How to load text file into a frame

Is there an easy way to load a text file into a frame? I just want a menu list in the left frame, and with a mouse click or mouseover of that menu list, I want the right frame to read a text file and display the contents, with no scrolling or anything, just static text and no images.
This is going to be like a simple tabloid or news page.

I know javascript does not read or write text files, unfortunately.

If anybody can give me some suggestions of which way to go here, that would be great. I haven't done anything with PHP or Perl or any of those, just straight HTML with javascripts now and then.

Thanks