The Bees on the Roof (A2 Reading Story)

A2 · ELEMENTARY Reading practice · ~1,550 words · 9-min read

This is a short story for A2 learners. It uses easy sentences and the past simple tense. First, read the eight key words. Then read the story. At the end, there are questions and a small writing task to help you remember what you learned.

The story

1 · A new home in the city

Maya moved to a small flat in the big city. The flat was on the top floor of an old grey building. It had one small window, one small kitchen, and no garden. From her window, she could only see cars, buses, and other grey walls.

Maya was twenty years old. She started her first job two weeks before. She worked in a busy office. Every day, she came home tired. Every night, she wanted a garden — a green place with plants and quiet birds. But she lived in the city, and there was no garden for her.

One warm Saturday morning, Maya opened her small window. The sun was bright. She heard a strange sound.

Bzzz. Bzzz. Bzzz.

At first, Maya thought it was a car. But it was too soft for a car. It was like quiet music. It came from above her flat, from the rooftop. A rooftop is the flat top of a building.

“What is that sound?” Maya said out loud. She did not know. She wanted to go and look. But the sound made her a little afraid. So she closed the window and put on the TV.

2 · The old man with the white hat

The next morning, Maya waited for the lift. The doors opened, and an old man walked out. He wore a big white hat and long white gloves. On his back, he carried a wooden box.

“Good morning,” he said with a warm smile.

“Good morning,” Maya said. She looked at his hat. “Are you… going to a party?”

The old man laughed. “No, no. Not a party. I am going to see my bees.”

“Bees?” Maya said. “In our building?”

“Yes. On the rooftop. My name is Mr Costa. I live in flat 4B, and I keep bees on top of the building.”

Maya was very surprised. “I did not know we had bees here.”

“Are you free now?” Mr Costa asked. “Come with me. I will show you my hive. A hive is the special home where bees live.”

Maya wanted to say no. She was a little afraid of bees. But she was also very curious. So she said, “OK. I will come. But only for a minute.”

3 · The little city of bees

They walked up the last stairs to the roof. The door opened, and Maya saw the sky. The big city was all around them — the roofs, the streets, the little cars far below. And there, in a quiet corner of the rooftop, was a wooden box on four legs.

“That is the hive,” Mr Costa said quietly.

Maya stayed back. “Will they sting me?” she asked. To sting means to hurt your skin with a small sharp point.

“Not today,” Mr Costa said. “They are calm this morning. No fast movements — that is the rule. If you are slow and calm, you will be fine.”

Slowly, Maya walked closer. She heard the sound again — that soft buzz, buzz, buzz. But now it was not scary. It was busy. It was full of life.

“How many bees live in there?” she asked.

“About fifty thousand,” Mr Costa said.

Maya’s eyes went big. “Fifty thousand? In one small box?”

“Yes. And they all have jobs. Some clean the hive. Some feed the babies. Some go out for pollen — the yellow dust from flowers. And one very special bee is the queen bee. She is the mother of every bee in the hive.”

Maya watched the little bees. They flew in and out of a small hole. They looked so busy, so important.

“They are like a tiny city,” she said.

Mr Costa smiled. “Yes. A very old city. Bees lived like this a hundred million years ago, long before people. And they still live like this today.”

Maya was quiet for a long moment. She listened to the buzz. She looked up at the blue sky. For the first time in the big city, she felt calm.

4 · The empty rooftop

The next weeks were good. Every Saturday morning, Maya went up to the rooftop with Mr Costa. She learned many things. She learned that bees “dance” to tell their friends where the best flowers are. She learned that a bee only lives for six weeks in the summer. She learned that one small teaspoon of honey is the work of twelve bees for their whole lives.

“Twelve lives for one teaspoon?” Maya said one day. “That is so much work.”

“Yes,” Mr Costa said. “So every time you eat honey, say thank you to the bees.”

Maya was not afraid of the bees now. She loved them. She loved the rooftop, too. She loved the sky and the quiet buzz.

But one Sunday morning, everything changed.

Maya walked up to the rooftop with two cups of hot tea. She wanted to sit with Mr Costa and watch the bees. But when she opened the door to the roof, she stopped.

The rooftop was quiet. Too quiet. There was no buzz. There was no little movement.

Mr Costa stood next to the hive. His face was very sad.

“They are gone, Maya,” he said.

“Gone?” Maya said. “All of them?”

“Look inside,” Mr Costa said. He opened the hive. There was only a little honey. No queen bee. No workers. No babies. Only empty rooms.

“But why?” Maya asked. Her voice was small. “Are they dead?”

“No, I do not think so,” Mr Costa said. “I think they made a swarm. A swarm is when a big group of bees leaves the hive together. They fly away to look for a new home.”

“Why did they leave?” Maya asked.

“Sometimes bees do this,” Mr Costa said. “Maybe the hive was too full. Maybe they wanted a new queen. It is a normal thing for them. But now… now we do not know where they are.”

Maya looked at the empty hive. She felt very sad. “Are they going to be OK?” she asked.

“I hope so,” Mr Costa said. “But the city is not a good place for a swarm. There are not many big trees for them.”

5 · The tree in the park

All day, Maya could not stop thinking about the bees. After lunch, she walked in the streets. She looked up at every tree and every roof. Where were her bees now? Were they safe?

Then, in a small park near her office, she saw something strange. It was in a big tree, high up on a branch. It was brown and round, and it looked like a football. But it was moving. Little parts of it moved.

Maya stopped. She listened.

Bzzz. Bzzz. Bzzz.

“There they are!” she said. “I found them!”

Maya took a photo with her phone. Then she ran back to the building. She was out of breath, but she was happy. She knocked hard on Mr Costa’s door.

“Mr Costa!” she said. “Look at this! I think I found the swarm!”

Mr Costa looked at the photo on her phone. His old eyes were bright now. “Yes, Maya. That is a swarm. Well done. Very well done.”

That afternoon, they went to the park together. Mr Costa brought a special box, his white hat, and his gloves. Slowly and carefully, he moved the bees from the tree branch into the box. Maya watched from a safe place under another tree. She was excited but also a little bit afraid.

“You are going to take them home?” she asked.

“Yes,” Mr Costa said. “I will take them back to the rooftop. But this time, I am going to build a bigger hive for them. I think they wanted more space. Next time, they will stay.”

Back on the rooftop, Mr Costa put the bees inside their new home. Slowly, one by one, the bees flew out. They looked around at the sky. They found small flowers on the balconies below. Little by little, they made the new hive their home.

“Welcome back,” Maya said quietly.

6 · A new plan

One week later, Maya and Mr Costa sat on the rooftop again. The sound was back. Bzzz, bzzz, bzzz. The bees were busy. The sun was warm. The sky was blue.

“Maya,” Mr Costa said. “I have an idea.”

“What is your idea?” Maya asked.

“I am going to start a small class for the children in this building. I will teach them about the bees, so they will not be afraid. If they know the bees, they will love them, and they will help them.” He looked at her. “But I am old, and I do not use computers. Will you help me?”

Maya smiled. She thought about the empty rooftop and her small flat with no garden. She thought about the little dance the bees do to tell each other about good flowers. She thought about the sound of the swarm in the tree.

“Yes,” she said. “I will help you.”

She looked out over the big city. There were roofs everywhere. There were flowers on quiet balconies. There were parks with big trees.

“Mr Costa,” she said. “How are we going to find the children? I don’t know any children here.”

Mr Costa smiled a slow, calm smile. He looked at her — but he did not answer.

Check your understanding

Read each question and think about your answer. Then click “Show answer” to check.

Words to remember

Here are the eight key words again, in new sentences. Say each one out loud.

• rooftop — On summer nights, we sit on the rooftop and look at the stars.
• hive — The old hive was too small, so the bees needed a bigger home.
• bee — A bee flew into the kitchen through the open window.
• buzz — I heard a soft buzz near the flowers in the garden.
• sting — Don’t move fast. If you are calm, the bee will not sting you.
• queen bee — The queen bee is bigger than the other bees, and she lives inside the hive.
• pollen — Bees take yellow pollen from flowers back to their hive.
• swarm — A big swarm of bees flew over the park last summer.

Talk about it · Write about it

Talk about it: Are you afraid of bees, or do you like them? Why? Do you know a small animal or insect that helps nature? What does it do?

Write about it: Write 6–8 simple sentences in the past simple. Tell the story of a day you saw something special in nature — a bee, a bird, a big tree, or the sea. Where were you? What did you see? How did you feel?

🎉 Well done — you read a full A2 story in English! You now know eight new words, and you saw the past simple in real sentences.

But wait — Mr Costa did not answer Maya’s last question. How are they going to find the children for their bee class? And who will help them build the bigger hive? You will find out in the next story…

Next story: Read another A2 story →

About this story: This is an original A2 graded reader (~1,550 words). It uses controlled A2 vocabulary and the past simple tense, so elementary learners can understand about 98% of the words. Any harder word is explained before the story and reused inside it. The story is 100% original and written for englishteachersite.com.

Khamis Maiouf

My name is Khamis Maiouf. I am the creator of the English Teacher Site, dedicated to providing valuable resources and insights for students around the world. With a passion for education and a commitment to helping students enhance their skills, I aim to make English teaching more effective and enjoyable for both educators and students.