The following story is an interpretation of the 1,000 Words image in the September, 2006 issue of Writing Magazine.

Pete Saves The Day

- Story by Elle MacGillis, Grade 7

Once upon a time at a grand hotel in Florida, called "Shades of Green," there lived a tree frog named Pete. Pete lived on the golf course near the edge of the hotel's property (hole number eight to be exact). Pete was a pretty normal tree frog; he had plenty of polliwog friends, a nice warm tree for a home, and many insects to eat. But there was one thing that made him different from other tree frogs. Pete loved to hang-glide. It wasn't just his hobby. It was his LIFE. Day and night he would hang-glide, hang-glide, and hang-glide. 

One rainy afternoon, Pete was hang-gliding over the hotel swimming pool. He was looking for an unlucky bug that had fallen into the pool, when he heard someone cry.  He looked over his right shoulder to see Macie, the monarch butterfly, who lived in the marsh next to the golf course Pete lived on. Her wing was caught on a thorn bush that stood right outside the front entrance of the hotel! Unfortunately, the thorn made a hole all the way through her wing! Pete swooped down and started circling Macie. He did not get off his hang-glider though, for fear that he would get caught on the bush too. 

"Please, Pete, help me!" Macie cried.

"Just stay still and I'll swoop down and grab you!"

Pete started circling lower and lower. When he was right above Macie he stuck out his tongue and slurrrrrped it right onto her head. With a short pull to the left and a jerk upward he pulled her off the rose's thorn and up to his hang-glider. 

"Gotcha!" Pete smiled at Macie. She smiled back. She wrapped her legs around Pete as she closed her eyes, ready to hang on for her life. Within a minute, the wind was at their backs as they took off toward the "Critters in Need" hospital.

That night Macie underwent reconstructive wing surgery. The surgery, with physical therapy, would enable her to fly again!

The next day she awoke to Pete at her side.

"Pete, you have no idea how much that meant to me yesterday! Without you I don't think I would have survived." Macie whispered.

Pete tried to talk but found he could not speak. Instead he just smiled and nodded his head as tears rolled down his cheeks.