Meet a little boy who just wants to play outside. But the rain keeps falling! In this simple A1 retelling of the classic rhyme 'Rain, Rain, Go Away,' you will read about his rainy-day adventure. It is a perfect story for beginners learning English.
Our retelling uses very easy words and short sentences. You can click on any word to see its meaning. There is also free story audio to help you listen and read along. After the story, you will find helpful lesson notes that explain the language.
This is a great way to practice English while enjoying a cute tale. Read, listen, and learn-all for free!
It is raining. Anna looks out the window.
She is sad. She says, 'Rain, rain, !'
Her mom comes. Mom says, 'The rain will stop .'
Anna asks, 'When will the sun ?'
Mom smiles. 'Look! The are moving.'
Soon, the rain stops. The sun comes out.
Anna is happy. She runs . '!' she says.
It rains and Anna looks out the window.
She is sad and says, 'Rain, go away!'
Her mom comes and says the rain will stop soon.
Anna asks when the sun will come out.
Mom smiles and says, 'Look, the clouds are moving.'
Soon the rain stops and the sun comes out.
Anna is happy. She runs outside and says, 'Yay!'
This little story is full of weather words! We use them all the time to talk about what we see outside.
Let's pick out the most important ones from the story.
- rain - water that falls from the sky
- clouds - white or grey shapes in the sky
- sun - the big, bright light in the sky
- raining - when rain is falling right now
- stops - ends, doesn't continue
- comes out - appears after being hidden
Anna feels two different ways in the story. First, she is sad because of the rain. Later, she is happy when the sun comes out!
These feeling words are simple and very useful.
- sad - unhappy, the opposite of happy
- happy - feeling good, smiling
- Practice: How do you feel when it rains? How about when the sun shines?
The story uses the present simple tense to talk about things that are true now. Look at these sentences:
We also use it for facts that are always true, like 'Rain is wet'.
- It is raining. (happening now)
- She is sad. (feeling now)
- The rain stops. (action that happens)
- The sun comes out. (action that happens)
Next time you look out the window, try to say what you see and how you feel - just like Anna!
You can say: 'It is sunny. I am happy.' Or: 'It is raining. I am sad.' The more you practise, the easier it gets.
Rain, Rain, Go Away 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. Weather 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 List. After that, try English Question Words for another useful next step.
