Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful noble lady whose name was Thione. She was loved and cherished by all of her people, and her wisdom was prized for miles around. Her husband also was a brave and noble man, and loved by his people just as much as his wife. His name was Lord Paul, and he was lord over many of the king’s provinces. And so when the king invited him to a feast to celebrate his own marriage, Lord Paul had to attend, and his wife, Lady Thione, stayed to govern the castle during his absence. The journey was hard, but after weeks of travel, Lord Paul and his retinue entered the king’s palace. The feast was indeed as great as the king had said in his letter of invitation, and the splendor and aroma of the food made even the pickiest of the courtiers’ mouths water. There was fruit in abundance, meat stews, beef, pork, and chicken, a great variety of cheeses and breads, and wine that came specifically from the king’s cellars in honor of his bride. Yet happy as he was, Lord Paul also felt lonely for his fair Lady Thione, for he felt that the beauty of the new queen did not rival her, and soon this loneliness shown forth not only in his heart, but in his face, and the king, being keen of eye, noticed, and being slightly drunk from the overabundance of wine, was offended and inquired of his lord’s woe. The king could not believe his eyes, for there was the arrow, right in the center of the wreath “How can I be happy, o my king,” Lord Paul answered, “when I long for my own wife whose wisdom is famed in the provinces and whose beauty goes unrivaled?” Then the king was furious for he felt that his wife’s beauty would surely surpass any who dared to boast in such a way. Therefore, he, in anger, had Lord Paul sent to the dungeons, until “the woman of whom he boasted should prove her wisdom to be greater than his queen’s.” So he sent his decree to Lady Thione, convinced that nothing could rescue Lord Paul from his sentence. * * * Yet, as always, Lady Thione thought wisely and devoted all of her time to thinking of a way to rescue her husband on the king’s terms. Many days and nights she stayed in her tower, thinking and praying, till on the morning of the third day she emerged with a scheme. Quickly she commanded that a great and beautiful bow, inlaid with gold and silver, be made, along with a quiver of arrows of equal workmanship. Then she called to the blacksmiths for gauntlets and leggings of mail to be made, along with an iron helmet. Then she and her maids set to work on the finest embroidered shirt and tunic that could be made out of fine silk and velvet, stitching in many patterns, making it as beautiful an attire as possible. For one entire month they worked, none knowing what she was scheming. Finally, on the first day of spring, Lady Thione and her maids finished the strange-looking garment. She arrayed herself with the heavily embroidered shirt and tunic, tying them in place with a green silk sash into which she thrust two foreign knives. Then she did up her hair and put on her helmet, along with the chain-mail leggings and gauntlets, and a few articles of gold, Finally slinging on her bow and quiver. In that strange array, she looked like a young formidable prince from a far land, and her presence struck awe into her servants’ hearts. So she mounted her black mare and rode to the king’s palace. * * * The king could make nothing of the lordly stranger, except that he must be a great prince from a faraway land. His display of wealth was either the rashness of a fool, or he did not fear that anything would be stolen. The king decided upon the latter when he recognized the youth’s quiet, cold, yet courteous attitude. So he politely invited the travel-stained lordling into his hall, and asked him why he had come. The disguised Thione replied using a strange accent, “I have journeyed for many miles, as it is the custom of my country to learn of those who live beyond our great borders.” The king was nonplussed. But his wife was a little more suspicious and, whispering to the king, said, “O my king, I would be wary of that one, for something in me says that that is no man, but a woman who lies beneath that barbarian apparel.” The king looked at the waiting prince and softly replied, “Perhaps, Queen, but I feel inclined to test this noble stranger before making such a judgment. If it would ease your heart, then I shall have you devise what three tests should be given him.” To this the queen agreed, and the king turned again to the foreign prince. “In honor of your stay, we shall hold a feast, and events appropriate shall be named, of which I hope you will partake.” The strange nobleman nodded and the king continued. “Should you win all three of these events, I will grant one wish to you.” The prince bowed, and the king dismissed him to be guided to his quarters. The feast was held the next day, and the food was indeed great to behold. But the prince did not eat with his hands but withdrew from his sash a pair of wooden sticks that were pointed on one end and dull on the other. Positioning them like claws in his hand, he ate his meal in that fashion, much to the surprise of the court. All doubt that had been in the king’s mind until then was gone in that instant. The prince not only looked different, he acted different! The first event
May/June 2008
Early Spring
The ice and snow are almost melted, Winter’s biting cold has mellowed, Mountains brown and bare for so long, Show an almost imperceptible haze of green. The sky is the delicate shade of thrushes’ eggs Soon to be laid in a nest of mud and twigs. A mole furrows the earth’s brow with his tunneling, Cautious tongues of green make their way Through last autumn’s leaves into the balmy air. The first robin pecks at the newly softened ground, And drags an unwilling worm into the light. Ava Alexander, 11Dalton, Pennsylvania
Travel Team
Travel Team by Mike Lupica; Penguin Young Readers Group: New York, 2004; $16.99 Hello, I’m Zach Hoffman and I’m twelve years old. I’m going into the seventh grade and I love to read and play sports. I like reading books in which kids play sports with their friends and teach you lessons on confidence, pride, and teamwork. When I read the book Travel Team, by Mike Lupica, I was taught all of those lessons. Danny Walker, age twelve, is the smallest but best seventh-grade basketball player in Middletown. To Danny’s misfortune, when he arrives at the tryouts for Middletown’s travel basketball team, he finds out the Vikings are looking for a bigger team this year. After two nights of exhausting hard work, Danny is told after the tryout that he didn’t make the team. Danny is told up front by the coach, Mr. Ross, that he didn’t make it because he knew his dad as a kid. Everyone else got a phone call at home. Danny takes his tryout misfortune too personally and thinks about quitting basketball altogether. Danny’s parents are divorced. Danny lives with his kind mom, who’s an eighth-grade teacher. His dad, who was a basketball child star and former NBA player, lives out of town. When Richie Walker hears his son didn’t make his old Middletown travel team, he arrives back in Middletown and at Danny’s side. Danny’s confidence is beginning to rise back up to start playing again. His dad creates another travel team. This immediately boosts Danny’s confidence and he can’t wait to start. Danny is put in charge of contacting all of his friends that didn’t make the Vikings and all the other kids he wants to play on the travel team. Last summer, my dad created a basketball team and put us in a summer basketball league. Like Danny’s team, we didn’t start out too hot. But throughout the season, we got better. I realized that it isn’t always about winning, but having fun and getting better at what you love to do. It was my first year to try out for my school’s A team in basketball last fall. I was really nervous that I wouldn’t make it and everyone would make fun of me. I practiced really hard every day. Every day I practiced, I got a little better. By the time the tryouts came, I knew I was ready to show the coaches what I could do on the court. After the two nights of tryouts, I waited a long week for the call to finally come. I had done it. I had made the A team! After all the hard work I put into it, I had succeeded at reaching my goal. Up to this day, my confidence has stayed with me and I know I can accomplish anything. There was one part of Travel Team that I especially liked. Danny’s Middletown Hawks had made it to the play-offs. To the Hawks’ disadvantage, they would have to play the Middletown Vikings, the team Danny had originally tried out for. Mr. Ross’s son is equally as good as Danny and is also a very good friend of Danny’s. Ty got mad at his dad for not letting him hang out with Danny and his other friends on the Hawks. So before the big rivalry game, Ty becomes the newest member of the Middletown Hawks. When the game starts, the Vikings go up by a couple points. But Danny and Ty work up some plays to get the Hawks right back in the game. In the end, the game is won by the Hawks, after Danny makes a left-handed pass to Ty for a layup. I really enjoyed this book and hope to read another one by the magnificent author and ESPN sports reporter, Mike Lupica. Zach Hoffman,12Cincinnati, Ohio
