Stories From Now And Then: Short Stories for Kids
Aug 1, 2026 · 19 min · 7 segments
An incredible recounting of astronomer Caroline Herschel's life, another in our series of wonderful true stories! Meanwhile ... someone is stopping by the Old Library. Visit us at…
Okay, another true story today.
This story is as true and as real as the moon and stars in the night sky.
This is the story of Caroline Herschel, the girl who counted the stars.
Many, many years ago, in one of these houses lived a family of musicians.
The father, Isaac Herschel, played the oboe beautifully, and the Herschel house was filled with lovely melodies.
Little Caroline was born into this musical family in the year 1750.
She had four older brothers and an older sister.
She was number six.
Caroline loved her father deeply and, unlike most fathers of that time, Isaac believed that his daughters should be educated just as much as his sons.
Her mother, however, felt very differently.
Caroline's mother believed that daughters should do nothing but household chores.
She was quite firm about this.
And so Caroline's mother made sure the girls' days were filled with work, knitting, cleaning, cooking, scrubbing.
There was little time for learning, little time for asking questions and finding out answers.
For years he was away, and Caroline's mother worked her harder than ever.
Caroline became almost like a servant in her own home, doing endless household tasks and chores.
Then, around the time that Caroline was 10 years old, two life-changing things happened.
First, a terrible sickness struck her.
It was typhus, a dreadful disease.
She was very, very ill.
When she recovered, she found that the sickness had changed her body.
It had permanently stunted her growth, and it had affected her sight in one eye.
Okay, another true story today.
This story is as true and as real as the moon and stars in the night sky.
This is the story of Caroline Herschel, the girl who counted the stars.
Many, many years ago, in one of these houses lived a family of musicians.
The father, Isaac Herschel, played the oboe beautifully, and the Herschel house was filled with lovely melodies.
Little Caroline was born into this musical family in the year 1750.
She had four older brothers and an older sister.
She was number six.
Caroline loved her father deeply and, unlike most fathers of that time, Isaac believed that his daughters should be educated just as much as his sons.
Her mother, however, felt very differently.
Caroline's mother believed that daughters should do nothing but household chores.
She was quite firm about this.
And so Caroline's mother made sure the girls' days were filled with work, knitting, cleaning, cooking, scrubbing.
There was little time for learning, little time for asking questions and finding out answers.
For years he was away, and Caroline's mother worked her harder than ever.
Caroline became almost like a servant in her own home, doing endless household tasks and chores.
Then, around the time that Caroline was 10 years old, two life-changing things happened.
First, a terrible sickness struck her.
It was typhus, a dreadful disease.
She was very, very ill.
When she recovered, she found that the sickness had changed her body.
It had permanently stunted her growth, and it had affected her sight in one eye.
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