Lesson 5: The Twelve Dancing Princesses

Once upon a time there was a king who had twelve beautiful daughters. There was something very mysterious about them, though. Every morning, all of the twelve princesses’ shoes had holes in them.

The king was confused. He told the kingdom that if any man could discover why all of the princesses’ shoes had holes in them, then he could marry one of his daughters. Many princes tried to solve the mystery, but they all failed.

A young farmer, who was in love with the youngest princess, heard about this mystery. He decided to solve it so that he could marry his love. He went to his friend, who was a wizard, and asked for help. The wizard gave him a magical cloak that would make him disappear. The young farmer thanked his wizard friend and then went to the king.

That night at the palace, there was a feast. Everyone ate until they fell asleep. The young farmer pretended to be asleep. The princesses thought that he was asleep. At midnight, they went through a secret door. The farmer put on the magical cloak that would make him disappear and followed the princesses. He saw the princesses go to a beautiful garden.

Then, twelve princes came to the garden and they all danced the whole night. The princesses danced until their shoes had holes in them. The young farmer had solved the mystery! As promised, the young farmer was able to marry the youngest princess. And they all lived happily ever after.

 

 

Vocabulary:

 

Mysterious: Strange, not known. 神秘的、不思議な.

Example Sentence: These mysterious creatures live at the bottom of the ocean.

 

Hole: An empty space in an object. 穴.

Example Sentence:  We dug a hole and planted the tree.

Confuse: To make something difficult to understand. To mix up your thoughts or ideas. 慌てる.

Example sentence: If you give them too much detail, you’ll just confuse them.
Discover: To find something, especially for the first time. 発見する.

Example sentence: Who discovered America?
Solve: To find an answer to a problem. 解ける.

Example sentence: He solved the problem for me.

 

Secret: Information that not many people know. It is not something that should be told to other people. 秘密.

Example sentence: Why did you tell Bob? You just can’t keep a secret, can you?

 

 

Grammar:

Try to {verb}
Many princes tried to solve the mystery.
I tried to make pancakes, but they tasted bad.
She tried to speak English.

{Verb} until
Everyone ate until they fell asleep.
The princesses danced until their shoes had holes in them.
She ate until she was full.

Able to {verb}
The young farmer was able to marry the youngest princess.
Are you able to drive a car?
I am able to go with you on Saturday.