Dear Mrs. Hodges' class,

We are a class of 5th graders at Jasper Elementary in Pickens County. Jasper is at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. Every year Jasper hosts the Georgia Marble Festival. We are looking forward to working together on a story with you.

Dear Mrs. Garner's class,

Hi, we are at Hollydale Elementary in western Cobb County. Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park is very near us. We are also in between Six Flags and White Water Amusement Parks.  Dobbins Air Force Base is nearby too. There are 24 students in our class. We have eight girls and sixteen boys. Everyone is excited about being keypals. It is Mon. Nov. 3 and we will begin our part of the story today.

Tony the Turkey

     Tony Turkey was strong.  He was so strong that he could lift anything in the barnyard.  In fact he was so strong that no one knew exactly how strong he was.  The other animals were afraid to ask and couldn’t think of any safe way to measure.  One day however, circumstances put Tony’s strength to the test.

     On Halloween night a jack-o-lantern tipped over. The candle from the jack-o- lantern started a fire in the barn. Consumed by fear Curtis the Cow passed out and tipped over. Tony Turkey came to the rescue and lifted Curtis the Cow. Carrying a cow seemed pretty easy for Tony Turkey. He couldn’t wait until the next opportunity to use his strength.

     It was not long before Tony’s strength was tested again.  The North Georgia State Fair was coming to town the first week in November.  “I think I will take my two prize pigs, Penny and Pearl, to compete in the fattest pig contest,” Farmer Matthew said to his wife. He also decided to enter Tony in a competition.  On the way to the fair, Farmer Matthew hit a pothole in the road.  Penny and Pearl flew from the back of the truck.  The farmer did not notice.  He kept driving.

     “ Oh, no!” gobbled Tony. The turkey knew he was the only hope for his friends.

     Penny pig screamed, “I’m about to turn into bacon. Help me Tony!”  Pearl was hanging on the tailgate, yelling,  “Tony!”  Tony flies to the rescue but the pigs let go and landed on top of Tony.  Tony lifted both pigs and runs 25 miles an hour after the truck.  When Tony gets to 50 miles an hour he trips over a rock, the pigs fly out of his feathers landing in the pick up truck.  The farmer heard a huge thud.  He stopped to see what the noise was.  The farmer found Tony on the road and returned him to the pick up truck.  Tony began singing “Turkey on the go.  Turkey on the go.”

     The next few weeks passed quickly.  Tony was a hero around the barnyard.  The first snow began to fall.  Excitement filled the air.  Christmas was around the corner.  The Christmas Express Train would soon pass by the farm.  All the animals gathered by the fence to see the beautiful train.  As the train approached, Tony noticed a rail was missing.  The turkey began to shout.  He knew he must once again come to the rescue.  Tony had to stop that train!  He jumped the fence and braced himself for the impact.  Holding his feathers strong and high, he held the train from moving forward.  In fact, his strength brought the train to a complete stop.

     People left the train screaming.  Several passengers went to get help fixing the tracks.  A millionaire dressed in a black suit, wearing lots of jewelry and carrying a suit case full of money immediately offered the farmer one million dollars for Tony.  The farmer said, “You’ve got yourself a deal, if you give me a portion of the profits you make off him.”  The millionaire agreed to give the farmer 75% of any profits made off Tony.  Next thing we knew Tony appeared on WWF wrestling show on TV.  Tony was able to beat the Rock, a WWF wrestler.  Tony pranced around the ring holding the title belt above his head with his wings.