grade 2 book of stories - weebly · once upon a time there was a girl named cinderella. she lived...

Grade 2 Book of Stories

Grade 2 Book of StoriesStory One . . . . Cinderella

Story Two . . . . Grandma’s Yo-yo

Story Three . . . The Great Escape

Story Four . . . . The Princess Who Never Smiled

Story Five . . . . Hansel and Gretel

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CinderellaBy Madeleine Francis

Illustrated by Laura Vila

Once upon a time there was a girl named Cinderella. She lived with her stepmother and stepsisters. They treated Cinderella badly. They made her do all the chores.

Title: Cinderella Story: 1 Page: 1 Grade: 2


Life had not always been hard for Cinderella when her parents were alive. Then her mother died. Her father married her stepmother. After her father died, Cinderella was left alone with her stepmother and stepsisters. They made Cinderella their maid.

One day, a messenger arrived from the palace of the king. The messenger said, “The King seeks a bride for the prince. He will hold a ball to which all the girls of the kingdom are invited.”

“Even the maids?” Cinderella asked.

“Even the maids,” the messenger replied.


When the messenger left, Cinderella begged her stepmother, “Oh, please let me go to the ball! Please!”

“Yes, you may go, Cinderella,” her stepmother answered.

“Mother! What are you saying?” her stepsisters screamed.

“Cinderella may go to the ball on one condition,” she said. She turned to Cinderella. “You must complete all of these chores first.” Her stepmother handed Cinderella a list that went onto the floor.

“But the ball is tonight,” Cinderella said. “I’ll never get all this done in time.”

“Exactly,” her stepmother smiled. And her stepsisters laughed and laughed.


Cinderella went to work. She cleaned the kitchen,

she mended clothes, and she dusted the entire house. She did 100 other chores, too. She sewed herself a beautiful dress from the scraps of material that were left over from making dresses for her stepsisters. Cinderella even found an old necklace that had belonged to her mother. When she was done, she looked beautiful.



Cinderella was ready to go to the ball. Then, she heard a voice behind her. “Where do you think you are going?” It was her stepmother.

“I am going to the ball,” Cinderella said. “You said I could go if I finished my chores and I have.”

Cinderella’s stepmother was very jealous. She was jealous of Cinderella’s beauty and kindness. And Cinderella’s stepsisters were even more jealous. They ripped the necklace off her neck.

Then, they ripped Cinderella’s beautiful dress to shreds. “My beautiful dress!” Cinderella wept.

“Come on, girls,” her stepmother said to her daughters, “we have a ball to go to.”

Why are they so cruel? Cinderella wondered. Suddenly, a beautiful fairy appeared.

“Who-who are you?” Cinderella asked.

“I am your fairy godmother. I am here to help you, Cinderella,” she said.

“It’s no use, I can’t go to the ball. Look at me.”

“Do not worry, Cinderella. I will wave my wand. I will give you the most beautiful dress. A coach is waiting outside to take you to the ball.”


And that is just what the fairy godmother did. Cinderella went to the ball. The moment the Prince saw her he knew that she was the girl he wanted to marry. And they lived happily ever after.


Grandma’s Yo-yo By Ashley Kim

Illustrated by Venantius Pinto

Hong and his mother moved to a new town.

When Hong got home from his school, he looked for his mom. Instead, Grandma greeted him. “Where’s Mom?” Hong asked.

“Hong, don’t you remember? Your mother is at her new job. I am going to take care of you after school from now on,” Grandma replied.

Title: Grandma’s Yo-yo Story: 2 Page: 1 Grade: 2

“I just want to watch TV,” Hong muttered in a grumpy voice. He tried not to show it, but he was really sad. He missed his mom a lot.

“Would you like to play with me?” Grandma asked. “There are lots of fun things we can do together.”


“Like what?” Hong asked.

“Here! Look at these photos of China. That’s where I was born, you know.”

Hong looked at the photographs. China seemed nice, but he was still thinking about his mom.


Then Hong noticed something. In one of the photographs, his grandma was playing with a toy that he had never seen before.

“What’s that?” Hong asked.


“It’s a Chinese yo-yo,” Grandma explained. “Here, I have one for you. I used to play with it when I was your age. I’ll show you how to use it.”

Hong wanted to try. It was fun! He and Grandma played with the yo-yo for a whole hour.


“You’re good at it, Hong!” Grandma said. “And I have many other Chinese toys that we can play with together.”

“That sounds great, Grandma!” said Hong. “Can you take care of me after school every day?”

Grandma winked. “I think I can arrange that,” she said.


The Great Escape

By Madeleine Francis Illustrated by Margeaux Lucas

Title: The Great Escape Story: 3 Page: 1 Grade: 2

My name is Bryan. I have a hamster named Theo. Most of the time I call him Teddy.

I love my hamster a lot.


I want to play with him in the daytime, but I can’t. That’s because Teddy sleeps during the day.

At night, when I go to sleep, Teddy wakes up. He runs around in his cage. Now he wants to play.

Then in the morning, when I get up, Teddy goes back to sleep!


One day, my grandma woke me up extra early.

“Bryan,” she said, “the hamster got out!”

“Not again!” I said.


My hamster is very clever. Somehow, he can get out of his cage!

I looked everywhere. He loves to hide in corners. I looked in every corner of our house.


I could not find him anywhere.

Suddenly, to my surprise, Teddy came rolling by. That clever hamster was in his hamster ball! He rolled out the front door!

“Teddy,” I yelled. “Come back!”


My mom, my grandma, and I ran after Teddy. Teddy was rolling down the street.

“Teddy, come back!” we yelled.

My mom, my grandma, and I could not keep up with him. He was so fast.

“Oh, no!” I said. “He’s headed for the bridge. We have to stop him!”


Just before he got to the bridge, I got to Teddy. I scooped him up in my hands and gave him a hug.

“I hope you had fun, Teddy! Now let’s go home and put you down to sleep. It’s eight in the morning. Time for bed!”

The Princess Who Never SmiledBy Madeleine Francis

Photos by Tatiana Hamilton

Once upon a time, there lived a princess. She never smiled.

Her father, the King, said, “I must find a way to make my daughter happy. If only just once I could see her smile!”

Title: The Princess Who Never Smiled Story: 4 Page: 1 Grade: 2

The King tried everything. He paid a magician to amaze his daughter. But the princess did not smile.

Next, he paid a clown to amuse his daughter. But the princess did not smile.

The King began to wonder if anything, anything in the world, could make his daughter smile.


Meanwhile, a poor boy worked for a farmer. The farmer gave the boy three coins. Now, the poor boy was rich! What would he do with his coins?


The poor boy went on a journey. He ran into a fish, a cricket, and a mouse. He gave them each a gold coin. Now he had none.


The poor boy continued on his journey. He fell into a ditch. Ouch!


Suddenly, his friends, the fish, the cricket, and the mouse, came to save him.

The princess saw all this from her bedroom window. She laughed and laughed and laughed at the sight.


“She’s laughing!” cried the King. “She’s laughing! I am so happy that I am laughing, too!”

And so the princess met her true love, the poor worker. And she smiled every day from that day on.


Hansel and GretelBy Madeleine Francis

Illustrated by Margeaux Lucas

Once upon a time there was a family. The boy was named Hansel. The girl was named Gretel. The father was a farmer. The mother had died long ago.

One day, the father married a new wife.

The new wife was the stepmother of Hansel and Gretel.

Title: Hansel and Gretel Story: 5 Page: 1 Grade: 2

Times were hard. For many months, there was no rain. The crops did not grow. Without crops, there was no food. There was not enough to eat.

Now, the family was hungry and poor.

One night, the father asked, “Wife, what will we do? We do not have enough to eat.”



“Don’t worry,” the stepmother said. “I have a plan. Tomorrow morning, we will take the kids to the forest. We will go on a picnic.”

“A picnic!” the father said. “How will that help?”

“We will leave the kids in the forest,” said the stepmother. “Then we will sneak away. The kids will be lost. And we can have more food at home.”

“That is a terrible idea. What kind of father would do that to his children?” the father asked.

“A poor one,” the stepmother answered.

“I don’t like it, but I’ll do it,” the father said sadly.


Little did the parents know that Hansel and Gretel had heard every word.

“Don’t worry, Gretel,” Hansel whispered. “I have a plan.”

The very next day, Hansel got up early. He collected lots of bright blue pebbles. He put them in his pocket.

After breakfast, the stepmother said, “Let’s have a picnic!” Then, the family went to the forest.


As the family walked into the forest, Hansel dropped a bright blue pebble every few steps.

“Now, children,” the mean stepmother said, “your father and I are going to collect some berries. We’ll be right back.”

The father kissed both of his children. Then he walked away with the stepmother. Gretel started to cry.

“Do not cry!” Hansel said. “We will find our way home. I dropped blue pebbles all along the way.”

Hansel and Gretel followed the pebbles all the way home.


A few hours later, Hansel and Gretel arrived home. The stepmother looked angry. The father looked happy.

“Thank goodness, you came home!” their father said.

“It was silly of you to get lost,” said the stepmother.


After Hansel and Gretel went to bed, the parents had a talk.

“We have to try it again,” the stepmother said.

“I can’t,” said the father. “I love them.”

“We are doing it again. Tomorrow,” the stepmother said. Her voice was firm. This time,

Hansel and Gretel did not overhear them.

The next morning, the family went to the forest. The stepmother gave each of them a crust of bread. Hansel broke the piece into bits. He left the bits as he walked through the forest.

“Now, children,” the stepmother said, “your father and I are going to get berries. We will be right back.”


Of course, the parents did not come back.

“Do not worry,” Hansel told Gretel. “We will follow the bread crumbs home.”

But the bread crumbs had been eaten by birds. They were long gone. Now Hansel and Gretel were truly lost.

Hansel and Gretel kept walking. They tried to find a way home. Suddenly, they came upon a gingerbread house. It was made of gingerbread and candy.

The children ran to the house. They were so hungry. They started eating.


An old woman came out. “Why, children! How nice to see you.”

“We are lost,” Gretel explained.

“I can see that,” the old woman said. “Please come inside and have a good meal. I will take good care of you.”

Hansel and Gretel could not believe their luck.


As soon as they got into the house, the old woman changed. She was a witch. She threw Hansel into a cage. She made Gretel do all the housework.

“I will eat Hansel when he is fat enough,” the old woman said.

But Gretel tricked her. The old woman was almost blind.

Every day, she checked to see if Hansel was fat yet. “Let me touch your finger,” the old woman said.

Gretel gave Hansel a chicken bone. The old woman touched the chicken bone.

“I don’t understand it,” said the old woman. “I keep feeding the boy. But he stays so thin.”


“Well, I have had enough of waiting,” the old woman said. “Thin or not, I am going to eat him right now. Gretel, turn on the stove.”

Gretel opened up the stove. She had to think fast. “Can you help me?” Gretel asked the old woman. “There is something at the back of the stove.”

The old woman stuck her head in the oven.


“Where?” the old woman asked.

With all her might, Gretel shoved the old woman into the oven.

Then she unlocked Hansel’s cage.

“Quick! Let’s go!” Gretel cried.

They ran outside. A swan spoke to them. “You two look lost. I can take you home if you like. Hop on.”

So Hansel and Gretel hopped on. The swan carried them home. When they got home, they found that their stepmother had left. Only their father was at home.

“Can you ever forgive me?” he asked them. “I looked and looked for you. I know what I did was wrong.”

“We forgive you, Dad,” said Hansel and Gretel.

Soon the rains came again. The crops grew. There was enough food. Hansel and Gretel lived happily ever after.


grade 2 book of stories - weebly · once upon a time there was a girl named cinderella. she lived...

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