One of the things I love about one-to-one tutoring is helping young people to tell stories. Getting to know Y9 and Y10 students, I often ask them to craft three stories: two which are true and one which is fabricated. We then read and share these stories, improving punctuation, vocabulary choices and paragraphing as we go along. Here’s a story I received today. I hope you enjoy it...
The Binned Feline
As the feeble sun slipped down the back of the world and the garden faded into shadow, I regretted I still had not completed my chores, particularly taking the rubbish out to the grey bin. Sometimes, when the lid would not close, I had to jump up and down, squirming as my feet sank into the mushy remnants of our life. Today was a good day because the bin was only half full.
When I opened the lid and was about to put the waste in, I saw what looked like a black bin bag move. It was only a slight slide to the side, but there was no wind. Disconcerted, I stiffened, inclining my head into the stink below. Suddenly, I stared as the dark object jerked in varying directions. Then one end turned to reveal two green, expressionless eyes staring straight into my soul.
I was taken aback because how did the cat end up in the bin? It would have had to open the lid, climb inside and close the lid behind it. This question was most likely going to remain a mystery, but what wasn’t in doubt was that there was a cat outside, as cold as ice, that needed to be brought inside and warmed up.
The cat wore a collar, but there were no contact details. Its fur was glistening and well groomed in some places, but elsewhere sticky, matted and unloved. Strangely, the cat was always silent. Literally, the cat had got the cat’s tongue! Even as I emptied a can of tuna into a bowl, the luminous, emerald eyes studied every minute movement, but the cat made no sound. My mystery cat kept his secrets. The next morning, he had gone, as quietly as he had come.
Good Apple Copy 