with trembling hands and knocking knees I carefully climb down.

Shaking, I unbuckle my helmet and unstrap my harnesses while walking over to my friends. They bombard me with questions.

"How was it?"

"Why'd you close your eyes the whole time?"

"Did you like it?"

Now, all in all, I must say it was pretty fun. And the name truly fits it, for it really does take your breath away.

Clubs

Hello S.J. readers!

What do you think about adding a new aspect to The Serendipity Journal?

Well, we thought to make the blog a little more fun, we could form clubs. This kind of club is a good kind, and it also is only an idea, don't get us wrong.

Listen to our thoughts and see what you think.

1. Anyone, no matter what, can join.

2. They will be to inspire others and get inspired yourself.

3. If none of you readers like them, we can take them away.

It's that simple.

Let us give you an example;

I (Sage) am going to start this new idea by making a club myself.

It will be a Peanut Butter Lovers club! Anyone can join this club.

Mostly it will consist of favorite recipes from readers, but other stuff is great too!

We might want to start a Poetry club where people submit their favorite poems and ones they have written.

(Do you mostly get the idea?)

If you have an idea for a S.J. club (we will call them S.J.C.s to make it easier.), just email us at serendipityjournal@gmail.com and Carrie and I will approve them and put up a post about is A.S.A.P! Have fun with this!

Your friends at the Serendipity Journal,

Sage Anderson and Carrie Hiller

The Third Debate

Welcome, Readers! 

Once again, the time has come for the infamous debate question! There are two questions to this debate that tie together. As always, your answer is strictly up to your opinion, especially this one. Here it is:

Why do you think Jesus, after he performed a miracle, told the person that he healed not to tell anyone what had happened? (For example, after healing a deaf man, 'Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it.' - Mark 7:36) But even after he told them (commanded them), they still talked about it. Why do you think that is?

Thanks for reading, and let the discussion commence!

Sincerely,

Carrie H. and Sage A. 

 for the Serendipity Journal

Summer Action-reported from the perspective of Agent Sage

Disclaimer: To all whom this may concern: this allegory is not intended to offend, hurt or otherwise render any victim helpless. It is strictly for entertainment, fun and other random purposes.

Note: No real names have been used in the making of this story. These actions have been taken to protect and guard the real identities of the under-cover characters. Thank you.

-Begin Report-

7/09

Agent Sage Anderson signing in:

I love the smell of summer! What makes it even more wonderful is when there is something else to smell; action and adventure! Let me tell you about my summer adventure this week.

First, you have to understand that I have a friend named Connie. She is my age and a great friend. Connie loves soccer, in fact, she absolutely adores it! Her whole summer is packed with practices and games. (She is quite a player too! That girl can kick the ball high enough to be out of sight and all the way across the entire field! She is an amazing player.) She only has one brother named Will who also loves sports, but he plays LaCrosse. Their family also has a dog with a food name, which I think is very sweet!

Connie and I have been getting together to play some tag some mornings this week. Although this might not seem very interesting to you now, just listen please. On Wednesday of this week, Connie told me how she had really enjoyed the awesome games of tag we have had together.

Pause the story please, sorry, but you also need to know that I have been getting letters randomly in my mailbox from someone named Wynter. I think this person sent me about five, I really don't remember though. I had no clue for a while who this was, but when I find a pen name, I intend to find out about who the pen name belongs to.

Now, back to the story.

When we were walking home, I told her about those letters I was getting. She told me she hadn't heard of such a thing ever happening to someone in our neighborhood. I asked her if she had gotten any of them or sent any anonymous letters in the past. She replied with a definite no, and then gave me a sort-of sheepish look that was trying to be hidden......but that didn't work for me. I knew right away who this mysterious Wynter was, and why Connie had posed as her.

Later in the walk, Connie tried to cover it up by saying something about how she just remembered right then that she had gotten some letters from this "Wynter". I just played along and pretended like I believed her, but I still was positive Wynter was Connie.

For those of you who may be wondering what I did to let Connie know that I knew she was acting as Wynter, and totally turn her in to the Department Of Using A Fake Name Towards Your Friend And Not Telling Her It Is You (DOUAFNTYFANTHIIY), listen to this, I didn't turn her in. Yep, you heard me right, I didn't turn her in; I wrote a story.

So Wynter, (you know who you are) this summer I not only smell action and adventure, but I also smell something burning...because you are so toast!

Agent Sage Anderson signing out.

-End Report-

Answer to the first debate

Ok, here is our opinion on what the answer is to, "Can science prove anything?"

There are many things we know about science. However, since the world is constantly 

under change, it is difficult to prove things. If data used to support a theory or law changes, that theory or law is disproved. What was once "proved by science" is not any longer. 

At one point, science "proved" that we would never go to outer space, walk on the moon, fly faster than the speed of sound, but you know what? We have done all of those things and more!  Science in and of itself cannot give us sound, unchanging answers to things such as that. That is why we base our beliefs on the Bible, God's word, because it does not change and never will.

Sage Anderson and Carrie Hiller

The Second Debate!

Hello, Everyone!

Yes, the time has come again for a debate! The answer to the previous question will be answered directly.

And now, the question is about the 4th of July. What was your favorite part about celebrating America's Independence Day? We hope you did not go to Wal-Mart prior to celebrating.

Also, which term do you use? Independence Day or the 4th of July?

Please feel free to talk about others' comments and leave comments of your own. This is not very much of a debate but we would like to know how your 4th of July (or Independence Day) was.

Have a wonderfully fantabulously great day!

Carrie H. and Sage A.

Fourth of July, sea salt. Huh? Wow!

The other day we needed some Fourth of July flair, so we decided to go to wal-mart. For those of you who are against wal-mart, please just listen to the story. Walking into any store you always have an expectation of what you will see, our expectation was to be blasted with the seasonal stuff. You know like Easter they have bunnies, baskets, eggs and glitter. Christmas they have all of that and more, but that day when we opened the doors of the blue wonderland, we had an utter disappointment, no red white and blue!! AHH! What were we going to do? This was traumatic!

After overcoming our first initial shock, we advanced  on the newly finished, squeaky, laminate tiles.  We turned and saw a lady hanging clothes on a rack. If we were smart enough, we would have turned back and ran away screaming right then. We didn't know better, so we proceeded. 

She was doing something with a rack and clothes but I really don't remember that part in detail. Her Blue shirt and larger glasses made her quite the wal-mart type. My mom wanted to find this Fourth stuff right away and get out of there, so she started the conversation.

"Hi, we are looking for some Fourth of July decorations. Usually wal-mart has all of that seasonal stuff right when you walk in, but we didn't see any!" 

"Oh, you are looking for that, do you want the kind of sea salt that you use to make ice cream, or just regular kitchen sea salt?" 

"Um hm, yeah..." This was a little bit strange.

"Oh, you don't have any of that yet, nope!" The employee said with a nice grin on her face.

"Ok, thank you!"

We just walked away trying not to bust out laughing while we were still in earshot.

And this, reader, is why you don't ask questions to wal-mart employee.

The End

What a Real Hero Is by Carrie Hiller

Note: Before you read this you must understand that, because I am a Christian, I could not think of any ways to write this without mentioning any Christian attributes in a hero.

What do you first think of when someone says the word ‘hero’? Spiderman? The Incredibles? C. S. Lewis? A movie star, or a writer, or a singer? That is what most people think of. But what about your best friend? Or perhaps a family member or a teacher?

This is what I think a hero is. 

A hero is someone who genuinely cares about what you are feeling, and when they ask, “How are you?” they actually mean it. They are there for you, not only when you are sad or depressed, but when you just want to talk about life. A real hero will look out for you and love you no matter what.

 

A hero makes you feel good and brightens your day. They are happy and constantly have a smile on their face. It doesn’t matter if you are popular or not. They don’t care what other people think about them because they are doing what’s right.

 

So, you may be thinking, how do I do that? You can try really really hard to be nice to everyone you meet and let them know you care, but even then, it’s difficult. There is always that one kid at school or one person you work with that just doesn’t click with everyone else. This is where faith comes in. I have found that if you have God in your life you are automatically happier, more joyful. This makes it so much easier to be a hero in the ways I discussed, to love and care for people. 

Some think only famous people can be heros, but they were normal once too. With God, all things are possible. You can be a hero. Either that, or you can just sit on your couch and wish you could be like them. You choose what you want to do.

The First Debate!

Hello Everyone,

We have decided on a question to keep you thinking for a while.

This post is meant for discussion and of course, debates! Please leave your opinion, we want responses!

Thanks, Sage A and Carrie H for the S.J.

Here is the question:

Can science prove anything? Give examples to support your answer.

There you go, let the debate begin!

Hi, Readers! Thanks for coming to the Serendipity Journal! We just started this blog recently. So, we wanted to ask you, "What do you want to see on the Serendipity Journal?" Please keep in mind that we chose serendipity for a reason. If you don't know what it means, please look it up and find out! We are extremely open to suggestions and would love to have your feedback! We will definitely keep in mind all of your comments, and choose the ones we think go with our goal for being completely serendipitous. Please post a comment if you have ideas! Thanks! ~Carrie Hiller and Sage Anderson

Tenalpia by Sage Anderson

Once upon a time....no, I shouldn’t start this like any other fairy tale because it isn’t like any other fairy tale. How about, twice upon a tale? There, that’s better. 

Twice upon a tale, there lived a ordinary girl by the name of Lily. Now Lily was in high school, and she was WAY past the phase of princesses, fairies, and other things that little girls love. She had too much schoolwork to even think about that kind of stuff. 

One day while Lily was riding her bike home from school with homework on her mind, she thought she heard something along the dirt path like a small cat pouncing on a frightened mouse. Whatever it was, she really didn’t care. All she was thinking about now was how she was going to get her final paper for school written.

Over the next week, Lily tried and tried to figure out what to write about, but none of her usual tricks worked. The very next day, she was relaxing outside on the green grass of her front lawn; the toddler next door was blowing bubbles into the cloudless sky. Everything was so undisturbed. All of a sudden, she could barely hear that same pounce that she heard before. It was somehow different though, the pitch was higher and it was almost like something you would hear on a cartoon. Lily couldn’t see anything around her that could possibly be making the noise. It grew louder and louder which would imply that it was getting closer. Lily stood up and looked all about her, something glimmering in the sunshine was half floating, half blowing into her. She thought it was just a bubble, wait, no.. It was something different. What was it?

Pause! 

Thank you, I need to explain something. The story is now in the perspective from inside of that bubble you heard about a second ago.

You may now continue.

“What is happening?” Ava franticly questioned the fairies swarming around her. No one seemed to hear her above the ruckus that filled the dark sky. Everything was surging past her like a furious wind. A jostle of wings of all colors swept by her. The whole planet of Tenalpia seemed to be spinning triple fast while being bounced upside-down. Then, all of a sudden, it stopped. Everything was still. Was it the end of the world? 

Over the course of the next few days, the fairies were beginning to get used to the still, quiet, and dimness of their world. Not one of them liked it, however.

Suddenly, the inhabitants of the bubble thought they felt something light as a feather brushing them up. They were moving! Softly. Gently. They floated along the gentle breeze and into a yard that happened to belong to Lily, and much to her surprise, she caught it somehow.

Stop the story again for a moment right there. You have to keep in mind that this fairy world is no larger than a baseball. None of the fairies knew that though. To them, their world is the only form of life in a huge universe. Continue.

This sphere was quite strange, it had the opalescence of a bubble, the texture of a bubble, but it just was different somehow. As it blew into her hands, Lily fingered the thick sides of the peculiar object; and she could feel a round disk inside. It was like a C.D. riding horizontally in a hamster ball. The most curious thing was that it had not popped yet. 

“I guess this is not any kind of bubble at all, it must be some toy from somewhere...” her voice drifted off as she suddenly realized the globe had turned a little more transparent. There was something in the bubble! Maybe it was a bug. Even if it was, it was incredibly undersized. There were also some small round and square lumps on top of the C.D.-like object.

Her mom’s call startled her, “Honey, please come in for dinner!” 

“Ok, Mom, I’ll be right there!” she yelled back. This is truly amazing, I had better put it someplace safe and look at it later.She choose a hidden spot in her treehouse where it wouldn’t float away, planning to come back as soon as she could.

All through dinner, Lily couldn’t stop thinking about her recent discovery. She couldn’t quite grasp the concept that she had found this wonderful thing, even if she wasn’t sure what it was yet.

✼✼✼✼

Most of the bustle had died down and the fairy world was calm again. Near Ava’s house, some of the fairies had started to clean the disorderly mess. Flower baskets had blown askew and other small articles been jarred out of place by the violent catastrophe. The sky had regained its usual vibrant shades which lifted the fairies hearts. 

Oh, one more thing I should clarify. Everyone knows that bubbles have a rainbow tint to them. In this case, the sun streams through the skin of the bubble, and, as a result, the coloration of the sky in the fairy land is always rainbow. This light is the method by which the fairies gain their energy. They don’t need to eat or drink anything except gather energy from the light. The grass and plants grow this way too. 

Ava thought she would go and look for her friend Emilia to see how she was doing. The small fairy lifted into the air without a sound and flitted away. 

“Ava, how good to see you!” greeted Emilia when Ava had not yet landed.

“I was so worried I would never see you again!” said Ava. 

“Well, I am glad you are here now, and that we are together!” 

“Me too; how would you like to go fly around for a while?

“Oh, I’d love to, I’ll be right back, I have to ask my parents.” Emilia darted into her little house and in a flash she was back.  “Ok, let’s go!” she pulled Ava’s hand and off they went prancing up the street then suddenly, in unison, leapt up in the air. Both girls were glad to have each other and their world back to normal. 

From up above, they could see petite towns dazzling in the radiant light. The world was so splendid.

“Isn’t it just stunning from up here? Ava proclaimed.

“Yes, I wish we could stay up here forever! Emilia replied. The two small fairies escalated way higher than they had ever been before, they went so high, that they almost vanished from view below. 

Back to Lily now...

In the early morning sunshine, she scrambled up to the little treehouse before she went off to school. Lily cupped her precious bubble in her hands. She peered into it finding that the view tended to become clearer the longer she looked at it. Lily could see those small lumps were what looked like houses, could they be? Yes, and the little bugs were small people. 

“What a find!” Lily exclaimed. Suddenly noticing a pair of the small bug-like humans up close to the top of the bubble. 

“Hello there,” she whispered as softly as she could.” The little creatures dove down in sheer fear closer to the town of houses. 

“Oh bother, I guess I’ve frightened them,” moaned Lily. The clarity faded back into fog. Lily set down the tiny world as carefully as she could, clambered down the tree, and whisked away on her bike in the direction of school.

Tenalpia...

“W..h..a...t  w..a...s  t..h..a.t??” Emilia asked in a small shaking voice.

“I..I..I’ve  n..o..o..o  c..l..u..e,” replied Ava with the same frightened tone.

“It was a double huge giant, yet its face seemed kind.” This is what the two fairies concluded of their rather astonishing shock after they had finished shaking.

“I think we should try to talk to it, I believe that we are protected somehow, like a shield around us,” Ava decided.

“Maybe we can stop flapping and let ourselves fall down really fast. That would be our escape plan if we need it,” Emilia indicated.

The girls were determined to meet this giant and they spent the rest of the day planning for the next morning’s excursion.

✼✼✼✼

Before Lily knew it, her day at school had passed and she was home. She was determined to talk to those curious creatures. Looking at her pile of homework, she would have to wait and try the next morning. 

All three girls lay in their beds that night staring at the celling.

I hope this works, Lily thought.

I hope this works, Ava and Emilia thought. 

They turned over and fell asleep thinking about what the morning would bring.

Like they planned, the three girls got up early and flew, (two literally, one not) to their posts each to wait for the other. Lily squinted into the bubble. The two fairies flew up and up to the highest they could go. All the plans were going right so far. 

“Here it goes,” said Ava.

“Yep, this is our chance,” assured Emilia.

“I hope I don’t frighten them again,” breathed Lily

When all of the girls were in their place, the cloudiness finally began to clear. The two fairies hovered with the intent to firmly stay where they were. Lily tenderly held the bubble as if it were made of glass. 

This moment felt like a time when you first arrive at a party where you don’t know anyone, and no one is sure of what to say. Then someone says a word or two that breaks the tense air; suddenly a conversation starts and everyone begins talking as if they were old friends. This is exactly how it happened between Ava, Emilia, and Lily. These girls all were a bit nervous at first, but their curiosity overcame those feelings. 

And that, my friends, is where we leave this story. First I need to tell you that it ended up that Lily kept the little world as her comrades and friends. She also came up with a story for that final paper she couldn’t figure out. That is where I will close; not with a “happily ever after”, but with a fun time and a few mishaps.

The End