A fictional story written by students from Mokronog Primary School as part of an eTwinning project.

Underground Mystery

Parchment

They see a squirrel in the tree. The dog starts barking and the squirrel gets scared. It runs down from the tree. It runs into an old house in the forest. The dog runs after the squirrel.&nbsp;

Stella and Jack want to go into the house, but Griffin and Mikey don’t want to go because they are scared. But they don’t want to stay in the forest in the dark. And they can hear the branches creaking. So they go in.

CHAPTER 2 The inside of the house is dark. They try to turn on the light, but it doesn’t work. Jack remembers the torch on his mobile phone. He turns it on. They are in a big room. It is scary, the walls are bloody and the floor is wooden. On the right they can see a broken window and old curtains. On the left there is a dirty sofa and a small table next to it. On the table there is a dusty vase with dead flowers. They shine the torch in the corner of the room and they see two eyes. They think it is Stella’s dog. Stella starts walking towards it but she sees that it is not her dog. It is an angry black cat. The cat hisses at Stella. Stella is frightened and she jumps back. The floor breaks in and Stella disappears into the ground.

CHAPTER 3 Jack, Mikey and Griffin are shocked. 'Oh my God, what are we going to do? What was that?' says Mikey. They shine the torch into the hole. They can see Stella. She is lying on the ground at the bottom of the hole. The hole is about 5 metres deep. They want to help Stella, but they are afraid. They look around the house. They want to find something to reach her. They see the old dusty curtains, take them off the windows and tie them into a rope. Jack goes into the hole first. When he gets to Stella, he can see that she is unconscious. ‘Stella, Stella, wake up!’ he says.

He touches her head and shakes her gently. Behind Stella there is a big wooden door. Jack can hear strange noises coming from behind the door. It sounds like scratching. He moves closer to the door. He opens the door.&nbsp;Behind the door is Stella’s dog. Jack is very happy. He pats the dog. The dog suddenly runs away from Jack. Stella is still lying on the floor and the dog sits next to her. He starts barking and pushing Stella with his snout. Stella wakes up. She is very happy to see her dog. She looks around but can’t remember where she is. ‘Where am I?’ she asks Jack. Jack explains to her what happened and shows her the rope. Stella and Jack tie the dog to the rope and Mikey and Griffin pull him up. Next Stella and Jack climb back up. They are safe.

CHAPTER 6 A loud noise deafens them. Jack pulls the phone out of his pocket and turns it on. The wall behind Griffin is turning around. ‘A secret room!’ whispers Stella. They all step back and look at the turning wall. ‘There is something in there’, says Griffin. ‘It’s a big wooden box. Come here, Jack, give me your phone. I want to see what this is.’ They all step into the secret room and go straight to the box. It is closed. ‘What do you think is in here?’ asks Stella. ‘I’m not sure I want to open it. I’m scared something will jump out.’ ‘Don’t be silly, Stella. This box is closed. There is nothing in here that is alive.’&nbsp;

‘Yes, Mikey, but in movies something always jumps out.’ Mikey touches the lid. It is cold and a bit wet. He opens it. Suddenly, the light fills the room. ‘Wow, what is that?! Come here, quick!’ Mikey starts feeling very excited. He can see what is in the box. Jack walks up to Mikey. ‘OMG, Stella, Griffin, look at this! Look what we have found! It’s a diamond! And it’s not just a diamond, it’s a huge diamond!’

Mikey looks at the headline. ‘The biggest diamond stolen from the Ford family.’

They read the article. Ford family’s residence used to be near here, but the house was burnt down some time ago. ‘The police are looking for a suspect. He is a man, 182 cm tall, average built. He was wearing black boots, black trousers, a dark blue cardigan and a brown cap. The cardigan had a symbol of a fish sown to the back of it.’ ‘It’s just a silly story. Let’s do something else,’ says Griffin. Stella has to take her dog out for a walk. They all put on their boots and raincoats and take umbrellas. They walk to the forest.

CHAPTER 4 All five of them are happy that they are together again. ‘Where did you find the dog?’ asks Griffin. ‘I heard scratching on the door and I opened it. The dog was standing behind it. He was very happy to see Stella,’ answers Jack. ‘Door? What door?’ asks Mikey. ‘How did her dog get there? What was behind that door?’ asks Griffin. ‘I don’t know. I was so worried about Stella that I didn’t look’, says Jack. They decide to go back down to the hole and check what is behind that door. They climb down, but the dog doesn’t. They leave the dog in the room.

When they reach the bottom, they can see the door. It is very old, big and made of wood. There is a small metal handle on it. Jack opens the door. They all look in. What they see, scares them. A group of bats flies straight towards them. Griffin screams and hides. ‘Don’t be scared, Griffin. It’s only bats’, says Stella. They see a tunnel. They start walking along the tunnel. It is very dark. After one hundred metres the tunnel splits. They can go left or right. ‘Where do we go now?’ asks Griffin. ‘Hmmmm … left?’ suggests Jack. ‘OK, let’s go left’, they all agree. They turn left and walk in silence.&nbsp;

CHAPTER 1 It is a horrible, rainy day. It is very cold. Mikey, Jack, Griffin and Stella are sitting in the basement of Stella’s house. Her parents are at work so they are home alone. They are bored. They decide to look inside Stella’s great grandfather’s closet.&nbsp;It is full of junk and old clothes. There is also an old newspaper. Mikey picks it up. ‘Hey you, look at this, nearly 100 years old. This newspaper dates back to 1925. Shall we see what was in the news on the 10th of December 1925?’ ‘Ok then, let’s see,’ says Stella.

CHAPTER 7 ‘The newspaper!’ Jack looks at his friends. ‘Could it be?’ ‘No, it can’t be. I don’t believe it,’ says Stella. Griffin is getting impatient. ‘I want to go home.’ ‘Don’t be silly, we can’t go home now. What we have found is huge!’ Jack tries to reassure Griffin. ‘I don’t feel very well. My leg still hurts. I don’t think we should touch this diamond. Maybe it’s cursed.’ ‘Let’s go back and have another look at the story in the newspaper. Maybe we have found the stolen diamond.’ They decide to crawl out of the tunnel. When they come out, they realize it is morning. They have spent an entire night underground. They walk home excitedly.&nbsp;&nbsp;

CHAPTER 8 The four friends are in the basement again. They rush towards the closet to get the newspaper. They read the story again. There is a picture of the diamond in the article. Stella becomes nervous. ‘I think we have found it! Imagine, after all these years …’ ‘Are there any more newspapers about it?’ asks Jack. ‘Let’s check if there is anything in here that might give us more information.’ They dig around the closet. An old fishing rod, some trophies, a sunhat, some old coats and shoes. And a brown parcel. Mikey takes the parcel and opens it on the sofa. The others are still looking through things in the closet. ‘Hey guys, check this out. Does this remind you of anything?’

Antique paper texture

IT WAS IN THE NEWSPAPER ... UNDERGROUND MYSTERY

This eBook with audio was written by students from class 9. b from Mokronog Primary School as part of the eTwinning project with Mariola Marek, Szkoła Podstawowa Nr 1 im. Adama Mickiewicza nr 1 w Myszkowie, Poland. Read by Klaudija V. Illustrations by Luna P., Hana Š., Eva H. Mentor Mojca Zadravec Copyright Primary School Mokronog May 2022

Misc texture 2

Stella, Jack and Griffin are dumbfounded. ‘Do you think this is what I think it is?’ asks Jack. Mikey is holding a dark blue cardigan. There is a logo of a local fishing club on the back, with a picture of a big fish. ‘This is my great grandfather’s cardigan!’ says Stella. ‘Was he the robber?’ ‘I can’t believe this. I think we have just solved the mystery.’ ‘Yes, I think we have. But. Who needs to know about it? Do we tell anyone?’

‘The owners of the diamond are not alive anymore. The house does not exist either. Stella’s great grandfather is not here anymore either. So what do we do? I know that I don’t want the diamond anywhere near me.’ ‘So I guess this will be our secret.’ They all look at each other. They all think about the same thing. They share something big now. Now they are bonded for life. Friends forever.

CHAPTER 5 They walk for some time. They are scared so they don’t speak to each other. The darkness in the tunnel is not nice either. They want to use the flashlight on their phones but the battery is very low now. They have been out for some time. Suddenly they hear a strange sound. They all stop. ‘Aw’. ‘Who’s that?’ asks Mikey. ‘What’s that?’ asks Stella. ‘Is that you, Griffin?’ asks Jack. ‘Are you alright, Griffin?’ asks Mikey. ‘No, I’m not alright’, says Griffin. ‘I can’t see anything in this stupid tunnel. What are we doing here anyway? My leg hurts. I’ve just tripped over something. I’m all messy and dirty now. I want to go back!’

‘Come on, Griffin, we can’t go back now. We must see what is down here’, says Stella. ‘See?! What do you mean see? We can’t see anything here. It’s pitch dark.’ Griffin is getting a bit angry and tired now. His leg is very sore and his knee is bruised. It’s bleeding. He leans on the wall behind him. It’s cold and wet. Griffin feels something strange on his back. Something is moving. Shaking. Trembling.&nbsp;

Name

Safari may block some audio or video from playing automatically and ‘read to me’ will skip these. You can configure this in Safari’s preferences.