Pirates (Prisoner of the Pirates)

Explanation: I wrote this in 3rd grade. This was a story I thought up in my head one day while day dreaming. It was basically a pirate story, but one a 3rd grader imagines, filled with questions like, "If the Pirates shoot a hole in your sails, why don't you just sew it up and keep sailing?" Or "If the Pirates shoot cannon balls at you, why not just re-use their cannonballs and shoot them right back?"

I thought it was such a great story that afterwards I hurried to write it all down before I forgot it. Because I was trying to write it down fast, I stuck to a bare bones type of writing style, and even wrote it up like a play so I could use as little descriptive words as possible.

Later, when I was picked by my teacher to go to Calvin's "Young Author's Festival" I brought this story along with me. I needed a title, so I called it "Prisoner of the Pirates" even though no one actually gets taken prisoner in the story. When I realized how many of the kids actually had decent stories, I was a bit embarrassed about this one.

This is one of those stories that didn't transfer from the mind to the paper very well. In my mind it was primarily a story about two men, one (General Rotten) I pictured as the epitome of masculinity. Gruff, unshaven, hasn't bathed for weeks, old soldier type. The other was a gentleman, an actor, refined taste but helpless in battle, so General Rotten has to constantly save him. There was no back story in my mind, but on paper I had to invent one about a famous clown who travels to Baghdad to avoid a war.

The long battle scenes that were elaborate in my mind got stripped down to almost nothing on paper. Also in my mind I pictured most of this stuff going on at once: the battle in the Captain's cabin, the fighting on the masts, and General Rotten protecting his friends and then falling off the ship. I was unable to write it all at once though, and so a lot of the excitement got lost.

One day a famous clown was performing. He was very famous. He lived in England. His helper brought him a letter from Baghdad.

Helper: Here's a letter from Baghdad.

Clown: From Baghdad! Let me see!

He read the letter.

Clown: They want me to come over to Baghdad and perform there.

Helper: You can't ! The Devil Fish Pirates will get you. I sure.

The Devil Fish Pirates were a bunch of pirates who for some reason didn't let anyone cross the sea.

Clown: I'm not going.

Helper: Good

Ten days later the clown saw King Richard coming to see him.

Clown: Hi King Richard

King: You must go to Baghdad. If you don't, they are going to destroy England.

Clown: I must go then. But what if the Devil Fish Pirates catch me?

King: You are too good a clown for us to let that happen. Tell you what, I'll think of something to protect you, and in the morning I'll tell you what it is.

Clown: All right. See you tomorrow. Good night.

King: Good night.

That night the clown told his helper everything.

Clown: I met King Richard. He said I have to go to Baghdad or Baghdad will destroy England.

Helper: Oh No! Please don't go, even if it means the end of England.

Clown: I'm sorry but I must go.

Helper: Then let me go too.

Clown: You might be able to come.

Helper: Didn't King Richard find some way to protect you?

Clown: He's trying to think of one. He'll tell me tomorrow.

The next day, after the Clown show, the clown saw King Richard again.

Clown: Did you find a way to keep me safe?

King: Yes, the captain of my army has chosen 20 men of the army to fight the pirates. And the captain is going too.

Clown: Is the famous General Rotten among that 20?

King: I don't know. The captain didn't tell me who he picked.

Clown: General Rotten must be in that 20. By the way, my helper wants to go too. Can he?

King: We'll let the army captain decide that. Go get your helper. I want you to meet the army captain.

The Clown ran and got his helper and then all three of them went tot see the army captain.

Clown: Hello Captain

Captain: Hello

Then the captain turned his head to the helper.

Captain: Who is this?

Clown: My helper. He wants to go on the ship.

Before the captain could answer, King Richard said...

King: I must be leaving

...and then he left. The captain then said...

Captain: I'm not a fool. I have a man named Peter in case we get shoot in the sail. Peter will sew our sail back together again. Your helper can help Peter. What is your helper's name?

Helper: I don't know.

Captain: We will call you James. What's your name, Clown?

Clown: I don't know either.

Captain: We'll just call you Clown Lets get on the boat.

They sailed many nights and many days. One day the look out spied a ship. The ship fired a cannonball and made a hole in the sails. Everybody knew it was the Devil Fish Pirates. Peter and James climbed up and sewed the sails back together. As soon as they were done another shot hit the same part of the sail. Then the guns were aimed at the people. Just before they fired again the clown saw someone he knew: General Rotten. He went over to talk to him. Then the guns went off.

Rotten: Duck!

General Rotten pulled the clown down. Then the captain thought...

Captain (thinking): Why don't I use their cannon balls in our canon, and shoot their own canon balls back at them.

The captain was going to do this, but then someone said that the cannon balls that the pirates had already used were broken. The captain decided to try it anyway. But before he could do a thing he was shot. He lay hurt. General Rotten and the clown took the captain and put him in a cabin. Then the clown said...

Clown: General Rotten, I don't know how to fight. What do I do?

Rotten: Then get down to the basement of the ship where the Pirates can get you

Clown: What? And let you get killed fighting by yourself?

Rotten: Get down there.

General Rotten pushed the clown down into the basement and locked the door. Then he went back out onto the deck. By this time the Pirate ship had caught up with their ship, and the Pirates ran onto their ship.

The strongest soldier, after killing 20 pirates at one time, went to fight the captain of the Pirates. But the pirate captain was no ordinary captain. He was also very strong. The strongest soldier went on the Pirate ship and in a cabin he found the Pirate captain. He fought him for a very long time. Finally he wounded the pirate captain. Then he put on the Pirate captain's hat and uniform, so that he looked exactly like the pirate captain. When he came out of the cabin, everyone was still fighting on the two ships and up in the mast and sails as well. This is what had happened:

General Rotten had gone to talk to his best friend (aside from the Clown). Then the friend's friend came along and pointed to a large group of pirates, and said...

Friend: I bet I can beat them all.

...and then left to fight. The pirates killed him quickly. Then General Rotten's friend tried it, and he found he couldn't beat the pirates and ran. The pirates ran after him and General Rotten came to save him, and then General Rotten began fighting that group of pirates. Then the ship hit a rock and jolted. Everyone fell forward. General Rotten fell off the ship. One pirate threw a sword at him. It missed, but everyone thought General Rotten had been killed.

Then for some reason everyone climbed up on the masts and the pirates followed them. Which brings us back to where we were.

The fake pirate captain ordered the pirates back on to the ship. As the pirates were retreating, James jumped off his perch on the mast and knocked one pirate off of the sails. James then stopped himself from falling by grabbing onto one of the sails and sliding down. Then he ran onto the pirate ship and went to attack the Pirate captain, not knowing he was a fake captain. In the struggle he knocked the fake beard off. When the Pirates realized it was fake, they stopped retreating and attacked James and the fake captain.

Peter rushed over to help. He slid down the sails, knocking several pirates over on the way down, and the three of them fought together.

Then the real Pirate captain emerged from the cabin. He was still severely wounded. He ordered the pirates back onto their own ship, but they thought it was another trick. They pulled on his beard to see if it was fake. The captain had been so severely wounded that even this small shock killed him.

At this point General Rotten came out of the water. The Pirates decided to carry out the last will of their dead captain, and sailed away. General Rotten let the clown out of the basement.

The injured army captain survived, and as soon as they got to Baghdad they found a Doctor for him. After that, no longer did the Devil Fish Pirates sail the seas.