Dirty Danny and the Quest for Cleanliness

Our presentation was a hit! Sarah Hammond was the star of the show with her enthusiasm and theatrics. Each group voted for their top 3 favorites, and really, there's no competition. We were entertaining. We displayed embarrasing pictures of ourselves and threw candy into the crowd, so who wouldn't vote for us? Because, you know, learning is a competition. We'll find out the results on Thursday. I've had a couple requests to post our entire story. So without further ado (no one is under any obligation to read this. It's kind of long, and is defnitely wordy...I'm going to boldify my favorite sentence of wordiness for you) here it is. Enjoy!

Dirty Danny and the Quest for Cleanliness
by: Sarah Hammond, Charity Johnson, Laina Dilling, Cameron Yenney, and Mack Turnrose

Dirty Danny was a handsome boy from far away, but when he got closer you understood his name. Plants wilted in his path, fish went belly up in the pond and birds fell from the sky due to his foul odor. To this day the smell remains indescribable but if you insist upon knowing it is similar to rotting meat and brussel sprouts. If you think that is too extreme, then you haven’t smelled Dirty Danny.
Down the road from Dirty Danny lived another small boy by the name of Cleanly Lenny. He was the opposite of Dirty Danny in every “scent” of the word. Cleanly Lenny didn’t smell putrid at all, in fact he smelled quite divine. He was the son of the town’s best florists, who grew the most prized flowers every spring. Although he loved the scent of the flowers his family grew, he still accepted Danny for the stinky boy he was. Lenny was the only child who could see past Dirty Danny’s filthy exterior to the kind-hearted young boy that he truly was.
Unfortunately, Cleanly Lenny’s parents looked down upon their son’s friendship with Danny, unable to see beyond his smell. One spring day Lenny invited Danny over for lunch, with hesitant approval from his parents. When Danny walked through the front door, his stench followed closely behind. Within minutes after his entrance into the cottage, the recently harvested prized flowers began to wither under the powerful potency that accompanied Danny. Mother fainted and dropped to the floor just as fast as the deceased petals of the once beautiful bouquets did. Father furrowed his brow upon witnessing the destruction, and yelled, “Danny, you rotten boy! Your stench has caused this family much grief and financial hardship! I am banishing you from my home, and you can never again be friends with my son! BE GONE!”
With much shame and embarrassment, Dirty Danny walked out the door with his head hung low. To his astonishment, Lenny chased after him.
“I am so ashamed,” said Danny. “I’m going to go hide in the forest for the rest of my life! I ruin everything.”
“Well, no one can manage the forest trolls alone. I’m coming with you!” Lenny explained. With the sun still high in the sky, the friends began their journey into the depths of the forest.
Although the two friends escaped into the forest, it did not comfort Danny. His scent was still as strong as ever and even the skunks turned away in disgust.
“Why am I so repulsive, Lenny?”
“You’re not repulsive,” comforted Lenny, “It’s just your dirty exterior.”
“What do you mean…” asked Danny.
Before Lenny could reply, the ground began to shake and heavy steps were heard approaching. A troll with surprisingly beautiful hair and otherwise hideous features appeared. He was immediately attracted to Danny’s dirty and tangled locks.
“I could only imagine having such untamed hair. My brothers and sisters were blessed with hideous hair and I have unfortunately been cursed with these beautiful locks,” the troll complained. “I am on my way to the troll ball, and having such disgusting hair would surely win me the heart of the troll princess. I would do anything for that hair.”
In shock Lenny advised Danny to give the troll what he wanted. “If you don’t comply with the request,” whispered Lenny, “then you will surely be taken as his slave.”
Danny kept his wits about him and remembered that trolls are not the brightest of creatures, but are certainly the wealthiest. In a thunderous voice, the troll demanded, “give me your hair young human, or suffer the consequences!”
Although Danny was slightly frightened, it didn’t take long for him to devise a plan. He cleverly convinced the troll that it would be in his best interest to purchase the tangled hair, “You won’t find any hair more disgusting in this forest, Troll, and certainly the troll princess will fall in love with a troll with such locks. Since this hair is so precious, to receive it, it will cost you all the gold you are currently carrying this evening.”
Because of his ignorance, the troll quickly obliged to the terms, and emptied all the gold from his pockets and threw it to their feet. As Lenny scrambled as fast as he could to gather the gold that lay before them, the troll grabbed young Dirty Danny by the length of his locks. With one swift movement of his knife, SWOOSH, he took the hair and Danny fell to the ground.
Now that the troll held Danny’s hair in his hand, he threatened him by saying, “Listen here boy, you must promise me to always comb your hair so that I remain the only one who has the privilege of owning such grotesque hair. If I find that you haven’t followed my demands, I will take you and your friend as my slaves for all eternity.”
Soon after the encounter with the first troll, Lenny and Danny continued further into the forest, when again the ground began to shake with heavy steps of an approaching troll. Before the boys could see what was causing the ruckus, they were overwhelmed by a delightful scent. A hideous troll with a surprisingly alluring smell emerged from the trees.
“Not even my parent’s flowers smell as divine as you, Troll,” Lenny said.
The troll furiously snapped back, “Who dares to compare me to a flower. I am a powerful troll and can easily take you as my…” Before the troll could finish his sentence he was captivated by the aroma that was Danny. “I could only imagine having such a putrid body odor. My brothers and sisters were blessed with rancid fumes, while I have unfortunately been cursed with this flowery scent,” the troll complained. “I am on my way to the troll ball, and having such a foul smell would surely win me the heart of the troll princess. I would do anything for that stench.”
With much fright, Lenny advised Danny to give the troll what he wanted. “If you don’t comply with his request,” whispered Lenny, “this troll will surely take us as his slaves.”
Being the quick-witted boy that Danny was, he devised a plan to make the most of the troll’s demand. “Surely Troll you can have this scent of mine for all the silver in your pockets.”
Immediately the troll obliged to the deal, and emptied his pockets of all his silver, throwing the coins to their feet. Lenny speedily gathered the silver before him, as the troll took Danny into his arms and transferred the scent.
Now that the troll reeked of rotting meat and brussel sprouts, he threatened Danny by saying, “listen here boy, you must promise me to bathe everyday so that I remain the only one who has the privilege of owning such a horrid smell. If I find that you haven’t followed my demands, I will take you and your friend as my slaves for all eternity.”
Soon after the encounter with the second troll, Lenny and Danny continued even further into the forest, when again the ground began to shake with heavy steps of an approaching troll. Before the boys could see what was causing the commotion, they were blinded by a flash of bright light. A hideous troll with a surprisingly beautiful smile approached the boys.
“I have never in my life seen teeth as white as yours. They are brighter than the first snow of winter,” said Lenny.
“Take it back, boy!” the troll angrily exclaimed. “Who dares to compliment my smile? I could easily take you two for my slaves.” After warning Lenny and Danny the troll suddenly noticed the yellow goop covering Danny’s teeth. “I could only imagine having such discolored and rotten teeth. My brothers and sisters were blessed with decaying mouths, while I have unfortunately been cursed with this electric smile,” the troll complained. “I am on my way to the troll ball, and having a smile such as yours would surely win me the heart of the troll princess. I would do anything for that grin.”
With much terror, Lenny advised Danny to give the troll what he wanted. “If you don’t comply with his request,” whispered Lenny, “this troll will surely take us as his slaves.”
Being the intelligent boy that Danny was, he promptly devised a plan to benefit from the troll’s demand. “Surely Troll you can have this smile of mine for all the jewels in your pockets.”
Quickly the troll emptied his pockets of all his jewels, tossing the riches to their feet. Lenny hastily gathered all that was before him, as the troll grabbed a branch from a tree, SNAP, and continued to scrape the scum off of Danny’s teeth before applying it to his own.
Now that the troll’s teeth were covered in gunk and glop, he threatened Danny by saying, “Listen here boy, you must promise to brush your teeth at least twice a day so that I will remain the only one in the forest with such nasty chompers. If I find that you haven’t followed my demands, I will take you and your friend as my slaves for all eternity.”
With a pleasant scent, neatly trimmed hair, and a handsome smile, Lenny and Danny returned home from their adventures in the forest. To compensate for the destruction of Lenny’s parents’ flowers, Danny presented to them all of the riches acquired along their journey. They accepted his gift, and because of his transformation and kind gesture they welcomed him into their home. Soon after, the town followed their example, and Danny was welcomed wherever he went, and became affectionately known as Delightful Danny.

The End