Welcome to our A1 English graded reader based on 'Sing a Song of Sixpence'! This classic nursery rhyme tells of a king, a pie, and a flock of blackbirds. In our simple retelling, you'll meet the king who loves pie and the maid who bakes it. One day, she makes a special pie with a surprising secret inside. It's a story that mixes food, fun, and a little bit of magic. All the sentences are short and use basic vocabulary, perfect for beginner English learners.
As you read, you can click on any word to see a translation and hear it spoken aloud. There's also a full story audio track so you can listen and read along. After the story, we've included some easy lesson notes and a teaching focus to help you learn key words and grammar. Best of all, this interactive story is completely free. So get ready to sing a song of sixpence and enjoy learning English!
The cook wants to make a pie.
She says, "Let's a pie for the king!"
She puts twenty-four inside the pie.
She says, "This is a fun !"
She puts the pie on the table.
The king and queen come to eat.
The cook opens the pie.
The blackbirds fly out!
They sing a happy song.
"Oh, what a nice surprise!" says the king.
The queen smiles and .
One blackbird flies to the garden.
The is hanging clothes.
The bird her nose!
"Oh!" says the maid.
The maid laughs.
"That was a bird!"
Everyone is happy.
The cook wants to make a special pie.
She says, "Let's bake a pie for the king!"
She puts twenty-four blackbirds inside the pie.
She says, "This is a fun surprise!"
She puts the pie on the table.
The king and queen come to eat.
The cook opens the pie.
The blackbirds fly out!
They sing a happy song.
"Oh, what a nice surprise!" says the king.
The queen smiles and claps.
One blackbird flies to the garden.
The maid is hanging clothes.
The bird pecks her nose!
"Oh!" says the maid.
The maid laughs.
"That was a playful bird!"
Everyone is happy.
Let's look at some fun words from the pie adventure! These words will help you talk about the story and other everyday things.
Here are the key words from our rhyme:
- pie - a baked dish with fruit, meat, or other fillings
- blackbird - a common bird with dark feathers
- bake - to cook in an oven
- surprise - something you don't expect
- garden - an outdoor area with plants and flowers
- maid - someone who helps with housework (old-fashioned word)
- peck - to strike or bite lightly with a beak
The story is full of action! Verbs like 'bake,' 'open,' and 'laugh' tell us what the characters do. Notice how the verbs describe clear, simple actions.
- bake - The cook bakes a pie.
- put - She puts the birds inside.
- fly out - The birds fly out of the pie!
- sing - They sing a happy song.
- clap - The queen claps her hands.
- peck - A bird pecks the maid's nose.
The cook uses twenty-four blackbirds. That's a big number for a pie! Practice counting from one to twenty-four.
Try saying the numbers out loud: one, two, three... all the way to twenty-four. Then see if you can remember how many blackbirds were in the pie.
Great job! You learned new action words and practiced counting. Now you can talk about baking, singing, and surprises.
Try telling the story to a friend-use the verbs and numbers you learned. Every time you say 'bake' or 'twenty-four,' you're one step closer to speaking English with confidence!
Sing a Song of Sixpence 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. Can be a funny royal kitchen story.
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.
