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Yoong Liat Posted 19 years ago
Essay & Composition Writing

Please edit my short story

Could you please go through the short story and make amendments for me? Please let me know whether the words in bold are fine. Any suggestions to improve the story are welcome.

Thank you very much.

"One more time you do these sorts of mischievous acts. I'll send you packing. You heard me?" Mom chided Rachel, my elder sister. I snickered at the thought of the “daredevil” stunt she did a few minutes ago.

That Friday evening, my aunt Maggie came over to our house for dinner. She even brought along gifts for our family. After she had given my parents, Rachel and me a watch each, my mother thanked her profusely, saying the watches were the perfect gifts for our family. I noticed Dad rolling his eyes then.

Deep inside Dad’s, Rachel’s and my heart, we knew that Aunt Maggie, being rich, was just trying to flaunt her wealth. Behind her back, Dad will always say, “See if she loses all her wealth one day!” We all wish that one day, we can get back at her. As expected the price tags of the watches were still there. I was utterly shocked when I saw that the watch cost ninety-nine dollars!

After bragging about her wealth, all of which only Mum could stand it, (Of course she can. She’s her sister!) Aunt Maggie started talking about her son. She praised her son as though she was a king, saying how intelligent he was, also telling Mum how well he did at sports. “Your children should learn to be like him, you know,” she suggested. Upon this, Mum’s heart seemed to have shattered into a million fragments. It really put Dad off.

Before she left, Aunt Maggie popped into our room to see what we were doing. As I was in Primary Four, I still could manage my homework and was able to finish it quickly. But Rachel, being in Primary Six, had tonnes of homework to cope with. I was playing with my computer games when she came up to me and sighed, “You know, my son has the latest video games! Maybe I should invite you over to house sometime to let you try out those games.” I was perturbed by what she had said. Stupid nanny goat!

Then she looked at my sister’s work and shook her head, “Tsk, tsk, what lousy handwriting you have! Silly little girl, you should go back to kindergarten and study all over again!” My sister stared at Aunt Maggie with eyes full of anger and then turned to her schoolbag to reach for something. When Aunt Maggie turned around to criticise the size of the bedroom, Rachel swiftly planted it onto her shoulder. Ah! A frog! Wonderful plan! I thought to myself. It was only when it started to crawl on her did she realise tht ie was a frog. “Frog! Aahhh!!!” She tried to reach for the frog, but to no avail. It just leaped off her shoulder numbly. She was shrieking ever so loudly. My pet cat, Tom, was frightened out of its wits and hid under the bed.

Rachel was laughing so loudly she had a stomachache. She had to grasp her stomach before the pain could stop. I stood at the door and was surprised at her reaction. Never had I seen a lady screaming so hysterically. Aunt Maggie was so frightened she ran out of our house!

Mum grounded Rachel for two weeks after that. Of course, I was sad to see my sister being punished for scaring our aunt. After all, she was getting back at our aunt for her snobbishness.

Rachel picked up the frog and released it in the garden outside our house. We resumed our work after that. Suddenly, Dad came into the room and gave Rachel a mischievous grin. “Nice work,” he said.
  

Top answer

It needs tightening, Yoong Liat. " Mom chided Rachel, my elder sister. I snickered at the memory of her daredevil stunt a few minutes ago .

  • It needs tightening, Yoong Liat.
  • " Mom chided Rachel, my elder sister.
  • I snickered at the memory of her daredevil stunt a few minutes ago .
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15 Answers
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It needs tightening, Yoong Liat. Here's the first paragraph:

"One more mischievous act and I'll send you packing-- you hear me?" Mom chided Rachel, my elder sister. I snickered at the memory of her daredevil stunt a few minutes ago.

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Hi,

Could you please go through the short story and make amendments for me? Please let me know whether the words in bold are fine. Any suggestions to improve the story are welcome. I've made some corrections and suggestions. Overall, this is pretty good. You are trying to use expressions that are not easy, and having some success.

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Thanks, Clive and Micawber

She tried to reach for the frog, but to no avail. It just leaped off her shoulder numbly. <<< why numbly?

Oh dear! A typo. It should be 'nimbly'.

Best wishes.
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Hi again,

Another small comment.

. . . you do these sorts of mischievous acts. I'll send you packing.

mischievous acts This is a very formal phrase for a mother to use in talking to her kids. It sounds quite wrong.

send you packing
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Thanks, Clive, for editing the short story and your constructive comments. I appreciate it very much.

Best wishes.
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Hi Clive

Deep inside our hearts, we knew that Aunt Maggie, being rich, was just trying to flaunt her wealth. Behind her back, Dad would often say, “See if she loses all her wealth one day!” We all wished that one day, we could get back at her. As expected the price tags of the watches were still there. I was utterly shocked when I saw that the watch cost ninety
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Hi,

Deep inside our hearts, we knew that Aunt Maggie, being rich, was just trying to flaunt her wealth. Behind her back, Dad would often say, “See if she loses all her wealth one day!” We all wished that one day, we could get back at her. As expected the price tags of the watches were still there. I was utterly shocked when I saw that the
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Hi Clive

Many thanks for your reply.

Best wishes.
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"flaunt her wealth" - I am not sure if kids actually say that.
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Julielai"flaunt her wealth" - I am not sure if kids actually say that.
No, it is the kids who flaunt their wealth. It is their aunt who does so.

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