Author Archives: Patricia Smith

Stories for Another Day There was a man who could find anything in the world if he had a forked stick and enough time. People used to pay him to find things for them, like water and buried treasure, but then he lost the stick and that was the end of that. The stick wasContinue reading “The Forked Stick”

Stories for Another Day In those days, the second kingdom was blessed with an excellent king, King Rupe. He took good care of his people and his lands, and he made sure that he kept on good terms with the neighbouring lands. He paid them visits from time to time, and occasionally sent them gifts.Continue reading “The Greedy King”

Stories for Another Day A farmer had two sons. Together they worked on their farm, growing crops and tending the cattle and the chickens and ducks. The farm was very prosperous and all was well, until one day the farmer, Dreck, said to his younger son, Raymond, “When you are out in the fields today,Continue reading “The Unforgiving Father”

Stories for Another Day Spor the enchanter, was in the habit of turning any of his servants who displeased him into pickles. And since he himself had been very lazy when he was a young man learning to be an enchanter, and he had never learned the spell for changing them back into servants, theContinue reading “Spor the Enchanter and the Lazy Pickle”

Stories for Another Day Cody never thought he would be a hero. Even when he was a small boy and he had rescued his mother from a spider by picking it up by one leg and carrying it outside, he was so frightened that the spider shook between his fingers. Still, he was always happyContinue reading “The Dancing Swordsman”

Stories for Another Day Long before Dharab became known as the greatest dragon-slayer in all of the fourteen islands, a terrible blight came upon the country where Dharab lived. One afternoon while Dharab was away on the other side of the mountains, battling a young dragon that was harassing a village, his wife Eva wasContinue reading “Tarn”

Stories for Another Day Once there was a boy who was very, very rude. When he was a baby he was the sweetest little thing, and everyone who saw him smiled and said, “What a darling!” and wanted to kiss him all over. When he was a toddler, just learning to walk, he was soContinue reading “The Rude Boy”

Stories for Another Day Once a boy was playing around in the bushes when he disturbed a snake. The snake leapt up and wrapped itself around his arm. At the very last minute, the boy grabbed hold of the snake’s tail. “I’ve got you!” the boy shouted. “Let go of my arm!” “No, I’ve gotContinue reading “The Boy and the Snake”

Stories for Another Day Just after Bede turned seventeen, her mother said to her, “Bede, now that you’re old enough, I have something extraordinary to show you. It’s this.” She took a piece of dirty, ragged cloth out of her pocket, and laid it in front of Bede. “What is it?” Bede asked, unimpressed. HerContinue reading “Bede and the Fancy Mouse”

Stories for Another Day Once there was a rich nobleman who lived in a great house and had everything his heart could desire. All around him lived poor people in cold, cramped houses with little enough to eat in spite of working hard from dawn till dusk every day, but Valerian never gave any thoughtContinue reading “The Tears of the Moon”

Stories for Another Day Long, long ago when dinosaurs were as common and ordinary as trees and worms, a baby dinosaur popped out of his egg who was different from all the other dinosaurs. This dinosaur had no bones. Instead his inside parts were made of rubber. Everything worked perfectly well, and to look atContinue reading “The Rubber Diplodocus”

Stories for Another Day One day, in a great sandy desert, there was a stirring in the sands and a small creature poked her nose out, and then climbed out of the hole she had made. The brightness of the sun did not blind her eyes, for she had no eyes, and she felt noContinue reading “The Sun and the Mole Rat”

Stories for Another Day In the third kingdom there was a village where nearly everyone was peaceful and contented. The soil was rich, the crops were abundant and a clear river flowed wide and deep along the edge of the village. Alongside the river, at the outer edge of the town, Nemmy lived with herContinue reading “The Paper Sword”

Stories for Another Day Once there was a boy who would not sleep, and the reason was this. As a tiny baby, when his mother put him in his crib one night to sleep, he chanced to open his eyes and see the first star of the evening. It so enchanted him, twinkling prettily inContinue reading “The Boy Who Would not Sleep”

Stories for Another Day Malachy was a weaver who worked hard at his trade. His workroom was full of great reels of coloured thread that he used to weave strong, handsome cloth on his loom. All day long he clacked his shuttle back and forth, weaving cloth for shirts and trousers and dresses and blankets.Continue reading “The Weaver and the Snakes”

Stories for Another Day In the days when Dharab lived, he was known as the greatest dragon-slayer in all of the seven secluded kingdoms, yet he lived very quietly in a small house with no more than he needed. One night he was sitting by his fire, eating his bread and cheese, when out ofContinue reading “The Apprentice”

Stories for Another Day Once there was a man who had two sons. One day when his sons had reached the age where they were ready to go out into the world and fend for themselves, he called them to him. To the eldest son, Wallis, he gave a golden violin whose sound was soContinue reading “The Two Violins”

Stories for Another Day In the early days before Dharab became known as the greatest dragon-slayer in all the seven kingdoms, when he was simply a young man learning his trade, there was a knock on the door of his hut one evening. He opened it to find a messenger from a village far awayContinue reading “Dharab’s Mistake”

Stories for Another Day Long ago, the second kingdom was ruled by darkness for many long years. Any of the people who complained or rebelled were imprisoned in deep underground caverns, so far beneath the earth that no light ever reached them. When the darkness was finally vanquished and light reigned in the second kingdomContinue reading “The Children of Darkness”

Stories for Another Day There was a man and his wife who loved each other dearly but they were not blessed with children, and this was a great sorrow for them. And then one night in a great storm, they heard a light knocking on their door. When they went to open it, there wasContinue reading “The Stone Arrow”

Stories for Another Day Once there was a wealthy man who had three sons. The eldest son, Marcus, was tall and well-made, the second son, Elford, was not as tall and not as well-made, and the youngest son, whose name was Jack, was the smallest but the bravest and the cleverest. Marcus worked hard onContinue reading “The Middle Brother”

Stories for Another Day Once there was a man who lived in great house with a great many servants, but he was a hard master. He had no patience for servants who were not quick and clever and good at their work. He would beat them, or send them away. Two of his servants wereContinue reading “The Hard Master”

Stories for Another Day Long ago, when lizards were as big as houses and turtles still had feathers, there was a very discontented turtle, named Lennie. Lennie liked a quiet life, with plenty of lying in the sun and occasional nibbling at a lettuce leaf, but all the other turtles seemed to be interested inContinue reading “Turtle Feathers”

Stories for Another Day Once when a boy named Rustum was playing with a stick, it fell under a bush, and when he went to pick it up, he found a key. Now, whether the boy found the key, or the key made its way to the boy, there is no way of telling, butContinue reading “The Key to the Opal Gate”

Stories for Another Day The day after she killed her first dragon, Zahara bound up her hair, changed her gown for cotton pants and a jacket, put on a strong pair of boots, and with a sword wrapped in felt strapped to her back, she left the castle where her mother and father and brothersContinue reading “Zahara the Pilgrim”

Stories for Another Day Once there was a girl named Sukey, who would never say she was sorry. If she ever made a mistake or did something naughty, like dropping a jar of honey, or leaving the tap on in the bathroom so that the sink overflowed and water went everywhere, and her parents saidContinue reading “Sulky Sukey”

The king and queen of the fourth kingdom had many children, fine healthy girls and boys, but only one of them was born in the heart of a rose, and that was the youngest, Zahara. She was tiny enough to fit inside a rose, with the petals wrapped tightly around her, and although she grewContinue reading “The Rose Petal Princess”

Stories for Another Day Garth and Shanama were the children of the Dharab, the dragon-slayer and Eva, his wife, who was known across the seven secluded kingdoms as a healer. The children were born within the same hour on the same day, just as the morning star was rising. They grew together and played togetherContinue reading “Garth and Shanama”

Stories for Another Day In a land far away there is a place where three great rivers come together at the edge of the sea. Mangrove trees grow in the rivers and their roots grow upwards like black fingers in a sea of mud. One day, a long way upriver, a melon fell off theContinue reading “The Winged Tiger”

Stories for Another Day Once, in a small house on a small island in the middle of a vast, sparkling, blue sea, there lived a small family. The mother’s name was Shalinda, and there was a boy named Rush and a girl named Esha. Their father’s name was Kopp. It was such a small islandContinue reading “Time and Tide”

Stories for Another Day A cat once had a litter of kittens, and the prettiest of all was named Zirka. She was as black as night all over except for a single splash of white on her tail, like a star. Perhaps it was for this reason that she was enchanted by the night sky.Continue reading “The Tale of the Cat”

Dharab the Dragon-slayer Dharab killed his first dragon when he was four years old, but then it was a very small dragon, hardly bigger than a lizard. When he was ten years old he killed his first fully-grown dragon, by luring it into a closed valley and levering a heavy rock onto it. It wasContinue reading “Stories for Another Day”

Once there was a soldier in the king’s army, who lost his taste for fighting, He put down his weapons and would not fight any more, so he was dismissed with a week’s pay and the clothes he stood up in. He walked away, and kept walking until he was too tired to walk anyContinue reading “The Old Soldier”

In the last years of Dharab, the greatest dragon-slayer ever known, his daughter Shanama hunted with him, and she learned from him many of the skills that made him great. She learned how to kill her dragon cleanly and humanely, how to protect herself from the fire that the dragon throws from its mouth, andContinue reading “The Wild Dog from the West”

In a village in a valley not too far away from here lived a doctor, called Dr Averil. He was a good doctor who looked after his patients well. If his patients could pay, well and good, but if they were very poor, he didn’t ask them to pay at all. As time went on,Continue reading “The Wooden Doctor”