Feature of the Week: Halo Pang’s short story titled ‘Sweet shop showdown’

Halo Pang Hei-lo (aged 8), Po Leung Kuk Camoes Tan Siu Lin Primary School

One starless night, when everyone was asleep, a thief broke into Luna’s sweet shop.

He sneaked in from the back door and glanced around to see if anyone was there. He snatched some candy jars from the wall and tiptoed towards the cash register. Skilfully, he unlocked the cash drawer with just a paper clip.

With a bagful of candy and money on his back, a broad, evil smile spread across his face. He didn’t realise that Luna’s parrot and cat had been staring at him the whole time.

As the thief hurried out, the duo sprang into action. The parrot took a long, thin string from the cash register, and the cat took a valuable gold coin. Before the thief could reach the door, the cat threw the gold coin in front of him to distract him. Then, it hid under the cash register.

“Ha! Ha! Ha! Someone must have left this gold coin behind!” giggled the thief.

“Cat! Now!” commanded the parrot, who flew swiftly to the ceiling. The cat sneaked behind the thief swiftly, holding the string. The thief was too focused on picking up the coin; he didn’t notice the string under the coin. When he picked up the coin, he tripped.

“Ouch!” cried the thief in pain. The parrot flew down immediately, and the cat gave the other end of the string to the parrot. The parrot tied the thief with the string.

The thief shouted furiously, “Stop! You pesky parrot! Or I will lock you in a cage!”

Ignoring the thief, the cat bellowed, “Thief! In the sweet shop!”

Awoken by the noise, Luna, who was sleeping upstairs, sprinted down.

She called for the police immediately and they came in no time. The thief was handcuffed.

After they left, Luna patted the duo’s shoulders and exclaimed thankfully, “You two saved the day! No reward is too good for you!”

She suggested giving the parrot a fruit basket while the cat could have an electronic rat. The duo jumped and danced in joy.