My school is letting us go on a three-week vacation and these are some things that I am looking forward to. First of all, Christmas is next Tuesday and who wouldn't be excited about that? (Please excuse this for every person who celebrates a different holiday, other than Christmas.) I have absolutely no idea what I want for Christmas yet and with it being so soon I just am probably going to tell them to get me whatever for Christmas, because I reall don't have a clue. Of course there is also Russian hristmas that my family also celebrates. Now you arer probably thinking, oh Russians will have the same Christmas, so what is the big deal? It is because the Russians go by an older calender than ours. So they celebrate Christmaslater than Americans do. My family does a little bit of gift giving every year for that. Another thing I am looking forward to is New Year's Eve.

       I am a farmer working in the fields of China. While I am watering my crops I hear the sound of hoofs pounding on the ground. Shading my eyes from the sun, I see the outline of figures running, no galloping on horses towards me. A drum starts beating ominously and I am am filled with worry. One thought fills my mind; the Mongols are coming. As they draw nearer and nearer to my fields I do the one thing my mind says: run. I don't know where, I just have to get away from my village, my house, and my fields. Yelling and screaming my head off I push through the city scared with adrenaline pumping in my veins. AS I look back once more I see the Mongols attacking my fields, and I know I will never come back to see my home again. Past the countryside, I know I must rest, although uneasy I sleep for fear they will catch up to me. In the middle of the night the Mongols have appeared again to the west, and I run east. My bones and muscles are tired, though from all the excersise I recieved the day before. Thankfully, I find a village not far ahead and try to make myself scarce. This will not be easy to do, for the Mongols destroy and kill almost everything. As I enter the market place the Mongols have already gotten to the city and are killing the innocent lives of the people. This time I can not escape. I am trapped in a small corner with the Mongols heading my way.
       I try to make myself smaller so they don't see me. They do. Fear is circling around my heart and this time  know I will never live again. I was lucky that I could get away the first time, but my luck has ran out. The axe is being raised right before my huge glassy eyballs, and I wait for the strike. It does not come right away. They try to savor the moment and kill things around me. My heart thumps so nosily I think everyone can here it. Finally, the axe is raised right at me an cuts right at my heart the last thing I remember before life left me, was my reflection in the sharp metal. Then my body slumps and I am gone.