Author: Ariel Goodbody
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Arachne, the Spider Woman
Once, in Old Greece, there was a woman. Her name was Arachne. Arachne’s father was a shepherd. He was called Idmon. Idmon was a good shepherd, and they had many, many sheep. The sheep made much wool. They made so much wool that Idmon could not sell all of it, so their house was full of old wool. Arachne liked to play with the wool. Slowly, she learned how to make thread. Over time, she…
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Sleeping Beauty (Beginner)
Far away from our world, there were the Blue Castle and the Red Castle. In the Blue Castle, everything was soft and blue, and Izod was the softest fairy of all. Izod loved her land, and the land loved her. It was a happy place, but at times it was very sad. When one of the High Fairies died, all the people cried for days. Izod cried more than everyone else. She had a big…
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House of Secrets Chapter 4
Xu’s room was a mess. Steve thought his was bad, with jewels and bones and spellbooks everywhere, but at least in his room you could see the floor. Everywhere in her bedroom, there were pieces of paper, old fast food boxes, apple cores, magazines, and polaroids. There was some genuinely nice art on her walls, but the complete mess everywhere else distracted from it.
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House of Secrets Chapter 3
Steve hadn’t been joking. There was a circle of thick candles on the floor, and a table had been placed in the middle, with expensive cloth on top. Elisabeth was impressed. She’d been in professional productions with far worse sets than this.
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House of Secrets Chapter 2
Xu hated lots of things. She hated burnt toast, ugly sweaters, and tiny loud dogs. But more than anything, she hated spiders. And the attic was full of them.
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House of Secrets Chapter 1
Rosa stared at her renters, and her renters stared back at her. They were all gathered in the living room of her house, sitting on the ancient sofa, looking very annoyed at being there. Xu probably wanted to be outside taking pictures of traffic lights and dogs, and Elisabeth had been loudly rehearsing Macbeth in her bedroom when Rosa called them all down. She didn’t want to know what Steve had been doing, but he…
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The Little Mermaid
A long time ago, merpeople existed. They lived in the sea, and they were half-fish, half-human. They were human down to their middle, and then they were fish. They had long, beautiful tails, and they swam through the water using their tails.
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The Last Question
The last question was asked many times. The first time was on the twenty-first of May, 2061. It was asked as a joke. This is how it happened.
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The Weaver Girl and the Cowherd
In Heaven there were seven goddesses. They were sisters. Each sister had her job. One goddess mixed things in a pot to make fire for volcanoes. She was called Fire Maker. One goddess pushed together cotton to make snow for the mountains. She was called Snow Maker. One goddess cried tears that became dew in the morning. She was called Dew Maker. One goddess painted the stars so that they shone in the night sky.…
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The Teacher and the Student
Eklavya stayed low in the grass. Before him, his father, the hunter, moved quietly. He held a bow and arrow. Then, he saw it. A few metres in front there was a rabbit. It was drinking water. Eklavya’s father put an arrow in the bow. Eklavya took a deep breath. He tried not to move, but it was hard. He moved, and the grass made a sound. The rabbit turned and saw the hunter. It…