Story of Sand
By Connor Dugan
Once upon a time on a beach in Florida there was a child building a sand castle. The child was building the biggest castle he had ever made and was concentrating very hard, getting sand all over himself. When he was done and ran to get his father, the father said to the boy that he'd better wash off in the ocean.
When the boy asked why, the father ranted to him about how much he hated the sand, and how he can't stand how much it gets everywhere. However the child, looking puzzled, looked up at him and said, "But daddy, sand is what makes the beach so fun! Imagine a beach with no sand, it wouldn't be very fun!".
The father shook his head, no son, you don't understand. Maybe we can talk about this when you are older. The father packed up everything, frustrated that the son didn't understand the consequences of sand on a beach and got himself and the boy in the car.
"Son, I know of a perfect beach, the sand there was so fine that it has all molded together and it doesn't get everywhere. I'll show you how much better it is"
After arriving to the new beach, the father gets out and smiles. He smells the air and thinks back to all the great memories he had here. He looks at the tan, milky in texture beach. "Now THIS is a beach!" he exclaims.
The kid tells him that he's just going to stay in the car, he won't be able to make a sand castle out of that sand.
Determined to prove the child wrong, the father runs out to the beach full speed. "Look son! Look how much fun i'm having! Don't you want to ha.."
He takes a step into tanner than usual sand, and sinks right through. He is sloped, half buried in quicksand. He thrashes around trying to pull himself out but it is no use. He isn't getting out alone.
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| Quicksand sign sourced via Wikipedia |
"HELP!" he screams.
The son is in the car playing video games, when he hears his fathers cries for help. He rushes over with a stick to try to pull him out but his hands keep on slipping. The son then gets a wonderful idea. He runs to the car and collects the sand on the floor mats. He gives it to his dad to put on his hands and he is able to grip the stick and is pulled out.
"Oh my god I almost died... you saved me! Thank you so much."
"Don't thank me Dad, thank the sand!", the son said with a smile.
The father laughs and agrees that they will go to the sand beach from now on and that sand really isn't all that bad after all.
The End.
Author's note:
In the original story, a king is told by his daughter that she loves him as much as salt and water and he takes offense to this and wants her killed. The other daughters convince the executioner to spare her while still making the father think she is dead. The daughter is found by a wizard and is arranged to get married to a son of the king. At the wedding, the wizard had commanded the groom to not give the king water or salt. When this happens, the king can't eat, and when he is revealed that the bride is the daughter he tried to have killed he feels ashamed, hugs her, and tells her she was right about salt and water.
I wanted to make this story much better while keeping the message and I feel like I did a good job!
Bibliography:
Water and Salt by Thomas Frederick Crain
