James, Vanessa and their mom are in a homeless shelter due to unfortunate events. during storytime, James and Vanessa read a book that might change their lives forever.

The Magic Harp

One day there were two children named James and Vanessa and they lived in a shelter. After all, their family was homeless because they lost all their money to the Italian mafia. James and Vanessa’s family had been homeless for many years. James and Vanessa were left alone during the day because their mom worked every day and made little money. James and Vanessa had no family left except for their mother.&nbsp; Outside the shelter, a pandemic was raging with a new virus called, Frosted Tips-71. Frosted Tips was spreading in the shelter and the residents were getting scared.&nbsp;&nbsp;

During storytime at the shelter, James and Vanessa heard about the myth of the magic harp located in the woods 200 meters away from the shelter. “Ohh my god,” said James. “If we can find that harp we can wish for a great fortune for our mother,” said Vanessa.&nbsp; The kids felt a spark of hope&nbsp;The magical harp was said to grant any wish to its player as long as they play a very specific song. The shelter librarian a tall male said that the song was twinkle twinkle little star. The kids started learning the song for a wish.&nbsp;

Every day they watched online tutorials and practiced at the music store near the shelter. And one day they perfected it and set out on their journey to the magical harp to make the ultimate wish to not be homeless and put a good fortune on their mother. James goes to the shelter library and steals the harp book that they heard at storytime. Which happens to have a map. 200 meters south James says to Vanessa and with that, they were off.

Brett is in grade seven. He has a family composed of a mother, father and siblings. When he was writing this book he took inspiration from Chris van Allsburg and his favourite part of Chris Van Allsburg's books is Fritz.

James and Vanessa travelled day and night and one day they saw a huge amount of mythical creatures. There were unicorns and pegasus. It seemed to be in the deepest part of the forest or the middle of the forest. “We’re close” said James. James and Vanessa walked more and more until they saw a hut. They walk inside the hut and find an old man. They ask the old man about the harp and he says that they need to go south and then you will see it.&nbsp;

The journey back was horrendous. Snowstorms and other things of nature were always lurking. Wild animals roam at night ready to strike at any given moment. James and his sister were terrified I mean you could see it in their eyes. It was as if they were staring into a void of nothingness. On the way back they stopped at the old man's hut for advice. The old man says to go back the way you came in and there should be footprints. Before the children go the old man hands both of them a mask shaped like a bird “these masks will protect you against the dangers of the forest” said the old man. The children didn’t believe him but the man said anything is possible in this forest.

They follow the old man's orders and found the harp. The harp was an amazing gold colour and looked as if it had fallen out of heaven. The kids stood back and just stared it was the most beautiful thing they had ever seen. James had just practiced and was ready. He begins the melody but this harp sounded different than the ones in the music store. Or the little one that they carried around. This one sounded majestic and beautiful. As he plays the harp he says aloud. “I want to give my mother an amazing fortune for the rest of eternity”. With that, the children's mother gets a call saying that the lottery ticket she bought, while they were gone, was a winner of 2 trillion dollars.

The next day they return to the shelter and their mom says they are moving to a huge mansion and that she is so happy that she can finally provide for her family. The kids give the money they get to charity and live luxuriously. Also, we can’t forget about our friends at the shelter. They bought houses for everyone and everybody lived happily ever after... Sometimes doing the right thing instead of being selfish can be better in the long run.

by Brett Story inspired by Chris Van Allsburg

James and Vanessa set out 200 meters south; the map states that it will take 2 weeks and 2 days. James says to Vanessa “Well we better get going if we want to make it in time”. A thing you have to know about James and Vanessa is that they are bad at remembering things so they stole a mini harp from the music store so that James would remember how to play the melody and not forget.

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