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 BRAVE PIZZA DELIVERY BOY

There was once a pizza delivery boy called Pizzo, whose job it was to take dinner to customers’ homes so they could eat and relax. The pizzas were put into a case, and he would put them in a box that was behind his seat on the moped. But Pizzo usually left the pizza box unlocked, because that way he could make his deliveries faster.

One day, as he was motoring around from home to home as usual, two cars suddenly appeared and stole the pizzas.

Pizzo secretly followed them, and saw them pretend to be pizza delivery men at the next customer’s house. The poor customer opened the door to the thieves, who forced their way in and tied all the members of the house to a chair.

Short stories - The brave pizza delivery boy

Watching everything through the window, Pizzo called the police and warned them that a family was in danger. But there was no time to spare. As the police were making their way there, Pizzo pretended to be a policeman and shouted: “You’re surrounded! Come out with your hands up and your eyes shut. You’re under arrest!” Continue reading…

CHATTY SUMMER

Once upon a time, there was a season called summer who loved the sun. He loved it so much that he spent all day talking to it. The sun was his best friend, and summer was the nicest companion the sun could wish for, too.

All day long the sun was bored, for all it had to do was shine upon the Earth’s surface and not much else. So he was happy when summer came to talk to him, and passed the time pleasantly.

One summer’s day on the beach, when all the swimmers were enjoying a beautiful cloudless day and the sun was casting its rays on the sand, summer started chatting to him without stopping (as was usual!).

Short stories - Chatty summer

Seeing that the sun was very distracted by summer, a cloud sneaked up and hid behind the sun – and the sky began to darken. The people on the beach looked up and began to leave, gathering up their beach umbrellas and towels. There didn’t seem to be any sun, you see, and that’s why the people went home. 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…

PIPPI AND THE ROLLERCOASTER

There was once a twelve-year-old girl named Pippi, who really liked amusement parks even though she had never been to one.  Her parents had never let her go because they said they were very dangerous, but they would make an exception on her birthday and take her to the biggest amusement park of them all.

So on Pippi’s birthday, her parents bought her an all-day ticket for the park. Pippi was very happy about that, as you can imagine.

When she got there, Pippi’s jaw dropped in amazement at the amount of rides, and just how big the park actually was. Pippi and her sister ran to a new ride that had just been opened - the biggest rollercoaster in the world.

Short stories - Pipi and the rollercoaster

Just as they were about to get on, Pippi felt a fluttering in her tummy that made her stop in her tracks…

“Come on, Pippi! Get on, it’s about to go!” cried her sister. Continue reading…

THE CHILDREN AND THE SWIMMING POOL

Once upon a time there was a summer camp that was very popular with children aged up to 10. The camp had a large swimming pool for the children to enjoy refreshing dips in the water, as it was very hot.

The children usually played and dived near the edge of the pool, which really annoyed the swimming pool.

One day, the swimming pool got tired of this and decided to frighten the children so that they wouldn’t play and jump around near the edge.

Short stories - The children and swimming pool

So without warning she started to talk in a very stern and serious voice: “Boys and girls at the summer camp!! If you don’t stop jumping and playing near my edge, I will open my mouth and gobble you all up!!” Continue reading…

THE MAGIC LAMP

Many years ago there was once a wizard who had a very valuable treasure, for it made any dream come true. It was a magic lamp, which had passed from generation to generation until finally it was coming into the hands of the latest descendent, Daniel.

Daniel was about to turn twelve, and he received the magic lamp as a birthday present from his parents. The instructions were very simple, as his father explained: “Daniel, the magic lamp will make any wish come true, but it will only grant wishes that are truly good for you. And all you need to do is rub the magic lamp several times.”

That day, Daniel did not dare to pick up the magic lamp. He was a little nervous about it, for he still didn’t know what to ask or what was truly good for him. In the end, he decided to go to sleep… But in the middle of the night Daniel suddenly woke up with a start, jumped out of bed and picked up the magic lamp that he had left on his bedside table.

Short stories - the magic lamp

He had thought of something and was very intrigued to know if the magic lamp would grant it… But what could this exciting wish be? You will soon find out!

Daniel shut his eyes tightly and rubbed the magic lamp three times, then put it on the floor. After a few minutes, his wish still hadn’t been granted so he had decided to wait a little longer. He sat in front of the magic lamp, getting more and more impatient. Continue reading…

THE NEW BOY IN CLASS

It was a summer afternoon, and like most summer afternoons, a group of boys were playing together in a park. They knew each other well, as they had spent the last three years of school together and tomorrow was the start of a new term, about which they were very excited and nervous.

The first day of school came, and all the boys from the park the day before were put in the same class. They jumped for joy all morning long. After lunch, the teacher came into the classroom with a boy they had never seen before. He was from China, and none of them had ever met anyone from that country.

All the children were quiet, waiting for the teacher to speak. And this is what she said: “Hello everyone, this is our newest class member. His name is Meipei and he’s six years old, just like all of you. Meipei comes from China, but he knows some English so I hope you will help him settle in and make him feel at home.”

Short stories - The new boy in class

Then one of the children said to Meipei: “How come you speak differently?” so Meipei answered: “In my country, we all talk this way. But we’re just the same as you.” Continue reading…

GEORGE AND HIS LITTLE BABY SISTER

My name is George, and I’m going to tell you a story that happened last year just after my birthday. For a few months, I had noticed that mum and dad were acting differently towards me – they weren’t paying me so much attention.

My parents were very happy; they laughed a lot, and even my father, who is quite serious, wouldn’t stop cracking jokes to everyone. I just couldn’t understand why they were behaving so differently. Maybe it had to do with my mum’s growing tummy…

One day at breakfast, they said to me: “George, we’ve got some good news for you; you’re going to have a little sister!”

Short storie - George and his little baby sister

“A little sister? So… that’s what’s wrong with you!” I said.

“What do you mean?” Dad asked.

“Well, you’ve been ignoring me because you’re going to have another baby!” I said. Continue reading…