Jamie and the Golden Secret of the Philippines.

My name is Jamie and I am currently sitting on a giant aeroplane that is flying over the ocean.

We are going to the Philippines to see my Lolo and Lola (Grandpa and Grandma). It takes a million hours to get there, but I don’t mind because the aeroplane gave me a tiny bag of pretzels and a TV in the back of my chair.

When we finally landed, it was very hot and smelled like yummy mangoes. My Lolo has a house near a big mountain with trees that look like giant umbrellas.

“Jamie,” Lolo said, “be careful of the Duwende! (gnome) They are tiny people who live in the dirt and guard the gold.”

I grabbed my blue shovel. I wasn’t scared of tiny people. I was a professional treasure hunter.

I went to the backyard where the banana trees grow. The dirt there was dark and wet. I started digging a hole to see if I could find a volcano.

THUMP. CRACK.

My shovel hit something hard. I thought it was a coconut, but when I pulled it out, it was a rock, but it was covered in shiny, yellow glitter! It was shaped like a star, and it felt heavy like a big bag of coins.

“Sparky! Look!” I whispered (but Sparky was back home, so I told a big lizard on the wall instead). The lizard blinked at me. He knew I was rich.

I wiped the mud off my shorts. The rock was so bright it looked like a piece of the Philippine sun was trapped inside. I ran into the house and hid it in my backpack under my extra socks. I had a big Philippines plan:

Buy a boat that looks like a shark to go to all the islands.

Get a lifetime supply of Jollibee chicken.

Build a tree house made of gold in Lolo’s backyard.

Buy a pet monkey that wears a tiny hat.

That night, I kept checking my backpack. I was worried the Duwende would come back for their star rock. I dreamed I was the king of the mangoes, and my crown was made of my shiny gold star.

In the morning, I showed the rock to my Lola while she was making breakfast.

“Lola! Look the tiny people left me their gold,” I shouted.

Lola put down her spoon and put on her glasses. She looked at the sparkly star. Then she smiled a very big smile.

“Oh, Jamie! This is pyrite, but here we call it ginto ng tanga. Fool’s Gold! It’s a very special rock that comes from the mountains.”

I felt a little bit sad. No shark boat? No monkey with a hat?

But then Lola hugged me. “But Jamie, look how it shines. It’s a souvenir from the earth. Since you found such a big treasure, I think we should go get some Halo-Halo ice cream with extra purple scoops!”

I grinned. Real gold is just a heavy rock, but Halo-Halo is the best treat in the world. I put my golden star in my pocket. It’s my favourite thing I found in the Philippines, and it’s definitely staying on my shelf forever.

Jamie Froom, 7.