Instructions: Read the story and start writing a story, describing where, with whom and how you will spend your ideal 48 hours. The Big Win You are lying in your bed. It is not comfortable. It feels hard and lumpy. You cannot sleep. You are too cold. Throw off the blankets. No, pull them back up. You hear the noise of the traffic outside your window. You turn over again and again. The room is very dark. You wish you had someone to talk to. You have a hundred problems running through your head. Suddenly in the middle of this terrible night, the telephone rings. You reach out in the darkness tying to find the telephone. Ooops! You dropped it on the floor. Where is it? Oh, here it is. "Hello?" A man's voice says, "Congratulations!! This is the Big Win Show on T.V. You have just won all-expenses paid holiday anywhere in the world! Starting tomorrow at 8 o'clock in the morning you will be with any person you choose in any country or city you choose. You can stay for two days and do anything you like!" The Penguin M.T. Doshisha International Jr/Sr High School, Kyoto, Japan

I won the travel to anywhere. I wondered where I wanted to go. I quickly went to my friend's house and talked about the prize that I won. After talking about this travel's system, we chose to go to South Pole. This was because we wanted to go far away from this place. The boring place for us. Also, I liked penguins and this helped us choose the travel to South Pole. This day he promised to come to my house at tomorrow, 7:30. I only put some clothes for cold weather in the bag and slept, looking forward to it. Next morning, my friend came to my house with a big bag. "We stay there for only 2 days... Isn't it too big?" "Well... maybe we will be lost there, so I brought some foods." I thought that the TV Company would not let us die. Though I didn't say this to my friend, because he looked so pleased with his self. At 8:00 the TV producer sent us to the airport and we got on the airplane. We arrived to the South Pole at midnight. (This will make the time shorter to stay here because we've got to sleep. It is quite crafty.) (43 hours left) I could not sleep because I was o excited staying in this place. Before walking around the tent, I opened my bag and tried to take out my clothes. This was mad by fur. "...fur? Wait. I didn't bring such a cloth like a fur coat." I took out that fur coat. Too heavy. "What is this?" I turned over the fur coat, and looked at it. Yellow bill. Two eyes beside the yellow bill. (??)? What is this? The fur coat opened the eyes. Maybe it was sleeping. "................!!!" (looking at me) It was a penguin. ...Yes. It LOOK like a penguin. After picking up the penguin, I threw it outside of the tent. I thought that the penguin just got in the bag, because it was warm. So soon, it would go back to the place where he belong to. This happening made me more excited, and I fell in to the bed, have a nap until morning. (40 hours left) A.M. 7:00. I got up by the TV director's voice. They were whispering, but I was usual get up by a small sound, in my boring daily life. I listened to them speaking. "Is your pr//ect working OK?" "Yes, t/ere is // pro//em" ""We've //t to this p/oj/ct, secr//y. One mor/. O/her one alre//y we/t to THAT PLACE." They were still saying something to each other. (I couldn't hear well, so I started to feel boring. I got out from the bed and changed the clothes.) It was already 8:00, even though my friend was not awake. I looked his bed. Nobody was there. Maybe he already woke up and walking around outside, but his big bag was also gone. I packed my bag and went outside to find him. "............" (looking at me) "What are you doing here." "........? .......!!!" (shaking it's body. Maybe, gesture.) I ignored him and tried to find my friend. This place has no place to hide, because there is only snow around here. However I could not find my friend yet. Well, this made me worryed and, I asked his whereabouts to the TV group's tent, but they did not know about him too. (Oh my god.) It should be a fun travel. It was a break in our boring life. I did not know what to do. I can not go back to my daily life without him. He was a nice guy. Though, he had lots of foods, so I did not need to concern about his life. He must be waiting us to find him. Maybe he is lost in this wide area. (36 hours left) "......" (The penguin. It was still following me. Why do this penguin follow me. I did not know him. BUT!! I like penguins.) "OK. You are going to be my pet." "......?" "I mean, You can follow me if you beome my pet." ""(He looks happy) "I am looking for my friend. You, use your nose and find him." (Wait. Penguin is not a dog. I can't think that THIS could distinguish the smell of my friend.) "I am sorry. It is impossible for you." When I looked down, the penguin was sliding using it's stomach. (Smelling the ground?) The penguin was fast. (Can you believe a penguin can actually slide faster than people running. 5.5 seconds per 50m. Wow.) We ran (One was sliding) for about 10 minutes. There was a sea, and he dived in the sea. (It is swimming the sea, and going farther away from the land. I am not a penguin. This kind of water should be cold. Lets go back to the tent...but where is this place?) I can not see anything except the white plain and the dark blue sea. (Alright. I wait until the penguin comes back.) (34 hours left) Here came the penguin swimming the sea, and beside that penguin, my friend was chasing(?) it, with the big bag. The penguin arrived to the land. After few seconds, my friend also arrived. I heard that he went to a place that was very enjoyable. He said that the TV director let him go by the plane. The penguin started to slide to the way I came. (Well, it was still too fast for us, because of this bag.) (32 hours left) We got back to the tent. I told that my friend was found. Also I told that I wanted to go to the place that was enjoyable for my friend. The TV director let us go there, it was a amusement park in the middle of the South Pole. There were a slider, made from ice, penguin show and fishes to eat. We played until the sky get dark. The TV producer told us to rest at the hotel, in this amusement park. This hotel looked like a 17century's castle. It was little strange for me, because "future" was this amusement park's theme. Only this hotel was an old building in the park. Although, we were tired by today's adventure, we easily fell in to sleep. (25 hours left) ~TV director&producer's room~ "Did they sleep?" "Yes. They turn the light off. After few hours, let's start the project." "Well, We do not want to do it like this but we've got to get THAT." "OK. It's time to move that boys." (17 hours left) (...Cold. Where is my quilt. I was in a bed. Why am I lying on a ground?) My friend was sleeping, but shaking. I waked up him and lent my clothes for coldness. (Oh, my baggage was useful at last, isn't it?) My brain woke up from sleep, and started to think about our position. This place looks like a prison. Maybe we were carried to the prison, while sleeping in the bed. We've got plenty of food to eat. ...Also, the penguin. We just waited in the prison. Of course, we tried to get out from here, but this was impossible. There were no space to get out. Even the windows was not there. So we stopped it. (Why do we have to get caught and putted in to the prison? We didn't do anything.) We spent the time playing with this small penguin, eating the snack. Few hours later the door opened, and a man who I know, came in. It was the TV producer. He let us out from the prison, and took us to a big room. It seem like a great person's room. "We called you to this castle to get your pet, which you got in South Pole." (He wanted my penguin, but why?) "This is a normal penguin. It is not special. It is same like others." "Well, it is normal for you, but it is special for us. The penguin can....... Oh, there is no need to tell you about it. Forget it. If you give this penguin to us, we will let you guys free, but if not... We will give you time to think about it. 5hours. After 5hours, tell us your solution" (13 hours left) "Hey, lets give the penguin to them. We just came here for vacation. Also, this penguin was not your pet until we come here. I don't want to die just because of the penguin!!" "..........?" "Wait. They didn't say to kill us, and I don't want to give this penguin to this guy. They use it only for money... How about escaping from this land?" "It's impossible. We don't have any way to get out." "Oh yeah? Look at him." "" "He can maybe help us. First, we shouldn't go to the castle. Let's get out from this amusement park." (8 hours left) The time of the promise came. I said to my friend, "Don't give them the penguin". But maybe it was not a good idea. The TV company's staff members was chasing us secretly. We were caught again in the castle. This time, they bind us hard, not to escape. There was no way to escape. I thought that I would be killed here. (The penguin is in the arm. Not mine, the producer's arm. There was no hope. Oh look. The penguin is shining. So what. It is not important for the people who die now. I remembered about the last night's phone. If I canceled this travel this would not happen. Maybe I was still living, in that boring days. Maybe it was happier to live in the usual day. Last regret, in my life.) Then what, I was in the bed, trying to sleep, but can not sleep. The phone rung loudly in the dark room. It was my room. (What happened? I was caught, and almost killed by them, but now, I'm back to my room. What is this phone ringing.) "You won the XXXXX's TV show!! You can go anywhere you want with one partner!! You do not need any money, we will pay it for you!!" I understood. That penguin can go upstream the time, the time you want to change the mistake in the life. "Sorry. I have no time to go travel, and I am very happy to live this time, with my friends. Please phone to other person. Thank you, good bye." - THE END - Child Research Net would like to thank the Doshisha International Junior/Senior High School and Manabu Takita, student and author, for permitting reproduction of this article on the CRN web site.

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