KAIRA´S SONG MADE ME COME OUT OF THE LAKE

Short story written by: pseudonym Acesita

Everyone knows me as Glup although my real name is Galish, and for the past twenty years I have been living in Jaipur, India.  I live very close to my aunts and uncles, my brother, and my friends, but I am not sure how far it is from where you live.

I have always been very curious to know what other families do for work.  So first, to break the ice, I will tell you about the different professions in an elephant family and maybe afterwards you can tell me about what your family does.

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Contrary to what most people think, in an elephant family we all have different roles.  I, for example, am the diver in the family, and I also happen to be the youngest as I haven’t yet turned twenty one.

My dad who is 60 years old, weighs a lot, and he is three times my size! My mom, Kaira, just turned 65 a week ago. She was born before any of us. Continue reading…

THE UGLY DUCKLING

Short Story written by: Ana Maria Amarfil.

Once upon a time, there was a mother duck that laid ten eggs, but one of the eggs was different. It was big and spotted, not like the others which were small and white.

One by one all the eggs hatched. The big egg was the last one to open, and when it did, a curious baby duck appeared. He was grey and much bigger than his brothers and sisters.

Children´s stories - the ducks in the lake

The rest of the ducks always made fun of him, even his brothers and sisters. He looked different and the poor duck thought that he must be the ugliest of them all. Continue reading…

PUSS IN BOOTS

Once upon a time, there was a young boy who lived on the street with his cat. He had no money and wore old clothes. He had little to eat and would scavenge in garbage bags for him and his cat.

One day the cat realised that his master couldn´t cope with this situation any more. So he took a pair of boots a hat and a cape, cleaned them and put them on. From that moment, the cat was known as Puss in boots.

Puss in boots went hunting, captured a wild boar and brought it to the King  – “Sir, here is a magnificent wild boar, which belongs to my lord, the Marquis of Carabas, and he told me to offer it to your majesty”. The King was grateful and that night he and his family had roast wild boar for dinner.

The day after, the cat took his boots and went hunting again, and likewise he gave his prey to the King in the name of the Marquis of Carabas. Continue reading…

THE THREE LITTLE PIGS

Once upon a time, there were three little pigs that were going to build a house to be safe from a wolf, who was hanging around destroying houses and eating the pigs that were inside.
The three little pigs had different ideas and so each pig built a different house. Fatty was the youngest and most impatient. He wanted to finish his house soon and so he decided to build a house of straw and then he went to play with the other little pigs.

Hammy, the middle brother built a house of sticks as it wouldn’t take him much time either, and so when he had finished he could also go out to play.

Short stories - the scatterbrained fairy
Porky, the oldest brother, decided to build his house of bricks. Even if it was going to take him longer, it was going to be a very strong house and a safe place from the wolf.

One day the wolf appeared and the three little pigs ran to Fatty´s house made of straw. But the wolf huffed and puffed and blew the house down, so the three little pigs ran to Hammy´s house. The furious wolf followed them to the house of sticks, and huffed and puffed and blew that house down too. So they ran to Porky´s house. Continue reading…

LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD

A summary of one of the most famous short stories in the world, Little Red Riding Hood. Next, the original short story.

SUMMARY OF LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD

Once upon a time, there was a little girl called Little Red Riding Hood. One day, her mother said: “Little Red Riding Hood, take this basket full of cakes to your grandmother, she is ill. Don’t get distracted on the way, the forest is dangerous and there is a wolf around.

“Yes Mum!” – Said Little Red Riding hhood.

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Little Red Riding Hood walked happily to her grandmother’s house, but suddenly, a wolf appeared.

–          Where are you going, Little Red Riding Hood?

–          To my granny´s house, to give her these cakes.

The wolf convinced the girl to take a longer path while he took the short path, so he could arrive before her and eat her grandmother. Then he ate Little red Riding Hood.

Later, after eating them, the wolf fell asleep beside the river. Suddenly, a woodcutter saw him and took the little girl and her granny out of the wolf´s stomach and saved their lives.

Then he filled the wolf´s belly full of big stones and threw him into the river.

THE END

LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD, ORIGINAL SHORT STORY, BROTHERS GRIMM (1812) 

Once upon a time there was a dear little girl who was loved by everyone who looked at her, but most of all by her grandmother, and there was nothing that she wouldn’t give to the child. Once she gave her a little riding hood of red velvet, which suited her so well that she never wore anything else; so she was always called ‘Little Red Riding Hood.’ Continue reading…

FERMIN AND THE PAMPLONA BULLS

There was once a man called Fermín who loved running with the bulls in the Spanish town of Pamplona.  Fermín was from a small village in Spain, and every year in early July he would pack his bags and set off for Pamplona to join lots of other people at the festival. It was a very popular event called the “Sanfermines” – a bit like his name. But the first year he went, he didn’t realise just how big the bulls were and just how fast they ran.

Fermín dressed all in white with a red neckerchief around his neck and prepared himself to run with the bulls. There were hundreds of people there, singing a traditional song to Saint Fermín to protect them in the chase… and after a few minutes, they released the bulls from the pens.

Fermín was very afraid when he saw the bulls running towards him, for he had never seen such big bulls before. He froze in sheer fright from the chaos of all the people running and all the bulls hurtling along behind them.

Short stories - Fermin and the pamplona bulls

Unfortunately, Fermín had frozen in the middle of the most dangerous street in the chase, Estafeta Street. Just when the bulls were about to reach him,a man came racing up to him, grabbed his arm and pulled him over the barrier. Continue reading…

THE MOLE WITH GLASSES

Once upon a time there was a mole called Molly, who lived in a field in the middle of nowhere. Lots of other moles in her family lived there, too.

The moles usually spent their time digging holes in the earth and hideouts hidden under the ground. Although moles have an excellent sense of smell, their sight is very bad and they can barely see beyond their noses.

Molly was a very special mole, for she had decided to wear glasses to see better and therefore be able to dig tunnels more quickly. All the moles in the field laughed at her for this, and she felt very depressed.

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But one day the Mole Olympics were held in the field, and Molly put herself forward for the event of “most extraordinary digger.” This consisted of digging a tunnel more than two kilometres long, leaving from one point in the field and arriving precisely at that same point through the tunnel. Continue reading…

THE TURTLE AND THE MOPED

Somewhere in a large coastal city, there was an enormous beach where the turtles went to raise their newborn young. That was where Juliet was born, and she is the main turtle in our story.

When Juliet was a baby turtle, she was protected all day long by her mother so that nothing would happen to her. But as she grew older, she began to realise that she was a born explorer and she enjoyed going off on her own to explore new beaches.

When Juliet was old enough, she decided that to explore the world she would have to get a vehicle in which to travel, for turtles were very, very, very slow.

Short stories - the turtle and the moped

So she asked her mother to buy her a moped so that she could go off and discover new lands further away. But Juliet’s mother said: “Certainly not! I’m not going to buy you a moped because they’re very dangerous for turtles – they are not made for us.” Continue reading…

GLUG AND THE WATER CYCLE

Once upon a time, there was a little drop of water called Glug who lived in a river. Even though she didn’t know it, she had a very important mission on Earth, and that was in the cycle of water.

Glug was a very young water drop so she didn’t know why her mother would often leave the river and return a few days later. So one morning when the sun was shining brightly, Glug asked: “Mum, why do you leave the river sometimes?” Her mother answered: “Well, because we water drops have a very important job to do: we must ensure that the cycle of water continues.”

Glug was very surprised, for she had never imagined that her mother was so important to Earth. However, Glug wasn’t very sure exactly what this mission actually was, so she asked:

short stories - glug and the water cycle

“So what’s the important mission, Mum?”

“It’s not just my mission, but yours too, and all the water drops on Earth.”

Glug was open-mouthed, for she too was part of this important mission for the planet. Continue reading…

THE LION AND THE WIND

There was once a very special lion called Simba who lived on the African savannah. Simba would play in the plains, running and jumping with his friends the leopards and other lions in the area. Simba had a very special gift, for every time he roared he created such a strong wing it seemed like a hurricane.

On the savannah where Simba lived there were lots of kinds of animals: giraffes, elephants, hyenas, etc. and even though it wasn’t a particularly green place, there were lots of species of tree and plants.

One day, as Simba was playing with his friends, they saw enormous machines destroying part of the plain by digging into the earth. “The humans are building oil wells…” said one of the wisest lions.

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Day by day, the men built more and more oil wells, destroying the local nature in the process.

Simba had fewer and fewer friends with whom to play, and fewer plains in which to run about, and he knew that it was the men that were causing it all.

So he decided to ask the wisest lion in the area for a solution. The wise old lion said: “The only solution is for the men to stop using petrol, and use renewable energies such as wind instead…” Continue reading…