The Secret of the Red Threads
It's late October in Davutobası, and the saffron harvest has begun. For the very first time, Ella's dad is trying to sell his very own saffron, but on the spice seller's stall sit redder threads at half the price. Ella suspects those threads aren't real saffron at all, and before Saturday comes, she must find a way to prove it without hurting anyone's feelings.
Free story — no account needed to read it.
8 Minutes
4 Endings
11-12
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About This Story
“The Secret of the Red Threads” is an interactive adventure story for children aged 11-12, 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
- 11-12 years
- Reading time
- about 8 minutes
- Genre
- Adventure
- Format
- Interactive · 5 choice points · 4 endings
- Language
- English, Turkish
- Access
- Free, no account needed
- Characters
- Ella, Van Driver, Toby, Joe (Dad), Mr. Hudson, Granny Sue, Young Woman in a Green Coat
- Collections
- Adventure stories, Stories for ages 11-12
- Reading support
- dyslexia-friendly font, bionic reading, color-blindness filters
An Excerpt from the Story
Dawn was only just breaking, and Ella's fingers ached with cold. They had to fill the basket before the sun climbed over the hills and opened the purple flowers all the way, or the red threads inside would wilt.
Ella picked a flower at its base and peeked inside. Three threads again, not one more, not one less.
Ella (thinking):
Last night we sorted a whole big basket, and only a tiny pinch was left on the table.
In the next row, her dad, Joe, straightened up and slipped his hand into his jacket pocket. In it was a little cloth pouch full of last week's dried saffron. Today after school, they would take it to Mr. Hudson, the spice seller at the market, and try selling their very own saffron for the first time.
Joe (Dad):
“Wait till he sees ours. Let's see what he says.”
His voice was cheerful, but it wobbled a little at the end. In that moment, Ella understood that her dad had pinned a whole year's hopes on that little pouch.
“The Secret of the Red Threads” · Ages 11-12 · kitapz.com
school For Parents and Teachers
In this story, children help Ella turn a hunch into proof, from the threads' smell and shape to a simple test Granny Sue knows. It shows how much work a saffron harvest takes and how hard it is to be right without embarrassing anyone. Readers' choices decide how Ella gathers her evidence and who gets to see it.
What will children learn from this story?
- Learns that saffron comes from the three red threads inside each purple saffron flower, and that hundreds of flowers are picked by hand early in the morning for a single pinch.
- Practises moving from simple observations, such as smell and shape, to a side-by-side comparison test.
- Realises that a test is only hard to argue with when both samples are tried in the same conditions, in front of everyone.
- Thinks about how to show someone they are wrong without humiliating them, and how to take their feelings into account.
Curriculum links: Science, Social studies
Fact Box
Why is saffron so expensive?
Saffron is made from the crimson stigmas, or threads, of the saffron crocus, and each flower has only three. Roughly 150 flowers yield just 1 g of dried saffron, and because the flowers open at dawn and wilt as the day goes on, they have to be harvested quickly and by hand.
Source: Wikipedia
What are the first clues that saffron is real or fake?
According to Professor Pat Heslop-Harrison, a geneticist at the University of Leicester, fake saffron has almost no aroma, while even a tiny amount of real saffron has a characteristic smell. Real saffron also has a distinctive colour, and its threads have a spread-out, flared end.
Can putting saffron in water show whether it is real?
It can give a clue. In a study published in 2016, equal amounts of adulterated saffron coloured cold water darker within 3 minutes than real saffron did, while real saffron released its colour more slowly and turned the water pale yellow. Proving that saffron has been dyed for certain takes laboratory methods.
Source: Molecules journal (2016)
Is Safranbolu named after saffron?
Yes. In the 18th century saffron was grown in 40 villages around Safranbolu, and the town came to be called Zağfiranborlu, from "zağfiran", the local word for saffron at the time; after 1940 the name Safranbolu came into wide use. Davutobası is one of the villages in the production area of "Safranbolu Safranı", where the flowers bloom from early October to the end of November.
Source: European Commission, Safranbolu Safranı product specification
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 says the threads in the jar are "practically glowing"?
Answer: Toby, Mr. Hudson's grandson.
-
What? What seems wrong to Ella about the threads in the jar?
Answer: They are all the same thickness and perfectly straight, and they have none of the honey-and-hay smell that fills her house.
-
Where? Where do Ella and her dad take their dried saffron to try to sell it?
Answer: To Mr. Hudson's spice shop at the market.
-
When? When is Mr. Hudson going to place his winter order?
Answer: On Saturday, when the van comes, which is three days away.
-
Why? Why doesn't Ella say straight away that the threads aren't saffron?
Answer: She doesn't want to make kind, smiling Mr. Hudson look like a liar in front of his customer, and she has no proof yet.
-
How? How does Ella realise how much this sale means to her dad?
Answer: His cheerful voice wobbles a little at the end, and she understands he has pinned a whole year's hopes on the little pouch.
Questions to Talk About After Reading
- At the first choice, should Ella buy a packet and make sure at home, or put the two saffrons side by side right there in the shop? Which did you pick, and why? How might the other path have gone?
- Ella is afraid that saying what she suspects in front of a customer would embarrass Mr. Hudson. Have you ever had to say something you believed was true without hurting anyone? What did you do?
- What convinces people more: being told something, or seeing it with their own eyes? Why?
- Ella knows how much Toby loves his grandpa. If you had to tell a friend a hard truth about someone they love, would you tell them everything straight away, or first ask them to look at it with you? Why?
Word List
- pouch
- A small soft bag, like the cloth one Joe keeps his saffron in.
- pinch
- A tiny amount, as much as you can hold between your finger and thumb.
- wilt
- When a flower or plant goes limp and droopy because of heat or lack of water.
- porch
- A covered area at the entrance or side of a house, open to the air.
- suspicion
- A feeling that something is wrong, before you have proof.
Activity Idea
If you have a few saffron threads at home, compare them with a pinch of turmeric; if not, compare two different tea bags: pour the same amount of warm water into two identical glasses, drop the samples in at the same moment, and draw the colour of the water after 1, 5 and 15 minutes. Then talk about why the result can only be trusted when everything is done the same way in both glasses.
Completion Rewards
What you'll earn when you finish this story: