This A1 Beginner retelling of Hickory Dickory Dock keeps the plot clear for learners while still giving the story some atmosphere and momentum. A small mouse lives in an old house. In the house, there is a big clock.
This version is written for English-speaking learners and includes clickable word help inside the story, full story audio, and lesson notes after the reading. It is free to use on Yak Yacker and is designed to feel natural, readable, and manageable in English.
A small lives in an . In the house, there is a .
The mouse the clock. "I want to ," he says.
The mouse the clock. .
The clock says, ", tick tock." Then it goes ! It is .
The mouse the clock. .
"That was !" says the mouse. He .
A small mouse lives in an old house. There is a big clock inside.
The mouse looks at the clock and says, 'I want to go up.'
The mouse runs up the clock. Hickory dickory dock.
The clock says, 'Tick tock, tick tock.' Then it bongs. It is one o'clock.
The mouse runs down the clock. Hickory dickory dock.
The mouse says, 'That was fun!' and laughs a lot.
Let's look at some important words. You can find them in the story about the mouse and the clock.
- mouse - a small animal with a long tail
- clock - a thing that shows the time
- up / down - moving higher or lower
- laugh - to make a happy sound when something is funny
In the story, we see many actions. When one mouse, one clock, or one thing does something, we often add -s to the verb.
Look at these examples from the story:
- The mouse runs up the clock. (run + s)
- The clock goes bong. (go + es)
- He laughs and laughs. (laugh + s)
Clocks make sounds! 'Tick tock' is the quiet sound, and 'bong' is the loud sound. In English, words that sound like the real sound are fun to learn.
We also learn to tell the time with 'o'clock'. When the big hand is on 12, we say '... o'clock'.
- 1:00 - one o'clock
- 2:00 - two o'clock
- 3:00 - three o'clock
Now it's your turn. Read the story again, and try to say the words 'up' and 'down' when the mouse moves. Can you make the clock sounds?
You can even change the story: What happens at two o'clock? Does the mouse run up again? Have fun!
Hickory Dickory Dock comes from the English / nursery rhyme tradition and is best known as a nursery rhyme. This Yak Yacker article is an original learner retelling based on Traditional nursery rhyme; public domain, so the wording here is simplified for modern learners rather than copied from one old edition.
Older printings, translations, and retellings of this story can vary quite a bit. The original audience was usually kids, but this version is adapted for A1 Beginner learners studying English. Clock/time vocabulary.
If you want to look into the source tradition, start with Wikisource.
If you want to keep going, browse more in our English section and review the A1 English Vocabulary. After that, try 1,200 English Phrases and Expressions for another useful next step.
