These short stories
are for EFL students who are learning English. They
are free to download. You can print them.
If you like the stories, please donate
a small amount of money. This goes to my secure PayPal
account and is safe to use.
There are six different levels
of difficulty. I highlight and define the most difficult words.
Give me your feedback by email or in our lessons. If you disagree with
the level, then tell me as soon as possible!
Miguel is only twelve, and he is a fantastic footballer. He wants to be famous, but what other reason does he have for practising so hard?
Two foreign friends go for a cycling holiday in The Cotswolds in England.
Two men with two different lives. Where are they going?
Yukiko looks after her mother, but dreams of another life.
A poor woman in Manila finds a wallet. Should she keep the money or find the owner?
One woman and two men. On Tanya and Pete's wedding anniversary perhaps we will find out who loves who.
Stephen was on his way to work, but one morning something strange happened on the train. Find out what happened when his train went into a tunnel.
John and Bryan are poor, out-of-work actors. They need some work, and can't stop arguing. What is the answer to their problems?
Emiko is 61, but one afternoon, a man on a train reminds her of an incident many years before. An incident that changed her life.
Lisa has photographs of herself from around the world. They fill her apartment. But what is her secret?
Birds are such beautiful creatures, and photography is a great hobby. Or is it?
Mr.Nishimoto's house is full of garbage. His neighbors are angry, and one day men come to clean up the mess.
Tom's job has great responsibility and one big secret. When something goes wrong, who can he tell?
Jerome and Deon are good friends and good students. But even good kids can get involved in trouble.
Marcia and Martin look at themselves in the mirror. Two people who lack confidence because they are not perfect.
After many years of working for the same family, George discovers that he is going to be replaced.
A man wakes up in a hospital bed. He can't remember anything about his life before the car crash. His wife takes him home, but he is still confused.
Three people in a hotel elevator in Las Vegas. Why is one of them so embarrassed?
A man and his dog. No one cares about them, but they are happy together.
A local artist and his young wife are dead. What happened in their cottage in the countryside?
Deep in the forest live 'The Old Ones'. They live for hundreds of years, but man has the power to destroy nature and destroy them.
A lovely day at the beach followed by a delicious dinner. Life is so good when you are in love.
There is an important letter waiting on my kitchen table, but I can't open it. What is inside? What is the secret in the letter?
Vicky is escaping the humidity of Bangkok by sitting in an internet cafe. Alex walks in ans sits next to her. Perjhaps, things are going to get sticky.
Everyone is wearing glasses with in-built webcams that let other people see what you see. It should be fun, right?
A married couple are driving through snowy weather to reach their sick mother. But strange things happen on their journey home.
Two boxers are fighting for the middleweight championship. One will walk away as a winner, the other will face the end of his career. But who will win?
A married couple stop for lunch in an American diner. Behind them is a girl. She seems to be in trouble.
A woman sits in a cafe and secretly watches the handsome waiter.
Three lonely people looking for love.
Brett and Natalie are enjoying a month camping in the Australian bush. One day Brett hears something on his radio and the couple don't know what to do.
A young man was trying to get some sleep on a long bus journey through the night. Next to him was an empty seat. But then someone sat down. Who sat there, and how did that person change his life?
A French couple return from their honeymoon with a souvenir. But then strange things begin to happen to them. Is it real, or is Jean-Paul going crazy?
A young man checks into a bungalow on Bali. While relaxing, he sees a beautiful girl. Perhaps romance is in the air?
A spaceship crashes on a new planet. There is no escape, but a scientist finds a way surviving into the future.
An old man gets on a bus and goes back to his old life. Over thirty years have passed since he was last home. Why is he going back now? where has he been?
A couple are renting a holiday cottage in the lovely area of Tuscany in Italy. But one night they are woken up by strange noises outside.
A woman remembers the man she loved. They never married, but their relationship lasted ten years.
Hanging on a rope on a tall building, a window cleaner has a dangerous job. But one day he finds himself facing an even greater danger. One he had never imagined.
It is the final of the Olympic 1500m. For one competitor, there might be two dreams coming true. One of which means more than a gold medal.
A young girl is happy but something is different. What happened deep in the forest?
It is a beautiful day in a tropical resort, but who is the man with the phone? And why is 6pm so important to him?
Sometimes life is lonely and unhappy, full of grey clouds. But then, someone comes into your life and the sun comes out.
Scientists perform experiments, but not all scientists are good, and some experiments are very dangerous.
A baby with vivid green eyes is brought into a medical centre in Peru. She was abandoned by her parents. But why?
Two women, seperated in time, but connected by a Japanese poem written by a young samurai. All of them searching for light.
Two greedy New York antique dealers are touring Louisiana looking for bargains. One hot afternoon they find an interesting old cuckoo clock.
A man wakes up on a lovely sunny morning. But something isn't right. What is happening in this small suburban house?
Near the beautiful island of Barbados in the Caribbean, two very different groups of people are about to meet.
It's getting colder and colder. Even so, a woman heads north to a small town in Canada with a plan to escape a disaster.
Yuko is unhappy in her marriage, but her friend Sayaka has a solution.What risks should she take to escape her abusive husband?
Sumiko is offered a great chance to develop her career. But having a career can sometimes cause problems in our private lfe. What is more important for her?
An English woman is caught in a war. Will she escape? And why did the war start? She has only one chance, but will the helicopter come?
We shouldn't listen to the bad things that people say about us. Sometimes we have to show them they are wrong.
A man has his morning coffee disturbed by a young woman who is very upset. She needs his help, but why? He finds himself involved in her dark secret.
In the heart of Africa, a woman lives with terrible sadness as the crescent moon rises in the night sky. Why is she so sad?
An American couple visit Poland and have a strange experience deep in the forest. Who is the beautiful young woman, and how does she know their names?
Isabella is an artist with strong beliefs in right and wrong. Raul is a man who does anything he wants, and takes anything he wants.
We all make mistakes. Sadly, for Alex, his mistake comes back to haunt him, when his son gets a new girlfriend.
It's 1989. A Russian soldier in Afghanistan faces an important decision. What is bravery and what is cowardice? Corporal Morozov is about to find out.
There is a war. A secret war. Some people want to stop the world's population from reaching eight billion. Others will do all they can to reach that number. The only question is 'Why?'.
Love makes us behave in strange ways sometimes. A man always buys two coffees, but who does he buy the other coffee for?
What would happen if you could never die? What if your insurance company never let you rest in peace?
A new kind of music has been created. People are dancing to it with a feeling of total joy.
How did Mario become involved with a beautiful ex-model, and what is he doing in her apartment?
The leaders of the world's most powerful countries have gathered in Washington to discuss the greatest news of all time. But should the people be told?
George Fox is a young archeologist who thinks he can find the lost city of Uram in the lonely deserts of Oman. He takes with him an old guide named Hamed and their adventure begins.
A man meets a woman who teaches him a lesson about his own behaviour. She shows him who he really is.
In a prison in Bangkok, facing execution for drug smuggling, an Australian woman has only one choice if she wants to live.
Across the burning city, a group of people are making their way to a special place. Suzette, Uncle Marin, Didier, and many more. But where are they all going?
A famous actor makes a mistake and has to face the media. He is alone in his apartment and doesn't know what to do. Where does his life go from here?
Copyright: Sean Anderson 2009-2010. All rights reserved.
