"The Golden
Bird" Excerpt
Passage from "Fairy Tales by the Brothers
Grimm"
A certain king had a beautiful garden, and in the garden
stood a tree which bore golden apples. These apples were always counted, and
about the time when they began to grow ripe it was found that every night one
of them was gone.
The king became very angry at this, and ordered the
gardener to keep watch all night under the tree. The gardener set his eldest
son to watch; but about twelve o’clock he fell asleep, and in the morning
another of the apples was missing.
Then the second son was ordered to watch; and at midnight
he too fell asleep, and in the morning another apple was gone.
Then the third son offered to keep watch; but the
gardener at first would not let him, for fear some harm should come to him:
however, at last he consented, and the young man laid himself under the tree to
watch. As the clock struck twelve he heard a rustling noise in the air, and a
bird came flying that was of pure gold; and as it was snapping at one of the
apples with its beak, the gardener’s son jumped up and shot an arrow at it. But
the arrow did the bird no harm; only it dropped a golden feather from its tail,
and then flew away.
The golden feather was brought to the king in the
morning, and all the council was called together. Everyone agreed that it was
worth more than all the wealth of the kingdom: but the king said, “One feather
is of no use to me, I must have the whole bird.”
Then the gardener’s eldest son
set out and thought to find the golden bird…
Reading
Comprehension Questions
1) Which of the following is the most likely setting for the
above passage?
a.
a modern city
b.
a western town
c.
a seaside village
d.
an enchanted forest
2) Show above is the beginning of a story. Based on the passage, the rest of the story
most likely focuses on which of the following?
a.
The hunting of the golden bird
b.
The planting of more apples
c.
The celebration of capturing a golden feather
d.
The king’s meeting with the council
3) Shown above is the beginning of a story that has a moral. Based on the events in the opening scene, the
lesson probably focuses on which theme?
a.
honesty
b.
greed
c.
fairness
d.
patriotism
4) According to the passage, when does the golden bird come
around to steal the apples?
a.
dawn
b.
dusk
c.
midnight
d.
noon
5) The structure of the above passage shows that it is most
likely being narrated by which of the following?
a.
a science professor
b.
a mathematician
c.
a storyteller
d.
a textbook writer
6) In the above passage, the council agrees that the golden
feather “was worth more than all the
wealth of the kingdom.” What happens
after this?
a.
the king declares that he needs more than just a feather
b.
the son who captured the feather is rewarded
c.
the son who captured the feather is sent to find the whole
bird
d.
the king declares that the bird can now eat his apples
Answer Key
1)
Which of the
following is the most likely setting for the above passage?
a.
a modern city
b.
a western town
c.
a seaside village
d.
an enchanted forest
2)
Show above is
the beginning of a story. Based on the
passage, the rest of the story most likely focuses on which of the following?
a.
The hunting of
the golden bird
b.
The planting of more apples
c.
The celebration of capturing a golden feather
d.
The king’s meeting with the council
3)
Shown above
is the beginning of a story that has a moral. Based on the events in the opening scene, the
lesson probably focuses on which theme?
a.
honesty
b.
greed
c.
fairness
d.
patriotism
4)
According to
the passage, when does the golden bird come around to steal the apples?
a.
dawn
b.
dusk
c.
midnight
d.
noon
5)
The structure
of the above passage shows that it is most likely being narrated by which of
the following?
a.
a science professor
b.
a mathematician
c.
a storyteller
d.
a textbook writer
6)
In the above
passage, the council agrees that the golden feather “was worth more than all the wealth of the kingdom.” What happens after this?
a.
the king declares
that he needs more than just a feather
b.
the son who captured the feather is rewarded
c.
the son who captured the feather is sent to
find the whole bird
d.
the king declares that the bird can now eat
his apples