Name___________________________

Teacher_________________________

Fiction Writing

Unit developed by Dan Wexler

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Table of Contents

Part I. Learn the Literary Elements 1. Introduce Concepts of plot, character, setting and point of view ……… pgs. 2-4 2. Read Six Fingered Jones ………………………………………………...pgs. 31-37 3. Do literary elements worksheet …………………………………………pgs. 5-6 4. Read The Lorax and take quiz on the lit elements ………………………pg. 7

Part II. Outline the Story

1. Make a character sketch …………………………………………………pgs. 8-9 2. Outline the plot of the story ……………………………………………..pgs. 10-14 3. Setting and Point of View ……………………………………………….pg. 15

Part III. Write the Story – a picture must accompany at least two scenes

1. Write the introductory scene ……………………………………………pgs. 16-17 2. Write the scene that introduces the central conflict …………………….pgs. 18-19 3. Write the first “problem scene” ………………………………………...pgs. 19-20 4. Write the second “problem scene” ……………………………………..pgs. 20-21 5. Write the climax ………………………………………………………..pgs. 21-22 6. Write the conclusion ……………………………………………………pg. 22

Part IV. Edit and Revise the Story

1. Peer Edit Check Sheet: mechanics content …………………………….pgs. 23-24 Part V. Assessment

Grading Scale: Word PDF ……………………………………………..pgs. 25-27 Part VI. Mini Lessons

1. Description ……………………………………………………………..pg. 28 2. Dialogue ………………………………………………………………...pg. 29

Part VII. Example Story: Six Fingered Jones …………………………..pgs. 30-36 Part VIII. For Teachers (On CD-ROM)

1. Technology Integration 2. California State Language Arts Curriculum Standards met by this unit 3. . Research – Cognitive and Sociocultural Perspectives on Writing and Writing Instruction

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Part 1. Learn the Literary Elements

PLOT

1) The main events of the story, what happens in the story

2) The plot is organized around the Central Conflict:

a) The protagonist, (main character), struggles against something in order to achieve

his/her goal

b) Main Character + his/her goal + Opposition = Conflict

c) Types of conflict:

1) Man vs. Nature

2) Man vs. Man

3) Man vs. himself

3) Climax:

a) The high point of the conflict, the most exciting point, towards the end of the book.

b) The point where we know the outcome, whether the protagonist will succeed.

Describe the central conflict of a story that you know and like. Use the following format:

Protagonist + goal + problem. For example: Cinderella wants to marry the Prince, but she isn’t

allowed to go to the ball.

Protagonist Goal

Problem

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Character

• Personality—Characters have realistic personalities that have many parts to them. They

have real thoughts and feelings. They can be happy, bored, determined, clever, jealous, good

at math, love their grandparents, etc.

• Physical—A character’s appearance is usually described in the book. They have a body and

a face just like a real person.

• Background Information—A character usually is a certain age, they live somewhere, they

have a family, go to school, have a religion, etc.

• Dynamic Character—A dynamic character changes during the book. The protagonist is

almost always a dynamic character. This is usually a positive change, a change for the better.

Often, during the story, the character learns an important lesson and this makes him/her a

better person. Such characters grow.

Describe a character from a book that you have read. Be sure to include information from

each of the above categories. Please organize your character description into four short

paragraphs.

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SETTING The time and place of a story; there is usually a physical description of the setting, what it looks like, sounds like, feels like, etc. In some stories, the setting is extremely important. Describe the setting of... Why was this setting important?

POINT OF VIEW Who is telling (narrating) the story? • First person – the story is told through the eyes (and mind) of one of the characters, “I”.

The reader experiences the story as that character experiences it (usually the protagonist). This point of view does not allow the narrator to go inside the head of other characters or to describe scenes and events in which the main character is not present.

• Third person – the story is told by an “eye in the sky,” which can give any information about any character. All characters are referred to as he/she, there is no “I”. This point of view gives the author more freedom to go inside the head of any character.

What point of view is… told in?

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Literary Elements Worksheet (Please answer all questions in complete sentences.)

PLOT 1. What does “plot” mean? 2. What is a central conflict? 3. Write the central conflict of Six Fingered Jones. Be sure to write it in the form that we

learned: Protagonist wants… but the problem… CHARACTER 1. What does “protagonist” mean? 2. What is a “dynamic character”?

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3. Describe the character Six Fingered Jones in three short paragraphs: background information, personality, and physical characteristics. SETTING Describe the setting of Six Fingered Jones. POINT OF VIEW From what point of view is Six Fingered Jones narrated? How do you know?

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Literary Elements Quiz for The Lorax (Please answer all questions in complete sentences.)

1. Define “plot” in two different ways. 2. Briefly, summarize the plot of the The Lorax. 3. Define central conflict. 4. What is the central conflict of the The Lorax? Please use this format: Protaganist wants…

but the problem… 5. Describe the Lorax. Remember to include: background information, personality and physical

characteristics. Does he change during the story? 6. In a short paragraph, tell what this story meant to you.

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Part II. Character Sketch and Plot Outline

Character Sketch • Describe a person/character you know; include background information, physical

characteristics and personality. • Invent/imagine a character. What is your character’s name? • Describe what he/she looks like. Describe his/her face. What is interesting about his/her

face? Describe his/her body. • How old is he/she? • Where does he/she live? • What does he/she love to do? What does he/she dream of? What does he/she want?

• Who is he/she closest to, (best friend, family member, etc.)?

• What weakness does he/she have?

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• What are some other things that are interesting about him or her?

• Give your character a worthwhile goal

• Give your character a difficult problem to solve that makes it hard for him/her to achieve their goal.

• What will be the central conflict of your story?

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Plot Outline

1. In a paragraph, describe your main character. 2. Describe your story’s central conflict. What is your character’s goal? What obstacles are getting in the way?

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Outlining Your Story Scene-by-Scene Scene 1: Introduction—We see the protagonist’s life before the real action of the story begins. It is helpful to have at least one more character in your story that the protagonist can spend time with during this scene (and during the final (happily-ever-after) scene. Scene 2: Problem Occurs—A problem occurs or is introduced. This is the problem that the protagonist will overcome during the story. Scenes 3 & 4: Struggle—The protagonist struggles to achieve his/her goal and overcome the problem. These scenes usually involve trying to solve the problem but not succeeding. Scene 5: Climax—The protagonist overcomes their problem and achieves their goal. This is the most exciting scene in the story. It must be difficult for the protagonist to solve the problem. Scene 6: Conclusion—We see the protagonist’s life after they have accomplished their goal. We get to seem them “live happily ever after.”

Plot Curve (Narrative Arc)

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Story Analysis: Six Fingered Jones

Scene 1: Introduction Describe what happened in this scene. What did the author show you about the character’s life in this scene? Scene 2: Problem Occurs Describe the problem that occurred. Scenes 3, 4 & 5: Struggle What happened in these scenes? What did Jones do to try to solve his problem? Scene 6: Climax What happened in this scene? How did Jones overcome his problem? What made this scene exciting? Scene 7: Conclusion What happened in this scene? What do you think of how the story ended?

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Outline the plot of your own story!

Briefly describe what will happen in each of your story’s scenes. Remember, this is an outline. You are not writing the actual story.

Scene 1. Introduction—Show a scene from the protagonist’s life that takes place before the central conflict starts. Typically, during this scene the protagonist will spend time working, with family, with friends, etc.

Scene 2. Problem Occurs—Introduce the problem that the protagonist will struggle against.

Scene 3. Struggle—Show the protagonist trying to achieve his/her goal, but not quite succeeding.

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Scene 4. Struggle—Show the protagonist trying to achieve his/her goal but not quite succeeding. Scene 5. Climax—The protagonist accomplishes the goal in an exciting way! It must be difficult. Scene 6. Conclusion—Show the protagonist living “happily ever after”.

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Setting and Point of View

1. Setting: Where and when will your story take place? Describe the place. What is interesting about the place?

2. Point of View: Who will narrate the story? Typically you have two choices: the protagonist him/herself (1st person), or an “eye in the sky” (3rd person).

1st person: “I went to the store.” 3rd person: “Dan went to the store.”

If you have a character besides the protagonist whose thoughts you want to reveal, or if there is a scene in which the protagonist is not present, then you should choose 3rd person. If you want to go into depth about the protagonist’s thoughts and feelings, then choose 1st person. It is a very common mistake for young writers to shift back and forth between 1st and 3rd person narrators during the story. You must keep the same narrative point of view throughout your story. Describe how your story will be narrated:

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Part III. Write the Story!

First Scene

I. Review 1. Describe something interesting about your main character. You can make up a new

interesting quality about him/her if you like. 2. What is your character trying to accomplish and what problem stands in the way? II. Description and Dialogue 1. Think of a special memory that you have. Describe that memory in as much detail as you

can. Remember to use your five senses! (What did it: look like, sound like, feel like, what were you thinking, etc.) See Description Mini lesson.

2. Make up a dialogue between yourself and someone you really want to talk to right now. Remember, when a new person speaks to put their words on a new line. See Dialogue Mini Lesson.

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III. Describe your first scene 1 1. Review the first scene of your plot outline. This is the scene where you show what the character’s life is like before the problem starts. 2. In a couple of sentences, describe what will happen in your first scene. You may make

changes to your original plan. Write specifically what will happen, without actually writing the scene. Here’s an example:

In this scene, Six Finger Jones is dozing in his office, dreaming of blueberry pies. We find out what he looks like and why he was elected sheriff, (because he never bothers anyone).

Show your work to your teacher. When your work has been approved, you may start writing your first scene.

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2nd Scene (Introduction of Central Conflict)

I. Review 1. What is your character trying to accomplish and what problem stands in the way? 2. What happened in your story’s introduction? II. Description – do one of the following activitie s 3. Think of a special memory that you have. Describe that memory in as much detail as you

can. Remember to use your five senses! (What did it: look like, sound like, feel like, what were you thinking, etc.)

4. Make up a dialogue between yourself and someone you really want to talk to right now. Remember, when a new person speaks to put their words on a new line. III. Scene 2, Setting up the Problem 5. Review the second scene of your plot outline. This is the scene where the problem occurs that your character will have to solve. 6. In a couple of sentences, describe what will happen in your second scene. You may make changes to your original plan. Write specifically what will happen, without actually writing the scene. Here’s an example:

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In this scene, John gets into a fight with the captain of the football team. The football player was picking on him, so John called him a name. The football player challenged him to a fight and John accepted. Now John is going to have to fight the captain of the football team!

Show your work to your teacher. When your work has been approved, you may start writing your second scene.

3rd Scene (First Problem Scene)

I. Review 1. In 2 sentences, tell what has happened in your story so far. 2. What is interesting and likeable about your main character?

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II. Description and Dialogue – Write a one-paragraph scene that has good

description and dialogue. (Remember to use your five senses and tell what the characters are thinking and feeling). Write a scene where you pretend you are either a teacher or a parent.

III. Third Scene What will happen in your third scene? Look on your plot outline.

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4th Scene

1. Review – What do you like best about your story? 2. Invent a scene with description and dialogue – You and your main character spend a

Saturday together. You can go to the mall, the park to play sports or something else that’s fun. Write a one paragraph scene with lots of description and dialogue.

3. Review your outline, then describe what will happen in the scene that you are going to write today.

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Climax

1. Think about the climax of a story that you like (and is somewhat similar to your story). What happens in the climax of this story (not your story)? What problem does the character overcome? How does he/she overcome the problem? What makes it exciting?

2. What will happen in your climax? How will your character overcome the problem? What about this scene will be exciting?

Conclusion

In this scene, we see your character living happily-ever-after. Look at your outline for this scene. What will your character be doing in this scene? Who will be with him/her? What will make this scene feel happy?

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Part IV. Peer Editing Mechanics

Author’s name__________________

Editor’s name__________________

Date____________

Correct your partner’s paper for all spelling and punctuation mistakes. You must read his/her paper slowly and carefully in order to find all of the mistakes. Show each mistake to him/her before you correct it. Look for the following: • Two spaces after a period • One space after a comma (no spaces before a comma) • Capitalizing proper nouns (names of specific people and places) • Their/There/They’re • Punctuating dialogue. Example:

I walked downstairs for breakfast. My mom was obviously running late for work. The dog

was barking. “Don’t forget your lunch,” she said. I replied, “Have a nice day, Mom.” I went outside to catch the bus…I saw my friend Tom and we started walking together.

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Peer Editing for Content

Author’s name__________________

Editor’s name__________________

Date____________

(Read these questions before you read the story. Answer them in detail)

1. Specifically, what did you like about this story? 2. What is the one major way that this story could be better? Be specific. 3. What are some other improvements that the author could make? Be specific. Circle them in the story if that will help. Tell what chapter (or page number) you are referring to.

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Part V. Grading Rubric

Needs Improvement – 5 pts. Satisfactory – 7 pts. Excellent – 9 pts. Exceptional - 11 pts.

Cent

ral C

onfli

ct

• The story does not have a central conflict.

• The story’s protagonist has a goal and an obstacle to overcome.

• The protagonist achieves his/her goal during the climax.

• The story’s protagonist has a goal and a difficult obstacle to overcome.

• The protagonist achieves his/her goal during an exciting climax.

• The middle scenes show the protagonist struggling to achieve his/her goal.

• The beginning scene shows the character’s life before the conflict occurs.

• The final scene shows the character’s life after he/she has achieved the goal.

• All of the elements of an excellent story.

• The protagonist struggles against a difficult problem and must use courage or cunning to achieve his/her goal.

• The plot is very exciting and suspenseful.

Students will create a fiction story that contains a central conflict with an exciting climax, a developed main character, description, dialogue and pictures. The rating “Exceptional” is reserved for stories that demonstrate achievement well beyond the expectations of this unit. This unit is worth a total of 40 points.

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Needs Improvement – 5 pts. Satisfactory – 7 pts. Excellent – 9 pts. Exceptional – 11 pts.

Char

acte

r De

velo

pmen

t

• The protagonist has no character traits.

• The protagonist has some character traits.

• The protagonist is a well-developed character, with many character traits and the beginnings of a realistic personality.

• The character’s personality is revealed through description and dialogue.

• All of the qualities of excellent.

• The character grows during the story.

Desc

riptio

n an

d Di

alog

ue

• The story does not use description and dialogue.

• The story contains some description and dialogue.

• Nearly all of the scenes are written with description and dialogue.

• All of the qualities of excellent.

• The description and dialogue are very realistic and mature.

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Needs Improvement – 5 pts. Satisfactory – 7 pts. Excellent – 9 pts. Exceptional – 11 pts.

Mech

anic

s

• Many mechanical errors that interfere with understanding

• Simple vocabulary with limited variety of word choice

• Some mechanical errors that do not interfere with understanding

• Acceptable vocabulary

• Few mechanical errors

• Effective vocabulary • Very few or no

mechanical errors

• Rich vocabulary

Needs Improvement – 0 bonus pts.

Satisfactory – 1 bonus pts. Excellent – 2 bonus pts. Exceptional – 3 bonus pts.

Grap

hics

• No pictures • A few pictures • A picture for nearly every scene

• Many outstanding pictures

Part VI. Mini Lessons Adding Description: Use your senses!

How do things: • look • sound • taste • smell • how does your character feel • what is he/she thinking

Sample of Writing with Description

“Thump, Thump, Thump, Thump.” I could feel the pulse of loud, fast rap music as I got out of the subway car. The station was much darker than any subway station I had ever seen. Graffiti covered the walls. The young man with the boom box caught me looking at him. He glared at me, then went on staring straight ahead. There was a baby that was wailing for its mother. My friend Jeremy and I exchanged worried looks. Jeremy, who is kind of a chicken, motioned with his head that we should get back in the car. I shook my head. I was used to being in the inner city, and I wasn’t afraid. I wanted to go to the Bronx Zoo. I knew that Jeremy was just complaining, and he would go if I made him. Think of a scene from your own life. Write a paragraph describing it. Use your senses! Describe what things looked like, sounded like, felt like, your thoughts, etc.

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Mini Lesson: Adding Dialogue

Scene without Dialogue This weekend Joe went to his first Mardi Gras Ball. It was in a warehouse with tons of floats and statues that they use for the parade. Unfortunately, he only knew one person there. Joe didn’t really feel like talking to the people at his table, so he made friends with the band. The guitar player was a jazz fan, so he and Joe had a really interesting conversation about Louis Armstrong. Talking to him made the night enjoyable. Same Scene with Dialogue

It was Joe’s first Mardi Gras Ball. He was sitting at a table with a bunch of virtual strangers. They kept talking about people that Joe didn’t know. He felt silly sitting there. So he got up and went to the buffet. A guy from the band approached him. “Hey, how’s it going?” he asked. “Fine,” Joe replied, “and you?”

“Not too good really. Our drummer’s sick, and the new guy filling in isn’t doing too well. It’s throwing the rest of us off.”

“That’s too bad. If you’re really desperate, I can sit in. I play the drums.” “Well, we’ll see how it goes. What kind of music do you like?” “I like mostly jazz, Louis Armstrong,” Joe said.

“Hey, I just read his biography. Man, he had one crazy life.” Joe got his food and sat down, hoping to get a chance to play drums with the band.

Rules for punctuating dialogue: 1. In a conversation where more than one person talks, every time someone

talks, it’s like starting a new paragraph. Go to the next line and indent (Enter, Tab on the keyboard).

2. Everything that is said by a character goes inside of quotes.

Write a paragraph with dialogue. Follow the example above, and punctuate your dialogue correctly.

Every new quote is indented and goes on a new line.

Comma inside the quotes, period at the end of the sentence.

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Part 7. Example Story

Six Fingered Jones

Ch. 1 Six Fingered Jones yawned, stretched, and put his feet on the desk of the sheriff’s office. "This is the life", he thought as he polished off his fifth blueberry pie that day. Mr. Jones was the sheriff of a small town in Pennsylvania called Townsville. There were never any crimes or problems in Townsville. The people appointed him only because all the other towns had a sheriff and they knew he wouldn’t be a nuisance to them. Six Fingered Jones had a white beard that hung down his chin like moss from a tree, and a pointy nose like the beak of a bird. He had dark, deep brown eyes, and looked a lot like Uncle Sam. Mr. Jones was a calm, sleepy sort of person. He never bothered anyone with anything and never shared his thoughts with anyone, (if he really had any thoughts no one knew). There was only one thing that made him aware of the world, and that was blueberry pie. In his opinion there were two things that you could never have enough of in life, rest and blueberry pie. Every time he smelled, saw or thought about blueberry pie he felt an irresistible urge to find it, grab it, and gobble it up. Because of this there was a considerable amount of missing, freshly baked pies in Townsville. There was nothing Jones liked better than dozing with his feet on his desk after eating a blueberry pie. On this particular peaceful morning, Jones was doing just that. Just then the faint scent of something wonderful came through the window. Jones jumped to his feet; he got that wild blueberry pie look in his eyes. Every inch of him was screaming, "BLUEBERRY PIE!" He jumped clear up to the ceiling and shouted it as loud as he could. "I must find it," he thought, and with one long bound he dove out of the open window. Mr. Jones ran around in a frenzy, sniffing and searching. He was yearning for that pie so much, it made him tingle all over. The only thing that mattered to him was getting his hands on that pie. Then finally he saw it, a blueberry pie, fresh and steaming sitting on Mrs. O’Henry’s windowsill. Jones just stood there for a moment, covered in perfect bliss. He could already taste those blueberries. The pie sat there as if to say, "Take me, I’m all yours!" "It won’t matter if I take it," he told himself. "Taking blueberry pies is no serious crime, and besides, she can always bake more."

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Ch. 2 "Wake up!" "Wake up!" Mr. Jones opened his eyes slowly and looked up at the shouting town’s people. Could this be a dream? He hadn’t done anything to them. "You must find the culprit!" They shouted. "Culprit?" Said Jones. "Go away and leave me alone, I was in the middle of dreaming about blue-" he stopped himself. So that’s what they were so angry about. Look what you have gotten yourself into now, it’s the blueberry pie culprit they’re after. Mr. Jones gulped and stared at the crowd. Mrs. O’Henry, he noticed, looked angriest of all! "Just yesterday," she said, "Just yesterday morning I was having a tea party and all my friends were coming over. I promised them a blueberry pie." (Mrs. O’Henry was the best blueberry pie baker in town, and Jones envied her husband enough to bust). "Stolen! Right off the windowsill. Stolen!" Mr. Jones gulped and tried to look normal, but he obviously wasn’t doing a very good job because Mrs. O’Henry turned to him and yelled in her shrieky voice "Stolen!" so loudly it almost busted his eardrums. The rest of the town was now shouting out their stories of pie theft, each trying to make themselves heard above the rest. The noise grew to a deafening roar. Finally the mayor silenced them. "Mr. Jones," he said, "there has been a countless amount of pie theft in Townsville," and it is your duty and mine to find the culprit and do justice!" The mayor was a large man with a big droopy moustache that reminded Mr. Jones of a walrus. He had large bushy eyebrows, and when he was flustered or angry he would puff out his cheeks and turn all red in the face. Suddenly, Jones had an idea. "You didn’t say I had to find any thieves to be sheriff. You just said I had to sit here and wear a badge." "Mr. Jones," said the mayor, "Either you find the culprit or loose your job." Then he marched out of the room. Ch. 3 The town gasped, could the mayor be serious? Six Fingered Jones just sat there. What was he going to do now? He regretted ever having eaten a blueberry pie in his life. He had to find some way to resist his craving. Meanwhile, the towns people were begging the mayor not to be so hard on Jones, but he stood firm. "What do we have a sheriff for, eh?" said the mayor. "To sit in the office and sleep?" Mr. Martin, the mayor, had detested Mr. Jones since second grade when they’d gotten into a fight, and little Jones bloodied little Martin’s nose. Since that day the mayor had been plotting revenge, and

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now he saw his chance. He figured that the loss of Mr. Jones’ career would be his ruin. Little did he know how bad the fix really was that Mr. Jones was in. After the town’s people had said their sympathetic good byes, and the mayor had gone away gloating, Jones was left in his office alone with his little son Billy. Unlike Mr. Jones, Billy was always running around energetically, shooting imaginary bad guys and playing war with the other seven year old boys in Townsville. Billy was hopping all around in excitement like a kangaroo, shouting, "Come on , Dad, lets go find the bad guys! I’ll betcha it was the mayor himself! What d’ya suppose made him so mean?" "I bloodied his nose in second grade," Jones mumbled. "Cool!" Joey was bouncing on the table, "Go get him again, Pop! Give him a black eye!" "Not now son, I think I’ll take a nap." Mr. Jones felt so rotten and mean he could hardly keep his head up. How could he tell his son that he, himself, was the culprit? Billy hadn’t noticed how downhearted his father was until now. Suddenly, his bouncy-ness died down. "What’s wrong, Pop? Don’t worry, you can find the bad guys. Say!" He was bouncing around again. "I can help you! I could be your deputy, and Tom from across the street can be the detective! Besides, that’s what he wants to be when he grows up." Billy was now dashing off to get all the other boys in the neighborhood to be the posse. Ch. 4 Mr. Jones woke up with a start. "What a horrifying dream!" he thought. He had dreamed of stealing blueberry pie, and in his dream he had been caught in the act! The town’s people had said they’d be on the lookout. He had to resist his craving somehow, but how? Then suddenly he had an idea. He could pretend that he needed blueberry pies to find the culprit. That way he’d be supplied with all the pies he needed, and plenty of time to think. The next morning Jones set off for Mrs. O’Henry’s house. He told her he had a plan. He was going to set a trap for the thief, and she should bake as many blueberry pies as she could and call all the housewives telling them to do the same. "But," he added, "don’t tell the men!" For the remainder of the day the air was filled with the scent of baking blueberry pies. Mr. Jones was overwhelmed at the thought that they would soon all be his. He had to clamp a clothespin over his nose to keep from jumping clear through the ceiling. Even so, he could sense those pies. He just had to have them. With that thought he threw the clothespin to the ground and dashed

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out the door all the way to Mrs. O’Henry’s house. There, he banged on the door. "I have come to collect!" said Mr. Jones, trying in vain not to show his excitement and slobber all over himself. Mrs. O’Henry looked him over curiously and said, "What’s the big hurry?" "Well, - um – I…" "Yes," said Mrs. O’Henry impatiently. Mr. Jones gulped and turned all red in the face. Think fast, he told himself. "Well, you see, the mayor said if I didn’t find the culprit I’d loose my job, and I don’t know by when I have to find him, so I figured I’d better not waste time and - well you see - um… yes, that’s it, that’s why." Mr. Jones was in heaven. He had eight, large silver platters, each with three blueberry pies. Eight times three is twenty-four, he thought happily. He was lying on his desk, stuffing himself with pie when suddenly he came to, he woke up. "What am I doing?" he thought. "Here I’m in a terrible fix, and I’m sitting around, relaxing, as if I don’t have a care in the world." Mr. Jones sat down and thought hard about his situation. After thinking over the possibilities Jones came to the conclusion that there were four options. Confess; but if he did that he would loose his job. Not confess; and just sit and wait. If he did that he definitely would loose his job. Blame it on someone else; if he did that he’d have to have proof. Or just quit his job because he’d probably loose it anyway. All of the options he could come up with would probably ruin him and his son Billy. "But there has to be some way out," thought Jones. " Maybe I could blame it on raccoons. That wouldn’t blame anybody, but that’s a pretty sorry excuse and why would it be only blueberry pies disappearing?" The town’s people left many other kinds of pies on the windowsills. No, raccoons were not a good idea. Suddenly, he had it! Two-toed Tom! Two-toed Tom lived in the mountains and came down into town once a month or so to get drunk. The town’s people might believe him, if Jones blamed the theft on Tom. No one dared to be around when he came to town and got drunk. It was perfect! But wait! No, that wouldn’t do, because Tom never washed and was always covered in all the meals he’d ever had in his life. The way Jones knew Tom, he would have blueberry all over himself if he were the thief. The town’s people would know it wasn’t him when he came down for his monthly visit. Jones was stumped. He cursed himself a while for not being born with an imagination, but it was the best he could do. He was ruined.

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Ch. 5 Mr. Jones was moping around when suddenly his son appeared. "Dad" he said. "Yes son." "Well, you know that broken window on your car, Dad?" "I know too well; hang that cousin of yours!" "Well, it wasn’t him who broke it Dad," Billy hung his head. "It was me." Mr. Jones was stunned. Here he was thinking of ways to lie about the pies that he had stolen, and his son confessed about a broken window, even though he knew he’d probably get a beating for it. "And Dad, I want you to know that I’m really sorry for lying about it." This was too much! Jones felt so low down and rotten that he barely managed to choke out, "that’s okay son. I’m glad you told the truth. Now go out and play." "Gee, thanks, Pop!" All right, thought Jones, "I’m going to confess. Alea iacta est!" he said triumphantly. "The die’s been cast!" Mr. Jones was very proud of this saying, for it was the only Latin he knew. "There’s no turning back now," he thought. "Billy!" he shouted, "Go tell the mayor I’ve found the culprit!" "What? Cool! Lemme see im Pop, please!" "You’ll see him soon enough, now go tell the mayor!" "Alright!" Ch. 6 An hour later, Jones was standing in front of the whole town on a platform in the town hall. It had not been used in thirty-five years and was all covered with

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dust and cobwebs. Everybody was cheering but the mayor. His face had turned all red, his cheeks were puffed out, and his long droopy moustache was twitching like mad. "This is it!" thought Jones. "I’d like to make an announcement!" he said. The noise died down. "I –" He stopped, no words would come. "I –" he tried, "I am the culprit!" A stunning silence followed. The whole town was paralyzed, staring wide eyed, and open mouthed up at the platform. The mayor was the first to recover. His face turned its normal color, and his mouth curved slowly into a malicious grin. "I knew it all along!" he said happily. The rest of the town had now begun to recover from the shock. They all started asking him questions, and soon the whole story came out. All this time the mayor had just been standing there, grinning. Now he saw his chance. The mayor pointed an accusing finger at Jones, and thundered, "You scoundrel!" then he turned to the people, "You ought to be ashamed of yourselves for electing the likes of him as sheriff! Goodbye, Mr. Jones! This town does not want a thieving rascal for a sheriff!" Mr. Jones looked mournfully at the crowd, then sadly picked up his bag, and started slowly for the door with Billy at his heels, saying, "Shucks, why’d you do it, Pop?" The town’s people had now begun to talk. "What a shame!" said old blind Mrs. Watsit. "He always makes it a point to be there on the curb to help me across the street when I do my weekly shopping. Such a kind man!" "And Mom," a boy named Tom who lived across the street from Mr. Jones’ office was finishing off, "he used to let Billy, me, and all the boys use his badge and handcuffs to play sheriff. I was always the detective, cause that’s what I want to be when I grow up. I sure wish he was still sheriff!" Everyone was telling how Jones had helped them out with something, and soon they decided they wanted him to be sheriff and nobody else. "Stop!" they shouted, just as Mr. Jones was turning the dusty, brown doorknob of the door. "We forgive you!" piped little Suzy Schneider. She was a small, pale, skinny girl with hair so blond it was almost white. Jones had lent her parents money for years while she was sick in bed with a terrible flu, because they were poor and didn’t have enough money for medical care. "We’ve decided to keep you as our sheriff," said old blind Mrs. Whosit. "Well, you look here, you crazy old woman!" exclaimed the mayor, "I’m the mayor!" "Oh yea!" said Mrs. O"Henry, " by vote of the town you’re not anymore!" Everyone cheered. "Down with Mr. Martin!" they yelled. Mr. Martin was

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turning red again. He was so stunned, all he could do was keep gasping out, "I’m the mayor, you can’t do this!" Billy was hopping up and down with excitement, yelling, "Let’s hang him, tar and feather im, ride im on a rail!" Finally, when everyone had had a turn shouting at the mayor, and telling him what a rotten person he was who never cared for anyone but himself, they all walked past him with noses turned up and went home. Ch. 7 After his great confession I guess you could say that life was just about perfect for Mr. Jones, other than the fact that stealing any more pies was out of the question. Mayor Martin, now just plain Mr. Martin left Townsville and was never heard from again. And Jones, now back as sheriff thought, (very unusual for him to think), about the recent events. He marveled that a little dishonesty and a few little lies had led to such big trouble. Any trouble let alone big trouble was not for him. If he ever saw or smelled another pie he swore to himself he would fight the devil craving even though it meant a life without one of his two prized pleasures. He repeated several times to himself, "I’m a changed man, a changed," suddenly he was awakened from his thoughts by a knock on the door. It was Mrs. O’Henry. "Your friends have been giving your problem a lot of thought and we think that we have a solution." "Oh no!" thought Jones. "Here I thought I didn’t have a care in the world and the pie business is brought up again!" "Well m’ that’s exactly what I was thinking about," he said truthfully. "Well," she continued, "what if I baked you a blueberry pie every week, and we consider it as part of your pay as sheriff? Would that be satisfying?" "Why – yes – of course – th-thank you, thank you very much, how considerate!" "Well, here!" she said, handing him the biggest blueberry pie he had ever seen. It was oozing with gooey blueberries and smelled warm and sweet. Mr. Jones was floating in the clouds. He felt as light as a feather. The whole world was swimming before him. All he could see was the pie …the pie…the wonderful pie! It was shining in his eyes. He could almost taste it, warm, gooey blueberries……