Sandy chances upon an old treasure map and as the events roll out one after another, he becomes richer both by pennies and by thoughts. Here’s a treasure hunt to embark upon in this free children’s storybook. Sail Away Captain! The seven seas are yours..
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“Ahoy, my friends! I have a wonderful story to tell you. It is a story about hidden treasure and a young boy who discovered it.
“And who am I?” you may ask.
“My name is Sand-dollar. I was once a pirate and the captain of the Seahorse, the finest ship to sail the seven seas!”
The Seahorse was a wonderful ship. She had three tall masts and ten large sails that helped her move quickly across the sea. Her smooth wooden hull cut through the waves with ease.
My crew was made up of brave sailors from many different parts of the world. Together, we sailed across the seas in search of adventure and treasure.
One day, after many years of sailing, my crew and I buried our greatest treasure in a secret place.
I also found a safe place to hide my treasure map.
I hid it somewhere very familiar to me—the house where I had lived as a boy, long before I became a sailor and went to sea.
Just after we finished burying the treasure, we saw a terrible storm coming from the east.
The wind howled.
The rain poured down.
Thunder shook the sky, and bright flashes of lightning frightened even the bravest sailors in my crew.
We climbed into our small boat and tried to return to the Seahorse.
Then something terrible happened.
The sea began to swirl around us.
Round and round the water went, faster and faster, until a huge whirlpool formed.
The Seahorse was pulled towards the centre.
My crew and I could only watch as our beautiful ship disappeared beneath the waves.
A moment later, our small boat was pulled into the whirlpool too.
And that was the end of Captain Sand-dollar and his crew.
But it was not the end of my story.
Many, many years later, I watched a young boy playing outside the same old family house.
His name was Sandy.
Seeing him always made me smile.
You see, Sandy was my great-great-great-grandson.
“Sandy!” his mom called from the house. “You forgot about your chores. Remember, you said you would clean the attic today.”
“Oh,” Sandy groaned as he slowly walked towards the house.
“I don’t mind doing chores,” he said, “but why does it have to be the attic? No one has been up there for years!”
He imagined what might be waiting for him.
“It will probably be dark and dusty and full of spiders,” he said. “There might even be a ghost up there!”
If only Sandy knew that a ghost really was watching him!
His mom smiled.
“I unlocked the attic door for you,” she said. “Be careful. It’s a little dark, and there are lots of old things stacked inside.”
I watched Sandy climb the stairs.
“Arrr! This is exciting,” I whispered. “That is the same attic where I hid my treasure map all those years ago. Perhaps Sandy will finally find it.”
When Sandy entered the attic, he looked around.
Old boxes, books, furniture and forgotten objects filled the room.
“This isn’t as bad as I thought,” he said.
He began cleaning carefully.
“There are actually some interesting things up here. I’ll clean everything as I go and put things back neatly.”
I was impressed.
“That boy is a hard worker,” I said proudly. “He would have made a fine member of my crew!”
After a few hours, Sandy was almost finished.
“Only one more thing to clean,” he said.
In the corner stood a large old wooden trunk.
“I’ll wipe this trunk and move it over there.”
Sandy pushed it.
It did not move.
“Wow! This is heavy. I think I’ll have to take everything out first.”
My ghostly eyes widened.
“The treasure map!” I whispered. “He is getting very close!”
"He has emptied a lot of things from the trunk.”
Sandy began taking things out of the trunk one by one.
Then he found an old book.
“Oh, wow! Look at this!”
He opened the book.
Something folded slipped from between its pages and fell onto the floor.
Sandy picked it up.
His eyes grew wide.
“A map!”
He unfolded it carefully.
“It’s a treasure map! I can’t believe it! I have to show Mom and Dad!”
“At last!” I cheered. “Someone has finally found my map!”
Sandy hurried downstairs.
“Mom! Dad! Look what I found!”
His dad studied the old paper.
“Where did you find this?”
“It fell from an old book in the attic,” Sandy said.
Mom looked at the map.
“It looks like a real treasure map!”
Dad pointed to the writing.
“It says the treasure is hidden on our property. It is signed by Sand-dollar.”
Sandy smiled.
“Can we find it now?”
“Tomorrow,” Dad said. “We’ll follow the map together.”
“Yippee!” Sandy cheered.
At last, my treasure might be found!
Early the next morning, the family went outside.
“Sandy, you carry the shovel,” Dad said. “Mom can read the map, and I’ll use the compass.”
They began following the instructions.
“Twenty-two paces west from the well,” Mom read.
They counted each step.
“Now turn northeast and walk six paces.”
They continued.
“Then eleven paces south.”
I floated nearby, watching excitedly.
“That’s it!” I said. “Keep going. You are almost there!”
Finally, Sandy’s dad stopped.
“If we followed the directions correctly,” he said, “and if there really is a treasure, it should be directly beneath us.”
“I get to dig!” Sandy said excitedly.
He pushed the shovel into the sandy soil.
Scoop after scoop, the hole became deeper.
“Keep going, Sandy!” I encouraged him. “You’re getting close!”
Suddenly—
CLUNK!
“I hit something!” Sandy cried.
He dropped to his knees and brushed away the loose soil.
“It’s a box!”
Together, Sandy and his dad lifted the box from the ground.
“We found the treasure!” Sandy shouted.
They carefully opened it.
Sandy stared inside.
His excitement disappeared.
“An old book?”
He looked disappointed.
“I thought we were going to find diamonds, rubies and gold coins. We did all that digging just to find another old book?”
I wanted to shake him by the shoulders.
“Don’t give up yet, Sandy!” I said, even though he could not hear me. “Open the book. The real treasure is not always what you expect.”
For some strange reason, Sandy suddenly felt curious.
“Mom, may I see the book?” he asked. “I really want to look through it.”
He turned the pages slowly.
“This is interesting,” Sandy said.
Then he noticed something.
“Look! Some of the words on the first page have circles around them.”
He continued turning the pages.
“Wow! There’s a family tree in here too. And there’s a letter at the back!”
His mom leaned closer.
“Let me see.”
She studied the family tree.
“Oh my! Sandy, look at this. Here is your name.”
Above Sandy’s name was another name:
Sand-dollar.
Beside it was the number 1, surrounded by a circle.
Sandy’s dad took the book.
“When I was a little boy,” he said slowly, “my father told me that there had once been a pirate in our family. I always thought it was just an old family story.”
He sat quietly and studied the book for several minutes.
Then he looked up.
“I think I understand what happened.”
Sandy and his mom listened carefully.
“Sand-dollar was a pirate,” Dad explained. “And he was your great-great-great-grandfather.”
“He left home when he was young and became a pirate captain,” Dad explained. “Years later, the family lost track of him.”
He held up the old book.
“But Sand-dollar never forgot his family. He wrote his story here and left clues to his treasure.”
Sandy looked surprised.
“So there’s more treasure?”
Dad nodded. “Yes. Gold, silver and jewels.”
Then he saw the circled words.
“A secret message!”
They read:
Start A New Dig – Dig Out Lots Lower And Receive
The first letters spelled:
SAND DOLLAR
“We need to dig deeper!” Dad said.
Sandy started digging.
CLUNK!
“I found something!” Dad helped him.
Soon, they pulled out a large chest.
Inside were gold coins, silver and jewels.
“Treasure!” Mom cried.
Now Sandy had to decide what to do with it.
“This treasure belongs to you, Sandy. Sand-dollar wanted someone in the family to find it, and you did.”
Sandy thought for a moment.
Then he said, “I know what I want.”
Mom and Dad waited.
“I want to keep two things,” Sandy said.
He picked up the old book.
“I want this so I can learn about my great-great-great-grandfather and his adventures.”
Then he found a gold coin shaped like a sand dollar.
“I’ll keep this too, so I can always remember him.”
Sandy looked at his mom.
“Mom, you should have this beautiful necklace.”
Then he turned to Dad.
“You can sell some of the gold to help our family.”
His parents smiled proudly.
“But what will we do with the rest of the treasure?” Mom asked.
Sandy thought for another moment.
“I think we should give the rest to charity,” Sandy said. “It can help families who need food, clothes and other things.”
Mom hugged him.
“That is a very kind choice, Sandy.”
I smiled. The treasure had found the right person.
Suddenly, Sandy looked at Dad.
“Did you say something?”
Dad shook his head. “No.”
Sandy looked around.
“That’s strange. I thought I heard someone say, ‘Thank you, lad.’”
Nearby, the spirit of Captain Sand-dollar smiled.
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