- [Children] "Gobbledy Book."

(upbeat music) - [Announcer] Support for the Arkansas PBS Writer's Contest is provided by the June Hoes Williams Endowment.

(light magical music) - Hi, everyone.

Today we're celebrating our Arkansas PBS Writer's Contest winners.

With us today is our first place winner from the second grade, Kirksey Miner, with a story she wrote and illustrated called "The Riddles to a Treasure."

Kirksey is eight years old.

One day she hopes to become an author and a teacher and she's off to a great start.

The "Riddles to a Treasure" features a magical fairy and a mysterious jaguar.

What more could you ask for?

Now introducing the great Kirksey Miner.

(audience applauds) - Hi, my name is Kirksey and the book I'm going to be reading is the "Riddles to a Treasure."

There was a young girl named Iris and her fairy friend named Flutter.

One day they were going on walk and when they were about to turn around, Iris tripped on a rock.

As Flutter was about to ask Iris if she was okay, Iris quickly stopped her and said, "I'm fine, but come look at what I found."

Iris found a treasure map.

Flutter said, "That's amazing, we should find the treasure."

Iris agreed, so they went off.

As they were walking, they heard a rattling sound in the bushes.

They were curious so they went to find out what it was.

They saw that it was a jaguar making that noise.

"Ah," they both shouted.

The jaguar jumped into a tree and said, "The treasure you seek is mine to keep, "passing my riddles and it's yours from me."

Iris and Flutter were confused.

So Flutter asks, "Who are you and what is your name?"

"The name of me is Shercon, you see, "and the treasure you seek is mine to keep."

Iris and Flutter had a problem.

The jaguar wouldn't let them have the treasure unless they passed the riddles.

Iris asked, "What's the first riddle?"

Shercon said, "Follow the path to the cave of wonder, "then you'll find next riddle to honor."

And then Shercon disappeared.

"What does that mean?," Flutter asked.

"I guess we find a path and follow it," Iris answered.

So they both were looking around and after a couple of minutes, Flutter said, "Iris, come look, I found the path."

"That's wonderful, Flutter," Iris replied.

And so they followed a path to the cave.

Shercon said, "Now it's time to solve the second riddle."

Shercon said the last riddle.

"What is stronger than love and greater than infinity?"

Flutter was confused, but Iris immediately got it.

"Nothing," Iris cried.

They looked up and saw a key floating down to them.

Then a treasure chest came up from the ground.

Iris and Flutter opened the treasure chest together and in it was a ton of gold.

And they lived happily ever after.

The end.

(audience applauds) - Hello.

- Hello.

- Well, your story was very, very inspiring.

It's encouraged me to want to write my own story, but like, I don't have any good ideas right now.

How did you come up with yours?

- Well, I wrote it from a memory when I was four, but I eventually gave up on it 'cause I couldn't think of anything else and I felt like it wasn't good enough.

So when I got older, I remembered that story, and I was able to get more ideas and I added onto my story from when I was four years old.

- Whoa.

So this story has been like, years in the making?

And so you're an author.

What draws you to writing?

- I just love writing and I love having important messages behind all of the stories because it feels important to me that from every story you learn something important.

- Whoa.

Very cool.

Well, I'm still trying to come up with ideas for my story.

I think maybe, like, going on a walk can maybe like, we could get inspired if we see something around here.

- Yeah.

- Would you like to join me?

- Mm-hmm.

- Awesome, let's go.

(bright magical music) See what else we can find.

(bright magical music) See the forest, how it zig zags?

- Uh-huh.

- Very cool.

Do you see anything that inspires you?

- [Kirksey] Yes, because there's a lot of art here.

Some weird, some fascinating, and some just random.

Very random.

(Andre gasps) (bright magical music) - I found the perfect idea.

- Same.

(bright magical music) (duck quacks) - [Children] "Gobbledy Book."