The Lantern of Marrow Cove
A free B1-level English story for language learners, readable online in 7 languages, with an option to listen via the free Storyteller app.
When a storm douses the lighthouse at Marrow Cove, twelve-year-old Wren must climb its hundred stairs alone to save the ships out on the water.
For as long as anyone could remember, the lighthouse at Marrow Cove had never gone dark. Twelve-year-old Wren lived at its foot with her grandmother, the keeper, and she knew every one of its hundred and one stairs.
Desde que alguém podia se lembrar, o farol da Enseada Marrow nunca havia se apagado. Wren, de doze anos, morava ao pé dele com a avó, a faroleira, e conhecia cada um dos cento e um degraus.
One stormy night, the great lamp flickered and died. Ships would come with the tide, and without the light they would break upon the rocks.
Numa noite de tempestade, a grande lâmpada tremeluziu e se apagou. Os navios chegariam com a maré, e sem a luz se despedaçariam contra as rochas.
Her grandmother's knees were too old for the climb. So Wren took the spare oil, a box of matches, and a stubborn kind of courage, and began to climb.
Os joelhos de sua avó já eram velhos demais para a subida. Então Wren pegou o óleo de reserva, uma caixa de fósforos e uma teimosa coragem, e começou a subir.
The stairs groaned beneath her feet. Wind pushed through the cracks in the walls and tried to steal her small flame.
Os degraus gemiam sob seus pés. O vento entrava pelas rachaduras das paredes e tentava roubar sua pequena chama.
Halfway up, she found the reason for the darkness. A gull had built its nest against the lamp, and the oil line was clogged with feathers and salt.
No meio do caminho, ela encontrou a razão da escuridão. Uma gaivota tinha feito seu ninho junto à lâmpada, e o duto do óleo estava entupido de penas e sal.
Wren worked with cold fingers, clearing the line piece by piece. Twice the wind blew out her match, and twice she lit it again. She thought of the ships out on the dark water, and she did not stop.
Wren trabalhou com os dedos gelados, limpando o duto pedaço por pedaço. Duas vezes o vento apagou seu fósforo, e duas vezes ela o acendeu de novo. Pensou nos navios lá fora, na água escura, e não parou.
At last the oil flowed freely, and Wren touched her flame to the wick.
Por fim o óleo fluiu livremente, e Wren tocou sua chama ao pavio.
Light burst out across the water, sweeping over the waves like a hand pushing the ships gently away from the rocks. Far below, she heard her grandmother cheer.
A luz explodiu pela água, varrendo as ondas como uma mão empurrando gentilmente os navios para longe das rochas. Bem lá embaixo, ela ouviu sua avó comemorar.
In the morning, the fishermen came to thank the new keeper of the light. Wren only smiled and looked up at the tower.
De manhã, os pescadores vieram agradecer à nova faroleira. Wren apenas sorriu e olhou para cima, para a torre.
Some lights, she understood now, are kept burning by those who are brave enough to climb.
Algumas luzes, ela compreendeu agora, são mantidas acesas por aqueles que têm coragem de subir.
