Who's Taking the Good Pen?
A free A1-level English story for language learners, readable online in English, with an option to listen via the free Storyteller app.
The office's one good pen keeps vanishing from its cup, and Liam finally catches the coworker who keeps forgetting to bring it back.
Liam works at the front desk. He keeps one good pen in a cup. The pen writes very smoothly. Everyone in the office likes this pen.
Some mornings, the pen is not there. Liam checks his drawers first. Next, he checks the shelf by the printer. The pen always turns up somewhere strange.
One week, it sits in a filing cabinet. Another week, it sits under some papers. Liam wants to solve this small mystery.
On Thursday, Liam watches the front desk. At two o'clock, Dean walks by. Dean picks up the pen and smiles. He carries it straight to his own desk. He opens the newspaper to the crossword.
Liam walks over with a curious look. "Do you always borrow my pen?" he asks.
Dean looks up, a little surprised. "Is this your special pen?" he says. "I just grab any pen close by. I always mean to bring it back."
"You forget every time," Liam says kindly. "The whole office looks for this pen."
Dean laughs and hands it back at once. "Sorry about that. I did not know."
Liam finds a small bright sticker. He writes a short note on it. It says, "Front Desk Pen. Please Return Here." He sticks the note right on the cup.
The next week, the pen stays put. Dean still borrows it for his crossword. But now he always brings it back.
Liam checks the cup every morning. The good pen sits right in its place.
