French Stories for Beginners: 5 Short Stories + Translation

Bonjour. Amélie here. 👋

The short answer: The best French stories for beginners are short, set in ordinary life, and written in the two tenses you already know: present and passé composé. Below are five original stories set in Paris, about 150 words each, with an English translation, key words and notes on how people actually say it.

No talking animals teaching morals. Well, one dog, but he has no morals at all. Each story is pitched at A2, with some dialogue, because dialogue is where French stops being a textbook. Read it once, then open the translation and check. For what this level covers, see my guide to the French A2 level.

1. Biscotte au parc (The dog in the park)

Samedi matin, Léa court au parc des Buttes-Chaumont. Près du lac, elle voit un petit chien blanc. Il est seul. Il n’a pas de laisse, mais il a un collier rouge avec un nom : Biscotte.

— T’es perdu, toi ? demande Léa.

Biscotte remue la queue et s’assoit sur ses baskets. Léa regarde autour d’elle. Personne. Elle appelle le numéro sur le collier. Un homme répond.

— Allô ? Biscotte ? Oh là là, merci. Je l’ai cherché partout. Je suis à l’entrée du parc, côté métro.

Léa marche dix minutes avec Biscotte. Le chien s’arrête devant chaque arbre, chaque pigeon et chaque sandwich. À l’entrée, un monsieur en pyjama attend avec un sac de croquettes.

— Il est parti quand j’ai ouvert la porte, explique l’homme. Il adore le parc. Moi, pas trop.

— Bah, il a bon goût, dit Léa.

L’homme rit, et Biscotte mange une croquette. Puis deux. Puis cinq.

English translation

Saturday morning, Léa goes running in the Buttes-Chaumont park. Near the lake, she sees a small white dog. He is alone. He has no leash, but he has a red collar with a name: Biscotte.

“Are you lost, you?” Léa asks.

Biscotte wags his tail and sits down on her trainers. Léa looks around. Nobody. She calls the number on the collar. A man answers.

“Hello? Biscotte? Oh my goodness, thank you. I’ve looked for him everywhere. I’m at the park entrance, on the metro side.”

Léa walks for ten minutes with Biscotte. The dog stops in front of every tree, every pigeon and every sandwich. At the entrance, a man in pyjamas is waiting with a bag of dog biscuits.

“He ran off when I opened the door,” the man explains. “He loves the park. Me, not so much.”

“Well, he has good taste,” says Léa.

The man laughs, and Biscotte eats a biscuit. Then two. Then five.

Key words

• la laisse — the leash
• le collier — the collar
• remuer la queue — to wag its tail
• partout — everywhere

Real spoken French

• T’es perdu, toi ? — tu es shrinks to t’es in speech, and the extra toi at the end is pure affection. Nobody says Es-tu perdu ? to a dog.
• Bah — a small shrug of a word, like “well”. You will hear it constantly.

2. Le premier jour (The first day)

Lundi, c’est le premier jour de Karim dans une agence de pub près de la place de la République. Il arrive à 8 h 30, une demi-heure en avance. La porte est fermée. Il attend dans la rue.

À 9 h 15, une femme arrive avec un vélo et un café.

— Salut. T’es le nouveau ? Moi, c’est Inès. Ici, personne n’arrive avant 9 h 30.

Inès montre le bureau à Karim : la cuisine, la machine à café, la plante qui s’appelle Gérard.

— On tutoie tout le monde, même la directrice, explique Inès.

À 11 h, Karim rencontre la directrice dans la cuisine. Il est nerveux.

— Bonjour, Madame… euh… salut, tu… vous…

La directrice sourit.

— Tu peux me tutoyer. Mais pas Gérard. Gérard, on le vouvoie.

Karim rit. Le soir, il appelle sa mère.

— Alors, ce premier jour ?

— Ça s’est bien passé. J’ai rencontré une plante très importante.

English translation

On Monday, it’s Karim’s first day at an advertising agency near Place de la République. He arrives at 8:30, half an hour early. The door is locked. He waits in the street.

At 9:15, a woman arrives with a bike and a coffee.

“Hi. Are you the new guy? I’m Inès. Here, nobody arrives before 9:30.”

Inès shows Karim the office: the kitchen, the coffee machine, the plant called Gérard.

“We say tu to everyone, even the boss,” Inès explains.

At 11, Karim meets the director in the kitchen. He is nervous.

“Hello, Madame… um… hi, you… you…”

The director smiles.

“You can say tu to me. But not to Gérard. Gérard, we call vous.”

Karim laughs. In the evening, he calls his mother.

“So, how was the first day?”

“It went well. I met a very important plant.”

Key words

• en avance — early
• tutoyer / vouvoyer — to say tu / to say vous
• la directrice — the (female) director, the boss
• ça s’est bien passé — it went well

Real spoken French

• Moi, c’est Inès — the everyday way to give your name. Je m’appelle is correct; moi, c’est is what people actually say when they shake your hand.
• Alors, ce premier jour ? — no verb needed. Alors plus a topic and a rising voice means “so, how was it?”

3. Le dîner brûlé (The burnt dinner)

Ce soir, Julien invite ses amis à dîner dans son petit appartement à Belleville. Il a choisi une recette compliquée : un poulet rôti aux herbes, des légumes et une tarte aux pommes. Il a regardé la vidéo trois fois.

À 19 h 30, les invités arrivent. Ça sent… bizarre.

— Euh, Julien, y a de la fumée, dit Camille.

Julien ouvre le four. Le poulet est noir. Les légumes sont noirs. La tarte aussi, un peu.

— C’est… une recette spéciale, dit Julien. Poulet façon Julien.

— Ah bon ? Elle est où, la recette ? demande Camille.

— Dans ma tête.

L’alarme incendie sonne. Tout le monde ouvre les fenêtres. Le voisin du dessus frappe à la porte.

— Tout va bien ?

— Oui, oui, c’est juste le dîner.

Finalement, ils ont commandé des pizzas. Le voisin est resté. Il a apporté le dessert.

English translation

Tonight, Julien is having his friends over for dinner in his small flat in Belleville. He has chosen a complicated recipe: roast chicken with herbs, vegetables and an apple tart. He watched the video three times.

At 7:30 pm, the guests arrive. It smells… strange.

“Um, Julien, there’s smoke,” says Camille.

Julien opens the oven. The chicken is black. The vegetables are black. The tart too, a bit.

“It’s… a special recipe,” says Julien. “Chicken à la Julien.”

“Oh really? Where’s the recipe?” asks Camille.

“In my head.”

The smoke alarm goes off. Everyone opens the windows. The upstairs neighbour knocks on the door.

“Is everything OK?”

“Yes, yes, it’s just dinner.”

In the end, they ordered pizzas. The neighbour stayed. He brought dessert.

Key words

• le four — the oven
• la fumée — smoke
• brûlé — burnt
• le voisin du dessus — the upstairs neighbour

Real spoken French

• Y a de la fumée — il y a becomes y a in speech, so fast it sounds like one syllable. More on this in my guide to simple French conversations.
• Elle est où, la recette ? — say the question first, then name the thing at the end. Textbooks teach Où est la recette ?; Paris says it backwards.

4. La fête du voisin (The neighbour’s party)

Il est minuit. Sophie est dans son lit, mais elle ne dort pas. Dans l’appartement d’à côté, son voisin Max fait une fête. La musique est très forte. Quelqu’un chante. Mal.

À minuit et demi, Sophie met un pull sur son pyjama et frappe chez Max. Max ouvre, avec une couronne en papier sur la tête.

— Sophie. Salut. Entre, entre.

— Max, il est minuit et demi. Je travaille demain à 7 h.

— Oh, pardon. C’est mon anniversaire. J’ai trente ans. Je suis vieux maintenant.

— Joyeux anniversaire. Mais la musique, s’il te plaît…

— OK, OK, je baisse. Promis.

Sophie retourne au lit. La musique baisse. Deux minutes de silence. Puis vingt personnes chantent « Joyeux anniversaire » très, très fort.

Le lendemain matin, Sophie trouve un morceau de gâteau devant sa porte, avec un petit mot : « Désolé. Max, 30 ans, très vieux. »

English translation

It’s midnight. Sophie is in bed, but she isn’t asleep. In the flat next door, her neighbour Max is having a party. The music is very loud. Someone is singing. Badly.

At half past midnight, Sophie pulls a jumper over her pyjamas and knocks at Max’s door. Max opens it, wearing a paper crown on his head.

“Sophie. Hi. Come in, come in.”

“Max, it’s half past midnight. I’m working at 7 tomorrow.”

“Oh, sorry. It’s my birthday. I’m thirty. I’m old now.”

“Happy birthday. But the music, please…”

“OK, OK, I’ll turn it down. Promise.”

Sophie goes back to bed. The music goes down. Two minutes of silence. Then twenty people sing “Happy Birthday” very, very loudly.

The next morning, Sophie finds a slice of cake outside her door, with a little note: “Sorry. Max, 30, very old.”

Key words

• frapper chez quelqu’un — to knock at someone’s door
• baisser — to turn down, lower
• le lendemain — the next day
• un mot — a word, and also a short note

Real spoken French

• Je baisse — French uses the present for something you are about to do: je baisse = “I’ll turn it down”. No future tense required.
• Promis — short for c’est promis. One word, full commitment, zero follow-through.

5. Au marché (At the market)

Dimanche, Paul va au marché d’Aligre avec sa grand-mère, Mamie Jo. Mamie Jo adore le marché. Elle connaît tous les vendeurs.

Devant les tomates, Paul regarde le prix : quatre euros le kilo.

— C’est cher, non ? dit-il.

Mamie Jo sourit et s’approche du vendeur.

— Bonjour, Mohamed. Elles sont belles, tes tomates. Mais quatre euros…

— Pour vous, trois cinquante, Madame Jo.

— Trois, et je prends aussi des courgettes.

— Trois vingt. C’est mon dernier prix.

— Trois, et je dis à tout le monde que tes tomates sont les meilleures du marché.

Le vendeur rit.

— Bon, d’accord. Trois euros. Vous êtes terrible.

Mamie Jo paie et donne le sac à Paul.

— Tu vois ? Au marché, faut parler.

— Mamie, t’as économisé un euro.

— Un euro, c’est un euro.

Paul regarde dans le sac. Il y a trois courgettes en plus. Gratuites.

English translation

On Sunday, Paul goes to the Aligre market with his grandmother, Granny Jo. Granny Jo loves the market. She knows all the stallholders.

In front of the tomatoes, Paul looks at the price: four euros a kilo.

“That’s expensive, isn’t it?” he says.

Granny Jo smiles and walks up to the stallholder.

“Hello, Mohamed. They’re lovely, your tomatoes. But four euros…”

“For you, three fifty, Madame Jo.”

“Three, and I’ll take some courgettes too.”

“Three twenty. That’s my final price.”

“Three, and I’ll tell everyone your tomatoes are the best in the market.”

The stallholder laughs.

“Fine, OK. Three euros. You’re terrible.”

Granny Jo pays and hands the bag to Paul.

“See? At the market, you have to talk.”

“Granny, you saved one euro.”

“A euro is a euro.”

Paul looks in the bag. There are three extra courgettes. Free.

Key words

• le vendeur — the seller, the stallholder
• cher — expensive
• économiser — to save (money)
• en plus — extra, on top

Real spoken French

• Faut parler — il faut loses its il in speech. Faut y aller, faut voir, faut pas exagérer: you will hear it everywhere.
• Trois cinquante — prices are said without euros in the middle: 3,50 € is trois cinquante, 3,20 € is trois vingt.

How to read a story for listening practice

About 15 minutes per story:

1. Read for the plot. No dictionary. Underline what blocks you.
2. Check the translation. Fix the gaps, note the key words.
3. Read it out loud. Your mouth learns what your eyes skip, like t’es and y a.
4. Listen, then shadow. Take audio at the same level (two clips below) and repeat each sentence a half-second behind the speaker, copying the rhythm.
5. Retell it. Close the page and tell the story in four French sentences. Badly is fine. Max sings badly and still had a lovely birthday.

Prefer conversations to stories? Try the free French dialogues, or simple French conversations for the everyday exchanges these stories borrow from.

Hear real French at this level

Two A2 clips from the free level test. Listen first, then read.

Ce matin, j’ai commandé un cappuccino avec de la cannelle. This morning, I ordered a cappuccino with cinnamon.

Ce matin, j’ai reçu une lettre de mon ami Pierre. Il vit maintenant en Italie, et il a hâte de me revoir. This morning, I got a letter from my friend Pierre. He lives in Italy now, and he can’t wait to see me again.

Both easy? The test has six more clips that get harder. Take the free level test →

Want the audio?

At French with Amélie there is a new dialogue every week, free. 💎 Premium brings 💬 2 Full Lessons a week, each recorded at native speed with 🐢 Slow Audio for the first listens, plus the full transcript, so you can run the routine above on real conversations. It suits learners from A2 up through intermediate.

Not sure where you sit? 🧭 The Placement Test takes three minutes: start it here.

Graded readers worth buying

For longer stories at this level. No affiliate links.

• Short Stories in French for Beginners — Olly Richards and Richard Simcott (Teach Yourself). Eight stories mapped to A2–B1, with vocabulary lists. Audio sold separately.
• Easy French Reader — R. de Roussy de Sales (McGraw Hill). A classic, now in a Premium Fourth Edition with recordings. Starts very gently.
• Lire en français facile — Hachette FLE. A graded series from A1 to B2. Pick the A2 titles.
• Lectures CLE en français facile — CLE International. Adapted classics by level, Arsène Lupin included.

FAQ

What level are these French stories for? A2: common vocabulary, short sentences, only the present and passé composé. If you finished a beginner course, you can read them with the translation as a safety net.

Are there French stories for beginners with audio? These five are text only, but the two level-test clips above are at the same level. Teach Yourself sells audio for its readers separately.

Should I read the English translation first? No. Read the French first, even if you get half. The small struggle is what makes words stick.

How many stories should I read a week? Three read properly beat twenty skimmed. Reread one until you can retell it without looking.

Do short stories help with speaking? Yes, if you read them out loud and retell them. Dialogue gives you ready-made spoken phrases like t’es, y a and faut.

Bonne lecture. 💜