Tilly's Troubles

My 10-year-old daughter Zara took quite an interest in the 110,000 word manuscript of my novel and said she was determined to embark on her own. It didn't exactly make 110,000 words but I was impressed how quickly she cranked out her first novel and the fact it contained a life lesson somewhere in it.

TILLY'S TROUBLES

Once upon a time, there was a turtle named Tilly. Once Tilly's mother told Tilly to buy muffins from the market. Tilly agreed, and went on her way. Tilly got distracted by the cool river. It was a hot day and Tilly wanted to swim. "I'll only be a minute." Tilly said. Tilly swam in the river and saw his friend Otis the otter. "Hey, Tilly!" Said Otis. "Hi Otis!" Tilly replied. Tilly got so distracted she almost forgot what she was looking for. "The muffins!" Tilly replied. When Tilly got to the market, it was closed. "Oh, no!" Tilly cried. "I played around in the river so much I forgot to get the muffins!" When Tilly got home, her mother cried out," Tilly, where have you been?" " I'm sorry, mommy. I played in the cool river and got distracted. The market was closed by the time I got there. I'm sorry." " It's Ok. But we learned our lesson. No playing around when you're doing a task." mom said. " I learned that!" Tilly said. The END