A ghost in Colégio do Sardão

an Intercultural story
On a bright sunny day, some pupils were chatting in front of the main
entrance of Colégio do Sardão…

Maria: Last night I slept so badly. I couldn’t forget what my sister had
told me...
João: What did she tell you? Don’t tell me that it’s the Colégio do
Sardão old ghost story of a man holding a big bottle of Porto wine
and a typical British umbrella in his hands? That’s a silly old story, I
don’t believe in such ridiculous gossip.
Maria: My sister swore it was true. She told me that one night while
they were having a party in the school canteen, they saw someone at
the balcony…and then suddenly the lights were turned off, and they
heard a scary scream…
The next thing they knew, Maria and João were flying through the
air holding tight to the umbrella.
They landed with a bump and looked around.
Maria : What happened?
João Where are we? It looks like we are in a castle, and look there
is the flag of England.
A Yeoman Warder (beefeater) marched over to the children.
Beefeater: Come with me to the Tower of London and I will show
you a painting, it is of Anne Boleyn, wife of Henry VIII. She had her
head chopped off by this sword.
Maria: Look João, on the wall behind Anne Boleyn. There is a
moose head.
With that there was a scream........ a shadow of a woman passed
along the
wall...
Maria and João ran away, but unexpectedly the moose’s head
sucked the children in!
 
Maria: Aah! I feel so dizzy, what’s going on?
João: I don’t know, but it doesn’t look as if we are in the Tower of
London anymore…
 
Soon they found themselves in Finland, in the middle of an art
museum in Tampere. Maria and João walked a little and looked at
some beautiful paintings which were hanging on the walls. When
they were near the painting which portrayed the Kalevala, they
stopped.
 
João: Look, the information board next to this painting tells us
about Wäinämöinen and his Finnish zither.
 
Maria and João ran away, but unexpectedly the moose’s head
sucked the children in!
 
Maria: Aah! I feel so dizzy, what’s going on?
João: I don’t know, but it doesn’t look as if we are in the Tower of
London anymore…
 
Soon they found themselves in Finland, in the middle of an art
museum in Tampere. Maria and João walked a little and looked at
some beautiful paintings which were hanging on the walls. When
they were near the painting which portrayed the Kalevala, they
stopped.
 
João: Look, the information board next to this painting tells us
about Wäinämöinen and his Finnish zither.
 
Suddenly they heard footsteps.
 
Guard: What are you doing here?
João and Maria: Quick, run!
 
The children got scared and escaped from the museum.
Outside they saw a big door which was opposite the Museum. As
the children entered through the door they found themselves in a
middle of a hockey match.
Two teams called Tappara and Lukko were playing. Tappara’s
player Jori Lehterä scored a goal.
 
After match children went to an observation tower called
Näsinneula. There they ate some black sausage, a traditional
Finnish food from Tampere. From the window Maria and João saw
a helicopter which was flying above the Näsijärvi…
In this helicopter the children saw that, as well as the pilot, there
was someone climbing down a rope ladder. Suddenly, this person
dropped herself down into the water.
 
Maria and João: Oh no! Come on, we must rescue her or she’ll
drown!
 
They used a net and when they managed to pull it up to the
surface; they saw a big ice cube.
 
João: Hey Maria, look at this. Something really strange is going
on.
Maria: Wow! In the ice, there is a woman of mixed race wearing
a blue dress with red and yellow flowers printed on it. She looks
as if she comes from a distant island.
João: Hold on, I have an idea…
 
He went back and made his Finnish black sausages very hot then
put them on the ice, which quickly melted. They discovered the
face of the mixed race woman, who looked strangely like Anne
Boleyn!
 
As soon as she managed to open her mouth she said:
Anne Boleyn: Who are you? Where am I?
Maria and João: We are Maria and João, two good friends. We are
above The Black Sea, near Constantza, a city in Romania.
Anne Boleyn: How do you know that?
Maria and João: Well, the map of Romania looks like a bunch of
flowers. There are mountains, hills, plateaus and fields. The bunch
has its stems in The Black Sea.
Anne Boleyn: What about the pelicans and the swans around
us? Where do they lead us?
Maria and João: To a magic place - The Danube Delta, the fishes
and birds’ paradise.
Anne Boleyn: Are we going there?
Maria and João: Yes, we are. We have some good friends in
Constantza. Here they are! The children from “Gheorghe Titeica”
School. They are waiting for us on “Bricul Mircea”, which is a ship.
Led by the birds and surrounded by friends, the three travellers
found out many facts about the Romanians’ history and about the
beautiful traditional folk costumes.
In the Danube Delta they danced a Romanian chain dance
dressed in traditional peasant blouses and wearing traditional
leather shoes. While dancing a Dobrudjan chain dance, called
“Geampara” the three travellers were taken by a flying carpet…….
Maria and João: Oh no! I hope we don’t fall off this carpet. Don’t
look down...
Anne Boleyn: I wonder where we are going now?
 
The pleasant journey, which started from the Danube Delta,
finished in Istanbul. They enjoyed the view of Istanbul from one of
the hills on which the town was situated.
At that moment, they noticed a man who looked half human and
half bird.
 
João: Look over there at the top of that tower. What kind of
strange creature is that?
Maria: He looks like a man, but are those wings coming from his
back?
 
He let himself down from the tower of Galata.
As they looked in amazement at the man, they witnessed that he
succeeded in flying and they couldn’t believe their eyes. They
learnt that the man was Hazerfen Ahmet Çelebi who had
managed to fly with artificial wings that he had made.
 
When Anne Boleyn saw that man, she strangely likened this man
to her daughter in terms of what they had done for their
countries.
 
Anne Boleyn: I wish I had more time to see what was happening
in the world.
 
Whilst trying to decide the last place that she could visit, her
thoughts were interrupted by the shouts of the children. When
she turned her head to see what Maria and João were looking
at....
She saw a herd of bulls.
João: Where are they going?
Maria: I’ve no idea, but right now we might have bigger problems.
That man with wings is going to land next to us!
Hazerfen Ahmet Celebí: Don’t be afraid. Do you want to fly with
me to see where the bulls are going?
So Hazerfen Ahmet Celebí rode them on his wings and they
followed the animals.
Soon they arrived at a fortified city on the shore of the
Mediterranean Sea, it was called Melilla. Hazerfen left them in a
house where Sir Pedro de Estopiñan lived.
The house was decorated with many armors and amphoras. María
and João told Pedro de Estopiñan all their adventures whilst they
were having a cup of tea and some biscuits.
But, although they were having a good time, they told him that
they wanted to go back home.
João: Thank you for the tea and biscuits. We have really enjoyed
ourselves but now I am feeling a bit tired. I’d like to go home now.
Sir Pedro: Well I have a ship in the harbour, come with me and I’ll
sail you all home.
Sir Pedro boarded them on his ship and they sailed across the
Strait of Gibraltar to Oporto.
However, when the children arrived at Vila Nova de Gaia and they
came to the front door of their school, they awoke from their
wonderful dream and everything disappeared, including Anne
Boleyn and the Ghost.