The+Remarkable+Toes

Julie Johnson ½ B   ELA 7 **__ The Remarkable Toes __** I watched the electric guitarist on TV with envy. It’s so unfair that I can’t do that, I thought. Why did that shark in Mexico have to bite me? I can barely do anything without any fingers. “Margret! It’s time to get ready for the concert!” “Ok, Mom!” I replied. I headed upstairs to my room and quickly slipped on my overalls and Converses. I was so excited to see this concert. It was the Beatles— my favorite band. Someday, I thought to myself. Someday I will rock the stage, playing the guitar with a huge audience watching me. I will find a way… stupid sharks in Mexico. I trudged up to my room to try, once again, to play the guitar. //If only I had fingers!// I slipped the strap on, and played a few random notes with my palms. “Margret! It’s time to go!” “Ok! I’m coming!” I ran down the stairs with exuberance on my face! I was going to a Beatles concert. When we got home I had __Hey, Jude__ stuck in my head. I headed upstairs to listen to the CD of it. I looked around my room and I couldn’t find it anywhere. Where could it be? As I was starting to get frustrated I heard a noise. This was not a normal noise like birds chirping or trees rustling. This sounded almost like an UFO. I sprinted with all of my might down the stairs, eager to see what was making all of that ruckus. I swung my backdoor open and there it was, a flying saucer. It had lights surrounding its exterior and it seemed as tall as a 100 story building! I was in shock when I saw it open. I immediately heard the sound of Ringo on the drums and Paul McCartney singing away. It was the Beatle’s __Hey, Jude__! I started to make out a figure emerging from the flying saucer. It was playing the electric guitar, but it was definitely not human. It had three legs. It started to approach me. I couldn’t move. I was paralyzed in shock. It started to speak. “kdjfek lkjsdek lksdjfek kdk ejeje” “What?” I replied. “Oh! Sorry ma’am. I thought that you were from Venus. My bad. What planet am I on?” “H-how do y-you know E-English?” “I have been here a few times.” He smiled at me. His teeth were as white as a fresh sheet of clean white paper. “My name is Polkawick. I ask you once again, what planet am I on?” “Oh, uh, you’re on Earth. Welcome.” “Thanks. What was your name again?” “I’m Margret.” I replied. “What happened to your sausages?” Polkawick asked. “My what?” “Your sausages. Isn’t that what they call them here?” He pointed at my fingerless hands. “Oh! My fingers? A shark bit them off.” “That’s a shame.” “I know. I have always wanted to play the electric guitar, but I obviously can’t, as you can see.” “Nonsense young lady! If you want something bad enough, you’ll get it. Some how you will find a way.” “What do you mean?” I asked. “Let me go and get my toe stretcher.” Twenty minutes later, he came out and said “It’s too big to take out. Why don’t you come inside and I will show you.” Inside his flying saucer, there were steel walls and lava lamps everywhere. “This is a pretty nice place you have here.” “Thanks.” He replied. He led me into a room that was completely empty except for a glass box in the center. Contained in that box was an odd looking piece of machinery. It was all different colors and was the most complicated looking thing that I have ever seen. It had ten holes, each about the width of a quarter, all next to each other. “Would you like me to teach you how to play guitar—“ “—now wait a minute. It’s not possible to teach me how to play electric guitar because I have no fingers and—“ “—with your toes.” He continued. “This seems kind of fishy. Aren’t my toes to short to play an amazing instrument like the guitar?” “We can fix that slight problem by just stretching them a bit.” ”WHAT? You’re going to stretch out my toes?!” “Yep. Then you can play the guitar with your toes just as if you were playing with your fingers.” “If stretching my toes means that I can play the guitar, then let’s just get it over with.” I stuck all of my toes into the holes on the toe stretcher. Polkawick pressed start. I started to feel an agonizingly painful surge of power coming from my toes. “AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!” “Just relax.” Exclaimed Polkawick. “It’s almost done.” I woke up hours later lying in a bed that I sunk into with all of the pillows and blankets. A horrible memory flashed upon me and I suddenly realized what had happened. I ripped off my covers, took one look at my toes, and let off a bloodcurdling scream. Polkawick came rushing in. My toes were four inches long. “It’s ok. The stretching went very well. Just stay here and rest. We will start electric guitar lessons in the morning.” The next morning, I woke up feeling much better about my toes, having dreamed about them all night. I smelled bacon and hopped out of bed. It felt weird to walk with feet that were eleven inches long. When I finished breakfast, Polkawick said “Ok! No time to waste! Let’s start lessons!” I picked up the guitar with my new long toes and it immediately dropped to the floor. I was going to need a lot of practice. All that day, Polkawick and I worked on how to pick up and hold the guitar. He taught me about scales and hand positionings, wammy bars and amps. I was going to learn how to play the guitar. “Margret!” my mom called from in the house. I stuck my head out of the saucer. “Yeah?” “Where have you been all day?!” She sounded angry. Oh boy. **__ Epilogue __** ** 10 Years Later ** ** “The paparazzi are outside!” **
 * “Ok, mom! I’m coming!” **
 * I could hear the news casters reporting; “The remarkable Margret Whenshaw, fingerless and the most famous guitarist in the world. Playing with her toes doesn’t slow her down. The one question from the people though, is this: How did her toes get to be so long?” **

Julie Johnson ½ B ELA 7 **__ The Remarkable Toes __** I watched the electric guitarist on TV with envy. It’s so unfair that I can’t do that, I thought. Why did that shark in Mexico have to bite me? I can barely do anything without any fingers. “Margret! It’s time to get ready for the concert!” “Ok, Mom!” I replied. I headed upstairs to my room and quickly slipped on my overalls and Converses. I was so excited to see this concert. It was the Beatles— my favorite band. Someday, I thought to myself. Someday I will rock the stage, playing the guitar with a huge audience watching me. I will find a way… stupid sharks in Mexico. I trudged up to my room to try, once again, to play the guitar. //If only I had fingers!// I slipped the strap on, and played a few random notes with my palms. “Margret! It’s time to go!” “Ok! I’m coming!” I ran down the stairs with exuberance on my face! I was going to a Beatles concert. When we got home I had __Hey, Jude__ stuck in my head. I headed upstairs to listen to the CD of it. I looked around my room and I couldn’t find it anywhere. Where could it be? As I was starting to get frustrated I heard a noise. This was not a normal noise like birds chirping or trees rustling. This sounded almost like an UFO. I sprinted with all of my might down the stairs, eager to see what was making all of that ruckus. I swung my backdoor open and there it was, a flying saucer. It had lights surrounding its exterior and it seemed as tall as a 100 story building! I was in shock when I saw it open. I immediately heard the sound of Ringo on the drums and Paul McCartney singing away. It was the Beatle’s __Hey, Jude__! I started to make out a figure emerging from the flying saucer. It was playing the electric guitar, but it was definitely not human. It had three legs. It started to approach me. I couldn’t move. I was paralyzed in shock. It started to speak. “kdjfek lkjsdek lksdjfek kdk ejeje” “What?” I replied. “Oh! Sorry ma’am. I thought that you were from Venus. My bad. What planet am I on?” “H-how do y-you know E-English?” “I have been here a few times.” He smiled at me. His teeth were as white as a fresh sheet of clean white paper. “My name is Polkawick. I ask you once again, what planet am I on?” “Oh, uh, you’re on Earth. Welcome.” “Thanks. What was your name again?” “I’m Margret.” I replied. “What happened to your sausages?” Polkawick asked. “My what?” “Your sausages. Isn’t that what they call them here?” He pointed at my fingerless hands. “Oh! My fingers? A shark bit them off.” “That’s a shame.” “I know. I have always wanted to play the electric guitar, but I obviously can’t, as you can see.” “Nonsense young lady! If you want something bad enough, you’ll get it. Some how you will find a way.” “What do you mean?” I asked. “Let me go and get my toe stretcher.” Twenty minutes later, he came out and said “It’s too big to take out. Why don’t you come inside and I will show you.” Inside his flying saucer, there were steel walls and lava lamps everywhere. “This is a pretty nice place you have here.” “Thanks.” He replied. He led me into a room that was completely empty except for a glass box in the center. Contained in that box was an odd looking piece of machinery. It was all different colors and was the most complicated looking thing that I have ever seen. It had ten holes, each about the width of a quarter, all next to each other. “Would you like me to teach you how to play guitar—“ “—now wait a minute. It’s not possible to teach me how to play electric guitar because I have no fingers and—“ “—with your toes.” He continued. “This seems kind of fishy. Aren’t my toes to short to play an amazing instrument like the guitar?” “We can fix that slight problem by just stretching them a bit.” ”WHAT? You’re going to stretch out my toes?!” “Yep. Then you can play the guitar with your toes just as if you were playing with your fingers.” “If stretching my toes means that I can play the guitar, then let’s just get it over with.” I stuck all of my toes into the holes on the toe stretcher. Polkawick pressed start. I started to feel an agonizingly painful surge of power coming from my toes. “AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!” “Just relax.” Exclaimed Polkawick. “It’s almost done.” I woke up hours later lying in a bed that I sunk into with all of the pillows and blankets. A horrible memory flashed upon me and I suddenly realized what had happened. I ripped off my covers, took one look at my toes, and let off a bloodcurdling scream. Polkawick came rushing in. My toes were four inches long. “It’s ok. The stretching went very well. Just stay here and rest. We will start electric guitar lessons in the morning.” The next morning, I woke up feeling much better about my toes, having dreamed about them all night. I smelled bacon and hopped out of bed. It felt weird to walk with feet that were eleven inches long. When I finished breakfast, Polkawick said “Ok! No time to waste! Let’s start lessons!” I picked up the guitar with my new long toes and it immediately dropped to the floor. I was going to need a lot of practice. All that day, Polkawick and I worked on how to pick up and hold the guitar. He taught me about scales and hand positionings, wammy bars and amps. I was going to learn how to play the guitar. “Margret!” my mom called from in the house. I stuck my head out of the saucer. “Yeah?” “Where have you been all day?!” She sounded angry. Oh boy. **__ Epilogue __** ** “The paparazzi are outside!” ** 
 * 10 Years Later **
 * “Ok, mom! I’m coming!” **
 * I could hear the news casters reporting; “The remarkable Margret Whenshaw, fingerless and the most famous guitarist in the world. Playing with her toes doesn’t slow her down. The one question from the people though, is this: How did her toes get to be so long?” **

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