“Hey, Slimey!” said Oscar the Grouch, holding up a thimble filled with water. “You’re on.”
Oscar meant that it was time for Slimey, his pet worm, to practice his newest trick.
“I can hardly wait to tell everyone about this,” said Oscar. “I bet no one has ever seen a worm dive from a diving board into a thimble full of water.”

Slimey climbed up the little ladder.
He wriggled to the end of the diving board and looked down. There was the thimble full of water.
Slimey took a deep breath and dived. He landed in the thimble with a SPLISH.

“Terrific dive!” said Oscar. “A few more...

Once upon a time, there were three little pigs. When they were old enough, they left their home to seek their fortunes.
Mother Pig was very sad to see them leave.
The first little pig met a farmer with a load of straw.
“Please sir,” he said “will you give me some straw to build a house?”
The farmer gave the first little pig some straw.

And the little pig built a house of straw.
Along came a wicked wolf and knocked on the door.
“Little pig, little pig, let me come in,” said the wolf.
But the little pig answered, “No, no! Not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin.”
“Then I’ll huff and...

Once upon a time, there were three bears who lived in a little house in the woods.
Father Bear was a great big bear.
Mother Bear was a medium-sized bear.
And Baby Bear was a wee tiny bear.
One day, Mother Bear made hot porridge for breakfast.
She poured it into their bowls, and they all went for a walk in the woods while it cooled.

While they were gone, a little girl named Goldilocks came to their house.
She looked in the door and didn’t see anyone there, so in she went. Now, that was not right. She should have waited for someone to come home.
Well, Goldilocks saw porridge on the table and suddenly...

Once upon a time, a little old woman and a little old man lived in a little old house.
One day, the little old woman decided to make a gingerbread man.
She cut him out of dough and put him in the oven to bake.
After a while, the little old woman said to herself, “That gingerbread man must be ready by now.”
She went to the oven door and opened it. Up jumped the gingerbread man, and away he ran, out the front door.

As he ran, he shouted,
“Run, run as fast as you can.
You can’t catch me,
I’m the gingerbread man!”
The little old woman ran after the gingerbread man, but she couldn’t catch him....

Scuffy was sad.
Scuffy was cross.
Scuffy sniffed his blue smokestack.
“A toy store is no place for a red-painted tugboat,” said Scuffy, and he sniffed his blue smokestack again. “I was meant for bigger things.”

“Perhaps you would not be cross if you went sailing,” said the man with the polka dot tie, who owned the shop.
So one night he took Scuffy home to his little boy. He filled the bathtub with water.
“Sail, little tugboat,” said the little boy.
“I won’t sail in a bathtub,” said Scuffy. “A tub is no place for a red-painted tugboat. I was meant for bigger things.”
The next...

Once upon a time there was a boy named Jack who lived with his mother in a little cottage. They had barely enough to eat. One day Jack’s mother said to him, “We have no money left to buy food. You must take the cow to town and sell her.”

On the way to town, Jack met a strange little man who offered to buy the cow.
“What will you give me for her?” Jack asked.
The little man reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of shiny beans. “These,” he said. “They’re magic!”
Jack could not take his eyes off the beans. “It’s a bargain,” he said.
And home Jack ran as fast as...