THE LITTLE SHEPHERD AND HIS SHEEP

Short Story written by: Mila

There was once a little shepherd boy called Nino, who lived in a little village at the foot of a mountain, with green meadows and a plentiful river. But it wasn’t just the beautiful nature that made the village a charming place, it was also the kindness of its one hundred inhabitants.

The little shepherd boy was always with his flock of sheep, his dog and his little donkey. Every day before the sun came up, Nino the little shepherd boy was already ready to milk the sheep and goats in his flock and then go out onto the meadows with them.

Although he was a little older now, Nino the little shepherd boy still spent all day outside, returning just before it grew dark as tired as his flock. Being a shepherd was indeed a very selfless job, for you needed to be strong and fit to spend all day every day walking through the fields. And there was the milking to be done too, so that people could have milk and cheese.

Short stories - the little shepherd and his sheep

Whenever there was too much milk from milking the sheep and goats, the little shepherd boy would usually share it out among the villagers. Continue reading…

THE SCATTER-BRAINED FAIRY

Once upon a time there was a fairy called Rita, who lived on the edge of a big city in a house with horses, sheep, a pig and several sheepdogs.  Rita the fairy enjoyed living in the countryside, but she had one problem: she was so scatter-brained that she forgot she had animals that depended on her, and sometimes she forgot to feed them.  Other times she forgot to stroke them, or to correct them when they did something wrong, but she thought: “… Well, they’re only animals so they won’t mind…”

One day, however, she remembered what she was and thought: “Wait, I’m a fairy!! I must learn not to forget these things… I know, I’ll do one of my spells to cure myself.”

So she cast a spell for a better memory. She said the magic words “Memoria memorieta memorium memoriae,” but then she forgot to throw her magic dust and the spell went wrong. And she turned into a little pig like the one on her farm.

Short stories - the scatterbrained fairy

That meant that Rita the fairy had to find an antidote spell to go back to her normal human state. But in the meantime the animals played with her as if she were one of them, they sniffed at her and crowded around her because she was a new pig they had never seen before. 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…

DELFI, THE LONELY DOLPHIN

Delfi was a dolphin who lived in a sea called the Mediterranean.  Unlike other dolphins, he preferred to travel alone so that he could go wherever he wanted and no one could tell him what to do. The disadvantage of this was that Delfi didn’t really have any friends.

One day as he was swimming in the open sea, he encountered a very beautiful dolphin who looked so friendly that he stopped and said: “Hello, are you from around here?”

They talked for a long while and Delfi felt a special fluttering in his stomach as he listened to her speak. So he invited the new dolphin, whose name was Katie, to go with him on his travels.

Short stories - Delfi the lonely dolphin

In the end, Delfi fell in love with Katie, and Katie fell in love with him. And they travelled together their whole life long. 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…

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 INTELLIGENT DONKEY

There was once a donkey whose name was Bruno. He lived with his master, an elderly man called Alfred. Every day, Bruno and his owner would go to the fields to work the earth. They looked after it so well that no weeds grew, and they ploughed and sowed the seeds.

Bruno’s job was very important, for he was responsible for the hardest tasks and that helped Alfred not to get so tired.

Like every day, today Bruno and Alfred were in the fields. While his owner snoozed under a tree, Bruno took the opportunity to eat something. Suddenly, something began moving beneath the earth where Bruno was eating… and up came a mole!!

Short stories - the intelligent donkey

“What are you doing eating my soil? Silly donkey… Can’t you see this is private property!?! Go on! Get out of here!!” scolded the mole.

Bruno answered: “I’m sorry, Mr. Mole, but this soil belongs to my owner and I can eat anything I want. By the way, I’m not going to go away, and what’s more I can see you’ve tried to trick me…”

The mole was surprised to see he hadn’t managed to deceive the donkey; Bruno seemed to be more intelligent than other donkeys he knew…

“Don’t be angry, donkey, I didn’t mean to trick you! I didn’t know this land belonged to your owner…” answered the mole.

Bruno replied: “Let me tell you one thing, Mr. Mole. It’s not right to take advantage of others. You thought that all donkeys are silly, but you shouldn’t be prejudiced.”

And so the mole went back inside his molehill, blushing and reflecting on what had happened. Our dear friend Bruno the donkey had taught the mole a very valuable lesson: there’s no need to trick anyone, for you will achieve much more if you are a good and honest person.

THE END

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…