THE PIRATES AND THE LOST TREASURE

There was once an invisible ship aboard which some wicked pirates lived. These pirates spent their days sailing the seas and oceans hunting for very valuable treasure – some hidden treasure that no one had ever been able to find.

The pirates and their ship were invisible, and you could only see it if you were a pirate too. It also meant that the pirates could get to all the hidden treasure before anyone else, for they wouldn’t leave a trace.

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As usual, the pirates set sail for some hidden treasure that no one had ever heard of, but even so this treasure was very special for it guarded a big secret…

Following the course of the treasure map, the pirates were impatient to get there as soon as possible, for they believed it would be the best treasure they had ever seen. In no time at all, the pirates’ invisible ship had reached the treasure island and as they were the first to get there they were very happy.

Short stories - the pirates and the lost treasure

Just as the treasure map indicated, they had to head inland from the beach by taking one hundred paces in a straight line, turning right and taking eight more paces – and there, buried in the sand, was the hidden treasure.

The pirates grabbed their picks and spades and starting digging as fast as they could, taking it in turns when one got tired. But after they had been digging for quite a while, they hit something metal… Continue reading…

THE MAGICIAN AND THE MAGIC UMBRELLA

Legend has it that many, many years ago there was a wizard who had always wanted to fly like a bird to see what it felt like to soar through the air. Arion, for that was the wizard’s name, hoped that one day he would finally manage to fly, so every day as soon as he got up he would set to work in his laboratory searching for the magic formula.

One day, as the wizard was doing his experiments and inventing new potions, his cat Dabra arrived in the laboratory. He was so happy to see the wizard that in his haste he broke into a run and knocked over some of the potions Arion had made.

The wizard got very annoyed with Dabra and said: “Naughty cat!! I don’t want to see you ever again, get out of this house!!” And so Dabra went sadly out onto the street.

Short stories -the magician and the magic umbrella

Arion the wizard went round cleaning up all the liquid that had fallen on the floor and on top of an old umbrella that the wizard had had since he was a boy, for it had been a gift from his grandfather. Arion couldn’t believe it – the umbrella had been stained multicoloured by the potions! “Oh no!” he cried, “That cat has destroyed my grandfather’s umbrella, it’s ruined!”

But just as Arion the wizard was about to throw the umbrella in the bin, he accidentally opened it up and saw a blaze of colourful lights surrounding him. And then he noticed that his feet weren’t touching the floor – they were in the air!

In a flash, Arion realised that the umbrella was magic, and that by holding it he could fly. Excited, he shouted: “I’m flying like a bird at last!!” Continue reading…

THE LOCH NESS MONSTER

A long, long time ago there was a legend about a monster that lived in a lake called Ness, by the side of a little village in Scotland. No one had ever seen the Loch Ness Monster, but the whole world talked about her. People said that the monster in the lake was as big as a football pitch, that she had four eyes and ate all the little children who went near the lake.

Jake, for that was the name of an adventurous little boy from the area, decided to investigate and set off to explore the area around Loch Ness. Jake knew that if the rumours of the monster were true, he wouldn’t come out of his adventure alive. But there was something inside him that made him think that what people said was false.

Jake believed that if there really was a monster in Loch Ness, she couldn’t be as bad as the villagers said, for he believed that all living beings had their good and bad points, and that we should try to get the best out of each other.

Short stories - the loch ness monster

So Jake went off with his backpack full of food. When he reached the banks of the lake, he began throwing the food to attract the Loch Ness Monster. Continue reading…

THE BRAVE LITTLE FARM PIG

There was once a farm situated on the outskirts of a village, called Bimbo’s Farm.

There were lots of animals there – cows, sheep, chickens and a little piggy called Pinky, who had been the last to arrive as he was only two months’ old.

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Pinky was a very playful little pig, who liked spending time with the sheep grazing out on the meadows. He would run behind them until Pluto the sheepdog told him off for not letting the sheep eat in peace. So he would stop bothering them – until Pluto’s attention was turned elsewhere…

For all his peskiness, Pinky was a very brave little pig, for one day when the sheep were out on the field he saw a wolf creep up in the bushes and pass unnoticed in front of the napping Pluto.

Short stories - the brave little farm pig

All at once, the wolf bounded out of the bushes and made straight for the sheep, but Pinky Continue reading…

THE LITTLE BOY AND THE ALMONDS

Once upon a time there was a little boy called Marco who lived in a village near Madrid, in Spain. Marco was a very observant little boy and loved nature. He especially loved flowers, and he had realised that the only time almond trees blossom is in spring.

Every spring day, he liked to look at the blossoms and see the pretty colours that appeared in this season. But the little boy got very sad when spring passed into summer and he could no longer see the almond blossoms.

One day, his wise old grandfather told him something very important: “You should look on the positive side of things,” he said, and continued, “Almond trees may not flower in summer, but you can sit under them for shade. Almond trees may not flower in autumn, but they produce the almonds that you can eat if you break the shells between two stones. And almond trees may not flower in winter, but their branches are full of snow and look beautiful.”

Short stories - The little boy and the almonds

That was how Marco understood the greatness of nature and decided not to get sad at any time of year, because there are always beautiful things to admire.

THE END

THE CHILDREN’S SWING

There was once a green swing in a very big playground, which was inside a school. It was a very special swing, for adults couldn’t see it. But the children would play on it every day. They could see it from anywhere in the playground, for it shone a radiant green even at night-time.

One day, twelve-year-old Joshua decided to go and play on the swing as he did every day, but this afternoon he felt rather an odd sensation as he walked nearer. It was almost like he didn’t feel like playing…

The next day, to his horror, he could no longer see the swing. And even though he wasn’t sure what had happened to it, he began to cry…

Short stories - the childrens swing

Joshua was so worried about this turn of events that he went to tell his friends, but none of them knew what had happened either. They tried to reassure him: “We don’t know what’s wrong with you, but we can see the swing…Maybe it’s because you’ve got older…” Continue reading…

THE HELPFUL BUS

A long time ago in a little village called Four Houses, there lived a red bus whose job it was to take the children to school.

Normally, the bus would stop in the village square to collect them and take them to another village a few kilometres away, for there was no school in Four Houses.

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Each journey cost ninety-nine cents, but one day the red bus decided that he wasn’t going to charge the children anything at all, for many of their parents had no job and it was difficult to save money, and he thought it would be a good way of helping them.

The red bus was delighted to take the children for free, but after a few months his wheels were so worn out that he couldn’t even turn around and it was very difficult to move.

Short stories - The helpful bus

One morning, the mothers and fathers were ready as usual in the main square of Four Houses waiting for the red bus. But this was no ordinary day, for the red bus was twenty minutes’ late… Very slowly, he came chugging along but once he got to the square he collapsed from exhaustion. There was no way he could take the children to school today…

Seeing that all the red bus wanted to do was help them help their children get a good education, the villagers decided that each family would put forward some money according to how much they could afford. Then the helpful bus could go to a garage to be repaired and be as good as new. Continue reading…

CUTHBERT, THE FIREMAN CLOWN

There was once a clown called Cuthbert who would often ask a child from the audience to come up on stage with him.

Every day before starting the show, Cuthbert the clown would put on his red shoes, which were twice as big as his feet, and stick on his red nose. The circus music started to play and the procession of clowns began. A whole pile of clowns began streaming out of a fire engine – one, two, three, as many as fifteen clowns!! They were all dressed up as firemen and when they were all on stage, Cuthbert ordered all the lights to go off and just one spotlight to choose which child would come on stage today. There was a drum roll, and the spotlight fell on its chosen child.

Charlie, for that was the name of the lucky boy, ran out on stage to the clowns. Cuthbert asked him, “Are you ready to start the mission?” to which Charlie answered: “Yes I am!!”

Short stories - Cuthbert the fireman clown

At that moment, Cuthbert took out a red sponge nose and put it on Charlie’s face. Such was his surprise when all the audience started to laugh at the funny sight of the little boy and the big red nose.

But suddenly the little boy began to look upset, for he felt as though everyone was laughing at him. In another moment, he had burst into tears and tore off the nose that Cuthbert the clown had given him, running out of the circus as fast as he could.

Everyone waited to see what would happen next. But the clowns went on with the show, whilst Cuthbert went to look for Charlie whom he found hiding at the back of the big top.

“Charlie, why are you crying?” asked Cuthbert the clown kindly.

“Because everyone was laughing at me!” replied Charlie between sobs.

Then Cuthbert understood why Charlie was feeling so upset and said: “Charlie, when I come out on stage to act, do you laugh?” Continue reading…

WESLEY, THE BOY WIZARD

A long, long time ago there was a family who spent all their time doing magic. Wesley’s parents and grandparents were all wizards, and Wesley wanted to be a great wizard, too.

He already knew how to turn a frog into a snake with his magic wand. He could also stop time by saying the magic words: “Tempo stoppus, abracadabra!”

One day Wesley was on his way to school when he saw a couple of hooligans tormenting a little dog who had been trotting down the street.

Short stories - Wesley the boy wizard

Wesley uttered the magic words and stopped time in order to rescue the dog and take him out of reach of the horrible louts. But when he started time again, one of the hooligans caught sight of him scooping up the little dog in his arms and disappearing Continue reading…

PLUTO, THE SWIMMING DOG

Once upon a time there was a dog called Pluto, whose fur was brown and whose eyes were black, and whose shape was slender and sleek.

Pluto lived with his master, Philip, a somewhat absent-minded student at the university, whom Pluto occasionally had to get out of trouble…

Yesterday was no different. Can you guess what happened to Pluto and Philip when they went into the country for a day out?

Well, it was a Sunday when Philip liked to take Pluto out to run around as much as he pleased. The field they usually went to was very pretty, full of trees with big pastures, and there was even a river where Philip would settle into a boat to read and relax.

Short stories - Pluto the swimming dog

Like always, Pluto was dashing around here and there and everywhere, while Philip lay in the boat by the riverbank and read his book. Suddenly, a strong wind began to blow, the boat began to tilt madly from side to side until eventually it turned over and tipped Philip into the water with a splash.

Philip yelled for help because he didn’t know how to swim… Continue reading…