This page is part of a publication called Number One ESL Discussion Book & Reference Guide.
| Instructions: Each student, or pair, or small group of students gets one story prompt. They then have a few minutes to prepare a short story starting with the prompt. For additional speaking practice, other students should be encouraged to come up with questions to ask after each story. |
1. “A certain king had a beautiful garden, and in the garden stood a tree which bore golden apples.”
2. “Some people are born to good luck: all they do, or try to do, works out right.”
3. “There was once an old castle, that stood in the middle of a deep gloomy wood, and in the castle lived an old fairy.”
4. “An honest farmer had once a donkey that had been a faithful servant to him a great many years.”
5. “A shepherd had a faithful dog, called Sultan, who was very old, and had lost all his teeth.”
6. “In a village lived a poor old woman, who had gathered together a dish of beans and wanted to cook them.”
7. “There was a king who had twelve beautiful daughters.”
8. “There was once a fisherman who lived with his wife in a pigsty, close by the seaside.”
9. “Once in summertime the bear and the wolf were walking in the forest.”
10. “One fine evening a young princess put on her coat and shoes, and went out to take a walk by herself near a lake.”
11. “A cat had become friends with a mouse, and had convinced the mouse that they should live together.”
12. “Two friends went to the mountains; and as it was a lovely day, they stayed there till the evening.”
13. “A hunter once went into the forest to hunt, and as he entered it, he heard a sound of screaming as if a little child were there.”
14. “One summer’s morning a shoemaker was sitting at his table by the window.”
15. “Once upon a time there lived in a great forest a poor woodcutter with his wife and his two children.”
16. “Once upon a time, a mouse, a bird, and a sausage, entered into partnership and set up house together.”
17. “Once upon a time there was a widow who had two daughters; one of them was industrious, the other lazy.”
18. “There was a certain village where some really rich peasants lived, and just one poor one, whom they called the little peasant.”
19. “It was the middle of winter, with snow falling all around. A woman sat working at her window.”
20. “A long time ago there lived a king who was famed for his wisdom through all the land.”
21. “Two brothers went into the world to seek their fortunes; but they soon fell into a wasteful foolish way of living, so that they could not return home.”
22. “There was once a shoemaker, who worked very hard and was very honest: but still he could not earn enough to live on.”
23. “There were two brothers who were both soldiers; the one was rich and the other poor.”
24. “An old businessman lived in Switzerland, who only had a son, but he was stupid, and could learn nothing.”
25. “‘Dear children,’ said a poor man to his four sons, ‘I have nothing to give you. You must go out into the world and try your luck.”
26. “A businessman who had three daughters once set out on a journey. Before he went, he asked each daughter what gift he should bring back for her.”
27. “There was a man who had three sons, the youngest of whom was despised, mocked, and sneered at on every occasion.”
28. “There once was a man who had two sons. One was smart and sensible, and could do everything, but the other one could neither learn nor understand anything.”
29. “There was once a poor widow who lived in a lonely cottage.”
30. “A powerful leader sat at his desk surrounded by his advisors. He was sad, for he could think of no wonderful thing to do for his country.”
31. “Far up in the mountains of Hunan in the central part of China, there once lived in a small village a rich gentleman who had only one child.”
32. “Long before my great-grandfather was born there lived in the village of Everlasting Happiness two men called Lee and Wang.”
33. “Just outside the walls of a Chinese city there lived a young fisherman and his old mother, a woman of seventy.”
34. “One beautiful spring day two men strolled into the public square. They looked like ordinary men who had come in to see the sights of the city.”
35. “Yes, my boy, whatever happens, be sure to save that book. It is the only thing we have left worth keeping.”
36. “Old Wang lived in a village near Nanjing. He cared for nothing in the world but to eat good food and plenty of it. Though he was not poor, it made him very sad to spend money.”
37. “There once lived a tailor, who had a son called Ali, a careless, idle boy who would do nothing but play all day long in the streets with idle boys like himself.”
38. “There was a party at the house of a very wealthy couple. The long winter night passed away slowly.”
39. “One day in autumn on my way back from a remote part of the country I caught a cold and fell ill.”
40. “Exactly five years ago, on New Year’s Eve, I was invited to dinner by a man high up in the business world.”
Sources:
Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm
A Chinese Wonder Book, by Norman Hinsdale Pitman
Aladdin and the Magic Lamp (Traditional)
Best Russian Short Stories, (Various Authors)