Welcome to the lesson notes for The Old Man Who Made Withered Trees Blossom. As you read, tap the clickable words to see their meanings, and listen to the audio to hear the story read slowly and clearly.
After reading, use these lesson notes to learn new words, practice simple grammar, and think about the story's message. Take your time-every small step helps!
A kind old man and his wife had a little dog. They loved it very much.
One day, the dog said, 'Dig here!' The old man dug and found gold.
A neighbor saw the gold. He took the dog. The dog found only dirt. The greedy neighbor the dog.
The old man was sad. He the dog. In a dream, the dog said, The mortar turned rice into gold.
The neighbor the mortar. The dog said in a dream, The old man did. The trees !
A prince saw the . He gave the old man a . The greedy neighbor threw ashes too. But flowers did not come.
The ashes went into the prince's eyes. The prince the greedy neighbor. The kind old man lived happily.
A kind old man and his wife had a little dog. They loved it very much.
One day, the dog said, 'Dig here!' The old man dug and found gold.
A greedy neighbor saw the gold. He took the dog. The dog found only dirt. The greedy neighbor killed the dog.
The old man was sad. He buried the dog. In a dream, the dog said, 'Make a mortar from the tree.' The mortar turned rice into gold.
The neighbor burned the mortar. The dog said in a dream, 'Use the ashes on withered trees.' The old man did. The trees blossomed!
A prince saw the blossoms. He gave the old man a reward. The greedy neighbor threw ashes too. But flowers did not come.
The ashes went into the prince's eyes. The prince punished the greedy neighbor. The kind old man lived happily.
This story is full of useful everyday words. Learn these simple nouns and verbs first. Click each word in the story to hear it and see its meaning.
- kind — nice and good to others
- gold — a shiny, valuable yellow metal
- greedy — wanting too much
- dig — to make a hole in the ground
- bury — to put something in the ground
- blossom — to open into flowers
This story uses the simple past tense to tell what happened. Look at this sentence: "The old man dug and found gold." The verbs 'dug' and 'found' show actions that are finished.
Notice also the pattern 'made + thing + verb'. In the title, 'made withered trees blossom' means the old man did something so the trees blossomed.
- The dog said, 'Dig here!' — said is the past of 'say'.
- The mortar turned rice into gold. — turned into means 'became'.
- The trees blossomed! — add -ed to make the past of 'blossom'.
- He made the trees blossom. — made + object + verb shows cause.
This old tale teaches us about kindness and greed. The kind old man is gentle and patient, so good things come to him. The greedy neighbor wants everything quickly and takes what is not his.
In the end, greed brings punishment, but kindness brings happiness. Think about this question: Why do good things happen to the kind old man again and again?
- Kindness is rewarded.
- Greed is punished.
- Even a small dog can bring great fortune.
- Patience helps us find answers in dreams.
Now it is your turn. Use the past tense to tell the story in your own words. Keep it short-three or four sentences is enough. You can write your sentences or say them out loud.
- Start like this: 'One day, the dog said, Dig here!'
- Then say what the old man found.
- Next, tell what happened to the greedy neighbor.
- Finish with: 'The kind old man lived happily.'
The Old Man Who Made Withered Trees Blossom comes from the Japanese / folk tale tradition and is best known as a folk tale. This Yak Yacker article is an original learner retelling based on Traditional Japanese folk tale; public-domain versions, 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. Good kindness/neighbor contrast.
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 Best Graded Readers for English for another useful next step.