Shadowing Practice: Bedtime Stories | Stephen Fry reads Can You Keep a Secret? | CBeebies - Learn English Speaking with Video
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68 sentences
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cbeebies bedtime story hello i'm stephen and i'm here to tell you a bedtime story
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this is the story of a little girl called winnie who discovers that fantastic beasts might be more than just make-believe
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it's called can you keep a secret and it was written and illustrated by melissa castrillon
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there's a huge tapestry in winnie's house
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it's very old as old as the town that she lives in
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it tells the tale of the fearsome beasts that used to live in the woods all around
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winnie touched the sharp teeth of the dragon do you think that they'll ever come back she asked
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no said her parents our grandparents fought a great battle and now they're gone
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that night like most nights winnie dreamed of dragons
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and that night like most nights she woke to a boom and a rumble and a flash
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the dragons are back she cried i can hear them snoring but her parents called it's just a storm
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go back to sleep so winnie slept
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but her dreams were still full of dragons and the next day she practiced with her wooden sword
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just in case a dragon comes she said
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suddenly the wind started to howl
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winnie come in now called her mum
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there's a storm coming winnie looked up at the sky
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it didn't look stormy but then a huge gust of wind swept her up into the air tumbling and twisting over the treetops
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help me she cried she was soaring over the hills when she started to fall down and down she went until poosh
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she landed on the back of an actual dragon
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the dragon set her down gently in a far away clearing
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you do still exist she gasped
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sorry if i uh swept you off your feet sometimes i flap my wings too hard
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the next moment they heard a loud rumbling and shuffling through the trees
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aha said the dragon you could meet my friends too
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winnie looked up at three extraordinary faces
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i've seen you on the tapestry she cried
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but the creatures just frowned at her
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why did you bring her here growled the lion
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you know humans always hurt us said the griffin
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look she has a sword said the tree man
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winnie threw down her sword i'd never hurt you
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don't mind them said the dragon
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it's just we're the last of our kind so we have to stay secret
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i only want to be friends said winnie
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so for the rest of the day she did what friends do
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she decorated the tree man with flowers
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she collected the tastiest apples for the griffin and as the sun set she gave the winged lion's back a good long scratch
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where do you sleep she asked
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we don't said the lion
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at night time humans are asleep
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and that's when we can go wild have a beastly bash and a hullabaloo
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as the creatures danced winnie gasped in amazement it was the noises she heard every night
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winnie danced with her fantastical friends till the forest shook
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then suddenly the sound of horses hooves echoed through the hills and a voice shouted
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winnie where are you that's my dad i have to go home now
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but you can't go home said the griffin you have to stay with us now or the humans will find us
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winnie was horrified we're the last ones left
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said the tree man so we have to be kept secret
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can you keep a secret ask the dragon doubtfully
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winnie stood tall of course i can you're my friends and i'd never let you down
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in that case said the griffin we'll take you home but we shall have to be quiet as mice
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tree man kept lookout and they snuck through the valleys until they saw the town through the trees
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then it was time to say goodbye
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i'll keep your secret forever said winnie
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winnies parents searched for hours
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suddenly in the distance they saw a light come on in their home
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perhaps she's back they cried
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and she was where have you been we've been so worried
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but winnie was too tired to say
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i think it's bedtime said her mum
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that night like most nights they all woke to a boom and a rumble and a flash
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perhaps the dragons are back cried her parents we can hear them snoring
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it's just a storm said winnie go back to sleep
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so they slept and their dreams were full of dragons
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winnie was right those amazing creatures did live in the forest
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now away you go to bed and remember if you wake to a boom and a rumble and a flash
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it's probably just a storm so whether you're a dragon a griffin a winged lion or just a good old-fashioned human sleep well you fantastic beasts
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This A1 speaking lesson is built on the video “Bedtime Stories”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: winnie, dragon, tree, griffin, cried. This video has 68 sentences and 817 words to shadow. The speech runs for 7:37. The speaker talks slowly, about 107 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. 76% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| dragon noun | /ˈdɹæɡən/ | In European mythologies, a gigantic beast, typically reptilian with leathery bat-like wings, lion-like claws, scaly skin and a lizard-like body, often a… |
| griffin noun | /ˈɡɹɪf.ɪn/ | A mythical creature with the body of a lion and head and wings of an eagle. |
| flash verb | /flæʃ/ | To cause to shine briefly or intermittently. |
| sword noun | /soɹd/ | A long bladed weapon with a grip and typically a pommel and crossguard (together forming a hilt), which is designed to cut, stab, slash and/or hack. |
| boom verb | /bum/ | To make a loud, hollow, resonant sound. |
| beast noun | /biːst/ | Any four-footed land mammal. |
| lion noun | /ˈlaɪən/ | A big cat, Panthera leo, native to Africa, India and formerly much of Europe. |
| bedtime noun | /ˈbɛdtaɪm/ | The time or hour at which one retires to bed in order to sleep. |
| sweep verb | /swiːp/ | To clean (a surface) by means of a stroking motion of a broom or brush. |
| sharp adjective | /ʃɑɹp/ | Terminating in a point or edge, especially one that can cut or pierce easily; not dull, obtuse, or rounded. |
| flower noun | /ˈfloʊɚ/ | A reproductive structure in angiosperms (flowering plants), often conspicuously colourful and typically including sepals, petals, and either or both stamens… |
| discover verb | /dɪˈskʌvə/ | To find or learn something for the first time. |
| collect verb | /ˈkɑlɪkt/ | To gather together; amass. |
| asleep adjective | /əˈsliːp/ | In a state of sleep; also, broadly, resting. |
| extraordinary adjective | /ɪksˈtɹɔːrdɪn(ə)ɹi/ | Out of the ordinary; exceptional; unusual. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| go back to verb | To stem from; to originate in. | |
| come back verb | To return to a place. | |
| come on in verb | Synonym of come in (“to enter”). | |
| fall down verb | /fɔl ˈdaʊn/ | To fall to the ground. To collapse. |
| throw down verb | To cause something one is holding to drop, often forcefully. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | i've seen · have you been |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | was written · be kept |
| Obligation: must / have to / need to saying that something is necessary | have to stay · have to go · have to be |
| Future with “will” will + verb — a decision, promise or prediction | they'll ever come · will find · we'll take |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 18 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, I'd, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: flash /flæʃ/, sharp /ʃɑɹp/, shake /ˈʃeɪk/, shout /ʃaʊt/, bash /bæʃ/
- Long words — get the stress right: extraordinary /ɪksˈtɹɔːrdɪn(ə)ɹi/, fantastical /fænˈtæstɪkəl/, hullabaloo /ˌhʌləbəˈlu/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like dragon, griffin, flash.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.