The Thieving Monkey

http://storynory.com/2008/08/10/the-thieving-monkey/


So one day he called Mr. Hartley into his office and told him that he was being demoted
demote:to make someone's rank or position lower or less important

- which meant he was going to do a less important job. From now on,
Mr. Hartley would be in charge of the stick insects.
stick insect: a long thin insect that looks like a small stick:ナナフシ

which meant they were too rotten for people to eat - but he said that they would do for a gang of monkeys.
rotten:badly decayed and no longer good to use
decay:to be slowly destroyed by a natural chemical process, or to make something do this [↪ rot]

He entirely approved of his strict methods.
entirely:completely and in every possible way
strict:expecting people to obey rules or to do what you say [≠ lenient]:

Mr. Grabber came to the monkey cage and said to Theo:
“Right now my hairy friend. I’m taking you out for a very special treat.”
hairy:dangerous or frightening, often in a way that is exciting

The only piece of furniture was a chest of drawers.
chest of drawers: a piece of furniture with drawers, used for storing clothes [= dresser American English]

Mr. Grabber undid Theo’s lead and said to the others:
“Now just stand back and watch what he does. If he finds it, he’ll get a banana.”
undo:to try to remove the bad effects of something you have done

He strolled around the room, and as there wasn’t much else to do,
stroll:to walk somewhere in a slow relaxed way

he climbed up onto the chest of drawers.
climb:to move up, down, or across something using your feet and hands, especially when this is difficult to do

The top drawer was slightly open, so he stuck his paw into the gap and opened it some more.
stick:if a pointed object sticks into something, or if you stick it there, it is pushed into it
paw:an animal's foot that has nails or claws

Inside he saw something shiny. It was a diamond necklace.
shiny:smooth and bright

Then he scampered around the room shrieking Oooh Ahha Ahha Ahha !
scampere:to run with quick short steps, like a child or small animal
shrieking:to make a very high loud sound, especially because you are afraid, angry, excited, or in pain [= scream]


Theo was said "If he was a human, he would a criminal" by Mr. Shingles who is the head of zoo keeper. This story is Theo thieved diamond necklace.

I wonder that hairy has two different mean.
First, a hairy person or animal has a lot of hair on their body.
Second, dangerous or frightening, often in a way that is exciting.
It is interesting for me. The word is 789.

Baba Yaga - A Scary Story for Halloween

http://storynory.com/2008/10/13/baba-yaga-a-scary-story-for-halloween/

there is a good chance that you might come across a peculiar house.
peculiar:strange, unfamiliar, or a little surprising

It’s a wooden hut, but it’s like no other that you have ever seen, for it stands on giant chicken legs -
and quite often it walks about, just like a monstrous farm-yard bird.
monstrous:unusually large

They know her, and they fear her, for it has long been rumored that she likes to eat children.
rumor:if something is rumoured to be true, people are saying secretly or unofficially that it may be true [↪ alleged]

It was a little rag doll that did not look so different from any other.
rag: small piece of old cloth, for example one used for cleaning things

the stepmother and step-sisters had to pretend that they liked her,
stepmother: a woman who is married to your father but who is not your mother

her father said that he had to go away on a journey that would last at least a month.
journey:a time spent travelling from one place to another, especially over a long distance [= trip American English]

and the girl would find the journey tiresome and dull.
tiresome:making you feel annoyed or impatient
impatient:annoyed because of delays, someone else's mistakes etc [≠ patient]

The first night after the father had left, the step-mother gathered the three girls together in the parlor and spoke like this:
parlor:a room in a house which has comfortable chairs and is used for meeting guests

Katya ” - that was the youngest - ” go to the kitchen table and roll some pastry so that it’s nice and flat.
pastry:a mixture of flour, butter, and milk or water, used to make the outer part of baked foods such as pies


She walked forlornly to the corner of the street and took the little doll out of her coat pocket where it had been sleeping.
forlornly:seeming lonely and unhappy

And every one knows that she is a dreadfully wicked witch.
dreadfully:extremely or very much
wicked:behaving in a way that is morally wrong

After a while, the young girl heard the sound of galloping hooves coming up behind her,
galloping:increasing or developing very quickly
hoof:the hard foot of an animal such as a horse, cow etc

and she stepped off the road to let a hose ridden by a rider in a blazing red cloak shoot past her.
blazing:extremely hot
cloak:a warm piece of clothing like a coat without sleeves that hangs loosely from your shoulder

and this time a rider in a cloak of dazzling white sped past her and down the road that led to Baba Yaga’s hut.
dazzling:a light that is dazzling is very bright and makes you unable to see properly for a short time

The skulls were mounted on stop of a high fence.
mount: to go up a step or stairs

Then the chicken legs began to kneel and the hut lowered to the ground. The door creaked open.
lower:to move something down from higher up [≠ raise]
creak:if something such as a door, wooden floor, old bed, or stair creaks, it makes a long high noise when someone opens it, walks on it, sits on it etc

Baba Yaga’s nose was so long and bony that it appeared through the door before the rest of her.
bony:someone or part of their body that is bony is very thin
thin:having little fat on your body [≠ fat]

Vasilissa was so frightened that her legs would not obey her when she told them to run.
frightened:feeling afraid [= scared]

“Well child,” she said,”Did the cat get your tongue? Or are you just badly brought-up?
well-brought-up:a child who is well-brought-up has been taught to be polite and to behave well
parent.

I haven’t got all night hover around while you tremble and gibber like an idiot !”
tremble:to shake slightly in a way that you cannot control, especially because you are upset or frightened
gibber:to speak quickly in a way that is difficult to understand, especially because you are very frightened or shocked [↪ jabber]


This story is a wicked Stepmother sends Vasilissa to visit the witch in her hut in the woods to ask for some lights. A wicked witch has been rumored that she like to eat children. It is dreadfully wicked.

The witch is dreadfully wicked, and stepmother is awful person.
I don't want to marry the woman.
I can read the story a lot. The word is 1085.

The Boy Who Flew Too High

http://storynory.com/2008/08/24/the-boy-who-flew-too-high/

Well you may remember that the Labyrinth was created by the cunning and ingenious mind of Daedalus.
cunning:the ability to achieve what you want by deceiving people in a clever way
deceive:to make someone believe something that is not true [= trick; ↪ deception]
ingenious:an ingenious plan, idea, or object works well and is the result of clever thinking and new ideas

Daedalus lived with his son Icarus in a tower of the palace,
palace:the official home of a person of very high rank, especially a king or queen - often used in names

they wouldn’t not be able to sail very far before they were spotted and caught by one of the ships of King Minos’s navy.
spot:to notice someone or something, especially when they are difficult to see or recognize

Here he arranged them in four lines, starting with the smallest fathers,

and following those with the longer ones, so that they formed gentle curves.
gentle:a gentle hill or slope is not steep or sharp
steep:a road, hill etc that is steep slopes at a high angle

While he was working, Icarus played with the wax, squashing it between his finger and thumb,
squash:to press something into a flatter shape, often breaking or damaging it [= flatten]

and when the feathers blew away in the breeze he ran after them and caught them.
blow:if the wind or a current of air blows, it moves

and began to flap them until his feet took off from the floor and he began to hover in mid air.
flap:if a bird flaps its wings, it moves them up and down in order to fly


The story from ancient Greece.
Icarus who is son of Daedalus tried to escape from dark Labyrinth on the island of Crete.
So Daedalus made wings that made of feathers and wax.

Daedalus is ingenious.
He makes wings that made of only feathers and wax.
Icarus is brave.
He flies by only homemade wings.
I can't do.
The ward is 447.

Old Sultan

http://storynory.com/2008/09/07/old-sultan/

The poor dog, who was lying stretched out in the sun not far off, had heard everything,
stretch out:to lie down, usually in order to sleep or rest

and was sorry that the morrow was to be his last day.
morrow:the next day [= tomorrow]

He had a good friend, the wolf, and he crept out in the evening into the forest to him,
crept:to move in a quiet, careful way, especially to avoid attracting attention

and complained of the fate that awaited him.

To-morrow, early in the morning, your master is going with his wife to make hay,
make hay:to take the opportunity to do something now, because you may not be able to do it later

As usual, during work-time, they will lay the child under the hedge in the shade;
hedge:a row of small bushes or trees growing close together, usually dividing one field or garden from another
shade:slight darkness or shelter from the direct light of the sun made by something blocking it

The plan pleased the dog, and it was carried out just as it was arranged.
arrange: to organize or make plans for something such as a meeting, party, or trip

“Go home at once and make Old Sultan some soggy bread that he will not have to bite,
soggy:unpleasantly wet and soft

and bring the pillow out of my bed, I will give it to him to lie upon.”
pillow:a cloth bag filled with soft material that you put your head on when you are sleeping


The word is 335.
The wolf is nice. but the dog is really poor.
I don't want to get old so much.