Each year since coming to first grade I have read the same magical story to my class. It will give you the happiest chills!
I bring my students down to the carpet and really gather them near. I tell them they won’t want to miss a single thing from this story. They will want to see the apple as well. I point out the single apple on my desk.
Once upon a time there was a little boy. He lived in the countryside. There were fields of grass, farms, and the air smelled sweet and fresh. This little boy was tired of playing with his toys and tired of his books and puzzles.
"What shall I do? He asked his mother. And his mother, who always knew fun things for little boys to do, said "Why not go and find a little red house with no doors and no windows and a star inside." It will be an adventure, a quest of sorts.
This made the little boy wonder. Usually his mother had good ideas, but he thought that this one was very strange.
"Which way shall I go?" He asked his mother. "I don't know where to find a little red house with no doors and no windows".
"Go down the road past the farmer's house and over the hill," said his mother, "and then hurry back as soon as you can and tell me all about your journey."
So the little boy put on his hat and his jacket and started out. He had not gone very far down the lane when he came to a happy little girl dancing along in the sunshine. Her cheeks were like pink blossom petals and she was singing like a robin.
"Do you know where I shall find a little red house with no doors and no windows and a star inside?" asked the little boy.
The little girl laughed. "Ask my father the farmer," she said. "Perhaps he knows."
So the little boy went on until he came to the great brown barn where the farmer kept barrels of fat potatoes and baskets of yellow squash and golden pumpkins. The farmer himself stood in the doorway looking out over the green pastures and yellow grain fields.
"Do you know where I shall find a little red house with no doors and no windows and a star inside?" asked the little boy of the farmer. The farmer laughed too. "I've lived a great many years and I never saw one," he chuckled, "but ask Granny who lives at the foot of the hill . . . She knows how to make homemade cookies, taffy, and popcorn balls . . . and red mittens! Perhaps she can tell you."
So the little boy went on farther still, until he came to the Granny sitting in her rocker on her front porch. She had lots of wrinkles and a big smile on her sweet face.
"Please, dear Granny," said the little boy, "where shall I find a little red house with no doors and no windows and a star inside?"
The granny was knitting a red mitten and when she heard the little boy's question, she chuckled so heartily that the wool ball rolled out of her lap and down to the little stone path.
"I should like to find that little house myself," she laughed. "It would be warm when the frosty nights come and the starlight would be much prettier than a candle. But ask the wind who blows about so much and listens at all the chimneys. Perhaps the wind can tell you."
So the little boy took off his cap politely to the granny and went on up the hill rather sadly. He wondered if his mother, who usually knew almost everything, had perhaps made a mistake.
The wind was coming down the hill as the little boy climbed up. As they met, the wind turned about and went along, singing beside the little boy. It whistled in his ear, and pushed him along and dropped a pretty leaf into his hands.
"I wonder," thought the little boy, after they had gone along together for awhile, "if the wind could help me find a little red house with no doors, and no windows and a star inside."
The wind cannot speak in our words, but it went singing ahead of the little boy until it came to an orchard. There it climbed up in the apple tree and shook the branches. When the little boy caught up with the wind, there, at his feet, lay a big red apple. The little boy picked up the apple. It was as much as his two hands could hold. It was as red as the sun had been able to paint it, and it had no doors and no windows. Was there a star inside?
{At this point pick up the apple on your desk}
The little boy hurried back down the lane with the big, red apple in his hand. The wind was pushing him and laughing in his ear. When he reached his house the little boy threw open his front door! “Mother!”, he called. He gave the apple to his mother. His mother said, "You have found a house with no doors and no windows but where is the star?" His mother took a knife …{Now cut the apple crosswise} and she cut the apple through the center. Oh, how wonderful! {Show the apple}
There inside the apple, lay a star holding five brown seeds.
"It is too wonderful Mother. Thank you for my quest. I shall never forget this journey, and will always look for the star inside my apple." said the little boy to this mother.
"Yes, indeed," answered his mother. “Yes indeed.”
Adapted from a story by Carolina Sherwin Baile
Every year my students burst into applause at the end of the story! I hope your students love it as much as mine!
Special Thanks to:
Kimbery Geswein Fonts, The 3am Teacher for graphics,
and my teammate, Meredith, for introducing
Carolina Sherwin Baile’s story to us!
Her story is a treasure as are the family traditions that this time of year can offer!
We never miss apple picking. Before we had Jackson, we used to pick apples with my grandparents and Justin’s Aunt Julie. If you live where you can pick apples please don’t miss this opportunity to make picking them a tradition. When you get home you can make apple sauce, apple pie, or just eat the apples, and of course read the story of the Little House with a Star inside.
For more amazing and fun activities to do with K-2 aged kids click the picture below and read about Apple Day/ Week. When you click the picture below you will be taken to a post with another freebie too. Happy Apple Season, and may your star always shine bright!
