SOYE'S KIDS TALES
Thursday, 19 September 2024
The Voice Within
Wednesday, 28 August 2024
TeamWork
The army of ants gathered for duty on a sunny Saturday morning.
“Attention!” the captain shouted. “Line up, everyone! I present to you King Kokum.”
King Kokum, the leader of the ants, stood up from his royal chair next to the lovely Queen of the ants.
“Good morning, my friends,” the King said in a loud, strong voice.
“Good morning, King Kokum,” all the ants replied.
“First, I want to thank you all for the hard work you do every day. The Queen and I are very proud of you. Remember, we are one big family. Look out for each other. Together we are strong, but alone we fall. So go out there and do your best!”
The ants cheered for their King. The supervisors took their places and started organizing their groups.
“Group 1, search the yard for tasty things. Group 2, move the dead bugs. Group 3, build an anthill to store our treasures. Group 4, make a line to carry the goodies. Let’s get to work! Groups 5 and 6, bring the items back to the kingdom.”
All the ants got to work right away, and each group did their job carefully. But then, Ant Loni from Group 5 got very tired and fell out of line. Her team was upset because she was slowing them down. They didn’t stop to help her; they had to keep working.
Ant Loni tried to get up, but she was too weak. She even tried to call for help, but no one heard her.
When it was time for Groups 5 and 6 to start their task, Ant Bimo and Ant Ket saw Ant Loni. Unlike the others, they left their line and ran to help her. The other ants were upset because it messed up their order. But Ant Loni was finally carried back to the kingdom.
The next morning, King Kokum called for Ant Ket and Ant Bimo. They were worried because they thought they were in trouble for leaving their line.
To their surprise, King Kokum made all the ants cheer for them and gave them special gifts for saving Ant Loni. He told everyone, “Remember to look out for each other. Because of you two, Loni is safe.”
Tuesday, 6 February 2024
GRANDMA'S VISIT
It was 2 p.m. on Friday, and the school bell had just rung. School was over, and all the kids were excited that it was Friday again.
“Hi, Mrs. Briggs,” Cynthia said.
“Hello, Cynthia, how are you doing today?”
“I’m very fine, thank you. Caleb! Boma! Your mum is here.”
“Bye, Miss Cynthia,” the kids screamed as they ran to their mum’s car.
Boma and Caleb sat quietly in front of the TV, watching their favourite show on CBeebies.
“Ring, ring, ring,” the doorbell rang. Caleb stood up and ran towards the door.
“Come back,” Boma said. “Mummy said we are not allowed to answer the door.”
“So should we keep the visitor waiting?” he asked.
Just then, the children’s mum rushed out of her room and went straight to the door.
“Grandma! Grandma!” the kids screamed as they both hugged their grandma.
They loved their grandmother, particularly because she always had many gifts for them and fun stories to tell.
The next day was the 21st of June, and it was Grandma’s 70th birthday. The kids were so excited that they woke up very early that morning. They helped Mum bake Grandma’s cake and make some special cookies. Next, Mum, Dad, Caleb, and Boma entered Grandma’s room to surprise her.
“Good morning, Grandma,” Boma said.
As Grandma turned to respond, the four of them chorused a loud “Happy Birthday!” They also presented the cake to the celebrant. Next, Caleb started the Happy Birthday song, and everyone joined in.
Later that day, the kids designed birthday cards for their granny, Mum prepared a special dinner, and Dad got her a beautiful gift. Grandma was so grateful; she loved her family so much.
The next afternoon, it was time to say goodbye to Grandma. Once again, the kids took turns hugging and kissing their grandma. They went to bed early that night because Monday was a school day.Thursday, 11 November 2021
Princess Anna
Many years ago, in the kingdom of Heaves, there was a fabulous king called King Kingsley. He was married to the beautiful Queen Angela, and together they had a lovely daughter named Princess Anna.
Anna was attractive, just like her mother, and everyone admired her. Anna’s parents taught her to treat everyone respectfully, even though she was a princess.
One Saturday morning, her father walked into her room and saw it was untidy. “My princess, why is your room so scattered?” he asked.
“Well, Daddy, that’s because Susan hasn’t cleaned it yet.” Susan was the maid assigned to clean the princess’s room.
“No,” the king exclaimed. “It is not suitable for you to keep your room dirty. It’s okay for Aunty Susan to help you clean up, but maintaining your room is your responsibility. Remember, darling, there’s dignity in labour.”
“What does that mean, Dad?”
“Well, it means working hard makes you proud of yourself and makes others, like your mum and Aunty Susan, proud of you and me.”
“I’m sorry, Dad. I will make sure I keep my room neat, whether Aunty Susan comes or not.” The father and daughter hugged, and the king went on his way.
On Anna’s 13th birthday, there was a party organized for her.
At midnight that same night, news reached the palace that the neighbouring kingdom planned to attack Kingdom Honolulu. This news led to preparations to protect lives and property in Honolulu, but it was too late.
The next day, t
he warriors of Kingdom Doom fought their way into the palace and captured the king and queen. Just then, Mirabel, the elderly chief maid, ran into Princess Anna’s room, made her pack a few things, and carried her through the back of the palace.
At Mirabel’s little cottage, she explained the situation to the princess as best as she could. Princess Anna was so hurt that she cried for several nights and days and refused to eat. Mirabel feared that the little princess would starve to death. Mirabel was also a mother of three kids: Ben, who was 18, Rose, who was 13, and little Daniella. A week after the incident, Ben overheard his sister gossiping about the princess.
Rose said to her little sister, “While Mum brings the princess into our house, I hope she doesn’t expect us to make her bed or wash the dishes after her.”
“But she’s been doing her chores and treating us nicely since she arrived. Maybe it’s because she’s afraid Mummy will send her out.”
“I am sure she will misbehave soon enough.”
“Why are you so jealous?” Ben’s voice came from the kitchen window. “Daniella is correct. The princess has done us no harm. Please be nice to her. She’s hurting.”
The following day, Anna offered to follow Mirabel to the nearby market to buy some food.
Just as they stepped out, Rose came across an expensive piece of jewellery that belonged to the princess on the table in the room both girls shared. While trying on the earrings, one of them broke. She tried her best to fix it, but she failed. She cried until her mom and the princess returned. Immediately they came in, she reported herself.
To her greatest surprise, the princess forgave her instantly. She was so grateful and ashamed that she had spoken ill of her. She apologized, and from that day, she respected the princess and never gossiped again.
Tuesday, 12 September 2017
NAUGHTY ARNOLD
"Arnold!!!"
mum screamed from the living room. "How many times have I told you to
clear your plate after eating?". There was silence.
"Ebubeeee!!!" mum screamed this time. There was still no answer.
Ebube was Arnold's native name; his mum often called him that when he had been
naughty. She walked angrily to his room, only to find it in a mess, while her
son was engaged in a computer game. "Ebube" she screamed once again.
"Didn't you hear me calling you?" "Mum, I am in the middle of a
game here." His mum was really upset and concerned at her son's attitude, so she had him shut down his game and sit in the naughty corner until he apologized. It took
him about an hour of murmuring before he said he was sorry.
Monday, 11 September 2017
THERE IS A ROSE
It was a beautiful, sunny morning, and Mr Torbee had set off for work early, as usual. He liked to be punctual and always considered how long it took him to get to work.
He worked in a company with other tortoises. Just as work started, his boss addressed all the staff in his normal harsh voice. As he shouted the words "meeting dismissed", there were murmurs everywhere because of his unfriendly attitude.
Just then, Mr Torbee thought to himself, "Oga sounds rather frustrated today. I wonder what's wrong."
"Did you notice the deep sadness as the boss spoke?" He asked his factory partner. "Why on earth are you so ignorant?" His partner replied. That man has been like that for the 10 years I have worked here. He realized immediately that speaking out was a mistake. Every staff of the company hated the boss. Mr Torbee was still convinced that something was wrong, so he took a bold step at break time. He knocked at Mr Torboss office.
Mr Torboss broke down in tears; this was so confusing to Torbee. "What's wrong, sir?" "I have many problems, and I have no one to talk to; nobody wants to be my friend". Torbee was surprised that not having friends would make the boss sad. He spent the next few minutes encouraging his boss and telling him ways of acting better. Mr Torboss surprised all the staff with an apology the next day. Torbee and Torboss became best of friends from that day.
Saturday, 9 September 2017
YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL
One day, during playtime in school, the two friends saw a small gathering of kids laughing. As they got closer, they saw Debbie on the floor. Debbie was a chubby little girl in their class, who got bullied and mocked daily by other pupils, especially Lily. Lily was yet another class mate of theirs from a rich family. She always acted like she was better than everyone else.
Meanwhile, they took Debbie to the corner and sat with her. She couldn't hold back her tears as she explained the hurtful names Lily called her. "She called me fat and ugly, I am so ugly." "No u are not," Chuchu said. "The Bible says that you are fearfully and wonderfully made. My mummy said that means we are all beautiful in our own special way." Soyce continued. "Debbie, you are beautiful." "Let's say the words, just like we did in Sunday school," suggested one of the girls." The three girls repeated the words "I am beautiful" severally until Debbie began to smile.
The bell rang just then. The break was over.