U-WRITE-IT RESULTS

"DANG IT, CHRIS!"

Laughing wildly, the boy shot out of the room clutching the small gold pasteboard box.

"What a PILL!" she muttered, embarrassed at being suckered into another of his pranks. She settled back in the armchair with her copy of Little Women, wishing she had sisters instead of that little stinker.

"DANG IT, CHRIS!"

Sally awoke to Chris racing past, Mama hot on his heels.

Figuring further pursuit useless, Mama stopped. "That BOY!" she huffed.

"What this time, Mama?"

Mama unfurled the fingers of one clenched fist. "I found THIS while emptying his pockets for laundry."

"EEEEWW!" Sally wrinkled her nose. "What IS it?"

"It WAS," Mama explained, "my first spring peeper, BEFORE your brother tried his hand at taxidermy with a cotton ball and my BEST crochet thread!"

How could Larry possibly buy her something so unemotional, so unfeeling so unromantic, I thought.

Sally looked out at the small crowd of family and friends and blanched. Words don't describe the shiny chrome of her new toaster, when she was expecting a diamond solitaire engagement ring.

"Thank you, Larry. What a thoughtful birthday gift. I remember how hard you tried to fix my other toaster."

I pushed my present into her hands and Sally's eyes sighed with relief.

"What is it?" Sally asked putting her hands over her ears.

"I don't know," Steve shouted.

"Help, help, help; take me home! Take me home!" squealed the Kiwi Bird.

"What! it talks!" exclaimed Steve.

"What are you?" asked Sally.

The Kiwi bird squealed, "I'm LOST! That's what I are!"

"What the..." Sally started.

"Oh, do shut up," the box told her. "I have."

Sally stared at the box and wondered if she should just be quiet...or run screaming into the night because a box had actually talked to her.