Shadowing Practice: Rumpelstiltskin | Fairy Tales | Gigglebox - Learn English Speaking with Video
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- This is the story of Rumpelstiltskin.
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Once upon a time, a poor miller and his daughter lived in a tiny cottage beside a road.
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Every day, the king's carriage came down the road, right past the miller's cottage.
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And every day, the miller watched sadly, wishing he could have even half the king's wealth.
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Seeing a chance to impress the king, the miller rushed out and bowed.
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Your majesty!
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I am only a humble miller.
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But I'm honored by your presence.
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The king was amused.
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"Tell me," he said to the miller.
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"Have you a gift for me, to show how honoured you are?" The miller had to think of something fast.
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He said the first thing that popped into his head.
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"I have a daughter who can spin straw into gold." The greedy king's eyes lit up.
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"Straw to gold, you say?" Bring your daughter to me at once.
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The miller went inside, A moment later he returned, pushing his daughter in front of him.
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"Your father claims you can spin straw into gold," the king told the girl.
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I would like to see that.
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Come with me to my castle.
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If you can do as he says, I shall make you my wife.
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But if your father is only boasting, you will both be punished.
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The king's footsman helped the girl into the carriage, and off they set.
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When they reached the castle, the king led the girl into a small room, piled with straw.
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In the middle, sat a small spinning wheel.
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"I will return in the morning to see if your father was telling the truth," he said.
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"Now, get to work." Then he left, locking the door behind him.
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As soon as she was alone, the miller's daughter burst into tears.
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"Oh ho ho !" Woe is me!
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She sobbed.
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What am I going to do?
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Because of course, she had no idea how to spin straw into gold.
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Suddenly, A gruff little voice came from the corner.
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"Why do you cry, girl?" Surely things cannot be so bad.
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Turning around, The girl saw the strangest looking man she had ever laid her eyes on.
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"My father told the king I could spin straw into gold.
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When the king finds out that my father was lying, he will be so angry.
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I cannot imagine what he will do to us." The man smiled.
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I could help.
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For a price?
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What can you give me?
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The miller's daughter stopped crying at once.
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If you really can help, you may have my necklace.
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It belonged to my mother.
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She took off the necklace and held it out.
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"Yes," said the man, taking the necklace from her.
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"This will do nicely." He sat down at the spinning wheel and got to work.
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The miller's daughter watched in amazement as the spinning wheel whizzed round and the room filled with gold.
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Then, as the sun began to rise, the little man disappeared.
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The king was pleased when he saw all the gold.
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"Amazing !" he exclaimed.
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But the sight of all the gold only made him even more greedy.
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He led the miller's daughter to a bigger room, filled with even more straw.
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"Let's see if you can do even better," he said.
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And, as before, he closed the door, locking her inside.
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Once again, the miller's daughter began to cry.
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She had been saved once, But could she be saved again?
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Hour after hour, she paced the room weeping.
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Then, As the clock struck midnight, she heard the strange man's voice again.
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Why do you cry, girl?
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I did as you asked.
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What is it now?
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The king wants even more gold!
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I must spin all this straw into gold by morning.
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Oh, woe is me!
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The man smiled.
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"Oh, I could help you again.
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For a price.
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What can you give me?" The girl took a shiny ring from her finger and held it out to him.
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"This belonged to my grandmother." she said.
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"Mmm, yes, this will do nicely." Tucking the ring into his pocket, He sat down at the spinning wheel and got to work.
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Soon the room was piled with gold.
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The little man disappeared just as the sun came up.
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When the king saw the great mass of gold, he was even more pleased.
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But it was still not enough for him.
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Taking the girl by the hand, he led her to even a bigger room.
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"Fill this room with gold and you shall be my wife," he said.
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Then he left and locked the door.
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As the king's footsteps faded down the hall, The little man appeared.
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"It seems you need help again." What can you offer me now?
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The miller's daughter shook her head.
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I have nothing left.
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The man smiled.
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"Oh, but you do." If you do as the king asks, he will make you his wife.
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I will turn this straw into gold in exchange for your firstborn child.
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The girl had no choice.
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Anyway, she thought, I may never have a child.
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So she agreed, and the man got to work.
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The next morning, the king was overjoyed at the room full of gold.
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He married the girl that very day, and she became a queen.
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After a year, she gave birth to a beautiful baby boy.
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She and the king were very happy.
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By this time, the Queen had forgotten all about her promise to the strange little man
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But he had not forgotten and he soon appeared before her.
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I have come to claim what you promised.
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The Queen held her baby close.
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"No!
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I can give you so much more now.
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You can take all the treasures of the Kingdom, but please do not take my child." The man shook his head.
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"The child belongs to me." But I shall give you one more chance.
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If you can guess my name in the next three days, you may keep the child.
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Then he vanished.
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When the man appeared the next morning, the Queen started guessing.
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"Is your name George?" she asked.
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"Fred?
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Ben?
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"Abraham?" With each guess, the man shook his head, until at last the queen ran out of names.
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"Better luck tomorrow," the man said, and he was gone.
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That evening, the queen sent out a messenger to collect all the names in the kingdom.
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She also asked her servants for ideas.
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And when the little man appeared the next day, she was ready.
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Is your name Bernard?
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Hyacinth?
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Squall?
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Mistro?
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Balthazar, Quackenbush?
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At each guess, the man shook his head.
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One more day.
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And again, he disappeared.
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The Queen spent all night trying to recall every name she had ever heard.
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"I must keep my child," she said to herself over and over.
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At daybreak, her messenger suddenly burst through the doors looking very excited.
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"Your Highness," he said.
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As I was returning to the castle, I saw the strangest sight.
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A funny little man was dancing around a fire singing this song.
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I will brew and I will bake and the Queen's baby I will take.
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She can't win my guessing game, for Rumpelstiltskin is my name.
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The queen wept with joy when she heard this.
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"Thank you, with all my heart," she said to the messenger.
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Soon, the little man arrived with a sly smile on his face.
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So have you guessed my name?
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The Queen smiled.
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"Is it Bobby?
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Federico?
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Louis?" Dancing with glee, the man shouted.
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"No, no, no!
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You lose, I win !" "Oh, please !" The Queen begged.
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"Just one more guess.
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Is your name..." Rumpelstiltskin?
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The man stopped dancing.
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What?
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How did you know?
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The queen just smiled.
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"Sorry, Rumpelstiltskin.
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That is my secret.
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Now, please go." The man stomped and stamped and shouted.
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His face grew red.
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He pulled out his hair and then...
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He disappeared in a puff of smoke and was never seen again.
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The King and Queen lived happily ever after.
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They had many more children and got to keep them all.
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The End.
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Remember to please like the video and subscribe to our channel so you can stay updated on all our new videos.
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Bye!
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About This Lesson
In this lesson, you will practice your speaking and listening skills by engaging with the enchanting tale of Rumpelstiltskin. This classic fairy tale offers an excellent opportunity to enhance your English fluency through shadowing techniques. As you listen to the story, you will learn to mimic the tone, rhythm, and pronunciation of the characters, making it easier for you to convey emotions and narratives in English.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Miller - A person who grinds grain into flour.
- Spin - To make thread from fiber, often used in the context of spinning straw into gold.
- Wealth - A large amount of money, property, or valuable resources.
- Greedy - Having an intense and selfish desire for something, especially wealth or power.
- Punished - To subject someone to a penalty for an offense or wrongdoing.
- Necklace - A piece of jewelry worn around the neck.
- Cried - The past tense of cry; to express sorrow or distress by shedding tears.
- Help - To assist someone in doing something.
Practice Tips
To effectively practice your English skills with this video, consider using a shadowing app that allows for playback at varied speeds. Given the narrative tone and pacing of the story, aim to first listen to the entire tale to grasp the overall context. Following your initial listening:
- Shadow Speak: Play segments of the video and repeat the phrases immediately after the speaker. This will help align your speech pace with that of the narrator.
- Focus on Emotion: The story's characters convey various emotions, such as sadness and fear. Pay close attention to how the tone changes and mimic those emotional inflections in your own voice.
- Record Yourself: Use a recording device or app to capture your shadow speech. Compare your pronunciation and intonation with the original audio to identify areas for improvement.
- Vary Your Practice: Repeat challenging sections multiple times, adjusting the playback speed in your shadowing app to deepen your understanding and fluency of the vocabulary used.
By immersing yourself in the world of Rumpelstiltskin through shadowing, you will enhance your English language skills in a fun and engaging way!
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | was amused · be punished · had been saved |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have come · have you guessed |
| Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past | was telling · was lying · was returning |
| Possibility with “might / may” might/may + verb — something that is possible but not certain | may have · may never have · may keep |
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.