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The Tiny Fish
A small act of kindness — catching something, then choosing to let it go.
Lily and her grandma spend a sunny day fishing at the lake. Lily catches her very first fish — but it’s just a tiny baby. Listen along and decide with her what to do next. A gentle A1 listening story for beginners, with seven everyday words to learn and use.
This is a short story about a girl, Lily, and her grandma. They go fishing at a lake. Before you listen, three fishing words to know:
Listen to the whole story once. Then tap the Questions button on the player and choose the best answer — you’ll see right away if it’s correct.
The sun is up. Lily and Grandma walk to the lake. They walk on a long wooden dockdock · a flat wooden path over the water. You can stand on it.. The water is blue and calm.
Grandma has two fishing rods. She gives one to Lily. “Hold it tight,” Grandma says.
Lily looks in the bucket. A little worm is in it. “Ew!” Lily says. Grandma smiles. “Fish like worms,” she says.
Grandma puts the worm on the hook. Lily throws her line in the water. Now they wait. The dock is warm. A bird sings.
Lily waits and waits. Nothing happens. “I can’t catchcatch · to take and hold something, like a fish or a ball. a fish,” Lily says. “Be calm,” Grandma says. “Fish are slow.”
Then the rod moves! It pulls down hard. “Grandma! Help!” Lily says. Lily pulls and pulls. Splashsplash · the sound and water that jump up when something hits water.! A tinytiny · very, very small. fish jumps out of the water.
The fish is small and silver. It wiggles on the line. Lily laughs. “It’s so tiny!” she says.
Grandma takes the fish off the hook. She holds it in her hands. “Do you want to keep it?” Grandma asks.
Lily looks at the little fish. Its eyes are big. “No,” Lily says. “It’s a baby. Let’s put it back.”
Grandma smiles. “Good girl,” she says.
Lily holds the fish over the water. Splash! The fish swims away fast.
Lily waves at the water. “Bye, little fish!” she says. “Grow big!”
The sun goes down. Lily and Grandma walk home. The bucket is empty now. But Lily is happy. She catches a fish today. And she lets it go.
Listen again and read along with the transcript. Then tap the Questions button on the player and answer each one.
The sun is up. Lily and Grandma walk to the lake. They walk on a long wooden dockdock · a flat wooden path over the water. You can stand on it.. The water is blue and calm.
Grandma has two fishing rods. She gives one to Lily. “Hold it tight,” Grandma says.
Lily looks in the bucket. A little worm is in it. “Ew!” Lily says. Grandma smiles. “Fish like worms,” she says.
Grandma puts the worm on the hook. Lily throws her line in the water. Now they wait. The dock is warm. A bird sings.
Lily waits and waits. Nothing happens. “I can’t catchcatch · to take and hold something, like a fish or a ball. a fish,” Lily says. “Be calm,” Grandma says. “Fish are slow.”
Then the rod moves! It pulls down hard. “Grandma! Help!” Lily says. Lily pulls and pulls. Splashsplash · the sound and water that jump up when something hits water.! A tinytiny · very, very small. fish jumps out of the water.
The fish is small and silver. It wiggles on the line. Lily laughs. “It’s so tiny!” she says.
Grandma takes the fish off the hook. She holds it in her hands. “Do you want to keep it?” Grandma asks.
Lily looks at the little fish. Its eyes are big. “No,” Lily says. “It’s a baby. Let’s put it back.”
Grandma smiles. “Good girl,” she says.
Lily holds the fish over the water. Splash! The fish swims away fast.
Lily waves at the water. “Bye, little fish!” she says. “Grow big!”
The sun goes down. Lily and Grandma walk home. The bucket is empty now. But Lily is happy. She catches a fish today. And she lets it go.
Now look at four key words from the story. Look at each picture, read the line where the word appears, and say the word out loud.
| Picture | Word | Type | Line from the story | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| dock | noun | “They walk on a long wooden dock.” | A flat wooden path over the water. You can stand on it. | |
| catch | verb | “I can’t catch a fish.” | To take and hold something, like a fish or a ball. | |
| tiny | adjective | “A tiny fish jumps out of the water.” | Very, very small. | |
| splash | noun · sound | “Splash! A tiny fish jumps out of the water.” | The sound and water that jump up when something hits water. |
Type the right word in each gap. You can use the word bank to help.
Fill the gap from memory — no word bank this time. Type the word.
You listened, noticed the words, and used them yourself. Come back any time to listen again — repetition is how the words stick.
