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 SEASONS OF THE YEAR

There were once four seasons in the year called Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Each season was very different, but two of them didn’t get on very well at all. Which two were they? I hear you asking. Well, Winter and Summer, that’s who.

From the moment they met, Winter and Summer had clashed, for Winter liked the cold, rain and snow, but Summer preferred sunshine, dryness and heat. In fact, they were polar opposites.

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So one day the four seasons got together to resolve the problem. Spring comes after Winter, and with her the trees and fields begin to flower and it stops being so cold. And Autumn, who follows Summer, brings with him the falling leaves, the start of the cold weather and a few rain showers.

Short stories - the seasons of the year

At their meeting, Spring and Autumn tried to explain to Winter and Summer that they should get along, for all four of them are needed to complete the circle of life on Earth. 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 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…

THE DRAGON’S BIRTHDAY

A long time ago in a peaceful land far, far away, there once lived a dragon called Rufus.

Rufus was the only dragon to exist in those days. He was the only descendent of the last dragons on the planet, and the royal family considered him to be the guardian of the kingdom.

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Rufus was about to turn one year old, and the king and queen were going to organise a birthday party for him. On the morning of his birthday, Rufus came down for breakfast from his tower as he did every day. But today something was wrong – there was no breakfast waiting for him!

Annoyed, he went to the palace living room and flung open the doors. Thinking no one was there, he burst into tears, opened his mouth and filled the room with flames.

Short stories - the dragons birthday

To his surprise, he opened his eyes to see the whole room full of people wanting to celebrate his birthday. Luckily, Rufus didn’t set anyone on fire, and the only things that got burnt were the candles on the cake. 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.

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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…

FLORA, THE LEAPING FROG

Once upon a time, there was a frog called Flora, who was very young and spent all day long leaping about…

Perhaps you’re thinking, ‘Yes, but that’s what all frogs do!’ Which is true – all frogs leap to get from one place to another, but our friend Flora was nicknamed ‘leap frog’ by the other frogs, so you can imagine that she certainly didn’t lack any energy.

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From the moment she awoke to the time she went to sleep, she would jump about from one spot to another. She couldn’t sit quietly even for a little while, and her parents were constantly telling her: “Flora, don’t leap so much! One day you’re going to hit something by accident and hurt yourself.”

One day when she was in the pond, leaping from one stone to the next, a very calm toad ambled up to her and said: “Hello Flora, how is it you have so much energy to leap around like that?” For a moment, Flora the frog stopped still to stare at the toad that was transmitting so much peace, then shrugged and kept on leaping.

Childrens stories - Flora the leaping frog

The next day at school she had a gymnastics exam, which consisted of leaping over the vaulting horse and … I wonder if you can guess who leapt higher than anyone else? That’s right, Flora the frog. At that moment a classmate came up to her and asked: ‘How do you do it, Flora? I’m a frog too, but I can’t leap around all day long”… And Flora answered: “I don’t know…”

Continue reading…

THE DUCKS IN THE LAKE

Just like every day at the lake, the ducks were waking up to the first rays of sun bouncing off the water and bringing glorious colour to all the beautiful vegetation around there.

Dory, for that was the name of the strongest little duck in the lake, was helping the other little ducks as well as getting her children some food. Life at the lake was an oasis of peace.

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But then something unexpected happened… Ever since the lake had been built, a villager called Steven had been in charge of cleaning the lake. Steven respected the ducks as well as all the plants that surrounded them. But Steven wasn’t there today – instead, a man called Horace was now in charge.

Children´s stories - the ducks in the lake

Horace did not think the ducks were as important as making the lake as pretty as possible to surprise all the villagers.

One beautiful day when the first rays of sunshine were beginning to peep out, Horace arrived at the lake pushing a wheelbarrow in which he was carrying a strange object. Dory the duck, who was already awake and looking for food for her children, paddled silently over to the place where Horace and his wheelbarrow were, but couldn’t make head or tail of what was inside it.

After a few hours, Horace had finished his work of art. He placed a fountain right in the middle of the lake, with all kinds of pipes sticking out everywhere – poor Dory couldn’t begin to guess what they were for. Continue reading…

THE ANT AND THE GRAIN

Once upon a time there was a little ant called Anita. She was very hard-working and lived in an anthill with the rest of her family – about 50,000 relatives.

The ants were busy storing the grain for the winter so that when the cold weather came there would be enough food for everyone.

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But this year, the grain was very small and difficult to transport. It was a gloomy situation and even the wisest old ants weren’t sure they could survive the winter.

But Anita wanted to store as much grain as possible to help her family, and she knew that by showing an optimistic attitude around the rest of the ants, they could do it. So off she went to train with an ant who was much stronger than her, an ant called Alexander.

Childrens stories - the ant and the grain

Alexander taught her a few tricks on how to carry more grain with the same amount of effort. Anita trained for a few days and as the days went past, she was able to carry more and more.

Continue reading…

THE SUN CIRCUS CLOWN

The sun circus is a magical place where every child and every adult travels into a world of imagination and illusion.

When the show begins and everything goes dark, you just don’t know what will happen, but in the next instant the stage will light up and the big top is filled with dazzling coloured lights.

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At the circus there’s a clown called Clarence and it’s his job to make the audience laugh. But one day, just as the show was about to begin, Clarence felt sad and didn’t much feel like going out on stage…

Passing at that moment outside his dressing room, his friend the acrobat stopped to talk to him: “Hi Clarence! Ready to get out on stage?” he called.

Childrens stories - THE SUN CIRCUS CLOWN

That was when the acrobat realised something was wrong with Clarence the clown, for although his face had a big smile painted on it and he was wearing a jolly red nose, his eyes were sad… “What’s up, my friend?” asked the acrobat.

Clarence the clown answered: “Well…I’m sad because I’ve lost my lucky flower and I can’t go on stage without it…” “But Clarence, my friend, it’s just a flower. The only hero here is you. Who else will get all those children laughing till the tears run down their cheeks? The flower? Definitely not! The children are waiting for you; they want to see you be silly, and to keep falling over!!”

Without another word, the acrobat left Clarence’s dressing room, leaving him very surprised at the acrobat’s mysterious exit. Continue reading…