Short Stories in English for Beginners

The Watch
Chapter 1 – The Legend
Carl was a 
watchmaker
. He was in his 40s and single. His parents lived in
London. He lived by the sea in the south-west of England. He lived alone in
a small house on a quiet street in Penzance.
Carl was a tall thin man, but he was very strong. He had his own
workshop
. He fixed watches. He made his own high-quality watches. He
often did other jobs as well.
Carl worked very long hours. He usually worked late. His workshop was
near Eastern Green 
Beach
. At the end of the day, he often went to the beach
to stretch his legs.
One night, Carl met an old friend on his walk. Her name was Susan.
‘Carl! How are you?’ she said.
‘Hi, Susan. What are you doing here?’
‘I’m walking, just like you,’ Susan laughed.
‘I see. Well, let’s walk together then!’
Carl and Susan walked for a long time. They talked about many things.
They talked about their jobs and their families. They talked about
everything in general. As they walked, Susan asked, ‘How’s your job? Are
you working a lot?’
‘Yes, I have a lot of work. I’m very happy.’
‘Good for you, Carl.’
Susan was a 
security guard
. She watched the boats near the beach. She
told Carl she liked her job. She saw many interesting things on the beach. In
fact, she had found something just today.
‘Carl,’ began Susan, ‘I was actually hoping to see you.’
‘Really?’ replied Carl.
‘Yes. I’ve found something. And I don’t know what to do with it.’

---

‘What have you found, Susan?’
Susan took out a watch. It looked very old. It was very good quality. ‘Can
you tell me what kind of watch this is?’ she asked.
‘Let me have a look,’ Carl said.
Carl took the watch in his hand. He looked at it closely. ‘I have no idea
what kind it is,’ he said at last.
Susan was surprised. ‘Don’t you know anything about it?’
‘Well, I know it’s a watch. But it’s very old. I’m just not sure …’ He
paused and looked at her. ‘Do you have to go to work right now, Susan?’
‘No, I’m finished for the day.’
‘Let’s go to my workshop. I have some books that might help us.’
Carl and Susan went to Carl’s workshop. The workshop was very old.
Inside the workshop there were many tools and watches. It was all part of
Carl’s job. Susan had never been to the workshop. She thought it was very
interesting. ‘Wow!’ she said. ‘There’s a lot of stuff in here!’
‘Yes, I have a lot of work. I like what I do.’
‘That’s good, Carl!’
Carl told Susan to follow him. She put down the watch and walked into
another room. There were a lot of books. They were very large and very
old. It was impossible to read many of the names.
‘What are we doing here?’ Susan asked.
‘We’re looking for information,’ answered Carl.
‘Information about what?’
‘About what kind of watch this is. I’ve never seen anything like it
before!’
Carl and Susan searched the books. After several minutes, Susan found
something. It was in a book about the Caribbean Sea. ‘Carl! Look at this!’
she called.
Carl closed his book and went to Susan. ‘What is it?’
‘It’s a picture of the watch! And it’s in a book about 
pirates
!’
Carl was very surprised. A book about pirates? Why would a pirate book
have a picture of the watch? It didn’t make sense.

---

Susan explained, ‘The name of the book is Caribbean Pirates. It’s about
England and fighting pirates in the Caribbean Sea.’
‘I still don’t understand. What about the watch?’
‘Listen,’ said Susan. ‘According to the book, there was a famous pirate.
His name was Eric el Kraken. He had a very