The Whirligig of Life: reading level, length and free edition

Name: The Whirligig of Life
Author: O. Henry

The Whirligig of Life by O. Henry is a short story adapted for learners in English. Our team rates it B1. It runs to 1,512 words with 503 different word forms, about 8–15 min of reading at 200 to 100 words per minute, and it is free from VOA Learning English.

By the Readlang Mobile team (an independent app, not affiliated with readlang.com). Updated 31 October 2026.

Author: O. Henry
Language: English
Level: B1
Form: short story, adapted
Words: 1,512
Different word forms: 503
Forms for 95% / 98%: 428 / 473
Reading time: 8–15 min
Free edition: VOA Learning English

Is The Whirligig of Life right for your level?

To recognise 95% of the running words in The Whirligig of Life, you need its 428 most frequent word forms; for 98%, the share at which most readers manage a novel without a dictionary, 473. The median English B1 book in our table needs 702 forms for 95%, so by this measure the book is easier than most for its level: number 6 of 21, easiest first.

A word form is any spelling that appears in the text, so “walk” and “walked” count twice, and names count too. These numbers are a guide to how much vocabulary the book asks for, not a test. The level itself was set by hand by our team. Before you commit, read one page of the free edition and count the words you do not know: the one-page test takes two minutes.

Which words should you know before you start?

These are the words that The Whirligig of Life uses most often but that are not among the 2,000 most common word forms across all 309 English books in our library; the number is how many times each appears. Names of people and places are left out. Learning a handful of them first makes the opening chapters easier.

divorce 15
decree 8
cart 6
shoes 5
dollar 5
dollars 5
reckon 5
alimony 4
cabin 4
goin 4
pipe 3
climbed 3
lonesome 3

How does it begin?

Justice of the Peace Benaja Widdup sat in the doorway of his office smoking his pipe. The Cumberland Mountains of Tennessee rose blue-gray in the afternoon sky. A bird, a speckled hen, walked down the main street, making foolish sounds.

From the VOA Learning English edition, which is in the public domain. If this paragraph already feels slow, try a book one level lower.

How long does it take to read?

Hours to read *The Whirligig of Life* (1,512 words) at four reading speeds.
Words	100 wpm	150 wpm	200 wpm	250 wpm
1,512	under 1 h	under 1 h	under 1 h	under 1 h

Learners reading a book at their level often manage 100 to 150 words per minute, and readers in their first language 200 to 250. Where these speeds come from, and a calculator for your own: How long does it take to read a book?

Where can you read it for free?

This is not the original text but an adaptation for learners of English by VOA Learning English (Voice of America), from its American Stories series: shorter sentences, a limited vocabulary and an audio recording read at a slower speed. Text and audio are free on the VOA site. Material produced by the Voice of America, a U.S. government broadcaster, is in the public domain.

To read it with a translation over every word you tap, open it in Readlang Mobile on iPhone or iPad.