The Queen of Hearts loves to bake tarts. One summer day, she makes many delicious tarts. But then something happens: the tarts disappear! Who took them? The Knave of Hearts? Join us in this fun and simple story to find out what happens. You will meet the queen, the knave, and the king.
This story is for A1 English beginners. You can read and listen at the same time with our free story audio. If you find a hard word, just click it! A picture and simple English explanation will pop up. There are also lesson notes and questions to help you learn. Enjoy reading and learning English with this classic tale!
The Queen of Hearts loved to bake. One summer day, she made some .
She put the tarts on the kitchen table. 'These are for the party!' she said.
The walked into the kitchen. He saw the tarts. They .
He the tarts. He .
The Queen . 'Oh no! The tarts are gone!' she .
She saw the Knave. He had on his face. 'You took my tarts!' she said.
'I am sorry,' said the Knave. ' together,' said the Queen. They made new tarts and them.
The Queen loved baking. One summer day, she made jam tarts.
She placed the tarts on the kitchen table. She said, "These are for the party!"
The Knave entered the kitchen. He saw the tarts and thought they smelled delicious.
He took the tarts and ate all of them.
The Queen returned and cried, "The tarts are gone!"
She saw the Knave with red jam on his face. She said, "You stole my tarts!"
The Knave apologized. The Queen suggested they make more together. They made new tarts and shared them.
Let's learn some new words from 'The Queen of Hearts'. This story has people, food, and a kitchen!
Here are key words to know:
- queen: a female ruler
- knave: an old word for a servant or a tricky boy
- tarts: small, open pies with jam or fruit
- stole: took something that is not yours
- jam: sweet fruit spread
The story uses the simple past tense to tell us what happened. For most verbs, we add -ed: walk → walked.
But some verbs are irregular. They change a lot: see → saw, eat → ate, steal → stole.
- The Queen loved to bake. (love → loved)
- The Knave saw the tarts. (see → saw)
- He ate them all up. (eat → ate)
- They made new tarts. (make → made)
When characters talk, we use words like 'said' or 'cried'. These words show how they feel.
'Said' is neutral. 'Cried' shows the Queen was upset or loud. The Knave said, 'I am sorry.' The Queen cried, 'Oh no!'
- She said, 'These are for the party!'
- The Queen cried, 'Oh no! The tarts are gone!'
Now you know the words and the past tense. Can you retell the story? Start with: 'The Queen of Hearts loved to bake.'
Try making your own story. Use some new verbs in the past, like cooked, played, or watched.
The Queen of Hearts 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. Royal/court 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 1,200 English Phrases and Expressions for another useful next step.
