The Lines on the Kitchen Wall
A free A1-level English story for language learners, readable online in 5 languages, with an option to listen via the free Storyteller app.
Marit finds pencil lines and names on a kitchen door and learns what they mean.
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Marit moved into an old house in March. It was small, and the kitchen was old. She liked it very much.
On the first night, she cleaned the kitchen door. Then she saw small pencil lines on the wood.
She looked closer. Next to each line were a name and a year. "Cyra, 1994." "Fritz, 1996." The lines went up and up.
The last line said "Hedda, 2004." It was higher than Marit's shoulder.
Marit did not understand. Who made these lines? Why did they write on the door?
She took a photo of the door with her phone. Then she made a cup of tea.
The next day, a neighbor came with a cake. Marit showed her the door.
The neighbor smiled. "The family here measured their children," she said. "Every year, they stood by the door."
"The children grew, and the lines went up. The family left long ago. They loved this house," she said.
That evening, Marit called her son to the kitchen. "Stand here," she said. He stood very straight.
She made a line with a pencil. Under the others, she wrote his name and the year.
