Arthur Butterworth, a man of sixty-six years and very particular habits, woke up feeling sticky. This was not a pleasant stickiness, like jam on toast. This was an oppressive, unwelcome stickiness that meant one thing: the British weather was misbehaving.
He looked at the thermometer outside the bedroom window. It already showed 25 degrees centigrade. “Good heavens, Brenda!” he called to his wife. “It’s tropical out there. Utter madness.”
Downstairs, the day began, as all of Arthur’s days did, with a cup of coffee. He held the warm mug in his hands and immediately regretted it. The heat from the mug seemed to join forces with the heat in the air. He took a sip. It was like drinking hot soup in a sauna.
“I can’t do it, Brenda,” he announced, placing the mug down with a sad little clink. “It’s too hot for coffee.”
Brenda, fanning herself with a magazine, looked at him with surprise. “Arthur, you’ve drunk coffee during a fire alarm and once when the boiler exploded. Are you feeling alright?”
“It’s this unprecedented heat,” he muttered. “It’s not natural for England.”
His first plan was simple. He retrieved the old electric fan from the attic. It was a noisy machine from the 1980s. He switched it on. The fan roared to life, blowing a stream of warm air directly into his face. “This isn’t helping!” he complained. “It’s like being breathed on by a dragon.”
His second plan involved a wet flannel. He soaked it in cold water and placed it on his forehead. This brought a moment of beautiful, cool relief. He sat in his favourite armchair, feeling very clever. But after five minutes, the flannel was warm, and little drips of water were running down his nose and onto his new book.
Brenda walked in. “You look like you’re melting, dear,” she said, not unkindly.
By midday, the temperature had reached 30 degrees. Arthur was desperate. He went to the freezer. “Aha!” he said, pulling out a large bag of frozen peas. He sat back down in his chair and placed the frozen bag on the back of his neck.
“Oh, that’s much better,” he sighed with satisfaction. The intense cold was wonderful. He felt his entire body temperature begin to drop. He was a genius. Why hadn’t he thought of this before?
“Arthur, what are you doing with the vegetables for dinner?” Brenda asked, standing with her hands on her hips.
“It’s a medical emergency, Brenda!” he replied. “Desperate times call for desperate vegetables.”
Soon, however, the peas began to defrost. The bag became wet with condensation, and a small green puddle formed on the back of his collar. A faint smell of boiled vegetables started to fill the room.
This was the final straw. Arthur stood up, a look of determination on his face. “I’m going to the shed,” he proclaimed.
The shed was Arthur’s kingdom. It was full of tools, old paint tins, and things he had saved ‘just in case’. He emerged twenty minutes later with a strange-looking contraption. He had taken a large plastic box, drilled several holes in one side, and filled it with all the ice from the freezer. He then positioned the box on a stool directly in front of the noisy fan.
“Behold!” he announced to Brenda. “The ‘Arctic-Breeze 5000’. The fan will blow across the ice, creating a stream of chilled air. It’s ingenious!”
He switched the fan on. A genuinely cool breeze drifted across the living room. It was working! Arthur sat in his armchair, a triumphant smile on his face. He had defeated the heat. He was the king of cool.
His victory lasted for exactly seven minutes. Then, the inevitable happened. The ice was melting fast. Water began to leak from the bottom of the plastic box, dripping onto the floor. The fan then blew the drips forward, spraying a fine mist of water all over the television screen and a plate of biscuits on the coffee table.
Brenda came back into the room to witness the fiasco. Water was pooling on her nice wooden floor, the biscuits were soggy, and Arthur was frantically trying to mop up the mess with a tea towel.
She sighed, turned around, and walked out into the garden. A few moments later, she called out, “Arthur, I’ve solved it.”
Reluctantly, he went outside. There, under the shade of the big oak tree, Brenda had put out two garden chairs. Between them was a small, plastic paddling pool, filled with a few inches of cold water.
“Just take your socks off and put your feet in,” she said, sipping a tall glass of iced lemonade.
Arthur looked at the paddling pool. It was bright pink with yellow ducks on it. It was for children. It was undignified. But the shade from the tree was inviting, and the water looked so, so cool.
He sighed, sat down, and took off his socks and shoes. He placed his feet into the water. A wave of pure, blissful cold washed over him. It was simple, and it was perfect.
He leaned back in his chair. Brenda handed him an ice lolly.
“Alright,” he admitted, licking the cold, sweet orange ice lolly. “This isn’t so bad. But,” he added, looking up at the perfectly blue sky, “I do hope it rains tomorrow.”
Vocabulary Notes
Oppressive (adjective)
Meaning: Describes something that makes you feel uncomfortable, heavy, or worried because it is so powerful or intense. When talking about weather, it means the heat is heavy and makes it difficult to breathe or move.
Example: “This was an oppressive, unwelcome stickiness that meant one thing: the British weather was misbehaving.”
Another example: “The silence in the room was oppressive after their argument.”
Similar words: Stifling, overwhelming, unbearable.
Unprecedented (adjective)
Meaning: Something that has never happened, been done, or been known before. It is completely new.
Example: “It’s this unprecedented heat,” he muttered. “It’s not natural for England.”
Another example: “The global pandemic caused unprecedented changes to the way we work.”
Similar words: Unheard-of, extraordinary, revolutionary, never-before-seen.
The final straw (idiom)
Meaning: This is an idiom that means the last problem in a series of problems that finally makes you lose your patience or makes a situation impossible to accept.
Example: “This was the final straw. Arthur stood up, a look of determination on his face.”
Another example: “She was often late for work, but when she missed the big meeting, it was the final straw and her boss fired her.”
Similar phrases: The last straw, the breaking point.
Contraption (noun)
Meaning: An informal word for a machine or device that looks strange, complicated, or old-fashioned. It is often used humorously.
Example: “He emerged twenty minutes later with a strange-looking contraption.”
Another example: “My uncle invented a contraption for automatically making toast and tea at the same time.”
Similar words: Gadget, device, invention (but contraption suggests it’s a bit strange or homemade).
Ingenious (adjective)
Meaning: Describes a person, idea, or object that is very clever, original, and inventive.
Example: “Behold!” he announced to Brenda. “The ‘Arctic-Breeze 5000’… It’s ingenious!”
Another example: “She had an ingenious plan to fix the broken chair using only a fork and some string.”
Similar words: Brilliant, clever, inventive, creative.
Fiasco (noun)
Meaning: An event that is a complete and embarrassing failure, often in a funny or chaotic way.
Example: “Brenda came back into the room to witness the fiasco.”
Another example: “The surprise party was a fiasco because the birthday boy decided to go on holiday.”
Similar words: Disaster, mess, catastrophe, shambles.
Reluctantly (adverb)
Meaning: To do something unwillingly or with hesitation because you don’t want to do it.
Example: “Reluctantly, he went outside.”
Another example: “The little boy reluctantly shared his chocolate with his brother.”
Similar words: Unwillingly, hesitantly.
Blissful (adjective)
Meaning: Describes a feeling or experience of complete happiness, peace, and pleasure.
Example: “He placed his feet into the water. A wave of pure, blissful cold washed over him.”
Another example: “Lying in the sun with a good book was a moment of blissful relaxation.”
Similar words: Heavenly, delightful, joyful, perfect.
Story written by Google Gemini AI
Image created by Google ImageFX AI
CC Music: Drifting at 432 Hz – Unicorn Heads
Reading Short Stories/Content for English Learners 
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