Young Storykeeper Volume III

154 | STORYKEEPERS VOLUME III AGE TEN | 155
THE LIGHTHOUSE ADVENTURE
One day a girl and her dad went to their granny’s lighthouse to visit her. It
was a long boat ride out to the lighthouse and they saw lots of amazing ships
on the way.
As they got closer to the lighthouse a thunderstorm started. As they
got even closer to the lighthouse, they saw a mysterious figure leaving the
lighthouse and getting into a boat. It looked like a middle-aged man and he
had someone with him. They were worried but they continued on.
Eventually they got to the lighthouse. But when they got out of the
boat, lightening struck it. The daughter screamed and ran inside - the father
tried to calm her down. They went upstairs to unpack their bags and they
noticed nobody was there.
What had happened to their granny?
Did that man take their granny?
What would they do?
They searched the lighthouse but couldn’t find her anywhere. They had
no source of signal, their boat was ruined and it was getting dark. The storm
was too dangerous to go anywhere. What would they do now?
The next morning they woke up worried about their granny. They had
no appetite for breakfast, they had to do something. But they couldn’t go
anywhere. What happened to their granny? Did that man take her?
A few hours later there was a knock at the door. They rushed down the
stairs, hoping it was their granny. They opened the door and it was a strange
man. He asked them if they were the O’Donnell family.
The father said, “Yes.”
The man said, “Will you please come with me? We have some sad
news.” They followed him out the door and the man led them to his boat.
They worried whether they could trust the man but they went with him
anyway. They got into the boat and headed off fast. The man took them to
an old lighthouse where they had never been before. They wondered why
he has brought them to this strange place. He opened a door with a rusted
handle and they began to wonder if this was the guy who had taken their
granny.
They stepped inside the lighthouse and it was much nicer than they
expected. They looked around and saw their granny sitting in a rocking chair
with a smile on her face. The girl’s father was so happy to see her but the
girl was thinking about the lighthouse. She had figured out that they were in
the famous lighthouse called the Hook Lighthouse.
When she noticed her granny she ran and gave her a big hug. They
asked the man why he had taken her there. He said she was lonely because
she didn’t know the father and daughter were coming. He brought her to
this lighthouse so she would have company. The granny got up and hugged
the father and daughter. Then they went sightseeing around all the famous
lighthouses in Ireland.
Ellyn Nyirenda
Co Galway
THE BOYLES’ LIGHTHOUSE
Fionn Boyle sat on a plastic chair on the ferry to Arranmore. He was
dreading having to spend the rest of his life in Arranmore being the
lighthouse keeper. Fionn hated the sea - it was his worst nightmare and
he also hated how quiet it was because he was used to the hustle and
bustle of Dublin city, having grown up there for thirteen years.
The reason why Fionn hated the sea, he wasn’t sure. Maybe it was
because when he was four he had fallen off a boat into the sea or maybe
because his father had died at sea.
“Don’t think about that,” Fionn told himself. Fionn was just about to
think about something else when his annoying sister Tara said, “Fionny,
we are here.”
Fionn was glad they had reached land but not happy that he would
be staying with his grandfather, Malachy Boyle. His wife Eleanor Boyle
had died eleven years ago. Fionn didn’t remember his grandmother but
he was sure she was nice. Malachy Boyle was another story and he
was no fun. On the way off the ferry, Fionn ate a sandwich because it
was late. When Fionn and Tara went into the lighthouse they found their
grandfather in his room making candles; this was one of his hobbies. He
said that the dinner was on the table.
When Fionn and Tara tasted the food they hated it. It was fish!
Fionn and Tara hated fish and they felt like getting sick. It was mackerel
but they didn’t want to be rude so they ate it. Then they had to talk with
their grandfather. He asked them if their mother was well. They said she
was. Their grandfather asked them to turn on the lighthouse light. Fionn
said he would because Tara was tired.
When Fionn went up to turn on the light, it wouldn’t work so he
decided to press any button and somehow the light turned on. Late in
the night, Malachy decided to check the light. When he saw that the light
was showing Hook Head’s flashing pattern he went mad.
He woke up Fionn and gave him a good telling off. Fionn felt so
bad that the next morning he went out to check if a ship had sunk. He
searched everywhere and there way down in the water was a ship. Fionn
felt dreadful for the whole day, he was so gloomy. At night Malachy
asked Fionn if he was okay. Fionn said he was.
The next day he asked Malachy if he could borrow his diving suit.
Malachy said he could. On his way down to the ship he saw a boy at the
entrance to a cave. The boy told him that he had been on the ship and
he was a prisoner and he escaped. Fionn and the boy dived into the ship
and found gold. They lived rich and happy.
Donal Ryan
Co Tipperary