The Lion in Love Chapter 3
‘Crush, don’t do it! You’ll regret it!’ Gentle cried.
‘What are you talking about?’ said Crush. ‘You’re always telling me I need to stop eating other animals. Don’t you want this?’
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L2 – Pre-Intermediate
Stories for pre-intermediate level students, equivalent to CEFR B1.
The Lion in Love Chapter 2
The news of Crush’s proposal spread quickly. The mice argued, the foxes made jokes, and the birds flew from one tree to another, telling each other of the news. By sunset the same day, there was not a creature in the Great Forest who had not heard about Crush and Charcoal.
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The Lion in Love Chapter 1
One day, Gentle the mouse went over to visit Crush the lion. Neither he, nor Bright Eyes the hawk, nor Grunt the pig had seen him for several days, and Gentle was starting to worry.
‘Hello?’
Gentle stood at the edge of the cave where Crush lived. It was very dark inside, and he was too scared to enter.
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The Mouse, the Frog and the Hawk
One day, Gentle the mouse was eating a mushroom. He loved nothing more than to eat mushrooms. The mushroom was very big, so as he ate, he climbed inside.
‘Hello, Gentle.’
‘Oh!’
Gentle climbed out of the mushroom to see who it was. It was Hoppy the frog. Hoppy was quite unpopular in the Great Forest. The other animals always said he was strange, and kept away from him. He had never spoken to Gentle before, but he had a big smile on his face.
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The Lion and the Pig
In the Great Forest, Crush the lion and Gentle the mouse were arguing.
‘Crush, you don’t understand!’ said Gentle. ‘Just because you’re stronger than someone, it doesn’t mean they have to admire you.’
‘But I am king of the forest! I am stronger than all other creatures! If an animal wants to speak to me, he should bow his head and call me “Sir Crush”. Otherwise, I shall eat him for being rude.’
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The Beetle and the Boy Chapter 3
Little Mike died this morning.
Sorry, let me give you the full story.
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The Beetle and the Boy Chapter 2
Little Mike was my first ever pet. My parents had always said I was too careless for one, but I looked after my stag beetle like he was the most important thing in the world. Once a week, Big Mike came round to visit Little Mike.
‘I think he’s growing bigger,’ he would say. ‘Soon he’ll be as big as you.’
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The Beetle and the Boy Chapter 1
I had always been good at hiding. In a crowd, a corner, or even just against the walls: I was always difficult to find. It caused my parents all kinds of trouble. When I was a baby and my cries filled the house, they ran from room to room, unable to find me. When I didn’t cry, it was even worse. The first few years of my life were awful for them. They spent half the time thinking they must be terrible parents. And they were boring for me, because I had to wait so long to be fed.
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The Hair Thief
It was a cold, wet evening in Kyoto. The servant of a samurai stood under Rashoumon, a big gate. It was raining a lot, and he was waiting for the rain to stop.
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Crow Island
The awful crows circled overhead. At least, they looked like crows when you first looked at them. But when you stared at them for long enough, you started to see strange things. Unnatural things. Real birds don’t stand in the same position for such a long time, without ever moving. And real birds don’t run out of batteries. The robot crows cried unnaturally often, and if their battery was dying, the cried would come out hoarse. Like they had smoked a whole packet of cigarettes in one sitting.
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