The Volcano
Sam asked for this because there was a volcano on his t-shirt. There was also a lot of noise and banging coming from upstairs when the boys were getting dressed.
Once upon a time, there was a volcano called Levi. He lived by the edge of a village but, because he was a kind and friendly volcano, he tried his best not to cause trouble to the villagers. He did not erupt very often, just once every few years, and he made sure his ash fell on the fields behind him, not on the village in front.
Now, the villagers were frightened of the volcano, because they knew they were unpredictable and could be very dangerous. Yet the ash always seemed to fall on their fields and was a brilliant fertilizer that made the crops grow really well. This was why the villagers stayed in the village, despite the risk.
One day, the children were playing on the low hills at Levi's feet. Levi was a lonely volcano, because there were no other volcanoes for miles around. So he was really pleased to have some company.
The children were having so much fun running around and laughing that Levi started to laugh too. It was a low rumbling sound that made the ground shake. The children all knew about the dangers of volcanoes, so they quickly ran away, screaming and shouting. Levi was left alone again.
After a few weeks, there had been no further signs of activity from the volcano, so the children went back to play there again. This time, Levi was so pleased that not only did he laugh, making the ground shake, but he also tried to talk to the children, which made steam come out of cracks in the ground.
This time, the children were terrified and ran back to the village to tell their parents what had happened.
“We have made the volcano angry by disturbing its peace”, said the village wise man. “The children are not allowed to play there again, and we must all avoid walking on the foothills.”
Levi now felt lonelier than ever. He did not know about what the wise man had said, he just found that he never even saw the villagers any more. He was so sad he started to cry, and the water from his tears put out his fires so that he did not erupt any more.
Several years went by, without the volcano erupting. This made life hard for the villagers, who relied on the ash to make their crops grow well.
“The wise man was right,” said the villagers. “We made the volcano so angry that he will never again help us.”
Nearly ten years had gone by without ash, when a young girl, who had not been born when the volcano last erupted, was listening to the story of the rumbling ground and the steam. It had become a legend in the village.
The girl, who was as kind and friendly as the volcano, said, “That volcano wasn't angry, he was lonely. Look, there are no other volcanoes for miles around. We should go and play with him, then he'll help us again.”
The wise man was not sure, but the villages who looked after the crops in the fields said, “The volcano has not erupted for ten years, it is dead. There's no harm in playing on it now.” Secretly, they hoped the girl was right.
So the next day, the children excitedly ran over the fields to the low hills at Levi's feet. They ran around laughing and joking until, suddenly, the ground started to shake.
They looked worried, but the girl said, “Listen, he's laughing!”
If they listened carefully, the noise did indeed sound a bit like laughter. So they carried on playing. Levi was overjoyed, and let out some steam, which blew through a hollow rock that made it sound like a flute.
This time none of the children were scared, because it sounded like the volcano was singing to them. So they carried on their games.
Levi was so pleased, he let himself erupt and sent ash all over the fields behind him.
The villagers were delighted. They felt that they understood the volcano at last. They decided to hold a fair every spring in honour of the volcano. This was Levi's favourite day of the year, and at the end of the fair, he always erupted like fireworks, sending ash over the fields to make the crops grow well for the rest of the year.