Found around the world, these are also great fun and, once understood, quite simple because of the repetition. Here is an old favorite many of us heard as children:

“It was a dark and stormy night, we were standing on the deck. The ship was sinking and the captain said to me, ‘Tell me a story, my boy.’” So I began, “It was a dark and stormy night, we were standing on the deck. The ship was sinking and the captain said to me, ‘Tell me a story, my boy.’” So I began, “It was a dark and stormy night..........”

Short funny stories and jokes

A little mouse always hid from a big cat who loved to eat mice. Everyday, she heard the cat’s “meow, meow” right outside the mousehole. The mouse would carefully wait until the sounds stopped and only then would she come out.

One day, she heard the “meow, meow,” and stayed in her hole. Then suddenly, she heard a “BOW WOW.” She was delighted, for dogs chased cats. Perhaps the dog would even bite the cat, the mouse thought happily. She listened carefully and again heard, “BOW WOW.” The mouse knew that dogs didn’t eat mice, so she happily came out of her hole.

Unfortunately, she was immediately devoured by the clever cat hiding there. As the cat licked her whiskers after her meal, she purred, “Oh, it certainly pays to be bilingual!”

Chain Tales

These stories are attractive because of their repetition or their cumulative phrases. Here is a fun story-chant example from American folklore; this one has some fine rhyme, too, so that you could keep adding new rhyming lines to it.

Old Obadiah jumped in the fire.
The fire was hot, so he jumped in a pot.
The pot was black, so he jumped in a crack.
The crack was high, so he jumped to the sky.
The sky was blue, so he jumped in a shoe.
The shoe was red, so he jumped in a bed.
The bed was white, so he stayed all night.

Strange Tales

People of all ages love tales of the unusual. Here is an old favorite American tale; its fine repetition makes it a great model for new English class tales.

In a dark, dark town, there was a dark, dark street.
In the dark, dark street, there was a dark, dark house.
In the dark, dark house, there was a dark, dark hall.
In the dark, dark hall, there was a dark, dark door.
Behind the dark, dark door, there was a dark, dark room.
In the dark, dark room, there was a dark, dark closet.
In the dark, dark closet, there was a dark, dark chest.
In the dark, dark chest, there was a dark, dark box.
In the dark, dark box, there was a GHOST!

Tales of tricksters, heros, fools and more...

All kinds of folk material can be used. Keep your story file growing by sifting through books of stories and visiting the right Internet sites (see Links). Have students share favorites and see if they can collect other tales from their families, too (see Finding Stories).

Original Tales

Simple stories can be made by the teacher about vocabulary and new concepts; stories about festivals, feelings, children, anything can be made by students. Pictures are of course great story starters; for a few more ideas, see Ideas to Try.

Happily ever....

Keep your file of stories growing as you explore the power of storytelling. Make sure some storytelling props are on hand at times, and provide opportunities for students to tell outside of class, too, so that their confidence can truly grow. After tales are told, they can be drawn, written, taped, exchanged over the Internet. Have fun and keep on telling.