Lottie's Lucky Coin

This is an original story from Kids Dream Stories.

Lottie was so excited to find a lucky coin.

Lottie is six. Six whole years of Lottie Little. Being six meant that Lottie Little was no longer little. Lottie was a big girl and she wanted to prove it to the world. One sunny day, Lottie looked in the bathroom mirror and smiled. Today was the day that she would get herself ready for school without being asked. She put on her clothes, brushed her teeth and hair and went downstairs to put on her shoes. It was sports day at school and she was excited about not having any lessons in the afternoon.

Lottie looked at her shoes and frowned. She couldn't tie her shoelaces yet, although she had been trying. Lottie did her best to tie her shoelaces and it worked for a while, but they came undone again when she was walking to school.

“Ugh!" She sighed. Annoyed. She bent down to retie them when something gleaming on the pavement caught her eye. It was a coin shining in the sun. She picked it up and inspected it. It was a peculiar coin, one she hadn’t seen before. The coin was small, with a little bird on the front and a warrior on the back.

“Perhaps it comes from a different country”. Said her mother.

Lottie turned the coin over and over to look at each side again.

“It’s a very special coin,” declared Lottie, pleased with her early morning discovery. “I wonder what luck it will bring me,” she mused, putting the coin safely in her pocket and crouching down to tie her shoelaces for the second time.

“I wish they would tie themselves,” she said out loud. “What a good invention that would be. In the future, children will never have to tie their shoelaces.”

“Come on Lottie Little, we’re going to be late”.

After school assembly, the children had maths. The only lesson of the day. Thank goodness, thought Lottie. She hated maths and much preferred stories. Today it was the six times table. It was particularly troublesome. The teacher called out for someone to write the timetable on the board. No one said a word.

“OK, children. If you’re not going to volunteer, I’m just going to have to choose someone. All the children looked down.

“Lottie, come to the front please. I don’t expect you to get it all correct, as this is a new exercise. Just try your best and we'll all help out”.

One six is six

Two sixes are twelve

Three sixes are eighteen

Lottie stopped and looked at the children. They were all staring at her. “Go on Lottie”, encouraged her teacher. “You can do it”.

Four sixes are twenty-four

Five sixes are thirty

Six sixes are thirty-six

Seven sixes are forty-two

Eight sixes are forty-eight

She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and held the coin in her pocket tight.

Nine sixes are fifty-four

Ten sixes are sixty

Eleven sixes are sixty-six

Twelve sixes are seventy-two

“Amazing! Well done Lottie, it sounds like you have been practicing,” said her teacher in disbelief. The class cheered and Lottie beamed. She had been practicing because she was six and really wanted to know her six times table.

“Whoa Lottie! How did you know all that? You were brilliant,” exclaimed her best friend Chloe.

“I don’t know, the answers just appeared in my brain, like magic”.

Suddenly, her pocket became very hot. Did she get a little help from her lucky coin?

The bell rang. It was time for recess and then sports day. The school field was decorated with all the house colours. Lottie’s house was green. The other house colours were red, blue and yellow. What are your house colours? Do you have them at your school?

The senior girls ran first and everyone cheered and chanted. Next up, the senior boys. The screams and chants were louder than ever.

Next, it was the juniors. They were doing the egg and spoon race. This was Lottie’s favourite race. She stood in her lane with her egg on her spoon, hoping she wouldn't drop her egg, when she noticed her laces were undone again.

Oh no. Lottie put her egg and spoon on the grass as she bent down to tie her laces.

“On your marks”. Everyone in the line got ready.

“Oh no, wait” cried Lottie, desperately fumbling with her laces.

“Get set” shouted her sports teacher.

Lottie was flustered and couldn’t do her laces. She put her lucky coin in her hand and tried again.

“Go!” As the teacher brought down the flag, the girls started the race.

Lottie managed to tie her laces, picked up her egg and spoon, and started walking as fast as she could. Her hands were shaking from the late start. All the girls were in front of her.

Two girls collided and dropped their eggs. Lottie caught up with them. She had her eyes on the finish line. There were four girls ahead still. What have I got to lose, she thought as she started running. Lottie passed Flick and Sophie; the crowd screamed. Two more to go.

Jess was far in front, running towards the finish line, when she dropped the egg. This gave Lottie a few extra seconds to overtake her. Just Penny ahead now. The children were going wild.

“Penny, come on, she’s catching you”.

“Jess Jess, you’ve got this.”

“Lottie, leg it, run. Sprriiiiinnnt.”

Lottie heard the screams and started to sprint as fast as she could. Her heart was beating and she was pretty sure her cheeks were as red as a beet. Who cared. She ran through the finish line, her pocket burning now as hot as her cheeks.

“First place Lottie Little.” announced the headmaster, handing her a medal. Her classmates cheered again.

Lottie was so excited came home and told her mum all about her lucky day.

“Wow Lottie, you’ve had such a good day”.

That night, she slept with her lucky coin under her pillow.

‘Thank you coin. Please let me have lucky dreams tonight”, she whispered as she got into bed, exhausted from the day's activities.

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