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34 English Short Stories with Big Ideas for Thoughtful English Learners

What if you could understand big ideas in English with just a little bit of text?

You don’t need to read an entire English book to learn. A good English short story is often enough!

Stories are all about going beyond reality, and these classics will not only improve your English reading but also open your mind to different worlds.

1. “The Tortoise and the Hare” by Aesop

2. “the ant and the grasshopper” by aesop, 3. “white wing: the tale of the doves and the hunter”, 4. “royal servant”, 5. “emily’s secret”, 6. “the bogey beast” by flora annie steel, 7. “love is in the air”, 8. “the tale of johnny town-mouse” by beatrix potter, 9. “paul bunyan” adapted by george grow, 10. “cinderella” by charles perrault, 11. “little red riding hood” adapted by the british council, 12. “the lottery” by shirley jackson, 13. “the happy prince” by oscar wilde.

  • 14. “The Night Train at Deoli” by Ruskin Bond

15. “There Will Come Soft Rains” by Ray Bradbury

  • 16. “Orientation” by Daniel Orozco

17. “Paper Menagerie” by Ken Liu

18. “the missing mail” by r.k. narayan, 19. “harrison bergeron” by kurt vonnegut.

  • 20. “The School” by Donald Barthelme

21. “Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid

22. “rikki-tikki-tavi” by rudyard kipling, 23. excerpt from “little dorrit” by charles dickens, 24. “to build a fire” by jack london, 25. “miracles” by lucy corin.

  • 26. “Evil Robot Monkey” by Mary Robinette Kowal

27. “The Boarded Window” by Ambrose Bierce 

28. “the monkey’s paw” by w.w. jacobs, 29. “a tiny feast” by chris adrian, 30. “the story of an hour” by kate chopin, 31. “the zero meter diving team” by jim shepherd, 32. “the velveteen rabbit” by margery williams, 33. “the friday everything changed” by anne hart, 34. “hills like white elephants” by ernest hemingway, how to use short stories to improve your english, and one more thing....

Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)

The Tortoise and the Hare

This classic fable (story) is about a very slow tortoise (turtle) and a speedy hare (rabbit). The tortoise challenges the hare to a race. The hare laughs at the idea that a tortoise could run faster than him, but the race ends with a surprising result.

Have you ever heard the English expression, “Slow and steady wins the race”? This story is the basis for that common phrase . You can read it for free , along with a number of other stories in this list!

very short english stories

This is another great story that teaches a lesson that’s written for kids but adults can enjoy, too . The story tells of a grasshopper who lounges around all summer while his friend the ant prepares for the winter. When winter comes, the two friends end up in very different situations!

The moral is that those who save up during the good times will get to enjoy the benefits when times are bad.

White Wing The Tale of the Doves and the Hunter

This very short story from India was originally written in Sanskrit (an ancient language). When a group of doves is caught in a hunter’s net, they must work together as a team to escape from the hunter’s clutches.

You can listen to a reading of the story as you read along on this website.

very short english stories

In this story, an old man sets out to ask an African king to dig some wells in his village when their water runs dry. But first, he teaches the king a lesson in humility by showing him how all people help each other. Read the story to see how the clever old man gets the king to do as he asks!

very short english stories

This is a modern-day story about a little girl with a big secret she can’t tell anyone about. When her teacher finds out her secret, they work together to fix the issue.

This story is a good choice for absolute beginners, because it uses only the present tense. It’s also written in very basic English with simple vocabulary and short sentences.

english short stories

The woman in this story finds a pot of treasure on her walk home. As she carries it home, the treasure keeps changing, becoming things of lesser value.

However, the woman’s enthusiasm makes her see only the positive after each change, which would have upset anyone else. Her positive personality tries to make every negative situation seem like a gift!

This story shows how important it is to look at things from a positive point of view. Instead of being disappointed in what we don’t have, this story reminds us to view what we do have as blessings.

very short english stories

This modern story is about a young woman named Penny who is anxious about going to her family’s annual reunion barbecue. But despite screaming children and arguing cousins, Penny ends up happy that she came to the reunion when she starts a conversation with a handsome man.

The story is written in simple English, using only the present tense, so it’s perfect for beginners.

The Tale of Johnny Town-mouse (Peter Rabbit)

This classic children’s story is about two mice, one from the country and one from the city. Both mice think that the other mouse is so lucky to live in what they think is a wonderful place!

The two mice decide to visit each other in their homes. It turns out that the country mouse has a difficult time in the city, and the city mouse struggles in the country.

In the end, they realize that they believed the old English saying: “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.” In other words, each mouse thought the other had a better life, only to discover that they actually preferred their own life!

Paul Bunyan

The story of Paul Bunyan has been around in the United States for many years. He’s the symbol of American frontier life, showing the ideal strength, work ethic and good morality that Americans work hard to imitate.

Paul Bunyan is considered a legend, so stories about him are full of unusual details, such as eating 50 eggs in one day and being so big that he caused an earthquake. It can be a pretty funny read, with characters such as a blue ox and a reversible dog.

This version of the story is also meant to be read out loud, so it’s fast-paced and entertaining. This website has an audio recording with the story, which you can play at slower or faster speeds.

Cinderella, or The Little Glass Slipper

You may already know the story of Cinderella, whether you saw the Disney movie or read a children’s book of it.

However, there are actually many different versions of “Cinderella.” This one by Charles Perrault is the most well-known and is often the version told to children.

“Cinderella” is a beloved story because it describes how a kind and hard-working person was able to get a happy ending. Even though Cinderella’s stepsisters treated her awfully, Cinderella herself remained gentle and humble. It goes to show that even though you may experience hardships, it’s important to stay kind, forgiving and mindful.

Little Red Riding Hood

This is a story that every English-speaking child knows. It’s about a little girl who meets a wolf in the forest while going to see her sick grandmother. The wolf pretends to be her grandmother in order to trick the little girl.

This story is presented by the British Council as a video with the text clearly spoken. You can then play a game to rearrange the sentences below the video into the correct order, read the text of the story in a PDF file and answer some activity questions (then check your answers with the provided answer sheet.

This website has many other stories you can read and listen to, like “Circus Story” by Sue Clarke, which is an excellent option for learning animal vocabulary, and even adaptations of Shakespeare plays for younger readers.

The Lottery and Other Stories (FSG Classics)

Every year, the small town in this story holds an event known as “The Lottery.” During this event, someone from the community is randomly chosen.

What are they chosen for? You’ll have to read the story to find out.

You may have heard of the term “mob mentality” and how it can allow for some pretty surprising (and terrible) things to happen. This classic story looks at society, and how much evil people are willing to overlook to keep their society stable.

This is considered to be one of the most famous short stories in American literature. It’s a great example of what is known as a dystopian society, where people live in a frightening way. To learn more, check out this TED-Ed video that tells you how to recognize a dystopia.

English short stories

Since the story is old, much of the English is outdated (not used in modern English). Still, if you have a good grasp of the English language, you can use this story to give yourself a great reading challenge.

14. “The Night Train at Deoli”  by Ruskin Bond

The Night Train at Deoli

Ruskin Bond used to spend summers at his grandmother’s house in Dehradun, India. While taking the train, he always had to pass through a small station called Deoli. No one used to get down at the station and nothing happened there.

Until one day, when he sees a girl selling fruit and is unable to forget her.

Ruskin Bond is a writer who can communicate deep feelings in a simple way. This story is about our attachment to strangers and why we cherish (value or appreciate deeply) them even though we might never meet them again.

There Will Come Soft Rains

The title is taken from a poem that describes how nature will continue its work long after humanity is gone. But in this story, we see that nature plays a supporting role and the machines are the ones who have taken its place.

They continue their work without any human or natural assistance. This shows how technology has replaced nature in our lives and how it can both destroy us and carry on without humanity itself.

16. “Orientation”  by Daniel Orozco

Orientation and Other Stories

This is a humorous story in which the speaker explains the office policies to a new employee while gossiping about the staff. It’s extremely easy to read, as the sentences are short and the vocabulary is simple.

Many working English learners will relate to this story, as it explains the silly, nonsensical moments of modern office life. Modern workplaces often feel like theaters where we pretend to work rather than get actual work done. The speaker exposes this reality that few would ever admit to.

He over-explains everything from the view out the office window to the intimate details of everyone’s life—from the overweight loner to the secret serial killer. It talks about the things that go unsaid; how people at the office know about the deep secrets of our home life, but don’t discuss them.

The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories

Jack’s mother can make paper animals come to life. In the beginning, Jack loves them and spends hours with his mom. But once he grows up, his mother’s inability to speak English keeps Jack from talking to her.

When his mother tries to talk to him through her creations, he kills them and collects them in a box. After a tragic loss, he finally gets to know her story through a hidden message that he should have read a long time ago.

The story is a simple narration that touches on complex issues, like leaving your home country and the conflicts that can occur within families when different cultures and languages collide.

The Missing Mail in Malgudi Days

Thanappa is the village mailman, who is good friends with Ramanujam and his family. He learns about a failed marriage and helps Ramanujam’s daughter get engaged to a suitable match.

Just before the wedding, Thanappa receives a tragic letter about Ramanujam’s brother. To spare them heartache, he decides not to deliver the letter.

The story explores the idea that despite the best of intentions, our actions can cause more harm to our loved ones than we ever intended. If you like this and want to read more by R.K. Narayan, check out the other stories in the author’s “ Malgudi Days” short story collection.

Harrison Bergeron in Welcome to the Monkey House

The year is 2081, and everyone has been made equal by force. Every person who is superior in any way has been handicapped (something that prevents a person’s full use of their abilities) by the government. Intelligent people are distracted by disturbing noises. Good dancers have to wear weights so that they don’t dance too well. Attractive people wear ugly masks so they don’t look better than anyone else.

However, one day there is a rebellion, and everything changes for a brief instant.

Technology is always supposed to make us better. But in this case, we see that it can be used to disable our talents. Moreover, the writer shows us how the mindless use of a single value like equality can create more suffering for everyone.

20. “The School”  by Donald Barthelme

easy English short stories

And that’s just the beginning of the series of unfortunate events at the school in this short story, narrated by a teacher. The story is absurd (ridiculous to the point of being silly), even though the topic is serious. By the end, the kids start asking difficult questions about death that the adults don’t quite know how to answer.

This story leaves a lot of things unsaid, which means you’ll need to “read between the lines,” or look closer at the text to understand what’s really happening.

english short stories

In “Girl,” a mother tells her daughter how to live her life properly. The mother instructs the girl to do all the household chores, in very specific ways, making it seem like that’s her only duty in life.

Sometimes the mother tells the girl how to attract attention, not to talk to boys and to always keep away from men. Other times, the mother hints that the girl will need to be attractive to men to live a good life.

This story doesn’t feel like a story. There’s no plot, and nothing really happens. But read closely, and you’ll see an important message about how girls are taught to live restricted lives since childhood.

Rikki-Tikki-Tavi

“Rikki-Tikki-Tavi” is a classic tale about a Mongoose who regularly visits a family in India. The family feeds him and lets him explore their house, but they worry that he might bite their son, Teddy.

One day, when a snake is about to attack Teddy, the Mongoose kills it. This event helps the family accept the mongoose into their family.

This is a simple story about humans and animals living together as friends. It’s old, but the language is fairly easy to understand. It reminds us that animals can also experience feelings of love and, like humans, they will also protect the ones they love.

“Rikki-Tikki-Tavi” is part of Kipling’s short story collection “The Jungle Book,” which was famously made into a movie by Disney.

Little Dorrit (Penguin Classics)

Dorrit is a child whose father has been in prison ever since she could remember. Unable to pay their debts, the whole family is forced to spend their days in a cell. Dorrit dreams of seeing the world outside their little cell.

This excerpt (short part of a larger work) introduces you to the family and their life in prison. The novel is about how they manage to get out and how Dorrit never forgets the kindness of the people who helped her.

Injustice in law is often reserved for the poor. “Little Dorrit” shows the government jailing people for not being able to return their loans, a historical practice the writer hated since his own father was punished in a similar way.

To Build a Fire and Other Tales of the North

A man travels to a freezing, isolated place called Yukon with only his dog for company. Throughout his journey, he ignores the advice other people have given him and takes his life for granted.

Finally, he realizes the real power of nature and how fragile (easily broken) human life actually is.

Nature is often seen as a powerful force that should be feared and respected. The animal in this story is the one who’s cautious and sensible in this dangerous situation. By the end, readers wonder who is really intelligent—the man who could not deal with nature, or the dog who could survive?

This is a modern-day story that describes a group of children gathering around their father to watch little spiders hatch out of their eggs. But the story gets a different meaning as it nears the end. What do you think happened?

26. “Evil Robot Monkey ” by Mary Robinette Kowal

english short stories

Sly is a character who doesn’t fit into society. He’s too smart for the other chimps, but humans don’t accept him. He is punished for acting out his natural emotions.

But the way he handles his rage, in the end, makes him look more mature than most human beings. Nominated for the  Hugo award , many readers have connected with Sly since they can see similarities in their own lives.

“The Boarded Window” is a horror story about a man who has to deal with his wife’s death. The setting is a remote cabin in the wilderness in Cincinnati, and he feels helpless as she gets sick.

There’s an interesting twist to this story, and the ending will get you thinking (and maybe feeling a bit disturbed!).

If you enjoy older stories with a little suspense, this will be a good challenge for you. It talks about the event that made a hermit decide to live alone for decades, with a mysterious window boarded up in his cabin. It also uses a lot of psychology and symbolism, so you may want to read the story more than once to understand everything it has to say.

The Monkey's Paw and Other Tales of Mystery and the Macabre

Be careful what you wish for! One man finds this out the hard way when he brings a magical monkey’s paw home from India. This paw is supposed to grant three wishes to three people. People start to wish on it, only to realize that our wishes can have severe consequences.

The characters in this story immediately regret when their wishes come true. Even though they get what they wanted, it comes at a large cost!

This short story is from the early 1900s and uses some outdated English, but it’s still easy to follow. It reminds us that there are no shortcuts in life, and to be wary if something seems too good to be true.

This story centers around Titania and Oberon, two fairy characters from Shakespeare’s famous play, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” The two fairies are having a rough time in their marriage when they find a human child. They decide to adopt him, hoping that he’ll help them save their relationship. However, the child develops a deadly, modern disease and the fairies have no idea what to do since they have never known illness or death.

This is a tragic tale about how they try to understand something they’ve never seen before and their deep love for a stranger who is so unlike them. The story explores the grief of parenthood and the uncertainty of knowing whether your child will ever even know you.

The Story Of An Hour

This story, written by a woman, is a sad look inside an unhappy marriage. Mrs. Mallard is a woman with heart troubles. When her husband dies, the people who come to give her this news tell it to her gently, so she doesn’t have a shock.

Mrs. Mallard busts into tears and locks herself in her room. At first, she’s upset by the news. But the more she considers it, the more excited she becomes about the idea of the freedom that would come from her husband’s death.

What happens, then, when her husband comes home after an hour, alive and well?

The story explores the conflicting range of the human emotions of grief and hope in a short span, and the impact it can have on a person’s mind and body.

The Chernobyl nuclear disaster was one of the deadliest accidents of the twentieth century. This is a story about that event seen through the eyes of a father and his sons, who were all unfortunate enough to be close to the disaster area.

The story exposes the whole system of corruption that led to a massive explosion taking innocent lives and poisoning multiple generations. The technical vocabulary and foreign words make this text a little more difficult. However, its plot is relatively easy to follow.

The story is divided into small parts that make it both easy and exciting to read. Its various events show what it was like to live in the former Soviet Union . And just like any other good story, it’s also about human relationships and how they change due to historic events.

The Velveteen Rabbit

A simple, stuffed rabbit toy is given to a young boy as a Christmas present. At first, the rabbit isn’t noticed, as the boy is distracted by much fancier gifts. While being ignored, the rabbit begins to wonder what it means to be “real.”

One day, a certain event brings the rabbit into contact with the boy, and changes the toy’s life forever.

Have you ever loved a toy or doll so much, that you treated it as if it were alive? This story shows the power of love from a very unexpected viewpoint: that of a fluffy stuffed rabbit. It also highlights the importance of self-value, being true to yourself and finding strength in those who love you.

Tradition is important in this school, where the boys always go to fetch water for the class. The girls are teased for being “weaker,” and are last to get other privileges, like having the first choice of magazines. One day, a girl asks the teacher why girls aren’t allowed to get the water, as well. This one question causes a big reaction and leads to a huge change.

The girl’s courage surprises everyone, but it also inspires other girls to stand up for themselves. One act from one brave person can lead to change and inspire others. The story reflects on gender equality and how important it is to fight for fairness. Just because something is accepted as “normal,” doesn’t mean it is right!

Hills Like White Elephants

At a Spanish train station, an American man and a young woman wait for a train that would take them to the city of Madrid. The woman sees some faraway hills and compares them to “white elephants.” This starts a conversation between the two of them, but what they discuss seems to have a deeper meaning.

This is another very well-known story that asks you to “read between the lines” to find the hidden meaning behind the text. Much of the story is a back-and-forth dialogue between two people, but you can tell a lot about them just from what they say to each other.

There’s a lot of symbolism that you can analyze in this story, along with context clues. Once you realize what the real topic of the characters’ conversation is, you can figure out the quiet, sadder meaning behind it.

Short stories are effective in helping English learners to practice all four aspects of language learning: reading, writing, listening and speaking. Here’s how you can make the most out of short stories as an English learner:

  • Use illustrations to enhance your experience: Some short stories come with illustrations that you can use to guess what the story is about. You can even write your own caption or description of the picture. When you finish the story, go back to your image description. How did you do?

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  • Explore stories related to a theme: Do you like ghost stories? Science fiction? Romance? If you’re learning about food or cooking, find a short story with a lot of food vocabulary .
  • Choose the right reading level: Make sure that you always challenge yourself! One easy way to tell if a story is just right for you is to use the “five-finger test.” Hold up your fist as you read a paragraph, and put up one finger for each word you don’t know. If you have all five fingers up before the end of the paragraph, try to find an easier text.
  • Practice “active reading”: Your reading will only help you learn if you read actively . You’re reading actively when you’re paying very close attention to the story, its words and its meanings. Writing with a notebook nearby and in a place with no distractions can help you focus on active reading.
  • Choose only a few words to look up: You may be tempted to stop at every unknown word, but it’s actually better to try to figure out its meaning from context clues. This means looking at everything else in the sentence or paragraph to try and guess the meaning of the word. Only look up words that you can’t figure out even with context clues.
  • Summarize the story: When you’ve finished reading the story, retell it in your own words or write a summary of it. This will help you to practice any new words you learned, and make sure that you understood the story well. If you’re struggling, read the story again and take notes as you read.
  • Take breaks: Just because these stories are short, doesn’t mean you need to read them in one sitting! If you find it hard to focus or you’re struggling to understand the story, take a break. It’s okay to read it one paragraph at a time.

I hope you have fun with these English short stories while improving your English language skills.

Happy reading!

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The FluentU app and website makes it really easy to watch English videos. There are captions that are interactive. That means you can tap on any word to see an image, definition, and useful examples.

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write english stories

The Write Practice

How to Write a Short Story: 5 Major Steps from Start to Finish

by Sarah Gribble | 81 comments

Do you want to learn how to write a short story ? Maybe you'd like to try writing a short story instead of a novel-length work, or maybe you're hoping to get more writing practice without the lengthy time commitment that a novel requires.

The reality of writing stories? Not every short story writer wants to write a novel, but every novelist can benefit from writing short stories. However, short stories and novels are different—so naturally, how you write them has its differences, too.

how to write a short story

Short stories are often a fiction writer’s first introduction to writing, but they can be frustrating to write and difficult to master. How do you fit everything that makes a great story into something so short?

And then, once you do finish a short story you’re proud of, what do you do with it?

That's what we'll cover in this article, along with additional resources I'll link to that will help you get started step-by-step with shorts.

Short Stories Made Me a Better Writer

I fell into writing short stories when I first started writing.

I'd written a book , and it was terrible. But it opened up my mind and I kept having all these story ideas I just had to get out.

Before long, I had dozens of stories and within about two years, I had around three dozen of them published traditionally. That first book went nowhere, by the way. But my short stories surely did.

And I learned a whole lot about the writing craft because I spent so much time practicing writing with my short stories. This is why, whether you want to make money as a short story writer or experiment writing them, I think writing short stories is important for every writer who wants to become a novelist.

But how do you write a short story? And what do you do afterwards? I hope that by sharing my personal experiences and suggestions, I can help you write your own short stories with confidence.

Why Should You Write Short Stories?

I get a lot of pushback when I suggest new writers should write short stories.

Everyone wants to write a book. (Okay, maybe not everyone, but if you ask a hundred people if they’d like to write one, I’d bet seventy-something of them would say yes.) Anthologies and short story collections don’t make a ton of money because no one really wants to read them. So why waste time writing short stories when books are what people read ?

There are three main reasons you should be a short story writer:

1. Training

Short stories help you hone your writing skills .

Short stories are often only one scene and about one character. That’s a level of focus you can’t have in a novel. Writing short stories forces you to focus on writing clearly and concisely while still making a scene entertaining.

You’re working with the basic level of structure here (a scene) and learning to perfect it .

Short stories are a place to experiment with your creative process, to play with character development techniques, to dabble in different kinds of writing styles. 

And you're learning what a finished story feels like. So many aspiring novelists have only half-done drafts in drawers. A short is training yourself to finish.

2. Building contacts and readers

Most writers I know do not want to hear this, but this whole writing thing is the same as any other industry: if you want to make it, you better network.

When my first book, Surviving Death , was released, I had hundreds of people on my launch team. How? I’d had about three dozen short stories published traditionally by that time. I’d gathered a readership base, and not only that, I’d become acquainted with some fellow writers in my genre along the way. And those people were more than willing to help me get the word out about my book.

You want loyal readers and you want friends in the industry. And the way to get those is to continuously be writing.

Writing is like working out. If you take a ton of time off, you’re going to hurt when you get back into it.

It’s a little difficult to be working on a novel all the time. Most writers have one or two in them a year, and those aren’t written without a bit of a break in between.

Short story writing helps you keep up your writing habit , or develop one, and they make for a nice break in between larger projects.

I always write short stories between novels, and even between drafts of my novels. It keeps me going and puts use to all the random story ideas I had while working on the larger project. I've found over the years that keeping up the writing habit is the only way to actually keep yourself in “writer mode.”

All the cool kids are doing it. Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Edgar Allan Poe, Kurt Vonnegut, Margaret Atwood . . . Google your favorite writers and they probably have a short story collection or two out there. Most successful authors have cut their teeth on short stories.

What is a Short Story?

Now that you know why you should be writing short stories, let’s talk about what a short story is. This might seem obvious, but it’s a question I’ve gotten a lot. A short story is short, right? Essentially, yes. But how short is short?

You can Google how long a short story is and get a bunch of different answers. There are a lot of different editors out there running a lot of different anthologies, magazines, ezines, podcasts, you name it. They all have slightly different definitions of what a short story is because they all have slightly different needs when it comes to providing content on their platform and meeting the expectations of their audiences.

A podcast, for instance, often wants a story to take up about thirty minutes of airtime. They know how long it takes their producers to read a story, so that thirty minutes means they’re looking for a very specific word count. An ezine might aim for a certain estimated reading time. A magazine or anthology might have a certain number of pages they’re trying to fill.

Everyone has a different definition of how short a short story is, so for the purpose of this series, I’m going to be broad in my definition of a short story.

What qualifies as a short story?

A short story word count normally falls somewhere between 1,000 words and 10,000 words. If you’re over ten thousand, you’re running into novelette territory, though some publications consider up to 20,000 words to be a short story. If you’re under a thousand words, you’re looking at flash fiction.

The sweet spot is between 2,000 and 5,000 words. The majority of short stories I’ve had published were between 2,500 words and 3,500 words.

That’s not a lot of words, and you’ve got a lot to fit in—backstory, world-building, a character arc—in that tiny amount of space. (A book, by the way, is normally 60,000 to 90,000 words or longer. Big difference.)

A short story is one to three scenes. That’s it. Think of it as a “slice of life,” as in someone peeked into your life for maybe an hour or two and this is what they saw.

You’re not going to flesh out every detail about your characters. (I normally don’t even know the last names of my short story characters, and it doesn’t matter.) You’re not trying to build a Tolkien-level world. You don’t need to worry about subplots.

To focus your writing, think of a short story as a short series of events happening to a single character. The rest of the cast of characters should be small.

How to Write a Short Story: The Short Version

Throughout this blog series, I’ll take a deep dive into the process of writing short stories. If you’re looking for the fast answer, here it is:

  • Write the story in one sitting.
  • Take a break.
  • Edit with a mind for brevity.
  • Get feedback and do a final edit.

Write the story in one sitting

For the most part, short stories are meant to be read in one sitting, so it makes sense that you should write them in one sitting.

Obviously, if you’re in the 10K range, that’s probably going to take more than one writing session, but a 2,500-word short story can easily be written in one sitting. This might seem a little daunting, but you’ll find your enthusiasm will drive you to the ending and your story will flow better for it.

You’re not aiming for prize-winning writing during this stage. You’re aiming to get the basic story out of your head and on paper.

Forget about grammar . Forget about beautiful prose. Forget about even making a ton of sense.

You’re not worrying about word count at this stage, either. Don’t research and don’t pause over trying to find the exact right word. Don't agonize over the perfect story title.

Just get the basic story out. You can’t edit a blank page.

Take a break

Don’t immediately begin the editing process. After you’ve written anything, books included, you need to take a step back . Your brain needs to shift from “writer mode” to “reader mode.” With a short story, I normally recommend a three-day break.

If you have research to do, this is the time to do it, though I highly recommend not thinking about your story at all.

The further away you can get from it, the better you’ll edit.

Edit with a mind for brevity

Now that you’ve had a break, you’re ready to come back with a vengeance. This is the part where you “kill your darlings” and have absolutely no mercy for the story you produced less than a week ago. The second draft is where you get critical.

Remember we’re writing a short story here, not a novel. You don’t have time to go into each and every detail about your characters’ lives. You don’t have time for B-plots, a ton of characters, or Stephen King-level droning on.

Short stories should have a beginning, a middle, and an end, though. They’re short, but they’re still stories.

As you edit , ask yourself if each bit of backstory, world building, and anything else is something your reader needs to know. If they do, do they need to know it right at that moment? If they don’t, cut it.

Get feedback

If this is your first time letting other people see your writing, this can be a scary step. No one wants to be given criticism. But getting feedback is the most important step in the writing process next to writing.

The more eyes you can get on a piece of writing, the better.

I highly recommend getting feedback from someone who knows about writing, not your mother or your best friend. People we love are great, but they love you and won’t give you honest feedback. If you want praise, go to them. If you want to grow as a writer, join a writing community and get feedback from other writers.

When you’ve gotten some feedback from a handful of people, make any changes you deem necessary and do a final edit for smaller issues like grammar and punctuation.

Here at The Write Practice, we’re huge fans of publishing your work . In fact, we don’t quite consider a story finished until it’s published.

Whether you’re going the traditional route and submitting your short story to anthologies and magazines, or you’re more into self- publishing , don’t let your story languish on your computer. Get it out into the world so you can build your reader base.

And it’s pretty cool getting to say you’re a published author.

That’s the short version of how to go about writing short stories. Throughout this series, I’ll be taking a more in-depth look at different elements of these steps. Stick with me throughout the series, and you’ll have a short story of your own ready to publish by the end.

A Preview of My How to Write a Short Story Series

My goal in this blog series is to walk you through the process of writing a short story from start to finish and then point you in the right direction for getting that story published.

By the end of this series, you’ll have a story ready to submit to publishers and a plan for how to submit.

Below is a list of topics I’ll be covering during this blog series. Keep coming back as these topics are updated over the coming months.

How to Come up With Ideas For Short Stories

Creative writing is like a muscle: use it or lose it. Coming up with ideas is part of the development of that muscle. In this post , I’ll go over how to train your mind to put out ideas consistently.

How to Plan a Short Story (Without Really Planning It)

Short stories often don’t require extensive planning. They’re short, after all. But a little bit of outlining can help. Don’t worry, I’m mostly a pantser! I promise this won’t be an intense method of planning. It will, however, give you a start with the elements of story structure—and motivation to get you to finish (and publish) your story. Read this article to see how a little planning can go a long way toward writing a successful story.

What You Need in a Short Story/Elements of a Short Story

One of the biggest mistakes I see from new writers is their short stories aren’t actually stories. They're often missing a climax, don't have an ending, or just ramble on in a stream-of-consciousness way without any story structure. In this article , I’ll show you what you need to make sure your short is a complete story.

Writing Strategies for Short Stories

The writing process varies from person to person, and often from project to project. In this blog , I’ll talk about different writing strategies you can use to write short stories.

How to Edit a Short Story

Editing is my least favorite part of writing. It’s overwhelming and often tedious. I’ll talk about short story editing strategies to take the confusion out of the process, and ensure you can edit with confidence.Learn how to confidently edit your story here .

Writing a Better Short Story

Short stories are their own art form, mainly because of the small word count. In this post, I’ll discuss ways to write a better short, including fitting everything you want and need into that tiny word count.

Weaving backstory and worldbuilding into your story without overdoing it. Remember, you don't need every detail about the world or a character's life in a short story—but the setting shouldn't be ignored. How your protagonist interacts with it should be significant and interesting.

How to Submit a Short Story to Publications

There are plenty of literary magazines, ezines, anthologies, etc. out there that accept short stories for publication (and you can self-publish your stories, too). In this article, I’ll demystify the submission process so you can submit your own stories to publications and start getting your work out there. You'll see your work in a short story anthology soon after using the tips in this article !

Professionalism in the Writing Industry

Emotions can run high when you put your work out there for others to see. In this article, I’ll talk about what’s expected of you in this profession and how to maintain professionalism so that you don't shoot yourself in the foot when you approach publishers, editors, and agents.

Write, Write, Write!

As you follow this series, I challenge you to begin writing at least one short story a week. I'll be giving you in-depth tips on creating a compelling story as we go along, but for now, I want you to write. That habit is the hardest thing to start and the hardest thing to keep up.

You may not use all the stories you're going to write over the next months. You may hate them and never want them to see the light of day. But you can't get better if you don't practice. Start practicing now.

As Ray Bradbury says:

“Write a short story every week. It's not possible to write 52 bad short stories in a row.”

When it comes to writing short stories, what do you find most challenging? Let me know in the comments .

For today’s practice, let’s just take on Step #1 (and begin tackling the challenge I laid down a moment ago): Write the basic story idea, the gist of the premise, as you’d tell it to a friend. Don’t think about it too much, and don’t worry about going into detail. Just write.

Write for fifteen minutes .

When your time is up, share your practice in the Pro Practice Workshop. And after you post, please be sure to give feedback to your fellow writers.

Happy writing!

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Sarah Gribble

Sarah Gribble is the author of dozens of short stories that explore uncomfortable situations, basic fears, and the general awe and fascination of the unknown. She just released Surviving Death , her first novel, and is currently working on her next book.

Follow her on Instagram or join her email list for free scares.

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Writers.com

The short story is a fiction writer’s laboratory: here is where you can experiment with characters, plots, and ideas without the heavy lifting of writing a novel. Learning how to write a short story is essential to mastering the art of storytelling . With far fewer words to worry about, storytellers can make many more mistakes—and strokes of genius!—through experimentation and the fun of fiction writing.

Nonetheless, the art of writing short stories is not easy to master. How do you tell a complete story in so few words? What does a story need to have in order to be successful? Whether you’re struggling with how to write a short story outline, or how to fully develop a character in so few words, this guide is your starting point.

Famous authors like Virginia Woolf, Haruki Murakami, and Agatha Christie have used the short story form to play with ideas before turning those stories into novels. Whether you want to master the elements of fiction, experiment with novel ideas, or simply have fun with storytelling, here’s everything you need on how to write a short story step by step.

The Core Elements of a Short Story

There’s no secret formula to writing a short story. However, a good short story will have most or all of the following elements:

  • A protagonist with a certain desire or need. It is essential for the protagonist to want something they don’t have, otherwise they will not drive the story forward.
  • A clear dilemma. We don’t need much backstory to see how the dilemma started; we’re primarily concerned with how the protagonist resolves it.
  • A decision. What does the protagonist do to resolve their dilemma?
  • A climax. In Freytag’s Pyramid , the climax of a story is when the tension reaches its peak, and the reader discovers the outcome of the protagonist’s decision(s).
  • An outcome. How does the climax change the protagonist? Are they a different person? Do they have a different philosophy or outlook on life?

Of course, short stories also utilize the elements of fiction , such as a setting , plot , and point of view . It helps to study these elements and to understand their intricacies. But, when it comes to laying down the skeleton of a short story, the above elements are what you need to get started.

Note: a short story rarely, if ever, has subplots. The focus should be entirely on a single, central storyline. Subplots will either pull focus away from the main story, or else push the story into the territory of novellas and novels.

The shorter the story is, the fewer of these elements are essentials. If you’re interested in writing short-short stories, check out our guide on how to write flash fiction .

How to Write a Short Story Outline

Some writers are “pantsers”—they “write by the seat of their pants,” making things up on the go with little more than an idea for a story. Other writers are “plotters,” meaning they decide the story’s structure in advance of writing it.

You don’t need a short story outline to write a good short story. But, if you’d like to give yourself some scaffolding before putting words on the page, this article answers the question of how to write a short story outline:

https://writers.com/how-to-write-a-story-outline

How to Write a Short Story Step by Step

There are many ways to approach the short story craft, but this method is tried-and-tested for writers of all levels. Here’s how to write a short story step by step.

1. Start With an Idea

Often, generating an idea is the hardest part. You want to write, but what will you write about?

What’s more, it’s easy to start coming up with ideas and then dismissing them. You want to tell an authentic, original story, but everything you come up with has already been written, it seems.

Here are a few tips:

  • Originality presents itself in your storytelling, not in your ideas. For example, the premise of both Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Ostrovsky’s The Snow Maiden are very similar: two men and two women, in intertwining love triangles, sort out their feelings for each other amidst mischievous forest spirits, love potions, and friendship drama. The way each story is written makes them very distinct from one another, to the point where, unless it’s pointed out to you, you might not even notice the similarities.
  • An idea is not a final draft. You will find that exploring the possibilities of your story will generate something far different than the idea you started out with. This is a good thing—it means you made the story your own!
  • Experiment with genres and tropes. Even if you want to write literary fiction , pay attention to the narrative structures that drive genre stories, and practice your storytelling using those structures. Again, you will naturally make the story your own simply by playing with ideas.

If you’re struggling simply to find ideas, try out this prompt generator , or pull prompts from this Twitter .

2. Outline, OR Conceive Your Characters

If you plan to outline, do so once you’ve generated an idea. You can learn about how to write a short story outline earlier in this article.

If you don’t plan to outline, you should at least start with a character or characters. Certainly, you need a protagonist, but you should also think about any characters that aid or inhibit your protagonist’s journey.

When thinking about character development, ask the following questions:

  • What is my character’s background? Where do they come from, how did they get here, where do they want to be?
  • What does your character desire the most? This can be both material or conceptual, like “fitting in” or “being loved.”
  • What is your character’s fatal flaw? In other words, what limitation prevents the protagonist from achieving their desire? Often, this flaw is a blind spot that directly counters their desire. For example, self hatred stands in the way of a protagonist searching for love.
  • How does your character think and speak? Think of examples, both fictional and in the real world, who might resemble your character.

In short stories, there are rarely more characters than a protagonist, an antagonist (if relevant), and a small group of supporting characters. The more characters you include, the longer your story will be. Focus on making only one or two characters complex: it is absolutely okay to have the rest of the cast be flat characters that move the story along.

Learn more about character development here:

https://writers.com/character-development-definition

3. Write Scenes Around Conflict

Once you have an outline or some characters, start building scenes around conflict. Every part of your story, including the opening sentence, should in some way relate to the protagonist’s conflict.

Conflict is the lifeblood of storytelling: without it, the reader doesn’t have a clear reason to keep reading. Loveable characters are not enough, as the story has to give the reader something to root for.

Take, for example, Edgar Allan Poe’s classic short story The Cask of Amontillado . We start at the conflict: the narrator has been slighted by Fortunato, and plans to exact revenge. Every scene in the story builds tension and follows the protagonist as he exacts this revenge.

In your story, start writing scenes around conflict, and make sure each paragraph and piece of dialogue relates, in some way, to your protagonist’s unmet desires.

4. Write Your First Draft

The scenes you build around conflict will eventually be stitched into a complete story. Make sure as the story progresses that each scene heightens the story’s tension, and that this tension remains unbroken until the climax resolves whether or not your protagonist meets their desires.

Don’t stress too hard on writing a perfect story. Rather, take Anne Lamott’s advice, and “write a shitty first draft.” The goal is not to pen a complete story at first draft; rather, it’s to set ideas down on paper. You are simply, as Shannon Hale suggests, “shoveling sand into a box so that later [you] can build castles.”

5. Step Away, Breathe, Revise

Whenever Stephen King finishes a novel, he puts it in a drawer and doesn’t think about it for 6 weeks. With short stories, you probably don’t need to take as long of a break. But, the idea itself is true: when you’ve finished your first draft, set it aside for a while. Let yourself come back to the story with fresh eyes, so that you can confidently revise, revise, revise .

In revision, you want to make sure each word has an essential place in the story, that each scene ramps up tension, and that each character is clearly defined. The culmination of these elements allows a story to explore complex themes and ideas, giving the reader something to think about after the story has ended.

6. Compare Against Our Short Story Checklist

Does your story have everything it needs to succeed? Compare it against this short story checklist, as written by our instructor Rosemary Tantra Bensko.

Below is a collection of practical short story writing tips by Writers.com instructor Rosemary Tantra Bensko . Each paragraph is its own checklist item: a core element of short story writing advice to follow unless you have clear reasons to the contrary. We hope it’s a helpful resource in your own writing.

Update 9/1/2020: We’ve now made a summary of Rosemary’s short story checklist available as a PDF download . Enjoy!

write english stories

Click to download

How to Write a Short Story: Length and Setting

Your short story is 1000 to 7500 words in length.

The story takes place in one time period, not spread out or with gaps other than to drive someplace, sleep, etc. If there are those gaps, there is a space between the paragraphs, the new paragraph beginning flush left, to indicate a new scene.

Each scene takes place in one location, or in continual transit, such as driving a truck or flying in a plane.

How to Write a Short Story: Point of View

Unless it’s a very lengthy Romance story, in which there may be two Point of View (POV) characters, there is one POV character. If we are told what any character secretly thinks, it will only be the POV character. The degree to which we are privy to the unexpressed thoughts, memories and hopes of the POV character remains consistent throughout the story.

You avoid head-hopping by only having one POV character per scene, even in a Romance. You avoid straying into even brief moments of telling us what other characters think other than the POV character. You use words like “apparently,” “obviously,” or “supposedly” to suggest how non-POV-characters think rather than stating it.

How to Write a Short Story: Protagonist, Antagonist, Motivation

Your short story has one clear protagonist who is usually the character changing most.

Your story has a clear antagonist, who generally makes the protagonist change by thwarting his goals.

(Possible exception to the two short story writing tips above: In some types of Mystery and Action stories, particularly in a series, etc., the protagonist doesn’t necessarily grow personally, but instead his change relates to understanding the antagonist enough to arrest or kill him.)

The protagonist changes with an Arc arising out of how he is stuck in his Flaw at the beginning of the story, which makes the reader bond with him as a human, and feel the pain of his problems he causes himself. (Or if it’s the non-personal growth type plot: he’s presented at the beginning of the story with a high-stakes problem that requires him to prevent or punish a crime.)

The protagonist usually is shown to Want something, because that’s what people normally do, defining their personalities and behavior patterns, pushing them onward from day to day. This may be obvious from the beginning of the story, though it may not become heightened until the Inciting Incident , which happens near the beginning of Act 1. The Want is usually something the reader sort of wants the character to succeed in, while at the same time, knows the Want is not in his authentic best interests. This mixed feeling in the reader creates tension.

The protagonist is usually shown to Need something valid and beneficial, but at first, he doesn’t recognize it, admit it, honor it, integrate it with his Want, or let the Want go so he can achieve the Need instead. Ideally, the Want and Need can be combined in a satisfying way toward the end for the sake of continuity of forward momentum of victoriously achieving the goals set out from the beginning. It’s the encounters with the antagonist that forcibly teach the protagonist to prioritize his Needs correctly and overcome his Flaw so he can defeat the obstacles put in his path.

The protagonist in a personal growth plot needs to change his Flaw/Want but like most people, doesn’t automatically do that when faced with the problem. He tries the easy way, which doesn’t work. Only when the Crisis takes him to a low point does he boldly change enough to become victorious over himself and the external situation. What he learns becomes the Theme.

Each scene shows its main character’s goal at its beginning, which aligns in a significant way with the protagonist’s overall goal for the story. The scene has a “charge,” showing either progress toward the goal or regression away from the goal by the ending. Most scenes end with a negative charge, because a story is about not obtaining one’s goals easily, until the end, in which the scene/s end with a positive charge.

The protagonist’s goal of the story becomes triggered until the Inciting Incident near the beginning, when something happens to shake up his life. This is the only major thing in the story that is allowed to be a random event that occurs to him.

How to Write a Short Story: Characters

Your characters speak differently from one another, and their dialogue suggests subtext, what they are really thinking but not saying: subtle passive-aggressive jibes, their underlying emotions, etc.

Your characters are not illustrative of ideas and beliefs you are pushing for, but come across as real people.

How to Write a Short Story: Prose

Your language is succinct, fresh and exciting, specific, colorful, avoiding clichés and platitudes. Sentence structures vary. In Genre stories, the language is simple, the symbolism is direct, and words are well-known, and sentences are relatively short. In Literary stories, you are freer to use more sophisticated ideas, words, sentence structures and underlying metaphors and implied motifs.

How to Write a Short Story: Story Structure

Your plot elements occur in the proper places according to classical Act Structure so the reader feels he has vicariously gone through a harrowing trial with the protagonist and won, raising his sense of hope and possibility. Literary short stories may be more subtle, with lower stakes, experimenting beyond classical structures like the Hero’s Journey. They can be more like vignettes sometimes, or even slice-of-life, though these types are hard to place in publications.

In Genre stories, all the questions are answered, threads are tied up, problems are solved, though the results of carnage may be spread over the landscape. In Literary short stories, you are free to explore uncertainty, ambiguity, and inchoate, realistic endings that suggest multiple interpretations, and unresolved issues.

Some Literary stories may be nonrealistic, such as with Surrealism, Absurdism, New Wave Fabulism, Weird and Magical Realism . If this is what you write, they still need their own internal logic and they should not be bewildering as to the what the reader is meant to experience, whether it’s a nuanced, unnameable mood or a trip into the subconscious.

Literary stories may also go beyond any label other than Experimental. For example, a story could be a list of To Do items on a paper held by a magnet to a refrigerator for the housemate to read. The person writing the list may grow more passive-aggressive and manipulative as the list grows, and we learn about the relationship between the housemates through the implied threats and cajoling.

How to Write a Short Story: Capturing Reader Interest

Your short story is suspenseful, meaning readers hope the protagonist will achieve his best goal, his Need, by the Climax battle against the antagonist.

Your story entertains. This is especially necessary for Genre short stories.

The story captivates readers at the very beginning with a Hook, which can be a puzzling mystery to solve, an amazing character’s or narrator’s Voice, an astounding location, humor, a startling image, or a world the reader wants to become immersed in.

Expository prose (telling, like an essay) takes up very, very little space in your short story, and it does not appear near the beginning. The story is in Narrative format instead, in which one action follows the next. You’ve removed every unnecessary instance of Expository prose and replaced it with showing Narrative. Distancing words like “used to,” “he would often,” “over the years, he,” “each morning, he” indicate that you are reporting on a lengthy time period, summing it up, rather than sticking to Narrative format, in which immediacy makes the story engaging.

You’ve earned the right to include Expository Backstory by making the reader yearn for knowing what happened in the past to solve a mystery. This can’t possibly happen at the beginning, obviously. Expository Backstory does not take place in the first pages of your story.

Your reader cares what happens and there are high stakes (especially important in Genre stories). Your reader worries until the end, when the protagonist survives, succeeds in his quest to help the community, gets the girl, solves or prevents the crime, achieves new scientific developments, takes over rule of his realm, etc.

Every sentence is compelling enough to urge the reader to read the next one—because he really, really wants to—instead of doing something else he could be doing. Your story is not going to be assigned to people to analyze in school like the ones you studied, so you have found a way from the beginning to intrigue strangers to want to spend their time with your words.

Where to Read and Submit Short Stories

Whether you’re looking for inspiration or want to publish your own stories, you’ll find great literary journals for writers of all backgrounds at this article:

https://writers.com/short-story-submissions

Learn How to Write a Short Story at Writers.com

The short story takes an hour to learn and a lifetime to master. Learn how to write a short story with Writers.com. Our upcoming fiction courses will give you the ropes to tell authentic, original short stories that captivate and entrance your readers.

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Rosemary – Is there any chance you could add a little something to your checklist? I’d love to know the best places to submit our short stories for publication. Thanks so much.

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Hi, Kim Hanson,

Some good places to find publications specific to your story are NewPages, Poets and Writers, Duotrope, and The Submission Grinder.

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“ In Genre stories, all the questions are answered, threads are tied up, problems are solved, though the results of carnage may be spread over the landscape.”

Not just no but NO.

See for example the work of MacArthur Fellow Kelly Link.

[…] How to Write a Short Story: The Short Story Checklist […]

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Thank you for these directions and tips. It’s very encouraging to someone like me, just NOW taking up writing.

[…] Writers.com. A great intro to writing. https://writers.com/how-to-write-a-short-story […]

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“ frozen lemonade ” by jennifer fremon.

🏆 Winner of Contest #237

Trigger warning: Contains underage sexual content, mentions of assaultYou know the movie Dirty Dancing? The one where Baby goes off to that fancy resort with her parents for the summer, and in the beginning she is a good, sweet girl who loves her daddy, and then by the end she is still a good sweet girl who loves her daddy but now she is kinda sexy too and can dance like a pro and is totally in love with that beautiful dance teacher. Why doesn’t anyone talk about how that teacher is clearly much, much older than Baby, and despite Patrick Swa...

“ KILLER IN THE WILLOWS ” by Kajsa Ohman

🏆 Winner of Contest #236

KILLER IN THE WILLOWSJust do it, so the T-shirts say. Just pick up the gun, pull the trigger—but maybe aim first, aim at the upper sternum and then pull the trigger, congratulating yourself that at last, in your long, passive life, you have shot somebody dead. So she did, and thus she became a murderer. She slipped through the night after that and disappeared into the willows to wash off any blood that spattered onto her clothing. The willows were thickl...

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Introducing Prompted , a new magazine written by you!

🏆 Featuring 12 prize-winning stories from our community. Download it now for FREE .

“ 6:47 PST ” by David Pampu

🏆 Winner of Contest #235

What has four faces, eight arms, and can’t tell time? The clock tower at Union Station. Four clocks on the tower and none of them run? I mean, what’re the odds? I peer up at the time and shade my eyes. It’s 6:47 pm. Always is, always will be. And all anyone knows is that on a Monday the world was a loud, frantic place and Tuesday it wasn’t. Tuesday? Really? The world should’ve ended on a Saturd...

“ Vegan Hamburgers ” by Ariana Tibi

🏆 Winner of Contest #234

Vegan Hamburgers February 1st 11:11pm WOW. I cannot believe that just happened. I went to AJ’s studio and almost walked out with a record deal. I was sober, too. He started rolling a joint and offered me some but I immediately said no. Last week, I had drinks at Lighthouse Studios and the executive was totally judging me when...

“ The Lantern of Kaamos ” by Jonathan Page

🏆 Winner of Contest #233

The melting Arctic is a crime scene, and I am like CSI Ny-Ålesund. Trond is the anonymous perpetrator leaving evidence and clues for me to discover, like breadcrumbs leading back to him. “Jonna,” he had said, the day we first met at the research institute, “If you are going to make it up here, don’t lock your doors.” It seemed like a life philosophy, rather than a survival tip.It is ironic. Out on Kings Bay, the coal miners came first, then the science outposts. Trond was already out here mining the Arctic when I was sti...

“ No Junior League ” by Mary Lynne Schuster

🏆 Winner of Contest #232

You are sure you want to do this?   Running away. Starting over.  It’s not as easy as people think. You have to give up everything.  Oh, that part’s easy. Everyone thinks we are all traceable, that you can’t really hide. But, see, everything is tied to your identity. Your papers. If you change those, you are a different person.  Fingerprints? If they’re in the system, if yo...

“ The Lop-it-off-a-me List ” by Ethan Zimmerman

🏆 Winner of Contest #231

The Lop-it-off-a-me List Count money in the envelope one more time. Make sure Marcel has his itinerary. Ask Alex if she will come by to feed Odin. Buy extra cat food and litter so Alex doesn't have to. Give her the spare key next time I see her. Kiss Odin and tell her she is the best cat in the world, even if she has always been destructive...

“ The Gingerbread Cookies ” by Aaron Chin

🏆 Winner of Contest #230

The Gingerbread Cookies Let’s go downstairs and bake some cookies, like mother used to make. The warm smell sits right at home in your nostrils, invading them like wild ax-murderers hacking and slashing their way through endless miles of human bodies that stand in the way of their inhumane, carnal desires. Shhh, shhh, but that’s too dark. It’s Christmas after all. So let’s go down...

“ Cooking Lessons ” by Molly Jenkinson

🏆 Winner of Contest #229

“That’s it petal, just push down a smidge more and it should cut right the way through it.” Mam’s standing above me as I’m trying to hack through the biggest potato the world’s ever seen. I’m sweating bullets at this point but she’s having none of it. “Can’t you just do it, Mam?” I’m absolutely knackered. I’ve been stabbing at this thing for (no joke) fifteen minutes but she just will not take...

“ The Winters of My Discontent ” by Warren Keen

🏆 Winner of Contest #228

I didn’t wake up on November 29th, 2023. The day prior I remember vividly. I drove two hours into western Minnesota to replace some fuses in a pad-mount transformer. Easy job when you bring the right fuses. I wasn’t prepared to stand outside in the freezing cold all day waiting for them. Waiting is the coldest thing you can do. I had checked the weather that morning, but I refused to acknowledge that it was lo...

“ Forthright Thursday ” by Chris Campbell

🏆 Winner of Contest #227

8:45PM Thanksgiving Day – GLOVES OFF: My mother, Mary, and her sister Alice were engaged in a wrestling match on the dining room table. Aloysius – my father - and Alice’s plus one; Jack, attempted to pry them apart, but both women had locked themselves into each other’s hair with vice-like grips, despite both their hands being splattered with custard trifle remnants. All I could do as an observing teenager was sit with mouth agape while holding my new Super 8mm silent movie camera, recording the whole scene. It was typical behavio...

“ The Day Alfred Googled Himself ” by Olivier Breuleux

🏆 Winner of Contest #226

Everyone has Googled themselves at one time or another in their lives. Even you, dear reader, I'll bet. Why did you do it? Curiosity? Validation? Finding your own LinkedIn profile? When Alfred did it, his reason was self-pity. He was nobody, he had nobody, and he had nothing. His immediate family had died years prior. His extended family did not remember he existed, nor did he remember the...

“ Goldfish ” by Mallory Jones

🏆 Winner of Contest #225

4 pm Miss Lucy and Dr. Singh are letting me visit my house tonight! Normally I get to go home for twelve hours on holidays, and an aide comes with me to monitor my equipment, but today is different. It’s not a holiday, it’s not my birthday, it’s not even the weekend— but I’m going home! Mommy says Lily will be home too even though she goes to college in Iowa. She’s coming home just for me for my ...

“ Cerulean ” by AnneMarie Miles

🏆 Winner of Contest #224

The door is cerulean, a bright and vibrant blue, but really it is the color of my sudden uneasiness. The feeling creeps up me slowly, jumps out at me dauntingly, and I am frozen in it. If the door were a mirror – and how I wish it were as innocent as a mirror – I would see my face reflected back to me, and it would tell me to run.I’m not sure what’s more jarring: the fact that this door is a clashing contrast to the rest of the library décor, or the fact that I’ve never noticed the path we took to get here before. I supp...

“ Just Like Him ” by Audrey McKenna

🏆 Winner of Contest #223

Content warning: sexual violence, languageWhen I was four years old, my sister and I were messing around at the pool. I slipped and hit my head on the concrete. It split open in the back. I remember the lifeguard gave me a squishy ball to squeeze. I remember she said I could keep it. I remember my dad scooped me up in his arms. It doesn’t make sense that it happened this way, but I remember he carried me all the way to the emergency room. I remember the pressure of my face pressing into a pillow as the doctor staple...

“ Clearance Aisle Libations ” by Bay Colt

🏆 Winner of Contest #222

The worst part about being an amateur necromancer is that no one respects you, not even the dead. My older brother, Joseph, is practically crying over the phone, struggling to speak through great gasps of heaving, wheezing laughter. After way too many seconds of this, he finally manages to choke out, “Really? Goddamn—Mountain Dew?” Irritated, I switch the phone to my other ear, tipping my head a...

“ Fae Touched ” by D. Grimes

🏆 Winner of Contest #221

Siobhan awoke to the Irish sun spilling in the open doorframe of their single-room cottage. Her back pressed against Sean’s, and she moved carefully so as to not wake him on his day off morning duties— today, she would feed the cattle and chickens. She rolled over, a stray mattress feather poking her side, and saw Aoife’s small body in her basket, enveloped by a blanket. A surge in Siobhan’s chest shot her awake—Aoife hadn’t cried once through the night. Siobhan scrambled to her feet, bare soles pressed into the cool packed dirt, no longe...

“ Cell 3.47 ” by Kate Hughes

🏆 Winner of Contest #220

Cell 3.47 was situated on the third floor of B wing in Stocken Gate prison, slap bang in the heart of London’s east end. Known as The Gate, the prison had a reputation for being a tough place to do time. The inmates behind the doors at The Gate endured long cold winters in the Victorian slammer that had been condemned many times but had always escaped closure. It was harsh, it was hard, and it was overrun by rats.Paula Pritchard was the sole resident of cell 3.47, but due to the rodent crisis she ...

“ Whale Song ” by Danielle Barr

🏆 Winner of Contest #219

Agony broils, but anguish simmers. I have known them both well and in equal measure. In the early days, my brain felt blurry and disjointed; I had the sense of being deep underwater, all undulating shadows and echoing whale song. The darkness was expansive, and the staticky, dull sense of confusion I felt was sometimes intercut with crippling panic. BP is spiking, ...

“ Who Are We to Judge the Music of an Octopus? ” by Paul Crehan

🏆 Winner of Contest #218

               Who Are We to Judge the Music of an Octopus?                                A short story by Paul Crehan The octopus swam up the aquarium like an arpeggio up staff paper. Bob listened as he watched. What did he hear? I’ll be damned, he thought. Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring. With a discordant note here; ...

“ Long Live the King ” by Hazel Ide

🏆 Winner of Contest #217

"I was eight years old the first time I heard his name." Shifting in the hard plastic seat, my wrists are shackled to a metal chain link at the center of the table, limiting my mobility.The officer observes my discomfort passively, already impatient and annoyed with my recollection of events."I was thinking a little more recent, Miss Clark. Like why you were caught standing outside his home with a bloody—""No, no, you d...

“ What Kind of Mother ” by Danielle Barr

🏆 Winner of Contest #216

Trigger Warning: infant/child loss, drowning The day my daughter died, I became the villain of my own life story. When your child dies of cancer, there are fundraisers and flower delivery vans and friends taking shifts sitting up with you through the long black nights and washing your hair. When your child dies and it’s your fault, there are no homemade casseroles filling y...

“ Departed, Return ” by Emily Holding

🏆 Winner of Contest #215

“And then there was another Mark,” Dad recalls, sending the table into an encore of laughter.  “Stop it!” Hannah pleads, tears rolling over sun-reddened cheeks. She perches opposite him, one leg hiked on the serrated bistro chair, a rum and coke bubbling in her left hand, the right clutching her stomach. She is 18, the spit of her mother – so she’s told – and will be off to university in two mont...

“ The Porcelain Village ” by Jonathan Page

🏆 Winner of Contest #214

My clay hands are becoming solid porcelain. I have always had potter’s hands. The throwing water absorbs the moisturizing oils of the skin. Leaves the hands rough. The clay paste dries and cracks the skin. Leaving it red. But now my hands are hardening. In the bisque firing, my hands harden like porous greenware. The cremated carbon and sulfur escape, exhuming my soul from the earthen clay, little by little, drawing it back to its source. The soul stews out in a boiling whistl...

“ The Last Of The Bright Young Things ” by Wendy M

🏆 Winner of Contest #213

Friday 7th October 1932 - Adelphi Hotel, LiverpoolDearest darling Herbert,What excitement we have had!  Mother and I boarded our train on Thursday. The conductor was a charming man. I swear he held my hand for just a moment too long. The weather was terrible, of course, but we were heading for the sun, and neither of us cared one jot. Then the thunderstorm started, which terrified Mother. She shrieked like she had seen a dozen mice with every rum...

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43 of the Most Iconic Short Stories in the English Language

From washington irving to kristen roupenian.

Last year, I put together this list of the most iconic poems in the English language ; it’s high time to do the same for short stories. But before we go any further, you may be asking: What does “iconic” mean in this context? Can a short story really be iconic in the way of a poem, or a painting, or Elvis?

Well, who knows, but for our purposes, “iconic” means that the story has somehow wormed its way into the general cultural consciousness—a list of the best short stories in the English language would look quite different than the one below. (Also NB that in this case we’re necessarily talking about the American cultural consciousness, weird and wiggly as it is.) When something is iconic, it is a highly recognizable cultural artifact that can be used as a shorthand—which often means it has been referenced in other forms of media. You know, just like Elvis. (So for those of you heading to the comments to complain that these stories are “the usual suspects”—well, exactly.) An iconic short story may be frequently anthologized , which usually means frequently read in classrooms, something that can lead to cultural ubiquity—but interestingly, the correlation isn’t perfect. For instance, Joyce’s “Araby” is anthologized more often, but for my money “The Dead” is more iconic . Film adaptations and catchy, reworkable titles help. But in the end, for better or for worse, you know it when you see it. Which means that, like anything else, it all depends on your point of view—icon status is (like most of the ways we evaluate art) highly subjective.

So, having acknowledged that there’s no real way to make this list, but because this is what we’re all here to do, here are some of the most iconic short stories for American readers in the English language—and a few more that deserve to be more iconic than they are.

Washington Irving, “Rip Van Winkle” (1819) and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” (1820) I agonized over whether I should pick “Rip Van Winkle” or “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” from Irving’s oeuvre. Both have many, many adaptations to their name and are so ubiquitous as to have drifted into the folklore realm. The latter certainly has more memorable recent adaptations, but the former  is the only one with a bridge named after it . Ah, screw it, we’ll count them both.

Edgar Allan Poe, “The Tell-Tale Heart” (1843) Poe’s early stream-of-consciousness horror story, unreliable narrator and heart beating under the floorboards and all, is certainly one of the most adapted—and even more often referenced —short stories in popular culture, and which may or may not be the source for all of the hundreds of stories in which a character is tormented by a sound only they can hear. (Still not quite as ubiquitous as Poe himself , though . . .)

Herman Melville, “Bartleby, the Scrivener” (1853) Once, while I was walking in Brooklyn, carrying my Bartleby tote bag , a woman in an SUV pulled over (on Atlantic Avenue, folks) to excitedly wave at me and yell “Melville! That’s Melville!” Which is all you really need to know about that .

Ambrose Bierce, “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” (1890) I will leave it to Kurt Vonnegut, who famously wrote , “I consider anybody a twerp who hasn’t read the greatest American short story, which is “Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,” by Ambrose Bierce. It isn’t remotely political. It is a flawless example of American genius, like “Sophisticated Lady” by Duke Ellington or the Franklin stove.”

Charlotte Perkins Gilman, “The Yellow Wallpaper” (1892) Odds are this was the first overtly Feminist text you ever read, at least if you’re of a certain age; it’s become a stand-in for the idea of women being driven insane by the patriarchy—and being ignored by doctors, who deem them “hysterical.” This is another one with lots of adaptations to its name, including a memorable episode of The Twilight Zone , which concludes: “Next time you’re alone, look quickly at the wallpaper, and the ceiling, and the cracks on the sidewalk. Look for the patterns and lines and faces on the wall. Look, if you can, for Sharon Miles, visible only out of the corner of your eye or… in the Twilight Zone.”

Henry James, “The Turn of the Screw” (1898) Technically a novella, but discussed enough as a story that I’ll include it here (same goes for a couple of others on this list, including “The Metamorphosis”). It has, as a work of literature, inspired a seemingly endless amount of speculation, criticism, unpacking, and stance-taking. “In comment after comment, article after article, the evidence has been sifted through and judgments delivered,” Brad Leithauser wrote in The New Yorker . Fine, intelligent readers have confirmed the validity of the ghosts (Truman Capote); equally fine and intelligent readers have thunderously established the governess’s madness (Edmund Wilson).” And nothing that inspires so much interpretive interest could escape the many interpretations into other media: films, episodes of television, and much other literature.

Anton Chekhov, “The Lady with the Toy Dog” (1899) Widely acknowledged as one of Chekhov’s best stories, if not  the  best, and therefore almost no students get through their years at school without reading it. Has been adapted as a film, a ballet, a play, a musical, and most importantly, a Joyce Carol Oates short story.

W. W. Jacobs, “The Monkey’s Paw” (1902) So iconic—be careful what you wish for, is the gist—that you probably didn’t even know it started out as a short story. My favorite version is, of course, the Laurie Anderson song .

O. Henry, “The Gift of the Magi” (1905) According to Wikipedia, there have been 17 different film adaptations of O. Henry’s classic short story about a couple’s thwarted Christmas; the essential format—Della sells her hair to buy Jim a watch chain; Jim sells his watch to buy Della a set of combs—has been referenced and replicated countless times beyond that. I even heard Dax Shepard refer to this story on his podcast the other day, and so I rest my case.

James Joyce, “The Dead” (1914) The last story in Joyce’s collection  Dubliners and one of the best short stories ever written; just ask anyone who wanted to have read some Joyce but couldn’t crack  Ulysses . (Or anyone who could crack  Ulysses  too.) And let’s not forget the John Huston movie starring Anjelica Huston as Gretta.

Franz Kafka, “The Metamorphosis” (1915) Everyone has to read this in school, at some point—which is probably the reason why it’s been parodied, referenced, and adapted many times in just about every format . And why not? What could be more universal than the story of the man who wakes up to find himself transformed into an enormous insect?

Richard Connell, “The Most Dangerous Game” aka “The Hounds of Zaroff” (1924) “The most popular short story ever written in English” is obviously the one about aristocrats hunting people. Widely adapted , but one of my favorite versions is the episode of Dollhouse in which a Richard Connell (no relation except the obvious) hunts Echo with a bow.

Ernest Hemingway, “The Killers” (1927) I was tempted to include “Hills Like White Elephants” because of the number of people forced to read it to learn about dialogue (happily, there are other options ), but “The Killers,” while less often anthologized, is more influential overall, and gave us not only two full length film adaptations and a Tarkovsky short but Tobias Wolff’s “Bullet in the Brain,” which I do think is a very good story to learn from, if not for dialogue, then for story-making.

Zora Neale Hurston, “The Gilded Six-Bits” (1933) Hurston is most famous for  Their Eyes Were Watching God , but those who know will tell you that this story of love, marriage, betrayal, and love again—which was also made into a 2001 film—is a classic, too.

Shirley Jackson, “The Lottery” (1948) The short story that launched a thousand letters to  The New Yorker —or if not a thousand , then at least “a torrent . . . the most mail the magazine had ever received in response to a work of fiction.” Still taught widely in schools, and still chilling.

J. D. Salinger, “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” (1948) The very first story to destroy many a young mind. In a good way, obviously.

Ray Bradbury, “There Will Come Soft Rains” (1950)

Bradbury’s work has thoroughly permeated pop culture; plenty of his stories are widely adapted and referenced, so I could have chosen a few others here (“The Veldt” is my personal favorite). But every year, the image of a smart house going on long after the death of its occupants becomes more chilling and relevant an image; we can’t help but keep going back to it.

Daphne du Maurier, “The Birds” (1952) I know it’s really the Hitchcock film adaptation that’s iconic, but you wouldn’t have the Hitchcock without the du Maurier.

Flannery O’Connor, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” (1953) Another oft-assigned (and oft-argued-over) story, this one with so many title rip-offs .

Elmore Leonard, “Three-Ten to Yuma” (1953) I know, I know, it’s “Fire in the Hole” that gave us  Justified , and we’re all so very glad. But “Three-Ten to Yuma” has more name recognition—after all, it was adapted into two separate and very good films, the former of which (1957) actually created contemporary slang : in Cuba, Americans are called yumas and the United States is  La Yuma .

Philip K. Dick, “The Minority Report” (1956) As a whole, Philip K. Dick’s work has had massive influence on literature, film, pop culture, and our cultural attitudes toward technology. Most of his best-known works are novels, but when a short story gets made into a Steven Spielberg/Tom Cruise film, you’re basically assuring iconic status right there. (Or at least that’s how it used to work…)

James Baldwin, “Sonny’s Blues” (1957) Baldwin’s best known short story pops up in plenty of anthologies, and can be thanked for being the gateway drug for many budding Baldwin acolytes.

Alan Sillitoe, “The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner” (1959) Not only is the story itself widely known and read—just ask Rod Blagojevich ( remember him? )—that title has been rewritten and reused thousands of times for varying ends—just ask the reporter who wrote that piece about Blagojevich. Or Adrian Tomine .

John Cheever, “The Swimmer” (1964) Cheever’s most famous story nails something essential about the mid-century American sensibility, and particularly the mid-century American suburbs, which is probably why everyone knows it (it’s also frequently anthologized). Or maybe it’s more about Burt Lancaster’s little shorts ? Either way.

Joyce Carol Oates, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” (1966) Another frequently anthologized and unwaveringly excellent short story; and look, it’s no one’s fault that Laura Dern turns everything she touches iconic.

Toni Cade Bambara, “The Lesson” (1972) Yet another story often assigned in schools (the good ones, anyway), which hopefully means one day we’ll wake up and find out that everyone has read it.

Ursula K. Le Guin, “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” (1973) As others have pointed out before me , Le Guin’s most read and most famous short story is almost always chillingly relevant.

Donald Barthelme, “The School” (1974) This one might only be iconic for writers, but considering it’s one of the best short stories ever written (according to me), I simply couldn’t exclude it.

Jamaica Kincaid, “Girl” (1978) Another staple of a writer’s education, and a reader’s; “are you really going to be the kind of woman who the baker won’t let near the bread?” being a kind of bandied-about shibboleth.

Raymond Carver, “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” (1981) I struggled choosing a Carver story for this list—”Cathedral” is more important, and probably more read, but “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love” has transcended its own form more completely, at least with its title, which has spawned a host of echoes, including Haruki Murakami’s What I Talk About When I Talk About Running , and Nathan Englander’s What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank , to the point that I think it’s recognizable to just about everyone. A quick Google search will reveal that the framing has been used for almost everything you can think of. There’s—and I kid you not—a What We Talk About When We Talk About Books/War/Sex/God/The Tube/Games/Rape/Money/Creative Writing/Nanoclusters/Hebrew/The Weather/Defunding the Police/Free Speech/Taxes/Holes/Climate/The Moon/Waste/Cancel Culture/Impeachment/Gender/Digital Inclusions/Exacerbations of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease/COVID-19 . You see what I’m getting at here.

Stephen King, “The Body” (1982) Otherwise known, to the general public, as  Stand By Me .

Amy Hempel, “In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson is Buried” (1983) Want to feel bad about your writing? This was the first short story Amy Hempel ever wrote.

Lorrie Moore, “How to Be an Other Woman” (1985) A very very good short story that has given rise to so many bad ones.

Mary Gaitskill, “Secretary” (1988) Bad Behavior  is iconic as a whole , but probably the story to have most acutely permeated the wider culture is “Secretary,” on account of the film adaptation starring Maggie Gyllenhaal and James Spader—despite the fact that it totally butchers the ending.

Amy Tan, “Rules of the Game” (1989) This story originally appeared in The Joy Luck Club , Tan’s mega-bestseller, so probably almost everyone you know has read it. The film version didn’t hurt either.

Tim O’Brien, “The Things They Carried” (1990) Why, it’s only the most anthologized short story of the last 30(ish) years. That’s why even the people you know who haven’t picked up a book in their adult lives have read it.

Denis Johnson, “Emergency” (1992) When I left New York to go get my MFA, a friend gave me a copy of Jesus’ Son with the inscription “Because everyone in your MFA will talk about it and you don’t want to be the girl who hasn’t read it. (It’s also really good).” He was not wrong.

Annie Proulx, “Brokeback Mountain” (1997) Everybody knows this story—even if they only know it from its (massively successful and influential, not to mention the true Best Picture Winner of 2006) film adaptation—and not for nothing, coming out when it did, it went a long way towards making some Americans more comfortable with homosexuality. Open the floodgates, baby.

Jhumpa Lahiri, “A Temporary Matter” (1998) The story that made Lahiri a household name.

Ted Chiang, “Story of Your Life” (1998) Otherwise known as  Arrival . (Also technically a novella.)

Alice Munro, “The Bear Came Over the Mountain” (2001) At this point, almost everyone has read at least some  Alice Munro, right? This story is one of the best from one of the greats, and was also adapted into a fantastic but heartbreaking film,  Away From Her .

Kristen Roupenian, “Cat Person” (2017) Sure, it’s recent, so it’s not quite as ingrained as some of the others here, but it’s also the story that broke the internet —and quite possibly the only New Yorker  story that thousands of people have ever read.

Finally, as is often the case with lists that summarize the mainstream American literary canon of the last 200 years, it is impossible not to recognize that the list above is much too white and male. So for our future and continuing iconography, your friends at Literary Hub suggest reading the following stories, both new and old:

Eudora Welty, “Why I Live at the P.O.” (1941) Clarice Lispector, “The Imitation of the Rose” (1960) Leslie Marmon Silko, “The Man to Send Rain Clouds” (1969) Ralph Ellison, “Cadillac Flambé” (1973) Octavia Butler, “Bloodchild” (1984) Bharati Mukherjee, “The Management of Grief” (1988) John Edgar Wideman, “Fever” (1990) Sandra Cisneros, “Woman Hollering Creek” (1991) Christine Schutt, “To Have and to Hold” (1996) ZZ Packer, “Brownies” (2003) Edward P. Jones, “Marie” (2004) Karen Russell, “Haunting Olivia” (2005) Kelly Link, “Stone Animals” (2005) Edwidge Danticat, “Ghosts” (2008) Yiyun Li, “A Man Like Him” (2008) Claire Vaye Watkins, “Ghosts, Cowboys” (2009) Ottessa Moshfegh, “Bettering Myself” (2013) Amelia Gray, “House Heart” (2013) Zadie Smith, “Meet the President!” (2013) Carmen Maria Machado, “The Husband Stitch” (2014) Diane Cook, “The Way the End of Days Should Be” (2014) Kirstin Valdez Quade, “Five Wounds” (2015) NoViolet Bulawayo, “Shhhh” (2015) Mariana Enriquez, “Spiderweb” (2016) Ken Liu, “State Change” (2016) Helen Oyeyemi, “Sorry Doesn’t Sweeten Her Tea” (2016) Lesley Nneka Arimah, “What Is a Volcano?” (2017) James McBride, “The Christmas Dance” (2017) Viet Thanh Nguyen, “War Years” (2017) Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, “Friday Black” (2018). . .

Honestly, this list could go on forever, but let’s stop and say: more short stories of all kinds in the hands of the general public, please!

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Emily Temple

Emily Temple

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Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (for Elementary Levels A2)

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English Stories to improve English – “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” Free Download

Watch this story on YouTube and improve your English skills.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

By Lewis Carroll

Retold by Jennifer Bassett

Chapter one: Down the rabbit-hole

Chapter two: the pool of tears, chapter three: conversation with a caterpillar, chapter four: the cheshire cat, chapter five: a mad tea-party, chapter six: the queen’s game of croquet, chapter seven: who stole the tarts.

     Alice was beginning to get very bored. She and her sister were sitting under the trees. Her sister was reading, but Alice had nothing to do. Once or twice she looked into her sister’s book, but it had no pictures or conversations in it.

     ‘And what is the use of a book,’ thought Alice, ‘without pictures or conversations?’

     She tried to think of something to do, but it was a hot day and she felt very sleepy and stupid. She was still sitting and thinking when suddenly a White Rabbit with pink eyes ran past her.

English Stories to improve English - Suddenly a White Rabbit ran past her

Suddenly a White Rabbit ran past her

      There was nothing really strange about seeing a rabbit.  And Alice was not very surprised when the Rabbit said, ‘Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be late!’ (Perhaps it was a little strange, Alice thought later, but at the time she was not surprised.)

     But then the Rabbit took a watch out of its pocket, looked at it, and hurried on. At once Alice jumped to her feet.

      ‘I’ve never before seen a rabbit with either a pocket, or a watch to take out of it,’ she thought. And she ran quickly across the field after the Rabbit. She did not stop to think, and when the Rabbit ran down a large rabbit-hole, Alice followed it immediately.

     After a little way the rabbit-hole suddenly went down, deep into the ground. Alice could not stop herself falling, and down she went, too.

     It was a very strange hole. Alice was falling very slowly, and she had time to think and to look around her. She could see nothing below her because it was so dark. But when she looked at the sides of the hole, she could see cupboards and books and pictures on the walls.  She had time to take things out of a cupboard, look at them, and then put them back in a cupboard lower down.

     ‘Well!’ thought Alice. ‘After a fall like this, I can fall anywhere! I can fall downstairs at home, and I won’t cry or say a word about it!’

      Down, down, down. ‘How far have I fallen now?’ Alice said aloud to herself. ‘Perhaps I’m near the centre of the earth. Let me think …  That’s four thousand miles down.’ (Alice was very good at her school lessons and could remember a lot of things like this.)

      Down, down, down. Would she ever stop falling? Alice was very nearly asleep when, suddenly, she was sitting on the ground.  Quickly, she jumped to her feet and looked around. She could see the White Rabbit, who was hurrying away and still talking to himself. ‘Oh my ears and whiskers!’ he was saying. ‘How late it’s getting!’

      Alice ran after him like the wind. She was getting very near him when he suddenly turned a corner. Alice ran round the corner too, and then stopped. She was now in a long, dark room with doors all round the walls, and she could not see the White Rabbit anywhere.

      She tried to open the doors, but they were all locked. ‘How will I ever get out again?’ she thought sadly. Then she saw a little glass table with three legs, and on the top of it was a very small gold key. Alice quickly took the key and tried it in all the doors, but oh dear! Either the locks were too big, or the key was too small, but she could not open any of the doors.

      Then she saw another door, a door that was only forty centimetres high. The little gold key unlocked this door easily, but of course Alice could not get through it – she was much too big. So she lay on the floor and looked through the open door, into a beautiful garden with green trees and bright flowers.

     Poor Alice was very unhappy. ‘What a wonderful garden!’ she said to herself. ‘I’d like to be out there – not in this dark room. Why can’t I get smaller?’  It was already a very strange day, and Alice was beginning to think that anything was possible.

     After a while she locked the door again, got up and went back to the glass table. She put the key down and then she saw a little bottle on the table (‘I’m sure it wasn’t here before,’ said Alice).  Round the neck of the bottle was a piece of paper with the words DRINK ME in large letters.

     But Alice was a careful girl.  ‘It can be dangerous to drink out of strange bottles,’ she said. ‘What will it do to me?’ She drank a little bit very slowly. The taste was very nice, like chocolate and oranges and hot sweet coffee, and very soon Alice finished the bottle.

‘What a strange feeling!’ said Alice.  ‘I think I’m getting smaller and smaller every second.’

      And she was. A few minutes later she was only twenty- five centimetres high. ‘And now,’ she said happily, ‘I can get through the little door into that beautiful garden.’

     She ran at once to the door. When she got there, she remembered that the little gold key was back on the glass table. She ran back to the table for it, but of course, she was now much too small! There was the key, high above her, on top of the table. She tried very hard to climb up the table leg, but she could not do it.

      At last, tired and unhappy, Alice sat down on the floor and cried. But after a while she spoke to herself angrily.

      ‘Come now,’ she said. ‘Stop crying at once. What’s the use of crying?’ She was a strange child, and often talked to herself like this.

      Soon she saw a little glass box near her on the floor. She opened it, and found a very small cake with the words EAT ME on it.

     Nothing could surprise Alice now. ‘Well, I’ll eat it,’ she said. ‘If I get taller, I can take the key off the table. And if I get smaller, I can get under the door. One way or another, I’ll get into the garden. So it doesn’t matter what happens!’

English Stories to improve English - Alice tried very hard to climb up the table leg

Alice tried very hard to climb up the table leg.

     She ate a bit of the cake, and then put her hand on top of her head.  ‘Which way?  Which way?’  she asked herself, a little afraid. Nothing happened.  This was not really surprising. People don’t usually get taller or shorter when they eat cake. But a lot of strange things were happening to Alice today. ‘It will be very boring,’ she said, ‘if nothing happens.’

      So she went on eating, and very soon the cake was finished.

       Curiouser and curiouser!’ said Alice. (She was very surprised, and for a minute she forgot how to speak good English.)

      ‘I shall be as tall as a house in a minute,’ she said. She tried to look down at her feet, and could only just see them. ‘Goodbye, feet!’ she called. ‘Who will put on your shoes now? Oh dear! What nonsense I’m talking!’

     Just then her head hit the ceiling of the room. She was now about three metres high. Quickly, she took the little gold key from the table and hurried to the garden door.

     Poor Alice!  She lay on the floor and looked into the garden with one eye.  She could not even put her head through the door.

    She began to cry again, and went on crying and crying. The tears ran down her face, and soon there was a large pool of water all around her on the floor. Suddenly she heard a voice, and she stopped crying to listen.

    ‘Oh, the Duchess, the Duchess! She’ll be so angry! I’m late, and she’s waiting for me. Oh dear, oh dear!’

    It was the White Rabbit again. He was hurrying down the long room, with some white gloves in one hand and a large fan in the other hand.

     Alice was afraid, but she needed help. She spoke in a quiet voice.  ‘Oh, please, sir—’

    The Rabbit jumped wildly, dropped the gloves and the fan, and hurried away as fast as he could.

     Alice picked up the fan and the gloves. The room was very hot, so she began to fan herself while she talked. ‘Oh dear! How strange everything is today! Did I change in the night? Am I a different person today?  But if I’m a different person, then the next question is – who am I? Ah, that’s the mystery.’

English Stories to improve English - The Rabbit jumped wildly, and dropped the gloves and the fan.

The Rabbit jumped wildly, and dropped the gloves and the fan.

     She began to feel very unhappy again, but then she looked down at her hand. She was wearing one of the Rabbit’s white gloves. ‘How did I get it on my hand?’ she thought.  ‘Oh, I’m getting smaller again!’ She looked round the room. ‘I’m already less than a metre high. And getting smaller every second! How can I stop it?’ She saw the fan in her other hand, and quickly dropped it.

      She was now very, very small – and the little garden door was locked again, and the little gold key was lying on the glass table.

     ‘Things are worse than ever,’ thought poor Alice. She turned away from the door, and fell into salt water, right up to her neck. At first she thought it was the sea, but then she saw it was the pool of tears. Her tears. Crying makes a lot of tears when you are three metres tall.

    ‘Oh, why did I cry so much?’  said Alice.  She swam around and looked for a way out, but the pool was very big. Just then she saw an animal in the water near her. It looked like a large animal to Alice, but it was only a mouse.

     ‘Shall I speak to it?’  thought Alice.  ‘Everything’s very strange down here, so perhaps a mouse can talk.’

     So she began: ‘Oh Mouse, do you know the way out of this pool? I am very tired of swimming, oh Mouse!’ (Alice did not know if this was the right way to speak to a mouse. But she wanted to be polite.)

      The mouse looked at her with its little eyes, but it said nothing.

     ‘Perhaps it doesn’t understand English,’ thought Alice. ‘Perhaps it’s a French mouse.’ So she began again, and said in French:  ‘Where is my cat?’  (This was the first sentence in her French lesson-book.)

English Stories to improve English - It looked like a large animal to Alice, but it was only a mouse.

It looked like a large animal to Alice, but it was only a mouse.

     The mouse jumped half out of the water and looked at her angrily.

    ‘Oh, I’m so sorry!’ cried Alice quickly. ‘Of course, you don’t like cats, do you?’

    ‘Like cats?’ cried the mouse in a high,  angry voice. ‘Does any mouse like cats?’

    ‘Well, perhaps not,’ Alice began kindly.

     But the mouse was now swimming quickly away, and soon Alice was alone again.  At last she found her way out of the pool and sat down on the ground. She felt very lonely and unhappy. But after a while the White Rabbit came past again, looking for his white gloves and his fan.

    ‘The Duchess! The Duchess! Oh my ears and whiskers! She’ll cut my head off, I know she will! Oh, where did I drop my gloves?’ Then he saw Alice. ‘Why, Mary Ann, what are you doing here? Run home at once, and bring me some gloves and a fan. Quick, now!’

     Alice hurried away. ‘But where is his house?’  she thought while she ran. Strangely, she was no longer in the long room with the little door, but outside in a wood. She ran and ran but could not see a house anywhere, so she sat down under a flower to rest.

   “Now,’ Alice said to herself. ‘First, I must get a little bigger, and second, I must find my way into that beautiful garden. I think that will be the best plan. But oh dear! How shall I get bigger? Perhaps I must eat or drink something, but the question is, what?’

     Alice looked all around her at the flowers and the trees, but she could not see anything to eat. Then she saw a large mushroom near her. It was as tall as she was. She walked across to look at it, and there, on top of the mushroom, was a large caterpillar, smoking a pipe. After a while, the Caterpillar took the pipe out of its mouth and said to Alice in a slow, sleepy voice, ‘Who are you?’

     ‘I don’t really know, sir,’ said Alice. ‘I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I have changed so often since then. I think I am a different person now.’

    ‘What do you mean by that?’ said the Caterpillar. ‘Explain yourself!’

    ‘I can’t explain myself, sir,’ said Alice, ‘because I’m not myself, you know.’

    ‘I don’t know,’ said the Caterpillar.

English Stories to improve English - 'Explain yourself!' said the Caterpillar.

‘Explain yourself!’ said the Caterpillar.

     ‘It’s difficult to describe,’ Alice replied politely.  ‘One minute I’m very small, the next minute I’m as tall as a house, then I’m small again. Usually, I stay the same all day, and changing so often feels very strange to me.’

      ‘You!’ said the Caterpillar, in a very unfriendly voice. ‘Who are you?’

      They were now back at the beginning of their conversation, which was not very helpful. Alice felt a little cross and decided to walk away.

      ‘Come back!’  the Caterpillar called after her. ‘I’ve something important to say.’

      This sounded better, so Alice turned back.

     ‘Never get angry,’ said the Caterpillar.

      ‘Is that all?’ said Alice, trying not to be angry.

     ‘No,’ said the Caterpillar. For some minutes it smoked its pipe and did not speak, but at last it took the pipe out of its mouth, and said, ‘So you’ve changed, have you? How tall do you want to be?’

     ‘I would like to be a little larger, sir, please,’ said Alice. ‘Eight centimetres is really very small.’

     For a while the Caterpillar smoked its pipe. Then it shook itself, got down off the mushroom, and moved slowly away into the grass. It did not look back at Alice, but said, ‘One side will make you taller, and the other side will make you shorter.’

     ‘One side of what?’ thought Alice to herself.

     She did not say this aloud, but the Caterpillar said, ‘Of the mushroom.’ Then it moved away into the wood.

     Alice looked at the mushroom carefully, but it was round, and did not have sides. At last she broke off a piece in each hand from opposite sides of the mushroom. She ate some of the piece in her left hand, and waited to see what would happen.

     A minute later her head was as high as the tallest tree in the wood, and she was looking at a sea of green leaves. Then a bird appeared and began to fly around her head, screaming, ‘Egg thief!  Egg thief! Go away!’

    ‘I’m not an egg thief,’ said Alice.

    ‘Oh no?’ said the bird angrily. ‘But you eat eggs, don’t you?’

    ‘Well, yes, I do, but I don’t steal them,’ explained Alice quickly. ‘We have them for breakfast, you know.’

     ‘Then how do you get them, if you don’t steal them?’ screamed the bird.

      This was a difficult question to answer, so Alice brought up her right hand through the leaves and ate a little from the other piece of mushroom. She began to get smaller at once and, very carefully, she ate first from one hand, then from the other, until she was about twenty- five centimetres high.

     ‘That’s better,’ she said to herself. ‘And now I must find that garden.’ She began to walk through the wood, and after a while she came to a little house.

     There was a boy outside the door, with a large letter in his hand. (He was dressed like a boy, but his face was very like a fish, Alice thought.) The Fish-Boy knocked at the door, and a second later a large plate came flying out of an open window.

      ‘A letter for the Duchess,’ the Fish-Boy shouted. He pushed the letter under the door and went away.

     Alice went up to the door and knocked, but there was a lot of noise inside and nobody answered. So she opened the door and walked in.

English Stories to improve English - 'A letter for the Duchess,' the Fish-Boy shouted

‘A letter for the Duchess,’ the Fish-Boy shouted

      She found herself in a kitchen, which was full of smoke. There was a very angry cook by the fire, and in the middle of the room sat the Duchess, holding a screaming baby. Every few minutes a plate crashed to the floor. There was also a large cat, which was sitting on a chair and grinning from ear to ear.

     ‘Please,’ Alice said politely to the Duchess, ‘why does your cat grin like that?’

     ‘It’s a Cheshire Cat,’ said the Duchess. ‘That’s why.’

     ‘I didn’t know that cats could grin,’ said Alice.

     ‘Well, you don’t know much,’ said the Duchess. Another plate crashed to the floor and Alice jumped. ‘Here!’ the Duchess went on. ‘You can hold the baby for a bit, if you like. The Queen has invited me to play croquet, and I must go and get ready.’ She pushed the baby into Alice’s arms and hurried out of the room.

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There was a large cat, which was grinning from ear to ear.

     ‘Oh, the poor little thing!’ said Alice, looking at the baby, which had a very strange face. She took it outside into the wood and walked around under the trees. Then the baby began to make strange noises, and Alice looked into its face again. Its eyes were really very small for a baby, and its nose now looked very like the nose of a pig.

      ‘Don’t make noises like that, my dear,’ said Alice. ‘It’s not polite. You’re beginning to sound like a pig.’

    But a few minutes later, there was no mistake. It was a pig.  Alice put it carefully on the ground, and it ran quietly away on its four legs into the wood.

    ‘I’m pleased about that,’ Alice said to herself. ‘It will be a good-looking pig, but it would be terrible to be a child with a face like that.’

     She was thinking about pigs and children when she suddenly saw the Cheshire Cat in a tree. The Cat grinned at her, and she went nearer to it.

    ‘Please,’ she said, ‘can you tell me which way to go from here?’

      ‘But where do you want to get to?’ said the Cat.

      ‘It doesn’t really matter—’ began Alice.

      ‘Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,’ said the Cat.

      ‘But I would like to get somewhere,’ Alice explained.

      ‘If you just go on walking,’ said the Cat, ‘in the end you’ll arrive somewhere.’

     That was true, thought Alice, but not very helpful, so she tried another question.  ‘What kind of people live near here?’

     ‘To the left,’ the Cat said, ‘lives a Hatter. And to the right, lives a March Hare. You can visit either of them. They’re both mad.’

     ‘But I don’t want to visit mad people,’ said Alice.

     ‘We’re all mad here, you know,’ said the Cat. ‘I’m mad. You’re mad.’

     ‘How do you know that I’m mad?’ said Alice.

     ‘Of course you’re mad,’ said the Cat.  ‘Only mad people come here.’

     Alice was thinking about this, but the Cat went on, ‘Are you playing croquet with the Queen today?’

    ‘I would like to very much,’ said Alice, ‘but nobody has invited me yet.’

    ‘You’ll see me there,’ said the Cat, and vanished.

     Alice was not really surprised at this, because so many strange things were happening today. She was still looking at the tree when, suddenly, the Cat appeared again.

     ‘I forgot to ask,’ said the Cat. ‘What happened to the baby?’

     ‘It turned into a pig,’ Alice said.

     ‘I’m not surprised,’ said the Cat, and vanished again.

     Alice began to walk on, and decided to visit the March Hare. ‘It’s the month of May now,’ she said to herself, ‘so perhaps the Hare won’t be as mad as he was in March.’

    Suddenly, there was the Cheshire Cat again, sitting in another tree. Alice jumped in surprise.

    ‘Do you think,’ she said politely, ‘that you could come and go more slowly?’

    ‘All right,’ said the Cat. And this time it vanished very slowly. First its tail went, then its body, then its head, and last, the grin.

      ‘Well!  I’ve often seen a cat without a grin,’ thought Alice, ‘but never a grin without a cat!’

     Soon she saw the house of the March Hare in front of her.  It was a large house, so she ate a little piece of mushroom to get bigger, and walked on.

This time the Cat vanished very slowly.

      There was a table under a tree outside the house, and the March Hare and the Hatter were having tea. A Dormouse was sitting between them, asleep. The three of them were all sitting together at one corner of the table, but the table was large and there were many other seats. Alice sat down in a big chair at one end.

     ‘Have some coffee,’ the March Hare said in a friendly voice.

     Alice looked all round the table, but she could only see a teapot. ‘I don’t see any coffee,’ she said.

    ‘There isn’t any,’ said the March Hare.

     ‘Then why did you ask me to have some?’ said Alice crossly. ‘It wasn’t very polite of you.’

     ‘It wasn’t very polite of you to sit down. We haven’t invited you to tea,’ said the March Hare.

    ‘But there are lots of seats,’ said Alice.

    ‘Your hair’s too long,’ said the Hatter, looking at Alice with interest.

    ‘It’s not polite to say things like that,’ said Alice.

    The Hatter looked surprised, but he said, ‘Why is a bird like a desk?’

    Alice was pleased.  She enjoyed playing wordgames, so she said, ‘That’s an easy question.’

    ‘Do you mean you know the answer?’ said the March Hare.

    ‘Yes,’ said Alice.

    ‘Then you must say what you mean,’ the March Hare said.

    ‘I do,’ Alice said quickly. ‘Well, I mean what I say. And that’s the same thing, you know.’

    ‘No, it isn’t!’ said the Hatter. ‘Listen to this. I see what I eat means one thing, but I eat what I see means something very different.’

    Alice did not know what to say to this. So she took some tea and some bread-and-butter while she thought about it. The Dormouse woke up for a minute and then went to sleep again. After a while the Hatter took out his watch, shook it, then looked at it sadly.

    ‘Two days slow! I told you that butter wasn’t good for watches!’ he said angrily to the March Hare.

    ‘It was the best butter,’ said the March Hare sadly.

    Alice was looking at the watch with interest.  ‘It’s a strange watch,’ she said. ‘It shows the day of the week, but not the time.’

    ‘But we know the time,’ said the Hatter. ‘It’s always six o’clock here.’

    Alice suddenly understood. ‘Is that why there are all these cups and plates?’  she said.  ‘It’s always tea-time here, and you go on moving round the table.  Is that right? But what happens when you come to the beginning again?’

    ‘Don’t ask questions,’ said the March Hare crossly. ‘You must tell us a story now.’

    ‘But I don’t know any stories,’ said Alice.

    Then the March Hare and the Hatter turned to the Dormouse. ‘Wake up, Dormouse!’ they shouted loudly in its ears. ‘Tell us a story.’

    ‘Yes, please do,’ said Alice.

     The Dormouse woke up and quickly began to tell a story, but a few minutes later it was asleep again. The March Hare poured a little hot tea on its nose, and the Hatter began to look for a clean plate. Alice decided to leave and walked away into the wood. She looked back once, and the March Hare and the Hatter were trying to put the Dormouse into the teapot.

The March Hare poured a little hot tea on the Dormouse’s nose.

    ‘Well, I won’t go there again,’ said Alice.  ‘What a stupid tea-party it was!’ Just then she saw a door in one of the trees. ‘How curious!’ she thought. ‘But everything is strange today. I think I’ll go in.’

    So she went in. And there she was, back in the long room with the little glass table. At once, she picked up the gold key from the table, unlocked the little door into the garden, and then began to eat a piece of mushroom. When she was down to about thirty centimetres high, she walked through the door, and then, at last, she was in the beautiful garden with its green trees and bright flowers.

    Near the door there was a rose-tree and three gardeners, who were looking at the roses in a very worried way.

     ‘What’s the matter?’ Alice said to them.

    ‘You see, Miss,’ said the first gardener, ‘these roses are white, but the Queen only likes red roses, and she—’

    ‘The Queen!’ said the second gardener suddenly, and at once, the three gardeners lay down flat on their faces. Alice turned round and saw a great crowd of people.

     It was a pack of cards, walking through the garden. There were clubs (they were soldiers), and diamonds, and ten little children (they were hearts).  Next came some Kings and Queens. Then Alice saw the White Rabbit, and behind him, the Knave of Hearts. And last of all, came THE KING AND QUEEN OF HEARTS.

    When the crowd came near to Alice, they all stopped and looked at her, and the Queen said, ‘Who are you?’

    ‘My name is Alice, Your Majesty,’ said Alice very politely. But she thought to herself, ‘They’re only a pack of cards. I don’t need to be afraid of them!’

    ‘And who are these? said the Queen, looking at the three gardeners. Then she saw the white roses, and her face turned red and angry. ‘Off with their heads!’  she shouted, and soldiers hurried up to take the gardeners away. The Queen turned to Alice. ‘Can you play croquet?’ she shouted.

    ‘Yes!’ shouted Alice.

     ‘Come on, then!’ shouted the Queen. The crowd began to move on, and Alice went with them.

    ‘It’s – it’s a very fine day,’ said a worried voice in her ear. Alice saw that the White Rabbit was by her side.

    ‘Very fine,’ said Alice. ‘Where’s the Duchess?’

     ‘Shhh!’  said the Rabbit in a hurried voice.  ‘She’s in prison, waiting for execution.’

     ‘What for?’ said Alice.

    But just then the Queen shouted, ‘Get to your places!’ and the game began.

    It was the strangest game of croquet in Alice’s life! The balls were hedgehogs, and the mallets were flamingoes. And the hoops were made by soldiers, who turned over and stood on their hands and feet.  Alice held her flamingo’s body under her arm, but the flamingo turned its long neck first this way and then that way. At last, Alice was ready to hit the ball with the flamingo’s head. But by then, the hedgehog was tired of waiting and was walking away across the croquet-ground.  And when both the flamingo and the hedgehog were ready, there was no hoop! The soldiers too were always getting up and walking away.  It really was a very difficult game, Alice thought.

     The players all played at the same time, and they were always arguing and fighting for hedgehogs. Nobody could agree about anything. Very soon, the Queen was wildly angry, and went around shouting ‘Off with his head!’ or ‘Off with her head!’ about once a minute.

    Alice began to feel worried. ‘The Queen is sure to argue with me soon,’ she thought.  ‘And what will happen to me then? They’re cutting people’s heads off all the time here. I’m surprised there is anyone left alive!’

     Just then she saw something very strange. She watched carefully, and after a minute or two she saw that the thing was a grin. ‘It’s the Cheshire Cat,’ she said to herself.  ‘Now I’ll have somebody to talk to.’   

The balls were hedgehogs, and the mallets were flamingoes

    ‘How are you getting on?’ said the Cat, when its mouth appeared.

    Alice waited. ‘I can’t talk to something without ears,’ she thought. Slowly the Cat’s eyes, then its ears, and then the rest of its head appeared. But it stopped at the neck, and its body did not appear.

    Alice began to tell the Cat all about the game. ‘It’s very difficult to play,’ she said.  ‘Everybody argues all the time, and the hoops and the hedgehogs walk away.’

    ‘How do you like the Queen?’ said the Cat quietly.

     ‘I don’t,’ said Alice. ‘She’s very—’ Just then she saw the Queen behind her, so she went on, ‘—clever. She’s the best player here.’

    The Queen smiled and walked past.

    ‘Who are you talking to?’ said the King. He came up behind Alice and looked at the Cat’s head in surprise.

      ‘It’s a friend of mine – a Cheshire Cat,’ said Alice.

      ‘I’m not sure that I like it,’ said the King.  ‘But it can touch my hand if it likes.’

     ‘I prefer not to,’ said the Cat.

    ‘Well!’  said the King angrily.  He called out to the Queen, ‘My dear! There’s a cat here, and I don’t like it.’

     The Queen did not look round. ‘Off with its head!’ she shouted. ‘Call for the executioner!’

      Alice was a little worried for her friend, but when the executioner arrived, everybody began to argue.

     ‘I can’t cut off a head,’ said the executioner, ‘if there isn’t a body to cut it off from.’

      ‘You can cut the head off,’ said the King, ‘from anything that’s got a head.’

     ‘If somebody doesn’t do something quickly,’ said the Queen, ‘I’ll cut everybody’s head off.’

      Nobody liked that plan very much, so they all turned to Alice. ‘And what do you say?’ they cried.

     ‘The Cat belongs to the Duchess,’ said Alice carefully. ‘Perhaps you could ask her about it.’

    ‘She’s in prison,’ the Queen said to the executioner. ‘Bring her here at once.’

     But then the Cat’s head slowly began to vanish, and when the executioner came back with the Duchess, there was nothing there. The King ran wildly up and down, looking for the Cat, and the Duchess put her arm round Alice. ‘I’m so pleased to see you again, my dear!’ she said.

     ‘Let’s get on with the game,’ the Queen said angrily, and Alice followed her back to the croquet-ground.

    The game went on, but all the time the Queen was arguing, and shouting ‘Off with his head!’ or ‘Off with her head!’  Soon there were no hoops left, because the soldiers (who were the hoops) were too busy taking everybody to prison.  And at the end there were only three players left – the King, the Queen, and Alice.

     The Queen stopped shouting and said to Alice, ‘Have you seen the Mock Turtle yet?’

    ‘No,’ said Alice. ‘I’m not sure what a Mock Turtle is.’

    ‘Then come with me,’ said the Queen.

    They found the Mock Turtle down by the sea. Next to him was a Gryphon, asleep in the sun. Then the Queen hurried away, saying, ‘I have to get on with some executions.’

    The Gryphon woke up, and said sleepily to Alice, ‘It’s just talk, you know. They never execute anybody.’

    Alice was pleased to hear this. She felt a little afraid of the Gryphon and the Mock Turtle, because they were so large. But they were very friendly, and sang songs and told her many stories about their lives. The Mock Turtle was in the middle of a very sad song when they all heard a shout a long way away: ‘It’s beginning!’ ‘Come on! We must hurry!’ cried the Gryphon. It took Alice by the hand and began to run.

The Mock Turtle and the Gryphon were very friendly.

      The King and Queen of Hearts were sitting on their thrones when Alice and the Gryphon arrived. There was a great crowd of birds and animals, and all the pack of cards.

    Soldiers stood all around the Knave of Hearts, and near the King was the White Rabbit, with a trumpet in one hand.

    In the middle of the room there was a table, with a large plate of tarts on it. ‘They look good,’ thought Alice, who was feeling a little hungry.

     Then the White Rabbit called out loudly, ‘Silence! The trial of the Knave of Hearts will now begin!’ He took out a long piece of paper, and read:

The Queen of Hearts, she made some tarts,

All on a summer day.

The Knave of Hearts, he stole those tarts,

And took them all away.

        ‘Very good,’ said the King. ‘Call the first witness.’

    Alice looked at the jury, who were now writing everything down. It was a very strange jury. Some of the jurymen were animals, and the others were birds.

     Then the White Rabbit blew his trumpet three times, and called out, ‘First witness!’

    The first witness was the Hatter.  He came in with a teacup in one hand and a piece of bread-and-butter in the other hand.  ‘I’m very sorry, Your Majesty,’ he said.  ‘I was in the middle of tea when the trial began.’

     ‘Take off your hat,’ the King said.

     ‘It isn’t mine,’ said the Hatter.

    ‘Stolen! Write that down,’ the King said to the jury.

     ‘I keep hats to sell,’ explained the Hatter. ‘I don’t have a hat myself. I’m a Hatter.’

     ‘Give your evidence,’ said the King, ‘or we’ll cut your head off.’

    The Hatter’s face turned white. ‘I’m a poor man, Your Majesty,’ he began, in a shaking voice.

     Just then Alice had a strange feeling. After a minute or two she understood what it was.

    ‘Don’t push like that,’ said the Dormouse, who was sitting next to her. ‘I’m nearly falling off my seat.’

     ‘I’m very sorry,’ Alice said politely. ‘I’m getting bigger and taller, you see.’

     ‘Well, you can’t do that here,’ said the Dormouse crossly, and he got up and moved to another seat.

    The Hatter was still giving evidence, but nobody could understand a word of it. The King looked at the Queen, and the Queen looked at the executioner.

     The unhappy Hatter saw this, and dropped his bread- and-butter.  ‘I’m a poor man, Your Majesty,’ he said again.

    ‘You’re a very poor speaker,’ said the King. He turned to the White Rabbit. ‘Call the next witness,’ he said.

    The next witness was the Duchess’s cook, who spoke very angrily and said  that  she  would  not  give  any evidence. The King looked worried and told the White Rabbit to call another witness. Alice watched while the White Rabbit looked at the names on his piece of paper. Then, to her great surprise, he called out loudly, ‘Alice!’ ‘Here!’ cried Alice, jumping to her feet.

     ‘Here!’ cried Alice, jumping to her feet.

     ‘What do you know about these tarts?’ said the King.

     ‘Nothing,’ said Alice.

     The Queen was looking hard at Alice. Now she said,

     ‘All people a mile high must leave the room.’

     ‘I’m not a mile high,’ said Alice. ‘And I won’t leave the room. I want to hear the evidence.’

    ‘There is no more evidence,’ said the King very quickly, ‘and now the jury will—’

     ‘Your Majesty!’ said the White Rabbit, jumping up in a great hurry.  ‘We’ve just found this letter. There’s no name on it, but I think the Knave wrote it.’

    ‘No, I didn’t!’ said the Knave loudly.

    ‘Read it to us,’ said the King.

    ‘Where shall I begin, Your Majesty?’ asked the Rabbit.

    ‘Begin at the beginning,’ said the King, ‘and go on until you get to the end, then stop.’

    Everybody listened very carefully while the White Rabbit read these words.

They tell me you have been to her,

And talked of me to him.

She thought I was a gardener,

But said I could not swim.

He tells them that I have not gone,

(We know that this is true).

If she decide to hurry on,

What will they do to you?

I gave her one, they gave him two,

You gave us three or more.

They all returned from him to you,

But they were mine before.

   ‘That’s a very important piece of evidence,’ said the King. He looked very pleased. ‘Now the jury must—’

     ‘If anybody in the jury can explain that letter,’ said Alice (she was not afraid of anything now, because she was much bigger than everybody in the room), ‘I’ll give him sixpence. It’s all nonsense! It doesn’t mean anything.’

    The jury busily wrote this down.  ‘She thinks it’s all nonsense.’

     ‘All nonsense, eh?’ said the King. He read some of the words again. ‘But said I could not swim. You can’t swim, can you?’ he said to the Knave.

    The Knave’s face was sad. ‘Do I look like a swimmer?’ he said. (And he didn’t – because he was made of paper.)

     The King smiled. ‘I understand everything now,’ he said. ‘There are the tarts, and here is the Knave of Hearts. And now the jury must decide who the thief is.’

    ‘No, no!’ said the Queen. ‘Off with his head! The jury can say what it thinks later.’

    ‘What nonsense!’ said Alice loudly. ‘The jury must decide first. You can’t—’

    ‘Be quiet!’ said the Queen, her face turning red.

    ‘I won’t!’ said Alice.

    ‘Off with her head!’  screamed the Queen.  Nobody moved.

    ‘It doesn’t matter what you say,’ said Alice.  ‘You’re only a pack of cards!’

    Then the pack of cards flew up into the sky and began to fall on Alice’s face. She gave a little scream . . . and woke up. She was lying next to her sister under the trees, and some leaves were falling on her face.

    ‘Wake up, Alice dear,’ said her sister.  ‘You’ve been asleep a long time.’

    ‘Oh, I’ve had a very curious dream!’  said Alice, and she told her sister all about the strange adventures in her wonderful dream.   

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With English stories , you can:

  • Understand deeper and broaden understanding
  • Know more vocals and how they are used in real contexts
  • Motivate imagination, create your own story
  • Enhance communication skill

Besides, we wrote an ebook about the topic “ How to Learn English Effectively through short stories “. You can refer to our ebook first.

101 English short stories for English learners from beginner to advanced level

A. Beginner Level

write english stories

  • A Baby and a Sock
  • Birds and a Baby
  • A Cat and a Dog
  • The Baby Bear
  • An Apple Pie
  • The Top Bunk
  • A Birthday Bike
  • In the Garden
  • Today’s Mail
  • Boys Will Be Boys
  • A Good Meal
  • No Friends for Me
  • Life Is Good
  • Tell the Truth
  • God Loves Babies
  • A Clean Car
  • Farm Animals
  • Corn for People and Animals
  • Rain and Hail
  • Hungry Birds
  • At the Bus Stop
  • Brown and Blue Eyes
  • Catch Some Fish
  • Daddy Likes Beer
  • Bears and a Pig
  • A Short Plane Ride
  • A Windy Day
  • Try to Tell the Truth
  •  A Bad Economy
  • The Birthday Party
  • Plants Need Water
  • Life Will Be Better
  • A Lucky Day
  • My Family’s House

B. Intermediate Level

write english stories

  • The Christmas Story – The Birth Of JESUS
  • The Man Who Learned From His Cow
  • The Girl Who Dressed Like a Boy
  • The Jindo Dog
  • The Wait-and-See Man
  • The Seal’s Skin
  • the Bear’s Son
  •  Strong Wind
  • Brer Fox’s Shoes
  •  Three Rabbits
  • The Bridge between the Earth and the Sky
  • The Wild Pigeon

C. Upper-intermediate Level

write english stories

  • The Christmas Star and the Little Wanderer
  • The White Ribbon (Kassie’s and Betty’s friendship)
  • The Joyous Christmas Surprise
  • A Little Princess | Part 1
  • A Little Princess | Part 2
  • A Little Princess | Part 3

D. Advanced Level

We will update more English short stories in the future. Don’t forget to subscribe to our blog and youtube channel 

Thank you, @Tony Illustrated English for being willing to share your stories on our blog – One of our partner

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For example:

Short Stories in English: Farm Animals

The  chicken and the duck  were friends. They lived on a  farm . They  walked around  together. They swam in the pond together. They talked about many things. They talked about the cat. They thought the cat was tricky. They thought the cat was dangerous. The cat  looked at  them a lot. They didn’t trust the cat. “We must always keep our eyes open when the cat is around,” they both agreed. They talked about the dog. The dog was very friendly. The dog wanted to play. The dog had lots of energy. It barked a lot. It  ran around  a lot. They both liked the dog. They talked about the farmer. The farmer brought them food. The farmer  took care of  them. The farmer took care of all the animals. He fed the cow. He fed the pig. He fed the goat. He fed the sheep. He fed the rabbit. They liked the farmer. He  took good care of  everyone. He was a nice man. “Farmers are good,” said the chicken. “We need farmers,” said the duck.

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30 Best English Stories to Improve Your English

Why reading stories is important for improving your english.

Reading English stories to improve your English is important because it helps with vocabulary, grammar, and comprehension.

There are many ways you can find interesting English stories to read. If you have a local library, they will likely have a section with books in English. You can also search for simple stories online.

Once you have found a few stories that you think you might like, it is time to start reading! Start by reading the story aloud. This will help you to get a feel for the rhythm and flow of the language.

As you read, pay attention to any new words or phrases that you come across. Make a note of these so that you can look them up later. The importance of English language vocabulary is centred around a robust collection of words and phrases.

As you become more confident with your English reading practice, you can start to increase your speed. Reading quickly will help you to improve your comprehension skills. Make sure that you still take the time to look up any new words or phrases!

The main reasons why stories can help you learn English are:

  • They are manageable. This means that you can finish them quickly and move on to the next one.
  • They contain a variety of languages. You will come across new vocabulary, grammar structures, and expressions. They are usually interesting. This makes them more enjoyable to read, and therefore more likely to help you stay motivated.
  • They help with sentence structure. When you read a story, you are exposed to different types of sentence structures and vocabulary words. This can help you to better understand and use the English language.
  • Stories often have a moral or message. This helps to keep you engaged. Typical language textbooks can be dull and repetitive. But stories always keep you thinking.
  • They have a cultural connection. This can help you to understand the culture and values of native English speakers.
  • They’re fun! Reading stories can also be enjoyable, and they can help to improve your imagination and creativity.

There are many different types of English stories that you can read, and each one has its own benefits. English reading covers a diverse range of topics and stories. Choose a few that look interesting to you and get started! In this blog, we will show you our list of the 30 best English stories to improve your English reading skills.

30 English Stories to Improve Your English

Easy english stories for beginner english learners, the three little pigs.

If you’re looking for English short stories for beginners, the story of The Three Little Pigs is simple and easy to follow. It also contains a lot of useful vocabulary. Reading simple books like this are essential for building comprehension skills . In addition, the story is repetitive, which makes it ideal for beginners. By reading and rereading the story, English learners will quickly become familiar with the language and be able to understand it better. As a result, The Three Little Pigs is an excellent book for those who are looking to improve their English reading level.

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Goldilocks and the Three Bears is a classic English fairy tale that has been enjoyed by children for generations. The story is simple yet engaging, with cheerful characters, and it teaches important lessons about honesty and consequences. The characters are also very memorable, making it an ideal story for English learners. In addition, the story is short enough to be easily digestible, but it still contains enough detail to be interesting. All of these factors make Goldilocks and the Three Bears an excellent book for English learners of all levels.

The Ugly Duckling

The Ugly Duckling is one of the most beloved English stories of all time. The story follows the journey of an ugly duckling who is rejected by his family and friends. He eventually learns to love himself for who he is and finds happiness in his new life. The story is popular with English learners because it teaches valuable lessons about self-acceptance and diversity. In addition, the story is written in simple, easy-to-understand English, making it an ideal choice for beginners. Whether you’re just starting to learn English or you’re a seasoned speaker, The Ugly Duckling is a great choice for anyone looking to improve their English skills.

Cinderella is one of the best-known English stories, and it is often used to help people learn English. This childhood classic story is about a young girl who is treated badly by her stepmother and stepsisters. But with the help of her fairy godmother, she attends a royal ball and meets the prince. With a little help from her friends, she manages to win the prince’s heart and lives happily ever after. The story is full of fun and adventure, and it is a great way to improve English language skills.

Little Red Riding Hood

Little Red Riding Hood is a childhood classic English story that has been enjoyed by generations of children. The story is simple and easy to follow, making it an ideal choice for English learners. The story follows Little Red Riding Hood as she travels through the woods to visit her grandmother. Along the way, she encounters a hungry wolf who tries to eat her. However, Little Red Riding Hood can outwit the wolf and make it safely to her grandmother’s house. The story is packed with interesting characters and exciting adventures, making it a great way to improve English language skills.

Hansel and Gretel

Hansel and Gretel is a timeless story that has been retold many times. The original version was written by the Brothers Grimm, and it has since been adopted by many different authors. The story is about two siblings who are stranded in the woods and must find their way back home. Along the way, they encounter a wicked witch who wants to eat them. However, the siblings can outwit the witch and eventually make it back home safe and sound. The story is interesting because it teaches valuable lessons about resourcefulness and ingenuity. Additionally, the story is also a great way to learn English. There are many different English versions of the story available, so readers can practise their English while enjoying a classic tale.

The Tortoise and the Hare

The tortoise and the hare is one of the most well-known English stories. The story tells of a race between a tortoise and a hare, in which the tortoise ultimately wins. The story is popular among English learners because it contains many idiomatic expressions and teaches an important lesson about never giving up. In addition, the story is fun and engaging, making it an enjoyable way to improve English skills.

The Princess and the Pea

English stories are the perfect way to improve English while enjoying yourself at the same time. The Princess and the Pea is a classic English story that is perfect for beginners. The story is about a young princess who is looking for a prince to marry. She meets a frog who tells her she can find a prince if she sleeps on a pile of peas. The next day, she meets a man who she thinks is the prince, but he turns out to be a frog. The story is full of adventure and humour, and it is a great way to learn English while enjoying yourself.

The Gingerbread Man

English learners of all ages can benefit from reading The Gingerbread Man. The story is not only entertaining, but it also contains some English language learning opportunities. For example, the book introduces several new vocabulary words, such as “baker” and “gingerbread.” In addition, the book’s simple sentence structure makes it an easy-to-understand English paragraph story. Furthermore, the book’s repetition of key phrases provides an opportunity for English learners to practice their pronunciation. Ultimately, The Gingerbread Man is a great choice for English learners looking to improve their language skills.

Aladdin and the Magic Lamp is one of the most popular English stories for children. The story is about a poor boy who finds a magic lamp that can grant him any wish he wants. With the help of the lamp, Aladdin becomes rich and famous. However, he soon discovers that the lamp is also very dangerous. The story is full of excitement and adventure, and it is a great way for children to learn English. The story is also a simple short story in English, and it teaches children about the dangers of greed and power.

English Stories for Intermediate English Learners

The chronicles of narnia: the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe by c.s lewis.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe is an English children’s novel written by C.S Lewis. It was first published in 1950 and has been adapted into several films and television series. The story follows the adventures of four English children who find themselves transported to the magical world of Narnia. There, they must help the lion Aslan defeat the evil White Witch and save the land from her tyranny.

The Chronicles of Narnia is an excellent book for improving English. The story is easy to follow and engaging, and the characters are well-developed and likeable. Additionally, the book introduces readers to some useful English vocabulary, such as “wardrobe” and “witch”. Overall, The Chronicles of Narnia is a charming and enjoyable read that is sure to please both young and old alike.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K Rowling

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is a modern classic fantasy novel written by British author J.K. Rowling. The first book in the Harry Potter series, it tells the story of a young wizard, Harry Potter, who attends Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. There he makes close friends and powerful enemies and learns about his parents’ death. The book has sold over 120 million copies worldwide and has been made into a successful film series. English learners can find this book interesting and beneficial because it is one of the most famous English stories ever written. It can help them improve their English skills by providing them with an engaging story to read and follow. In addition, the book contains many difficult words and concepts that English learners can practice using in their own writing.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein

J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit is a classic English story that has charmed readers for generations. The tale follows the adventure of Bilbo Baggins, a young hobbit who is thrust into a world of magic and danger when he joins a group of dwarves on a quest to reclaim their lost treasure. Along the way, Bilbo must face his fears and use his wits to survive encounters with deadly trolls, giant spiders, and the dragon Smaug. The Hobbit is not only an exciting story but also an excellent book to improve English. The book’s simple language and clear narrative make it ideal for English language learners of all levels. In addition, the story’s rich fantasy setting provides an interesting and engaging context for learning new vocabulary. Whether you are just starting to learn English or you are looking for complex issues to enjoy, The Hobbit is sure to please.

Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

Charlotte’s Web is a classic easy English story that has been beloved by readers for generations. The story follows the life of a young spider, Charlotte, who befriends a pig named Wilbur. When Wilbur is in danger of being slaughtered, Charlotte takes it upon herself to save him. The story is heartwarming and poignant, with characters that are easy to root for. Additionally, the book is written in clear and concise English, making it an excellent choice for English learners. The book’s simple language and engaging story make it an ideal tool for English students of all levels. Whether you are just beginning to learn English or are looking to improve your reading skills, Charlotte’s Web is a great choice.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

English stories are always interesting whether they are simple or complicated. The Hunger Games is one of the English stories that can help improve English. It was written by Suzanne Collins. The story is about Katniss, a girl who volunteers to take her sister’s place in The Hunger Games. The Hunger Games is a competition where two teens from each district compete in a televised fight to the death. This story is good for learning English because it has suspense and Betrayal. Katniss also has to survive in the wild and learn how to hunt. All of these aspects make the book interesting and enjoyable to read. Additionally, the book can help improve English level because it is well written and uses proper grammar.

Superfudge by Judy Blume

English learners often struggle with understanding English stories. Superfudge by Judy Blume is a great book for English learners because it is easy to read and follow. The story is about a boy named Peter who moves from New York to New Jersey with his family. He has to adjust to a new school and make new friends. Peter gets into a lot of trouble, but he always learns from his mistakes. English learners can improve their English skills by reading this book because it is a great story that is easy to understand.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney

English stories can be a great way to improve your learning process. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney is one such story. The book chronicles the life of Greg Heffley, a wimpy kid who is constantly getting into mischief. While the book is aimed at younger readers, it is also enjoyable for adults. The story is full of humour and English idioms, making it an entertaining and educational read. In addition, the book has been adapted into a popular movie series, giving you another way to immerse yourself in the story. Whether you are looking to improve your English language skills or simply want to enjoy a good book, Diary of a Wimpy Kid is an excellent choice.

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning is the first book in a series of thirteen novels written by American author Lemony Snicket (pseudonym of Daniel Handler). The book follows the story of three orphaned children, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire, who are sent to live with Count Olaf after the death of their parents in a mysterious fire. Upon arrival at Olaf’s house, the children quickly realize that he is only interested in their fortune and will stop at nothing to get his hands on it. They must use all their wit and courage to outsmart Olaf and escape his clutches. While A Series of Unfortunate Events is certainly not a cheerful story, it is an engaging read that is sure to please fans of English stories looking to improve their language skills.

Matilda by Roald Dahl

Matilda is a story about a young girl who is extraordinarily smart and uncovers a secret about her family. The story is helpful for English learners because it contains many examples of proper grammar usage. In addition, the story is suspenseful and engaging, keeping readers engaged from beginning to end. English learners will also benefit from the story’s exploration of family dynamics. Overall, Matilda is an excellent English story that English learners will enjoy and benefit from reading.

Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief is a novel by Rick Riordan that has been turned into a popular movie franchise. The story follows Percy, a twelve-year-old boy who discovers he is the son of Poseidon and is drawn into a battle between the Greek gods. The novel is fast-paced and action-packed, and readers will appreciate the humour and adventure. English learners will find this story particularly helpful, as it is written in clear, accessible language. The characters also speak in English slang, which English learners can use to improve their own fluency. In addition, the use of ancient myths and legends will help English learners to understand more about English culture and history.

English Stories for Advanced  English Learners

To kill a mockingbird by harper lee.

To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel by Harper Lee that was published in 1960. English learners can benefit from reading this novel because it is written in clear, concise English and tells an engaging story. The novel is set in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama, during the 1930s. It tells the story of Atticus Finch, a white lawyer who defends a black man accused of rape, and his daughter Scout. The novel deals with themes of racism, injustice, and morality. English learners can improve their English language skills by reading To Kill a Mockingbird and understanding these themes. In addition, the novel can help English learners to understand American culture and history.

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

The Catcher in the Rye is a novel by J.D. Salinger that follows Holden Caulfield, a teenager from New York City, as he is kicked out of his boarding school and goes on a journey around America. The book has been banned in many schools because of its mature themes and negative situations, but it is often taught in English classes because it is considered a classic coming-of-age story. The book can be helpful for English learners because it is written in simple, straightforward language. In addition, the book’s characters often speak in dialect, which can be difficult for non-native English speakers to understand. However, the book’s use of dialect can also help English learners to understand how native speakers use slang and colloquialisms. Overall, The Catcher in the Rye is a classic English novel that can be helpful for English learners who want to improve their language skills.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby is a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald that has been widely praised for its literary merits. The story follows the lives of a group of people in the United States during the 1920s, and it is full of beautiful prose and motivation for English learners. While the book can be challenging for English learners due to its use of vocabulary and idiomatic expressions, it is also an excellent resource for improving English skills. The book is rich in both language and culture, and it provides readers with an insight into the American way of life during the Jazz Age. In addition, the book is a great reminder that English is a living language that is constantly evolving. The Great Gatsby is an essential read for any English learner who wants to improve their language skills.

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Lord of the Flies is an English novel written by William Golding. It was first published in 1954 and is currently taught in many English classrooms around the world. The story is about a group of English boys who are stranded on an uninhabited island and must try to survive on their own, resulting in negative situations. One of the things that makes this novel so helpful for English learners is that it contains many examples of English grammar and vocabulary in context. In addition, the storyline is easy to follow and there are plenty of opportunities for discussion on the power of nature. As a result, Lord of the Flies is an excellent choice for English learners who want to improve their language skills while also enjoying a classic work of literature.

Animal Farm by George Orwell

Animal Farm is a novel by George Orwell that was first published in 1945. The book tells the story of a dystopian society featuring a group of animals who live on a farm under the rule of a tyrannical leader, Napoleon. The animals soon realize that they are being treated unfairly and decide to overthrow Napoleon and establish their own government. However, the new government soon becomes as corrupt as the old one. The novel is an allegory for the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin, and it is believed to be helpful for English learners because it uses simple language and contains many examples of English grammar. Animal Farm can therefore be a valuable tool for English students who are looking to improve their language skills.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

English learners often find it helpful to read English stories. This is because stories provide context for language, as well as opportunities to practice reading English. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley is an English story that can be helpful for English learners. The story is set in a future world where people are born and raised in test tubes. This allows the government to control the population by controlling the emotions of the people. The story follows the main character, Bernard Marx, as he rebels against the dystopian society. Bernard eventually realizes that the government’s control is not as bad as he thought it was. This story can be helpful for English learners because it provides context for unfamiliar words and phrases, as well as opportunities to practice reading English.

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is a classic English novel that tells the story of Marlow, a sailor who goes to work for a Belgian ivory trading company in Africa. The novel is known for its complex plot and beautiful writing, and it has been praised by many critics as a masterpiece of English literature. For English learners, Heart of Darkness can be an excellent way to improve their language skills. The novel’s complex plot provides ample opportunity to practice reading comprehension, and the beautiful writing can help to improve vocabulary and grammar skills. In addition, the novel’s setting in Africa can also help English learners to better understand the power of nature. Ultimately, Heart of Darkness is an essential English story that can provide immense benefits for English learners.

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

The Picture of Dorian Gray is a novel by Oscar Wilde that was first published in 1890. The story follows the life of Dorian Gray, a young man who remains youthful in appearance while his portrait becomes increasingly grotesque as it records the effect of his hedonistic lifestyle. Although Dorian Gray is often hailed as a classic of English literature, it is also an excellent resource for English learners. The book is written in clear, concise prose, and the characters speak in well-defined dialects that are easy to understand. In addition, the plot provides a detailed look at Victorian society, offering valuable insights into the social customs and values of the period. As a result, English learners who read The Picture of Dorian Gray will not only improve their English skills but also gain a greater understanding of English culture and history.

Dracula by Bram Stoker

English learners often benefit from reading English stories. Not only do they gain exposure to new vocabulary and sentence structures, but they also learn about English culture and customs. One such story is Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Although it was published over a hundred years ago, the novel remains one of the most popular English stories ever written. It tells the story of Count Dracula, a vampire who moves from Transylvania to England to spread his curse. Along the way, he encounters several English characters, including Dr Abraham Van Helsing, who ultimately works to defeat him. English learners will find much to enjoy in this classic novel, from its suspenseful plot to its richly-detailed setting. In addition, they will gain a deeper meaning of English culture and history.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

English learners often find it helpful to read English stories. Stories can provide context for new vocabulary and grammar structures, and they can also be enjoyable to read. One English story that is particularly popular is Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. The story follows the scientist Victor Frankenstein, who creates a monster from corpses. The monster is initial content, but he eventually becomes lonely and angry when he is rejected by society. He then decides to take revenge on Frankenstein by killing his loved ones. This story may feel like horror but it is full of deeper meaning. Frankenstein is a classic English story that English learners can enjoy and learn from. It is full of new vocabulary and complicated sentence structures, making it a great way to improve English skills. English learners who read Frankenstein will undoubtedly see their English improve.

There are many benefits to reading English stories. Not only can it improve your English language skills, but it can also help you to learn about new cultures and gain a better understanding of the world around you. A good English story can transport you to another place and time, and provide an immersive experience that is hard to find anywhere else. In addition, reading English stories can also help you to improve your vocabulary and comprehension skills. By reading a variety of different stories, you will be exposed to new words and phrases that you may not encounter in your everyday life. As you become more familiar with the language, you will find it easier to understand what you read. So if you’re looking for a way to improve your English skills, be sure to add English stories to your reading list.

Frequently Asked Questions

To improve your English reading skills, start by reading stories that interest you. This will help you to stay engaged and motivated. Then, break the story down into smaller pieces and read each section slowly and carefully. As you read, pay attention to the new words and expressions that you encounter. 

Short stories offer a compact, self-contained narrative that can be read in a single sitting. This allows readers to focus on the story without getting distracted by other elements, such as character development or worldbuilding. In addition, short stories often use simple language and clear sentence structures, making them ideal for readers who are still developing their literacy skills. 

Choose any good story in English which has a moral, teachable message for children. The story you choose will depend on the age and developmental level of the child you are telling the story to. Aesop’s Fables are very old, short stories that end with a moral lesson. The Velveteen Rabbit is a beloved children’s book about a stuffed rabbit that becomes real through the love of a child. The Lion and the Mouse is another classic story with a moral lesson.

We believe that the best story for English language students is “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” This classic tale is both enjoyable and instructive, offering valuable lessons about the importance of critical thinking and speaking up against authority. In addition, its simple plot and accessible language make it ideal for language learners of all levels. For these reasons, we believe that “The Emperor’s New Clothes” is the best story for English language students.

Watching English-language YouTube videos is a popular way to learn the language, but it has its limitations. One benefit of reading short stories instead is that it forces you to slow down and process the language more carefully. This can help you to better understand grammar rules and vocabulary words. Additionally, reading short stories allows you to explore different styles of writing, which can give you a better sense of the English language as a whole.

It is generally recommended that English learners read short stories on a regular basis in order to improve their language skills. Reading stories can help to develop vocabulary, grammar, and comprehension skills. Additionally, it can be a fun and enjoyable way to learn more about the English language. However, there is no set time frame for how often one should read short stories.

Learn from History – Follow the Science – Listen to the Experts

What’s the one thing that makes LillyPad so special? Lilly! She is a personal English tutor, and has people talking all over the world! Lilly makes improving your English easy. With Lilly, you can read in four different ways, and you can read just about anything you love. And learning with Lilly, well that’s what you call liberating! 

For learners of all ages striving to improve their English, LillyPad combines the most scientifically studied and recommended path to achieving English fluency and proficiency with today’s most brilliant technologies!

Additionally, the platform incorporates goal-setting capabilities, essential tracking & reporting, gamification, anywhere-anytime convenience, and significant cost savings in comparison to traditional tutoring methodologies.

At LillyPad , everything we do is focused on delivering a personalized journey that is meaningful and life-changing for our members. LillyPad isn’t just the next chapter in English learning…

…it’s a whole new story!

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Bethany MacDonald

Bethany MacDonald has contributed articles LillyPad.ai since 2020. As their Blog Lead, she specialises in informative pieces on culture, education, and language learning

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  • Listen and watch

Short stories

Do you like listening to and reading stories? Reading stories is a great way to improve your vocabulary and we have lots of great stories for you to watch. Watch stories, print activities and post comments!

A dogs life screenshot

A dog's life

A Midsummer Night's Dream screenshot

A Midsummer Night's Dream

ABC Zoo screenshot

Ali and the magic carpet

Angel! Look out! screenshot

Angel! Look out!

Beatrix Potter screenshot

Beatrix Potter

Boudica screenshot

Buzz and Bob's big adventure

Circus escape screenshot

Circus escape

Dark, dark wood screenshot

Dark, dark wood

Dick Whittington screenshot

Dick Whittington

Dinosaur Dig screenshot

Dinosaur Dig

Elizabeth I screenshot

Elizabeth I

Emmeline Pankhurst screenshot

Emmeline Pankhurst

Eric the engine screenshot

Eric the engine

Florence Nightingale screenshot

Florence Nightingale

George and the dragon screenshot

George and the dragon

Goldilocks and the three bears screenshot

Goldilocks and the three bears

Hamlet screenshot

I couldn't believe my eyes

I'm too ill screenshot

I'm too ill

Isaac Newton screenshot

Isaac Newton

Jack and the beanstalk screenshot

Jack and the beanstalk

Little Red Riding Hood screenshot

Little Red Riding Hood

Macbeth screenshot

Monster shopping trip

Much Ado About Nothing screenshot

Much Ado About Nothing

My dad screenshot

My favourite clothes

My favourite day - Chinese New Year screenshot

My favourite day - Chinese New Year

My favourite day - Christmas screenshot

My favourite day - Christmas

My favourite day - Diwali screenshot

My favourite day - Diwali

My favourite day - Eid al-Fitr screenshot

My favourite day - Eid al-Fitr

My secret team screenshot

My secret team

Nessie - the Loch Ness Monster screenshot

Nessie - the Loch Ness Monster

No dogs! screenshot

One moment around the world

Our colourful world screenshot

Our colourful world

Planet Earth screenshot

Planet Earth

Pyramids in Paris screenshot

Pyramids in Paris

Ratty robs a bank screenshot

Ratty robs a bank

Record breakers screenshot

Record breakers

Robin Hood screenshot

Romeo and Juliet

Santa's little helper screenshot

Santa's little helper

Spycat screenshot

Superhero High

Teddy's adventure screenshot

Teddy's adventure

The animal shelter screenshot

The animal shelter

The bird king screenshot

The bird king

The clever monkey screenshot

The clever monkey

The cold planet screenshot

The cold planet

The first marathon screenshot

The first marathon

The great race screenshot

The great race

The greedy hippo screenshot

The greedy hippo

The haunted house screenshot

The haunted house

The hungry dragon screenshot

The hungry dragon

The lazy bear screenshot

The lazy bear

The lion and the mouse screenshot

The lion and the mouse

The lucky envelope screenshot

The lucky envelope

The lucky seed screenshot

The lucky seed

The lump of gold screenshot

The lump of gold

The magic fish screenshot

The magic fish

The magic paintbrush screenshot

The magic paintbrush

The magic spell screenshot

The magic spell

The mummy screenshot

The princess and the dragon

The Ramadan lantern story screenshot

The Ramadan lantern story

The sneaky rabbit screenshot

The sneaky rabbit

The snowman screenshot

The snowman

The story of quinine screenshot

The story of quinine

The treasure map screenshot

The treasure map

The ugly duckling screenshot

The ugly duckling

The voyage of the animal orchestra screenshot

The voyage of the animal orchestra

Twelfth Night screenshot

Twelfth Night

Twins' week screenshot

Twins' week

What will I be when I grow up? screenshot

What will I be when I grow up?

What's that noise? screenshot

What's that noise?

Why Anansi has thin legs! screenshot

Why Anansi has thin legs!

William Shakespeare screenshot

William Shakespeare

English courses for children aged 6-17

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Create Your Own Story Online

Create your own story online using our ultimate story creator. Our story creator comes with built-in story starters, artwork and more to inspire writers of all abilities!

Create a story

Useful Resources

write english stories

Ultimate Story Generator

Generate thousands of unique stories using our ultimate story generator. Just enter some words about your story, and press the 'Generate Story' button. You can create a unique story within minutes to share with your friends. Writing stories has never been so easy! Try out our story generator and step-by-step story maker tool now!

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Daily Writing Challenges

Our daily writing challenges aim to inspire and encourage young writers to write daily. Each day the challenges will update to show a new inspirational prompt for you to write about. We have special seasonal writing challenges, as well as regular challenges, such as the word challenge, book title challenge, poetry challenge and more!

write english stories

Use Story Starters to Inspire You

Story starters are a brilliant way to fix blank page syndrome (or writer's block). Did you know that 67% of authors say the most challenging part of writing is starting their story? We have thousands of story starters to get you writing in no time! And that's not all, if you're still stuck for inspiration we even have a ton of artwork to inspire you.

Generate Funny Story Ideas

With thousands of story combinations to keep you writing stories every day. Our simple-to-use story idea generator comes with tons of fun and wacky prompts to inspire you. Whether you're into pirates or princesses we got writing prompts to suit every child out there.

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No Registration Required

Imagine Forest offers a seamless and user-friendly experience with the convenience of no registration required. We believe in breaking down barriers and making creative resources accessible to all. We provide a hassle-free environment for users to dive into the world of storytelling, writing challenges, and more.

Safe For Kids

Imagine Forest is proud to declare itself a safe space for kids. With no registration required to use tools, we ensure that no personal information is collected, providing a secure and privacy-conscious environment. Our resources are carefully curated to be age-appropriate, for younger to older children, fostering a positive and creative atmosphere.

write english stories

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Imagine forest free?

Yes. Imagine Forest is 100% free. There are no additional costs or subscription fees. All features you see on the site are fully available for free.

How do you use Imagine forest?

To use Imagine Forest simply explore the site or click the 'Create a Story' button at the top of this page to access the story creator. Once inside the story creator, you can select the type of story you want to write and continue following the on-screen instructions. At the end, you can download a PDF of your book. You can also explore the rest of the site to find some interesting activities and writing resources to help you become a better story writer.

How do I register for Imagine Forest?

No registration is required. All resources from the story creator to the writing challenges and blog content are openly available to all site visitors. This also means that we don’t store any personal information, allowing users to explore Imagine Forest without the need for a formal registration process. The platform is designed to prioritize user privacy and accessibility, ensuring that creative individuals of all ages can freely engage with the diverse range of writing resources.

Is Imagine Forest safe for kids?

Yes of course. The absence of a registration requirement means that no personal information is collected, providing an added layer of privacy and security. Additionally, the content and activities on Imagine Forest are tailored to be child-friendly, fostering a positive and creative environment. The platform aims to inspire and nurture the imagination of young writers in a safe and age-appropriate manner. As with any online platform, it's advisable for parents to monitor their children's online activities and ensure that they are engaging with content suitable for their age group.

Can I view a list of Writing Prompts?

Yes. Imagine Forest has a huge list of writing prompts and story starters. You can view this collection of writing prompts on our blog, in the writing prompts category .

Is it possible to remove the ads?

Sorry, there is no option to remove ads yet. Ads help keep Imagine Forest running and providing free access to its creative resources for all users. While it may be inconvenient for some to see ads, they play a crucial role in sustaining the platform and ensuring that it remains freely accessible to a wide audience. Imagine Forest relies on revenue generated from advertisements to cover the costs of maintaining the website, developing new features, and expanding its offerings. By allowing ads, the platform can continue to provide a wealth of writing tools, challenges, and other resources without requiring users to pay for access. In the future, we may offer users a paid subscription option which allows them to remove ads from the site.

Is it possible to upload my own images?

At this moment in time, no it is not possible to upload your own images in the story creator tool. We may bring this feature in the future. The purpose of Imagine Forest is to guide you on how to write a good story. It is an educational tool for helping beginners write stories and poems. We do however provide a huge built-in library of photos, and illustrations to use. You can also request more specific images by contacting our team .

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Learn English The Fun Way

English Story – Learn English through 50 Stories in English

Are you someone who likes to read English story that are full of emotion and easy to understand? Do you want to learn more English vocabulary, English idioms, and phrases simply, with free audio? Learn English through Story in English  is one of the best ways to learn English.

More importantly, these Short English stories all mean profound lessons in life from which you will learn many good ideas to make life better.

English Story - Learn English through 50 Stories in English

Here are 50 Simple Short Stories in English.

Learning English through short stories are a fantastic way. It’s teaching valuable life lessons in a fun way everybody can understand. Short stories help expand your English language knowledge, vocabulary, and grammar because they are easy to understand.

If you would like to download all of these easy English stories, leave your email in the comment. We will send them to your email.

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Short Story in English 11 - What's That Smell?

Short Story in English 11 – What’s That...

Short Story in English 50 – The Birthday Cake

Short Story in English 50 – The Birthday Cake

Short Story in English 49 – Pay the Interest

Short Story in English 49 – Pay the Interest

Short Story in English 48 – I Have a Question

Short Story in English 48 – I Have a Question

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Excellent English Webpage!

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Helga

Agree that it is an excellent English webpage, but why does the audio have no sound when I clicked the “play” button…?

Thanks for your feedback. Please refesh the page and click the play button again.

mohammad javad ghazi zahedi

Thank you 🙂

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it very good

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Great work!

Michael

Very useful resource 👍

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Great work. Can I use stories in a manual I am developing for children from Poor community?

Yes you can.

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32 Moral Stories in English That Will Touch Your Heart

Moral Stories in English

Disclosure: This article may contain affiliate links, meaning that when you make a purchase, I earn a small commission. Affiliate links cost you nothing to use and help keep my content free. For more info, see the Disclosure Policy.

There is a reason why moral stories have been around for centuries. They teach us a lot about life and remind us of what is truly important.

Today we will share 32 moral stories in English that will inspire your child to be a better person. These stories will surely warm their hearts and make them think about the world in a new way.

These stories deal with different aspects of life, such as love, family, friendship, and more. We hope you enjoy them!

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Moral Stories in English

1. the lion and the mouse.

Moral:  Kindness is never wasted.

A well-known fable by Aesop is “The Lion and The Mouse.” This story is about a lion who spared the life of a mouse. The mouse then returns the favor by helping the lion when he is in danger. This story shows us that life is full of surprises, and kind deeds get rewarded.

Read the short version.

2. The Ant and the Grasshopper

Moral:  There is a time for work and a time for play.

“The Ant and the Grasshopper” is another popular moral story. This tale is about a grasshopper who spends his days singing and playing instead of preparing for winter. The ant works hard all summer to store up food. When winter comes, the grasshopper has nothing to eat, while the ant is warm and well-fed. This story teaches us the importance of hard work and planning ahead.

3. The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Moral:  Liars aren’t believed even when they tell the truth.

“The Boy Who Cried Wolf” is a classic story that has been around for centuries. This story is about a shepherd boy who tricks the villagers by crying “wolf” when there is no danger. The villagers eventually get tired of his games and don’t believe him when he cries “wolf” for real. This story teaches us the importance of telling the truth.

4. The Hare and the Tortoise

Moral:  You can be more successful by doing things slowly and steadily rather than quickly and carelessly.

The fable is about a hare who mocks a tortoise for being slow. The tortoise then challenges the hare to a race. The hare runs fast at first but then takes a nap in the middle of the race. The tortoise slowly but surely passes the hare and wins the race. Slow and steady wins the race!

5. The Blue Jackal

Moral:  Don’t be too greedy.

“The Blue Jackal” is a moral story about a jackal that jumps into a large pool of blue dye. When he returned to the jungle, all the animals were confused to see such a strange-looking animal. Then he had a clever idea. He pretended that he was sent there by the creator of the universe and announced himself as king. Everyone believed him until they soon later figured out he was just a jackal.

6. The Goose and the Golden Egg

Moral:  Those who have plenty want more and so lose all they have.

In the tale “The Goose and the Golden Egg,” a farmer finds a golden goose. He is so excited about his new discovery that he kills the goose to get all the gold. However, when he opens up the goose, he finds that it is just like any other goose. This story teaches us that greed does not pay off in the end.

7. A Wise Old Owl

Moral:  When you speak less and listen more, you become wiser and smarter

“A Wise Old Owl” teaches us about being wise and the virtue of silence. The story is about an owl who is wise and hears many things. He spoke less and less and heard more and more. This is available as both a nursery rhyme and a moral story.

8. Jack and the Beanstalk

Moral:  Take advantage of the opportunities life provides for you.

“Jack and the Beanstalk” is a classic moral story passed down for generations. In this tale, Jack trades his cow for some magic beans. His mother is very angry with him but decides to plant the beans anyway. The following day, Jack wakes up to find a giant beanstalk growing outside his window. He climbs the beanstalk and finds a giant’s castle in the clouds.

Read it here.

9. The Ugly Duckling

Moral:  Don’t judge a person by outward appearance.

“The Ugly Duckling” is a celebrated Hans Christian Andersen story that teaches us about inner beauty. In this tale, an ugly duckling is born into a family of beautiful ducks. The other ducks make fun of him, and he feels very alone. He eventually grows up to be a beautiful swan. This story teaches us what ‘s on the inside counts and raises questions about bullying and discrimination.

10. The Brahim’s Dream

Moral:  Do not build castles in the air.

In the tale, a man called Brahim receives so much rice and is so happy he can’t keep his eyes off the bowl. That night, he has a dream in which he trades rice for money, and a series of events lead to him becoming a wealthy farmer and having his own wife and son. When he wakes up, he realizes that it is only a dream.

11. The Gingerbread Man

Moral:  Be careful when dealing with strangers.

In the tale, a gingerbread man comes to life and runs away from the people who want to eat him. He meets many animals along the way, but none of them can catch him. Eventually, he meets a fox who tricks him into coming close enough to eat him. This story teaches us to be careful of strangers.

12. The Three Little Pigs

Moral:  Hard work pays off.

“The Three Little Pigs” is a classic moral story that has been told for generations. In this tale, three little pigs build houses out of straw, sticks, and bricks. The big bad wolf comes and blows down the first two houses, but he can’t blow down the third house. This story teaches us the importance of hard work and doing things the right way.

13. The Fox and the Goat

Moral:  Look before you leap.

“The Fox and the Goat” is a tale about a fox who falls into a deep well. A thirsty goat comes by the well. The fox comes up with a plan to get out of the well. He tells the goat that the water is the finest. The goat jumps in, and the fox jumps on its horns to escape. This story teaches us to think before we act.

14. The Camel and the Pig

Moral:  It is always best to be yourself.

“The Camel and the Pig” examines the question: is it better to be short or tall? In this Indian fable, a camel and pig are arguing about which is better. They were both hungry. The camel could reach over a low wall and eat the plants from the garden. The pig could not. They came to another garden, this time with a high wall. The pig could squeeze his short body under the gate. The camel couldn’t.

15. The Emperor’s New Clothes

Moral:  Speak up for the truth and what’s right.

“The Emperor’s New Clothes” is a fun story that teaches us about bravery, vanity, truth, wisdom, and naivety. In this tale, an emperor is tricked by two weavers who say they can make him a magical suit of clothes. The emperor agrees to wear the clothes, but in reality, he is wearing nothing at all. It takes a brave little boy to point out that the emperor is naked, and everyone finally sees the truth.

16. The Midas Touch

Moral:  You should never be greedy in life.

“The Midas Touch” is a moral story that teaches us about being greedy. In this tale, King Midas is granted a wish by a fairy. He wishes that everything he touches turns into gold. At first, he is excited but realizes he can’t even touch his daughter without turning her into gold. This story teaches us that greed is not good.

17. Elephant and Friends

Moral:  Friends come in all shapes and sizes.

“Elephant and Friends” is a moral story that teaches us about being kind. In this tale, an elephant is not accepted because he cannot do anything the other animals can do. One day, a tiger comes to eat the animals, and the elephant helps his friends who are in danger. This story teaches us the importance of being kind to others and that friends come in all shapes and sizes.

18. The Fox and the Stork

Moral:  Don’t play tricks on your neighbor unless you can tolerate the same treatment.

“The Fox and the Stork” teaches us about being kind. In this tale, a fox invites a stork over for dinner . The fox serves soup but only gives the stork a shallow bowl, so he can’t eat any of it. The stork gets revenge by inviting the fox over for dinner and serving him food that he can’t eat.

19. Be Wise While Counting

Moral:  A witty answer will serve its purpose.

“Be Wise While Counting” is about an emperor called Akbar who often asked strange questions and riddles. Once, he asked a question, and his courtiers couldn’t think of the answer. One man named Birbal, who knew the emperor’s nature, gave a witty answer that served its purpose.

20. Three Billy Goats Gruff

Moral:  Don’t be greedy.

“Three Billy Goats Gruff” is a moral story that teaches us about bravery and greed. In this tale, three billy goats must cross a bridge to get to the other side. A troll lives under the bridge and wants to eat them. The first two goats trick the troll into waiting for a bigger meal, and the third goat is brave and charges at the troll. The lesson is not to be greedy for the biggest prize and appreciate what you have.

21. The Dog at the Well

Moral:  Always do what your elders say. Question them, but don’t defy them.

“The Dog at the Well” is about a pup who is told by his mother not to go near the well. One day, the puppy goes to the well and falls in. He barks until the farmer rescues him.

Moral:  Life still moves on after death.

“Bambi” is about a young deer named Bambi who is born in the forest. He makes friends with all the animals and learns important life lessons from them. One day, a hunter kills Bambi’s mother. His father, the old stag, eventually dies, and Bambi becomes the Great Prince of the Forest, and he falls in love with a young doe. This story teaches us how to cope with loss and devastation.

23. The Elves and the Shoemaker

Moral:  Be thankful for the help from others and try to help others when they need it.

“The Elves and the Shoemaker” teaches us the importance of hard work. In this tale, two elves voluntarily come to help a shoemaker make shoes. The elves do all of the work while the shoemaker sleeps. In the morning, the shoemaker wakes up to find that his shoes are finished. This continues every night until the shoemaker is rich. In the end, the shoemaker returns the favor.

24. The Clever Monkey Rides Again

Moral:  Don’t be a bully.

“The Clever Monkey” is a classic story from West Africa about a lion who is a bully to the other animals in the jungle. A clever monkey tricks and ridicules the lion, and he never returns to that part of the jungle again. Readers learn the importance of courage and not bullying others.

25. The Parable of the Prodigal Son

Moral:  God is willing to forgive us for our sins.

“The Parable of the Prodigal Son” is a bible story that teaches us about forgiveness. In this parable, a man has two sons. The younger son asks for his inheritance and then leaves home. He squanders all of his money and ends up penniless. He returns home, and his father forgives him. This story teaches us the importance of forgiveness and second chances.

26. The Needle Tree

Moral:  Remember to be thankful and kind, and you will be rewarded.

“The Needle Tree” is a story about a mean boy who mistreats his brother. The mean brother finds a magical tree that produces golden apples. He threatens to cut down the tree if it doesn’t make more golden apples. The tree showered him with needles, and the caring younger sibling of the boy helped him. The boy apologizes for mistreating him, and the tree begins to give them both golden apples again.

27. The Milkmaid and Her Pail

Moral:  Don’t count your chickens before they have hatched.

“The Milkmaid and Her Pail” is about a milkmaid walking to town with a pail of milk. She’s daydreaming about all of the things she’ll buy with the money she gets from selling the milk. She is so caught up in her daydreams that she tosses her head and spills all the milk.

28. The Bear and the Two Friends

Moral:  A friend who does not help his friend in times of need is not a true friend.

In this tale, two friends need to get to the village, but they must cross the forest first. They come across a wild bear. One friend climbed up the tree and refused to help his other friend. The other friend pretended he was dead until the bear went away.

29. Pinocchio 

Moral:  Honesty is the best policy.

“Pinocchio” is a story about a wooden puppet who comes to life. Pinocchio lies, and his nose grows longer each time he tells a lie. In the end, Pinocchio learns that honesty is the best policy.

30. The Frog Prince Story

Moral:  Don’t judge a book by its cover.

“The Frog Prince Story” is about a frog who fetches the princess’s golden ball. The princess agrees to take care of the frog, even though she doesn’t want to. She grew fond of him. One day, the frog turns into a prince. In the end, she learns never to judge by first glance.

Read the extended version.

31. Robin Hood Story

Moral:  It is better to give than to receive.

“Robin Hood Story” is about a man who takes from the rich and gives to the poor. He wants to do the “right thing” and doesn’t want to let the oppressive laws stop him. Many believed he was a thief and a wrongdoer of the law.

32. Peter Pan Story

Moral: Everyone has to grow up and embrace the adventure

“Peter Pan Story” is about a boy who never wants to grow up and is eternally youthful. He lives in a world of make-believe and fantasy. Peter Pan needs to rescue the children from Captain Hook . He takes his friend back to Neverland every year until she grows up and can no longer go with him.

How To Make Reading More Interesting For Kids?

There are many ways to make reading more interesting for kids.

  • One way is to read aloud to them with expression. This will help them to understand the emotions behind the story.
  • You can let them choose their own books to read . This will help them to find stories that they are interested in.
  • Ask them questions about the story as they are reading it. This will help them to think critically about what they are reading.

Using these methods, you can help your child develop a love for reading.

In Conclusion

These are just some of the many moral stories in English that have been passed down for generations. These stories teach us important lessons about life , love, and friendship. What’s your favorite moral story? Share it with us in the comments below!

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Caitriona Maria is an education writer and founder of TPR Teaching, crafting inspiring pieces that promote the importance of developing new skills. For 7 years, she has been committed to providing students with the best learning opportunities possible, both domestically and abroad. Dedicated to unlocking students' potential, Caitriona has taught English in several countries and continues to explore new cultures through her travels.

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Google Chrome for Mac can now help you write posts and comments using AI

Roman Loyola

Google’s latest update to its Chrome browser on Mac, Windows, and Linux in the U.S. has a new generative AI feature called “ Help me write .” The feature, based on Google’s  Gemini  generative AI models, does just what it says: helps you to write content in English on websites. 

“Help me write” can be used anywhere there is a text field where a user writes something. For example, if you want to write a product review on Amazon, you can use “Help me write” to provide the key features. Google said “Help me write” can understand the context of the website you are on, so the feature can write with relevant content.

“Help me write” is in version M122 of Chrome. To check Chrome’s version, launch Chrome and go to  Chrome > A bout Google Chrome . If you do not have version M122, quit Chrome and relaunch it; the app will update itself as it launches. Here’s how to activate and use the “Help me write” function in Google Chrome for Mac.

  • Time to complete: 3 minutes
  • Materials required: Google Chrome for Mac version M122

Turn on “Help me write”

Chrome Mac Help me write setting

Once you’ve installed Chrome M122, go to  Chrome  >  Settings  >  Experimental AI . In the main window, turn on the switch for  Try out experimental AI features . Then a setting for  Help me write  should appear; flip the switch on for that setting.

How to summon ‘Help me write’

Mac Chrome Help me write menu

On a website with a text field (for example, the comments section of an article, a social media post, etc.) Control-click/right-click the text field. In the pop-up menu that appears, select  Help me write  (it may have a New badge).

Describe what you want to have written

Mac Chrome Help me write description

A disclaimer appears, telling you what to do and what you write will be used by Google “to improve this feature.” Click the OK button if you want to continue or click the X at the top right to exit.

When you click continue, a new box appears. This is where you describe what you want to have written. Type your entry and click Create .

Refine the text and post it

Mac Chrome Help me write refine

“Help me write” quickly creates a text entry, but it does not post it automatically. You have to opportunity to make refinements:

  • Tweak your description by clicking on the pencil icon.
  • Make the content shorter or long by clicking the Length button and selecting Shorten or Elaborate .
  • Change the tone by clicking the Tone button and selecting Casual or Formal .
  • Click the generate icon (the circle with an arrow) on the far right to regenerate the text.
  • Click the back icon (the U-turn icon) to revert to a previous text creation.

Click the Insert button once your text is ready. This will place the text in the box so you can post it.

Author: Roman Loyola , Senior Editor

write english stories

Roman has covered technology since the early 1990s. His career started at MacUser, and he's worked for MacAddict, Mac|Life, and TechTV.

Recent stories by Roman Loyola:

  • Apple buys iWork.ai domain as evidence of a big AI push mounts
  • iTunes for Windows nears EOL with launch of Apple Music, TV ‘standalone experiences’
  • Google brings several AI features to the Mac with latest Chrome update
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JASON RANTZ

Rantz: Seattle English students told it’s ‘white supremacy’ to love reading, writing

Feb 14, 2024, 7:08 PM

Image: Lincoln High School in Seattle teachings on white supremacy leads to controversy. Seattle wh...

Lincoln High School in Seattle teachings on white supremacy leads to controversy. (School photo courtesy of the school district website; quiz images provided by a parent in the school district)

(School photo courtesy of the school district website; quiz images provided by a parent in the school district)

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BY JASON RANTZ

The Jason Rantz Show, 3pm-7pm on KTTH

Students in a Seattle English class were told that their love of reading and writing is a characteristic of “white supremacy,” in the latest Seattle Public Schools high school controversy. The lesson plan has one local father speaking out, calling it “educational malpractice.”

As part of the Black Lives Matter at School Week, World Literature and Composition students at Lincoln High School were given a handout with definitions of the “9 characteristics of white supremacy,” according to the father of a student. Given the subject matter of the class, the father found it odd this particular lesson was brought up.

The Seattle high schoolers were told that “Worship of the Written Word” is white supremacy because it is “an erasure of the wide range of ways we communicate with each other.” By this definition, the very subject of World Literature and Composition is racist. It also chides the idea that we hyper-value written communication because it’s a form of “honoring only what is written and even then only what is written to a narrow standard, full of misinformation and lies.” The worksheet does not provide any context for what it actually means.

“I feel bad for any students who actually internalize stuff like this as it is setting them up for failure,” the father explained to the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH.

More from Jason Rantz: Communist Seattle teacher breaks silence to support Hamas, claim ‘ACAB’

Everything is ‘white supremacy’ at Seattle Public Schools

The father asked to remain anonymous for fear of retribution against his child by Seattle Public Schools. He said the other pieces of the worksheet were equally disturbing.

The worksheet labels “objectivity,” “individualism,” and “perfectionism” as white supremacy. If students deny their own racism — or that any of the nine characteristics are legitimately racist — is also white supremacy. Denialism or being overly defensive is a racist example of an “entitlement to name what is an [sic] isn’t racism and that those with power have a right to be shielded from the stresses of antiracist work.”

The father argues the concepts are “incoherent and cannot stand any sort of reasoned analysis.” And he notes that it’s set up to ensure students accept every concept without ever questioning the claims.

“How is a 15-year-old kid supposed to object in class when ‘denial and defensiveness’ is itself a characteristic of white supremacy? This is truly educational malpractice.”

write english stories

Terms and definitions regarding white supremacy given to Lincoln High students.

White students told to apologize in yet another Seattle high school controversy

Another aspect of the white supremacy lesson at this Seattle school involved a video titled “Getting Called Out: How to Apologize” by Franchesca Ramsey. It’s reportedly presented in the context of white students expressing what the teacher views as “white supremacy.”

“Getting called out, in this context of this video, is when you say or do something that upholds the oppression of a marginalized group of people,” Ramsey says.

Ramsey says her advice is about becoming an ally and “doing the right thing.” She explains you shouldn’t “get defensive” by denying you’re oppressing marginalized people, even if you’re not actually oppressing marginalized people.

“What you really need to do is listen because this is where the other person is hopefully going to explain to you what you did wrong and how you can explain it,” she says.

In the context of the worksheet on white supremacy, it seems clear that students must merely accept that they are upholding oppression. Using the worksheet, if a student defends independence or a love of reading and writing, that student is supposed to accept that it’s white supremacist thinking and stop acting independently or loving to read and write.

write english stories

The worksheet on white supremacy.

Father says Seattle Public Schools isn’t serving students

The father says he taught his son to be on the lookout for this kind of Radical Left indoctrination. It’s why his son flagged the worksheets to him. But he notes that the curriculum doesn’t exactly help his kid on the subject he’s supposed to be learning.

“My problem with this curriculum is that this is supposed to be a writing and literature class and lessons like these do nothing to help my kid become a better writer,” the father explained. “I’m sure Lincoln administration will point to the high ELA proficiency scores but the high proportion of HCC [highly capable] kids (40% of the student body) is a big factor. With so many smart, hard working kids (white supremacists) it’s easy to support these luxury beliefs but system-wide only 63% of kids are proficient in English. Is this really the best use of class time? ”

The father also wonders how many students will fall for this toxic thinking across Seattle schools where concepts around white supremacy are so clearly partisan.

“I feel bad for any students who actually internalize stuff like this as it is setting them up for failure,” he said.

Seattle Public Schools spokespeople provided their normal response to requests for comment: none.

write english stories

‘How do white supremacy characteristics show up in your personal lives?’ was a question in a worksheet given to Lincoln High students.

Listen to the Jason Rantz Show on weekday afternoons from 3-6 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). Subscribe to the  podcast here . Follow Jason on  X, formerly known as Twitter ,  Instagram  and  Facebook .

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CBSE Class 12 English Answer Key 2024 and Question Papers, Download PDF All SETs

CBSE Class 12 English Answer Key 2024: Here, find the CBSE Class 12 English answer key 2024 for all the sets. The complete solutions and answers to all the questions of various sets of Class 12 English question paper 2024 is provided below.

Tanisha Agarwal

CBSE Class 12 English Paper Answer Key 2024

Cbse class 12 english core set 1, set 2, set 3 answer key 2024.

Section A and Section C (Question No. 7, 8, 9) are the same in all three sets. Students can refer to the answers provided below for all the three sets. The question papers of these codes have been used.  Set 1 (1/5/1), Set 2 (1/5/2), Set 3 (1/5/3)

Section - A

1. Read the text given below :

Five enterprises received approval and grants for prototype`development of sustainable educational toys.

(2)The government authorities, educational institutions and EdTech start-ups are planning to introduce state-of-the-art, made-in-India educational toys that not only throw light on Indian values, and civilisations, but also help in developing children's critical thinking, and decision-making skills.

(3) "One such enterprise is working on different types of projects that can teach children how electromagnets and magnetic fields work. These projects can resolve a lot of issues in many schools in tier two and three cities that don't have proper infrastructure. Another is working on an excavation site to teach children about ancient Indian civilizations. It has implanted a few artifacts at the site, which the children will have to find so that they are able to learn how to preserve and label artifacts. Another start up has proposed to create miniaturized labs for  schools in tier 2 and 3 cities where children can learn concepts of Physics. "We will ensure that these prototypes are developed within a year and then the production can be scaled up," says the senior manager of the project talking about the importance of indigenously-built educational toys.

(4) Playtime is vital for the cognitive development of children and toys are an essential component that helps enhance specific cognitive abilities and skill sets. "Well-designed toys ignite students' curiosity, increase focus and can be very beneficial in helping them master a skill and enhance understanding. These can be in the form of visuals, auditory aids, kinesthetic, or a mixture of all three." says HOD, Early Childhood Education.

(5) Toys offer an engaging avenue to teach mathematical, verbal, problem-solving skills. "Toys that engage students in experiential learning enhance their special awareness and fine motor skills. Those designed for two or more players help students develop better social skills as they learn to negotiate, settle differences, etc, with their peers." 

(6) Experiential gadgets and toys enable students to learn faster and retain lessons longer. "A child's interest is piqued when he is taught in a contextual framework as opposed to rote learning. The Indian education system has been witnessing several innovations with the development of toys and gadgets that can be used and felt in person or through VR platforms across subjects, be it Science, Technology, Math or Engineering.

Answer the following questions, based on the passage given above:

(i) By tier 2 and tier 3 cities, the author refers to

(A) Metro cities

(B) Cities with huge population

(C) Underdeveloped cities

(D) Cities with less population

Answer: (C) Underdeveloped cities

(ii) Complete the sentence with evidence from the text.

The made-in-India educational toys serves dual purpose of___________.

Answer: The made-in-India educational toys serve the dual purpose of promoting Indian values and civilizations while also developing children's critical thinking and decision-making skills.

(iii) The author's point of view that can be inferred from the above passage is that_________.

(A) educational toys are the booming business.

(B) educational toys are meant to entertain children.

(C) educational toys will replace teachers.

(D) educational toys will make education more pragmatic.

Answer: (D) Educational toys will make education more pragmatic.

(iv) Complete the following sentence appropriately:

Educational toys enhance the personality of children by_________.

Answer: Educational toys enhance the personality of children by promoting specific cognitive abilities and skill sets.

(v) Read the five headlines (a)-(e), given below:

(a) Sustainable Educational Toys are Developmentally Appropriate.

(b) Sustainable Educational Toys Promote Free play.

(c) Sustainable Educational Toys - Free and Widespread.

(d) Sustainable Educational Toys - Experiential Learning.

(e) Sustainable Educational Toys - Hinder Interaction with people.

Identify the option that displays the headline that DOES/DO NOT correspond with what the passage highlights.

(A) only (e)

(B) (a) and (b)

(C) (c) and (e)

(D) only (d)

Answer: (C) (c) and (e)

(vi) What evidences do you gather from the passage to state that educational system is revolutionized by educational toys ? Answer in about 40 words.

Answer: The paragraph emphasises how educational toys transform the educational system by offering chances for hands-on learning in a variety of topic areas. By encouraging hands-on learning, these toys help students learn in a more relevant and useful way.

(vii) Explain in about 40 words, how education at grassroot level is benefitted by these projects.

Answer: The projects listed in the passage, which address infrastructure problems in tier 2 and tier 3 cities, improve education at the local level by building miniature labs and excavation sites. These projects offer practical learning opportunities that foster a greater comprehension of the subjects being studied.

(viii) As opposed to learning by heart, experiential toys

(A) ignite interest

(B) challenge the teachers

(C) replace textbooks

(D) confuse learners

Answer:(A) Ignite interest

(ix) Playing is usually considered a distraction. Is it justified on the part of the narrator to assert that playing is an important aspect of education? Write your answer in about 40 words.

Answers: Yes, the narrator's claim that play is a crucial component of education is justified. The passage emphasises how well-made toys promote children's cognitive development by igniting their interest, sharpening their focus, and enhancing particular cognitive abilities.

2. Read the text given below:

(1) People below the age of 20 and above the age of 50 are more likely to believe fake news. Those relatively new to the use of the internet still do not grasp the concept of fake information over these platforms, reveals a new survey 'Countering Misinformation in India' This survey has been conducted jointly by Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI).

(2) At least 40% of the respondents believed in 'misinformation' received over social media if it came with leading backgrounds and evidence, while 34% of them believe the information when it is shared by a trustworthy organization.

(3) The dominant factor that drives people to forward such information is their belief that it might benefit others and help in their safety. In fact, that was the response of almost 50% of the respondents. This was compounded by the fact that at least 20% of the respondents expressed their lack of trust in conventional media thus their faith in contents shared by common people over social media.

(4) But even then, newspapers still remain the top source of information for most. (At least 53% of the respondents trust what is generally perceived as neutral media and only 29% trust technology and social media platforms.

(5) However, what was surprising was that almost 45% of the respondents did not even know about the existence of fact-checking organization and most did not even know that journalists had to verify data before they let it out/ Only 26% of the respondents believe that it is the responsibility of the media to curb or identify fake news. Many respondents also put the responsibility of identifying such fake news on an individual.

(6) The survey has found that first time or early users of the Internet platforms are more susceptible to fake news than others. There is a need for building capacities and creating a National Civic Digital Literacy Strategic Plan.

Answer the following questions, based on the given passage:

(i) Select the option that comes under conventional media: 

(A) Instagram

(B) Newspaper

(C) Facebook

(D) E-mail 

Answer. (b) Newspaper 

(ii) Select the correct option:

One factor that prompts people to believe fake news is that 

(A) it supports their point of view 

(B) they are biased 

(C) it is from a reliable site

(D) it has more 'likes' and 'shares'

Answer. (c) it is from a reliable site

(iii) What according to the passage are the intentions of people who share information?

Answer. According to the passage, people share the news with the intent that it might benefit others and help in their safety

(iv) Why is it important for journalists to give authentic background and evidence in their reporting?

Answer. Authentic background and evidence are crucial for journalists to prevent the spreading of misinformation. Without a background check of the evidence, it might spread false news even if done unintentionally

(v) Complete the sentence appropriately:

The threat faced by the new entrants in social media is

Answer. The threat faced by the new entrants in social media is that they do not grasp the concept of fake information over these platforms

(vi) Explain your understanding of the difference between  'misinformation' and 'fake news'.

Answer. False information that circulates without intention is referred to as misinformation. It might be the consequence of being misled or inadvertent mistakes. Contrarily, fake news is purposefully produced and disseminated in order to trick or influence people, frequently in support of a political or personal agenda.

(vii) As per your inference drawn from para (1), which category of people fall as victims to fake news?

Answer. Two categories of people fall as victims to fake news: People below the age of 20 and above the age of 50

(viii) What is the blame game that goes on in fixing the onus of identifying fake news?

Answer. The blame game that goes on in fixing the onus of identifying the fake news is between media and individuals. On one hand, it is believed that individuals should verify the information before spreading it whereas on the other hand it is also said that the media should also be equally responsible in curbing the spread of fake news. It has also been mentioned that individuals have lack of trust on media. 

7. Read the following extracts and answer the questions on ANY ONE of the given two.

(a) Sometimes I feel myself I can hardly bear 

The thought of so much childish longing in vain, 

The sadness that lurks near the open window there, 

That waits all day in almost open prayer. 

For the squeal of brakes, the sound of a stopping car, 

Of all the thousand selfish cars that pass,

Just one to inquire what a farmer's prices are 

And one did stop, but only to plow up grass 

In using the yard to back and turn around;

And another to ask the way to where it was bound;

                                                                               (A Roadside Stand)

(i) Select the option that has the same literary device as in "The sadness that lurks near the open window there'.

(A) Lucy moved across the room like a warship sailing into battle.

(B) Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. 

(C) The water-wraith was shrieking.

(D) The pen is mightier than the sword.

Answer: (C) The water-wraith was shrieking

(ii) They prayed for the stopping of a car. When one car finally stopped, it brought_________to the people of the roadside stand.

(B) happiness

(C) disappointment

(D) cash flow

Answer: (C) disappointment

(iii) Explain one inference that can be drawn from the line, "......childish longing in vain'.

Answer: speaker feels a sense of unfulfilled or unrewarded desire, possibly related to their hopes for someone to stop at the roadside stand.

(iv) Complete the sentence appropriately.

The emotion of the poet reflected in the above extract is _______________.

Answer: s ense of sadness or disappointment

(v) The expression 'selfish car' suggests that ________________.

Answer: cars are indifferent or unconcerned about the needs of the people at the roadside stand

(vi) Based on the rhyme scheme evident in the last two lines of the extract, which word would rhyme with last line?

____      _____      ______

brass      reply        sound

Answer: sound

(b) .....but soon

put that thought away, and

looked out at Young

Trees sprinting, the merry children spilling

out of their homes, but after the airport's security check, standing a few yards away, I looked again at her, wan, pale as a late winter's moon and felt that old familiar ache, my childhood's fear, (My Mother at Sixty-six)

(i) Select the correct option.

The impact of 'merry children' on poet's mind

(A) caused anxiety

(B) created a sense of longing

(C) brought comfort

(D) reminded her of her own childhood

Answer: (A) caused anxiety

(ii) The tone of the poet expressed in the above lines is

(A) sadness and helplessness

(B) excitement and eagerness

(C) appreciation and gratitude

(D) anger and anxiety

Answer: (A) sadness and helplessness

(iii) The words 'wan, pale' indicate the mother's ______________.

Answer: The words 'wan, pale' indicate the mother's weakness, sickness, and old age.  

(iv) Complete the following sentence appropriately.

The poet looked at her mother again to ____________.

Answer: The poet looked at her mother again to observe her appearance or condition after the airport's security check.

(v) Explain one inference that can be drawn from the line 'felt that old familiar ache'.

One inference that can be drawn from the given line is that The poet is pained at the ageing and decaying of her mother.

(vi) 'put that thought away'.

What is the intention of poet that can be inferred from the above line?

  • Read the two extracts given below and answer the questions on ANY ONE.

(a) The reason the programme has been so successful is because it is impossible to go anywhere near the South Pole and not be affected by it. It's easy to be blase about polar ice caps melting while sitting in the comfort zone of our respective latitude and longitude, but when you can visibly see glaciers retreating and ice shelves collapsing, you begin to realise that the threat of global warming is real.

Antarctica, because of her simple eco-system and lack of biodiversity, is the perfect place to study how little changes in the environment can have big repercussions. (Journey to the End of the Earth)

(i) As per the given extract, the reason for the success of the programme is

(A) the participation of young students.

(B) the journey to Antarctica.

(C) the exposure to reality.

(D) it was impossible to go near south pole.

Answer. (C) The exposure to reality

(ii) Complete the following sentence.

The warning that can be inferred from the above extract is

Answer. Neglecting minor environmental changes can have serious and harmful effects.

(iii) State whether the statement given is TRUE or FALSE with reference to the extract.

Global warming is a threat to human survival.

Answer. True

(iv) Explain one inference that can be drawn from the line "It's easy to be blase about polar ice caps melting while sitting in the comfort zone".

Answer. One inference that can be drawn from the line "It's easy to be blase about polar ice caps melting while sitting in the comfort zone" is that distant threats might not come across as serious. People tend to ignore the seriousness of the situation until and unless they see the consequences with their naked eyes. Hence, experiencing or being in touch with the problem firsthand acts as a wakeup call

(b) From that day onwards it was celebration time for all the tigers inhabiting Pratibandapuram.

The State banned tiger hunting by anyone except the Maharaja. A proclamation was issued to the effect that if anyone dared to fling so much as a stone at a tiger, all his wealth and property would be confiscated.

The Maharaja vowed he would attend to all other matters only after killing the hundred tigers. Initially the king seemed well set to realise his ambition. (The Tiger King)

(i) Select the correct option:

... he would attend to all other matters only after killing hundred tigers'. This reflects Tiger King's

(A) courage

(B) determination

(C) selfishness

(D) kindness

Answer. (B) Determination

(ii) Complete the sentence appropriately.

From that day onwards it was celebration time for all the tigers. The above statement is ironical in the sense.

Answer. From that moment on, it was a time for celebration for every tiger. The statement is ironical because the king's proclamation, which was intended to safeguard tigers, eventually puts them in danger by placing a bounty on their heads. 

(iii) ... if anyone dared to fling so much as a stone at a tiger, all his wealth and property would be confiscated'. What trait of the king is reflected in the above line?

Answer. Ruthlessness and strictness of the king is reflected in the above line. It also shows that the king was selfish and cared for nobody else except for him.

(iv) State whether the following statement is TRUE or FALSE. 

The King's ambition is to save people from the tigers.

(a) "Why do you do this?" I ask Saheb whom I encounter every morning scrounging for gold in the garbage dumps of my neighbourhood. Saheb left his home long ago. Set amidst the green fields of Dhaka, his home is not even a distant memory. There were many storms that swept away their fields and homes, his mother tells him. That's why they left, looking for gold in the big city where he now lives. "I have nothing else to do," he mutters, looking away.

"Go to school," I say glibly, realizing immediately how hollow the advice must sound.

"There is no school in my neighbourhood. When they build one, I will go." (Lost Spring)

(i) Choose the correct option.

The expression 'scrounging for gold' refers to

(A) searching for gold items.

(B) looking for something that can fetch money. 

(C) rummaging the garbage.

(D) digging to find food to eat.

Answer. (B) looking for something that can fetch money

(ii) The influence of nature in Saheb's life was that it

(A) brought prosperity

(B) yielded food for them

(C) gave them home

(D) brought disaster

Answer. (D) brought disaster

(iii) Complete the sentence with an appropriate word. 

Saheb's conversation with the narrator draws __________ of readers towards Saheb

Answer. Attention/Sympathy (Answers might vary)

(iv) Explain one inference that can be drawn from the line "...... realizing how hollow the advice must sound".

Answer. One inference that can be drawn from the line, “realizing how hollow the advice must sound" is that the advice was very unrealistic and impractical because the narrator suggested Saheb to go to school despite his circumstances. 

(v) The expression 'when they build one, I will go' indicates Saheb's ________ to go to school.

Answer. Desire

(vi) State whether the following statement is TRUE or FALSE.

... his home is not even a distant dream' states that Saheb sees his home often in his dream.

Answer. False

                                                                OR

(b) Then the poet spoke. He couldn't have addressed a more dazed and silent audience - no one knew what he was talking about and his accent defeated any attempt to understand what he was saying. The whole thing lasted about an hour; then the poet left and we all dispersed in utter bafflement - What are we doing? What is an English poet doing in a film studio which makes Tamil films for the simplest sort of people? People whose lives least afforded them the possibility of cultivating a taste for English poetry. The poet looked pretty baffled too, for he must have felt the sheer incongruity of his talk about the thrills and travails of an English poet. His visit remained an unexplained mystery. (Poets and Pancakes)

(i) Choose the correct option:

The reason for the bewilderment of the audience is

(A) unknown identity of the visitor.

(B) that the speaker had not been introduced to them. 

(C) the visit of an English poet to a Tamil film studio. 

(D) that they did not understand English.

Answer. (C) the visit of an English poet to a Tamil film studio. 

(ii) By 'thrills and travails" the author refers to

(A) joy and happiness

(B) interest and aspiration

(C) excitement and pain

(D) shocks and surprises

Answer. (C) excitement and pain

(iii) Explain one inference that can be drawn from the line, "He could not have addressed a more dazed and silent audience". 

Answer. The poet's arrival and his words caught the listeners off guard. Due to the language barrier and unusual issue, they were probably perplexed and disinterested.

(iv) The failure of the speaker to connect with the audience with reference to the extract is his _____

Answer. Complex language/ Cultural Difference (Answers might vary)

(v) What information in the extract reveals the fact that the people have no exposure other than to their own circle?

Answer. The audience's perplexity about an English poet visiting a Tamil film studio is indicative of their limited exposure. This suggests that they are not conversant with the wider realm of English poetry and are instead accustomed to and at ease in their own cultural and linguistic bubble.

The audience were enthralled by the poet's impressive speech ________.

CBSE Class 12 English Marking Scheme 2024

Cbse class 12 english question paper 2024, cbse class 12 english paper analysis 2024, cbse class 12 result date 2024.

The result of CBSE Class 12 Board Exams 2024 will be released by mid-May probably. This estimation has been made after a thorough analysis of the previous trends of the board. All the updates regarding the CBSE Class 12 Results 2024 will be made available in the link attached above.  

Also Check: 

CBSE Class 12 Syllabus 2023-2024 (All Subjects)

CBSE Class 12 Sample Paper 2023-2024 (All Subjects)

CBSE Class 12 Practice Papers 2023-2024

NCERT Solutions for Class 12 (All Subjects and Chapters)

Important Questions for Class 12 Board Exam 2024 (All Subjects)

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A2–B1 stories

A2–B1 stories

Do you enjoy reading stories?

In this section, read our entertaining short stories specially written for pre-intermediate (CEFR level A2) or intermediate (CEFR level B1) learners.

You will improve your reading fluency and comprehension and develop your vocabulary. Each story has interactive exercises to help you understand and use the language.

Choose a story

Bad blood – A2/B1

Bad blood – A2/B1

When a vampire visits a happy young couple, will true love save their lives?

  • Read more about Bad blood – A2/B1
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First star I see tonight – A2/B1

First star I see tonight – A2/B1

When his physics experiment goes wrong and all the stars disappear, the whole world blames Dr Tomas Streyer. Are the stars gone forever?

  • Read more about First star I see tonight – A2/B1

Frank's last case – A2/B1

Frank's last case – A2/B1

Sergeant Frank Spike is not a successful police officer. But he has 'a nose for crime'. Will his last case be a success?

  • Read more about Frank's last case – A2/B1

Love me, love me not – A2/B1

Love me, love me not – A2/B1

Two people fall in love. But is their experience real? Or is it just an effect of the medicine they're taking?

  • Read more about Love me, love me not – A2/B1

Man at door

The devil's in the details – A2/B1

A strange salesman knocks on Victoria's door and offers the end to all her problems. Will she say yes or is the price too high?

  • Read more about The devil's in the details – A2/B1

The green wars – A2/B1

The green wars – A2/B1

Two friends take action to create a beautiful green town. But what's the best way to help the environment, and is it worth going to prison for?

  • Read more about The green wars – A2/B1

The hole in the wall – A2/B1

The hole in the wall – A2/B1

Joanna is the last fruit seller in her family. When she goes to the capital city to sell her fruits, she discovers something worth more than money.

  • Read more about The hole in the wall – A2/B1

The time travel plumber – A2/B1

The time travel plumber – A2/B1

Priya's son is ill, she has no money and now her kitchen is flooded. Can time travel make everything better?

  • Read more about The time travel plumber – A2/B1

Women posing for a selfie

True Beauty – A2/B1

With a new app, a photo can show your true beauty. Read what happens when people see how beautiful they are on the inside.

  • Read more about True Beauty – A2/B1

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woman in sparkly burnt orange dress holding a dahlia and wearing a flower crown with dancers in white behind her

This Is Me … Now: A Love Story review – JLo’s bombastic ode to love and herself

Star’s self-funded big swing is a mix of over-produced music videos and self-help advice but showcases her undeniable screen magnetism

I t might not have scored her the Oscar nomination she deserved ( and hungered for ) but Jennifer Lopez’s canny, all-guns-blazing performance in Hustlers was still a validating win for an actor, and a fanbase, who sorely needed one. Lopez had been the best thing in a cascade of increasingly middling movies, her career defined by the inability to take a risk, to be unlikable or messy or inelegant, and so the star’s rougher, more interesting edges had been sanded down to nothing.

Her latest project is, in a way, all risk, something that’s become front and centre of her recent press tour, when Lopez revealed that her $20m big bet – a hokey, hard-to-define cinematic accompaniment to her new album – is self-funded. While it might not feel like money well spent from afar (this is surely not a film intended for a wide audience), it’s less about what we get from watching it and more about what she seems to have got from making and co-writing it. This would usually be how one describes the worst kind of vanity project and while there are certainly a lot of markers here, the whole endeavour is far too harmless and far too proudly sentimental to fully deserve such a traditionally mean-spirited definition.

This Is Me … Now: A Love Story is a lot of things. It’s part visual album, part “warts-and-all” autobiography, part animated Puerto Rican myth, part sci-fi epic, part celebrity satire and part self-help exercise. It’s inarguably too many parts to make something that feels whole, a chaotic and rushed journey through the mind of a megastar who prefers to keep her real self in the shade (her staggeringly candid, yet briefly ruinous, Movieline interview from 1998 remains the most honest and funny representation of her we’ve ever seen). Lopez plays herself as she glides from therapy sessions with Fat Joe (lol), hangouts with her beautiful yet concerned friends, a string of unsuccessful relationships and musical sequences that riff on everything from Silo to Cloud Atlas to Singin’ in the Rain. All of this is overseen by the Zodiac Council, watching and judging from above, allowing for definitely-not-shot-in-the-same-room cameos from Jane Fonda, Post Malone, Keke Palmer and Trevor Noah among others. We hear new songs from her album, a sequel to 2002’s This Is Me … Then, and we allegedly learn more about Lopez’s thoughts, fears and anxieties in an on-her-terms tell-all that really doesn’t tell us all that much.

Lopez’s 2022 doc Halftime , hinged on the lead-up to her Super Bowl performance, was one of the more entertaining pop star docs of late. It was still airbrushed and tightly micromanaged of course, but gave just about enough reality for us to feel as if the walls had been briefly lowered, if only by the smallest of whiskers. The closest we get here is Lopez admitting she loves too hard and too much (OK), the film existing for the most part because of her reunion with Ben Affleck, who appears as a Fox News-adjacent pundit Rex Stone (OK!), her real-life happy ending requiring an on-screen equivalent. What’s positioned as sly self-awareness is mostly just a recital of facts – Lopez has been married four times, Lopez is a serial monogamist, Lopez is addicted to romance etc.

It’s not the act of raw honesty it thinks it is and it’s certainly not a successful visual album; Lopez’s new songs all sound hopelessly middle-of-the-road – over-produced and under-written, stuck in the early 2000s, a time when her music did have a genuine, exciting electricity. The visuals are similarly dated, summoning the spirit of the sorts of synthetic pop and R&B videos that would litter TRL at the time, green-screened to the point of surreality, a strange place to stay for longer than three minutes, let alone over an hour. The movie exists in a world not of our own, as if Lopez has died and this is what heaven would be for her, digital over-perfection defining a film that’s supposed to be about embracing harsh truths.

There are bizarre pleasures to be had along the way – Lopez watching The Way We Were and mouthing every word of dialogue uttered by her self-confessed idol; Lopez turning a love addicts therapy session managed by Sound of Metal’s Paul Raci into a dance sequence; Lopez concocting an action sequence around a giant steampunk version of her heart as it’s dangerously low on petals; Post Malone flirting with Jane Fonda – but never enough to turn the film into the bizarro trainwreck the trailer might have suggested. It’s not really much of anything in the end, and feels most like a stitched together collection of pre-filmed awards show bits, working best as yet more proof of Lopez’s considerable screen magnetism. She’s a joy to watch, a pro at elevating something that should be beneath her, even when it has come from her own hand. If this is Lopez as she is now, willing to take a certain kind of risk, then let’s hope she’s willing to take more.

This Is Me … Now: A Love Story is on Amazon Prime on 16 February

  • Jennifer Lopez
  • Trevor Noah
  • Amazon Prime Video
  • Ben Affleck

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COMMENTS

  1. Top 100 Short Story Ideas

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  2. Wattpad

    ALI NOVAK (@FALLZSWIMMER) Ali Novak is a Wisconsin native and a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison's creative writing program. She started writing her debut novel My Life with the Walter Boys when she was only fifteen. Since then, her work has received more than 150 million hits online and My Life with the Walter Boys has been ...

  3. How to Write a Short Story: Step-by-Step Guide

    Updated on December 8, 2021 Writing Tips Short stories are to novels what TV episodes are to movies. Short stories are a form of narrative writing that has all the same elements as novels—plot, character development, point of view, story structure, theme—but are delivered in fewer words.

  4. How to Write a Short Story in 9 Simple Steps

    Know what a short story is versus a novel. 2. Pick a simple, central premise. 3. Build a small but distinct cast of characters. 4. Begin writing close to the end. 5. Shut out your internal editor.

  5. How to Write a Great Story in 5 Steps

    Lindsay Kramer Updated on September 23, 2022 Writing Tips Storytelling comes naturally to human beings. That's why stories are all around us. When you talk to your friends, you tell stories. When you watch movies and read books, you're watching and reading stories.

  6. 34 English Short Stories with Big Ideas for Thoughtful ...

    1. "The Tortoise and the Hare" by Aesop 2. "The Ant and the Grasshopper" by Aesop 3. "White Wing: The Tale of the Doves and the Hunter" 4. "Royal Servant" 5. "Emily's Secret" 6. "The Bogey Beast" by Flora Annie Steel 7. "Love Is in the Air" 8. "The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse" by Beatrix Potter 9. "Paul Bunyan" adapted by George Grow 10.

  7. How to Write a Short Story from Start to Finish

    How to Write a Short Story: The Short Version. Throughout this blog series, I'll take a deep dive into the process of writing short stories. If you're looking for the fast answer, here it is: Write the story in one sitting. Take a break. Edit with a mind for brevity. Get feedback and do a final edit. Publish. Write the story in one sitting

  8. How to Write a Short Story: The Short Story Checklist

    The short story is a fiction writer's laboratory: here is where you can experiment with characters, plots, and ideas without the heavy lifting of writing a novel. Learning how to write a short story is essential to mastering the art of storytelling. With far fewer words to worry about, storytellers can make many more mistakes—and strokes of ...

  9. How to Write a Story In 6 Steps: A Complete Step-By-Step Guide to

    Last updated: Sep 8, 2021 • 17 min read It's certainly exciting to think about all the different options that could be explored in a story. But where to begin? Every writer works in a different way. Some writers work straight through from beginning to end. Others work in pieces they arrange later, while others work from sentence to sentence.

  10. How to Write a Short Story

    Short stories are a writing medium with so much to offer. They are categorized in the brief span of one sentence to seven thousand words, but mastering this ...

  11. Thousands of Short Stories to Read Online

    25000+ Best Short Stories to Read Online for Free with Reedsy Prompts Thousands of Short Stories to Read Online Looking for a steady supply of short stories? Every week thousands of writers submit stories to our writing contest. Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest . Recently featured

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    Writing B2 writing A story A story Look at the short story and do the exercises to improve your writing skills. Instructions Preparation Reading Check your understanding: multiple choice Check your writing: matching - tenses Check your writing: gap fill - tenses Worksheets and downloads A story - exercises 424.18 KB A story - answers 137.89 KB

  13. 43 of the Most Iconic Short Stories in the English Language

    Washington Irving, "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" (1820) I agonized over whether I should pick "Rip Van Winkle" or "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" from Irving's oeuvre. Both have many, many adaptations to their name and are so ubiquitous as to have drifted into the folklore realm.

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    14.12.2021 nuriddin English Stories to improve English — «Alice's Adventures in Wonderland» Free Download Watch this story on YouTube and improve your English skills. Alice in wonderland audiobook Watch on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland By Lewis Carroll Retold by Jennifer Bassett Chapter one: Down the rabbit-hole Chapter two: The pool of tears

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    9. Murder on the Oxford Canal, Faith Martin. If you don't want to read a children's book, but need to find a short story in very simple English, Faith Martin might be the author for you. She writes best-selling "cosy murder mysteries" — a genre where the main character solves a murder in an otherwise quaint and charming setting.

  16. 101 Short Stories for learning English

    101 Short Stories for learning English | Beginner to Advanced Level (text, audio, and video) Hi everyone, We have a lot of ways of learning English such as imitation, shadowing, movie …and l earning English through short stories is one of them. Today, we would like to share with you 101 short stories that you can use for learning English.

  17. B2-C1 stories

    In this section, read our entertaining short stories specially written for upper intermediate (CEFR level B2) or advanced (CEFR level C1) learners. You will improve your reading fluency and comprehension and develop your vocabulary. Each story has interactive exercises to help you understand and use the language.

  18. 30 Best English Stories to Improve Your English

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  20. Create Your Own Story Online: Free Story Creator ️

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  21. English Story

    Here are 50 Simple Short Stories in English. Short Story in English 01 - No Friends for Me. Short Story in English 02 - Tell the Truth. Short Story in English 03 - Life Is Great. Short Story in English 04 - At the Bus Stop. Short Story in English 05 - A Good Meal. Short Story in English 06 - An Apple Pie.

  22. 32 Moral Stories in English That Will Touch Your Heart

    1. The Lion and the Mouse Moral: Kindness is never wasted. A well-known fable by Aesop is "The Lion and The Mouse." This story is about a lion who spared the life of a mouse. The mouse then returns the favor by helping the lion when he is in danger. This story shows us that life is full of surprises, and kind deeds get rewarded.

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  26. A2-B1 stories

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  27. This Is Me … Now: A Love Story review

    Now: A Love Story is a lot of things. It's part visual album, part "warts-and-all" autobiography, part animated Puerto Rican myth, part sci-fi epic, part celebrity satire and part self-help ...