THE ENCHANTED HOTEL

There was once a hotel that was very popular with tourists, but it was no ordinary hotel; at least, that’s what some of the previous guests said. Matthew had gone to spend a few days at the hotel with his parents, for they were going to visit the Ordesa National Park in southern Spain, for it was one of the prettiest parks in the whole wide world.

When Matthew’s family arrived at the hotel, which had been an old stone monastery, they were very surprised and amazed at how big it was.

Matthew had a room to himself, which made him very happy, for he thought this meant he could sleep till late without anyone disturbing him. But that night as he was sleeping peacefully, a noise in the middle of the night woke him up. The young boy got such a fright that he couldn’t help screaming.

Short stories - The enchanted hotel

He jumped out of bed and switched on the light to see who had made the noise, but there was no one there. But just as Matthew was about to get back in bed, he found a piece of old cloth on the ground next to the chimney. He picked it up for a closer look and began looking around the room to see if he could find another clue.

After a while when he still hadn’t found anything, Matthew went back to bed. For a few minutes, his eyes wouldn’t close – he tried and tried to go to sleep, but couldn’t. His eyes were big as saucers and he had pulled up the bed sheets right up to his head in fear, for there were creaks and groans coming from everywhere.

Finally, just as he was about to fall back asleep, he heard another noise – just like before. In a flash Matthew turned on the light to see where it came from. Then he caught sight of a figure in a nightdress made from the same cloth he had found a little while before. He dashed out of his hotel room and into his parents’, and leapt into their bed.

“Mum, dad, there’s someone in my room! She went up the chimney!” Matthew cried, trembling in fear. Continue reading…

THE WOLF AND THE LADDER

Once upon a time, there was a wolf called Howler who lived in a valley where lots of fruit trees grew. Howler would often try to climb up the trees to eat the fruit they produced. But the most appetising fruit was on the very tall trees that Howler couldn’t reach.

In the valley, an elderly man named Martin also had a few fruit trees that he looked after very carefully. But as he was getting older, he began to notice that he lacked the strength to pick the fruit, for it was very tiring work.

Martin had some of the biggest and most delicious fruit trees in the valley, which was why Howler had his eye on them. So one day he decided to try and reach their fruit and started jumping up and down the trunk.

Short stories - The wolf and the ladder

Martin, who was looking out of the window, realised that the wolf was trying to steal fruit from his beautiful trees, but however much Howler jumped and howled, he couldn’t reach even the lowest branches of such a big tree.

Seeing this, Martin had a great idea: he offered Howler a ladder to climb up, but in return the wolf would have to give him half of whatever he picked. Only then would Martin continue lending him the ladder.

Howler accepted the deal and set to work collecting the fruit, and for one whole morning he went up and down the ladder filling his basket with the fruit they would then share between them. Continue reading…

THE SQUIRREL AND THE FOREST FIRE

There was once a young squirrel called Nutty, who lived in a wooden house high up in a tree in the middle of a forest. The forest where Nutty the squirrel lived was a beautiful place; it was full of plants, trees and bushes of all sizes. All of this beautiful vegetation was possible thanks to the river that burbled through the area and filled the place with life. For as Nutty the squirrel well knew, water is life.

One day, when Nutty was resting in his tree house, he heard some shouts coming from inside the forest. So he scrambled out to have a look around…

Nutty leapt from tree to tree to reach the place the shouts were coming from as quick as he could. When he arrived, he found a group of people lighting a fire on the ground for a barbecue.

Short stories - The squirrel and the forest fire

The poor squirrel was very frightened, for he knew that today – the first day of summer – people weren’t allowed to light fires in the forest because of the danger of starting a huge blaze. Continue reading…

THE WISE AND PATIENT CAVEMAN

There was once a very, very big mountain where there were lots of trees and bushes. It was also the home of a group of humans that lived in caves dug out of the mountain rock. In fact, there were two families there. One lived in a grey-coloured cave, the other in a greenish cave (which was due to the type of rock). Naturally, they were known as the Greys and the Greens.

The Greys had a father, a mother and a fourteen-year-old son called Peter, while the Greens had a father, a mother, a four-year-old boy and a wise old grandfather.

The two families sometimes ate together, when they would talk about the mountain trees and how to fell them to obtain the wood with which to make fire and heat. One time, Peter felt he was ready to join the conversation. The wise grandfather listened intently to the young man, because Peter believed that the trees were there to be felled, and that it didn’t matter if they were replanted or not because they took so long to grow back.

Short stories - The wise and patient caveman

Once Peter had given his opinion, the wise grandfather told him this: “Nature is patient, and we humans must be patient too,” and he proposed a challenge: “I’m going to shave all my hair off, and we shall see what nature does to maintain the balance on my head. Come and see me in a month.”

Young Peter couldn’t understand what on earth the grandfather meant by this, and went home none the wiser. 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 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 FOREST FAIRY

Once upon a time there was a little girl called Anna, who loved riding her bike. Anna always wore a hat, and lived in a big house near a green and beautiful forest.

Anna usually rode her bike away from the forest, for her mother had told her never to enter the wood because it could be dangerous.

But one day it was very windy and Anna’s hat flew up into the air and down into the wood. Anna thought that the hat would come back, but instead it disappeared as if the forest had swallowed it up… Very upset, and ignoring her mother’s warning, Anna went into the wood to look for her hat.

Short stories - the forest fairy

Great was her surprise when someone touched her shoulder and said: “Anna, I am your fairy godmother, and I have always been here to protect you the day you entered the forest, for this forest is enchanted and one must take great care.” The forest fairy then continued: “Stay here, I shall go and look for your hat.”

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…

THE LITTLE BOY AND THE FOREST

Alex is a very special boy who really likes trees. He has always felt completely at home in nature and loves going camping in the forest.

Alex has a little sister called Julia, who likes playing with dolls. But Julia also likes being outdoors, and most of all she loves going on trips into the snowy mountains with her parents.

One day, their parents decided to take them on holiday and let them choose between camping in the forest or going skiing in the snow.

Childrens stories - The little boy and the forest

Alex quickly shouted out, “Camping in the forest!!” while Julia cried, “Snow, snow, snow!” for the year before they had gone camping and hadn’t seen any snow at all.

So Alex’s mum and dad asked him: “What do you think is the fairest thing to do?” And Alex shouted: “Camping, camping, camping!!” His parents insisted he think about it, which sent Alex into a sulk. Continue reading…