Young Storykeeper Volume III

108 | STORYKEEPERS VOLUME III AGE NINE | 109
THE LIGHTHOUSE
On Tuesday morning a storm began. The
wind lashed the rocks that lay below the old
grey lighthouse. Walter, the wrinkly old man
who lived in the lighthouse on Craggy Rock,
was fast asleep in his hammock.
CLASH! BANG! Suddenly Walter was
awoken by a loud clap of thunder. Drowsy
and grumpy, he got out of bed and slowly
descended the long spiral staircase. He
could hear a sweet melody in the distance.
When Walter reached the bottom of the
stairs, he opened the large wooden door to
the outside world. The sound echoed around
the bay. It was still dark, but he could see the
shape of a woman on the rocks. He called
out to her in a loud voice, immediately she
jumped into the furious sea.
As the sun rose, Walter wondered if
he would see her again. He never left the
lighthouse as he hoped the beautiful woman
would return.
In his final days of life, he saw her on
the rocks and as she returned to the sea, he
followed her. Walter was never seen again.
Adam Byrne
Co Wicklow
THE LIGHTHOUSE
I see the lighthouse upon a cliff,
shining light across the mist.
Red and white standing tall,
guiding ships and saving all.
Crashing waves and flashing lights,
glistening through the darkest nights.
Guiding ships through sea foam,
making sure all get safely home.
Tom Farrell
Co Wicklow
THE STORY OF THE LIGHTHOUSE BOOK
Hi! My name is Ciara and this is my story about when something awful, but funny, happened
to my family. I live in a lighthouse keeper’s cottage with my mammy, daddy, Granny Mary
and Granddad John. My granddad owns the lighthouse next to our cottage. The lighthouse
is not used anymore nor open to the public, so it is just a place we relax and play in and it
holds lots of history. But better get on with the story…
It was Sunday, November 21st, 2000, the hundredth anniversary of the lighthouse
being built. All our friends and family were coming to celebrate. We were also going to
show them a really special book with all the history of the lighthouse. It had been passed
down from generation to generation and each family in each generation added two pages
of information and history about themselves. We were going to be adding our two pages of
information and history. I was so excited!
First to arrive was Aunty Peggy.
“Hi, everyone, hi Ciara!” she exclaimed.
“Hello Peggy,” Dad said joyfully.
“Your lighthouse is looking lovely today, it looks extra great in the sun,” she said.
“I agree,” Granny added.
Soon everyone had arrived. We were all out in the sun, chatting, playing and having
fun. Mammy had made lots of nice food to snack on. Soon came the time to put in our bit
of history.
The night before, Daddy, Mammy, Granny, and Granddad printed off pictures and
hand wrote a little story about what our life was like. They also printed off a picture of the
lighthouse. Mammy went to get the book in the lighthouse.
A few minutes later, she came back with a worried look on her face. “The book is not
in the lighthouse!” said Mammy worriedly.
“Are you sure?” asked Dad.
“Yes!” said Mammy, almost in tears.
“Let’s all go and look,” suggested my Uncle Frank.
“Okay,” replied Dad. So off we went…
Three quarters of an hour later, there was no luck, Mammy was so stressed out I
thought she was going to faint. So I decided to leave her alone for a bit and play with my
five year old cousin Saoirse. She was having some snacks over by the lighthouse.
“It’s sad we can’t find the book, isn’t it?” I asked her.
“What book?” she said looking puzzled.
“The lighthouse book,” I answered.
“Oh, I am after looking at that, it’s a great book.”
“You found it?” I asked.
“I did not mean to find it, I just came across it when I was playing about. Are you
annoyed?” she said to me.
“Oh no, we were just looking for it,” I said to her.
Saoirse and I gave the book to Mammy. We put our pictures and other things into it
and the day was finished happily!
Róisín Gibbons
Co Kilkenny