English Short Stories for kids, Learn English through Stories

Short Inspirational Story – Hassan’s Journey

English Stories

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Hassan grew up in a dusty town near a desert. His house was a few rooms made of concrete blocks, hot in the day, cold at night.

His dad sold fruit from a cart, and his mom washed clothes for richer families. Hassan was the middle kid of five, always running around and kicking a patched-up ball with his brothers. They didn’t have much—no toys, no shoes sometimes—but they had each other.

When Hassan was 11, the war came. Bombs fell, buildings crumbled, and people ran. His family fled with just some clothes and a blanket, walking miles to a camp. Tents stretched everywhere, full of scared faces.

There was little food—thin soup, stale bread—and no school. Hassan’s dad couldn’t sell fruit anymore, and his mom cried quietly at night. Hassan felt helpless, like the world had turned upside down.

In the camp, Hassan saw kids playing with bottle caps, flicking them in the dirt. He joined in, making up rules, laughing for the first time in months. One day, an old man gave him a stick and showed him how to carve it with a rusty knife.

Hassan tried, cutting slow, making shapes—birds, stars, little people. His hands got nicked, but he liked it. The wood felt alive, like it held stories.

He started carving more, using scraps people threw away—sticks, broken crates, anything. Other kids watched, and he’d give them pieces—a camel for one, a boat for another. A worker at the camp saw his work and brought him a small carving set, real tools. Hassan spent hours under the tent’s weak light, turning trash into treasures. His family smiled again, proud of his little figures.

When Hassan was 16, the war slowed, and they moved to a city. Life was still hard—his dad pushed a new cart, his mom sewed—but Hassan kept carving. He’d sell his pieces on the street: animals, faces, tiny houses.

People liked them, especially tourists who’d toss him coins. A shop owner noticed and put Hassan’s work in his window. Slowly, orders came—bigger carvings, better money.

Now, Hassan has a small stall of his own. It’s not fancy—just a table under an awning—but it’s his. He makes enough to help his family and even pays for his youngest sister to go to school.

He hires boys from the camp sometimes, teaching them to carve, giving them a start. Some days, he thinks about the war, the fear, the hunger. But when he holds a piece of wood and a knife, he feels steady.

Hassan’s story is about making something out of nothing. He lost his home, but he found his hands. He didn’t let the bad times break him—he shaped them into something good.

It shows that even in the worst mess, you can pick up a stick and start building again, one cut at a time.

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