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Short Story Success

Ranil Jayawardena came to present our winning story writer with his prize!

'Picnic with Mr Oak' 

'One sunny Sunday, my friends James and Pete invited me to have a picnic in Oakley Park. Excitedly, we cycled with some sandwiches and apples in our baskets. When we reached there, we looked around to find a perfect spot for our picnic. On the edge of the small cliff, there was a picnic area surrounded by strong, beautiful oak trees. Ah…! That’s how Oakley Park gets its name.

One tree was taller than the others. So tall that my house seemed tiny compared to it. Our neighbour, Mr. Craig, said it was about 50 feet tall. I think this tree has been here for a long, long time, maybe as old as Grandpa. He told me he is a decade short of his first century (ninety years old).  We called this old tree Mr. Oak. We plunged ourselves down under Mr. Oak, took out our sandwiches and started munching away hungrily.

Birds whether big or small, loved the tree. Beneath the green, shady leaves, we could see countless bugs and moths. Beetles burrowed under the bark, and some bored holes into the wood. Two squirrels ran playfully along the branches above us. What a beautiful sight! Furthermore, it gave us such a cool shade from the hot sun. Lying on the ground amidst the piles of fallen leaves, we stretched out our arms and moved them in a sweeping motion, making leaf angels. Aah, we could stay there forever.

Under the tree, there were lots of acorns lying around. After lunch, we went on to play ‘who can collect the most acorns in five minutes’ game. As I went behind the tree collecting the acorns, a squirrel came along. We exchanged glances. At that moment, I thought it would be nice to give one of my acorns to the squirrel. It snatched it gratefully and ran up the tree. Counting the numbers of acorns - James got twenty, Pete got twelve and I got twenty- four acorns. ‘’I’m the winner!’’ I exclaimed.

Time flew by, faster than lightning. We had such a lovely time. We picked up our rubbish and cleared the site. Mr. Oak waved cheerfully at us. Goodbye Mr. Oak! We cycled home as the last ray of the sun was setting in the horizon, looking forward to returning to see Mr. Oak again soon.'