LITTLE CHRISTMAS STORIES

 MICKEY'S CHRISTMAS STORY

It was Christmas Eve and Ebenezer Scrooge was hurrying through the streets of London. Scrooge did not like Christmas or helping the poor. He turned his face away from a group of carol singers and didn't give a penny to anyone. And when his nephew Fred dropped by his office to wish him a Merry Christmas, he unceremoniously threw him out.

Later, at the end of the day, his assistant Bob Cratchit got off his stool to go home.

I suppose you'll want to have a party tomorrow, but the day after tomorrow you have to be here bright and early!

____ Thank you, Mr. Scrooge!" exclaimed Cratchit, "And a merry Christmas!

____ Bah! You clapper! ____ mumbled Scrooge.

In the evening Scrooge locked the office and went home. As he reached the door, he looked at the knocker and gasped! It was in the shape of the face of his old partner, Jacob Marley.

The face on the knocker began to move in an unsettling way.

_________ Scrooooooge... ______ whispered.

Frightened, he rushed in. But suddenly, before him appeared the ghost of Marley wrapped in chains.

________ Tonight you will be visited by three spirits___ Marley announced to him.  Listen to them and do as they say. Otherwise, your chains will be heavier than mine. Farewell, Ebenezer.

Scrooge went to bed, but in a little while he was awakened by a little fellow in a top hat.

_____ I am the Ghost of Christmas Past ____ said to Scrooge. You must come with me. But Scrooge laughed.

_____ You are a dwarf," he said, "Go away!

____ Silence! ___ commanded the spirit ____. If men were measured by their kindness, you would be smaller than a grain of sand. We'll travel back to the past, when you didn't yet believe that Christmas was a claptrap.

When the spirit told him to hold on to the tail of his coat, Scrooge remembered Marley's terrible warning, and did as he was bidden.  The windows were thrown wide open, and the two of them flew over the roofs and chimneys.

Soon they came to a halt in front of a lighted house, where merry Christmas songs were playing. Scrooge peeped through a window, and could not believe his eyes.

There's Isabel! he exclaimed, suddenly remembering the girl he once loved.

But who is that dancing so happily with her?

_____ That's you, Scrooge___ whispered the spirit to him. Then you, too, were kind and cheerful.

Then the spirit led the man to another window. Inside, a young Scrooge sat at a desk covered with money. Elizabeth stood behind him with tears in her eyes.

Why is she crying?" asked Scrooge.

Then he remembered that he had taken her cottage from her when he couldn't pay the bills and that he had refused to marry her.

Suddenly Scrooge was in bed again. He thought it had all been a bad dream, but then he remembered Elizabeth again, and how his love of money had caused him to lose his chance of happiness with her. Scrooge buried his head in his pillow and burst into tears.

As he sobbed, he felt the weight of a huge hand on his shoulder. He lifted his head and found a terrible giant enjoying a feast.

I am the Spirit of Christmas Present. There is no time to waste! ___ he bellowed.

The spirit put Scrooge in his pocket, lifted the roof like a doll's house, and went out into the street.

Scrooge peeped out of the huge giant's pocket.

Where are we going? he thought.

The spirit took Scrooge out of his pocket, and with his other hand he pulled out a street lamp to use as a lantern. Soon afterwards they came to a very old cottage.

What a dreadful little house! exclaimed Scrooge; "who can live in such a place? a wretched beggar, perhaps?

Look more closely, and tell me whom you see," warned the spirit.

Scrooge pressed his face against the glass. But it's Bob Cratchit, my clerk! __ he was surprised __ Does he live here?

The spirit frowned.

He lives here because of your "generosity".  Look at the Christmas Eve dinner the family has. It's all they can afford.

The hungry Cratchits sat down to the table, and partook of the smallest goose Scrooge had ever seen in his life. Then he saw a little boy, Tiny Tim, limping into the room, leaning on a crutch. When he heard him thank him for the food, Scrooge felt ashamed.

Tell me, spirit, what's the matter with that little fellow?

I'm afraid, if things don't change, Tiny Tim's chair will soon be empty," replied the spirit.

All was dark, and Scrooge realised that he was alone. Bells rang out in the distance.

Just then, a thickening cloud of smoke enveloped Scrooge until he was in darkness. A little smoke entered his nose and he began to cough.

When the smoke cleared, Scrooge saw that he was in a cemetery! Everywhere, there were snow-covered graves.

Scrooge looked up. He was not alone. A hideous dark figure, his face half hidden by a hood, stood before him.

Are you the Ghost of Christmas Future? Scrooge mumbled. Tell me, what will happen to Tiny Tim?

The spirit looked at Scrooge, raised his arm and pointed to something in the distance.

Scrooge looked over and saw Bob Cratchit and his family gathered by a grave. Bob knelt down in front of the gravestone and laid Tiny Tim's crutch on the grave as the tears rolled down his cheeks.

Oh, no," exclaimed Scrooge. Spirit, I don't want this to happen; tell me it is still possible to do something about it!

Scrooge looked at two gravediggers who had just dug a hole.

He had never seen a burial before, with no family, no friends to say good-bye to him.

Scrooge peered into the grave, and asked the spirit to whom it belonged.

It's yours! The spirit burst out laughing and took off his hood.

No! I'll change! cried Scrooge.  The tomb burst into flames and the spirit pushed him down into it.  ____ Let me out!

Suddenly, another bell rang. Scrooge opened his eyes and cried out with joy. He was in his room!

It's Christmas! he shouted. After putting on his coat and hat, Scrooge went out into the street.

He wished everyone a Merry Christmas to everyone he came across, and gave two bags of money to the people he passed. They were speechless, wondering what had happened to the old curmudgeon.

Scrooge even stopped his nephew when he saw him approaching his carriage. Fred was so surprised at his uncle's cheerfulness that he nearly fell out of the carriage. After bidding him farewell, Scrooge went on his way in the direction of Bob Cratchit's house.

TOC, TOC! Scrooge knocked at his clerk's door. When Bob opened it and saw who it was, his smile faded.

Why, Mr. Scrooge. Merry Christmas. Won't you come in?

Scrooge rushed in and set a heavy sack on the floor. Then he smiled a huge smile, and told Bob that he was raising his wages, and that he had brought him food and toys for his family.

Cratchit couldn't believe it.

Oh, thank you Mr. Scrooge!

FROZEN AN OLAF ADVENTURE

Surprise!" exclaimed Olaf as he jumped out of a kransekake and sent pieces of the cake flying everywhere.

Olaf, not yet! said Anna.

The surprise party won't start until the Christmas bell rings," added Elsa.

It was the first holiday in Arendelle for years, and the sisters wanted to spend it with the inhabitants of the kingdom.

The castle courtyard was already full of people. Everyone was excited when they saw Kristoff and Sven arriving with the Christmas bell.

Clong! Clong! Clong! Clong!

However, after the bell had rung, everyone started to leave!

Are you leaving already? Anna asked them.

The bell has rung and now we are going to celebrate our family tradition: kneading the doughnut cake___ explained a woman.

Afterwards, Elsa invited the Olsens to the castle, but they both shook their heads.

____ Thank you, but we're going to knit some socks for the grandchildren ___ they said with a smile. We don't want to get involved in your family traditions.

When everyone left, Kristoff saw the disappointed faces of his friends. To cheer them up, he played them a traditional troll song and then taught them another troll tradition: Flemmy, the troll mushroom!

_________ You lick his forehead and make a wish! And he made them laugh!

Olaf followed the sisters into the ballroom. He was eager to know what their family tradition was.

Do we have a tradition, Elsa? Anna asked. Can you remember?

When the doors closed, we were never together again," said Elsa. I'm sorry, because of me we don't have any traditions.

Olaf ran to the stables.

Sven," he shouted, "Anna and Elsa don't have any traditions they've ever seen, and we'll bring them to the castle! Olaf tied Kristoff's sledge to Sven and the two set off at once.

Olaf knocked on the door of the first house they came to.

What is your family tradition? he asked a boy and his mother.

We always make candy canes," they replied as they offered him one. Olaf took off his carrot nose and put on the candy cane instead.

Ohhh, sugar rush! ___ he exclaimed

Olaf and Sven went house to house to learn about different family traditions. They loaded everything that people gave them into Sven's sleigh with the intention of taking it to Anna and Elsa.

At the last stop, Olaf found Oaken's whole family celebrating the holidays in the sauna. Olaf thought it was a great tradition ... and added a portable sauna to the pile of stuff!

But the burning embers of the sauna soon caused trouble. The sledge caught fire and all the traditions started to burn! The sledge fell down a ravine and Sven and Olaf each landed on one side of the cliff.

They had run out of traditions! But Olaf did not lose hope when he saw that one of them had been saved: the fruitcake.

Sven, however, was worried. Wolf howls could be heard in the dark forest.

In the castle, Elsa found Anna in the attic, looking for traditions. She was taking things out of a boot containing her childhood memories.

What's in your boot? Anna asked.

Gloves mostly --- said Elsa.

But when she opened it, there was a little bell. Elsa took a small box and held it out to her sister. When Anna opened it, she could not believe her eyes.

Suddenly, the two sisters heard a commotion in the stables and went over there. Sven was trying to say something to Kristoff.

Olaf is lost! Anna guessed.

And he's being chased by hungry wolves," added Elsa.

Immediately, they decided to gather all the people in the village to go and look for him.

Anna, Elsa, Kristoff and Sven went into the forest with the search party. They all went calling for Olaf.

Suddenly, the sisters saw a carrot sticking out of a pile of snow. It was Olaf! Their friend explained that he had lost all the traditions he had gathered for them. Even the fruit cake, which had been taken away by a bird!

I'm sorry, I'm sorry. You still do not have a tradition... said Olaf.

Olaf, we do. Look __ said Anna. She opened the mysterious little box and showed him its contents.

The box was full of sketches of Olaf that Anna had drawn when she was a child.

I started drawing you the first time we created you," said Anna.

While we were apart, you were the one who kept us together, Olaf," added Elsa.

Every Christmas, I gave Elsa a present. Elsa nodded. During those years of loneliness, we had you to remind us of our childhood. And how much we still loved each other.

It's you, Olaf. You are our tradition. Surprise!

Out of the dark forest came dozens of lanterns. They were the inhabitants of Arendelle, who were relieved to see that Olaf was well.

Then Elsa had a great idea.

As this was Anna and Elsa's first party in a long time, they wanted it to be special. With the help of the villagers, they organised a big party right there in the forest!

Best of all, Anna and Elsa had revived their Christmas tradition and created a new one for Arendelle.

And all thanks to little Olaf!

AUTUMN TALES

 

THE DRAGONS

Dragons are romantic and affectionate with their family.

Mothers give bottles to their babies with a lot of love.

Lovers give flowers to their dragons and like to laugh until tears come out of their eyes and fire comes out of their mouths.

Dragons love to play pranks with the gnomes, but the gnomes don't like to play as toys so much.

So sometimes, tired of being mobile kites, they defend themselves with their shield and spear and their judo skills.

When a dragon sees a lady in danger, he rescues her without hesitation and flies her through the sky to safety.

And if the wicked invaders attack them with their fearsome thunderbolts, they drive them off with their catapults into the clouds.

They will do anything to annoy the trolls:

------------------------------------------ they like to attack their unicorns.

------------------------------------------provoke great fires in the forests that some dragon blows out with his wind.

-----------------------------------------destroy walls that are hard for men to build.

Dragons keep large chests of gold coins in a cave under a large volcano.

The snakes help them keep watch in case the ogres come to steal, and when they find out, the ogres run away scared and empty-handed.

 Dragon Mummy is very flirtatious: she uses perfume, creams and nail polish.

 Dragon Dad flies to work, and when he comes home he sits by the fireplace reading the newspaper with his son, who reads storybooks.

And dragons also like to play sports, such as playing football with a fireball or swimming under the sea to watch the fish and look for oysters with pearls inside.

They like to play the guitar when they feel happy.

                               

THE FOREST

Squirrels love to jump from tree to tree. We have a tail that we bend over our heads. Our front paws have toes that we use to pick up nuts, acorns and other fruits and put them in our mouths. We live in tree trunks and are very playful and light.

The head of an owl is shaped like a heart. Our eyes are big, but I can't move them from side to side like you can. I sleep during the day and go hunting at night.

I can stay on a tree branch for a very long time. I eat mice, frogs, lizards....

I am a brown bear and I have a sweet tooth. I like honey so much that I don't mind the painful stings of bees when I break a hive with my claws.  When the first snow falls, I go into a cave and sleep on a bed of leaves for six months.

I am a deer and when I grow up like my dad I will have long horns and strong hooves. We deer live in herds and eat stalks, grasses, leaves... We live in the forest and thanks to our long, strong legs we can run away from hunters.

The wolves are the best mothers in the animal kingdom because we don't separate from our cubs for several weeks. When they grow up, I will continue to take good care of them, bring them food and protect them from hunters. The wolves have a strong jaw, with very sharp fangs.

Hummingbirds are the smallest birds in the world. We have beautiful, brightly colored feathers. We move our wings at high speed. Our beak is thin and we can suck the nectar from flowers with ease.

I am the fox and I am known to be cunning. I live in the forest and sleep on a fallen log. I eat rabbits and from time to time I go to a hen house and take a chicken with me, so the shepherds can't even see me. I am very fast and thanks to that I can escape from my biggest enemy, the dog. 

THE WITCHES

When night falls and we all sleep, the hour of the dreaded witches begins. When they wake up, to see if they are uglier, they look in the mirror and then they fly away on their brooms, not forgetting to take their pet snake with them. On full moon nights they usually travel on their brooms. There are many different types: the most modern ones use hoovers and others use a hang glider. Some witches drive like real monsters, poor bats.

They wear a different dress every night, choose a pair of shoes, and a witch's hat. They decorate their skin with cactus fruits, as if they were polka dots. To finish, they put a little rat in their pocket and go out.

The witches come out of their castles to chase the dragons on stormy nights. They defend themselves by flapping their wings and spitting fire.  Their most faithful allies are the inseparable gnomes, who accompany them in the fight.

The witches' favourite food is live worms with rotten tomato sauce, mouse bones and toad's eyes, all with a lot of salt. They organize big parties and toast with spider juice when they are very young and tender.

 

Little witches love to draw monsters and scare each other.  They feed on scorpions because their witch mums are afraid of being poisoned by the ice-cream makers.  When they go to sleep, they tell them sweet bedtime stories that scare them to death. It's great!

But what they enjoy the most is making their potions. They hide from the sun and weave their plans. Their favourite spells are turning kings into frogs and princesses into spiders.  Sometimes the gnomes put a mirror on them and return the charm.

The incredible Unicorns.

Unicorns are amazing animals. They look like horses but have a beautiful twisted horn on their forehead. They are as beautiful as mermaids and as magical as fairies. Some of them can even fly, but not like birds, because they don't have wings!

Unicorns are all over the world. Most live in forests, but they can also live on the top of a mountain or in the desert.

Some even live under the sea, but if you want to see one of these unicorns, you'll have to travel by submarine...

Unicorns that live in the forest like to eat grass. Some of them decorate their manes with pretty flowers, because they love nature. When it is sunny and warm, they bathe in the cool water of the rivers; other animals like deer also go there to drink.

In the mountains, unicorns are friends with eagles and mountain goats. They go to bed late at night to look at the stars and the moon. They don't like rain at all, so if it rains they take shelter in a cave because they are very afraid of lightning and black clouds.

At the poles, unicorns are very friendly with polar bears. Some unicorns there are as white as milk. If a lot of snow falls, they huddle on the icy ground until it passes. They like to be by the sea, because they can watch the seals and penguins swim, which they find very amusing.

Desert unicorns live surrounded by cacti.  Their best friends are dromedaries and camels. Although it is very hot, they always know where there is an oasis. There they have water to drink and can lie in the shade of a palm tree.  And they are safe from scorpion stings.

In the sea there are also unicorns. They are very similar to seahorses but with a horn. They live among seaweed and have a great time playing hide and seek with fish, crabs and jellyfish. Sometimes they find incredible treasures that were sunk by a pirate ship.

When unicorns do magic, they close their eyes, bow their heads, concentrate hard and their horn starts to light up like a light bulb. There is the sound of bells and the smell of strawberries. Then everyone nearby feels happy. It is a very special moment.

THE AGES OF HISTORY

 

Prehistory began with the appearance of human beings and is the longest period in the past. It is divided into three periods: Palaeolithic, Neolithic and Metal Age.

The first humans were nomadic, and they hunted, fished and gathered plants to survive.

Over the years they discovered agriculture and animal husbandry became sedentary and built houses and villages to live in.

They began to make tools from stones and animal bones.

They also created pottery and learned to work metals.

                                                                       

The Ancient Age began about 5000 years ago, when writing was invented.

The first civilizations emerged: Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans.

The Romans conquered the Iberian Peninsula between the 3rd and 1st centuries BC, 

and called it Hispania.

The Romans organized Hispania into provinces. They imposed their customs,

 Roman laws, and the use of Latin, founded cities, and introduced Christianity.

The Middle Ages began with the end of the Roman Empire, in AD 476. C.
The Visigoths, one of the Germanic peoples from northern Europe, invaded Hispania and 
founded a kingdom on the Peninsula.
In the year 711 the Muslims conquered the Visigothic kingdom and created al-Andalus. 
The Christian kingdoms organized to expel them and expand their borders. 
This period was called La Reconquista. 
This period of the Middle Ages ended when the Catholic Monarchs conquered the kingdom of Granada.
During this stage the cities grew and castles and monasteries were built. 
Two artistic styles stood out: Romanesque and Gothic.




The Modern Age began in 1492 with the discovery of
America. This period saw important discoveries and inventions, 
such as the  printing press.



In the 16th and 17th centuries, Spain was ruled by the
Habsburg dynasty. The first kings, Charles I and Philip II, 
created a great empire, which weakened in the 17th century. 


In the 18th century a new dynasty, THE BORBONS, began
to reign.


During this period two artistic styles developed:
RENAISSANCE and BAROQUE.


In Spain it was called the GOLDEN CENTURY because of
its cultural and artistic splendor.


In the 18th century, the ideas of the Enlightenment
arrived in Spain.

HALLOWEEN 21

 

Although nowadays it is a costume party, where children and adults collect and eat large quantities of candy, the origins of Halloween, which takes place on the last day of October, are not so joyful and its roots go back to an ancient Celtic festival more than 3,000 years ago.

The holiday arrived as such in the United States and Canada in 1840, via Irish immigrants, but did not begin to be celebrated on a mass scale until 1921, when the first Halloween parade was held in Minnesota.

Today, the only spooky spirits you'll see this October 31 will be the witch and ghost costumes worn by our friends and family.

Little stories for the summer

 

THE LITTLE SEAL

Foca lives on a small island in the middle of the blue sea.

Isn't it the most beautiful place in the world? he asks his mother every day.

Of course it is, sweetheart. ---- She always replies.

Foca is still small, but she is growing very fast and getting chubbier every day. Although her fins are short, she can swim fast and jump over the waves. Her eyes are like two shiny black stones, always looking for something to play with.

On his island there is a cave to sleep in at night. There is also a white sandy beach.  The sea water is so clean that seal can see the fish swimming underneath every morning.

Foca wants to know everything and asks: "Where do the fish go, mummy? Can I go with them?

They go to school---- his mother explains to him.

You are going to school this year too.

Foca is sunbathing. He likes to close his eyes and feel the warmth.  She likes it so much that sometimes she falls asleep.  Mummy is in the water and sticks her head out from time to time to see her.  She is the best swimmer in the world.

The little seal swims almost as well as she does. She used to feed on her mother's milk, but now she can eat fish.  She loves sardines. 

But what she likes most is to accompany her mother when she goes fishing.

Foca looks for octopus on the rocks and chases squid.

Once a crab pinched his nose and pulled two hairs out of his moustache.  That's why he always sticks his fin into the holes before sticking his nose out.

What do we do when we've finished eating --- asks mummy seal.

We have to take a nap---- answers the little seal.

That too,--- laughs her mother.    But first we have to brush our teeth.

One afternoon, seal saw a very big animal in the sea. He wanted to go swimming with it, but his mother said: --- That's not an animal, it's a boat.  And you can't play with boats.

Why can't I swim with it? ---- asked the seal.

Boats are very dangerous. They don't have flippers like fish. They don't swim like us. 

Boats have propellers that they use to move and that can hurt you a lot.

There are people on the boats, they don't fish as well as we do, but they eat fish. And if you get too close, they can catch you without wanting to----. Her mother explained.

The little seal vowed never to go near the boats.

After a day of fishing, they lie on the sand and dry off in the sun.  Mum fixes and cleans their hair.  Then she does the same with the seal's hair.

Ouch, you bit me, mum! ---- complains jokingly.

Well, now it's going to be worse... Now I'm going to tickle you!

At night, seal looks at the stars. He always looks for the one that shines the brightest.

How many stars are there, mummy? I can already count to ten.

Well, there are many more than you can count.

It's time to go to sleep---- announces mummy seal.

Inside the cave, the stars are no longer visible. The little seal closes his eyes and dreams of his beach full of sardines and shells.

FOCA  ... The little seal

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A packaged mystery.

 

Do you know what a magnifying glass is? It's a lens that magnifies things and we see them better. I am a detective; I am dedicated to investigating and discovering the truth. I always carry my magnifying glasses with me, in my trench coat. That's why everyone calls me Lupas, the wolf detective.

I investigate mysteries; I use my magnifying glasses to find out what has happened.

I have a friend. Her name is Nanai.

She is very tall. She is a giraffe. She loves to read and solve mysteries. She gives me wise advice to help me solve the mysteries.

My front door is a normal door with a sign "Lobo Lupas Detective". When someone comes, they can ring the doorbell or knock on the door.

It was Nando, the postman, and he had a very serious look on his face. Nando is a panda bear, black and white.

What is it, Nando?

I have a parcel but I don't know who it's for. It doesn't say all the details. I've been a postman for many years and I've never made a mistake when I've delivered a letter or a parcel. Please Lupas, help me, where do I have to take this parcel?

There are three buildings on Three Houses Street: a jewellery shop, a museum and a bank.

And in these three buildings they have valuable things.

I know! We can open the package!

No," said my friend Nanai, who was there with me, "You can't open other people's packages.

Nanai is right," confirmed Nanado. You can't open other people's letters or parcels.

So I had to think some more.

OK, I'll use my X-ray magnifying glass.

It's for looking inside things. If we see that it has money it will be for the bank, if it has jewellery it will be for the jewellery shop and if it has something old it will be for the museum.

I took my X-ray magnifying glass and put it on top of the package and what did I see?

Nothing, the package is empty!

And why would anyone send an empty package?

That's strange, said Nanai. And how can the package be valuable if it's empty?

The postman Nando did not know where to take his parcel. It was a valuable parcel but it was empty.

I used my magnifying glass to look at the outside of the parcel. With that magnifying glass small things look bigger. I checked the paper of the parcel first. Then I checked the lettering but saw nothing new. Last I checked the stamps. And then .... One of the three stamps on the package was different from the other two.

It is not a normal stamp, it looks quite old.

Exactly, it is a very valuable stamp. Something like that has to be in a museum.

Nando, you have to take it to the museum.

The panda bear wiggled its black ears, smiled with its black mouth and winked one of its black eyes at me. Then he stretched out one of his black paws in which he held a white envelope.

-I have a letter for you too.

I opened the envelope, it was not empty. Inside was a magnifying glass. A red magnifying glass. I was glad I didn't have a red magnifying glass.