The Story of the Teddy Bear

Jenny loves stuffed animals. Her room is filled with them. One day, Jenny's grandmother had a surprise for her. It was a teddy bear. Jenny suddenly curious about teddy bear. She knows about black bears and grizzly bears but she has no idea what kind of bear is teddy bear so she asked her grandmother.

Jenny's grandmother told her that teddy bear has a very special story. She said "Teddy" is the nickname of Theodore Roosevelt, the President of the United States many years ago. Theodore Roosevelt enjoyed the outdoors and nature. One of his hobby was going hunting. One day, he went out to hunt animals with his men but he didn't catch anything. His men thinks that the President has to catch something so they tied a small bear to a tree.

The President was about to give up and go home but one of his men said that he saw a bear. He pointed the small bear tied in the tree. The other man told him to shoot the bear so President Roosevelt aimed his rifle at the bear. The bear looked at the president and the gun.

President Roosevelt looked at the bear and shouted "What am I doing? How can I kill this helpless animal? I can't! I won't kill it!" Then he headed home.

The next day, the story about the president and the bear was in the newspaper which entitled "Theodore Roosevelt and the 'Teddy' Bear."

The owner of the toy store read the article in the newspaper so he and his wife decided to make a stuffed bear, and they named it "Teddy". The teddy bear was born! Everyone wanted one. The "Teddy Bear" became very popular.

Jenny was so happy to hear about the story. Now she knows about the Teddy bear and she loves it more than any other stuffed because she said that President Roosevelt was a kind man. She also said that teddy bears are so special just like her grandmother.

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 Greatest Bridegroom

Once upon a time, a mole couple's daughter, Mollie, was ready to marry. In the mode village, Moler was the best available bridegroom. However, Father Mole and Mother Mole were not satisfied with him.

"Isn't there a better bridegroom?" asked Mollie's mother.
"Our Mollie must marry the greatest bridegroom," said her father.
Father Mole and Mother Mole discussed the matter.
"Who do you think is the greates of all?" Father wondered aloud.
"I think the sun is the greatest," Mother answered.

Father Mole went to the sun. "Gosh! It's so hot here! Sun, are you the greatest of all?" he asked.
"No, Im not. When the cloud comes and covers me, I can't even show my face. The cloud is the greatest," the sun replied.
"Oh, I see. Thank you." said Father Mole.

Father Mole went to see the cloud. "Oh my, it's so dark! Cloud, are you the greatest of all?" he asked.
"No, I'm not. When the wind comes, I'm blown away in seconds. The wind is the greatest," replied the cloud.
"Oh, I see. Thank you." said Father Mole.

Father Mole went to see the wind. "Oh my, I'm about to be blown away! Wind, you are the greatest of all, right?" he asked hopefully.
"No, I'm not. There is someone who doesn't blow away even when I blow my hardest," said the wind.
"Is that true?" asked Father Mole.
"Mr. Mole, if you are looking for the greatest, go to the Buddha statue," advised the wind.

Though Father Mole was tired, he went to see the Buddha statue. "Finally, I've found it. Buddha statue, you are the greatest in the world, right?" Father Mole asked.
"No, I'm not. If a mole dug a hole under my feet, I could not stand for even a minute," the Buddha statue answered.
"Do you think the mole is the best bridegroom in the world?" asked Father Mole.
"Definitely! Ha-ha-ha!" the Buddha statue answered with laughter.

Father Mole then went back to the mole village. "Honey! I've found someone who is the greatest," he declared to his wife.
"Oh really!" Mother replied.
Father Mole explained. "The sun said, 'The sun is the greatest.' The cloud said, 'The wind is the greatest.' The wind said, 'The Buddha is the greatest.' And then I found out who is the greatest of all."
"Who is that?" Mother Mole asked.
"It is one of us, the moles!" Father Mole replied.
"Well, then, we must choose the best bridegroom from among the greatest moles," Mother Mole said.

As a result, Father Mole and Mother Mole met with Moler. Soon, Mollie and Moler were married.

Couldn't the greatest in the world be right next to you?

The Banana Tree

Once upon a time there was a single banana tree in the jungle.
Two bunches of bananas were on the banana tree.
There were three children from a village.
They were watching the bananas grow.
There were four monkeys from the jungle.
They were watching the bananas grow.
The children looked at the bananas at five o'clock in the afternoon everyday.
The monkeys looked at the bananas at six o'clock in the morning everyday.
The three children and the four monkeys were very excited.
Soon the bananas would be ready to eat.
All seven of them wanted to eat the bananas.
One evening, the children ran to the banana tree.
There were eight colorful butterflies sitting on the bananas.
The bananas were almost yellow.
"Let's eat the bananas now." said one of the children.
"No, they are not ripe." said the other one.

The next morning, the monkeys looked at the bananas.
There were nine drops of dew sparkling on the bananas.
The three children ran to the banana tree for lunch.
The four monkeys swung from tree to tree to get to the banana tree.
It was 10 o'clock.
The monkeys and children wanted bananas for breakfast.
The children were very upset to see the monkeys.
The monkeys were very upset to see the children.
The children were very afraid that the monkeys would take all of the bananas.
So, they threw stones to the monkeys.
The monkeys were afraid that the children would take all of the bananas.
So, they threw sticks to the children.

The children were very hungry.
They were also very tired.
The monkeys were very hungry.
They were also very tired.
The children were too tired to throw stones.
The monkeys were too tired to throw sticks.
"I'm so hungry." said one of the children.
"Me, too!" said the other one.
"Let's share the bananas with the monkeys." said the other.
"OK! Let's share the bananas with the monkeys." they said.

The monkeys and the children enjoyed their breakfast.
They also learned that sharing is better than fighting.

The Mole

Have you ever seen a mole? What do they look like?

Have you ever walked across a lawn and found a little ridge where there was none before? Have you wondered how it got there? It was probably made by a little animal about six inches long called a mole. Very few people have seen a mole because they usually stay underground digging tunnels. They have thick, soft gray fur with a short tail that looks like an angleworm. They have tiny eyes that covered up by the fur on their face. The mole only sees light and dark. He doesn't need to see anything else.

How do beavers build their homes?

When my hubby went to Canada, he gave me a beaver doll as a present. The doll is very cute. Since then, I started to like to the beavers. Their wide tail and big front teeth looks very cute and interesting. Now that I found this interesting facts about beavers so i'm gonna share it to you. You may be also interested.

Beavers are very busy animals. They build their homes with the mud, woods and stones. They live on land and in the water. They use their sharp and strong teeth to cut down trees that they use when they build their houses. They cut the trees by gnawing around the tree trunk near the ground. Every year they a fresh layer of mud around their houses which made their wall become very thich after a few years.

Beavers usually build their houses in a stream where the entrances are underwater. They are very friendly and like each other's company. Their houses are built close together, but they don't build doors or openings between them. Beavers are not only hardworking but also smart.

How to train a goldfish

How do you know when goldfish are hungry? Once a man trained his goldfish to tell him when it was hugnry. He began by not feeding it for several days. Then he tied food to one of a rope and a bell to the other end. He dropped the food into the water. When the fish nibbled on the food, the bell outside the bowl rang loudly. He did this for several days. Then the string without food was put in the bowl. The fish bit at the end of the string just like it did with the food. When the bell rang, the man knew the fish was hungry and threw food into the bowl. After several days the fish learned to ring the bell whenever it was hungry.

Source: Star Reading 3

Snakes Flying Lesson

One day Snake is talking to two birds.
"I live in the desert on the hot ground. I can't fly," says Snake.
"Everybody knows snakes can't fly," say the birds.
"I want to fly like you! Help me!" says Snake.
"We can try," say the birds.

"Hold on tight, friend. Don't open your mouth or you'll fall!" say the birds.
The birds carry Snake high in the air.
The air is cool. The sun shines through the white clouds.
Flying is wonderful! thinks Snake.

"Well, well. A silly snake who thinks it can fly!" says Eagle. "Are those feathers down there on your tail? Can you fly without that stick in your mouth?"
Snakes gets very angry. He opens his mouth to bite Eagle.
He falls through the air to the ground. He lands on a cactus. Ouch!

"Now I know snakes can't fly. I'll stay on the ground from now on!" says snakes.

Source: Backpack 3 Book