“Dare to Dream!� A collaborative bedtime story of adventure on the high seas and collaboration between nations, written by children aged 2 to 11, from Belgium, England, Greece, Iceland, Norway.
[1]
Once upon a time, six friends, Alfonso, Eugene, Elitsa, Jules and the twins Úlfur and Ylfa were lying on the beach eating olives, enjoying the summer sun and talking happily about the things they loved: the sun, the sea, the adventure and travelling. They decided to become pirates so they could have all the things they loved. “But pirates do things that people don’t like!”, Jules said. “He’s right! They will chase us and our trip will stop!”, Eugene added. “Then, let’s become different pirates!”, Elitsa suggested. “Yes!!!”, said Alfonso who was fond of Elitsa. “We ’ll be happy and cheerful pirates and our ship will be full of sweets, music, dance and karaoke. We will be a travelling festival”. “Great idea!”, said the twins; “ instead of taking from people we will give and help”. “Knowledge will be our treasure! We will explore and learn new things through our travels”, Alfonso said. “We will dance, sing and exchange experiences!”, said Elitsa happily. “Come on! Let’s find Captain Andy who used to be a pirate and borrow his ship. I’m sure he’ll help us because he loves travelling!” said Eugene. Children rode their bicycles, found Andy and he happily agreed. The five friends started to clean and shine the ship until it looked like a new one. They were ready to sail for their first adventure.
[2]
They started sailing for Neverland the very next day. However a heavy storm lifted high waves and threw the ship to an unknown shore. They got off the ship and walked towards the forest where they could hear terrible voices coming from. When they got closer, they were dazed: it was a place full of rubbish and the people were dirty, hair uncombed, and they were throwing rubbish everywhere. Among them there was a little, dirty girl watching them. They explained to her that people in other places were clean and that they also kept their environment clean. The little girl, whose name was Ouza-Bouza, was excited and asked them to clean her place, if they could.
[3]
The five friends accepted. During the night they got their Nerfs filled with water, cleaned everywhere and everything was shining. Then they filled their Nerfs with colours and painted the houses yellow, the streets blue and the fences purple. They also threw seeds with magical fireworks and fragrant flowers blossomed everywhere. At the end they bathed, combed Ouza-Bouza and they dressed her in clean clothes. When people woke up and saw their place clean and wonderful, they were impressed and followed Ouza-Bouza’s example. They thanked the five friends and gave them a magical pendant and a treasure map as a gift. The five friends, happy for the help they offered, got on the ship and continued their travel.
[4]
They sail from shore and suddenly they start to feel how cold it is and before they know they are sailing between icebergs. The six friends begin to wonder where they are, and when they see a land they decide to leave the boat and look around to see if anyone lives in such a cold place. They see a lot of people and everyone is shaking of cold and the friends see that nobody is wearing enough clothes. They meet a girl who is called Perla and ask here where they are. She tells them that it is the North Pole and that it is always very cold and also that she and all the people are terrified of the snowmonster which comes sometimes to the town. The six friends decide to teach Perla how to dress and heat her house.
They start by telling her that she needs to learn how to knit so that she can knit a woolsweater, woolsocks, a woolcap and a pair of woolmittens. But at the North Pole there is no wool or any pins to knit with so the friends have to use the magic wand, that they got in the dirty land, and use the magic to get a lot of pins to knit with and wool that will be enough for everyone at the North Pole. They also use the magic to get snowsuits and snowshoes for everyone because [5]
they can not knit that and they tell Perla that everyone has to dress in all of these clothes so they will never be cold again. They also teach Perla how to light a fire by rubbing two smooth stones together and hold them next to some wood and then it will be fire and then it will be warm. The friends decide to use the magic to make a fireplace inside each house and then the people can warm their houses. They tell Perla that the people have to use blankets and close their windows and doors on their houses so the cold can´t get inside and that they should also light candles because the candles are warm. Perla is so happy with the help from the friends and promises to teach all the people on the North Pole what they have taught her. They help Perla shoveling the snow from her house and when that is done they all go inside to rest and heat some hot chocolate to drink. Suddenly they hear screams from outside and decide to look out and see that the snowmonster is coming closer and closer to the town. Perla becomes very scared and tells them that the snowmonster comes sometimes to the town to steal all the food from the people. Everyone is terrified of the snowmonster and run away and hide from it. The six friends start to wonder what they can do to help the people. Alfonso suddenly runs from the house to the snowmonster and stabs it with his horns. The snowmonster screams and runs away and says that it will never come there again. Everyone come out of their hiding places and cheer for Alfonso and his friends. Now the six friends decide to carry on with their journey and say goodbye to Perla and all the people. The people are so grateful for their help that they give the friends some ice cones, sandwiches, water with ice cubes, a clock, some gold, a book, a blanket, an apple, a cloak, a diamond, a pirate map and a compass that will help them find their way to Neverland. Perla stands by the sea and waves
[6]
goodbye to the friends as they continue their journey.
Now they leave the cold coast and sail into warmer waters. As they sail along mist comes up and after a while they see something like a windmill. As they come closer it seems to be a sea monster having a dragonhead with ten hands. It looks like a snake, a large one, with pickles on the back. What a beast! They all are afraid and before they can think to defend themselves, the snake uses its tail to destroy the ship. Luckily they all can get out of the wreck by jumping into the water. Then they swim to the shore where the friends meet some people who are working there. They tell them about the monster and they hear that it is not the first time it has happened. They also ask where they are now. The people tell them they are in Antwerp. They want to know more about the name, because they find it a rather unusual name.
[7]
The people tell them there lives a giant, called Antigoon, who can help them to repair the boat. But Antigoon is not willing at once because he has to eat a lot and before helping them they have to bring him ice-cream, sandwiches, water with ices cubes and apples.
The giant takes it all but it’s not enough! So Elitsa asks him if he likes moussaka, but he says no. Then Ulfur and Ylfa ask him if he likes dried fish. No, say Antigoon, but I am still very hungry. Then Jules says, and what about French fries? Antigoon thinks for a moment and then says, fries will do. So Jules asks if the people of the city can help him to make those fries.
[8]
After a large meal, Antigoon feel very strong and is willingly to help to make the monster disappear. He jumps into the river, takes the snake by its tail and one by one cuts off the hands and throws them to the bottom of the river. Now the monster goes away and will never come back again. Now the danger of the monster is gone and everyone in the city is willing to help to rebuild their ship. When the boat is ready, Jules and his friends decorate the ship with flags and garlands and paint it very colorful. Now they have a great party on the boat with all their new friends. From the people of Antwerp they receive a hammer, a screwdriver, nails, a saw, so they can repair their boat themselves. The next morning they leave the friendly town of Antwerp to continue their journey throughout Europe.
[9]
The ship sailed north, and finally made it to Trollfjorden. The six friends went to shore to pick blueberries. After a little while there was a sound… OoooOOOoohhh… Was it the wind that howled? The friends walked further until they met two children. Hansel and Gretel. The children told them all about the forest and the trolls that lived there. The sound they had heard before wasn´t the wind, but a three-headed troll called LURVELEGG. Lurvelegg steals the food belonging to the people living by the fjord. He also destroys cars. Lurvelegg´s favourite foods are fishcakes, honey, blueberries and chocolate. It was really bad of him to destroy cars and steal food… Especially the chocolate… It was far and farther than far to the supermarket, and without cars, they weren´t able to drive there… The six friends looked at one another. They only had a boat and no car, so they weren´t able to drive to the supermarket either. How could they help these children??
Jules was very brave. He said that he would go into the forest to talk to Lurvelegg. Maybe Lurvelegg could stop destroying cars and stealing food? Jules went first, the rest followed at a distance. Suddenly Lurvelegg stood there, right in front of Jules, with all three of his heads. Jules was scared, but politely said; “Good afternoon.” “WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY FOREST?”, roared the troll so loud that the ground shook.
[10]
“I was just going to ask you if you could stop destroying cars and stealing food from the people who lives here?”, Jules answered kindly. Lurvelegg looked amazed at Jules. No one had ever talked to him like that before.
“Yes, yes, all right… I´ll stop. But what am I supposed to eat then? A large troll like myself needs a lot of food!” “I can pick blueberries for you”, Jules said. “And we can help you!,” said all the friends. They spent many days gathering blueberries, and finally they had so much berries that Lurvelegg never had to steal any food ever again. “Thank you, thank you!”, said Lurvelegg, and he was so happy he danced a trolldance. “Thank you, thank you very much!”, said Hansel and Gretel.
[11]
The friends found their boat and sailed out of the fjord and on to the great big sea. After an everlasting day of sailing upon stormy seas, the crew were exhausted! None of the friends knew where they were, for their earlier gift of a compass had been damaged. It’s magnetic arrow spun continuously, like a spinning top! Without warning, the rocking cradle of waves pushed the ship towards an illuminated island‌A tall fluorescent beacon stood proudly against the vast, dark sky. The tower was surrounded by the most extraordinary colours, which reflected on the sea beneath them. The dazzling light made them feel excited and dizzy with joy!
[12]
Pirouetting around them was the sweet aroma of candy floss and doughnuts, which was quite a contrast to the salty sea that was meandering around the boat. They were ravenous! An unrecognisable smell (of fish and chips) slashed their nostrils and their stomachs rumbled. Hungry? Distractingly, the sound of carnival music bounced back and forth between the tower and the ship; bringing them closer and closer in to the shore. Children’s laughter, singing voices and fairground rides echoed across the promenade. “Wow! Music! Let’s join in!” Alfonso declared bursting with joy. “This place looks perfect for our festive trip,” agreed Eugene. The friends were finally on dry land! They found themselves drawn even closer to that enchanting music and were surrounded by groups of people chatting excitedly about something known as the Circus.
[13]
Jules mumbled and asked his fellow sailors, "I wonder what a circus is?" Elitsa replied with a smile on her face, "It could be the final part of our adventure...it sounds very enticing!" Like waves, the crowd thrust them towards the audience's entrance of the circus...or so they thought? Before they knew it, the friends were traipsing through twisting, winding and narrow corridors, until a tall, red curtain stood before them. With momentum, the friends flew through the curtain! Applause rang through their ears. A circle of dancing surrounded them. A mysterious ball rolled to Alfonso's feet. Surprising himself, he picked it up, joined the other acrobats and was juggling with confidence, even though he'd never done it before!
[14]
"Wow! This is incredible!" Alfonso beamed. Following the beat of the music, the other friends danced and sang in the middle of the circus ring! Mooky the clown grabbed their hands and led them to the edge of the ring. The floor lowered. Water spurted out. The friends were mesmerised!
Something had started to tick loudly in Alfonso's pocket. What could it be? He looked down and noticed the arrow (on the compass) had begun to work again and was pointing towards a grid in the middle of the ring. Without warning, the friends found themselves being drawn in to the spiralling water. They were vacuumed in...
The friends opened their eyes. Were they in Neverland?
[15]
This story was written by the children from 5 different European Countries under the “Ticktock, Ticktock” Comenius Programme 2013.
The schools are: Blackpool St Nicholas C of E Primary School, England. Rensåsen barnehage, Bodo, Norway. Stedelijke Basisschool Polderstad, Antwerp, Belgium. Leikskólinn Hvammur, Hafnafjordur, Iceland. 12 Dimotiko Scholeio Kalamarias, Thessaloniki, Greece.
[16]
[17]