Today's story is "The Lady, or the Tiger?" by Frank R. Stockton. The story was written by Frank Stockton in 1882. It was adapted for VOA Learning English by Shelley Gollust. The storyteller is Barbara Klein.

Long ago, in the very olden time, there lived a powerful king. Some of his ideas were progressive. But others caused people to suffer.

One of the king's ideas was a public arena as an agent of poetic justice. Crime was punished, or innocence was decided, by the result of chance. When a person was accused of a crime, his future would be judged in the public arena.

All the people would gather in this building. The king sat high up on his ceremonial chair. He gave a sign. A door under him opened. The accused person stepped out into the arena. Directly opposite the king were two doors. They were side by side, exactly alike. The person on trial had to walk directly to these doors and open one of them. He could open whichever door he pleased.

Download activities to help you understand this story here.

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poetic justice – n. a result or occurrence that seems proper because someone who has done bad things to other people is being harmed or punished

innocence – adj. the state of being not guilty of a crime or other wrong act

mourn – v. to feel or show great sadness because someone has died

ancestor – n. a person who was in someone's family in past times; one of the people from whom a person is descended

tense – adj. nervous and not able to rela