Instituto de Inglés “Glendalough”

SHORT STORIES
TEENS ELEMENTARY I

• “The Umbrella” – Clare Harris

• “Love Lost” – Jan Carew
• “Journey’s End” – Jan Carew
 The Umbrella (By Clare Harris)
It is raining. The sky is grey.
Carla goes to the market. She looks at the umbrellas. She likes a red umbrella. It’s very smart. It costs ten dollars.
Carla is a student. She doesn’t have much money.
I can give you seven dollars for that umbrella.
OK, young lady. This is your lucky day. Give me seven dollars. The umbrella is yours.
“This is my lucky day!” says Carla. She holds the red umbrella above her head. The rain falls on the umbrella.
Carla goes to a cake shop. She wants to buy some cakes. Her little brother loves cakes. She goes into the shop.
She leaves her red umbrella near the door. It is quiet inside the shop.
Carla chooses three small cakes. She talks to the shop assistant.
A customer is leaving the shop. She is a young woman. She is holding a cake box.
Carla is going to leave the shop. But where is her umbrella?
There is one umbrella near the door. It is not a red umbrella. It is not Carla’s umbrella.
This umbrella is old and black. It has a pattern of yellow ducks. It is not smart.
Carla takes the umbrella. “This is not my lucky day!” Carla says.
Carla walks to the town square. A young man speaks to her.
«Hello!» A young man says. He smiles.
Carla does not know this young man. She walks away quickly.
The young man is following Carla. She walks into a crowd of people.
The young man follows the black and yellow umbrella. “Hello! Wait!” A young man says.
Carla turns. She looks at the young man. She is angry. “Go away!” she says.
The young man is sad.
“Marisa, I’m sorry!” he says. “I’m very late.”
“I’m not Marisa” Carla shouts.
“You are not Marisa?” says the young man. He points at the black umbrella with yellow ducks. “That’s her umbrella.”
“Oh,” says Carla. “Who is Marisa?”
“I don’t know Marisa,” says the young man. “I’m going to meet her. We are going to have coffee. It is my cousin’s idea. Marisa works with
my cousin.”
“I am not Marisa!” says Carla again
“My cousin has a photo of Marisa,” says the young man. “She’s tall. You’re tall. Her hair is short and dark. Your hair is short and dark.
In the photo, she has an umbrella. It’s a black umbrella with yellow ducks. You have a black umbrella with yellow ducks!”
Carla looks up at the old umbrella. “Marisa is a thief,” she thinks. “She has my new red umbrella.” Carla is angry again.
“Please don’t be angry,” says the young man. He looks at his watch “It’s three o’clock. Marisa goes to work at 2.30. I can’t meet her now.
It’s too late.”
He smiles at Carla. “Let’s have coffee together,” he says.
Carla thinks for a moment. “OK,” she says. “Let’s go to my aunt’s café.”
The young man smiles again. “That will be great,” he says. “My name is Paul. I’m a law student — third year,” A young man says.
“I’m Carla. I’m a student too. I’m studying science,” Carla says.
Carla sits in the café with Paul. They drink coffee. They talk. They laugh and talk. Suddenly Carla jumps up.
“Oh, no!” she says. “It’s late. I must go home. I must study. I’m going to have an exam tomorrow.”
“Good luck! Will you meet me again?” Paul says.
“Yes. That will be nice.” Carla says.
It is almost dark. The town square is quiet. Carla sees a tall young woman.
The young woman has short dark hair. She has a smart umbrella. It is a red umbrella.
The young woman is Marisa! Marisa sees the old black umbrella with yellow ducks.
She is worried. Suddenly, her face is red.
“Don’t worry, says Carla. “Keep my red umbrella. I like this umbrella. It’s a lucky umbrella.
This is my lucky day!”
The rain falls on the umbrellas. Carla smiles. Then she runs home.
— THE END —
A) Find 12 words from the story in this Umbrella Worsearch. C) Read the story again and answer the questions.

1) What´s the weather like?

2) How much is the umbrella Carla wants to buy? How much does
she finally pay?

3) Where does she go then? Why?

4) Where does she put her new red umbrella?

5) Is it there when she leaves the shop?

6) Whose umbrella does she find? Describe it.

B) Read the story. Then write letters a to i to put the events in order. 7) Who is following Carla in the town square?

8) Why does he think her name is Marisa?

9) What does he invite Carla to do? What does she say?

10) Why does she think the old black and yellow umbrella is lucky?
 lntrciluction
Tltc hortscu,asdark autl quiet.
Brn ouc lrcur lafer,thereu'asa suddct n,,tistin thc uight. Mr Browtl sdt
ry iu fud, Hc u'ascoltlantl Oaitl.'Wnt tpastlnt noise?'|rctvondered.
Mr lJrown (in 'The Doll') has a very quict and boring life. But
everything changes when he buys a doll. He hears voices. Things
rrrovcand brc.rk-Whar is h.rppeuing-.rnd can he srop it?
The stories in this book are all dillerent. Some are sad and
some are happy. But they are all very exciting. Sonrething strange
happens to the people in each story, But life 1sstrange sometimes.
ln'Lost Love', a young n.tanfinds a girl and lovesher. Then he
losesher. Will he find hel again?In'The Other Man', a writer
is afi'aid of a strangel in his room. Who is the other man, and
what does he want? A young soldier, in 'The Charm', is afraid of
fighting. How can he learn to be bnve? And in Journey's End',
an intelligent young rnan without a job learns something about
his future. Will it change his life?
Jan Carcw, the writer of these stories, is also the writer of twenty
other books for older and younger readers.She is very interested
in other countries and other people. She visits ditTerent places
when she can.
You can learn nrore aboutJan Carew at wwwjan carew.co.uk.
IV
Lost Love
These things happened to lrre nearly ten years ago-
I lived in a ciry but thc city was hot in summer. I wanted to see
the country. I wanted to walk in the woods and see green trees-
I had a little red car and I had a map, too. I drove all night out
into the country.
I was happy in my car. We had a very good sunlnler that year.
The country was very pretty in the early morning. The sun was
hot, and the sky was blue. I heard the birds in the trees.
And then n.ry car stopped suddenly.
'What's wrong?' I thought.'Oh dear, I haven't got any petrol.
Now l'11 have to walk. I'll have to find a town and buy some
petrol. But where an I?'
I looked at the map. I wasn't near a town- I was lost in the
country-
And then I saw the girl. She walked down the road, with
Ilowers in her hand. She wore a long dress,and her hair was long,
too. It was long and black, and it shone in the sun. She was very
pretty. I wanted to speak to her, so I got out ofthe car.
'Hello,' I said.'I'm lost. Where arn l?'
She looked afraid, so I spoke quietly.
'I havent got any petrol,'I said.'Where can I find some?'
Her blue eyeslooked at me, and she smiled.
'She's a very pretty girl!'l thought.
'l do not know,'she said.'Come with l.rreto the village. Perhaps
we can help you.'
I went with her happily, and we walked a long way.
'There isn't a village on the map,' I thought. 'Perhaps it's a very
small village.'
There riuasa village, and it was old and pretry The houses were
 v

I didn't undentaucl. llut I wrs happy there.

I askeclabout petrol, but the old man didn't understand.
'Petrol?'he askecl.'Whatis th:rt2'
'This l-i strange,'I thouglrt. Then I asked,'l)o you walk
cver1.wherc?'
The olcl nran smiled.'Oh, no, we use lrorses,'hc said.
'Horses!'I thouqht.'Horsesrre very slow. W\ don't they havc
clrs?'
But I cliclnt say thrt to the old man.
I felt hlppy therc. I stayeda)l day,rncl I ate dinner with thern
thrt eveninla.Then thc girl and I went out into the garden.The
girlt nanre wls Mary.
'This is nice,'she srid.'We like having visitols. We do not see
nrany people here.'
We spoke happily. She w;rs vcry beautiful. But lftcr a time, she
began to trlk quietly, and her fice was sad.
' W hy.rl c you srd? l a. ked her '.
'I cannot tell you,' she said.'Youare only a visitor here.Wc have
to say gooclbye tonight. Yon luve to go now.'
I didrr't understurd. I loved her. I krrew that. Ar.rd I wantcd to
help her. Why did I h:rve to go? But Mary saicl rgain in r sad
black and white and very small.Thcre were a lot oflniurals.
voice,'Yolr have to go. It is dauqerous here.'
Tl.regirl stoppedat I house anclsmiled at me.
So I said,'I'll go to the next town ar)d find sorrrepetrol. Then
'Come in, please,'shesaid-
I'll come back.'
I went in. The house was very clean, but it was strange, too.
She didn't speak.
Thcle was a frrc and sonre food lbove it. I felt hungly then.
'I lovc yor.r,Mary,'Isaid.'And I'll come back to you. You won't
'That's strlnge,'I thoueht.'They cook their food over a rvood
stop me.'
fire! I)erhaps they have no money.'
She slid goodbye to ne lt the door. Her face r,vasvery srcl,and
I nrct her lather and mother,;rrd I liked them. Thcy were nicc-
I rv.rs.rd. too. I didni rr:rnt ro go.
people,but their clothcs were stmnse.
lt was rnidnight. The nisht was very dark, brrt I walkcd and
'Sit dorvn,'slid the old man.'Arc' you thirsry irlter your walk?'
r'valked.I wrs very tired when I saw thc lights of a town. I found
Hc gavc rrreI drink, rnd I said,'Thank you.' But thc drink was
sorne petrol, and then I askeclthe nanrc of the village. But the
str?rlge,too. It rvas dark brorvD aDd very stlong.
ulan at the €iange grve me a strange look.
 'W lr lt v illr r qc ?h' c e s k c c l .
I tolcl hinr rLrout the vill.rge.I tokl hirtt .rbout thc oltl houscs
;rrrl the pcoplc ir'ith str':trgc'clothes.
Aglin be guve rre l str-lrgc krok. Hc thouglrt. uncl tlrcrr lrc
I coukh'r slrcuk.
'This isn't light.' I thoLrght.'Thrtt l'ru hrtppt ttctl -l5o vc,lr-sirgol'
'I l r c r I r - c r r t e r t r b c r e drh c str tr r g c'cl o th e s, tl l c l o n g l l l i r , th c ti r o r l
()\'.r thc ilc..rDd tlte <tlt1hor.tses.Atlci I IelIIctDbere<1.k)o. rlb()tlt

slici,'Tlrelc lnrJ .l \rillill]c thcrc. but it isn't there l)o\\'. llrele lre thc holscs.
'l l u t I r k r l ] t u n c l c : - sfr ttcl .I cIi cd .'l sr t\' fh c p co l r 1 c r tl tl tl l e
stor-ics:ibout it str-ilrllcstorics.'
'Wh:rt tlo people slv lbotrt it?'I .rskccl. vil1.rgc.I syrokc t,:r sorrtc pcopJe tltct-cl'

He cliclr't \\'.lrt to tcll 1rc. but thcn hc slicl,'There l':ts .r big T h c l ] r . ! r l o o k c d q t r i ckl v r l t l l tc. r l tl tl tl l ctt h c sp l r kc

firc ir the r'illrrgc.Evcryborlv cliccl.Tlrert' .u'cr't ilrv pcoplc or 'Tllel-c's .ltl irltcl-cstiltg slorY lbolrt thc !ill.rgc- Fol orlc cl:rv

houscsthcrc nolr' e\.1v tcn 1e.rrs,it livcs .tg;tttt btlf only li)r rltlc t1.t1'. Thcll it uocs

'Hol, dicl it ltrirpcr? l rrskcr:1.'Ancl

u'h,v?' .r\\'.rv irgJirl tirr .rtrorltcr tcll Ycll_\- ()rl tllllt tltre rl.l1'.Vlru clttl titltl
'()liver (lrorrrvcll killcd thcrl.'hc s.ricl.'Heu'asrrrtljtv l'itlr the t h c v i 1 l r r g c .L l u t l r r t t h l ve to l cl l c b cl i l r c ttto i r l i l l q . o t vo l t si l l
villl{crs bccrusc thcv hclpc,:lthc krrg ir tlte rvltt.' ncl,.'r lc:tt'c.'

t1., tt
' ' ."

,\:

{l
 ll

'Can this be right?' I thought. Perhaps it was. Mary said, .you

have to go.' She loved me, but shc said,'We have to say goodbyc.'
She was afraid for me.'Now I understand,' I thought.
The Doll
I went back to the villagc, but it wasnt thcre. I looked again
and again, but I couldn't find it. I saw only flowers and trees. I
Mr Brown lived near the centre of town, but his small house had
hcard only the sound ofthe birds and the wind. I was very sad. I
a garden. Mr Brown likcd his garden very much. It had a lot of
sat down on the ground and cried.
llowers and they were pretty in sunrnter - red, blue and yellow.
I will never forget that day.I remerrber Mary, and I will always
Mr Brown liked sitting there in the evenings and at weekends.
love her.
But he had to work, too. Mr Brown worked in an ofiice. [t
Now, I only have to wait two rrronths. The village will conrc
wasnt near his house, so he often went to work on the bus. He
brck again. On the right day, I will go back. I will find her again,
car-nehorle on the bus, too.
nry love with the long, black hair. And this tir.ne,I will not leave
Mr Brown was r lonely man. He didn't have many friends, and
before morning. I will stay with her.
he didnt talk to many people. And so he was sad and often bored.
One very hot day,Mr lJrown walked honre. He didn't want to
go on the bus that day.He wanted a walk in the warn sun. ln one
street there was a small shoo. Mr llrown looked in the window.
 LOST LOVE
1) Read the story and answer: Who are the characters? Where did they live?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
2) Complete the sentences about things that are different in the village. Use
the words in the box
a- The people do not use ………………………… to travel. They use ……………………..
b- They …………………….. their food over a wood ……………………………….
c- Their …………………………………. are strange.
d- They have a ……………………………. which is dark brown and very strong.
e- They do not know about ……………………………….
3) Read the sentences and write T (true) / F (false). Correct the false
statements.
a- The story teller lived in the city but he wanted to see the sea. _____
b- He drove his car all night out into the country. _____
c- Then it stopped because there wasn´t any petrol left. _____
d- He looked at a map and found a town near the place. _____
e- A pretty girl wearing a long skirt and a hat walked down the road. _____
f- Her name was Mary and she looked afraid. _____
g- She invited him to go to her village for some help. _____
h- Mary´s grandparents were nice people. _____
i- Everything in the village looked strange. _____
j- In the evening, Mary started to talk quietly and was sad. _____
k- They liked each other but they had to say ‘goodbye’ before midnight. _____
l- When the story teller found a garage, the man there said there was no
village. _____
m- The village existed two hundred and fifty years ago. _____
n- Mary´s village appeared every twenty years. _____
o- The story teller wanted to go and live with Mary. _____
4) Read the story again and answer the questions.
1) When did the story happen?
2) Why did the car stop?
3) Who did the story teller meet?
4) Where did she take him?
5) What was the village like?
6) What was strange about it?
7) What was the girl’s name?
8) What happened to the village? When?
9) There is an interesting story about the village. What is it?
10) What is the story teller’s plan in the end?
 Journey's End

Ton.r Smith was a nice young man. He wanted a job, but he

Suddenly he s..rw.
in l.rrgelcttcrs:
Tom Smith thought very hard.
'Shall I go in?' he thought.'Why
not? I'm not afraid ofthe future.
Perhaps it will be inreresting. Yes,
,.ffiil"
couldnt find one. Marry people wanted to work, and there
weren't many.jobs. Tom felt sad because he never had money for
clothes or the cinema.
When he was younger, Tom wanted to be a footballer. He was
good at football, and at tennis, too. He was good at every sport.
I'11go in and have a conversation
with Madame Zelda.'
So he went in. It was very
dark inside. An old woman with
grey hair and a kind face
HfW
But there were other, better players. smiled at Tom.
Now Tom had a new idea. He thought, 'Perhaps I can find a 'Hello, young n.ran!'she said.'Sit down and I
job in a sports shop. I'll be happy then and I'11have money.'But it will tell you about your future-'
was only an idea. It never happened. Tom sat down. The old woman looked at some cards on the
He tried hard to find ajob. He looked in the newspapers every table.
day and he wrote letters for jobs - a lot of letters. But he never 'Take three cards,'she said.
found a job. Tom took the cards and gave them to her. The woman looked
One day he saw something in the newspaper about a fair in at the cards for a long time. Then she spoke. She didnt sn.rilenow.
the park near his house. 'Listenl'she said.'I have to tell you something very important-
'Tlrat will be interesting,'he thought.'Itls next Saturday.I think
I'll go. Yes, I'll go. I'm not doing anything this weekend, and it
won't cost much.'
On Saturday Tom walked to the park and bought a ticket for
the fair. It was a warm sumnrer day. The sky was blue, and the
park was very pretty. There were a lot of flowers blue, yellow
and red. Torrr Glt happy wher.r he saw them.
The fair was good, too. There were a lot of people there, and
many different games.Tom played some games.He won a box of
fruit and a book about sport. Then he bought an ice-creanr
becausehe was hot and thirsry
'l'm having a good day!'he thought. He sat down and ate l.ris
ice cream.'Now, what shall I do next?'

20 21
Do not go anywhere next Friday. Make a journey next Friday,
and you will never arrive! Something will happen on the way.
Don't forget now. I can tell you nothing more. Be careful, young
n1an.'
Tom left. The sun was very hot on his face. He had no more
money, and he wanted to go home.'l'm not afraid,'he thought.'l
don't go onjourneys. I wont go anywhere next Friday. Every day
is the same to me. I haven't got a job, so I don't go anywhere.'
But on Thursday Tom had a letter. It was an answer to one of
his letters! There was a job in a town thirry kilometres away. It
was in a sports shop. The boss wanted to meetTom the next day.
Tom lelt very happy.'l'll have to take a train there,'he thought.
'l can't walk thirty kilornetres.'
Suddenly he remembered the old woman at the fair, and he
felt afraid. 'Do not go anywhe re next Friday, she told him.
'But what can I do?' Tom thought sadly.'lcan't lose thisjob.It's
too important to n.re. I'[ have to take the train tomorrow. And
what can an old woman know about the future? Nothing!'
But he wasn't very happy about it. And he didnt sleep well
that night.
The next day was Friday, and Tom went to the station. He
bought a ticket at the ticket office. The train arrived, and he
climbed on it.
An old man sat down next to Tom. His face was intelligent
under his white hair. He had a bad leg, and Tom felt sorry for
him.
The train left the strtion and wenr through the country. A
waiter came round with some food and the old man bought a
sandwich. Then he mriled at Tom and said,'Are you thirsty? I ve
got some tea with me. Would you like some?'
He took out a cup and gaveTom some tea.'He's a kind man!'
Tom thought.'l really like hin.r.'
He smiled at the old man and said. 'Thank vou. I'm Tom
22
Smith. Are you going a long way?'
But the old n.ran couldn't answer. Suddenly there was a very
loud noise and the train stopped. What was wrong? The people
on the train were afraid. They all looked out ofthe windows, but
they couldn't see anything.
'Don't be afraid,' Tom told his new friend. 'l'11 go and see.
Perhaps it's an accident. Stay here and you'll be OK.'
The old n.ran vliled.'Thank you, my young friend,' he said.'l
will stay here. My old legs are very weak.'
Torn found the guard.'What's wrong?' he asked him-'Why did
we stop?'
The guard looked at Tom unhappily. 'Theret a large tree in
front of the train,' he said.'We'11have to move it, but we can't clo
it quickly. So this is the end ofthe journcy for you. You'll have to
get offthe train and walk.'
'Walk where?' Tom asked.
The guard looked at a nup.'There's a village near here. You can
go there and perhaps find a restaurant or a ca{b.I have to stay here
with the trairr. I'm very sorry about your journey. But you'll get
your money back.'
Tom thought,'The money isn't important. I really wanted that
job!'And he felt very sad.
Tom didnt say anything about the job to the old man. He
helped his friend off the train and carried his caseto the village.
'Thank you very much,'the old uran said toTom.'l know thrt
my case is heary. Theret a computer in it, and there are a lot of
papers.'
Tom smiled. '[t's all right,' he said.But inside he was very sad.'l
was stupid,'he thought.'l didn't listen to the old woman, but shc
was right. I won't get thatjob now.'
The old man sawTom's sad face and asked him,'What's wror.rg,
my young friend?'
So Ton told him the story about thejob in the sports shop.
 ACTIVITIES

'Lost Love'
Beforeyou read
'| Look at the Word List al the back of this book.Thentalk about
thesetimesin yourliJe:
a Yourlifefiveyearsago:Howwas it differentfromnow?
b A time whenyou wers brave,shy or lonely:Why did you feel
thisway?Whathappen€dnext?
c A timewhenyou livedin a differenttown or city:Didyouenjoyit
more?Why(not)?
2 Lookat the pictureon page2. What is happening,do you think?
Whatarethe two peoplesaying?
Whileyou read
Writeoneword.
3 Finishthe sentences.
a Thisstoryhappens yearsago.
nearly........................
b The young man lives in a city, but he drives into the

c He speaks to the girl becausehe is .....

.
d Shetakeshim to an old ........................
Then a strangething happened.The old man smiled,and then
e At the end of the day, the young man tells the girl that he
he laughed!Why did he laugh?Tom didnt know and he felt a
little angry.The old rrranwashis fricnd, but this wasa bad day for The man at the garage says that everybodyin the villagedied in
Tom. It wasnt funny! 4..,,.................... .
Tom couldn't spcak or smile. The old man saw this and he I Thatwas 350 years
stoppedlaughing.Then hc said,'Listento me, Tom, and don't be h Thevillage everytenyears.
livesagainfor one........................
sad.['m a rich man. I've got a lot ofshops in different towns,and I Theyoungmanlooksfor ........................,
buthe can'tfindher.
they'reall sportsshops.I want an intelligent young man to work i He is goingto visitthe villageagain- and thistime he isn't
in rny new shop.It's alsomy biggestshop!Will you work for me? goingto ........................
.
I think I know you now You were very kind to me on the rrain. Afteryou read
You'rethe right personfor thejob. Whatt your answer?' 4 ls 'LostLove'a sadstoryor a happystory?Talkto anotherstudent.
'This is wonderful,'Tom said with a happy srnile.'This is the Whatdo youthinkis goingto happennext?
bestday ofmy life, not the worst!'

25
JOURNEY´S END

1) Complete the paragraph with words from the box. 2) Match the sentences halves.

1- On Thursday, Tom got a letter about ___ there was a large tree in front of it.

2- The sports shop boss wanted to ___ to Tom and offered him some tea.

3- Tom remembered the old woman words: ___ and carried his case to a nearby village.

4- But he decided to travel so he bought ___ ‘Do not go anywhere next Friday’

5- On the train, an old man sat next ___ shop, he laughed and Tom got angry.

6- Suddenly, the train stopped because ___ of Tom´s life, not the worst.

7- Tom helped the old man get off the train ___ a job in a town thirty kilometres away.

8- When Tom told him about the job in the ___ meet him the next day.

9- But then he said he was a rich man and ___ a ticket at the train station.

10- In the end, that was the best day ___ offered Tom a job in one of his sports
shop.

3) Read the story again and answer the questions

1) Why did Tom feel sad? 6) Did he get on a train on Friday?

2) Where did he want to work? 7) Who did Tom meet? What was his problem?

3) Where did he go on Saturday? 8) Why did the train stop?

4) Who did he talk to? What was she like? 9) Why was Tom sad?

5) What did Madame Zelda tell Tom?

10) Who was the man? What did he give Tom?