Danny and the Bully
Reading Comprehension Activity

Danny rode his bike along the mountain trail by his home. He did this everyday on the way to and from school. This morning though, something caught his eye. A slingshot hung from a tree branch.

It looked like an ordinary slingshot, so Danny got off his bike and took it from the branch. After looking at it closer, he shoved it in his pocket and went on to school.

During recess, Danny showed his friends the cool thing he found. He picked up a rock and eased it into the pouch. He pulled the band back, aimed at a plastic bottle and let it go.

BAAMMMMM.

He shot the plastic bottle right off the fence.

Danny tried several other objects to hit, and each time he got a bullseye.

“Way, cool,” said Frank, his best friend. “Let me try it.”

Frank did just like Danny. He found a rock, put it in the pouch, pulled the band back, and let it go.

The rock flew about a foot then fell to the ground.

“Hey, what’s the deal with this stupid thing? It must be broken.” Frank handed it back to Danny.

Danny picked up a rock and gave the slingshot another try. The rock jetted toward its target.

BAAMMMMM.

Another dead hit.

No matter what Danny shot at, he hit it with great force.

“Hey, you, give me that thing.” Bruce, the school bully, grabbed the slingshot out of Danny’s hand.

Bruce found a rock and set the sling in motion. The rock flew about a foot then fell to the ground. Bruce’s eyes narrowed, and he looked at Danny. “This is a piece of junk.” He threw the sling at Danny, pushed Frank out of his way, and went off to the other side of the school yard.

“You okay, Frank?” said Danny.

“Yeah, that guy’s a jerk,” said Frank. “I heard he’s going after Ian after school. We should back Ian up.”

Danny looked over at Bruce. “Yeah, sure. We’ll get creamed with him, but that’s what friends do.”

After school Danny, Frank, and Ian walked outside.

“Oh, look, Ian has backup with him. Ha!” Bruce came up behind Ian and knocked his books out of his hand.

Bruce had four of his crew with him. All of them starting shoving Ian. Frank went to stop them and was knocked to the ground.

Bruce drew his arm back, ready to punch Ian.

Danny yelled, “Stop!” He was about to jump in when he felt his pocket move.

He took the slingshot out. In the pouch was a piece of paper with the word “Stop” written on it. Danny put his hand on the band, and it flew back. The piece of paper zoomed toward Bruce.

Danny watched as the paper disappeared when it reached the bully.

Bruce stopped in his tracks. He looked around and had a confused look on his face. “I think I forgot something. Let’s go, guys.”

Frank looked up from the ground at Danny. “Way, cool. Don’t ever leave the house without that thing.”

“Hey, guys, you were awesome,” said Ian. “Thanks for standing by me. I don’t know how you got them to leave. Hopefully, whatever happened will stop Bruce and his crew from bullying me and others again.”

Danny put his hand in his pocket and held the sling. “Yeah, man. Let’s hope so. It seems the right words can be mighty powerful – even more powerful than Bruce.”