Arthur lived in a small flat on the third floor and, whilst he loved a good book and a cup of tea, he often felt a bit lonely. He decided he needed a pet. But Arthur was not a man to do things by halves. He didn’t want a boring cat or a noisy dog; he wanted something exotic. After much research, he settled on a jellyfish.
“A jellyfish, Arthur?” his neighbour, Brenda, asked when she saw the enormous glass tank being delivered. “In a flat? Are you mad?”
Arthur just smiled. “This, Brenda, is Wobble. He’s very peaceful. He just glides around. And look, the tank glows!”
And it did. The tank hummed quietly and emitted a soft, blue glow. All day and night, Wobble would drift about, a translucent, ethereal being. Brenda, however, was not impressed. She complained about the humming noise keeping her awake and said the blue light made her feel like she was living in a disco.
One evening, a massive electrical storm hit. All the lights in the building flickered and went out.
“Oh no!” Arthur gasped. Wobble’s tank needed constant power to keep the water temperature steady. He grabbed a large plastic bowl and, with his phone’s torchlight, went to perform the rescue. He was whisking the delicate creature out of the tank when he tripped over his own foot. The tank smashed, the water splashed everywhere, and something slimy and cold hit the floor with a wet thud.
“Wobble!” he cried in a panic.
Brenda, having heard the crash, came running in with her own torch. “What’s all this commotion? Is that a jellyfish on the floor?” she shouted.
They searched frantically in the dark. Arthur was convinced he could see a tiny, glowing shape moving under his sofa. Brenda, on her hands and knees, looked behind the television.
“I can’t find it!” she yelled, furious. “It’s probably already in my flat!”
Just then, the power came back on with a flash. The room was a disaster zone. Broken glass, soaked carpet, and… a single, bright red jelly sweet, half-melted, which had fallen from Arthur’s pocket. It was the “slimy, cold” thing they’d been hunting for.
Arthur and Brenda looked at the sweet, then at each other, and finally collapsed into laughter. Wobble, perfectly fine, was sitting safely in the plastic bowl.
“Perhaps,” Arthur said with a sigh, “a goldfish would be a better idea.”
Vocabulary Notes
By halves (idiom)
Meaning: To do something with a lot of effort, thoroughly, or completely. The phrase is almost always used in the negative (“not do things by halves”), meaning to do something enthusiastically.
Example from the story: “But Arthur was not a man to do things by halves.”
Similar words/phrases: wholeheartedly, enthusiastically, with full effort.
For example: “When she plans a party, she doesn’t do it by halves—she hires a band and a caterer!”
Ethereal
Meaning: Extremely delicate and light in a way that seems too perfect for this world. It often describes something that is very graceful or beautiful.
Example from the story: “Wobble would drift about, a translucent, ethereal being.”
Similar words/phrases: delicate, graceful, ghostly, translucent.
Commotion
Meaning: A state of confused and noisy disturbance.
Example from the story: “What’s all this commotion?” she shouted.
Similar words/phrases: noise, fuss, uproar, disturbance, racket.
Frantically
Meaning: In a hurried, disorganized, or uncontrolled way, often because you feel anxious or worried.
Example from the story: “They searched frantically in the dark.”
Similar words/phrases: desperately, wildly, hectically, hurriedly.
Collapsed into laughter
Meaning: To start laughing uncontrollably and suddenly, often so much that you lose your balance or fall down.
Example from the story: “and finally collapsed into laughter.”
Similar words/phrases: to burst out laughing, to double over with laughter, to be in stitches.
Story written by Gemini Pro AI.
Image created by aimagicx AI.
CC Music: Drifting at 432 Hz – Unicorn Heads.
Reading Short Stories/Content for English Learners 
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