Sunday, May 31, 2020

Agents of AA: Over and Out

(The class was given the task of writing an email. Aim of the email: a letter to the head of the detective firm which is currently working on a case that involves Harry Potter and Cinderella.)

Sia:
Hello Chief Detective,

Agent Thilakar here. I am writing to you to give you an update on the 'Cinderella and Harry Potter' case. I have been working on the case and have gained information which I think is extremely important. 

Very recently, my team and I positioned ourselves at different locations in the city and kept an eye on Potter and Cinderella. We discovered that they were not only communicating with each other, but smuggling potions, wands, and other valuable objects. We caught the two and interrogated them for several hours. They didn't give us much information, but we found out that they had been involved with other characters in the past and had been running an entire smuggling operation. They are with us in our office, and we are still looking for the others who were involved in this situation.

This is all the knowledge we have at the moment. We shall keep interrogating them until they talk. Please do inform me if you want us to do anything else with the two.

Regards,
Agent Sia Thilakar
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Rishit:
Agent Aanchal,
I hope this email finds you well. I have written it to inform you about the latest mission we were on. It is about the well- known wizard Harry Potter and Cinderella.

There is bad news and good news. The good news is that we have gotten to know that till this time they don't know about each other. We are trying our best to keep them away from each other, but it is turning out to be really hard to do it. The bad news is that we have lost 3 of our agents because of Cinderella and Harry Potter. Some of our agents tried to stop Harry, but he turned them into stone for interrupting him. Cinderella threw out some of our men from her kingdom for the same reason.

I am requesting you to abort this mission as it is a treacherous and perilous task. My suggestion to this problem would be to wait and see what happens and then deal with that.

Regards, 
Rishit
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Uthkarsh:
I am writing to tell you about the results of my investigations.

According to my investigations, when I was spying on Harry Potter, Cinderella was also there. She didn’t know that Harry Potter was there near her. While I was investigating, Harry Potter was acting strangely. He was surprised and shocked to see a lady dressed like a queen. After that, Harry asked who she was. She said she was Cinderella. He asked why her name was so strange. Well, I don’t think that Harry Potter knows Cinderella.

I have investigated very thoroughly, and this is one thing I am sure about. Please do check the reports.

Yours sincerely
Agent K
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Yash:
Dear Head Agent English,
I, Agent Y, am pleased to tell you that the mission of Harry Potter and Cinderella's meeting each other was a success. 

I slid a letter into each of their magic bags asking them to come to a specific restaurant for a cup of coffee. I didn't tell them who I was or why I was calling them. As expected, they both came to the restaurant and saw each other. I expected them to start talking, but they scowled and ignored each other. This meant that they knew each other, but according to our requirements, they were supposed to be friendly with each other. So, I walked over to them and asked them why they were so angry with each other. They told me their respective problems with each other.

I tried resolving their problems, and in the end, I was successful. We are now heading to the headquarters with friendly Cinderella and Harry Potter. They are now very friendly with each other and have put aside their differences. They told me they would help us in our top-secret mission.
Yours sincerely,
Agent Y
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Aarav:
Esteemed President of the Supernatural Bureau,

This email is to inform you that I have a new lead on the missing Fairy-Godmother case. 

On May 30th, at 1809 hours, while on a stakeout, I found Harry Potter performing the 'bippity boppity boo' spell on Cinderella. I took them in and interrogated them. Mr. Potter told us that Cinderella had asked him to come in since she couldn't find her godmother to transform her with the spells. Cinderella refuses to talk. This has proved my greatest fear; I believe the fairy godmother to have vanished under special circumstances. I will try to make cinderella talk. I believe she will eventually crack. 

I will report to you with more information, thank you.

Yours sincerely,
Agent Aarav
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Ira
Agent Aanchal Agrawal,
This is to report to you about Cinderella and Harry Potter's case. We were supposed to keep them unacquainted.

According to my investigations,  Cinderella and Harry Potter know each other very well. We have asked them many questions. Cinderella answered that she had known Harry Potter for a long time. Our group tried to separate them, but it is very hard and unsafe. 

Sorry, our mission was not successful.

Yours sincerely,
Agent Ira Sharma 
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Ananya
Dear Aanchal Ma’am,
I hope all is well. This is Sunday’s report on case PI 402 (Cinderella and Harry Potter case).

On Sunday, I saw them at an old moat made by the kings of the Maurya dynasty in India. It is situated in a remote village in Telangana. They toted vegetables to the moat. There, they were fed the vegetables to the shoats near the moat. That is the only time I have seen
them together.

I hope you promote me for sharing all this information.

Best,
Ananya Ray

(Agent PQR)
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Srihitha
Dear Chief detective,
I hope you're fine. I am writing this note to let you know that I spotted Harry Potter and Cinderella in a mall together.


I saw Harry Potter and Cinderella eating French fries and talking about something. When I went closer to hear what they were talking about, I heard them talking weirdly, and I  quote "Did you like the movie 'The boat that would never float' we just watched?"


This makes it clear that  Harry Potter and Cinderella are friends. I hope I get promoted for this.

Thanks & Regards
Agent Srihitha
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Friday, May 29, 2020

Traveling through the past: A chapter book by Ritvika

Chapter1-Into the past
Aisha, Ishita, and Ayansh had just won the baking competition with their amazing trophy-shaped cake. ‘‘Well done!’’ said their grandpa. He was a great scientist. He was working on a time machine. "That sounds so cool! You deserve a reward." he said. “A trophy and medal are enough.” said Ishita. He said he wanted to reward them. "If you insist." said Ishita. Grandpa gave them a box with a hole. They slowly opened the box. A puppy jumped into Aisha’s arms. "Aww, I think I’ll name you Choco." she said. They walked into the house. 
The next day, he invited them to his science lab to try an experiment. He didn’t have everything needed at home, so he went to the shop. "Don’t touch anything", he said and went. "Ooh, is this the time machine grandpa was talking about?" asked Ayansh. He walked towards it. Aisha caught him by his arm, "You heard grandpa, right? He said not to touch anything." Soon, they were arguing and fighting. "Stop fighting!" said Ishita, but she ended up joining the fight.
While they were fighting, Choco came into the lab. He knocked down some beakers. He threw some chemicals into the sink. He tore grandpa’s coat. He broke his extra glasses. He wore grandpa’s extra coat and the other pair of extra glasses and started barking. It looked like he was pretending to be a scientist. Then, he spilled some chemicals into a beaker. The beaker blasted and the room was filled with a pink liquid.  He turned on the time machine, and all 3 of them went in.         
Chapter 2-Creation of Earth
The next moment, they were lost. There was no water, air, or food. There was no Earth. "Are those gods?" said Ayansh. "We should create some slimy creatures and make the planet warm and cozy. We could use a star." said Lord Vishnu.  "No, they would burn. Let’s make the planet out of ice." said Shiva.  "But they would freeze. Let’s join millions of asteroids, and it can be near Canis Majoris." said Brahma.
"Or we could make a planet near the Sun.", said Aisha. "Who are you? We only speak to gods." said Vishnu. "I am goddess Saraswati, this is goddess Durga, and this is Lord Indra." said Ishita. "Oh, tell me your idea." said Shiva. Ishita said, "We could have a medium temperature, have air, water, and food, and maybe have creatures which look like lord Hanuman but less powerful." "Good idea!" said Brahma and took them near the Sun.
Brahma said to Ayansh, "Indra, use your thunderbolt to make rain." "Um, I left my thunderbolt back home." said Ayansh. Shiva gave him an extra one. Now, there was a planet full of water. Brahma created some land. They took some DNA from all the gods and created apes. They also created plants and animals. Earth was now created. Lord Shiva gave Ayansh his extra thunderbolt. They were pulled back into the time machine and went to the next place. 
Chapter 3-Dinos! Run!
They were in a big forest, and they were looking for a place to sit. They spotted something which looked like a gigantic boat and sat on it. They didn’t know that it was actually a dinosaur’s claw. The dinosaur roared and chased them. He was the size of a mountain. His teeth were the size of tall trees. His roar was so loud that the strongest man would go flying all the way from the sun to Neptune. 
They were terrified and tried running away, but the dinosaur was too fast. They tried hiding behind a big cherry blossom tree. It was so shiny. It was actually millions of crystals. It was magnificent. The dinosaur crushed it and found them. Ishita was so angry that she just took one of the crystals and was going to poke the dinosaur, but Ayansh held her and pulled her back. Now 10 more dinosaurs came and surrounded them. 
Then Aisha did the bravest thing ever. She walked to the dinosaurs and said, "We are sorry that we sat on your claw. We will be more careful next time." The dinosaur roared again but softly this time. Ishita also warned them about them getting extinct. The dinosaur plucked out one of its scales and gave it to them. They were pulled back into the time machine and went to the next place. The dinosaurs were puzzled about what had happened and thought Aisha, Ishita, and Ayansh were very kind.    
Chapter 4- The Magical Scissors
Now they were outside something that looked like a mountain, so they went in. They didn’t know that this was actually the pyramid. Something touched Aisha on her back. It was a mummy! It bumped into a wall and fainted. It got up holding something. It was a letter to its brother written a decade ago. This is what it said, "Something is wrong with my daughter Cleopatra. She has been tied up with some kind of magic rope. Only the Scissors of the Sphinx can cut the rope." This was King Ptolemy XII Auletes!
They knew that they had to save Cleopatra, so they went to find the scissors. They knew the pyramids were full of traps, so they had to be careful. They saw a light shining near a tiny tunnel. It was a dead end. Aisha knew a lot about Egyptians. She searched for the softest brick. She found it and pressed it. A doorway opened, and they walked in. Ayansh ran around the room. He pulled one handle, and the room started to collapse. There was a deep hole that could lead to the treasure.
The hole was too deep. "There is only one way out.", said Ishita and jumped in. Aisha and Ayansh had to go in, too. They fell for a year (okay, maybe a minute), and they finally reached the ground. There it was! The Scissors of the Sphinx. Ishita slowly picked it up and took it to Cleopatra. The scissor opened the rope and Cleopatra was free. "Thank you so much.", she said and gave them a crystal. They were pulled back into the time machine and went to the next place.
Chapter 5 – War of the Mayans 
"Please don’t come near my diamonds." said a king. "Don’t be greedy." said another. They went to see what happened. "I live in a Mayan city called Tikal. We had the most beautiful flowers and trees until Cizin the god of death destroyed everything." said the second one and led them to a garden. All the plants had dried up. This was horrible. Aisha looked like she was going to break Cizin’s sword out of anger because she loved plants.
They knew that they had to help the king. He said that his name is K’inich Janaab Pakal. They started by taking back some diamonds that he had stolen. King Pakal dropped it into a safe, and Ishita gave him a fingerprint box that she had brought from the present. Then she attached it on the safe. Now they started to fight Cizin, but he was too powerful. They noticed that Aisha was still angry. She stood in front of Cizin and roared as loud as the dinosaur. He ran away terrified.
The garden started to bloom. The plants were now green and colorful again. King Pakal thanked them all. The city was dark and grey before, but now it looked beautiful. "We play a kind of ball game, and I would like to give you this ball." he said. Aisha ran to the garden and looked at all the flowers. She felt like staying there forever. A Mayan served them some tamales. They were pulled back into the time machine and went to the next place. 
Chapter 6-Birbal needs help
They were in front of a giant palace. They went inside. They heard a familiar voice coming from a bedroom. Akbar was sitting next to Birbal. It looked like he was not feeling well. "He has got anemia, and we are not able to find any cure. It is getting worse." said Birbal, "He needs to get better soon, or else we will go out of our position." Aisha, Ishita, and Ayansh had to help Akbar and Birbal.                                            
"Help!" a fisherman called from outside the palace, "I am not able to catch any fish." "See? Now we are not able to solve any problems.” Birbal said. "We will help you." said Ayansh. But they didn’t know exactly how. No one knew except Ishita. Their visit to grandpa’s science lab was supposed to be a picnic, and Ishita had brought some pasta. She took it to the fisherman, and he liked it. She also wrote the recipe and gave it to them.
Aisha gave Birbal some dates that too she had packed for the picnic. Akbar started to feel better.  Akbar gave them his sword in return for helping him. Akbar asked them to be his second assistant. That was when Ayansh started blabbering, "We would love to, but do you really think we will make good assistants? I mean you.." Before he could finish his sentence, they were pulled back into the time machine and went to the next place.                                                                
Chapter 7-Boom!
They were sitting near a broken house when a man came and said, "3 more of our enemies. Let’s put them in prison." They started running and hid behind a stonewall, but someone broke it. They disguised as animals. Aisha disguised as a sheep, Ishita disguised as a deer, and Ayansh disguised as a cow. Soldiers started shooting at them, and the disguise tore into pieces.
They were caught and put in prison. The prison was in Hiroshima where a bomb was going to blast. They had to get out of there quickly, but the prison was locked, and there was no way out. Aisha noticed something. In each of their adventures, they got one thing. Maybe the lock could open if they held all the things. They held 2 things each. All of the things joined together and created a key.
Aisha opened the prison lock. Now, they had to stop the war. Aisha went on the radio and shouted, "Stop fighting!" Everyone froze. She continued, "Fighting will not help you. All you are doing is killing everyone, so please stop. If this war is not there, the world will be at so much peace; so, it is your job to stop it." Everyone dropped their weapons and decided to stop the war. Now, there was no world war 2.
Chapter 8-Naughty puppy
"Congrats! Your journey is complete." came a voice, "You have proven that you are brave and can do anything. This was your last destination." The voice was coming from the time machine. What did it mean? "I think it means that our journey is over and we can go back home." said Aisha. So, they went into the time machine. The next moment, they were back in grandpa’s science lab. What an adventure that was!
Grandpa ran to the science lab. He was so happy to see Aisha, Ishita, and Ayansh. They told him everything that had happened. He didn’t scold them. Instead, he took them to the shop as a reward for being so brave. Aisha bought a silver necklace, Ishita bought some glitter boots, and Ayansh bought a guitar. The things in total cost Rs.10000, but he still bought it. The biggest gift was to have him as their grandpa.
He made pizza for dinner because they could not eat Ishita’s pasta. While he was cooking, Choco came into the kitchen. This was not good. He sprayed tomato sauce all over the house. He wore Aisha’s necklace and Ishita’s boots and started playing Ayansh’s guitar. He tossed the pizza dough on his head and squirted some tomato sauce. He put some cheese and toppings. It looked like he made the pizza. Grandpa replaced the dough and put it in the oven. Choco then messed up the whole house. He was so naughty but they still loved him.  

Written by: Ritvika Arya
Edited by: Aanchal Agrawal

Thursday, May 28, 2020

Time traveling: a chapter book by Yash

                     
Fiddling with Machines.

Professor Drake was in his master laboratory making a masterpiece ‘The Turbo Washing Machine’. He was an energetic man who was relatively young for a mechanical professor. He came first in his college at the age of twelve. He always had some quick gadgets handy. This machine was the most difficult he had tried to make in his whole life. He had a deadline in three days. One thing he hated more than zucchini was not submitting in time though he needed help. Or he would lose his reputation.

It was a normal day for Ben and Max. They were just coming back from school when Professor Drake called them on their phones. He said, “It’s an emergency! The new machine I am making is a little bit hard to make. I need your help. Come fast.” The boys worked for him after college. They scurried over to his lab. He was working intensely with sweat dripping all over his face. Ben asked, “What are you making, professor?” Professor replied, “I am making a turbo washing machine”, “Oh! We’ll help you, right Ben?” asked Max. Ben replied “Yeah! Surely.” Professor smiled; he knew that he could always count on the boys for some help.

They made the machine successfully. Now, it was time to test it. Ben brought some clothes dipped in mud. He put it in the machine. The setting was set on super speed. Professor started the machine. In ten seconds, it stopped. Ben looked confused. Professor replied, “Oh, don’t worry. It stops on its own.” Max took the clothes out. They were clean but all of them were changed into some suits that looked like those which superheroes wore. They all wore it at the same time. There was a watch that was attached to the sleeves. Professor had almost pressed the button on the watch when Max stopped them for a selfie. Once the professor pressed the button, they were sucked into the portal that appeared in front of them.

Bam! We have an encounter with Gaia.

Ben landed on something soft. It was Max, who groaned in a sick way. Professor asked, “Where are we?” None of them knew. They kept roaming around the grasslands. The grasses were as tall as them; they couldn’t see anything beyond. They had no idea where they were heading. They walked towards the east as the professor had told them. The professor always had handy gadgets. Ben asked, “Professor, do you have anything to help us?” He removed a tall blade about 4 feet long with a handle. He tossed it to Ben. Ben caught it with one hand. He examined it carefully. He noticed a small button on the edge of the handle. He pressed it. To his surprise, the blade became a big lawnmower.
Ben mowed the grass around him for about six miles. He became tired. Max tried using the lawnmower, but for him, it turned into a pair of scissors. He said, “Professor, what exactly is this?” Professor replied, “It is a metal manipulator which works upon what you think. For example, now think of it to become a sword.” In less than a second, it turned into a sword with a hilt made of gold. Ben told, “Cool! Let me try.” He turned it into a big knight of metal. Professor took it. He turned it into a sword about a mile long. He started to cut off the grass around them. They were in the open in about no time. No person was in sight except a lady. The lady wore elegant green robes that looked power possessing yet cozy.  Ben realized that she looked like the statue of Gaia in the museum. He started shouting, “Lady Gaia!” She looked back and smiled.

“So, I have been expecting you, brave warriors!” said Gaia. Ben said, “Lady Gaia, we have been transported from our world to your world to get a ring.” “There are no two different worlds but one in different times.”, replied Gaia, “I can help you, but it comes for a price.” “What price?”, asked Max. “That depends on you; if I like your offering, I may give you the ring. I need a gift to give to Uranus. It’s our first anniversary after all.” The three of them started discussing what they should give. Ben had a wonderful idea, “What if we give her the metal manipulator. As Uranus was a warrior, we could give him a sword.” They agreed on it. When they gave it to Gaia, she was pleased. She gave them the ring, “This will keep you safe if you’re on the ground. Just give it a shine. It will surely help you.” Suddenly a portal opened in front of them. They walked into it hoping they would go home. 

  We Meet The Dinosaurs

They landed in some place which didn’t look like home. It was a vast patch of land with trees as huge as skyscrapers and volcanoes as hot as the sun. It was late evening. They kept walking towards a place where they would be safe. They were walking when Max asked, “Professor, anything?”. Professor nodded. He gave him a mat of small tiny balls that looked like ball bearings. “What does it do?”, Ben asked. Professor said, “Just stand on it and lean backward." They did just that, and the next second, they were speeding through the places. It was like a mat that moved on its own. They stopped on a patch of land for lunch, so Ben just plucked off a few fruits from the branches of the trees which had branches just enough for them to reach.

They found a place to sit. Max drank a vial of water which was in the professor’s bag. They were munching through the food when they saw a small creature with a tail that had spikes on it. The professor said, “It’s a stegosaurus baby!” Forced by his science habits, he quickly took a sample of its skin for research when he realized that they had just seen a dinosaur. This meant that they were in the dinosaur era. Max wanted to tame a baby dinosaur but changed his mind when he saw a huge snake slither up and gobble up all the eggs. The professor warned them about why they should not be hanging around the Stegosaurus, as they would attract many dinosaurs like T-Rex, Giganotosaurus, and the Spinosaurus. 

They were walking behind the oh-I-can't-stop-releasing-obnoxious-gases dinosaurs to reach their time machine when Ben asked, “Max, don’t you think our moms would be waiting for us?” He looked back only to find out that Max was lost. They started calling out his name. Max shouted though it sounded very near to them. They heard Max saying, “I’m right here behind you!”. Ben looked behind but saw nothing; he did notice some footsteps behind him which had the prints of the Sneakers which Max was wearing. The professor realized what had happened; Max had drunk an invisibility potion instead of water. The professor told Max to not worry as it would wear off soon. They were walking towards a cave for resting when the portal opened below them, and they fell into it. This time it took them some time to reach the next destination. 

                                     Egypt, the wonderland!

Inside the portal, there were images of different places everywhere. They couldn’t touch them, but they could see them which was strange. They walked through a light that appeared in front of them. They landed face-first on the sand. Max spat out some sand that was in his mouth. Ben looked around. There was nothing but sand. He said, “We're in a desert!” The professor said, “Shh! Do you hear that?” “What?”, asked Max. “I can hear the sound of water gurgling; we have to follow it.”, replied the professor. They walked about a few hundred meters when they spotted a river. “We have to walk along the stream as it usually  ends up in an estuary.” the professor advised.        

While they were walking, the professor noticed the watch on the suit. The watch had many buttons. He pressed it, but nothing happened. He was about to start walking again when the watch turned into a compass. The compass showed that they were walking towards the north. Then, he remembered that the Nile flowed towards the north which means that they were in Egypt. The professor told the boys that they were in Egypt. The boys sarcastically told, “Wow!” They were strutting on the sand when Max screamed, “Help!” Ben looked back. He saw that Max was in quicksand. Ben remembered that Max was wearing the ring Gaia gave them. He shouted, “Use that ring!” Max shined the ring with his shirt. In no time, a huge ball of earth swallowed Max. The professor shouted, “Max are you in there?” He replied, “Yes I’m in here. It seems like the earth listens to everything I say!”.

Max told the earth ball to stop. It stopped right next to a boulder which made it camouflage. In the far lands, they saw a hut. They saw a man inside. They said “Hello!” He replied “Nim Pe Pek-Ran?”  “What are you speaking?”, Max asked. The man replied, “Nim Pe Pek-Ran?”  The professor told them that they were in Ancient Egypt. The language was Coptic. They just walked away. The professor was mumbling to himself “First the goddess…… Dinosaurs….and now Ancient Egypt.” He said, “We are witnessing the earth from the creation of it to the later events of it.” Their watch started ringing as if someone was calling them on their phones. A portal opened in front of them and they jumped into it.

                                 They visit the Mayans

Max was finding it hard to control his hunger, so he raided a few trees on the way. They spotted a dinosaur-sized pyramid and yes, they knew how big dinosaurs were. They walked towards it. On the edge of the pyramid, ‘Chichén Itzá’ was written. When the professor saw that, his eyes popped open. They were in early Mayan Civilization. Standing in front of them was The Chichén Itzá. Professor rushed at such speed, Ben thought the professor was a cheetah. He then found a gate to exit the pyramid. 

They found themselves in the city of Chichén Itzá. In the middle of the city, there was a huge pyramid that made the one before look like a pile of dust. It was The Pyramid of Kukulkan. The professor scanned the place and saw a dusty old rack named ‘Le registros le maaya'obo’. He took a quick look at his watch and pressed on a button. In a few moments, it became a translator. The inscription meant ‘The Mayan records.’ He was about to enter when Ben stopped him, “We can’t go in there; it's late, we need to sleep.” Ben was right. He couldn’t go in now. They found a huge tree. They slept below the leaves.

The next day, the professor got up early, but he didn’t wake the boys. He went to the rack of papers and started to examine them. The Mayans were known for their predictive knowledge, and the professor wondered whether the Mayans had predicted their arrival. He went through the predictions sections. He found his name at the edge. Under the name, there was a small map that was folded. He ripped the map off and started following the directions. He found a chest on the ground which was located on the edge of the cities. In the chest, there was one scroll and a red gem. He picked the gem and started reading the scroll. It read, "You must find the two other royal rubies and attach it to your machine." He went back to the racks only to see the boys waiting for him. They interrogated him about his sudden disappearance. He told them everything. They were walking towards the tree when Max suggested that they should try to set the place where they wanted to go. The professor said that the idea was brilliant.

                                                Royal Rulers               

Ben steadied the watch. Max rubbed it. The professor tried all the buttons, but nothing was helping them. They sat down dejected. The watch was like an albatross around their neck. The professor was shining the watch which happened to be switched on at the time. A button popped onto the screen as if it was a touchscreen. He pressed on it, and it came on all their screens. They pressed on it and few options came on the screen. They read ‘Akbar’s reign', 'Egypt', and 'Zimbabwe’. They knew where they wanted to go. Together, they pressed on Akbar’s reign, and a portal appeared in front of them. They walked right into it. They landed in some congested market with everyone around selling different things. They walked around to locate the palace.

With the help of the translator, they asked the people where the palace was. The people replied that the palace was in the next city, and it would take them two days to reach there. Max said, “Well that was bummer! What should we do now, any ideas?” The professor told, “There is one way. You can use the ring Gaia gave you?”  Max was about to rub the ring when Ben stopped him. He told, “Not here; not in front of everyone!” Ben had a point. They went to a far edge where no one saw them. Max rubbed the ring and a huge ball swallowed all of them. Max commanded the ball to go underground. Ben looked confused. He asked, "Why underground?” Max replied, “Here we can go full speed ahead without obstacles.” He grinned which made Ben happy, and they disappeared in the mud. They were zooming past the ground. They came to an abrupt stop. Max asked the ball for the reason. The ball sent them above the ground, and they were right inside the palace hall.

They were trying not to get noticed, and they were pretty successful all the way till the king’s room. They looked around, but they had no luck finding the ruby. They heard footsteps approaching. They quickly hid in the wardrobe and remained silent. Then King Akbar entered the room and silently sat on his throne as if he was anxious about something. He muttered, “War is raging, and there is nothing I can do about it.” At that moment the professor let out a horrific sneeze. The king got up and warned, “Who’s there? I assure you that you won’t leave the room alive if you don’t show yourself.” The professor smirked and came out of the wardrobe. He said to Akbar, “I challenge you to a duel, one-on-one. If I win then you give me the ruby of your sword.” Akbar said, “If I win, then I chop your head off.” Professor didn’t say anything; instead, he removed a metal manipulator. He turned it into a long sword. After that, it was pretty much one-sided. The professor lunged with the sword and then turned it into a huge shield as big as a wall and soon Akbar was on the ground with the sword an inch away from his throat. Akbar gave the ruby to him; the professor took pity on him and gave him the metal manipulator and told him how to use it. Akbar was grateful for that and assured him a safe journey through the kingdom

                    They enter Hitler’s Tent of Doom.

Max asked the professor, “How did you do that?”, the professor replied, “I always keep an extra manipulator with me. The sword fought according to how I thought it would.” Max gave a huge grin and said, “You have pretty crazy thoughts.” Their watches chimed and on the screen were three new locations: Adolf Hitler’s battlegrounds, France 17 BCE, and Kenya 12 BCE. They looked confused about which to choose. Their closest option was Adolf Hitler’s battlegrounds. They clicked on it, and the portal opened below their feet. They screamed as they plummeted through the portal. They landed on hard, sandy ground. They got up and saw that they were in the middle of the battlegrounds and every side was charging towards them.
They ran to take cover. They hid behind a building’s ruins. They waited for everyone to pass by. They realized that no one was killing each other; instead, everyone was practicing for World War 2. They started searching for the ruby. The professor removed a machine that looked like a metal box with two antennas. He switched it on. It spread its antennas and gave a beep. It gave the exact location of the ruby. The boys and the professor went to the location. It was not nearby. In fact, it was on the outskirts of the city. When they reached, in front of them stood a tent made of purple silk. Max walked in but Ben pulled him back. Ben told, “Guys, we are in front of Adolf Hitler’s tent."
The professor removed a vial of some blue drink, “I found it when I was searching for the answers in The Chichén Itzá." Ben asked, “What does it do?” He replied, “Let’s find out.” He drank a sip and gave it to the boys. They were about to go in when a person bumped into them. The person looked confused as if he didn’t know they were there. He just walked around the tent and entered from the back. Max whispered, “I think we are invisible.” To prove that they were invisible, Max went to that person and shook his hand in front of his face. He didn’t even flinch. They were actually invisible! The professor walked in quietly while Ben stayed outside to warn them of incoming danger. The professor spotted the ruby and silently picked it up, but the ruby didn’t become invisible. The person got up and said, “Hey!” He ran after the ruby. The professor kept running with the boys on his heels. They had to find a safe place to hide. They climbed a tree and lost them.

                              With a vroom they are back.
They were on the tree. Max asked, “Now what, professor? What should we do with the three rubies?” The professor was examining the watch and noticed a slot near the buttons which was just the same size as their rubies. He attached one onto the slot and it fit perfectly. He told the boys to do the same. The boys took a bit longer to attach the ruby as they couldn’t find the slot. When they did attach the rubies they waited for something to happen, but nothing happened. They sat there perplexed wanting to know if they could ever be back home.

The professor was looking at the ruby with intense eyes as if he wanted to know what secrets were hidden within the history of the rubies. He pressed on it. A screen popped up with a big red button. He didn’t know what to do. He removed the ruby. The screen dissolved away. The boys were already asleep; the professor went to sleep too. When they woke up, the professor told them about how he clicked the button and how that screen with the red button popped on it. The boys and the professor did the same thing again. They clicked on the red button. In five minutes, a portal opened in front of them and they hoped that they would be home.

They were back home, and they couldn’t believe it. They were back in the professor’s lab. They went out to check what time and day it was, and they were surprised to find out that it was the same day and the same time they had started time traveling. The three wanted to believe it was a dream, but they couldn’t. It was just too real. Several days passed by, and the professor was now famous for creating a time machine. He was mostly occupied with lab work. Ben and Max were just too busy with schoolwork. Their new favorite subject was history. They started to settle back to normal life and knew that life couldn’t get dangerous.

Written by: Yash Srivastava
Edited by: Aanchal Agrawal


        

Wednesday, May 27, 2020

The time for treasure: a chapter book by Ishir

Chapter- 1 introductions

Jason was sitting on his chair, as usual, feeling miserable and sorry for himself when it just hit him, "What if time never moves and it is just us who move through the time!" It made so much sense. He could read the headlines, “Sir Jason wins the Nobel prize for the discovery of ….” Then it hit him again that he should name his theory 'The qural realm' (He really loved ant-man). He then realized that time travel was possible!

Thinking of all this was a bit much for him to digest. He dropped on the ground. When he woke up, he found his friends Jayden and Nate pouring water on his head. They said, “Did your dad praise you?” Jason explained to them the thing that he had discovered. They were ecstatic.

Over the next few 30 days, they spent a fortune of dollars between the 3 of them and created a time machine. They kept it a secret. Then appeared a note from thin air saying, “To find the treasure, you must get to Siddhartha Gautama and persuade him to give you the lotus.” They were shocked and decided to go back in time!

Chapter - 2 The time of Buddha

The day finally came. Jayden and Nate needed a cheap protective measure because they didn't know what to expect. They wore bicycle helmets. They stepped inside the time machine, clicked the time period, and zap! They teleported to the Buddha era. They saw a lot of greenery. Their clothes had changed automatically. They were really surprised!         

They also saw someone as calm as a cucumber meditating. Jayden said, “ That is not just any guy. That is Siddartha Gautama!” They realized that they were speaking the language of that time, Prakrit. They went and talked to him about what he had discovered. He told them about the four noble truths. Before the air could move they said, “Buddha, can we have a really special lotus?” Buddha replied, “ You may have it if you are able to answer my question- who is the greatest person in the world?” They both replied, “Ninj..’’ They stopped because they realized that they were messing with time.

Jayden and Nate thought and thought about it for what felt like an eternity. What did the four noble truths focus on? They thought about what Buddha had just said in the conversation and they had already ruled out Ninjas. They figured it must be related to one of Buddha's teachings. So they both said, “No person is the greatest because Buddha's teachings say we should be selfless.” They had solved it and as promised, Buddha gave them the lotus and told them to take good care of it.

Chapter- 3 The era of dinosaurs
As they were putting the lotus back in the bag it said, “Go to the dinosaur era and get the special fluid that will reveal a bark. They were not in ecstasy; at least Jayden was not. They stepped into the time machine. They were in the dinosaur era, and everything was silent. Nate admired it and said, “Cool” when they spotted a T-Rex. Jayden dragged him and screamed, “Run!”. They ran for at least 200 meters when the T-Rex found another fighter; it was Mr. Argentinosaurus. They both found a temporary resting place.

They saw that the place they were sitting on had some drops. Those drops were falling and making the ground turn blue! It was breathtaking to watch them! They realized that this must be the fluid that revealed the bark! They took a leaf and used it to collect just enough fluid for one tree bark. They searched as carefully as a detective for which was the right bark.

They were confused about which bark was the special bark. They looked everywhere and saw many different barks but they had no clue which was the right one to put the fluid on. There were many different colored barks: yellow, blue, green, orange all peculiar. Then, they saw one color, the one that stood out among all others. It was a special bark and its color was vibrant red! They poured the fluid on it with fingers crossed and it worked! They took a piece of the bark and went to the time machine.

Chapter- 4 The Egyptians

Jayden and Nate had already figured that they would have to spend a lot of time time-traveling. They said, “Note” and, not to their surprise, a note appeared saying, “Go to the time of the Egyptians and get the sand that does not heat.” Half-excited they got into the time-machine and reached ancient Egypt. The winds were swirling as fast as a hurricane. They realized they were caught in a sandstorm. They were flying with many things hitting them. Nate grasped a gold necklace from the air and they both fainted.

When they woke up they found themselves locked in a cage. They  heard people shouting, “Traitors, traitors, thieves!” They asked the guard what was going on he said, “You people stole a gold necklace.”
They tried to explain but the guard said, “No ifs and no buts, you thieves!” The cage was made of wood as thick as taekwondo boards, so Jayden took care of it. He was a black belt after all. When the guards were on a break, Jayden smashed the boards like a possessed man. They ran from there. Luckily, no one saw them.

They were in a palace. It was a quiet and dark room, and they couldn't see anything until Jayden found a lamp. He lit it but the room became only a little brighter. They saw many scrolls. Just out of curiosity, Nate pulled one, and a secret passage opened! Inside the secret passage, there was a box. He opened it and he found the sand that could not be heated!
They both ran from the area like Usain Bolt and got back in the time machine ready for what was in store for them.

Chapter- 5  The Mayan civilization

This time, the note had already appeared. It instructed to go to the Mayan civilization and get the special cocoa bean. It was like déjà vu! They stepped into the time machine and were in the Mayan civilization. The tribe spotted them. They tied the boys in ropes and carried them both to a ziggurat. They held them tightly as a piece of metal and climbed up the stairs. There were a lot of stairs and a lot of bumps.

When they finally reached the top they felt like they had climbed Machu Picchu! The tribe untied the ropes. The boys ran and hit a wall that spun around. It was dark suddenly. They remembered that Nate always had a torch in his pocket, so they turned it on. They saw hundreds of oval-shaped things but had no clue what the thing was. The things were not vibrant and were brownish.

Nate and Jayden realized that this room was full of the cocoa beans they had to get but their troubles weren't over yet. The Mayan tribes were outside, but they had a plan. They ran out of the room down the steps of the ziggurat. When a member of the tribe spotted them and was about to throw a spear at them, they threw a cocoa bean in the air. The Mayan dropped his spear and caught the bean. By then, Nate and Jayden had already gotten into the time machine.

Chapter-6 The Muslim invasion

This time, there was no note. This time it was a picture. This was unusual they thought. Nate recognized that the picture was that of the Muslim invasion in India. They realized that they needed to go there and get something. They saw a man in the picture holding a marble and the rest of them fighting. They realized that they had to go to the time of the war between the Afghans and the Mughals. They got into the time machine and they were off after spending some time figuring out where to go.

Now, Nate and Jayden were in the empire. They saw the battle. The Mughal king was sitting inside the palace facing the Afghan king. They got into the palace, hid behind a wall, and watched. They saw some exchange of a piece of marble with the Afghan king who told the Mughal king something and vanished. No one was near the king. It was their moment. They ran to the king and told him who they were. They told him they needed the other piece of the special marble desperately. The king didn't say a word. He willingly took out the other piece and gave it to them. They were shocked but they had no time for that. The guards were approaching, so they ran for it as the king distracted the guards!

They had to keep the marble inside a bag that was already inside a bag because it shined as brightly as the moonlight. They also had to pass through the battlefield without taking a trip to heaven. They saw a horse. The next thing they knew was that they were riding it through the battlefield. This horse was very fast. They reached the time machine and got inside it.

Chapter-7 World war ll

When they got into the time machine, there was a logo of a swastika drawn on a blue leaf. Nate and Jayden knew where they had to go. They landed in Germany. They saw a lot of tankers and war weapons and lots of bloodsheds. They found themselves wearing Nazi uniforms. They saw buildings in the distance. They got on horses and rode until they reached the building. It was a Nazi building. Inside, they saw Hitler and Franklin D Roosevelt sitting opposite each other. Franklin gave Hitler a blue leaf, and Hitler gave him a blueprint. Nate said, “Get him”, but Jayden said, “Let’s not add fuel to the flame”.

Franklin got on his horse and rode away with some of his men. Hitler had a disappointed look on his face but none of his men had seen this. He kept the blue leaf in his gun and kept his gun under the sofa. Nate and Jayden waited for him to leave. As soon as he did, they took the gun and fled into the distance. Hitler noticed this. He took out his spare gun and aimed, but he missed. By the time he reloaded, Nate and Jayden were far into the distance.

Hitler got into his tank and started chasing them. Jayden had all sorts of things in his backpack including a tea leaf and crayons. He colored a leaf teal and threw it on the air. Hitler saw that. He got out of his tank and took the leaf. It was a fake but by the time he realized it was fake, it was too late. Nate and Jayden had gotten away into the time machine.

Chapter-8 Going back

Nate and Jayden were exhausted and said, “Time  machine, can we go home?” It already knew they were exhausted so it had put a picture of their home this time. They screamed out of happiness. It was a soft scream because they were tired. They reached home and met Jason. They told him everything. They were really sleepy so they went to bed.
When they woke up the next day, they found the items compiled in a circle indicating the treasure was in Bodie, California. They said, “Fine.”

Jason was excited about the road trip. It took the three of them 5 hours to reach there. They searched but couldn't find anything. They fell asleep. When they woke up after half an hour, they were in awe! The whole city was filled with gold, broken cars, chairs, everything! They took everything and returned. One week later they sold the treasure for 100 trillion dollars. They kept 10 trillions for each and donated 70 trillions to charity and eradicated 92% of poverty around the world. They kept investing and donating more and more. They all bought huge mansions and wrote a book.

That is the book you are reading right now! This book is one adventure. Who knows what was to come for them in the future…


Back to the ancient times: chapter book by Tanav


Chapter 1 How time travel begins
Axl had a wound and blood was coming. He put the blood in a bottle and added salt and some bacteria. He went to the garage and tried to find a machine. He found it after two hours. It was a time machine Axl added his blood to the machine. It became a portal.
Axl called Lucy and David to check it out. They were amazed to see it.
Lucy said she knew what it was. It was a portal to somewhere and should be switched off. David said, “No. We might get into a war, so let's go prepare to win.” They got all the weapons they had.
David went first into the portal, and then everybody got sucked into the portal.
Chapter 2 Era of gods
They were in heaven but did not realize it. They touched a cloud and felt surprised that they were in heaven! They played with clouds. David almost fell to his death. Axl and Lucy pulled him. Luckily, he did not die. They found a lever. They pulled it. Lord Shiva appeared.
They were shocked! They asked Shiva how they could help him.  Shiva explained to them that the challenge was to kill Anubis with all the weapons they had. It was important to find and kill Anubis so that he did not rule the world. Axl, Lucy, and David exclaimed, “Let’s complete the challenge.”
Shiva reassured them that he would follow them in their journey so that they wouldn't fall into trouble.
Chapter 3 Era of dinosaurs
Shiva told them that the first challenge was to kill all the dinosaurs so that they could find the hidden weapon. He told them that the fight would get harder at every step. 
The trio killed all the dinosaurs and found the weapon. Shiva said, “Oops, the dinosaurs went extinct! You’ve found the weapon. Let’s go to Egypt and kill Anubis.”
Chapter 4 Ancient Egypt
Anubis was not there in Egypt. Shiva said, “Oh no! Anubis has escaped from Egypt. We have to fight his troops now to find the most important weapon to kill Anubis.”
Shiva killed the troop right then and went to Anubis’s castle to find his weapon. They went to find gold then and left for the Mayan civilization to look for Anubis.
Chapter 5 Mayan civilization
It was Axl and Lucy’s favorite civilization. They couldn’t find Anubis anywhere. Just then they spotted Zeus. At that moment, David farted by mistake. Zeus got angry and killed David. This made Shiva angry, and he killed Zeus.
Shiva said, “Let's find the secret weapon and kill Anubis. Before that, keep the gold next to Zeus’s bolt.”
They left for India to look for Anubis.
Chapter 6 Muslims rule India.
Shiva asked the Muslim leaders to help in his search for Anubis. He told them that killing Anubis would save the world. Muslim leaders agreed. Shiva told them to get dressed up like Britishers.
Chapter 7 World War 2
The war was intense. There was a lot of chaos. They found Anubis. Shiva and Anubis went to fight. The war dragged in Poseidon, Atlas, Cronus, and Rhea too.
Shiva killed Anubis. Everyone exclaimed in happiness. Shiva told everyone to go back to their current times and places.
Chapter 8 back to earth
They returned to their era and told everyone what a fantastic adventure it was. No one believed them. They took all their friends through the portal to meet the gods. They ruled all the oceans later.

Written by: Tanav Reddy
Edited by: Aanchal Agrawal