On this page you will find Leo Tolstoy’s story “The Plum Pit” — a moral tale about honesty and about how important it is to tell the truth. Double-clicking a word will open its translation and audio pronunciation. Key words can be закреплены in the trainer at the end of the page. Working with the words activates motor memory and helps you remember them more effectively. Each section also includes an audio file in MP3 format for deeper analysis and for developing listening skills.
A mother bought some plums and wanted to give them to the children after dinner. The plums were lying on a plate.
Vanya had never eaten plums before. He kept smelling them. He liked them very much and really wanted to eat one. He kept walking past the plate again and again.
When nobody was in the room, he could not resist the temptation. He took one plum and ate it.
Before dinner the mother counted the plums and saw that one was missing. She told the father everything.
At dinner the father said: — Children, did anyone eat one plum?
Everyone said: — No.
Vanya turned red like a crab and said too: — No, I did not eat it.
Then the father said: — If one of you ate it, that is not good. But that is not the main problem. The problem is that plums have pits. If someone does not know how to eat them and swallows a pit, he may die in a day. I am afraid of that.
Vanya became pale and said: — No, I threw the pit out of the window.
Everyone laughed, but Vanya started to cry.
This story teaches that it is better to tell the truth right away than to hide your mistake. A lie will always be discovered.
When a person lies, he feels ashamed in front of others and in front of himself.
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