Short Stories in English for Beginners

The Chest
Chapter 1 – Edinburgh
Once upon a time, there was a man who lived in Scotland. The man was
quite old. His name was Walter.
Walter had never married. He had no children or family nearby. He had
lived for many years alone, but he was very kind. He always treated
everyone nicely.
Walter had never travelled far. He had travelled around his home in
Scotland. But he had not gone farther. Now it was time to act. He had a
mission
.
Walter didn’t have a lot of funds, but he was not poor. He had saved some
money in his younger years. He planned to use that money for his mission.
He must go to three separate places. He needed money for food, hotels and
travel. He had a mission. And he must complete it!
First, Walter travelled to Edinburgh. A lot of people watched him as he
passed by. He hadn’t cut his hair in a long time. He had a long 
beard
. His
clothes were very strange as well. He looked a bit different on the streets of
the big city.
Walter arrived at The Meadows. It was a very large park in Edinburgh. It
was full of people. Walter approached a young man. The man was about 25
years old. He was reading a local newspaper. He was sitting against a tree.
He looked very 
calm
.
Walter sat down next to the man. ‘Good afternoon,’ Walter said.
‘Hello …’ answered the man. He looked at Walter suspiciously. Then he
carried on reading.
‘How are you, David?’ Walter said.
The man looked up. He was very surprised. How did this strange person
know his name? He looked at the old man 
carefully
. ‘Did you say David?’

---

he asked.
‘Yes, I did.’
‘How do you know my name?’
‘I can’t tell you that.’
David stopped reading the newspaper. He looked at Walter, this time
even more carefully. He looked at the long beard. He tried to imagine him
with no beard. Nothing. He had no idea who the old man was.
‘What do you want?’ asked David. By now he was very suspicious.
‘Don’t worry,’ said Walter. ‘I haven’t come to