Story: The Little Red House
Traditional story (from the Lavender's Blue Kindergarten Curriculum); retold by Kelly Ehrman.
A lovely Autumn story! I love to have an apple waiting nearby in a basket, already cut but placed back together, so that I can reveal the star surprise at the right time. For a song to go along with this story, see this post.
Once upon a time there was a little boy who was feeling tired of playing with his toys. He told his mama, “I'm bored! There's nothing to do!” His mama said, “I have an idea for you. Go and find me a little red house with no windows and no doors and a star inside.”
“A little red house with no windows and no doors and a star inside?” said the boy, “I've never heard of such a thing! Where should I look?” His mama said, “Run along past the farm down the lane and see what you find.” This sounded like a fun adventure, so he put on his jacket and cap and set off down the lane.
When he got to the farm he saw a little girl dancing and playing in the sunshine. “Little girl,” he said, “Do you know where I can find a little red house with no windows and no doors and a star inside?” The little girl laughed and said, “I've never heard of such a thing! Let's go ask my Papa, the farmer, for he is older and wiser than me.”
So they ran off to find the farmer. He was busy digging up potatoes in the vegetable patch and the little girl asked him, “Papa, this boy is looking for a little red house with no windows and no doors and a star inside! Do you know where he can find it?” The farmer said, “Well, I've never heard of such a thing! But run along and ask Granny, for she is older and wiser than me.”
So the little girl and the little boy ran off to the farmhouse, where they found Granny sitting on the porch in her rocking chair with her knitting. “Granny,” said the little girl, “This little boy is looking for a little red house with no windows and no doors and a star inside! Do you know where he can find it?” Granny laughed and said, “I've never heard of such a thing! But I would like to have a house like that. Imagine how warm and cozy it would be in the wintertime, and how the star would light the rooms!” The little boy was beginning to feel discouraged, but Granny said, “Run along to the top of the hill down the lane and ask your question of Brother Wind, for he is much older and wiser than me.” So the little boy said “Thank you! Goodbye!” and ran off down the lane, past the farm, and up to the top of the hill of the old orchard, and stopped under an old apple tree.
The little boy could feel Brother Wind all around him, whistling and whooshing by. He shouted his question aloud, “Where can I find a little red house with no windows and no doors and a star inside?” and the wind rushed up into the leaves of the tree. Just then, an apple fell from the tree and landed in the grass by the little boy. He picked up the apple and looked at it. It was little and red, and it looked a bit like a little house, with a brown stem chimney poking up through the top. It had no windows and no doors....could it be that there was a star inside? The little boy shouted “Thank you!” to Brother Wind, put the apple in his pocket and with a “Whoop!” he ran off back down the lane to his house.
“Mama,” he cried, “Look what I found!” His mother smiled when she saw the apple. She took her knife and cut the apple just so....and the little boy saw that there was indeed a star inside! He ate that sweet juicy apple, and he enjoyed it very much.