The document is a story written by students from multiple countries as part of a Comenius project on quality of life. It tells the story of a girl who is new to her school and struggles to fit in due to differences in language and culture. She carries a charm from her grandfather that transports her back to her home village when she is feeling lonely. There, she is able to see her friends and grandfather again, finding comfort. Eventually, she makes new friends at school who help her feel more included.

1. WELCOME STORY
FEBRUARY, 2014
Welcome

2. “Welcome story” is a Comenius product as a result of cooperation of four
countries taking part in a common project, titled “Quality of life”.
All schools received a scenario that was written by a Spanish partner.
Pupils in teams completed and gave an ending to the story. They also
created the drawings for the fairy tale. Everything was scanned in order
to create a digital fairy tale.
The Comenius project “Quality of life” is funded by the Lifelong Learning
Programme of the European Union

3. General
introduction
Once upon a time there was a girl who came for first
time to a school, to a classroom, in any town. There she found a
lot
of other children. She had brown skin and curly hair and barely
knew that language that all were speaking so fast, this caused
her
a little fear. Although she was intelligent she never dared to
raise
a hand or to participate. She thought that all the others were
going
to outwit her and would laugh at her. At those occasions she
felt
as small as flowers like the ones that grow up at the top of the
mountains.
She lived in a house, in the neighborhood of a place called
suburbs. She lived there with her dad, her mum and her little
brother of early age. All of them spoke in a musical language

4. that during listening tickled the ears. This language was very
different from the one of the country they had just arrived: they
didn't know what people were saying on TV, or what was in
newspapers, even they could not read the notes sent from the
school or the posters found in the street.
At the playtime the girl was always alone while several
groups of other children were playing around her. She often
reminded her native country and the friends she had left there.
Then her eyes filled with the image of rivers and lakes that run
through her native lands and she wanted to start to run and
jump very high and fly in order to return there again ….
to be continued
THE ENDING WRITTEN BY SPANISH STUDENTS

5. In her closed hand she always carried a charm that her
grandfather had given her some time ago. He told her when she
was a little younger:
‘While carrying this charm with you nothing bad never
will happen to you’
The charm also had ....might
The charm had a special magic
gift: “if she shared it with true
love, she would be able to
travel to her beautiful village,
and see the rivers, the lakes, see
her grandfather, her friends,
and introduce them to the new
schoolmates.
One day, while she was in the
school playground, a very
curious and kind girl realized
Lulac was there and asked her:
- What are you doing?
- Nothing
- Do you want to play clapping?

6. - Sorry? I can´t understand you. Can you speak more slowly
please?
- Would- you- like- to- play- with- us?
- Yyyyyy…..
- We- will- teach- you
- Yes
- Ok, come on, move, make place for Lulac, she is playing too,
but remember we have to speak slowly, otherwise she will not
understand.
- Ok, come on, let´s go!
They kept playing during several days during the school recess.
Some days later Lulac even participated in class, raising her
hand when the teacher asked the students.

7. When she told her parents and her little brother how happy she
was at her new school, this made them very happy.
One day, she invited her school friends home to meet her
family and have a tea party.
Lulac was so happy that she decided to show her friends her
magic charm.
They made a circle round her to see it and Lulac shared it with
them. They held their hands and magically flew together to a
sunny country, to a village at the foot of the mountain with an
enormous river. His grandfather was sitting on a bench near the
river, working with his hammer and her first friends were
sitting on the floor playing claps and laughing.

8. It seemed the granddad had felt they were there and said out
loud:
- Be happy kids!
And Lulac and her first and new friends all together said out
loud:
- Yes, granddad!
They held their hands together again and suddenly appeared in
the school playground.
………………. put the different parts of the charm together, she
put it away in her pocket and they all ran to class, the music
was already playing.
The end

9. THE ENDING WRITTEN BY POLISH STUDENTS
…. In her closed hand she always carried a charm that her
grandfather had given her some time ago. He told her when she
was a little younger: ‘While carrying this charm with you
nothing bad never will happen to you’
The charm also had ....might
One day, as the girl was at school, as always sitting alone
during the long break, she heard something rather unexpected.

10. She heard someone speaking her native language.
At first, she couldn’t believe it, but as she started to look
around, she noticed one of her classmates talking with her
parents. It was
a pretty blonde-haired girl named Clarissa. The girl made
several steps towards them and realized she was right. Clarissa
really spoke her language. The girl was amazed. She couldn’t
wait to tell her mum about it.
After coming back home, the
girl immediately told her mum
about what had happened at school.
Mum seemed
a bit concerned, but in the end
smiled brightly. She encouraged the
girl to try
to talk to Clarissa next day at school.
Mum’s encouragement made the girl really eager to go
to school. She went
to bed full of hope and joy. She finally could make a friend
in this strange new place.
The next day at school,
however, turned out a lot more
difficult than she had expected.
As soon as she spotted Clarissa,

11. the girl noticed how popular the blondie was among other kids.
Clarissa was hanging out with a huge group of children, noisy
and very energetic. The girl was too shy for such a big group.
She didn’t dare to approach them, not to mention to ask
Clarissa about the language. She felt a little heart-broken and,
after lessons, made her usual lone walk back home.
Out of a sudden, she heard some girl screaming on the other
side of the street she was walking along. She turned around
to see Clarissa and to older boys struggling with Clarissa’s
school bag.
It seemed the boys wanted to take the bag from Clarissa.
They were laughing and poor blonde girl was almost crying.
At that time, the girl’s charm, which she always had” in her
pocket, started getting warmer. She took it out of the pocket
only

12. to see it glowing with amazing bright light. The girl heard
something amazing – it was her grandfather’s voice. She was
sure it was him. The voice told her: „Darling you have to help
that girl. Don’t be afraid. You’ll be fine. And later, you’ll also
be very happy. Go!”. With a sudden shot of confidence and a
glowing charm
in her hand, the girl rushed towards Clarissa and the boys.
She yelled at the boys and spoke to them in their language
with
a grown man’s voice: „You bullies! Leave her alone! Go
away!” Both boys were terrified and immediately ran away.
Clarissa stood in disbelief, staring at the girl and her charm.
After several seconds, she smiled at the girl and thanked her
help. The girl seemed confused, as she didn’t understand
Clarissa. Clarissa noticed that and, after taking a look at her
skin and hair, switched into the girl’s native language. The
girls finally introduced themselves to each other. „Dana”,
said the brown-skinned girl. „Clarissa”, replied the blondie.
The girls shared their way back home.
After the incident with bullies, Dana and Clarissa became
best

13. of friends. They studied and played together. Clarissa was
teaching Dana new language and practiced Dana’s native
language, which,
as it turned out, she knows from her
dad’s previous job abroad.
They became inseparable. One
evening, as Dana was falling asleep
in her bed, her beautiful charm started to glow again.
Once again she heard her grandfather’s voice
„I’ve told you my dear, you’ll be very, very happy.” Dana
smiled and slowly closed her eyes.
The end
THE ENDING WRITTEN BY GREEK STUDENTS

14. In her closed hand she always carried a charm that her
grandfather had given her some time ago. He told her when she
was a little younger:
‘While carrying this charm with you nothing bad never
will happen to you’
The charm also had ....might
She remembered the first day at her new school. Her
teacher, Miss Nicole announced that there was a newcomer in
class and suggested that they introduce themselves. All the
pupils did so in turns. When it was the girl’s turn to present
herself to the others, she looked hesitantly at them and then
humming and hawing she said ‘Goulain ‘. The sound of her
name seemed so funny to some pupils that they burst into
laughter and Goulain immediately blushed. Miss Nicole
instantly remarked that it is not right to make fun of others’. It
is time for our break now, so make sure that you all play
together, will you?’ added the young teacher.
Indeed all the children asked Goulain to play with them.
They joyfully rushed to the school yard to play a traditional
game of their country. They formed two teams. As Goulain
could not speak their language and only knew a few words, she
could not understand what her team mates were saying and her
team lost.
‘Why on Earth did we ask her to join us?’ said Christine.
‘Without her, we would have definitely won’ added
Andrew and everybody else agreed with him.

15. Even though Goulain could not understand much, she felt
that everybody blamed her for the team’s defeat.
Away from the other children, she burst into tears
wondering why they were all
angry at her since it wasn’t
her fault she could not
understand what they were
saying. ‘They are acting as if I
wanted our team to lose. I
wish I could be a bird and fly
back to my village to see my dear friends. I miss them so much
and most of all I miss my Grandpa!! The only thing I have that
reminds me of him is my lucky charm. ‘He promised me that it
could protect me but what good is it to me now?’ She took it
out of her pocket and held it into her little hands almost
begging for some kind of help. All of a sudden, something
strange and unexpected happened. She was in her village!!
Her friends, whom she hadn’t seen for a long time, were
playing barefoot right in front of her eyes. A few steps away,
just outside her hut, her aunt Canberra and her friends were
making baskets out of stubbles. She could also see her Grandpa
approaching from a distance. Goulain started waving at him
and ran to him as fast as she could, to hug him. At the same
time, she heard a school bell ring. She saw her old classmates
and her teacher, Mrs Baya, in the school yard where she had
spent some of the best moments in her life.

16. Then she heard the
familiar sound of village drums
proudly announcing the
beginning of the village feast.
Everybody she knew gathered
in the village square. The next
moment she could hear herself singing a very familiar song
along with everyone else.
At the same time, she felt somebody’s hand gently
touching her on the shoulder. She opened her eyes and saw her
new teacher Miss Nicole and realized that all this time she was
in the school yard. Her teacher asked her why she was standing
there all alone and what this wonderful song was. Goulain used
some words she new in Greek to explain that it was a song her
Grandpa had taught her to sing.
Her eyes were still full of
tears when she sang the song
again, but this time for her
teacher. All this time she was
secretly touching her charm,
and she felt the power it gave
her. The next thing she saw was her new classmates gathering
around her, listening to her wonderful voice. In the end,
everybody clapped enthusiastically and it was at that moment
that Goulain felt she belonged.
The following morning Miss Nicole asked to meet
Goulain’s parents because ‘she had some very important things
to discuss with them’. After realizing that they were less
capable of communicating in the new language than their

17. daughter, Miss Nicole offered to teach them the language
herself. And so she did. Every afternoon she visited Goulain’s
family for a new lesson.
A few months later
Goulain’s class decided to
take part in a singing
contest. The prize for the
winner was a generous
amount of money.
Everyone voted for
Goulain to be their main singer of their choir, and they started
rehearsing after school. They did really well and each time they
listened to Goulain’s voice spellbound.
The day of the competition came so fast and before they
knew it, the children were on stage, ready to perform. They had
felt really anxious, but now they were trying to find some
courage in Goulain’s confident face. All of a sudden, this shy
girl from a country not even heard of before, had been
transformed into their leader that guided and inspired them.
Her voice sounded like angels singing to their ears.
What followed their
performance was beyond the
children’s expectation. Everyone
at the audience stood up and
applauded. As expected, their
school came first and won the prize.

18. Goulain felt so happy and so grateful to her Grandpa for
giving her that charm, which she had kept with her the whole
time. She was really happy and proud of herself and her
friends. They were her friends now and from then on she never
felt alone again.
After a few days, while
they were playing in the
school yard her new best
friend, Sophia, suggested they
played ‘Blindfold’. Goulain
closed her eyes and put a scarf
to cover them. She could hear
their carefree laughter but she didn’t manage to catch anyone.
Finally, she touched somebody and that meant the end of the
game. When Goulain took the scarf off her face, she just stood
there speechless for a few moments in surprise. Right in front of
her eyes was her Grandpa with his arms wide open for her.
‘Happy birthday Goulain’ said her Grandpa in their
language. Then she heard her friends joyfully wishing her
‘Happy Birthday’. She had almost forgotten it was her birthday.
‘If it hadn’t been for your friends, I wouldn’t have come.
They offered all the prize money you won to buy me the ticket.
The charm has helped you so far, but the best thing in life, is to
believe in yourself and to have friends you can rely on. Now
you have both’.
From that day on, Goulain and her friends did everything
together. Goulain
showed them games

19. she used to play in her little village and taught them words in
her own language and songs she knew. With her mother’s help
she even cooked those strange recipes that proved to be really
tasty.
She felt so strong and never had to worry about anything. Her
friends were always there for her.
THE END
THE ENDING WRITTEN BY CYPRIOT STUDENTS

20. PICTURES PREPARED BY STUDENTS
In her closed hand she
always carried a charm that
her grandfather had given
her some time ago. He told

21. her when she was a little younger:
“While carrying this charm with you nothing bad never
will happen to you…”
The charm also had a gift, a might…
One day, while she was sitting in a corner feeling sad, a
girl approached her. The girl was talking to her but she couldn’t
understand a word
of what she was saying.
Suddenly, as she was trying to work out her classmate’s
words, her grandfather’s charm fell on the floor and opened up.

22. She was surprised, when she realised that she could now
understand the words of the girl that was standing next to her.
“Come to play with us!”, said the little girl, giving her hand.
Then, she realised that the charm gave her the power to
understand what the others were saying. Or was it that now she
finally knew that her classmates were trying to show their love
to her?
At the end, she knew that the charm’s power was LOVE.
With her classmates’ love everything seemed so easy and our
little friend managed to live happily in that new country for
many years and all these moments turned out to be sweet
memories!
The end