The text is for 10 year old students studying English as a second language. Thanks a lot for not speaking too fast.
« ROOM on the BROOM » from Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler adapted by Edwige Karmazyn
Narrator :It is a cold (cold), windy (windy) and stormy (stormy) evening in the dark, dark wood.
The witch is getting ready to go out. ( her cauldron, her wand, her broomstick, her black hat, her bow)
Look at her !
The witch has a cat and a very tall hat.
And long ginger hair that she wears in a plait.
The cat purrs, the witch grins.
They sit on the broomstick and fly through the wind. ( Hoooo Woooo !)
The cat : The wind is getting stronger and stronger. (the cat is holding tight the broomstick)
The witch : Oups ! My hat !
The cat : Down we go !
Narrator : They fly to the ground and search for the hat that they can’t find !
The cat : Where is your hat ?
The witch : I don’t know, let’s see if we can find it.
The cat : Listen ! What is it ?
Narrator : Out of the bushes, comes a dog with the black hat in his jaws.
(The dog drops the hat politely ; the witch pulls the hat firmly down on her head.)
The witch : Thank you so much.
The dog : I am a dog, as keen as can be. Is there room on the broom for a dog like me ?
The witch : Yes
Narrator : The dog sits on the broom. The witch taps the broom and whoosh ! Off they go over the fields and the forests they fly. The dog is happy and wags his tail. The stormy wind blows. Hoooo woooo ! The witch laughs aloud and holds on her hat but away blows the bow from her long ginger plait !
The witch : Oups ! My bow !
The cat : Down we go !
Narrator : They fly to the ground and search for the bow that they can’t find !
The cat : Where is your bow ?
The witch : I don’t know, let’s see if we can find it.
The dog : Listen ! Can you hear this shriek ?
Narrator : Out from a tree flaps a green bird with the bow in its beak.
(The bird drops the bow politely ; the witch ties her plait with the bow .)
The witch : Thank you.
The bird : I am a bird, as green as can be. Is there room on the broom for a bird like me ?
The witch : Yes.
Narrator : The bird sits on the broom. The witch taps the broom and whoosh ! Off they go over the reeds and the rivers they fly. The bird shrieks with glee and the stormy wind blows. The witch clutches her bow but let go her wand !
The witch : Oups ! My wand !
The cat : Down we go !
Narrator : They fly to the ground and search for the wand that they can’t find !
The cat : Where is your wand ?
The witch : I don’t know, let’s see if we can find it.
The cat : Listen ! What is it ?
Narrator : Then all of a sudden, from out of a pond leaps a dripping wet frog with a dripping wet wand.
(The frog drops the wand politely and the witch dries the wand with her cloak.)
The witch : Thanks a lot.
The frog : I am a frog, as clean as can be. Is there room on the broom for a frog like me ?
The witch : Of course .
Narrator : The frog jumps on the broom. The witch taps the broom and whoosh ! Off they go over the moors and the mountains they fly. The frog jumps for joy and… THE BROOM SNAPS IN TWO ! Down fall the cat, the dog and the frog into a bog . The witch on her half-broomstick flies into a cloud and she hears a roar, scary and loud…
The dragon : I am a dragon, as mean as can be and I am planning to have WITCH AND CHIPS for my tea !
The witch : NO
Narrator :The witch flies higher and higher ; the dragon flies after her, breathing out fire.
The witch : Help !
Narrator : She flies down to the ground, looks around but no help can be found. The dragon licks his lips.
The dragon : I will have witch without chips.
Narrator : But just as he plans to eat the witch, from out of a ditch (un fossé) rises a horrible beast : it is tall, dark and sticky and feathered and furred ; it has four frightful heads ; it has wings like a bird and a terrible voice.
The horrible beast to the dragon : Buzz off ! THAT’S MY WITCH !
Narrator : The dragon draws back and starts to shake.
The dragon : Sorry ! I made a mistake.
Narrator : The dragon spreads out his wings and is off through the sky.
The witch to the dog, the cat, the bird and the frog : Thank you , oh, thank you. Without you , I would be in that dragon’s inside. Then she fills up her cauldron and says with a grin.
The witch : Find something, everyone .Throw something in.
The bird : I have a twig (une brindille) ;
The dog : I have a bone (un os).
The cat : I have a cone (une pomme de pin).
The frog : I have a lily.
Narrator : They throw them all in the cauldron and the witch stirs them well and she mutters a spell.
The witch : Iggety, ziggety, zaggety, ZOOM !
Narrator : Then out rises a TRULY MAGNIFICENT BROOM !
The witch : YES !
Narrator : They all sit on the broomstick ; the witch taps the broomstick and whoosh ! Off, they go.
I said un Fosse but gave up on the French (or whatever language it is) afterwards. I do think those words are in an English dictionary but I would have had to look them up in a dictionary before reading and I didn't do that ahead of time.