By: Katie W., Grade 4

Bet you miss Taco, huh? Well guess what? You get even more Taco! Here goes another story of Taco and his crazy, crazy, friends.

Taco finds a friend

Taco was getting bored.

“Humpf! This is too boring.” said Taco. “I’m going to explore!”

And so he did, walking on tree limbs, swinging on vines, and it wasn’t too long before he heard rustling. He stopped walking, and flattened himself against the tree, wishing he was invisible. ‘Rustle rustle’ Then an explosion of leaves blasted into his face.

“Someone help me!” mumbled Taco sidling around to the back of the tree.

“Look. You are not going to eat me. I’m…” said a sweet, powerful, voice in front of Taco.

He turned his head to face another taco like himself.

“That would be cannibalism…” mumbled the taco. “Oh. I haven’t introduced myself yet. Hello, I’m Ella. And your name is?”

“Uhhh… Taco, yeah, Taco.” replied Taco.

“Where do you live?” asked Ella. “I’ve never seen you around these parts before.”

“I’ll show you.” said Taco.

They walked back to the house on tree limbs and Ella asked, “You built all this?”

“Well, no, a lizard got it here.” answered Taco.

“A lizard?!” asked Ella, her eyes wide with amazement.

“Well, she can control the weather, so she made a small tornado to get it here.” said Taco.

“Wow….” said Ella. “Wanna see what I can do?”

“Sure…” mumbled Taco.

“Okay, here goes.” said Ella, making leaves swirl around her and Taco.

The wind blew in Taco’s ears, making him temporarily deaf. Before Taco knew it, he was flat on the ground with Ella.

“Sorry about that. Need a hand?” asked Ella, as Taco pushed himself up.

“Nah. I’m good.” said Taco. “Now you want to see what I can do?”

“Sure!” said Ella.

“All right.” said Taco.

‘Crack!’ He grew wings again!

“Cool! C’mon! I’d like to meet your friends and explore your house.” said Ella. ” I was living in hollowed out trees before we met…”

Taco showed Ella around the house and showed her where she could sleep. Taco also introduced her to his friends.

“Well, you can stay for the night; if you want…” said Taco, quietly.

“You’re very kind, and I will accept that offer.” replied Ella. “I like your friends too. They’re nice, caring, animals.”

“Oh. Thank you.” said Taco.

“Hey! Who’ve you got with you?” asked Larry, walking up behind Ella and Taco.

“Oh. Um, this is Ella. Ella, this is Larry, my brother.” said Taco.

“Your eyes are a very pretty brown, Larry.” commented Ella.

“Oh, why, thank you…” said Larry, slightly surprised.

‘Ding, ding’

“Lunchtime! Lunch, everyone!” called Kit, hitting the wind-chimes with the nearest stick.

“Oh! Lunch! I’m starving!” cried Lizz and Tizz.

“Yummy!” said Mat, Melody, and Kim.

“Let’s go, and after lunch, we’ll explore!” exclaimed Ella.

“Sure!” said Taco.

“Oh, look at you two!” mumbled Larry, a hint of jealously in his voice.

They had a lunch of wild berries, edible plants, and some berry juice.

“Who does the cooking round here?” asked Ella, her mouth stuffed full of berries and plants.

All eyes turned to Kit.

“Well, I’m not that good a cook…” said Kit, humbly.

“What did you used to work as?” asked Ella.

“Well, I was training to be a chef, but Cindi’s, the restaurant I was going to work for, found another cook that was better than I was, so they didn’t let me do the job. I was devastated that I couldn’t get that job, so I helped my friends do lawn work, clean the dishes, vacuum, dust, and babysit. I tried to get enough money to support myself, but I got half the money I needed.” Kit said, wincing. “Then I was a cashier. I hated the job so much, I was this close to getting fired!” Kit held her forefinger and thumb about a millimeter apart. “This close! So I decided to be a cashier part time instead for the same amount. I still helped my friends, and I’m teaching myself how to cook even better so that Cindi’s will  be sorry they didn’t pick me.” Kit finished by crossing her arms.

“Wow… Well, I’ll help beat up the manager of that restaurant. We all will! Right guys?” said Ella.

A cheer erupted from the table.

“YEAH!” yelled the group of friends, throwing their hands up into the air.

A year later, Ella and Taco got married and everyone was happy for them. They had a giant wedding cake made and decorated by Kit (Taco and Ella’s notes: The cake was delicious and the beverages were great.)  and they had a cup of apple cider and fruit punch. The cake had 2 layers, with roses that were white, light purple, light pink, and light blue. The frosting was colored white, and on the very top was a painted, wooden, sculpture of Ella holding a bouquet of beautiful, white, flowers and Taco holding a glass of punch and Ella’s hand. They lived in a separate house than Kit’s. The house was in a field they named Black Grass Meadow. It was slightly bigger than Kit’s house. The sweet couple often visited Kit and Larry and mostly ate pink, purple, and blue berries. The herbs in the field were very helpful. When Taco or Ella get cut, they use either 3 pink herbs to make the injured taco sleep to do serious surgery, or 1 blue herb to make the cut numb. Then they use a juice made from purple herbs and soak a wet towel in it for 35 minutes. Taco or Ella (depending on who’s injured) will tie the towel  with a strong vine around the body part that is hurt. Leave it on there for 5 minutes, and POOF! The wound is completely healed. And Ella and Taco lived happily ever after.

Larry also got married to a taco named Anna. See what happened with Larry and Anna next.

Larry the Taco gets Married

Larry was sitting on a branch of a big tree nibbling a berry. He was lonely and he didn’t know why. He had several tacos and other things around him, but the loneliness was still gnawing at his insides. He started to cry. One tear, two, three. He cried a steady line of tears. Then he felt a tapping at his shoulder.

“Um, excuse me. Why are you crying?” said a sweet, steady, kind voice behind him.

Larry wiped his face of the fresh, hot, tears streaming down his cheeks.

“I’m not crying.” said Larry, his voice quivering like a leaf in front of a fan blowing at full speed.

“Well, you were. What’s wrong? Come on, you can tell me about it.” said the steady voice, suddenly next to him.

“I’m lonely.” said Larry, letting the tears stream down his cheeks again. “I have friends around me, but I’m still lonely.”

He looked where the voice was coming from and found himself looking at another taco with eyes as deep violet as the rare, purple, flower below them.

“Maybe it’s not loneliness. You could be homesick.” suggested the taco.

“No. I have no desire to go home and even if I wanted to, I couldn’t because I have no home to go to. That is my home for now.” Larry said, pointing to the house.

“I’m so sorry about that. Oh!” said the taco, blushing slightly. “How impolite of me! I forgot to ask your name!”

“No. It was impolite of me! It’s my fault for not asking your name first.” argued Larry. “Oh no! I forgot to answer your question! My name is Larry. And yours?”

“My name is Anna. Pleasure to make your acquaintance.” said Anna. “Your eyes are such a pretty, deep, brown.”

“Thank you. You know, you don’t have to be so polite when talking to me. Be yourself.” said Larry.

“Ha! That’s the exact opposite of what my parents said!” said Anna, laughing.

“Hey!” said Taco, walking up behind Anna and Larry. “Who’s that taco sitting next to you?”

Larry spun around.

“None of your business!” hissed Larry.

“There’s no reason to be touchy about it.” mumbled Taco, slinking away like a child that had just been punished.

“Hey! Wait! Come back!” called Anna.

“Don’t mind him. He’s my bothersome brother.” said Larry, angry.

“He doesn’t seem very bothersome. He seems nice. I’d like to get to know him better.” replied Anna.

“Hm.” said Larry.

Ugh! I can’t believe she’s interested in him (Taco)! If she’s interested in him, she won’t pay any attention to me, thought Larry, selfishly.

“Hey, um, I have to go. Meet you here tomorrow, okay?” said Anna.

“Um, alright.” said Larry, standing up. “See you tomorrow then.”

Laying in bed, Larry wondered what his next meet up with Anna would be like. Would it be picture perfect, or would it be ruined and Larry would never see Anna again? She’s too nice to just leave me, he thought. She has a kind heart from what I know. Besides, I think she likes me anyway. Taco certainly won’t ruin this visit. And if he does, I’ll, I’ll– But at that moment, he nodded off, and fell into a deep, soothing, sleep. Larry had a dream that night that he told no one about. He dreamed that he was in a bouncy house with Anna, but then, Taco, in a black robber mask, grabbed Anna, who was screaming, and carried her off to his evil fortress. Larry was angry, he felt it in him. He wanted Anna back! He was so angry, he got huge! He ripped open Taco’s fortress, and saved Anna. Then he shrank and shrank and shrank, and then he was so small….

“Larry. Larry! LARRY! Wake up, it’s breakfast time and your food is getting cold! Get it while it’s still hot!”

“Anna?” mumbled Larry, sleepily.

“No. It’s Kim! C’mon! Get up!” yelled Kim. “Who’s Anna anyway?”

Larry burst out of bed without answering Kim’s question as his blankets flew up into the air, and he turned into a ridiculous mess. Running as fast as lightning, he jumped into his seat, and jammed his fried eggs with biscuits and cherry jam into his face. Getting ready, he realized that Anna must be going through the same thing. Finally, he was ready. He had a tuxedo with a red bow tie, and a creamy white rose in the pocket, just for Anna. Out the door he raced, and into the jungle. He found the spot where they had met yesterday, and sat on the exact branch they had sat on together the day before.

“Larry?” said Anna, coming up behind him.

“Hello.” said Larry. “I put moss here just for you.”

“Oh, why thank you! Thank you very much!” said Anna, smiling politely.

“So, how should we start this? Should we talk a little bit about ourselves, take a walk together, or should we dance?” asked Larry.

“Well, I, I,” Anna paused for a moment, then continued. “I don’t know how to dance… I would love to know more about you. You seem like a wonderful person.”

“Well, thank you! So, shall we begin?” said Larry.

“I love cute things, like kittens and ladybugs and most of all, baby hedgehogs.” said Anna. “I love to read books more than anything and I love adventure books with just a drop of romance in them. And I like gardening a lot, too. My favorite animal is, well, a rat. I like them because they are smart, cute, clean, and they are fuzzy. I usually don’t tell people that my favorite animal is a rat, but I trust you enough to tell you.”

“Oh, um, uhh…. Thank you…” said Larry, blushing.

“So that’s me. What about you?” said Anna, putting her hands in her lap, neatly.

“Well,” began Larry. “I like berry juice and sweet things like, cookies, cake, and pie. My favorite animal is a bat, because they are completely awesome and they are nocturnal (asleep at day, awake at night). But most of all, I love having adventures. I find all kinds of things that you wouldn’t believe. Like once, I saw a blue blade of grass. Amazing, isn’t it?”

“Wow…..” said Anna with awe.

And so that was how their lovely life together began. After a year had passed, Larry asked Anna to marry him in the Field of Blue Grass, where things happened you wouldn’t believe. Anna said yes, and they built a new house there. Small, but cozy. Of course Larry and Anna visited Taco, his wife, Ella, and all his other friends. Anna got some cooking and cleaning tips from Kit and Larry loved Taco even more each time they left to go back to their house. Larry talked about the times before he found Taco and joined him on his adventures, and Taco and Ella visited Larry and Anna quite often.

THE END

Psst! Hey! You still there? I have something for you! Yeah, you! Don’t look at me like that! It’s not going to hurt. It’s just a sneak peek of the next Taco story: THE ADVENTURES OF TACO AND BEAN. Let me give you a quick summary of the story.

Taco is taking a little walk when Ella is preparing dinner (don’t worry. He didn’t just walk out and say, “I’m going for a walk, honeycakes.” He asked if he could help with dinner first). He comes across a little pinto bean when a stampede is about to happen. Taco saves the bean from being crushed to death and brings him home for dinner. The little bean tells his story and that’s when his adventures began again.

With a new friend and a new house, things could get pretty dangerous. But Taco always seems to survive even the most perilous (dangerous), riskiest,  situations. So who knows? Could this be the end of Taco himself, or could he survive the next adventure? Read more to find out! 😉