Narrative Psychology Story Corpus

The following are stories used in the classical narrative psychology research papers from 1975 to 2002. These narrative texts have been used to examine the cognitive processes that occur when reading stories. The stories have been segmented using various methods.

Story Title Source
Margie Rumelhart, D.E. (1975). Notes on a Schema for Stories. In D. Bobrow and A. Collins (Eds.) Representation and Understanding. New York: Academic Press.
Serpent Rumelhart, D.E. (1975). Notes on a Schema for Stories. In D. Bobrow and A. Collins (Eds.) Representation and Understanding. New York: Academic Press.
Father, Son, Donkey Trabasso, T. and Sperry, L. (1985). Causal Relatedness and Importance of Story Events. Journal of Memory and Language, 24(5), 595-611.
Epaminondas Trabasso, T., Secco, T., and van den Broek, P. (1984). Causal cohesion and story coherence. In H. Mandl, N.L. Stein and T. Trabasso (Eds). Learning and Comprehension of Text. Hillsdale: Erlbaum, 83-111.
The Tiger’s Whisker Trabasso, T., Secco, T., and van den Broek, P. (1984). Causal cohesion and story coherence. In H. Mandl, N.L. Stein and T. Trabasso (Eds). Learning and Comprehension of Text. Hillsdale: Erlbaum, 83-111.
The Fox and Bear Trabasso, T., Secco, T., and van den Broek, P. (1984). Causal cohesion and story coherence. In H. Mandl, N.L. Stein and T. Trabasso (Eds). Learning and Comprehension of Text. Hillsdale: Erlbaum, 83-111.
Judy’s Birthday Trabasso, T., Secco, T., and van den Broek, P. (1984). Causal cohesion and story coherence. In H. Mandl, N.L. Stein and T. Trabasso (Eds). Learning and Comprehension of Text. Hillsdale: Erlbaum, 83-111.
The Fox and the Rooster Bruce, B.C. (1980). Plans and Social Actions. In R.J. Spiro, B.C. Bruce, & W.F. Brewer (Eds.), Theoretical issues in reading comprehension. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Turtle Story 1 Trabasso, T. and van den Broek, P. (1985). Causal Thinking and the Representation of Narrative Events. Journal of Memory and Language, 24(5), 612-30.
Turtle Story 2 Trabasso, T. and van den Broek, P. (1985). Causal Thinking and the Representation of Narrative Events. Journal of Memory and Language, 24(5), 612-30.
Turtle Story 3 Trabasso, T. and van den Broek, P. (1985). Causal Thinking and the Representation of Narrative Events. Journal of Memory and Language, 24(5), 612-30.
The Czar and his Daughters Graesser, A.C., Lang, K.L., and Roberts, R.M. (1991). Question Answering in the Context of Stories. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 120(3).
The Ant and the Dove Graesser, A.C., Lang, K.L., and Roberts, R.M. (1991). Question Answering in the Context of Stories. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 120(3).
Xavier goes Camping

Tapiero, I., van den Broek, P., and Quintana, M.-P. (2002). The Mental Representation of Narrative Texts as Networks: The Role of Necessity and Sufficiency in the Detection of Different Types of Causal Relations. Discourse Processes, 34(3), 237-258.
The Old Farmer and His Stubborn Animals Thorndyke, P.W. (1977). Cognitive Structures in Comprehension and Memory of Narrative Discourse. Cognitive Psychology, 9(1), 77-110.

Margie

  1. Margie was holding tightly to the string of her beautiful new ballon.
  2. Suddenly, a gust of wind caught it.
  3. And carried it away.
  4. It hit a branch.
  5. And burst.
  6. Margie was sad.
  7. Margie cried and cried.

Serpent

  1. The Man and The Serpent
  2. A countryman’s son, by accident, trod upon a serpent’s tail.
  3. The serpent turned and bit him.
  4. He died.
  5. The father, in revenge
  6. got his axe,
  7. pursued the serpent,
  8. and cut off part of his tail.
  9. So the serpent, in revenge,
  10. began stinging several of the farmer’s cattle.
  11. This caused the farmer severe loss.
  12. Well, the farmer thought it best to make it up with the serpent.
  13. So he brought food and honey to the mouth of its lair,
  14. and said to it “Let’s forget and forgive; perhaps you were right in trying to punish my son, and take vengeance on my cattle, but surely I was right to revenge him; now
  15. that we are both satisfied why should we not be friends again?
  16. “No, no,” said the serpent; “take away your gifts; you can never forget the death of your son, nor I the loss of my tail.”

Father, Son, Donkey

  1. A father and his son
  2. were taking their donkey to town
  3. to sell him
  4. at the marketplace.
  5. They had not gone a great distance,
  6. when they met a group of pretty maidens
  7. who were return from town.
  8. The young girls were talking and laughing,
  9. when one of them cried out, “Look there,
  10. Did you ever see such fools,
  11. to be walking alongside the donkey when they might be riding on it?"
  12. The father, when he heard this,
  13. told his son to get up on the donkey,
  14. and he continued to stroll along merrily.
  15. They traveled a little further down the road,
  16. and soon came upon a group of old men talking.
  17. “There,” said one of them,
  18. “that proves what I was saying.
  19. What respect is shown to old age in these days?
  20. Do you see that idle boy riding the donkey.
  21. while his father has to walk?
  22. You should get down
  23. and let your father ride!
  24. Upon this, the son got down from the donkey
  25. They had not gone far
  26. when they happened upon a group of women and children.
  27. “Why, you lazy old fellow,
  28. you should be ashamed,”
  29. cried several women at once.
  30. “How can you ride upon the beas,
  31. when that poor little boy can hardly keep up with you?”
  32. So the good-natured father hoisted his son up behind him.
  33. By now they had almost reached the town.
  34. “Tell me friend,” said a townsman,
  35. “is that donkey your own?”
  36. “Why yes,” said the father.
  37. “I would not have thought so,” said the other,
  38. “by the way you overwork him.
  39. Why, you two are strong
  40. and are better able to carry the poor beast than he is to carry you.”
  41. “we can only try.”
  42. So he and his son got down from the donkey.
  43. They tied the animal’s legs together,
  44. and , taking a pole,
  45. tried to carry him on their sholders
  46. over a bridge
  47. that led to the marketplace.
  48. This was such an odd sight
  49. that crowds of people gathered around to see it,
  50. and to laugh at it.
  51. The doneky, not liking to be tied,
  52. kicked so ferociously
  53. that he broke the rope
  54. tumbled off the pole into the water,
  55. and scrambled away into the thicket.
  56. With this,
  57. the father and his son hung down their heads
  58. and made their way home again,
  59. having learned that by trying to please everybody,
  60. they had please nobody
  61. and lost the donkey too.

Epaminondas

  1. Once there was a little boy
  2. who lived in a hot country.
  3. One day his mother told him to take some cake to his grandmother.
  4. She warned him to hold it carefully
  5. so it wouldn’t break into crumbs.
  6. The little boy put the cake in a leaf under his arm
  7. and carried it to his grandmother’s.
  8. When he got there
  9. the cake had crumbled into tiny pieces.
  10. His grandmother told him he was a silly boy
  11. and that he should have carried the cake on top of his head
  12. so it wouldn’t break.
  13. The she gave him a pat of butter to take back to his mother’s house.
  14. The little boy wanted to be very careful with the butter
  15. so he put it on top of his head
  16. and carried it home.
  17. The sun was shining hard
  18. and when he got home
  19. the butter had all melted.
  20. His mother told him that he was a silly boy
  21. and that he should have put the butter in a leaf
  22. so that it would have gotten home safe and sound.

The Tiger’s Whisker

  1. Once there was a woman
  2. who needed a tiger’s whisker.
  3. She was afraid of tigers
  4. but she needed a whisker
  5. to make a medicine for her husband
  6. who had gotten very sick.
  7. She thought and thought
  8. about how to get a tiger’s whisker.
  9. She decided to use a trick.
  10. She knew that tigers loved food and music.
  11. She thought that if she broguht food to a lonely tiger
  12. and play soft music
  13. the tiger would be nice to her
  14. and she could get a whisker.
  15. She went to a tiger’s cave
  16. where a lonely tiger lived.
  17. She put a bowl of food in front of the opening to the cave.
  18. Then she sang soft music.
  19. The tiger came out
  20. and ate the food.
  21. He then walked over to the lady
  22. and thanked her for the delicious food and lovely music.
  23. The lady then cut off one if his whiskers
  24. and ran down the hill very quickly,
  25. The tiger felt lonely and sad again.

The Fox and Bear

  1. There was a fox and a bear
  2. who were friends.
  3. One day they decided to catch a chicken for supper.
  4. They decided to go together
  5. because neither one wanted to be left alone
  6. and they both liked fried chicken.
  7. They waited until night time.
  8. Then they ran very quickly to a nearby farm
  9. where they knew chickens lived.
  10. The bear, who felt very lazy
  11. climbed up on the roof
  12. to watch.
  13. The fox then opened the door of the henhouse very carefully.
  14. He grabbed a chicken
  15. and killed it.
  16. As he was carrying it out the henhouse
  17. the weight of the bear on the roof cause the roof to crack.
  18. The fox heard the noise
  19. and was frightened
  20. but it was too late
  21. to run out.
  22. The roof and the bear fell in
  23. killing five of the chickens.
  24. The fox and the bear were trapped in the broken henhouse.
  25. Soon the farmer came out
  26. to see what was the matter.

Judy’s Birthday

  1. Judy is going to have a birthday party.
  2. She is ten years old.
  3. She wanted a hamemr and saw for presents.
  4. Then she could make a coat rack
  5. and fix her doll house.
  6. She asked her father
  7. to get them for her.
  8. Her father did not want to get them for her.
  9. He did not think that girls should play with a hammer and a saw.
  10. But he wanted to get her something.
  11. She he bought her a beautiful new dress.
  12. Judy liked the dress
  13. but she still wanted the hammer and saw.
  14. Later she told grandmother about her wish.
  15. Her grandmother knew that Judy really wanted a hammer and a saw.
  16. She decided to get them for her
  17. because when Judy grows up
  18. and becomes a woman
  19. she will have to fix things
  20. when they break.
  21. Then her grandmother went out that very day
  22. and bought the tools for Judy.
  23. She gave them to Judy that night.
  24. Judy was very happy.
  25. Now she could build things with her hammer and saw.

The Fox and the Rooster

  1. Once a dog and a rooster went into the woods.
  2. Soon it grew dark.
  3. The rooster said, “Let us stay here all night. I will sleep in this tree-top. You can sleep in the hollow trunk.”
  4. “Very well,” said the dog.
  5. So the dog and the rooster went to sleep.
  6. In the morning the rooster began to crow, “Cock-a-doodle-do! Cock-a-doodle-do!”
  7. Mr. Fox heard him crow.
  8. He said, “That is a rooster crowing. He must be lost in the woods. I will eat him for my breakfast.”
  9. Soon Mr. Fox saw the rooster in the tree-top.
  10. He said to himself, “Ha! ha! Ha! ha! What a fine breakfast I shall have! I must make him come down from the tree. Ha! ha! Ha! ha!”
  11. So he said to the rooster, “What a fine rooster you are! How well you sing! Will you come to my house for breakfast?”
  12. The rooster said, “Yes, thank you, I will come, if my friend can come, too.”
  13. “Oh yes,” said the fox. “I will ask your friend. Where is he?”
  14. The rooster said, “My friends is in the hollow tree. He is asleep. You must wake him.”
  15. Mr. Fox said to himself, “Ha! ha! I shall have two roosters for my breakfast!”
  16. So he put his head into the hollow tree.
  17. The he said, “Will you come to my house for breakfast?”
  18. Out jumped the dog and caught Mr. Fox by the nose.

Turtle Story 1

  1. One day Mark and Sally were sailing their toy boat in the pond.
  2. Suddenly, the sailboat began to sink.
  3. Mark was surprised.
  4. He lifted the boat up with a stick.
  5. and found a turtle on top of it.
  6. The turtle became frightened
  7. and tried to crawl off the boat.
  8. The turtle put Mark in a playful mood.
  9. Mark thought the turtle was hurt.
  10. Mark had always wanted Sally to see a turtle.
  11. so he waded out to the turtle
  12. and brought it back to her.
  13. Sally thought Mark was going to hurt the turtle.
  14. Sally felt sorry for Mark.
  15. Sally tried to touch the turtle
  16. but the turtle bit her.
  17. Sally didn’t like this
  18. and threw the turtle into the pond.
  19. The turtle crashed into the sailboat.
  20. Sally knew she had made a mistake.

Turtle Story 2

  1. One day Mark and Sally were sailing their toy boat in the pond.
  2. Suddenly, the sailboat began to sink.
  3. Mark was surprised.
  4. He waded out to the boat.
  5. and found a turtle on top of it.
  6. The turtle became frightened
  7. and tried to crawl off the boat.
  8. The turtle put Mark in a playful mood.
  9. Mark had always wanted Sally to see a turtle.
  10. Mark thought the turtle was hurt.
  11. He gently tried to lift the turtle off the boat.
  12. but found that its foot had poked through the sail.
  13. Sally felt sorry for Mark.
  14. Sally tried to touch the turtle.
  15. Sally thought Mark was going to hurt the turtle.
  16. So when Mark got out his pocketknife,
  17. Sally got upset.
  18. She tried to grab the turtle away from Mark.
  19. and accidentally broke the boat’s mast off.
  20. Sally knew she had made a mistake.

Turtle Story 3

  1. One day Mark and Sally were sailing their toy boat in the pond.
  2. Suddenly, the sailboat began to sink.
  3. Mark was surprised.
  4. He pushed the boat onto shore with a stick.
  5. and found a turtle on top of it.
  6. The turtle became frightened
  7. and tried to crawl off the boat.
  8. The turtle put Mark in a playful mood.
  9. Mark thought the turtle was hurt.
  10. Mark had always wanted Sally to see a turtle.
  11. The turtle put Mark in a playful mood.
  12. He tried to tie the boat to the turtle’s back,
  13. but the turtle bit him on the hand.
  14. Sally thought Mark was going to hurt the turtle.
  15. Sally tried to touch the turtle.
  16. Sally felt sorry for Mark.
  17. When Mark saw how Sally felt,
  18. Mark tried to show Sally his wound.
  19. and accidentally stepped on the sailboat.
  20. Mark wished he hadn’t tried to act so big.

The Czar and his Daughters

  1. Once there was a czar who had three lovely daughters.
  2. One day the three daughters went walking in the woods.
  3. They were enjoying themselves so much that they forgot the time and stayed too long.
  4. A dragon kidnapped the three daughters.
  5. As they were being dragged off they cried for help.
  6. Three heroes heard the cries and set off to rescue the daughters.
  7. The heroes returned the daughters to their palace.
  8. When the Czar heard of the rescue, he rewarded the heroes.

The Ant and the Dove

  1. A thirsty ant went to the river.
  2. He became carried away by the rush of the stream and was about to drown.
  3. A dove was sitting in a tree overhanging the water.
  4. The dove plucked a leaf and let it fall.
  5. The leaf fell into the stream close to the ant and climbed onto it.
  6. The ant floated safely to the bank.
  7. Shortly afterwards, a birdcatcher came and laid a trap in the tree.
  8. The ant saw his plan and stung him in the foot.
  9. In pain, the birdcatcher threw down his trap.
  10. The noise made the bird fly away.

Xavier goes Camping

  1. Xavier liked to camp in the heart of the quiet forest.
  2. By a stormy night, Xavier’s tent was torn.
  3. He decided to find a shelter to spend the rest of the night.
  4. Xavier left his camp to look after a possible shelter.
  5. He walked through the surroundings of his camp.
  6. He did not see anything nor anybody at this place of the forest.
  7. Disappointed, he returned near his former camp.
  8. Xavier decided to construct a shelter on his own.
  9. He looked for his perfect camping manual in his bag.
  10. His soaked manual was almost unreadable.
  11. Nevertheless, he could read the interesting chapter in the manual.
  12. He gathered our pieces of wood that laid on the ground.
  13. Xavier sharpened the pieces of wood to make pegs.
  14. He cut his hand sharpening the pieces of wood.
  15. He covered the injury with a handkerchief made with cotton.
  16. He drove in the pegs in the ground and arranged it in a square.
  17. He hanged on it what remained of his tent sheet.
  18. He finally succeeded in the construction of a shelter on his own.
  19. He had a shelter to spend the rest of the night.

The Old Farmer and His Stubborn Animals

  1. There was once an old farmer
  2. who owned a very stubborn donkey.
  3. One evening the farmer was trying to put his donkey into it’s shed.
  4. First, the farmer pulled the donkey,
  5. but the donkey wouldn’t move.
  6. Then the farmer pushed the donkey,
  7. but still the donkey wouldn’t move.
  8. Finally, the farmer asked his dog
  9. to bark loudly at the donkey
  10. and thereby frighten him into the shed.
  11. But the dog refused.
  12. So then, the farmer asked his cat
  13. to scratch the dog
  14. so the dog would bark loundly
  15. and thereby frighten him into the shed.
  16. But the cat replied, “I would gladly scratch the dog
  17. if only you would get me some milk.”
  18. So the farmer went to his cow
  19. and asked for some milk
  20. to give to the cat.
  21. But the cow replied,
  22. “I would gladly give you some milk
  23. if only you would give me some hay.”
  24. Thus, the farmer went to the haystack
  25. and got some hay.
  26. As soon as he gave the hay to the cow,
  27. the cow gave the farmer some milk.
  28. Then the farmer went to the cat
  29. and gave the milk to the cat.
  30. As soon as the cat got the milk,
  31. it began to scratch the dog.
  32. As soon as the cat scratch the dog,
  33. the dog began to bark loudly.
  34. The barking so frightened the donkey
  35. that it jumped immediately into its shed.