Volume 4, Issue 1

Snow

By Anna Petersen

I love snow

Its fun to blow

In to the trees

Without any leaves

Snow swirls in a flurry

In my coat nice and furry

Making angels in a hurry

Nice and warm

by the fire

Blizzard blows

I'm not a liar.

Playing the Alphabet Game

By Emma Palmer

Playing the alphabet game is fun and very

Hard. When you are on the road you

Can see billboards and words on trucks

And lissns plates how the game works,

You start with A, find a word on a sign

That starts with the letter A. And you go

Down the alphabet. When you get to z,x,v,and

Q you might have some trouble.

Musings

A Weekly Column By Damarco Montoya

Chilled to the Bone

It started with a sneeze.  Jay’s mother’s words floated wildly through his mind, “make sure to wear your scarf and gloves or the cold will creep right in and turn your bones into ice.”  Of course he had no intention of getting so cold, after all what good are bones if they turn to ice?  He wanted simply to build the biggest snow fort the world has ever known; a fort so grand that it will be known for miles as the ultimate defense against any and all potential neighborhood attackers.  The problem is that building a snow fort with a bulky scarf and big fat mittens slowed him down so much it seemed like he wouldn’t get his masterpiece completed until he turned 22! 

In reality, the gloves and scarf weren’t as inconvenient as Jay might have thought, but in the eyes of a determined young boy it was the same as riding a tricycle to school instead of a regular bike.  The tricycle sure would’ve looked silly to all his friends!  He found himself removing the gloves and scarf often while putting his skilled little hands to work.  The snow was really cold but after a minute or two in his hand warmer (his pants pockets), he was ready to go again.  He didn’t miss his scarf at all.  Sure, his nose was running and was probably really cold but his masterpiece was sure to be done before he needed to go back inside and tell his mom just how he kept nice and warm.

The fort was turning out great!  Four big snowballs made up the base and nearly came up to his stomach in height. Six smaller snowballs made up the second and top layer.  All the cracks and in between parts were filled in with snow and packed down accordingly.  Jay was pretty pleased with his creation as it was coming along.  He was about 80% finished when a snowball crashed into the exterior of the wall with a thud.  The first neighborhood attacker was on sight yet not easy to see.  There was a car across the street that seemed to have a human-shaped hood ornament.  Jay stopped finishing his masterpiece and instead crouched low under cover and focused intensely on the human-shaped hood ornament for some sign of actual life.

Since his work had been halted the cold began setting in and at this point he had wished for his gloves.  They were tossed aside about 10 feet away at the base of the tree that was holding his scarf.  The tree was out of sight of the kitchen window and therefore a safe place of storage for the items he was mandated to wear.  If he left his protective position for his gloves and scarf he would certainly get pommeled with an aggressive attack and so he waited.

The human-shaped hood ornament moved from behind the car towards the corner of the garage a little closer to Jay’s position.  Jay took the opportunity to run to his mittens.  He scrambled to his feet and quickly crawled to his mittens.  He could see they were just where he had left them but his movements were sluggish as he frantically moved in their direction.  He reached the tree and bent down.  They felt stiff.  His breathing was labored, and his breath seemed to exhale icicles instead of the cool vapor that was traditionally exhaled from a warm body into cold air.  He turned towards the fort and started back while trying to put them on his hands.

It was too late!  Snowball after snowball began hitting him all over his body.  Jay was frozen against the attack.  He was just a couple feet from the cover of his masterpiece and was forced to watch the little snow fragments bouncing off his body as he was pelted over and over until his attacker lost interest and moved on.  His bones had turned to ice just before he was able to get his mittens back onto his frozen hands.  They dangled from his frozen fingers as useless to him as the scarf that dangled from the tree limb a few feet behind him.  He should’ve listened to his mom; at least then he would’ve been protected where it really mattered. 

Leaf Challenge

No one answered last issue’s challenge, so we’ll run it just one more time.  Honor and glory will go to the first person that can email the completed puzzle to the editor.

Across

2. Where the pilgrims landed

5. Nailed 95 theses to a church door

7. Declaration of ________________

9. Circumnavigated the Earth

10. Treaty of ______________

13. _________ Awakening

14. Home of famous witch trials

19. Colony in Virginia

21. Where Raleigh settled

22. Commander of the Continental Army

23. A famous John

Down

1. An explorer of the Northeast

3. Number of original colonies

4. Council of _____________

6. ___________ and Indian War

8. Someone who traded with England

11. ___________ of Supremacy

12. A Spanish explorer

15. Where a decisive battle was fought

16. Massachusetts ________ Colony

17. What the first Continental Congress sought with Britain

18. The way the British Parliament acted toward the Colonies

20. Pilgrim ship

Ravenclaw Challenge

If you find this riddle hard

Don't despair, consult The Bard.

-Minerva Bronte

What is he that builds stronger than either the mason, the shipwright, or the carpenter?

A New Year at QA

By Jane Smith

In our last issue I recommended taking time to reflect on your experience at magic school so far.  I also recommended contemplation on how you can get more out of your time at QA.

I hope you have taken that opportunity.  If not, it’s still not too late!  As you go forward with purpose pursuing your own education with vigor you will find yourself more rapidly becoming the person you want to BE.

The Leaf is interested in your analyses and your plans.  What are your New School Year Resolutions?

Don’t forget to consult your professors, they will have some valuable wisdom to share with you and some great ideas on how you can achieve your goals.  

Try to arrange your thoughts in a clear way, using a thesis statement to name your main objective.  After you have written your resolution, walk away from it for a day or so and then go back to it with a fresh perspective and make any changes that might be necessary.

When it is finally ready, put a copy of your plan somewhere you’ll see it often.  You can write weekly or even daily in your Hodge Podge book about how you are achieving your goals.

Be sure to send your plans into the Leaf, along with your story about how you developed them or your thoughts on your time at QA thus far. 

This reporter can’t wait to hear from you!

The Leaf wishes to congratulate Anna Petersen for her early submission, house points have been awarded to Ravenclaw!

Volume 3, Issue 5

The Belle Harris Case

By Alahna Petersen copied from History of Belle Harris

Just Compare the Two Cases

The case of Belle Harris is one of considerable interest and importance. It will attract general attention. It should be considered side by side with the case of Carrington, the Farmingtown bigamist, the particulars of which appear in another part of this paper. On one side is a lady with a nursing infant, having another child from whom she was forcibly separated, torn from her home in Monroe, Sevier County, brought from Beaver to this city, and after a fatigued journey yesterday and all night, put in a lumber wagon and hauled to the penitentiary. What for? Because she declined to answer questions from the Grand Jury of the Second Judicial District as to whether she was a married woman and who was her husband.............

Belle Harris is evidently a lady possessed of considerable strength of character. Residing in rural district and unaccustomed to the ways of courts and legal methods, She has shown that when necessary she can grasp a principle and stand by it. The question put to her by the Grand Jury was threefold. ‘Are you a married woman and if so, to whom were you married and when?’ was the triple query propounded. She replied that this was a privilege question, and she stood upon her privilege and declined to answer. It is for this refusal that she she stands committed. Observe the information sought to be elicited was not in relation to her knowledge of an alleged crime. It was reference to herself. With a babe in her arms the question itself was an implied insult. We are in favor of sustaining the law and its officers, but we must admire the courage of belle harris in declining to reply to questions in relation to herself, which we think no court has the right to compel her to answer.

She is now in the penitentiary. But there is no taint of crime clinging to her garments. She is defending a principle. The rights and privileges of witnesses are as precious and sacred to us as the rights of courts. Belle Harris is suffering in their defense........

One Law For Mormons Another For Gentiles

Carrington was discharged although they had proof and he had admitted being married to two woman, claiming a divorce,  which was not legal. But the prosecutors did not seem to want to use the evidence against him.

Contrast this case with that of Belle Harris, and say much justice there is in either. This man Carrington committed bigamy, of which there can be no legal doubt. When accused, his arrest was not wanted; when that became necessary he was allowed to slip out of the Territory; and if he had had sense enough to keep himself out of the way, he would never have been captured. And now after proof enough to condemn any defendant in the eyes of the law and of the public,he is discharged by a very friendly and accommodating official. On the other hand, Belle Harris, for simply declining to answer questions concerning her own private affairs put to her by an attorney who had no right to be present as an inquisitor, in confined in the penitentiary, bail offered to any amount pending an appeal being pre-emptorily refused. Why this discrimination? Simply this; Dr. Carrington is a Gentile of the Gentiles. Belle Harris is a Mormon. The discharged bigamist is known to have violated the law; the imprisoned witness is supposed to be a plural wife.

Musings

A Weekly Column by Damarco Montoya

David the Great

Some might wonder how a meager little mouse could ever become “great”.  Meager mice typically waste away into cat or ant food during periods of civil conflict and food scarcity, as such was the case in the once great community of Willow Hollow.  Finding food used to be a family affair; a skill passed down from father to son in order to maintain family health and strength.  Just as soon as a mouse tyrant put on his cloak of truth and mask of kindness and started dictating how families should live in the name of “justice” in relation to a centralized governing body, David knew he needed to gather his courage and friends and stand for what he believed in.

David represented the rest of his family well with light brown somewhat disheveled fur and sincerity in his eyes.  He was thinner than much of his family yet still full of life.  The community knew them and embraced them as the honest and hard-working members of society they proved themselves to be.  His father and mother gave birth to 15 brothers and sisters, a regular amount for the average mouse family of Willow Hollow.  He was of the youngest in his family and therefore had yet to find a mate with whom he could share the joys of family living with.  He greatly admired his parents and looked forward to having the kind of life they had; one that’s tough at times yet full of joy.

The problems originated with a dictator of a mouse who preached to the masses about utopian living.  He stood before groups with his piercing red eyes and well-groomed white fur and told everyone they should give what they have to one governing body so everyone would have an equal amount.  No longer would there be rich or poor; everyone would be equal in everything.  He went on and on with that sort of speech and convinced many he should lead the governing body and take control of everyone’s earnings.  His cunning tongue and different appearance conned them into giving him power over their way of life. 

David’s family started suffering as food was harder to find.  The masses hunted more frequently in order to have close to as much as they used to have before they had to give their spoils to this dictator.  They struggled for a decent meal and therefore began losing weight and energy.  Having the strength of youth, David decided to take a stand.  He just didn’t know what to do or where to start.  The movement that called themselves the “government” grew quickly to a well-organized over-powering force.  The masses made up the majority of everyone in Willow Hollow.  To find “friends” might have proven to be difficult for such a meager mouse but David was determined.

How does he do it?  How did he go from being a meager mouse to being a “great” mouse?  No matter which one of the hundreds that made up the governing body, or one of the relatively few (maybe as much as 100) who made up the newly formed movement of those behind David’s very own Righteous, everyone knew the answer to such a question.  He first recognized there were others who felt as he did; frustrated that his neighbors and friends had to work twice as hard for even less, and had to succumb to ridiculous regulation.  He then began in very small ways to undermine their progress.  He took his newly found friends and acted in protest in very simple ways to get around the unrighteous governmental regulations.  He held secret meetings (secret meetings were necessary since such actions invited enemies from many directions) to discuss openly with those of the masses in order to open their eyes to what was happening and how things should be different.

Like trying to run up a mudslide on a rainy day, much effort is required to gain even the smallest of advantage toward reaching the top.  If any progress was halted then advantage was greatly lost as the movement would slide down with the mud.  This meager mouse defied odds.  His lot of Righteous stood strong with conviction as they thwarted as many efforts of the governor as was feasible and some still that seemed impossible.  The Righteous remain growing in strength since they have a strong leader, a “great” leader who reproves himself every day.  This governor with his greedy red eyes loses a little power as his devotee’s eye’s become opened.  The idea he would ever fear a meager mouse was once laughable.  He does, and that’s what makes David “great”.

The Leaf Challenge

Honor and glory will go to the first person who can email the completed puzzle to the editor.

Across
2. Where the pilgrims landed
5. Nailed 95 theses to a church door
7. Declaration of ________________
9. Circumnavigated the Earth
10. Treaty of ______________
13. _________ Awakening
14. Home of famous witch trials
19. Colony in Virginia
21. Where Raleigh settled
22. Commander of the Continental Army
23. A famous John
Down
1. An explorer of the Northeast
3. Number of original colonies
4. Council of _____________
6. ___________ and Indian War
8. Someone who traded with England
11. ___________ of Supremacy
12. A Spanish explorer
15. Where a decisive battle was fought
16. Massachusetts ________ Colony
17. What the first Continental Congress sought with Britain
18. The way the British Parliament acted toward the Colonies
20. Pilgrim ship

Congratulations to Alahna Petersen of Hufflepuff House, Robert Petersen of Gryffindor House and Professor Hunt of Gryffindor House for answering this week Ravenclaw Challenge!

-Minerva Bronte

The End of the Fountain of Fair Fortune

By Emma Palmer

We've worked on family history.  We had the read-a-thon.  We read Little Britches.  We've done Latin, our clubs, and we have written our last Leaf submission for a while.  All that's left is closing day and the House Cup.  Hufflepuff is in the lead.  Ravenclaw is in second and Gryffindor is very close to Ravenclaw.  The House cup of course will be full of good stuff and whoever wins it will feel very rewarded for their hard work.  Good luck students of Quercus Alba!

Fountain of Fair Fortune Closes

By Jane Smith

As you approach the end of your third year at Quercus Alba, take some time to reflect on your experience so far.

How have you changed and grown since you received your QA Letter?

What have you learned in charms? Or muggle studies? 

What have you accomplished?  Where have you chosen to spend your time and effort? 

Now think about what you would like to get out of your time at magic school.  Consider your goals and make new ones if necessary.  Make plans to achieve them.  How can you better focus your efforts?  What skills need more refinement?  How can you better take responsibility for your own education?

Most importantly, how can you grow into the person you want to be?

Let’s all come back refreshed and enthusiastic for another year at Quercus Alba!

Volume 3, Issue 4

Fresh Beat Band Concert

By Natalie Morphis

Went to the Fresh Beat Band on Wednesday.  And they were really them and they weren’t wearing wigs.  And they sang, “We Got to Go Bananas” and everyone got bananas and they got some beach balls and threw them off the stage.  I had a really fun time!  Junior did it for us.  There was little papers falling down.  And it was so so so fun!  We saw Kiki, Shout, Marina and Twist.

Plague At Sea Continued 

By Emma Palmer

When they got home there mom hugged them and said “ Did you get the water?” “ Yes mother we did and um when we got there Lisa and I saw a dog and it belonged to the man and it touched Lisa on the leg and now she has the plague.” “NINA GO TO THE MAN AND FIND OUT HOW HE HAS SURVIVED.” So Nina and Lisa walked down to the water and to the man’s little hut.  The hut was under the pier covered with moss. there was a mat at the front door that said “wipe your feet and you won’t get the plague.”  On the right  side of the hut there was a little boat and ore. Nina was scared but she wanted to know how to live with the plague so Lisa would live. She was Nina’s favorite sister and loved her so they walked up to the front door and  knocked on the door. To be continued . . .

Scarlet's Revenge By Samuel Palmer

Scarlet went down the red path.  There were foot prints that looked liked gun prints.  So he followed the gun prints.  And then he walked to the next platform and walls fell on both sides.  Then there was a big robot monster that had many guns.  Scarlet finally learned how to pull out his sword.  He pushed it down then pulled it out.  He fought the monster and after many cuts the monster blew up.  The End

Is it Just My Nature?

By Professor Hunt

Throughout the centuries, even as far back as ancient Greece with Hypocrites, people have attempted to explain personalities and behaviors, from cheesy facebook tests that classify you with a crayon color to the more professional Myers-Briggs personality indicator.  Energy therapist, Carol Tuttle, has taken it one step further. She claims that your energy type goes deeper than just your personality. It’s in the way you move, the way you think, the curves of your body, your facial features, and even a part of your DNA. She has created a program she calls energy profiling to help you discover your true nature and help you honor the person that you were designed to be. In her book, It’s Just My Nature, she says, “...quite often we judge the very gift nature has endowed us with to be a weakness.” She goes on to express that once we learn our true nature, embrace it and live it, we will discover that they are not weaknesses at all but our greatest strengths. Here is a quick glimpse of what it’s all about.

Carol Tuttle’s program uses the four elements that create all of nature: nitrogen/air, oxygen/water, hydrogen/fire, and carbon/earth.  She says, “Energy profiling looks deeper than personality and behavior. With energy profiling, we can assess how the vibration and movement of each of the elements is expressing through all of nature and each of us.” According to Tuttle, when you are not thinking about it your dominant energy expresses itself most readily, for example, the way you doodle, the way you walk and talk, and even your smile.

Type 1 is nitrogen/air. Words to describe this type are upward, light, random, disconnected, buoyant, free, crisp, upbeat. These people are the movers of the world. They tend to have high energy levels, are outgoing, and always smiling. They are full of ideas, but aren’t always good at following through on their ideas. They are fast thinkers and exciting! They are like the geyser Old Faithful.

Type 2 is oxygen/water. Words to describe people that lead with type 2 energy are  flowing, thoughtful, connected, comfortable, calming, sensitive. Type 2’s have an introverted expression. They think about the details and like to have a plan. They are quieter and sensitive to others. They take type 1’s ideas and ask, “what do we need to do to make it work.” Type 2’s in nature, the gently flowing Mississippi River.

Type 3 is hydrogen/fire. They are active, reactive, swift, asymmetrical, intense, fiery, substantial. They are always moving swiftly to accomplish their goals. They have a medium to medium high level of movement and like to get down to business. They are like Niagara Fallsl They take the ideas from the 1’s, the details from the 2’s and say, “Let’s get it done!”

Type 4 is carbon/earth. Constant, still, perfecting, straight lines, black and white, reflective, concise are all things that can describe a type 4. Keeping things structured and staying on track are important for type 4’s. They like to be in charge and feel they have the authority to do so. They are the noble fir trees. Type 4’s complete the cycle by perfecting the actions.

Carol Tuttle reminds us that it is important to remember that everyone has all four types as part of who they are, but we all lead with one dominant type. Will understanding who we are and who those around are help us to lead happier and more fulfilled lives? Well, that’s what Carol Tuttle believes and as for this professor, I like what I have seen so far! If you are interested and want to find out more you can go to myenergyprofile.com or thecarolblog.com.

Ravenclaw Challenge

Congratulations to Morphina De Delphi of Hufflepuff House and Robert Petersen of Gryffindor House for answering the Ravenclaw Challenge.  The answer to Riddle One was watermelon.  The answer to Riddle Two was footsteps.

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Minerva Bronte (Bonus: open to everyone) I am, in truth, a yellow fork From tables in the sky By inadvertent fingers dropped The awful cutlery. Of mansions never quite disclosed And never quite concealed The apparatus of the dark To ignorance revealed. - Emily Dickinson

Riddle One (eight and over)

My life can be measured in hours, I serve by being devoured. Thin, I am quick Fat, I am slow Wind is my foe.

Riddle Two (under eight)

What grows when you feed it, yet dies when you water it?

Musings

A Weekly Column by Damarco Montoya

Chocolate Animal

I’ve been called a Chocolate Animal before and I wondered what that meant.  Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE chocolate, and I suppose when I’m eating chocolate I could probably eat so much in one sitting it’s as though I’m living off of chocolate rather than using it as an occasional dessert or treat.  Is that what a Chocolate Animal does?  Do they eat nothing but chocolate and get it all over their face and hands when eating it (not that I do that of course.  I’m sure I’m a perfectly proper eater when it comes to chocolate, don’t look at me!)?  Wait, do such animals even exist?

If they exist they are probably the size of a small cat.  I bet they have mouse-like round ears, and the nose and whiskers of a rabbit, the teeth of a- wait a Chocolate Animal wouldn’t need teeth, just strong lips and gums since everyone knows chocolate is best when eaten very slowly, or even sucked on until it disappears.  So this creature is a bit smaller than a cat, with mouse ears, and also the tail of a possum so it can hang upside down, the claws of a sloth so it can hold on really well in any position to just about any material for long enough to enjoy the biggest blocks of chocolate.  Of course these animals have to be dark chocolate brown in color and have almost no fur (don’t want to eat animal fur when enjoying delicious chocolate), and they smell like rich cacao or baking chocolate when they get wet.  I think even their flatulent (a polite maybe scientific term for fart) would smell like chocolate since their diet consists entirely of chocolate.

Now that we know what these animals look and smell like, we can conclude that I’m not a Chocolate Animal.  Maybe I have some similarities with these types of animals, such as our love for chocolate, but that’s about it.  My ears, though bigger than average are not round like a mouse, and my mouth is nothing at all like that of a rabbit.  I can be pretty good at climbing trees, and one thing’s for sure, I can certainly hold on to my chocolate (yours too if you let it out of your sight, or any chocolate at all that can be grasped).  Is that enough?  Do I qualify?

I wonder about that illusive animal of chocolates, that Chocolate Animal.  I wonder if they live in this area, in this climate even.  Perhaps they live closer to the equator since they have very little hair and still require warmth.  I believe cacao plants mostly come from nearer the equator as well, and everyone knows where there is cacao there is chocolate (You knew that didn’t you?).  I’m guessing these amazing creatures come from Costa Rica and maybe Peru (both are countries in South America). 

Maybe these little guys are able to turn the cacao bean into a form of chocolate by some special sloshing process in their mouth.  I bet they have two cheeks, and one of them has hundreds of small “masher” teeth (my own word for flattened teeth, the kind you have in the back of your mouth.  Please don’t report me to the dentistry association).  The “masher” teeth will grind the beans into a smooth texture, which will move into the next compartment in the animal’s mouth until it has completed its delicious chocolate process.

I guess with these guys around I would be sure to protect my chocolate, to keep it in a safe place.  Actually, the Chocolate Animals aren’t around here since we know they mostly live near the equator and near cacao plants.  The only thing you need to worry about now is me.  Since I’m the closest thing to a real life Chocolate Animal, I would keep my chocolate as far from me as possible lest you find me hanging upside down in some tree with melting chocolate dripping from my hands and face. 

Leaf Challenge

How many words associated with our beloved school can you find in the puzzle below?  Honor and glory will go to the first person who can email the completed puzzle to the editor.

F Z Z D R N V Q O L D K W R H

C A U A O O T E L H Z P A F Z

H D E B D E D E R V U G L T J

A C L L G E W N I I Q M C N K

R E I D E I L V I U T D N A P

M Q I G L H I A E F N Y E I E

S R S L A E T R I A F J V L R

B G A P N M C L W D M Y A A C

E H G N Z U L G S I E J R V I

B X E Y S W H I T E O A K G V

O L E A E C I R P K W X H S A

R E L H F F U P E L F F U H L

L B Q O D H I D N W P K S R E

A Z F Q G E U Q H H C A E K I

I H P L E D E D O R E I L L Y

ADELAIDE

BRIDGET

CHARMS

DEDELPHI

GRYFFINDOR

HALLIWELL

HUFFLEPUFF

MAGIC

NOBLE

OREILLY

PERCIVAL

PRICE

QUERCUSALBA

RAVENCLAW

ROBE

THELEAF

VALIANT

VERITY

VIVIENNE

WAND

WHITEOAK

Elephant Toothpaste

By Robert Petersen

We made elephant toothpaste. We put hydrogen peroxide in a Gatorade bottle. Then we put soap inside. We put in yeast and water. I thought we would have to put more stuff in the potion but I was wrong.  The elephant toothpaste got bigger and made a waterfall out of toothpaste. It was fun!

Eve of Destiny Mission 1 Episode 3: Inferno and Puzzles

By Bradley Palmer

I knew the landing was gonna hurt but at this point I didn’t care. I was more concerned with keeping my life. I found a vine I could swing on but when I reached out to grab it I missed. I ended up l landing in a giant stack of straw. The landing wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be but it still hurt pretty bad. I got up, gathered my strength and started my decent.

The first thing I noticed was a stingray in pool. It wasn’t much. The next thing was a sunflower a little bigger than me. But it had a glass center. There was a lot of stuff that didn’t make sense.

I looked around for a while and saw a huge rolled up leaf. So I thought about this till my brain hurt. Then it hit me. Sun makes plants grow. So I ran over to the sunflower. I grabbed two of its petals and used it like a Magnifying glass burning ants. I aimed it at the leaf and it rolled open. I ran across it.

Next I saw the first signs of human life there was human life. There was a tribal village in the distance. There was no way to get there that I saw. And then one of them saw me and called the warrior. “Quick men, to arms!” he shouted. I was so afraid, I ran not knowing where I was going. I eventually out ran them but got lost.

At this point I was just looking for a path in general. When I finally found one and saw that spiraled down into the tree, I followed it. It got hotter and hotter the farther down I got. I started sweating like a pig. Eventually I got to a nice cool cave at the very bottom with nothing  there. Inside was a note. It said:

Sorry I couldn’t meet you in person but I have business in Gerat.

Atrax.

Well you bet that I was really mad. My first mission was a failure. So I had to find a way out now. I saw a elevator hidden by some vines. Soon as got about ten feet from the door I was surrounded by tribal members. They said I was to be murdered for disturbing they’re home and not explain my purpose. Seems harsh right? So I pulled out my gunblade and got ready for battle.

I was pretty good and there was only four of them. I sliced one shot another. Then on the last two a swung at one and got him but then hit a coconut tree. after shot the last guy a coconut fell and hit my head from the force of the blow to the tree. I passed out for a bout for a bout an hour. Then I woke up in a moving elevator. I’d left Mansul and was moving on.

End of Mission 1

The Leaf wishes to congratulate Bradley Palmer, Emma Palmer and Robert Petersen for early submissions, house points have been awarded to Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor!

Volume 3, Issue 3

Eve of Destiny Mission 1 Episode 2: Mansul  

By Bradley Palmer

Mansul was such a beautiful and lush world. It’s full of beautiful creatures and plants. Its very hard to explain exactly what the place looks like. I was never to good at describing things.

I was not to far past the grove of Colossi, when I saw a a letter in a low birds nest. I picked it up and read it. I know your not supposed read other peoples mail but there was no one else in the entire ”world”. It reads;

Dear Hero,

I knew Speaker would send in a goon to track me down. The lazy fool doesn’t ever get his own hands dirty. Anyways if want to know where I am I will tell you, sort of. If you climb this tree, which is the tallest on that island, and look east, You will see a gigantic tree in the middle of the ocean. If you can some how tame a wild bird, you can fly to this island. The tree is completely hollow and has a city of plant and a little animal life in it. If you can solve all of my puzzles on the way down you will find me at the bottom of the tree. It gets a lot hotter on the way down just so you know. I am used to it by now but you might work up quite a sweat. Thats all I’m going to tell you.

Sincerely,

       Atrax

“Great, so Speaker set me right into a death trap and Atrax knows I’m here. Perfect.” I said.

So at this point I decided, against my better judgement, to head for the tree. I should have told you this, but by this point I was at the top of the tree and a giant pelican was flying over head. I saw it was head to the tree island. I saw this thing as my ride over there. I started back, ran, and jumped. I then missed its back which is what I was aiming for. But I grabbed onto its wing as it flapped its wings and threw my self onto its back. I was off, headed for tree island. It looked pretty good to me but I could not see much from the back of a bird but I could still see it. The closer I got the more sure I was that this bird was not gonna stop at this island and I would need to jump. Its not easy getting ready for a jump off a giant bird. As soon as I was over the opening at the top I looked down, took a deep breath and jumped.

End of Episode 2

Scarlet's Brain By Samuel Palmer

Scarlet and the bat found two paths, a gray one and a red one.  The bat said, "I don't know which path to take." Scarlet said, "The one with stones." So, they went up the path with the stones which was the gray one.  But, the ground wasn't thin.  They found a huge, huge, huge wall in front of them.  So, they went back.

 

Ravenclaw Challenge

Congratulations to Minerva Bronte Of Hufflepuff House for answering the Ravenclaw riddle.  The second riddle still remains unanswered.  I will publish it again with a hint, so put your thinking caps on.

Riddle one or riddle two

You know what you need to do.

Fame and glory if you surmise

And you even win a prize!

Minerva Bronte

Riddle One (8 and up)

"There was a green house.

Inside the green house there was a white house

Inside the white house there was a red house.

Inside the red house there were lots of babies."

Riddle Two (under 8)

What is it the more you take the more you leave behind?

Hint: If this occurred on a trail in a National Forest the Ranger wouldn't mind.  He might even tell you, "Good job!"

Fashion Survey Results

By Anna Petersen

Okay, these are the results from the fashion survey.  

40% of people like skinny jeans, 40% love them, and 20% only like them with boots. I personally think they are an amazing discovery of mankind - yes, I did say ‘mankind’.

40% of you like beanies,  20% love them, and 40% hate them. And can I just say, I think beanies are fabulous!

100% of you hate bellbottoms! I agree with you whole-heartedly!

80% of you hate wallet chains, but 20% love them. (I’m the 20%.)

60% hate pre-ripped/distressed jeans and 40% of you love them. I love them too!

80% of you love boots, 20% of you like boots!

Thank you for participating!         

 

Musings

A Weekly Column By Damarco Montoya

Old Men and Babies

As a baby first dazzles the world with his adorable smile and incredibly soft and smooth baby skin and bald head, the old man does the same, only in a creepy old man sort of way.  Just bear with me a moment as I explain just how a baby starts out as a baby and grows up into an old man, or rather a big baby just before he dies.  Okay, we can leave the descriptive “dies” out since I don’t want you to focus on a man dying, especially if you’re thinking of a loved one in particular with this comparison study.  Death is a definite reality to life but way too sensitive a topic for the great Mr. Montoya to focus on, at least for now.

Let’s acknowledge that both the baby and the old man typically have bald heads.  If the old man still has a bit of hair, would you at least agree with me the old man’s hair is very wispy (oh yes, I said “wispy”) and thin (I don’t mean thin as in taking part of the definition of “wispy”, but thin as in there isn’t much up there, so not much hair all scattered around), much like a baby who might have a little hair.   I was thinking about the old man’s head of hair as a side note of course and wondered whether he didn’t really lose his hair but instead maybe it migrated throughout his body to such places as his ears and his back.  Can hair be migratory?  Of course you know that “migratory” is best described with birds, and how they migrate from the North to the South due to temperature changes in the late fall and early winter.  I suppose hair over time might discover the many benefits of living under the cover of a shirt and in the various channels of the ear and nostrils rather than being constantly weathered while living on top of the head. Kind of makes you wonder about the adaptability of hair, doesn’t it?  Does it?

There are just so many comparisons with a baby and an old man, I could write a book.  For the sake of this article I’ll only lightly touch on the next few comparisons.  I mentioned something above about their skin being really soft.  Since I don’t have a habit, the opportunity, or desire to giving old men massages (I’m trying to come up with a clever way of mentioning how little firsthand knowledge I have of just how soft old man skin is) I can at least say I have had two grandpas and can tell you based on the few times I have touched the skin on their arms that it feels very soft and smooth, perhaps because of being indoors more than usual for so many years.  Oh, and have you ever had to call an old man’s name multiple times before he finally responds?  “Grandpa, Grandpa, Grandpa, Grandpa . . . Never mind.” 

Isn’t it funny how the baby comes into the world with no teeth and quite often the old man leaves the world with no teeth?  Of course nowadays people are increasingly healthier, including their teeth, so this comparison will shortly not be so true.  Then again, many people of today who will have such healthy teeth will be discovered to have had a full mouth of implant teeth, and I’m not talking about dentures.  What do you think all this teeth whitening will do to teeth in the long run?  It’s crazy how much control modern culture has on the population to convince us we need whiter and whiter and whiter teeth.  Why isn’t my teeth’s whiteness level good enough for the world anymore?  How many times does a person need to get teeth whitening before his teeth becomes glow in the dark?  Wouldn’t that be fun?  We wouldn’t need flashlights anymore.  Don’t want to wake anyone else in the room up?  No problem, just smile to help you navigate from your bed to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

Speaking of bathroom (and I didn’t mean to go there but . . .), my next comparison is some potty talk, so step away from the dinner table please in order to keep mom happy.  To put it simply, babies and old men both require the assistance of something that is used when one cannot exercise the proper control when that funny feeling comes in the lower abdomen (I’m talking about a diaper people).  The baby doesn’t yet understand what’s happening, and the old man I believe understands just might not have muscle control to do anything about it.  Did you realize your muscles are what allow you to control your bowels and bladder (That’s as polite or clean as I can put it)?  There are many little muscles down there.  Anyway, I’m not a doctor and haven’t ever taken an anatomy class so don’t listen to me just look it up if you’d like. 

Babies are new, cute, fun, cuddly, and just chomping at the bit (a little horse reference for all those horse people out there) to learn new things and start life.  Old men are old, some might call them cute, they had lots of fun, and I can’t in the least vouch for their cuddlability (Microsoft Word says that’s not a word- I’m using it anyway!), and they would probably rather (how’s that for passive writing?!) tell stories upon stories about all the life they lived than learn anything new.  On that note, they HAVE lived long lives and deserve our respect, so be sure to listen to all their stories and try not to stare at the incredible amount of hair coming from their ears and nose, and please don’t be embarrassed if/when they pass gas that could clear an entire village since they might not have the muscle control to stop it from coming.  Are babies just really young old men, or are old men really old babies?  You decide.

St. Andrews Abbey By Alahna Petersen

We went to Saint Andrews Abbey and met real authentic monks, saw mass and toured Saint Andrews. It was positively, awesomely, awe inspiring. We had lunch with the monks and got all sorts of experience like learning how to do calligraphy. We saw what the monks do for a living; they make ceramics and sell them.  The only thing missing was the Palmers and the Morphis.

Monastery

Oulb (the robes monks wear)

No talking at breakfast

Kingdom of god

Saints     

Sarah jane Smith and lady Jane Grey,WW2 and the key

By Emma Palmer

My favorite TV show is the Sarah jane Adventures. My favorite episode is "Lost in time" The show is all about Sarah jane and her neighbor's kids. Rani lives across the street from Sarah jane, she is 17 years old and she is from India. Clyde lives down the street from Sarah jane and is best friends with her son luke who is in college during this episode.      When  Sarah jane was in her 20's she traveled with a time lord. Nobody knows his name and he tells them to call him the "Doctor." Now she lives with her son luke who was grow by the bane 

factory in the first episode of the show, she fights aliens who want to take over earth. In "Lost in time"  Sarah jane and her friends are sent back in time to find 3 different metal objects that are changing history ~ A dagger that will kill Lady Jane Grey before her execution(Rani)~ A hammer that blocks British radar during WW2(Clyde) and a key that keeps two kids in a fiery room (Sarah jane )but when Sarah jane lands she finds out that she was sent to the wrong time!!!! It is a good show. IT is on BBC America or you tube.

 

The Leaf wishes to congratulate Bradley Palmer for turning in his article early, house points have been awarded to Hufflepuff House!