The Singing Bone
The Singing Bone — an illustrated tales story. 10 illustrated pages, free to read on Wonder Tales.
Page 1
In a sky-market where merchants traded bottled weather, lived two brothers, Elian and Cassian. Elian, the elder, possessed a silver tongue and a heart gilded with ambition. Cassian, quiet and contemplative, crafted haunting melodies on his bone flute. One brother craved wealth, the other sought solace, but a dark deed would entwine their fates with a curse older than the clouds themselves.
Page 2
Elian yearned for more than sky-market trinkets. He overheard whispers of a buried treasure in the Whispering Woods below—gold said to corrupt the very air around it. "Think of it, Cassian," Elian said, his eyes gleaming. "Enough gold to buy us our own floating island!"
Page 3
Cassian, despite his reservations, trusted his brother. "What is greed but the desire to have more than one needs?" Cassian stated, remembering Plato's wisdom. The brothers descended on ropes of braided cloud-silk towards the emerald canopy of the Whispering Woods, the wind whistling through the trees.
Page 4
Deeper and deeper they ventured into the woods, the trees growing taller and the shadows lengthening. Soon, a glimmer of gold caught Elian's eye. "There!" he exclaimed, pushing past Cassian, ignoring the bone flute clutched in his brother's hand. A small, ornate chest lay half-buried at the base of a gnarled tree.
Page 5
The chest overflowed with shimmering gold coins. Elian began filling his pockets, ignoring Cassian's warnings about the forest's whispers. "This is ours now!" Elian sneered, drawing a dagger. "I don't intend to share!" He lunged at Cassian, driven by a thirst for the gold that consumed him.
Page 6
With a swift strike, Elian silenced Cassian. He left his brother's body to rot amongst the trees, taking all the gold for himself. As he turned to leave, a strange sound echoed through the forest: a mournful melody played on a bone flute.
Page 7
Back in the sky-market, Elian traded the gold for a grand stall and bottled winds that would do his bidding. Yet, wherever he went, he heard the faint melody of a bone flute. "Imagination is more important than knowledge," he scoffed, quoting Einstein, trying to ignore the chilling tune that haunted him.
Page 8
The melody grew louder, more insistent. One day, a royal sky-merchant passed by, seeking a wind to fill his sails. Elian presented his finest bottled gale. But as the merchant uncorked it, the bone flute's song crescendoed. The wind screamed not of power, but of Elian's crime.
Page 9
The crowd turned on Elian, seizing him and casting him out of the floating market. He plummeted towards the Whispering Woods, the faint song of the bone flute the last thing he heard.
Page 10
The forest claimed him, the gold he coveted now worthless. The only sound was the wind rustling through the trees, carrying with it the faint, mournful echo of a bone flute. And the greed that fueled Elian's ambition became the very thing that silenced him.
About this story
- Audience: kids (ages 6–12)
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