The secret room
Omar was sitting under a tree, drawing the palace in front of him in his sketchbook. ‘Hurry, Omar! We’re late,’ called Rakan. They ran to the steps at the front of the palace. ‘Welcome to the palace,’ said the guide as they walked through the entrance into a big hall with high ceilings. They followed him up the stairs to a corridor on the first
floor. ‘Look at this everyone,’ the guide said, pointing to a picture on the wall. ‘He lived here many years ago. He painted lots of pictures, but some of them got lost.’ ‘Look! The painting of the palace is wrong!’ said Omar. He was holding his sketchbook next to the picture. ‘There are only two windows in the tower.’ ‘Maybe you didn’t see the third window,’ said Rakan. ‘No way! I think there’s a secret room,’ thought Omar. He was touching a bookcase when suddenly it moved and he fell. Everything went black. ‘Hello.’ It was a young man dressed in beautiful, traditional clothes. ‘Oh, hello. I’m Omar!’ he said. ‘I draw pictures, too!’ ‘Here,’ said the man, giving him a paintbrush. ‘We can paint together!’ ‘Omar, wake up!’ said Rakan. ‘You fell down some stairs. You found a secret room. The owner of the palace wants to see you.’ ‘Oh, really?’ Omar answered. He got up quickly and went to see him. ‘You found my grandfather’s paintings,’ he said to Omar. ‘Thank you! Oh, dear! Are you OK?’ ‘Yes, it’s just my leg,’ said Omar. ‘Wait a minute!’ He took something from his pocket. ‘It’s the paintbrush I was painting with! So now I can finish my picture!’
Vocabulary – Key Words from the Story
|
English |
Meaning in English |
Arabic Meaning |
|
mystery story |
a story with a puzzle or secret |
قصة غامضة |
|
palace |
a royal residence |
قصر |
|
sketchbook |
a notebook for drawing |
دفتر رسم |
|
painting |
a picture made with paint |
لوحة فنية |
|
secret room |
a hidden room |
غرفة سرية |
|
guide |
a person showing visitors |
مرشد سياحي |
|
traditional clothes |
clothing from local or historical culture |
ملابس تقليدية |
|
paintbrush |
a tool for painting |
فرشاة الرسم |
|
stairs |
steps to move between floors |
درج |
|
corridor |
a hallway |
ممر |
|
bookshelf |
a piece of furniture for books |
رف الكتب |
