Original Author: Ariel Goodbody
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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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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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The Cello That Spoke
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Genre: DramaSetting: ModernNew Vocabulary: “For all intents and purposes”, Air freshener, Bird’s nest, Bow (music), Cello, Cockney, Echo, Ecstasy, Gruelling, Note, Recital, Rhyme, Standing Ovation, Tree stumpWord Count: 2127Once upon a time, there was a talented cello player. She loved her cello like a son, and practised on it for hours every day. Sometimes, she concentrated so hard that she could practically see the notes floating in the air around her. But one day, as she sat down to practise before breakfast, she was met with a rude surprise: as she put the bow to the strings, the cello spoke.
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The Paper Man
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Genre: Children’sSetting: FairytaleNew Vocabulary: Attack, Blind, Blow (wind), Burn, Cardboard, Disabled, Flatten out, Giant, Human, Insult, Jealous, Keep away, Save, Scrunch upWord Count: 883Once there was a man made of paper. He was called the Paper Man. He lived in a town called Dull. In Dull, the people hated anyone strange. They hated clowns, they hated magic people and they hated anyone who didn’t do what they did. Of course, they hated the Paper Man as well, because humans are not made of paper!
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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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Mia the Witch
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Genre: RomanceSetting: FairytaleNew Vocabulary: Animals, Caves, Fishing, Food, Housework, Kings and Queens, Love, Magic, Making FriendsWord Count: 3881Original Author: Ariel GoodbodyOnce there was a witch called Marabella, who lived in a deep, dark forest. As with most witches, she was not actually evil, but she did magic, and so the people were afraid of her, and whenever there was a storm, or a bad harvest, or a child got sick, they said, ‘It is the witch’s anger!’
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The Little Frog with the Big Mouth (Beginner)
Once there was a little frog. He lived in the forest next to a river. He was very small, about the size of a tennis ball. But his mouth was very big. When he smiled, his smile went from one ear to the other. Everyone called him the Little Frog with the Big Mouth.
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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.