Interesting story for beginners to practise the Simple Past Tense

1. 1
Stan Bolovan was a poor woodcutter. He lived in a forest with his wife and they were happy but they
didn´t have any children .
One day , Stan was working quietly in the forest and he made a wish . He wanted to have children.
When he got home he saw that his wish had come true. His wife was smiling happily because she was
surrounded by a lot of children .He was very happy but he had a problem .He didn´t have enough money
to feed them .
His wife was surrounded by a lot of children

2. 2
He decided to look for another job. As he was walking along a country path he met a shepherd who
promised him some sheep. ´I´ll give you some of my sheep if you do me a favour .´The shepherd told
him. ´You have to get rid of a dragon who is frightening my sheep´.
The shepherd and his sheep
Stan walked up to the dragon and said; ´I am stronger and more intelligent than you .I can squeeze a
stone until water runs out ´. ´I bet you are not stronger or more intelligent than me .´
´You are not stronger or more intelligent than me ‘

3. 3
Stan prepared a piece of cheese that looked like a stone . He squeezed it and water ran out.The
dragon then picked up a big rock and squeezed it but nothing came out. The dragon was impressed and
a little afraid.
The shepherd told Stan that the dragon was very rich .He had a big treasure in the cave where he
lived with his mother .
The dragon had a big treasure
Stan told the dragon : ´I´ll give you another chance , if I beat you, You´ll have to give me all your
treasure´. The dragon accepted the bet.
´I bet I can throw my club further than yours ´he said .
´Ok , ´said Stan ´But I can´t throw my club yet because the moon will get in the way ,´He said.
That night the two dragons made a plan .
The dragon and his mother made a plan

4. 4
They decided to kill Stan while he was sleeping .But Stan listened to them speaking . When he went to
bed he put a log under the bed sheets and he hid under the bed.
Stan hid under his bed
During the night the two dragons crept into Stan´s room and smashed a club on what they thought
was Stan´s head.
In the morning the dragon and his mother were laughing and jumping when Stan walked in ´.Did you
sleep well?´ He asked them . ´I seem to have a headache ´.He said.
´I seem to have a headache ´
The dragons couldn´t believe it .They gave Stan all their treasure .´Take it, but please, leave us alone ´,
they said.

5. 5
´Take the treasure but leave us alone ´
So Stan went home and gave his wife the good news.They decided to go on holidays .It wasn´t so easy
to choose the place because Stan´s wife liked the beach .She wanted to see the sea and walk along the
beach . She liked swimming and playing beach volley .Stan liked the mountains and loved trekking,
canoening and mountaineering and the younger children wanted to go to Disney. So they all decided to
come to Buenos Aires because it is the southernmost city in South America and the most elegant , too.
Stan´s wife liked going to the beach
Stan liked the mountain, trekking, canoeing

6. 6
The children wanted to visit Disney World
They came to Buenos Aires , the southernmost city in South America

7. 7
They arrived one week after that .They stayed at the Hilton Hotel, a five star hotel in Puerto Madero in
Buenos Aires. Their room was nice and comfortable .They had a king size bed, two sofas, colour tv,
home theatre and internet access.They could use the sports facilities too.So they swam in their big
swimming pool and played tennis every day. There was also a big football stadium where Stan´s children
played football every day .
Hilton Hotel in Puerto Madero in Buenos Aires - The swimming pool
The food was delicious ,the most delicious food they had ever tasted.They enjoyed eating barbecue or
asado, pasty or empanadas and drinking mate, a kind of green tea which is very popular in Argentina .
Asado or barbecue, empanadas or pasty mate or green tea
They loved walking slowly along Buenos Aires streets. They are wider and longer than the streets in
their town.

8. 8
Buenos Aires streets are wider and longer than the streets in their town
They visited La Boca and bought a lot of souvenirs for their family .Souvenirs are more expensive in
Argentina than in their country .They all liked Boca Juniors football stadium and Caminito where they
learnt to dance the tango .
Caminito in La Boca Boca Juniors stadium
They bought leather jackets and leather boots and belts. Leather clothes are very good in Buenos Aires.
Leather clothes , bags and shoes in Buenos Aires .
They also went to Tigre and rode a boat to the islands .They bought fruit and many souvenirs there, too.

9. 9
Puerto de Frutos in Tigre
They went to The coast Park and rode all the games there .It was like Disney ! They liked everything and
they had a lot of fun !
Parque de La Costa in Tigre
One of the children collected coins so he bought a lot of coins for his collection. Another one loved
stamps so he bought some at an antique shop in San Telmo .
Antique shop in San Telmo

10. 10
Before going back home , they all went to Mar del Plata and spent a week on the beach .They surfed,
played beach volley, walked along the beach, ate fish in the famous Chichilo in the Port and enjoyed
walking quietly along Mar del Plata streets .Stan rented a car and drove carefully along the streets
Argentinians have a reputation for driving fast and carelessly and that´s why there are many car
accidents .
They loved surfing in Mar del Plata They enjoyed sunbathing on the beach
They ate fish in the famous Chichilo restaurant in the port - They played beach volley
Stan , the woodcutter who had cheated a dangerous dragon, could hardly believe that his life had
changed .His dream had come true .!
So , make a wish and miracles can happen !