NOTE: This is a children's story I wrote for my final "exam" in my Creative Writing class. I hope you like it.
Where's Artie?
Sara Butterfly came in the door of her kitchen and dropped the bag of groceries and the heavy backpack she was carrying on the table. “Phew”, she said as she took off her Nurse’s cap and wiped the sweat off her forehead. “Here Artie!” she called as she started taking her pet ant’s favorite food out of the grocery bag. Sara waited for the sound of Artie’s pitter-pattering feet. When she didn’t hear them, she went searching for him. Sara looked under her bed. She looked behind the shower curtain. Sara peered under the couch. No sign of Artie. “Where could he be,” Sara said out loud to no one in particular.
Sara continued rushing through the house trying to find her little ant. As she passed by the front door the flapping of the curtains against the window caught her eye. Oh, she thought, Artie must have gone out the window!
Grabbing her coat, Sara ran from the house. She peered under the front porch, but Artie wasn’t there. She peered in the plastic pool to see if he had gone swimming. Sara even flew up to the tippy top of the apple tree in her yard, but Artie was nowhere to be found.
Heading out the front gate, Sara kept searching for Artie. She called out to Carl Caterpillar as she passed by his house. “Have you seen Artie? I came home from work today and he isn’t in the house.” Carl shook his head and told her he’d help her look.Carl Caterpillar and Sara Butterfly continued to walk down the street looking for Artie high and low. Carl looked in the overturned trashcans the garbage men had left on the sidewalk. Sara hurried to the playground to look for the little ant. She checked the slides, she checked the swings, and she even checked the merry-go-round, though she knew Artie wasn’t really fond of it. “He’s not here,” she said to Carl as tears gathered in her eyes. “Where can he be,” she wailed.
Carl patted Sara on the back, trying to calm her down. “There, there, Sara. I’m sure he’ll show up. Maybe he’s waiting on your porch right now.”
“Do you think?” Sara asked hopefully.
“Sure. I bet he’s just sitting there wondering where you are.”
Sara turned and hugged Carl Caterpillar. “Thank you Carl. I’m going to run right home and check.”
Sara flew back home as fast as her wings would take her. She flitted through the back gate and zoomed to the front porch.
Artie wasn’t there.
With a sigh, Sara opened her front door and trudged into the kitchen. The sight of Artie’s food sitting on the counter made her burst into tears again. She picked up the bag of ant kibble and shook a handful into Artie’s bowl. As the kibble clinked into the bowl, Sara heard something rustling in the backpack sitting on the table. Sara grabbed the backpack and started to unzip it. As soon as she had a little opening in the top of the bag, Artie popped his head out.
A huge smile broke out on Sara’s face. Sara grabbed the ant from the bag and squealed in delight. “Artie, what are you doing in my backpack? I bet you snuck in there this morning when I was getting ready for work. You scared me to death, you silly ant.”
Artie the ant peered up at Sara through blinking eyes and gently licked her finger. Shaking her head in relief, Sara put her ant down on the counter so he could have a bite to eat.
