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Life in Colonial Williamsburg By

Mrs. Senadhira’s Homeroom

2011/2012

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“Word by word the

book is made.”

French Proverb

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Contents

1. From Sand to Silver to Coins Daniel Barrett 4

2. My Petticoat for the Governor’s Wife Celia Calhoun 6

3. A Hairstyle or a Scheme? Isabella Cymrot 11

4. The Colonial Cooper Takes Charge Sebastian D’Souza 13

5. The Woolly Ink Balls Isabel Engel 15

6. My Williamsburg Story Samuel Eszenyi 18

7. Silversmith Caroline Hamilton 20

8. The Spoon that Came to the Daily Budget Neeve Izadi 21

9. Lost, and Found Again Celia Johnson 24

10. Elizabeth’s Story Abbey Kim 27

11. My Williamsburg Adventure Sophie Kowitz 31

12. Becker, the Kidnapper Angus McAllister 34

13. The Mysterious Dark, Black Street Emily Norry 36

14. The Mysterious Robbery Evan Orloff 40

15. My Day with the Cooper Ethan Outang 42

16. Thomas Jefferson’s New Wig Asma Poshni 44

17. The Town of Mysteries Ryan Shojaei 46

18. Charles the Printer Beck Wiedmaier 48

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BBBeeettthhheeesssdddaaa,,, MMMaaarrryyylllaaannnddd...

Who is a silversmith? A silversmith is someone who makes

silver.

I had the wonderful and most educational opportunity to go to

Williamsburg on March 2, 2012 and interview Bob James, the

silversmith. The bus ride was fun. I played cards with my friend. Also, I

watched a movie and had snacks. I saw many interesting things. In the

middle of the bus ride the bus went to a halt because there was a

horse with a hurt leg on the road. We were there for three hours. We

had to wait until the horse was moved by paramedics. But the rest of

the journey was fine.

Once I was in Williamsburg, I went to meet Bob

James, the silversmith. I had heard many good

things about him and was excited to meet

him. I saw him make a spoon and a cup. When I

met him he told me that he cannot make silver without his trusty

hammer. He also said that silver is made out of sand. That was

educational to me.

In the 18th Century, silversmiths were considered sculptors. As a

silversmith, you had to have talent, taste, and be artistic.

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Bob James the

silversmith melted sterling in

a graphite container at about

2000 degree. He poured the

liquid silver into a mold and

kept it to cool. When it was

cool, he took the mold off and

the silver was sharp as a

spoon.

Then he made a cup in the same way, except he told me that

first he would make a plate and then turn that into a shape of a cup

by using his trusty hammer.

I learned a lot from Mr. Bob James the silversmith and I bet you

did too! I learned a lot about silver. That is the story of Mr. Bob

James, the silversmith.

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One sunny spring day I (Marie) woke up to the chirping of

the baby birds just born yesterday. I am getting

used to the sound of the baby birds

nestled right outside, by my bedroom

window. I went to the

dining table with a bit

table and a beautifully embroidered

tablecloth. The morning sun streamed

through the chandelier. It made the

diamonds glimmer like little golden flowers.

“Hello mother, may I have

some oatmeal?” I asked.

“Of course, you may,

darling” mother said.

I ate my oatmeal and

skipped off happily to my

mother‟s milliner shop. I am so excited because today we are

making a petticoat for Lady Dunmore, the Governor‟s wife.

My mother came in the door and said to me, “Lady

Dunmore only gets her fabric imported only from England.”

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“Not fair!” I said annoyed.

“I think we should have the weaver weave it instead. We

don‟t have to tell her, please?” I pleaded.

“No!” mother replied stubbornly.

“PLEASE?” I said again, this time sounding desperate.

“Okay,” mother agreed hesitantly.

Mother and I left for the weaver. While mother was

whispering to the weaver, I talked to her daughter, Jane.

“Your mother and my mother are working together to make

Lady Dunmore‟s petticoat,” I said barely able to contain myself; I

was so excited!

“Yippee!” Jane exclaimed.

My mother gave the blocks (measurements) to Jane‟s

mother. It was so interesting when Jane‟s mother started taking

the fuzzy wool curly q‟s of the goat‟s hair and started brushing

them out in a process called „carding.‟ Once they were all

brushed out into a huge puff of fuzz, they were spun out into a

string on a spinner by adding more carded fuzz to make the

thread longer. It was like magic!

Then they wound the thread on the loom. Then she used the

shuttle to thread the weave. It looked so complicated! You had to

press the pedal to switch the strings back and forth to weave it.

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There was a beautiful golden sun blazing over the horizon

making the water glimmer. The sky was painted pink, purple,

blue, yellow with a dramatic golden ball in the middle.

“It‟s time to go,” mother exclaimed.

“Bye,” mother said to the weaver.

“Bye!” I screamed to Jane.

“See you in two weeks,” Jane replied.

I skipped down the street back to our house. We ate some

ham, cider, and ginger cookies. It was delicious!

“Good night, my darling,” mother said sweetly.

Then I tucked myself under my wool blanket made by the

Weaver and went to bed.

*********

Two weeks later, I woke up to the chirping of the little birds

again. Their peaceful song made me calm.

I ate my oatmeal and skipped off to the Weaver‟s shop with

my mother. They had already woven 80 inches. Wow! My mother

was checking her pockets frantically.

“Where are my blocks?” Mother questioned.

“You gave them to me two weeks ago so that I would know

the measurements,” the weaver assured me.

“Thank you,” Mother replied.

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“You are very welcome,” the Weaver said politely.

“Mother, may Jane and I go play?” I requested.

“Of course, you may,” Mother replied.

Jane and I skipped off to the Milliner‟s shop and I got my

„two balls in a cup‟ game. We were playing all day. Then Mother

ran along with a large piece of fabric.

“She finished!” Mother told Jane and me.

Jane and I started jumping up and down happily screaming

“Yippee!”over and over again.

Mother took the blocks and put them on top of the fabric

and started cutting out shapes of fabric. Then she took a needle

and string and started sewing the petticoat.

***********

The next morning I woke up and Mother was already at

work. I ate some oatmeal and helped my mother with the

petticoat. We sewed the petticoat together by hand. Then we

started to put embellishments on. We took out the different

colored ribbons and we started braiding them together. Then we

made notches and wove the ribbon through the notches.

Afterwards, we took some lace and sewed it on the bottom. Then

we cut a slit down the middle, made holes, and attached little

pearls as buttons. After that, we attached pearls to the lace at the

bottom.

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***********

Lady Dunmore came into the shop.

“Do you have my petticoat?” she asked.

“Yes, we do,” I announced. We passed the petticoat to Lady

Dunmore.

“The dressing rooms are that way,” I directed and pointed

the way.

Lady Dunmore went and tried it on.

A few minutes later she came out holding the petticoat.

“It is exquisite!” she exclaimed.

„Yes,‟ I said secretly in my mind.

She walked out the door happily.

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By

ello, my name is Rebecca. I am the new wigmaker of James

Street in Williamsburg. Today I will tell you the story of the old wigmaker.

Once upon a time, there was a very mean person that was the wigmaker. His name was Mark. He wanted to do something horrible to the King William, but he could not think of anything. Since he was the wigmaker of the king, he knew him the best because he always wanted his fashionable wigs.

One day he had the perfect idea. His plot was to shave all of the king’s hair off and not give him a wig. The only thing he would give him was a shave. This happened when King William was visiting his colony. He was residing at the Governor’s Palace.

The king was expected to come to his shop that afternoon. The king arrived and he asked for a shave and a wig.

I forgot to tell you that during that period people only liked people that wore

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good looking wigs and were good looking. If someone was only bald they were not considered fashionable.

The wigmaker gave him a shave and then pretended to pick out the perfect wig and put it on him.

When his assistant heard about the plot, she thought it was very wrong. She had an idea to stop it. She was planning to let him carry out his plan. The King would walk out and then everybody would wonder why he is not fashionable like he usually is and why nobody liked him. Then she would step forward and speak up. She would say that what matters is, how kind and considerate people are and not how they look. Then she would put a wig on him and let him go. That is when the wigmaker will face consequences for cheating the King.

That afternoon, she waited for the wigmaker to finish his plan.

The King stepped out of the shop and then everyone made faces at him.

Then she came out and said, ‘It is not the looks that matter. What matters is if he is kind or not.”

Then people started bowing to him. She had saved the King!

The wigmaker was so angry that he had a temper tantrum. But later he was sent to jail until his case was heard in court.

In the meantime, the assistant was awarded with a lot of gold.

After a few days, I was asked to be the new wigmaker. That is the story of the old wigmaker!

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BBByyy SSSeeebbbaaassstttiiiaaannn DDD’’’SSSooouuuzzzaaa

he cooper is the one who makes all the barrels,

buckets and, mini bath tubs. The cooper was the one

who took an hour and 30 minutes to make a bucket.

First he made a block then more blocks. Once he

could make a full circle of blocks he would put groves in

them. Then the cooper put a metal string to keep the

bucket together. The n he puts a bottom on the bucket.

The cooper used a saw and a table like machine. The

machine was

called a holding

tool. There

were other

tools like

boring tools,

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axes, chisels, and gouges. Mallets were also used. That

was not all; a cooper also uses splitting tools, draw

knives, shaves, and sharpening tools.

The Cooper’s customers were people like washer

women, mothers, fathers, and builders. When people

needed buckets, barrels, or pails, they always came to

the cooper.

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By: Isabel Engel

I, Anne Muyers, the Printer, stroll into my shop early

in the day.

It was exactly 5:00 A.M., I must say

For Huzzah, Yippee, Hooray,

I am earlier than Jane the silversmith today!

She is like my clock; she shows me when I’m late,

If it weren’t for her I’d still have breakfast on my plate!

She arrives at 6:00 a.m., in the morning,

It is a crisp, cool fall day; I’ve had my warning [brr…]

Since the gazette is due in a week

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I sure hope my ink won’t leak.

I take out my tiny letters from the ‘lower’ and ‘upper’

case,

The ink balls that I beat the form with, is made out of

wool not lace.

I’ll press the set on to the paper that is damp

I hope my letters don’t get in a clamp

My letters are in reverse so they turn out on the paper

just right

In my shop I stay and work all day and till’ night.

I have to clean and organize my letters before I go

I arrange them in the two cases so the next day will

flow.

The cleaning powder of the letters is bad for my skin

After I clean them they go back in the bin

I always hope the dangerous liquid won’t get on me

If it does, out of work I will be…

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Not capable of work tomorrow

Then the next day would be filled with sorrow.

It’s 8:00 p.m. about time

It’s time to go, I hear the chime

Now it is pretty cold

I hope, no dimes but gold!

I lock up my shop

I’ve had a long day, I hope I won’t have to mop

I have had a long day

Tomorrow will go the same way.

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By Caroline Hamilton

Elizabeth is a silversmith

She has blond hair with

Wavy curls

She wears dress and wears a pony tail.

She starts the day by making dishes

She gets silver from the mines

She takes some days.

Rich people come and pay.

She uses a hammer

To shape up her goods.

Many people come,

Like Hallie and Nick,

A couple with a puppy

Who does a lot of tricks!

At five o’clock

She closes the shop

And comes back the next day

Right with the clock!

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As a newspaper reporter I have to visit many interesting

places to interview people. On March 2, 2012, I had the

opportunity to go to Colonial Williamsburg. I got out the Daily

Budget, the morning paper and got in my car. I set off to Colonial

Williamsburg.

On the way there I was faced with a disaster. The road was

filled with cows. After about half an hour, the cows were gone

and I was on my way. After about three hours I reached

Williamsburg.

I did not want to waste any time because my boss pays me

extra if I work faster.

I went to the shop of the famous silversmith named Robert

Stuart. His shop looked strong. It was made of hollow wood and

the roof was made of tiles.

When I walked into his shop, he told me that he had just

made a spoon. I saw that it was kept to cool from the heat. It was

really hot. It could burn you……. BAD!!! I waited until it was cool

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and ready. When it was cool it looked very special. It was the

exact replica of the Governor‟s spoon!!

When Robert had a free moment, I introduced myself. He

greeted me and then invited me to observe him make a silver

bowl.

First he told me that an 18th Century silversmith is like a

sculptor. They both have to have artistic talent, taste, and

creativity.

He started working. First he melted sterling in a graphite

and clay container at about 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, he

poured the liquid silver into a

mold. Then he used a large

hammer. He made a thick sheet

and cut it into a circle using

„raising‟ hammers, anvils, and

stakes. He stretched the silver into

a thinner piece. As he hammered

against the anvils, he cupped it

into a bowl shape.

While it was cooling down I

walked into a cabin. It was attached to his shop. It was full of

silver. A pool of silver! Then in the midst of all that I saw a silver

spoon. It was the most beautiful spoon I had seen in my life. I

asked Robert how much it cost and he told me that it was 2

shillings. I thought I had more money than that because my boss

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was going to pay me extra. It was a small price for me. I bought it

in a case. Then I took some pictures of it.

I got into my car and got to the Daily Budget office. Mr.

Jameson was pleased with my work. He paid me well and I got

into the car again and went home.

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BBByyy CCCeeellliiiaaa JJJooohhhnnnsssooonnn

One crisp morning in April, I, Sarah Welsh went to the

silversmith’s shop under previous orders from my masters, Lord

and Lady Johnson. After a quick breakfast of milk and fresh

warm bread at my mother’s house where I always sleep I set off

for the centre of Williamsburg before the streets were bustling

with people. I saw shops just beginning to

open and people opening their curtains

to greet the morning sun. I felt a light

breeze at my back.

I got to the silversmith just as the sun was

coming up over the bushes. The

silversmith’s name was James Getty.

He greeted me warmly and invited me inside. Inside, it was

warm and cozy. I asked him for the spoons and he said he had

had too much work and hadn’t gotten to make them but he

could make them at that time.

First, he pulled at a pump. I asked him what that did and he

told me that it pumped air and made the fire go up. Then he

got sheets of silver and put them on an anvil.

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He used the tweezers that he

was holding to hold the sheets of

silver under the fire. This melted it a

little. Then he melted it a lot more

and then speedily poured the silver

into spoon molds. While we were

waiting for the spoons to set he

smoothed a bowl for another

customer with a flat hammer. Then we realized the spoons had

set. He pulled the halves of a mold apart to display a spoon! He

pulled apart the other molds and ……. one, two, three, four, five

spoons lay on the counter!

Then he sanded the spoons. He polished them until they

shone like the Chrysler Building! Then he put them on the

counter for us to admire.

Just then we heard a knock. In walked a lady I recognized

as Miss. Elizabeth Brown.

She muttered to herself, “My, my. How busy I am!”

Then she said out loud, “Good day, I see you have many

spoons. Thank you. “

Then she swept my spoons into her basket and without

another word, walked out of the store.

‘‘Wait!!!” I called but she was already out of the shop.

I ran out the door, closely followed by the silversmith.

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Outside it was warm and

sunny. We saw Mrs. Brown but

we could not catch up with her.

We soon became hot and

sweaty as the chase went on.

Finally, we saw her go into the

bakery. We followed her to the bakery and asked her for the

spoons.

“Why?” She exclaimed.

We explained that they were my spoons. She started to

blush as she looked embarrassed.

Then she asked where her spoons were. The silversmith

replied that her spoons were to be picked up the next day. She

said that she had not realized that.

She gave the spoons to me. I thanked her and walked out

into the street.

As I felt the morning sun, I skipped home with my

beautiful spoons. Then I tied a knot in my handkerchief to

remind myself to take the spoons to the Johnson’s residence

the next day.

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By Sophie Kowitz

woke up on one beautiful spring morning breathing

wonderful spring air.

My name is Mary Williams and I am on my annual trip to

Williamsburg and Jamestown.

I traveled in a horse carriage and my journey from home was

about two hours or so.

I had a grand night’s sleep at the Woodlands Hotel. First I

wanted to have my morning meal. It was a buffet so I got to choose

what I wanted to devour. I got pancakes with syrup and some fruit.

I was walking through the streets and walking into many

shops to learn about them. When I was walking and saw the

Printer’s Shop, I thought it looked very interesting. So I walked into

the tiny shop.

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Robert, the printer greeted me by saying, “How do you do?”

He first wanted to talk about the tools he used. He used lots of ink

to print with and he had a big machine that is called a composing

machine that he puts the paper in and the ink. He also used stamps

for the letters.

“When you print,” he said, “you can’t use plain old paper you

need to use paper that is soft and feels like fabric. It’s called

moistened paper. It makes the composing machine easier to print

the ink on the soft moistened paper.”

The nice gentlemen let me touch it. I thought that was very

interesting that the printer does not use regular paper.

The printer can’t just start to print right away. Robert needs to

get everything ready before he starts. He makes something called

an ink ball which is made out of leather and cotton. He puts ink on

the ink ball and rubs it on the letters he has already set on a flat

wooden slab. Then he pulls the handle of the composing machine.

There you go! Then he got a letter to give to somebody for

decoration.

Robert wanted to show me something up the stairs. I followed

him. He showed me some really old tools that were the originals. I

had the opportunity to feel them which was very surprising to me. I

did not say anything to him because I thought that it would be

really special to touch an original object that someone maybe

famous in the olden days touched.

Then Robert and I went back down stairs so we could talk

more about printing. He was going to show me some stamps and

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then have me put the ink on them. There was a huge problem.

There were no stamps and no ink to be seen!

We were so surprised and of course very upset! We suspected

that somebody may have robbed the shop. Right away we called

the sheriff.

“Help! Somebody robbed our printer shop!”

Of course they said that they would try to find the culprit.

In the meantime, we were looking around to see if the robber

hid the things somewhere where we could not see. We could not

find them.

In a few minutes the police came and they had a machine that

could track foot prints. It took about two hours for them to find out

who was responsible. They needed to call other police men to help.

Guess who it was? George Washington!! I could not believe it!

They questioned him and he sounded pretty mysterious so we

knew that he did it! He was sent to jail right away until his case is

heard in court.

Unfortunately Robert did not get his things back. So we

needed to trade things to get the equipment that he needed. Then,

he was able to go back to his usual printing job.

I hope you will be able to come to Williamsburg and visit all of

the shops and of course Robert and his printing shop.

Thanks for reading everybody!

Mary Williams

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ello, my name is James Carnell and I am going to leave for

Jamestown and Williamsburg today. I am leaving right now and I

should be there in about five hours or so.

After a long drive, I reached Jamestown. I walked around, took a

guided tour and learned many things about the first settlement in the

New World.

The next day, I visited Colonial Williamsburg. There were a lot of

shops but I was looking forward to one,

the gunsmith’s shop. Soon I saw his shop

and I walked in.

When I entered his shop, I saw the

gunsmith, whose name was Frank Tod.

I asked him what exactly the

gunsmith does to make guns.

He explained everything to me.

“When you make the gun, the inside of

the end of the barrel has to be spiral. You

have to mold the gun into the metal

barrel.”

I understood what he said. Then I said goodbye and left his shop.

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When I went back to the hotel, I was going to take down some

notes on Williamsburg. I went to get my bag and then I realized that I

had left my bag at Frank’s shop!

I ran back to his shop and fifteen minutes later I was there.

When I entered the shop no one was there and the shop was all

destroyed! It was messy and everything was all over the floor! It looked

like someone had robbed the shop. I was horrified!

I saw my bag and grabbed it and ran to the Sheriff’s office. I told

them what had happened and we went right back to the gunsmith’s

shop. When we entered, it was the same.

We looked around and could not find Frank anywhere. Then I

thought that Frank could have been kidnapped! We searched some

more until I found a note.

The note said that someone broke in to Frank’s shop and

kidnapped him. The kidnapper’s name was Becker Millten.

So we began to investigate and we went in search of Becker.

Finally we went to his house. We knocked on the door and soon he

opened the door.

We told him that we knew that he had kidnapped Frank Tod.

He told us that he did not.

We went inside the house and searched all over and found Frank

in the cellar.

The sheriff released him and took Becker to be sent to jail.

We got an award of $10.00. I left and came home the next day.

That is my story of

Williamsburg. I hope I can go there

again.

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BBByyy EEEmmmiiilllyyy NNNooorrrrrryyy

n one chilly fall day in 1818, I heard a bell and woke

up. I looked at the time. It was 4:20am! I got out of bed and

put on my clothes. Oh! I forgot! My name is Fredrick and I am

a printer. It takes an hour and a half to get to the shop. I had

to be there at 6:00 A.M, so I had to wake up very early.

I arrived at the shop right before six. My shop was a small

messy place with a couple of machines and a pile of paper in

one corner. I looked around my shop and saw the half-

finished book for the Governor. ‘I had better get started,’ I

thought. But just then Heru (one of my customers) came into

the shop. I hate Heru. He came in all the time and was always

shouted at me and demanded more work.

‘’I want an almanac and I want it by Thursday!’’ he

shouted.

‘’ And where is that book? I told you to have by Sunday?

It’s Sunday!”

‘’Yes sir, I stammered’’

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Heru had a sly smile on his face when I went to get the

book for him. When I gave him the book he looked through it

to make sure it was finished. It wasn’t. He whipped me and

then walked out of the shop.

I sighed.

In the next two hours about seven more customers came in. Now I really had to make my book for the Governer. I bound the pages together quickly with string.

‚Ah!‛ I said aloud, ‚I’m finished.‛

By now it was almost 1:00 o’clock. It was time for my lunch break.

I came out of my shop and almost tripped over a cat! I am scared of cats. I believe that they bring bad luck. I ran away to get my lunch in a flash.

Meanwhile Heru had been watching me from behind the bushes. He had placed the cat there so I would get distracted and not lock the door. He had succeeded in his plan. The door was still unlocked. Silently he took the cat away and went into my shop. Heru saw the book for the governor still on the table and quickly took it. Then he ran out of the shop and went far away.

Meanwhile I was wondering about that cat. Who owned it? How did it get there? Just then I remembered something.

‘’I forgot to lock my door’’! I said aloud. ‘Oh, well,’ I thought, ‘nobody will come in.’

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BBByyy EEEvvvaaannn OOOrrrllloooffffff

y name is Roy, and I am a printer. I have four six year

old children and their names are Scott, John, William, and James.

Today I have to get to the shop early because I feel like something

bad is going to happen. As I rushed down the street, I almost crashed

into carriages. I passed by Mr. Jefferson. I asked

how he was doing and he asked why I was in a

hurry. I told him that I felt like something bad

was going to happen today and hurried on my

way.

When I got to my shop, sure enough, something WAS wrong! All

the newspapers I printed were gone!! I was responsible for distributing

the papers this morning. I might be sent to jail. I started to worry.

Mr. Washington, the Head of the Town was not in town. I have

known Mr. Washington for many years. Usually when I have a problem

I go to him. But since he was not in town, I went to Mr. Jefferson for

help.

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I explained my problem to Mr. Jefferson and asked him what I

should do. He asked me to look for clues and then report to the Sheriff.

I rushed to the Sheriff’s office. When I reported my problem to

him he told me that he was going to look in every house in town. Then

he asked me to go home and wait for him to come by my house.

I went home and had a cup of tea. Then I laid on my couch. I was

thinking of who could have taken all my newspapers.

Then I heard a knock on the door. I opened it and the sheriff

stepped in. He looked around, and then brought in a man. It was my

cousin! The sheriff asked me how many papers I printed.

“Forty five,” I answered.

“That is how many papers this man had!”

‘So I guess he is going to jail and I will not go to jail’ I thought.

‘Yay!’

Now everything is back to normal and my cousin who never liked

me is in jail.

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This is Ethan Ouyang reporting from Norwood School.

Today I’m visiting Elie Baboon, the cooper in Colonial

Williamsburg. I’ve heard from other reporters that he was the

best cooper in town.

I took a bus to Williamsburg. It was a three hour bus ride.

The trip was tiresome and wearily. So when we finally reached

Colonial Williamsburg, I was exhausted.

But I went straight

to the cooper’s shop.

When I got there the

shop looked like a

clean, brand new shed.

It was a colossal shop.

It was filled with

barrels and tools. The

floor was covered with

wood shavings that

spread an interesting

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aroma in the surroundings. As I walked into the shop I was

warmly welcomed by Elie Baboon. He was expecting me. Soon

we settled down to business. He explained to me that what he

makes most were barrels, butter churn, buckets, and small

bathtubs.

“To make them as smooth like the surface of a dish I use a

shaver,” he said.

The tools they use are the stave, croze, and the head shave.

The croze was to make the top of the bottom of the barrel. The

head shave is to straighten the head boards.

Once they finish what they make what they do is they give it to

the store and they sell the items.

I had a wonderful time in Williamsburg. It really was

interesting to learn new things about what coopers do. I liked

learning how he made barrels by shaving wood like animal bones.

The tools he used were interesting. It was fascinating to see how

he used different tools for different jobs. What I saw amazed me.

I left the shop wondering how they clean up all the shredded

wood that gets collected from all the things they make!

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By Asma Poshni

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By Ryan Shojaei

Just as I was coming back from the milliner on a hot

midsummer morning I went to the blacksmith, Charles and asked him

to repair my gun. He said he would fix it right up. He took the gun and

fixed it like I asked. Suddenly, he fell to the ground and then he was

dead!!

I went to the printer, Jim and told him about it but he wrote a

transformation of the story instead. He wrote that Sally the Wigmaker

shot him right in the head. I was confused.

So the next day I talked to him and asked why he lied. He said that

it was last week that the wigmaker committed an actual crime. I was

quite annoyed.

I asked him, "Do you think I was born yesterday!? I was here last

week and I-wait I don’t know if you’re-wait a second. I’m going to tell

the Governor, John,“

“W-W-W-Why???” asked Jim.

“Well, who do you want me to talk to? Sally?” I asked.

“Of course not. Maybe you could talk to Josh,” suggested Jim.

“Nice try. There is no Josh in this town and now I’m definitely

talking to John.”

Jim gripped my collar, “Trust me you don’t want to do tha-“he

choked “he’ll get you too….” and he dropped dead.

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I saw the murderer.

“Hey you stop right there!” I screamed.

I pulled out my gun fired a few shots and killed him. I checked his

gun and found they were filled with poison darts. I withdrew my gun

and went to the Sheriff’s office and just as I went in the office he was

not there. I ran to the place I left the dead body but it wasn’t there

either!

I was confused and thoughtful. I went to bed with all these

thoughts on my mind. I did not sleep well.

The next morning I got it! The sheriff was the assassin! I went to

the Governor and told him the news and as soon as I told him…

“You know too much Roy I have no choice but to kill you” said

John.

“Don’t worry boss I’ll take care of it” said a very threatening voice.

“How dare you make such an action Governor?” I said

“Please, I can explain?” said the Governor in a shaky voice

“Too late,” I said

“I’m calling the um um uh wait I’m calling the printer,” I said

“Oh! I’m so scared,” mocked the Governor.

“What’s the printer going to do? Print me? ha ha ha ha ha ha!”He

laughed.

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By Beck Wiedmaier

One spring morning Charles the Printer woke up,

had breakfast and set off to work. On the way to work,

he met his friend Marcel. Marcel was also a Printer. He

greeted Marcel and rushed to his shop.

The night before, Charles had laid out some papers

to dry. The papers were written laws that were going to

be passed in Williamsburg. They were secret

documents. These papers were very important to him.

Charles finally reached his shop. He went inside and

the place was quiet, really quiet. He hung up his coat.

Then he lit his kerosene lamp so he could see where he

was going. He rushed to the

place where he laid his

papers the night before. He

realized that the papers were

gone! There were other

papers thrown all over

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and it as messy.

He checked the entire place.

“They are gone!” he screamed!

He started sweating and panicking. He then fainted

and was lying on the floor for a while. Then he woke up

and was in a daze. Then he

remembered what had

happened.

So he called the Sheriff.

They started inspecting the

place. Then they found a

piece of paper that was written by Marcel. They went to

Marcel’s’ place and his wife said he went crazy! They

found Marcel in his room crossing out the laws and

making new laws.

So the Sheriff arrested him and took him to jail.

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“Words, like fine

flowers, have their

colors, too.”

Ernest Rhys, Words

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