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Italian A1 readings: short stories for beginners

Stories in simple Italian for those just starting: short sentences, everyday words and one structure to learn in every text. Each story has questions, useful words and a free PDF.

What you’ll find

Texts of 100 to 400 words in the present tense, with lots of dialogue. Under each text: useful words, questions and a PDF to print.

How to read

Read everything once without a dictionary. Then read it again, look up only the words that block the story and answer the questions. Finally, read it aloud.

A1 grammar

Review the present tense, irregular verbs, c’è and ci sono and articles: these are the structures you will find in these stories.

A1

Stories of today

Emma at the counter of a bar in Rome looks at a glass of cold milkEmma in Italy · A1

At the bar in Italy

200 words · 2 min

Emma asks for “un latte” in a bar in Rome. A glass of cold milk arrives.

Structure: vorrei · prendo · mi dà Read the story →Emma validates her train ticket at an Italian station, next to the platformEmma in Italy · A1

The train ticket

240 words · 2 min

Emma has her ticket to Pisa. But a man with a dog shouts: “Deve timbrare!”

Structure: a, in, da, per, con (prepositions) Read the story →Emma in front of a fruit and vegetable stall at a market in FlorenceEmma in Italy · A1

At the market

220 words · 2 min

Emma picks up a strawberry. “No, no, signorina! Non si tocca!”

Structure: c’è · ci sono Read the story →Emma in front of the closed window of a ceramics shop in a Tuscan squareEmma in Italy · A1

Closed for lunch

250 words · 2 min

At one o’clock the village is empty. Where is everyone? And who is the man with the hat?

Structure: sono le… · è l’una · alle… (telling the time) Read the story →Emma in a scarf in front of a pharmacy with a glowing green crossEmma in Italy · A1

A sore throat on Sunday

260 words · 2 min

Sunday, a sore throat, the pharmacy is closed. And an Italian friend with a theory about wet hair.

Structure: ho mal di… · ho la febbre · ho bisogno di… (the verb avere) Read the story →Emma at the table with an Italian family and a smiling grandmother, in front of a plate of tagliatelle with tomato sauceEmma in Italy · A1

Grandma’s lunch

240 words · 2 min

Two plates of tagliatelle: Emma is full. But grandma brings… the second course.

Structure: mia nonna · i miei genitori · il tuo posto (possessives) Read the story →Emma with a bunch of sunflowers at the door of an Italian apartment in the eveningEmma in Italy · A1

Dinner at eight

240 words · 2 min

Emma wants to bring flowers to dinner. The florist: “I crisantemi? No, signorina!”

Structure: il, lo, la, i, gli, le · un, una (articles) Read the story →Emma in pyjamas in the bathroom looks curiously at the bidet next to the sinkEmma in Italy · A1

The mysterious sink

270 words · 2 min

In Emma’s bathroom there is a low, mysterious sink. Is it for children? For the dog?

Structure: mi sveglio · ti alzi · si lava (reflexive verbs) Read the story →A red octopus climbs out of a glass tank and stretches an arm towards a pipeScience · A1

The octopus: three hearts, nine brains and blue blood

270 words · 2 min

Luca has one heart. His grandma has one heart. The octopus in the tank has three.

Structure: ho · hai · ha · abbiamo · hanno Read the story →A great spotted woodpecker in front of a mossy tree trunk; a transparent drawing shows its tongue wrapping around the skullScience · A1

The woodpecker: twenty pecks a second and no headache

290 words · 2 min

Sara hears knock knock knock in the park. It isn’t a door: it’s a woodpecker. And it has no headache.

Structure: batte · cerca · mangia · camminano Read the story →A spider web covered in dew drops in the morning light, with a small spider in the centreScience · A1

Spider silk: stronger than steel? Yes and no

250 words · 2 min

Marco touches a thread: thin, light, almost invisible. But the thread doesn’t break.

Structure: una tela grande · un filo sottile · gocce piccole Read the story →A small, shiny green hummingbird hovers in front of a red flower, its wings moving very fastScience · A1

The hummingbird: 1,200 heartbeats a minute and an almost icy sleep

210 words · 2 min

It weighs two grams, but its heart beats one thousand two hundred times a minute.

Structure: due grammi · cinquanta volte · milleduecento Read the story →A small brown frog covered in frost, motionless among frozen dry leaves in a winter forestScience · A1

The frog that turns to ice in winter (and wakes up in spring)

220 words · 2 min

Under the snow there is a frog. It is still, hard and as cold as a stone. But it is alive.

Structure: è piccola · sono alti · siamo in Alaska Read the story →A brown platypus swims in a clear river, with its flat bill and webbed feetScience · A1

The platypus: the animal made from other animals’ parts

220 words · 2 min

It has a duck’s bill and a beaver’s tail. And the milk? It comes out of the mother’s fur.

Structure: ha il becco · non ha i denti · hanno fame Read the story →A brown beaver sitting on a riverbank gnaws a branch, its orange teeth clearly visibleScience · A1

The beaver: the engineer with orange teeth

200 words · 2 min

Its teeth are orange and never stop growing. That is why the beaver gnaws wood every day.

Structure: taglia · crescono · costruisce Read the story →A small transparent jellyfish with a red stomach in the centre floats in the blue sea waterScience · A1

The jellyfish that becomes young again

230 words · 2 min

It has no brain and no heart. And when it is old it does not die: it becomes small again.

Structure: fa · sta · muore · va Read the story →A pink axolotl with feathery gills on the sides of its head rests on the sand at the bottom of the waterScience · A1

The axolotl: it regrows its legs and stays young for ever

200 words · 2 min

It always smiles and never leaves the water. And if it loses a leg, the leg grows back.

Structure: sempre · non… mai · di solito · spesso Read the story →A dark swift with long narrow wings flies in the blue sky above the roofs of an Italian townScience · A1

The swift: ten months in flight without ever landing

190 words · 2 min

It is not a swallow. It eats, drinks and sleeps in the sky, and it never perches on wires.

Structure: nelle città · sui fili · nell’aria · dei tetti Read the story →A bridge of reddish ants holding onto one another, hanging between two green leaves in the forestScience · A1

The ants that build bridges with their own bodies

180 words · 2 min

In front of a gap the ants do not stop: they grab onto one another and become a bridge.

Structure: si muovono · si fermano · si aggrappano · si tengono Read the story →Ingredients for preparing a pizza on a kitchen tableEveryday life · A1

How to prepare a pizza

80 words · 1 min

Flour, water, yeast and salt. Then you wait: the dough grows by itself.

Structure: prima… poi… alla fine (telling events in order) Read the story →An eagle flies in the sky carrying two happy antsOriginal story · A1

The Little Ant Wow

400 words · 4 min

An ant looks at the sky and says “Wow”. The others laugh. Then the eagle comes.

Structure: ogni giorno, il giorno dopo, ogni sera (time expressions) Read the story →
A1

Classic fables

A cicada sings while some ants collect foodFable · A1

The cicada and the ant

95 words · 1 min

In summer the cicada sings and the ant works. Then the cold arrives.

Structure: c’è · non c’è più Read the fable →A miller and his son walk with a donkey while some people observe them along a country roadFable · A1

The miller, his son and the donkey

95 words · 1 min

A father, a son, a donkey. And everyone on the road has a different opinion.

Structure: perché…? (questions) Read the fable →A hare runs while a tortoise advancesFable · A1

The hare and the tortoise

100 words · 1 min

The fastest animal in the wood stops under a tree. And closes its eyes.

Structure: corre, cammina, arriva (verbs of movement) Read the fable →Three little pigs near straw, wood and brick houses while a wolf watches from afarFable · A1

The wolf and the three little pigs

105 words · 1 min

Straw, wood or bricks? The slowest brother is right.

Structure: più forte, più veloce (comparisons) Read the fable →A country mouse and a city mouse meet between bread, ears of corn and an elegant tableFable · A1

The city mouse and the country mouse

105 words · 1 min

In the city there is cheese and cake. But there is also danger.

Structure: preferisco · vieni con me Read the fable →A dog with a bone near a riverFable · A1

The dog and the bone

105 words · 1 min

In the river there is another dog with a bigger bone. Or maybe not.

Structure: più grande del mio (comparisons) Read the fable →A fox looks at a bunch of grapes that are too tallFable · A1

The fox and the grapes

110 words · 1 min

The fox jumps and jumps. Then it looks at the grapes and says: “I don’t want them.”

Structure: voglio · non arriva · prova Read the fable →A shepherd boy shouts near the sheep on a hillFable · A1

The lying shepherd boy

110 words · 1 min

“Help! The wolf!” The first time, everyone runs up the hill.

Structure: c’è · non c’è Read the fable →A little mouse frees a lion from a netFable · A1

The Lion and the Mouse

135 words · 1 min

A mouse promises to help a lion. The lion laughs. But one day…

Structure: posso aiutarti (+ infinitive) Read the fable →An emperor parades among his courtiers while a child points to his nonexistent clothesFairy tale · A1

The Emperor's New Clothes

155 words · 2 min

Everyone sees a beautiful suit. Only a child tells the truth.

Structure: vede · non vede · ha paura di Read the fairy tale →A young white swan looks at its reflection in a pond while three swans swim towards itFairy tale · A1

The Ugly Duckling

250 words · 2 min

His brothers are small and yellow. He is big and grey. To everyone, he is ugly.

Structure: piccoli e gialli · grande e grigio Read the fairy tale →

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