Short Stories In English💎🌍

THE EARL OF SHINING  In the village of Hampton, there was an old soldier named Michael, but he was known to the world as the Earl of Shining. Michael was once an expert archer and a great fighter. In fact, his skills seemed to be hereditary; all the people in his ancestry were famous warriors. However, he was getting old and no longer wished to fight. One day, he was in the forest hunting prey when he saw a beautiful prophet singing a hymn. She said, “Michael, an evil army is involved in a conspiracy to take over Hampton. You’re the only one who can defeat them and stop the tyranny. The village needs you!” Michael replied, “ But I’m too old to fight! I’m not confident that I can do it.” The prophet said, “You must try. I will even make a potion to increase your strength.” The prophet took out a bottle and a funnel. She poured some vinegar and garlic into the bottle. Next, she added some seasoning and sodium and shook it up. Michael smelled the potion. “Wow, this is fragrant,” he said in a sarcastic tone. He inverted the bottle and drank the whole potion. He immediately felt stronger. “ I’ll try my best,” he promised. Michael rode his horse to a hilltop, where he could see the village of Hampton below. He saw the evil tyrant and his men marching in a procession through the town. Michael charged down the hill and into the village. An enemy deputy officer shouted, “ He looks as strong as an ox!” It was an apt analogy. Michael grabbed the officer and threw him across the street with one arm. The rest of the officers screamed and rode away, and their army followed. The prophet reappeared. Michael said, “ It’s a good thing you gave me the potion.” She replied, “ But Michael, the potion was fake! Your strength really came from having confidence! Michael realized he really was still great. He just needed to believe in himself. @storiesinenglish

THE KIDNAPPING  Anne was a very quiet girl who had an inherent fear of almost everything. The kids at school would play tricks on her all the time. They would hide behind the door of the school janitor’s closet, then jump out to scare her. Once, a boy dressed up like a vampire and chased her down the street. Anne hated being constrained by her fears, but she didn’t know how to be brave. She was walking home from school one day when someone came up behind her. Before she could turn around, a powerful man grabbed her. She couldn’t scream because a huge hand was put over her mouth. Anne knew that this could not be another stunt by her classmates. The scary man restrained her arms and legs and carried her to his house. He tied Anne to a chair. Her guts began to hurt because she was so scared. The man prodded Anne with his forefinger and said, “You’ll stay right here until I get a ransom from your parents. Then I’ll be rich!” The dirty man spit when he talked. A string of saliva hung from his moist lips. Anne was terrified and intimidated by the horrible man. But she knew she had to escape somehow. Eventually, the man yawned. Anne waited quietly until he fell asleep. As he slept, she carefully wiggled her arms and legs until the ropes became loose. She slipped out of the ropes and carefully opened the door. She sprinted to the bus depot and boarded a bus to the police station. She told the police what happened, and they arrested the kidnapper. The kids at school were amazed. They asked her, “Weren’t you too scared to escape?” She said, “Nope, I knew that I had to be brave and get out of there!” The kids were very tolerant of Anne from then on. They even decided that they would emulate her bravery if they ever got into a tough situation. @storiesinenglish

HUNDRED PLAYS  Over two thousand years ago, Chinese farmers had a problem. Even though they were very industrious, the weather became too cold outside to plant their staple food, rice. So what did they do? Since they had so much free time during the long, cold winters, the inventive farmers started performing tricks to entertain themselves. They used their farm tools and anything they could find to make their tricks more spectacular. They even twisted their bodies into crazy shapes and performed awesome jumps. Overtime, they became great acrobats, and their art form came to be known as “ Hundred Plays.” Hundred Plays involves doing many kinds of tricks. For example, in Mandarin-speaking parts of China, performers do the lion dance. They wear costumes and mimic the animal’s movements. Early performers also did tricks on ropes and vines that were high above the ground. Even though the acrobats’ fluid movements may have looked easy, they took a lot of work. Learning Hundred Plays is a communal event. A veteran of the acrobatic arts usually teaches younger people in the village. They spend a lot of time rehearsing. The young performers also learn an old philosophy. The teachings help them harmonize the sensory aspects of acrobatics with mental aspects. In other words, it teaches them to use their physical and mental strength together. Since the art has its origins with poor farmers, rich people used to scorn acrobats. They thought acrobats were villains. The rich people thought the acrobats just wanted to trick them. But later, their misguided opinions changed. Acrobats came to be respected in Chinese society. They were invited to perform in metropolitan areas as well as in small villages. They performed for important people, including judicial officers. Arts advocacy groups convinced the government to support Chinese acrobatics. As a result, there is now a statute that made several villages the center of training future acrobats. @storiesinenglish

PREPARING OF THE FUTURE  Overpopulation is a big problem in the world today. Too many people are crammed into cities and towns around the globe. Earth’s population is about 6.5 billion people. This number is growing every day. In just 50 years, the population will be almost 9 billion. Many people worry that the Earth won’t have enough resources to support so many people. One major reason for this is that wasting resources and polluting have become habitual behaviors. Industrial output results in polluting the air with dangerous fumes. Also, cars and machines waste a ton of important natural resources like oil and water. It’s possible that the Earth may become so damaged that it cannot support a large population of humans. Another issue is the lack of useful land for cultivating crops. Even today, many people subsist on mere scraps of food and little water. In 50 years, many experts worry that huge numbers of people will starve to death. So what is being done to prepare for the future? People are realizing they can no longer justify their wasteful behavior or defer action to fix it. Many car companies already have patents on prototypes for very efficient cars. Such cars waste no resources and produce no pollution. A conversion to clean cars means that petroleum can be saved for the future. In addition, the environmental sectors of many governments are setting strict rules for industries that pollute too much. If companies do not abide by the standards, they are penalized with higher taxes. In some cases, their operations might be suspended altogether. Food is also an issue that is being tackled. Many countries are now subscribing to the point of view that immediate action is needed. They are determining ways to export goods to people in need, so that no one goes hungry. Experts will continue to come up with ideas for the future, and a synthesis of these ideas will help to support the growing population. @storiesinenglish

THE ICE HOUSE  Last year, Erik constructed one of the world’s strangest houses in the glacial landscape of northern Sweden. He called it the Ice House: a house made entirely of ice and snow. All of the beds, chairs, tables, and walls are cold, hard sculptures of ice. A group of architects and volunteers from all over the world traveled to the site of the Ice House and began its construction. The multicultural group journeyed through blizzards and frigid temperatures to reach the site. Once the builders arrived, there was an interchange of ideas, and tools were allocated to each worker. An expert was selected to oversee the building process to make sure there was no discord between the workers. Once a plan was generated, they got right to work. The design was very unique; the builders couldn’t replicate the design from normal houses. The first step was to build the walls and ceiling. The builders used a metal frame to help them build the structure. After the ice was in place, the frame was removed. The builders then created furniture and art pieces. Designs were carved into each piece. One worker carved big wavy lines, and another made tiny clockwise, concentric circles. Finally, the workers carved small cavities in the roof and inserted colored lights. When the work was finished, the beautiful house was ready for a resident to enjoy. Living in the Ice House is an experience like no other. Erik stores his belongings in an ice locker and lays out a sleeping bag on his ice bed. At dinner, he dines on a delicious salad with crisp toppings. And for the main course, he enjoys appetizing fish caught from a nearby river. The fish are pierced with icicles and served on ice plates. After dinner, he gets ready for a cold night. The omission of heaters can be too much for his visitors sometimes. Luckily, there are warm rooms nearby, as a courtesy to people who get too cold. @storiesinenglish

Happy Valentine's Day! ❤

THE EDITOR’S CHOICE  A newspaper editor sat at his desk and stared at the flashing cursor on his computer’s screen. He didn’t know if he should delete the article he had just written or go ahead and publish it. He was scared and filled with doubt. The empire had passed a new law stating that citizens could only use the imperial language. The editor disagreed with the law and decided to write an article about why it was wrong. He felt that the new law excluded people of different nationalities and racial and ethnic backgrounds. He had firsthand knowledge of what it feels like not to be fluent in the imperial language because he was from a remote part of the empire. He felt that the empire shouldn’t be monolingual and should be more inclusive. Yet he was afraid that he would get in trouble for having this belief. Many would say that he was not a patriot—that he didn’t love the empire. But he didn’t wish to undermine the authority of the empire. He wanted to argue that the empire could be stronger if it accepted people of various cultures and beliefs. At last, he decided to stop being a coward and to be earnest about how he felt. He wrote the article. It wasn’t rude or angry, but rather, very solemn and intelligent. The next day it was published in all the papers. Everyone was impressed by his tact and showed solidarity with his ideas. He expected to be arrested any day, but the police never came. Surprisingly, instead of being prosecuted, he became a hero. The legislature changed the law, and people from many linguistic backgrounds praised him. "Never be afraid to be vocal," the editor later wrote. "If you think something is wrong, then stand up for what you believe." @storiesinenglish

THE MAYOR OF SHERMAN  The cosmopolitan city of Sherman needed to elect a new mayor. Two men aspired to become mayor: Mr. Jones and Mr. Webb. Mr. Jones was a tall, handsome man. He was a phenomenal speaker, and the citizens loved him. However, Mr. Jones didn’t know much about running a city. He was a pathological liar who merely flattered people with his words. Mr. Webb was very different. He was a small, unattractive man. He was lame and limped when he walked. But he was an expert on politics and knew what was best for the people. The citizens of Sherman didn’t care about what the politicians had to say. No one listened to Mr. Webb, even though he had great ideas. They cheered when Mr. Jones spoke, although he didn’t talk about important things. His pretty words put people in a trance. All the polls predicted that Mr. Jones would win the election. When the votes were totaled, Mr. Jones won easily. But when he took office, he didn’t know what to do! He tried to hide his ignorance by working in secrecy. He added a law to the city’s constitution that prevented citizens from seeing the mayor. He even censored newspapers that tried to disseminate information about his inability to help the people. Soon, however, Mr. Jones became infamous for his poor leadership. There was an outburst of anger among the citizens. They were full of remorse for their misguided decision to elect an ignorant mayor. They voted to remove Mr. Jones and let Mr. Webb take over. Immediately, Mr. Webb proved that he was a great mayor. He abolished Mr. Jones’s law, and he was willing to talk openly with everyone. He tackled important issues and amended unfair laws in the city’s charter. The citizens learned that a pleasant appearance and nice words do not make a good leader. The most important qualities are intelligence and a desire to help others. @storiesinenglish

THE GREEDY BEE  A young bee had passed his intermediate level exams. He now knew everything about flowers. He understood how they used photosynthesis to make oxygen and which ones produced the best pollen. Bees had an important dependency on pollen. From the beginning of time, bees’ eternal task was to gather pollen and make honey with it. Since he passed his exams, the little bee had earned his inclusion in the swarms that gathered pollen. He was excited because he was finally allowed to leave the hive. He left with the next swarm and was determined to find the perfect flower. Soon he saw a large, vibrant flower full of pollen. He landed on a petal and walked toward the pollen at the flower’s center. Immediately, he began rolling in the pollen, gathering it on his legs and wings. The fine texture of the pollen tickled when it stuck to his body. It was the best experience the little bee had ever had. He gathered as much as he could. But when he was flying back home, he realized that all the pollen had an adverse effect. He had no control over his flight. The intermittent wind fluctuated in power. He was blown to and fro. One minute he was flying straight, and the next minute the wind had reversed his course. He tried to dump some of the pollen, but it acted as an adhesive. He couldn’t get it off. He became tired and fell to the ground. “What am I going to do now?” he thought. Just then, his mentor landed next to him and began cleaning the excess pollen off the little bee. “You shouldn’t have taken so much,” his mentor said. Finally, with the pollen off of him, the bee easily regained his strength, and like a phoenix, the young bee flew back into the air. When he returned to the hive, he turned to his mentor and said, “ I learned an important lesson today. I will never be greedy again.” @storiesinenglish

Come join our other channel to hear pronunciation! https://t.me/storiesinenglishwithvoice