Contests

New Story Contest: Mythological Creature

This Cricket includes stories about some mythical and magical characters, from a Greek goddess, to a shape-changing Japanese tanuki, even a beanstalk-climbing ninja cow. For this month’s contest, everybuggy would love to read your best original story featuring an amazing creature—or character of your own invention—from myth, legend, or folklore.

Will you write a story based on characters from classical mythology, like your favorite Greek hero, or the gods on Mount Olympus, or creatures such as the Minotaur, or Cyclops, or Pegasus? Perhaps you will be inspired by the legends of other ancient cultures to create a story about the Monkey King, or Anansi the spider, the Native American Thunderbird, or characters in Egyptian mythology such as Re the sun god or Bastet the cat. Maybe you will reimagine a familiar fairy tale character in a funny new way, like the cow in “Not Worth Beans” or the musical princess in “Princess Piper.” Or you might set an ancient mythological creature in modern or futuristic times, even on another planet.

Whether you write about a herd of centaurs in your backyard, a Japanese water dragon, the adventures of Hercules, or a fourth little pig, everybuggy will be reimagining their favorite tales as they await your best story—of 350 words or less, please—about a mythological or legendary creature or character.

  • (Show Rules)
    Here are the only rules: (Hide Rules)

    1. Your contest entry must be your very own original work. Ideas and words should not be copied.

    2. Your entry must be signed by your parent or guardian, stating that it is your own work, that no help was given, and that Cricket has permission to publish it in the magazine and on our website. 

    3. Be sure to include your name, age, and full address on your entry.

    4. Only one entry per person, please.

    5. If you want your work returned, enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope for each entry.

    6. Your entry must be received by September 25, 2022.

    7. Send entries to Cricket League, P.O. Box 300, Peru, IL 61354. (No faxes or email submissions, please!)

    8. We will publish winning entries in the January 2023 issue and on the Cricket website.