The girls who fooled the world with fairies

ESL Lessons: True Stories

A printable worksheet for story-based English conversation classes.

Difficulty: Intermediate B1

PDF: The girls who fooled the world with fairies

Warm-up

Do you believe in fairies?

Vocabulary Match

admitted •• said
proved •• took pictures of
insisted •• showed
creatures •• beings
claimed •• confessed
photographed •• maintained

Vocabulary Answers

admittedconfessed
provedshowed
insistedmaintained
creaturesbeings
claimedsaid
photographedtook pictures of

True Story

Listen and fill in the blanks with words from above.

In 1917, cousins Elsie Wright, 16, and Frances Griffiths, 9, ________ they had ________ fairies in a wood in Yorkshire, England.

Elsie's father thought the pictures were a joke, but others were not so sure. Even Arthur Conan Doyle, the famous writer of Sherlock Holmes, believed the photographs ________ that fairies existed.

The pictures became famous, and many people wanted to believe in these tiny magical ________. However, more than 60 years later, the cousins ________ they had made most of the fairies from paper drawings. Surprisingly, Frances still ________ that one photograph showed real fairies!

In 1917, cousins Elsie Wright, 16, and Frances Griffiths, 9, claimed they had photographed fairies in a wood in Yorkshire, England.

Elsie's father thought the pictures were a joke, but others were not so sure. Even Arthur Conan Doyle, the famous writer of Sherlock Holmes, believed the photographs proved that fairies existed.

The pictures became famous, and many people wanted to believe in these tiny magical creatures. However, more than 60 years later, the cousins admitted they had made most of the fairies from paper drawings. Surprisingly, Frances still insisted that one photograph showed real fairies!

Quiz

  1. Who are the two cousins in the story?
  2. What did the cousins claim to have photographed?
  3. Who believed in the photographs?
  4. What did the cousins admit after many years?

Quiz Answers (examples)

  1. Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths
  2. Fairies
  3. Arthur Conan Doyle
  4. They made most of the fairies from paper drawings

True or False

  1. The cousins were fairies from England. T F
  2. Many people wanted to believe in huge magical creatures. T F
  3. Frances believed in fairies until the end. T F

True or False Answers

  1. False
  2. False
  3. True

Conversation

A:Hey Frances, do you remember those fairy pictures?
B:Of course! Everyone believed us!
A:I can't believe we made them from paper.
B:I know! But I still think some were real!
A:Really? You still believe in fairies?
B:Why not? They might be watching us right now!

Discussion

  1. Do you believe in ghosts?
  2. What fairy tales do you know?
  3. Have you seen fake photos on the internet? What did you see?
  4. Have you ever believed something that wasn't actually true?

Further Reading

https://www.messynessychic.com/2017/06/14/two-girls-that-tricked-the-world-the-case-of-the-cottingley-fairies/

MORE: