The Sad Story of Gumbi Was Here

The Sad Story of Gumbi Was Here

by Leah Leslie
December 2010


“Finally I’m almost home.”

I see the stop. Maybe ten seconds away. I count, “one… two… three… four…five… six… seven… eight…nine…. Ten.” And I’m here.

My didi and I walk home. We start to run. I am at the gate. The gate is blue and has lilies. I open the door. All of the dogs were there.

Wait. Three dogs. One dog was missing.

I knew right away it was Gumbi. I said, “Gumbi! Gumbi!” I waited a while. She didn’t come. She normally comes. So I ran around the house.

I asked the didi, “Where’s Gumbi?” in Nepali.

“I don’t know,” she said. So I got worried.

My mom came home. I said, “Do you know where Gumbi is?”, but she didn’t reply. And she went to the house.

So I said to my dog, ”do you know where she is.”

Well, she wouldn’t answer.

I tried to get my mind off Gumbi, and so I played tug ‘o war. I held the rope and I pulled it. So did my dog, Sanu kali, she was strong. I tell you strong!

One day later my mom said Gumbi died.

I felt like I had no purpose to the world because she was everything for me. I was so shocked, I cried.

And she also said “A leopard took her.”

I felt sad. I mean, really sad. No dog could ever replace her.

For two days everything I saw reminded me of something of her. I was so sad that my thoughts were going faster than ever. I didn’t even know what to say to my mom.

But Gumbi was here.

It is nearly like the book 'Mick Harte Was Here' by Barbara Park...

The Trip to the Top, by Leah PR Leslie

The Trip to the Top

By Leah Prajna Rose Leslie


"I'm getting bored."

"Me too. Think of a happy place," Lillie said.

"Lilllie, what are you doing?"

"I'm thinking to have fun."

I whispered to Lily, "I have an idea. We are in the forest, right? And we
are going to the elephants, right? So let's find mushrooms."

"Okay. I love that idea."

"Look at the whole bunch on the tree. It looks like steps."

"Can I touch them?" Lily said.

I said, "Yeah, sure. They're not poisonous."

It looked like Lily was afraid, and then she said, "Yuck."

"What?" Iris said.

Lily said, "It's slimy! Look! There's a field."

We walked to the field.

"Hey look, there's so many elephants!" siad Iris.

The grass was short and there were trees around the field. There were
heaps of hay. First we were afraid to touch the elephants. But then we got
used to them. The trainers were starting to make them food, so we played
with the elephants. We climbed their trunks. They felt rough and tough.

They acted like it was a massage.

"This is fun!" Iris said.It was fun for us to.

"Yeah," I said.

"Cool!" Lily said.

Then we gave them food. The trainers let us feed them. It was fun. The
food was hay and grains.

It was time for us to eat too. Iris looked hungry and our parents came and
said, "Did you have fun?"

"Yes!" we said. Then we had to go and after 4 days they came to my house
but that was a whole diffent story.