Join Jemima Puddle-Duck, a kind but determined duck who wants to hatch her own eggs. She leaves the farm to find a safe place and meets a clever fox with a sly plan. This simple retelling is perfect for A1 beginners, with short sentences and easy words.
Practice your English with this free graded reader. Click on any word to see its meaning, listen to the story audio, and check the lesson notes for extra help. Learn useful words like 'farm,' 'egg,' 'fox,' and 'hatch' as you follow Jemima's adventure.
Reading along is a great way to build your English. The story is short and fun, made just for beginner learners. Ready to start? Let's see what happens to Jemima!
Jemima Puddle-Duck lives on a .
She has many . "I want to my eggs," she says.
But the farmer's wife the eggs away. Jemima is .
She to the . In the wood, she a fox.
The fox has a big . "Come to my ," he says. "You can your eggs there."
Jemima goes with the fox. She does not : the fox has a .
The fox wants to Jemima! But a dog . The dog and barks.
The fox . Jemima is . She goes back to the .
Jemima Puddle-Duck lives on a farm.
She has many eggs. She says, 'I want to sit on my eggs.'
But the farmer's wife takes the eggs away. Jemima is sad.
She walks to the woods. In the woods, she meets a fox.
The fox has a big tail. He says, 'Come to my house. You can sit on your eggs there.'
Jemima goes with the fox. She does not know that the fox has a plan.
The fox wants to eat Jemima! But a dog comes. The dog barks and barks.
The fox runs away. Jemima is safe. She goes back to the farm.
Let's look at some important words from Jemima's adventure. Can you remember them?
- Farm: a place with animals and fields.
- Duck: a bird that likes water.
- Eggs: round things that baby birds come from.
- Wood: many trees together.
The story uses many action words in the present simple. These tell us what happens now or in the story.
- Lives: Jemima lives on a farm.
- Walks: She walks to the wood.
- Barks: The dog barks loudly.
- Runs: The fox runs away.
Here are some phrases from the story. You can use them, too!
- I want to sit on my eggs.
- Come to my house.
- She does not know.
- The fox runs away.
You read the story of Jemima. Now try these:
- Read the story again. Can you remember the new words?
- Tell the story to a friend. Use the action words.
- Draw a picture of your favorite part.
Jemima Puddle-Duck comes from an older public-domain story tradition and is best known as a public_domain_children_story_retelling. This Yak Yacker article is an original learner retelling based on public-domain source material, 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. This version is adapted for A1 Beginner learners studying English.
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.
