English and the World · Spain · 9 · Granada · A1–C2 · A1–A2 free
An astrologer and a bronze horseman, a water-carrier and a treasure, a prince who learned the language of birds: three of the legends that Washington Irving heard in the Alhambra in 1829, and the real places behind them. Choose your level.
A writer in the palace
In 1829 an American writer, Washington Irving, lived for some months in the Alhambra. In the evenings, the people who lived there told him old stories, and he wrote them down. In 1832 he published them in a book, Tales of the Alhambra. Here is one of the stories, in simple English.
A story from Irving’s book, retold
Long ago, an old king lived in Granada. He was tired of war, but his enemies attacked him again and again. One day, a wise old astrologer came to the king. “I can help you,” he said.
The astrologer made a magic bronze horseman and put it on top of a tower. When an enemy army came, the horseman turned and pointed its lance at them. So the king always knew where his enemies were, and he defeated them. He was very happy. “Ask me for anything,” he said to the astrologer. “I will give it to you.”
One day, the king’s soldiers brought a beautiful princess to the palace. She had a silver lyre, and her music was magic. The king loved her, and the astrologer loved her too. “I want the princess,” said the astrologer. “Give her to me!” But the king said no.
The astrologer took the princess by the hand, and they walked into the hill. The hill closed behind them. The king never saw them again, and the bronze horseman never moved again. People say that on quiet nights you can still hear the princess’s lyre under the hill.
🦉 Want more? Sophia explains personal pronouns, subject and object, in In Her Place (Philo & Sophia, Lesson 8).
Language: subject and object pronouns
| Subject (before the verb) | Object (after the verb or a preposition) | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I | me | “Give her to me!” |
| you | you | “I can help you.” |
| he | him | The enemies attacked him. |
| she | her | The king loved her. |
| it | it | He put it on a tower. |
| we / they | us / them | The hill closed behind them. |
⚠️ After a preposition, always the object form: with him, to me, behind them, not ✗ with he.
Read the story first. Press “Check my answers” at the end.
Choose the best answer.
1. Who wrote Tales of the Alhambra?
2. What did the bronze horseman do?
3. What did the astrologer ask for?
4. What happened at the end?
Write me, you, him, her, it, us or them.
5. The enemies attacked the king. They attacked again and again.
6. The astrologer made a horseman and put on a tower.
7. The princess had a magic lyre, and the king loved .
8. The people told Irving stories, and he wrote down.
Choose the correct sentence.
9. Which sentence is correct?
10. Which sentence is correct?
11. Which sentence is correct?
12. “The king never saw the astrologer and the princess again.” → “The king never saw ___ again.”
Go there!
Visit: in the Alhambra, look for the rooms where Washington Irving lived (there is a small plaque). Then walk up into the Albaicín: on top of an old house there was once a bronze horseman that turned with the wind, and some people say it gave Irving’s story its idea. Buy Tales of the Alhambra in English in the shops of Granada.
Your task: retell a story you know in six sentences, using him, her, it and them.
It retells The Legend of the Moor’s Legacy, with Peregil the water-carrier, the greedy mayor and the treasure of the Tower of the Seven Floors, and Prince Ahmed al Kamel, who learned the language of birds, in an imitation of Irving’s own style, with a guide to reading 19th-century English, legend-or-history tables and a visit plan.
The A1–A2 version above is free for everyone.
It retells The Legend of the Moor’s Legacy, with Peregil the water-carrier, the greedy mayor and the treasure of the Tower of the Seven Floors, and Prince Ahmed al Kamel, who learned the language of birds, in an imitation of Irving’s own style, with a guide to reading 19th-century English, legend-or-history tables and a visit plan.
The A1–A2 version above is free for everyone.