This A2 Elementary retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses keeps the plot clear for learners while still giving the story some atmosphere and momentum. Every morning, their dancing shoes were full of holes. The king wanted to know the secret.
This version is written for English-speaking learners and includes clickable word help inside the story, full story audio, and lesson notes after the reading. It is free to use on Yak Yacker and is designed to feel natural, readable, and manageable in English.
Once there was a king. He had twelve beautiful daughters. Every morning, their dancing shoes were full of holes. The king was very . 'Why are your shoes broken every night?' he asked. The princesses just smiled.
The king wanted to know the . He said, 'Whoever finds out where my daughters go at night can marry one of them. And become king one day.' Many men tried but . They all .
One day, a young soldier named Peter came. He met an old woman on the road. She gave him a . 'This cloak makes you ,' she said. 'When the princesses give you wine, do not drink it. Just .'
Peter went to the palace. He put on the cloak and went to the princesses' room. At night, the eldest princess said, 'Sisters, let's go! The princes are !' She opened a in the floor. They all went down. Peter .
They walked through a forest with silver trees. Peter broke a small silver branch. It made a . The youngest princess said, 'Did you hear something?' The eldest said, 'It's nothing. !' Then they came to a lake.
Twelve princes were there with boats. Each prince took a princess. They went to a beautiful castle. There they and danced. Peter broke a golden branch. The music played and they danced all night.
Before morning, they . Peter ran ahead and got into bed. The princesses came in, tired but happy. The next two nights, the same thing happened. Peter broke a diamond branch on the third night.
In the morning, Peter went to the king. He showed the silver, gold, and diamond branches. 'I know where your daughters go,' he said. The princesses looked . The eldest said, 'It is true. We go to a magical world to dance.' The king smiled. 'You are ,' he said. Peter married the eldest princess. They became king and queen, and danced happily ever after.
There was a king with twelve pretty daughters. Each morning, their dance shoes had holes. The king was confused. He asked them why their shoes were ruined every night. The princesses only smiled.
The king wanted to discover the secret. He announced that anyone who discovered where the princesses went at night could marry one and later become king. Many men tried but failed because they fell asleep.
A young soldier named Peter met an old woman. She gave him an invisibility cloak. She advised him not to drink the wine the princesses would offer, just pretend to.
Peter arrived at the palace. Wearing the cloak, he went to the princesses' room. At night, the eldest princess told her sisters to go because the princes were waiting. She opened a secret floor door, and they all descended. Peter followed invisibly.
They walked through a forest of silver trees. Peter snapped off a small silver branch, causing a sound. The youngest princess heard it, but the eldest dismissed it and hurried them on. Then they reached a lake.
Twelve princes waited with boats. Each prince paired with a princess and took her to a lovely castle. They danced a lot. Peter broke a golden branch. They danced all night to music.
Before dawn, they rushed back. Peter hurried ahead and got into bed before they arrived. The princesses returned tired but happy. The same thing happened the next two nights; on the third night, Peter broke a diamond branch.
In the morning, Peter showed the king the silver, gold, and diamond branches and said he knew the secret. The princesses were surprised. The eldest admitted they went to a magical world to dance. The king praised Peter's cleverness. Peter married the eldest princess; they became king and queen and danced happily ever after.
The story has some interesting words that will help you talk about mystery and magic. Let's learn a few of them.
These words are used in everyday English too, not just in fairy tales. Try to use them when you describe things.
- puzzled - feeling confused, not understanding something. Example: "The king was puzzled by the holes in the shoes."
- invisible - something you cannot see. Example: "The cloak made Peter invisible."
- pretend - to act as if something is true, when it isn't. Example: "Peter pretended to drink the wine."
- branch - a part of a tree. In the story, branches were made of silver, gold, and diamonds.
This story uses the past simple tense because it tells us about finished actions in the past. Most verbs add -ed (like 'showed', 'danced'), but many common verbs are irregular.
When you read or tell a story, it's important to know the past forms of verbs. Here are a few from the story that you can add to your list.
- Regular verbs: danced, opened, asked, smiled, followed, happened
- Irregular verbs: had (have), went (go), said (say), came (come), took (take), broke (break), ran (run), became (become)
Now that you know some key words and the past tense, try to retell the story in your own words. Use sequencing words like 'first', 'then', 'after that', and 'in the end'. This makes your story flow nicely.
You can play with the details: maybe change the magical objects, or imagine what happened after they danced. The more you practice, the smoother your storytelling becomes!
- First, Peter met an old woman.
- Then he put on the invisible cloak.
- After that, he followed the princesses to a magical world.
- In the end, he married the eldest princess and they lived happily.
The Twelve Dancing Princesses 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 for mystery/fantasy.
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 List. After that, try 1,200 English Phrases and Expressions for another useful next step.
