There was a small town called Lake Gardens near the big city of Kolkata. In the small town was a small house called Orange. Inside the little house lived a small boy and his even smaller brothers.
The small boy’s name was Ornie. His brothers were called O’Henry and Pumpkin. And there were the cousins. Tuk Tuk and Pingu. Ornie took care of everybody.
Every morning, he would get into his plane and say, “Hop in, boys!” O’Henry always sat in the front next to Ornie. The others sat in the back. Tuk Tuk and Pingu munched on carrots. The others talked about the cricket match.
Soon Ornie would take them high up in the air. O’Henry loved watching birds from his window. His nose left a round patch on the banana-shaped glass. Pumpkin would quickly wipe it away.
Today was no different.
“How much longer,” Pingu asked his brothers. “I’m hungry!” Ornie smiled and said, “Just a few more minutes.”
In 20 minutes they had reached their favourite place in Punjab!
“Alright,” said Ornie. “We will have our usual, please,” he told the waiter. They all sat down happily at their small, round table. O’Henry took out his notebook and started writing a short story. “Once upon a time…,” he began.
Tuk Tuk and Pumpkin started playing word games. “Tuk Tuk, tell me the opposite of baby,” Pumpkin asked. Tuk Tuk replied, “Ornie.”
Pingu and Ornie were quiet. They were hungry. O’Henry was still writing his story. The food came soon.
“I want something sweet today,” said Pingu while he chewed his roti.
“And I want something spicy today,” said Tuk Tuk.
The older brothers frowned at each other. “But we have ice cream at home, Pingu,” said Ornie.
“We also have those spicy chips in our kitchen,” reminded Pumpkin.
O’Henry was still writing his story. Ornie told him to stop writing at the dining table.
“My story is done,” O’Henry said. Then he patted Pingu’s head. “We could have a bit of cake or ice cream here.” Ornie and Pumpkin shook their heads from left to right.
Ornie paid the waiter and off they went on their superfast plane. This time nobody said a word. Pingu and Tuk Tuk pretended to sleep. O’Henry pretended to read his story. Pumpkin looked sadly at his round arms. Ornie drove the plane with a frown.
They reached home in 20 minutes. They were all quiet. The only sound was of O’Henry turning his notebook pages. Ornie and Pumpkin went into the kitchen to get the ice cream and spicy chips. Pingu and Tuk Tuk did not eat any. “We are not hungry,” they said.
Ornie felt sad. He did not like to see his little brothers so sad. Then he had an idea. He went to the shop next door and bought pastels and drawing paper. He came home and put them on the table in front of the little ones. Tuk Tuk looked up. Pingu asked, “Are you drawing pictures?” Ornie said, “Yes, I am. But I need your help. Please help me.”
So the three brothers sat down happily to draw pictures. Pumpkin joined them too. O’Henry sat down with his notebook. “I’m writing a poem,” he said. “About what?” the others asked.
“About brothers.”
Sudesna's Space 
Hey Sue,
This is a really interesting approach to writing for children. Its almost poetic and would allow for a lot of conversations in a classroom. ( I have a Masters in the Art of Teaching so I tend to take this perspective a lot. ) I like texts that force the kids to be analytical instead of something that just tells them the significance. In the beginning, when you first list the various characters, I would delve a little but deeper into each one as an individual. Not much, just a sentence per. I know that if I read this aloud we would have stopped at that point to answer the thirty “who is…?” questions from the students. It will help them visualize and engage with the characters more. Hope thats a little helpful?
-Megan O.
Thanks for the tip. I’m used to writing for older kids, so this story was a first.