Write@home

I'm in eighth grade as most of you know, and I go to czech school. But there is one thing I don't get out of school here, and that is ENGLISH WRITING!!

So last year my mom decided to enroll me in a online writing class. We always get a lesson, a theme on which to write about and then we get it corrected. On most of the assignments we get three revisions and then after the third revision, the teacher grades it. So I thought I'd show you one of my favorite papers I've written!

This is one I wrote last year - enjoy!

My giraffe, Susie Rose, and I are the best of friends. I found her when the local zoo in Rindapple flooded and needed temporary homes for their animals. I rushed over as soon as I heard about the offer, because I knew I wanted the giraffe. Sure enough, they handed her over to me and said they would come for her in about two weeks, after they repaired the zoo.

Throughout the two weeks I became more and more attached to the giraffe. I begged my parents to buy it from the zoo, and finally, they agreed. The zoo sold it to us and I named her Susie Rose.

People say I’m weird to have a giraffe for a pet. They argue that giraffes should stay in the wild. I can prove them wrong. It is very useful to have a giraffe for a pet!

Susie Rose helps me all the time with my chores. Since she measures nearly four meters tall, she helps me put away dishes on the highest shelves, change the light bulbs in our hallways, dust the surfaces of my dad’s tall bookshelves and even clean the gutters out.

If they still don’t believe me, I tell them all the ways she helps me in everyday life. For example, the other day, I went over to my friend’s house who lives across the creek. I had just come from school, so still had nice clothes on. Luckily, I took Susie Rose with me. As I came to the edge of the creek, I noticed that if I crossed it, I would get my nice clothes wet. Susie Rose had no problem with this. She stepped forward, leaned down so I could climb onto her back, and lumbered across the creek with me riding on her. My clothes stayed perfectly dry!

Last summer, I went with Susie Rose to pick cherries at my grandpa’s farm. He told me that the best cherries always grow at the tops of the trees. I wondered how I could climb to the top to get those cherries without falling out of the tree. With Susie Rose’s help, the task turned out “easy as pie”. We picked twelve full buckets of luscious, ruby red cherries and baked twenty pies for the annual fair in my grandpa’s town. If I didn’t have Susie Rose with me, I could never have brought any pies at all! Those townspeople were sure glad for my pet giraffe.

Going to the store with Susie Rose also makes life easier for my mom and me. Not only can she carry us to the store, thus saving gas money, but she can boost my mom up to the highest shelves to reach the products placed there. If I get lost in the store, I climb up onto Susie Rose’s head and call out to my mom. She sees me immediately and comes to my rescue. People sometimes give me strange looks when I am up on my giraffe’s head, but that doesn’t matter because I never have to worry about getting lost!

People question my parents and me about the health and nutrition needs of Susie Rose. Not to worry. My dad read that giraffe’s prefer to eat leaves from the acacia tree. Believe it or not, we already had a grove of acacia trees growing on our property! Susie Rose enjoys strolling through the grove and eating leaves from those trees every day. She also likes to eat herbs, shrubbery, buds and leaves of other trees, so she gets plenty to eat. By following my dad’s carefully planned diagram for her eating schedule, she keeps our yard trimmed and looking neat throughout the year.

Having Susie Rose for a pet has truly made my life happier and easier. I think more people should consider having giraffes as pets!

THE END