2ND PLACE || 2020
3RD THROUGH 4TH GRADE
SELFISH NO MORE
by Annie Davis
Once there was a little girl who lived in a little blue house with her family. The parents were named Henry and Susan, and their children were Sally and Bonnie. Sally was seven. Bonnie was five.
Sally was a very selfish little girl and didn’t share anything, but Bonnie was a very nice and kind little girl.
They lived in Iowa, in Field City, on State Drive, with a house number of 116. Their house was by a big hay field. In the spring, the hay was planted. In the summer the hay was tall. By fall, the hay was in bales.
Sally and Bonnie watched the hay grow and be put into bales. One hot, sticky day in July, when the hay was tall, Sally and Bonnie walked through the hay for shade on their way to get to a toy store that was close to their house. Bonnie wanted to buy a double doll stroller. One seat of the double doll stroller had blue polka dots, and the other seat had pink polka dots. She thought the stroller would be perfect for her baby dolls, but she did not have any money.
Bonnie asked if Sally would buy the stroller for her, and Sally said, “No, I will not buy it for you. I do not like playing babies. I want to buy something else.”
Sally decided to buy a different toy. It was a boat puzzle. The picture on the puzzle was of a steamboat and a barge on the Mississippi River. Sally loved puzzles and boats, and she liked the Mississippi River too. But Bonnie didn’t want the puzzle. That made Bonnie sad.
Later in July, on a windy day, they drove to the toy store with their mom Susan. Sally wanted to buy a little wooden table to do puzzles on, but she didn’t have any money. This time, Bonnie had twenty dollars. The puzzle table that Sally wanted cost ten dollars.
Sally asked Bonnie if she would buy it for her, and Bonnie said, “Yes, I will!”
Bonnie found a baby girl doll with clothes that she wanted to buy that cost five dollars. Bonnie was kind and bought both toys. It made Sally feel happy.
On the drive home, Sally asked Bonnie, “Do you want to play house with me when we get home with your new baby and my new puzzle table?”
Bonnie said, “Yes, I do! I would love to play with my new baby.”
They had fun with the new baby girl doll, the babies they already had, and their doll stroller with pink zig zags.
Later, after they finished playing house, Bonnie asked, “Do you want to do a puzzle with me right now?”
Sally said, “I do! Let’s do my new boat puzzle!”
Bonnie said, “Okay, that sounds fun! I want to do the new boat puzzle too.”
Sally and Bonnie put the new puzzle table together, then they worked on the boat puzzle, and together they finished it. It was a wonderful time because they were kind and helped each other. Sally was thinking that she liked helping people and agreeing with Bonnie. She would rather play with Bonnie than fight with her. It made Sally feel happy and she noticed that Bonnie was happier when she played with her.
In the month of August, they were at the toy store again. Bonnie found the double doll stroller with blue polka dots on one seat and pink polka dots on the other seat that she had wanted for a long time. Bonnie only had five dollars, but the stroller cost seven dollars. She didn’t have enough money because she had helped Sally buy her puzzle table. She asked Sally if she would help her buy the double doll stroller because this time Sally had thirty dollars. Sally said, “I will help you!” They bought the double doll stroller together.
Sally said, “You can choose another toy to go with it!”
Bonnie chose a baby boy doll. It came with clothes. Bonnie was excited about the baby boy doll because it could go with her baby girl doll together in the double doll stroller they had bought.
Sally learned that being kind and sharing is nicer than being selfish. Sally stopped being selfish because Bonnie was kind and taught her that you can be kind to others. Sally found that you can be kind to others, and it helps others to feel happy. Sally wanted to help other people so they could feel happy.
Sally shared her toys with her sister Bonnie. Their home felt nicer because the sisters did not fight anymore. Henry and Susan felt happier when Sally and Bonnie were happy.
Annie is ten years old. She loves sea turtles, reading, going to the beach, and playing with her younger brothers.