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…

THE LITTLE VILLAGE SHEEP

Many years ago when I was a little girl, there were lots of shepherds with their flocks of sheep. It was very strange not to find one in each village, for being a shepherd was a very normal job in those times. These days, very few children have seen a flock of sheep, except in stories and photos.

The little sheep in my village lived in an enclosure where they had a basin of water on one side for when they were thirsty, and straw on the other side for when they were hungry. Inside the enclosure was a shed that the sheep used as a shelter on days when it was rainy and cold.

The shepherd looked after them very well. It was he who gave them the straw to eat and water to drink. He also milked them and went out into the fields with them all.

Short stories - The little village sheep

What I remember most about this time was the noise of the little sheep coming back from grazing in the fields, for Nino the shepherd would put a bell on them and you would hear a tinkling “ding ding ding” sound as they trotted by, and all the children would run behind them laughing and jumping around.

The flock of sheep always passed in front of my house, and I have to admit that I was a little scared when I saw the shepherd go with them, for Nino also had a couple of goats and they frightened me a great deal – for these goats had horns. Continue reading…

THE TRAFFIC LIGHT AND THE ZEBRA CROSSING

Once upon a time there was a school situated in the middle of a very big city and surrounded by very busy roads. The children would often run out of school and start playing, not realising how dangerous it was to have a road so close by. There had already been accidents when children crossed the road without looking, or when they ran around near the traffic lights.

To stop this happening again, a local traffic light thought to himself: “Why don’t I warn the children by shouting when cars are coming? Or perhaps I should grab them by the backpack…?”

He thought this would be a very good idea, so he told his friend the zebra crossing. But the zebra crossing said: “If we do that, we will only cause children in a different neighbourhood to have an accident, because they will rely on us to save them. But we won’t be there!” The traffic light thought this through, and realised that the zebra crossing was right.

Short stories - The traffic light and the zebra crossing

So they decided to do something different: “From now on, every day we’ll explain to each child the dangers of crossing the road without looking, and we’ll use videos so they can see the dangers for themselves.” Continue reading…

THE WISE AND PATIENT CAVEMAN

There was once a very, very big mountain where there were lots of trees and bushes. It was also the home of a group of humans that lived in caves dug out of the mountain rock. In fact, there were two families there. One lived in a grey-coloured cave, the other in a greenish cave (which was due to the type of rock). Naturally, they were known as the Greys and the Greens.

The Greys had a father, a mother and a fourteen-year-old son called Peter, while the Greens had a father, a mother, a four-year-old boy and a wise old grandfather.

The two families sometimes ate together, when they would talk about the mountain trees and how to fell them to obtain the wood with which to make fire and heat. One time, Peter felt he was ready to join the conversation. The wise grandfather listened intently to the young man, because Peter believed that the trees were there to be felled, and that it didn’t matter if they were replanted or not because they took so long to grow back.

Short stories - The wise and patient caveman

Once Peter had given his opinion, the wise grandfather told him this: “Nature is patient, and we humans must be patient too,” and he proposed a challenge: “I’m going to shave all my hair off, and we shall see what nature does to maintain the balance on my head. Come and see me in a month.”

Young Peter couldn’t understand what on earth the grandfather meant by this, and went home none the wiser. Continue reading…

TIP THE CURIOUS ANT

It was springtime and, as is usual for this time of year, the ants were coming out of their anthills in search of food to store for the winter. Tip, who was only a few days old, wondered: “Why do we have to collect food in spring and summer to eat it in winter?” However much Tip tried, he couldn’t find an answer, for he had not yet left the anthill and had no other ant to talk to that could shed light on his question.

After a day of hard work, Tip’s mother returned to the anthill. She had barely got through the door when Tip came running out asking: “Mum, why do you have to collect food for winter now?” So Tip’s mother calmly came in, sat on the sofa and said: “Son, we collect food at this time of year because we ants can’t go outside in winter. It becomes very cold then, and sometimes it rains or even snows. If any of us go out in winter, we are in serious danger.” To which Tip answered: “So … the cold, rain and snow are bad?”

“Well, no, Tip. Actually, we need them to live, but just imagine a heavy downpour of rain: we’re so small that if we go outside we could drown because just one drop could kill us,” replied his mother.

Short stories - Tip, the curious ant

But Tip was a very curious ant, and he began to wonder what rain or snow was really like. So he decided to wait for the first rainfall in autumn to see for himself.

Eventually, there came a cold rainy day in autumn. Tip decided it was the perfect opportunity to go outside for the very first time. He waited until his mother had gone out for a cup of tea with her friends, then slipped out of the house towards the anthill exit.

Tip was still very small and didn’t know the dangers he could face. Although deep down, he knew that disobeying his mother was wrong, he still went ahead with his plan. As he approached the anthill exit, a strange thundering noise became louder and louder. “What on earth could that be?” he wondered and grew more and more curious to get outside and see the rain.

Just as he was about to leave the anthill, a guard ant stepped into his path and said: “Where do you think you’re going, little one? Don’t you know it’s raining?” Tip froze, for he didn’t expect to be stopped just as he was about to discover what rain was… Continue reading…

THE GOOD SHARK

There was once a beach plagued by sharks in a land very far away, where no one could go swimming. The few daring humans who did go swimming were eaten by the sharks in a matter of minutes. Naturally, the beach had been closed to the public because it was so dangerous.

However, a brave swimmer, an animal-lover called Alberto, had a plan to fill the beach back up with swimmers who could splash around in the water, safe in the knowledge they wouldn’t be eaten by sharks.

One day, Alberto took a motor boat and set off for a rocky crag near the beach, where he put up his base camp to put his plan into action. The first thing he did was establish contact with the sharks, and observe their behaviour. That was how he was able to discover a shark in the group who stood out for his calm nature and apparent lack of aggression. Alberto named him “Freddy”.

Short stories - the good shark

Alberto stayed at his base camp to learn about the sharks, and above all, to interpret their language. Once he began to understand what they were saying, he began to communicate with the quietest shark called Freddy.

In the beginning, Alberto didn’t really understand him very well, but gradually he began to interpret Freddy’s gestures and movements. Over time he learned lots of things, such as the fact that Freddy didn’t like eating humans and that he usually ate only the diving flippers sometimes worn by reckless swimmers when his group went hunting. Continue reading…

THE BIRD AND MR. RED HEART

There was once a bird called Hawthorn, who loved to flutter about near the electrical cables that exist in lots of towns. In particular he liked to be near the lamp posts, because it was nice and warm there and the birds had somewhere to perch.

On the cables there was a strange red object, which the birds called “Mr Red Heart“. This peculiar red heart was as round as a ball, and as red as a pepper. There were other red hearts scattered across the cable, which attracted the birds’ attention.

One day, another bird called Lucas (who was known to tell lies), told Hawthorn: “You have to be very, very nice to the red heart, for he saves us from hitting the cables.”

Short stories- The bird and mr red heart

Lucas was right about one thing: the red heart told the birds that there was a cable there so they wouldn’t fly into it, for the cable isn’t very visible in the air. In fact, humans call the red heart “bird guards“. Continue reading…