SANTA CLAUS’ SLEEPY REINDEER

Bobble was a little reindeer for Father Christmas, but he had only just turned 3 months old so he still didn’t have any antlers. Bobble was the only one of Santa’s reindeer that couldn’t fly, for if you didn’t already know, the reason why Father Christmas’ reindeer can fly is because their antlers are magic.

Little Bobble was always dreaming that his antlers had grown and that Santa Claus had picked him to pull the sleigh and take the toys to all the children’s houses. But then he would wake up and realise that it was all a dream and that his antlers still hadn’t appeared.

One morning when Bobble woke up from his dream, Father Christmas was sitting beside him: “Santa” cried Bobble, “I had the same dream again. I dreamed my antlers had grown and that I could go with you to deliver the presents, but they still haven’t grown…”

Short stories - santa claus sleepy reindeer

Father Christmas replied: “Don’t worry, Bobble. You’ll see that your dream will soon become reality. You just have to be patient a little longer.”

That same night when Bobble was asleep, Santa Claus crept up to his bed and Continue reading…

LAWRENCE’S TOY

Lawrence was a little boy of 8 years old who loved playing with his toys. On the whole he was a good boy and always got very good marks at school. That’s why one Christmas Santa Claus had arrived loaded with toys for Lawrence, for Lawrence had written to tell Santa that his school results were better than last year’s and that was why he wanted more toys.

Among the presents Santa gave Lawrence was a magic blackboard where you could write or draw anything you liked, but which erased everything when you shook it. Without a doubt, it was the Christmas present he liked most of all, for he spent hours and hours playing with it.

After the holiday was over, Lawrence decided to take the magic blackboard to school to show his classmates. But Liam, the naughtiest boy in the class, ran off with Lawrence’s board and teased him all through break.

Short stories - Lawrences-toy

“Liam, give me my board back!” shouted Lawrence. But Liam was taller than Lawrence and held it above his head so that Lawrence couldn’t reach it.

“Go on Lawrence, jump!” teased Liam. Continue reading…

THE PICTURE OF THE BEACH

Once upon a time there was a village called Benidorm in Spain, which had a very big beach that got very busy every summer. It was also the home of Julian and Florrie, who originally came from the Spanish capital city of Madrid. They loved the beach, and they knew they would never leave Benidorm.

One day, they decided that when they grew old and could no longer travel, they would like their future grandchildren to come and spend time with them. And as they believed in magic, they thought up a plan to make their dream come true.

Julian was a good artist so he painted a picture of Benidorm beach. On the back, Julian and Florrie left a message for their future grandchildren, which was: “Think of your grandparents and you will appear on Benidorm beach with us.”

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Julian and Florrie gave the picture to their children to pass down the generations, and told them to show it to future grandchildren and hang it in their room.

And years later, Continue reading…

JAMIE’S EXAM

Eleven-year-old Jamie loved playing football on his games console. In fact, he loved it so much he would spend hours and hours without stopping. When the teachers set homework at school, he would lock himself away in his room to do it, or so his parents thought…

But one day, the school called Jamie’s mother to go and speak to his teacher, as Jamie hadn’t handed in any homework for a month – ever since his birthday when his parents had given him the games console.

“What’s Jamie done this time?” asked Jamie’s mother.

Short stories - Stories for little girls and boys

“Well, it’s been a month since Jamie has done any homework and lately I’ve noticed that he’s very distracted in class. Do you know what could be wrong?”

Then Jamie’s mother realised that he had been telling lies all this time, for instead of going to his room to do homework, he was playing football on his games console.

“Yes, I know what the problem is. Don’t worry, I’ll talk to Jamie,” she told the teacher. Continue reading…

THE GARDEN SCARECROW

My name is Laura, I’m 9 years old and I live in the city. In summer, when it’s school holidays, I go to my grandparents’ house in a little village.

One day, I walked through the orchard to visit Mr. Anselmo, one of my grandparents’ neighbours, so he could teach me how to grow tomatoes and carrots. I wanted to plant my own little vegetable garden at home. There were all sorts of vegetables and fruit in Mr. Anselmo’s garden, because he was the best gardener I had ever met.

“Hello Mr. Anselmo!! How are you?” I asked.

“Well good day to you, miss, ready to learn where most of my food comes from?” he replied.

“Yes! I’m impatient because I want to be a gardener,” I said. Continue reading…

THE HONEST PRINCESS

Once upon a time there was a princess called Tanya, who lived in a very, very, very big castle. The princess’s parents, that is to say, the king and queen, wanted her to marry a handsome knight called Norman, who would often visit them to discuss the land they shared, so Tanya and Norman saw plenty of each other.

Unfortunately Tanya didn’t love him. Although they got on well enough, she didn’t much like him, for Norman was very boastful.

One day, Tanya the princess was talking to Norman about the new decorations the king and queen were going to make in the castle, when suddenly Norman changed the subject and said: “Tanya, I like you a lot. In fact, I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

The princess was shocked but instead of firm “NO“, she said: “Norman, you’re a very handsome knight, but I like to be honest with people. So I’m going to tell you what I don’t like about you, which is this: firstly, you’re a show-off, because you like boasting about the clothes you wear when really a person’s clothes aren’t that important; secondly, you spit in the street which is disgusting, and lastly, I’m not going to marry you just because my parents tell me to: I’m going to marry a man I really love.”

Norman reflected long and hard on what the princess had said. To begin with, he felt bad about her opinion of him, but he soon cheered up when he realised that all the things she mentioned were things he could change. It wasn’t his personality that annoyed her, but his behaviour. Continue reading…

STORIES FOR LITTLE GIRLS AND BOYS

In a school many years ago there was a teacher called Maria, who was very strict but knew a lot about reading and language. The children in her class called her “Miss” and went around calling “Miss, Miss!!” any time they wanted something. In her class there were fourteen boys and fourteen girls, and although the boys usually made more noise, normally everyone behaved very well.

One day, “Miss” Maria asked one of the boys, Peter, to read a children’s story. Peter began reading the children’s tale, which went like this: “In a far-off land there was once a sweet young princess called Sophie…” The little boy stopped and exclaimed: “This is a girls’ story!!” and the whole class laughed. Maria the teacher interrupted to say: “Peter, it’s a children’s story and it’s for girls as well as boys. Think about this, do princes like princesses? They do, don’t they? So this is also a story for boys, because princesses are in it and when you are older you will probably like them.”

Peter was speechless at “Miss’s” explanation, but he realised that she was right and you should keep reading a story just the same, however girly it might seem.

Short stories - Stories for little girls and boys

Then it was a little girl’s turn to read a story, and her name was Christina. Continue reading…

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 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.

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Watch this children’s story and connect English subtitles:

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.

Short stories - the pirates and the lost treasure

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… 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…