Back to Library
The Wizard, the Whale, and the Wobbly Blowhole
Preview
High Intermediate (B1 High) CEFR B1

The Wizard, the Whale, and the Wobbly Blowhole

In a secret laboratory hidden under a coral reef, a silly wizard named Zibble was mixing a potion that smelled like old socks. He had been trying to invent a spell to make seaweed taste like pizza, bu...

Duration

5 min read

Length

365 words

Story

5 paragraphs

Story Excerpt

Sample preview reading passage

Paragraphs 1–2 of 5

In a secret laboratory hidden under a coral reef, a silly wizard named Zibble was mixing a potion that smelled like old socks. He had been trying to invent a spell to make seaweed taste like pizza, but instead, his cauldron exploded with a loud POP! A tiny dolphin named Splash flew out of the bubbles and landed on a pile of wizard hats. "Oops," said Zibble. "I was trying to make a pizza, not a dolphin." Splash looked around and squeaked, "Where is my pod? I was following the whales on their migration, and now I'm here!"

Zibble scratched his head and said, "Don't worry, little mammal. I will help you find your family." He waved his wand, but instead of a map, a giant rubber duck appeared. "That's not right," he mumbled. However, Splash was not upset. She explained, "I can use my echolocation to find my pod. I make clicking sounds, and the echoes tell me where things are." Zibble clapped his hands. "Brilliant! I will build a machine that makes clicking sounds too."

Enjoying the preview?

Sign in to read the full story, track your progress, and earn rewards.

Complete Story & Ending Interactive Vocabulary & Quizzes Track Reading Streak & XP
Educational Objectives

Story Details

Grammar focus and learning objectives covered in this story.

Grammar Level

B1 · Present Perfect, First Conditional, Past Continuous

Learning Outcomes

  • read a story about marine mammals and understand the main events
  • recognise and use the present perfect, first conditional, and past continuous tenses
  • explain how whales and dolphins breathe and communicate using a blowhole and echolocation
  • describe how marine mammals travel across oceans through migration and pods
  • identify threats to marine mammals and suggest ways to help them

Grammar Focus

Present Perfect: have/has + past participle

We use the present perfect to talk about actions that started in the past and continue to the present, or to describe experiences.

“ He had been trying to invent a spell to make seaweed taste like pizza
Tip: Remember that 'have' is used with I/you/we/they, and 'has' with he/she/it.
First Conditional: if + present simple, will + base verb

We use the first conditional to talk about real or possible situations in the future and their results.

“ If we work together, we can fix it.
Tip: Use 'can' or 'will' in the result clause to show ability or certainty.
Past Continuous: was/were + verb-ing

We use the past continuous to describe an action that was happening at a specific time in the past, often interrupted by another action.

“ I was following the whales on their migration
Tip: Use the past continuous with 'when' or 'while' to show an interrupted action.

Reading tip

Daily Habit

Don’t stop at every unknown word. Guess the meaning from context first, then check — that is how fluent readers build intuition.

Create a free account and turn this tip into a daily habit — full stories, quizzes, and progress tracking included.

More Stories to Read

Explore other popular stories from our reading library.

View all