the children's story

HARMONICA

Once there lived in France a little girl called Sarah. She was only nine and her 10th birthday was coming up. She was born on Valentine's Day. Her father had gone to the card shop and bought her mother a card for Valentine's Day. He also bought her a baby girl card, and now although Sarah did not know yet her mother liked someone else. Her father was a salesman who travelled a lot and had also found someone else. Two days before her 10th birthday Sarah's mother gave her a harmonica and said, "only use it when you are in great danger". Her father had given her an airplane ticket for her to visit her grandmother who lived in England. On her birthday she started her journey on the airplane. Unfortunately while crossing the Channel it crashed. There was only one survivor and that was Sarah. When she touched the water she blew her harmonica. A dolphin placed her on its back and carried her to an island. There lived two families and one of them adopted her. She did not miss her father because he was always away on his travels and neither did she miss her mother because she was a writer and was always busy giving interviews to radio stations.

So Sarah grew up on the island into a fine young lady but she always held on to her harmonica.

Amina Muneer, 9,

Riccarton Primary School,

Edinburgh

THE CHOCOLATE BAR

There was once an old man called Zachariah who made very big bars of chocolate. Zachariah was a short old man who always wore a plum waistcoat with green trousers. He was a very funny man with blue eyes. One day Zachariah wanted to make a bar as big as his house.

He did this and it was as big and as wonderful as his own house. The next day he decided to sculpture it the same as his house.

He carried a door and and windows all in the same place as they were in his own house, he hollowed out the middle and went inside and to his amazement everything was the same as his own house but everythig was made of chocolate. He lived in the bar of chocolate for evermore, because it meant that whenever he was hungry, he just had to eat a bit of his table or chair.

Theodora Lees, aged 8,

Middle Barton,

Oxfordshire

The Children's Story welcomes previously unpublished stories of up to 400 words by children under 16. Send stories with a stamped, self-addressed envelope large enough for return of original work to Wendy Berliner, The Children's Story, Section Two, the 'Independent', One Canada Square, London, E14 5DL. Please give your age.