Welcome to our retelling of the classic nursery rhyme, The Itsy Bitsy Spider! This simple A1 beginner-level story follows a tiny spider as it tries to climb up a water spout. Suddenly, down comes the rain and washes the spider out. But the sun soon dries up all the rain, and the brave little spider climbs up once again. It's a short, cheerful tale with lots of repetition to help you remember new English words like 'water spout', 'rain', and 'sun'.
This interactive reader is made for learners like you. Tap any word for an instant translation-clickable help is there whenever you need it. You can also listen to the clear, slow audio recording of the story to practice pronunciation. After reading, our simple lesson notes will help you review what you learned. Everything is free, so start reading and listening now!
A little spider sits in the garden. She looks at the tall . "I want to climb it," she says.
She starts to climb. Up, up, up she goes.
But come. It rains and rains.
The rain . She falls to the ground. "Oh no!" she says.
Then the sun . It shines bright. The ground dries.
"I can try again," says the spider. She climbs the spout. Up, up, up.
This time, no rain comes. She . "I did it!" she says.
A small spider is in the garden. She sees a tall pipe. She says she wants to climb it.
She begins climbing upward.
Then clouds appear, and it rains a lot.
The rain pushes her down. She lands on the ground and says, "Oh no!"
Next, the sun shines and dries the ground.
The spider says she can try again. She climbs the pipe upward.
No rain falls this time. She reaches the top and says she did it.
The story uses weather words to tell what happens. These words are very common in everyday English.
Learn these weather words from the spider's adventure. They will help you talk about the sky, the sun, and rainy days.
- rain - water from the sky
- sun - the big yellow light in the sky
- clouds - white or grey shapes in the sky
- bright - with lots of light (the sun is bright)
The whole story uses the present simple tense. This tense is for things that happen now or in general.
In the present simple, the verb changes for he, she, or it. We add an -s.
- I climb → She climbs
- It rains and rains.
- The sun comes out.
- I try → She tries (careful: y becomes ies!)
The little spider didn't give up. The sun came out and she climbed again. You can do the same with your English learning!
Try telling the story to yourself or a friend. Use the weather words and the present simple. Every time you try, you get better.
- Say the spider's words: "I can try again!"
- Point at the sky and say: "The sun is bright."
- Make your own tiny story with rain, sun, and a brave animal.
The Itsy Bitsy Spider comes from the English / traditional verse tradition and is best known as a nursery rhyme/song text. This Yak Yacker article is an original learner retelling based on Traditional/early 20th-century public-domain versions likely, 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. Check exact wording/tune; keep generic.
If you want to look into the source tradition, start with Project Gutenberg.
If you want to keep going, browse more in our English section and review the A1 English Vocabulary List. After that, try English Question Words for another useful next step.
