NAME:

ESL / EFL RESOURCES Fairy Tale Fun

A. Highlight the correct narrative tense verb forms in the fairy tale below using your
PDF software's highlighting tool.

"Jack and the Beanstalk"

Jack and his mother (1) were / were being very hungry. They (2) had / were having a cow

that (3) supplied / was supplying milk for the family but it was not enough. Jack's mother (4)

sent / was sending him to sell the cow in exchange for food. When Jack (5) returned / had

returned, his mother discovered that he (6) sold / had sold the cow for some magic beans.

His mother (7) was / had been angry and while she (8) yelled / was yelling at Jack, she

(9) threw / had thrown the beans out of the window. When Jack woke up the next day, he

noticed that the beanstalk (10) grew / had been growing all night and (11) was / was being

now so tall that it reached into the sky. While Jack's mother (12) slept / was sleeping, he (13)

climbed / was climbing to the top of the beanstalk. At the top, he (14) found / was finding a

sleeping giant. The giant (15) slept / had been sleeping for a long time and Jack (16) didn't

want / hadn't wanted to wake it up. While the giant (17) slept / was sleeping, Jack (18) saw

/ had seen that the giant (19) stole / had stolen money and a golden

hen that belonged to his family. Jack was furious and (20) tried / was

trying to take the money and hen back home. While Jack (21) ran / was

running away with the money and golden hen, he (22) woke up / was

waking up the giant. The giant (23) chased / had chased after Jack, but

when Jack (24) reached / had been reaching the bottom of the beanstalk,

he (25) cut / had cut it down and the giant (26) disappeared / had been

disappearing forever.

B. Are the following statements about the story true or false? Write T or F on the lines.

1. ........... Jack had bought the beans before he sold the cow.

2. ........... Jack's mother threw the beans out of the window while she was yelling at Jack.

3. ........... Jack's mother told him to climb the beanstalk.

4. ........... The giant wasn't sleeping when Jack got to the top of the beanstalk.

5. ........... The giant had stolen some money and a golden hen from Jack's family.

6. ........... The giant couldn't catch Jack because Jack had cut down the beanstalk.

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 NARRATIVE TENSES

ESL / EFL RESOURCES Fairy Tale Fun

C. Complete the story with the verbs in brackets in their correct narrative tense form.

"The (not so) Big Bad Wolf"

Once upon a time, there (1) .................... (be) a beautiful

wolf named Jake. Jake was famous in his village because he (2)
.................... (have) beautiful blue eyes and a dark gray coat.
Before he was adopted by his new family, Jake (3) ....................
(be) homeless. He (4) .................... (live) under a bridge for years
until an older wolf couple (5) .................... (find) him while they
(6) .................... (walk). Jake loved his new family and did everything with them. One day,
Jake's mother (7) .................... (ask) him to bring a basket of food to his grandmother
because she (8) .................... (be) sick all week. Jake (9) .................... (take) the basket
and (10) .................... (start) walking through the forest to his grandmother's house.
While he (11) .................... (walk), he (12) .................... (see) that a female wolf (13)
.................... (follow) him. He smiled at her because she looked friendly. The female wolf
(14) .................... (follow) him for hours before she (15) .................... (stop) Jake and
(16) .................... (ask) him where he was going. Jake (17) .................... (explain) that
his adopted grandmother was sick and his mother (18) .................... (ask) him to bring her
some food. The girl wolf introduced herself as Mila and (19) .................... (tell) Jake that she
(20) .................... (live) in the forest for a few months. She (21) .................... (ask) Jake if
she could walk with him because she (22) .................... (want) the company. Jake could see
that the girl wolf was hungry and probably (23) .................... (not eat) very much. As soon
as they arrived at his grandmother's house, Jake (24) .................... (take) a piece of bread
out of the basket and (25) .................... (offer) it to Mila. Mila was very happy to accept the
bread. Mila and Jake walked into his grandmother's house together. Jake immediately (26)
.................... (put) on his grandmother's hat. While he (27) .................... (wear) the hat,
he (28) .................... (dance) around the house. It (29) .................... (make) Mila and his
grandmother laugh. Jake (30) .................... (fall) in love with Mila's smile the moment they
met and he later (31).................... (realize) that he (32) .................... (not want) her to
return to the forest alone. While they (33) .................... (walk) back towards Jake's village,
Jake (34) .................... (invite) Mila to come live with him and his family. Mila loved him too,
so she said yes and they lived happily ever after.

D. Which fairy tale has the story been adapted from and what kind of story is it?

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