Week 3 Storytelling: Where did Caramel go?

Once upon a time there was a little girl named Mackenzie.  She was a very bright child and very hard working.  She had big dreams for the future and wanted to grow up and be the best person she could be.  She liked the idea of possibly being a doctor or a lawyer, or something else successful like that.  However, she just couldn't decide which one she liked the best.  So she worked as hard as she could in school in order to do whatever she wanted when she grew up.

Mackenzie went to Saint Maria's School for Girls, which was a boarding school that her aunt had brought her too.

Saint Maria's School for Girls 

(Wikimedia)

The headmistress, Headmistress Elizabeth, was rather fond of Mackenzie.  She saw the little girl's determination and work ethic, even at such a young age.  Headmistress Elizabeth always encouraged Mackenzie whenever she could and took special favor with her.

The other girls, who were in the same class at Mackenzie, had become jealous of the attention that Mackenzie was receiving and of how well she was doing in her classes.  They were lazy girls who never wanted to do any work, so the fact that Mackenzie always wanted to do work for class, made them not like her even more.  They always wanted to find a way to cause Mackenzie to not look as good in class.  They tried calling her mean names, but she would just ignore them.  They tried ignoring her, but she was unfazed by it.  They slyly tried to convince her to break into certain rooms after hours, but she knew that was against the rules so she did not.

All of the girls thought and thought and thought of a way they could get Mackenzie into trouble.  Finally, they decided they should trick Mackenzie into thinking she did something that she did not do.  And they all knew the perfect way to do that.

At Saint Maria's, each class had a pet for an entire year and each of the girls took turns caring for it.  They would bring it to the classroom each day, feed it and play with it, and then at the end of the day the girl would take the pet back with her to her dormitory room.  Every week the girls would rotate so someone else would take a turn taking care of the pet each week.  That particular year, Mackenzie's class had a hamster for a pet.  Everyone was so fond of the hamster, they decided to name it Caramel for the color of it's coat.

Caramel the Hamster

(Wikimedia)

The girls decided to use Caramel as a way to make Mackenzie get into trouble.  So they waited and waited and finally it was Mackenzie's week to take care of Caramel.  She was so excited!  She brought Caramel back to that first night and made sure she was all cozy and snug in her little cage.  Then it was time for dinner.  Mackenzie left her room and headed down to the dining hall.  The other girls used this opportunity to come in and take Caramel from her cage.  They knew that is Mackenzie, who was usually so responsible, had lost Caramel then she would be in big trouble.  So they took Caramel and left her wandering the hallways of the dormitory, far away from Mackenzie's room, and then proceeded down to dinner.

When Mackenzie came back from dinner, she saw that Caramel's cage was open and Caramel was not there!

"Oh no!"  She cried. "Caramel has escaped and will surely be killed roaming around this big school." So, in a flash, Mackenzie hurried down the hall in search of Caramel.  She had wandered up and down all of the nearby halls and rooms to try to figure out where Caramel had gone to.  After search for a while, Mackenzie still had not found Caramel.

However, luck was on Mackenzie's side.  It was currently quiet time, where all of the girls who attended Saint Maria's could either be in the library reading, or in the study doing homework.  Mackenzie usually finished her homework early and was normally so quiet that none of the teachers were ever concerned about where she went.  So as Mackenzie walked up and down the halls, she heard a faint squeaking.  Immediately she knew it was Caramel, for none of the other years had a similar pet and the school certainly did not have mice.  As quietly and carefully as she could, Mackenzie traced the sound along the hallways until she finally found Caramel, on the other side of the dormitory.  Mackenzie was so relieved Caramel was not harmed, that she rushed her back to her cage and gave her an extra ear of baby corn to have that night.

The next morning, all of the other girls rushed to class early.  For they certainly did not want to miss an opportunity to see Mackenzie get in trouble.  As they sat in their seats in eager anticipation, Mackenzie walked in carrying Caramel's cage.  They were shocked to see Caramel, alive and well in the cage as well!  Mackenzie put the cage in it's appropriate spot and sat in her seat, ignoring the shocked expressions on the other girls' faces.  She knew that the other girls were the ones who had put Caramel on the other side of the dormitory, no hamster could travel that far, but did not say anything.  She was much to patient and kind to hold any anger against them at all.

Author's Note: This story is based on the story Saint Kentigern and the Robin.  In this story, Kentigern is a boy who is doing well in school.  The other boys who are in school with him are jealous of his success.  They try to find a way for the teacher to get mad at him.  They use the fire that is supposed to remain lit by Kentigern and pour water on it.  Kentigern is able to light the fire, thus thwarting the other boys' attempts to do well.