Old Friends

In first grade I met seven giggly girls. Immediately we all became friends. Later on in eighth grade an additional girl joined our gang. We did everything together. One fond memory I have with these eight girls’ was when Halloween came around. Our imaginations ran wild as we invented matching costumes each year for our annual small town Halloween party. One year we all decided to be carrots for the upcoming Halloween event. We later made an orange quilt out of the carrot costumes. Another year we were sticks of gum. The costumes weren’t too comfy, but we had such a fun time dressing up.

Our friendship continued to our teen years. When the boy’s were away at war we would have sleep over parties where we giggled and talked about boys (of course). At one particular sleep over party, we each went around the room and said what we wanted in our future husband. One of my friends dreamily declared that she wanted a man with a stretchy wrist watch.

I also remember a time when my friend and I got asked on a date by these two boys. Well, since the boys had the nerve to suggest that we provide the food for the picnic we decided to get even with them. We became even more justified in our plan for revenge because they happened to ask us out on April Fool’s Day. When April 1st arrived we prepared a delectable lunch of grass sandwiches for our dates. The expression on the boy’s faces while they munched on those odd tasting sandwiches was priceless! But don’t you worry; we brought extra sandwiches just in case they didn’t like the grass ones.

Now we are all around eighty years old. Many of us moved away, but years later all but one of us moved back to our home town. Although we felt like boomerangs we just couldn’t seem to stay away forever. To this day we still get together and giggle. Last month we all had a tea party. If you were to ask me how the blazes did we stay so close through these 70+ years I would have to say that true friendship has two elements. The first element is tolerance. We are all human and we need to over-look the small things. The second element is forgiveness. Simply treat others as you would want to be treated. Forgive each other so your precious relationships can continue.

THE END

True story told by: Erma, 82 (from the USA)

Singing in the Rain

One of my very close friends is Desi. We always talk a lot, especially on the phone. We can talk for hours. One day we were going home from the church. We were walking and it started raining. We decided not to take the bus and just walked home singing church hymns. We got completely wet and our scriptures were wet too. When we both got home to our houses I called her and while we were drying our scriptures with the hairdryer we talked on the phone laughing about the fact that our scriptures became curly.

THE END

True story written by: Diana, 23 (from Bulgaria)

My Friend Beckie

Beckie is my friend because whenever we want to go play outside she waits for me to put my shoes on. She is a really nice friend. One time my sister’s and I had a girl party at Beckie’s house. We had our pajamas on and my sister put sparkles in our hair. We had smoothies and watched a princess movie called Enchanted. I like Beckie a lot; she shares with me and she always makes me laugh.

THE END

True story told by: Katelyn, 8 (from the USA)

Diana

One of my closest friends is Diana. She is my friend because every time I need her help she is always willing to help. One time I had to go to sweep the street because I did not have money and that was the only job I found. But I had broken my wrist 2 months before that and the doctor didn't do a good job so my wrist was in pain. Diana came with me to sweep the street because she didn't want me to lose the job. The days she couldn't come, she came to my apartment very early in the morning before I leave and brought me food. I was very poor at the time.This is how I view a friendship. A friend is a person who you can count on always.

THE END

True story told by: Ivetka, 58 (from Bulgaria)

Pals

My best friend in the whole world is Kalin. We are in the same class in school. We study together after school or we go to his house for lunch because his mom is a very good cook and my parents are working all day. One day Kalin and I played a game called "Family." He was the dad and I was the mom. My doll was our baby. We were outside. While we were playing we found a little bird on the ground. It was too small and it couldn't fly. We took it to Kalin's house and his mom agreed to keep it till it could fly. Everyday I went to his house to see the bird and Kalin and I fed it. We left the bird on the balcony and one day when I went to see the bird Kalin told me that his dad threw it from the balcony and it flew away. So, we decided that we are very proud parents of that bird because it learned to fly.Kalin is my friend because we share stuff together. We also eat cookies together.

THE END

True story told by: Ioanna, 11 (from Bulgaria)

Shark Bait

Once upon a time there was a beautiful girl named Sarah. Sarah had two brothers who had names as well. Their names were Jordan and Ben. One dark and ghastly night these three siblings were suffering from a severe case of boredom. What shall we do tonight? They all wondered.

Suddenly an obese light bulb popped upon Sarah’s head (for she was the wittiest of them all). “Aha!” she cried. “Boys, follow me to the closet” Sarah instructed. After dressing into Jordan’s snazzy thrift store suits they scampered off to Sarah’s car. With the soundtrack to National Treasure blaring inside the car the three siblings sped off to the Ferrin’s house where their friend, Cyrena was.
After Sarah's car slithered to a halt the three siblings sneakily hid themselves behind a parked truck. “Okay Ben, you know what to do.” Sarah whispered as she pulled out some duct tape from her coat pocket. Ben causally strolled up to the door. (Knock-knock…) After a few minutes he was leading Cyrena outside towards the other two hidden siblings.
Then as quick as a flash Jordan grabbed the squawking girl and held her tight while Sarah placed sun glasses on her face, slapped duct tape on her mouth, and duct-taped her hands behind her back. Jordan shoved the kidnapped damsel into the car and off they went!
The poor girl made indescribable noises throughout the drive. The kidnappers then and there decided that her name would be Shark Bait. Don’t ask me why. It just seemed appropriate at the time. After a while the noise became so unbearable that the car came to a halt. Sarah snatched the left over duct tape while Jordan pulled Shark Bait out of the car. “Uh, how ‘bout that tree?” Ben asked. The others (minus Shark Bait) agreed. They hauled the screaming gal over to a tree, stood her up against it, then strategically duct-taped her to it. What a beautiful sight it was!
Since the siblings had disposed of their friend they hopped back into the car and drove off. But, as they were driving away Sarah noticed in her rear-view mirror that Batman had jumped a fence and was saving Shark Bait! “Drats!” Sarah muttered as she quickly turned the car around. But alas, by the time the siblings made it back to the tree the only remnants of Shark Bait was some strips of red duct tape.
The next day Cyrena went to the three sibling’s house to visit. Life switched back to what you would call, normal. Cyrena got her real name back and I even think that she and the three siblings did something ordinary like watch a movie with popcorn.
You can tell who your real friends are by those who are willing to play along with you. I just want you know that Cyrena really wasn’t terrified (well, maybe she was at first) and we weren’t too rough with her. In our circle of friends we expect silly events to be imposed upon us at random moments. It makes life a whole lot more thrilling.

THE END

True story by: Sarah, 21 (from the USA)

My Grandpa

My little sister, Kate was born 10 weeks early. Because she arrived so early she experienced some problems and had to stay at the hospital for about six weeks. During this time my family made regular trips to the hospital to see my baby sister. Since only two visitors were admitted to see Kate at a time I would often scamper off to the gift shop. Inside the gift shop were legions of baby toys. My eyes bounced from one adorable toy to another.
One day as I was window shopping I discovered a cream colored stuffed bunny propped up on a shelf. I made my way towards my new furry friend. Not only was it the most darling bunny I’d ever seen but it was also a religious bunny. Its bunny paws were clasped together, its bunny eyes were closed, and its soft bunny head was bowed down. Attached to the bunny was a name tag which read “Hope”.
From that day forward I happily wandered into the gift shop to visit Hope while I was waiting for my turn to see Kate. I dreamily described all the cute itty bitty things within the shop to my grandpa. But I was slightly crushed when Grandpa expressed his opinion of hospital gift shops. To my astonishment I learned that he despised them due to their ridiculous prices.
Days later while Grandpa and I were patiently waiting in the hospital lounge I pranced in and out of the magical gift shop. Finally I plopped down next to my grandpa. Without a word he pulled out his wallet and handed me some money. With a questioning look I asked, “What’s this for?” The sweet man who was anti-hospital gift shops replied, “Go buy something for your baby sister.” After recovering from shock I quickly obeyed and purchased my furry friend, Hope.
My grandpa passed away shortly after my little sister was able to come home. To this day she still has her lovely bunny. Every time I see Hope in Kate’s bedroom I am reminded of my grandpa. He loved me and my sister enough to notice the magic that flew from my eyes whenever I admired that bunny in the shop.

THE END

True story by: Sarah, 21 (from the USA)