Author: Ariel Goodbody
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The Three Feathers
Once there was an old king. He knew that he would die soon, and he had to decide who to give his kingdom to. He had three sons. The older two sons were tall, clever and strong, and the youngest son, Stu, was short and stupid. They all called him Stupid Stu. The King knew he wanted to give the kingdom to one of his older sons, but he didn’t know which he wanted to…
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To Be a Hero Chapter 3
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Genre: ComedySetting: FairytaleNew Vocabulary: Claw, Curl up, Fit of rage, Grin, Overthrow, Pathetic, Quest, Reappropriate, Redistribute, Sneer, SniffWord Count: 2274Original Author: Ariel GoodbodyWhen we last saw our heroes, and I do use that term lightly, they were hiding in the bushes, waiting outside the lair of the dragon, the ground covered in smelly snake guts designed to wake the monster’s rage. They spent many long, tedious, hours waiting. Norm looked around and found some mushrooms, which Elric encouraged him to try, but Kvok was convinced they were deadly poisonous, and this lead into an endless debate which…
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To Be a Hero Chapter 2
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Genre: ComedySetting: FairytaleNew Vocabulary: “Bob’s your uncle”, “Speak of the devil”, Armour, Awe, Cliché, Crush, Foal, Guts, Hoof, Instinct, LairWord Count: 2008Original Author: Ariel GoodbodyWhen we last saw our hero-in-training, Norm, and his ghostly teacher, Elric, they were walking at a sensible pace through the forest to recover the King’s lost pegasus. After several hours of walking, filled with Elric insisting they (quietly) play a variety of childish word games, they arrived at the cave where the creature was hiding.
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To Be a Hero Chapter 1
Once there was a boy called Norm who lived with his stepmother. Like all stepmothers, she was wicked, and she spent all day shouting at Norm. ‘It’s freezing in here! Where’s the firewood? Oh, if only Sabrina were here!’ Sabrina was her own daughter, who had died the day Norm was born, the same day that Norm’s father abandoned them in the dirty little hut where they lived. So Norm grew up under the thumb…
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Three Dragons
Once upon a time, there lived three dragons on three mountains. They were brothers, and each ruled over their own mountain. One was black, called Ba, one was red, called Ra, and one was green, called Ga. In the middle of the three mountains lay a small kingdom, ruled over by a human king, but the dragons paid little attention to this. Within the kingdom, however, the dragons caused much anxiety.
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Luck and Reason
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Genre: PhilosophicalSetting: FairytaleNew Vocabulary: Carver, Chop off, Commoner, Execute, Gardener, Get down on your knees, Reason, Royal, Sword, TailorWord Count: 1120Original Author: Katherine from the Czech RepublicOnce upon a time, Luck met with Reason. ‘Get down on your knees!’ said Luck. ‘Why?’ ‘Because you must respect me!’ Reason was still young, and didn’t understand what Luck was saying. ‘Why should I get on my knees? You aren’t any better than me.’
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Puss in Boots
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Genre: ComedySetting: FairytaleNew Vocabulary: Count (person), Feather, Guard (person), Land (owning), Make a decision, Puss, Sorcerer, Trust, Turn into, WheatWord Count: 1856Original Author: Fairy TalesOnce there was a young man called Jack. He lived on a farm with his two older brothers and his father. His father made all the decisions on the farm, and as he got older, the farm got smaller. The boys did not like to work, and so many of the animals died or left. Finally, the father died, and he gave his things to his sons. To the oldest son he gave the house,…
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The Musical Forest
Once upon a time, there was a forest far away from the rest of humankind. In this forest, there lived mice, birds, rabbits and so on, but this was no ordinary forest. The King of the Forest was a stag, who had wandered there after being thrown out from his family. Growing up, he was a weak, sad child, and when his horns emerged they were bent and broken. His family rejected him, sending him…
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Golden Horses
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Genre: Myths & LegendsSetting: AncientNew Vocabulary: “Disaster struck”, Armour, Feast, Herd, Magician, Mighty, Realm, Steppe, Wizard CoffinWord Count: 992Original Author: Maxim OstapenkoToday I will tell you the tale of a time when the world lived in harmony and justice, when the gods rarely interfered in human affairs. In the faraway, endless steppe to the east of the Danube lived many warring tribes. Among these, the most powerful was the royal family of Scythia. All other nations feared and respected them, as they were undefeated in battle. It was thought that everything they touched turned to gold,…
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The Musicians of Bremen
Once there was a donkey who lived with a farmer. The donkey was very old. Before, he had worked every day in the fields and carried many heavy things. Now he was old, and he found it hard to carry heavy things. One day, the donkey was carrying a very heavy bag of food and fell down. ‘Now this is bad,’ said the farmer. ‘I need a strong animal who can work for me. If…