FAIRY TALES

Pinocchio

Once upon a time lived a wood carver named Geppetto. He made puppets from pieces of wood, and he called his favorite puppet Pinocchio.

- I would love to be a father to a real boy like Pinocchio- he wished.

That night, the blue fairy, who knew Geppetto was a good man, cost a magic spell over Pinocchio. The very next day, Gappetto awake and was very happy to find that Pinocchio could walk, sit and talk like a real boy. 

Geppetto wanted to send Pinocchio to school. He sold his only coat for a spelling book.

- Now you can go to school like a real boy -s aid Gappetto as we waved goodbye to Pinocchio.

On the way to school, Pinocchio stopped to wacth a puppet show in a town. 

- How would you like to join my puppet show? - asked the evil puppet master.

Pinocchio happily agreed. He was locked inside the evil puppet master’s caravan. He wished he was safe with Geppetto. The blue fairy suddenly appeared. She had heard Pinocchio’s wish and set him free. Pinocchio is happy to be free. 

- I’m going straight to school- he said.

But he met an evil fox who told him all about  a wonderful place called fun island. Pinocchio forgot all about school and gave the fox his spelling book in return for a ticket to Fun island.

- Where are you going, Pinocchio?- asked the b fairy.

- I’m on the way to school - lied Pinocchio. 

Pinocchio‘s nose grew very, very long. He wished he hadn’t told a lie. The fairy called a bird to peck of his long nose because  Pinocchio was very sorry. Pinocchio promised never to be naughty ever again and went straight to school.

At school, Pinocchio told his friend all about fun island. His friend wanted to go with him. Pinocchio and his hurriedly climbed aboard a ship that was going to Fun Island. On the island they didn’t know that little boys were turned into donkeys and used for very hard work. 

Pinocchio cried and wished he hadn’t come the island. He also wished didn’t look like a silly donkey. The blue fairy had heard his wish and with a wave of her magic wand his donkey ears and tail disappeared. Pinocchio sad on the shore, sadly looking out to the sea. He wondered if he would ever see Geppetto again.

Suddenly, he saw Geppetto who had sailed out to the sea in search of Pinocchio. Geppetto didn’t see the huge whale behind him. The whale swallowed Geppetto and his boat. Pinocchio knew he had to save Geppetto. He jumped into the water and swam with all his might. As he got closer, the whale open  his mouth and Pinocchio swam right in. Deep inside the whale’s belly, Pinocchio and Geppetto hugged each other, happy to be together again.

- We must find a way out- said Geppetto - we will make a fire from the wood of my boat. 

The smoke made the whale sneeze. They shot out of the whale’s mouth and back into the sea. Pinocchio and Geppetto swam safely to shore. They were both tired. They laid on the sand and fell asleep. When Geppetto awoke, he saw that the blue fairy, as a reward for being so brave, had turned Pinocchio into a real boy. 

- At last my wish has come true!- cried Geppetto.

Merlin the Wizard

Many years ago, when England was just a handful of kingdoms which battled between them, Arthur, son of king Uther, was born.

The child’s mother, died few after giving birth and the father gave him to the wizard Merlin in order to educate him. Merlin decided to bring the baby to the castle of a noble man who had a son of few years called Kay. To guarantee prince Arthur’s security, Merlin did not give his origins away.

Each day, Merlin taught little Arthur all the known sciences and, as he was a wizard, he even taught him something of the future sciences and certain magical formulae.

Years went by and king Uther died apparently without issue. Noble men went to Merlin to find the sucesor. Merlin made appear on a stone a sword firmly stuck on an iron anvil with a legend which read “This is Excalibur Sword. Whoever pulls it out of this anvil will be king of England” .

Noble men tried fortune but, despite all their efforts, they could not move the sword not even a millimetre.

Arthur and Kay, who were already two handsome boys, had gone to the city to attend a tournament in which Kay wanted to participate. As the hour was approaching, Arthur realised that he had forgotten Kay’s sword in the inn. He went running, but when he arrived there, the door was closed.

Arthur did not know what to do. Without sword, Kay could not take part in the tournament. In his desperation, he looked around and discover the Excalibur swoerd.

Cuentos tradicionales en inglés para niños

He came closet o the stone and pulled the weapon. At that moment a ray of white light descended above him and Arthur took it out without finding resistente.

He ran to Kay and offered it to him. Kay was surprised that it was not his sword. Arthur explained what had happened. Kay saw the “Excalibur” legend in the sword and told his father. This one, ordered Arthur to put it in its place again.

All the noble men tried to pull it out again, but nobody managed it. Then Arthur took the handle between his hands. A ray of white light descended above his head again and Arthur took out the sword without effort.

Everybody admitted that that boy, without any recognized title, should wear the English crown and marched before his throne swearing him loyalty.

Merlin, thinking that Arthur did not need him, retired to his dwelling.

But soon after some noble men took up arms against king Arthur. Merlin proclaimed that Arthur was king Uther’s soon, so he was the legitimate king. But noblemen were still in war until they were finally defeated thanks to Arthur’s courage, helped by Merlin’s magic.

To avoid that the history would repeat, Arthur created the Round Table which was formed by all the noblemen loyal to the kingdom. Then he married princess Geneivre, and years of prosperity and apiñes followed both for England and King Arthur.

-You can keep on reigning without my advices- said Merlin to Arthur.- Keep on being a fair king and the future will talk about you.

THE END

Hansel and Gretel 

 

Hansel y Gretel 

Once upon a time a very poor woodcutter lived in a tiny cottage in the forest with his two children, Hansel and Gretel. His second wife often ill-treated the children and was forever nagging the woodcutter. She said the wasn't enough food for all of them, and that he shold abandon his children in the forest.

Finally, one day the woodcutter led Hansel and Gretel away into the forest. But as they went into the depths of the trees, Hansel dropped a little white pebble here and there on the mossy green ground.

At a certain point, the two children found they really were alone. Night fell but the woodcutter did not return. Gretel began to sob bitterly. Hansel too felt scared but he tried to hide his feelings and comfort his sister.

-Don´t cry, trust me! I swear I'll take you home. Now give me your hand!- he said. 

But the little boy had forgotten about the hungry birds that lived in the forest. When they saw him, they flew along behind and in no time at all, had eaten all the crumbs. Hansel tried to encourage his sister, but he too shivered when he glimpsed frightening shadows and evil eyes around them in the darkness.

All night the two children huddled together for warmth at the foot of a large tree. When dawn broke, they started to wander about the forest, seeking a path, but all hope soon faded. They were well and truly lost. On they walked and walked, till suddenly they came upon a strange cottage in the middle of a glade.

-This is chocolate!- gasped Hansel as he broke a lump of plaster from the wall.

-And this is icing!- exclaimed Gretel, putting another piece of wall in her mouth.

Starving but delighted, the children began to eat pieces of candy broken off the cottage.

-Isn't this delicious?- said Gretel, with her mouth full.

She had never tasted anything so nice.

-We´ll stay here- Hansel declared, munching a bit of nougat.

They were just about to try a piece of the biscuit door when it quietly swung open.

-Well, well!- said an old woman, peering out with a crafty look. - And haven't you children a sweet tooth? Come in! Come in, you´ve nothing to fear!

Unluckily for Hansel and Gretel, however, the sugar candy cottage belonged to an old witch, her trap for catching unwary victims. The two children had come to a really nasty place.

- You´re nothing but skin and bones!- said the witch, locking Hansel into a cage. -I shall fatten you up and eat you! And your sister can do the housework, and then I'll eat her too.

As luck would have it, the witch had very bad eyesight, an when Gretel smeared butter on her glasses, she could see even less.

-Let me feel your finger!- said the witch to Hansel every day to check if he was getting any fatter. 

Now, Gretel had brought her brother a chicken bone, and when the witch went to touch his finger, Hansel held out the bone.

-You´re still much too thin!- she complained -When will you become plump?

One day the witch grew tired of waiting.

-Light the oven - she told Gretel -We're going to have a tasty roasted boy today!

A little later, hungry and impatient, she went on:

-Run and see if the oven is hot enough-

Gretel returned, whimpering:

-I can´t tell if it is hot enough or not- said Gretel 

Angrily, the witch screamed at the little girl:

-Useless child! All right, I´ll see for myself-

But when the witch bent down to peer inside the oven and check the heat, Gretel gave her a tremendous push and slammed the oven door shut. Gretel ran to set her brother free and, as they were running out of the house, they discovered amongst the witch's belongings, a huge chocolate egg. Inside lay a casket of gold coins

-The witch is now burnt to a cinder- said Hansel- so we'll take this treasure with us.

They filled a large basket with food and set off into the forest to search for the way home. This time, luck was with them, and on the second day, they saw their father come out of the house towards them, weeping.

-Your stepmother is dead. Come home with me now, my dear children!

The two children hugged the woodcutter.

-Promise you'll never ever desert us again- said Gretel, throwing her arms round her father's neck.

Hansel opened the casket.

-Look, Father! We´re rich now . . . You´ll never have to chop wood again-

And they all lived happily together ever after.