Minis
Mini Copy Book

Each post in this section is a short précis (summary) of a passage in The Copy Book. All of them are in modern English. They are intended for students of English as a Foreign Language at Elementary Level.

Bible Stories Retold

Gideon Recruits an Army

Gideon prepares to drive the Midianites out of Israel, but first he has to make it a fair fight.

Length: 116 words

Bible Stories Retold

Gideon’s Snare

While spying out the enemy’s camp, Gideon hears something which fills him with renewed confidence.

Length: 109 words

The First World War

Edith Cavell

The experienced nurse could not stop saving lives, even at the cost of her own.

Length: 59 words

The Second World War

The Day of ‘No’

On October 28th, 1940, the Kingdom of Greece surprised everyone by refusing to become part of the German war machine.

Length: 53 words

Greek and Roman Myths

Heracles and the Garden of the Hesperides

Two of Heracles’s labours are declared void, so to make up the number he is sent to find the Garden of the Hesperides.

Length: 112 words

Lives of the Saints

The Emperor and the Nun

The young Roman Emperor Theophilus backed away from marriage to the formidable Cassiani, but he could not forget her.

Length: 112 words