Little Stories I Wrote as a Kid

Context: In the Fall of 1975, when I was seven years old, I lived in the DC suburbs of Maryland, where my father worked as a scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. At school, my reading teacher, a Mrs. Jewel, handed out notebooks to every member of the class and told us they were for us to compose stories in. I took her seriously, and for more than a month I forced myself to write a story every day. Here are some samples. Spelling and grammar errors have been lovingly preserved.

My Secret Tunnel (December 13, 1975)

One day in May I and some other boys made a tunnel. The tunnle had mene holes in it. But every day we made it longer. It was very useful for us. It went rite under are house. And it had tunnels going for 8 miles. It went all the way to are sckool. It went all the way to my frend Miik and to my frend Joy. But one day we made a tunnel rit into are house. My mom was mad. But we pached it up and we still have it.

The Mavles Snow Storm (December 1975)

The sun covered the grownd. I was wondering if it would snow. That night I was fast aslepe when I got up the intire outside was covered with snow. I could not look out the window. I bilted a tunle trow the snow. Now every winter it snows like this. And we still have fun every winter.

How a Rabbit Is a Simbal for Easter (Winter 1976/1977)

Well you see we have a lot of chickens. All tipes we have one chicken that lays Easter eggs. Well easter was right around the corner. And we went out to colleket some Easter eggs for Easter. Then tow hached one egg had a chick and another a big flufy white rabbit. I stood there looking. I said to my mother, "look." She and I just stood there looking. Then I said, "Why that must be why the rabbit is the simbal for Easter." You know I think you are right.

The Pop Corn Breathing Monster (Winter 1976/1977)

The time of wich I was growing up. We had a pop corn brething monster. In the little town of Grim. It was not like its name. Because of big exsitements like a walking hot dog. I think I'm getting of the subjekt. But a Pop corn breathing monster coverd all the ground. It coverd my house. You can see in the picsher (above) 2 houses neither of them are mine. OOps! were geeting of the subjekt. Well I ate a lot of it. And so did my friends. We said, "GOOD BY!!" When he went. We were upset that he left when we were having the best fun. He came back agan. He comes every month.

The Snorinest Dinasaurs (Feb. 24, 1977)

One day I got in a space ship and went to the Planet Snonrs. It went rite the way it's name was. Dinosaurs snored EVERYwere! When I walked down a little path of worn grass. It was so Bad that you had to block your ears plus wear earplugs. One day I got so sick of it I when the snoring was so bad that the moutan fell into the lake I just went to every ones mouth and shoved a Gigantick Bolder Into each one's mouth. Then I Heard a great PUfffff and then a shower of rocks came down and it was so close to the moon that It put a uptean millon crater on the moon. And that is why we have so many craters on the moon.