The Knitting Circle
A free A2-level English story for language learners, readable online in 5 languages, with an option to listen via the free Storyteller app.
Conrad joins a library knitting group to make a scarf for his sister, and the older members teach him.
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Conrad wants to make a scarf for his sister. Her birthday is in six weeks. He cannot knit. So on Tuesday he goes to the library. A sign on the wall says, "Knitting Circle, 3 p.m."
He opens the door. Eight people sit in a circle with wool in their hands. They are all over seventy. Conrad is twenty-four. Everyone looks at him.
"Come in, dear," says a woman in a green sweater. "Sit here."
Conrad takes the needles and starts. He drops a stitch. Then he drops another. His first row has holes like a fishing net.
A man next to him laughs, but in a kind way. "You hold the needles too hard," he says. "Hold them softly."
The woman in green shows him how to fix a dropped stitch. Another woman brings him tea. In one hour, the woman in green makes half a sock. Conrad makes one row.
He comes every Tuesday. He is slow, but the group never stops helping. After four weeks, his scarf is as long as his arm.
Before the birthday, the woman in green gives him a small box. Inside are old wooden needles.
"These are lucky," she says. "My mother gave them to me. I want you to have them."
"I can't take them," Conrad says.
"Of course you can. I have six other pairs."
Conrad laughs. He puts the needles in his bag and starts a new row.
