Jonah and the Night of No Lights
When the power goes out across town, Jonah and friends become the neighbourhood’s superheroes.
It was a stormy Tuesday evening, and Jonah was about to start dinner when, FLICK! All the lights went out. The fridge stopped humming. The street went dark. ‘A power cut!’ said Jonah.
Jonah found a torch and looked out of the window. All the houses were dark. Rain drummed on the roof. ‘I wonder if everyone’s okay,’ he said. He thought of Omar the pony, who lived alone at the end of the road.
Jonah phoned Mateo and Bella. ‘Let’s be the Night Heroes,’ he said. ‘We’ll check that everyone’s all right.’ They grabbed raincoats and torches, and set off through the puddles.
They knocked on every door. At the first house, a family had run out of candles. Jonah gave them one. At the second, a baby was crying in the dark. Mateo sang a soft song until the baby calmed down.
At the end of the road, Omar was sitting in the dark with a blanket. ‘I didn’t want to bother anyone,’ said Omar. ‘You’re no bother,’ said Jonah. ‘Come to the village hall. We’re all gathering there.’
Soon the hall was full of neighbours. There were lanterns made from jam jars everywhere, glowing in every corner, and somebody had a kettle on a camping stove. Everybody sat on blankets. There was shadow puppets and lots of laughing.
Then, with a soft click, the lights flickered back on. But nobody wanted to leave. ‘Switch them off again!’ laughed Bella. And the whole hall went quiet, and looked at the stars through the windows.
On the way home, Jonah looked at the lit-up houses. ‘It’s nice having lights,’ he said. ‘But I think the best lights tonight were all of us.’ Omar squeezed Jonah’s hand. ‘Super neighbours,’ he said.
The little lesson
Real superpowers are caring for your neighbours and working together.
Let’s talk about it
- What would you do in a power cut?
- How did the neighbours help each other?
Finish stories to collect Jonah as a sticker in your Sticker Book.
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Kit Lights Up the Street
When the power goes out across town, Kit and friends become the neighbourhood’s superheroes.
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