Sparrowhawks Star Writers

Every day the Sandman would take his old yacht out to the nearby desert and row through the crooked trees, collecting fallen apples. After a day of hard work, the Sandman would take his old yacht home to his tall, thin house. All of the windows were blacked out so no-one could see in ... and no-one could see out!

by Lily

I awoke from my brother shaking me and to my utter surprise the shed was already half light. I got up feeling sleepy and slowly opened the creaky wooden door, to see the little farmhouse a small distance away. Swirling, thick, gray smoke was bombarding its way our of the cracked, red-brown brick chimney to settle above the nearby gum trees.

"Stay close," I warned Tiro as we weaved our way through the neat, waving rows of orange trees, until there at last stood the barbed wire fence.

by Megan

On we walked up the dusty, scorching hill. The huge sun was burning our faces and melting our feet on the thin, scratchy grass that was more yellow than green. Then we smelt the sweet tang of the juicy oranges that hung elegantly, waiting to be picked from their leafy branches.

Naledi looked at me like we could read each other's minds.

"Should we?" I muttered, but it was too late.

"Keep watch," Naledi mumbled as she lowered herself down onto her belly so she could scramble under the barbed wire fence.

by Foster

I was woken up by the rooster. I stretched then I had to quickly wake up Naledi. "Get up! We must hurry!" I yelled.

As we crept out from the shed we saw a dark, old, rusty farmhouse a little distance away, with thin hot smoke rising from the chimney.

by Brayden

Determined, I marched up the everlasting hill, the heat burning the balls of my feet. With Tiro hot on my heels we reached the top of the singeing hill. The sun was low and I knew that if we did not eat we would starve. Luckily for us, orange trees were steadily growing, bursting with brightly coloured fruit that lit up the sky like disco balls.

"Do you think we can take ...?" Tiro began. But I was already squeexing through the gaps in the wire, and reaching up to pluck one of the foods that we loved and rarely had!

by Scarlett