Category: L3 – Intermediate
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Cacica Gaitana, an Indigenous Hero
Pedro de Añasco was a coward. He didn’t know how he had gotten here, in the hills of South America, almost 5000 miles from his home in Spain, but here he was, standing outside the perfectly-white house of Sebastián de Belalcázar.
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Mother Death
‘You wicked boy!’ they spat. ‘I raised you, I gave you everything you needed, and you disobeyed me!’ ‘I did not,’ said Mortimer, smiling wickedly. ‘You stood at the head of his bed, and so the King was supposed to survive.’ Death raised a bony finger at Mortimer. ‘If you ever trick me again, it will mark the end of your life.’
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[100th episode celebration!] The Wind in Her Hand
Once upon a time, there was a land where the sun never set. Every hour of every day, it shone bright and hot. The people of this land lived in huge cities, where everyone who walked down the street held a parasol. All the parasols pressed together and formed a wall that blocked out the sun, and yet, the people still felt its heat. At night, they covered their windows with thick curtains, and yet,…
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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 Other Mermaid
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Genre: RomanceSetting: ModernNew Vocabulary: Cast a spell, Curse, Juggle, Mermaid, Octopus, Shipwreck, Spin (movement), Tentacle, Wallow in self-pity, WizardWord Count: 3328You have probably heard of a certain mermaid, who came from Denmark and fell in love with a human prince. She made a deal with a witch, turned into a human and tried to win his heart, but she was unable to. So she turned into sea water and disappeared. Well, I’m sorry to say that the mermaid in this story does not fall in love with any evil prince living in a fancy castle,…
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A Letter from God
My name is Hubert Lenartowicz, and this is my story. All the details in it are true. I hope you will believe me. I’m 57 and I grew up in a family of athiests. My father in particular did not believe in God. In addition, he was a police officer in a school for traffic police, as well as a history teacher. In the communist era in Poland it was forbidden for police officers to…
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Heart of Iron
Henry’s heart was too big. That was always his problem. He knew that he could never be with the prince, but still, he watched him lovingly every day. He watched him eat, he watched him dance, and he watched him sword fight. Every action Prince Brandle took was beautiful, and Henry loved watching him.
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The Very Hungry Dragon (Intermediate)
Once there was a very hungry dragon called Grella. Every day she ate five meals. For breakfast she had ten bananas, five fried eggs, and three slices of toast. For her mid-morning snack she had twenty chocolate biscuits and three cups of tea. For lunch she had twenty bowls of soup and thirty loaves of bread. After lunch, she was very tired, so she slept for an hour, and when she woke up she had…
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The Golem of Prague
Prague was a city of mystery. It was a city of narrow streets and broad desires. It was a city of money, magic, and murder. It was also a city of hate. The Jews of Prague lived in the ghetto, and they were attacked from all sides. People spread lies. They said that the Jews did magic, that they attacked Christian girls, that they went into churches at night and destroyed the holy body of…