dog

Weekly Flash Contest #3: Write from the Point of View of an Animal Write about a day in the life of your pet or a friend’s pet, as if you were that pet. Remember to think about what it might be like to be an animal. How do they see the world? What do they think about humans and their fellow animals? What are their hopes, their dreams, their fears? This is a great exercise in point of view. The week commencing April 13th was a very special week for our Daily Creativity series. We had a takeover, by one of our readers, Molly Torinus, age 11, from Middleton, WI! Molly is a volunteer in our COVID-19 Focus Group, and she wrote a whole series of terrific writing prompts for us. When we planned her takeover, we all agreed that this prompt, challenging everyone to write from the point of view of an animal (Daily Creativity prompt #16), would be a great one to set as the contest. You all seemed to think so too, as we had a record number of entries! We were thrilled that Molly also joined the Stone Soup team to be one of this week’s judges. Once the contest closed at the end of last week we all read the entries independently, and gave them our own scores. Then, we put the 3 judges’ scores together to come up with a shortlist, and had a Zoom meeting to discuss it and agree the final results. It’s the first time we have had a reader judge in one of our contests, so it was very exciting for us to work with Molly on the contest: we can tell you that she was a very thoughtful and fair judge, and we really enjoyed working with her on this contest. We will try to get readers involved again in future, so look out for another takeover soon! We all very much enjoyed reading these entries, and we were impressed by the different ways people approached the challenge of thinking like their pets. We especially loved the entries that really sounded like the thoughts and behaviours of animals we have met. It was easy to agree on our top contestants; and we also wanted to honor some of the other entries, as there were so many good ones. So, this week, we are announcing our 5 Winners, whose work is published below, plus 4 Honorable Mentions. Congratulations to all of them, and thank you Molly for a great writing challenge, and a fantastic job as a judge! Winners (work published on this page) Yutia Li, 10, Houston, TX Anna Rosini, 12, Arlington, VA Audrey Tzeng, 11, Rocklin, CA Ella Yamamura, 12, Cary, NC Sophie Yu, 12, Houston, TX Honorable Mentions “Chickens and Playtime” by Nora Heiskell, 12, Philadelphia, PA “Piano Bunny” by Maya Mourshed, 8, Silver Spring, MD “The Great Indoors” by Enni Harlan, 13, Los Angeles, CA “A Good Summer Day: A Day in the Life of Moti” by Anushka Trivedi, 9, Silver Spring, MD We also received a drawing last week which seemed to fit really nicely with this contest, so we are using it as an illustration for this page. Allie Dollar, 11, of Monticello, FL, thought that the dogs–as well as their owners–should be wearing masks while out for their walks during the pandemic, so she drew some for them. Thank you, Allie! Remember, we are running the Flash Contest every week during the COVID-19-related school closures and shelter-in-place arrangements. It is always based on the first Daily Creativity prompt of the week. The prompt is posted on Monday, entries are due by Friday, and the winners are chosen and announced the following week. “Pixie,” by Yutia Li, 10 Ding-dong! Oh no. The doorbell is never a good sign. I hear a click and a creak, and an unfamiliar, pungent odor reaches my nostrils. I wrinkle my nose. This scent is new to me. It smells slightly like Olivia but with more of a sharp, aromatic tang. This person must’ve used some of that perfume thing that humans use. I hear energetic voices at the door. It’s Olivia and one of her friends, by the sound of it. Pretty pretty please don’t say that that person’s coming inside. No! The door slams shut, and footsteps round the corner. I make a dash for it, but it’s too late. The perfumey person is right on my heels. She scoops me up and cuddles me. Ew! That stupid odor. I think I’m allergic to it. “Pixie!” she coos. She has short brown hair and like, a trillion freckles. Kinda similar to Olivia, but her height is much shorter. Oh, and the stinky perfume, of course. “I’ve heard so much about you! You’re the best kitty ever, aren’t you? Yes you are. Such a cutie pie!” She scratches behind my ears, and I wince. No smelly hands are allowed on my beautiful fur! I try to scramble out of her arms, but her grip is too tight. After like, ten minutes of cuddling and rubbing, she finally releases me. I automatically scramble up the stairs and to my favorite hiding spot, a cubby right under Olivia’s bed. Her fragrance of fresh aloe and lavender never fails to soothe me. I’m just getting ready to doze off when the doorbell rings. Again?! More people? Ugh! This must be one of those playdates or whatever you call them. But I’m safe here. Olivia would never let any harm come to me. Yet as I lie there, the doorbell rings a third time. And a fourth. And a fifth. What the heck? Is this the largest playdate ever or something? I sure hope they don’t stay long. I don’t need any more perfumey people cuddling me today. OMG! My kibble! It’s almost my dinnertime! I can’t go and get my food with all these people down there, though! My mind is lost in a whirlwind of thoughts. But the scent of