Descriptive Essay: The Pitiable Pierce County Fair

Chapter Seventeen

The Pitiable Pierce County Fair

An hour later, I was in the backseat of our silver SUV. Mom slid in front, and Dad floored it. We shot across enormous dips in the pavement at eighty miles an hour.

“We’re kind of in a hurry kiddo, so buckle up.” He winked at me in the rearview mirror, rapping his knuckles against the nylon belt. “Remember, safety first.”

“Why? What’s the rush?” I asked, trying to strap myself in.

“If we’re taking the tram, we need to hustle. It stops transporting at 10:00 a.m.”

He punched it, zipping along the highway at the speed of sound. My stomach was doing loop-the-loops by the time we reached the parking lot.

We raced across the street, climbed onto the tram and zipped inside the fair. It was a sunny

The pen reeked like used kitty litter, sewage, and something else . . . a stink I remembered smelling during a field trip to a tuna packing plant in the second grade. Rotten fish.

The next thing that hit me was the scene. It was sad. Sitting in the filthy cage were some of the most pitiful animals I had ever seen: a few sorry lop-eared bunnies, a scruffy goat, and a miserable brown

“He thought that if he had the power of the scepter, he could force me to stay. Anyway, it tainted him. Slowly greed soured his soul and poisoned the other creatures in the Forbidden Forest.”

I imagined the super creepy green troll as a satyr—large, pointed ears, horns, long curly hair, goatee, hairy hindquarters, and standing on two hooves—dancing to the soft whistle of his flute and the sound of gurgling water. Or perhaps sitting in a tree singing love songs. I decided to keep that image to myself.

“Once the forces of evil consumed him, he was cursed and he’s been searching for me ever since, wanting to exact his revenge. Finally, he found me in the forest. He threatened to lock me up in his dungeon where he could keep an eye on me. Instead, he sent me here.” Sage’s pupils became slits full of terror. “The problem is, after a while, I won’t be able to go back. I will lose my power to shift, and I’ll be trapped in this body forever.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to get out of here, and you’re going to help,” she bleated loudly. I jumped. The other animals stopped their munching and glared at her. She looked