Maria had talent for music. She could play the piano like an accomplished musician. But she was not very confident about herself. Her parents owned a music store. Whenever she found time, she went to the store and played the piano. As she was under‑confident, she used to say, “I want to be a musician, […]

Lydia loved to write stories. She wrote wonderful stories about dragons, fairies and princes, and read them aloud in her garden. She would forget everything while writing. She only wished, if she could write in colourful letters. One day, she found a pen in the garden. To her amazement, the pen could write in seven

Charles loved boating. Every evening, he and his father would row across the river. Charles’s father never allowed him to go boating on his own. Every evening, he waited for his father to come. If he came late, Charles would want to run alone to the river for boating. One day, Charles’ father said that

Jessica did not keep well. Only a fortnight ago, she had fallen terribly ill. The doctor gave her medicines, but she had not completely recovered even now. She did not enjoy taking bed‑rest. She felt weak and upset. Every night before going to bed, she hoped she would completely recover tomorrow morning. She used to

Elizabeth was a brave girl, who enjoyed visiting the sea-side beach. She loved her pet dog Tom, who accompanied her wherever she went. One day, Elizabeth and Tom were together playing at the beach. She instructed her dog, “Tommy, please keep a watch over my things here. Meanwhile, I will go swimming in the sea.”

Once, two angels, one old and the other young, came down to the world. The angels actually wanted to test the character of human beings. First, they chose a wealthy man. The angels decided to spend a night in a wealthy man’s home. But he made them stay in the basement. There, the older angel

Everyone wants to enjoy a peaceful life. Poor people think, if they had more money they would enjoy a peaceful and happy life. A fisherman, sitting under a tree near the sea-shore, was poor but enjoying a peaceful and happy life. There came a rich merchant. The rich merchant passing by asked him, “Why are

The tortoise is a slow animal. It works at a slow pace. It is slow but diligent. It can continue doing work for long without a break. It also needs to take rest for a while. Once, there lived a tortoise family. This family decided to go for a picnic. Being naturally slow, it took

Mary studied in a boarding school. She was eagerly waiting for her birthday, when she would get gifts from so many people. One day, in a carnival, a fortune-teller prophesied, “Mary, you will get something beautiful and shiny on your birthday!” “Beautiful and shiny…? What could that be?” She tried to guess. Then, suddenly she

Angela loved rock-climbing. She would often visit mountains to climb the tall peaks. Rock climbing is an adventurous sport but it requires courage to climb the tall peaks. Angela was courageous. One day, she went on yet another rock-climbing expedition. When she reached half the way to the top, the safety rope snapped against her

William loved chocolates. Although he loved chocolates from everywhere yet he especially loved Swedish chocolates. His uncle lived in Sweden. He reminded his uncle to bring some chocolates whenever he came to visit them next time. William was excited to learn that Uncle John was coming from Sweden. Finally when he arrived, William was happy

Old Ethel was saintly in nature. She thought everything good that happens is due to God. She stepped out of her house every morning and shouted, “Praise the Lord!” She did not care whether others liked her belief or not. Jen, Ethel’s neighbour, was irritated with her morning practice. He complained several times that Ethel’s

Thomas loved adventure. He had been to several adventurous voyages. There is thrill in an adventure, but it has its price. Some adventures can be risky. Recently, Thomas had been on an adventurous voyage, when his ship sank. Thomas was the only survivor of the shipwreck and was washed up to a deserted island. He

Patricia was a fun-loving girl. She never missed an opportunity to go out and have fun. She enjoyed going out on family picnics. Patricia was sad. She had just recovered from a nasty sickness and so had to miss her school picnic. She was looking for the next opportunity when she could go on a

Matt and his friends played football. Every weekend, they would assemble in the ground to play the game of football for hours. But they did not like the rainy season because they could not play football in rain. The rain showers sprayed down on the ground. Matt and the boys looked on in annoyance as