Get ready for a classic fairy tale with a clever little hero! 'The Brave Little Tailor' tells the story of a man who, with just one smart move, starts a big adventure. After killing seven flies with one blow, he makes himself a belt that says 'Seven at one blow!' and sets off into the world. Along the way, he meets giants, a unicorn, a wild boar, and even a princess. With quick thinking and funny tricks, he shows that you don't need to be big to be brave.
Our A2 English retelling makes this story easy to read and understand. You can click on any word to see its meaning, listen to the full story audio, and use our lesson notes to practice vocabulary and grammar. It's a free and friendly way to enjoy a famous tale while improving your English.
Once upon a time, there was a little tailor. He worked in a small shop. One day, he bought some and put it on his bread. But many flies came and wanted the jam too. The tailor was . He took a cloth and the flies. One, two, three… seven flies ! He was very proud. First, he made a belt. On the belt, he wrote: 'Seven at one blow!'
Then the tailor wanted to . He put the belt around his waist and left his shop. He . Soon he met a big giant. The giant looked at the little tailor and . 'Why are you so proud?' said the giant. The tailor showed his belt. 'Look! I killed seven at one blow!' The giant was very . 'Can you really do that?' he asked.
The giant wanted to the tailor. He picked up a stone and it until water came out. 'You try!' said the giant. The tailor was . He took a piece of cheese from his pocket and squeezed it. Milk came out. The giant's eyes opened wide. Then the giant threw a stone very high into the air. The tailor took a bird out of his pocket and threw it up. The bird and did not come back. The giant was amazed.
'You are strong, little man,' said the giant. He the tailor to his home. There were many other giants there. At night, the tailor could not sleep. He was the giants. So he went out of the house and behind a tree. The giants looked for him. 'There he is!' they shouted. But the tailor was fast and .
Finally, the tailor came to a king's castle. He was very tired, so he and fell asleep. The people saw his belt: 'Seven at one blow!' They ran to the king. 'This little man killed seven giants!' they said. The king was happy. 'If you can kill two bad giants in my forest, you can my daughter and get half my treasure.'
The brave little tailor went into the forest. He saw the two giants under a tree. He took stones and threw them at the giants. The giants woke up and thought the other one hit him. They started to . They shouted and fought until they both fell down tired. Then the tailor quickly them to the tree. He came back to the king and said, 'I did it!'
But the king wanted more tests. 'Kill a unicorn!' he said. The tailor took a rope and went into the forest. The unicorn him, but the tailor stood before a tree. At the last second, he . The unicorn's horn stuck in the tree. The tailor tied the unicorn with the rope and took it to the king.
The king had one more job. 'Catch a wild boar!' The tailor went to the forest with a small axe. The boar ran at him with its . The tailor ran into a little house and jumped out of the window. The boar followed into the house, and the tailor . The boar was caught. The king was finally pleased. The tailor married the princess and they lived happily ever after.
A small tailor worked in a shop. He bought jam and put it on bread. Flies came to eat the jam. He got mad and hit them with a cloth. Seven flies died. He was proud. He made a belt that said "Seven at one blow!"
The tailor put on his belt and left to see the world. He met a giant who laughed at him. The tailor showed his belt: "I killed seven at one blow!" The giant was surprised.
The giant squeezed a stone until water came out. The tailor squeezed cheese and milk came out. Then the giant threw a stone high. The tailor threw a bird that flew away. The giant was amazed.
The giant said he was strong and invited him home with other giants. At night, the tailor was scared and hid outside. The giants saw him, but he ran away fast.
The tailor went to a king's castle and slept. People read his belt and thought he killed seven giants. They told the king. The king said if he killed two bad giants, he could marry his daughter and get half his treasure.
The tailor went into the forest. He threw stones at two sleeping giants. They woke up and fought each other. When they were tired, he tied them to a tree. He told the king he did it.
The king said to kill a unicorn. The tailor went with a rope. The unicorn charged, but the tailor jumped aside, and its horn stuck in a tree. He tied it and took it to the king.
The king wanted a wild boar caught. The tailor went with an axe. The boar chased him into a house, but he jumped out the window and closed the door, trapping it. The king was happy. The tailor married the princess and lived happily.
You met some useful and funny words in this story. Let's look at a few of them so you can use them yourself!
A tailor sews and fixes clothes. A giant is a very big, strong person in stories. To squeeze means to press something hard, usually so that liquid comes out.
- Tailor - someone who makes or repairs clothes
- Giant - a huge, strong person from fairy tales
- Squeeze - press something hard (e.g., squeeze an orange)
- Unicorn - a white horse with one long horn
The story uses the past simple to talk about finished actions. Many verbs are irregular, like 'hit' (hit-hit), 'throw' (threw), and 'fly' (flew). You can find them in the text.
When we tell a long story, we use words like first, then, next, and finally to show the order of events. This helps the listener follow what happened.
- First, the tailor made a belt.
- Then he met a giant and squeezed some cheese.
- Next, he caught a unicorn and a wild boar.
- Finally, the tailor married the princess.
You've learned new words and saw how to tell a story with the past simple. Now try retelling the story in your own words - or make a new silly story about a clever little hero!
If you like, you can listen to the tale again and write down five past simple verbs you heard. Each time, think about what order things happened in.
The Brave Little Tailor - An A2 English Story comes from the German / Grimm tradition and is best known as a fairy tale. This Yak Yacker article is an original learner retelling based on Grimm/traditional; 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/general, but this version is adapted for A2 Elementary learners studying English. Good trickster adventure.
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 A2 English Vocabulary. After that, try English Question Words for another useful next step.
