My Granny's Scarf
Tonight is Aunt Sophie's henna night, but Granny Zara's silver brooch has gone missing, and Ginger the stray cat is getting the blame! When Daisy wraps an old, colorful scarf around her neck, she starts to understand the animals. There's just one problem: the only sounds that come out of her own mouth are "moo," "quack quack," or "woof"! How will she learn the truth from the animals and show it to the grown-ups?
Free story — no account needed to read it.
8 Minutes
4 Endings
7-8
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About This Story
“My Granny's Scarf” is an interactive fantasy story for children aged 7-8, about 8 minutes long. The reader decides how it goes at 5 choice points, and there are 4 different endings. It is free to read on Kitapz, with no account needed.
- Age range
- 7-8 years
- Reading time
- about 8 minutes
- Genre
- Fantasy
- Format
- Interactive · 5 choice points · 4 endings
- Language
- English, Turkish
- Access
- Free, no account needed
- Characters
- Daisy, Cow, Granny Zara, Duke, Aunt Sophie, The Geese, Ginger
- Collections
- Fantasy stories, Stories for ages 7-8
- Reading support
- dyslexia-friendly font, bionic reading, color-blindness filters
An Excerpt from the Story
Tonight was Aunt Sophie's henna night, the special party before her wedding. Daisy's granny, Granny Zara, took a silver brooch out of the walnut chest.
Granny Zara:
“I wore this at my own henna night. Tonight it will be pinned on my Sophie's collar.”
She wrapped the brooch in an old cheesecloth that smelled of cheese and set it inside the window. When the room grew warm, she opened the window a crack. Then she took a colorful wool scarf from the chest and wrapped it around Daisy's neck.
By the stove lay Ginger, a yellow tabby stray cat.
Ginger:
“Ahh, so cozy. I hope nobody makes me move from here.”
Daisy (thinking):
Granny, the cat talked!
Daisy:
“Meow!”
Granny Zara:
“Now where did this girl learn to meow?”
When Daisy took off the scarf, Ginger only meowed again. Daisy had figured out the scarf's secret: while it was around her neck, she could understand the animals, but she talked like an animal too! Giggling, she wrapped the scarf back on.
“My Granny's Scarf” · Ages 7-8 · kitapz.com
school For Parents and Teachers
In this story, children join Daisy in tracing Granny Zara's missing brooch on the day of a henna night, while the grown-ups blame a stray cat. Her scarf lets her understand animals but turns her own words into animal noises, so the story also explores how to show the truth when words fail. Readers choose whom she listens to.
What will children learn from this story?
- Learns to gather clues to work out what happened: who saw what, which tracks are in the snow, who was where.
- Thinks about why blaming someone just because they were seen nearby can be unfair.
- Practices other ways to get a message across, such as drawing, pointing and acting things out, when words don't work.
- Learns words that imitate animal sounds, such as meow, honk, moo and woof.
Curriculum links: Life skills, Language arts, Science
Fact Box
Can you tell which animal walked through the snow from its tracks?
Often, yes. The size of the print, the number and layout of the toes and whether claw marks show are all clues. Cats, for example, can pull in their claws, so their prints usually show no claw marks.
Source: Discover Wildlife (BBC Wildlife)
What is a Turkish henna night?
A henna night (kına gecesi) is a celebration for the bride, a little like a hen night: a farewell to single life before the wedding. It is mainly a gathering of women, and the bride and the guests have henna put on their hands in patterns.
Source: Go Türkiye
Reading Comprehension Questions (5W1H)
The questions cover the opening that every reader sees, whatever they choose. Tap a question to see the answer.
-
Who? Who does Granny Zara think took the brooch?
Answer: Ginger, the yellow tabby stray cat.
-
What? What does Granny Zara wrap the brooch in before setting it by the window?
Answer: An old cheesecloth that smells of cheese.
-
Where? Where is Ginger when Granny Zara finds the cheesecloth gone?
Answer: Outside the glass, sitting on the snowy windowsill.
-
When? When does Granny Zara notice that the cheesecloth is gone?
Answer: An hour later, when she goes back to the window.
-
Why? Why does Daisy untie the scarf before talking to Granny Zara?
Answer: Because while the scarf is on, only animal sounds come out of her mouth.
-
How? How does Daisy work out the scarf's secret?
Answer: With the scarf on she understands Ginger but meows herself, and when she takes it off, Ginger only meows again.
Questions to Talk About After Reading
- At the first choice, did you have Daisy keep the scarf on and listen to Cow, or take it off and tell Aunt Sophie? Why did you pick that path?
- Granny Zara decided Ginger was guilty because she saw him by the window. Have you ever been blamed for something you didn't do? How did it feel, and what did you do?
- Daisy keeps looking for ways to get her message across even when she can't talk. How would you tell someone something without using any words?
- If you had the scarf for one day, which animal would you want to listen to, and what would you ask it?
Word List
- brooch
- A piece of jewelry that you fasten to your collar or clothes with a pin.
- cheesecloth
- A thin, soft cotton cloth with a loose weave, used for wrapping cheese; in the story it still smells of cheese.
- tabby
- A cat whose fur has darker stripes; Ginger is a yellow tabby.
- waddle
- To walk with short steps while rocking from side to side, the way the geese do.
- cud
- Food that a cow brings back up from its stomach to chew again slowly.
- hayloft
- A place in or above a barn where hay and straw are stored to feed the animals.
Activity Idea
Play a no-words game: one person acts out a short event written on a slip of paper (for example, “The duck grabbed a hat and ran to the pond”) using only animal sounds, gestures and drawings, while the others guess. Then draw a cat's paw print and a goose's footprint side by side and talk about the differences.
Completion Rewards
What you'll earn when you finish this story: