Paul Holmes -
University
English Professor

Free Materials For ESL Teachers and Learners

Short Stories for Kids

Complete lesson plans, including stories, listening, classroom activities, quiz questions and more!

The Magical Marmalade

A little girl named Lily discovers a jar of magical marmalade that brings everything to life.

Try this story at a different level?

 

There was a little girl named Lily. She found a magic marmalade with a purple butterfly named Bubbles. Bubbles could make things move and talk with the marmalade.

Lily and Bubbles had fun in the garden. They put marmalade on a sad bush, and it bloomed with pretty colors. They made statues dance and flowers tell jokes.

But a gnome called Grumblebore didn’t like the noisy garden. He ran after Lily and Bubbles because he wanted quiet. The magic would stop when the sun went down.

Bubbles shared the last magic marmalade to make a beautiful sunset. Grumblebore smiled and wasn’t grumpy anymore. Lily learned that playing with friends and laughing made real magic. She waited for her next fun adventure.

🎧 Listen:

Slow

Normal

📖 Vocabulary:

1marmaladeA sweet food made from oranges that you can spread on bread
2butterflyA flying bug with pretty, colored wings
3bloomedWhen a plant or flower opens up and shows its colors
4statuesShapes of people or animals made from stone
5jokesFunny things that make you laugh
6gnomeA small, make-believe person who lives in the garden
7grumpyWhen someone feels a little bit angry and not happy
8sunsetThe time when the sun goes away and the sky has pretty colors
9magicSpecial powers that can do amazing things
10adventureGoing on a trip where you don’t know what will happen

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What did Lily find in the garden?
2. What could Bubbles do with the marmalade?
3. What did Lily and Bubbles do to the sad bush?
4. What happened when they made the statues dance?
5. Why did Grumblebore not like the noisy garden?
6. What did Bubbles do to make Grumblebore happy?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

There was a little girl named Lily. She found a (1)______ marmalade with a purple butterfly named Bubbles. Bubbles could make things move and (2)______ with the marmalade.

Lily and Bubbles had fun in the (3)______. They put marmalade on a sad bush, and it bloomed with pretty colors. They made statues (4)______ and flowers tell jokes.

But a gnome called Grumblebore didn’t like the noisy garden. He ran after Lily and Bubbles because he wanted quiet. The magic would stop when the sun (5)______ down.

Bubbles shared the last magic (6)______ to make a beautiful sunset. (7)______ smiled and wasn’t grumpy anymore. Lily learned that (8)______ with friends and laughing made real magic. She waited for her next fun adventure.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.

1. What is a magic marmalade?
2. How would you feel if you found a magic marmalade?
3. Do you like playing in the garden? Why or why not?
4. What do you think the gnome Grumblebore wanted?
5. How would you feel if someone chased after you?
6. Do you think laughter can make magic? Why or why not?
7. What is your favorite fun adventure?
8. How do you feel when you play with your friends?

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. marmalade
2. butterfly
3. bloomed
4. statues
5. jokes
6. gnome
7. grumpy
8. sunset
9. magic
10. adventure

Meanings:
(A) Going on a trip where you don’t know what will happen
(B) The time when the sun goes away and the sky has pretty colors
(C) A flying bug with pretty, colored wings
(D) A small, make-believe person who lives in the garden
(E) When a plant or flower opens up and shows its colors
(F) When someone feels a little bit angry and not happy
(G) A sweet food made from oranges that you can spread on bread
(H) Special powers that can do amazing things
(I) Shapes of people or animals made from stone
(J) Funny things that make you laugh
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What did Lily find in the garden?
(a) A purple butterfly
(b) A gnome
(c) A magic marmalade
(d) A sad bush

2. What could Bubbles do with the marmalade?
(a) Make things disappear
(b) Make things fly
(c) Make things move and talk
(d) Make things grow

3. What did Lily and Bubbles do to the sad bush?
(a) Put marmalade on it and it bloomed with pretty colors
(b) Watered it with a hose
(c) Cut it down
(d) Painted it with rainbow colors

4. What did they make statues do?
(a) Sing
(b) Fly
(c) Sleep
(d) Dance

5. Who didn’t like the noisy garden?
(a) Lily’s mom
(b) Bubbles
(c) The flowers
(d) Grumblebore

6. What did Grumblebore want?
(a) Quiet
(b) To play with Lily and Bubbles
(c) More magic marmalade
(d) To make the garden even noisier

7. When did the magic stop?
(a) When Lily and Bubbles went to sleep
(b) When the sun went down
(c) When Grumblebore left the garden
(d) When the flowers stopped talking

8. What did Lily learn about magic?
(a) Magic only happens at night
(b) Playing with friends and laughing made real magic
(c) Magic is not real
(d) Magic can only be done by grown-ups

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. A cheerful gnome named Grumblebore didn’t mind the noisy garden and played with Lily and Bubbles.
2. Bubbles had a magic marmalade that could make things move and talk.
3. They also made statues freeze and flowers stay silent using the magic marmalade.
4. There was a little girl named Lily who found a special purple butterfly named Bubbles.
5. Grumblebore became happy and not grumpy anymore, and Lily learned that playing with friends and laughing made real magic.
6. Lily and Bubbles had a boring time in the garden, making a happy bush with dull colors.
7. The magic would never stop when the sun went down.
8. Bubbles shared the last magic marmalade to create a beautiful sunset.
Go to answers ⇩

📝 Write a Summary:

Write a summary of this story in two sentences. Here are some hints:
Who are the main characters?
What happens in the story?

Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What did Lily find in the garden?
Lily found a magic marmalade in the garden.

2. What could Bubbles do with the marmalade?
Bubbles could make things move and talk with the marmalade.

3. What did Lily and Bubbles do to the sad bush?
They put marmalade on the sad bush and it bloomed with pretty colors.

4. What happened when they made the statues dance?
The statues started to dance when they made them move with the marmalade.

5. Why did Grumblebore not like the noisy garden?
Grumblebore didn’t like the noisy garden because he wanted it to be quiet.

6. What did Bubbles do to make Grumblebore happy?
Bubbles shared the last magic marmalade to make a beautiful sunset, and it made Grumblebore happy.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) magic
(2) talk
(3) garden
(4) dance
(5) went
(6) marmalade
(7) Grumblebore
(8) playing
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. marmalade
Answer: (G) A sweet food made from oranges that you can spread on bread

2. butterfly
Answer: (C) A flying bug with pretty, colored wings

3. bloomed
Answer: (E) When a plant or flower opens up and shows its colors

4. statues
Answer: (I) Shapes of people or animals made from stone

5. jokes
Answer: (J) Funny things that make you laugh

6. gnome
Answer: (D) A small, make-believe person who lives in the garden

7. grumpy
Answer: (F) When someone feels a little bit angry and not happy

8. sunset
Answer: (B) The time when the sun goes away and the sky has pretty colors

9. magic
Answer: (H) Special powers that can do amazing things

10. adventure
Answer: (A) Going on a trip where you don’t know what will happen
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What did Lily find in the garden?
Answer: (c) A magic marmalade

2. What could Bubbles do with the marmalade?
Answer: (c) Make things move and talk

3. What did Lily and Bubbles do to the sad bush?
Answer: (a) Put marmalade on it and it bloomed with pretty colors

4. What did they make statues do?
Answer: (d) Dance

5. Who didn’t like the noisy garden?
Answer: (d) Grumblebore

6. What did Grumblebore want?
Answer: (a) Quiet

7. When did the magic stop?
Answer: (b) When the sun went down

8. What did Lily learn about magic?
Answer: (b) Playing with friends and laughing made real magic
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. A cheerful gnome named Grumblebore didn’t mind the noisy garden and played with Lily and Bubbles. (Answer: False)
2. Bubbles had a magic marmalade that could make things move and talk. (Answer: True)
3. They also made statues freeze and flowers stay silent using the magic marmalade. (Answer: False)
4. There was a little girl named Lily who found a special purple butterfly named Bubbles. (Answer: True)
5. Grumblebore became happy and not grumpy anymore, and Lily learned that playing with friends and laughing made real magic. (Answer: True)
6. Lily and Bubbles had a boring time in the garden, making a happy bush with dull colors. (Answer: False)
7. The magic would never stop when the sun went down. (Answer: False)
8. Bubbles shared the last magic marmalade to create a beautiful sunset. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧

📚 How about these other Level 1 stories?

A determined cat named Fluffy builds a flying contraption and learns the importance of seeking guidance.

Fluffy’s Fantastic Flight

Fluffy the cat wanted to fly, so he made a flying thing, but got lost in the sky. Thankfully, friendly birds helped him come back down safely.

In a small village nestled deep in a magical forest, a little girl named Lily discovers a talking teapot with the power to grant wishes.

The Talking Teapot

Lily found a talking teapot that could make wishes come true, and together they helped the village have lots of food and defeated a bad witch.

Embarking on a magical adventure in Vegetable Land, Max discovers that vegetables are superheroes in disguise.

The Voyage to Vegetable Land

Max didn’t like eating vegetables, but one day he went on an adventure to Vegetable Land and discovered that veggies can be fun and yummy!

The Lazy Lion

Once upon a time, in a beautiful jungle, there lived a lion named Leo. Leo was the laziest lion in

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