AnyOneCanRead®

       
Module E – Lessons 1 to 10

The Tale Of Mrs. Tay True-Mouse

    
NEW WORDS: Beatrix, Muffet’s, attempting, ballistic, biz, bristles, burnoose, cellars, coattails, controlling, cupfuls, direful, disarrangement, dishcloth, disorderliness, disposition, domicil, dusting, fiz, freak, gravelly, hedgerow, hither, honeydew, hospitality, imbroglio, immaculate, incontestably, interloper, invitation, irascible, jostled, kindliness, larder, littlest, lounger, melon, miz, moody, muddied, multitude, niz, overtired, quirky, retrieved, roughly, scented, shipshape, siz, smirched, sodden, soils, spic, squalid, storeroom, sullied, suppertime, swerved, tiddly, trespassers, tubby, twiddled, washroom, whacking, widdly, wiping, wiz, wizz, woodmouse, yon, ziz
     
      

It was once upon a time. There was a woodmouse. She was named Mrs. Tay True-Mouse. She lived in a bank that was under a hedgerow. It was such a quirky domicil! There were yards of gravelly tunnels underneath. They led to storerooms and nut and seed cellars. They swerved hither and yon all through the roots of the bushes and trees.

There was a kitchen, a den, a pantry, and a washroom. Also, there was her bedroom. In there, she slept in a small box bed!

Tay was a “neat freak!” She was always sweeping things up. She was always dusting things off.

Sometimes, a bug would lose its way in the tunnels. “Scat! Scat! Wee, dirty feet!” said Tay. You’d find her whacking her dust pan on the floor. That would scare it out!

One day, a small old woman ran up and down. She had on a burnoose. And she had red spots on her. It was a ladybug! Tay yelled at her. “Your house is on fire! Fly home to your children! Save them!” Well, there was no house on fire! That was from a well-known poem!

One day, a tubby spider came in. It had been out in the rain. It wanted to get dry. Tay yelled at him! “I beg your pardon! Is this not Miss Muffet’s? Get out, you bold bad interloper! And don’t leave cobwebs here. My house is immaculate. It’s spic and span! I could eat off the floor!” She jostled the spider roughly. Out the door he went. He went down the hedge. There, he hung from a long bit of string.

Tay True-Mouse went into the tunnels. There was a far-off storeroom. That’s where she was headed. There were special things to eat there. So, she sniffed as she walked. What did she smell? And what was on the floor?!

“The air is scented. It smells of honey! Is it a rose smell? There are some of them blooming in the hedge. But wait! There are, incontestably, foot-prints here. These are marks of small, smirched feet!”

Then she turned and saw a bee. It was Miss Bum-Bum-Bee! She buzzed, “Ziz, biz, fizz!” Tay was about to go ballistic. She gave Bum-Bum an irascible look. And she wished she had her broom! But she bit her tongue. She was controlling her temper. She was attempting to be nice.

She greeted the bee. “Good day, Miss Bum-Bum. I do need to buy some bees-wax. But why are you down here? You always come to my door. You knock, and you say, ‘Ziz, biz, fiz‘.” Tay was kind of cross with her.

Miss Bum-Bum had a squeaky voice. “Miz, niz, wiz.” She, too, seemed to have a moody disposition. Then she walked down the tunnel. She went into one of the storerooms. Tay used to keep acorns in that one. But she had used them all at Christmas. That room should be empty!

Well, this was not the case! Not at all! The room was full of moss. And it was in quite a state of disarrangement. She went to pull out the moss. Then, three or four bees buzzed at her. It was like they might start an imbroglio!!

Tay screamed at them. “I am not a hotel! These bees should not be here. This is MY place! I don’t want them here. They are trespassers. I must kick them out. I must think of who can help me.”

The bees kept up the noise! “Buzz, buzz, buzz!”

Miss Bum-Bum had a thought. “Biz, ziz, siz.”

Tay said back, “No, I don’t think so. I don’t want Mr. Jacks to help. That’s because he doesn’t wipe his feet. He always soils my floor.”

(Mrs. Tay True-Mouse really IS quite a neat freak, isn’t she?!)

Tay made her mind up to check on the bees later. She’d do it after suppertime. She got back to the parlor. There, she heard someone cough in a deep voice. Well, uh-oh! There sat Mr. Jacks!

He sat on a small rocking chair. He twiddled his thumbs, and he smiled. His feet were raised up on a chair. He lived in a drain that was below the hedge. It was in a quite squalid, sodden ditch.

“How do you do, Mr. Jacks? Dear me! You are quite wet!”

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you, Mrs. Tay True-Mouse! I’ll sit a while. Then I’ll dry off,” said Mr. Jacks.

He sat and smiled. The water dripped off his coattails. Tay went ’round with a mop. What a clean freak! That was her way!

He sat quite a while. Tay had been brought up to learn the art of hospitality. So, she had to ask if he would like some food.

First, she offered him cherry-stones. “Thank you! Thank you, Mrs. True-Mouse! I have no teeth, no teeth, no teeth!” said Mr. Jacks. He opened his mouth most wide. He had told the truth. He really did not have a tooth in his head!

Then she offered him thistle-down seed. He said, “Tiddly, widdly, widdly, poof, puff, poof, puff.” He then blew the thistle-down all over the room. It must have made his nose itch.

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you, Mrs. True-Mouse! Now what I really, REALLY should like would be a little dish of honey!”

“I’m afraid I have not got any!” said Tay.

“Tiddly, widdly, widdly, Mrs. True-Mouse!” said the smiling Mr. Jacks. “I can SMELL it. That is why I came to call.” Mr. Jacks rose slowly from the table. He began to look into the cupboards.

Tay followed him with a dishcloth. She kept wiping his large wet foot-marks off of the floor.

Mr. Jacks saw that there was no honey in the cupboards. Then, he then walked down the passage.

“Indeed, you will stick fast, Mr. Jacks!” said Tay.

“Tiddly, widdly, widdly, Mrs. True-Mouse!” First, he squeezed into the pantry. He said, “Tiddly, widdly, widdly. No honey, no honey, Mrs. True-Mouse?”

There were three creepy-crawly folks hiding in the plate rack! Two of them got away. But the littlest one he caught. Then he squeezed into the larder. He saw Miss Butterfly tasting the sugar. But she flew away out of the window.

“Tiddly, widdly, widdly,” Mrs. True-Mouse. “You seem to have a multitude of visitors!”

“And without any invitation!” said Tay. They went along the sandy passage.

“Tiddly, widdly.”

“Buzz! Wizz! Wizz!”

He met Miss Bum-Bum ’round a corner. He snapped her up. Then he put her down again and said, “I do not like bumble bees. They are all over bristles.” He wiped his mouth with his coat sleeve.

Miss Bum-Bum shrieked at him. “Get out, you muddied old toad!”

“I shall go to another room!” said Tay. She shut herself up in the nut cellar. At the same time, Mr. Jacks pulled out the bees-nest. They stung him. But he did not seem to mind.

In a while, Tay came out. There was no one there. They had gone away, but the disorderliness was just direful. “Never did I see such a sullied place! Smears of honey, moss, thistle-down, and marks of big and small dirty feet. And all over my nice clean house!”

She picked up the moss and the bees-wax that was still there. Then she went out and retrieved some twigs. They would partly close up the front door. “I’ll make it too small for Mr. Jacks!”

She went to the storeroom and fetched soft soap, a cloth, and a new scrubbing brush. But she had overtired herself. First, she fell asleep in her lounger. Then she went to bed. “Will it ever be clean here?” said poor Tay.

The next morning, she got up at the crack of dawn. She started to “spring-clean!” She cleaned for two weeks! She swept, she scrubbed, she dusted, and then, she rubbed the furniture with bees-wax. Finally, she polished her small tin spoons.

Now it was all neat and clean. She said, “Finally! My house is now shipshape!” She even gave a party to five other small mice. But Mr. Jacks was not to be at the party! Oh, he tried! He smelt the party. He came up the bank, but he could not squeeze in at the door!

They did show him one act of kindliness, though. They gave him acorn cupfuls of honeydew melon through the window. He was happy with that. He sat outside in the sun, and he said, “Tiddly, widdly, widdly! Thank you! To your good health, Mrs. True-Mouse!”

     
     
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Core Knowledge (R) Independent Reading

                        
(Review guidelines for publishing Core Knowledge (R) materials at the bottom of this page-view. This lesson is a “READ-ALOUD” Core Knowledge (R) passage that has been rewritten to be at a lower-grade independent reading level complexity than the original, largely by shortening and simplifying sentence structures while maintaining the richness of the text content.)   
     

Lesson 2 – Pushes And Pulls

   
NEW WORDS: Ferris, Isaac, Kamal, Kamal’s, Maddy, Massie, NASA, Newton, Shepard, amble, antipodal, astronaut’s, astronauts, backhoes, carousel, centrifuge, centrifuges, contestant, distraction, elementary, excogitates, exert, explicates, handily, hypotheses, influencing, investigations, laboratories, languishing, lawnmowers, magnetic, magnets, mainly, metallic, microphone, microphones, motionless, multifold, object’s, participates, pinwheel, plenteously, propels, puck, racquet, rakes, rooftop, saw’s, scientist’s, scooter, scooters, seesaws, sketching, snowplow, solves, spigot, steely, strengths, surges, sways, toy’s, unexpectedly, unicycle, victor
      
      

Chapter One: A Scooter Race
       
It’s field day at Samuel Massie Elementary School, so everyone participates in games outside. Kamal is a contestant in a scooter race. The first one to cross the finish line wins. Kamal is ahead in the race, and he’ll soon roll across the finish line. He places both feet on his scooter, but something happens unexpectedly! Maddy surges past Kamal in the final few seconds, and she ends up becoming the victor in the race!

Field day at school has many races and games. They all have something that moves. Scooters are fun because they move. A ball moves when a girl kicks it. Entertaining things on a playground move, like swings and seesaws. Fun things at home can move, too, like wagons and bicycles. How many fun moving things can you think of?

Chapter Two: How Do Things Move?
     
Carnival rides are a fun distraction because they move! What are some ways that carnival rides move? A Ferris wheel moves around and around, a carousel horse moves up and down, and a swinging ride sways back and forth.

How do some other things move? This unicycle can move, as the girl makes it amble forward and backward, and these swings can move, as the boys make them glide back and forth. When people design and build things that move, they have to figure out how to get them to move and stop.

You know that some things move, but they can be motionless, too. Sometimes they’re still, and they stay still until something is influencing them to move. What makes a lawnmower move? Lawnmowers move because a person propels them. When things start to move, they’re pushed or pulled. Here, the grandparents exert a gentle force on the child on the swing, and the swing moves away from them. The dog pulls the sled, and it moves toward the dog.

Objects can push or pull each other. A bowling ball pushes the pins, and they fall over. The pins can push other pins, too; then the other pins tumble over. Why do some pins stay still, while some of the pins are still standing?

Water can push things from one place to another. Waves push shells onto a beach, and water pushes these ducks downstream in a race.

Of course, you’re plenteously aware that you can’t see air, but air can push things, too. Air pushes the flag; air pushes dust around these pyramids. Air pushes tree leaves during a storm; air pushes a pinwheel.

Something invisible is pulling on everything around you, and it is even pulling on you right now. That pull is called “gravity.” Gravity pulls everything down, so, when something falls to the ground, it is being pulled by gravity.

The girl pushed the ball with her foot, and then her kick pushed the ball up. How will gravity pull on the ball now? Gravity pulls the ball right back down. A motor pushes this swinging boat ride up, and then gravity pulls it back down toward the ground.

Chapter Three: Pushes and Pulls Are All Around You
      
Pushes and pulls happen all around you each day, and you can see plenty of pushes and pulls right at home. You pull open the refrigerator doors to look for a snack, then you push the door to close it. You can push or pull a handle to turn a water spigot on and off.

You can see pushes and pulls in everyday life. At a grocery store, a shopper pulls fruit from a shelf; another shopper pushes a cart. A baker pulls racks of bread; a deli worker pushes and pulls a blade to cut meat.

Think about pushes and pulls on a playground. To climb up the ladder, you use pushes and pulls, where you push with your legs, while you pull up with your arms. You don’t push to go down the slide, because gravity pulls you down a slide.

Here are more pushes and pulls you might see every day. Pushes and pulls can make things move. When a person zips your jacket, do they use a push or a pull? The ball flies into the air, so, who used a push to move the ball?

How Can You Describe Pushes and Pulls?
    
Pushes and pulls can be different strengths, and they can also go in different directions. So, you can describe pushes and pulls. It takes a strong pull for this tractor to start to move a load of lumber.

Weak or Strong. Some pushes and pulls are soft and languishing, while some pushes and pulls are hard and steely. A weak push will move this softball only a little. A soft hit is a weak push. A strong push will make the same ball go far. A hard swing is a strong push.

Pushes and pulls change the speed of things that are moving. Riders get into the water on tubes, and the water pushes them to begin slowly moving. A hard push makes a hockey puck move very fast. What happens to the puck when the boy pushes softly?

Up and Down, Side to Side. Pushes and pulls move things in different directions. The spinning toy rolls down the string. When it gets to the bottom, the string pulls on the toy. The pull changes a toy’s direction and the toy goes back up. A push moves the saw blade forward. Then a pull changes the saw’s direction to backward. The ball is rolling toward the girls. Which one will push the ball with her stick? What will happen to the direction the ball is moving?

Starts, Stops, and Turns.
     
Look around the room that you’re in. Many objects are still. They are not moving, so we say that they are “at rest.” An object that’s not moving stays at rest until it’s pushed or pulled. Some of these objects are moving, and some are at rest. What will cause the objects at rest to move? Moving objects can bump into each other, too. At first the bat is at rest. Then the boy pushes the bat. What will happen when the bat bumps into the ball? These balls are at rest, so they’re not moving. A player pushes the white ball with the stick. The white ball was at rest, but now it’s moving. The white ball bumps into the colored balls. Now the balls move. The balls push on each other.

Sometimes when objects bump into each other, they stop each other. One of these cars bumped into the other one. They once were moving, but now they’re both at rest. Football players push on each other. They slow each other down. Both were moving forward. Now neither one is moving forward.

Pushes and pulls can change the direction of something that’s moving. Look at the tennis ball. Which way is it going? Which way do you think it will go after the racquet pushes it?

You know that pushes and pulls can be strong or weak. Weak and strong pushes and pulls change an object’s motion in different ways. A strong push causes a big change to the motion of this ball. A gentle push causes a smaller change to the motion of the same kind of ball.

Chapter Four: How Can Pushes and Pulls Solve Problems?
     
Pushes and pulls can solve problems. What are some ways pushes and pulls help you at home? You push and pull a door to open and close it. The problem is how to get outside. You solve the problem by using a pull. The door opens; thus, a problem is solved! Here’s another problem. It’s dark, so how can you turn on a light to see? You can pull a cord to turn on a light, so the problem is solved!

It’s time for bed, and the problem is getting up into the bunk bed. You climb a ladder to get to the top bunk. A problem is solved! Is climbing mainly pushing, pulling, or both? How do you gather leaves? You pull them with a rake. People use pushes and pulls to solve problems. People build things like doors and rakes so that they can use pushes and pulls.

These inventions work using pushes and pulls, too. What problems do they help solve? Does a snowplow push snow or pull it? Painters use ropes to pull buckets of paint up to a rooftop. Can you think of an invention that could help to solve that problem more handily? Backhoes pull large amounts of dirt.

When people build things to solve problems, they go through steps. They have new ideas, and you’ll find them often sketching out their plans. Here’s a drawing of a plan that solves a problem. What is the problem? Does this plan solve the problem using pushes or pulls?

Chapter Five: Invisible Pushes and Pulls
     
Pushes and pulls happen when objects touch. Some pushes and pulls can also happen between objects that are not touching. These pushes and pulls are invisible! You’ve already learned about one invisible pull, which is gravity. This skier is up in the air now, and gravity will pull her down. Let’s hope that she lands safely!

Magnets produce invisible pushes and pulls, too. Magnets can pull on some kinds of metal. This magnet can pull large pieces of metal up from a pile. That is a strong pull! Magnets can pull on each other, and magnets can push on each other. Magnets have two ends. One end is the north pole, while the antipodal end is the south pole. Both poles can pull some metal objects. A north pole of one magnet pulls the south pole of another magnet. Different poles pull on each other. A north pole of one magnet pushes on the north pole of another magnet. Two same poles push on each other. Two north poles push each other. Two south poles push each other. A north pole and a south pole pull each other. A south pole and a north pole pull each other.

Magnets can help solve problems. You might want to stick a drawing to your refrigerator. That is a problem! Use magnets to hold the picture against the refrigerator. The problem is solved! Microphones have magnets inside of them. A magnet causes pushes and pulls to make the microphone work. Magnets are pushing and pulling tools we can use to help solve problems. Magnets help hold the train engine to the train car. Can you see the two magnets? A magnetic rack can store tools. The metallic strip is a magnet, and it pulls on the metal parts of the tools.

Chapter Six: Science in Action: Studying Pushes and Pulls
    
Kamal pushes his scooter faster and faster toward school. He is excited about science today. His class is going to have a video call with a scientist from the NASA space program. The scientist’s name is Dr. Shepard, and she studies pushes and pulls. Pushes and pulls are types of “forces.” They affect people and objects in space! Dr. Shepard explicates to the class that she excogitates forces like the pull of gravity.

Gravity is a force that pulls objects toward the center of Earth. When astronauts are on Earth, gravity pulls them down, just like it does to all of us. When they’re in space, they feel as if there’s no force pulling them down at all. Changes of pushes and pulls on our bodies affect us in multifold ways. Dr. Shepard does investigations to find out how.

Investigations are experiments that scientists conduct to test their hypotheses. Scientists also do investigations to answer questions that they have. Dr. Shepard can’t go to space to find out about the effects of pushes and pulls on astronauts. Instead, she comes up with ways to test her ideas here on Earth. She works in laboratories, places where scientists use tools and equipment to test ideas.

In a big lab, Dr. Shepard shows Kamal’s class a machine called a “centrifuge.” An astronaut sits inside one end of the centrifuge. Then the machine spins around and around. The spinning causes the astronaut to feel as if strong pulls are acting on him. Dr. Shepard uses centrifuges to investigate how a strong pull can affect an astronaut’s body during a rocket launch. Her research helps other scientists that launch astronauts into space.

To become a scientist herself, Dr. Shepard had to learn about pushes and pulls and gravity. Scientists always base their work on the discoveries of other scientists before them. Many scientists before Dr. Shepard have studied what happens when objects fall to the ground. They have observed how objects move when they are pushed and pulled. Dr. Shepard tells Kamal’s class that her work depends on discoveries made by a scientist named Sir Isaac Newton.

Sir Isaac Newton was an English scientist who lived over 400 years ago. He was the first scientist to explain gravity the way that scientists today understand it to work. Newton wrote descriptions about how pushes and pulls make things move. His descriptions are called “the laws of motion.” The first law of motion says that things that are sitting still will remain still until something pushes or pulls on them. Things that are moving keep moving the same way until a push or pull changes their motion.

     
       
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Core Knowledge (R) Independent Reading

                           
(Review guidelines for publishing Core Knowledge (R) materials at the bottom of this page-view.) 
        
Stories Of Ancient Rome
   

Lesson 3 – Part One

    
NEW WORDS: BC, BCE, Balkans, Etruscans, Rachel, Readmuch, Teachwell, Tiber, civilizations, exception, reminded, timetable
      
      

Chapter One: Rome, Then and Now
      
“This is Rome,” said Mrs. Teachwell, pointing to a black dot on the classroom map. “But this is Rome, too,” she added, as she traced a circle that was so large it seemed to touch all four sides of the map.

The students looked confused. “How can it be both?” Charlie Chatter shouted out.

“I’ll explain,” Mrs. Teachwell said, “but please raise your hand if you would like to speak.”

Charlie Chatter nodded. It was not the first time he had heard this. In fact, Mrs. Teachwell had asked him to raise his hand many times, but it was hard for Charlie. His mouth seemed to be faster than his hand.

“Rome started out as a little town along the Tiber River,” Mrs. Teachwell explained.

“Like Egypt on the Nile?” Charlie asked.

“Yes,” said Mrs. Teachwell, “but let’s see that hand!” The students giggled. “As Charlie has just reminded us,” Mrs. Teachwell said, “many civilizations spring up along the banks of a river. Rome was no exception. It sprang up here, on the banks of the Tiber River, among seven hills. At first, Rome was just a few houses on a hill. Then, it grew and grew and grew. After a while, people started building houses on other hills nearby. Then, the little towns on the hills grew together to make a big city. In fact, to this day, Rome is known as the ‘City of Seven Hills’.”

“Then, the Romans fought wars with their neighbors. The Romans won most of these wars. They defeated the Etruscans, who lived north of them. They conquered the Greeks, who had settled to the south, as well. It wasn’t long before they controlled most of this piece of land that we call Italy.” Mrs. Teachwell traced the outline of Italy with her finger.

“Check it out!” Charlie Chatter shouted. “Italy looks like a boot!”

“Yes,” said Mrs. Teachwell. “Italy does look like a boot, but please, Charlie, raise your hand! This is your last warning. Now, does anyone know what this body of water that the boot of Italy sticks out into is called?”

Rachel Readmuch, who always had her nose in a book, raised her hand. Mrs. Teachwell called on her.

“It’s called the Mediterranean,” said Rachel.

“That’s right!” said Mrs. Teachwell. “This is the Mediterranean Sea. Rome grew so much that, at its peak, the Romans controlled all the land around the Mediterranean Sea. They took over most of Spain and France. They took over this area that we call the Balkans. They took over Greece and much of Turkey. They took over the Middle East, Egypt, and the coast of North Africa.”

Tim Timetable, who loved to learn about when things happened, put up his hand. “When was all this happening?”

“Rome started growing about two-thousand five-hundred years ago,” Mrs. Teachwell explained. “It started growing about five- hundred years before the birth of Jesus, in the years we call BC or BCE. It was still growing when Jesus was born. In fact, Jesus was born here, in a part of the Middle East that was controlled by the Romans.”

Tim Timetable made a note of the date.

Mrs. Teachwell went on: “We will be studying Rome for three weeks or so. Each day, we will have a report on a topic connected to ancient Rome. I’ll give the first few reports. Then, each of you can do some research and give the next few. How does that sound?”

The kids cheered. They were eager to learn more about Rome. Rachel Readmuch already knew quite a lot. Tim Timetable had lots of questions about what happened when. As for Charlie Chatter, he was looking forward to the day when he would get to give his report. Then, he would get to talk without having to raise his hand first!

     
   
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Core Knowledge (R) Independent Reading

                        
(Review guidelines for publishing Core Knowledge (R) materials at the bottom of this page-view.) 
        
Stories Of Ancient Rome
   

Lesson 4 – Part Two

   
NEW WORDS: Aphrodite, Apollo, Ares, Athena, Bacchus, Cupid’s, Cupids, Delphi, Diana, Dionysius, Eros, Hera, Hermes, Juno, Juno’s, Jupiter’s, Latium, Minerva, Minerva’s, Neptune, Neptune’s, Olympus, Poseidon, Psyche’s, Remus, Rhea, Romulus, Romulus’s, Silvia, Valentine’s, Venus, Vulcan, Zeus, angered, bidding, dolphins, fountains, husband’s, immortals, kidnap, legendary, messenger, messengers, metals, myth, myths, presto, priestess, pronged, pups, remembering, satyrs, sculptor, taunt, tenderly, trembled, trident, volcanoes
    
    

Chapter Two: The Legend of Romulus and Remus
      
We learned last time that Rome started as a small town and grew to become a big city. Then, it grew some more until it became a great empire. That’s what historians tell us. The Romans themselves have a story that they like to tell about how their city got started. They say that Rome was founded by twins who had been saved by a wolf.

The twins were named Romulus and Remus. They were the children of a woman named Rhea Silvia and the god Mars. Their mother loved them, but her brother, the king of Latium, did not. He saw the boys as a threat. He thought they might grow up and take his crown from him. The king told one of his servants to find the twins and drown them in the Tiber River.

The servant found the twins, but he could not bring himself to drown them. Instead, he put the boys in a basket. Then, he set the basket in the river. The basket floated downstream. It drifted and drifted until, at last, it washed up on the banks of the river.

A she-wolf found the twins. She saw that they were hungry. She took them to her cave. There she gave them the same milk she fed to her wolf pups. Later, the twins were adopted by a shepherd. The shepherd raised them well. They grew up to be smart and strong.

When they were 18, Romulus and Remus decided to create a city of their own. They wanted to build a city on the banks of the Tiber, somewhere among the seven hills, not far from where they had washed ashore as babies. Soon, however, the brothers began to fight.

“Let’s build our city here!” said Romulus, pointing to a hill.

“No!” said Remus. “This hill over here is a much better spot.”

So, each brother started building his own city on a different hill. Each knew that it would be important to have a strong wall to protect the city that he was building. After a few days, Remus decided to visit Romulus to see how his city was coming along. It takes a long time to build a city, so Remus did not expect Romulus’s city to be finished. He decided, however, to taunt his brother and made fun of his unfinished wall. “You call that a wall?” he said. “That wall would not keep anyone out!” Then, to make his point, he stepped over the wall.

That made Romulus angry. He and Remus started to fight. No longer remembering that they were fighting one another, Romulus and Remus battled with all their might. Suddenly, Remus collapsed, fell to the ground, and died. When Romulus saw what he had done, he began to cry. He had not wished to kill his brother. He dug a grave for Remus. Romulus went on building his city. He named it Rome after himself. The rest, as they say, is history. Rome grew and grew. It became a great city, the center of a mighty empire.

The government of Rome made coins. The coins showed two young boys reaching up to touch a she-wolf. The people of Rome handed these coins back and forth. They used them to buy food and drinks. They used them to pay bills and buy clothing. And all of them knew who the two boys on the coin were: they were Romulus and Remus, the legendary founders of Rome.

Chapter Three: The Roman Gods, Part One
      
Let’s learn about the gods and goddesses of Rome. The ancient Romans did not believe in one God who ruled the entire world. They believed in many gods. In many ways, the Roman gods acted like human beings. They ate and drank. They played tricks on each other. They fell in love and got into fights.

But there was one main way in which the gods were not like human beings: the gods were immortal. Human beings might live for many years. Some might even live to be one hundred. Eventually, though, they would die. The gods, on the other hand, lived forever. They did not — and could not — die.

The Romans’ ideas about their gods were similar to the ancient Greeks. In fact, they worshipped many of the same gods as the Greeks, but they called those gods by different names. The chart shows the Roman names for some Greek gods you may already know.

Greek / Roman names:

Zeus / Jupiter.

Ares / Mars.

Hera / Juno.

Hermes / Mercury.

Poseidon / Neptune.

Dionysius / Bacchus.

Aphrodite / Venus.

Athena/ Minerva.

Eros / Cupid.

Apollo / Apollo.

The top god, sometimes called the father of the immortals, was a strong, bearded figure. The Greeks called him Zeus. The Romans called him Jupiter. Jupiter was a mighty god. He carried a thunderbolt that he could throw at anyone who angered him. If Jupiter threw his thunderbolt at you, that was the end of you. Jupiter lived on Mount Olympus with the other gods. Juno was Jupiter’s wife. She was the goddess of marriage and the protector of wives. The Roman gods were all related. They were like a big family. Jupiter’s brother Neptune was the god of the seas and oceans.

There are many statues of Neptune. In most of them, he is holding a special, three-pronged spear called a trident. Neptune’s trident had magical powers. The god could use it to stir up storms and waves. He could also wave it over the stormy seas and make the rough seas smooth. Roman sailors prayed to Neptune. “Great Neptune!” they prayed. “Send us good weather and smooth sailing!”

Mars was the god of war. Soldiers would pray to him before a big battle. The Romans fought a lot of wars, so they spent a lot of time praying to Mars.

Mercury was one of Jupiter and Juno’s sons. He was the messenger of the gods. He was as fast as a flash. In paintings, he is often shown with wings on his hat and his shoes, to show how fast he was.

Venus was the goddess of love. She was very beautiful. If Venus wanted someone to fall in love, she could send her son Cupid on a mission. Cupid would shoot the person with one of his magic arrows. The person would then fall in love with the first person he or she saw. Cupid is still with us today. You will see little Cupids all over the place on Valentine’s Day, when we celebrate love.

Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Neptune are the names of planets in our solar system. These planets are named after the Roman gods. For example, the planet Mars is named after Mars, the Roman god of war.

Chapter Four: The Roman Gods, Part Two
     
Good morning, class! Last time we learned about some of the Roman gods and goddesses. Today, I’d like to tell you about a few more gods and goddesses. Vulcan was the blacksmith of the gods. He melted iron and other metals. Then, he shaped the metal to make a sword, a helmet, or a shield. Vulcan was the god of fire and volcanoes.

Apollo was the god of the sun. He was also the god of music and poetry. Apollo is another god who was worshipped by both the Greeks and the Romans. He had a famous shrine at Delphi, in Greece. When the Greeks and Romans wanted advice, they would send messengers to Delphi. The priestess of Apollo would give them an answer. It was almost never a clear answer, though. Often, it was more like a riddle that they had to figure out on their own.

Minerva was the goddess of wisdom. She was also the goddess of crafts and weaving. According to legend, Minerva was not born in the usual way. One day, Jupiter complained of a headache. Then — presto! — Minerva sprang, fully grown, from his head. Minerva’s special animal was the owl. Sometimes she was painted with an owl perched on her shoulder.

Diana was the goddess of the moon. She was also the goddess of the hunt. In statues, she is often shown as a young girl, with a bow and arrow. Sometimes, the sculptor will also show one of her dogs or a deer.

Bacchus was the Roman god of grapes and wine. He was followed by women and satyrs, who were half man and half goat. A famous story tells how pirates tried to kidnap Bacchus. That was a big mistake. The god transformed himself into a lion. He turned the boat into a lush garden. As for the pirates, he changed them into dolphins and sent them splashing away in the ocean.

Chapter Five: Cupid and Psyche, Part One
     
The Romans, like the Greeks, had many myths that they liked to tell. Some of these were stories about the gods. Some were stories about heroes. Some were love stories. The myth I am going to share with you is a love story.

Once there was a king who had three daughters. All three were lovely, but the youngest, whose name was Psyche, was so beautiful that words could not describe her. She was so beautiful that people began to say she was more beautiful than the goddess Venus.

Venus heard about Psyche. She was mad with jealousy. Was she, a goddess, to be forgotten on account of some young, pretty girl? She swore that this would never happen!

Venus, the goddess of love, was jealous when she heard others talking of the beautiful, young Psyche. Venus went to her son, Cupid. “My son,” she said, “punish that girl! Shoot her with one of your arrows. Make her fall in love with the ugliest man on Earth.”

Cupid set off to do his mother’s bidding. He took his bow and arrow and flew down to Earth. He took aim at Psyche. At the last minute, though, his finger slipped. Instead of shooting Psyche, he pricked himself. So, Cupid fell in love with Psyche.

Cupid came up with a plan that would let him visit Psyche in secret. He sent a message to Psyche’s family. It said that the gods had chosen a husband for Psyche. Psyche was ordered to climb to the top of a mountain, where she would meet her husband. She was also told that her husband was not a man, but a terrible monster.

Psyche was brave. She began to climb the mountain. Halfway up, she felt a warm wind surround her. Suddenly, she found herself in a magnificent palace, with fountains and gardens all around.

At first, Psyche was alone. When night fell, she lay down on a bed. During the night, Cupid visited her. He told her he was the husband the gods had chosen for her. Cupid stayed all night. He treated Psyche tenderly, but he left before the sun rose.

Night after night, Cupid came to visit Psyche. He came only at night, and he always left before the sun rose. Psyche knew him only in the darkness, but she accepted him as her husband.

One night, Psyche asked her husband why he came only at night, when she could not see him.

“Why do you wish to see me?” Cupid replied. “What does it matter what I look like? I love you. I treat you well. All I ask is that you love me.”

Psyche understood her husband’s words. Still, she was curious. Who was her husband? What did he look like? Why did he hide? Was he really a terrible monster? She felt that she had to find out.

One night, Psyche waited until her husband fell asleep. Then she got up and lit a lamp. She carried the lamp to the bed and lifted it up. What she saw was no monster, but the lovely face of Cupid himself. Her hand trembled with delight and a drop of hot oil fell from the lamp. The oil landed on Cupid’s shoulder and awoke him.

Cupid looked up at Psyche with sad eyes. “I asked only for your trust,” he said, “but this act of yours shows that you do not trust me. When trust is gone, love must depart.” Then, Cupid flew away. The palace vanished into thin air and Psyche was left alone.

     
     
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Lesson 5 – Part Three

   
NEW WORDS: Caesar, Cannae, Carthage, Carthaginians, Cicero, Damocles, Gallic, Gaul, Hannibal, Hannibal’s, Julius, Proserpina, Punic, Scipio, Senate, Senators, Syracuse, Tarquin, Trasimene, Trebbia, Veni, Vici, Vidi, Zama, advisor, ambitious, ambrosia, avalanches, barbarians, confronted, conquering, consul, consuls, curiosity, delivered, democracy, downfall, envied, filling, generals, happiest, lentils, marches, modeled, obeyed, pages, pater, patrician, patricians, plebeians, poets, poorer, ransom, ransomed, realm, replaces, republic, revolt, rockslides, senseless, strand, suffered, tyrant, underworld
      
      

Chapter Six: Cupid and Psyche, Part Two
     
When Cupid left Psyche, Psyche was very sad. She tried to find Cupid. She wandered night and day. But she could not find her lost love. At last, Psyche went to the temple of Venus. She begged the goddess to help her find Cupid.

Venus was not eager to help. She was still jealous of Psyche and her beauty. She gave Psyche a task, confident that the girl could never complete it. She led Psyche to a huge pile of grain. In the pile were wheat, millet, barley, and lentils, all mixed up. “Sort the grains into stacks by morning,” Venus ordered. Then, with a laugh, she disappeared.

Psyche saw that there were millions of seeds. She knew there was no way that she could finish the task. She sat down and began to cry. Then, something wonderful happened. Through her tears, Psyche noticed a seed moving, then another, and then many more. An army of ants had come to aid her. Each ant was carrying a seed. Together, they sorted seeds into separate piles.

In the morning, Venus was surprised to find the work done. “Your next task will not be so easy!” she said. “Take this box to the underworld and ask the queen of that realm, Proserpina, to send me a little of her beauty.”

Psyche’s heart sank. No human had ever visited the underworld and returned to tell the tale. Just then, a voice spoke to her. “Take a coin for the boatman,” the voice said. “If you pay him, he will carry you across the river to the underworld. Take a cake, as well. If you give the cake to the three-headed dog who guards the underworld, he will let you pass. Above all, once Proserpina has placed beauty in the box, do not open it!”

Psyche obeyed the mysterious voice. She traveled safely to the underworld, and Proserpina gave her the box of beauty for Venus. Psyche could not help wondering what was inside the box. She lifted the lid and peeked inside. A deep sleep came over her. She fell senseless to the ground.

Luckily, Cupid was watching. Although he was disappointed in Psyche, he was still very much in love with her. When he saw her lying on the ground, he took pity on her. He lifted the sleeping spell and Psyche awoke.

“See what curiosity gets you?” Cupid said. He smiled at Psyche. Psyche smiled back. Psyche delivered the box to Venus. Cupid went to Jupiter and begged to marry Psyche with Jupiter’s blessing. Jupiter agreed. He allowed Psyche to drink ambrosia, the drink of the gods. Psyche became immortal. So, Cupid and Psyche were married and lived happily ever after.

Chapter Seven: The Sword of Damocles
      
Have you ever wished that you were a king? Does that seem like the best job a person could have? Well, before you decide for sure, listen to this legend that was made famous by the Roman writer Cicero more than two thousand years ago.

Damocles was a friend of Dionysius, the king of Syracuse, a city in southern Italy. Damocles envied his friend. He believed that the king had a very good life. He had all the riches and power he could want. What could be better?

“You think I’m lucky?” Dionysius said to him one day. “If you think so, let’s trade places. You sit here, on the throne. Try it for just one day. Then, tell me if you still think I’m lucky.” Damocles accepted his friend’s invitation. He was eager to live the life of a king.

When the day came, Damocles ordered servants to bring him fine robes. He had them set out a great banquet of food. He ordered expensive wine and fine music. He sat back, sure that he was the happiest man in the world.

Then, he looked up. He caught his breath in fear. Above his head was a sword. It was dangling from the ceiling, held by a single strand of horse’s hair. Damocles could not speak. He could not eat. He could not enjoy the music. He could not even move.

“What is the matter, my friend?” asked Dionysius.

“How can I conduct my life with that sword hanging above me?” Damocles asked.

“How indeed?” answered Dionysius. “Now you know how it feels to be king. That sword hangs over my head every minute of every day. There is always the chance the thread will break. An advisor may turn on me. An enemy spy may attack me. I might make an unwise decision that brings about my downfall. You see, my friend, with power comes danger.”

Chapter Eight: The Roman Republic
     
For many years, Rome was governed by kings. Some of these kings were good men who ruled well. Some were bad men who treated the Romans poorly. One of the kings was so bad that, because of his example, the Romans became convinced that they should get rid of kings altogether. His name was Tarquin. The Romans called him Tarquin the Proud. Tarquin was a tyrant. He was a cruel ruler who treated the people badly. In the end, the people got so mad at Tarquin that they joined together and drove him out.

Once King Tarquin had been driven out, the Romans set up a different sort of government. They set up a republic — a kind of government with no kings.

How is a monarchy different from a republic? What Are the Differences? Who rules? Monarchy: The king rules. Republic: Elected officials rule. How long is the rule? Monarchy: The king usually rules until he dies. Republic: Officials serve for a set length of time. Who replaces the ruler? Monarchy: A king is usually succeeded by his oldest son. Republic: A new official is elected to replace the previous official.

One of the most important parts of the Roman republic was the Senate. The Senate was a group of older men who met to make decisions and pass laws. Many of the Senators were from old, wealthy families. Almost all of them had fought in the army and had earned the trust of their fellow Romans.

Each year, the people would elect two men to serve as consuls. To be chosen as a consul was a great honor. It was the most powerful position in the Roman republic.

Rome was a republic, but it was not a democracy. Some people played a role in the government, but many more played no role at all. In the early years of the Roman republic, one group held most of the power. These were the patricians. The word patrician comes from the Latin word “pater,” or father.

The patricians thought of themselves as the fathers of the people. They felt that it was their job to take care of the people in the same way that parents take care of their children. The patricians were from wealthy, old families. All of the men in the Senate were patricians. In the early days of the republic, the men selected to be consuls were also patricians.

The rest of the people — the ones who were not patricians — were called plebeians. The plebeians were the poorer people. In the early years of the republic, they had very little power.

The Roman republic lasted for more than five hundred years. Many Romans loved the republic. They thought it was the best kind of government a country could have. They were, however, not the only ones who thought so.

The Founding Fathers of the United States also believed that a republic was the best kind of government. When the colonies declared their independence from Great Britain in 1776, they broke away from a king (King George III) and set up a republic. They created a Senate that was modeled on the Roman Senate. They created a president who was a lot like the Roman consuls. They even built government buildings that looked like ancient Roman buildings. So, you can see that Roman ideas about government have had a big influence all around the world.

Chapter Nine: Hannibal Crosses the Alps
      
The Romans faced many enemies, but the strongest and most determined enemy who they ever faced was an African general named Hannibal. Hannibal came from Carthage, a city on the coast of Africa. Carthage was home to many merchants and traders. Carthage also had an army and a navy. The Carthaginians took over much of North Africa and Spain. They even took over islands off the coast of Italy.

The Romans saw Carthage as a rival. They fought three wars against Carthage. These wars are known as the Punic Wars and are thought to have been fought during the years 264–146 BC.

Hannibal’s father fought against Rome in the First Punic War, 264–241 BC. He made his son swear he would carry on the fight against Rome. Hannibal swore he would and kept his promise. It was Hannibal who led the fight against Rome in the Second Punic War, 218–201 BC. Hannibal gathered an army in Spain. He had tens of thousands of foot soldiers. He had thousands more who fought on horseback.

Best of all, he had his special forces: a squad of elephants. Hannibal had learned that few men are brave enough to stand and fight when they see a thundering herd of elephants coming their way.

Hannibal wanted to attack Rome. However, to invade Italy, he would have to march his army over a range of mountains called the Alps. The Alps were tall. The peaks were covered with snow and ice. There were no big roads that led across. There were only a few slippery paths.

Most men would not have tried to cross the mountains, but Hannibal was not like most men. He marched his army over the mountains. His men suffered terribly. Some died from rockslides or avalanches. Others froze to death. Many of the elephants did not make it across. In the end, though, Hannibal got his army across the mountains and into Italy.

In Italy, Hannibal went on the attack. He beat the Romans at Trebbia in 218 BC. Then, he wiped out an entire Roman army at the Battle of Trasimene in 217 BC. The Romans lost 15,000 men. The Battle of Cannae was even worse. The Romans lost at least 50,000 men, including 80 of their 300 Senators.

People thought that this might be the beginning of the end for Rome. They did not see how the Romans could go on. But the Romans did go on. They raised another army and sent it out to stop Hannibal. This time, the Romans avoided big battles. Instead, they fought a lot of little battles. They attacked Hannibal’s army here and there. They blocked his troops and slowed down his marches. They also launched a counter-attack. A Roman general named Scipio took Roman troops to Africa. The leaders of Carthage wrote to Hannibal. They told him to come home and protect Carthage.

Hannibal did as he was told. He left Italy and returned to Carthage. At the Battle of Zama, he confronted Scipio. This time, the Romans were victorious. Hannibal won most of the battles in the Second Punic War, but he lost the war.

After the Battle of Zama in 202 BC, Carthage was never quite the same. They fought another war against Rome — the Third Punic War in the years 149-146 BC — but it was clear that Carthage was sinking, and Rome was on the rise.

Chapter Ten: Julius Caesar, Great Fighter, Great Writer
     
After the Punic Wars, generals started to play a big part in Roman history. Roman generals went all around the Mediterranean, fighting battles and conquering new lands. Some of these generals became heroes. Some of them got to be so famous and so popular that they threatened to take over the republic. That’s what happened with Julius Caesar.

Julius Caesar came from an old Roman family. He was proud and ambitious, with a high opinion of himself. When he was a young man, Caesar was captured by pirates. The pirates told him that they would kill him unless he could pay a ransom of twenty talents. Caesar laughed at them. He told them that they clearly didn’t know what sort of man they had captured. He was Julius Caesar. He was not a man to be ransomed for just twenty talents! Caesar told the pirates that he would not allow himself to be ransomed for less than fifty talents!

Caesar told his friends to raise the money. He stayed with the pirates, writing poems. He read some of his poems to the pirates. They shrugged. They didn’t care much for poetry. They were pirates, not poets. They just wanted to collect the ransom money.

Caesar got angry at the pirates. He scolded them for not liking his poems. He told them they had no taste. He told them that they were barbarians. He told them that someday he would come back and punish them for their bad taste. The pirates thought Caesar was joking. Maybe they thought he was crazy. At any rate, as soon as they got the ransom money, they quickly forgot about him.

But Caesar did not forget about them. He went back to Rome, got some ships, and hired some good fighters. Then, he tracked down the pirates and killed them. Caesar quickly established himself as a man who knew what to do with his sword and also with his pen.

Once, he was sent to Asia. The people there were in revolt. Caesar led a Roman army there and put down the revolt. Then, he got out his pen to write his report. The normal thing would have been to write a long report, filling several pages, but that was not Caesar’s style.

This is the report that Caesar sent back to Rome: Veni, Vidi, Vici. That’s the whole report. Those three words — written in Latin, the language of ancient Rome —mean, “I came, I saw, I conquered.” What else was there to say? Mission accomplished!

Caesar led an army into the land the Romans called Gaul. Today, we call it France. Gaul was not part of the Roman civilization when Caesar marched in, but it was when he marched out a few years later. Caesar conquered it. Then, he wrote a book about how he did it. The first sentence in his book is famous. It is written in Latin. In English, the words mean, “The whole of Gaul is divided into three parts.” If you ever study Latin, you may have a chance to read Caesar’s book on the Gallic Wars. It’s so clear and so well-written that teachers all around the world still use it to teach Latin to students.

     
    
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Stories Of Ancient Rome
    

Lesson 6 – Part Four

   
NEW WORDS: Androcles, Augustus, Brutus, Cleopatra, Maximus, Pantheon, Pompey, Rubicon, ahhhhhhh, aqueducts, blistering, chanting, colosseum, conspirators, crouches, crusts, dictator, dictators, emperor, entertainment, faltered, gladiator, gladiators, invader, jailer, jailers, lifting, limps, ooooowww, owowowowow, purred, purrrrr, purrs, reformed, rrrrr, rrrrrr, rrrrrrroarrrr, shrank, stabbed, stadium, tending, theaters, troubles, upsetting, whimpering
      
           

Chapter Eleven: Julius Caesar Crossing the Rubicon
     
After he conquered Gaul, Caesar started marching back to Rome. By this time, the Roman Senators were very nervous about Caesar. They thought that he might march into Rome and take it over. The Senators sent Caesar a message. They told him to stop and to send his soldiers home. They ordered him not to cross the Rubicon River. If he did, they said he would not be treated as a hero. Instead, he would be treated as a traitor and an invader.

In the year 49 BC, Caesar crossed the Rubicon. He is said to have remarked in Latin, “The die is cast.” That was his way of saying that he knew he was taking a big risk. Crossing the Rubicon meant that there was no turning back.

Caesar’s actions led to a civil war — a war in which Romans fought against Romans. Caesar was the leader on one side. Pompey, another famous Roman general, was the leader on the other side. Caesar defeated Pompey and chased him to Egypt, where Pompey was killed. When Caesar got to Egypt, he found another country tangled up in a civil war. The princess Cleopatra was trying to take power from her brother.

Caesar sided with Cleopatra. He helped her become Queen of Egypt. Caesar had big plans. He didn’t think Rome was run the way it should be. He wanted to change a lot of things. He had the Senate pass new laws. He replaced the old calendar with the one that we still use today. (Did you know that the month of July is named for Julius Caesar?)

Caesar wanted to do more, but he felt that he needed more power. He got himself appointed dictator. At first, he was appointed dictator for only one year. That was not so unusual. The Romans had chosen dictators in the past. A dictator could be put in power during times of trouble. But the dictator was only supposed to rule for a little while, until the troubles passed. That was not what Caesar had in mind.

He had himself appointed dictator for ten years. That upset a lot of people. How do you think those people felt a little later, when Caesar had himself appointed dictator for life? That was really too much for some people. For hundreds of years, Rome had been a republic. Now, Caesar was setting himself up as a dictator. Perhaps, he even wanted to be a king. That was even more upsetting. The Romans had driven out the kings hundreds of years earlier.

A group of Romans agreed that Caesar was a threat to the republic. They stabbed him to death in the Senate. Some of the men who stabbed Julius Caesar were men he considered friends. One of them, Brutus, was a man Caesar had treated almost like a son. How could these men kill Caesar? Brutus explained that it was not that he loved Caesar less, but that he loved Rome — and the Roman republic — more. Brutus and the other conspirators killed Caesar to save Rome. At least, that was the plan.

Chapter Twelve: After Caesar, Augustus and the Roman Empire
     
The men who killed Julius Caesar were trying to save the republic. They did not succeed. After Caesar was killed, another civil war broke out. The man who came out on top at the end of the war was a man known as Augustus Caesar, or just Augustus.

Augustus was an adopted son of Caesar, and he agreed with Caesar that Rome needed to change. But he was smart. He knew that the Romans cared about their history. They would not be happy if he came to power and changed everything all at once. What he did instead was very clever. He made himself emperor, and he made it clear that he intended to serve until he died. That meant that Rome was no longer a republic. But Augustus did not sweep away all of the old traditions. He let the Romans keep the Senate and consuls. Still, everybody knew that it was Augustus who was really in charge.

Augustus brought peace to a country that had been fighting civil wars for many years. He reformed the government and conquered new lands. He set up monuments. He built magnificent new buildings, including temples, theaters, and bath houses. He also repaired old buildings and decorated them with fancy stone, like marble. He once boasted that he “found Rome brick and left it marble.”

One of the most famous buildings built during the reign of Augustus is the Pantheon. The Pantheon was built as a temple to all of the Roman gods. (“Pan” means “all” and “theo” means “gods.”) The Pantheon is a beautiful building with a domed roof. While the original building was destroyed in a fire, the Pantheon still standing today was built to replace it. Thousands of tourists visit it every day.

The Pantheon is only one of many examples of great Roman architecture. Another one is the Colosseum. The Colosseum, built not long after the reign of Augustus, is a huge, oval stadium. The Romans went to the Colosseum to see people and animals fight. The Colosseum would hold fifty thousand people. Today the Colosseum is in ruins, but some of it is left to give us a good idea of what it would have looked like.

The Romans also enjoyed watching chariot races. These were held in an even larger stadium, called the Circus Maximus. For the Romans, a chariot race or a fight was good entertainment, the way a football game or a movie is for us today.

The Romans also built roads and aqueducts. The roads brought people from all around the Empire. The aqueducts were used to bring water from the country into the city. Some of the aqueducts are also very beautiful.

Chapter Thirteen: Androcles and the Lion
    
The ancient Romans liked to watch gladiator fights. They liked to watch a gladiator fight against other gladiators or against wild animals. As mentioned in the previous chapter, the Romans even built the Colosseum for these fights. The Colosseum was so big that it could hold fifty thousand people! This is a gladiator story, and it ends in the Colosseum. You may be surprised by the ending!

Once there was a Roman slave named Androcles. Androcles escaped from his master and ran away. One night he hid in a cave. He crept into the cool darkness, lay down, and fell asleep. In the middle of the night, Androcles was awakened by a loud roaring noise. He got up and squinted in the darkness. What he saw scared him half to death. It was a lion returning to his den! Androcles shrank back, fearful for his life. Then, he saw that the lion was suffering. It was roaring in pain. The great beast limped into the cave and flopped down. It lifted its right front paw and licked it.

Androcles took a step toward the lion. The big cat spotted him, but he did not seem angry. Instead, he gave Androcles a sad look, as if asking for help. Androcles crouched next to the lion. He looked and saw a thorn stuck in the lion’s paw. He put out his hand. The lion did not try to bite him. He touched the lion on the paw. The lion sat still. Then, very gently, Androcles took hold of the thorn and pulled it out.

The lion looked Androcles in the eye and purred. That was the beginning of a warm friendship between Androcles and the lion. They lived together in the cave. They slept side by side, keeping each other warm.

Then, one day Roman soldiers discovered Androcles. The law of Rome said that runaway slaves must be punished. So, Androcles was captured and taken to the city of Rome. For ten days, Androcles sat alone in a jail cell. The jailers fed him nothing but water and crusts of stale bread. Then, one of them told him that he was to meet his death in the Colosseum. Androcles knew what that meant. Runaway slaves were often forced to fight in the Colosseum. Androcles knew that he would be forced to fight against gladiators, or perhaps against vicious, hungry wild animals.

Androcles was led out of his cell. As he walked into the Colosseum, he knew that he would soon die. Androcles was brave. He stepped into the arena and prepared himself for the fight, and for death. The crowd cheered as Androcles stepped into the arena. They cheered even more loudly when a lion appeared on the other side of the arena.

Then, something strange took place. This was not just any lion. It was the lion that Androcles had befriended. The lion recognized his friend. Instead of attacking, the beast ran up to Androcles and began licking his face. Androcles stroked the lion and rubbed his belly. The crowd was amazed. They had never seen anything like this. They cheered loudly.

“Free the slave!” one of the men in the crowd shouted.

“Free the lion!” another shouted.

Soon, the whole crowd was yelling and shouting. The emperor was the one who made the decision. He held out his hand, with his thumb to the side. Then, he tilted it so that his thumb pointed up. Thumbs up! That was the sign! It meant that Androcles and the lion had pleased the emperor. They would be saved! So Androcles and the lion were set free. They lived a long life, and their friendship never faltered.

Chapter Fourteen: Androcles and the Lion, Reader’s Theater
     
Cast: Narrator 1, Narrator 2, Androcles, Lion, Crowd, Man (in the Crowd), Woman (in the Crowd), Emperor.
   
    
Scene One: In a cave in the forest
     
Narrator 1: Thousands of years ago, there was a slave named Androcles, who lived in ancient Rome. Every day, Androcles was sent by his master out to the fields with the other slaves. There they spent the entire day in the blistering hot sun, tending the master’s crops. Only when dusk fell, at the very end of the day, did they return to the slave quarters where they lived. Each night, after a meal of stale bread and water, they fell exhausted to the hard floor and went to sleep.

Narrator 2: One day when it was time to return from the fields, Androcles did not follow the other slaves. As the others went back to their quarters, Androcles hid at the edge of the field. When it was dark, he ran as fast as he could, far into the forest. When he could run no more, he happened upon a small cave. He crept inside into the cool darkness and fell asleep.

Lion (roaring several times, but then whimpering in pain): Rrrrrrroarrrr…… Rrrrrrroarrrr….. Rrrrrrroarrrr …owowowowow….

Androcles (voice shaking): Who’s there? Where are you?

Lion (roars two more times in pain): Help me! Help me. Here!

Androcles (voice still shaking): Whoa! How can I help you?

Lion (limps towards Androcles and lifts his front paw): Just help me. My paw, my paw. Please help me.

Androcles (crouches carefully next to the lion, lifting its paw): Well, let me take a look. Aha! I see what the problem is. There is a very large thorn stuck in your paw. Hold very still and I will pull it out. (Androcles gently pulls the thorn out of the lion’s paw.)

Lion: Ooooowww…ahhhhhhh. That’s much better. Thank you. (Lion rubs up against Androcles and purrs.)

Narrator 1: That was the beginning of a warm friendship between Androcles and the lion. They lived together in the cave. They slept side by side, keeping each other warm.

Narrator 2: Then one day, a group of Roman soldiers on patrol stumbled upon the cave where they discovered Androcles. Roman law said that runaway slaves must be punished. So, the soldiers dragged Androcles out of the cave and back to the city of Rome.

Narrator 1: Androcles was taken to jail. He was left alone in a cell for ten days with little to eat or drink. On the tenth day, the jailer came to tell him that he would be taken to the Colosseum that afternoon. Androcles knew that this could mean only one thing. He would be forced to fight to the death against gladiators or vicious, wild animals.

Scene 2: The Colosseum
     
(The emperor and crowd stand in a circle as if seated at the Colosseum. Androcles enters the center of the circle from one side.)

Crowd (chanting Androcles’ name as he enters the circle): Androcles! Androcles! Androcles!

Lion (shakes mane and roars loudly as he enters the circle from the other side): Rrrrrrroarrrr…… Rrrrrrroarrrr….. Rrrrrrroarrrr.

Crowd (turns and looks at the lion and cheers loudly).

Emperor: Let the games begin!

(Androcles and the lion approach each other with heads down, ready to fight. Then, both look up and stare into each other’s eyes.)

Lion (purrs loudly and rubs up against Androcles’ leg): Purrrrr…rrrrrr….rrrrr.

Androcles (bends forward to hug the lion): My friend, my friend—it’s you!

Crowd (cheers loudly).

Man in the crowd: Free Androcles! Free Androcles!

Woman in the crowd: Free the lion! Free the lion!

Crowd (all chanting): Free Androcles! Free the lion! Free Androcles! Free the lion!

Emperor (waves both arms to quiet the crowd; holds out his right hand with his thumb to the side and then tilts his thumb up).

Crowd (all chanting): They’re saved! They’re both saved! Hooray!

Narrator 1: So Androcles and the lion were both set free. They lived a long life and their friendship never faltered.

    
       
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Core Knowledge (R) Independent Reading 

               
(Review guidelines for publishing Core Knowledge (R) materials at the bottom of this page-view.) 
         
Stories Of Ancient Rome
    

Lesson 7 – Part Five

   
NEW WORDS: Alexander, Astur, Byzantium, Carthaginian, Constantine, Constantine’s, Dionysius’s, Etruscan, Etruscan’s, Hagia, Hamilton, Horatius, Jerusalem, Justinian, Justinian’s, Macaulay’s, Palestine, Pilate, Pompeii, Pontius, Roman’s, Sextus, Sophia, Tarquin’s, Tuscans, accepting, approve, aqueduct, armor, attracted, avalanche, barbarian, chuckle, cometh, comitium, committed, confront, conquest, conspirator, courtyards, creating, crouch, custom, dangle, dandled, divine, emperors, empress, era, erupt, erupted, eruption, expanded, halting, hew, historian, illegal, issued, leaping, loosely, measurement, miracles, mosaic, mosaics, nurses, passages, pillar, pillars, plebeian, plume, preaching, privilege, protective, pumice, quoted, recognition, recognizable, reform, renamed, resulting, riot, satyr, scholars, selects, sentenced, showered, signaled, soaring, squat, stemming, strait, supporting, supports, surrendered, taunts, territories, thunderbolts, totter, volcanic, voting
     
      

Chapter Fifteen: The Rise of Christianity
        
During the reign of Emperor Augustus, something important happened. But at the time, almost nobody noticed. Long ago, a man named Jesus of Nazareth was born. Jesus was a Jewish man who later became an important teacher. He walked among crowds of people teaching. People said that he worked miracles. They said that he changed water into wine and walked on the water. They said that he cured the sick, and even brought dead people back to life.

Jesus attracted followers. But he also attracted the attention of the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate. Pilate had heard that Jesus called himself “the king of the Jews.” He did not like the sound of that. The Jews of Palestine were subjects of the Roman Emperor. There was no room for a “king” and a governor in Rome.

Pilate had Jesus arrested. He put Jesus on trial and sentenced him to death. Even though Jesus died, a group of his followers believed that Jesus was a divine being, the son of God. They believed that he had been sent to Earth by God. They believed that after his death, he was taken up to heaven by God.

The followers of Jesus were called Christians. They believed that Jesus was sent by God to save people. They began sharing the story of Jesus with anyone who would listen. Lots of people thought that they were crazy. But some people listened. The Christian religion began to grow.

One man did more than anyone else to spread the Christian religion. His name was Paul, and he was a Roman citizen. He traveled all around, spreading the religion of Jesus. Eventually, Paul was put to death, like Jesus, but not before he had set up Christian churches all around the Roman Empire.

At first, the Roman emperors paid no attention to this new religion. Later, they started to pay attention, but only because they did not approve of the Christians. Remember: the Romans worshipped many gods. Everyone in the Roman Empire was expected to worship gods like Jupiter, Juno, and Mars. The Romans believed that these gods protected the state. They believed that people should honor them.

That was a problem for the Christians. They believed that there was only one God. They believed it was wrong to worship the Roman gods. So, for many years, the Roman emperors treated Christians as enemies of Rome. They did what they could to get rid of the Christians. They threw some of them in jail. They had others put to death. But the Christians did not give up their faith. They kept on believing, and they kept on preaching.

The man who ended the long war between Rome and Christianity was the Emperor Constantine. He became Emperor about three hundred years after the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. By that time, there were a lot of Christians. In fact, Constantine’s own mother became a Christian. Constantine became a Christian, as well.

When Constantine became a Christian, everything changed. For hundreds of years, the Roman emperors had punished the Christians. Now with Constantine, Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire.

Chapter Sixteen: The Second Rome: From Constantine to Justinian
       
Constantine was the first Roman Emperor to support Christianity. He issued an order that made it illegal to put Christians to death, or even to throw them in jail. Constantine built churches all over the empire. He built one in Bethlehem, where Jesus was born. He built another in Jerusalem, where Jesus died. He built churches in Rome, and in the ancient city of Byzantium, in present-day Turkey. Byzantium was Constantine’s favorite city. He adopted it and renamed it Constantinople. His goal was to turn the city into a “new Rome,” a sort of Rome away from Rome.

Constantine did not want Constantinople to replace Rome. He hoped that Constantinople would take its place beside Rome and that the two cities would survive, side by side, for many years. He wanted Rome and Constantinople to be like two mighty pillars supporting the Roman Empire. But, in the end, one of those pillars collapsed.

One of the emperors who came after Constantine decided that his job was just too big. He felt that the Roman Empire was too large to be ruled by any one man. So, he split the empire into two parts. He declared that the western half of the Empire would be ruled by one emperor, based in Rome; the eastern half would be ruled by a second emperor, based in Constantinople.

Not long after the empire was divided, invaders from the North began attacking the Western Empire. Things got worse and worse. The invaders even attacked Rome itself. Finally, the western part of the Roman Empire collapsed. The Eastern Empire, based in Constantinople, had better luck. It lived on, and for a while, even got stronger.

Most historians agree that the Eastern Empire was at its best during the reign of Justinian. Justinian came into power in the year AD 527. That is, he became emperor 527 years after the birth of Jesus and about two hundred years after Constantine had decided to support Christianity. Like Constantine before him, Justinian was a Christian. He spent lots of money building churches. In Constantinople, he built the church of Hagia Sophia, with its magnificent, soaring dome.

Justinian also completed an important book project. He had scholars gather up all of the laws that had been passed in the Roman Empire over the years. What the scholars found was a big mess. There were so many laws, nobody could possibly keep track of them all. There were old laws that no longer made sense. There were even laws that seemed to be the opposite of one another. One law might say “it is illegal to do X.” Then another law might say “it’s perfectly fine to do X.” Justinian had his scholars gather up all the laws, sort them out, and organize them. When they were done, they published the laws. The new, organized laws filled several books. The new organized laws were known as Justinian’s Code.

Chapter Seventeen: Pompeii
     
August 24th, in the year AD 79, began like any other day. The people of Pompeii woke up and went to work. Pompeii was a busy market town. The market was soon filled with people buying and selling things. In the distance, the people of Pompeii could see the top of Mount Vesuvius. Everyone knew the mountain. It looked down on Pompeii every day. The mountain was like an old friend. But this friend had a terrible secret. The people of Pompeii did not know that Mount Vesuvius was actually a volcano. It was full of melted rock and hot gas. Inside Mount Vesuvius, the pressure had been building up for hundreds and hundreds of years.

Around midday, the ground began to tremble and shake. Then, there was a tremendous cracking noise. Boom! Flames and smoke burst from the top of Mount Vesuvius. The people looked up and saw a great plume of black smoke rising into the sky. Then, things began to fall from the sky. Flakes of ash and bits of rock called pumice showered down. The people of Pompeii put pillows over their heads to keep the little rocks from hurting them. Many tried to run away.

Ash and pumice fell for a while. Then, a great cloud of hot rock mixed with hot gas spilled out of the mountain and came sizzling down the mountainside. The rocks and gas that came down the mountain were heated to 400 degrees, traveling at 60 miles an hour. The people of Pompeii could not outrun it. It swept over them and wiped out the city. The volcano erupted for 19 hours. The city of Pompeii was buried. The buildings were covered with ash. In some places, the ash was more than 80 inches deep!

The city of Pompeii disappeared, and most people forgot that it had ever existed. For more than 1,500 years, it lay beneath the ash. Then, some men set out to dig a well. As they dug down, they hit a stone wall. They had discovered the lost city of Pompeii. Today, much of Pompeii has been excavated, or dug up. You can go to Pompeii and see a Roman town preserved exactly as it looked the day it was destroyed in AD 79.

You can walk down an old stone street and imagine what it looked like 2,000 years ago. You can peek into houses and courtyards. You can even see some of the paintings and mosaics that the people of Pompeii had on their walls. The eruption of Mount Vesuvius was a disaster for the people who lived in Pompeii. But it was a marvelous thing for historians who study the past. By visiting Pompeii and studying the city, historians have learned a great deal about life in ancient Rome.

Chapter Eighteen: How Horatius Held the Bridge
       
In the early days of the Roman Republic, Rome was in danger. The kings had been driven out, but they wanted to force their way back in. King Tarquin’s son, Sextus, went into an area north of Rome. He helped an Etruscan king raise a huge army. Then, the two of them set off to attack Rome. They led the army all the way to the Tiber River right outside of Rome.

The men of Rome had a meeting. They decided that there was only one way to save the city: tear down the bridge over the Tiber River. If the Etruscan army crossed the bridge, Rome would be lost. But if the Romans could tear the bridge down, the Etruscans would not be able to cross the river and enter the city.

The consul spoke to the people. “Which of you,” he asked, “will stand forth against the Etruscans while we tear down the bridge?”

A man named Horatius stepped forward. “To every man upon this Earth,” Horatius said, Death cometh soon or late. And how can man die better Than facing fearful odds, For the ashes of his fathers, And the temples of his gods, And for the tender mother Who dandled him to rest, And for the wife who nurses His baby at her breast. Hew down the bridge, Sir Consul, With all the speed ye may; I, with two more to help me, Will hold the foe in play. In yon strait path a thousand May well be stopped by three. Now who will stand on either hand, And keep the bridge with me?

Two more men came forward to join Horatius. While the other Romans began tearing down the bridge, these three men went forth to face the Etruscan army. The Etruscans laughed when they saw the three Romans blocking the way. They thought that they would defeat them easily. They sent three of their best warriors into battle. The Romans tossed one of the Etruscans off of the bridge and killed the other two.

The Etruscans sent three more men into battle. Again, the Romans defeated them. Finally, the Tuscans sent their bravest fighter into battle. His name was Astur. He swung his sword and wounded Horatius in the thigh. Horatius fell back on one knee, but only for a moment. Then, he charged forward. He pounced on Astur like a wild cat and drove his sword right through the Etruscan’s helmet. Astur fell to the ground with a crash, like a tree struck by one of Jupiter’s thunderbolts!

Just then, the bridge began to totter. The two Romans helping Horatius ran back across it. Horatius tried to cross, but the bridge fell before he could get across. He was left alone to face the entire Etruscan army! Horatius prayed to the river god, “Oh, Tiber! Father Tiber! A Roman’s life take thou in charge this day!” Then, he jumped into the river. He struggled to stay afloat in his armor. He nearly drowned. But, in the end, he made it across the roaring river, back to Rome, where he was welcomed as a hero.

The people of Rome gave Horatius a farm. They also set up a statue of him: . . . they made a molten image, And set it up on high, And there it stands unto this day To witness if I lie. It stands in the Comitium, Plain for all folk to see; Horatius in his harness, halting upon one knee: And underneath is written, In letters all of gold, How valiantly he kept the bridge In the brave days of old.

This chapter was based on real events in history and includes parts of Macaulay’s poem, “Horatius.” This poem tells the story of Horatius in stirring detail. Some passages from this poem have been quoted in our version of the story.

      
    
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Glossary for Stories of Ancient Rome:

Advisor — a person who offers advice and help.
Aid — to offer help.
Ambrosia — the drink of the gods; those who drank it became immortal.
Aqueduct — a stone structure built to carry water from the country into the city (aqueducts).
Architecture — design or style of buildings.
Arena — the area of a stadium where the events actually take place.
Armor — a protective covering, usually made of metal, worn by soldiers in battle.
Augustus — Julius Caesar’s adopted son, who changed ancient Rome from a republic to an empire by becoming the emperor.
Avalanche — snow, ice, and rocks that suddenly fall down the side of a mountain (avalanches).

BC/BCE — Before Christ (Jesus); Before the Christian Era, or Before the Common Era.
Banquet — a large feast to celebrate something.
Barbarian — a person who is wild, sometimes violent, and does not behave the right way (barbarians).
Beautiful — very pretty, lovely.
Beauty — being pretty.
Befriend — to become friends with (befriended).
Blacksmith — a person who molds hot iron into metal objects.
Byzantium — ancient city in the eastern part of the Roman Empire, later called Constantinople.

Carthage — city on the coast of Africa that Romans saw as a rival city (Carthaginians, Carthaginian).
Chariot — a cart with two wheels and no seats that is pulled by horses; the driver stands up in the cart to hold the horses’ reins.
Christianity — a religion based on the teachings of Jesus (Christian).
Circus Maximus — a large stadium where chariot races were held.
Civil war — a war between groups within the same country.
Civilization — a group of people living together, often in cities, with the same laws, leaders and form of government, language and writing system (civilizations).
Cleopatra — the Queen of Egypt; she became queen with help from Julius Caesar.
Collapse — to suddenly fail (collapsed).
Colosseum — a huge arena in Rome where people would go to watch events, mainly gladiator fights, that is one of the most recognizable buildings from the Roman Empire.
Conduct — to carry out, such as an activity.
Confident — sure, certain.
Confront — to meet face-to-face (confronted).
Conquer — to take control of something by force (conquered).
Conspirator — a person who has secretly planned to do something harmful (conspirators).
Constantine — the Emperor who ended the war between the Romans and Christianity; the first Roman Emperor to convert to Christianity.
Constantinople — new name for the city of Byzantium and Constantine’s favorite city, which he wanted to turn into a “new Rome.”
Consul — one of two top officials elected to govern the Roman republic (consuls).
Counter-attack — a military response to an attack.
Crouch — to stoop or squat (crouched).
Cruel — mean, causing pain on purpose.
Curious — wanting to know more.

Damocles — a friend of Dionysius who wanted to be king and have Dionysius’s life.
Dangle — to hang loosely (dangling).
Defeat — to win a victory over (defeated).
Democracy — a kind of government in which people are elected as representatives freely and equally by all people of voting age.
Depart — to leave.
Dictator — a person who rules a country with total control, often in a cruel way; a dictator is not elected (dictators).
Dionysius — the king of Syracuse, a part of the Roman Empire, and friend of Damocles.
Divine — relating to God.
Do his mother’s bidding — follow orders from his mother.
Downfall — a sudden fall from power.

Eager — showing great interest in something.
Eastern Empire — the eastern half of the Roman Empire.
Elect — to choose through votes (elected).
Emperor — the male ruler/head of an empire.
Empire — a group of nations or territories ruled by the same leader, an emperor or empress; like a kingdom.
Envy — to want what someone else has (envied).
Establish — to gain recognition for doing something well (established).
Etruscan — a person who was part of a civilization to the north of Rome who the Romans defeated (Etruscans).

Faith — strong religious beliefs.
Foe — an enemy.
Founding Fathers of the United States — men who played important roles in creating the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, including John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Washington.

Gladiator — a man trained to fight people and animals for entertainment, often resulting in death (gladiators).
Govern — to rule or control (governed, government).

Hagia Sophia — a large Christian church with a magnificent dome built under Justinian’s rule in Constantinople.
Hannibal — general from Carthage who led the fight against Rome during the Second Punic War; he won many battles, but lost the war.
Hew — to cut something with a sharp tool.
Historian — a person who writes about history (historians).
Honor — a privilege or special opportunity to do something.
Horatius — a Roman soldier who became a hero by fighting the Etruscan army with two other men, so that the other Romans could escape; he jumped into the river during the fight and drifted downstream to Rome.

Illegal — against the law.
Immortal — able to live forever.
Invade — to attack or enter a place in order to take control of it.

Jealousy — wanting what someone else has, wanting complete attention (jealous).
Jesus — a religious teacher born in the Palestine region of the Roman Empire, also called Jesus Christ; Christianity is based on his teachings.
Julius Caesar — a Roman general who conquered many lands and expanded the Roman republic; after serving as a consul, he decided that he did not like the way the republic was run. He became a dictator, was then seen as a threat, and was killed.
Justinian — great emperor of the Eastern Empire who built the Hagia Sophia and organized laws into Justinian’s Code.
Justinian’s Code — the laws organized and published by Justinian.

Latin — the language of ancient Rome.
Laugh — to giggle or chuckle at something that is funny.
Legendary — well-known, or stemming from an old story passed down from long ago that is usually not true.

Magnificent — impressive and beautiful.
Marriage — the committed partnership between two people to make a home and raise a family.
Mediterranean — the sea around which the Romans created their empire; an important body of water for trade, war, and transportation.
Messenger — someone who delivers messages back and forth.
Miracle — an amazing event with no explanation, believed to be an act of God (miracles).
Mission — a very important job.
Monarchy — a kind of government in which a king or queen rules and selects who will rule after his/her death, usually the oldest son.
Mosaic — art made by putting small pieces of glass or tile together to form a picture (mosaics).
Mount Olympus — the home of the Roman gods and Goddesses.
Mount Vesuvius — a volcano that erupted in AD 79 and wiped out the city of Pompeii.

Official — a person who holds an office and has authority (officials).

Pantheon — a temple built to honor all of the Roman gods.
Patrician — a person from an old, wealthy, powerful family in the Roman republic who held government positions (patricians).
Pillar — a column that supports a building or a supporting part of something (pillars).
Pity — to feel sorry or unhappy for someone.
Plebeian — an ordinary person who was poor and had little education or power in the Roman republic (plebeians).
Plume — a cloud of smoke that rises into the air in a tall, thin shape.
Pompeii — a city in the Roman Empire that was wiped out when Mount Vesuvius erupted.
Preserve — to save in its original form so that it remains the same (preserved).
Prick — to make a small hole with something sharp (pricked).
Priestess — a woman who performs special duties to honor and communicate with the gods.
Pumice — gray volcanic rock.
Punic War — one of the three wars fought between the Romans and the Carthaginians over control of the Mediterranean (Punic Wars).

Ransom — money paid to free someone who has been captured or kidnapped.
Reform — to change the way that things are done to make them better (reformed).
Reign — period of time during which a ruler is in charge.
Religion — the belief in a god or many gods.
Remus — one of the brothers who started Rome according to legend; he was killed by his brother Romulus in a fight over where to build the city.
Republic — a kind of government in which people are elected as representatives to rule.
Revolt — riot or revolution against a ruler or government.
Rival — an enemy.
Romulus — one of the brothers who started Rome according to legend; he killed his brother Remus in a fight over where to build the city and then built Rome and named it after himself.
Rough — not calm.
Rubicon — the river Julius Caesar crossed, even though the Roman Senators warned him not to, leading to a civil war.
Ruins — the remains of something that has fallen or been destroyed.

Satyr — a creature who was half man, half goat and was often found with Bacchus (satyrs).
Scholar — a person with a lot of knowledge about a certain subject (scholars).
Senate — a group of men (Senators) who were elected to represent the people who voted for them and met to make decisions and pass laws for the Roman republic; American government today also has a Senate (and Senators).
She-wolf — a female wolf.
Shrine — a place where people pray to or worship gods and goddesses.
Subjects — people who are ruled by a king or emperor.

Talent — a unit of measurement in ancient Rome, equal to about 71 pounds, used to measure gold and silver (talents).
Taunt — to tease or make someone upset by making fun of or being mean to the person.
Thou — old fashioned way of saying “you.”
Threat — someone or something that is or may be dangerous.
Tradition — custom (traditions).
Traitor — someone who is not loyal.
Trial — a meeting in court to determine if someone has broken the law.
Trident — Neptune’s magical, three-pronged spear that was shaped like a fork.
Tyrant — a ruler who is mean, harsh, and acts without regard for laws or rules.

Underworld — underground place where dead people’s spirits go.
Unusual — rare.

Valiantly — in a brave and courageous manner.
Veni, Vidi, Vici — “I came, I saw, I conquered,” Julius Caesar’s report about his efforts in Asia.
Vicious — dangerous, violent, mean.
Victorious — having won a battle, war, or contest.
Volcano — a mountain with openings through which melted rock, ash, and hot gases explode.

Western Empire — the western half of the Roman Empire.
Wisdom — knowledge and good judgment gained over time.

Ye — old fashioned way of saying “you.”
Yon — distant.
    
   
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Subtitles To Images:

Mrs. Teachwell and her students, looking at a map showing Rome. Present-day Rome and the Tiber River. A map of the ancient Roman civilization. Parts of Roman buildings still remain today, even though they were built over two thousand years ago. The king of Latium told one of his servants to drown Romulus and Remus. The servant set the twins in a basket, which he put in the Tiber River. Romulus and Remus were saved by a kind she-wolf and later raised by a shepherd. Romulus and Remus argued about where to build their city. Remus taunts Romulus and steps over his wall. An ancient Roman coin showing Romulus and Remus with the she-wolf. Greek and Roman Gods. Greek and Roman Gods. Juno, Jupiter’s wife, was the goddess of marriage. Neptune, the god of the seas, with his magical trident. Mars was the god of war. Mercury was the messenger of the gods. Venus was the goddess of love. She was also Cupid’s mother. The planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Neptune are named after Roman gods and goddesses. Apollo, the god of the sun (right), talking to Vulcan, the god of fire (left). Apollo. Minerva springing forth from Jupiter’s head. Diana was the goddess of the moon and the hunt. Bacchus, the Roman god of grapes and wine. Venus, the goddess of love, was jealous when she heard others talking of the beautiful, young Psyche. Cupid aimed his arrow at Psyche. Instead of shooting Psyche, Cupid pricked himself. Night after night, Cupid visited Psyche in the magnificent palace. Psyche trembled when she saw Cupid, dropping hot oil on his shoulder. Psyche begging Venus to help her find Cupid. An army of ants comes to aid Psyche. Psyche was told to take a coin for the boatman and a cake to the three-headed dog to enter the underworld. There, she received the box of beauty from Proserpina. Psyche became immortal after drinking ambrosia, the drink of the gods. Damocles accepting Dionysius’s invitation to be king for one day. Damocles sits on the throne of King Dionysius, with the sword dangling from the ceiling. In the early days of the republic, the consuls and the Senators were patricians from wealthy Roman families. This is the U.S. Capitol building in Washington D.C. Many American government buildings look like ancient Roman buildings. Map of Roman and Carthaginian territories. Hannibal gathering his army to cross over the Alps. Hannibal and his troops won several battles against the Romans. Hannibal surrendered to Scipio in Zama. Caesar told the pirates he was worth a larger ransom. Caesar quickly became known as a brave and determined soldier. Caesar writing about his conquest of Gaul. Caesar crossing the Rubicon with his troops. Caesar met Cleopatra in Egypt and helped her become queen. Caesar became dictator of Rome for life. The Senators who stabbed Caesar thought they were saving the Roman republic. A marble statue of Augustus Caesar. The Pantheon as it appears in Rome today. The ruins of the Colosseum as it appears today. In ancient times, the Romans came to the Colosseum to see battles between people and animals. The Romans enjoyed watching chariot races at the Circus Maximus. An example of a Roman aqueduct as it appears today. Gladiators fighting. The lion gave Androcles a sad look, as if asking for help. Androcles waiting in the cell to enter the Colosseum. Androcles and the lion. The emperor signaled “Thumbs up!” Androcles and the lion were set free. Jesus. Paul. Christians were treated as enemies of Rome. A marble statue of Constantine. This church in Bethlehem is built where Jesus is said to have been born. A map showing the divided empire. Western Empire. Eastern Empire. The inside of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. A mosaic of Justinian from the Hagia Sophia. Vesuvius is the mountain that you can see in the distance. The people of Pompeii did not know that Mount Vesuvius was a volcano. Mount Vesuvius starting to erupt in the background. Top: A courtyard among the ruins of Pompeii. Bottom: Beautiful paintings that still remain on the walls of the ruins in Pompeii. The Romans decided that the only way to save the city was to tear down the bridge over the Tiber River. Horatius and the two other Romans battle the Etruscans. Horatius leaping into the Tiber River. The people of Rome made a statue of Horatius to honor him.

      
     
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Core Knowledge (R) Independent Reading

                             
(Review guidelines for publishing Core Knowledge (R) materials at the bottom of this page-view. This lesson is a “READ-ALOUD” Core Knowledge (R) passage that has been rewritten to be at a lower-grade independent reading level complexity than the original, largely by shortening and simplifying sentence structures while maintaining the richness of the text content.) 
       
Different Lands, Similar Stories
    

Lesson 8 – Part One

   
NEW WORDS: Amasis, Goliath, Irish, Memphis, Rhodopis, Rhodopis’s, admonished, adolescent, adorn, advisors, ambled, arduous, assailant, ballerina, barn’s, billowed, bloody, brannigan, brooded, buckled, capering, carriages, citrus, comforting, companionship, complimented, conducting, conflagrant, confrontation, countenance, cower, cumbrous, darkening, dealings, dedicated, delirium, departing, disconcerted, disdainfully, dispatched, dispirited, dodged, domestics, dragonflies, egrets, elbowed, emmer, emporium, enigmatic, enlisted, factotum, flicker, fluttered, foreshadowing, frolicked, futile, gamboled, gentleman’s, globular, gorged, gracefully, grotesque, guardedly, harrowing, hassled, heartbroken, heaviest, herdsman, hightailing, hippo’s, initially, inkling, launching, lave, laved, locality, magnate, malevolent, mauve, miasmal, millennia, nested, oldtimer, pacing, pasty, peregrine, permitting, plucking, plummeted, pomegranate, portent, positioning, posthaste, progeny, radiated, reappear, regional, rescuer, resemble, resentful, revived, saturated, scrunched, semblance, shielded, sidle, slaughtered, slayed, smaze, soles, stately, supplicated, throng, tidied, trumpeters, unambiguous, unblenchingly, unquiet, unsocial, vanquish, visor, wafted, wages, wardrobe, wonted, zephyr
      
       

A note to students: You have all already become familiar with the story of Cinderella and her glass slippers. Here is a similar tale that was created in a different part of the world!
      
The Girl with the Red Slippers
      
It was two millennia ago in Ancient Egypt. A beautiful adolescent girl lived there. She was called Rhodopis. Rhodopis was a slave. She had been born in Greece. But she had been kidnapped by pirates. The pirates had sold the young girl to a rich Egyptian magnate. Rhodopis now worked as a factotum in his stately home.

Now, Rhodopis was from another land. Thus, her semblance did not resemble that of the other servants. Nor did she look like her master. They all had dark hair and dark eyes. She had golden curls and green eyes. No amount of brushing would straighten those curls.

The other servants hassled Rhodopis. They also made her work more arduous than theirs was. She had to get up before the sun rose. She had to work while the stars twinkled in the night sky. She tidied her master’s house. She baked bread kneaded from barley and emmer wheat. She laved her master’s clothes. She sewed. She even tended to the garden.

Rhodopis lived an unsocial life. The other domestics wanted nothing to do with her. Now, her master was a kind man. But he dedicated his time to either sleeping in the warm sunshine, or in conducting his business dealings. Over time, the animals became her only friends. Rhodopis chatted with birds quite a bit. They nested in the citrus and pomegranate trees that she tended. She told her troubles to the great white egrets. She frolicked with the red-tailed dragonflies.

But her best friend was a hippopotamus. She would go to the Nile River to lave clothes from her master’s wardrobe. One particular hippo always ambled over to the river’s edge. He would wallow in the water near her. He would offer her companionship while she worked.

The hippo would look at her with his big globular eyes. His ears would flicker whenever she spoke. Sometimes they would play together. Rhodopis would splash water in the hippo’s direction. The hippo would sink down under the water. He’d then reappear close by.

Rhodopis gamboled in the comforting sunshine. As she danced, her master woke up from a long nap. He stretched and yawned. He looked around the garden. He spotted Rhodopis capering to the music. Rhodopis moved so elegantly that her master watched her for some time.

He thought that she was a beautiful young girl. He thought that she danced like a butterfly. He decided that she deserved some elegant shoes. They would adorn her bare feet. The next day he went to his own shoemaker. He supplicated him to make a pair of red silk dancing slippers. He was very unambiguous about the soles of the slippers. They were to be made of the very finest leather.

Several days later, the shoes arrived. Rhodopis’s master presented them to her as a gift. She was speechless.

Rhodopis loved her slippers. But the other servants were resentful. None of them had ever been given such an exquisite gift. They treated her even more disdainfully than before. This made Rhodopis further dispirited.

Whenever she could, she would guardedly sidle off into the garden. She’d put on her red slippers and dance. Quite often, she danced at night beneath the sparkling stars. That’s when everyone else was asleep.

One day, she was plucking lemons from the lemon trees in the garden. She heard music coming from her master’s house. She placed her basket on the ground. She began to dance to the music. She moved gracefully, like a ballerina.

On another day, her master was informed of an event. The pharaoh, Amasis, had decided to hold a grand banquet. It would be at his royal palace in Memphis. All of his subjects were invited. Even the servants could attend! Rhodopis was so excited. But she quickly learned that the other servants had no intention of permitting her to go.

Instead, they gave her piles of laundry to do. They admonished her to make sure that it was all done by the time they returned. The servants prepared to depart. At the same time, Rhodopis carried the huge pile of laundry down to the river. 

She worked for many hours, washing and scrubbing the clothes. Her faithful friend the hippo kept her company. The hippo always cheered up Rhodopis. And so, after a while, Rhodopis’s spirits were revived. She began to play with the hippo.

Rhodopis cheerfully splashed the hippo. He suddenly moved to duck down beneath the water. Then, posthaste, he reappeared right beside Rhodopis. As the hippo lifted its large head, it created a wave of water. The wave cascaded down upon Rhodopis. She was saturated with water. So, too, were her beautiful slippers.

Rhodopis sighed and scratched the hippo’s head. Then she took off her slippers and placed them on a rock to dry. After that, she continued with her work. She did not even stop to eat. After a long while, Rhodopis finished washing all the clothes. By now her back and arms were aching. But she was happy to be done.

She was about to put on her red slippers. She heard the flapping of wings. In an instant, one of her slippers was gone. From out of the darkening sky, a peregrine falcon had plummeted down and stolen it. Rhodopis gasped out loud. She was certain that the falcon was actually the god Horus. It was a foreshadowing of something. But of what she had no inkling.

There was nothing that Rhodopis could do. She put her one remaining slipper in her pocket. She returned to her master’s house in her bare feet.

Meanwhile, at the royal palace, an enormous crowd had gathered. The crowd was enjoying the festivities. 

Pharaoh Amasis was in the banquet room. He looked on from his raised throne. He was happy to see his subjects enjoying themselves. But he’d have preferred to be hunting. He did not have a wife or children. So, he spent most of his spare time hunting with his friends.

As the day wore on, Amasis became more unquiet. He was just about to sneak away from the banquet. But then, a great falcon swooped down. It dropped a small red slipper at his feet. Amasis picked up the small slipper and stared at it. He was certain that the god Horus had sent him a message. Amasis brooded about this for a while. Then he summoned his advisors.

He had made a decision. He thought that the god Horus was telling him something important. The owner of the red slipper would become his wife! The banquet was halted. An announcement was made. The pharaoh himself would search the land for the owner of the red slipper. The guests were now slowly departing.

Now, Rhodopis’s master had already left the palace. He had gone off to take care of some business. So, he had not heard this announcement. His servants, however, had heard it. Together they decided that they would not breathe a word of this to Rhodopis.

The weeks marched on. The pharaoh scoured the land for his future wife. He searched by land and by water, but his travels had been futile. At last, he was searching on his royal barge. He came to a region in the northern part of his kingdom.

Rhodopis was washing clothes in the river. The royal barge appeared in the distance. The other servants saw it, too. They were quite aware of its portent! The barge neared the bank of the river. The royal trumpeters sounded the pharaoh’s arrival. Immediately, the servants ordered Rhodopis to hide herself in the reeds as she was. They told her that she was too lowly a servant to be in the presence of the pharaoh.

Amasis stepped off the royal barge. He had the red slipper in one hand. Upon seeing the slipper, the female servants elbowed each other out of the way. They were all positioning to be the first to try it on.

As this was happening, Rhodopis peeked out from the reeds. She wanted to see the pharaoh’s face. As she peeked out, Amasis spotted her. He stared at the beautiful girl for several moments. And Rhodopis’s heart skipped a beat.

Amasis asked Rhodopis to step forward. He then placed her tiny foot inside the red slipper. As he did so, it was clear to all that she was the owner of the slipper. The other servants were horrified that she would be the pharaoh’s queen. But the master gave his blessing.

Together, Amasis and Rhodopis sailed away on the royal barge. Its mauve-colored sails fluttered in the gentle zephyr that wafted across the Nile River. Behind the barge swam Rhodopis’s best friend, the hippo. He would be her most-honored wedding guest!

Billy Beg
       
Once upon a time, there was an Irish prince. His name was Billy Beg. He was born the progeny of a king. But Billy didn’t live the wonted life of a prince. Billy worked in the fields. He herded cattle each day, from sunup until sundown.

Billy spent lots of his time with the cattle. Because of that, his best friend was the oldest bull in the herd. He was the one with a speckled hide and a white face. Billy was very fond of the bull. And the bull was just as fond of him.

One day, the old bull was to be sent to the regional market to be sold. When Billy heard this, he was heartbroken. But the bull said, “Don’t worry, Billy my boy! You’ll be all right without me. Look in the grove behind the barn. There are three gifts for you. They are a magic tablecloth, a stick, and a belt made from the hide of my grandfather.”

“Unfold the tablecloth. Then you’ll never be hungry. Wave the stick three times around your head. Then you’ll have the strength of a thousand men. Wrap the belt around your waist. Then no assailant will be able to vanquish you.” With that, the bull left unblenchingly for the emporium.

Initially, Billy Beg was too disconcerted to do anything without his friend. He cried for three days and three nights. Then Billy remembered what the bull had said. The sun rose the next morning. He went to the grove behind the barn. He pulled out the tablecloth from beneath a tree. He unfolded it. Lo and behold, it was covered with delicious food and drink. Billy ate and drank until he was gorged. Next, he grabbed the stick and the belt the bull had left for him. Then he set off to make his way in the world.

He walked on until he came to a fine old house. He knocked, and an oldtimer came to the door. “Excuse me,” said Billy. “I was wondering if you have any work.”

“As a matter of fact, I do,” said the old gentleman. “I need someone to watch over my cows, pigs, donkeys, and goats.”

“I am the best shepherd that you will ever see,” Billy interrupted.

“Well,” said the old man. “That may be. But a giant has moved into the forest next to my pasture. That beast has scared off the last three boys I enlisted to help me.”

“I’ll not cower in the beast’s presence,” said Billy. “If you’ll have me, I’ll take the job.”

So, the old man hired Billy to watch his cows, pigs, donkeys, and goats. The next day, Billy led the animals out to pasture. He sat down on a rock. Later on, a harrowing one-eyed goliath appeared from the rocks.

“Oh!” said the giant, licking his lips. “Here’s a tasty little treat. You are too big for one bite. But you’re not big enough for two! What should I do with a tiny morsel like you?”

Billy fastened on his belt. He then grabbed his stick. He swung the stick above his head three times. That give him the strength of a thousand men. It was a terrible brannigan between the two of them. But finally, Billy swung the stick. Thwack! He sent the grotesque giant flying off of the cliff and into the sea.

The old man heard that Billy had driven away the giant. He patted him on the back and complimented him. “You’re a fine boy! I’ll double your wages.”

So Billy became a herdsman. He kept watch over the old man’s animals and served him well. Then one day, the old man came out of the house. He yelled to his coachman, “Get the carriage! Saddle up the horses! I’m going to town!”

“What’s the occasion?” said Billy.

“Haven’t you heard?” the old man asked. Billy shook his head. “A malevolent dragon is in the village. The dragon has demanded the king’s own daughter. He wants to take the princess as his prisoner. The king’s champion fighter must defeat the dragon. Otherwise, the poor girl is as good as gone!”

“Oh,” said Billy, concerned. “That poor princess!”

The old man got into his carriage. He sped off to the city. Other people came on horseback, in carriages, and in wheelbarrows.

Billy made a decision. He’d go fight the dragon if he had to. He dressed himself in an old suit of armor. It had belonged to his master. He buckled his special belt securely around his middle. He slipped on his boots. He grabbed his magic stick. He went to the stable. There, he mounted the brown mare. He rode bravely into town.

Thousands of people had come to town. They wished to see the king’s champion face the dragon. Billy saw the champion. He was in the center of the crowd. He was pacing up and down, and back and forth. He was dragging his cumbrous sword behind him.

Next, he caught a glimpse of the princess. She was at the front of the throng. She was gathered with her maidens. She was certainly beautiful. But her countenance betrayed a sense of doom.

Just then, there was a fearsome roar. The dragon rose up out of the sea. He had conflagrant eyes.
     
Miasmal smaze billowed out of his nostrils. Giant flames radiated his mouth. 

The king’s champion turned pasty white with fear. He dropped his sword. He went hightailing out of there. The princess watched him flee. She began wringing her hands. She was in a delirium of fear. She wailed, “Oh, please! Won’t someone be my rescuer?”

At first, no one made a sound. Then Billy Beg stepped out of the crowd. He wore his borrowed suit of armor. The helmet and visor shielded his face. So, no one knew who he was. The old gentleman didn’t even know it was Billy. “I will enter a confrontation with the dragon!” Billy said.

The dragon charged at Billy. It was launching fire from his mouth. Billy dodged the flames. Then he swung his stick three times round his head. It was a bloody fight. But in the end, Billy Beg slaughtered the dragon.

There was great shouting and applause. The princess ran up to thank the enigmatic knight. But Billy mounted his horse to ride away. The princess reached out to stop him. But his horse galloped away. She had grabbed hold of one of his boots. It had slipped right off of his foot.

Billy Beg rode back to the old man’s farm. He took off the suit of armor. He put the mare back in the stable. He tossed his other boot into the barn’s haystack.

His master came back the next day. He told Billy what he’d seen. “Isn’t that amazing?” said the old man.

“I should say so,” said Billy.

The king was relieved that his daughter was safe. The next day, he gave orders to his men. “Find the brave knight who dispatched the dragon!” The king’s men went from house to house. They tried to find the man whose foot would fit the boot. This went on for many weeks. At last, they had made their way to the old gentleman’s farm. 

The king’s men had all the servants try on the boot. The coachman stuffed his big foot into the boot. He scrunched up his toes to make it fit. The cook put on his heaviest wool socks. He was trying to fill the boot. No one thought much of Billy Beg. But he slipped his foot into the boot. They all saw that it fit him as well as his own skin.

“What’s this?” asked one of the men. “Is this your boot?”

“It is,” said Billy. “I have the one just like it in the barn.”

Then the men knew the truth. Billy was the one who had slayed the dragon! They put a velvet suit on him! They hung a gold chain around his neck. Then they took him to the village. There, he married the princess. And he became the prince of that locality.

     
        
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Core Knowledge (R) Independent Reading 

       
(Review guidelines for publishing Core Knowledge (R) materials at the bottom of this page-view. This lesson is a “READ-ALOUD” Core Knowledge (R) passage that has been rewritten to be at a lower-grade independent reading level complexity than the original, largely by shortening and simplifying sentence structures while maintaining the richness of the text content.) 
         
Different Lands, Similar Stories
     

Lesson 9 – Part Two

   
NEW WORDS: Boshi, Boshi’s, Issun, Kyoto, abnormal, accedence, accommodative, accompanying, acquiesce, affection, affrighted, agh, amicable, animated, architect, aristocrat, assisting, avert, belching, blithesome, bombinating, brouhaha, burglars, burgle, burgling, burped, cacodemon, chimera, chopsticks, cinch, clods, companions, concentrated, conversing, cracksmen, dumbfounded, ensnaring, ensphered, exhilaration, expeditious, forfend, freakish, genially, geta, giddy, gnarred, hectoring, heedfully, hurtling, hustled, insane, kermis, knowledgeable, lord’s, mayor’s, milady, milkmaid’s, mouthful, murmuring, musclebound, noiseless, nudging, oni’s, ooh, pagoda, pappy, picklocks, precocious, prudent, recoiling, reeking, regardful, risked, roiling, rollicking, sanctioned, sapient, scampering, shadowed, sheeny, skedaddling, sleepily, sneaked, snickering, stuttering, suitably, swit, tenant, tenterhooks, tolerable, transferring, turbid, unbelievable, valiance, viscid, waking, wanderings, wealthiest, yearning
    
     

Tom Thumb
     
We’re going to learn of a farmer and his wife. The farmer would sit and poke at the fire in the evening. His wife would sit at her spinning wheel. The farmer would sigh a lot. He’d say, “How sad it is that we have no children. Our house is so quiet. Other people’s homes are so rollicking and blithesome.”

“Yes,” said the wife. “If only we had a child.” A year later, the woman gave birth to a little boy. He was strong and healthy. But he was no bigger than a thumb. His parents named him Tom Thumb.

As Tom grew up, he proved to be a very precocious and sapient lad. One day, his father was out cutting wood. He said, “I wish there was someone who could bring the cart out.”

“I’ll do it!” said Tom.

“But, Tom,” said his father. “How can you? You’re too small to hold the reins.”

“Never mind,” said Tom. “Have Mom harness the horse. Then I’ll sit in the horse’s ear. I’ll tell him which way to go.” And so, Tom’s mother harnessed the horse. She put Tom in the horse’s ear. Tom called out, “Giddy up!” The horse started walking.

The horse and cart were turning a corner. It happened that a strange man was walking by. He heard Tom call out directions to the horse. “Look!” he said to himself. “There goes a wagon. The driver is calling to his horse. But the driver is nowhere to be seen! Am I going insane?!” So, the man shadowed the horse and wagon. It arrived at where Tom’s father was chopping wood. Tom spotted his father. He cried out, “Whoa, boy!” Then he said, “Look, Father! Here I am!”

Tom’s father lifted his son down from the horse. He set Tom on a stump. The stranger saw this. He thought, “Look here. That little fellow could be useful! I should take him to town. I’d have him do little jobs for me.” He went up to Tom’s father. He said, “See here, old man. How about permitting the little man go to town with me? I’ll take good care of him. I’ll even give you this money for your trouble.”

“No!” Tom’s father said. “He is the apple of my eye. I would be too sad to see him go.”

Tom crept up onto his father’s shoulder. He whispered, “Go ahead, Father. Let me go. I’ll be back in no time.”

“But, Tom,” said his father, stuttering.

“Trust me,” Tom broke in. “I’ll take care of everything.” So, Tom’s father let him go with the man.

Off went Tom. He was riding on the brim of the man’s hat. They traveled for several hours. The sun had just set. The man came to a barn. It was located next to a quiet house. He thought that the barn would be a suitably tolerable place to sleep. They’d rest up for their wanderings the next day.

The man was all settled in for the night. He then took off his hat. At that moment, Tom went scampering away! He slipped into a mouse hole. He cried out, “So long, my good man! Have a good trip without me!” The man got down on his hands and knees. He was nudging sticks into holes. But he could not find Tom. After a bit, he gave up.

The man left. Tom came out of his hole. He found an empty snail shell. He said, “This looks like a safe place to spend the night.” He went to lay down. But just then, he heard voices. There were two burglars murmuring.

“Aye,” said one of them. “This is the house. The mayor won’t be back until tomorrow. So, now is the time to burgle his house. But how can we do it? The cook and the maid are still there. We’ll have to be noiseless to avert waking them.”

Tom knew he had to do something. He had to stop the robbers. So, he sprang out of his shell. He shouted, “I have an idea!”

“Who was that?” asked one of the affrighted picklocks.

“I should be accompanying you! I’ll be able to help you,” said Tom.

“Who’s talking? Where are you?” asked the cracksmen.

“Down here!” cried Tom.

The robbers looked down. There they saw Tom. He was waving to them. One robber lifted him up. He said, “What’s this, little one? How could you be assisting us in burgling the mayor?”

“It will be a cinch,” said Tom. “The mayor keeps his money behind iron bars, right? I can slip between the bars. I’ll hand the money out to you.”

“Hee-hee! That’s a fine idea,” they said. They were snickering all the way to the mayor’s house. Then they fell quiet. They whispered to Tom. “Speak softly, you hear? We don’t want to get caught!”

“Of course!” said Tom. He sneaked into the mayor’s house. He slipped between the bars. He found where the money was kept. Then he called out to the robbers. But he called in his loudest voice! “HOW MUCH DO YOU WANT? DO YOU WANT IT ALL?”

“Shh!” hissed the robbers. “Be quiet! You’ll wake the cook and the maid. We can hear you fine. Just start transferring the money to us.”

But Tom pretended not to hear them. Once again, he shouted at them. “WHAT’S THAT YOU SAY? YOU WANT TO TAKE ALL OF THE MONEY? I’LL GIVE YOU EVERYTHING. JUST HOLD OUT YOUR HANDS.”

This was quite a commotion. It woke the cook and the maid. They hustled from their rooms to see what all the noise was about. They burst in. At that point, the robbers went skedaddling from the scene.

Tom slipped out to the barn. The brouhaha had made him sleepy. So, he went to sleep on a pile of hay. The next morning, the maid came to the barn. She pitched a large bundle of hay. Tom was still sleeping in it! The cow ate up the hay. Poor Tom slid down into the cow’s stomach.

“Goodness me,” Tom said, sleepily. “Somebody forgot to put windows in this house!” Suddenly, “splish!” Something wet and heavy fell on Tom’s head. It was a mouthful of hay! The cow was eating again. More wet, viscid hay fell on Tom. He called out, “That’s enough! No more hay! I’m quite full, thank you!”

The milkmaid was milking the cow. She heard his voice come out of the cow. In shock, she fell off of her milking stool. That startled the cow. It then sneezed a big sneeze. “Achoo!” The sneeze caused Tom to come hurtling out!

Yuck! Tom landed onto a garbage heap. It was where the milkmaid’s family had thrown the remains of their dinner! Tom struggled to get up. He was ensphered by clods of meat and vegetables. He was starting to stand up. But at that moment, “ZING!” A hungry wolf snapped up the piece of meat that Tom was caught on. It ran off with the meat chunk.

Tom bounced along as the wolf ran. He thought, “Well, this is a freakish place to be!” Then he started conversing with the wolf. “Mr. Wolf, wouldn’t you rather eat some delicious treats? This old piece of meat is reeking. I can show you where to find such treats.”

“And where’s that?” growled the wolf.

“In a house I know,” said Tom. “It’s full of lots of delicious, fresh food.” Tom led the wolf back to his parents’ house. They got there in a bit. The wolf ate until he was stuffed. Then Tom called out, “Help! Help! A wolf’s in the house!”

Tom’s father came running. He had a big stick. He chased the wolf and sent him howling into the woods. “Good work, Pappy!” said Tom.

His father looked down. He cried out, “Tom, where’ve you been? We’ve been on tenterhooks thinking about you!”

“Well, Father,” said Tom. “I’ve been in too many places to count! And I think that from now on, I’d rather stay with you.”

“Oh, my dear boy,” said his father. “I never should have sanctioned your leaving us. And I’ll never acquiesce to let you go again!”

Issun Boshi: One-Inch Boy
       
It was long ago in a village in Japan. There lived an old man and his wife. They, more than anything, wanted a child. They were constantly yearning about this. They went to the temple and supplicated to the gods. “May we be blessed with a child,” they said. “And we don’t care if he is no larger than our thumbs.”

And then, their prayers were answered. In nine months’ time, a fine baby boy was born to the old couple. The child was lovely and very small. They called him Issun Boshi. That means “One-Inch Boy.” You see, he was no taller than his father’s thumb!

Issun Boshi grew up musclebound, prudent, and accommodative. But he never grew any taller. Twelve years had passed. Issun Boshi came to his parents. He said, “Father and Mother, please give me your accedence to go to the capital city. I wish to see the world, to become knowledgeable about many things, and to make a name for myself.”

His parents were very worried. They were scared to think of all the bad things that could happen to Issun Boshi in such a large city. But they knew that their boy was smart and strong. So, they agreed to let him go. They made for him a tiny sword out of a sewing needle. They also gave him a rice bowl for a boat, and some chopsticks for oars.

In the rice bowl, he floated down the river. He used the chopsticks as paddles when the water was roiling and turbid. And he used his sword for ensnaring fish. In a few days, he arrived at the city of Kyoto. “My, what an animated city this is!” he thought. “So many people concentrated in one space!” He walked heedfully through the streets, recoiling from feet and cart wheels. He kept walking, until he came to a beautiful house, the largest in the city. An architect had designed it to resemble a pagoda. At the foot of the steps sat a pair of shiny black “geta,” or wooden shoes. They belonged to the owner of the house, who was the wealthiest aristocrat in the city.

The door of the great house opened. Out walked the lord of the house, who put on the sheeny black shoes. Issun Boshi called out, “Hello! Hello there!” The man looked around and, seeing no one, began to go back in. But Issun Boshi called out, “Down here! I’m down here, near your shoes! Please be regardful that you don’t step on me.”

The man leaned down and was dumbfounded when he saw Issun Boshi. Issun Boshi bowed and genially introduced himself. “My name,” he said, “is Issun Boshi. I have just arrived in the city, and I would like to work for you.”

The lord picked up Issun Boshi in the palm of his hand. In an amicable voice, he asked, “But what can a little fellow like you do?”

A fly was bombinating around and hectoring the lord. So, Issun Boshi drew out his sewing-needle sword. With an expeditious swit-swat, away went the fly. “You are quite an unbelievable little fellow,” laughed the lord. “Come, you may work for me and tenant in my house.”

And so, tiny Issun Boshi went to live in the big, beautiful house, serving the noble lord. He made friends with each person there, especially the princess, the lord’s lovely daughter. It seemed that he was always at her side, helping her in whatever way he could. He might hold down the paper when she wrote a letter. He might ride on her shoulder and keep her company while she walked through the gardens around the house. In time, the princess came to feel a strong affection for her little helper.

In the spring, Issun Boshi traveled with the princess and her companions to the cherry blossom kermis. On their way home, they heard abnormal noises behind them on the narrow road. They could see nothing in the shadows, when a chimera leaped into their path. Everyone screamed and ran. That is, everyone except Issun Boshi and the princess.

“Who are you, and what do you want?” cried Issun Boshi.

“I am an oni,” gnarred the monster. An oni! The oni were terrible creatures who bothered the townspeople.

But Issun Boshi stepped forward. He shouted, “Get out of the way, you cacodemon! I am here to forfend the princess. Step back!”

“Ha! We’ll see about that!” growled the oni. Then he snatched up Issun Boshi, popped him into his mouth, and, “GULP!” swallowed him whole. Down, down Issun Boshi slid until he landed, “PLOP!” in the oni’s stomach.

“This oni should be more careful about what he eats,” said Issun Boshi. He pulled out his sewing-needle sword. He began to tickle the oni’s stomach.

“Ow! Ooh! Agh!” shouted the oni. Then he burped loudly. Out popped Issun Boshi! The oni ran away, belching the whole way.

Issun Boshi ran over to the princess. She was bending down and picking something up from the ground. With great exhilaration she said, “Look, Issun Boshi. The oni was so scared, he dropped this magic hammer. If you make a wish on it, it will come true.”

Issun Boshi bowed to the princess. He said, “Milady, I would ask that you make the wish.”

“No, Issun Boshi,” said the princess. “You won this because of your valiance. You should be the first one to wish on it.”

So Issun Boshi took the hammer. He said, “I already have my greatest wish, which is to serve you. But if I could have another wish, I would wish to be as tall as other people.”

Then he gave the hammer to the princess. She made a silent wish on it herself. Then and there, Issun Boshi began to grow taller. In moments, beside the princess stood a handsome young man!

That night, the princess told her father how brave Issun Boshi had been. She talked of how he had risked his life to save her. The lord was so happy that he gave Issun Boshi permission to marry the princess. And so, you see, the princess’s wish came true, too. She had wanted to marry him!

Issun Boshi’s brave deeds were celebrated throughout the land. He and the princess lived happily together, along with Issun Boshi’s proud and happy parents. Issun Boshi had been able to bring them to the lord’s house to be part of his new family!

     
     
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Core Knowledge (R) Independent Reading 

               
(Review guidelines for publishing Core Knowledge (R) materials at the bottom of this page-view. This lesson is a “READ-ALOUD” Core Knowledge (R) passage that has been rewritten to be at a lower-grade independent reading level complexity than the original, largely by shortening and simplifying sentence structures while maintaining the richness of the text content.) 
         
Different Lands, Similar Stories
    

Lesson 10 – Part Three

   
NEW WORDS: Bantu, Granny’s, Gu, Hu, Hua, Li, Po, Tselane, Tselane’s, Xin, abreast, adamant, amber, artful, assurance, ataga, awaited, beholden, benignantly, borderline, catnapped, chirrup, confounded, containing, cornflowers, crannies, croaky, deadbolt, deadbolted, deceptive, dialect, dillydally, discomposed, disquieted, donned, draught, easeful, elated, enervated, enounced, exhortations, facility, glistening, gypsophila, habitat, hankered, hotfooting, hour’s, ignoble, inhalation, intending, intensity, interrogatory, leopard’s, leopards, luncheon, masquerade, masquerades, meters, motioned, mulberry, neatening, nefarious, nigella, noisily, nooks, overfed, palate, panicky, pathway, porcelain, potable, provincial, refreshing, rumblings, sagacious, savanna, scorpions, secretively, shally, sheered, shilly, shush, silkworms, smothered, snoozed, spurted, stocks, straightaway, strayed, sunlit, sworn, tasteful, tiger’s, unmew, winsome, womanly
     
      

Little Red Riding Hood
      
Once there was a winsome little girl who was loved by all who knew her, but most of all by her grandmother, who could not do enough for her.
     
Once, the grandmother sent the girl a cloak with a red velvet hood. The little girl was so pleased with the cloak that she cherished it and donned it every day. So, she came to be known as Little Red Riding Hood.

One day, her mother said to her, “Little Red Riding Hood, your grandmother is feeling sick. I would like you to go and visit her. Take her some of the cakes that we baked yesterday. They will do her good. Go quickly, before it gets too warm. But remember to stay on the pathway, and do not dillydally along the way.”

Little Red Riding Hood gave assurance to her mother and said, “I will do just as you say.”

Little Red Riding Hood started on her way. Her grandmother lived in a house in the woods, a half hour’s walk from the village. Little Red Riding Hood had only just entered the wood when she came upon a wolf. The wolf hankered to make a luncheon of Little Red Riding Hood. But Little Red Riding Hood did not know what an ignoble animal he was, so she was not disquieted by his presence.

“Good morning, Little Red Riding Hood,” said the wolf.

“Good morning, wolf,” she answered benignantly.

“And where are you going so early?” he asked.

“To my granny’s house.”

“And what’s that in your basket?”

“Some cakes that we baked yesterday. Grandmother is sick, and the cakes will make her feel better.”

“And where does your grandmother live?”

“In the woods, a short distance from here, in a cottage under three big oak trees,” said Little Red Riding Hood.

“Mmm,” said the wolf, as he thought to himself, “What a tasty morsel this little girl would be. But she’s not big enough for a full meal. I must find a way to eat her and her grandmother, too.”

The wolf walked along beside Little Red Riding Hood for a while. Then he said, “Why, look at all the pretty flowers. Why don’t you stop to rest and pick some of them? You’re hotfooting along as if you were late for school, but listen to how the birds chirrup, and see how everything is so easeful here in the woods.”

Little Red Riding Hood looked up and saw the sunlight capering in the leaves of the trees. She saw the lovely flowers around her, and she thought, “I am sure that Grandmother would be elated if I took her a bunch of fresh flowers.”

Forgetting what she had sworn to her mother, which was to not shilly–shally on her walk, she sheered from the path and went out of her way into the woods to pick some flowers. Each time she picked one, she saw others even prettier farther on, and so she strayed deeper and deeper into the woods. She gradually pulled together a lovely collection of cornflowers, stocks, gypsophila, and nigella.

As for the wolf, he spurted straight to Grandmother’s cottage and knocked on the door.

“Who’s there?” said a little voice.

“It is I, Little Red Riding Hood,” said the wolf, trying to sound like the little girl.

“Oh, lift the latch and let yourself in, dear,” said the old woman. “I am too enervated to get out of bed.”

The wolf lifted the latch and swung open the door. Before Grandmother could realize what was happening, the wolf gobbled her up in one mouthful! 

Then the artful wolf dressed himself in her nightgown and nightcap. With a wicked grin, he got into the bed, and pulled up the covers. He was putting on quite a masquerade.

Meanwhile, Little Red Riding Hood had picked all of the flowers that she could carry, and she found her way back to the path. She walked on quickly until she came to Grandmother’s house. She was surprised to find the door open, and as she stepped inside, she felt very strange.

“Oh dear,” she said to herself, “this morning I was so glad to be going to see my grandmother. Why do I feel so frightened now?” She took a deep inhalation and called out, “Good morning, Grandmother.” But there was no answer. She went up to the bed.

There she saw her grandmother. Or so she thought. The wolf had pulled the covers up under his chin and had pulled the nightcap down to his eyes. Little Red Riding Hood thought her grandmother looked very strange indeed.

“Oh, Granny,” she said, “what big ears you have!”

“The better to hear you with, my dear,” said the wolf.

“Hmm,” said Little Red Riding Hood. “Granny must be very sick indeed, for her voice is much deeper than it used to be. And Granny, what big eyes you have!”

“The better to see you with, my dear.”

“And Grandmother, what big teeth you have!”

“The better to eat you!” cried the wolf, as he sprang out of bed and swallowed Little Red Riding Hood in one big draught.

After his meal, the wolf was on the borderline of feeling overfed. He lay down on the bed and catnapped, and he began to snore very loudly. A hunter who was passing by the cottage heard the snoring. “My,” he thought, “the old woman sounds terrible! I’d better look inside and check on her.”

The hunter walked inside and saw the wolf. He instantly noticed the wolf’s big belly and realized that the wolf had eaten the old woman. He knew that he had to set her free. The hunter set them free, and out jumped Little Red Riding Hood and Granny.

“Oh, I’m so beholden to you for saving us!” said Little Red Riding Hood. Granny, too, thanked the hunter for his kindness. When the wolf woke up, he was so discomposed to see all of the people standing before him that he ran away, never to be seen again.

Little Red Riding Hood sat down with her grandmother and the hunter, and together they ate the cakes that Little Red Riding Hood had brought. And Little Red Riding Hood said to herself, “After this, I shall always do as my mother tells me, and I shall never leave the path again, not even to pick pretty flowers.”

Hu Gu Po
     
A long time ago in rural southern China, there lived a mother and her two young daughters. A Xin was the eldest daughter, and Li Hua was the youngest. A Xin, Li Hua, and their mother raised silkworms and sold their silk at the provincial market.

One sunlit fall morning, the girls’ mother set off to the local market to sell the silk thread that they had spun. However, on this particular occasion, she had decided to leave some silk thread behind so that she could make two new silk dresses for her daughters. Before the girls’ mother left, she gave them adamant exhortations to stay inside the house.

“Do not go outside,” the mother said to the girls. “I have heard rumblings that Hu Gu Po has come down into the foothills. She is a tiger that masquerades as an old woman and tries to trick people. Please latch the door as soon as I leave.”

“We will not go outside,” promised A Xin. “I will deadbolt the door, and we will spend our time neatening the house.”

“We will be right here waiting for you,” promised Li Hua.

And so the mother kissed her daughters and disappeared into the early morning mist that was rising up from the warm earth.

Straightaway, the two girls set to work. They scrubbed the floor and dusted all the nooks and crannies of their small farmhouse. It was almost midday by the time they were finished. The sun was shining brightly, and the birds were chirping loudly when the girls heard a knock on the door.

“Do not answer the door,” said A Xin to her younger sister. “I will find out who it is.” A Xin stood in front of the deadbolted door and asked, “Who is there?”

“Hello, my dear,” said a voice that sounded as ancient as the hills. “I have been walking for many miles. I wonder, could you spare a cup of water?”

A Xin was confounded. She knew that she should not open the door, but somehow she felt that this old woman, for an old woman it appeared to be, was in need of help.

“I cannot open the door,” explained A Xin, “but I can pass a cup of water through the open window.”

“Thank you, my dear,” replied the somewhat croaky voice. “You are very kind.”

A Xin filled a cup of water from the bucket that contained potable water from their well. “Here you are,” she said, as she passed the cup through the open window. The old woman now stood before the window. She took the cup in her old wrinkly hand and drank from it. When she was done, she handed the cup back to A Xin.

“How sweet your well water is,” said the old woman.

“Thank you,” said A Xin. As she spoke, A Xin looked more closely at the old woman. Just like her hands, her face was old and wrinkly. However, the woman had the most peculiar golden-amber eyes that A Xin had ever seen.

“I don’t suppose you have a little rice to spare?” asked the old woman.

As it happened, Li Hua had just cooked rice for lunch. “Yes, we have some rice that we can give you,” shouted Li Hua as she eagerly placed some in a small porcelain bowl. Then she rushed to the window and handed the old woman the bowl and some chopsticks.

The old woman looked at Li Hua and licked her lips. “Why, thank you, my dear,” said the old woman, all the while staring with intensity at Li Hua. “I don’t suppose that you would let me sit for a minute or two while I eat this delicious rice?” asked the old woman.

“Of course, you can,” exclaimed Li Hua. And before A Xin could stop her, Li Hua ran to the door, unlocked it, and opened it. In the blink of an eye, the old woman was in the house and sitting at the kitchen table. It was as if she had appeared by magic. A Xin began to feel panicky.

“Are you here all alone?” asked the old woman.

“Yes,” replied Li Hua. “Our mother has gone to sell the silk thread that our silkworms produce. She told us to stay inside for safety, and that is what we have done,” continued Li Hua proudly.

“I see,” replied the old woman. “You are sagacious girls. There are all kinds of dangers in the outside world.”

“Well, as soon as you have finished your rice,” interrupted A Xin, “I am sure that you will want to be on your way.”

“I am almost finished,” replied the old woman, who despite her words of praise, did not seem to like eating rice. “There are only two more things that I need.”

“Oh, what are they?” asked Li Hua.

A Xin guessed the answer just as the deceptive old woman enounced the words, “Two young girls!” exclaimed the old woman.

Once again, as if by magic, the old woman’s movements were quick and sudden. She produced a sack, and before A Xin could stop her, she snatched Li Hua and placed her inside it. “You are older,” announced the old woman, “and you would probably not be tasteful to my palate. I am not sure that I want the trouble of carrying you into the mountains.”

As the old woman was speaking, A Xin reached for some of the spun silk thread that her mother had left behind. It had been spun and wound around the small branch of a mulberry bush. A Xin secretively placed it inside the pocket of her dress.

A Xin had also decided that she would not let the old woman leave without her. “I want to be with my sister,” replied A Xin.

“Very well!” said the old woman. “Into the sack you go.” And in an instant, A Xin found herself stuffed inside the sack abreast her sister.

It was clear to A Xin that the old woman had remarkable strength. She carried them with relative facility.

After a while, the old woman stopped and placed the sack containing the two girls on the ground. Moments later, the sisters could hear someone, or something, noisily drinking water. As this was happening, A Xin whispered to her sister to shush. Then she used the mulberry branch that held the silk thread to poke a hole in the sack. What she saw scared her half to death. Instead of an old woman, there was a tiger sitting on the edge of a large glistening lake. The old woman was really Hu Gu Po!

Incredibly, instead of continuing onward, the tiger lay down in the afternoon sunshine and went to sleep. While the tiger snoozed, A Xin slowly pulled at the hole in the sack until it was wide enough for her to crawl through. She motioned to her sister to quietly follow her.

The girls crept toward the sleeping tiger. A Xin reached for the silk thread inside her pocket. Then, using the thread, the girls tied together the tiger’s front and back legs. Just as they were finished, the tiger woke up and roared loudly. The tiger tried to free itself, but the meters of silk thread that had been wound around its legs held it fast.

The girls ran like the wind back to their small farmhouse in the foothills. They hurried into their house and slammed the door and locked it. When their mother finally returned home, she hugged her daughters tightly.

“We have awaited your return, safely locked in the house, just as we promised,” said A Xin and Li Hua together.

Tselane
     
Once upon a time, in the southern region of Africa, where a dialect of the Bantu language is spoken, there lived a girl named Tselane. She lived with her mother and father. The family lived in a little round house with a thatched roof.

One day, Tselane’s mother said, “I must go to the village for some things that we need. You may stay here. But be sure to keep the door locked. Watch out for the hungry leopards who roam the land.”

Tselane’s mother set out for the village. Tselane stayed at home, by herself. Tselane had stayed home by herself before. Each time, her mother would return and call out in her sweet, high voice that sounded like the song of the ataga bird. “Tselane, my child!” her mother would call from outside the door. “I have brought you some food. Open the door!”

“That is my mother’s voice!” Tselane would say. “Her voice is high and sweet, like the song of the ataga bird.” Each time, Tselane would open the door and see her mother standing there. Her mother would always bring Tselane some bread and porridge. Tselane would then sit down and eat with her mother.

One day, when Tselane’s mother had gone to the village, Tselane heard a knock on the door. “Tselane, my child!” said a low, gruff voice. “It’s your mother! I have brought you some food. Open the door!”

“That is not my mother’s voice!” said Tselane. “My mother’s voice is high and sweet, like the song of the ataga bird. Go away, you wicked leopard!” The leopard went away, but he came back soon after and tried to make his voice sound like a woman’s voice.

“Tselane, my child!” said the leopard, “It’s your mother. I have brought you some food. Open the door!”

“That is not my mother’s voice!” said Tselane. “My mother’s voice is high and sweet, like the song of the ataga bird. Go away, you nefarious leopard!”

The leopard went away. He came back, but this time he drank a special drink that made his voice higher, to sound like Tselane’s mother’s voice. “Tselane, my child!” said the leopard, in a high, womanly voice. “It’s your mother. I have brought you some food. Open the door!”

“That is my mother’s voice!” said Tselane. “High and sweet, like the song of the ataga bird.” Tselane opened the door and saw the leopard. With a fright, she tried to slam the door shut again, but it was too late.

The leopard stuffed Tselane into a sack and carried her away, intending to take her back to his habitat on the savanna. After carrying the heavy bag for a while, the leopard stopped by a small stream. After traveling so far in the heat, and carrying the heavy bag, he needed a refreshing drink. Rather than carry the heavy bag down to the stream, the leopard left the bag on the side of the road, as he intended to be away from it only a short moment. The leopard climbed down the hill to the stream to get a drink.

As soon as he was gone, a little girl came walking down the road. Seeing the bag alongside the road, the little girl became interrogatory about it, so she peeped into the bag. She saw some fingers sticking up and quickly closed the bag. “Whose fingers were those?” she asked.

“Mine!” said a voice. “My name is Tselane. Please unmew me! I am smothered here in this small, hot space!”

“Tselane?” said the girl. “Why, your mother is my aunt! You and I are cousins! She has been visiting here in our village.” The little girl let Tselane out of the bag. Then she and Tselane ran to get Tselane’s mother. When she heard what had happened, Tselane’s mother filled the leopard’s bag with scorpions and snakes.

When he had finished getting his cool drink, the leopard came back to the road and grabbed the sack. Then he set off for his home. When the leopard arrived back at the savanna, he opened the bag, intending to start eating his tasty feast.

Instead, angry snakes slithered out. Dozens of scorpions poured out of the bag, shaking their poisonous tails. Many of them stung the leopard, and it was extremely painful! The leopard put his great speed to work and darted across the savanna, never to bother Tselane or her family again.

As for Tselane, she decided to always accompany her mother to the village and follow her mother’s instructions, and they all lived happily ever after.

     
       
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Click on this link to move forward to Module E, Lessons 11 – 20
   

         
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