masterwordsmith-unplugged

Every Saturday afternoon, a cute and adorable seven year old girl named Xuan will come to my house for an hour or so and I would have the time of my life tickling her brains. From the moment I wake up, I look forward to that time when my little darling will be calling out my name before I open the gate for her. Together we have gone through many story writing adventures and we built her blog where she typed the stories that she wrote, although she is not too regular or careful :-) with spacing and spellchecking. Xuan is an exceptionally gifted child who reads extensively (including three volumes of the Harry Potter series and the whole Twilight series) and has flair, grace and elegance in her writing style which is far beyond her tender age. You cannot imagine the joy, satisfaction and fulfilment I derive from my sessions with her!

Last Saturday, I told her I was reading "Marley and Me" and showed her a newspaper cutting about a lady who lamented the death of her dog. Xuan loved the story. Taking the cue from there, I challenged Xuan to join my essay competition ;-). With much excitement, she declared that she wanted to write a tale about Woofy, an imaginary dog. Without any delay, she started her story, working furiously without lifting up her head even once to ask me any question. Soon, her father came and alas, I had to say farewell to my little darling Xuan.

"Don't forget to finish the tale in your best handwriting or else you will be disqualified immediately," I called out to her as she waved goodbye.

With a smile, she nodded and replied confidently, "I know. You don't have to remind me. Bye..."

I am so happy today because once again, Xuan has written a lovely tale. Needless to say, I spoil her with lots of presents and stickers etc. Perhaps that is why God gave me two boys. I would have spoiled my daughters rotten if I had any :-). So here's Xuan's "WOOFY IN MY HEART" which she wrote by herself. I only made a few corrections here and there. The sentence style and structure is Xuan's original work. I decided to type it in my blog because if I were to ask her to do it, I would have to wait for some time and this story has to be shared.

Xuan - You rock!!! And I know you will go very far when you grow up!!! I am so proud of you and love you lots!

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WOOFY IN MY HEART by Xuan

Chapter 1

My dog's name is Woofy. My parents bought him in 2002, the year when I was born. Woofy died recently at the age of seven just before my seventh birthday. He was a very active dog that always barked whenever he saw me.

Everyone in my family would fuss about him. Cheng would spray her perfume on him. Ling would give him doggy biscuits and other treats. Wei would keep on hugging him and patting him saying, "Ooh! What a cute puppy you are! Who's the most beautiful puppy in the world?" I would keep on cuddling him and saying, "Best dog on earth, aren't you?"

And he would reply, "Woof! Woof! Woof! with a merry smile!"

Since the day I could walk, I would go downstairs straight away each morning and lay out his doggy food for him and put fresh water into his bowl. In no time, he was a full-grown dog.

One day, I had to go on a trip to Ipoh to visit my relatives. I was sad to leave Woofy behind because I had to be away for a fortnight. I told my family to check on him, to give him food and water everyday and if anything happened to him, they had to tell me immediately.

Finally, I said, "Bye...Farewell until I return." Then I went into the car with a sad face, waving goodbye to him.

"Woof! Woof! Woof!" Woofy whined with a gloomy face. And in his eyes, it seemed like he was saying, "Bye bye! I will miss you!"

I had a great time in Ipoh until I remembered Woofy. I was having dinner one evening and I suddenly turned pale.

"You look pale," said my aunt. I managed a weak sigh.

When I went back to my room, I kept thinking about Woofy. I couldn't get him out of my mind. I kept thinking Woofy, Woofy, Woofy. I lay down on my bed and tried to calm down.

Then I pulled the blankets up to my neck, rested my head on my pillow and closed my eyes. Finally, I drifted to sleep.

Chapter 2

Morning came and I still thought about Woofy.

"Good morning, Mother Sunshine!" I cried when I woke up. I paused, "Good morning, my dearest Woofy."

Before I could go to the bathroom, the phone rang. I went to answer it. My heart started pumping so fast that it skipped a beat. Could it be one of my family members calling me? Could it have anything to do with Woofy if they were calling me?

I picked up the phone nervously, feeling scared and with a pale face.

"Hello." It was Ta-Ze (eldest sister). "Ah Xuan, are you there?"

"Yee---eesss," I stammered.

"Oh Xuan, I have bad news. Woofy is dead. Yesterday, he fell asleep in his kennel at nightfall and he never woke up. This morning, I saw him lying there and asked mom and dad to rush him to the vet but it was too late."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!" I screamed and cried and cried with the tears flowing down my face.

Immediately, I rushed home with my aunt.

Chapter 3

"Xuan! You're home at last. Come and see Woofy," said Ta-Ze.

"Thanks, Ta-Ze," I said.

"No problem," she answered.

I panicked when I saw Woofy. He was lying there with no more movement of any sort. Eyes closed, his breathing had stopped.

"Woofy," I cried, wit tears rolling down my cheeks. "Oh darling Woofy, what happened to you?" And I sobbed and sobbed.

Then Mom said, "Never mind, Xuan. Woofy has gone back to doggie heaven."

Later that evening, Wei and I took two spades and together we dug a hole in our backyard. We carefully lifted Woofy and put him inside the hole. Then we slowly covered the hole with the soil.

"Woofy, goodbye," I said softly. Then Ta-Ze and I walked back slowly.

Since that day, I would go to that spot every morning to wish Woofy a good day and I would think about the great times I had with him.

Now, he lives in my heart. (I added this line and also chose the title).