The Winter Showdown!!!

by Samaira A

grades 3-5

Hi, my name is Astrid Haddock and I am about to tell you the greatest adventure of my life.

I packed my bags, ready to depart, said my goodbyes to my family and headed for the airport. I was so excited because I was going to find if Santa was real in the north pole. In the jet a documentary about poisonous frogs kept me busy.

After I landed, a snow sleigh attached to six dogs took me to an igloo where I would be staying. As they left, I whispered to myself that my adventure has finally begun. I decided I would leave right away.

I headed Northeast. As I was walking, I suddenly got very tired, so I sat on a nearby rock and drank some water. The rock I sat on got very hot and an electrifying feeling went down me. I made myself believe it was just an illusion and continued the hike. A while later, I saw a track. I started measuring it. I got the information that It's an adult female and the tracks are fresh and heading Southwest. I was tired but full of excitement and hope that the track is one of Santa’s reindeer and it will lead me to him. So, I decided to follow it.

It led me to this ice fortress with a weird shaped door. The door was super wide but not tall, I took a deep breath and went in. Inside, they were gasps and murmurs. I thought it was just a rescue team so you could imagine how surprised I was when I saw penguins and polar bears everywhere! A large polar bear stepped in front of me and said “My name is Martha. Who are you and how did you get here?” Yyyou can talk? “Of course, I can talk, now answer my question!” said Martha. I suddenly got the same feeling I got when I sat on the rock! Of course! The rock must have given me magical powers to talk to animals! I looked at the polar bear who was getting impatient. I nervously answered, Mmmy name is AAssstrid Hhhaddock and I gggot here by ffffollowing a track.” Martha sighed, “Huh it must be the scouts.” “Mia”, Martha shouted. A small penguin came and whispered, “let’s share with her, she is the only human being who can understand us”. Martha nodded and turned to me and said, “We will tell you our story”. “One day I was swimming to get food, but I found that it was very hard to land on the ice because it was melting and breaking. Finally, after swimming for a long time I found a patch of ice I could get out on, but some polar bears weren’t that lucky. We don’t know what’s happening. Can you please help us?” I said, “I know why this is happening. It’s because of global warming and of course I will help you.”

Although my original mission was to find Santa, I accepted an even more important mission…to save the arctic!

I asked them to show me the main site where this is happening. When we reached, I took out my camera and started taking pictures and videos of the ice melting and the plight of the penguins and polar bears. I posted them on social media with taglines #helpthenorthpole #stopglobalwarming.

Soon I had thousands of followers who were all ready to join my campaign. I listed some steps you can do to participate in the campaign to make a difference:

1) Bike or walk instead of driving.

2) Turn off the lights and electronics when not in use.

3) Don’t waste food and water

4) Buy energy efficient light bulbs.

5) Make your home eco-friendly so you don’t have to use a heater and a cooler.

6) Plant more trees.

Would you like to join my campaign to help my arctic friends? Even the smallest choice can make a big difference.