Well, July didn't actually tag me with this "Little Things" tag but she said I could do it, and for some odd reason I actually like these awards and tags and things. And this is supposed to be related to One Direction...not sure why...
*comes back after second Google search on One Direction that I did due to something related to my blog* Little Things is apparently a song by that band. So, anyway...
1. One thing that makes you feel beautiful:
Well, it's rather conceited to go about talking about my beauty, I think...but I guess when I'm on the uneven bars.
2. What's something that people often compliment you on?
Mmm...I've been told that I'm good at playing the flute, but this isn't something that I actually agree with.
3. What's one of your insecurities?
One? Out of my million-mile list? I often think that everyone else is better than me--although, everyone is better than me at something...
4. If you could tell every insecure person in the world one thing, what would you say?
Inspirational stuff? I'm very bad at inspirational stuff. I also dislike many common inspirational quotes, especially anything involving telling someone that they're "unique" because, um, duh everyone has different DNA. (although you are 99.9% the same, gene-wise as your siblings, and 99.6% the same as your parents)
But I think almost everyone is insecure about something, so it's not like insecure people are totally burdened and everyone else is just all rainbows, smiles, and unicorns.
5. Do you talk in your sleep?
Uh, I don't know...if I do talk in my sleep, I wouldn't be able to tell because I'm well, asleep.
6. Little Things you appreciate about life:
Sunrises. I love getting up to see them. And flowers--real ones, that grow out of the earth and come alive right before your eyes. Also the fact that we are all part of a family, a city, a nation, a world...and no matter what arguments or wars we get into, we're still part of something larger.
7. Favorite little things about someone you love:
Oh, I don't know how to answer this question... But someone that you love should understand you, and it's very nice to be, well, understood.
8. Something someone said to you to make you self conscious
I was at a gymnastics meet, and one of the girls from another gym told me how awful my form was, and then I was worried for the rest of the meet. (I still did okay, luckily)
9. If you could change one thing about yourself, would you?
Certainly...I wish I could just make myself overall more talented at everything. But just one specific thing...I wish I was better on the balance beam. I cannot do anything I want to be able to do on the beam.
10. What's one thing about yourself that you would never change?
My eye color, I guess. My eyes are really, really green and I kind of like them.
Ih, I don't really know who to tag, so if you feel like doing this tag, then do it! :)
And by the way, tomorrow I'm going to put up a guest post from my friend Madeline...it's a really meaningful post, so please read it.
--Audrey
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Shine On Award
Well, Seana over at The Totally Insane Writer tagged me with the Shine On Award. Thank you very much! And I will try to continue shining on, whatever that means.
Rules:
*Link back to the person who nominated you
*Post the badge on your blog
*Answer the questions posed.
*Nominate five bloggers who shine a light on your day and notify them.
*Issue some questions you'd like them to answer.
*Link back to the person who nominated you
*Post the badge on your blog
*Answer the questions posed.
*Nominate five bloggers who shine a light on your day and notify them.
*Issue some questions you'd like them to answer.
Okay. So.
Well, this is a particulary pretty award badge.
1. Which do you prefer, One Direction or Justin Bieber?
Well, I can't say I really know much about either of these two options...I do know that they are both musicians, though.
*comes back after Google search* Ummm, One Direction uses relatively less computer-generated music sounds (at least from what I can tell), which I personally despise, so I'll choose that.
2. What is your favorite genre to read (and/or write)?
Fiction. But if that's too broad, then...fantasy. I love reading fantasy and mythology. Not so good at writing it, though...
3. Would you rather be deaf or blind?
Deaf. That way I can still see color and do gymnastics. Although communicating might be a problem. I don't know much sign language.
4. Who are some of your heroes (real or fictional)?
Oh, well, J.K. Rowling is definitely one of them. And Harry Potter, too. Albert Einstein, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Anne Frank
5. What is a random fun fact about you that most people wouldn't know?
Well, you may recall this from my Liebster Blog Award post, but I am afraid of butterflies. Although I like butterfly designs on clothing...but I'm quite scared of real butterflies.
Hmmm, now for the nominations...
Fira Marine
Jessica
July
And since some people like Hilda have already been nominated, I'll just leave it at three. Three time's the charm, right? But if you want this award you can just take it...
Questions for the Nominees:
I'm terrible at coming up with questions. But I'll try.
1. Do you ever nominate the number of bloggers you're supposed to nominate for an award?
2. Do you believe in magic?
3. What came first, the phoenix or the flame?
4. Have you ever heard of a S'muffin?
And you can answer the questions that I answered too, if you feel like, since they're better than mine.
--Audrey
4. Who are some of your heroes (real or fictional)?
Oh, well, J.K. Rowling is definitely one of them. And Harry Potter, too. Albert Einstein, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Anne Frank
5. What is a random fun fact about you that most people wouldn't know?
Well, you may recall this from my Liebster Blog Award post, but I am afraid of butterflies. Although I like butterfly designs on clothing...but I'm quite scared of real butterflies.
Hmmm, now for the nominations...
Fira Marine
Jessica
July
And since some people like Hilda have already been nominated, I'll just leave it at three. Three time's the charm, right? But if you want this award you can just take it...
Questions for the Nominees:
I'm terrible at coming up with questions. But I'll try.
1. Do you ever nominate the number of bloggers you're supposed to nominate for an award?
2. Do you believe in magic?
3. What came first, the phoenix or the flame?
4. Have you ever heard of a S'muffin?
And you can answer the questions that I answered too, if you feel like, since they're better than mine.
--Audrey
Saturday, February 23, 2013
The Riddle Answers
Okay, so I posted some riddles and paradoxes on Thursday, and here are the answers!
The sentence below is true.
The sentence above is false.
(which sentence is true, which is false?)
This is a paradox :)
What is the probability of getting this question correct?
a) 25% b)50% c)75% d)25%
Okay, so this is a trick question haha. I believe when all calculated out, the answer is 13 out of 36, or 36.1%. This is because there are two 25%, so there is a 1/3 chance of choosing a 25%. Then, out of that 1/3, there's a 1/2 chance of choosing the correct 25%. So the average is 5/12. And then for the other two, 50% and 75%, there is a combined 2/3 chance of choosing them. Average 5/12 and 2/3, and you get 13/36
Monty Hall RiddleThere are three doors. Behind one is money, and the other two doors have nothing behind them. You want to pick the door with money, quite obviously. You choose one door. Of the other two doors, a man, Monty Hall, opens one empty door. You are then offered the choice of staying with your original door, or switching to the other door. Should you stay, switch, or does it not matter either way?
The answer is, you should switch. There are three scenarios:
--You've chosen the door with money. Monty Hall reveals an empty door. If you switch, you lose.
--You've chosen one of the empty doors. Monty Hall reveals an empty door. If you switch, you win.
--You've chosen the other empty door. Monty Hall reveals an empty door. If you switch, you win.
Switching gives a 2/3 chance of winning! :)
Pop Quiz RiddleA teacher tells his class, "I will be giving a pop quiz some day next week, and I guarantee you will not know the quiz is happening until you come into class that day."
Gina, one of the students in the class, thinks about the teacher's statement and determines that the quiz could not possibly be on Friday, because if it were, then all of the students would know this on Thursday night, which would would contradict what the teacher said about the quiz being a surprise.
She then determines the quiz could not be on Thursday either, because if it was, all the students would know by Wednesday night (since the quiz hadn't yet happened, and thus must be on Thursday or Friday, but since we already determined it couldn't be on Friday, it must be Thursday). Again, this wouldn't be a surprise, contradiciting what the teacher said, and so the quiz couldn't be on Thursday.
Using the same logic, she then determines that the quiz could not be on Wednesday, or Tuesday, or Monday. Thinking that the teacher must have been contradicting himself, Gina decides that no matter what day the quiz is, she will always know.
Much to Gina's surprise, the teacher announces on Tuesday that he is giving a pop quiz. Gina is surprised, just as the teacher said she would be.
What was wrong with Gina's reasoning?
Okay....so there's actually no specific answer, as the riddle is still being debated. Here are a two possible solutions:
--Gina is not allowed to eliminate Thursday on Tuesday night, as she hasn't had the Wednesday lesson yet, ergo her logic is incorrect after she eliminates Friday.
--Although Gina has eliminated all the days, she still has no idea what day the quiz will be, so she will still be surprised.
Liar and a Truth-teller (easiest version)You are walking down a path when you come to a fork in the road. One road leads to the Truth Village where everyone tells the truth. One road leads to the Lie Village where everyone lies. You want to go to the Truth Village, but don't know which road to take. (oh, and for some odd reason if you take the wrong path you can't turn back LOL)
In front of the doors are two twin brothers, one from each village. One of the brothers always lies, and the other always tells the truth. You don't know which brother is the liar and which is the truth-teller.
You are allowed to ask one single question to one of the brothers (not both) to figure out which door to open.
What question should you ask?
You should ask: "Which village do you come from?" The truth teller will point to the truth village, and the liar will also point to the truth village.
Liar and a Truth-teller (slightly harder version)You are walking down a path when you come to a fork in the road. One road leads to the Truth Village where everyone tells the truth. One road leads to the Lie Village where everyone lies. You want to go to the Truth Village, but don't know which road to take. (again, you can't turn back if you choose the wrong road...)
In front of the doors are two twin brothers that know which village is which, but do not actually come from the villages themselves. One of the brothers always lies, and the other always tells the truth. You don't know which brother is the liar and which is the truth-teller.
You are allowed to ask one single question to one of the brothers (not both) to figure out which door to open.
What question should you ask?
You should ask: "What would the person next to you say if I asked which way the lie village was?" This way, the truth teller will point to the truth village. The liar will also point to the truth village. (you can also ask "what would the person next to you say if I asked which way the lie village was?" in which case they both would point to the lie village haha)
Liar or a Truth-teller (hardest version)You're walking down a path and come to two doors. One of the doors leads to a life of prosperity and happiness, and the other door leads to a life of misery and sorrow. You don't know which door is which.
In front of the door is ONE man. You know that this man either always lies, or always tells the truth, but you don't know which. The man knows which door is which.
You are allowed to ask the man ONE yes-or-no question to figure out which door to go through. To make things more difficult, the man is very self-centered, so you are only allowed to ask him a question about what he thinks or knows; your question cannot involve what any other person or object (real or hypothetical) might say.
What question should you ask to ensure you go through the good door?
You should ask: "Is the good door on the left?" (or right. you could also ask about the wrong door). There are four scenarios:
--truth teller, you've pointed at the right door: will say yes
--liar, you've pointed at the right door: will say yes
--truth teller, you've pointed at the wrong door: will say no
--liar, you've pointed at the wrong door: will say no
Three people check into a hotel room. The bill is $30 so they each pay $10. After they go to the room, the hotel's cashier realizes that the bill should have only been $25. So he gives $5 to the bellhop and tells him to return the money to the guests. The bellhop notices that $5 can't be split evenly between the three guests, so he keeps $2 for himself and then gives the other $3 to the guests.
Now the guests, with their dollars back, have each paid $9 for a total of $27. And the bellhop has pocketed $2. So there is $27 + $2 = $29 accounted for. But the guests originally paid $30. What happened to the other dollar?
Actually, it makes no sense to add the 2 to the 27, because the $27 that has been paid includes the $2 the bellhop made.
The correct math is to say that the guests paid $27, and the bellhop took $2, which, if given back to the guests, would bring them to their correct payment of $27 - $2 = $25.
Jenny was 17 the day before yesterday. Next year she will turn 20. How is this possible?
Today is January 1. The day before yesterday was December 30, and Jenny was 17. On December 31, Jenny turned 18. This year on Dec. 31, Jenny will turn 19. Next year, on Dec.31, Jenny will turn 20!
Okay, so that's all! :) I'm not much of an explainer, so tell me if this didn't make sense.
--Audrey
The sentence below is true.
The sentence above is false.
(which sentence is true, which is false?)
This is a paradox :)
What is the probability of getting this question correct?
a) 25% b)50% c)75% d)25%
Okay, so this is a trick question haha. I believe when all calculated out, the answer is 13 out of 36, or 36.1%. This is because there are two 25%, so there is a 1/3 chance of choosing a 25%. Then, out of that 1/3, there's a 1/2 chance of choosing the correct 25%. So the average is 5/12. And then for the other two, 50% and 75%, there is a combined 2/3 chance of choosing them. Average 5/12 and 2/3, and you get 13/36
Monty Hall RiddleThere are three doors. Behind one is money, and the other two doors have nothing behind them. You want to pick the door with money, quite obviously. You choose one door. Of the other two doors, a man, Monty Hall, opens one empty door. You are then offered the choice of staying with your original door, or switching to the other door. Should you stay, switch, or does it not matter either way?
The answer is, you should switch. There are three scenarios:
--You've chosen the door with money. Monty Hall reveals an empty door. If you switch, you lose.
--You've chosen one of the empty doors. Monty Hall reveals an empty door. If you switch, you win.
--You've chosen the other empty door. Monty Hall reveals an empty door. If you switch, you win.
Switching gives a 2/3 chance of winning! :)
Pop Quiz RiddleA teacher tells his class, "I will be giving a pop quiz some day next week, and I guarantee you will not know the quiz is happening until you come into class that day."
Gina, one of the students in the class, thinks about the teacher's statement and determines that the quiz could not possibly be on Friday, because if it were, then all of the students would know this on Thursday night, which would would contradict what the teacher said about the quiz being a surprise.
She then determines the quiz could not be on Thursday either, because if it was, all the students would know by Wednesday night (since the quiz hadn't yet happened, and thus must be on Thursday or Friday, but since we already determined it couldn't be on Friday, it must be Thursday). Again, this wouldn't be a surprise, contradiciting what the teacher said, and so the quiz couldn't be on Thursday.
Using the same logic, she then determines that the quiz could not be on Wednesday, or Tuesday, or Monday. Thinking that the teacher must have been contradicting himself, Gina decides that no matter what day the quiz is, she will always know.
Much to Gina's surprise, the teacher announces on Tuesday that he is giving a pop quiz. Gina is surprised, just as the teacher said she would be.
What was wrong with Gina's reasoning?
Okay....so there's actually no specific answer, as the riddle is still being debated. Here are a two possible solutions:
--Gina is not allowed to eliminate Thursday on Tuesday night, as she hasn't had the Wednesday lesson yet, ergo her logic is incorrect after she eliminates Friday.
--Although Gina has eliminated all the days, she still has no idea what day the quiz will be, so she will still be surprised.
Liar and a Truth-teller (easiest version)You are walking down a path when you come to a fork in the road. One road leads to the Truth Village where everyone tells the truth. One road leads to the Lie Village where everyone lies. You want to go to the Truth Village, but don't know which road to take. (oh, and for some odd reason if you take the wrong path you can't turn back LOL)
In front of the doors are two twin brothers, one from each village. One of the brothers always lies, and the other always tells the truth. You don't know which brother is the liar and which is the truth-teller.
You are allowed to ask one single question to one of the brothers (not both) to figure out which door to open.
What question should you ask?
You should ask: "Which village do you come from?" The truth teller will point to the truth village, and the liar will also point to the truth village.
Liar and a Truth-teller (slightly harder version)You are walking down a path when you come to a fork in the road. One road leads to the Truth Village where everyone tells the truth. One road leads to the Lie Village where everyone lies. You want to go to the Truth Village, but don't know which road to take. (again, you can't turn back if you choose the wrong road...)
In front of the doors are two twin brothers that know which village is which, but do not actually come from the villages themselves. One of the brothers always lies, and the other always tells the truth. You don't know which brother is the liar and which is the truth-teller.
You are allowed to ask one single question to one of the brothers (not both) to figure out which door to open.
What question should you ask?
You should ask: "What would the person next to you say if I asked which way the lie village was?" This way, the truth teller will point to the truth village. The liar will also point to the truth village. (you can also ask "what would the person next to you say if I asked which way the lie village was?" in which case they both would point to the lie village haha)
Liar or a Truth-teller (hardest version)You're walking down a path and come to two doors. One of the doors leads to a life of prosperity and happiness, and the other door leads to a life of misery and sorrow. You don't know which door is which.
In front of the door is ONE man. You know that this man either always lies, or always tells the truth, but you don't know which. The man knows which door is which.
You are allowed to ask the man ONE yes-or-no question to figure out which door to go through. To make things more difficult, the man is very self-centered, so you are only allowed to ask him a question about what he thinks or knows; your question cannot involve what any other person or object (real or hypothetical) might say.
What question should you ask to ensure you go through the good door?
You should ask: "Is the good door on the left?" (or right. you could also ask about the wrong door). There are four scenarios:
--truth teller, you've pointed at the right door: will say yes
--liar, you've pointed at the right door: will say yes
--truth teller, you've pointed at the wrong door: will say no
--liar, you've pointed at the wrong door: will say no
Three people check into a hotel room. The bill is $30 so they each pay $10. After they go to the room, the hotel's cashier realizes that the bill should have only been $25. So he gives $5 to the bellhop and tells him to return the money to the guests. The bellhop notices that $5 can't be split evenly between the three guests, so he keeps $2 for himself and then gives the other $3 to the guests.
Now the guests, with their dollars back, have each paid $9 for a total of $27. And the bellhop has pocketed $2. So there is $27 + $2 = $29 accounted for. But the guests originally paid $30. What happened to the other dollar?
Actually, it makes no sense to add the 2 to the 27, because the $27 that has been paid includes the $2 the bellhop made.
The correct math is to say that the guests paid $27, and the bellhop took $2, which, if given back to the guests, would bring them to their correct payment of $27 - $2 = $25.
Jenny was 17 the day before yesterday. Next year she will turn 20. How is this possible?
Today is January 1. The day before yesterday was December 30, and Jenny was 17. On December 31, Jenny turned 18. This year on Dec. 31, Jenny will turn 19. Next year, on Dec.31, Jenny will turn 20!
Okay, so that's all! :) I'm not much of an explainer, so tell me if this didn't make sense.
--Audrey
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Riddles, Paradoxes, and Such
Sorry that I haven't posted in a week...I didn't have access to the Internet for a few days :/
Anyway, although I failed to mention this before, I love riddles and paradoxes. Oh, and by riddles, I mean logic riddles, not those riddles that go like "what happens once in a minute, twice in a moment, and never in a thousand years" (which is the letter m, by the way). I thought I'd share a few of my favorites...for the riddles, I'll post the answers on Saturday, so you can guess in the comments if you like haha.
The sentence below is true.
The sentence above is false.
(which sentence is true, which is false?)
What is the probability of getting this question correct?
a) 25% b)50% c)75% d)25%
Monty Hall Riddle
There are three doors. Behind one is money, and the other two doors have nothing behind them. You want to pick the door with money, quite obviously. You choose one door. Of the other two doors, a man, Monty Hall, opens one empty door. You are then offered the choice of staying with your original door, or switching to the other door. Should you stay, switch, or does it not matter either way?
Pop Quiz Riddle
A teacher tells his class, "I will be giving a pop quiz some day next week, and I guarantee you will not know the quiz is happening until you come into class that day."
Gina, one of the students in the class, thinks about the teacher's statement and determines that the quiz could not possibly be on Friday, because if it were, then all of the students would know this on Thursday night, which would would contradict what the teacher said about the quiz being a surprise.
She then determines the quiz could not be on Thursday either, because if it was, all the students would know by Wednesday night (since the quiz hadn't yet happened, and thus must be on Thursday or Friday, but since we already determined it couldn't be on Friday, it must be Thursday). Again, this wouldn't be a surprise, contradiciting what the teacher said, and so the quiz couldn't be on Thursday.
Using the same logic, she then determines that the quiz could not be on Wednesday, or Tuesday, or Monday. Thinking that the teacher must have been contradicting himself, Gina decides that no matter what day the quiz is, she will always know.
Much to Gina's surprise, the teacher announces on Tuesday that he is giving a pop quiz. Gina is surprised, just as the teacher said she would be.
What was wrong with Gina's reasoning?
Liar and a Truth-teller (easiest version)
You are walking down a path when you come to a fork in the road. One road leads to the Truth Village where everyone tells the truth. One road leads to the Lie Village where everyone lies. You want to go to the Truth Village, but don't know which road to take. (oh, and for some odd reason if you take the wrong path you can't turn back LOL)
In front of the doors are two twin brothers, one from each village. One of the brothers always lies, and the other always tells the truth. You don't know which brother is the liar and which is the truth-teller.
You are allowed to ask one single question to one of the brothers (not both) to figure out which door to open.
What question should you ask?
Liar and a Truth-teller (slightly harder version)You are walking down a path when you come to a fork in the road. One road leads to the Truth Village where everyone tells the truth. One road leads to the Lie Village where everyone lies. You want to go to the Truth Village, but don't know which road to take. (again, you can't turn back if you choose the wrong road...)
In front of the doors are two twin brothers that know which village is which, but do not actually come from the villages themselves. One of the brothers always lies, and the other always tells the truth. You don't know which brother is the liar and which is the truth-teller.
You are allowed to ask one single question to one of the brothers (not both) to figure out which door to open.
What question should you ask?
Liar or a Truth-teller (hardest version)
You're walking down a path and come to two doors. One of the doors leads to a life of prosperity and happiness, and the other door leads to a life of misery and sorrow. You don't know which door is which.
In front of the door is ONE man. You know that this man either always lies, or always tells the truth, but you don't know which. The man knows which door is which.
You are allowed to ask the man ONE yes-or-no question to figure out which door to go through. To make things more difficult, the man is very self-centered, so you are only allowed to ask him a question about what he thinks or knows; your question cannot involve what any other person or object (real or hypothetical) might say.
What question should you ask to ensure you go through the good door?
Three people check into a hotel room. The bill is $30 so they each pay $10. After they go to the room, the hotel's cashier realizes that the bill should have only been $25. So he gives $5 to the bellhop and tells him to return the money to the guests. The bellhop notices that $5 can't be split evenly between the three guests, so he keeps $2 for himself and then gives the other $3 to the guests.
Now the guests, with their dollars back, have each paid $9 for a total of $27. And the bellhop has pocketed $2. So there is $27 + $2 = $29 accounted for. But the guests originally paid $30. What happened to the other dollar?
Jenny was 17 the day before yesterday. Next year she will turn 20. How is this possible?
...and there are more, but I won't post them all at once.
--Audrey
Anyway, although I failed to mention this before, I love riddles and paradoxes. Oh, and by riddles, I mean logic riddles, not those riddles that go like "what happens once in a minute, twice in a moment, and never in a thousand years" (which is the letter m, by the way). I thought I'd share a few of my favorites...for the riddles, I'll post the answers on Saturday, so you can guess in the comments if you like haha.
The sentence below is true.
The sentence above is false.
(which sentence is true, which is false?)
What is the probability of getting this question correct?
a) 25% b)50% c)75% d)25%
Monty Hall Riddle
There are three doors. Behind one is money, and the other two doors have nothing behind them. You want to pick the door with money, quite obviously. You choose one door. Of the other two doors, a man, Monty Hall, opens one empty door. You are then offered the choice of staying with your original door, or switching to the other door. Should you stay, switch, or does it not matter either way?
Pop Quiz Riddle
A teacher tells his class, "I will be giving a pop quiz some day next week, and I guarantee you will not know the quiz is happening until you come into class that day."
Gina, one of the students in the class, thinks about the teacher's statement and determines that the quiz could not possibly be on Friday, because if it were, then all of the students would know this on Thursday night, which would would contradict what the teacher said about the quiz being a surprise.
She then determines the quiz could not be on Thursday either, because if it was, all the students would know by Wednesday night (since the quiz hadn't yet happened, and thus must be on Thursday or Friday, but since we already determined it couldn't be on Friday, it must be Thursday). Again, this wouldn't be a surprise, contradiciting what the teacher said, and so the quiz couldn't be on Thursday.
Using the same logic, she then determines that the quiz could not be on Wednesday, or Tuesday, or Monday. Thinking that the teacher must have been contradicting himself, Gina decides that no matter what day the quiz is, she will always know.
Much to Gina's surprise, the teacher announces on Tuesday that he is giving a pop quiz. Gina is surprised, just as the teacher said she would be.
What was wrong with Gina's reasoning?
Liar and a Truth-teller (easiest version)
You are walking down a path when you come to a fork in the road. One road leads to the Truth Village where everyone tells the truth. One road leads to the Lie Village where everyone lies. You want to go to the Truth Village, but don't know which road to take. (oh, and for some odd reason if you take the wrong path you can't turn back LOL)
In front of the doors are two twin brothers, one from each village. One of the brothers always lies, and the other always tells the truth. You don't know which brother is the liar and which is the truth-teller.
You are allowed to ask one single question to one of the brothers (not both) to figure out which door to open.
What question should you ask?
Liar and a Truth-teller (slightly harder version)You are walking down a path when you come to a fork in the road. One road leads to the Truth Village where everyone tells the truth. One road leads to the Lie Village where everyone lies. You want to go to the Truth Village, but don't know which road to take. (again, you can't turn back if you choose the wrong road...)
In front of the doors are two twin brothers that know which village is which, but do not actually come from the villages themselves. One of the brothers always lies, and the other always tells the truth. You don't know which brother is the liar and which is the truth-teller.
You are allowed to ask one single question to one of the brothers (not both) to figure out which door to open.
What question should you ask?
Liar or a Truth-teller (hardest version)
You're walking down a path and come to two doors. One of the doors leads to a life of prosperity and happiness, and the other door leads to a life of misery and sorrow. You don't know which door is which.
In front of the door is ONE man. You know that this man either always lies, or always tells the truth, but you don't know which. The man knows which door is which.
You are allowed to ask the man ONE yes-or-no question to figure out which door to go through. To make things more difficult, the man is very self-centered, so you are only allowed to ask him a question about what he thinks or knows; your question cannot involve what any other person or object (real or hypothetical) might say.
What question should you ask to ensure you go through the good door?
Three people check into a hotel room. The bill is $30 so they each pay $10. After they go to the room, the hotel's cashier realizes that the bill should have only been $25. So he gives $5 to the bellhop and tells him to return the money to the guests. The bellhop notices that $5 can't be split evenly between the three guests, so he keeps $2 for himself and then gives the other $3 to the guests.
Now the guests, with their dollars back, have each paid $9 for a total of $27. And the bellhop has pocketed $2. So there is $27 + $2 = $29 accounted for. But the guests originally paid $30. What happened to the other dollar?
Jenny was 17 the day before yesterday. Next year she will turn 20. How is this possible?
...and there are more, but I won't post them all at once.
--Audrey
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Ending of the Story
I really need to get a title for this story...anyway, I posted the first 2/3 of a shortish story that is loosely influenced by The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman. I'd written yesterday and on Tuesday, so scroll down to see those posts.
And....Happy Valentine's Day!!!! :) I don't really celebrate it very much but I know the United States of America as a whole spends millions on this holiday haha.
Completely flabbergasted, I headed out the door in a daze after Tiffany into a vast garden, which was the most peculiar thing I'd ever seen. About 100 meters in front of me was a section of the garden in which bare tree branches swayed in the howling winds, and a flurry of powdery white snow whirled about the plant life. But about 100 meters to my right, the trees were all covered in lush green foliage, with branches covered in delicate pink and purple blossoms; bright flowers in every color imaginable bloomed densely from the emerald-green grass.
"It's the Garden of Seasons," Tiffany explained to me. "There are four sections in the garden--one section for each of the seasons: winter, spring, summer, and autumn. Come on, we have to pick one of each kind of flower. Try not to do too much damage to this garden, since the fairy princess would be outraged if we ruined all of her hard work in maintaining this place. In an hour, let's meet with all of our flowers right here, in front of the door."
We split up, each gathering as many kinds of flowers as possible. When I entered the spring section, I was absolutely blown away; never in my life had I seen so many types of flowers before. I could name daisies, marigolds, daffodils, celosias, tulips, pansies, poppies, narcissus, petunias, liles...
Nearly an hour later, Tiffany and I met up by the door that led to the snooty fairy's throne room. "I didn't know that many flowers could grow in winter," I remarked, seeing Tiffany's arms full of flowers like forsythia and witchhazel.
Surveying our flower pile with a critical eye, Tiffany exclaimed, "Oh! We forgot buttercups!" and she dashed off.
Only a few seconds had passed when I heard a terrible scream come from where Tiffany had run off to. "Tiffany!" I cried anxiously, sprinting over to her.
When I arrived, I saw nothing dangerous. Tiffany's eyes were as large as dinner plates, and she pointed with a shaking finger at an ugly weed. I didn't see anything wrong with one weed in a humongous garden, but the weed seemed to be causing Tiffany great distress.
"Um...what?" I asked, confused, peering at the weed to see if I was missing something.
"The fairy princess despises weeds, and her Garden of Seasons almost never has any weeds in it, since she uses her magic to keep them out. But if she sees this weed, then she'll suspect that we planted it. Of course, she's too arrogant to ever even consider that she might have just accidentally let it in. We better pull it out," Tiffany told me in a hushed whisper, even though no one was around to hear us.
"Okay then," I replied, still not really seeing what the big deal was. I reached over and yanked the weed out, roots and all. Tiffany and I headed back to our flower pile, which we inspected for missing flower types.
Once we were sure we had all of the types of flowers in the fairy princess's garden, we headed back to the throne room. Tiffany held the weed carefully, so that it was completely surrounded with other flowers, making it practically invisible.
"Your Highness, shall we test the flowers?" I asked as respectfully as possible.
The fairy princess have a high, condescending laugh. "Sure, but you haven't done anything different than all the other girls. I suspect a failure." She held out her disguised twig-wand, which Tiffany retrieved.
Biting back a snide remark, I split the pile of flowers in half and began the testing. I took a pansy and held it to the wand for a few seconds, but nothing happened, so I put the pansy out of the way.
Throughout the testing, Tiffany and I were careful to keep the weed out of view from the fairy, but when we had tried almost all the flowers, the weed was no longer camoflauged from her Royal Snobbiness.
"What is that? It's...a...a weed! You...you were planning to plant that in my garden, weren't you?! This is aboslutely outrageous...I can't believe--why, you," the fairy princess spluttered indignantly, her angry thoughts mixing up into a jumble of words.
"Quick--she's in too much distress to do anything yet. Test the rest of the flowers!" Tiffany hissed at me, and so I obeyed immediately. But the last flower didn't work, so all I had left in my hand was the ugly weed. when I inspected in closer, I saw tiny white blossoms underneath the leaves. "Worth a try," I muttered, tapping the twig with one of the little flowers.
"Oh my gosh...Mia!" Tiffany gasped, as the twig elongated and transformed into a sparkly, silvery-blue wand with a blue flower on the tip.
Seeing her wand, the fairy princess was so startled that she forgot her distress about the weed. "Well, it seems you have succeeded," the fairy princess announced, trying in vain not to seem surprised. She snatched the wand, and told us, "Now I have the power to give you your regular appearance. Uncursing is much harder than cursing." She tapped me on the head and muttered a few rhyming lines under her breath.
I felt as though little bugs were scuttling around in my body, and then I was engulfed in a cloud of flower-scented silver-blue mist. When the mist faded, Tiffany exclaimed, "Mia, you're back to normal!"
"Thank you," the fairy princess said, making a face as though the words tasted bad in her mouth. She tapped us both on the head, and we went through the same tunnel we had fallen through earlier, but this time were rocketed upwards, and landed in Tiffany's living room.
I glanced at the clock on the wall of the living room: 11:38 AM. With some luck, my parents might have not noticed I was gone yet.
"Bye-see-you-later-thanks-for-all-your-help," I told Tiffany hastily, darting back out the door.
Miraculously, my parents were still sleeping, so I pretended that nothing had happened when they did awaken.
Okay, so I really didn't know how to end that story, so there's basically no ending. Well, I hope you enjoyed, and I will very gladly take any critique!
--Audrey
And....Happy Valentine's Day!!!! :) I don't really celebrate it very much but I know the United States of America as a whole spends millions on this holiday haha.
Completely flabbergasted, I headed out the door in a daze after Tiffany into a vast garden, which was the most peculiar thing I'd ever seen. About 100 meters in front of me was a section of the garden in which bare tree branches swayed in the howling winds, and a flurry of powdery white snow whirled about the plant life. But about 100 meters to my right, the trees were all covered in lush green foliage, with branches covered in delicate pink and purple blossoms; bright flowers in every color imaginable bloomed densely from the emerald-green grass.
"It's the Garden of Seasons," Tiffany explained to me. "There are four sections in the garden--one section for each of the seasons: winter, spring, summer, and autumn. Come on, we have to pick one of each kind of flower. Try not to do too much damage to this garden, since the fairy princess would be outraged if we ruined all of her hard work in maintaining this place. In an hour, let's meet with all of our flowers right here, in front of the door."
We split up, each gathering as many kinds of flowers as possible. When I entered the spring section, I was absolutely blown away; never in my life had I seen so many types of flowers before. I could name daisies, marigolds, daffodils, celosias, tulips, pansies, poppies, narcissus, petunias, liles...
Nearly an hour later, Tiffany and I met up by the door that led to the snooty fairy's throne room. "I didn't know that many flowers could grow in winter," I remarked, seeing Tiffany's arms full of flowers like forsythia and witchhazel.
Surveying our flower pile with a critical eye, Tiffany exclaimed, "Oh! We forgot buttercups!" and she dashed off.
Only a few seconds had passed when I heard a terrible scream come from where Tiffany had run off to. "Tiffany!" I cried anxiously, sprinting over to her.
When I arrived, I saw nothing dangerous. Tiffany's eyes were as large as dinner plates, and she pointed with a shaking finger at an ugly weed. I didn't see anything wrong with one weed in a humongous garden, but the weed seemed to be causing Tiffany great distress.
"Um...what?" I asked, confused, peering at the weed to see if I was missing something.
"The fairy princess despises weeds, and her Garden of Seasons almost never has any weeds in it, since she uses her magic to keep them out. But if she sees this weed, then she'll suspect that we planted it. Of course, she's too arrogant to ever even consider that she might have just accidentally let it in. We better pull it out," Tiffany told me in a hushed whisper, even though no one was around to hear us.
"Okay then," I replied, still not really seeing what the big deal was. I reached over and yanked the weed out, roots and all. Tiffany and I headed back to our flower pile, which we inspected for missing flower types.
Once we were sure we had all of the types of flowers in the fairy princess's garden, we headed back to the throne room. Tiffany held the weed carefully, so that it was completely surrounded with other flowers, making it practically invisible.
"Your Highness, shall we test the flowers?" I asked as respectfully as possible.
The fairy princess have a high, condescending laugh. "Sure, but you haven't done anything different than all the other girls. I suspect a failure." She held out her disguised twig-wand, which Tiffany retrieved.
Biting back a snide remark, I split the pile of flowers in half and began the testing. I took a pansy and held it to the wand for a few seconds, but nothing happened, so I put the pansy out of the way.
Throughout the testing, Tiffany and I were careful to keep the weed out of view from the fairy, but when we had tried almost all the flowers, the weed was no longer camoflauged from her Royal Snobbiness.
"What is that? It's...a...a weed! You...you were planning to plant that in my garden, weren't you?! This is aboslutely outrageous...I can't believe--why, you," the fairy princess spluttered indignantly, her angry thoughts mixing up into a jumble of words.
"Quick--she's in too much distress to do anything yet. Test the rest of the flowers!" Tiffany hissed at me, and so I obeyed immediately. But the last flower didn't work, so all I had left in my hand was the ugly weed. when I inspected in closer, I saw tiny white blossoms underneath the leaves. "Worth a try," I muttered, tapping the twig with one of the little flowers.
"Oh my gosh...Mia!" Tiffany gasped, as the twig elongated and transformed into a sparkly, silvery-blue wand with a blue flower on the tip.
Seeing her wand, the fairy princess was so startled that she forgot her distress about the weed. "Well, it seems you have succeeded," the fairy princess announced, trying in vain not to seem surprised. She snatched the wand, and told us, "Now I have the power to give you your regular appearance. Uncursing is much harder than cursing." She tapped me on the head and muttered a few rhyming lines under her breath.
I felt as though little bugs were scuttling around in my body, and then I was engulfed in a cloud of flower-scented silver-blue mist. When the mist faded, Tiffany exclaimed, "Mia, you're back to normal!"
"Thank you," the fairy princess said, making a face as though the words tasted bad in her mouth. She tapped us both on the head, and we went through the same tunnel we had fallen through earlier, but this time were rocketed upwards, and landed in Tiffany's living room.
I glanced at the clock on the wall of the living room: 11:38 AM. With some luck, my parents might have not noticed I was gone yet.
"Bye-see-you-later-thanks-for-all-your-help," I told Tiffany hastily, darting back out the door.
Miraculously, my parents were still sleeping, so I pretended that nothing had happened when they did awaken.
Okay, so I really didn't know how to end that story, so there's basically no ending. Well, I hope you enjoyed, and I will very gladly take any critique!
--Audrey
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Story Continued
Here's the next installment of that story! I think I'll finish posting it tomorrow. If you're not sure what I'm talking about, go here.
Once I arrived at Tiffany's house, I lifted a finger to ring the doorbell, but then I realized I might wake up Tiffany's parents. I knew that Tiffany always got up this early on weekends, so I knocked three times, relatively quietly, hoping that my friend would hear, but that I wouldn't wake anyone else up.
"Mia, what are you doing here?" Tiffany asked as she opened the door. I looked up slowly, and she pushed back my floppy sun hat. "Oh my--what--what happened?!" Tiffany demanded, as though she couldn't quite believe her eyes--not that I blamed her.
"I was sort of hoping you could tell me what happened," I started as Tiffany gaped at my face. "Last night I looked perfectly normal, and this morning I woke up looking like a witch! Can you think of any fairy tales that are like this?"
Tiffany cocked her head, and I could practically hear the gears whirring in her mind. Finally, she exclaimed, "Yes! I cannot believe I didn't realize it earlier. Your last name, Millistrode! So there was this-"
Although it was rude, I cut Tiffany off. "If this is one of your never-ending tangents about magic, can we skip the legend and proceed to the part where my appearance is normal again? Please? I really need to get home before my parents wake up."
"Okay, okay. The legend said that if this ever happens, we should--oh, I--I'll be right back!" Leaving me puzzled on the doorstep, Tiffany darted away and I heard her backyard door open and close. She came back holding a daisy cupped carefully in both palms. Handing me the daisy, Tiffany directed, "Pluck off each petal in a counterclockwise circle starting from..." she scrutinized the daisy I held. "Starting from that petal," Tiffany finished.
Feeling foolish, I obeyed, as Tiffany chanted something under her breath.
To my absolute amazement, when I dropped the last daisy petal on the ground and Tiffany finished her spell, I felt the floor vanish beneath my feet. My eyes closed, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get them to open. However, although my eyelids were shut, I could still see an odd, silvery-blue mist.
About ten seconds later, I stumbled into a room the same silvery-blue as the mist I had seen with Tiffany. The only thing not silvery-blue in the room was a snooty-looking fairy.
She was perched on top of a golden throne that was bejeweled with many precious gemstones carved into the shapes of different flowers. The fairy wore a dress, which had a skirt made of huge rose petals, and the top of her dress seemed to be made of avocado tree leaves. Glittering, translucent wings sprouted from her back. A silvery-blue tiara was nestled atop her shiny blonde curls.
When she caught sight of me, she snickered. "What do you want?" the fairy asked, nodding at me.
"Um, when I woke up, I found myself looking like this, which is not at all my usual appearance. And then, um..." I glanced at Tiffany, because I didn't know why she had taken us here.
Tiffany curtsied to the fairy and said, "Your Highness, I realized that my friend Mia Millistrode was a victim of the curse you had cast upon all the female descendants of Anna Millistrode."
The fairy princess nodded, and with a haughty expression on her face, she explained to me, "I saved Anna Millistrode from a flood she was caught in at the age of ten. She promised she would repay me. About two years later, I insulted a witch by calling her hideous, so that blasted witch turned my wand into an ordinary stick. While I can still do magic through it, I am much less powerful. On the third Saturday after Anna Millistrode's twelfth birthday, I summoned the young girl here. The witch had told me that when I certain type of flower came in contact with the stick, it would turn back into my wand and return me to full power. I told Anna to pick every type of flower into my garden, and uncurse my wand."
I watched the fairy princess, dumbfounded as she continued the story. "She picked flowers for hours, but after she tested each blossom with my stick, my wand had still not returned. Anna Millistrode failed me, so I turned her into an ugly witch that closely resembled the one who had cursed my wand. Now, every female descendant of Anna Millistrode will turn into an ugly witch on the third Saturday after her twelfth birthday. Some find me, but all have failed to find the correct flower. Some girls never find out what happened, and live the rest of their life as a hideous witch. Your Mother, Miss Mia Millistrode, came here...but she didn't find the correct flower. Ashamed, your mother went into hiding. Thinking that she might be rewarded if she had a daughter that uncursed my wand, your mother gave birth to you and died a few seconds after you had been born. You were found, taken to an adoption agency, and adopted by the people you call your parents. My garden is out that door. Your friend may help you."
Once I arrived at Tiffany's house, I lifted a finger to ring the doorbell, but then I realized I might wake up Tiffany's parents. I knew that Tiffany always got up this early on weekends, so I knocked three times, relatively quietly, hoping that my friend would hear, but that I wouldn't wake anyone else up.
"Mia, what are you doing here?" Tiffany asked as she opened the door. I looked up slowly, and she pushed back my floppy sun hat. "Oh my--what--what happened?!" Tiffany demanded, as though she couldn't quite believe her eyes--not that I blamed her.
"I was sort of hoping you could tell me what happened," I started as Tiffany gaped at my face. "Last night I looked perfectly normal, and this morning I woke up looking like a witch! Can you think of any fairy tales that are like this?"
Tiffany cocked her head, and I could practically hear the gears whirring in her mind. Finally, she exclaimed, "Yes! I cannot believe I didn't realize it earlier. Your last name, Millistrode! So there was this-"
Although it was rude, I cut Tiffany off. "If this is one of your never-ending tangents about magic, can we skip the legend and proceed to the part where my appearance is normal again? Please? I really need to get home before my parents wake up."
"Okay, okay. The legend said that if this ever happens, we should--oh, I--I'll be right back!" Leaving me puzzled on the doorstep, Tiffany darted away and I heard her backyard door open and close. She came back holding a daisy cupped carefully in both palms. Handing me the daisy, Tiffany directed, "Pluck off each petal in a counterclockwise circle starting from..." she scrutinized the daisy I held. "Starting from that petal," Tiffany finished.
Feeling foolish, I obeyed, as Tiffany chanted something under her breath.
To my absolute amazement, when I dropped the last daisy petal on the ground and Tiffany finished her spell, I felt the floor vanish beneath my feet. My eyes closed, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get them to open. However, although my eyelids were shut, I could still see an odd, silvery-blue mist.
About ten seconds later, I stumbled into a room the same silvery-blue as the mist I had seen with Tiffany. The only thing not silvery-blue in the room was a snooty-looking fairy.
She was perched on top of a golden throne that was bejeweled with many precious gemstones carved into the shapes of different flowers. The fairy wore a dress, which had a skirt made of huge rose petals, and the top of her dress seemed to be made of avocado tree leaves. Glittering, translucent wings sprouted from her back. A silvery-blue tiara was nestled atop her shiny blonde curls.
When she caught sight of me, she snickered. "What do you want?" the fairy asked, nodding at me.
"Um, when I woke up, I found myself looking like this, which is not at all my usual appearance. And then, um..." I glanced at Tiffany, because I didn't know why she had taken us here.
Tiffany curtsied to the fairy and said, "Your Highness, I realized that my friend Mia Millistrode was a victim of the curse you had cast upon all the female descendants of Anna Millistrode."
The fairy princess nodded, and with a haughty expression on her face, she explained to me, "I saved Anna Millistrode from a flood she was caught in at the age of ten. She promised she would repay me. About two years later, I insulted a witch by calling her hideous, so that blasted witch turned my wand into an ordinary stick. While I can still do magic through it, I am much less powerful. On the third Saturday after Anna Millistrode's twelfth birthday, I summoned the young girl here. The witch had told me that when I certain type of flower came in contact with the stick, it would turn back into my wand and return me to full power. I told Anna to pick every type of flower into my garden, and uncurse my wand."
I watched the fairy princess, dumbfounded as she continued the story. "She picked flowers for hours, but after she tested each blossom with my stick, my wand had still not returned. Anna Millistrode failed me, so I turned her into an ugly witch that closely resembled the one who had cursed my wand. Now, every female descendant of Anna Millistrode will turn into an ugly witch on the third Saturday after her twelfth birthday. Some find me, but all have failed to find the correct flower. Some girls never find out what happened, and live the rest of their life as a hideous witch. Your Mother, Miss Mia Millistrode, came here...but she didn't find the correct flower. Ashamed, your mother went into hiding. Thinking that she might be rewarded if she had a daughter that uncursed my wand, your mother gave birth to you and died a few seconds after you had been born. You were found, taken to an adoption agency, and adopted by the people you call your parents. My garden is out that door. Your friend may help you."
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Some More Writing (seriously in need of editing)
I was digging around in my old folders and stuff and stumbled upon a rather short story I had written, oh, two-ish years ago. It was supposed to be a fan fiction (I don't do those very often, but I happened to want to this time) of the awesome book The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman, which I've read like five times now. So the story didn't turn out to be a fan fiction, though if you know the book, you might be able to see the connection.
Anyway, enough with my rambling. here is the unedited first third of the terrible, horrndous story which was supposed to be a diary entry but doesn't really sound like one, so I just decided to make it a normal story. And since I didn't mention it until rather late into the story, the narrator's name is Mia.
After over twelve years of living with my parents, I never figured out I was adopted. When I finally did learn that I didn't know who my birth parents were, it wasn't my adopted parents who told me--no, I was informed by a rich, snooty fairy princess. It all started this morning the third Saturday after my twelfth birthday...
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! My alarm clock screeched, pulling me out of my dreams. As I stretched my legs, I realized that I couldn't reach the backboard of my toes, even though I had been tall enough to do that for nearly two years. Well, that's odd, I thought absentmindedly.
"Oh, no...it's Saturday! I forgot to turn off the alarm," I muttered sleepily.
Beep! Beep! Beep! The alarm clock persisted, so I shut it off and climbed out of bed, glacing at myself in the large mirror attached to the back of the bedroom door.
"AH!!!" I shrieked when I caught sight of my reflection.
After I rubbed my eyes furiously, I looked back at the mirror, hoping what I had sen was just a hallucination (although I didn't really want to be hallucinating, either).
"AH!!!" I yelled again. My hair, which was supposed to be a light brown, was coarse and black. I was about half a foot shorter and had a hunched back, which explained the confusion with my height.
Before this morning, my face had been mostly clear of acne, but now huge, ugly warts blossomed on my nose and cheeks. My skin was not pale, like it should be, but a dark tan with a slightly greenish tinge. I made a fist and opened my fingers, finding that my skin was dry, tight, and cracked. Behind the ugly skin, black hair, and warts, you could see my terrified expression reflecting back at me in the mirror.
I had never quite believed in magic, but I had never quite not believed in magic either. This is magic, isn't it? I thought hesitantly. I grew shorter, which is impossible at my age, and my hair and skin changed color overnight!
Right then and there, I could have sat down and pondered about the existence of magic for hours on end, but I knew that I couldn't. Somehow, I had to get my appearance back to normal. I didn't want my parents to catch sight of me. They'd probably rush me off to the hospital, where I would have to give blood samples and receive shots, which didn't sound even remotely appealing. It was only seven AM on a Saturday morning, so I knew my parents wouldn't even begin to stir until at least ten AM.
"Tiffany! She'll know what to do!" I announced in a triumphant whisper. There was no one else in the room, but I spoke aloud anyway. "She knows just about every single fairy tale, fable, legend, myth, and tall tale in the world. Maybe she's heard of something like this." Now that I had a plan to see my friend, I felt slightly better.
As I didn't own a ski mask to cover my face, I just pulled the brim of a huge sun hat over my face and kept my head down. Once I tied my hair in a messy knot, I shoved it under the hat as well. I quickly put on a large sweatshirt and long jeans to hide as much of my skin as possible. Most of the people I knew probably wouldn't be out so early on a Saturday morning.
However, I was proved wrong almost as soon as I stepped out of the door. My next-door neighbor, Mrs. Shaw, was pulling weeds out of her front yard, but had stopped when she heard me open the door.
"Why, Mia! Hello, dear. Up so early today, aren't you? Something special going on? Why do you have a sun hat? It's so cloudy today!"
"Umm, yeah, I have stuff to do today! Which is why I'm up so early. And...um...it might get sunny later, so I brought a hat just in case. Um...I have to go now!" I babbled, darting away.
"Oh...okay," Mrs. Shaw replied, although I could only barely hear her. "Have a nice day," she called after me. I could hear the bewilderment in her voice, but I didn't even turn around as I hald-waved to Mrs. Shaw over my shoulder and kept running to my friend Tiffany's house.
Okay, that's all I'll put today...I'll post the rest tomorrow and Thursday!
--Audrey
Anyway, enough with my rambling. here is the unedited first third of the terrible, horrndous story which was supposed to be a diary entry but doesn't really sound like one, so I just decided to make it a normal story. And since I didn't mention it until rather late into the story, the narrator's name is Mia.
After over twelve years of living with my parents, I never figured out I was adopted. When I finally did learn that I didn't know who my birth parents were, it wasn't my adopted parents who told me--no, I was informed by a rich, snooty fairy princess. It all started this morning the third Saturday after my twelfth birthday...
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! My alarm clock screeched, pulling me out of my dreams. As I stretched my legs, I realized that I couldn't reach the backboard of my toes, even though I had been tall enough to do that for nearly two years. Well, that's odd, I thought absentmindedly.
"Oh, no...it's Saturday! I forgot to turn off the alarm," I muttered sleepily.
Beep! Beep! Beep! The alarm clock persisted, so I shut it off and climbed out of bed, glacing at myself in the large mirror attached to the back of the bedroom door.
"AH!!!" I shrieked when I caught sight of my reflection.
After I rubbed my eyes furiously, I looked back at the mirror, hoping what I had sen was just a hallucination (although I didn't really want to be hallucinating, either).
"AH!!!" I yelled again. My hair, which was supposed to be a light brown, was coarse and black. I was about half a foot shorter and had a hunched back, which explained the confusion with my height.
Before this morning, my face had been mostly clear of acne, but now huge, ugly warts blossomed on my nose and cheeks. My skin was not pale, like it should be, but a dark tan with a slightly greenish tinge. I made a fist and opened my fingers, finding that my skin was dry, tight, and cracked. Behind the ugly skin, black hair, and warts, you could see my terrified expression reflecting back at me in the mirror.
I had never quite believed in magic, but I had never quite not believed in magic either. This is magic, isn't it? I thought hesitantly. I grew shorter, which is impossible at my age, and my hair and skin changed color overnight!
Right then and there, I could have sat down and pondered about the existence of magic for hours on end, but I knew that I couldn't. Somehow, I had to get my appearance back to normal. I didn't want my parents to catch sight of me. They'd probably rush me off to the hospital, where I would have to give blood samples and receive shots, which didn't sound even remotely appealing. It was only seven AM on a Saturday morning, so I knew my parents wouldn't even begin to stir until at least ten AM.
"Tiffany! She'll know what to do!" I announced in a triumphant whisper. There was no one else in the room, but I spoke aloud anyway. "She knows just about every single fairy tale, fable, legend, myth, and tall tale in the world. Maybe she's heard of something like this." Now that I had a plan to see my friend, I felt slightly better.
As I didn't own a ski mask to cover my face, I just pulled the brim of a huge sun hat over my face and kept my head down. Once I tied my hair in a messy knot, I shoved it under the hat as well. I quickly put on a large sweatshirt and long jeans to hide as much of my skin as possible. Most of the people I knew probably wouldn't be out so early on a Saturday morning.
However, I was proved wrong almost as soon as I stepped out of the door. My next-door neighbor, Mrs. Shaw, was pulling weeds out of her front yard, but had stopped when she heard me open the door.
"Why, Mia! Hello, dear. Up so early today, aren't you? Something special going on? Why do you have a sun hat? It's so cloudy today!"
"Umm, yeah, I have stuff to do today! Which is why I'm up so early. And...um...it might get sunny later, so I brought a hat just in case. Um...I have to go now!" I babbled, darting away.
"Oh...okay," Mrs. Shaw replied, although I could only barely hear her. "Have a nice day," she called after me. I could hear the bewilderment in her voice, but I didn't even turn around as I hald-waved to Mrs. Shaw over my shoulder and kept running to my friend Tiffany's house.
Okay, that's all I'll put today...I'll post the rest tomorrow and Thursday!
--Audrey
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