Young Writers in Action: The Magic Flower

The Magic Flower by Marie, 10, VIC

As they slowly arrived closer to the city, they started to calm down and forget about the bushfire. It suddenly hit Bailey. “What about the flower? What if it got burned in the bushfire?” she wondered to herself. The nerves started to come back.

“Mum,” she sighed. “What if the flower got burned in the bushfire?”

“Not the flower,” Mum said in a cheerful sort of voice. “That flower has been there for many, many years and it has survived many disasters.”

“Really?” Bailey asked.

“Yes the flower will be fine. Don’t worry about it.”

Bailey is a little girl, who lives in a small village called Pringle. Her mum worked around the house, and her dad is a pilot so Bailey didn’t get to see her dad very often. Near by, just up on the hill, there was a magic flower you could wish on. The flower was a bright golden colour, which shines every time you make a wish. The smell was a lovely lavender scent. The stem was a beautiful bright green. The leaves were as bright as the sun, and at night they glitter liked stars.

One bright sunny morning Bailey went out to make her daily wish. She closed her eyes and held on to the flower very tight. As she was making her wish, she smelt something burning in the distance.

Suddenly she heard, “RUN RUN GET AWAY FROM THE FIRE.” Bailey was horrified. She sprinted down the hill and slammed the front door behind her. Her mum had heard about the fire. Bailey couldn’t decide what to take with her. Would she take her favourite teddy bear, would she take her favourite clothes or maybe even her comfy warm bed?

Bailey and her mum only had a few minutes to escape the bushfire. Bailey just grabbed her teddy bear and rushed to the car. Bailey’s mum was still in the house trying to quickly grab some photo frames and her car keys.

“Come on mum” Bailey sobbed. The door swung open and her mother came rushing out.

A few days later when it was safe enough they ventured back to the village. Bailey and her mum saw from the car window all the burned trees, all the black grass, most of the burned houses, the bushes with scent of burn. It was terrible. As they arrived closer and closer to their house, Bailey was getting very anxious. What if their house wasn’t there? Where would they live? Would they have any money to buy food or water?

They were so relieved to find that only their front fence was burned. Bailey was stressing about the flower. Bailey went off looking for the flower. The first place she looked was under her favourite gum tree. There it was in little burned pieces.

“It’s gone, it’s all gone. I am never going to find another flower like that again.” Tears ran down Bailey’s face. The tears dripped into the soil and suddenly, something magical happened … a new flower started to bloom. Bailey was relieved that the flower was alive and still magical. The stem still had that wonderful bright green colour, and that lovely lavender scent, and the leaves were still as bright as the sun.

A couple of months later, Bailey and her family moved back into the house. Bailey was glad that she still had her magic flower. Every day Bailey would go to the hill and give the flower water, and then she would make a wish.

Can you guess what that wish is?

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This is one of a selection of stories we are featuring from Carey Baptist Grammar School in Victoria. Tune in on Monday  for the final great tale—it’s a scary one!