A2 English Fairy Tales Stories
A2 English fairy tales with expanded vocabulary and past tense. More detailed retellings of classic stories for elementary learners.
10 stories available
Cinderella
A kind girl named Cinderella is mistreated by her stepmother and stepsisters. With the help of her fairy godmother, she attends a royal ball and captures the prince's heart. After losing her glass slipper, the prince finds her and they marry.
Hansel and Gretel
Two children are abandoned in a forest by their stepmother. They find a witch's candy house and are captured. Gretel tricks the witch and saves her brother. They return home with treasure and live happily with their father.
Snow White
A jealous queen tries to kill her beautiful stepdaughter Snow White, who escapes to live with seven dwarfs in the forest. The queen tricks Snow White with a poisoned apple, but a prince's love awakens her, and they live happily ever after.
Sleeping Beauty
A princess is cursed by an evil fairy to prick her finger and fall into eternal sleep on her sixteenth birthday. Three good fairies hide her in the forest, but the curse comes true. A brave prince defeats the evil fairy and awakens the princess with a kiss of true love.
The Frog Prince
A beautiful princess accidentally drops her golden ball into a deep well. A frog offers to retrieve it in exchange for becoming her companion at the castle. The princess agrees but breaks her promise. When the frog appears at the castle, the king insists she honor her word. In frustration, the princess throws the frog against a wall, breaking a witch's curse and transforming him into a handsome prince. The prince's loyal servant Henry had iron bands around his heart to prevent it from breaking during his master's enchantment, and they finally break with joy during the journey home.
The Emperor's New Clothes
An emperor who loves beautiful clothes is tricked by two clever men who claim they can weave magical fabric that only wise people can see. Not wanting to appear foolish, the emperor and his ministers pretend to see the nonexistent clothes. When the emperor parades through the city in his 'new clothes,' only a child has the courage to point out that the emperor is wearing nothing at all.
Puss in Boots
A poor miller's son inherits only a clever talking cat. The cat asks for boots and a bag, then begins a plan to make his master rich. He catches rabbits and brings them as gifts to the king, claiming they are from the Marquis of Carabas - a noble title he invented. When the king passes by the river, the cat tricks him into giving the young man royal clothes. The cat runs ahead, making farmers claim the land belongs to the Marquis. Finally, the cat outsmarts an ogre who can change shape, tricking him into becoming a mouse and eating him. The young man marries the princess and becomes a prince, while Puss in Boots becomes a great lord.
Thumbelina
A woman who wants a child plants a magic seed that grows into a flower. Inside the flower is Thumbelina, a tiny girl no bigger than a thumb. She has many adventures: a toad kidnaps her to marry her son, but fish help her escape. A beetle takes her but abandons her when other beetles call her ugly. She survives alone in the forest until winter, when a kind field mouse takes her in. The mouse wants her to marry a rich mole, but Thumbelina finds a sick swallow and nurses it back to health. In spring, the swallow takes her to a warm land where she meets a tiny flower prince. They fall in love, and Thumbelina finally finds happiness as the queen of the flower fairies.
The Bremen Town Musicians
An old donkey runs away from his farm to become a musician in Bremen. Along the way, he meets an old dog, cat, and rooster who all face similar problems. The four friends travel together and discover a cottage in the forest occupied by robbers. They stack on top of each other and make a terrible noise, scaring the robbers away. The animals decide to stay in the cozy cottage and live happily together, never making it to Bremen.
The Golden Goose
A kind young man called Simpleton shares his meager food with a magical old man and receives a golden goose in return. Anyone who touches the goose gets stuck to it, creating a hilarious chain of people. When a sad princess sees this funny sight, she laughs for the first time, and Simpleton wins her hand in marriage.