SHORT STORIES
Original Tall-Tale
Hooray for Herbert
Once upon a time, there lived a giant man in the caves along Black Canyon near the Hoover Dam and the Colorado river. For many years the people that lived in the towns along Black Canyon had heard tales about Herbert the Hairy. Nobody had ever seen him except Mr. Goober, who was the mayor of Black Canyon. Herbert the Hairy was gardening. He was taller than the Hoover Dam. Sometimes if his hair was sticking up you could see it from space. He was also covered in red curly hair. Herbert was very shy and awkward around people. All the other people just heard made up stories of Herbert the hairy, so they were scared of him. Poor Herbert, he just wanted to have friends.
One night in July, a terrible storm struck. Herbert the Hairy was alone in his cave as usual when he heard a crushing crash and splitting sound. He looked outside his cave and saw that the Colorado River was flooding very quickly and realized that the crash he heard was the Hoover dam splitting down the middle. Herbert realized that this would cause catastrophe for everyone living in Black Canyon. With the Hoover Dam broken, the Colorado River rising and the rain waters pounding down, it would mean certain death for the townspeople. Herbert wanted to help, but he was afraid to leave his cave because he knew that the people were afraid of him. Suddenly Herbert heard a huffing and puffing sound at his cave. He peeked out and saw his only friend, Mayor Goober, braving the elements to get to Herbert's cave.
"Goober, what on earth are you doing here?" said Herbert the Hairy
"O Herbert, you must help us. The dam has broken, and we will all die!" said Goober
"What could I possibly do to help, everyone is afraid of me, and I would just make things worse," said Herbert.
"O Herbert, you are brilliant. People just don't know you. Please save our town."
Herbert scratched all his hair and decided he needed to help. He took three steps to the west and ended up in the Redwood National Park in California. It only took Herbert three steps to get there because he was so huge. He reached down and snatched up huge redwood trees like they were toothpicks. He made his way back to the Hoover Dam and inserted the trees into the broken part of the dam to seal it up. Immediately the water stopped flowing, and the rains stopped. The people of Black Canyon started to go outside their houses, and what they saw was Herbert The Hairy standing next to the dam with mayor Goober. Mayor Goober explained to the people how Herbert the hairy saved their lives and fixed the dam. The people were astonished and grateful. The citizens of Black Canyon started to come forward to shake Herbert's hand, which was larger than their bodies. They thanked Herbert the Hairy for saving the town and fixing the dam. From that day forward, Herbert the Hairy became the keeper of the dam, giving tours for the rest of his life. As a bonus, he made lots of friends and was no longer alone.
Original Myth
Cannon Langley
Ms. Markunas
English 9 Block G
15 May 2020
The Golf Course Goon
Many years ago in the quiet, peaceful setting of Boonsboro Country Club, a strange event took place. For years the members of the club had enjoyed playing golf on the pristine course. All the golfers enjoyed walking up and down the hills that were covered on lush, green grass and especially liked to see which golfer could hit their ball over the lake on hole number six. But one day things began to change. A group of golfers approached hole number six when suddenly a huge, furry, bright blue thing emerged from the middle of the lake. The golfers were filled with fear as they watched in horror this monster coming toward them. The monster shouted in a shrill, high pitched voice to get away from his lake. Then the monster proceeded to grab all the golf bags and clubs and run back into the lake with them. The golfers ran back toward the pro shop in horror. The other golfers did not believe their story. So the next group of golfers decided that they would go and play hole number six. The same thing happened to them. These golfers arrived back at the pro shop with no bags or clubs and said they would never go out there again. Groups of golfers continued to go out and the same thing happened to each group, until nobody at Boonsboro Country Club had any golf clubs or bags. People stopped playing golf because of the monster and the pristine golf course became overgrown with tall grass and weeds. The people were sad that they could no longer enjoy the club. Something had to be done. One of the members suggested that they call Cannonball the super hero to help them. Cannonball had grown up learning to play golf at Boonsboro Country Club. He was now a professional golfer as well as a superhero who fought mischief. The members called Cannonball and explained the situation. He quickly agreed to come to Lynchburg to help. Once he arrived at the club, Cannonball loaded up his golf bag with his clubs and headed for hole number six. As soon as he got there, the monster rose up from the middle of the lake and lunged at the super hero. Cannonball held up his driver and told the monster to stop right there. Of course the monster stopped. He asked the monster why he was taking all the players clubs and bags? The monster replied that the reason he was doing that is because the golfers never talked to him and just left their balls in his lake. He continued to explain that he really was not mean and scary, he just wanted some friends because he was lonely. Cannonball the super hero told the monster that he could fix that. So Cannonball and the monster headed to the pro shop together. When they arrived there the crowd could not believe that Cannonball had brought the monster. He explained to the crowd that the monster was very nice, but just lonely. So Cannonball decided to take the monster on the PGA Tour with him as his personal caddy since the monster knew so much about golf and golf clubs. When the monster was not touring with Cannonball he was the head golf pro at Boonsboro. People began to fill the course each day and the monster became a loved and respected member of the community. Cannonball the super hero reminded people that you should always ask someone their story and not just run away in fear from people that are different.