Stone Soup

Where young artists paint the world with words

The international magazine of stories, poems, and art by young writers and artists. Published continuously since 1973.

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My Fourth of July Surprise

A family celebrates the Fourth of July

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It was the Fourth of July, and my family and I were just finishing eating dinner outside on our patio. A few seconds after we finished, a crackling sound came behind us. We saw a glow of light and heard a loud clap; right after, a bunch of sparks came flying out of the light and started to fade. We watched the fireworks for fifteen minutes, and I asked my dad if we could start a fire in the fireplace and use our sparklers. He said yes to me. After the fire was going, my dad went to the garage to get the sparklers. Right when we lit them, four bright fireworks came into view. All of a sudden, rain came falling down so hard it sounded like someone was beating a drum. The rain got heavier and the fire was put out. We all ran home as fast as we could. Inside was cozy and warm. And we all decided to go to sleep.

Melia Zhou
Melia Zhou, 8
Wilmette, IL
Octavius Doherty
Octavius Doherty, 13
Pittsburgh, PA