simple English story1-3

 
 
 

1-1

---

---

STORY 1: The Turtle and the Rabbit*  
 
I am a turtle.  I live in the forest.  I am slow.  I am very, very slow.   
 
In the forest, there is also a rabbit.  He runs fast.  He runs very, very fast.   
 
One day, the rabbit says to me, “I am fast.  You are slow, very, very slow.”  The rabbit laughs at me.  “Ha, ha, ha!”  I do not say anything.
 
The next day, the rabbit says to me, “Turtle, I am fast.  You are slow.  I am better than you are!”  The rabbit laughs at me.  “Ha, ha, ha!”  I do not say anything.
 
The next day, the rabbit says to me, “Look how slow you are. I am the fastest, and you are the slowest!”  The rabbit laughs at me.  “Ha, ha, ha!”  
 
This time, I say something.
 
“Rabbit, you are fast and I am slow.  I am slow and you are fast.  But, you can still be beaten in a race,” I say.
 
“You think that someone can beat me in a race?” says the rabbit.  “Who?  Who can beat me in a race?  I am fast.  No one would try to beat me in a race.”
 
I am angry.  I am very, very angry.
 
“I...I...I can beat you in a race,” I say.
 
“You?  Ha, ha, ha!” says the rabbit.  “You?  I will race you.  I will race you and I will beat you.  I am fast and you are slow.  It will be easy to beat you!”
 
It is the day of the race, and I am scared.  The rabbit is fast and I am slow.  How can I beat the rabbit?  How can a slow turtle beat a fast rabbit?
 
“Ready, go!”  The race starts!  I start to race.  The rabbit starts to race.  I try to walk fast.  I try to walk as fast as I can, but I am still very slow.
 
“Ha, ha, ha!” says the rabbit.  “You are so slow!  You are very, very slow.  I will sleep a little.  I am fast and I don’t need to hurry.”
 
The rabbit sleeps.  I walk.  I walk, and walk, and walk.
 
The rabbit wakes up suddenly.  “Where is the turtle?” he asks.  He looks down the road.  He sees me.  I have only walked a short way.
 
“Ha, ha!” says the rabbit.  “Turtle, you are so slow.  I can sleep some more.  I don’t need to hurry.”  The rabbit goes to sleep.   
 
I walk.  I walk, and walk, and walk.  I walk all morning.  I am getting close to the finish line!   
 
The rabbit wakes up.  “Where is the turtle?” asks the rabbit.  “Do I still have time to sleep a little more?”
 
The rabbit looks around.  He looks and looks, but he doesn’t see me.  I am far away.  Finally, the rabbit sees me.  He sees that I am very, very close to the finish line.
 
“What?!” says the rabbit.  “I have been sleeping a long time.  I have been sleeping too long.  The turtle is near the finish line.  I must hurry!”
 
The rabbit runs.  He runs fast.  He runs very, very fast.  He is close to the finish line.   
 
“I won!” says the rabbit.  “I won!  I won!”
 
“No, you are too late,” I say.  “I beat you.  I won the race.  You slept and I walked.  You slept some more and I walked some more.  I am slow and you are fast, but I beat you.  I won the race.”
 
“But I am fast and you are slow,” says the rabbit.
 
“Yes, but slow and steady wins every time!” I say.  “You don’t have to be fast.  You just have to be steady and keep going. In the end, slow can win, too!”
 
 
* This story based on The Tortoise and the Hare.
 
_________
 
GLOSSARY
 
turtle – an animal that has a thick shell covering its body for protection; an animal that can move its head and legs into its shell to stay safe    * A turtle can swim better than it can walk.   
 
slow – to move with little speed; not fast
*If you are too slow, the store will be closed before you get there.   
 
rabbit – an animal that has long ears and long back legs, which it uses for jumping; a bunny
*Rabbits like to eat the vegetables in our garden.   
 
fast – doing or moving with great speed; quickly * Miguel walks fast and gets home before his brother.    
 
to laugh – to make happy sounds when something is funny; to smile and make a happy sound  
*Dad often makes us laugh by telling funny jokes.   
 
race – a competition where everyone wants to finish first; when everyone tries to be the fastest or the first to finish something
*The child who wins the race will receive a prize.   
 
to beat – to win; to finish before someone or to do better than someone else * It is not fun playing games with my older sister when she always beats me.   angry – a feeling of strong dislike; a strong feeling against someone who has done something bad
*Do you get angry if your friends lie to you?   
 
scared – afraid; to feel frightened or very worried  
*Some children are scared of the dark because they do not like it when they can’t see anything.  
 
to start – to begin; to do something that you have not yet done any work on * Tina starts school tomorrow.  She can’t wait to see who will be in her class.   
 
to sleep – to rest with eyes closed and mind not active; to let your body and your mind get back its strength  
*I always feel better when I get enough sleep each night.    
 
to hurry – to move quickly; to do something fast * We will need to hurry so we are not late for the party.
 
to wake up – to stop sleeping; to become awake after sleep
*Tim will wake up early and leave the house before the sun comes up.    
 
road – a long hard surface for cars to drive on; a path for cars or people to use when going from one place to another
*My mother told us to look for cars before we walk across the road.  
 
morning – the first part of the day; the time from when the sun rises until the middle of the day
*If we do all our work in the morning, we can play after lunch.   
 
finish line – the place where a race ends; the end point of a race
*Carmina was the first person who crossed the finish line.  She is the winner.    
 
far away – a long distance from something; not close; not nearby
*My grandparents live far away.  I only see them two or three times a year.   
 
to win – to be the first to finish; to complete something first or best  
*I think Sachi will win the prize for the best story because she is a good writer.
   
late – after the time when someone should do something; not done on time * The bus was so late that we started to think it was not coming.   
 
steady – moving in a smooth constant way without sudden starts or stops; continuing at the same rate
*The workers made steady progress building the wall by putting up a little more each day.

 

 

1-2

---

---

STORY 2: Julio Runs a Race
 
My name is Julio.  I am a boy.  I go to school.  I walk to school everyday.   
 
Matt goes to my school.  He walks to school, too.  I see him everyday when I walk to school.
 
When I see Matt, I walk slowly.  I walk very slowly.  I don’t want to talk to Matt.  Matt can run fast.  He can run the fastest in our school.   
 
One day, Matt says, “You are so slow, Julio!”  He laughs, “Ha, ha, ha!”  I don’t say anything.
 
The next day, Matt says, “You are slow and I am fast.  I am better than you.”  He laughs, “Ha, ha, ha!”  I don’t say anything.
 
The next day, Matt says, “You are the slowest in school.  I am the fastest.  Ha, ha, ha!”   
 
This time, I say something.
 
“Matt,” I say.  “You are fast and I am slow.  You are faster than I am, that is true.  But, you can still be beaten in a race.”
 
“Ha, ha, ha!” Matt says.  “Who can beat me in a race?  You?!”
 
“Me?” I say.  I am slow and Matt is fast.  Can I beat him in a race?
 
“Yes, me!” I say.  I am scared.  I am scared, but I am angry, too.  “I can beat you in a race!”
 
“Ha, ha, ha!” Matt says.  “You think you can beat me in a race?
 
“Yes, I can!” I say.  “I will race you tomorrow.”
 
“Okay, I will race you tomorrow,” Matt says.  “I am the fastest boy in school.  I will beat you.  I will beat you tomorrow!”
 
Today is the race.  I am very scared.  Matt is fast.  He is the fastest student in school.  Yesterday, I said I could beat him.  Today, I think, can I beat him?
 
Matt is ready to race.  I am ready to race.  The students from our school are there.  They watch us get ready.
 
“Okay,” says one student.  “Matt, are you ready to race?”
 
“I’m ready,” Matt says.
 
“Julio, are you ready to race?”
 
“I’m ready,” I say.
 
“Okay, go!” the student says.
 
I run.  I run as fast as I can, but I run slowly.  Matt runs.  He runs fast.  He runs fast and then he slows down to talk to me.
 
“You are so slow, Julio,” Matt says.  “How can you beat me?”
 
I don’t say anything.  I keep running.   
 
“You are so slow,” Matt says.  “I don’t need to hurry.  I can stop and talk to my friends.”
 
I don’t say anything.  I keep running.
 
Matt talks to his friends.  Then, he catches up to me.   
 
“You are still so slow,” Matt says.  “I can talk to my friend and I can still beat you.”
 
Matt says “hello” to his friends.  He laughs with his friends.  I am trying to hurry.  I keep running.   
 
Matt stops to talk to a girl.  She is a very pretty girl.  I keep running.
 
“Matt!” Matt’s friends say.  “Matt, look!”  Matt is talking to the pretty girl.  He is not running.  
 
“What?” Matt says.   
 
“Julio is near the finish line!” Matt’s friends say.   
 
“What?!”  Matt looks.  He looks and sees me near the finish line.  I am very close to the finish line.
 
Matt runs.  He runs very fast.  He runs very, very fast.  He catches up to me.  Now, we are both very close to the finish line.
 
“Julio wins!” the students shout.
 
“What?!  Julio won?!” Matt says.  “He is slow.  He cannot win a race.”
 
“Yes, I am slow, Matt,” I say.  “I am slow and you are fast.  You are the fastest in our school.”
 
“But how did you win?” Matt says.  He looks angry.  He looks very, very angry.
 
“I am slow, but I am steady,” I say.  “I am slow, but I keep going.  Don’t be angry, Matt.  You are still the fastest in school.”
 
“But you won the race!” Matt says.
 
“Yes, I won the race,” I say, “but you are still faster.  Now we know that being fast and being steady can both win the race.”
 
“You are right, Julio,” Matt says.  “Being slow and steady can win a race, too.”
 
_________
 
GLOSSARY
 
school – a place where children go everyday to learn; a building where teachers teach children
*In the United States, children usually start school when they are five or six years old.   
 
true – right; correct; not false
*Anna could not believe that her picture won the contest.  “Is it true?” she asked.
   
tomorrow – the day after today; the day that is coming next
*We did not have enough time today so we will finish reading the book tomorrow.     
 
today – the present day; the day that it is now  
*We have to pack our bags today because we are leaving in the morning for our trip.     
 
student – someone who goes to school; a person who learns at a school or college * How many students go to your school?   
 
yesterday – the day before today; the day that finished before this one started * I felt sick yesterday, but today I am fine.   
 
ready – prepared; able to act right now
*“Dinner is ready,” Mom said.  “Everyone come and eat.”     
 
to catch up – to reach the same place as someone else; to get to the same place as someone in front of you by going faster   
*Sid was watching TV when his brothers left on their bicycles, so now he has to ride very fast to catch up.   
 
pretty – looks very nice; very pleasing to look at
*All of the girls were so pretty in their new spring dresses.