The Golden House

Once, a poor boy was walking through the forest when he found a golden key lying on the ground and, picking it up he thought.

"Where there is a golden key there must be a golden lock".

And, sure enough, after walking a little further he saw a golden padlock lying on the ground.

But then, picking it up aswell, he thought,

"Where there is a golden lock there must be a golden gate".

And, after going a little further through the forest, just as the boy had suspected, he saw a golden gate, wide open and a golden house beyond.

"I wonder who lives there?", he thought, "It must be an important person; a lord or even a king".

And so curious was he about who the owner of the golden house could be that he went up to its door.

But, no sooner had he stepped up to the door when, to his surprise, it magically opened all by itself.

"Thats strange", he thought, "It must be a magic house. Maybe even a wizards house".

But he thought that perhaps the house had opened the door because it was inviting him in and so, because he was brave and also very curious, he entered the house to look inside.

As soon as he went inside, however, a bird who was in a cage hanging in a great hall said to him,

"Get out! Get out while you can for this is the house of an evil old witch and she may be back any minute".

"Oh but I just wanted to have a look around", said the boy.

"Very well", said the bird, "But whatever you do, don't eat any food you see in this house or it will make you tired"

"Alright", promised the boy, not really understanding the birds warning.

But then the boy, entering the kitchen of the house saw a table laid out with all kinds of cakes and biscuits and pies and they looked so delicious that he couldn't help but eat one or two and, afterwards, beginning to feel tired he remembered what the bird had said.

"I ate a biscuit and a piece of cake from the witch's table", he said to the bird, "What do I do?"

"Thats alright", said the bird, "Just don't drink anything you see in the house because it will make you drowsy".

"Alright", agreed the boy.

But then, as he was looking around the witch's parlor, he saw a jug of lemonade and some glasses and his throat felt so dry that he couldn't resist pouring out a glass and taking a sip of the lemonade.

As soon as he had, however, the boy noticed that he was starting to feel very drowsy.

"I had a drink of lemonade", said the boy to the bird, yawning, "Now what do I do?".

"Don't worry", said the bird, "Just don't sit down on any of the chairs you see in the house or you'll fall asleep".

"Okay", said the boy, "I won't".

But then as the boy was looking around the witch's parlor he saw a big, old comfy looking armchair and he was already so tired and drowsy that he couldn't resist sitting on it.

Unfortunately, no sooner had the boy sat down in the armchair when he fell fast asleep.

Infact he slept for a whole hour and, when he awoke, seeing a clock on the parlor wall and realizing what time it was, he started to panic.

"I sat down in an armchair", he told the bird in the hallway, "And I've been asleep for a whole hour".

Then, to make matters worse, the boy heard the sound of an old woman singing outside the house,

"Who has got caught in my trap? A little boy or girl perhaps?".

"Don't worry", said the bird and, pointing a wing towards a cupboard nearby, he added, "In that cupboard is a magic garden with 3 animals in it. Go in there and, when you see a dog, give him a bone; when you see a cat give her a fish and, when you see a bird give him a worm".

"But I don't have those things", said the boy.

"You'll find them there", said the bird, "Now hurry".

So the boy ran into the cupboard and, to his amazement, just as the bird had said, inside he saw a beautiful garden with fruit trees and flowers, chirping birds and butterflies and even a golden fountain.

But then, suddenly, out of nowhere, he saw a big dog appear, twice the size of him and, growling and grring it said,

"Who enters the magic garden? Unless you have something for me, I must eat you".

And fearing being eaten by the enormous dog, the boy became frantic but then, suddenly, from the corner of his eye, he noticed an old bone lying in the grass nearby and, picking up the bone, he held it out for the dog to take.

"Thankyou", said the dog, taking the bone in his mouth, "You may pass now".

And so the boy walked past the dog, deeper into the garden.

But as he did, behind him, the boy saw the witch enter the garden.

Fortunately, the moment she did, the dog leapt up and barred her way, growling and grring again.

"Drat", said the witch to the boy, "I shall have to go and get another bone now for this dog but I'll catch up with you. Don't think I won't".

Then the witch left the garden to get another bone for the dog and when she did, the boy ran off deeper into the garden.

After he had been running for a short time however, he came to a river that he couldn't cross because there wasn't a bridge or a boat.

"How will I ever get across?", he worried.

But then, suddenly, a big ginger cat, twice the size of him, appeared out of nowhere and said,

"I will take you over the river. If you give me a gift".

Unfortunately, the boy didn't have a gift for the cat but then, seeing a fish swimming about nearby, he caught hold of the fish and gave it to the cat.

"Thank you", said the cat, "Now climb upon my back".

And so the boy climbed onto the big cats back and, when he did, it leapt right over the river, landing nimbly on the other side.

But then, just as he was getting off of the cats back, he saw the witch appear on the other side of the river and shout at him,

"Drat. Now I'll have to catch a fish too but I'll catch up with you. Just you wait".

And because the boy didn't want to wait around to be caught by the witch, he ran off again, deeper into the garden.

And as he was running through the garden he came to a steep grassy hill so he climbed up the hill until, at the top, he saw a giant bird.

"Stop", squawked the bird, "No one passes me unless they have something to give me".

And hearing this the boy remembered that the little bird in the witch's hallway had said to give the bird a worm.

"But where will I get a worm?", he thought

And because he couldn't see any worms nearby he started to dig in the ground with his hands until, finally, in the muddy hole he had dug, he saw a wriggly pink worm pop up its head.

But when he grabbed hold of the worm to pull it out of the ground the worm didn't want to leave its home.

"No!", cried the worm as he tugged upon it, holding on tight to the earth, "Let go!".

And, whats worse, as he was struggling with the worm the boy heard an evil cackling sound and, looking down, he saw the witch climbing up the hill towards him.

"I've got you now", she said.

But then suddenly, just as the witch had reached the top of the hill and was about to grab hold of the boy, he pulled so hard upon the worm that it came out of its hole with a loud " pop!" and when it did, the boy fell backwards and when he did that he knocked the evil old witch backwards too so that she went rolling back down the hill.

"Arghh!", screamed the witch as she tumbled down the hill.

But then the giant bird took the worm in its beak and, swallowing it said,

"Thank you. Now climb upon my back".

And so the boy climbed onto the back of the bird and, when he did, the giant bird flapped its giant wings, rising up into the air and then, flying through the sky, it carried the boy all the way home.

And not only that, when the boy got home and looked inside his pocket, he saw that he still had the golden lock and key that he had found earlier and they were worth so much that, when his mother sold them, she became rich so then the boy and his mother lived happily ever after.