Trickster Tale Composition

Henry Paterson

Composition

Lesson 51 Trickster Tale

January 14, 2016

Vegetable Piñata

        It was the beginning of a normal day in the Gulf of Mexico. The water was blue and warm, perfect for a hungry shark. Henry, the reef shark, was out early before the sun was up in the sky. He was more than excited for his morning hunt. Last night, he had dreamt of the most beautiful breakfast buffet of terrific tuna and many marvelous mackerel. He was going to make this dreamy breakfast a reality. He could taste the tuna already and he hadn’t even seen one yet. Henry whispered to himself, “Nobody tells me what to do. I am going to eat as many tuna as I want. There is no limit for me, Henry, the ravenous reef shark.” He continued his hunt swiftly scouring the waters for tuna.

        Henry swam around the neighborhood. He swam high in the warm waters and smacked the surface with his tail, splashing water all over Patti the Pelican. She was not pleased. Patti yelled in an angry voice, “Henry, you are a pain in the feathers! You need to learn some manners!” He swam low in the cooler waters and showed his teeth to a school of fish.

The school fish screamed in fear, “Oh no, look out, it’s Henry the rude, ravenous, reef shark!” They swam away like a flash of light. Henry was pleased with himself. He had scared fish and splashed a pelican. He thought to himself, “Well, this has been a good morning so far. Now, all I need is a good meal.”

The moment came when a giant tuna swam into Henry’s sight. He had been searching quietly and as calmly as he could. He was ready to attack his prey. The tuna was no match. Henry easily grabbed him from behind with his jaws. His teeth shredded the tuna in seconds. It was not something the other fish wanted to see, so they swam away as fast as they could, not looking back. Henry’s belly was full and he was satisfied. He decided to go visiting a special shark, the apple of his shark eye, Lola.

Henry swam up to Lola, and tried to get her attention. She turned toward him and he said, “Good Morning, Lola.” She squinted her eyes, covered her mouth while pinching her nose with her fin. She squeaked out, “OH MY GOODNESS! Did you hear that, my dad is calling me. I must go. Bye.” Henry was confused. He liked Lola.

Henry went to visit Sam the Stingray to get some advice. Sam was the Gulf’s smartest creature. He was like a grandfather to many of the young sharks. He was the most graceful swimmer and he glided right up to Henry. He spoke with a strong, deep voice in his French accent. “Henry, the reason Lola had turned away from you is because you stink! Your breath could kill a thousand starfish! Your problem is that all you eat is fish. You need to eat your vegetables!” Sam calmly stated.

“What?” cried Henry. “I can’t eat vegetables. I am a shark! Vegetables make my tummy hurt and they get caught in my sharp pearly whites!”