The Little Red House with a Star Inside

Once upon a time a little boy named Johnny asked his mother to make a mommy magic for him.

“How would you like to find a little red house with no windows, no doors, a chimney on top, and a star inside?” asked his mother.

Johnny said he would like that very much.

So Johnny and his mother went for a walk.

They saw Johnny’s friend, Jenny, jumping rope.

“Do you know where I can find a little red house with no windows, no doors, a chimney on top, and a star inside” asked Johnny?

“No.” said Jenny. “But maybe Farmer Jones knows that.”

Johnny and his mother walked until they came to Farmer Jones.

Johnny asked him, “Do you know where I can find a little red house with no windows, no doors, a chimney on top, and a star inside?”

“No.” said Farmer Jones. But I bet my Grandma knows. She has lived a long, long time, and she knows most everything.”

They went to see Grandma Jones. She was rocking back and forth in a rocking chair on the front porch.

Johnny asked her, “Grandma, Jones, do you know where I can find a little red house with no windows, no doors, a chimney on top, and a star in the middle?”

“Go into the orchard and ask Mr. Wind.” said Grandma Jones.

So Johnny went into the orchard.

Mr. Wind came and blew so hard, that an apple fell down onto Johnny’s lap.

“This is what we’ve been looking for!” shouted Johnny. They cut it open, and inside was a star.

Johnny and his mother walked home and showed Grandma Jones, Farmer Jones, and Jenny the apple. Then each of them ate a piece of the apple.

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The Magic Square

After Lo Shu, the Scroll of the River Lo, an ancient Chinese legend
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A long time ago, in ancient China, there was a huge flood of the River Lo.

The people tried to offer many sacrifices to the River God, but at no avail.

One day, a turtle with an interesting pattern on its shell emerged from the water.

A curious child noticed that there were three rows and three columns with nine cells on the turtle’s shell, and each cell had a different number of circular dots.

The child added the numbers in each of the three rows, and in each of the three column, and in each of the two diagonals, and the sum was always the same, 15.

Then he thought that this must be the magic number of sacrifices to offer to the River God.

The River God was pleased with his offering, and retreated its waters after that.