Hardy's story of a party on a rainy night, three knocks at the door, and a very strange song.
Want the fuller version? Read this story at B2/C1 level →
Ten words open the story. Do the four short activities. Say your answer out loud first, then click Reveal.
Three words: prison · escape · hangman. Say the right word, then reveal.
This is a famous English story, told here in simple English. Read each part. Then answer the questions from memory, and talk about one question.
About two hundred years ago, there was a little house on a hill in the south-west of England. It was three miles from the town of Casterbridge. One night in March, it rained very hard. But inside the house, Shepherd Fennel and his wife were having a party. Their new baby had her christening that day. Twenty people were there. They danced, ate and drank by a big, warm fire, and a boy played the violin.
At eight o'clock, someone knocked on the door. A tall, thin man was outside. He was soaking wet. "Can I come in for a little while?" he asked. "Of course!" said the shepherd. The stranger sat in the warmest place, next to the fire. He was friendly, but he didn't talk much about himself. He took out a pipe. "Has anyone got some tobacco?" he asked. "I lost mine on the road." The guests thought it was a little strange: a pipe, but no tobacco.
1. Why are the Fennels having a party?
2. Where does the first stranger sit, and what does he ask for?
1. It is the christening of their new baby.
2. Next to the fire, in the warmest place. He asks for some tobacco for his pipe.
Soon there was a second knock. This man was short, fat and loud. He sat down next to the first stranger and drank a lot. Mrs Fennel wasn't happy about that! "What's your job?" someone asked him. He didn't answer. He sang a song: "My job is very rare… I tie my customers and take them up high…" Only one person sang the song with him: the first stranger, in a loud voice.
Then everyone understood. The second stranger was the hangman! Tomorrow, in Casterbridge prison, he was going to hang a man. The prisoner was a poor watchmaker. His children were hungry, so he stole a sheep. Everyone at the party thought it was a terrible punishment.
Then there was a third knock. A small man opened the door and asked for directions. But when he saw the two men next to the fire, his face went white. He looked at them for a second. Then he turned and ran away into the dark.
1. What is the second stranger's job? How do the guests find out?
2. What does the third stranger do?
1. He is the hangman. He sings a song about his job.
2. He sees the two men next to the fire, goes white, and runs away.
Then they heard a gun from the town. "That's the prison gun!" said the hangman. "A prisoner has escaped!" Everyone thought: the third stranger! That's why he ran! The men ran out into the rain to search for him. They found him under a tree and brought him back to the house. But two officers from the prison said, "That isn't the prisoner. He looks completely different."
"Then why did you run away?" they asked the little man. He explained. The prisoner was his brother. He came to say goodbye to him before he died. But when he opened the door, he saw his brother — next to the fire, sitting next to the hangman, and singing the hangman's song! His brother looked at him, and the look said: "Don't say anything!" So he ran away.
The first stranger was the prisoner! But now he was gone. The next day, people searched for him — but not very hard. They felt sorry for him. Nobody ever found him.
1. Who is the third stranger really?
2. Who is the first stranger? Why don't people search very hard for him?
1. The prisoner's brother. He came to say goodbye.
2. The escaped prisoner. People feel sorry for him — he only stole a sheep because his children were hungry.
At the party, people want to know about the strangers. But it's not polite to ask "Who are you?" So English speakers say a sentence and add a little question at the end: "You're not from here, are you?" This little question is a question tag.
Write the tag.
1. It's raining hard, ?
2. You aren't hungry, ?
3. The baby is beautiful, ?
1. isn't it 2. are you 3. isn't she
Write the tag.
1. The hangman drinks a lot, ?
2. The little man ran away, ?
3. You like this story, ?
1. doesn't he 2. didn't he 3. don't you
Shepherd Fennel talks to the first stranger. Write the tags. Then read it aloud with a partner!
Fennel: It's a terrible night, ? Stranger: Yes, it is. Fennel: You walked a long way, ? Stranger: Yes, I did. Fennel: You aren't from this village, ? Stranger: No, I'm not. Fennel: You can't find your tobacco, ? Stranger: No, I can't. Fennel: But you know this song, ? Stranger: Yes… I do. Fennel: You were in Casterbridge today, ? Stranger: …
isn't it · didn't you · are you · can you · don't you · weren't you
Six little questions — and the stranger doesn't want to answer the last one!
Keep these tags ready — in the Speak tab you will tell the story and ask your own questions.
Thomas Hardy (1840–1928) is a famous English writer. He wrote many novels and stories about the countryside in the south-west of England. He called this place "Wessex". "Casterbridge" is the real town of Dorchester. He wrote "The Three Strangers" in 1883. In the story's time, in England, a person could die for stealing a sheep.
This is the most important part of the lesson. Do everything out loud. Use the timer and try to speak for the whole time.
Tell The Three Strangers in your own words. Don't say who the first stranger is until the end! Follow the steps: the rainy night and the party → the first knock: the thin man and the pipe → the second knock: the hangman's song → the third knock: the man who runs away → the prison gun → the search → the brother → the end.
Use at least two question tags in the conversations, and at least five key words (christening, soaking wet, stranger, prison, escape, hangman, run away, search for, prisoner, knock).
Say what you think and give three reasons. The prisoner stole a sheep for his hungry children. Should the people help him escape, or should they catch him? The law is the law… or is it?
Then change sides! Speak for one minute for the other opinion.
Talk about strangers, parties and mysteries.
No idea? Choose one of these: