Young Storykeeper Volume III

142 | STORYKEEPERS VOLUME III AGE TEN | 143
Fiona Ivanauskaite
Binder
Co Kilkenny
MY GRANDPA’S LIGHTHOUSE
I.
“What?”
Ahhh…. I’m sleeping. I’ll go feed Socks
now.
“Huuuuh? What’s going on?” I turned
my head. Why did they do that? I thought.
I had said that I didn’t want to stay at
Grandpa’s, but Mum and Dad had put me on
the train to go to Iceland where my grandpa
lives. I gulped. Where was Socks? I looked
down. There he was staring up at me, hoping
to be held. I stared out the window. My mum
and dad where working and I knew I would
have to stay at Grandpa’s for at least two
years. My eyes filled with tears. I was old
enough to mind myself.
II.
I spent three whole days travelling
until I finally arrived at the lighthouse. An
old looking man beckoned me in. I quickly
picked up Socks and put him into his cage,
just in case the man didn’t like animals. He
really loved Socks though.
III.
“Gorse?”
“Ya?”
“Do you want to come fishing with me
today?”
“Ya.”
I finished sticking pictures on the wall
and rushed downstairs.
“Do you want to bring Socks too?” said
my grandpa.
“I don’t know if he would like to go on
a boat.”
“Put him in his outside cage while we
go fishing.”
I didn’t want to upset my grandpa but
still I said it. “Grandpa.”
“Yes?”
“I really don’t like fish.”
“Hmm, that’s all right because I normally
only catch one fish a day. So… so you can
have seaweed sandwiches for lunch.”
“Yay! That would be great, Grandpa.”
We were on the water when a big wave
came. I saw the back of maybe a whale, or
a shark.
“Gorse, get into the cabin please.”
“Why?”
“Because there’s a killer whale, and we
don’t want to disturb it, do we?”
“No.”
IV.
I was sitting in my bedroom looking out
the window when I saw something black
under water. What could that have been?
Then I realised that that it was the same
killer whale. I rushed downstairs and opened
the back door. I ran to the boat my grandpa
had given me. It was a sea canoe. I paddled
out as fast as I could. I had brought some
old fish for the killer whale. It was as if I
had trained it for a few years. It brought its
nose up to my hand, and took the fish right
out. I fed it until the sun set. Then I quickly
paddled back.
V.
I spent the next couple of weeks fishing
with Grandpa, swimming with the whale and
eating seaweed sandwiches. It was so much
fun spending time with Grandpa. Suddenly
my parents arrived. I didn’t even know they
were coming. My grandpa didn’t even tell
me. My mom and dad had said they would
write me a letter, but they hadn’t. I was a bit
shocked. I kind of wanted to stay and I kind
of wanted to go, because I wanted to see
my school friends.
THE LIGHT OF THE LIGHTHOUSE
Niamh O’Meara lived on an old boat with her
dad and the crew. One stormy night as she
lay in bed trying to go to sleep, Niamh heard
a strange noise out on deck.
Feeling curious, Niamh pulled on her
jacket and tiptoed outside. She made sure
not to wake Captain Sam as he snored
loudly, which Niamh thought was worse than
a pig! Silently, she made her way out on
deck then hid behind a mast.
Fred, a member of the crew, was
laughing loudly. Niamh strained her ears and
listened, not moving a muscle.
“Oh,” said Fred. “Soon I shall rule the
seven seas because now I have the Sea
Dragon’s bones. All I have to do is crush
them and drink it and then I shall be able to
put everyone in a trance!” Then he walked
off, laughing.
The next day Niamh thought over the
matter carefully. How was a 10 year old girl
going to stop a mean and dangerous man?
Niamh followed Fred everywhere, just in
case. A whole month passed and Niamh was
beginning to wonder if she was imagining
things but as she was walking around, she
heard voices coming from the engine room.
“Oh no,” Niamh whispered, as she ran
full speed ahead to the engine room. “NO!”
she cried, as she burst into the engine room.
But she was too late - Fred had drunk the
Sea Dragon’s bones. It was the end of the
world. Niamh began to cry. Fred laughed
horribly. He had won.
But then, the light from the lighthouse
shone so bright on a floorboard on deck. It
was very unusual.
Drying her eyes, Niamh walked over
and curiously pulled up the board. A small
golden key lay there. Unable to speak,
Niamh picked it up. She knew the moment
she had seen it that this glittering golden key
was the key for the locked cabin. The cabin
had been locked for ages but no one knew
why. Niamh ran down to the cabin and sure
enough the key fitted perfectly.
She pushed open the door and gasped
at what lay inside. Potions stacked the
shelves in every colour but she went straight
for the potion that the light was shining on.
Niamh picked it up then ran back to Fred.
Somehow, she had to get him to drink it.
Then everything would return to normal.
Niamh poured the potion into a cup.
Pretending it was tea, she gave it to Fred.
“Thanks,” Fred laughed meanly, drinking the
potion in one gulp. Instantly, the light of the
lighthouse brought Fred higher and higher
and higher until he crashed into the sun and
became a tiny star.
So, as they lay in their hammocks,
looking at the stars and telling stories, The
Light of the Lighthouse became all sailors’
most favourite story and it was told from
generation to generation.
Lorna Ryan
Co Tipperary
MY LIGHTHOUSE STORY
Once upon a time, there lived a lighthouse
named Jamima. She lived in the middle of
an ocean with her boat friends.
Jamima helped her boat friends not to
crash into the shore by showing light in front
of the ship to guide it through the ocean in
case of danger on the ship’s voyage.
Jamima’s work was at nighttime
because she wasn’t in use in the mornings
since the boat friends could see where they
were going because of the sun’s light.She
worked in the night since all the boats didn’t
have night vision like owls. They needed the
light to guide them to land.
Jamima doesn’t work that much now
because she is really old. She is now 50
years old and she was made in 1970. Before
Jamima was automatic, she had a person
who was controlling her, his name was
Daniel. He was known for his generosity and
kindness. Jamima had lots of fun with him
until he died from a heart attack. There was
nobody to do his job so they made Jamima
automatic.
From then on, Jamima was lonely and
didn’t have anyone to stay beside her. She
still has fun with her boat friends and would
be really lonely if they were not there to talk
with her. She loves her new life with her boat
friends and lived happily ever after.
Aditi Ragavendaran
Co Antrim