1 Think
of something green--green grass, green trees, or maybe you have a favourite
green shirt. Have you ever seen an emerald? It is a beautiful and expensive
green stone. Now imagine an entire country coloured green! Ireland is an island
country in the northern Atlantic Ocean. Much of the country is covered in green,
grassy fields. That's why Ireland is called the Emerald Isle.2 Ireland is covered in grass, a few forests, and bogs. Bogs are very wet patches of land covered by moss. Sometimes bogs are very easy to see, sometimes not. If you were to walk around parts of western Ireland, you might be surprised to feel the ground moving under your feet. It would probably mean you're walking on a bog.
3 Ireland has lots of history. There are many old farmhouses and castles there. Many of these houses and castles have been there for hundreds of years. One of the most famous castles in Ireland is found in a town called Cork. The castle is called Blarney Castle. The castle's story involves lots of lies--and kissing!
4 The castle was built almost 600 years ago. It is a huge castle that was originally used as a hunting lodge. During the building of the castle, there was a very special stone used. This stone is so special that millions of people have visited Ireland just to see it! Why is it special? It doesn't look different than any of the castle's other stones. It isn't especially big or small. People believe that this stone gives special powers to those who kiss it!
5 About 500 years ago, the owner of the castle, Dermot McCarthy, made lots of promises. He promised to give the Blarney Castle to England's Queen Elizabeth. The Queen wanted the castle as a sign of Dermot's friendship. Dermot was a smooth talker and after each promise, he found an excuse not to give the castle to the queen. His broken promises became very common to the queen. In fact, they became a joke. The queen began to call all broken promises "a lot of Blarney." This phrase is still used today. Maybe you know someone who has given you "a lot of Blarney."
6 The stone at the castle is called the Blarney Stone. People believe that kissing the stone gives the kisser the ability to lie as well as Dermot McCarthy. Can you imagine kissing a stone? Can you imagine kissing a stone that has been kissed millions of times for hundreds of years? Yuck!
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Stone
Tree
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