Writers in the Schools (WITS)

Student Fiction

 

Sheryl Barman’s Fourth Grade Class

Desert Hills Elementary School

WITS MA Graduate Student:

Seth Wells

 

 

Trouble in 1599

By Izzy Hutchinson

Prologue: This story has to do with ghosts and times in the past.  Come and hear the story of the ghost of William Shakespeare. 

            Once there was a girl named Isabel Karina Carmellen.  She loved William Shakespeare plays so she once bought a poster with a giant William Shakespeare head on it.  That night she noticed something about the poster.

            “Is William Shakespeare’s head glaring at me?”  Isabel thought.

            “Why would he glare at me?”

            Months passed.  The William head kept right on glaring at her.  Suddenly a light bulb went on in her head.

She ran to the phone and called Renata, Renee, and Ashley.

            Later when the four friends were together they built a time machine so Isabel could go back in time to find out why William Shakespeare was and still is staring at her.  Renata and Isabel worked on the wires and the peacock blue time dial.  Renee worked on the buttons and labeling the box.  And Ashley worked on decorating the box and helping anyone who needed help.

            Suddenly Isabel yelled, “Stop!  The time machine is ready.”  She stepped into the flower-painted time machine (Ashley loved flowers).  Inside Izzy set the dial for 1599 and plummeted through time and space to solve the mystery of the ghost of William Shakespeare.

            1599 was extremely different than 2008.  There were no movie theaters, just stages for plays.  People drove in horse and buggies.  The men wore milky white tights, and the women had frills and frills and frills on their dresses.  Isabel stared in amazement at all this.  Then she turned around.   Shakespeare, the real Shakespeare, not the ghost, was staring at her.  Isabel took a deep breath and said,

            “I want you to tell me why you have been glaring at me.”  William Shakespeare looked surprised for a second, and then he said, “Come with me.”

            The place they went to was a clustered old corner next to a miniature raggedy house. 

            “My family is very poor,” William said.

            “Why are you so poor?”  Isabel asked.  William answered,

            “Sarah Carmellen has been stealing our money.”

            “You don’t mean my great great great great great great great great great great great great Grandmother, do you?”  William nodded.

            Finally after a long compromise they got Sarah to give the money back.

            “Bye,” Isabel called as she stepped into the time machine. 

            Back in 2008 Isabel told Renata, Renee, and Ashley everything that had happened.

            That night Isabel looked at the William Shakespeare head and instead of glaring he was smiling.

The End

 

 

 

 

This project is made possible in part by New Mexico Arts, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, and the National Endowmentfor the Arts.