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

EnglishStories Podcast

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?

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