The Great Plague
Hi, my name is Katie. I am eight years old. This is a story about when my sister got the plague.
It is London 1665. The plague is raging. I can hear carts on the cobble stones which are taking the dead people away. The air smells horrible! My family has not got the plague yet! I feel a bit worried because I’m afraid my family might get it.
My mom Sarah sent me to get some bread. On the way there I saw lots of red crosses on doors. The red crosses meant that the family had the plague. I also saw some plague doctors. The plague doctors had some bird beak thing and a long coat so that they would not get the plague. When I got to the the bakery there weren’t as many people as normal. I put my money in some vinegar because the vinegar was supposed to kill any germs on the money. Just as I was leaving I overheard some kids talking about how lucky they were because there Mom had recovered from the plague.
When I got home I asked where my sister Molly was because she always comes running when I open the door. Molly is only two. My Mom said in a worried tone of voice “I’m afraid Molly has caught the plague!” I tried not to cry but I could not help it. I just hoped and hoped that she would recover like those kids’ Mom. I asked her if I could see Molly but Mom just said “She has gone to Grandma Beth’s house because she lives alone in a big cottage so no one will catch it from her.” “Can’t I do any thing about it?” I said. “No, you can’t but you could go and see if you could find a plague doctor for me.” So off I went. I knew it would be easy because when I was going to get the bread I saw tons of them. But I didn’t think it would be that easy. As soon as I walked out of the door I saw one coming to our house because my Mom had painted a red cross on our door and a doctor had not come yet. I told him that my sister Molly had caught the plague and was at my Grandma Beth’s house. He asked me how to get there. I told him how.
After 5 days Molly was better! The last symptom, black buboes, had not appeared. I was soooooo happy!
November 11th, 2008 at 11:53 pm
Dear River–I’m sorry to be so behind with my comments, but I want to let you know how much I enjoyed reading your story. Historical fiction is my favorite! I can tell by your writing that you have done a lot of reading, because you really knew how to put your story together. And even in this short piece, you gave me a very keen sense of what Katie was like as a person–someone who really cared about her family and was willing to do whatever she could to help when she was needed. She sounds kind of like you! I love you! Grana
P.S. You also used lots of great adjectives–I could almost see and smell London!