THE DAY OF THE TREE

Matthew had woken up before his alarm went off, which was very unusual because normally he was a real sleepyhead. He jumped out of bed, put on his explorer costume, made his bed, pulled on his boots and went down to the kitchen for breakfast.

Matthew’s mother and father were busy making breakfast, and were very surprised to see Matthew appear at the door… “Good morning, son, what’s up with you today? How come you’re up so early?!” laughed his father.

“Well, I woke up before the alarm, so I wasn’t sleepy,” answered Matthew.

For Matthew, today was a very special day. It was the day of the tree, and they had bought a small tree to plant in the field as a symbol of respect for nature.

Short stories - The day of the tree

After breakfast, they set off. They took the necessary tools to plant the tree: a hoe, gloves and a hose for watering it.

When they got to the field, Matthew’s mouth fell open: they weren’t the only ones who had thought of planting a tree! There were lots of other children doing the same thing and also writing little cards to go with them, with the date and their name on it.

Matthew was sad to discover that his idea wasn’t new, and that lots of other people had had the same thought.

“Matthew, your idea to plant a tree in the field was lovely so there’s no reason to be sad,” remarked his mother. Continue reading…

THE PRINCESS AND HER SWIFT HORSE

In a far-off land there was once a sweet young princess called Sophie. The princess lived in the tower of a big castle with her father King Arturo and her mother Queen Victoria.

The young princess loved going riding with Flash, her horse. They usually went trotting in the forest, but what the princess liked best of all was to hurtle around the castle fields as fast as Flash could gallop.

King Arturo usually warned Princess Sophie to take care before she went riding and to avoid going into the forest, for there lived a winged monster that was very wicked.

Short stories - The princess and her swift horse

One day, Sophie got ready to go riding with Flash, for after several days of rain the weather had cleared and the sun was shining brightly. Flash and Princess Sophie had a great time, but because they were having such a great time they didn’t notice that they were going deeper and deeper into the forest…

Suddenly, Princess Sophie realised that it was getting dark. As she looked around, she noticed that they were deep in the dangerous forest her father King Arturo had warned her about.

“Flash, I think we’re in the middle of the forest,” said Sophie.

“Looks like it, Princess,” answered Flash.

“We have to get out of here as quickly as possible, Flash. It isn’t safe,” said Sophie.

At that instant, a strange noise sounded from among the trees… Princess Sophie and Flash galloped away in fright, for the noise could be from the dangerous winged monster.

By the sounds of things, the monster was getting closer and closer but Princess Sophie didn’t lose hope. She carried on riding, trying to escape out of the forest and into safety. “Run Flash, don’t stop! Keep going and we’ll get out!” the princess encouraged Flash. Continue reading…

THE LAME CROCODILE

There was once a very brave crocodile who had lived with Ahmed and Maya since he was very small. His name was Limpy, and we shall tell you why.

The story of our friend the crocodile begins at the river bank of the Nile, which was no ordinary river… It was a dangerous river, not just because of its wild waters, but also because there lived some fierce and very dangerous crocodiles.

For a very long time, no one had gone near the spot despite its great beauty, for the wicked crocodiles prowled its banks. That was why they put up warning signs telling people about the savage crocodiles.

One day, Ahmed and Maya were taking a walk along a path near the Nile. It was a very pleasant stroll, for the sun had come up and the birds were trilling merrily.

Short stories - The lame crocodile

Suddenly they heard shouts – it sounded like shouts for help and it was coming from the riverbank of the Nile…

Ahmed didn’t hesitate for a second and ran to see what was happening, for he knew that crocodiles lay in wait at the banks of the river and it was a very perilous place.

When Ahmed reached the river bank, panting and out of breath from the speed at which he had run, he found himself face to face with two huge crocodiles trying to attack a little crocodile that had turned up at this part of the river and was completely confused at finding himself cornered by the wild beasts.

“Don’t worry, little one, come here, grab my hand! Swim, swim!” called Ahmed to the little crocodile.

“Please help me, they’ve injured my leg!” answered the little crocodile.

At last he managed to grab Ahmed’s hand, who pulled with all his might to heave the little crocodile out of the river where the two wild crocs were lurking. “Come on, my brave little croc, I’ve got you. Let’s get out of here,” said Ahmed with a wink.

The poor little crocodile was trembling in fear at what had happened, and said Continue reading…

THE TINY LITTLE MOUSE

There was once a tiny little mouse called Marvin.

He was so small that when his friends called him, he had to light a match for them to see him. At school he was always teased for being so small, but he didn’t care and remained deaf to everything people said to him.

-

Watch this children’s story and connect English subtitles:

However, what some of them didn’t realise was that Marvin was the only mouse not to fall into the traps set by humans. Whenever he had to dodge the traps to get to his mouse hole, Marvin darted home nimbly and never once stepped on the mechanism that activated the traps.

Childrens stories - the tiny little mouse

And that wasn’t all. Whenever a human went mouse-hunting, Marvin would hide in the cheese holes and they never caught him. He was the only one who could.

Continue reading…

THE ADVENTURES OF LOLA

If ever there was an intrepid and adventurous little girl, it was certainly eight-year-old Lola. Lola lived with her parents and grandfather in a house in a small village, surrounded by mountains, a river and lots and lots of trees.

Every day after school once Lola had done her homework, she would eat a snack and think up a new adventure. Today, Lola put on her explorer glasses and picked up her backpack, where she kept a compass, a bottle of water, a lamp and a GPS that her parents had given her for her birthday.

“Mum, I’m going into the garden for a bit“, said Lola. “Ok, Lola, but be careful and come back in before it gets dark” replied her mother.

Childrens stories - The adventures of Lola

Lola ran out into the garden, which was as big as a football pitch, and her grandfather, who was sitting on the veranda, said: “What’s today’s adventure? If you need a companion on your travels, just let me know“.

“Oooh, yes please, Granddad,” said Lola. “Come with me – I need you to help me complete a really, really important mission!!!”

So Lola and her grandfather went to a part of the garden where Continue reading…

THOMAS AND THE FLYING SNEAKERS

There was once a pair of old dirty sneakers that lived in a house outside New York. The house was situated in a rich neighbourhood and the owners were rich, too. The sneakers could be found in the room belonging to their young son Thomas.

Now, Thomas had lots of sneakers, but he only ever wore two or three pairs. One day, Thomas was cleaning his room when he discovered the old dirty sneakers at the bottom of his wardrobe. In fact, they were so grubby that he decided to clean them up.

He began rubbing them with a cloth, and as he scrubbed he remembered that he had only worn these sneakers once in his life. “I know“, he thought, “I put these sneakers on the day I went to play in the mud in the park.”

Childrens stories - Thomas and the flying sneakers

Once they were completely clean, he noticed a detail he had never noticed before: the sneakers had a shining button on the undersole. It looked like a diamond and was so bright it dazzled his eyes. Thomas wondered what the button was for, so he pressed it and was amazed. A pair of white cloth wings the size of Thomas’s head had sprouted from the sneakers, and leapt to the window of their own accord.

In excitement, Thomas pulled on the sneakers and they flew through the window, dragging Thomas through the air. He began to scream and yell but the sneakers only stopped completely when he blurted out the word: “Stop!” Continue reading…