The Oblong Box — Summary (A2 Level)

by Edgar Allan Poe – an adapted audiobook in English (Level A2/Elementary) with parallel translation. Read and listen online. Bilingual method. Approximately 500 unique words.

Summary

This is a mystery story by Edgar Allan Poe. 📖🔍 The narrator is a man from New York. 🗽 Several years ago, he stayed in Charleston, South Carolina for a few months. 🏖️ At the end of his visit, he wanted to go home to New York by ship. 🚢

In those days, people traveled by sailing ships. ⛵ A journey from Charleston to New York took about six to eight days. 📅 The narrator went to a shipping office and booked a cabin on a ship. 🛏️ He looked at the list of passengers and saw a name he knew: Cornelius Wyatt. 👤 Cornelius was his old friend from university. 🎓 He was an artist who painted pictures and sold old paintings. 🎨

The narrator heard that Cornelius had married a beautiful and charming young woman. 💍 He wanted to meet Mrs. Wyatt. 👰 But when he met her on the ship, he was surprised. 😲 She was wearing a veil over her face. 🧣 She was not beautiful, not charming, and not young. 😕 She also spoke with a South Carolina accent, not a New York accent. 🗣️

Cornelius had booked three cabins. 🚪🚪🚪 His wife and his two sisters were with him. 👩‍👩‍👧 But there was also a strange oblong box, about six feet long. 📦 Two men carried it onto the ship and put it in the third cabin, beside the narrator’s cabin. 🛏️ The words “Wyatt” and “New York” were written on top of the box. ✍️ The narrator heard the men say the box smelled bad. 🤢

Cornelius was rude and did not want to talk. 😠 He looked ill and ate nothing. 🍽️❌ One evening, the narrator asked him about the box. 📦 Suddenly, Cornelius’s face became very pale. 😨 He fainted and fell to the floor. 😵 The captain and two sailors helped him to his cabin. 🆘

Cornelius stayed in the cabin with the box. 🚪 He did not come out. 🚫 He did not eat. 🍽️❌ The narrator heard strange sounds from the cabin: metal on wood 🔧 and someone crying. 😢 He thought the box had valuable paintings inside. 🖼️

A few days later, there was a terrible storm. ⛈️ The wind blew hard, the sea became rough, and the mast broke. 💨🌊 The ship hit sharp black rocks and started to sink. 🪨🚢 The captain shouted, “Leave the ship! Go to the small boats!” 🚨

The narrator and other passengers got into a rowboat. 🛶 There were fifteen people in the boat. 👥 They saw Cornelius on the sinking ship. He was pulling the oblong box toward the side. 📦 He shouted, “I cannot leave my box!” 😱 The captain shouted back, “You cannot bring your box! Get into the boat!” 🗣️ But Cornelius pushed the box into the sea and held onto it. 📦🌊 Both the man and the box fell into the water and did not come up again. 💀

The rowboat reached the shore. 🏖️ Everyone was safe. ✅ A month later, the narrator met the captain again. 👋 He asked, “What was in the box?” 🤔 The captain replied, “The body of Mr. Wyatt’s dead wife.” ⚰️ Mrs. Wyatt died suddenly on June 14th, the day before the ship sailed. 📅 Cornelius wanted to take her body to New York. 🗽 No other captain wanted to carry a dead body on a ship. 🚫 Some people believe it is bad luck. 🍀❌ So Cornelius lied and said there were valuable paintings in the box. 🖼️ The woman the narrator met was not Mrs. Wyatt — she was Cornelius’s servant. 👩‍🍳 Only the captain knew the truth. 🤫

🎧 Audio Player with Text

The player helps you read and listen at the same time. 🎧📖

Text Area 📝

• The sentence you hear now is yellow. 🟡
• The text moves up when the audio plays. You can always see the yellow sentence. ⬆️👀
• Select words with your mouse or finger – the audio stops. You can copy the words. Press Play to start again. 🖱️⏸️▶️

Translate Words 🌍

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• On a computer, use a browser extension for Chrome. 💻
• On an Android phone, use an app like Yandex.Translate or Google Translate. 📱
• Just select the text and use your translation tool – the audio stays paused while you translate. ⏸️🔤

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