[Short Story] Scare the Children

October 31, 2018October 23, 2021 / italkyoutalk

Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com

Here is a short story for Halloween!

Wallace lives alone. He doesn’t like children.

He hates Halloween. He doesn’t want any children coming to his door for Trick or Treat. He doesn’t want to give them candy.

When the children ring his doorbell, Wallace gets very angry. He doesn’t open the door. He stays inside and shouts “Go away!”

One Halloween, Wallace has an idea. I will scare the children. They will be too frightened to come to my door.

Wallace is very smart. He knows a lot about electronics. He goes to the electrical shop and buys everything he needs to scare the children. He buys a sensor, a mini sound player, speakers, batteries and switches.

He finds audio files of screams and groans on the Internet. He makes a recording.

Then he sets up his system in his mailbox. He tests it. It works very well.

If anyone walks towards his gate, the recording will start playing. There will be very loud screams and groans. Wallace thinks the sounds will frighten the children and they will run away.

This year, Wallace is looking forward to Halloween.

He waits until it is dark. Then he goes to his mailbox and turns the sensor on. He turns the volume on the recorder up to maximum. He goes back into his house and waits by the window.

I will see the children in their costumes, he thinks. I will see them come to my house. I will see them run away because they are so scared.

About 30 minutes later a group of children walks down the street. They are dressed as ghosts, princesses, and super heroes. Their parents are with them. The parents are dressed up too. They walk to Wallace’s gate. The sensor works. The sounds of moans and screams are very, very loud. Wallace can hear them easily inside his house.

The children shout. They jump up and down. Wallace cannot believe it. The children laugh. They do not run away. They run towards Wallace’s door. They ring the bell.

“Go away!” shouts Wallace. The children are still laughing and talking outside his door. He waits for a long time. Finally, it is quiet. The children have gone.

Wallace does not understand. I thought my plan was very clever. Why didn’t my plan work?

The next morning, Wallace goes out to his mailbox. He takes everything out of the mailbox.

Lucy Parks, who lives next door, comes into the street. “Wallace!” she shouts. “Thank you so much! The children loved your surprise!”

Wallace shakes his head and walks back inside.

It’s not surprising I don’t like children, he thinks. I don’t understand them at all!

[Easy English Blog]Shopping

October 26, 2018October 23, 2018 / italkyoutalk

Photo by freestocks.org on Pexels.com

Where do you do most of your shopping? I do most of my shopping online. It is convenient and easy, and I can shop any time of the day or night. The only shops I use are the drugstore and supermarkets.

In my hometown in the UK, many shops are closing. The main street used to be bustling (bustling = lively and busy), but now, it is quiet. Not many people go into town anymore because there aren’t many shops. There aren’t many shops because more and more people are shopping on the Internet.

The streets of my city in Japan are quiet too. The larger shopping centres are busy on weekends, and supermarkets are busy in the late afternoon, but mostly, the city is quiet. There are some very old, small shops. I wonder how they manage to stay in business. Maybe they have regular customers who they know well.

As more and more people shop online, I wonder what will happen to our towns and cities in the future. Will our town centres disappear? I feel sad when I go home and see so many empty shops in the town centre. But really, I am part of the problem. I prefer to shop online, and I don’t go to the shops. So, I can’t complain when they go out of business (go out of business = stop trading). Maybe I should make more effort to shop local and support local business owners.

[Easy English Blog] Yomegashima

October 25, 2018October 22, 2018 / italkyoutalk

Yomegashima is a small island in Lake Shinji in Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture, Japan. Lake Shinji is the seventh largest lake in Japan. In the mornings, there are many fishing boats on the lake. The owners of the boats go into the water and collect shijimi clams. In the evening, the sun sets over Lake Shinji. It sets behind Yomegashima island. Many people gather to watch the sunset and take photographs.

Yomegashima is a sacred island. It has a torii shrine gate, and many pine trees. Normally, people cannot visit the island, but once a year, there is a walking event. People walk through the water to the island. A few years ago, there was a tea ceremony event on the island. Boats took visitors to the island for a tea ceremony. I went with my friend. The scenery was beautiful.

The name “Yomegashima” means “bride’s island”. It has a sad story. According to a local legend, a young bride was homesick. She wanted to leave her husband’s house and go to her own family. So, she walked across the lake when it was frozen. Unfortunatley, she fell through the ice into the water and drowned.

The gods made an island in the spot where the young bride drowned.

If you visit Matsue, make sure you visit Lake Shinji and see Yomegashima. I recommend you go at sunset time. It is really beautiful.

[Short Story] The life of a tree

October 7, 2018September 13, 2018 / italkyoutalk

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Simone’s house is very old. Her grandfather built the house when he was a young man. When the house was finished, Simone’s grandfather asked a girl from his village to marry him.

Simone’s father grew up in this house. Many years later, Simone came to live in this little old house.

Simone has a wonderful tree in her garden. It is a camellia. Her grandfather planted it. So it is more than 60 years old. Every year, at the end of winter, it is covered in beautiful pink flowers.

But one year, the weather is very bad. The wind is very strong. The old tree falls down. It is lying on the ground. Simone is very sad. She feels empty.

The camellia was a memory of my family, and now it is gone.

Simone is in the garden. She is looking at the dead tree. She is crying.

“Excuse me”.

Simone is surprised. There is an old man in her garden. She didn’t see him come into the garden.

“What! Who are you?”

“I was a friend of your father. I remember this house. I came here to play when I was a young boy. Why are you sad?”

Simone shows the old man the tree. “My grandfather planted this tree. And now it is dead.”

The old man laughs. “Dead? Why do you think this tree is dead?”

Simone thinks the old man is crazy. “It fell down! There will be no more flowers. It is only a memory.”

The old man smiles. “I am in this village to visit my grandson. I am tired. Can we sit down? Can you give me a cup of tea?”

“Oh, sorry. Of course. Please come into the house.”

“No. I like to be outside. Can you bring me a cup of tea here?”

Simone points to a table and chairs in the garden.

“Please sit there,” says Simone.

The old man sits down. Simone goes into the house and makes tea. She carries the tea out to the garden.

She gives the old man a cup of tea. Simone has a cup of tea too. They sit in the garden, but Simone is not happy. They can see the dead tree. She is very sad.

The old man drinks his tea. Then he asks, “What will you do with this tree?”

“I don’t know,” says Simone. “Maybe I will pay some men to take the dead tree away.”

“Oh,” says the old man. “What will the men do with the tree?”

“I don’t know,” says Simone.

The old man smiles.

“I think you should pay some men to come and cut the tree up into firewood.”

“But I don’t have a fireplace.”

“That’s OK. I’m sure you can find some people who need firewood. Maybe some people who have no money and are cold this winter. You should cut all the leaves and small branches up very small and put them on your garden. They will stop weeds from growing. In time they will break down and feed the earth. The earth gave you that tree, so you should give something back. And finally.” The old man stops talking.

“Finally?” asks Simone. “What is the last thing I should do?”

“The old man laughs. “Plant another tree of course!”

He stands up. “I must go now,” he says. “But remember. Nature is a circle. Trees grow and die. New trees grow. This is normal. You should be happy because your tree was beautiful, you have good memories. And now this old dead tree will help you do some good in the world.”

[Easy English Blog] Living near the sea

September 20, 2018September 13, 2018 / italkyoutalk

I live near the sea. It is about a 20-minute drive from my house to the sea. I feel that I am lucky to live so close to it. Many people visit the beach and the sea in summer, but I don’t. I like to visit the sea in spring or autumn. Sometimes, I go in winter. The wind is fresh, and there are no other people around.

When I was a child, I went to the beach every summer. My family and I went on holiday to the seaside for two weeks every August. The beach was always packed (packed = crowded) with other families. I used to make sand castles and go paddling (walking in the shallow water) in the sea.

Now, I drive to the sea, park my car, and enjoy listening to the sound of the sea and breathing the fresh sea air. Sometimes I write poetry. I think that being near the sea makes me more creative. Maybe it is the rhythm of the waves, or maybe it is the beautiful views, but when I go to the sea, I feel like I want to write.