THE VALLEY OF DIAMONDS
Hello!My name is Ella.You must have heard ofe.After all,I am the most richest and most famous merchant in SUPER CITY.. I wasn't born rich.It took seven solid years to make me the woman I am today .Let me tell you about the most amazing one of all my adventures . Once,after sailing to many ports, buying and selling cargoes,my ship came to a great island with lovely flowers.Here I found fine fruit trees,streams, lovely flowers and beautiful singing birds . But there were no people.I decided to explore this charming place. I set of alone to climb the cliffs. After a while I began to feel weary and lay down to rest on the grassy patch ,where I soon fell fast asleep.Upon waking up,I saw to my horror that the ship had gone.I gazed far out across the water and I could see its sails like a white speck on the horizon.Hopeless and afraid,I climbed to the top of a nearby hill , hoping to find a town or village on the other side.But there was nothing, except a strange white shape nearby towards which I walked to explore.It was a gigantic dome.To walk right round it took fifty paces.But there was no
way. No door. I touched its surface which was quite smooth. All of a sudden, the sky darkened and the wind gushed around me. I look up and saw a huge, huge black bird swooping down at me. It's mighty write spread wide as the bird settled on great dome.
From the very size of the bird I knew that this I knew that this was the fabled giant Roc, and the white dome
was infact, the top of its huge egg.I had heard stories of this monstrous bird, of it's sizes and strength, but
I had not believe them. Now I lay buried under a huge belly.Then, the great bird fell asleep. A plan to help me off the island flashed in my mind. I unwound my turban and twisted it into a makeshift rope.I tied one end of the tuban rope around bird's leg which felt like a tree trunk and the other end round my waist. I lay awake all night. Nothing stirred. But at first light, the collosal creature lurched into the air with deafening screech, carrying me with it. Up it soared, almost to the sky, with me clinging on tight. After a long flight it started to come down, fast at first but then drifting gently to the bottom of a deep valley to hunt for food. I just untied myself from the bird before she took off the air again with a wiggling black serpent in her beak. I found myself in a dusty valley closed in by step hills all sides, and I had no hope of climbing them. I had been better off on the island,where at least there was fruit and water to eat and drink to stay alive. I felt lost.
Then,I noticed that the whole valley was bathed in a soft, glowing light of the morning sun reflected in millions of diamon which lay all over the ground. All around I could see gem so large that they made my jaw drop in amazement. Even in the finest houses of Baghdad,I had not seen such riches. But all around those precious Stones crawled deadly snakes, some so large they could have swallowed me whole. I realised then that I had come to the famous
Valley of Diamonds, which no man had ever left alive. I Sinbad, indeed was terrified, but as the sun rose the evil creepers slid softly away into their dark holes. I roamed this bowl shaped valley all that day, searching for water and safe to shelter for the night. At last I found a small cave on a slope. I looked all around to make sure there were no danger. Inside,I hauled a massive stone across the entrance to leave just a c***k to let in light. All night I lay shivering with fear as snakes hissed around the opening of the cave, their forked tongues poking through the gaps round the stone. At dawn, the creatures began to slink away to their hiding places. Gathering courage, I rolled back the stone and walked out again into the sunlit valley.Only a few places had I taken when something hurtled past me down the hillside.It was the body of a sheep. Then ,two or three more crashed down nearby.These were being thrown down the steep slope by Diamond hunters hoping that gems would stick in the animal's fleece.Giant eagles pounced on the dead sheep and carried them off for food to their nest high in the mountains.There the hunters would frighten away the birds and collect the diamonds.Till then,I had feared that there was no escape from the valley.But when I saw an eagle swoop on the dead sheep and carried it off,an idea struck to me. Accordingly, I crammed all diamonds I could into my pockets.Then I chose the largest sheep, unwounded my turban again and tied myself to it
I waited under the sheep,my head squashed between its body and the dry earth. One or two snakes hissed round the carcass but slithered away. And then, suddenly I was in the air, lifted by the sharp talons of the biggest eagle I had ever seen. Up, the bird flew, coming to rest on a high ledge.But before I could escape, the eagle started tearing into the sheep, its sharp beak slashing the meat closer and closer to my face. Luckily for me, suddenly the eagle flew into the air, frightened by a gang of me all yelling and throwing stones. I quickly freed myself and stood up. I was a horrible sight, covered with the sheep's blood and dust. The hunters terrified of me. I shouted out to them, I have more diamonds than you have ever seen, more than you'll ever need! And I collected them them all myself! I showed them my bulging pockets and told them my strange story.They took me to their master's tent,where he gave me food and drink and a welcome bath to rid me of the blood and the foul smell of the sheep.I offered the kind man as many diamonds as he wanted,but he took just a few.These will be enough ,he said. You must keep,my friend.You have earned a treasure. I made my way back to the nearest town and sold all the diamonds,but one,for a vast sum of money.I was able to buy a fleet of ship with rich cargoes to sell back in my home town,SUPER CITY.And this fine diamond you see shining in my turban is the one I kept to remind me of my fantastic luck.Another story of my life which made me rich and famous is the contest called MISS GOOD LOOKING and all started like this at the age seventeen,Ella was already glittering with extreme beauty.Any door that she knocked at to seek for help was fully opened in her favour.Ella hails from a city called SUPER CITY.This was six miles away from another city called LAND OF SKULL.The only Senior High school around was located in LAND OF SKULL.Day students in Super city normally walk for long hours to attend school at Super city each day.Lorries were hard to come by.Ella was a day student at LAND OF SKULL Senior High school.She walked to LAND OF SKULL everday.She needed money to buy a second hand Bicycle,but her parents could not afford it.After completing Senior High school,Ella felt should get involved in something that is easy rather than walking for hours each day.At seventeen years she felt she was already a woman.Some friends of Ella are Biaca,Diana, Ebony, Natasha,Isah, queen