Model Essay I

An Experience in the Woods

Written by Olivia (my student in 2002; now a student in NUS Medicine Faculty)

It was a long walk up the hill. Mother Nature embraced the two children with the tranquility of the surroundings. The melodious chirping of the birds, the lush, green leaves, and the dancing butterflies as they fluttered from flower to flower stimulated their senses.

"What a beautiful place!" thought young Fiona, feeling at ease with herself as she trudged up close behind her brother, John. They were searching for a place where they could have their picnic. They soon settled on an open clearing and prepared their picnic. John was halfway through his peanut butter sandwich when he spotted a cave opening. His imagination ran wild. Thousands of scenarios flooded his mind. A pack of tigers? A robbers’ hideout? He decided to check it out for himself.

Inquisitive by nature, his curiosity lured him towards the opening. Fiona hung back, being only six, she was afraid of such places.

Stepping into the darkness, there was not a hint of hesitation in John’s footsteps as he held his sister close. There was a dim, uninviting gloom about the place. The trickling sound of the water sent shivers down their spines. Nevertheless, they continued walking.

When their eyes had adjusted to the darkness, they spotted an old man, bent, feeble, and humbled by life’s cruel lessons, sitting and coughing roughly on the ground.

Fiona heaved a sigh of relief. At least it was not any wild animal. But why was the old man here? Did he live here? There were still many questions that had yet to be answered.

John ventured tentatively towards the man.

“Who are you?” the old man croaked.

“W-we…we mean no harm…” John stammered.

“Excuse me, mister,” Fiona started. “Do you live here?”

“Ahh…you are right about that,” he sighed. “For many years this has been my home.”

Slowly, they began to warm towards the old man. They began to ask him many questions and soon found out that the old man lived alone, and that he survived on wild berries and occasionally some bird meat. He had been a hunter, and he was equipped with enough skills to survive in the wilderness.

"How did it feel?" Fiona thought to herself. "To have stones for a bed and wild berries for food?’ she shuddered involuntarily, feeling utmost pity for the old man.

Suddenly, she rushed back out, gathered all the picnic foods, and offered them to the old man. He seemed delighted at the prospect of having a change in his diet after so many years, and gobbled it all down before you could say ‘Jack Robinson’.

They were soon taken on a tour by the old man of the picturesque surroundings.

“See?” the old man said, pointing at a hole in a huge tree. “There lives a squirrel who comes out everyday without fail when it starts to get dark.” Just then, out popped a squirrel’s furry head.

“Oh!” cried John, a realization dawning on him. “It is almost five already! We had better get going!”

Reluctantly, they packed whatever was left of their picnic things and set off for home. John dropped pieces of cloth as they walked home, marking the route along the way, but when they tried to find the place the next day, it was nowhere to be found. They searched and searched, but their efforts were futile. They never saw the kind old man again.