Mundelein fifth-graders share stories with others

The following essays were written as part of the third annual Fifth Grade Writer's Conference at West Oak Middle School in Mundelein.

The conference -- which was held on Thursday -- was a "culminating celebration of students' many writing projects and accomplishments during the year," said Kate Crawford, a fifth-grade teacher and literacy coach.

Students were exposed to a variety of writing genres and listened to different writers, including Hope Babowice, who writes the Kids Ink column in the Daily Herald.

Students also get a chance to share their writing with fellow students. These stories were chosen by their teachers for publication:

"My Misunderstood Life as Rumplestiltskin"

My name is Rumplestiltskin. You can call me Rumple though. One day I was terribly bored so I decided to carelessly wander the dungeons of Fairy Tale Castle. Eventually, I came upon a princess crying on a HUGE pile of hay. When I asked what was wrong she simply screamed. Me being a goblin gets this a lot.

When asked what she was doing there, the princess was so scared that all that came out was, "I'm s'posed ta weave hay inta gold...Can you h-h-help me?" When I figured out what she was trying to say, I told her I just happened to be able to turn hay into gold. Now, I didn't want to get COMPLETELY ripped off so I asked for stuff in return. So the princess gave me a golden necklace and I turned the hay into shiny gold.

The next day I found that the princess was still there! This time she gave me a ruby ring for the gold. Now that I think about it, you'd really think the king would have taken this stuff from her. Anyway, I easily turned that hay into gold too.

I returned to the dungeon again and found that she was out of stuff to give to me. So I made her a deal: she would have to give me her first born (I always wanted a human baby) in exchange for me turning the hay into gold.

She hurriedly agreed and within a millisecond we shook hands and the hay was gold. The next day I was watching the boring news and saw that the princess had been rescued by a prince from the dungeon.

About a year later I was snoozing when I suddenly disappeared from my couch and reappeared in a giant palace (I was thinking about the handshake with the princess) and guess who was in front of me? That same princess.

Guess what she was holding? A baby! When she saw me, she shrieked. Now sometimes I can be mean but right then I felt badly for her. I told her she could keep her baby if she could guess my name. The rules were that she got three chances and three days-one chance a day. Two days went by and she didn't guess my confusing name correctly.

I was so happy about her not guessing my name that I started tap dancing in the thick forest where I lived while singing a song with my name as the main word (not my brightest idea). As I was dancing there, I spotted a spy!

He ran off as soon as I saw him. I figured he wouldn't remember my name so I continued happily dancing. The next day I was kind of nervous though.

When the princess guessed that my name was Rumplestiltskin I was so angry I accidentally turned my own feet into gold and was captured. So now I'm in a dungeon turning hay into gold all day. And the worst part is that I can't move from this spot.

-- Tyler Grose

"Time for Kids: Person of the Year Woman Found Vaccine for Pet Dander"

Anna Davenport has been named Time for Kids (TFK) person of the year for her work on her pet dander vaccine.

Her vaccine works for all species of pets (cats, dogs, etc.) The vaccine stops pet dander from causing allergic reactions. This vaccine is affordable and open for the public to have. Anna could never have a cat when she was little because of her allergy to them. Now she thinks everyone should have a pet.

One way the vaccine has helped is that it's affordable for everyone.

"Before my vaccine was made, there was a kind of cat scientists created that didn't give people reactions, but it was very expensive, and it didn't work for all animals. I wanted to make something everyone could use."

Anna told TFK that anyone and everyone can get her vaccine because of its price.

Anna is currently traveling around the world to deliver her vaccine.

She's also working with the anti-pet abuse charity.

"Everyone should have a pet, but pets should be loved, not abused," Anna said to TFK. That's why Anna Davenport was named TFK Person of the year.

-- Anna Davenport

"April's Cinderella Story"

John and Mary Smithly lived happily married not too long ago. After a while they had a beautiful baby girl and named her April. They lived in a small village and the education that April received was very poor.

Eighteen years later April moved out with dreams of being a teacher.

Since her family was so poor, they couldn't send her to college. Her parents decided to have her work at a small diner across the street.

April thought that it was better than having no job at all and accepted it.

The very next day, she walked to the diner to meet her new boss. He introduced himself grumpily as Mr. Saltwick. Then he handed her a broom quickly and told her to sweep the kitchen without even asking for her name.

April hurried to the kitchen where she saw tired workers. She swept and swept until the kitchen floor was sparkling. She smiled proudly at her good job and went to find Mr. Saltwick. When she found him in a small room she asked him what she should do next. Mr. Saltwick answered, "You can't possibly be done yet!"

He stomped to the kitchen and pointed out little specks of dirt that she had missed.

"Sweep!" he shouted, "Fry the french fries, make the coffee, and clean the tables, stools and counters! Wash the dishes, blend the milkshakes, and serve the hotdogs! NOW!"

Frightened, April grabbed the broom and continued with her tasks.

When April got home late that night with her back aching and her fingers sore, she went straight to bed. She needed rest for the next day at work.

She never knew how tiring working at a diner could be. April worked for several months more with the same aches and pains.

One perfectly normal day, April went to work and started cleaning. She noticed a sign for a festival very close to her home posted on the corkboard. She read it and found out that the festival was the following day...her day off!

She was excited. April knew that she had to go to the festival!

Early the next morning, April got up and started sewing a new dress to wear to the festival. It was long, black and beautiful. She felt very proud. She put it on and started walking to where the festival would be held. When she was there, she saw so many exciting things. She danced, ate delicious food and listened to flutes playing beautiful songs. She was having so much fun that she didn't even notice that a piece of her dress had ripped and got caught on a thorn.

When the festival ended, she walked home filled with joy. She had never had so much excitement. She sat down on her bed and listened to the radio.

In the meantime, Max, the man who held the festival was cleaning up. He noticed the scrap of black dress hanging from the thorn. He recognized the dress from watching April dancing, Max admired her from a distance. He didn't know the name of the girl in the black dress, so he immediately set out trying to find her.

April's home was nearest to the party, so Max knocked on her door.

April answered curiously and saw Max standing in front of her. Max recognized her right away, but asked to make sure, "Did you go to the festival today?"

"Yes," April answered, "I had a wonderful time."

"Good," Max said pleased, "Did you happen to be wearing a black dress?"

"How did you know?" April asked in shock.

"I found a piece of your dress that had been ripped by a thorn," he replied. "By the way, my name is Max."

After they met, they spent a lot of time together. They went out to eat and to parties. They got along very well and soon got married. They lived together in a big house and raised enough money for April to quit her job and go to college. She was finally living her dream. She became a teacher!

April and Max lived happily ever after.

-- Whitney Reiske