Why did the Prince Be a Horned Toad?
September 23, 2000 Ashlyn
Dear Wynter,
A few weeks ago I was riding my horse and then went where I wasn’t supposed to really go. Then I saw this big fat old vulture. Then the breeze made my brand new hat fly off my head because the vulture made it so that there was a wind. Then I was really sad. Then I saw a horned lizard. He asked me why I had a sad face. I told him that my brand-new hat flew down the boring lame old well. Then he told me he would go down there and get it for me ONLY IF I let him eat some chili, have me do a song on my guitar, and let him sleep in my hat. I agreed, and I sped home on my horse. He was waddling after me and trying to ride on my horse. Then I got back to my house and then I sat on a couch and then snuggled my stuffed cheetah. Then I heard a tapping at the door. I opened it up, then I saw the lizard. He took one step in the door, and I slammed the door right in his face. Then I sat down again, petting my stuffed cheetah but this time, I was under the table. My dad went to the door and then he saw the horned toad. “Well you look like a hungry little thing! Do you want some chili? Why are you here?” said my dad. “Because of a deal I made with Reba Jo.” said the lizard. “Is this true, Reba Jo?” I said yes and that I didn’t want him to sleep in my hat or eat my chili but I would play my guitar. Then as he ate the chili, I thought that I would just do it. Then when he was done, I played a nice long song for him. Then he asked for something which was way off of the name of the paw. And I hated what he asked me. He asked for me to actually kiss him before he went to sleep in my hat. I had a plan. “Pucker up, lizard lips.” I said to him. It’s a good thing my dad wasn’t in the room. So the second before I kissed him, he turned into a disgusting ugly prince. “Sup, Reba Jo?” he said. “Um, who are you?” I asked. “I am Prince Maximillian Jose Diego Lopez de Espana.” he said. “Whoa, how did this happen?” I asked. “Many, many many years ago when I came to this country, I offended the great spirit of the arroyo. The spirit put a spell on me and turned me into a horned toad. For many years I’ve been waiting for a cowgirl like you to break the spell. Muchas gracias for my freedom, Reba Jo. Now I’ll be leaving as I promised.” the ugly prince said. “Now hold on for just a dadburn minute.” I said. “I recollect my daddy reading me a story where something like this happened. Aren’t we supposed to get hitched and ride off into the sunset?” I asked annoyed and hopefully not going to go with him. “I am sorry, Reba Jo, when you strike a bargain in these parts, a deal’s a deal.” he replied. I was so happy he said no.
Sincerely,
Reba Jo
I loved the story!I wish you would put some really funny things in it.I wonder if you would love to kiss a toad I wouldn’t.
I would not like to because did you know that they have bumpy stuff to make their texture weird and that the stuff inside the bumps is poison? If you see a toad with white stuff then that is poison so do not touch the poison. I also tried and stay on track so then yeah then it would not go off track and stuff like that but I am glad you like the personal narrative. 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 :’)
But I bet that the weird prince really liked me but he was really weird and I did not like him a bit.
Hi Ashlyn! My name is nick! I loved your letter. Do you like writing often?
Yeah, Nick. I usually draw pictures of things and do a lot of things that have to do with writing. I am in a very high reading class and I always read books and I am the only person in my whole entire ELA class that never ever ever made a mistake in commenting and writing and on my spelling tests I never get anything below an A+ and I am happy you like my story, Nick! 🙂
Also Nick what is your blog URL? Thx, Ash
I loved the way you used personification so specifically and beautifully. Great use of imagery and love the main idea and the concept! Great job! Btw, i’m an extreme animal lover too, but i hate big lizards!
Thanks Ashley! It is a normal thing, a habit that I have. I like a lot of animals but some spiders creep me out.
This story was so much fun to read and kept me interested the whole time, which is a skill some older kids don’t even have. I’m very sorry for Reba Jo that the prince turned out to be ugly and that she had to kiss a lizard in the first place.
Thanks Callie. I am nine years old and I am a 4th grader and I bet no one in my reading class has as good skills as I do because I get A+ on my spelling tests every week.
Hi again Callie btw what is your blog URL ’cause I can’t see it on Miss W’s blog list for students participating in the blogging challenge so bye.
Hello! My name is Marg and I get to be a mentor in the student blogging challenge. I am very excited to learn a bit about you and hopefully we can improve our blogging skills together. I love connecting with people around the world with blogs, twitter, edmodo, or skype.
So, a little about me. I am a retired elementary teacher. My husband and I used to own a farm. We had Black Angus cattle and grew mainly alfalfa and barley. We live just outside Brooks in Alberta, Canada.
I have a blog (1marg@edublogs.org) so I can try the challenges too! Feel free to comment and give me suggestions.
Hi Marg are you gonna be my mentor or something because you haven’t done anything with me yet? Bye from Ash.
Okay, Marg. I cannot wait to see your blog and comment on your blog! -Ashlyn