Passages

The Cobbler and the Fairies

There was once a cobbler who worked hard at his trade, and yet never seemed to get on in the world. One evening he took his last piece of leather and cut out a pair of shoes and laid the pieces neatly on his bench, expecting to finish them in…

The Elves Take a Vacation

If you were to believe the carols, you would no doubt think that Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. And it usually is. But when you are a Christmas elf, the most fantastic, delightful, spectacular time of year is the week after Christmas. That’s when the hard-working…

Cupid’s Broken Glasses

Cupid went to bed early. Tomorrow was a big day! Every year he went flying around, shooting his special arrows at people to make them fall in love. Valentine’s Day was always the busiest time for him.   He took a final look at his Love List. It held the…

Sophie the Little Hero

Sophie did not like being the baby of the family. All of her four brothers and sisters were big and she was little. When she wanted to wear her sister Ella’s red dress, Ella said, “No! You are too little!” When she wanted to ride Madison’s horse, Madison said, “No!…

The Garden of Live Flowers

This passage is from Through the Looking-Glass, which is a sequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.  As the passage begins, Alice has gone through a looking-glass, or mirror, into another wonderland. She is in a garden where she has discovered flowers that can talk. —————————- Alice didn’t like being criticized,…

Romeo Meets Juliet

In this passage from Romeo and Juliet, Romeo first meets Juliet at a party held by her parents. Neither of them know who the other is; they are both the only children of feuding families. They are engaged in a flirtatious conversation. —————————————– Romeo. [To Juliet.] If I profane with…

Little Helen

Helen Keller was born in 1880 in Alabama. She had normal hearing and seeing abilities when she was born. However, when she was just 19 months old, she became very sick. After she recovered she could no longer hear or see. In this passage from her autobiography, Helen remembers what…

Mountain Gorillas: Going, Going, Almost Gone

Mountain gorillas are some of the most threatened animals on the planet. Only two groups of mountain gorillas remain. One population lives in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda. The other group lives in the Virunga Mountains. This mountain range of extinct volcanoes borders the African countries of the…

The Sawyer Family

There were three children in the Sawyer family. The oldest was Tina, who was very tall. The youngest was Sherry, who was very short. In the middle was Tim, who was neither tall nor short. The Sawyer children were all very different, even though they shared the same last name.…

Abraham Lincoln, the Inventor

Abe leaned over the steamboat. “Not again. We’re caught on a sandbar. This happens too often.” Abe and his friend Sam watched as the crew unloaded the cargo, piece by piece. “Well, we might as well sit down. This will take a while,” said Sam. “Too bad we have to…