The Adventures of Joe and Karnath
by Muhammad Tiano, age 9

                Once upon a time there was a little mammoth whose name was Joe. He loved to play with his friends. Joe liked to play tag, catch and ball. His best friend was Karnath, who was also his cousin.
 
                One day in fall, Joe and Karnath and their family went on a journey to find somewhere to live for the winter. The leader of the herd said it was time to go. On the first day they had to cross an icy river. When they were crossing the river, some of the members of the herd slipped through the ice! But most of them survived.
 
                The next the day, the herd was looking for food, but Joe and Karnath were playing.  After some time, Joe stumbled on some grass and he called the rest of the herd to eat too. While Joe was eating, he thought about what had happened at the icy river.
 
                The herd thought that finally they had a place where they could stay for the winter, but then they saw hunters and the hunters saw them! The herd started to run. The hunters threw their spears, and the leader of the herd was hit by a spear and fell down dead!  Then the hunters went away with the leader mammoth.
 
                Karnath and Joe felt very sad. Karnath asked, “Mom when will we get a new leader?” His mom replied, “Next mating season.” Karnath asked, “When is the next mating season?” His mom said, “In one week.”
               
                 A week later it was mating time, and the males were fighting to win a mate and become the new leader of the herd. Joe’s uncle won and became leader. The herd could now continue their journey to look for shelter for the winter.
 
                Soon it was winter, and Joe and Karnath were almost teenagers now. They had still not found a spot to stay in for the winter. Karnath and Joe were very hungry, and they started looking for food. Finally they found some patches of grass, which they ate. The rest of the herd also found some trees and they ate all the leaves.  The herd found a cave, and everybody fell asleep.
 
                The next morning, the herd came out of the cave and saw saber-toothed tigers! Joe's uncle charged at them and scared them off. Then they found some berries.  Joe and Karnath were very hungry, and they ate lots of berries for breakfast. Then the leader of the herd said, “Let’s go find a better land, the tigers may return.” So they all set out again.
 
                Later that day, the herd had to cross a river. Karnath and Joe were good swimmers and the current was strong, but they made it! The leader counted them to make sure that everybody was there. “Everybody is here!” he said, and only after that did they have a rest.
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                 While everyone was resting, Karnath and Joe went up a hill to explore, and down in the valley, they saw a very nice land for them to stay for the winter. Joe told Karnath to call the rest of the herd, and the herd came and saw the new land, with rivers, trees and a cave! By the time the herd came down the hill, it was night time, so Karnath and Joe and the rest of the herd went to sleep happily in the cave, knowing they had finally found a home for the winter.
 
                                                                                            The end
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