Category: English Stories season 1

Season 1, episode 34

Isabel wishes she were home for Christmas instead of all alone in a big city. She knows that other people in her apartment building are also alone, so when the electricity goes out, she decides to spread light and joy through candles and song.

This story is in the third person and the present tense. Important vocabulary in the story includes: feels, neighbors, candles, box, Christmas, Christmas Eve, Nativity, and carols.

Merry Christmas

Isabel is a kind young woman. She lives very far from her family. She likes spending time with them and typically she goes home to celebrate Christmas. However, this year she doesn’t have the time or money to travel home for Christmas.

On December 24, Isabel walks through the city where she lives. She thinks of the things she would be doing at home with her parents, siblings, and extended family. They would spend a lot of time outside playing in the snow, building snowmen, throwing snowballs, sledding, and ice-skating.

They would also do a lot of things in the house. They would cook a big dinner for Christmas Eve. They would make Christmas cookies and sing carols while they took the cookies to their neighbors. They would listen to their grandparents’ stories about past Christmases. They would go to church for a special Christmas Eve service. They would open gifts and they would be very happy.

Isabel passes a church. There is a big Nativity with figures of Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus. A big banner says: “Merry Christmas”. Isabel pauses to observe the scene. She hears the sound of a choir practicing carols for Christmas Eve. The music and the scene make her feel a little better, and she continues on to her apartment.

When she arrives at her apartment there is a box in front of her door. It is from her mom. Isabel opens the package and finds a letter inside.

Dear Isabel, I am sorry you are not with us for Christmas this year. I hope that with the things in this box help you feel closer to us. Merry Christmas! Love, Mom

Isabel feels sad and alone. She misses her family a lot and she doesn’t feel like it is a merry Christmas. She looks at the things in the box. There is a bag of gingerbread cookies, her favorite. There are homemade marshmallows and a variety of chocolates. There are small gifts and a lot of candles.

Isabel takes the gifts and opens one. It is a donkey, like the one that took Mary to Bethlehem. Isabel puts the donkey on her table and opens another gift. This one contains a young shepherd. Isabel thinks about the shepherds that listened to the angels’ song and then looked for the Christ child.

The next gift has a figurine of Mary. Isabel thinks about Mary’s absolute faith and in the responsibility of being the mother of Jesus Christ. Isabel feels a great admiration for Mary. The next gift is Joseph. Isabel thinks about the trust that Joseph put in God.

Isabel keeps opening the gifts. There is an angel, a cow, the three wise men, another shepherd and a lamb. She puts the figures on the table to form the Nativity scene, but the most important figure is missing: where is the Christ child?

Isabel looks in the box again, but she only finds the candles. It is a tradition in Isabel’s house to eat Christmas Eve dinner only with the light of candles, without any electric light. It is a tradition that she likes a lot, but there are too many candles in the box for a dinner for only one person. Under the candles there is a note from her mom that says: “Light the world”.

Suddenly, the electricity goes out. Isabel looks out the window and sees that the whole city is dark. Isabel feels very sad and alone. It is not a perfect Christmas Eve like when she is at home.

Isabel is sad and alone, but she knows that there are other people that also feel sad and alone during Christmas. She looks at the box of candles and she has an idea.

She lights a candle and walks with the box to the hallway. She knocks on her neighbor’s door. When her neighbor, an older man, opens the door, Isabel sings.

The first Noel the angel did say Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay, In fields where they lay keeping their sheep On a cold winter’s night that was so deep. Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel! Born is the King of Israel!

Isabel lights a candle and passes the candle to the man. He goes with Isabel to the next apartment. They knock on the door. A woman and her daughter open the door and Isabel and her neighbor sing.

Oh, come, all ye faithful, Joyful and triumphant! Oh, come ye, oh come ye to Bethlehem. Come and behold him, Born the King of angels; Oh, come, let us adore him; Oh, come, let us adore him; Oh, come, let us adore him, Christ, the Lord.

The woman and her daughter take candles from the box. They light their candles and walk with Isabel and her neighbor to the next apartment. A family of six opens the door. Isabel and her group of neighbors sing.

Silent night! Holy night! All is calm, all is bright Round yon virgin mother and Child. Holy Infant, so tender and mild, Sleep in heavenly peace; Sleep in heavenly peace.

The group goes up a floor and knocks on the door of another apartment. An older woman with a cane opens the door. Isabel and her group of neighbors sing.

Angels we have heard on high Sweetly singing o’er the plains, And the mountains in reply Echoing their joyous strains. Gloria in excelsis Deo. Gloria in excelsis Deo.

The woman with the cane can’t walk with the group, but Isabel gives her a candle to light her apartment. The group of neighbors goes to the next door and sings.

Hark! the herald angels sing Glory to the newborn King! Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled! Joyful, all ye nations, rise; Join the triumph of the skies; With th’angelic host proclaim Christ is born in Bethlehem! Hark! the herald angels sing Glory to the newborn King!

The group continues through the hallways of the apartment building singing carols and passing candles to the neighbors. Some neighbors decide to join the group while others, like the woman with the cane, stay home. Some neighbors have their own candles, while others take candles from Isabel’s box.

After singing at the last apartment, Isabel has a pretty big group. They don’t want to simply return to their lonely apartments, so they decide to get together in a big room on the main floor of the building. They go to their apartments to get food to share in their improvised Christmas party.

Isabel sits in the room lit by candles from her box and eats with her neighbors. Now she doesn’t feel alone or sad, but she feels like something is missing. She thinks about the woman with the cane. She is not in the room because she can’t go down the stairs and the elevator isn’t working due to the lack of electricity. Isabel fills a plate of food and walks to the woman’s apartment.

When she knocks on the door, the woman invites her to enter. Isabel sits and talks with her. She learns that the woman’s kids couldn’t come home this year due to work and that it is her first Christmas without family. She was feeling very sad and lonely until she heard the music of her neighbors. Now her Christmas is much happier.

Later, Isabel returns to her apartment with her empty box. When she enters, she throws the bow to the side, but she hears something. The box is not completely empty. Inside the box there is one more small present. Isabel opens the packet and finds the figure of the baby Jesus. She puts the figurine with the rest of the Nativity and she sings her favorite carol.

What Child is this, who, laid to rest, On Mary’s lap is sleeping— Whom angels greet with anthems sweet, While shepherds watch are keeping? This, this is Christ, the King, Whom shepherds guard, and angels sing: Haste, haste to bring Him laud, The Babe, the Son of Mary!

Merry Christmas!

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Season 1, episode 33

Tom Turkey is a lazy turkey. He lives in the woods and just wants to eat all day. The other woodland animals are worried about Tom. They know hunting season is coming and Tom needs to learn how to avoid humans. Each animal gives Tom advice on how to stay safe. But, will Tom listen?

This story is in the third person and the present tense. Important vocabulary in the story includes: turkey, advice, avoid, ignore, and legs.

The Lazy Turkey

There is a turkey. The turkey lives in the woods. It is a wild turkey. The turkey’s name is Tom. Tom Turkey is a big, lazy turkey. He is a big turkey because he eats a lot and he is lazy because he never exercises.

The other woodland animals are worried about Tom Turkey. They know that many people come to the woods to hunt animals. They don’t want to be food for humans and they don’t want their friends to be food for humans either. It is important that the animals know to avoid humans.

The animals fear that Tom will be trapped by a human. They don’t think that Tom can take care of himself alone. They decide to talk to Tom Turkey to give him advice on how to avoid humans and their guns. Each animal shares a strategy they use to avoid humans.

The animals look for Tom Turkey. Tom is eating bugs under a tree. Rick Rabbit talks first. Rick is small. In the summer he is gray and in the winter his hair changes to white. His hair changes to give him camouflage. 

Rick Rabbit recommends that Tom Turkey change the color of his feathers. If Tom changes the color of his feathers, he can have better camouflage in the woods. But Tom is not a rabbit, he is a turkey. He can’t change the color of his feathers. So Tom ignores the advice of Rick Rabbit and he doesn’t change the color of his feathers.

Sally Squirrel is very small. She doesn’t change color, but she has another recommendation to avoid humans. Sally Squirrel collects food all summer. In the winter, she doesn’t have to leave her house because she has enough food.

Sally advises Tom Turkey to collect food and store it in his house to avoid humans. But Tom is not a squirrel, he is a turkey. He can’t store food because he doesn’t have a house. He sleeps in different trees each night. So Tom ignores the advice of Sally Squirrel and he doesn’t collect food to store for the winter.

Fanny Fox notices that Tom sleeps in the trees. She doesn’t think that it is very safe. Fanny lives in a den. Fanny dug the den. Fanny advises Tom to build a den to serve as his house. When humans come, Tom can hide in his den.

But Tom is not a fox, he is a turkey. He doesn’t want to dig a den. He prefers sleeping in the trees, not under the ground. So Tom ignores the advice of Fanny Fox and he doesn’t dig a den.

Rebecca Raccoon has a different suggestion. She is very social. When she steals food from human houses, she goes with her friends. She thinks there is safety in numbers. Rebecca Raccoon has a lot of friends in the woods and she notices that Tom Turkey is alone a lot of the time. Rebecca Raccoon insistes that Tom Turkey spend time with other turkeys because there is safety in numbers.

But Tom is not a raccoon, he is a turkey. He prefers being alone, not in the company of other animals. So, Tom ignores the advice of Rebecca Raccoon and he doesn’t spend time with other turkeys.

Dennis Deer has another idea for Tom. Dennis is big and athletic. He has four long, strong legs. He jumps through the forest and runs quickly when he sees danger. Dennis Deer encourages Tom Turkey to run and jump through the forest.

But Tom is not a deer, he is a turkey. He doesn’t have four long legs, he has two short legs. He doesn’t want to run and jump. So Tom ignores the advice of Dennis Deer and he doesn’t run or jump through the woods.

Micheal Moose is similar to Dennis Deer, but he is taller and prefers the water. When Micheal is in danger, he swims to the center of a lake. When he is in the lake, Micheal sees ducks and other birds that swim. So, Micheal suggests that Tom Turkey swim in the lakes like him and the ducks.

But Tom is not a moose nor a duck, he is a turkey. Tom has different legs, he can’t swim in the lake. So, Tom ignores the advice of Micheal Moose and he doesn’t swim in the lake.

Betty Bird thinks she has a good solution for Tom. When she sees humans, Betty flies to the trees. She flies very high and very fast. Betty Bird suggests that Tom Turkey fly high and fast to avoid humans.

Tom is a bird and he has wings like Betty, but Tom is not a small bird, he is a very fat turkey and his wings are not very strong. Tom can fly to sleep in trees at night, but he can’t fly high or far. So Tom ignores the advice of Betty Bird. He doesn’t fly high or fast.

Beatrice Beaver thinks that Tom’s problem is his activity. Tom is very fat and he is not very active. Beatrice Beaver is very active. She moves trees to build houses and block rivers. Beatrice advises Tom to be more active. She recommends that he do exercises like lifting trees. If he is active and exercises his muscles, he can fly and run to avoid humans.

But Tom is not a beaver, he is a turkey. He can’t move trees or swim. He doesn’t want to exercise, he wants to be lazy. So Tom ignores the advice of Beatrice Beaver and he doesn’t exercise. He doesn’t do anything.

Holly Hedgehog sees that Tom refuses to exercise. She has another idea. When Holly sees a human, she curves her body in a ball. Holly is covered in spikes. When she forms a ball, the spikes protect her. Holly recommends that Tom protect himself.

But Tom is not a hedgehog, he is a turkey. Tom is not covered in spikes, he is covered in feathers. Tom can’t protect himself with feathers. So Tom ignores the advice of Holly Hedgehog. He doesn’t protect himself.

Brutus Bear thinks that all the suggestions of the other animals are unnecessary. Brutus avoids humans by sleeping in a cave all winter. Brutus proposes that Tom also sleep in a cave all winter.

But Tom is not a bear, he is a turkey. He can’t sleep all winter. So Tom ignores the advice of Brutus Bear. He doesn’t sleep in a cave.

The animals don’t have any more advice for Tom. They regret that Tom doesn’t follow their suggestions. But they can’t force change. It is necessary that Tom decide to change.

One day, Tom is in the woods. He sees a pile of corn. Tom loves corn. He wants to eat the corn. But something seems strange. Where did the corn come from? Typically there is no corn in the woods. Could it be a trap?

Tom looks at the woods. He doesn’t see any humans. It is very probable that the corn is a trap. Tom’s instincts demand that he avoid the area and that he doesn’t eat the corn. Tom’s instincts say that it is a trap.

But Tom is not a smart animal, he is a turkey. He can’t think about anything but eating the corn. So he ignores his instincts and eats the corn.

It’s regrettable that Tom ignores everyone, especially his own instincts. If Tom listened to the advice of his friends, it is possible that he would still be in the woods with them, instead of on the table of an American family on Thanksgiving Day.

The end.

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Season 1, episode 32

Latriz has a very important job. She is a receptionist in a clinic. The people who come to the clinic talk to her before they talk to the nurse or doctor. The people who call the clinic talk to her for guidance. Latriz needs to help them stay calm and get the help they need. Latriz’s job is very important.

This story includes a lot of dialogue and is told in the present tense. Important vocabulary in the story includes: appointment, card, fever, help, and I ask.

The Receptionist

Hello, my name is Latriz and I am a receptionist in a clinic. I like my job. I have the opportunity to help people in my community. I have conversations with many different people. Typically when people come to the clinic or call the clinic they are very stressed. It is my job to help.

On a typical day, I interact with people who come into the clinic. I also interact with people on the phone.

A man enters the clinic with his son.

“Hello, welcome to the clinic. Do you have an appointment?” I say.

“Yes,” the man responds. “My son has an appointment with doctor Krauss.” 

“What is the patient’s name?” I say.

“Jaime Lopez Flores.”

“Here it is. I only need a little information. Please fill out this paper,” I say and I give him a paper. “Can you show me your insurance or Medicaid card?”

The man takes the paper and gives me his insurance card. I check the information on the card with the information in the computer. I make a copy of the card. I return the card and the man gives me the paper.

“Thank you, sir. Now please wait in the waiting room.”

The man and his son go to the waiting room and I continue with my work. A woman calls on the phone.

“Hello, Grand River Clinic,” I say answering the phone.

“My daughter has been throwing up all night,” the woman on the phone says.

“Has she been able to drink anything?” I ask.

“No. Every time she drinks water, she vomits,” the woman says.

“Does your daughter have a fever?” I ask.

“Yes. She has a fever of 102 degrees,” the woman responds.

“Have you given her any medicine for the fever?” I ask.

“No, we don’t have anything at home,” the woman responds.

“Would you like to make an appointment with the doctor? We have an availability at three this afternoon,” I explain.

“Yes, please.” The woman gives me her information and her daughter’s information and I make an appointment for them at three in the afternoon.

“Okay, ma’am. I have an appointment made for three. Try to give your daughter water in small portions. See you at three.”

Immediately the phone rings. There is a panicking man on the phone.

“I need help. It’s my wife.”

“Calm down, sir. What is wrong with your wife?” I ask.

“She’s having contractions. She’s going to have a baby!” The man exclaims.

“How many minutes are there between her contractions?” I ask.

“Twelve minutes,” the man responds.

“Good, you have time. When there are only five minutes between contractions, you should come to the hospital.”

“Five minutes,” the man responds.

“Yes, five minutes. For now, you can prepare your things for the hospital. You will need a change of clothing for your wife and the baby.”

“Yes, my wife already has everything prepared.”

“Perfect. Then try to calm down. You can take a little walk because movement helps the process. If there are only five minutes between contractions or her contractions last more than a minute at a time, you should leave for the hospital,” I explain.

“Okay, ma’am. Thanks for your help,” the man comments. He is calmer now.

“You’re welcome. Everything will be okay,” I finish.

When I finish on the phone a woman enters with her older son. Her son is crying.

“Help!” The mother yells.

“Ma’am, how can I help you?” I say.

“My son was riding his bike when he fell. He cut his forehead and hurt his arm,” the mother explained. I see the cut on his head. It is bleeding a lot.

“This cut looks deep. When he fell, did he lose consciousness?” I ask.

“No, he never lost consciousness. But there was a lot of blood.”

“Head wounds bleed a lot, but he most likely needs stitches,” I explain.

“And his arm? Is it broken?” The woman asks.

“We’d have to take an x-ray to determine if it is broken,” I explain.

“Can you do that now?”

“No, not here, ma’am. We are a clinic. You need to go to the emergency room, but don’t worry because it is next to the clinic.”

“I have to admit my son to the hospital?” The woman asks with a little bit of panic.

“It is very probably that your son won’t need to spend the night in the hospital, but he needs to go to the emergency room for the stitches and x-ray. I am going to call the receptionist there and explain your situation,” I say.

The woman is calmer now. I give her directions to the emergency room and then I call the receptionist in the emergency room. I explain that a woman is coming with her child who possibly has a broken arm and a cut on his head.

I spend the rest of my day helping patients in person and over the phone. I like my work. I like helping people in my community. I need to know a lot of medical information to help people that call the clinic. The work of the doctors and nurses is important, but patients talk to me, the receptionist, first.

The End.

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Season 1, episode 31

Silvia loves sweets a bit too much. Her love of sugar catches up with her in the form of a toothache. Now she must visit the dentist. First, the hygienist takes x-rays and cleans up her teeth. Then the dentist comes in for a visit. One thing is for sure, Sylvia needs to take better care of her teeth!

This simple story is told in the present tense and focuses on the words “candy”, “teeth”, “gums”, “plaque”, “tartar” and “cavity”.

A Visit to the Dentist

There is a woman named Silvia. Silvia has a problem. Silvia likes to eat a lot of candy. She loves all sweet things. She likes milk chocolate and dark chocolate and white chocolate candy bars. She likes marshmallows. She likes gummy candy. She likes sweet desserts. She likes pastries and donuts. She likes cinnamon rolls and cake with cream and fruit.

Silvia has problems with control. When she wants something sweet, she goes to the candy store and buys a bag of candy. Then she eats the whole bag in less than an hour! Silvia needs to control herself because her addiction to sweets is causing health problems.

One day, Silvia eats a chocolate when her tooth hurts. The pain is intense. Silvia drinks a little water and tries to eat her chocolate again. When she bites the chocolate, her tooth hurts terribly. Silvia has a toothache and she needs to call the dentist.

Silvia doesn’t go to the dentist much. She knows that she needs to go every six months, but sometimes she doesn’t go to the dentist for a whole year. Silvia dials the dentist’s number and talks with the receptionist, Mark.

“Anderson Dental Office. This is Mark,” Mark says when he answers the phone.

“Hi, Mark, this is Silvia. I need to make an appointment with the dentist. I have a toothache,” Silvia says.

“You are lucky, Silvia. There was a cancellation and there is an appointment available for today at three,” Mark comments.

“Thanks, Mark. I will see you at three,” Silvia responds. Silvia is a little nervous. She believes that she has a cavity because her tooth hurts a lot.

Silvia goes to the dentist office. When she enters, she sees Mark.

“Hi Mark, I’m Silvia. I have an appointment for three o’clock.”

“Hi Silvia. Could you fill out this information sheet?” Mark says and he passes a paper and pen to Silvia.

Silvia takes the pen and paper and sits in the waiting room. The paper has basic information like her name, address, emergency names and numbers and her dental insurance information. Silvia fills in all the information and returns the paper to Mark. A little later, a woman enters the waiting room. 

“Silvia?” The woman asks.

“That’s me,” Silvia responds and stands.

“I’m Emma. I am your dental hygienist. Come with me, please,” the woman says. Silvia goes with Emma to a small room. In the room there is a special chair, a computer, and multiple dental instruments.

Silvia sits in the chair. Emma puts a heavy apron on Silvia. She moves a special machine close to Silvia’s cheek. 

“I’m going to take an x-ray,” Emma explains. “We need to see your teeth well to determine if you have a cavity.”

Emma takes x-rays of Silvia’s teeth. Then, she puts a paper dental bib on Silvia and she explains that she is going to clean her teeth well.

“Open your mouth, please,” Emma says. Silvia opens her mouth and Emma uses a small mirror to examine Silvia’s teeth and gums.

“Your gums look good. They are not inflamed. There is no evidence of gingivitis. But your teeth have problems. There is a lot of plaque and tartar on your teeth. I am going to take off the tartar,” Emma explains.

Silvia closes her eyes and thinks about her grocery shopping list while Emma takes the tartar off her teeth. It takes a long time to remove the tartar because Silvia has a lot of tartar buildup on her teeth due to all the sweets she eats.

Finally, Emma finishes removing the tartar from Silvia’s teeth. Then she uses an electric brush to clean the teeth and take off the rest of the tartar. Then she takes dental floss. Emma uses the dental floss to clean the space between the teeth. When Emma is satisfied with the teeth, she calls the dentist.

“Hi, Silvia. I am doctor Anderson,” the dentist introduces herself. “I understand that you have a toothache.”

“Yes. The pain is here,” Silvia says while she indicates the hurt tooth.

The dentist projects Silvia’s x-rays. There is a black mark in the tooth that hurts. There are other marks in other teeth too.

“You have some cavities, Silvia,” the dentist explains while pointing at the black marks. “There are five cavities. The have to make another appointment to fix the cavities. I need time to clean the cavities and fill them.”

Silvia is not happy she has five cavities, but she isn’t surprised either.

“I recommend that you eat fewer sweets and that you clean your teeth with toothpaste and dental floss every morning and night,” the dentist continues. “You need to take care of your teeth or you will have more serious dental problems.”

Silvia doesn’t want to have more serious problems. Her grandmother had dental problems. Now, her grandmother doesn’t have teeth. Silvia doesn’t want to be like her grandmother. She wants to have teeth when she is 60 years old.

Doctor Anderson leaves and Emma finishes her work by applying fluoride to Silvia’s teeth. The fluoride prevents cavities and Silvia doesn’t want more cavities – five is enough!

Finally, Silvia thanks Emma and walks to Mark to make an appointment for the fillings. When she goes home, Silvia wants to go to the candy store, but she decides that her teeth are more important than her sweet tooth.

The End.

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I really enjoy creating and sharing simple, comprehensible stories. I work hard to provide tools and supports for those who want to learn. Please, consider buying me a taco to support my work!

You can download a printer-friendly PDF of this story.

Season 1, episode 30

Luis just wants to dance the night away, but a car accident lands him in the emergency room with his date. Now, instead of salsa, he must deal with x-rays, stitches and a cast. What fun!

This simple story is told in the present tense and focuses on the words “crash”, “hurts/pains”, “neck”, “leg”, “arm”, “cast” and “neck brace”.

The Car Accident

Luis is a big, strong man. He is friendly and funny too. Luis has a lot of friends. He is especially popular with women because he is very handsome and he can dance. Luis dances the salsa and the tango. 

Luis uses the Tinder app to look for friendly, pretty women. One day Luis sees the photo of an especially fantastic woman. She is called Angela. Angela is tall and chubby. She is funny and friendly like Luis and she also has a lot of friends.

Luis makes a date with Angela. They go to a restaurant. In the restaurant Luis talks about work. He had a good day at work. Angela listens and cuts her steak. Angela is bored because Luis talks and talks and he doesn’t ask Angela any questions. She simply listens to Luis’s fantastic day. Angela wants to go home, but after eating Luis invites her to dance. Angela likes dancing a lot and she decides to give Luis another chance.

Angela and Luis go to a club in Luis’s car. Angela is very happy because she read on Tinder that Luis dances very well. They enter the club and Luis dances. He is incredible! Luis dances very well. But, Luis dances in a big group with a lot of women and men. He doesn’t dance with Angela. Angela is mad at Luis. She walks to Luis and says, “I want to go home.”

“What’s wrong?” Luis responds, confused.

“I want to go home,” Angela repeats.

Luis walks to his car with Angela. In the car, Angela puts on her seatbelt. Luis doesn’t put on his seatbelt. Luis starts the car and goes very fast through the streets of the city. He passes a park. There are some very pretty women in the park. Luis is distracted. He doesn’t see the road because he is looking at the pretty women. Angela looks at the road and she sees a small child. The small child runs after a dog in the street!

“Stop!” Angela yells. 

Luis sees the child at the last moment. He hits the brakes on the car and turns to the right because he doesn’t want to crash into a child or a dog. Luckily, Luis doesn’t crash into the child, but he does crash into a parked car. With the impact, Luis’s forehead hits the windshield. His arm and leg are also hurt. Angela hurts her neck with the impact.

Luis and Angela are hurt. They need medical help, but they can’t drive the car to the hospital. So, Angela calls an ambulance. The paramedics arrive in the ambulance and help Angela and Luis. They check their condition.

Angela doesn’t have many injuries. Her neck hurts so a paramedic gives her a neck brace. Angela can’t move her head well because the neck brace stabilizes her head. But Angela can walk and she walks to the ambulance.

Luis requires more attention than Angela because he has more injuries. The paramedic puts a bandage on the cut on Luis’s forehead. He puts a neck brace on Luis’s neck. Luis can’t walk because his leg hurts a lot, so the paramedics move Luis on a stretcher.

The ambulance goes to the emergency room at the hospital. In the emergency room a doctor examines Luis. The doctor is dark, short, and very intelligent.

“What happened?” The doctor asks.

“I was dancing the salsa, because I like to dance a lot, when Angela wanted to go home. On the way home, a child ran into the street. I like children and, because I am good, I didn’t want to crash into a child. I hit the brakes and crashed into a parked car. Some people think I am a hero because the child was perfectly fine,” Luis responds.

“What hurts?” The doctor asks. She is not affected by Luis’s exaggerated words.

“My head hurts a lot. My arm and leg hurt. And my heart hurts,” Luis says dramatically.

“Your heart hurts? That’s not good,” the doctor reacts.

“My heart hurts because you are so pretty, but I am here with another woman,” Luis says.

The doctor touches the cut on Luis’s forehead. “Ow!” Luis yells.

“The cut is very serious. It needs stitches,” the doctor says. She gives Luis a shot and then she gives him seven stitches to close the cut. Then she examines Luis’s arm and leg. They hurt Luis a lot

Luis goes to a special room. In the special room, a technician takes an x-ray of his arm. He doesn’t see anything special in the x-ray. Then the technician takes an x-ray of Luis’s leg. He sees a problem in Luis’s leg and talks to the doctor. The doctor talks to Luis.

“Sir, your leg is broken. You need a cast.”

“And my heart?” Luis asks dramatically. The doctor ignores Luis and examines Angela.

“What hurts?” She asks Angela.

“My neck hurts,” Angela responds.

The doctor examines Angela’s neck. It is not broken. The doctor gives her some pills for the pain and says Angela needs to use the neck brace for a few more days.

Another doctor arrives and puts a cast on Luis. The doctor is efficient and good. Luis is not happy with the cast. He wants to dance the salsa and the tango and he can’t with a cast. He can’t walk with the cast!

Luis sits in a wheelchair because he can’t walk due to his broken leg. Angela pushes the wheel chair for Luis because Luis’s arm hurts too.

Luis understands that his date with Angela was not the most fantastic date.

“I’m sorry about the accident,” Luis says to Angela.

“It’s okay, Luis. It was an accident,” Angela responds.

Angela and Luis pass a group of nurses. Luis looks at the nurses and says, “Hello beautiful ladies. How are you doing?”

Angela is very mad at Luis. First the horrible dinner, then the group of women in the club, the accident in front of the women in the park, then the doctor, and now the nurses! Angela pushes Luis’s wheelchair and the cast on his leg crashes with the door.

“Ow, ow!” Luis cries.

“Oh, sorry. It was an accident,” Angela says sarcastically. Then she calls two Ubers. She doesn’t want to spend another minute more with Luis.

The end.

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You can download a printer-friendly PDF of this story.

Season 1, episode 29

Paloma is a near perfect child. She just has one problem that threatens to take over her life – Paloma is a worrier. She worries about EVERYTHING from school to shopping to what she wears. Paloma reaches out to her mom, who realizes that she needs more help than she can give. So, Paloma meets with a therapist. At first she is worried, but after time she begins to develop confidence and her worrying subsides.

This simple story is told in the present tense and focuses on the words “worried”, “worries about”, “don’t worry”, “feels”, “comfortable”, and “therapist”.

Worried

There is a girl named Paloma. Paloma is a pretty and polite girl. When people see Paloma, they think that she is a perfect child. But Paloma has a secret. Paloma is not perfect. Paloma has a problem. 

Paloma is always worried. She worries about everything. She worries about her school work. She worries about being sick. She worries about getting up on time. She worries about being alone. She worries about her clothes. She worries about the weather. Paloma worries about everything.

Paloma spends all day worried. She is never okay with her life. When she is in the car, she worries she will have an accident and so she puts on her seatbelt and checks the door multiple times. When she is in the supermarket, she worries about getting lost and so she is always very close to her mom. When she is in school, she worries about being wrong on her work so she is always asking her teacher questions.

At first, the worrying isn’t terrible. Paloma breathes and focuses and moves forward. But with time, the worrying is more and more obsessive. Paloma decides to talk with her mom.

“Mom, I have a problem.”

“Yes, dear? What is your problem?” Her mom asks her with compassion.

“Mom, I am not okay. I am always worried. I don’t want to do anything because I am always worried. I don’t want to talk with people because I am worried. I don’t want to go to the store because I am worried. I don’t want to do my school work because I am worried it will be incorrect, but I am also worried to not do my work because I want to be a perfect student,” Paloma admits.

“Dear, these worries are normal,” her mom responds. “Don’t worry.”

“Mom, when you say ‘don’t worry,’ I worry more!”

“Honey, there is nothing to worry about.”

“But mom, when I brush my teeth, I worry about cavities. When I swim, I worry about fish. When I visit the doctor, I worry about dying. When I travel in a car, I worry about accidents. I am so worried that don’t think about anything else. I am always worried and I can’t take it anymore!” Paloma cried. 

Paloma’s mother listens attentively. She notes that her daughter is very upset. Paloma’s mom wants to help, but she is not a professional in this area. She doesn’t know how to help Paloma, so she makes an appointment with a therapist.

The therapist is called Filomena. Filomena is very patient and understanding. She listens to children all day because she is a child therapist. Filomena is an expert in child psychology and she wants to help Paloma.

Paloma is worried about her appointment with the therapist. She is worried because she doesn’t know Filomena. Paloma imagines a strict woman in an ugly white office. She is worried because maybe she has a horrible mental problem and there is no cure. She doesn’t want to go to a mental hospital!

When Paloma enters Filomena’s office, she is more calm. First, Filomena has a pretty smile and she doesn’t seem strict. Second, Filomena’s office has toys and crayons. It is a comfortable space and not intimidating and ugly.

Paloma sits with her mom on a couch. Filomena sits on a chair near the couch. Filomena asks questions and Paloma responds to the questions. Paloma likes Filomena’s tone of voice. Paloma feels good and talks about her problems. Filomena listens. She doesn’t interrupt she doesn’t give instructions to Paloma. She just listens. Paloma talks and feels good. She doesn’t feel worried.

In the next appointment with Filomena, Paloma draws. She draws some of her worries and talks about her drawings with Filomena. Paloma feels good with Filomena. She feels that she can talk about her worries and when she talks about her worries, they don’t seem so big.

Paloma has two appointments each month with her therapist. She likes to visit her therapist. In the appointments, sometimes they color. Sometimes they paint. They play with puppets or dolls. Paloma talks. Filomena listens and asks questions. Filomena is always patient and attentive. Filomena never says that it is silly to worry. Filomena doesn’t believe that Paloma is silly for her worries.

After visiting with her therapist, Paloma feels happy. She is still worried, but her worries don’t control her life. Paloma has more confidence. When she brushes her teeth, she doesn’t think about cavities. When she is in the car, she looks at the trees and she doesn’t think about accidents. When she visits the doctor, she doesn’t think about dying.

At school, Paloma talks with other kids. She is still a little worried, but she doesn’t allow her worry to control her. She thinks about her sessions with the therapist and she is confident.

Paloma’s mom notices a difference in her daughter. She notices that her daughter is more happy. She notices that her daughter smiles more. Paloma’s mom also learns from Filomena. She learns to be patient with Paloma and she learns that the phrase “don’t worry” is not a good phrase to use with Paloma because when she hears “don’t worry”, she only worries more.

Paloma is not perfect. In the past she worried about being perfect, but now she is happier and she has more confidence. She feels good about her life.

The end.

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You can download a printer-friendly PDF of this story.

Season 1, episode 28

The Mesoamerican Reef system is the second largest in the world. Located in the Caribbean Sea, the most beautiful section of this reef is accessible through the island of Roatán in Honduras. Here you can see the plant and animal life that call this tropical paradise home.

This simple story is told in the present tense and focuses on the words island, fish, coral reef, film, and scuba dive.

Under the Sea 

There is a man named Michael. Michael likes water a lot. When he was a child, Michael played in the water all the time. He swam in lakes and rivers. He was particularly fascinated by animals in the water. He liked watching fish when they swam. 

Now, Michael is an adult and he works in the water. Michael’s work is very fun. Michael makes videos of animals that live in the water. Michael is an aquatic cameraman.

Michael travels to the coasts of several nations. He goes out in boats and goes in the water to make his videos. One day, Michael goes to the island of Roatán. Roatán is part of Honduras. Honduras is located in Central America and it has a long coast on the Caribbean Sea. The island of Roatán, Honduras is popular with underwater filming because of its coral reefs. The coral reefs of Honduras are spectacular and part of the second biggest reef in the world. They have crystal waters so it is very easy to see all the marine life, the plants, and the coral.

Michael wants to scuba dive in the Caribbean Sea to film the aquatic life. First, Michael goes in a boat to the coral reef. Michael is going to scuba dive for a long time in the water and he wears a wetsuit. He also puts on a mask. The mask gives protection to Michael’s eyes. Michael needs to swim with his eyes open, so he uses the mask to see while he swims.

Michael puts fins on his feet to swim better. The fins give a lot of movement with little energy. Furthermore, when Michael uses the fins to swim, he doesn’t need to use his hands to swim, so he can use his hands to film.

Michael is human, so he needs oxygen to breathe. The oxygen is in a tank. Michael wears the oxygen tank in a vest on his back. Michael breathes the oxygen from the tank through a regulator. The regulator is connected to the tank with a tube.

With the mask, fins, regulator, and oxygen tank, Michael is ready to to scuba dive and film the aquatic life. Michael takes his camera and dives in the water. In the water, Michael sees a lot of fish. The fish are all the colors of the rainbow. There are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple fish. The fish swim in groups in the crystal water

Michael films the fish. They swim among the coral in the reef. There are more than 60 species of coral in the waters of Honduras. Like the fish, the coral also comes in many colors. Michael’s favorites are the pink coral. There are a lot of fish among the coral. Some fish have camouflage. It is impossible to see some fish in the coral! 

Michael uses his fins to explore the reef more. He sees a movement and investigates. It is a sea turtle!  The sea turtle is big. There are six species of sea turtles in the Caribbean. Michael films the turtle while it swims. Turtles are slow and clumsy on land, but they are very elegant in the water.

The turtle leaves and Michael keeps exploring the coral reef. He sees some blue crabs. The crabs don’t swim, they walk. Crabs like spaces in the rocks. They use their pincers for protection. There are many crabs in Honduras and crab soup is a very delicious local dish. Michael thinks that he wants to eat crab soup after his scuba diving trip.

Michael continues on his adventure. He sees a very big animal. It is a whale shark, the biggest fish in the Caribbean. The whale shark is huge, but Michael is not scared. Michael is not scared because the whale shark is not vicious like other sharks. The whale shark is docile. It eats plankton and it doesn’t attack people. Michael films the whale shark on his camera. The whale shark is bigger than Michael!

Michael is very satisfied with his trip in the coral reef. He decides to return to the boat. He moves his fins and swims in the direction of the boat. Suddenly, there is movement. There are other people scuba diving in the sea. These people are looking for a particular kind of fish. It is a lion fish. The lion fish is not native to the Caribbean Sea and causes a lot of destruction to the coral reef. The lion fish eats animals that take care of the reef. That’s why there are people that capture lion fish.

Michael sees the lion fish. It is a very pretty fish because it has an elegant appearance with its many fins and stripes of brown and white. But Michael understands that the lion fish causes destruction. He films a little bit of the lion fish on his camera and then he alerts the people looking for the lion fish. They come and capture it.

Michael returns to the boat. Getting back on the boat is a little complicated with his scuba equipment. In the boat he takes off his mask, the fins, the regulator, and the vest with the oxygen tank. The boat driver is careful in the water because of the presence of other boats and scuba divers.

Michael looks at the Caribbean Sea. The water is very pretty. Suddenly, a dolphin jumps out of the water. Then another dolphin jumps out of the water. The dolphins swim next to the boat for a time and then they return to the sea.

Michael is very happy. The Caribbean Sea is magical with all its incredible animals.

The end.

You can also watch a video of this story on YouTube!

Today’s episode was inspired by @Diver23. Check out his videos of animals from the story: Schools of fish, Sea turtle, Crab, Whale shark, Dolphin

I really enjoy creating and sharing simple, comprehensible stories. I work hard to provide tools and supports for those who want to learn. Please, consider buying me a taco to support my work!

You can download a printer-friendly PDF of this story.

Season 1, episode 27

Brandon and Julia love dinosaurs. They have a bunch of plastic toy dinosaurs that they play with together. There is only one problem. Julia’s Tyrannosaurus Rex is always eating Brandon’s dinosaurs. Brandon and Julia both know a lot about dinosaurs. Will Brandon be able to find one that Julia’s T-Rex can’t eat?

This simple story is told in the present tense and focuses on the words grabs, eats, growls, carnivore (meat eater), and herbivore (plant eater).

Dinosaurs

Julia and Brandon play in the yard. They have a ton of plastic dinosaurs. Julia has a tyrannosaurus in her hand. Brandon has a triceratops. Julia’s tyrannosaurus runs after Brandon’s triceratops. 

“I’m hungry! I’m going to eat you!” Julia growls while her tyrannosaurus attacks the triceratops.

“You’re not going to eat me! I’m attacking you with my horns!” Brandon yells in response.

“Ha, ha, ha. Your horns aren’t anything. I have big teeth,” Julia growls in a tyrannosaurus voice.

“Aaaaaaah!” Brandon yells. Julia grabs Brandon’s triceratops and pretends to eat it with the tyrannosaurus.

“Yum, yum. How tasty!” Julia growls.

“It’s my turn to be the tyrannosaurus,” Brandon says.

“No,” Julia responds. “The tyrannosaurus is my favorite dinosaur.”

“But you always play with the tyrannosaurus and you always eat my dinosaurs,” Brandon says.

“Because the tyrannosaurus is a carnivorous dinosaur and it eats other dinosaurs,” Julia responds.

Brandon looks at the plastic dinosaurs. Some dinosaurs are very big. Brandon sees an apatosaurus. The apatosaurus was 20 meters tall and weighed 35 tons. It was an herbivore. It ate leaves from tall trees. It would be very difficult to eat a big dinosaur – especially a dinosaur bigger than the tyrannosaurus.

“You can’t eat my apatosaurus with your tyrannosaurus,” Brandon declares.

“My T-Rex can eat anything,” Julia responds.

“But T-Rex didn’t attack apatosaurus because they are super big!” Brandon explains. 

“I don’t care. My tyrannosaurus is hungry. Yum, yum,” Julia grabs the plastic apatosaurus and pretends to eat it with her plastic tyrannosaurus.

Brandon has an idea. Carnivorous dinosaurs typically ate herbivores. So, Brandon needs to play with a carnivore. Julia’s T-Rex isn’t going to eat another carnivore.

Brandon looks at the plastic dinosaurs. There is one called an allosaur. The plastic allosaur is bigger than the tyrannosaurus rex. The T-Rex and the allosaur were very similar. The allosaur was a little taller. It was 12 meters tall and weighed 2 tons. Brandon decides that Julia can’t attack the allosaur.

“Now I’m a carnivore. I am going to attack the herbivores,” Brandon says. He pretends to eat the herbivore dinosaurs with his allosaur.

“An allosaur! I love to eat allosaur!” Julia growls.

“Don’t eat me! Tyrannosaurus rex didn’t eat allosaurus,” Brandon protests.

“Well, in reality, tyrannosaurus rex and allosaurus ate herbivores and carnivores,” Julia responds.

“But…but my allosaurus is bigger than your T-Rex,” Brandon declares. 

“Allosaurus was taller, but tyrannosaurus was more muscular. T-Rex weighed 7 tons of pure muscle,” Julia explains. Julia’s tyrannosaurus rex attacks Brandon’s allosaurus.

“Aaaaaah!” Brandon yells.

“Yum, yum!” Julia growls. She grabs the allosaurus and pretends to eat it with her tyrannosaurus.

Brandon needs another dinosaur. He needs a dinosaur that is difficult to eat. He sees a dinosaur with plates on its spine. It’s a stegosaurus. Stegosaurus was 3 to 9 meters tall and weighed 2 tons. It was a herbivore and ate plantes. Brandon thinks it would be very difficult to attack a dinosaur like the stegosaurus because of the plates.

Brandon grabs the stegosaurus. His dinosaur walks in the yard. Suddenly, Julia’s tyrannosaurus attacks!

“A stegosaurus!” Julia growls.

“You can’t eat the stegosaurus because it has plates. T-Rex didn’t eat plates,” Brandon says.

“The stegosaurus plates were fore helping the stegosaurus regulate his temperature,” Julia explains, “not for protection. Also, the plates were only on the spine. There isn’t anything on the stomach.”

“Aaaaaaah!” Brandon yells while Julia’s tyrannosaurus attacks his stegosaurus.

“Yum, yum!” Julia growls. She grabs the stegosaurus and pretends to eat it with her tyrannosaurus rex.

Brandon needs a dinosaur with a lot of protections. He sees the perfect dinosaur. It is an ankylosaurus. The ankylosaurus had protection from spikes and plates. Carnivores didn’t want to eat the ankylosaurus because it was a lot of work. In addition to the protection of the spikes and plates, the ankylosaurus was very strong. It was 11 meters long and weighed 4 tons. Brandon thinks that Julia’s tyrannosaurus rex can’t eat the ankylosaurus.

“You can’t eat me now,” Brandon declares. “This ankylosaurus has a lot of protection. It has protection on its back and stomach.”

Julia attacks the ankylosaurus with her T-Rex, but its teeth hit the plates of the ankylosaurus. Brandon hits the T-Rex with the big tail of the ankylosaurus. Julia’s tyrannosaurus rex falls.

“Yum, yum!” Brandon says and he pretends to eat plants with his ankylosaurus.

The End.

You can also watch a video of this story on YouTube!

I really enjoy creating and sharing simple, comprehensible stories. I work hard to provide tools and supports for those who want to learn. Please, consider buying me a taco to support my work!

You can download a printer-friendly PDF of this story.

Season 1, episode 26

Today’s story was originally written by Scott Wyatt.

Why is the raven black? 7-year-old Agapita has created a series of drawings to explain the dark feathers of this intelligent bird who just wanted to get a glimpse of his creator.

This simple story is told in the past tense and focuses on the words “crow”, “drawing”, “creator”, “world”, and the verbs “see/saw”, “made”, and “would be”. 

The Color of the Crow

A mother was sitting at the kitchen table with her two daughters. Her older daughter was called Agapita and she was 7 years old. Agapita was drawing. Her younger daughter’s name was Manzanita and she was 5 years old. Manzanita was eating.

“What are you drawing?” The mother asked her daughter. Agapita moved several papers with drawings to the center of the table. Her mother looked at the drawings curiously.

“I am making a story of the birds,” Agapita responded. She took one of the papers. “This is the first drawing. It is the beginning of the story of the birds.”

On the paper there was a drawing of three birds. All the three birds were white, but it was obvious that they were different kinds of birds.

“Tell me the story,” the mother said. She really wanted to hear the story from her creative child. She wanted to know about the birds. Agapita began.

“Once upon a time there were three kinds of birds on the Earth: the dove, the seagull, and the crow. In the beginning, all the birds were white. They didn’t have any color.

Agapita indicated the three birds on her first drawing. Then she moved the paper with the first drawing aside and revealed other drawings to continue her story.

The doves were full of love. They were white due to their love, because love is pure. They were only concerned about love. They spent all their time in the tree because their love was enough.

The seagulls were white at the beginning because all the birds were white. But the seagulls had a problem. They were lazy. They didn’t want to work. They started to eat things that they could steal, like garbage. Because of that, their color changed. They received gray wings and black tails.

The crows were very intelligent. They were white because intelligence is bright. But the crow was curious. He wanted to learn about the world. He wanted to know who made the world. So the crow spoke to the trees.

“Trees, who planted you?”

“We don’t know,” the trees responded. The crow was not satisfied with the answer, so he spoke to everyone.

“Animals, who gave you life?”

“We don’t know,” the animals responded.

“Ocean, who filled you with water?”

“We don’t know,” the ocean responded.

“Sun, who put you in the sky?”

“I don’t know,” the sun responded. “But I move through the sky and I see a lot. I see flowers in the fields and trees in the forest. I see animals leave their homes in the morning with their babies. I see the vast ocean. I don’t know who made all this because I see everything and I don’t see the creator of the world. I think the creator made the world in the night. You should talk to the moon.”

The crow decided to talk to the moon. If the sun didn’t see the creator during the day, maybe the moon saw the creator during the night.

“Moon, who created the world?”

“I don’t know, little crow,” the moon responded. “Like the sun, I move through the sky and I see a lot, but I never saw the creator of the world. I think that he works in complete darkness.”

The crow made a plan. He decided to wait until night to discover the creator of the world. He waited night after night, but he didn’t see anything. However, in the morning the crow saw new creations.

The crow decided that the creator could create the world in secret because it was easy to see the crow due to its white color. The color of the crow was pure and bright like snow on a mountain. So the crow made a fire and used the ashes of the fire to change the color of its feathers. The black ash changed the color of his feathers from white to black, so the crow could be invisible to the creator.

But the crow made a mistake. His fire was visible to the humans. The humans took the fire. They used the fire to take control of the world and dominate all life on the planet. Because of that, the creator became furious. The creator appeared to the humans to learn where they got the fire.

“Humans, who gave you fire?” The creator asked.

“We took the fire from the crow,” the humans responded.

The creator saw that the crow used the ashes of the fire to change its color from white to black. The creator decided to change the color of all the crows to black forever.

The crow never saw the creator and now he can’t see the creator because the creator always sees the crow first. The creator can see the crow easily because it is black. The creator created other birds, but he gave them colors like red and blue.

The crow is intelligent, but it is not enough to be intelligent. It is important to follow the wishes of the creator.

Agapita finished her story. She saw her drawings. She took a color pencil and drew more flowers on the paper with the sun. Agapita’s mom was impressed by the story, but she had a question.

“Why can the creator see the crow when he is black? Wouldn’t a brighter color be better?”

Agapita considered the question before answering. “The creator existed before the colores and before light, so he can see the color black better than the others. The creator made the colors of the rainbow, but he existed before the sun, so the color black is natural. It is the oldest color of all.

“What color would you paint yourself?” Her mother asked.

“Blue, like the sky. But I would prefer not to have color,” Agapita responded decisively.

“And what color would you paint your sister Manzanita?” Her mother asked.

“Manzanita would be red like an apple, obviously,” Agapita responded.

“And me? What color would you paint me?” Her mother asked.

“You, mom, would be all the colors, like a party,” Agapita responded lovingly.

The end.

You can also watch a video of this story on YouTube!

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You can download a printer-friendly PDF of this story.

Season 1, episode 25

Hello and welcome to Simple Stories in English. Hannah is a curious girl. When a butterfly lands in her back yard, she wants to learn all about it. After visiting the library, she learns that these butterflies are special and that they fly all the way to Mexico from Canada. What else will she learn about the monarch butterfly?

Monarch Butterflies 

There is a girl named Hannah. Hannah lives in the state of Texas in the southern United States. Hannah is a curious child. She likes to learn. Hannah’s mother is Ericka. Ericka is very patient. She listens to all of Hannah’s questions. When she can answer the question, she answers it. When Ericka doesn’t know the answer to Hannah’s question, she reads books with Hannah to find the answers. 

Right now, Hannah is very interested in insects. She spends hours in the yard watching the small insects. She watches ants that walk in a line. She watches bees that collect pollen from flowers. She watches crickets that jump through the yard. She watches mosquitos that bite and suck blood.

One day Hannah is in the yard. Suddenly, an incredible insect lands on a flower. Hannah knows it is an insect because it has six legs, its body has three parts and there are two antenna on its head. This insect also has two pretty wings. Its wings have many colors. Hannah is fascinated. She wants to know more about this pretty insect. Ericka is working in the yard, so Hannah yells to her mom, “Mom! Come here!”

Ericka walks to Hannah and looks at the insect. “Mom, what is this insect called?” Hannah asks.

“It’s a butterfly,” Ericka responds.

“What do butterflies eat? Where do they live? How many species are there?” Hannah asks.

“I don’t know. Should we go to the library?” Ericka responds.

“Yes!” Hannah exclaims. Hannah likes the library a lot. The library has books with information about everything. Ericka and Hannah go to the public library. When they arrive at the library, they talk to the librarian. 

“Good morning. Welcome to the library. Can I help you with something?” She says.

“Yes. I would like books about butterflies,” Hannah responds.

The librarian guides Hannah and Ericka to a particular section of the library. “We have several books on insects with information about butterflies, we have a book about the varieties of butterflies, and we have a book about the great migration of monarch butterflies.” The librarian takes the books and hands them to Hannah.

“There is a butterfly migration?” Hannah asks the librarian. 

“Yes, and the migration passes through Texas. Here in the library garden we plant flowers for the monarch butterflies. The butterflies drink the nectar from the flowers,” the librarian responds.

Hannah and Ericka go home with the books from the library. Hannah reads everything about butterflies. She learns that there are 24,000 species of butterflies in the world.

Hannah opens the book about the monarch butterfly migration. The monarch butterfly is a pretty butterfly with orange and black wings. Hannah learns that the monarch butterflies live in Mexico, the United States, and Canada. She reads that every year there is a great migration of butterflies from Canada to Mexico. There is a map of the migration. In the map, Hannah sees that the monarch butterflies pass through Texas on their migration.

Hannah keeps reading and learns more. She learns that there are several generations of butterflies. The first generation is born in Mexico and flies north. This generation stops in states like Texas to lay their eggs. The second generation of butterflies is born in Texas and other states and flies further north. The third generation or the fourth generation fly south to Mexico to hibernate. The butterflies that fly to Mexico sometimes are bigger than normal monarch butterflies.

Hannah keeps reading and learns that there is a problem. Climate change is affecting the monarch butterfly migration. There are groups that work to protect butterfly habitat to make more flower fields, especially milkweed. Milkweed is important because monarch butterflies lay their eggs in milkweed.

Hannah is fascinated. She wants to help the monarch butterflies. She explains to her mom that she wants to help the butterflies and Ericka makes a plan.

Ericka and Hannah make a special space in their yard. In the space, they plant milkweed. Every day Hannah checks the milkweed. She wants to see the monarch butterflies!

One day, Hannah goes outside to check the milkweed and she sees a monarch butterfly. Then she sees another butterfly, and another. They are very pretty! When the monarch butterflies leave, there are little eggs on the milkweed. Every day Hannah checks on the eggs. She doesn’t want another insect to eat the eggs.

Finally, little caterpillars leave the eggs. The caterpillars eat the milkweed. In only two weeks, the caterpillars are very big. Hannah likes the colors of the monarch caterpillars. They have stripes of yellow, black and white.

One day, Hannah checks on the caterpillars, but she doesn’t see any. Instead of caterpillars, she sees green sacks on the milkweed. She is worried and yells for her mom.

“Don’t worry, Hannah. The caterpillars make a cocoon. In the cocoon they change from caterpillars to butterflies,” Ericka explains.

Hannah checks the cocoons every day. After ten days of waiting, there is movement. A cocoon moves. Hannah sits in front of the cocoon. Little by little the cocoon opens and the wings of the monarch butterfly emerge. The monarch butterfly moves its wings and sun bathes. After a time, it flies north and the cycle continues.

Every year Hannah produces milkweed and flowers in her yard to help the monarch butterflies and every year Hannah – and Ericka – are fascinated by the transformation of these incredible insects.

The End.

You can also watch a video of this story on YouTube!

I really enjoy creating and sharing simple, comprehensible stories. I work hard to provide tools and supports for those who want to learn. Please, consider buying me a taco to support my work!

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