It was a quiet evening in the small village of Willow Creek. The sun was setting, painting the sky in shades of orange and pink. Sarah sat on her porch, enjoying the peace and quiet. Suddenly, she heard a strange noise. It was like a cat, but bigger.

Curious, Sarah stood up and looked around. There, in the shadows of the old oak tree, she saw a pair of glowing eyes. Slowly, a large, black animal came out of the darkness. It was a big cat, but not a cat she knew. It was black and had long, sharp teeth.

Sarah was scared, but she didn’t move. The cat looked at her for a long time, then turned and disappeared into the woods. Sarah went inside and locked the door. She couldn’t stop thinking about the strange cat.

The next morning, Sarah told her friends about the big black cat. They all thought she was imagining things. But Sarah knew what she saw. She decided to find out more about the strange animal. She went to the library and looked for books about wild animals.

Sarah couldn’t find anything about a big, black cat in the library books. She was starting to think she was going crazy. Maybe she had dreamed it all. But then she remembered the glowing eyes. She couldn’t forget those eyes.

A few days later, Sarah was walking in the woods when she saw the big black cat again. This time, it was closer. It watched her, and its eyes seemed to glow brighter. Sarah was terrified. She ran back to the village.

When she got home, Sarah told her neighbour, Mr. Harris, about the cat. Mr. Harris was an old man who knew everything about the forest. He listened to Sarah carefully. Then he said, “That’s strange. Very strange.”

Mr. Harris told Sarah about old stories about a big, black panther that lived in the mountains. People said it was a ghost animal, a spirit of the forest. Sarah was scared, but she was also curious. She wanted to know more about the panther.

The next day, Sarah and Mr. Harris went to the woods. They were careful, but they wanted to see the panther again. They walked deep into the forest, and then they stopped. There, in a small clearing, they saw it. The big black cat was drinking from a small stream.

---

Vocabulary Notes

General Vocabulary

Terrified: Feeling extreme fear.
Curious: Wanting to know or learn something.
Glowing: Producing a steady bright light.
Shadow: A dark area caused by something blocking the light.

Animal-related Vocabulary

Panther: A large, black cat.
Spirit animal: An animal that represents a person’s spirit or soul. A spirit animal is a concept found in many cultures and spiritual traditions. It’s believed to be an animal that represents a person’s spirit or soul. This animal can offer guidance, protection, and wisdom. It’s like having a personal animal totem or guide. For example, in the story, the big black panther could be seen as a spirit animal. It might symbolize mystery, power, or a connection to the wild.

Descriptive Vocabulary

Quiet: Making very little noise.
Strange: Unusual or unexpected.
Terrified: Feeling extreme fear.

Story written by Google Gemini AI

Images created by Copilot AI

Hello this is Steve. If you enjoyed the story, please would you take the time to leave a meaningful comment and click on the like icon. If you want to know when the next story has been uploaded, please click on the notify bell icon to be notified. If you haven’t already, please subscribe to my channel and tell your English learning friends, so they can benefit too. Thank you.

CC Music: Drifting at 432 Hz – Unicorn Heads

#britishshortstories #learningenglish #englishspeaking #englishspeakingpractice #englishreading #englishreadingpractice #readingenglish #ieltslistening #englishlistening