Category: L2 – Pre-Intermediate
-
The Mermaid of Zennor
—
Genre: Myths & LegendsSetting: MedievalNew Vocabulary: Bench, Captain, Carve, Cast anchor, Don’t need to be asked twice, Mermaid, Mysterious, Overlook (view), Tail, Work up the courageWord Count: 970Original Author: Ariel GoodbodyOne day, the mysterious woman noticed Mathew. After church ended, she smiled at him, and looked at the door. He followed her, and this time she walked slowly, so that he did not lose her. However, he could still not work up the courage to walk beside her. Finally, she came to the cliffs that overlooked the ocean. Mathew went and stood beside her, and they talked for a while.
-
The Singing Widow
Life cannot continue in such a way, floating on a sea of misery. So one day, the widow cried her final tear, closed her eyes, and never woke up again. That is, she never woke up in the human world. Of course, she went to the land of the dead, and she was filled with happiness. Now she could meet her husband again! She ran through the streets of the land of the dead, climbed…
-
A Rather Large Cat
—
Genre: ComedySetting: FairytaleNew Vocabulary: Awaken someone’s hunger, Fishing hook, Kitten/kitty, More than ever, Norway, Polar bear, Stomach rumbles, Tail, Travel companion, TrollWord Count: 852Original Author: Fairy Tales‘Kitty, pretty kitty!’ cried one of the trolls. ‘Does kitty want a sausage?’ The “kitty” did not want a sausage. The kitty wanted to get a good night’s sleep, after so much travelling, and had no plans of eating anyone. But when he turned over and saw the troll holding a fork with a sausage on it, his stomach started to rumble. So the polar bear jumped out and bit the sausage, but he also…
-
Taken by the Fairies
—
Genre: RomanceSetting: FairytaleNew Vocabulary: Bald patch, Chest, Fairy, Hair clippers, Keep a promise, Make sense, Ponytail, Sadness/sadly, Sweat, Sword, Whatever happens, Whisper, WoundWord Count: 1978Original Author: Fairy Tales’Will you marry me?’ The beautiful man laughed. ‘You don’t even know my name.’ ‘What is your name?’ ‘Jasper.’ Harold sighed. ‘A wonderful name. So, Jasper, will you marry me?’
-
Dear Heart Chapter 5
—
Genre: RomanceSetting: ModernNew Vocabulary: App, Best man, Burst into applause, Comfort (verb), Corridor, Land (verb), Seek, Shove, Straight (sexuality), Swear (bad language), Undo (clothes), Voice catchWord Count: 3814Original Author: Ariel Goodbody‘Fergus.’ She took my chin and pulled my face towards hers. ‘There’s a simple way to get around all this. I don’t want to fire Cassandra, of course.’ She was moving closer. Her breath smelt of whisky and cigarettes. My heart screamed at me to get out. ‘So just do what I say…’ ‘No.’ She froze, inches away from kissing me. ‘No?’ ‘No.’
-
Dear Heart Chapter 4
—
Genre: RomanceSetting: ModernNew Vocabulary: Beat up, Dump (relationships), Dwell on, Eyebrow, Idiot, Needle, Pretend, Reflection, Smash, Squish, Steering wheel, Tear through/apart/off, Threaten, WaistcoatWord Count: 3237Original Author: Ariel GoodbodyOur classes are over. Clearly, you’re doing fine without me, and I’ll just break your ‘nice pen’ if you try to help me. We’re colleagues, anyway. Let’s keep it that way. The handwriting was completely different, back to being a drunken spider, and it only got messier as my tears fell on the page.
-
Dear Heart Chapter 3
—
Genre: RomanceSetting: ModernNew Vocabulary: Bully, Delicate, Gender Binary, Grin, Masculine/masculinity, Melt, Non-binary, Prompt, Rusty, Spiel, Suffocate, Take control of, Transgender, TypewriterWord Count: 2734Original Author: Ariel Goodbody‘Now,’ she said, pulling off her gloves. ‘You still have to teach me about poetry. I really don’t know very much. Do we write with a pen, or our bodies?’ I grinned. ‘We can use both.’ And we did.
-
Dear Heart Chapter 2
—
Genre: RomanceSetting: ModernNew Vocabulary: Basically, Clear up, Drunk, Flirt/flirtation/flirty, Lean, Make it up to someone, Rhyme, Shut up, Slam, Take a deep breath, WinkWord Count: 2651Original Author: Ariel Goodbody‘You have such soft hands,’ she said. ‘You like that?’ ‘Yes.’ She moved her thumb over the back of my hand, but she continued to look in my eyes. ‘And your lips are, too…’ I leant forward, ready to kiss her. And then the door to her apartment flew open.
-
Dear Heart Chapter 1
—
Genre: RomanceSetting: ModernNew Vocabulary: Assume, Attracted to someone, Bowtie, Chopsticks, Crafts, Cross out, Fire (job), Freak, Glitter, Tell off, Unicorn, WeightsWord Count: 2553Original Author: Ariel GoodbodyAnd there it was: PING! Attraction. Here’s the thing. When I told you that I don’t wear makeup and lift weights, you probably assumed I only liked women. And you wouldn’t be wrong, 99% of the time. But that 1% of the time, I see men who just have something in their eyes. Like a frightened animal. And for some reason, the IT part of my brain says, ‘Well, let’s fix that.’
-
Nasreddin the Wise Man
—
Genre: ComedySetting: MedievalNew Vocabulary: Basketful, Equally, In that case, No reason, Precious, Stroke, Sunlight, Train (animal), Truly, Vineyard, WiseWord Count: 941Original Author: Middle Eastern MythsSo today’s story is actually a collection of six short folk tales and they’re all about a funny character called Nasreddin. So, Nasreddin is a character who appears in folk tales in many parts of the world. He mainly appears in stories in the Middle East and Europe, mainly Eastern Europe, and he’s known by many different names.