Young Storykeeper Volume III

164 | STORYKEEPERS VOLUME III AGE TEN | 165
THE LIGHTHOUSE ON MARS
Once upon a time, in the early 19th century,
there lived a Jack Russell called Max and his
owner Bobby.
Bobby was a farmer who lived in Co.
Cavan and loved all things to do with the
land. Max however, loved gazing at the night
sky and one day dreamed of going to space.
Max loved Bobby very much and Bobby
loved Max just as much. Even though he
would miss him, when the opportunity came
for an animal to go on a mission to Mars,
Bobby sent in an application for Max.
To his delight, Max was chosen to
be the first living creature to go to Mars,
following in the footsteps of the famous
Soviet space dog, Laika. Of course Max
went alone because nobody knew if it was
safe or if they would survive the trip.
The journey to Mars took several
months. Finally Max had reached Mars and
could get out. Max was glad to be able to
stretch his legs, but he was not able to see
anything because there was a blinding light
shining over the land.
Max approached the light and when
he got close saw a strange building. It
looked like a lighthouse. Although Max
was a midlands dog, he had been to the
seaside with Bobby on a few occasions and
he always admired the towering, majestic
building on the rocky coast that flashed a
light every now and again. Mostly because it
looked a little like a space rocket.
Max noticed there were people there.
“They do not look normal,” thought Max
to himself.
Suddenly one of the strange looking
creatures popped up behind him and started
talking. Even though it did not sound like
English, Max understood every little bit
of it. The blinding light got brighter. There
was something coming and it seemed to be
directed by the light.
The creature introduced himself, “Hi
my name is Bozo and I am a Martian.”
Max understood everything now apart
from the light and the building so he asked
Bozo. Bozo told Max that it was a lighthouse
and it directed all aliens safely across space.
Max was very interested and asked
Bozo to show him around the lighthouse.
Bozo did exactly that. They went up and up
the spiral staircase. When they got to the top
Bozo showed Max how it worked and that it
shone a light across space so that everyone
knew where the safe passage was. The
aliens showed Max an enormous rocket ship.
Max was amazed at this wonderful sight.
Bozo and the other aliens brought Max
home. It took a few months again to travel
back to Earth but Max did not care. He was
so excited to see Bobby. Eventually they got
home and Max and Bobby were reunited.
Max was over the moon to see Bobby
again.
Naomi Simpson
Co Cavan
SAVE THE LIGHTHOUSE
There once was a girl called Anne who
lived in a lighthouse on Craggy Island. She
was the lighthouse keeper’s daughter and
unfortunately her father, the lighthouse
keeper, died shortly after her 17th birthday.
Anne had a sister called Nell. She also
had a younger brother called Adam. Anne
was the eldest in the family. The siblings
were quite lonely after their mother left when
Adam was only three. Anne found it hard to
remember what she looked like even though
she had known their mother the longest. She
was only 17 and had acted like an adult ever
since their father died. It was hard for Anne
because she was the person who provided
for the family. The lighthouse was a good
size for the siblings. Anne didn’t just provide
for the family, she also provided light from
the lighthouse for all the ships at sea. Anne’s
father taught Anne how to signal using light.
On Craggy Island technology started to
arrive from the mainland, such as televisions,
phones, cameras and GPSs. The Bishop
of Craggy Island decided that they didn’t
need lighthouses anymore! Ships had GPSs
on them, which meant that they would no
longer need a lighthouse to guide them in
the dark. Anne became annoyed that they
were planning to knock down her home, so
shedecided to protest because she believed
that closing the lighthouse was the wrong
thing to do. Anne wanted to go and meet
the bishop to try and persuade him not to
close the lighthouse, but he had his heart
set on using GPSs on ships, so Anne was
out of luck.
That night Anne practically cried herself
to sleep because she knew that she hadn’t
done her job and soon she would lose her
house. Anne didn’t just take a stand because
she didn’t want to lose her house, she also
didn’t want to lose the memories inside it,
memories that she didn’t want to forget.
Even though the lighthouse was going to
close, Anne still worked hard to light the
light, sometimes she even tried to make the
light extra bright to show people on Craggy
Island what they were going to miss once
the lighthouse was closed. Anne received a
telegram from the bishop saying that they
were going to close the lighthouse in 21
days. Anne was heartbroken. She thought
in her head that 21 days just wasn’t enough
time to say goodbye to something you loved
and have considered a part of your family.
Anne told herself that night, “I still have
another chance to save my house.” Adam,
Anne’s brother, told her that the GPSs were
going into ships in 13 days, Anne only had
14 days left in her house; one day after the
GPSs were going to be used. Anne tried to
enjoy every day in the house before they
left. Soon the day Anne dreaded came; the
GPSs came into town. The first ship called
the Titanic went out with the GPS and all the
lighthouses were closed. Many people were
on the Titanic and all of them were excited to
reach America. Anne was also on that ship
and she was excited as well. Anne had a
bad feeling that day, she felt that something
bad was going to happen. The Titanic was
in the Atlantic Ocean then suddenly the ship
started to rock. A couple of hours later the
captain said that they had hit an iceberg,
the GPS had failed to show the iceberg in
front of them. Suddenly the ship started to
take on water, and people had to get into
lifeboats, but they soon ran out and Anne
was stranded on the boat with many people.
The ship sank a few hours later and sadly
Anne went down with it.
If there had been a lighthouse that day
passengers wouldn’t have had to suffer like
Anne.
How do I know this story I tell? Anne
was my sister. My name is Nell.
Aoibhinn Hudson
Co Dublin
THE LIGHTHOUSES
The sound of the waves crashing
against the rocks
The light of the lighthouses spreading
across the sea
The sailors come out
ready to fish
The boats sail around
and around
The foghorns’ sound
drifts over the sea
The sound of the lighthouse keepers
waking up
Warning boats
of the dangers of the sea
Molly Kearns Chapman
Co Sligo