March 24^th

    This morning, we had a school trip to the Dashan Collection House, a building of two floors． It is open from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm． We took the school bus and arrived at 9:00． When we entered the collection house, our eyes were caught by a collection of old photos of the town on the walls of the front hall． Those photos told us something about the history of the town． And then in the Art Room, we saw many pictures of the countryside． The colors of the flowers and trees are rich and bright． All at once, I lost myself in the beauty of nature．

    Then we went upstairs． On the left, there were over one hundred different clocks． The oldest clock was already more than two hundred years old． To my surprise, the clocks all worked well and they could tell the right time． It was then ten o'clock, and some clocks produced different beautiful sounds． It seemed to be a concert． How amazing!

    On the right there was also a stone collection． The stones were from all over the country． They were in different sizes, colors and shapes． Some looked like different kinds of animals． I really liked one stone that looked like a little monkey． It looked very nice．

    The collections there were wonderful． So they stayed there until 11:30 in the morning． I had a great time and really liked the school trip．

    Holmes said， “Somebody sent a letter with five pips (桔核) in it from India， and arrived seven weeks later to kill John's uncle. Then they sent five pips from Scotland and arrived three days later to kill John's father. Now they have sent five pips to John from London!”

    “The letters are all from sea ports. The writer was on a ship when he wrote the letters，” I replied.

    “Very good， Watson! And John's enemy is in London already!”

    “Well， I hope they won't kill young John，” I said.

    But they did. The next morning， we read in the newspaper that a policeman found him die near Waterloo station. Holmes was very angry about it.

    “He came to me for help and those men murdered him! I'm going to find them， if it's the last thing I do!” he said to me， and he hurried out of the house.

    At night， when he came back， he was tired， but pleased， he said， “I know the names of John's enemies! And now I'm going to send them a surprise! This will frighten them!” He took five pips from an orange and put them in an envelope (信封). On it he wrote “S. H. for J. C.”

    “I'm sending the pips to captain James Calhoun. His ship is called the Star. He and his men are sailing back to Georgia， USA.”

    “How did you find him， Holmes?” I asked.

    “Ship's papers，” he said， “I've looked at hundreds of them today. Only one ship， the Star， was in the three ports at the right times， this morning the Star left London to sail back to Georgia. I found out that the captain and two of his men， all Americans， weren't on the ship last night， so I'm sure they killed John. When they arrive in America， they'll get the pips and then the police will catch them!”

    On September 13th, I woke up in the best mood. It was a late start, so I got to sleep in. Not only did I get my full eight hours of sleep, but an additional two more hours as well. I got ready, danced in my room to my favorite music while I picked out my clothes, made my lunch, and was on my way to school. I arrived at 9: 50 a. m. Little did I know, in the next 20 minutes, my life would change forever. As I got out of my classroom, there he was, holding the gun.

    Although everything happened so fast, in a matter of about 4 minutes, I remember it clearly. I remember every face I saw, and I remember every sound I heard. I remember the fear and the panic of the unknown. And lastly, I remember running. Running for my life. I ran down the stairs, out of the school's front doors, and down the street to the primary school. I remember looking down at my feet. As I looked down I thought to myself, "How am I running so fast?"

    I finally made it to a safe classroom, and 20 other students and I settled in for lockdown. We stayed close to one another and cried. It felt as though the tears going down our faces would never stop. We passed our phones around to text our loved ones that we were safe and that there was a school shooter, shots were fired, and 4 students were injured thus far.

    The lockdown lasted about 30 minutes, even though it felt like forever. Our headmaster made his way to our room and explained that the shooter had been caught and we were all going to make our way to the football field.

    Calabash brothers(葫芦娃兄弟) live in the Calabash Mountain with their grandfather. They are all very brave. They wear different clothes. The red calabash is the other six brothers 'elder brother. He is powerful. His body can be bigger or smaller. But he doesn't have his own ideas. The orange calabash has enhanced hearing and sight. He can see and hear far places clearly. The yellow calabash's body is very strong. Nothing can injure(伤害)him, but he is arrogant(傲慢的). The green calabash is the god of fire. He can eat fire and make fire. The cyan(青色的) calabash can drink water and make flood. The blue calabash is the cleverest of all. Nobody can find him when he makes himself invisible. And the purple calabash has a magic gourd(葫芦). The gourd can absorb(吸收) everything.

    One day a pangolin(穿山甲) broke the cave and two monsters came out.

    They were Monster Scorpion(蝎子精) and Monster Snake. The calabash brothers must fight with them and save the world. Unluckily, their grandfather who helped them beat the monster, was killed by the monsters finally.