The Festival of Small Wishes (A2 Reading Story)
Zara feels alone in her new town. A neighbour introduces her to a festival where people hang paper wishes on a tree beside the river.
Author: Khamis Maiouf
I'm Khamis Maiouf. I'm studying Health and Social Care and have completed Functional Skills Level 2 in English and Level 3 Hairdressing. I have taught ESOL in my community and helped students with GCSE English. I run English Teacher Site to help people learn and practise English.
Anna’s Little Blue Jar (A1 Reading Story)
Anna works in a hotel and saves money in a little blue jar. She wants to buy a red bike for her sister’s birthday.
The Bora and the Poet (C2 Reading Story)
Marta travels to Trieste to meet an ageing poet. Their conversation moves between languages, changing borders and personal loss, questioning how much of a life translation can carry.
The Wireless in the Back Room (C1 Reading Story)
Owen carries his late grandfather’s radio to a repairer in a Welsh coastal town. The visit opens a conversation about grief, inheritance and the sounds a family leaves behind.
The Extra Zero (B2 Reading Story)
Freelance designer Marta is waiting for overdue invoices when a client pays far too much. With bills mounting, she must decide how to handle the unexpected money.
The Weekend Baker (B1 Reading Story)
Maya earns a steady salary but feels happiest baking bread at weekends. An unexpected business offer forces her to weigh a familiar job against a different future.
The Green Suitcase (A2 Reading Story)
Sara takes the train to visit her mother in Marseille. When she picks up the wrong green suitcase, she faces an unexpected journey to find its owner.
The Old Man and the Little Bird (A1 Reading Story)
Baba lives alone in a house on a hill. One winter morning, he finds a little bird in the snow and brings it inside.
The Custodian of Kern Street Garden (C2 Reading Story)
Ada has turned a neglected patch between two tower blocks into a garden. A developer’s proposal tests the community’s attachment to the place and the quiet work that created it.
The Custodian of Small Lights (C1 Reading Story)
Museum curator Elena is asked to bring a secluded village’s winter festival to a wider audience. Returning there, she confronts the difference between preserving a tradition and putting it on display.
