Telling Stories

1Tell me a story!

In the evening, Habimana's grandmother sits by the fire. “Tell us a story, Grandma!” the children beg. She begins: “Long ago, there was a boy …”

Stories about the past use special verb forms. Today you will read a story about a boy with a special talent, and learn how to tell a story yourself.

2Listen and read: Sakima's song

Listen to the whole story (audio, read by Darshan Soni). The audio reads the full story; the text below is a little shorter. You can also open the Storybooks Rwanda page to read it in Kinyarwanda and French.

Sakima lived with his parents and his four-year-old sister. They lived on a rich man's land. Their grass-thatched hut was at the end of a row of trees.

When Sakima was three years old, he fell sick and lost his sight. Sakima was a talented boy. He could sit with older members of the village and discuss important matters.

Sakima's parents worked at the rich man's house. They left home early in the morning and returned late in the evening. Sakima was left with his little sister.

Sakima loved to sing songs. One day his mother asked him, “Where do you learn these songs from, Sakima?” Sakima answered, “They just come, mother. I hear them in my head and then I sing.”

Sakima liked to sing for his little sister, especially if she felt hungry. “Can you sing it again and again, Sakima?” his sister would beg him.

One evening, when his parents returned home, they were very quiet. Sakima knew that something was wrong. He learned that the rich man's son was missing. The man was very sad and lonely.

“I can sing for him. He might be happy again,” Sakima told his parents. But his parents said, “He is very rich. Do you think your song will help him?”

However, Sakima did not give up. His little sister supported him. She said, “Sakima's songs comfort me when I am hungry. They will comfort the rich man too.”

The following day, Sakima asked his little sister to lead him to the rich man's house. He stood below one big window and began to sing his favourite song. Slowly, the head of the rich man began to show through the window. The workers stopped what they were doing. They listened to Sakima's beautiful song.

Sakima finished his song and turned to leave. But the rich man rushed out and said, “Please sing again.”

At that very moment, two men came carrying someone on a stretcher. They had found the rich man's son, hurt, at the side of the road.

The rich man was so happy to see his son again. He rewarded Sakima for comforting him. He took his son and Sakima to hospital, so that Sakima could get his sight back.

Read and think

3Stories use the past simple

A story tells us about things that happened in the past. So most verbs are in the past simple.

Regular verbs add -ed: live → lived, ask → asked, listen → listened, finish → finished, stop → stopped.

Irregular verbs change in their own way. Learn them by heart:

4Words that move a story along

Good storytellers use time words so the listener can follow: Long ago … / One day … / One evening … / The following day … / Then … / At that very moment … / In the end …

5How to tell a story

1. Beginning: Who is in the story? Where are they? (Sakima lived with his parents …)
2. Middle: What problem happens? (The rich man's son was missing.)
3. End: How is the problem solved? (The son came back and Sakima was rewarded.)

Your turn: speak and write

Speak: Close the text and retell Sakima's song to a friend in five or six sentences. Use One day, Then, The following day and In the end.

Write a short true story about a day you spent with a friend. Give it a beginning, a middle and an end. Use at least five past simple verbs, and underline them.

Try it yourself

Write your answers in your exercise book, then check.