Once upon a time, there lived a woodcutter and his wife with their three sons. The two older sons were clever, but the youngest was considered simple. Everyone called the youngest son 'Simpleton' and laughed at him. One day, the eldest son went into the forest to cut wood. His mother gave him a delicious cake and a bottle of wine for the journey. In the forest, the eldest son met a little gray man. 'Good day,' said the little man. 'Please share your food and drink with me.' 'No!' said the eldest son rudely. 'I need all of this for myself.' Later that day, the eldest son cut his leg with the axe and had to go home. The next day, the second son went to the forest. His mother also gave him a cake and wine. He met the same little gray man who asked to share his food. The second son also refused and sent the old man away. Soon after, he also hurt himself with the axe and returned home. Finally, Simpleton asked his father if he could try to cut wood. 'Your brothers failed,' said his father. 'You will surely do worse.' But Simpleton begged until his father finally agreed. His mother only gave him a hard, dry bread and a bottle of water. In the forest, Simpleton also met the little gray man. 'Please share your food with me,' said the old man. 'I only have dry bread and water,' said Simpleton, 'but you are welcome to share it.' When they opened the bag, the dry bread had turned into a delicious cake. And the water had become the finest wine. They ate and drank together happily. 'Because you have a kind heart,' said the little man, 'I will give you a gift.' 'Cut down that old tree over there, and you will find something special.' Simpleton cut down the tree and found a goose with feathers of pure gold. He picked up the golden goose and decided to spend the night at an inn. The innkeeper had three daughters who were very curious about the golden goose. 'I want to pull out one of those golden feathers,' thought the eldest daughter. That night, she sneaked into Simpleton's room and touched the goose. But as soon as she touched it, her hand got stuck to the feathers. She could not pull away no matter how hard she tried. The second daughter came to help, but when she touched her sister, she also got stuck. The same thing happened to the third daughter. The next morning, Simpleton woke up and left the inn with his goose. He did not notice the three girls stuck behind him. They had to run after him as he walked through the town. A priest saw them and shouted, 'Shame on you, girls, running after a young man!' He grabbed the youngest girl's hand to pull her away, but he too got stuck. Soon, two farmers also joined the chain when they tried to help. Simpleton walked on with seven people stuck behind him. He arrived at a kingdom where the king had a daughter who never smiled. The king had promised that whoever could make the princess laugh would marry her. Many had tried, but no one had ever succeeded. When the princess looked out of her window, she saw the strange parade. A young man was walking with a golden goose, followed by seven people stumbling behind him. The sight was so funny that the princess burst out laughing. She laughed and laughed until tears rolled down her cheeks. The king kept his promise and announced that Simpleton would marry the princess. The spell on the golden goose was broken, and everyone was finally free. Simpleton and the princess had a grand wedding. His brothers were invited, but they could only watch with jealousy. When the old king died, Simpleton became the new king. He was a kind and fair ruler, just as the little gray man had known he would be. And they all lived happily ever after.
English Story (A2)The Golden Goose
This A2 English story is designed for elementarys learning English. It includes simple vocabulary and short sentences to help you improve your reading and listening skills. Click any word to see translations and hear pronunciation.
About this story
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.
Translations in English
Linked wordUnderlined wordOther words
Comprehension Questions
4 questions
1
What happened to Simpleton's dry bread and water when he shared with the little gray man?
2
What happened to people when they touched the golden goose?
3
Why did the princess laugh when she saw Simpleton?
4
What did the king promise to whoever could make the princess laugh?
Vocabulary
30 words from this story
