Easy English Texts

One fine morning in the middle of the Procession of the Equinoxes this 'satiable Elephant's Child asked a new fine question that he had never asked before. He asked, "What does the crocodile have for dinner?" Then everybody said, "Hush!" in a loud and dreadful tone, and they spanked him immediately and directly, without stopping, for a long time.

The Elephant's Child PART 1 OF 5

by Rudyard Kipling

In the High and Far-Off Times the Elephant, O Best Beloved, had no trunk. He had only a blackish, bulgy nose, as big as a boot, that he could wriggle about from side to side; but he couldn't pick up things with it. But there was one Elephant--a new Elephant--an Elephant's Child--who was full of 'satiable curiosity, and that means he asked ever so many questions. And he lived in Africa, and he filled all Africa with his 'satiable curiosities. He asked his tall aunt, the Ostrich, why her tail-feathers grew just so, and his tall aunt the Ostrich spanked him with her hard, hard, claw. He asked his tall uncle, the Giraffe, what made his skin spotty, and his tall uncle, the Giraffe, spanked him with his hard, hard hoof. And still he was full of 'satiable curiosity! He asked his broad aunt, the Hippopotamus, why her eyes were red, and his broad aunt, the Hippopotamus, spanked him with her broad, broad hoof; and he asked his hairy uncle, the Baboon, why melons tasted ! just so, and his hairy uncle, the Baboon, spanked him with his hairy, hairy paw. And still he was full of 'satiable curiosity! He asked questions about everything that he saw, or heard, or felt, or smelt, or touched, and all his uncles and his aunts spanked him. And still he was full of 'satiable curiosity!

One fine morning in the middle of the Precession of the Equinoxes this 'satiable Elephant's Child asked a new fine question that he had never asked before. He asked, "What does the crocodile have for dinner?" Then everybody said, "Hush!" in a loud and dreadful tone, and they spanked him immediately and directly, without stopping, for a long time.

By and by, when that was finished, he came upon Kolokolo Bird sitting in the middle of a wait-a-bit thornbush, and he said, "My father has spanked me, and my mother has spanked me; all my aunts and uncles have spanked me for my 'satiable curiosity; and still I want to know what the Crocodile has for dinner!"

The Kolokolo Bird said, with a mournful cry, "Go to the banks of the great grey-green, greasy Limpopo River, all set about with fever-trees, and find out."

That very next morning, when there was nothing left of the Equinoxes, because the Precession had preceded according to precedent, this 'satiable Elephant's Child took a hundred pounds of bananas (the little short red kind), and a hundred pounds of sugar-cane (the long purple kind), and seventeen melons (the greeny-crackly kind), and said to all his dear families, "Good-bye. I am going to the great grey-green, greasy Limpopo River, all set about with fever-trees, to find out what the Crocodile has for dinner." And they all spanked him once more for luck, though he asked them most politely to stop.

Then he went away, a little warm, but not at all astonished, eating melons, and throwing the rind about, because he could not pick it up.

He went from Graham's Town to Kimberley, and from Kimberley to Khama's Country, and from Khama's Country he went east by north, eating melons all the time, till at last he came to the banks of the great grey-green, greasy Limpopo River, all set about with fever-trees, precisely as Kolokolo Bird had said.

Now you must know and understand, O Best Beloved, that till that very week, and day, and hour, and minute, this 'satiable Elephant's Child had never seen a Crocodile, and did not know what one was like. It was all his 'satiable curiosity.

The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag

A Pledged   means you make a promise, you swear it.  An Allegiance-   means loyalty, to be faithful.

In the United States, before all government function is customary to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, also when one became a Citizen of the United States.

The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States

should be rendered by standing at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart. When not in uniform men remove any non-religious headdress with their right hand and hold it at the left shoulder, the hand being over the heart. Persons in uniform should remain silent, face the flag, and render the military salute. Members of the Armed Forces not in uniform and veterans may render the military salute in the manner provided for persons in uniform.

a) It is the universal custom to display the flag only from sunrise to sunset on buildings and on stationary flagstaffs in the open. However, when a patriotic effect is desired, the flag may be displayed 24 hours a day if properly illuminated during the hours of darkness.

(b) The flag should be hoisted briskly and lowered ceremoniously.

(c) The flag should not be displayed on days when the weather is inclement, except when an all weather flag is displayed.

(d) The flag should be displayed daily on or near the main administration building of every public institution.

(e) The flag should be displayed in or near every polling place on election days.

(f) The flag should be displayed during school days in or near every schoolhouse.

Here  is

The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag: “I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”,

The Bremen Town Musicians- PART # 2

Brothers Grimm

So they made their way to the place where the light was, and soon saw it shine brighter and grow larger, until they came to a well-lighted robber's house. The donkey, as the biggest, went to the window and looked in.

"What do you see, my grey-horse?" asked the cock. "What do I see?" answered the donkey; "a table covered with good things to eat and drink, and robbers sitting at it enjoying themselves." "That would be the sort of thing for us," said the cock. "Yes, yes; ah, how I wish we were there!" said the donkey.

Then the animals took counsel together how they should manage to drive away the robbers, and at last they thought of a plan. The donkey was to place himself with his fore-feet upon the window-ledge, the hound was to jump on the donkey's back, the cat was to climb upon the dog, and lastly the cock was to fly up and perch upon the head of the cat.

When this was done, at a given signal, they began to perform their music together: the donkey brayed, the hound barked, the cat mewed, and the cock crowed; then they burst through the window into the room, so that the glass clattered! At this horrible din, the robbers sprang up, thinking no otherwise than that a ghost had come in, and fled in a great fright out into the forest. The four companions now sat down at the table, well content with what was left, and ate as if they were going to fast for a month.

As soon as the four minstrels had done, they put out the light, and each sought for himself a sleeping-place according to his nature and to what suited him. The donkey laid himself down upon some straw in the yard, the hound behind the door, the cat upon the hearth near the warm ashes, and the cock perched himself upon a beam of the roof; and being tired from their long walk, they soon went to sleep.

When it was past midnight, and the robbers saw from afar that the light was no longer burning in their house, and all appeared quiet, the captain said, "We ought not to have let ourselves be frightened out of our wits;" and ordered one of them to go and examine the house.

The messenger finding all still, went into the kitchen to light a candle, and, taking the glistening fiery eyes of the cat for live coals, he held a lucifer-match to them to light it. But the cat did not understand the joke, and flew in his face, spitting and scratching. He was dreadfully frightened, and ran to the back-door, but the dog, who lay there sprang up and bit his leg; and as he ran across the yard by the straw-heap, the donkey gave him a smart kick with its hind foot. The cock, too, who had been awakened by the noise, and had become lively, cried down from the beam, "Cock-a-doodle-doo!"

Then the robber ran back as fast as he could to his captain, and said, "Ah, there is a horrible witch sitting in the house, who spat on me and scratched my face with her long claws; and by the door stands a man with a knife, who stabbed me in the leg; and in the yard there lies a black monster, who beat me with a wooden club; and above, upon the roof, sits the judge, who called out, 'Bring the rogue here to me!' so I got away as well as I could."

After this the robbers did not trust themselves in the house again; but it suited the four musicians of Bremen so well that they did not care to leave it any more. And the mouth of him who last told this story is still warm.

Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm was born in 1785, and his brother Wilhelm Carl Grimm was born in 1786.

Wilhelm Grimm and Jacob Grimm were among the first and best-known collectors of German and European folk tales

The Bremen Town Musicians  PART 1 OF 2

By Brothers Grimm

A certain man had a donkey, which had carried the corn-sacks to the mill indefatigably for many a long year; but his strength was going, and he was growing more and more unfit for work. Then his master began to consider how he might best save his keep; but the donkey, seeing that no good wind was blowing, ran away and set out on the road to Bremen. "There," he thought, "I can surely be town-musician." When he had walked some distance, he found a hound lying on the road, gasping like one who had run till he was tired. "What are you gasping so for, you big fellow?" asked the donkey.

"Ah," replied the hound, "as I am old, and daily grow weaker, and no longer can hunt, my master wanted to kill me, so I took to flight; but now how am I to earn my bread?"

"I tell you what," said the donkey, "I am going to Bremen, and shall be town-musician there; go with me and engage yourself also as a musician. I will play the lute, and you shall beat the kettledrum."

The hound agreed, and on they went.

Before long they came to a cat, sitting on the path, with a face like three rainy days! "Now then, old shaver, what has gone askew with you?" asked the donkey.

"Who can be merry when his neck is in danger?" answered the cat. "Because I am now getting old, and my teeth are worn to stumps, and I prefer to sit by the fire and spin, rather than hunt about after mice, my mistress wanted to drown me, so I ran away. But now good advice is scarce. Where am I to go?"

"Go with us to Bremen. You understand night-music, you can be a town-musician."

The cat thought well of it, and went with them. After this the three fugitives came to a farm-yard, where the cock was sitting upon the gate, crowing with all his might. "Your crow goes through and through one," said the donkey. "What is the matter?"

"I have been foretelling fine weather, because it is the day on which Our Lady washes the Christ-child's little shirts, and wants to dry them," said the cock; "but guests are coming for Sunday, so the housewife has no pity, and has told the cook that she intends to eat me in the soup to-morrow, and this evening I am to have my head cut off. Now I am crowing at full pitch while I can."

"Ah, but red-comb," said the donkey, "you had better come away with us. We are going to Bremen; you can find something better than death everywhere: you have a good voice, and if we make music together it must have some quality!"

The cock agreed to this plan, and all four went on together. They could not, however, reach the city of Bremen in one day, and in the evening they came to a forest where they meant to pass the night. The donkey and the hound laid themselves down under a large tree, the cat and the cock settled themselves in the branches; but the cock flew right to the top, where he was most safe. Before he went to sleep he looked round on all four sides, and thought he saw in the distance a little spark burning; so he called out to his companions that there must be a house not far off, for he saw a light. The donkey said, "If so, we had better get up and go on, for the shelter here is bad." The hound thought that a few bones with some meat on would do him good too!

The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defense of Fort McHenry".

The   poem was written on September 14, 1814, by a 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet, Francis Scott Key.

After witnessing, the bombardment of Fort McHenry by British ships of the Royal Navy in Baltimore Harbor, during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812.

Key was inspired by the large U.S. flag, with 15 stars and 15 stripes, known as the Star-Spangled Banner, flying triumphantly above the fort during the U.S. victory.

The poem was set to the tune of a popular British song written by John Stafford Smith and became a well-known U.S. patriotic song. It is known for being very difficult to sing.

Often only the first verse is sung

Oh, say can you see by the dawn’s early light

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand

Hans Christian Andersen was born in 1805  in Denmark,  so he was a Danish Author. He died in 1875.  He was usually called H.C. Andersen, Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his fairy tales.

The Princess and the Pea

by Hans Christian Andersen

ONCE upon a time there was a prince who wanted to marry a princess; but she would have to be a real princess. He travelled all over the world to find one, but nowhere could he get what he wanted. There were princesses enough, but it was difficult to find out whether they were real ones. There was always something about them that was not as it should be. So he came home again and was sad, for he would have liked very much to have a real princess.

One evening a terrible storm came on; there was thunder and lightning, and the rain poured down in torrents. Suddenly a knocking was heard at the city gate, and the old king went to open it.

It was a princess standing out there in front of the gate. But, good gracious! what a sight the rain and the wind had made her look. The water ran down from her hair and clothes; it ran down into the toes of her shoes and out again at the heels. And yet she said that she was a real princess.

Well, we'll soon find that out, thought the old queen. But she said nothing, went into the bed-room, took all the bedding off the bedstead, and laid a pea on the bottom; then she took twenty mattresses and laid them on the pea, and then twenty eider-down beds on top of the mattresses.

On this the princess had to lie all night. In the morning she was asked how she had slept.

Oh, very badly! She said . I have scarcely closed my eyes all night. Heaven only knows what was in the bed, but I was lying on something hard, so that I am black and blue all over my body. Its horrible!

Now they knew that she was a real princess because she had felt the pea right through the twenty mattresses and the twenty eider-down beds.

Nobody but a real princess could be as sensitive as that.

So the prince took her for his wife, for now he knew that he had a real princess; and the pea was put in the museum, where it may still be seen, if no one has stolen it.

There, that is a true story.

Woodrow Wilson Guthrie as born in 1912 in Oklahoma, U.S.–  He died in 1967 . He was an American singer-songwriter, who is considered one of the most significant figures in American western folk music. His music, including songs, such as "This Land Is Your Land", has inspired several generations both politically and musically

Guthrie wrote hundreds of country, folk, and children's songs, along with ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan "This machine kills fascists" displayed on his guitar.

This land is your land, this land is my land

From California to the New York Island

From the Redwood Forest to the Gulf Stream waters

This land was made for you and me.

As I was walking that ribbon of highway

I saw above me that endless skyway

I saw below me that golden valley

This land was made for you and me.

I roamed and I rambled and I followed my footsteps

To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts

While all around me a voice was sounding

This land was made for you and me.

There was a big high wall there

They tried to stop me

The sigh was painted said Private property

But on the back side it didn’t say nothing

This land was made for you and me

When the sun came shining, and I was strolling

And the wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling

A voice was chanting, As the fog was lifting,

This land was made for you and me.

This land is your land, this land is my land

From California to the New York Island

From the Redwood Forest to the Gulf Stream waters

This land was made for you and me.

The Three Little Pigs

English Fairy Tales,

Once upon a time there was an old mother pig who had three little pigs and not enough food to feed them. So when they were old enough, she sent them out into the world to seek their fortunes.

The first little pig was very lazy. He didn't want to work at all and he built his house out of straw. The second little pig worked a little bit harder but he was somewhat lazy too and he built his house out of sticks. Then, they sang and danced and played together the rest of the day.

The third little pig worked hard all day and built his house with bricks. It was a sturdy house complete with a fine fireplace and chimney. It looked like it could withstand the strongest winds.

The next day, a wolf happened to pass by the lane where the three little pigs lived; and he saw the straw house, and he smelled the pig inside. He thought the pig would make a mighty fine meal and his mouth began to water.

So he knocked on the door and said:

Little pig! Little pig!

Let me in! Let me in!

But the little pig saw the wolf's big paws through the keyhole, so he answered back:

No! No! No!

Not by the hairs on my chinny chin chin!

Then the wolf showed his teeth and said:

Then I'll huff

and I'll puff

and I'll blow your house down.

So he huffed and he puffed and he blew the house down! The wolf opened his jaws very wide and bit down as hard as he could, but the first little pig escaped and ran away to hide with the second little pig.

The wolf continued down the lane and he passed by the second house made of sticks; and he saw the house, and he smelled the pigs inside, and his mouth began to water as he thought about the fine dinner they would make.

So he knocked on the door and said:

Little pigs! Little pigs!

Let me in! Let me in!

But the little pigs saw the wolf's pointy ears through the keyhole, so they answered back:

No! No! No!

Not by the hairs on our chinny chin chin!

So the wolf showed his teeth and said:

Then I'll huff

and I'll puff

and I'll blow your house down!

So he huffed and he puffed and he blew the house down! The wolf was greedy and he tried to catch both pigs at once, but he was too greedy and got neither! His big jaws clamped down on nothing but air and the two little pigs scrambled away as fast as their little hooves would carry them.

The wolf chased them down the lane and he almost caught them. But they made it to the brick house and slammed the door closed before the wolf could catch them. The three little pigs they were very frightened, they knew the wolf wanted to eat them. And that was very, very true. The wolf hadn't eaten all day and he had worked up a large appetite chasing the pigs around and now he could smell all three of them inside and he knew that the three little pigs would make a lovely feast.

So the wolf knocked on the door and said:

Little pigs! Little pigs!

Let me in! Let me in!

But the little pigs saw the wolf's narrow eyes through the keyhole, so they answered back:

No! No! No!

Not by the hairs on our chinny chin chin!

So the wolf showed his teeth and said:

Then I'll huff

and I'll puff

and I'll blow your house down.

Well! he huffed and he puffed. He puffed and he huffed. And he huffed, huffed, and he puffed, puffed; but he could not blow the house down. At last, he was so out of breath that he couldn't huff and he couldn't puff anymore. So he stopped to rest and thought a bit. But it was too much. The wolf danced about with rage and swore he would come down the chimney and eat up the little pig for his supper. 

Joseph Rudyard Kipling was born in Bombay ,British India in 1865 – died in 1936 at the age of 70. He was an English journalist, short-story writer, poet, and novelist

Kipling's works of fiction include The Jungle Book, The Man Who Would Be King, and many short stories,

Just So Stories (poems)

BY Joseph Rudyard Kipling

The Camel's hump is an ugly lump

Which well you may see at the Zoo;

But uglier yet is the hump we geT

From having too little to do.

Kiddies and grown-ups too-oo-oo,

If we haven't enough to do-oo-oo,

We get the hump,

Cameelious hump,

The hump that is black and blue!

We climb out of bed with a frouzly head,

And a snarly-yarly voice. ---

We shiver and scowl and we grunt and we growl

At our bath and our boots and our toys;

And there ought to be a corner for me

(And I know' there is one for you)

When we get the hump,

Cameelious hump,---

The hump that is black and blue!

The cure for this ill is not to sit still,

Or frowst with a book by the fire;

But to take a large hoe and a shovel also,

And dig till you gently perspire;

And then you will find that the sun and the wind,

And the Djinn of the Garden too,

Have lifted the hump,

The horrible hump,

The hump that is black and blue!

I get it as well as you-oo-oo,

If I haven't enough to do-oo-oo!

We all get hump,

Cameelious hump,

Kiddies and grown-ups too!

- How the Camel Got His Hump

-

I am the Most Wise Baviaan, saying in most wice tones,

"Let us melt into the landscape, just us two by our lones."

People have come, in a carriage, calling.

But Mummy is there....

Yes, I can go if you take me, Nurse says she don't care.

Let's go up to the pig-styes and sit on the farmyard rails!

Let's say things to the bunnies, and watch 'em

skitter their tails!

Let's'-oh, anything, daddy, so long as it's you and me,

And going truly exploring, and not being in till tea!

Here's your boots (I've brought 'em), and here's your

cap and stick,

And here's your pipe and tobacco. Oh, come along

out of it, quick!

How the Leopard Got His Spots

The most popular Nursery rhymes has no known author -it is anonymous, but in 1695, a French author Charles Perrault created many stories and fairy tales. He put together all popular nursery rhymes, and fairy tales, under the name of the Tales of  Mother Goose. Mother Goose stories was first translated into English by Robert Samber in 1729.

Thanks to Mr. Perrault for giving us Mother Goose and creating fairy tales in the 1690's, so  we may continue to enjoy them until today

      Mary had a little lamb by Mother Goose                                                

Mary had a little lamb

Its fleece was white as snow    And everywhere that Mary went

The lamb was sure to go      He followed, her to school one day

That was against the rule     It made the children laugh and play

To see a lamb at school       And so, the teacher turned him out

But still he lingered near       And wait patiently about until

Mary did appear      What makes the lamb love Mary so?

The eagerly children cry      Oh, Mary loves the lamb you know

The teacher did reply

                                                                            I N D E X

01 #1 Mary Had a Little lamb *

02 #2Just So Stories (poems),

#3This land is your land

#4The Three Little Pigs

#5The Princess and the Pea

#6The Star-Spangled Banner *

#7- #8 The Bremen Town Musicians

#9 The pledge allegiance of the flag

#10-#14The Elephant's Child

#15The Fox and the Monkey

#16 Wild Blue yonder - Air force USA *

#17 The Disciple

#18 A strange story

#19The Blind Men and the Elephant

#20 Mother Goose Old King Cole *

#21, #022 The Aged Mother

#23- #026 The Gift of the Magi

#27-The Army Goes Rolling Along *

#28-#030 The Child's Story

#31- #32The Declaration of Independence of the USA

#33 The Town Mouse and The Country Mouse

#34 jack and the beanstalk

#35 - #37 I Have a Dream

#38, #39 the tale of Peter Rabbit

#40, #41 five little pigs

#42 Aubrey *

#43, #45 A Story Without A Title

#46 Who was Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

#47 What A Wonderful World, Louis Armstrong *

#48 Androclus and the Lion

#49 The Great Feast

#50 Two Nights at Neempani,

#51 The Gettysburg Address

#52 - #54 The Little Red Hen,

#55- #59 Les Miserable*

#60 - #61 The 12 days of Christmas

#62 - News year's celebrations - Robert Burns

#63 - Pal Frederic Simons, you can call me Al

#64-Jack London

#65 - Saint Thomas Aquinas

#66- 69 the story of Ruth (Old Testament)

#70- #71 - Don Maclean (American Pie)

#72 - Hinduism

#73-Parksons

#74- Cicero

#75 - An American singer songwriter