Young Storykeeper Volume III

250 | STORYKEEPERS VOLUME III AGE TWELVE | 251
THE MYSTERIOUS LIGHTHOUSE
Abigail gathered her belongings and waved her dad goodbye. Today she was going on
her school tour to the local lighthouse and, full of excitement, she joined her class on
the Lily Hyde, moored in the nearby port. There she met her friend Blake.
Blake was a funny guy, tall and athletic. He had jet back hair and misty blue eyes.
Talking about the lighthouse, Abigail mentioned that she had read many books about
lighthouses holding secret treasure.
“You hardly think we are going to find some lost treasure,” joked Blake.
Abigail sighed; he was always messing around.
A short while later they arrived at the lighthouse. The tour guide hushed the class
and began to blab about the lighthouse’s history. She guided them up the old dusty
stairway.
As they reached the top. Blake whispered to Abigail, “The tour guide looks like a
troll!”
To their detriment, the tour guide overheard.
“I’m a witch, actually,” she barked.
She called some gruesome names and three other tour guides came rushing in.
They grabbed the children and, one by one, they hauled them away.
Abigail watched in horror. She dragged Blake over to a drawer filled with fishing
nets and hid behind it. The tallest witch spotted them and lunged. Blake pulled a net
from an opened drawer and flung it at her. She toppled over and Abigail pinned her
down. Flailing her arms, the witch tried to get up but Abigail had already anticipated
her move. She grabbed a pole that was leaning against the wall and knocked her out.
Abigail stole her wand and they ran through an open doorway, into a grubby
storeroom with shelves of books. They scoured the books, hoping to find a clue about
what was happening. Blake snatched one of the books and handed it to Abigail. Just as
she opened the book, the witches burst through the door.
Abigail quickly scanned the book and started to shout out a random spell. At first
nothing happened. They were doomed. But all of a sudden, the tip of the wand glowed
– and the witches’ wands were flung across the room. They howled as their bodies
slowly disintegrated into ash.
Abigail and Blake sprinted down the winding stairway. Despite their haste, Abigail
noticed an open hatch. They pushed open the door, to reveal a large basement filled
with gold, rubies and diamonds.
Standing in the middle was a wizard.
Blake whispered to Abigail, “Fight time.”
Abigail charged and cast a spell that knocked the wizard off his feet. When she
turned around, she spotted her father standing in the doorway.
“He stole your mother’s life,” her father yelled.
Abigail felt a surge of energy and dashed at the wizard and knocked him out cold.
She twisted around and hugged her dad.
‘’I’ll explain everything when we get out of here,” her dad reassured her.
Their class did not remember what had happened. But they were all heroes and
they now knew the story of the Mysterious Lighthouse.
ST. AUGUSTINE LIGHTHOUSE
I have chosen to write a short poem
about the only lighthouse I have been
to. Last year, I was in Florida with my
mum, dad and little sister on holiday.
As part of our holiday we drove to a
place called St Augustine. It is one of
the oldest cities in America.
We went to an alligator farm on
our trip and afterwards we decided to
walk to the nearby lighthouse. The
lighthouse was one of first built in
America, in 1824. It is also meant to
be haunted and this is my poem.
The sun is hot and the alligator is
cool.
I walk to the lighthouse, but would
prefer the pool. In St Augustine, the
Spanish made land They took control of
the lighthouse and improved it by hand.
The lighthouse keeper was called
William Harn, who made lemonade
from the back of his barn.
His kids served the drinks to all
who came by, as the lighthouse shone
to all passersby. It is 165 feet tall and
is made of lots of glass. It keeps sailors
safe on their journeys past.
Ghost are said to live there, from
years ago. One, who died while painting
and moves around the glow.
The other is called Rasmussen,
who smoked a big cigar.
Visitors say they can smell it both near
and afar.
I leave the lighthouse at the end of
the day, but it was time to go home
and the light showed me the way.
Matthew McGoran
Co Down
Heather Power
Co Cork