Stella was upset.

For several weeks she had been looking forward to going to the beach with her family and friends, and now this! She watched her younger sister, Priscilla, scamper to the back of the van to help unload, and her irritation grew. Priscilla always manages to be cheerful about everything! Stella grabbed her sweater, shoved the beach toys into the bag, and headed toward the sand. A cool wind was whipping up the waves, and Stella was reminded of foamy milk on top of hot cocoa. It would be fun to swim in a sea of chocolate milk, she thought. But then she remembered the irritation shed been feeling before and concluded, The dumb wind

Estela estava chateada. Tinha esperado ansiosa para ir praia com sua famlia e amigos, mas agora isto! Ela observou Priscila ir saltitando at a van para ajudar a descarregar as coisas, e ficou ainda mais irritada. Priscila sempre consegue ser feliz e positiva sobre tudo! Estela pegou seu casaco, jogou todos os brinquedos de praia na bolsa e foi para a areia. Um vento frio aoitava as ondas, que lhe pareciam espuma de leite achocolatado. Seria legal nadar num mar de leite achocolatado -- pensou. Mas depois lembrou que estava irritada e concluiu -Que chatice esse vento e essas ondas. No vamos poder nadar

and waves. Now we wont be able to go swimming, because its too cold and rough! Stella plopped herself down on the sand, while everyone else quickly became absorbed with other activities. Joel, Priscilla, and Dina were playing an impromptu game of catch, and David was examining a weather-beaten log for signs of life in its crevices. Soon the other children happily took off to find supplies to build a fort made of towels and bamboo rods where they could eat and play and be protected from the weather. Stella, still seated, continued to shuffle sand through her toes, and her glumness increased. After a few minutes of staring at her toes, she pulled her legs toward her, rested her head on her knees, and drifted off to sleep. Stella was in a dark cave, walking along a path lit only by the light that came in through the mouth of the cave.

porque o mar est frio demais e agitado! Ela se jogou na areia enquanto os outros se divertiam com outras atividades. Joo, Priscila e Dora comearam a brincar de pega-pega, e Davi examinava um velho tronco, procurando algum sinal de vida em suas fendas. Logo as outras crianas saram correndo alegremente para buscar toalhas e varas de bambu para criar uma fortaleza onde poderiam comer e brincar protegidas do tempo. Estela continuou sentada remexendo a areia com os dedos dos ps, e foi ficando cada vez mais emburrada. Depois de alguns minutos olhando para os ps, dobrou os joelhos, recostou a cabea sobre eles e caiu no sono. Estela se viu em uma caverna seguindo por um caminho e a nica luz vinha da entrada da caverna.

The farther into the cave she went, the less she could make out her surroundings. In the distance she spotted a tiny, flickering light. As she neared the light, she discovered it was a little firefly sitting on a rock. Next to the rock was a small glass lantern on a long pole. Stella opened a small door on the side of the lantern and placed the firefly inside. Immediately the entire cave was lit with a beautiful, bright light.

Quanto mais entrava, menos conseguia ver sua volta. Viu, distncia, uma luz pequenininha e cintilante. Ao se aproximar da luz, descobriu que era um pequeno vaga-lume parado numa pedra. Ao lado da pedra havia uma pequena lanterna na ponta de um poste. Estela abriu uma pequena porta na lateral e colocou o vaga-lume l dentro. Na mesma hora, a caverna inteira ficou iluminada com uma luz forte e linda.

The room was filled with beautiful jewels, which covered the rocks and floor of the cave, as well as beautiful paintings and tapestries hanging on the cave walls. Stella felt happy and excited as she picked up one of the jewels.

Havia lindas joias por todo o lugar, nas pedras e no cho, alm de lindas pinturas e tapearias nas paredes. Estela ficou feliz e empolgada quando pegou uma das joias.

Stella woke up just as a soccer ball hit her in the back. Joel! she yelled, and laughed, as she picked up the ball and went running after him. The kids kicked the ball around the sand for nearly an hour. Exhausted, they threw themselves down on the beach near their fort, and began looking for shapes in the clouds.

Ela ento acordou com uma bolada nas costas. Joo! gritou. Rindo, pegou a bola e saiu correndo atrs dele. As crianas ficaram jogando bola por quase uma hora. Exaustas, deitaram-se na areia perto do forte que tinham construdo e comearam a imaginar figuras nas nuvens.

Theres a rabbit. And theres a limousine. And that one looks like an elephant waving its trunk in the air. And on they went, laughing and having fun describing the shapes they detected in the clouds. They were having such a great time that Stella had forgotten about the cold wind and the lack of sun that had supposedly ruined their day at the beach. Stella jumped up from the sand and skipped along the waters edge, while thanking Jesus for giving her such joy and apologizing for being so glum earlier. As she reflected on His love for her, she heard His voice speak to her heart. The dark cave was like your heart when you were so glum, Jesus told her. The firefly you found in the cave was like the gift of joy I have for you. Sometimes you forget about Me and the joy I wish to give you, because you are focusing on what seems negative or sad.

Achei um coelho. Ali tem uma limusine. E aquela parece um elefante sacudindo a tromba. A brincadeira continuou, e elas riam e se divertiam descrevendo as formas que percebiam nas nuvens. Estavam se divertindo tanto que Estela se esqueceu do vento frio e do tempo nublado que supostamente havia estragado o seu dia na praia. Estela levantou de um pulo e foi correndo pela areia na beirinha dgua, agradecendo a Jesus por lhe dar tanta alegria, e pedindo desculpas por ter ficado to emburrada antes. Enquanto refletia no amor de Jesus por ela, ouviu a voz dEle lhe dizer. A caverna escura o seu corao quando estava de cara amarrada. O vaga-lume que encontrou na caverna o dom da alegria que tenho para lhe dar. s vezes, voc se esquece de Mim e da alegria que lhe dei, porque fica s pensando no que acha que negativo ou triste.

As you give praise to Me, the joyfulness that comes from My love will light up your life, and you will then see the treasures I have for you. Even in upsetting or difficult situations I always have treasures of love and happiness for you. Stella felt glad, and wanted to express her thankfulness to Jesus for helping her to remember this important lesson. Thank You, Jesus, that I have ten toes to feel the sand with. Im thankful that I can run and jump and even swim when its not cold! Also, Jesus, thank You

Mas se Me louvar, a Minha alegria vai iluminar a sua vida e conseguir ver os tesouros que tenho para lhe dar. Mesmo em situaes escuras ou difceis, sempre tenho tesouros de amor e alegria para voc. Estela sentiu-se feliz e quis expressar sua gratido a Jesus por essa importante lio. Obrigada, Jesus, que tenho dez dedos nos ps para sentir a areia. Estou agradecida por poder correr, pular e at nadar quando no est frio! Jesus, obrigada tambm por podermos fazer algo diferente e divertido hoje, mesmo se no

for how fun it has been to do something different today, even if we cant swim. Im very happy to get to do something with my friends. Also, my dad is a good driver and we made it here safely because You protected us. At first Stella had thought shed have a hard time coming up with more than a couple of things to thank Jesus for, and now she couldnt stop! Suddenly, she noticed something special had happened.The wind had stopped. The ocean was now calm. She looked up and saw that the clouds were parting and the sky was bright and blue. Hurray! Well get to swim after all! Stella did a wobbly cartwheel that landed her on her bottom instead of her feet. She laughed, brushed off the sand, and then ran back to the others, to make sure that they noticed the improvement in the weather too.

podemos nadar. Estou muito feliz por poder fazer algo com meus amigos. Alm disso, o meu pai um bom motorista, e chegamos aqui em segurana porque Voc nos protegeu... No comeo, ela pensou que seria difcil pensar em muitas coisas pelas quais agradecer a Jesus, mas agora, nem conseguia parar! De repente, ela notou que algo especial havia acontecido! O vento tinha parado e o mar estava calmo. Olhou para cima e viu que o tempo estava abrindo e as nuvens se afastando e revelando um lindo cu azul. Oba! Vai fazer sol! Vamos poder nadar afinal! Estela fez uma estrela meio desengonada e caiu sentada. Ela riu, tirando a areia do corpo, e voltou correndo at as outras crianas para ver se tambm haviam notado a diferena no clima.

The great thing about it, she thought, is how I became happy even before I knew it would be the perfect beach day. It doesnt matter whats happening around me, I can still focus on the joy and light Jesus has put in my heart. And on top of that, Jesus often works things out for me to have those things I wanted. And that just adds to the happiness!

O melhor de tudo, pensou, que fiquei feliz antes mesmo de saber que seria um dia perfeito para passarmos na praia. No importa o que acontea minha volta, ainda posso focar na alegria e na luz que Jesus colocou em meu corao. Alm disso, Jesus sempre d um jeito de me dar o que quero. E isso s aumenta a minha alegria!

Histrias bilnge para crianas www.freekidstories.org

Story and art courtesy of My Wonder Studio.