Tachel and Shen, Brother Stars
Reading Comprehension Activity
Tachel and Shen were stars in the heavens. They were brothers who did everything together. Then one day Tachel lost his favorite cloud and blamed Shen. Students will read the story and answer questions about the story elements and details.
Topic(s): Fairy Tales & Fables, Folklore, Myths & Legends, Science Fiction / Fantasy. Skill(s): Summary, Story Elements. Genre(s): Prose
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Tachel and his brother, Shen, were stars in the heavens. They were very close and were always together. Then one day, Tachel got angry at Shen. He thought Shen took his favorite cloud and hid it on him.
“Where’s my cloud?” shouted Tachel.
Shen looked around then looked at Tachel. “Are you talking to me?”
“Yes, I’m talking to you,” said Tachel. “What did you do with my cloud? You know it’s my favorite cloud. Why would you hide it on me?”
Shen shook his head. “I didn’t take your cloud. Why would I do that? Maybe you left it somewhere.”
Tachel threw his arms up in the air. “Don’t be silly. I would never leave my cloud anywhere. You had to take it and hide it.”
Tachel got madder and madder and madder. He got so mad that he hit Shen.
“Ouch!” said Shen. “That hurt. You hit me! I can’t believe you hit me. I’ll never speak to you again.”
Shen left and went to the other side of the heavens.
Tachel was pleased that he made his brother leave. But, after several days, he became lonely. He missed his brother. After sulking a while, Tachel decided to look for Shen. As he searched through the clouds, he found his favorite little cloud stuck inside a bigger cloud.
“Oh, my little favorite cloud. There you are. I forgot I put you here.” Tachel threw his arms in the air. “My brother! I blamed my brother for taking my cloud. How could I have done that?”
With his favorite cloud in his hand, Tachel soared to the other side of the heavens. “Shen!” he yelled as he flew. “Shen! Where are you?”
Tachel flew and flew and flew, but could not find Shen. Tears began to fall from Tachel’s eyes. Flying back to his home, he ran into his friend Marlen.
“What’s wrong, Tachel?”
“I’ve lost my brother because I was stubborn and wouldn’t believe that he didn’t take my favorite cloud. I was so mad, I hit him.”
“Ah,” said Marlen. “I wondered why Shen went to the outer ends of the heavens.”
“Oh!” said Tachel. “Do you think he will talk to me again?”
Marlen tilted her head to the side. “Ah, if it were me, I wouldn’t talk to you. If you doubted my word after knowing me all my life and went so far as to hit me, I would never speak to you again. You shouldn’t let your temper or stubbornness control your actions.”
Tachel bend his head low then lifted it high. “I will not give up. I will search the heavens from north to south and east to west. I will hold a torch in my hand so my brother may see. I will do this until I find my brother, and he forgives me.”
Tachel kept his word and you can still see his torch when you look at the sky and see a shooting star streak by.
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