Today's episode is voiced by John Rayment. You can find him on Twitter here. Transcript Welcome to Easy Stories in English, the podcast that will take your English from OK to Good, and from Good to Great. I am not Ariel Goodbody. I'm Ariel's friend, John. I'm recording this message for Ariel, because he's unable to speak at the moment. So here’s what Ariel has to say: ‘Hello, everyone. Some of you may know that I’m autistic. I talked about it earlier this year, when I did the pre-intermediate version of The Little Frog with the Big Mouth. ‘Basically, it means that my brain works a bit differently to most people’s. I am more sensitive to bright lights, loud sounds and strong smells. I don’t talk or act like most people do, so I often mask. Masking is when an autistic person “puts on a mask”, basically pretends to be like everyone else. ‘Because of these things, being autistic can be very tiring. It’s very hard for us to just exist in the world, because the world is full of bright lights, loud sounds and strong smells, and people want us to pretend we’re different to who we actually are. ‘So often, when things are too difficult for us, we shut down. This is when your body says, “No more!” Sometimes, it just means being alone in a room for a long time and resting. ‘But this year, I’ve been having more serious shutdowns. I’ve started going non-verbal—losing the ability to speak. As I’m writing this message, I’ve been non-verbal for 12 days. As well as this, I’ve also had movement difficulties, and I can’t easily do lots of things that I was able to do before, like travelling or shopping. ‘I’m telling you all this because, obviously, if I can’t talk, I can’t record Easy Stories in English. I really hate not being able to do the podcast, but right now, my body needs to rest. I don’t know how long it will be for, and to be honest, I don’t know how reliable my voice will be in the future. I’ve done some research into what’s happening to me, and I seem to have a health problem called autistic catatonia. There isn’t much research on it, and it’s difficult to treat, but I’m trying my best. ‘I want to thank you all for your support. I already talked about this on Patreon and in my email newsletter, and so many of you sent kind messages. I’m sorry I couldn’t respond to them all. I have found it very hard to keep up with emails. ‘So, for now, I will have to take a break from the podcast. Hopefully, I’ll be able to start again in the new year. I hope you all have wonderful holidays, if you do celebrate holidays around this time of year. ‘Thank you for listening, and hopefully I’ll see you soon.’ Support Easy Stories in English by contributing to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/easystoriesinenglish

Easy Stories in English

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Buy me a coffee to say thank you for the podcast! === Grella is a strange dragon: she'll eat everything except jewels, and what dragon doesn't eat jewels? So one day, her mother takes away all the other food in the house, and Grella is forced to try the dreaded jewels. Except she finds out she likes them, and in fact, she likes them a bit too much... Today's story is The Very Hungry Dragon. Go to EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/DragonL1 for the full transcript. You can listen to the intermediate level version of this story at EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Dragon. Level: Beginner. Genre: Children's. New Vocabulary: Jewel, Dragon, Taste of something, Spit out, Smell, Ignore, Cart, In one go, Reputation, Freezer, Hug, From now on. Setting: Fairytale. Word Count: 1290. Author: Ariel Goodbody. If you enjoy the podcast, please consider supporting me on Patreon. For just a few dollars a month you can get extra episodes, conversational podcasts, exercises, and much more. Support Easy Stories in English by contributing to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/easystoriesinenglish

The Very Hungry Dragon (Beginner)

Buy me a coffee to say thank you for the podcast! === Everyone gets their tattoo when they turn 18, but Gary doesn't want one. Finally, his parents make him get one. So he shaves off all his hair and gets an X-shaped tattoo on his head. Everyone hates it, and things only get worse... Today's story is The Tattoo. Go to EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Tattoo for the full transcript. Level: Beginner. Genre: Science Fiction. New Vocabulary: Tattoo, Months in advance, Lie, Shape, Anxious, Hidden, Bum, Treat someone like, Barber, Shave your hair off, Go bald, Original, Remove. Setting: Modern. Word Count: 2244. Author: Ariel Goodbody. If you enjoy the podcast, please consider supporting me on Patreon. For just a few dollars a month you can get extra episodes, conversational podcasts, exercises, and much more. Support Easy Stories in English by contributing to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/easystoriesinenglish

The Tattoo (Beginner)

Buy me a coffee to say thank you for the podcast! === Hale's lover, Bulan, has died. He went off in hunt of the dragon they were supposed to kill together. With nothing left to live for, Hale wanders the streets alone, drunk and miserable. But then the dragon returns, and something is very different about it... Just a warning: today’s episode contains mentions of sex, bodily functions—specifically going to the toilet when you don’t want to, as well as throwing up—strong swearing and mild gore—that’s blood and violence and things like that. This episode will not be suitable for children. Today's story is The Flesh and Blood We Share. Go to EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Flesh for the full transcript. Level: Intermediate. Genre: Romance. New Vocabulary: Flesh and blood, Dragon, Slay, Prostitute, Armour, Bladder, Alley, Sorcerer, Beast, Disarm, Claw, Dignity, Tame, Choke on your own spit, Penance. Setting: Medieval. Word Count: 4436. Author: Ariel Goodbody. If you enjoy the podcast, please consider supporting me on Patreon. For just a few dollars a month you can get extra episodes, conversational podcasts, exercises, and much more. Support Easy Stories in English by contributing to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/easystoriesinenglish

The Flesh and Blood We Share (Intermediate)

Buy me a coffee to say thank you for the podcast! === Two-Eyed isn't beautiful and clever, and unlike her sisters, she only has two eyes. But when a man tries to marry her, her mother and sisters will do anything to ruin Two-Eyed's life. She will need the help of a magical deer to show that, in the end, love always wins. Today's story is One-Eyed, Two-Eyed, Three-Eyed. Go to EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/EyeL1 for the full transcript. You can listen to the pre-intermediate level version of this story at EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Eye. Level: Beginner. Genre: Children's. New Vocabulary: Work hard, Fringe, Marry, Skin, Goat, Asleep, Awake, Hoof, Horn, Dig a hole, Pick (fruit). Setting: Fairytale. Word Count: 2083. Author: Ariel Goodbody. If you enjoy the podcast, please consider supporting me on Patreon. For just a few dollars a month you can get extra episodes, conversational podcasts, exercises, and much more. Support Easy Stories in English by contributing to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/easystoriesinenglish

One-Eyed, Two-Eyed, Three-Eyed (Beginner)

Buy me a coffee to say thank you for the podcast! === A strange girl goes to university, but she doesn't have many friends. One day, she disappears. Her friend tells us what he knows about her... Today's story is Have You Seen This Woman?. Go to EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Woman for the full transcript. Level: Beginner. Genre: Science Fiction. New Vocabulary: Lecture, Christian society, Doughnut, Embarrassed, Drunk, Hungover, I wish I had…, Surprised, Poetry. Setting: Modern. Word Count: 1345. Author: Ariel Goodbody. If you enjoy the podcast, please consider supporting me on Patreon. For just a few dollars a month you can get extra episodes, conversational podcasts, exercises, and much more. Support Easy Stories in English by contributing to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/easystoriesinenglish

Have You Seen This Woman? (Beginner)

Buy me a coffee to say thank you for the podcast! === In the Blue Castle, everything is soft and blue. In the Red Castle, everything is bright and strong. The two lands each have their princesses, and the two lands hate each other. But the princesses will have to work together to create peace... Today's story is Sleeping Beauty. Go to EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/SleepingAdv for the full transcript. You can listen to the beginner-level version of this story at EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Sleeping. Level: Advanced. Genre: Children's. New Vocabulary: Beloved, Compassion, Dye, Compliment, Gladiator, Throne, Cloak, Under a spell, Curse, Seafoam, Crack. Setting: Fairytale. Word Count: 2354. Author: Ariel Goodbody. If you enjoy the podcast, please consider supporting me on Patreon. For just a few dollars a month you can get extra episodes, conversational podcasts, exercises, and much more. Support Easy Stories in English by contributing to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/easystoriesinenglish

Sleeping Beauty (Advanced)

Buy me a coffee to say thank you for the podcast! === After World War III, nuclear weapons were banned. So in World War IV, America got creative. But in the end, they only end up hurting themselves... Today's story is It's a Small World. Go to EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Small for the full transcript. Level: Pre-Intermediate. Genre: Science Fiction. New Vocabulary: Throne, Beehive, Sting, Gut instinct, Apocalypse, Seed, Shrink, Nuclear weapon, Cure, Squirrel. Setting: Future. Word Count: 1811. Author: Ariel Goodbody. If you enjoy the podcast, please consider supporting me on Patreon. For just a few dollars a month you can get extra episodes, conversational podcasts, exercises, and much more. Support Easy Stories in English by contributing to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/easystoriesinenglish

It's a Small World (Pre-Intermediate)

<a href="https://ko-fi.com/arielgoodbody" rel="nofollow">Buy me a coffee to say thank you for the podcast!</a> === Ricky and his friends have gotten into the foundation programme, except for Max. It's awkward between them, and nobody wants to talk about it, but eventually Max says he's leaving the football team. They get into an argument, and then a shadow attacks... Today's story is The Shadow Club. This is chapter twelve, The Elephant in the Room. Go to <a href="https://www.easystoriesinenglish.com/Shadow12" rel="nofollow">EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Shadow12</a> for the full transcript. Level: Pre-Intermediate. Genre: Action. New Vocabulary: Elephant in the room, Assume, Jealous, Knight, Step down, Shake your head, Pretend, Seagull, Swoop, Distract. Setting: Modern. Word Count: 2178. Author: Ariel Goodbody. If you enjoy the podcast, please consider <a href="https://www.Patreon.com/EasyStoriesInEnglish" rel="nofollow">supporting me on Patreon</a>. For just a few dollars a month you can get extra episodes, conversational podcasts, exercises, and much more. Support Easy Stories in English by contributing to their Tip Jar: <a href="https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/easystoriesinenglish" rel="payment nofollow">https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/easystoriesinenglish</a>

Buy me a coffee to say thank you for the podcast! === Ricky and his friends have gotten into the foundation programme, except for Max. It's awkward between them, and nobody wants to talk about it, but eventually Max says he's leaving the football team. They get into an argument, and then a shadow attacks... Today's story is The Shadow Club. This is chapter twelve, The Elephant in the Room. Go to EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Shadow12 for the full transcript. Level: Pre-Intermediate. Genre: Action. New Vocabulary: Elephant in the room, Assume, Jealous, Knight, Step down, Shake your head, Pretend, Seagull, Swoop, Distract. Setting: Modern. Word Count: 2178. Author: Ariel Goodbody. If you enjoy the podcast, please consider supporting me on Patreon. For just a few dollars a month you can get extra episodes, conversational podcasts, exercises, and much more. Support Easy Stories in English by contributing to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/easystoriesinenglish

The Shadow Club #12: The Elephant in the Room

Buy me a coffee to say thank you for the podcast! === There is a cat and mouse, and they are very good friends. They live together, and everyone calls them the "Strange Friends". But they must buy food and keep it for winter. So they get a pot of fat, and put it in the church, but the cat gets hungry... Today's story is Strange Friends. Go to EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/FriendsInt for the full transcript. You can listen to the beginner version of this story at EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Friends. Level: Intermediate. Genre: Children's. New Vocabulary: Altar, Fantasise, Christening, Anticipation, Spare (Give), ‘Good things come in threes’, From top to bottom, Deter, Gravely, Evoke memories. Setting: Fairytale. Word Count: 1384. Author: Ariel Goodbody. If you enjoy the podcast, please consider supporting me on Patreon. For just a few dollars a month you can get extra episodes, conversational podcasts, exercises, and much more. Support Easy Stories in English by contributing to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/easystoriesinenglish

Strange Friends (Intermediate)

Buy me a coffee to say thank you for the podcast! === Ricky's family goes on holiday to Spain, but all his parents want to do is look around cathedrals. Willow is sad, and Ricky realises that his parents have taken away her Fighting Cats books, so he asks them why. Later on, he gets a text from Larry with some very exciting news... Today's story is The Shadow Club. This is chapter eleven, Fighting Cats and Fighting Bulls. Go to EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Shadow11 for the full transcript. Level: Pre-Intermediate. Genre: Action. New Vocabulary: Echo, Apparently, Copy (Media), Share a look, Get the feeling, An escape, Through gritted teeth, Fluent, Foundation programme, Football academy. Setting: Modern. Word Count: 1929. Author: Ariel Goodbody. If you enjoy the podcast, please consider supporting me on Patreon. For just a few dollars a month you can get extra episodes, conversational podcasts, exercises, and much more. Support Easy Stories in English by contributing to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/easystoriesinenglish

The Shadow Club #11: Fighting Cats and Fighting Bulls

Buy me a coffee to say thank you for the podcast! === A man is walking on a tightrope between two tall buildings. Everyone is watching. They want him to make it. But one man doesn't want him to make it... Today's story is The Tightrope Walker. Go to EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Walker for the full transcript. Level: Beginner. Genre: Action. New Vocabulary: Tightrope, Leak, Drop by drop, Suddenly, Step by step, Worried to death, Imagine, Beauty, Shoot, Break the law, Arrest. Setting: Modern. Word Count: 1147. Author: Ariel Goodbody. If you enjoy the podcast, please consider supporting me on Patreon. For just a few dollars a month you can get extra episodes, conversational podcasts, exercises, and much more. Support Easy Stories in English by contributing to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/easystoriesinenglish

The Tightrope Walker (Beginner)

Buy me a coffee to say thank you for the podcast! === Everything is very uncomfortable after Mr Burne shouted at The Shadow Club. But they have more important things to worry about: there's a football match this Saturday. They win the game easily, but why can't Ricky feel happy about it? Today's story is The Shadow Club. This is chapter ten, An Easy Game. Go to EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Shadow10 for the full transcript. Level: Pre-Intermediate. Genre: Action. New Vocabulary: ‘The tension is so thick you could cut it with a knife’, Awkward, Catholic, Shut up, Weird, Pale, Bible, Tackle, French toast, Girly. Setting: Modern. Word Count: 2185. Author: Ariel Goodbody. If you enjoy the podcast, please consider supporting me on Patreon. For just a few dollars a month you can get extra episodes, conversational podcasts, exercises, and much more. Support Easy Stories in English by contributing to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/easystoriesinenglish

The Shadow Club #10: An Easy Game

Buy me a coffee to say thank you for the podcast! === Misty the Snake loves eating other people's pets. This does not make the people of the United Kingdom happy. So her owner takes her to Brazil, but really she wants to go home to Ghana... Today's story is Misty the Snake. Go to EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Misty for the full transcript. Level: Beginner. Genre: Comedy. New Vocabulary: Sneak, Parcel, Queue, Bubble wrap, Marmite, Lick, Ex, Prison bars, Put a bounty on someone’s head, Owner, Tongue. Setting: Modern. Word Count: 1457. Author: Ariel Goodbody. If you enjoy the podcast, please consider supporting me on Patreon. For just a few dollars a month you can get extra episodes, conversational podcasts, exercises, and much more. Support Easy Stories in English by contributing to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/easystoriesinenglish

Misty the Snake (Beginner)

Buy me a coffee to say thank you for the podcast! === The Shadow Club wants to make friends with Sanjeet, so they go with him to the library to read at lunchtime. There, they are shushed again and again by the librarian, Mr Burne. After school, Max goes to pick up a book from the library, and what he finds shocks him... Today's story is The Shadow Club. This is chapter nine, Now We Know. Go to EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Shadow9 for the full transcript. Level: Pre-Intermediate. Genre: Action. New Vocabulary: Struggle, Whisper, Incredibly, Paperwork, Tense your muscles, Focus on something, Unconscious, Chew, Vision swims, Bitter. Setting: Modern. Word Count: 2271. Author: Ariel Goodbody. If you enjoy the podcast, please consider supporting me on Patreon. For just a few dollars a month you can get extra episodes, conversational podcasts, exercises, and much more. Support Easy Stories in English by contributing to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/easystoriesinenglish

The Shadow Club #9: Now We Know

The podcast that will take your English from OK to Good, and from Good to Great!

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Easy Stories in English

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