Vocabulary: dull – not colourful to signal – to communicate something without speaking.
Tags: Listening practice, reading practice.
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ESL listening: How the firefly got its light.
A long long time ago, the sun and the moon were always in the sky. There was no nighttime, and there was no daytime.
After a while, some animals called to the sun and the moon and asked to talk with them. The moon and the sun did as they were asked.
"We do not know when to start sleeping,” said the elephant to the moon, “because you are always in the sky.”
“And we do not know when to wake up,” said the zebra to the sun, “because you are always shining brightly.”
Everyone complained except the dulfly. The sleepy dulfly looked like a firefly, but it did not glow. Its body was dark and
dull and all together boring.
The sun, because it was always a little brighter than the moon, thought hard about what to do. “I will stay in the sky half of the time,” said the sun,” and the moon will stay in the sky when I am not there so that you will know when to sleep. But one of you will have to tell us when it is time for us to swap, otherwise we will not know.”
“I can’t do it,” said the lion, “I am too busy hunting.”
“I can’t do it,” said the monkey, “I am too busy picking fruit from the trees.”
One by one, all the animals explained why they couldn’t help the moon and the sun, until only the sleepy dulfly remained.
“Wake up dulfly!” yelled the sun.
“What’s wrong?” asked the sleepy dulfly.
The sun replied, “My friend the moon and I must separate, and this makes me sad. But it is the only way that the animals can sleep well. So once a day we need you to tell us when to rise and fall. The time when I rise will be called dawn and the time when I fall will be called dusk. ”
“But I couldn’t possibly!” said the sleepy dulfly, “How could I
signal someone as large as you, when I am so small. You wouldn’t be able to see me!”
The sun breathed in slowly and then sent light into the dulfly’s bottom where it glowed brightly.
“Owwwwwww!” screamed the sleepy dulfly, “that hurt!!!”
The sun said in a loud voice, “You will fly around and flash the light in your bottom at dusk and dawn, and the moon and I will know that it is time to swap. The rest of the time you may sleep.”
Ever since that day, the sleepy dulfly has been known as the firefly, and the sun and the moon have risen and set because it does its job well. And so, if you are outside at dawn or dusk and you happen to catch a firefly, you must be sure to let it go because even though it is small, the firefly is the one who decides when the sun rises and sets.
English 
