Snake 🐍 bite boy

Three-year-old Teddy Lasry was napping yesterday in his cowboy outfit yesterday at his family's Fifth Ave. apartment when he shot up in bed screaming. A 3-foot-long black-and-white snake was coiled around his left arm and had just bitten his pinky.

"The baby-sitter freaked out," said Teddy's father, David Lasry, who, along with his wife, Evelyn, was at work when the reptile showed up about 4 p.m.

The horrified nanny called 911 and the building's doorman. The doorman and two cable TV workers helped pry the snake off the boy's arm and stow it in a garbage bag, Lasry said.

Police rushed Teddy to Mount Sinai Medical Center, where his parents said he spent two hours attached to a heart monitor as a precaution in case the snake was poisonous.

It wasn't. Experts at the snakebite treatment center at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx, where cops took the critter, determined it was a non-venomous California king snake.

But how did it end up in Teddy's bed?

A little sleuthing determined that the serpent had escaped two weeks ago from its cage in the apartment of a doctor whose family lives four floors below the Lasrys. The apologetic owner said his son's pet snake likely traveled up the radiator pipes and into his neighbor's apartment.

"It's a very docile, very harmless snake," he said. "It's handled by our family all the time."

Lasry, 42, a fine arts publisher, said he believed the pet was simply hungry after two weeks of cruising. Teddy's mother, Evelyn Lasry, 37, said her son seems to have gotten over his fright by thinking of himself as a hero cowboy as he rode in the back of the police cruiser to the hospital.

"I told Teddy he's a pretty snake, a nice pet snake who got out of his cage," Evelyn Lasry said. "But he asked, 'Why did he bite my finger, Mamma?' And I said, 'Because he saw that you are a big boy, Teddy, in your cowboy outfit and he got scared.'"

THE END

The cleaver monkey

Once upon a time, there was a clever monkey. He lived on a beautiful island, in an apple tree. One day, a crocodile swam to the island. 'I'm hungry,' he said. 

So the monkey threw a red apple to the crocodile. The crocodile munched and munched. The next day, the crocodile came back. 'Please, may I have two apples?' he asked. He ate one and gave one to his wife. 

The crocodile went to see the monkey every day, to listen to his tales and eat his apples. He wanted to be clever, just like the monkey. The crocodile's wife had an idea. 'Why don't you eat his heart? Then you'll be clever, just like him!' 

The next day, he said to the monkey, 'Come to my house! We'll have lunch together, to thank you for the apples.' 

But when he arrived, the crocodile snapped and said, 'Monkey! I want to eat your heart, so I can be as clever as you!' 

The clever monkey thought quickly and said, 'But... I haven't got my heart here. It's on the island, in the apple tree.' 

They all went back to the island. 'Wait here, and I will get my heart,' said the monkey. The monkey quickly climbed the tree and sat at the top. 'Oh, Crocodile. You are greedy. Of course you can't have my heart. And now, you can't have my apples!' And the clever monkey laughed and laughed!

THE END

Fish 🐟 are everywhere

A: The ocean is so big. 

 B: You can't see the end of it. 

 A: It goes on and on forever. 

 B: And it's deep, too. 

 A: I think it's five miles deep. 

 B: Are there fish at the bottom? 

 A: There are fish at the top and the bottom. 

 B: Are there more fish or more people? 

 A: I think there are more fish. 

 B: I hope so. I love to eat fish.

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Moving day

The end of summer was coming. School would be starting soon. I was looking forward to returning to school to see my friends. I had been visiting my aunt for most of the summer so it was nice to be home. I was only home a couple of hours when my parents gave me the bad news. We were going to move to another city. 

"When are we moving?" I asked. 

"Next week," my parents told me. 

"Next week? When did all of this happen?" I asked in shock over the news. 

"Two months ago, your father was transferred to another office. He received a promotion, and he will be making more money than before. It'll be really good for him and for us," my mother tried to make me feel better. 

"I hate moving, and I hate you!" I yelled as I ran to my room.

 I lay on my bed looking at the ceiling. How could we be moving? I had lived in this house all my life. This was MY room. I helped my dad paint the room last year. It was exactly the way I wanted it. It was perfect. 

I rolled over and began to cry. Why did this have to be happening now? I was getting ready to see all my friends. I did not want to move. I wanted to stay in my own house. After a while, I fell asleep. 

The next morning, I left the house to visit my friend Mark. He lived two houses away from me. We had been best friends for as long as I could remember. 

When I got to his house, I just walked in the front door. I was like a member of the family. I never knocked or rang the bell. 2 "Where's Mark?" I asked his mother. 

"He's up in his room. Why do you look so sad?" she asked me. 

"My parents told me yesterday that we are moving next week. I'm not too happy about it," I said while holding my head down. 

"I know, your parents told me a week ago that they had sold the house and that you'd be moving to another city. We'll miss you a lot around here," Mrs. Kelley said as she walked over and gave me a hug. 

I ran upstairs to Mark's room. He was cleaning his room and making his bed. He always took a long time to clean his room. He did not like to do it, but his mom made him. 

"Hey, Mark, what's up?" I asked him. 

"Oh, hi Billy, I heard that you're moving. That really stinks. What are we gonna do?" he asked. 

"I don't know. I haven't thought about it too much. I just found out last night after dinner. I wish that my aunt had told me about this," I answered. 

"When are you moving?" Mark asked 

"My parents said next week. This is the worst thing that's ever happened to me," I said as I sat down on Mark's unmade bed. 

"Hey, I was making that bed. Get up and help me," Mark yelled at me. 

We finished making his bed, and then we went outside to climb our favorite tree.

 "I don't want to move," I said as I sat on my favorite branch. "I've lived here my whole life. All my friends are here. I know all the shortcuts, and I'm comfortable here. Why do we have to move?" 

"Maybe you don't have to move," Mark spoke up. "I bet we can come up with a plan so you don't have to move." 

"Do you have any ideas?" I asked him. 

"Not really, but if we think real hard I'm sure we can come up with a plan," Mark suggested. 

We sat in the tree most of the day talking and planning. Some of the ideas were good, some of them were bad, but most of them were really funny. 

We thought about running away. We talked about hiding in his room. We even talked about building a tree fort in our favorite tree so I could live there. None of the ideas worked out. 

My mother called me to come home for lunch. I invited Mark to join me. 

When we walked in the door, my mother was in the kitchen fixing my lunch. 

"Mom, do we really have to move?" I asked 

"I'm afraid so Billy. If we don't move your father will lose his job, and then we won't have any money to pay for the things we need. We sold the house already, and the new owners will be here next week to move in. I know this is hard for you, but you'll make new friends at our new house," my mom tried to make me feel better. 

Every day, Mark and I tried to find a way to stop the move, but then it was moving day, and we had not come up with a plan. 

On the day of our move, the car was packed for our trip. The big moving van was filled with our stuff. The van drove off as we said goodbye to our friends and neighbors. I said goodbye to Mark and his family for the last time. We promised to text each other. 

We took our time driving to our new house. We saw many things and took many pictures. It was a fun trip. 

When we got to the new city, we went to our house. I could not believe it. The house was huge. It sat on a hill overlooking the valley where the city was. The view was amazing. 

The moving van had arrived before us, and all our things were already inside. 

We walked in the front door. I had never seen a house like this before. It was beautiful. There was a room with a giant TV screen. In another room, we had a pool table and video games. This was going to be an amazing place to live. 

"Can I invite Mark to come to our house?" I asked. 

I was excited to show him my new house. 

"Maybe next summer he can come for a visit," my mom answered. 

"Go up and see your new room. It's the second door on the left," Dad told me. 

I ran up the stairs, pushed open the door, and I saw the most amazing room I had ever seen. My parents had my room painted the same color as the old room. All my pictures and awards were already on the walls, and best of all, I had a big window that looked out over the city. I could see all the tall buildings, and at night, the lights would be amazing to see.

 I lay back on my bed with my hands behind my head and looked around my new room. Maybe moving to a new city was not that bad after all.

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