English 100<br>
Dayle Turner - Instructor<br>
Leeward Community College<hr>

The following was written by a member of 
<a href="grp-d.htm">Group D</a>.  The students were asked to write a 
detailed piece of approximately 500 words about some event or incident that 
they could recall from memory.<hr>
<b><center>Cereal<br>
by <a href="cynthia.htm">Cynthia Agdeppa</a></b>
</center><p><pre>
     Do you remember the excitement of seeing that box of cereal with a 

prize inside?  I recall that certain excitement when I was maybe seven 

years old.

     One day, my mom brought home a brown paper bag filled with 

groceries.  She pulled out from the bag, a familiar red box with "Toucan 

Sam" and a bowl full of colorful rings pictured on the front.  I noticed 

there was a prize in the box, a floating dolphin, the one that you put 

baking soda inside to make it float.  I knew that I had to get prize *now*.

     I waited until my mom put all the groceries away.  She put the box 

of Fruit Loops on the top of the refrigerator beyond my reach, then left 

the kitchen.  I thought, "I have to get that dolphin."  So, I grabbed the 

chair, pushed it up against the refrigerator, and stood up on the chair 

to seize that box of Fruits Loops containing my prize.  I looked around to 

make sure no one would witness my evil deed.  Arms embracing the cereal 

box, I stepped off the chair and sat on the floor.

     I could just feel the anticipation rising within me as I lifted the 

top flap that  instructs "Pull Tab."  Then I pulled the other tab up.  

I got to the wax-paper bag where I saw the red O's, the green O's, and the 

yellow O's, all mixed up.  But before I tore the bag open, I shook the 

cereal box up and down real hard with the expectation of moving the prize 

further  up so that I wouldn't have to dig deep into the box.  My 

excitement building, I finally tore the bag open, and eagerly plunged my 

little pudgy hand into the colorful, crunchy mass.

     Round and round my hand searched in hopes of locating the floating 

dolphin, crushing some of those colorful O's in the process. I kept 

digging all the way to the bottom, feeling for the little plastic wrap 

that enclosed my prize.  By then, the cereal box had expanded from my 

digging frenzy.

     Finally, I pulled my hand out coated with residues of sugar and 

crushed colorful O's.  I held the box in my hand, looking hard at it to 

make sure that the floating dolphin was inside.  I've had a few instances 

where you would have to send for a prize, but the box stated, "Floating 

dolphin inside the box."

    Well!  There was one last thing I could do.  I could commit what was 

the ultimate sin in our household: dump out the whole box of cereal 

into a bowl to get my floating dolphin.

     Getting up from the floor, I walked over to the dish rack and 

grabbed the biggest bowl I saw.  I returned to the box of cereal I left 

on the floor and plopped myself down.  A little nervous, but very 

determined, I took the box and poured the entire contents into the bowl.

    There it was, the prize that I've searched so long for--the floating 

dolphin, nestled in all those colorful rings.  The joy I felt at the sight 

of it!  Dumping the empty box to the side, I swiped my floating dolphin 

from the mound of colorful rings and ran to the bathroom to play with my 

new prize.

     Moments later, my dad's voice thundered, "Who wen dump da box of 

cereal in da bowl?"  For a second, I froze and thought to myself, "Uh-oh, 

I better hide so he won't know it was me."  Terrified, I ran into my room 

floating dolphin clenched tightly in my hand, and hid beside my bed.

     He stomped into the room with a belt wrapped around his fist, and 

I knew I was going to get it.  I cowered against the bed while he stood 

over me and said, "No put yo hands in da box, and no dump all da cereal in 

da bowl if you not going eat'um all."  In a frightened little voice I 

replied," I sorry Dad, I soory, I not going do'um again.  Please, I 

sorry." But my pleas didn't move Dad.  He raised his arm and gave me 

four, or maybe five, whips on the side of my leg with the belt.  After 

each whip, he would repeat, "No put yo hands in the box."   Tears 

streamed down from my eyes.

     Finally, the whipping stopped, and I thought to myself, "Okay the 

worst is over with, I will never do it again."

     My dad stalked out  of the room but returned a minute later with 

the huge bowl of cereal and ordered me to eat everything.  So, there I 

sat alone in my room, forced to eat a huge bowl of Fruit Loops without 

any milk.  I sat there, picking one colorful ring after another, wishing 

I had milk to flush the dryness in my mouth from the cereal.

     Well, I'm sure that a few of us can relate to such an experience, 

rushing to get a cereal box prize that's worth millions to children.  Yet 

for a parent, they just view our act as "stupid."  No matter how hard we 

try to deny our act, parents know the "tell-tale" sign that show their 

child has dug his or her hands into the cereal or has dumped out the 

entire contents by the expanded box.  Parents know that children know 

that children would go to extremes to get that toy at the bottom of the 

box, like I did.<hr></pre> 
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