Sonny’s Story
Once upon a time there was a boy called Sammy who loved playing football and had a football net. He also had an older brother called Jules who liked to pretend to be a monkey.
One day, Sammy and Jules were out playing in the back garden. Sammy was trying to practise his penalty kicks. Jules was supposed to be the goalkeeper but he kept swinging like a monkey on the crossbar and he broke it. Sammy wanted to cry and ran into the kitchen to tell on Jules. His mum stopped what she was doing, then they dropped Jules off with their Nana Julia and Grandad Nick, and off they went to buy a new football net.
The new one was bigger, which made Sammy happy. But, when they got home it was too big for mum to build by herself and Sammy was too small to help. He would have to wait for his dad, which made him sad.
He went to his room to be alone and soon fell asleep on his bed.
Sammy woke up feeling strange. His arms and legs were dangling off the bed and touching the floor. He stood up and hit his head on the lightshade, just like his dad often did.
Strange he thought, suddenly feeling like his bedroom was tiny.
Confused, he looked at himself in the mirror and was shocked to see his dad staring back at him. Well not exactly his dad, because his dad had dark hair and Sammy’s was light.
“I’m a man!” he said to himself. “I’m a grown up!”
“I’m a grown up!” he realised, suddenly very scared.
“MUUUUUUUUM!” he boomed with his new, deep voice.
But his mum didn’t come, so he lumbered clumsily to Jule’s bedroom and looked out of the window onto the front. The car was gone and he was home alone.
Sammy then realised that he was easily as tall as dad and could now get to hard-to-reach places.
First, he looked on top of his mum and dad’s top cupboard, way at the back where he knew they kept the Christmas presents. He saw his favourite football player’s shirt. It was the white away kit and not the red home one that he really wanted, but that was okay.
Next, he went to the fridge. There were four bottles of beer on the top shelf and he was thirsty. He took one but it didn’t taste nice so he poured it down the sink and then hid the bottle in the outside bin.
Then, he built his football net. It took a long time and made him tired but eventually he did it.
Finally, he went to bed.
When Sammy woke up he was a boy again. He looked outside. His mum and dad were adjusting the football net he had built. He ran downstairs and by the time he reached the garden he had forgotten all about building the net.
That was, until Christmas day when he started unwrapping presents. He picked a soft one from under the tree and was about to open it when it all came back to him.
Before he opened the gift he said “Thanks for the shirt. I wanted the home kit but the away one looks cool too”.
And sure enough, it was the white away shirt.
Lauren’s Story
Laura Smyth had a great time in New York. She enjoyed the helicopter ride, shopping with her mum, and the best thing was the mini trampoline she bought from an old antique shop. It would look great in her bedroom.
The worst thing about New York was her younger brother Henry, or Snotface, as she liked to think of him. When they were finally on a plane back home to England, Henry confessed that he had hidden Laura’s favourite doll in a bush in Central Park. This made her furious, and she hated Henry all the way home.
It was late when they got back. The rest of the family went to bed but Laura was still angry and could not sleep. Instead, she unpacked and assembled the mini trampoline and started to bounce on it, hoping it would make her sleepy.
Instead, after bouncing for five minutes she was transported to a different girl’s bedroom, which was very ‘girly’ and pink. It was day now, and looking out of the window she could see she was back in New York, with Central Park right in front of her.
After studying the girl’s room (it belonged to someone called Jade), Laura went downstairs and out of the front door. Being careful to leave the door ajar, and crossed the road to Central Park. It took her an hour, but she eventually found her favourite doll hidden in a bush. Then, she retraced her footsteps and went back to Jade’s house. As soon as she got back on Jade’s trampoline, which was identical to hers back in England, she was back in her own bedroom, suddenly very tired. She collapsed on her bed and went to sleep straight away.
She woke up the next day with her doll sleeping next to her. She was excited to get on her trampoline again and have another adventure, but we'll leave that for another story.
Harry’s Story
Henry Smit loved football but he hated school. Like most young boys his age, he was obsessed with the sport and he longed for the day when his family could afford to buy him a football kit of his favourite team, Sheffield United. For now, he would have to make do with just a t-shirt that his nanan bought him from the local second hand shop.
You see, Henry’s family didn’t have a lot of money. He knew that his mum worked hard to provide for him and his sister Launa, but being a single mum meant there was never any money left over for expensive things. His mum worked two part-time jobs, as well as being a full-time mother.
One day, Henry’s Nanan brought him a pair of football boots. They were second hand and a size too big.
Thanks a lot Nanan he thought to himself sarcastically. He put them in back of his messy wardrobe and forgot all about them.
Three months later his mum lost both jobs.
Four months later, and still with no new jobs, Henry needed new football boots.
“Sorry Honey, I can’t afford it right now, just wear your trainers for now. In fact, didn’t Nanan get you a pair?” Mum reminded him.
Henry went to try on them on. Even though, they were second hand, they looked brand new and when Henry put them on, they fit perfectly.
He grabbed his precious football (another secondhand find from Nanan) and went out to the field down from his house. No one was about, so he practised by himself until he got tired and took a break.
Once he got his breath back, he decided to see how far he could kick the ball in the air with his new boots. He stood up, picked up the ball with both hands, and sent it flying into the sky, like literally.
Literally flying off into the sky.
Henry watched in amazement as his one and only ball grew smaller and smaller until it disappeared off into the clouds.
He picked up a stone and kicked it high into the sky with all his might. It shot off like a rocket, never to return to earth.
Next, he picked an empty can of pop and kicked it casually in the air a few times. Then he kicked it in the air with all his might, all his force, all his energy, and off it went hurtling into space at a great speed.
It must be the boots he thought to himself.
Next, he got a bag of trash that someone had left in the park and sent it to space. A businessman just so happened to be walking by and saw what Henry did.
“That was amazing! How would you like to go into business with me?” he asked.
“I’m not sure. What kind of business?” Henry asked the stranger.
“Saving the planet by sending trash into space.” The man explained.
“Only if my mum can have a job too.” Henry bargained.
“Deal” the man said as they shook hands.
So Henry quit school and worked full time kicking trash into space and playing football whenever he wanted, in his favourite player’s kit of course.
Jude’s Story
There were two things that Jules loved most in the world: acting like a monkey and gaming. If he wasn’t in the garden swinging around in the tree, he could be found in his room, playing on his computer.
There were two things that Jules hated most in the world: magicians and digestive biscuits. His worst nightmare was to be surrounded in a circle of magicians as they pelted him with biscuit after biscuit until he was buried alive in crumbs.
Thankfully, there are no magicians or digestive biscuits in this story, just a new video game console.
“Muuuuum, please can I have the new PS6 for Christmas? Pleeeeassseee!” Jules had asked at least twice a day since it came out in September. It was now late in November and the answer was still “No”.
“I’ve told you Jules, computer games are no good for you. They’re a waste of time.” Mum would say, at least once a week.
“No they’re not” Jules would reply and then he’d storm off to his room to play GTA 6 on his PS5.
A week before Christmas, Mum and Jules were coming home from doing some Christmas shopping. They were stopped at a red light, Mum staring at the lights, waiting for them to change to green.
Suddenly, there was a loud click. Mum looked at Jules to see that he had just locked the car doors. A second later, a shifty man tried to open the back passenger door, then he ran away when he realised it was locked.
“How did you know he was going to do that?” Mum asked.
“GTA 6,” Jules replied. “He looked shady and I was alert to my surroundings. See, video games are not a waste of time.”
Two days before Christmas Mum and Jules were in the car again. They were driving down the motorway, heading to Grandma and Grandpa’s for Christmas when suddenly the car in front slammed on its brakes. Before his Mum had even realised they were about to crash, Jules used his super quick reflexes to grab the wheel, and his brilliant driving skills to pull the car to the hard shoulder on the left and avoid a certain crash.
The car that was behind them was not so quick. Even though there was plenty of space, they still did not react quickly enough and they slammed into the car that had braked sharply. Looking in the rearview mirror, Mum could see that there was now a pile up of cars all slamming into each other as the whole motorway behind them came to a standstill.
“GTA 6” Jules said before his mum even had time to ask and they continued the drive to see his Grandparents.
Mum disappeared on Christmas Eve, which was unexpected. Then on Christmas day, Jules got a lovely surprise when he opened his present to find a new PS6 and a note written on it:
Dear Jules
You have been a very good boy and have saved the day twice with your super quick thinking and reflexes.
Please tell your mother that video games can be useful.
Merry Christmas!
Love Santa xxx