"Briar Rose"
Excerpt
Passage from "Fairy Tales by the Brothers
Grimm"
"How prettily that little thing turns round!"
said the princess, and took the spindle and began to try and spin. But scarcely
had she touched it... the spindle wounded her, and she fell down lifeless on
the ground.
However, she was not dead, but had only fallen into a
deep sleep...
A large hedge of thorns soon grew round the palace, and
every year it became higher and thicker; till at last the old palace was
surrounded and hidden, so that not even the roof or the chimneys could be seen.
But there went a report through all the land of the beautiful sleeping Briar
Rose (for so the king's daughter was called): so that, from time to time,
several kings' sons came, and tried to break through the thicket into the
palace. This, however, none of them could ever do; for the thorns and bushes
laid hold of them, as it were with hands; and there they stuck fast, and died
wretchedly...
Now that very day the hundred years passed since the
princess first slept; and as the prince came to the thicket he saw nothing but
beautiful flowering shrubs, through which he went with ease, and they shut in
after him as thick as ever. Then he came at last to the palace...
Then he went on still farther, and all was so still that
he could hear every breath he drew; till at last he came to the old tower, and
opened the door of the little room in which Briar Rose was; and there she lay,
fast asleep on a couch by the window. She looked so beautiful that he could not
take his eyes off her, so he stooped down and gave her a kiss. But the moment
he kissed her she opened her eyes and awoke, and smiled upon him; and they went
out together...
And then the prince and Briar Rose were married, and the
wedding feast was given; and they lived happily together all their lives long.
Reading
Comprehension Questions
1) The passage above tells a story that is common to which of
the following?
a.
detective mysteries
b.
fairy tales
c.
Greek Mythology
d.
western adventures
2) In the above passage, the third paragraph says that "not even the roof or chimneys could be
seen." Why was this the case?
a.
they became invisible while the princess slept
b.
they were torn down by enemies of the kingdom
c.
they were hidden under ground
d.
they had been covered by shrubs that grew over time
3) The final line of the above passage states: "they
lived happily together all their lives long." The words "all
their lives long" can be replaced by which phrase that has the same
meaning?
a.
once upon a time
b.
ever after
c.
the good old days
d.
the beginning of the end
4) In the above passage, the line "for the thorns and
bushes laid hold of them, as it were with hands" is an example of which of
the following?
a.
a
simile
b.
a
metaphor
c.
a euphemism
d.
a
negative connotation
5) In the above passage, the plot is resolved when the
prince does which of these?
a.
kisses the princess
b.
enters the tower
c.
discovers the castle
d.
hears the story of the princess
6) How much time passes between the start and the end of the
above passage?
a.
a day
b.
a year
c.
a century
d.
1,000 years
Answer Key
1)
The passage
above tells a story that is common to which of the following?
a.
detective mysteries
b.
fairy tales
c.
Greek Mythology
d.
western adventures
2)
In the above passage,
the third paragraph says that "not
even the roof or chimneys could be seen."
Why was this the case?
a.
they became invisible while the princess slept
b.
they were torn down by enemies of the kingdom
c.
they were hidden under ground
d.
they had been
covered by shrubs that grew over time
3)
The final
line of the above passage states: "they lived happily together all their
lives long." The words "all their lives long" can be
replaced by which phrase that has the same meaning?
a.
once upon a time
b.
ever after
c.
the good old days
d.
the beginning of the end
4)
In the above
passage, the line "for the thorns and
bushes laid hold of them, as it were with hands" is an example of which of the following?
a.
a simile
b.
a
metaphor
c.
a
euphemism
d.
a
negative connotation
5)
In the above passage,
the plot is resolved when the prince does which of these?
a.
kisses the
princess
b.
enters the tower
c.
discovers the castle
d.
hears the story of the princess
6)
How much time
passes between the start and the end of the above passage?
a.
a day
b.
a year
c.
a century
d.
1,000 years