The Story of the Gingerbread Man

An old woman lives in a village.
She lives with her old husband.
They don't have any children.

One day, the old woman is in the kitchen.
She's making something.
She's making a gingerbread man.
The gingerbread man has a head.
He has arms and legs.
He has two eyes, a nose, and a mouth.
The gingerbread man is ready to put in the oven.
The old woman is very happy.

"You're a little boy," she says to the gingerbread man.
"My little boy!" she says.
"In you go!" says the old woman.
And she put the gingerbread man in the oven.

But soon the old woman hears a little voice.
It's coming from the oven.
"Open the door!" says the voice. "I want to come out!"
The old woman opens the oven door.
And the gingerbread man jumps out.
"Oh!" says the old woman.
"Stop!" says the old woman.
"Come here!" she says.
But the gingerbread man doesn't stop.
He runs across the kitchen and out of the door.
The old man sees him.
"Stop!" shout the old man and the old woman.
"Come here!" they say running to the gingerbread man.

But the gingerbread man doesn't stop.
He runs faster and he shouts:
"Run, run! You can run. Yes, you can. But you can't catch me.I'm the gingerbread man!"

The little gingerbread man runs and runs.
Soon, he sees a cow.
"Stop!" says the cow."Come here! I want to eat you." it says.

But the gingerbread man doesn't stop.
He runs faster.
And now the cow runs after him.
"I can run away from an old woman," says the gingerbread man. "I can run away from an old man. So I can run away from a cow!"

They all run after him.
And the gingerbread man shouts:
"Run, run! You can run. Yes, you can. But you can't catch me.I'm the gingerbread man!"

The little gingerbread man runs and runs.
Soon, he sees a horse.
"Stop!" says the horse."Come here! I want to eat you." it says.

But the gingerbread man doesn't stop.
He runs faster.
And now the horse runs after him.
"I can run away from an old woman," says the gingerbread man. "I can run away from an old man and a cow. So I can run away from a horse. Yes, I can! You can't catch me. I'm the gingerbread man!"

The gingerbread man runs and runs.
"They can't catch me!" he says.
"Nobody can catch me."

Just then he sees a fox.
"Stop!" says the fox. "Come here!"

But the gingerbread man doesn't stop.
He runs faster.
And now the fox runs after him.
"I can run away from an old woman," says the gingerbread man. "I can run away from an old man. I can run away from a cow and a horse. So I can run away from a fox!"

They all run after him.
And the gingerbread man shouts:
"Run, run! You can run. Yes, you can. But you can't catch me.I'm the gingerbread man!"

"Stop!" says the fox.
"I don't want to eat you. I want to talk to you. I want to be friends with you!"
But the gingerbread man doesn't stop. He runs faster. And now the fox runs faster too.

The gingerbread man runs and runs. Soon he sees a river.
"Oh no!" he cries. "A river! I can't swim!"

"Listen," says the fox. "I can help you. I can swimacross and you can sit on my tail."
So the gingerbread man sits on the fox's tail.
And the fox begins to swim.

But soon the fox says, "Listen! You are too big for my tail. Sit on my back."
So the gingerbread man sits on the fox's back.

But soon the fox says, "Listen! You're too big for my back. Sit on my nose."
So the gingerbread man sits on the fox's nose.

The fox swims across the river and jumps out.
The fox throws the gingerbread man up.
Up! Up! Up!

Then he opens his mouth and...
cathes him!

"Help!" he says. "My legs! My legs!"
"Help!" he says. "My armss! My arms!"

Then the fox eats the gingerbread man's head.
Now the gingerbread man doesn't say anything.

And that is the end.
Yes, that is the end of the gingerbread man.

Note: The story is taken from the book Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs of Oxford University Press (www.oup.com/elt). Some sentences have been changed because some of the situations need pictures. So, it's much better if you can get your own book because of the beautiful and colorful pictures. Cd is also included in the book. What I do for my students is to let them listen to the story everyday before taking the lesson. And after a month, it's amazing that most of them can memorize most of the content of the book. Some can even memorize everything.

The Enormous Turnip

The man's got a seed. He goes in the garden. He puts the seed in the ground. The seed grows. The man's happy.

The seed grows and grows. It's a turnip. The turnip's big. It's very big. The man's very happy. "It's big," he says.

The man's hungry. He wants to eat the turnip. The man pulls the turnip. But the turnip doesn't move.

The man sees the woman. "Come and help!" he says. "Pull!" says the man. The woman pulls the man. The man pulls the turnip. But the turnip doesn't move.

They see a boy. "Come and help!" they say. "Pull!" says the woman. The boy pulls the woman. The woman pulls the man. The man pulls the turnip. But the turnip doesn't move.

They see a girl. "Come and help!" they say. "Pull!" says the boy. The girl pulls the boy. The boy pulls the woman. The woman pulls the man. The man pulls the turnip. But the turnip doesn't move.

They see a dog. "Come and help!" they say. "Pull!" says the girl. The dog pulls the girl. The girl pulls the boy. The boy pulls the woman. The woman pulls the man. The man pulls the turnip. But the turnip doesn't move.

They pull and they pull. But the turnip doesn't move. They are very tired. Suddenly they see a cat.

"Come and help!" they say. "Pull!" says the man. The cat pulls the dog. The dog pulls the girl. The girl pulls the boy. The boy pulls the woman. The woman pulls the man. The man pulls the turnip. They pull and they pull and they pull. But the turnip doesn't move.

Then the mouse came. "What are you doing? May I help you?" he asked. Everybody looked at the mouse and the boy said "You?! You're so little! You can't do anything." But the old man said, "Ok! Let's try! Let's pull!"

The mouse pulls the cat. The cat pulls the dog. The dog pulls the girl. The girl pulls the boy. The boy pulls the woman. The woman pulls the man. The man pulls the turnip. They pull and they pull and they pull and...

Hurray!!!

"We've got the turnip!" they say. "We've got the enormous turnip!"

The cooked the turnip. "Come and eat!" she says. Everybody enjoys the enormous and delicious turnip. "It's yummy!" they say. Then the old man says, "Let's plant more turnips tomorrow. Can you help me?"

Then everybody laughs.

Note: The story is taken from the book Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs of Oxford University Press (www.oup.com/elt). There are some sentences that I've been changed. It's much better if you can get your own book because of the beautiful and colorful pictures. Cd is also included in the book. What I do for my students is to let them listen to the story everyday before taking the lesson. And after a month, it's amazing that most of them can memorize most of the content of the book. Some can even memorize everything.

The Story Of The Ugly Duckling

It is summer. A duck sits on her eggs. She sits and she waits. She waits and waits.

At last the eggs open.
"At last!" says the duck.
"My little ducklings!"

But one egg does not open.
"Mm,' says her friend. "That egg is strange. Leave it!" they say.

"Leave my egg?" says Mother Duck.
"No. I can't leave it."
She sits down again and she waits.

At last the egg opens.
"Oh!" says Mother Duck to her friend.
"You're right. He is strange. What an ugly duckling!"

But the ugly duckling can swim.
He can swim very well.
And Mother Duck is happy.

"Come on, ducklings!" she says.
"Let's go to the farm! I want all my friends to see you."
They swam and arrived in the farm.
"Hello, everyone," she calls.
"Look at my little ducklings!"
Her friends gathered around.
"Very nice. Very nice" say her friends.
"But that duckling is very big. He's ugly!"
"He's strange," they say. "He's an ugly duckling."
And one of the ducks pecks him.

Every day the farm girl comes.
Every day she kicks him.
"Go away, you ugly duckling!" she says.

So one day, the ugly duckling runs away.
He runs away from the farm.
"Go! Yes, go!" say his brothers and sisters.
"You're strange! You're ugly!" they say.

It's colder now. The ugly duckling is bigger.
One day, two geese see him.
"Mm, you're strange!" they say.
"You're very ugly," they say.
"But you're interesting. Do you want to fly with us?" they say.

But suddenly there is a bang. Bang! Bang!
And the geese are dead.
There are some men. Men with guns and dogs.
The ugly duckling is afraid.
A big dog comes.
He sees the ugly duckling.
And he looks at him.
Then the dog swims away.

"I am ugly," says the ugly duckling.
"So he doesn't want to eat me." she says to herself.

The ugly duckling runs away.
He comes to an old hut and he goes in.
In the hut, there is a woman, a cat, and a hen.
The woman is old and she can't see.
"What's this?" she says.
"A duck? Ah! You can give me some eggs." the woman says.
"Come on," says the cat. "Where are your eggs?" it says.
"I haven't got any," says the ugly duckling.
"Then go!" says the hen.

The ugly duckling goes away.
It is winter now.
And it is very cold.

One evening the ugly duckling sees something wonderful and strange.
Three swans! Three big, beautiful swans.
"Oh," he cries. "What beautiful birds! Big, beautiful and free."
He calls to them. "Who are you? Take me with you."
But they do not hear him because they are flying above.

It is winter now.
It is cold.
There is ice on the water.
So the ugly duckling can't swim.
He was stuck in the water.

A man sees him.
He breaks the ice with his shoe.
"Poor bird!" he says. "Come home with me."
And he went home with the ugly duckling.

The children saw the ugly duckling and they want to play with him.
"Come here!" they say.
But the ugly duckling runs away.
He falls into the milk.
The children laugh.
"Come here!" they say.
Then he falls into the butter.
"Oh dear! What a mess!"
Then he falls into the flour.
"Get out!" cries the man's wife. "Get out of my house!"

The ugly duckling runs.
Suddenly he starts to fly.
The door is open.
He flies up into the sky.
He can fly!
He can fly!
"I can fly!" says the ugly duckling.

And now the sun comes out.
It is spring.
Then he sees a garden.
A garden with a river.
"What a beautiful garden!" he says.
And he flies down.
He sees something swimming in the river.
He sees the swans.
He sees the three swans.
"Oh! They are beautiful!" he says. "I must speak to them," he says.
But he is afraid.

He looks down at the water and he sees his face.
He is not an ugly duckling anymore.
He is a beautiful swan too.

It's true! It's true!
He's not a duckling.
He's not a duck.
He's a swan.
He's a swan, too!

Some children run down to the river.
"Look, Mother!" they say. "A new swan!"
"Look! Oh, look! Look at the new swan!" they say.
"Yes," says the children's mother. "Isn't he beautiful!"

Note: The story is taken from the book Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs of Oxford University Press (www.oup.com/elt). There are some sentences that I've been changed. It's much better if you can get your own book because of the beautiful and colorful pictures. Cd is also included in the book. What I do for my students is to let them listen to the story everyday before taking the lesson. And after a month, it's amazing that most of them can memorize most of the content of the book. Some can even memorize everything.

The Story of the Peach Boy

It is summer in a village in Japan. An old man and woman eat dumplings. Yum! Nice little dumplings. Then the old man goes to cut wood. And the old woman goes to the river.

Suddenly the old woman sees something. It's a peach. A very big peach!
"What a very big peach!" she says. "Why is it in the river?"

The very big peach smells nice. It smells of summer in Japan. The woman catches it.
"Mmm, this peach smells wonderful. I'm taking it home with me." she says. So, she went home and showed it to her husband.

"What a big peach!" says the old man. "Let's eat it right now!" he says.
But then they hear something inside. It's a baby!
"Stop! Don't cut me!" says the voice in the peach.

There's a baby in the peach! A baby boy- a peach boy!

He is a wonderful baby, and he is happy. The old man and woman call him Momotaro - Peach Boy. They give him nice little dumplings. So he grows big and strong.

The old man and woman are good to Momotaro. So Momotaro is good too. He helps his mother and father. He is a good boy. And he is strong. He is very strong!

Then one day ogres come. They come to the village. Stamp! Stamp! Stamp!
They break things. They take things. They take the people's treasure.
Then they stamp off into the sea.
Stamp! Stamp! Stamp!

Momotaro climbed up the tree. He can see the ogres. They are going home. They are going home to Ogre Island. Then Momotaro runs to his parents.

"Mother, Father," says Peach Boy. "I want to fight the ogres. Give me some dumplings please. And a big stick."

So his mother gives him some dumplings. His father gives him a big stick. "Goodbye," they say. "And goodluck."

Momotaro walks along. Then he sees a big dog. "Hi, dog!" says Momotaro. "I want to fight the ogres. Have a dumpling and come with me!"

So the dog eats the dumpling. Then it goes with him.

They walk along. Then they see a pheasant. "Hi, pheasant!" says Momotaro. "We want to fight the ogres. Have a dumpling and come with us!"

So the pheasant eats the dumpling. Then it goes with them.

They walk along. Then they see a monkey. "Hi, monkey!" says Momotaro. "We want to fight the ogres. Have a dumpling and come with us!

So the monkey eats the dumpling. Then it goes with them.

"My friends," says Momotaro, the Peach Boy. "Let's go to the Ogre Island. Let's fight the ogres."

Then he saw something. "There it is!" says Momotaro. "There's Ogre Island! Look at the big castle!"

Momotaro arrived at the Island and lookep up the castle. They look up at the big, big castle. The castle door is closed. But the pheasant flies up. It flies up into the castle.

The pheasant fights the ogres. The ogres are afraid. "Help!" they cry. "Help!"

Then the monkey goes up. It goes up into the castle. It opens the door. Then Momotaro and the dog run into the castle.

Momotaro fights the ogres with his stick. The dog, the pheasant, and the monkey all fight. They all fight the ogres.

The ogres are afraid. "We are sorry," they say. "Please go. Take your treasure and go."

Momotaro takes the treasure. "Hurray!" he says. "Good work, my friends!"

Momotaro and his friends go home. They go home with the treasure. All the people shout, "Hurray! Hurray!" Everybody's happy.

Since then, the ogres never come back!

Note: The story is taken from the book Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs of Oxford University Press (www.oup.com/elt). There are some sentences that I've been changed. It's much better if you can get your own book because of the beautiful and colorful pictures. Cd is also included in the book. What I do for my students is to let them listen to the story everyday before taking the lesson. And after a month, it's amazing that most of them can memorize most of the content of the book. Some can even memorize everything.