Learning English

Mariam
Hello I'm Mariam. Today I'm going to tell you a story about Orpheus and Eurydice, Greek lovers who were tragically lost to each other because of a terrible mistake. 

Orpheus was the son of Apollo, Greek god of the Sun. Orpheus had a wonderful gift. Whenever he played the lyre, any animal or bird nearby would stop and listen, spellbound. All day long Orpheus would play, enchanting all the creatures around him, including the woodland nymphs in the trees above. 

One day, Orpheus was playing when he glanced upwards. There in the branches was a beautiful woodland nymph with dazzling long hair, looking down at him with dark dreamy eyes. Orpheus was in love. Before long, Eurydice, the nymph, was in love too. The pair became inseparable and soon they were married. 

They were blissfully happy, but their happiness didn’t last long. It came to an abrupt and cruel end one summer’s day…

It was unbearably hot so Eurydice went to the river to cool down. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a swarm of bees came and attacked her. She clambered out of the water to escape but the bees followed. "Orpheus, help!" she screamed but Orpheus was a long way off, playing his lyre. 

Eurydice ran quickly. Suddenly a sharp pain pierced her foot and she fell. A deadly snake had bitten her. It didn’t take long for the poison to take its fatal effect. When Orpheus finally arrived, the snake had long gone and Eurydice was lifeless. Orpheus was heartbroken! "As long as I live," he swore, "I’ll never play music again." But he was wrong.   

Join me again soon for part two of the story where you can find out why he was wrong. Bye for now.