Oscar Wilde and the Little Notebook

Story — Level A2

Oscar Wilde is a young man from Ireland. He lives in Dublin with his family. Oscar likes books, flowers, beautiful clothes and good conversations. He is a very curious boy.

Every day, Oscar reads stories and poems. He has a small notebook. In this notebook, he writes new words, short sentences and ideas for stories.

One day, Oscar says to his mother:

“I want to be a writer.”

His mother smiles and answers:

“Then you must read, listen and look at the world.”

Oscar studies a lot. He loves language. He likes funny sentences and clever ideas. He also likes theatre, art and music.

When Oscar is older, he goes to London. London is a big city. There are many streets, theatres, shops and people. Oscar walks in the city and looks at everything.

He sees elegant men, rich women, poor children, old houses and beautiful parks. He writes many ideas in his notebook.

One afternoon, Oscar sits in a park. A little boy is crying near a tree.

“Why are you crying?” asks Oscar.

“I lost my book,” says the boy. “It is my favourite book.”

Oscar looks under a bench. Then he looks near the flowers. Finally, he finds the book behind a small wall.

“Is this your book?” Oscar asks.

“Yes!” says the boy. “Thank you!”

Oscar gives the book to the boy and smiles.

“A book is a good friend,” says Oscar.

The boy looks at him and asks:

“Are you a teacher?”

Oscar laughs.

“No, I am not a teacher. I am a writer. Or maybe, I want to be a writer.”

The boy opens his book and says:

“Then write a story about a prince, a bird and a city.”

Oscar likes the idea. He takes his notebook and writes:

“A prince looks at the city. He sees poor people. He wants to help them.”

The boy smiles.

“That is a good story,” he says.

Oscar goes home and thinks about kindness. He thinks that beautiful things are important, but kind actions are important too.

In the evening, Oscar writes more in his notebook. He writes about a prince, a little bird and people who need help. He wants the story to be simple, but also full of feeling.

Many years later, people read Oscar Wilde’s stories, plays and books. They like his words because they are clever, funny and sometimes sad.

Oscar becomes famous. Many people go to the theatre to see his plays. They laugh, listen and talk about his ideas.

But Oscar never forgets the little boy in the park. He remembers the lost book, the tree, the flowers and the simple idea:

“A story can be beautiful, and it can also teach us to be kind.”

Oscar closes his old notebook and smiles.

Then he writes one last sentence:

“Words are small, but they can open big doors.”

Glossary / Glossario

English word	Significato in italiano
young man	giovane uomo
Ireland	Irlanda
family	famiglia
books	libri
flowers	fiori
clothes	vestiti
conversation	conversazione
curious	curioso
notebook	quaderno
writer	scrittore
to read	leggere
to listen	ascoltare
world	mondo
theatre	teatro
art	arte
music	musica
city	città
street	strada
shop	negozio
people	persone
park	parco
boy	ragazzo / bambino
to cry	piangere
tree	albero
favourite	preferito
bench	panchina
wall	muro
friend	amico
prince	principe
bird	uccello
poor	povero
to help	aiutare
kindness	gentilezza
important	importante
story	storia / racconto
famous	famoso
play	opera teatrale
clever	intelligente / brillante
sad	triste
door	porta

Key words / Parole chiave

·      Oscar Wilde

·      Ireland

·      Dublin

·      London

·      writer

·      notebook

·      books

·      theatre

·      art

·      park

·      little boy

·      lost book

·      prince

·      bird

·      city

·      kindness

·      beautiful things

·      clever words

·      famous writer

·      story

Useful sentences / Frasi utili

1. I want to be a writer.

   
   

   Voglio diventare scrittore.

2. A book is a good friend.

   
   

   Un libro è un buon amico.

3. He wants to help them.

   
   

   Lui vuole aiutarli.

4. Oscar becomes famous.

   
   

   Oscar diventa famoso.

5. Words are small, but they can open big doors.