Grimms’ Fairy Tales (ESL/EFL Version with Audio)

Grimms’ Fairy Tales

(ESL/EFL Version with Audio)

Original by: Brothers Grimm

Rewritten by: Qiliang Feng

Million-Word Reading Project Workshop

Copyright 2022 Qiliang Feng

License Notes

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About This Book

This is Book 7, Collection I, of the Million-Word Reading Project (MWRP) readers. It is suitable for learners with a basic vocabulary of 1,500 words.

Million-Word Reading Project (MWRP) is a reading project for ESL/EFL learners at the elementary level (with a basic vocabulary of 1,500 words). In two years, for about fifteen minutes each day, an ESL/EFL learner can read one million words, and reach the upper-intermediate level, gaining a vocabulary of about 3,500 words and a large number of expressions.

Text Information

Readability | 85.7

Total word count | 28023

Words beyond 1500 | 1262

Unknown word percentage (%) | 4.5

Unknown headword occurrence | 3.23

Unknown words that occur 5 times or more | 70

Unknown words that occur 2 times or more | 207

Notes:

1. About readability: This is Flesch Reading Ease Readability calculated with MS WORD. The higher the score, the easier the text is to read.

Score | Level

0-29 | Very difficult

30-49 | Difficult

50-59 | Fairly difficult

60-69 | Standard

70-79 | Fairly easy

80-89 | Easy

90-100 | Very easy

2. This e-version does not give the meanings of unknown words. You can look them up with the dictionary on your e-reader. For words with different meanings and some expressions, we give their meanings at the end of the passages. We also provide some necessary background information.

3. To get the audio or video of this book, GO>>>

Synopsis

It is safe to say that almost every child has read or heard Grimms’ fairy tales read to them. Every child knows Snow White and the seven kind dwarfs, the poor Cinderella who is treated badly by her stepmother and many more.

For over one hundred years, Grimms’ fairy tales have been popular with children all over the world. These stories, collected by the Brothers Grimm (Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm), have been translated into more than 100 languages and made into many films.

1. Little Snow-White

It was the middle of winter. Snow was falling from the sky, and a queen sat at her window working. And as she worked, looking at times out on the snow, she pricked her finger, and there fell from it three drops of blood on the snow. And when she saw how bright and red it looked, she said to herself, I wish I could have a child as white as snow, as red as blood, as black as coal.

Not long after, she had a daughter, with skin as white as snow, lips as red as blood, and hair as black as coal, and she was named Snow-White. And not long after she was born, the queen died.

After a year had gone by the king took another wife, a beautiful but proud woman, and she could not bear to find anyone more beautiful than she was. She had a magic looking-glass, and she used to stand before it, and look in it, and say:

"Looking-glass on the wall,

Who is the prettiest of us all?"

And the looking-glass would answer:

You are the prettiest of all.

And she was satisfied, for she knew that the looking-glass spoke the truth.

Now, Snow-White was growing prettier and prettier, and when she was seven years old she was far more beautiful than the queen herself. So one day when the queen went to her looking-glass and said:

"Looking-glass on the wall,

Who is the prettiest of us all?"

It answered:

"Queen, you are pretty, that’s true,

But Snow-White is prettier than you."

This made the queen very angry. From that hour her heart turned against Snow-White, and she hated her. Then she sent for a hunter, and said,

Take the child out into the woods, so that I may not see her any more. You must kill her, and bring me her heart.

The hunter agreed, and led her away, but when he drew his knife to kill Snow-White, she began to cry and said, Oh, dear hunter, do not take my life. I will go away into the wild wood, and never come home again.

And as she was so lovely the hunter felt sorry for her, and said, Go away then, poor child, for he thought the wild animals would be sure to kill her. Just at the moment a young wild pig came running by, so he caught and killed it. He took out its heart and brought it to the queen. And it was salted and cooked, and the bad woman ate it up.

Now, when the poor child found herself quite alone in the wild woods, she was afraid and did not know what to do. When the evening came she came to a little house, and she went inside to rest. There stood a little table. It was covered with a white cloth, and seven little plates, and seven knives and forks, and drinking cups. Snow-White was very hungry and thirsty, so she ate from each plate a little porridge and bread, and drank out of each little cup a drop of wine. After that she felt so tired that she lay down on one of the beds, and fell asleep.

When it was quite dark, the masters of the houses came home. They were seven little dwarfs. When they saw Snow-White lying there asleep, they cried out in astonishment. They were so full of joy to see her that they let her sleep on.

When Snow-White awoke next morning she was very frightened, but they seemed quite friendly, and asked how she came to be in their house. After she told them what had happened, the little dwarfs said, If you will keep our house for us, and cook, and keep everything tidy and clean, you may stay with us.

I will be glad to, said Snow-White, and so she stayed, and kept the house in good order. In the morning the little dwarfs went to the mountains to dig for gold. All day long the girl was left alone, and the good little dwarfs warned her, saying, Be careful of your step-mother. She will soon know you are here. Let no one into the house.

Now after the queen had eaten Snow-White’s heart, she felt sure that now she was the prettiest woman, and so she came to her looking-glass, and said:

"Looking-glass on the wall,

Who is the prettiest of us all?"

And the looking-glass answered:

"Queen, you are very pretty, that’s true,

But Snow-White living in the forest,

Is one thousand times prettier than you.

She is by far the prettiest."

Then she was very angry, and she knew that the hunter must have cheated her, and that Snow-White must still be living. And she thought and thought how she could manage to kill her. At last she thought of a plan. She painted her face and dressed herself like an old selling woman. Dressed like this, she went across the seven mountains, until she came to the house of the seven dwarfs, and she knocked at the door and cried, Fine things to sell! Fine things to sell!

Snow-White looked out of the window and cried, Good-day, good woman. What have you to sell?

Silk of all colours, answered she, and she held up a piece of pretty silk.

I need not be afraid of letting in this good woman, thought Snow-White, and she opened the door and bought the pretty silk.

How pretty you are, child, said the old woman. Come and let me put it on your head.

Snow-White stood up before her, and let her put the silk on her head, but the old woman tied the silk tightly around her neck and took her breath away, and she fell down as dead.

Now you are no longer the prettiest in the world, said the old woman as she hurried away.

In the evening, the seven dwarfs came home, and were surprised to see their dear Snow-White lying on the ground, without life. They raised her up, and cut off the silk, then she began to draw breath, and little by little she returned to life. When the dwarfs heard what had happened they said, "The old woman was just