Tales to make you think
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.
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.
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… Read the rest of this short story »
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.
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.
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. Read the rest of this short story »
Posted in Nature stories, Short stories for kids, Tales about cooperation, Tales to make you think | 
Tags: Education | 
1 Comment »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.”
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
Posted in Grandparent tales, Nature stories, Optimism stories, Short stories for kids, Tales to make you think | Tags: Adventures, The forest | 1 Comment »THE CHILDREN’S SWING
There was once a green swing in a very big playground, which was inside a school. It was a very special swing, for adults couldn’t see it. But the children would play on it every day. They could see it from anywhere in the playground, for it shone a radiant green even at night-time.
One day, twelve-year-old Joshua decided to go and play on the swing as he did every day, but this afternoon he felt rather an odd sensation as he walked nearer. It was almost like he didn’t feel like playing…
The next day, to his horror, he could no longer see the swing. And even though he wasn’t sure what had happened to it, he began to cry…
Joshua was so worried about this turn of events that he went to tell his friends, but none of them knew what had happened either. They tried to reassure him: “We don’t know what’s wrong with you, but we can see the swing…Maybe it’s because you’ve got older…” Read the rest of this short story »
THE DAY AND THE NIGHT
There was once a planet called Earth, half of which was night and the other half was day.
Five-year-old Julia had realised that during the day there was light but that at night everything went dark. One evening, Julia was reading a bed-time story when her mother came to give her a kiss and wish her goodnight. “Night night, Julia, sweet dreams,” said her mother as she tucked her in. “Mummy, why is everything dark at night and there’s no sun?” asked Julia.
So Julia’s mother sat on the edge of the bed beside her and said: “Ok, tonight I’ll tell you a story about night and day, and then I’m sure you’ll understand why they exist.”
Julia was very eager to hear the story, because it would help her understand lots of the questions she had about the sun and the moon.
Julia’s mother started her tale. “A long time ago, the planets were created and among them was the planet where we live, called Earth. Our planet is like a spinning top, but there’s one difference: Earth spins more slowly; in fact, it takes 24 hours to go round once. That’s why it’s called earth rotation.”
All this while, Julia was listening hard to everything her mother told her, for she had never heard anything about the planets and the sun. Julia’s mother continued: “So as Earth spins around, the sun will shine its light on one side of it and it will be day. But the side facing away from the sun will be dark, and that means it’s night-time. So while it’s day on one side of the Earth, it’s night-time on the other.”
After the story, Julia understood that day-time is when the sun gives us light because we are facing it, and it becomes night-time as we move away from the sun’s rays.
Today Julia had learned something she didn’t know before, and even though she was only a little girl she sensed that what her mother had told her was very important for all the inhabitants of Earth, for thanks to the sun there is life on our planet.
THE END
Posted in Nature stories, Tales about consideration, Tales to make you think | Tags: Persons | No Comments »THE GROUCHY LIGHTBULB
Once upon a time there was a low-energy light bulb who sometimes got annoyed when he was switched on… Mr. Graham, the owner of the house, couldn’t understand its behaviour, because he had been told it would last a long time and save energy.
One day, he invited some friends to dinner, Robert and Isa. It was quite a sunny day, but the Graham family had switched on all the living room lights for the meal, and the grouchy light bulb was among them.
Robert realised that the light bulb looked angry, for it flicked on and off constantly. So he asked: “Hey, Graham, I think your light bulb is annoyed. Have you noticed?!”
Mr. Graham replied: “He gets annoyed and goes out every time we switch him on. I don’t know why, because we only bought him a little while ago…” Read the rest of this short story »
Posted in Nature stories, Parents stories, Tales about ecology, Tales to make you think | Tags: Persons | No Comments »
