Story Corner: Short Read-Aloud Stories with French Words

Story 1: The Lost Mitten

Nora had two red mittens. In Canada, a mitten is called une mitaine. Her grandpa always said it that way. "Put on your mitaines, Nora!"

One snowy morning, Nora went out to play. She made a snow angel. She made a snowball. She made a tiny snowman with a stick for a nose.

When she came inside, she had only one mitten.

"Oh no," said Nora. "Where is my other mitaine?"

She went back outside. She looked by the snow angel. No mitten. She looked by the big pine tree. No mitten. She looked under the porch. Only a sleepy cat.

Then Nora saw something red. It was moving!

She tiptoed closer. A little squirrel was pulling her mitten across the snow. It pulled and pulled. Then it pushed the mitten into a hole in the tree.

Nora peeked inside. The squirrel was curled up in her red mitten. It looked warm and cozy.

"You were cold," said Nora softly. "You needed a blanket."

Nora went back inside. She told Grandpa all about it.

Grandpa smiled. He found an old wool sock. "Here," he said. "Give your friend this. Then you can have your mitaine back."

Nora put the sock by the tree. The next morning, the sock was in the hole. And her red mitten was lying on the snow.

"Merci," whispered Nora. That means thank you.

Story 2: Pip the Hen Counts to Ten

Pip was a little brown hen. She lived on a farm with lots of other hens. Every morning, Pip liked to count her eggs.

But Pip could only count to three.

"One, two, three," said Pip. "Three eggs! Or maybe more?"

The farmer's dog came by. His name was Max. "I can help you count," said Max. "On this farm we count in English and in French. Let's do both!"

"One," said Max. "In French, that is un."

"One, un!" said Pip.

"Two," said Max. "That is deux. It sounds a bit like 'duh'."

"Two, deux!" said Pip, and she fluffed her feathers.

They counted three, four, five. They counted six and seven. Pip said every number twice, once in English and once in French. Her feathers were very fluffy now.

"Eight, nine," said Max.

Pip looked at the last egg. It was big and speckled. "Ten!" she shouted. "In French, what is ten?"

"Ten is dix," said Max. "You say it like 'deese'."

"Dix!" said Pip. "I have ten eggs!"

Just then, one egg began to wiggle. Crack! Out came a tiny yellow chick.

"Now how many?" asked Max.

Pip looked at her nine eggs and one chick. She thought very hard.

"Still ten," said Pip. "Nine eggs and one baby. That makes ten!"

Max wagged his tail. "Pip, you can count to ten now."

"And so can my chick," said Pip. "I will teach her tomorrow."

Story 3: The Snail Who Raced the Rain

Sol was a small grey snail. He lived in a garden under a big green leaf. Sol was slow. All snails are slow.

One day, the sky turned dark. The wind began to blow.

"Rain is coming," said a robin. "Sol, you should go home."

Home was a flower pot at the end of the garden. In French, rain is la pluie. The robin knew lots of words. "La pluie is coming fast," she said.

So Sol began to move. He went slowly past the carrots. He went slowly past the beans.

A rabbit hopped by. "Sol, you will never get home before the rain!"

"I will try," said Sol. He kept going, a little at a time.

Then the first drop fell. Plip! Then another. Plop! Soon the whole garden was wet.

The rabbit ran away to hide. The robin flew into a tree.

But Sol did not hide. Sol smiled. Snails love the rain! The ground was wet and slippery. Now Sol could slide.

Whoosh! He slid past the tomatoes. Whoosh! He slid past the lettuce. He was going faster than ever.

Sol reached the flower pot. He was not dry. He was wet and happy.

When the sun came out, the robin flew down. "Sol! How did you get home so fast?"

"The rain did not chase me," said Sol. "It helped me."

The robin laughed. "Bravo, Sol!" That means well done.

Story 4: A Kite Named Bleu

Amir had a new kite. It was blue, like the sky. Amir's big sister said, "In French, blue is bleu. Let's call him Bleu!"

So the kite was named Bleu.

Amir and his sister went to the park. The wind was gentle. Amir ran with Bleu. Bleu went up a little. Then Bleu came down. Bump.

"Bleu is too tired," said Amir.

"Wait for the wind," said his sister. "In French, wind is le vent. We need le vent to help."

They sat on the grass. They waited. A leaf blew by. Then a hat blew by. Then a big wind came.

"Now!" said his sister.

Amir ran. Bleu went up, up, up. He went higher than the trees. He went higher than the birds. His long tail danced.

"Bleu is flying!" shouted Amir.

Then the wind pulled very hard. The string slipped from Amir's hand!

Bleu flew away across the park. He landed in a tall tree.

Amir was sad. A girl from the park came over. She had a long stick.

"I can help," she said. The girl reached up. Amir's sister reached up. Amir stood on his toes.

Together, they wiggled the string free. Bleu floated down into Amir's arms.

"Thank you," said Amir. "Do you want to fly Bleu with us?"

The girl smiled. That afternoon, three friends and one blue kite played in the wind until the sun went down.

Story 5: The Night the Moon Came Down to the Pond

It was a quiet night. A little frog named Lulu sat on a lily pad. She looked up at the sky.

There was the moon, round and bright. In French, the moon is la lune.

"La lune is so far away," said Lulu. "I wish I could touch it."

Lulu looked down at the pond. And there, in the water, was the moon!

"The moon came down!" cried Lulu. "It came to visit me!"

She hopped to the edge of her lily pad. She reached out one green foot. Splash! The moon broke into a hundred shiny pieces.

"Oh no," said Lulu. "I broke the moon!"

An old turtle swam up slowly. "Do not worry, little one," he said. "Wait and see."

Lulu waited. The water grew still. The shiny pieces came back together. The moon was round again.

"It is only a picture of the moon," said the turtle. "The pond is like a mirror. The real moon is still in the sky."

Lulu looked up. The moon was there, smiling down. She looked down. The moon was there, smiling up.

"Now I have two moons," said Lulu.

The turtle laughed softly. "Good night, Lulu," he said. "Bonne nuit." That means good night in French.

Lulu curled up on her lily pad. One moon above, one moon below. And she fell asleep.