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“The God of Mountains used his powers to make four giant mountains appear in mid-air�

e v y i o g u s e r i r o t S ination wing g s! a m i So come fly with us... and a fairy horse, a talkative tortoise, four Chinese dragons and a boy called Robert!

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Jacqueline Harris is our education consultant – a reading for pleasure expert with over 25 years’ experience in developing literacy skills in children.

ILLUSTRATORS: Margaux Saltal Fairy Ointment Tel Coelho The Tortoise and the Geese Alexandra Petracchi Freya’s Golden Necklace DanKerleroux Three Billy Goats Gruff Angela Keoghan The Story of Flying Robert Lucye Rioland The Four Dragons Felicita Sala The Secret Garden

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Visit www.storytimemagazine.com

Let the adventure begin... e h t n O er cov Favourite Fairy Tales Three Billy Goats Gruff

Can the goats brave a bridge with a smelly troll under it? Find out!

Storyteller’s Corner Fairy Ointment

Discover what happens when you meddle with fairy magic.

Famous Fables The Tortoise and the Geese

A talkative tortoise finds fame for all the wrong reasons.

Myths and Legends Freya’s Golden Necklace

A Norse goddess discovers that treasures cause trouble.

Poems and Rhymes The Story of Flying Robert

By Heinrich Hoffman. A boy goes out to play on a windy day.

6 12 16 28

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Around the World Tales The Four Dragons

Magnificent mythical beasts save the people of China.

Brilliant Books The Secret Garden

By Frances Hodgson Burnett.

Some magic and a little robin lead Mary to a special place.

Storytime Playbox Build a billy goat bridge, design some jewellery, crack our brain teasers and more!

Story Magic Enter two cool competitions and discover our latest Book of the Month!

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Storyteller’s Corner

Fairy Ointment M

any years ago, there was an old nurse called Goody who was known and loved by everyone for looking after the sick and helping to bring bonny new babies into the world.

One night, when she was tucked up in bed and ready for sleep, there was a loud knock at her door. Nurse Goody answered as quickly as she could and looked down to see a strange little fellow hopping nervously from foot to foot.

He had pointy ears and a beard, and was quite clearly an elf of some kind.

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“Madam!” exclaimed the elf. “My dear wife is having a baby and we urgently need your help!”

Before she could say a word, the elf took Nurse Goody by the hand and swept her onto the back of a horse that was as black as coal. He leapt into the saddle and they set off at such a fast pace that the nurse felt like she was flying through the air.

“Goodness!” thought Nurse Goody.

“What kind of baby am I about to bring into the world? And where might this elf be taking me?”

But Nurse Goody was naturally very nosy, so she couldn’t wait to see where they were heading – even if that place was somewhere magical.

Moments later, they arrived at their destination. The old nurse was rather surprised and a little disappointed to find that she was set down outside an ordinary-looking cottage on a hillside.

She was even more surprised when she stepped inside and found an ordinary woman lying there. She wondered how the woman had come to marry someone from Fairyland!

Did You Know?

Many old Celtic folk tales feature magical fairy horses – some tiny and white, some huge and black.

The Celts even had their own horse goddess called Epona, who rode sitting side-saddle carrying a horn filled with fruit and flowers!

7

As soon as she did so, the little baby stopped wailing and started to chuckle. She gazed around the room with wonder in her eyes.

“Hmm... I wonder what this ointment is for?” thought Nurse Goody. “Perhaps it’s for tiredness? I feel quite tired now.”

The nurse set about her work and very soon a healthy baby girl was born with a most powerful set of lungs. Oh, how the baby wailed! The new mother thanked Nurse Goody and gave her a small pot of ointment.

“She’ll stop crying when she has this,” said the woman. “Please smooth it over my baby’s eyelids, but be sure not to put it near your own eyes.”

The nurse thought it was an odd request, but as she was cleaning and dressing the baby girl, she did as she was asked, and gently smoothed the ointment over the baby’s eyelids.

8

The old nurse’s curiosity got the better of her. Ignoring the woman’s warning, she checked that nobody was looking, then smoothed a little ointment over her eyelids.

When she opened her eyes, she was amazed at what she saw before her!

Suddenly, she could see that she was not in an ordinary cottage at all, but in the grand home of a fairy, with intricately carved furniture, fine silk fabrics, dancing butterflies and a ceiling dotted with twinkling stars.

The mother, too, was far from ordinary – she was a fairy queen, wearing a

grand floral crown and a dress of shimmering midnight-blue satin. And the baby had two teeny fairy wings and pointed ears, just like its elfin father!

Nurse Goody knew then that the ointment was magical and it had the power to show things as they truly are. She was in Fairyland! However, she didn’t let on what she knew, as everybody knows that fairies are secretive so, when the baby and mother were comfortable, she asked the elf husband to take her home.

WIN!

Make sure you enter our Fairy Door competition on page 50!

They sailed through the air even faster than before…

The elf looked at her in shock, while everyone around the stall looked at the nurse in confusion.

“Can you see me?” asked the elf.

As the elf whisked her onto the back of the black horse again, she could see this time that it had wings. They sailed through the air even faster than before and, when they reached the old nurse’s cottage, the elf thanked her kindly and paid her generously.

A few days later, it was market day in town and Nurse Goody went along to do her shopping. As she approached the stalls, she spotted the elf husband filling up his basket with goods.

Nurse Goody walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder.

“Good day to you!” she said. “How are your good wife and child faring?”

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“Of course I can see you!” laughed Nurse Goody, quite forgetting about the magical ointment she had used.

“Argh!” shrieked the elf. “You used the ointment when my wife told you not to!

Well, we can’t allow humans to see us.

I’ll have to fix that right now!”

With that, the elf jumped up and touched the nurse’s eyelids. When she opened her eyes, he had vanished from sight.

By now, a crowd had gathered round Nurse Goody. You see, only she had seen the elf, so they all thought she was talking to herself. From that day on, she became known as ‘NurseGoody-who-talks-to-herself’ – and she was never asked to help the fairies again. And that is what you get when you meddle with fairy magic!

FIND IT!

Can you spot three more pointy-eared elves in the market place ? Tick here when yo u’ve found them.

11

Famous Fables

T

The Tortoise and the Geese

here was once a tortoise who loved nothing more than to talk and tell stories – especially stories about himself.

Next to the great lake where he lived, he entertained everyone with his tall tales and imaginative adventures, in which he was always the brave hero.

From sunrise to sunset, he chattered so much, there was barely time for any of the other animals to speak.

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One day, two geese stopped at the lake to rest and they listened to the tortoise telling his stories. He was delighted to have a new audience and, when he finished, he asked them where they had come from.

The geese told him that they had migrated many hundreds of miles over mountains and seas to escape from winter’s storms, and they were on their way to a lake of turquoiseblue water, where the days were always long and warm.

Their description sparked a deep longing in the tortoise’s heart and, for once, he fell silent.

“It’s all well and good telling tales of my adventures,” thought the tortoise, sadly, “but I’ve never been anywhere other than back and forth between my burrow and this lake.”

Suddenly, he felt overwhelmed with the need to soar over mountains and seas. “What stories I’ll be able to tell!” he thought. “How my audience will admire me! Why, I’ll be famous!”

“When you leave, can you take me with you?” begged the tortoise.

The geese looked at him in surprise.

“But you’re too heavy to carry, and we need all our wings to fly!”

The tortoise thought for a moment.

“What if we use a stick?” he suggested.

“You can hold it between your beaks and I can hang on to it with my mouth.”

The other animals sniggered and the snake hissed with laughter. “You do know this means you will have to keep your mouth shut, don’t you?” snapped the crocodile.

“I promise to be completely silent!” announced the tortoise. “Starting as soon as we set out tomorrow…”

The geese agreed to the plan, and the tortoise carried on telling his tales until the sun sank behind the mountain.

Imagine It! Imagine you’re a tortoise flying high above your house or school for the very first time. What does it look like from the sky? Can you draw a picture of how it looks?

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The following day, the geese prepared for the next part of their journey, while the tortoise found a strong stick.

“Are you really sure about this?” asked the geese.

“Definitely!” said the tortoise.

“And you promise not to talk?”

“Absolutely!” promised the tortoise.

“You do know that if you open your mouth, you will be dropped from a great height and fall to the ground?”

“Indeed!” nodded the tortoise. “I vow to say nothing between now and the moment we land.”

Then he gripped the stick tightly and the geese took off, at first lumbering across the lake and eventually soaring high into the sky. The tortoise was astonished by the view and found it very difficult not to comment on it.

Soon, the geese passed over a city and, when the people looked up and saw them struggling along with a stick between their beaks and something large dangling from it, they were most confused.

“What is that great lump those geese are carrying?” they cried.

“Great lump?” thought the tortoise. “How dare they call me such a thing!” So he shouted down to them, “Hey, I’m no great lump! I’m the tortoise adventurer and I’m going to be famous far and wide!”

And, because he had opened his mouth, he lost his grip on the stick and went tumbling to the ground, where he smashed his shell in half.

The tortoise did become famous far and wide, but for all the wrong reasons – he became famous for not listening to good advice and for not being able to keep his mouth shut!

15

Freya’s Golden Necklace

Myths and Legends

F

reya was the Norse goddess of love and battle. She was fierce and powerful but, like many gods, Freya had a weakness – she couldn’t resist the glitter of gold.

One day, Freya left her home in Asgard to walk among the mountains of the black dwarves. On her walk, she came across a deep cave with strange hammering sounds coming from it. Curious, Freya entered the cave and followed it into a dark tunnel, which ran deep into the mountain. The tunnel came to an end in the workshop of four dwarves, who were the greatest goldsmiths in the world.

When Freya found them, they were adding the finishing touches to a golden necklace so spectacularly gleaming that it lit up the cave like the bright sun. It was set with amber gemstones and was the most beautiful thing ever created.

“How wonderful it is!” exclaimed Freya. “I would love to own such a fine piece of jewellery. I can offer you many great treasures in return.”

The goddess Freya was famed for driving a chariot pulled by cats. Her other favourite form of transport was a wild boar with golden bristles. He was known as Hildisvin, the battle boar!

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“This necklace is called Brisingamen and it is not for sale,” said one of the dwarves. “However, you may have it as a gift if you agree to stay here and serve us for four weeks.”

The dwarves knew it was outrageous to ask this of a goddess, but Freya desired the necklace so much, she agreed to be their servant. When the four weeks were over, she fled home as fast as she could, wearing golden Brisingamen around her neck.

Freya hadn’t realised that Loki, the trickster god, had followed her and seen everything. Feeling mischievous, he had already rushed to Odin, the

ruler of Asgard, to tell him how Freya had served the dwarves! Odin was furious with Freya for behaving in such a lowly and greedy manner, and he commanded Loki to steal Freya’s necklace from her as punishment.

On the night of Freya’s return, Loki turned himself into a tiny flea so that he could fly through the gap under her front door. When he reached Freya’s bedroom, he found her fast asleep with Brisingamen still around her neck.

Loki the flea bit her on the cheek and, when the goddess restlessly turned over, he took on his own form again and, quick as lightning, undid her necklace. Clutching it tightly, he dashed out of her house.

But once Loki had Brisingamen in his hands, all thoughts of giving it to Odin vanished from his mind. So bewitched was he by its dazzling gold and gems that he decided to keep the necklace for himself. That night, Loki went into hiding, far away from Odin and Freya.

She asked for Odin’s help in finding her necklace. Odin forgave her as, by now, his anger had turned on Loki, who had both tricked and betrayed him.

The following morning, when Freya found her necklace was gone, she despaired. In shame, she travelled to Odin’s hall to confess what she had done and apologise for her greed.

“Hmm... Loki is hiding by the sea,” Heimdall said. “Let us go there.”

Odin called for the help of Heimdall, a god with golden teeth and the power to see and hear all. Heimdall closed his eyes and everyone fell silent.

He mounted his horse, which had a mane of gold, and Freya charged alongside him in her chariot.

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When the god and goddess arrived at the coast, Loki spotted them and immediately turned himself into a seal and dived into the sea to escape.

Heimdall wasted no time in doing the same and what followed was a bitter battle among the crashing waves, as the two seals thrashed about and fought each other.

Answer: There are 22 amber gems.

Loki was the weaker of the two and Heimdall’s all-seeing powers meant that there was no hope of escape, so it wasn’t long before Heimdall drove Loki into a rock and overpowered him.

Exhausted and wounded, Loki’s powers soon weakened and he was forced to take on his own form again. Heimdall dragged him back to the shore and, there, Loki reluctantly handed over Freya’s stolen necklace.

Seeing all the trouble she had caused among the gods of Asgard, Freya vowed never to be tempted by the glitter of gold again and she wore the necklace Brisingamen to remind her of her promise.

Count It! How many amber gems can you count in our pictures? Write your answer here!

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Favourite Fairy Tales

Three Billy

Goats Gruff

O

nce upon a time, there were three billy goat brothers who lived in a beautiful valley in the mountains. There was Little Billy Goat Gruff, Medium Billy Goat Gruff and Big Billy Goat Gruff.

The three goats were always hungry and loved to gnaw all day on fresh green grass, but they had eaten so much of it that their side of the valley had become bare and dry. One day, they stood looking longingly at the green fields on the other side of the valley and decided to live there instead.

However, there was only one way to reach the other side of the valley and that was by crossing a bridge with a great big troll living under it! This troll was well known for being grumpy – and for trying to eat up anyone who dared to cross his bridge.

21

As the billy goats drew near to the bridge, brave Little Billy Goat Gruff offered to go first. Off he went – trip-trap, trip-trap – over the bridge.

When he was halfway across, the troll lurched out from his hiding place. He had a huge orange nose, wild hair, dangly ears, a crooked grin and beady, greedy eyes. He smelt so bad, the flowers wilted on the riverbank. The little billy goat’s knees knocked with fear to see him.

“Who’s that trip-trapping over my bridge?” roared the troll.

“It’s me, Little Billy Goat Gruff!” stammered the little goat. “Please let me pass. I’m just going to the other side of the valley so I can feast on the sweet green grass!”

“NO! I’m going to gobble you all up!” shouted the troll.

“Oh, please don’t eat me,” pleaded the little billy goat. “I’m so small and thin! My brother will cross the bridge soon and he is much bigger and fatter than I am!”

The troll’s eyes lit up at the thought of an even bigger meal and said, “Very well then, off you go!” and it let the little billy goat trip-trap his way to the other side.

It wasn’t long before Medium Billy Goat Gruff decided to try his luck too. He placed his foot nervously on the bridge, then went trip-trap, trip-trap across it, making a lot more noise than his little brother before him.

Out jumped the troll again, who bellowed,

Act It Out! Print out our Troll and Billy Goat Gruff masks to act out this story. Visit the Issues page at: www.storytimemagazine.com

2015

s ’ o t h h a t trip W “ -

Spot It!

Can you find these close-ups in the picture?

We’ve flipped some of the pictures to make it harder! Tick each box as you find it.

g o n i v e p r p m a y bridge? � r t

“It’s me, Medium Billy Goat Gruff!” said the goat, as boldly as he could.

“Please let me pass. I’m just walking to the other side of the valley so I can feast on the sweet green grass.”

“NO! I’m going to gobble you all up!” boomed the troll.

“Please don’t,” begged the Medium Billy Goat Gruff. “My brother will be along soon and he’s much bigger and fatter than I am. In fact, he is the biggest of us all!”

“This must be my lucky day,” grinned the troll and he

26

rubbed his grumbling tummy at the thought of a big juicy goat for dinner.

“Very well then, off you go!” he said and Medium Billy Goat Gruff triptrapped his way to the other side of the bridge to join his little brother.

Now it was Big Billy Goat Gruff’s turn to walk across the bridge, and his trip-trapping could be heard loud and clear as he walked over it.

The troll soon leapt out before him and shouted, “Who’s that trip-trapping over my bridge?”

“It’s me, Big Billy Goat Gruff!” said the goat, in his loudest voice. “Please let me pass. I’m just walking to the other side of the valley so I can feast on the sweet green grass.”

“NO! I’m going to gobble you all up!” said the troll, licking his lips.

“Oh no you’re not,” replied Big Billy Goat Gruff, “for I have two strong horns and I’m coming to get you!”

Then Big Billy Goat Gruff lowered his horns and charged at the troll!

The troll was so surprised, he didn’t move and, before he knew what was happening, Big Billy Goat Gruff had tossed him high into the air. The troll landed splashing and spluttering in the water below!

Big Billy Goat Gruff trip-trapped his way happily across the bridge to join his brothers, who were already feasting on the sweet green grass – and, from that day on, the troll never again dared to bother anyone who crossed that bridge.

27

Poems and Rhymes

The Story of

Flying Robert

W

hen the rain comes tumbling down In the country or the town, All good little girls and boys

Stay at home and mind their toys.

Robert thought, “No, when it pours, It is better out of doors.�

Rain it did, and in a minute Bob was in it!

Here you see him, silly fellow, Underneath his red umbrella.

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by Heinrich Hoffman

W

hat a wind! Oh! How it whistles Through the trees and flowers and thistles.

It has caught his red umbrella:

Now look at him, silly fellow – Up he flies To the skies!

No one heard his screams and cries; Through the clouds the rude wind bore him, And his hat flew on before him.

S

oon they got to such a height, They were nearly out of sight.

And the hat went up so high,

That it nearly touched the sky.

No one ever yet could tell Where they stopped, or where they fell; Only this one thing is plain, Bob was never seen again!

Around the World Tales

The Four Dragons

M

any thousands of years ago, the great country of China had no rivers or lakes – just the sea on one side and the rain that fell from the sky.

In that precious sea lived four mighty dragons called Long Dragon, Yellow Dragon, Pearl Dragon and Black Dragon. They all served the Jade Emperor, who lived in the heavens above, and it was their job to look after the people of China as they sailed and fished in the sea.

All was well until the Jade Emperor fell in love with a fairy enchantress.

The Emperor became so bewitched by her that he quite forgot his duties – including making the rain fall on the crops below. Harvests quickly withered and died, and the people of China started to go hungry. They prayed to the Jade Emperor for help.

“Dear Emperor!” they begged, on their hands and knees. “We have not a grain of rice to eat! Please send us some rain before we all starve!” But the Emperor didn’t hear them.

It pained the four dragons to see the people suffer so much, so they flew to the Jade Emperor’s heavenly palace.

When they entered his court, they found him being entertained by the fairy. He looked almost in a trance.

When he saw the dragons, he cried, “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be guarding the sea?”

“Dear Emperor,” bowed Long Dragon, “the crops are dying and the people are hungry. We beg you to send some rain before everyone starves!”

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“Very well,” sighed the Jade Emperor and he waved them away. “Go back to your watery home and I will send some rain tomorrow.”

“Aren’t we the dragons of the sea?” cried Black Dragon. “Let us carry as much water as we can and fill the clouds with it!”

The dragons thanked him and he went back to listening to his fairy music, with a faraway look in his eyes.

“We must hurry,” urged Yellow Dragon.

“We don’t have much time!”

The next day came and not a drop of rain fell from the sky. The same happened the following day, and the day after that. The people became truly desperate and the four dragons couldn’t bear to hear their cries.

“The Jade Emperor will surely punish us for doing his job,” said Pearl Dragon, “but we must save these people before it is too late!”

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And so the four dragons dived into the sea and swallowed as much water as they could hold in their jaws. Then they flew into the sky and sprayed the sea water into the clouds. They kept on doing this until the clouds were fit to burst and rain began to pour down heavily on the land below.

The people of China rejoiced to see the rain and cheered so loudly that they awoke the Jade Emperor from his

fairy entertainment. He looked down from his palace and, when he saw what the four dragons were doing, he flew into a fearsome rage.

“How dare the dragons make it rain without my permission!” he shouted.

The Jade Emperor sent his strongest guards to capture the four dragons, and they were dragged to his palace for punishment.

Though the dragons pleaded and explained how desperate the people

had been, the Jade Emperor was so angered and insulted by their actions, he refused to listen to them and threw them into prison.

That night, the Emperor called for the God of Mountains and asked him to bring his four largest mountains.

“When you have them,” demanded the Emperor, “place one mountain on top of each dragon so that they may never escape or disobey me again!”

The God of Mountains used his powers to make four giant mountains appear in mid-air and he placed one on top of each of the four dragons, trapping them there for eternity.

When the Emperor was satisfied, the God of Mountains sent the peaks back to where they belonged, with the dragons imprisoned inside them.

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But the four dragons were determined to protect the people, so they changed themselves into rivers, rushing down from their mountain prisons, filling the dry gorges, watering the fields and flowing out to the sea. And this is how China’s four greatest rivers came to be.

In the far south, the Pearl Dragon flowed out to the sea as the Zhujiang (Pearl River); in the south, the Long Dragon became the Yangtze (Long River); in central China, the Yellow Dragon turned into the Huanghe (Yellow River); and further north, the

Black Dragon transformed itself into the Heilongjiang (Black River).

From that day on, whenever the Jade Emperor lost interest in the people he was supposed to care for, nobody had to suffer because the four dragon rivers were always there to provide water for them.

Did You Know?

nsidered In the East, dragons are co wise – to be friendly, helpful and ers and and masters of the rain, riv are many seas. Across China, there d after temples and shrines name n light dragons, where people ca incense and pray to them.

35

The Secret Garden

Brilliant Books

By Frances Hodgson Burnett

W

hen Mary Lennox opened her eyes it was because a young housemaid had come into her room to light the fire.

Mary lay and watched her for a few moments and then began to look about the room. She had never seen a room like it and thought it curious and gloomy.

Mary went to the window. There were gardens and paths and big trees, but everything looked dull and wintry.

There was nothing to do. Perhaps it would be better to go and see what the gardens were like.

Martha, the housemaid, found her coat and hat for her and a pair of stout little boots and showed her the way downstairs.

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“If tha’ goes round that way tha’ll come to th’ gardens,” she said,

pointing to a gate in the shrubbery.

Martha seemed to hesitate before she added, “One of th’ gardens is locked.

No one has been in it for ten years.”

“Why?” asked Mary.

“Mr. Craven had it shut when his wife died. He won’t let no one go inside.

It was her garden. He locked th’ door an’ dug a hole and buried th’ key.”

Mary walked down the path, which led to the gate in the shrubbery. She could not help thinking about the garden, which no one had been into for ten years. She wondered what it would look like. When she had passed through the shrubbery gate she found herself in great gardens, with trees and flowerbeds and evergreens, and a large pool with an old grey fountain in its midst.

She saw, at the end of the path, a wall, with ivy growing over it. She went towards the wall and found that there was a green door and that it stood open.

She went through the door and found that she was in one of several walled gardens, which seemed to open into one another. She saw another open green door, revealing beds containing winter vegetables.

Presently an old man with a spade over his shoulder walked through the door leading from the second garden.

He looked startled when he saw Mary, and then touched his cap.

Mary went down the path through the second green door. There, she found another green door and it was not open. Perhaps it led into the garden, which no one had seen for ten years.

As she was not at all a timid child and always did what she wanted to do, Mary went to the door and turned the handle. She hoped she had found the mysterious garden – but she found herself in an orchard.

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Mary noticed that the wall did not seem to end with the orchard – it extended beyond it as if it enclosed a place at the other side. She could see the tops of trees above the wall, and a bird with a bright red breast sitting on the topmost branch, and suddenly he burst into his winter song – almost as if he was calling to her.

She stopped and listened to him and somehow his cheerful, friendly little whistle gave her a pleased feeling.

Perhaps he lived in the mysterious garden and knew all about it.

As she thought of the bird and the treetop he perched on, she stopped rather suddenly on the path.

“I believe that tree was in the secret garden – I feel sure it was,” she said.

38

She walked back into the kitchen garden and found the old man digging.

“I have been into the other gardens,” she said.

“There was nothin’ to prevent thee,” he answered.

“There was no door there into the other garden,” said Mary.

“What garden?” he said.

“The one on the other side of the wall,” answered Mary. “There are trees there – I saw the tops of them. A bird with a red breast was sitting on one of them.”

To her surprise his surly old weatherbeaten face changed its expression.

A slow smile spread over it. He began to whistle – a low, soft whistle. The next moment, a wonderful thing happened.

She heard a soft little rushing flight through the air – and it was the bird with the red breast flying to them.

“Here he is,” chuckled the old man.

The bird put his tiny head on one side and looked up at him with his soft, bright eye, which was like a black dewdrop. He was so pretty. He had a tiny plump body and a delicate beak, and slender delicate legs.

“What kind of a bird is he?”

“He’s a robin redbreast, an’ they’re th’ friendliest, curiousest birds alive.”

The robin hopped about, pecking the soil. Mary thought his black dewdrop eyes gazed at her with great curiosity.

“What is your name?” Mary inquired.

“Ben Weatherstaff,” the man answered.

Suddenly a clear rippling little sound broke out near her and she turned round. She was standing near a young apple tree and the robin had flown on to one of its branches and had burst out into a scrap of a song. Ben Weatherstaff laughed outright.

“He’s made up his mind to make friends with thee,” said Ben. “With me?” said Mary. “Would you make friends with me?” she said to the robin. “Would you?”

Just at that moment the robin gave a little shake of his wings and flew away.

“He has flown into the garden where there is no door!” Mary cried out.

“He lives there,” said old Ben. “Where is the door?” asked Mary.

“There must be a door somewhere.”

“There was ten year ago, but there isn’t now,” he said.

“There must be!” cried Mary.

“None as anyone can find. Here, I must go on with my work. Get you gone an’ play.”

Ten years was a long time, Mary thought.

She went to walk outside the long, ivy-covered wall, and the second time she walked up and down, the most exciting thing happened to her.

She heard a chirp and a twitter, and when she looked at the flowerbed, there was the robin hopping about.

She chirped, and talked, and coaxed and he hopped and twittered. It was as if he were talking. His red waistcoat was like satin and he puffed his tiny breast out and was so fine and so grand and so pretty that it was as if

“Perhaps it is the key to the garden!”

he were showing her how important a robin could be. He allowed her to draw closer, and she was so happy that she scarcely dared to breathe.

The flowerbed was not quite bare.

There were tall shrubs and low ones, and as the robin hopped about under them she saw him hop over a small pile of freshly turned-up earth.

Mary looked at it, and as she looked she saw something almost buried in the newly turned soil. It was like a ring of rusty iron, and when the robin flew up into a tree nearby she put out her hand and picked the ring up. It was more than a ring, however; it was an old key, which looked as if it had been buried a long time.

“Perhaps it has been buried for ten years,” she said in a whisper. “Perhaps it is the key to the garden!”

She looked at the key for a long time.

She turned it over, and thought about it. All she thought was that if it was the key to the garden, and she could find out where the door was, she could perhaps see what was inside.

Besides that, if she liked it, she could go into it every day and shut the door behind her, and she could play. The thought of that pleased her very much.

She put the key in her pocket and walked up and down. However carefully she looked, she could see nothing but thickly growing, glossy, darkgreen leaves. She was very much disappointed.

It seemed so silly to be near it and not be able to get in. She took the key in her pocket and made up her mind that she would always carry it, so that if she ever should find the hidden door she would be ready.

The following day, Mary was skipping along the walk again when there, lo and behold, was the robin swaying on a long branch of ivy. He had followed her and greeted her with a chirp. When Mary saw the robin, she laughed.

“You showed me where the key was yesterday,” she said. “You ought to show me the door today; but I don’t believe you know!”

The robin flew from his swinging spray of ivy on to the top of the wall and he opened his beak and sang a loud, lovely trill, merely to show off. Mary always said that what happened almost at that moment was Magic.

A nice gust of wind rushed down the walk, and it was stronger than the rest.

It was strong enough to wave the branches of the trees. Suddenly the gust swung aside some loose ivy trails, and Mary jumped toward the ivy and caught it in her hand, because she had seen something under it – a round knob, which had been covered by leaves. It was the knob of a door.

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She put her hands under the leaves and began to pull and push them aside. Mary’s heart began to thump and her hands to shake a little in her delight and excitement. The robin kept singing and twittering away, as if he were as excited as she was.

What was this under her hands, which was made of iron and which her fingers found a hole in?

It was the lock of the door which had been closed ten years and she put her hand in her pocket, drew out the key and found it fitted the keyhole. She put the key in and turned it. It took two hands to do it, but it did turn.

And then she took a long breath and looked behind her up the long walk to see if anyone was coming. No one was coming. No one ever did come, it seemed, and she took another long breath, because she could not help it, and she held back the swinging curtain of ivy and pushed back the door, which opened slowly – slowly.

Then she slipped through it, and shut it behind her, and stood with her back against it, looking about her and breathing quite fast with excitement, and wonder, and delight. She was standing inside the secret garden.

It was the sweetest, most mysterious-looking place anyone could imagine.

HIDDEN TREASURES There are five keys hidden in the pictures in this story.

Colour this flower in when you’ve found them all!

WIN!

ack copy b d r a h l u out eautif To win a b arden, find out ab cret G page 50. n of The Se o n o i t i t e our comp

e m i t y r Sto x b y Pla

Open the playbox for super story puzzles, a teeny tortoise craft and a testing game featuring the three billy goats gruff and a troll!

A

1 RIVER DRAGONS

Draw lines to match each of these four rivers to their dragons – and name them too! Look at The Four Dragons for help.

1

B 3

C

2

D 4

2 Blown Away 44

BROLLY

Flying Robert’s umbrella has been blown away by the wind. Can you find it on these puzzle pages?

3 FAIRY Secrets

Pretend to rub some fairy ointment on your eyelids, then join the dots to see this picture as it really is! It’s magic!

13.

12.

9.

14.

11. 1.

19.

15.

18.

8.

10.

20.

2. 16.

3.

17.

7.

21.

4.

22.

6.

5.

24.

35.

33.

34.

31.

32.

27.

29.

30.

4 Quick Quiz

A

23.

25.

26.

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In The Tortoise and the Geese, which animal snapped and laughed at the idea of the tortoise keeping quiet?

B

C 45

5

A EGG CARTON Tortoise growsnk-ua p

!

Make a talkative little tortoise so you can act out our Famous Fable! Here’s how to do it.

• Cut the base of an egg carton box into six sections – you need just one section to make your tortoise shell.

• Paint it bright green, let it dry, then splodge dark green or yellow spots on it. Alternatively, you could cut out small diamonds or squares from dark green or yellow paper and stick these to the shell.

• From dark green card or craft foam, cut out four rectangles with rounded corners for the feet. Stick them inside the shell using PVA glue or sticky tape so that they poke out at the bottom.

• Also cut out a triangle for the tail and stick it to the back of the shell on the inside.

• Use a craft knife to cut a thin vertical slot, about 1cm long, in the front of the shell.

• Following our picture for guidance, cut the tortoise’s head and neck out of dark green card or foam. Make the neck just over 1cm wide.

• Push the neck into the 1cm-long slot you cut earlier, so that the head sticks out.

• Stick a googly eye on either side of the tortoise’s head and draw on a mouth – this tortoise likes to use his mouth a lot!

• Move the head up and down to make it look like your tortoise is talking!

6

LOCK & Key B

46

A

C

Can you work out which of these keys fits the lock to the secret garden? Look at their designs for a clue!

D

E F

7

Design a Necklace Can you design a necklace even more spectacular than the one which the dwarves gave to goddess Freya? Don’t forget to add lots of gemstones!

46 47

ANSWERS: 1. River Dragons – A3 Pearl Dragon, B4 Long Dragon, C2 Yellow Dragon, D1 Black Dragon; 4. Quick Quiz – A; 6. Lock & key – E.

BRIDGE

BILLY GOAT How to Play

Triangle falls If you get it wrong, the Trip bbles it up. into the river and the troll go ks a Trap The question master now as add the Trap question. If you get it right, move your Triangle to your bridge and . character counter forward ngle lunch If you get it wrong, it’s a tria t! for the troll and you stay pu wrong in a If you get three questions me over and row, the bridge collapses. Ga goats! the troll gobbles up all three the questions Otherwise, keep answering r until you’ve in Trip, Trap, Trip, Trap orde river! made your way across the

r Billy All you need to play are ou ters and Goat Gruff Character Coun em out at Trip Trap Triangles. Print th m/issues. www.storytimemagazine.co character Place your Billy Goat Gruff Troll River. counters on the left side of question Choose someone to be the play together master. Everyone else can as a team. the team The question master asks one of the Trip questions. er and, if Check the story for the answ t Trip Triangle you get it right, lay the firs ur character on the bridge and move yo counter onto it.

T R AP

T R AP

TR A

T HINT! Look at the story again before you play!

P A R

P

I TR

IP R T

P TRIP

TRIP

The Three Billy Goats Gruff need your help to build a bridge across Troll River!

Can you work as a team to do it?

1. What colour are the troll’s trousers?

5. How many feet cross the bridge in total?

2. How many squirrels did you count?

6. Name an animal in the story that isn’t a goat, squirrel or rabbit.

3. Which goat wears a bell around its neck?

4. Which goat went over the bridge first?

Download our Billy Goat Bridge Game Counters and Trip Trap Triangles from storytimemagazine.com

TRIP

QUE

7. How many goat skulls did you see in the river?

STIO N

S

8. How many teeth does the troll have?

TQURESTAIONPS

1. Which goat’s knees knock with fear?

5. What colour are the rabbits in the story?

2. How many patches are there on the troll’s trousers?

6. What wilts when the troll comes near to it?

7. What kind of tree is the squirrel sitting on?

3. Which goat has spots on its coat?

T R AP

TRIP

8. What colour are the butterfly’s wings?

4. What do the billy goats like to eat?

TR A TRIP

P T RI

TR

P

AP

TR IP

AP

TR

STORY MAGIC Books are brilliant – we love them! Enjoy our pick of the best, win a beautiful hardback, and feel inspired by fairies and fairy tales!

Book of the Month There’s more garden magic to be had in The Little Gardener by Emily Hughes (out now, from Flying Eye Books). It’s a gentle and touching tale about a teeny gardener trying to care for the garden he so loves against all odds – with a feast of fabulous floral illustrations to admire.

Also look out for Emily’s inspiring first book, Wild, which is full to the brim with magic too.

My Favourite Fairy Tale…

Emily Hughes reveals one of her most beloved fairy tales: “Prince Darling, from Andrew Lang’s Blue Fairy Book, is one of my favourites. A spoilt, young Prince is transformed into a monster, and must live humbly to ascend again. It’s a fantastical lesson on empathy, humility and redemption.”

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WIN! A Magical Fairy Door!

Do you believe in fairies? We can’t offer any fairy ointment, but we can offer one of five adorable fairy doors from The Irish Fairy Door Company to help bring some fairy magic into your home! To enter this magical competition, visit: storytimemagazine.com/win

WIN! The Secret Garden Want to find out what happens to Mary in the secret garden and discover even more wonderful secrets? Enter our competition to win one of four fantastic copies of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s classic tale, The Secret Garden. Just visit storytimemagazine.com/win and answer our easy question.

Magic, adventure & more!

Myths & Legends

The Great Gilgam esh

6 COVER

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Enjoy an amazing exclusive extrac The Hundr t of ed and Dodie Smith’ illustra ted by Alex One Dalmati s ans, T Smith!

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“Dear Emperor,” bowed Long Dragon, “the crops are dying and the people are hungry. We beg you to send some rain before everyone starves!”

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When he saw the dragons, he cried, “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be guarding the sea?”

31

to stories.”

Find out what happens to four magical Chinese dragons

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It pained the four dragons to see the people suffer so much, so they flew to the Jade Emperor’s heavenly palace.

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“Dear Emperor!” they begged, on their hands and knees. “We have not a grain of rice to eat! Please send us some rain before we all starve!” But the Emperor didn’t hear them.

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Enjoy a fairy INSIDE ! t of feas cheese – just don’t eat too much!

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His tummy felt so uncomfortable heavy with and cheese that night, Klaas couldn’t get to sleep, so he opened his bedroom window for some fresh air. across the fields, he he saw a sparkling light at the edge of the forest, which flickered brightly then suddenly disappeared.

As he looked out thought

Fairy Tales!

Funny Clever Poems, Foxes and

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Fate to helpfinds a way true love

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All was well until the Jade Emperor fell in love with a fairy enchantress.

The Emperor became so bewitched by her that he quite forgot his duties – including making the rain fall on the crops below. Harvests quickly withered and died, and the people of China started to go hungry. They prayed to the Jade Emperor for help.

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and Rhymes

ISSUE

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the magical

Here you see him, silly fellow, Underneath his red umbrella.

Poems

The little fairy stopped at a large fairy thousand dancing ring and Klaas Classic lights circling was amazed Tales closely, he the ring, flitting to Read, toLovesee a could see that Win a Join to PLUS and fro. When the adventure: and Share www.storyt Brilliant each puzzles was getting he looked Book! and every one activities& over his surprise, imemagazi ofinside! them was a the fairies flew ne.com fairy. Just as him into the centre of the he towards him . Fantastic Meet the magical Rainbow Snake

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And that was the last the His disappearance people fisherman was a great of Zennor saw dropped of handsome his anchor mystery, until Matthew several A beautiful out at sea, Trewella. mermaid just beyond years later when asked appeared a local the cove. him if he alongside would and she kindly the ship needed and hailed to get home move his anchor, the captain.

The captain to her children as it was blocking She agreed and her her front village and pulled husband, of Zennor door up his anchor.

Matthew. later that Matthew day, he Trewella When he wrote in had been the parish returned to the lured out For many records to sea years, that by a mermaid. local fishermen Matthew singing to his mermaid claimed that set over they could the sea.

Some people wife every hear night as say they the sun can still hear him.

By E. Nesbit

12/11/2014

INSIDE!

flashed

Stay at home and mind their toys.

Robert thought, “No, when it pours, It is better out of doors.”

Rain it did, and in a minute Bob was in it!

In that precious sea lived four mighty Cook up dragons called Long Dragon, a trea Yellow t Dragon, Pearl Dragon and Black Dragon.

They all served the Jade with Ston e Soup Emperor, who lived in the heavens above, and it was their job to look after the people of China as they sailed and fished in the sea.

and It

36

Klaas shook his head and thought he must be imagining it, but then a tiny light, which looked like a firefly, floated towards him.

As it drew near, it took on the shape of a fairy. She fluttered up to him and said, “We have plenty of cheese for you, Klaas!”

Klaas rubbed his eyes the fairy whispered, in disbelief and come! Eat cheese “Come, Klaas, with us!”

Klaas had heard there might be magic in the forest and had even seen fairy rings, but never anything like this. The thought of more cheese soon got the better of him, and he quietly tiptoed downstairs, slipped on his clogs and followed the fairy into the trees.

the skies

All good little girls and boys

17

Hooray for stories!

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he house was three carriage had rattled miles from the put their station, along heads but before for five out

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One summer evening, Klaas was told off by his parents for cheekily pinching cheese from his sisters’ plates. sent up to his He was bedroom as punishment, and he sat on his bed moping about it until long after his family went to bed.

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any thousands of years ago, the great country of China had no rivers or lakes – just the sea on one side and the rain that fell from the sky.

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here was once an old traveller along the dusty who had walked road and he many miles He carried was tired and with him a he was hungry. large cauldron which seemed and a small to grow heavier knapsack, every second.

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In the country or the town,

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hen the rain comes tumbling down

Tasty tales for young and old!

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by Heinrich Hoffman

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man w LSTILTSKIN! Th ith the long nae little me!

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