Young Storykeeper Volume III

206 | STORYKEEPERS VOLUME III AGE ELEVEN | 207
A HELPING LIGHT
Once upon a time, there was a lighthouse off
the coast of Dublin that looked abandoned,
but was not. There was a friendly old man
working and living in the lighthouse. He
was a lightkeeper who was operating the
lighthouse day after day, week after week,
month after month and year after year!
The lighthouse was old, because it was
built during the First World War to guide
warships, cargo ships and more ships and
boats into the old port.
One day, the old man got news that
he was going to retire soon. In fairness, he
had been working there 45 years because of
his passion for lighthouses, animals and the
sea. Soon enough, the lightkeeper retired.
But his old dog didn’t. The dog’s name was
Fred and he worked at the lighthouse for
over 10 years, which is around 70 in dog
years.
The local council found a new
lightkeeper with just as much passion for
lighthouses, animals and the sea as the last
one had. Therefore, they offered him this
job. Then, less than a month later, Fred the
dog died. The young lightkeeper was so sad
and depressed he would sometimes forget
to change the light! He would often stare at
the stars at night, thinking about his short
memories with Fred. He cried, he stared, he
cried and he stared.
Below in the sea, a group of dolphins
heard one of the young lightkeeper’s cries
and knew that Fred had died and they
were sad too. The dolphins gathered fish,
stingrays and other sea creatures, even a
jellyfish and an octopus! They had a plan to
cheer the young lightkeeper up a bit.
The next day, the young lighthouse
keeper came outside and cried again.
Luckily, this time he did not forget to
change the lighthouse light. Suddenly, the
young lightkeeper heard a deep gurgle. He
stopped and heard it again. So, he turned
his head to look at the sea to see what was
it. And when he turned he was amazed.
There was first a dolphin jumping up and
down, then on a jump, he came down, and
at the same moment, a small school of fish
swam beautifully in a wonderful formation.
Not only that - when he looked down at the
ground, he saw some beautiful jellyfishes
swimming around nicely in circles and one
by one, would jump up and down.
The young lightkeeper watched it all
in awe as he clapped his hands. Finally, an
octopus came up and squirted a lot of ink
and, when it dissolved, all the sea creatures
were lined up for the finish. The young
lightkeeper clapped and cheered a lot. After
the amazing show, he forgot a little about
his sorrow.
From then on, the young lightkeeper
had made some more friends in the sea.
Every day the sea creatures would perform
such a beautiful show and the lightkeeper
would feed them, play with them and look
after them day after day.
Antonio Di Bucchianico
Co Dublin
BILLY THE GHOST
“Are we there yet?” asked Tom
impatiently.
“We’re nearly there,” replied Dad kindly.
There was a buzz of excitement in
the car. John and Jess Flynn and their two
children, Tom and Bob, were starting a fresh
life in Wales. Covid-19 had destroyed John’s
fishmonger business in the streets of Paris
and they were eagerly looking forward to the
move.
“Is our house beside the sea?” wondered
Bob curiously.
“Yes, dear, it’s beside the sea,” replied
Mum.
“It will be a lovely spot to draw pictures,”
Dad added.
“I can’t wait!” screamed Tom excitedly.
Dad suddenly slowed down.
“Sorry, do you know the way to Point
Lynas Lighthouse, please?” he asked a
pedestrian on the road.
“Point Lynas Lighthouse?” replied
the man. “That’s haunted. Old Billy the
lighthouse keeper died there last year and
the council have been struggling to find a
new owner. Rumours have been circulating
around the town that his ghost lives there.”
“Can you just tell us how to get there?”
Dad asked angrily.
Fears flitted through Mum’s mind as they
apprehensively approached the lighthouse.
The evening was spent unpacking. Soon
they had completely forgotten about the
ghost.
“Lights out!” shouted Mum.
Tom and Bob turned on a torch. They
started trading football cards.
“I will give you my 101 if you give me
David de Gea 100 club,” whispered Tom.
Suddenly there was a bang.
“Arrrgggrr!” screamed Bob.
“Who’s there?” asked Tom anxiously.
A white shadow floated above them.
“Who are you?” asked Bob nervously.
“I am Billy the lighthouse keeper,”
replied the ghost.
Bob, being older and wiser, thought
that this was a prank from their parents.
“Nice try, guys, but your little prank isn’t
scaring me,” he shouted confidently.
“I am not your mum or dad. I’m Billy the
old lighthouse keeper. I’m no enemy, I want
to be your friend.”
“You can be our friend,” peeped Tom.
“Yes,” Billy agreed. “You can be our
friend.”
“How about I tell ye a little about myself?”
said Billy. “I was the lighthouse keeper since
my father died. I was only twenty years old
and I felt that I had a responsible job to do.
I would check that the light was working
everyday. If I stayed up late a boat or two
would beep its horn at me.”
“How did you die?” asked Tom curiously.
“I died in my bed about a year ago,”
continued Billy. “But I was so attached to
this place that my ghost body didn’t want to
leave.”
The door opened slowly.
“Who is there?” asked Jess.
“It’s just Billy,” said Tom.
“Billy…. Billy…Billy,” wondered Jess
nervously. ‘Wait, Billy the ghost, the one
that the locals talked about?”
“Yes, Mum, but he is telling us his
story,” said Billy. “Do you want to hear it?”
Jess and John Flynn sat down and
listened carefully to the story.
“Welcome to our family,” they said
proudly.
Cormac Fleming
Co Roscommon
LIGHTHOUSE
Lighthouse, lighthouse in the sky
It sees the mist rolling by
Lighthouse, lighthouse near the water
Hangs over rocks that would slaughter
Many ships passing by
Lighthouse, lighthouse in the sky
Helps the ships on the water
Away from the rocks that would slaughter
Through the mist, over the weaves
Lighthouse, lighthouse in the sky
You save the ships floating by
You send them on their merry way
And all I can do is say
Thank you
Angelina Axon
Co Down