Welcome to Easy Stories in English, the podcast that will take your English from OK to Good, and from Good to Great!
Learning a language is hard. With Easy Stories in English, you can learn English the natural way, without studying lists of vocabulary or complicated grammar rules. Every week, Ariel Goodbody, author and language teacher, will present a story adapted to your level of English. The stories will be hilarious, dramatic, and entertaining, but never too difficult. If you’re learning English and are tired of boring textbooks, then this is the podcast for you.
- All levels
- L1 - Beginner
- L2 - Pre-Intermediate
- L3 - Intermediate
- L4 - Advanced
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...
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Golden Horses
Today 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...
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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...
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The Red Mountain
Once, there was a horrible king. He loved killing people. If someone bothered him, he said, ‘Fight me!’ and made the person fight him. He always won the fight, and the floors of the castle always had blood on them. Everyone was afraid of him. His family was afraid...
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The Curse of the Clock
Today in Prague there is the astronomical clock, a great and mysterious clock. It brings in tourists from around the world. But many do not know that the clock has a dark history. It happened over 500 years ago…
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The Cello That Spoke
Once 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...
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The Paper Man
Once 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...
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The Mirror of Misurina
Once upon a time there was a father and his daughter. The father was called Sorapis, while his daughter’s name was Misurina. Misurina’s parents were the King and Queen of the land, and they were both giants. Misurina, however, was a tiny little girl. She could comfortably sit in...
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The Other Mermaid
You 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...
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Rumplestiltskin
Molly had always been a clever girl. As a child, whenever her mother asked her to do work, she always found some way to get out of it. Either she got someone else to do the work for her, or she made it look like she had done it...
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The Elephant and the Hare
Once there was a group of elephants. They were going to visit their family, and they wanted to bring them honey. So they went and collected honey, and started walking. On the road, they came across a hare. The hare wanted to go across a river, but the water was...
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The Singing Bone
Once there were two brothers. The older brother, Brian, was very clever, but also very proud. The younger brother, Frederick, was not so clever, but he was kind, and everyone liked him. The brothers lived in peace in the countryside, but one day, a villager ran into town. He...
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Towards the City
Once upon a time, in Ancient Greece, there was a man called Byzas. Byzas was the son of Nisos, the King of Megara, a city in Greece. ‘My son,’ said King Nisos one day. ‘It is time for you to go out and make your way in the world. Find...
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One-Eyed, Two-Eyed, Three-Eyed
There was once an old woman, who had three daughters. The eldest daughter had three eyes, so she was called Three-Eyed. The youngest daughter had one eye, so she was called One-Eyed. The middle daughter had two eyes, so she was called Two-Eyed. Three-Eyed was beautiful, and One-Eyed was...
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Little Red Riding Hood
There was an illness in the world. It went everywhere. It went into cities, towns and villages. It went inside houses, inside factories, inside people’s thoughts. The people could not see it, but they felt it. At first, it felt like a light wind. But days passed, and then...
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Steal from the Rich and Give to the Poor
Juraj Jánošík was a young man. He grew up in a small villege in Slovakia. His mother died giving birth to him, so his father looked after him. When Juraj turned eighteen, he went to war. ‘Do not worry, Father,’ he said, ‘I will not be gone long.’ But he was at...
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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...
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The Three Languages
Once there was an old man who lived in Switzerland. He was very rich, but his wife had died young. They only had one son, and he was very stupid. His name was Eric. One day, the father said to Eric, ‘Listen, my son. You are not the cleverest...
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Mia the Witch
Once 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...
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The Little Frog with the Big Mouth
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...
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The Mouse, the Bird and the Sausage
Once there was a mouse, a bird and a sausage. They were friends. They lived together in a house. Each one had a job. The mouse’s job was to collect water from the river, make the fire and lay the table. The bird’s job was to go to the...
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The Brave Little Tailor
Once there was a tailor, who was very brave but quite stupid. He lived alone in a small town, and made and sold clothes all by himself. His business never did quite well, but he was happy, although sometimes he thought about leaving the town.
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The Legend of Lake Toba
A long time ago, in North Sumatra, there lived a poor young man in a valley. He had no parents, but the valley was beautiful, and anything he planted there grew wonderfully. He lived by farming and fishing in the river near his home. The food he made was...
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Old Sultan
Once there was a farmer, who had a dog called Sultan. Sultan was a great dog, but now he was old. Before, he had guarded the house, but now he had lost all his teeth, so he could not eat easily. He could not bite food, or bite people....
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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,...
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Mother Holle
Once there was a widow with two daughters. One was pretty and hard working, and the other was ugly and lazy. The ugly one was her own daughter, whereas the pretty one was her stepdaughter. She loved her own daughter the most, so she treated her very well, but...
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The Toy Rabbit
There was once a toy rabbit. In the beginning, he looked amazing. He was fat, like a rabbit should be. His hair was brown with white spots. He had real whiskers made of thread. His ears were soft on the inside. On Christmas morning, he sat in the Boy’s...
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Stories of Elves
Once there was a shoemaker. He had a hard life, because there were many shoemakers in the city. Over the years, his business went very badly. He became very poor, so poor that all he had left was some leather. It was just enough leather to make one pair...
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Three Drops of Blood
Once upon a time, there lived a husband and wife by the sea. They loved each other very much, and they wanted to stay together forever. The husband was a fisherman. Every day, he would go out and catch fish. Then he would sell the fishes to buy food...
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Brother and Sister
Once there was a brother and a sister. Their mother had died, and they lived with their father and their stepmother. Their stepmother was always mean to them, and their father was always busy with work.
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The White Snake
Once there lived a king. He was famous because he was very clever. He knew everything that happened in his country. Nobody knew how he knew everything. It was like the secrets came to him through the air.
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The Very Hungry Dragon
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...
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The Three Snake Leaves
Once there was a poor man with a son. The man could not look after his son anymore, so the son said to him, ‘Dear father. Things are bad here, and you have to work hard to look after me. Let me leave, and I will look after myself.’
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The Boy Who Knew No Fear
Once there was a father with two sons. The older son, Hugh, was smart and sensible, and could do everything, but the younger son, Anders, was stupid and understood nothing. Whenever the father needed help, it was always the older son who helped him.
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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....
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The Great Race
Buddha had lived a long life on Earth. Soon, he was going to leave Earth. Before he left, he said goodbye to all his friends. He stopped to stay goodbye to all the trees, as well. After this, Buddha was tired. He wanted to say goodbye to the animals,...
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The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats
Once there was an old goat. She had seven little goats. She loved them a lot. One day the mother goat went into the woods to find food for them. Before she left, she spoke to them all. ‘Dear children,’ she said. ‘I am going out into the wood. I...
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The Nose That Ran Away
On Rise Street in St. Petersburg lived a man called Ivan Jakovlevitch. Ivan was a barber, but not a particularly good one. People always said, ‘Be careful of that Ivan. He makes men bleed.’
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Strange Friends
Once there was a cat and a mouse. Usually, cats eat mice, and mice run away from cats, but this cat and this mouse liked each other very much. They liked each other so much that they lived together. They made a nice little house in the city. Everyone...
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The Boy Who Hoped
In a town called Białystok, there was a boy called Ludwik Zamenhof. Ludwik was a Jew. There were many Jews in Białystok. There were also Russians, Poles, and Germans. They all lived in different parts of the city, and they did not get on well.
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