Write a story about a child overhearing something they don’t understand.

Posted in Kids on May 10, 2024

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✍️ 62 stories

“Lessons Learned” by Randy Miller

Submitted to Contest #250

The shield in my left hand reverberated with a loud “Tang” as the sword crashed down upon it, sending a jolt of vibration through my arm. My sword came down upon my opponents shield, metal clashed against metal, creating a cacophony of “Tang!” “Tang!” that reverberated through the crisp air. As I pushed forward with determination, I could feel the weight of my opponent’s shield pressing against mine, the metallic grinding filling my ears. Suddenly, a distant voice to my right broke through the intensity of our battle, calling ...

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“What is Cancer?” by Ellie Northrop

Submitted to Contest #250

"Five red shells," counts Julie as she carefully places five tiny sea shells in front of her. "Twelve round rocks," she continues, revealing a dozen perfectly round rocks. "Six pebbles!" she finishes with a big grin.The six-year-old counts her collection of nice objects, making sure that nothing has been lost in the move. Her treasure chest is full of the prettiest items Julie has discovered. Each one is separated into columns to keep them in piles.Julie has been told that she is special compared to other kids. Something ...

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“Would you share it?” by Laura Camacho Frias

Submitted to Contest #250

He should be sleeping like a baby but Leo woke up in the middle of the night: someone was screaming. It was not a dream, nor one of those nightmares he had had in the past days- since his mother had left the house without any explanation. Mum was back, and everything was as normal as ever. There was no reason to be sad or afraid; still, he was. The boy tried to get the light switch, but the little white box slipped out of his reach, so he walked in the dark towards the corridor. Silence. There were no noises downstairs, and the dog...

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“The Secret Lives of Little Brothers” by Lisa Pais

Submitted to Contest #250

The Secret Lives of Little Brothers By Lisa Pais Ernest clutched the doll to his chest. His nana had given it to him for his 8th birthday. The doll, which he’d named Kevin, was a ventriloquist dummy. It was also his best friend. In his usual spot under the deck, well hidden behind the pump for the hot tub, Ernest could hear his parents arguing as if he were in the same room. His parents often went out to the deck to argue, completely unaware that Ernest was tucked away listening in. It had become a habit for both parties. “You don’t fi...

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“Monster” by Jesse Glover

Submitted to Contest #250

There’s a monster in our house. I can hear it roaring from my room. I don’t know why it roars but it sounds very angry. I’m hot with the blanket pulled over my head but I’m still shaking like it’s cold. Sweat drips off the end of my nose. I lick my lips and taste the salt there – it’s like I’ve been eating fries. It’s late but I haven’t eaten dinner yet. Mum told me and Bella to go to our room when the gravel crunched and the door banged. That’s the sound that tells us the monster is here. It’s not usually angry during the day and sometimes ...

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“The Bad Word ” by Debbie Archibald

Submitted to Contest #250

The Bad Word-(one profane word in content) 1962 Ohio, United States suburbs Jilly Day lived in Bedford, Ohio. Today she learned where Ohio was because her teacher, Miss Gruss, showed her first-graders on the colorful map on the classroom wall. Ohio was orange. Now Jilly was home from school, out of her St. Pius X green plaid uniform. She was sporting her favorite Bert and Ernie pullover, blue jeans and sneakers. In her front yard, she tossed her softball in the air-sometimes catching it, most of the time chasing it down. An only ...

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“My Best Friend Charlie” by Lauren Green

Submitted to Contest #250

Mummy and Daddy looked sad today. I saw Mummy crying in the kitchen as she was cleaning up after dinner and Daddy had his arm around her. They were whispering to each other but I have really good ears and could hear them talking. Mummy kept saying, “Kayla will be so upset when she finds out.” That’s me. My name is Kayla. I wonder why Mummy thinks I’ll be upset. Last Friday I turned seven years old. I had a party at my house with a bouncy castle, and a b...

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“Sweet Dreams” by G S Martin

Submitted to Contest #250

Sweet Dreams Mornings are my favorite time. Not because my dog licks my face to wake me up. And not because of the bowl of Cheerios with lots of sugar. It's because I survived another night. Now that the sun is out, everything is back to normal. Mom is back to normal. So is grandma, and I'm safe... for now. It's when the sun goes down that I don't like because everything changes. The trees in the yard turn into skeletons, waving their bony branches at me, reaching out to grab me. And monsters hide in the bushes, waiting for me to ...

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“Making the Broken Pieces Fit Together” by Sophie Goldstein

Submitted to Contest #250

Poncho sat, crisscrossed applesauce, on the carpet, slamming two toy trucks against one another repeatedly. He had been doing this for hours without getting bored. He liked the sound they made. He liked the anticipation of the moment of impact. He wondered how long it would take before one or both broke. He didn’t want it to happen, but he was surprised it hadn’t and was curious if it might. He enjoyed breaking things and seeing if he could put them back together. He noticed that this did not make his dad very happy, but he couldn’t help him...

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“Fuzzy Socks” by Cheyenne Spicer

Submitted to Contest #250

Five-year-old Dolly was playing with a variety of Hot Wheels in the hallway that led to her bedroom, lining the small cars up along the creases of the hardwood floor. Revving each car’s imaginary motor with the vibration of her tiny hand, preparing them for an extremely intense race. Exactly like the cars her daddy watched on TV every Sunday. Dolly didn’t think the race her dad...

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“Ten” by Finn Emerson

Submitted to Contest #250

You are suddenly awake. Deep under the floral quilt, box fan whirring at your head, you are not immediately able to discern what pulled you from dreams of falling water. The creak of the bunk as you shift to your side is familiar and safe, as is the slow, deep breaths of your sisters in the bed below. You reach out and feel the cool metal of the bed rail, installed by your irate dad the 6th or 8th or 10th time you fell with the rushing water and woke up, scraped and crying, on the bedroom floor. You rest your damp forehead against the metal ...

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“Especially on Rainy Days” by Dave Bede

Submitted to Contest #250

"Wednesday is writing day!" Mrs. Morton reminded the class as the recess bell rang. "Think about what you want to write during recess!" "Andy, we know what you're gonna write about!" said Matt Nelson, punching him on the shoulder after a quick look to make sure Mrs. Morton couldn't see them in the boys' cubbyhole corner. "'Why I Love to Read', right?" "I don't see why not!" Andy said, pulling his new Paddington Bear book out of his backpack. He'd given up on saving them for bedtime, since Mom and Dad wouldn't let him read more than one chapt...

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“Goodbye, Cupcake” by Joseph Hawke

Submitted to Contest #250

We were in Grandpa’s house in Stowe. Mom had driven us up from Long Island the day before. I was tired from the drive, but excited to see Grandpa and Grandma ‘cause we hadn’t seen them since Christmas. We never saw them for Easter. That was when we would have Pop-Pop and Nana come stay with us, and they always would make us go to church, which Mom didn’t really do. There was incense that made me feel sick, and Pop-Pop had to take me outside so I wouldn’t throw up. Plus, Dad never came with us. And he wasn’t with us in Stowe. He stayed home b...

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“Both Sides Now” by Amber Sayer

Submitted to Contest #250

“Are you comin’ to my game Saturday, Dad?” “Ah. Sorry, champ. Remember that conference in Paris last month? Milo looked up from macaroni that smelled of freezer. He missed eating food off a plate. He even missed his mom haranguing him to finish his broccoli. At least that broccoli needed to be chewed. “Well, that committee appointed me to go to Moldova. Pretty cool, huh?” Where’s Moldova? His father plunged his fork into one of the plastic tray’s compartments. Gray mashed potatoes peeled off in one congealed mound. “But, hey, I’ll get you a ...

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“Kyle and the Mysterious Stranger” by Ethan Rogers

Submitted to Contest #250

Kyle loved the world underneath his big dining room table. He could often be found under the table taking imaginary friends on imaginary adventures. It could be a jungle, or a jail, a forgotten island, or the realm of demons.Today the big dining room table was where Kyle heard his mother say something very interesting. Today under the table Kyle heard the first mention of the mysterious stranger.Kyle’s dad got Kyle’s breakfast this morning, which was not how it usually went. Instead of his mom making his breakfast, Kyle’s dad asked him what ...

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Write a story about a child overhearing something they don’t understand.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 62 stories

“Lessons Learned” by Randy Miller

“What is Cancer?” by Ellie Northrop

“Would you share it?” by Laura Camacho Frias

“The Secret Lives of Little Brothers” by Lisa Pais

“Monster” by Jesse Glover

“The Bad Word ” by Debbie Archibald

“My Best Friend Charlie” by Lauren Green

“Sweet Dreams” by G S Martin

“Making the Broken Pieces Fit Together” by Sophie Goldstein

“Fuzzy Socks” by Cheyenne Spicer

“Ten” by Finn Emerson

“Especially on Rainy Days” by Dave Bede

“Goodbye, Cupcake” by Joseph Hawke

“Both Sides Now” by Amber Sayer

“Kyle and the Mysterious Stranger” by Ethan Rogers

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story in which someone is afraid of being overheard.

Write a story in which someone can only hear one side of a conversation and must piece together the meaning of what they’ve heard.

A character overhears something at a black-tie event that puts the night in jeopardy.

Your teacher tasks you with writing a story based on an eavesdropped conversation. When the story is published, your subject isn’t happy.

Contest #250

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

229

Contest entries

107

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: