EnglishStories EnglishStories

Princess Rose and the Creature

There was once a beautiful princess named Rose. Her mother, the queen,

however, was not as beautiful as the princess. The queen felt bad that she was not

the most beautiful woman in the kingdom anymore. She was tired of competing

with her daughter. She made a decision. She prepared a drink for the princess.

After the princess drank it, she fell asleep. Then the queen took the princess to

the forest. She left the princess there. It was a very serious thing to do. "Either

she will be killed by animals or she will get lost in the forest," the queen thought.

The princess had a dream. She dreamed about a man with brown hair and

brown eyes. It was the man she would wed.

The princess woke up. She saw a strange creature on the ground. It looked like

a man, but he was hairy and green. He had horns on his head and a pig's nose.

The creature said, "Did I scare you? I hope not. Let me introduce myself. I am

Henry."

"I am not scared. To tell you the truth, I think you are cute," said Rose.

Rose and Henry spent the day together. They collected

berries, caught fish, and had lunch. They had a very good day

filled with nice conversations.

"Rose, I have to go home," said Henry. "My ship will sail

home soon. I can't leave you here in the forest alone. Will you

come with me?"

Rose was very happy. She gave Henry a kiss right on his pig

nose. As soon as she kissed Henry, he began

to change. His pig nose turned into a man's

nose. His horns and green hair went away.

Standing in front of her was the man Rose

had dreamt about.

Rose and Henry were married, and

they lived happily.



Reading Comprehension

Answer the questions.

1. What is this story about?

a. A strange creature that competes with a princess

b. Why a queen had a conversation with a princess

c. How a princess met a creature in a forest

d. A serious decision made by a princess

2. Which of the following is NOT true in the story?

a. The queen fell asleep in the forest.

b. The princess had a dream.

c. The creature wasn't mean or scary.

d. Henry said he was going to sail away on a ship.

3. What did the queen want to happen to the princess?

a. A creature would wake the princess.

b. A creature would prepare a drink for the princess.

c. An animal would kill the princess if she was left on the ground.

d. Rose and a creature would collect either berries or fruits.

4. Which of the following is true at the end of the story?

a. Rose introduces Henry to the queen.

b. Rose and Henry wed.

c. The queen learns the truth about Rose.

d. The queen sails away on a ship.

77

5. What did the princess dream in the forest?

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UNIT 11 

anymore [ènimo:r] adv.

Anymore means any longer.

Her old pants don't fit her anymore.

ORADENS

asleep [ǝsli:p] adj.

When a person is asleep, they are not awake.

The baby has been asleep for hours.

-

berry [ber] n.

A berry is a small round fruit that grows on certain plants and trees.

The berry looked delicious.

-

collect [kelékt] v.

To collect things is to group them together all in one place.

-

→ I collected shells when I was younger.

compete [kampi:t] v.

To compete is to try to be better than someone.

He will compete with very good athletes.

conversation [känvərseiſən] n.

A conversation is a talk between people.

There were two conversations going on at once.

creature [krí:tſər] n.

A creature is any living thing.

The creature we saw today was either a dolphin or a porpoise.

-

decision [disizən) n.

A decision is a choice.

He made the wrong decision.

either [ber] conj.

Either is used with "or" to say there are two or more possibilities.

You can choose to be either white or black when you play chess.

forest [fɔ̃(:)rist] n.

A forest is a place with lots of trees and animals.

→ I love to go walking in the forest.



ground [graund] n.

The ground is the top part of the Earth that we walk on.

→

→ The ground under our feet was dry and brown.

introduce [intrədjū:s] v.

To introduce someone or something is to say who they are.

→ I introduced myself to our newest co-worker today.

marry [mæri] v.

To marry is to legally become husband and wife.

Rose and Henry were married, and they lived happily.

Oprepare [pripéər] v.

To prepare is to get ready for something.

I prepared my speech to the class.

sail [seil] v.

To sail is to move a boat on the water.

→ I love to sail my boat on the lake.

serious [siaries] adj.

When something is serious, it is bad or unsafe.

The accident was very serious.

->

$21319x3

spend [spend] v.

To spend is to use time doing something or being somewhere.

→ I like to spend my free time fishing.

strange [streind3] adj.

When something is strange, it is not normal.

→ Joe had a strange look on his face after he saw what happened.

truth [true] n.

The truth is a fact or something that is right.

-

▸ He was telling the truth about seeing a large green snake.

wake [weik] v.

To wake is to not be sleeping anymore.

He is always full of energy when he wakes in the morning.

Exercise 1

Choose the right word for the given definition.org

1. to marry

a. collect

2. a living thing

a. conversation

b. truth

3. to move a boat across the water

a. spend

b. berry

b. wed

4. one thing or the other

a. asleep

5. any longer

a. ground

b. compete

b. strange

Exercise 2

W

4. I stop sleeping when the dog barks.

c. prepare

c. creature

5. The area was full of trees and plants.

f

c. forest

c. either

3. He loved to travel in his boat to many islands.

sa

c. wake

d. introduce

d. decision

Write a word that is similar in meaning to the underlined part.

1. The doll broke when it fell onto the floor.

gr

2. I like to use my time taking long walks in the forest.

sp____ time

HITT

d. sail

d. serious

d. anymore

The First Peacock

Argos lived in Ancient Greece. He was a husband and a proud father. He

worked hard and did well at his job. But one thing about him wasn't normal. He

was born with 100 eyes. Having many eyes was usually a benefit to him. He had

a chance to see many things.

Also, since he had so many eyes, he was very good at guarding things. While

sleeping, he only rested a few eyes at a time. The others stayed awake. He worked

for Hera, a great goddess. His primary function was to guard a special cow. The

cow was very important to Hera. It was her favorite pet. The most essential part

of his job was to keep the cow alone. It had to be kept separate from all the other

cows and far away from people.

This was an easy job for Argos. The cow just ate grass all day. But the god Zeus

wanted the cow. He wanted to take it away from Hera. He had a plan. He found a

great music player. He asked the man to play a beautiful song for Argos. Zeus was

certain Argos would go to sleep.

The song had an immediate effect. Argos couldn't focus on his job. He fell

asleep. Zeus saw this, and he took the cow.

Hera was very angry with Argos. She turned him into a peacock. She put his

many eyes on his tail. Argos was very sad.

Zeus saw how much trouble he had

caused Argos. He made another

plan. He turned Argos into a

group of stars. He wanted

Argos to remain in the

sky forever. Even today,

Argos' image remains

there, above the

site where all his

problems began.

We can still

see him in the

night sky.



:

Answer the questions.

1. What is this story about?

a. Why it is essential to guard cows

b. How to play beautiful music

Reading Comprehension

c. How the image of a peacock in the sky came about

d. How being born with 100 eyes benefited a man

2. Why was guarding Hera's cow easy for Argos?

a. All it did was eat grass all day.

b. It was kept separate from all the other cows.

c. He had a chance to listen to music.

d. He was able to sleep instead of focusing on it.

3. Why did Zeus turn Argos into a group of stars?

a. He wanted Argos to see the site of his trouble.

b. He was certain that Argos would fall asleep.

c. He wanted to make Argos remain in the sky forever.

d. He wanted to cause Argos immediate trouble.

4. What was the primary function of Argos' job?

a. To make sure the cow was never sad

b. To keep the cow far away from people

c. To see the effects of music on the cow

d. Work for a proud goddess named Hera

5. How did Argos sleep?

UNIT

10

62

Word List

benefit [bénəfit] n.

A benefit is a good thing.

-

→ Being able to fly is a good benefit to birds.

certain [sərtən] adj.

If you are certain about something, you know it is true.

→

I am certain that zebras have stripes.

chance [tæns] n.

A chance is an opportunity to do something.

→ I had a chance to see the Roman Coliseum last summer.

effect [ifekt] n.

An effect is a change made by something else.

The medicine had a good effect on the boy.

essential [isenfǝl] adj.

If something is essential, it is very important and necessary.

→ It is essential to have oxygen when you scuba dive.

far [fa:r] adj.

If something is far, it is not close.

→ It's far going from the east coast to the west coast of America.

focus [foukǝs] v.

To focus on something is to think about it and pay attention to it.

→ My mom always helps me to focus on my school work.

function [fankən] n.

The function of something is what it does.

-

→ The function of a flashlight is to help you see in the dark.

grass [græs] n.

Grass is the green leaves that cover the ground.

The grass looked so soft and green.

-

guard [gard] v.

To guard something is to take care of it.

The police officer will guard us from any harm.

Page 63

image [imidz] n.

The image of something is a picture of it.

The image of her eye was very clear.

immediate [imi:diət] adj.

If something is immediate, it happens quickly.

An immediate response came from the pizza place.

primary [praimeri] adj.

If something is primary, it is the most important thing.

His primary thoughts are about money.

proud [praud] adj.

If someone feels proud, they are happy about what they have done.

→

She is proud of the picture she drew of her house.

remain [rimėin] v.

To remain somewhere is to stay there.

→ My sister had to remain home since she was sick.

Crest [rest] v.

To rest is to stop being active while the body gets back its strength.

→

I rested on the couch after work.

separate [sepereit] adj.

If two things are separate, they are not together.

New York and Los Angeles are in two separate parts of America.

site [sait] n.

A site is a place.

› We found the perfect site for our picnic.

tail [teil] n.

A tail is a part of an animal's body, sticking out from its rear or back.

Our dog wags its tail when it's happy.

-

trouble [trábǝl] n.

Trouble is a problem or a difficulty.

→ I have trouble working with my boss.



Exercise 1

Write a word that is similar in meaning to the underlined part.

1. It is very important that you call your mother soon.

essen

2. The good thing about being old is that you know many things.

bene

3. I have problems with my science homework.

tro

4. I am sure that she will come to his party.

cer

5. The job of the stove is to cook.

fun

6. That is the place where they met.

si _______

7. I saw his picture on TV.

8. The twins don't like to be apart.

S

9. I like to stay at home on the weekends.

r

10. His part that comes out of his rear was shaking because he was happy.

t___

The Starfish

Last summer I took a trip to an island. I had a lot of fun. I sat and watched the

waves and listened to the ocean. I learned to identify birds. I discovered pretty

things and enjoyed the taste of new foods. It was a very nice time.

One evening I took a pleasant walk by the ocean. When the waves came in,

many starfish* fell on the beach. Some starfish went back into the water, and

they were safe. But other starfish were still on the sand. They would die if they

did not get into the water. There were many starfish on the beach that night. It

made me sad, but I knew I could not fix the problem. I stepped very carefully so

I did not damage them.

Then I saw a little girl. She was also sad about the starfish. She wanted to

prevent all of them from dying. She asked me if I could perhaps help her.

"To be frank, I don't think we can do anything," I said.

The little girl started to cry. She sat back against a rock and thought for a

while. Finally, the emotion was gone. She stopped crying and stood up. Then

she picked up a starfish and threw it into the water.

"What are you doing?" I asked her. But she did not answer me. She just threw

as many starfish as she could. "You cannot save all of them!" I said.

She stopped to look at me. "No, I cannot save them all," she replied. Then

she picked up a very big starfish and said, "But I can save

this one." And then she smiled and threw the starfish as

far as she could into the ocean.

*starfish - an animal shaped like a star that lives in the water



Reading Comprehension

Answer the questions.

1. What is this story about?

a. A girl who wants to save starfish

b. How to throw starfish

c. A girl who is too frank

d. Birds and animals at the ocean

2. What causes the little girl's emotion?

a. She cannot fix the damage she finds to homes.

b. She cannot prevent starfish from dying in the sand.

c. She discovers starfish in the water.

d. She steps on a rock and hurts her foot.

3. What does the man think is NOT good about the island?

a. Watching the waves

b. Identifying birds

c. The starfish dying on the sand

d. Tasting new food

4. What does the girl think the man can perhaps do?

a. Identify birds

b. Take a walk on the beach

c. Discover something pretty

d. Help her save starfish

5. Which starfish were safe on the beach?

UNIT

9



Word List

against [agenst] prep.

To be against something is to be touching it or opposed to it.

They both leaned against the wall.

→

beach [bitn.

The beach is a sandy or rocky place by the ocean.

The little girl built a sandcastle on the beach.

damage [dæmidz] v.

To damage something is to break it.

The car was damaged in the accident.

-

discover [diskávər] v.

To discover something is to find it for the first time.

→ I discovered some new information in this book!

emotion [imouſən) n.

An emotion is how you feel.

Anger is a common emotion that we all feel.

-

fix [fiks] v.

To fix something is to make it work.

My dad has many tools to help him fix broken things.

frank [frænk] adj.

If you are frank, you are being very honest.

The teacher had a frank discussion with her students.

identify [aidentəfai] v.

To identify something is to be able name it.

→ I used the file to identify his name.

island [ailand] n.

An island is land in the middle of water.

→ Japan is a group of islands.

ocean [oufan] n.

The ocean is all of the salt water that surrounds land.

The ocean can make powerful waves.



perhaps [perhaps] adv.

happened

Perhaps is used when you say that something could happen.

→ Perhaps I will eat an apple for lunch.

pleasant [pléznt] adj.

If something is pleasant, you enjoy it.

→ The character had a pleasant look on its face.

prevent [privent] v.

To prevent something is to stop it from happening.

The handcuffs prevented me from moving my hands.

rock [rak] n.

A rock is a hard thing in the dirt.

→ I stacked rocks on top of one another.

save [seiv] v.

To save something is to keep it from being hurt.

→ I want to help save the world.

step [step] v.

To step is to walk.

→

Be careful where you step.

still [still adv.

Still is used when you say that a situation keeps going on.

→ They are still waiting in line to get tickets.

taste [teist] n.

A taste is the flavor something makes in your mouth.

The taste of the fruit was sweet.

-

9

throw [erou] v.

To throw something is to use your hand to make it go through the air.

The pitcher can throw the baseball very fast.

wave [weiv] n.

A wave is a line of water that moves higher than the rest of the water.

The water was filled with large blue waves.

-