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- Story Listed as: Fiction For Kids
- Theme: Family & Friends
- Subject: Adventure
- Published: 05/10/2024
Henrique’s Adventure.
Born 1948, M, from Kent - garden of England, United KingdomHenrique’s adventure.
Do you ever gaze at the stars, as they twinkle brightly in the sky above you? I am sure you do, and, maybe, like Henrique, you would love to visit them and enjoy a trip through space and time.
Henrique would often stand at the window, or out on the balcony, trying to count the stars in the sky, and looking at the shapes their clusters made above him. “If only I could go there’ he thought, as he got ready for bed. “Well maybe I can” he said to himself as he looked in the mirror, and then carefully cleaned his teeth.
He went into the kitchen to say goodnight to Zé and Martinho, who were enjoying a difficult puzzle, and watched carefully as the steam whistled out of the spout of the kettle, hot and misty as it reached for the ceiling.
The boys stopped in their puzzling, to watch the stream too, and Henrique explained about the many stars that he had counted in the night sky. They talked a little about space, spacemen and maybe becoming astronauts one day, and how much fun it must be to whistle through space on the way to a distant planet. Martinho suggested that they might get interested in rocketry, and Zé found a pencil and paper, and started to design a starship.
Very soon Henrique was feeling a little sleepy, but the idea of actually going into space was very exciting, he would think about how exactly he could do it!
Once snuggled up in bed he started to make his plans, of how he could fly to the stars and maybe even become, - Henrique, the astro navigator.
Now, Henrique is a very clever boy, he understands fire, heat and steam, he knows about spaceships, engines and magic, surely he could travel in space, it must be possible.
He thought and thought about the problem, as he lay in his warm bed and slowly a plan came sleepily into his mind.
There was no school next day, as far as he could remember, so Henrique collected together the things he needed to build his spaceship and spacesuit. Mum’s pressure cooker looked useful, Henrique had often watched the steam whistling out, as the flames underneath did their fiery work of heating the liquid inside, and the flexible tubes from the vacuum cleaner would make his spacesuit look most professional, draped over his shoulder into the rucksack that held his oxygen pack. But he needed a spaceship, and somewhere to launch it from.
Just across the road, a new house was being built, and there were plenty of tools and bits and pieces strewn around, including a giant crane and lots of metal tubing.
Henrique gazed out of the window, and made a list of all the useful stuff on the building site. The crane would make a splendid launch platform to aim his spaceship at his favourite star, the tiny but bright pink twinkly one, which hovered over his town of Vila Real, itself like a shining star way up in the northern mountains.
He would build his spaceship from the metal tubing. Bright and shiny in the moonlight, it looked just the size for him to be comfortable in, speeding on his journey through space, and a bright orange traffic cone nearby, would be splendid as the pointy end, whilst the fins would be easy to make from three local street signs.
But he would need a helmet of course, all spacemen have a helmet, it seemed silly to go into space without one. He searched around the house and eventually found a big plastic water bottle. From this he cut off the bottom with scissors - be careful doing this - and made it fit nicely over his head down to his shoulders, remembering to remove the cap from the top, so that he could breathe. He cut a hole for his mouth, and two small ones for his ears, but even so, sounds from outside sounded very strange, so he took some ear pods, so that he could plug them into his phone - communications are very important in space!
Building the spaceship itself was quite easy, the metal tube was just the right size to sit inside, and it already had a hole for a window, which he covered over with some clear bendy plastic sheet, held on tightly with strong glue. Henrique painted the traffic cone with black and white checkers, and glued it onto the tube, the three signs made great tail fins, one saying on it, ‘No Parking’ , another with ‘Keep off of the Grass’ and the third neatly printed with ‘Delta Café’ . The rocket was about three metres tall, and to make it really comfortable for the long journey through space, Henrique packed it with cushions from the sofa.
But Ah! He thought, - what can I use as an engine?
Now Henrique is very clever, and he knows a lot about how things work, maybe he could make an engine himself.
He knew that the steam from the kettle was very powerful, but also very hot, and needed a fire to turn the water into steam, but a fire in a space rocket is not a very good idea, there must be a better way!
Henrique had seen divers on TV using air tanks, and knew that if the air was allowed to escape quickly, the tank was pushed along by the pressure of the air being released. But he did not have a diving tank, so that would not be possible.
He thought again and had a brilliant idea - why not use the big fire extinguisher from the garage. This would shoot out a lot of foam behind the rocket and launch him into space. Problem solved!
As soon as the rocket was finished, with the seat cushions in place and the fire extinguisher engine fitted, Henrique put on the helmet, and using his pyjamas as a space suit went over to the crane, which he was using as the launch pad.
The rocket looked very impressive, supported by the bars of the crane, and he quickly made himself comfortable on the cushions for his trip into space. He plugged in his phone, just in case he needed to call somebody on earth, and surveyed his handiwork - he had built a splendid rocket, so ‘here we go’ he thought.
Henrique reached back to the fire extinguisher engine and closing his eyes, pulled the lever.
Whoosh, suddenly he found himself flying up into space, the pilot of his own, home made rocket, the very first Portuguese boy into space.
It seemed like no time at all before he wizzed past the international space station, and waved out of his window to the amazed astronaut’s looking out of theirs, and far ahead he could already see the moon getting closer every minute. Now, flying into space makes you very hungry and thirsty, so Henrique was very pleased that he had remembered to take some sandwiches, a chocolate bar and a drink with him. As he sped along on his journey to the stars he nibbled on the sandwich, and watched as the planets zoomed past, he was having a lovely time.
The first stars came into sight in the blackness of space. Bringing the flashlight had been a good idea too, he thought, as he looked for the chocolate bar, which was now melting in his Pyjama pocket, but at least he had a little light to search by, as he licked the creamy chocolate from his fingers.
The stars were very bright now, and an asteroid raced alongside Henrique’s spaceship, leaving a green glow behind as it went smoothly past into deep space.
But now there was a problem ‘ Via Real, we have a problem’. thought our intrepid space boy, as he realised that the fire extinguisher was slowing down from a big whoosh to a little hiss.
Henrique grabbed his phone, he must get in touch with earth, uncle Nuno would know what to do!
Henrique is a very brave lad, so he was not worried much, as he knew that what goes up must come down.
In fact he had prepared for this anyway, and had tucked away a bed sheet in his space ship to use as a parachute, if he ever needed it, of course.
His phone call was answered by Nuno immediately - ‘Where are you’ Nuno asked. ‘ At the moment I am just passing Pluto, driving my spaceship’ replied Henrique, ‘but I am losing power from the engine, and may need to parachute down’.
‘ How do you know it is Pluto? ’ asked Nuno.
‘Well it certainly isn’t Tio Patinhas! ‘ replied Henrique’
‘Remember that you have to be at school tomorrow’ said Nuno, his voice coming over the phone in a crackle, ‘ you may need to parachute down now!’
‘OK’ replied Henrique, I will parachute down straight away, see you soon’
Well, Henrique made it back safely from space, and his great adventure, and he did not really need to go to school, as it was his special day! His mum, Cristiana, found him wrapped in a sheet on the floor in the morning, where he has fallen to earth at the end of his dream, and, out of bed too!
But it was a good dream, wasn’t it, and, even better, today is his Birthday, so Happy Birthday, Henrique - the Astro Navigator!
Tia Xinha and Tio Ken wish you a very happy seventh birthday, and this story is specially for you! With lots of love from us both, XXX
Ken DaSilva-Hill 2024
All rights reserved, for Henrique,
Who owns this story!
Henrique’s Adventure.(Ken DaSilva-Hill)
Henrique’s adventure.
Do you ever gaze at the stars, as they twinkle brightly in the sky above you? I am sure you do, and, maybe, like Henrique, you would love to visit them and enjoy a trip through space and time.
Henrique would often stand at the window, or out on the balcony, trying to count the stars in the sky, and looking at the shapes their clusters made above him. “If only I could go there’ he thought, as he got ready for bed. “Well maybe I can” he said to himself as he looked in the mirror, and then carefully cleaned his teeth.
He went into the kitchen to say goodnight to Zé and Martinho, who were enjoying a difficult puzzle, and watched carefully as the steam whistled out of the spout of the kettle, hot and misty as it reached for the ceiling.
The boys stopped in their puzzling, to watch the stream too, and Henrique explained about the many stars that he had counted in the night sky. They talked a little about space, spacemen and maybe becoming astronauts one day, and how much fun it must be to whistle through space on the way to a distant planet. Martinho suggested that they might get interested in rocketry, and Zé found a pencil and paper, and started to design a starship.
Very soon Henrique was feeling a little sleepy, but the idea of actually going into space was very exciting, he would think about how exactly he could do it!
Once snuggled up in bed he started to make his plans, of how he could fly to the stars and maybe even become, - Henrique, the astro navigator.
Now, Henrique is a very clever boy, he understands fire, heat and steam, he knows about spaceships, engines and magic, surely he could travel in space, it must be possible.
He thought and thought about the problem, as he lay in his warm bed and slowly a plan came sleepily into his mind.
There was no school next day, as far as he could remember, so Henrique collected together the things he needed to build his spaceship and spacesuit. Mum’s pressure cooker looked useful, Henrique had often watched the steam whistling out, as the flames underneath did their fiery work of heating the liquid inside, and the flexible tubes from the vacuum cleaner would make his spacesuit look most professional, draped over his shoulder into the rucksack that held his oxygen pack. But he needed a spaceship, and somewhere to launch it from.
Just across the road, a new house was being built, and there were plenty of tools and bits and pieces strewn around, including a giant crane and lots of metal tubing.
Henrique gazed out of the window, and made a list of all the useful stuff on the building site. The crane would make a splendid launch platform to aim his spaceship at his favourite star, the tiny but bright pink twinkly one, which hovered over his town of Vila Real, itself like a shining star way up in the northern mountains.
He would build his spaceship from the metal tubing. Bright and shiny in the moonlight, it looked just the size for him to be comfortable in, speeding on his journey through space, and a bright orange traffic cone nearby, would be splendid as the pointy end, whilst the fins would be easy to make from three local street signs.
But he would need a helmet of course, all spacemen have a helmet, it seemed silly to go into space without one. He searched around the house and eventually found a big plastic water bottle. From this he cut off the bottom with scissors - be careful doing this - and made it fit nicely over his head down to his shoulders, remembering to remove the cap from the top, so that he could breathe. He cut a hole for his mouth, and two small ones for his ears, but even so, sounds from outside sounded very strange, so he took some ear pods, so that he could plug them into his phone - communications are very important in space!
Building the spaceship itself was quite easy, the metal tube was just the right size to sit inside, and it already had a hole for a window, which he covered over with some clear bendy plastic sheet, held on tightly with strong glue. Henrique painted the traffic cone with black and white checkers, and glued it onto the tube, the three signs made great tail fins, one saying on it, ‘No Parking’ , another with ‘Keep off of the Grass’ and the third neatly printed with ‘Delta Café’ . The rocket was about three metres tall, and to make it really comfortable for the long journey through space, Henrique packed it with cushions from the sofa.
But Ah! He thought, - what can I use as an engine?
Now Henrique is very clever, and he knows a lot about how things work, maybe he could make an engine himself.
He knew that the steam from the kettle was very powerful, but also very hot, and needed a fire to turn the water into steam, but a fire in a space rocket is not a very good idea, there must be a better way!
Henrique had seen divers on TV using air tanks, and knew that if the air was allowed to escape quickly, the tank was pushed along by the pressure of the air being released. But he did not have a diving tank, so that would not be possible.
He thought again and had a brilliant idea - why not use the big fire extinguisher from the garage. This would shoot out a lot of foam behind the rocket and launch him into space. Problem solved!
As soon as the rocket was finished, with the seat cushions in place and the fire extinguisher engine fitted, Henrique put on the helmet, and using his pyjamas as a space suit went over to the crane, which he was using as the launch pad.
The rocket looked very impressive, supported by the bars of the crane, and he quickly made himself comfortable on the cushions for his trip into space. He plugged in his phone, just in case he needed to call somebody on earth, and surveyed his handiwork - he had built a splendid rocket, so ‘here we go’ he thought.
Henrique reached back to the fire extinguisher engine and closing his eyes, pulled the lever.
Whoosh, suddenly he found himself flying up into space, the pilot of his own, home made rocket, the very first Portuguese boy into space.
It seemed like no time at all before he wizzed past the international space station, and waved out of his window to the amazed astronaut’s looking out of theirs, and far ahead he could already see the moon getting closer every minute. Now, flying into space makes you very hungry and thirsty, so Henrique was very pleased that he had remembered to take some sandwiches, a chocolate bar and a drink with him. As he sped along on his journey to the stars he nibbled on the sandwich, and watched as the planets zoomed past, he was having a lovely time.
The first stars came into sight in the blackness of space. Bringing the flashlight had been a good idea too, he thought, as he looked for the chocolate bar, which was now melting in his Pyjama pocket, but at least he had a little light to search by, as he licked the creamy chocolate from his fingers.
The stars were very bright now, and an asteroid raced alongside Henrique’s spaceship, leaving a green glow behind as it went smoothly past into deep space.
But now there was a problem ‘ Via Real, we have a problem’. thought our intrepid space boy, as he realised that the fire extinguisher was slowing down from a big whoosh to a little hiss.
Henrique grabbed his phone, he must get in touch with earth, uncle Nuno would know what to do!
Henrique is a very brave lad, so he was not worried much, as he knew that what goes up must come down.
In fact he had prepared for this anyway, and had tucked away a bed sheet in his space ship to use as a parachute, if he ever needed it, of course.
His phone call was answered by Nuno immediately - ‘Where are you’ Nuno asked. ‘ At the moment I am just passing Pluto, driving my spaceship’ replied Henrique, ‘but I am losing power from the engine, and may need to parachute down’.
‘ How do you know it is Pluto? ’ asked Nuno.
‘Well it certainly isn’t Tio Patinhas! ‘ replied Henrique’
‘Remember that you have to be at school tomorrow’ said Nuno, his voice coming over the phone in a crackle, ‘ you may need to parachute down now!’
‘OK’ replied Henrique, I will parachute down straight away, see you soon’
Well, Henrique made it back safely from space, and his great adventure, and he did not really need to go to school, as it was his special day! His mum, Cristiana, found him wrapped in a sheet on the floor in the morning, where he has fallen to earth at the end of his dream, and, out of bed too!
But it was a good dream, wasn’t it, and, even better, today is his Birthday, so Happy Birthday, Henrique - the Astro Navigator!
Tia Xinha and Tio Ken wish you a very happy seventh birthday, and this story is specially for you! With lots of love from us both, XXX
Ken DaSilva-Hill 2024
All rights reserved, for Henrique,
Who owns this story!
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