Grade 5 Reading Comprehension Worksheet

Read the short story. Then answer each question.

The Fairy Tree

Long, l ong ago, on an isl and in the sea, l ived a fam il y of seven sisters. The
ol dest girl rul ed the househol d, and her sisters obeyed her com m ands.
Fl ora, the youngest sis ter , was sen t to the forest each day to gather wood
for the k itchen fire.

Near the edge of the fores t was a cave under som e rocks. A stream of
water fel l over the rocks into a basin in the cave.

This w as a del ightful l y cool spot, and Fl ora often rested here on her way
hom e after gathering w ood in the fore st. She woul d l ie on the m ossy bank
of the s tream for hours and dream .

One m orning as Fl ora ran al ong the grassy path th at l ed to the cave, she
saw a l ittl e fish in the stre am . Its scal es fl ashed al l the col ors of the
rainbo w.

“I am going to keep the fish for a pe t,” said the girl to hers el f. “I wil l cal l
him Rainbow.”

So she caught the pretty fish and pu t h im into the basin in the cave.

The nex t day Fl ora went to the fores t for wood. She carried som e
crum bs of bread which she had saved from her breakfast.

On the way hom e she stopped at the cave. The fish w as

wai ting for her. He cam e to the edge of the basin ,
and she fed the crum bs to him .

How del ighte d the girl was!

She had been so l onel y, and
now she had a friend !

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Grade 5 Reading Comprehension Worksheet

Every m orning, inste ad of eating the br ead which her sister gave to her,
Fl ora woul d save it and feed the crum bs to her pe t. The fish woul d l eap to
catch them .

“Here are som e crum bs, Rainb ow ,” she woul d say. “ This is al l today, bu t I
wil l com e again tom orrow.”

Then she woul d sing a l ittl e song.

Fl ora began to grow thin , and her sis te rs wondered what coul d be the
m atter.

One day the ol dest sister fol l owed her to the cave and saw her feed the
crum bs of bread to the fish.

Wh il e Fl ora was away in the forest, the ol dest sister caught the fish,
carried him hom e and baked him for supper. The bones were buried
under the kitchen fire.

The nex t m orning, Fl ora went to the c ave as usual , but no fish w as there.
She sang her l ittl e song, and he stil l did not com e.

“Rainbow canno t be dead ,” she said , “ for I do not see him in the water.”

Then Fl ora hastened hom e. She threw hersel f upon her bed and was soon
fas t asl eep.

The fol l owing m orning, a roos ter fl ew up to

Fl ora’s window and crowed,

“Cock- a-doodl e-doodl e-doo!

The bones o f Rai nbow w ai t for you,

Under the k itche n fire , too.”

Fl ora arose at once and went downs tairs. There,

under the kitchen fire , she found the bones of her pe t.

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Grade 5 Reading Comprehension Worksheet

She wept as she gathered th e bones and pl aced them in a box.

She went to the forest and buried the box near the cave.

Then Fl ora sat down on a m ossy bank near the cave and sang this song:

“Rainbow , Rai nbow , he ar m y cry,

M y great wish do not deny.

If you can’t com e back to m e,

Pray, O pr ay, becom e a tree!”

As the l ast words of the song echoed

through the cave, there sprang u p a
wonderful Fairy Tree bes ide the girl .

Its trunk w as of ivory. Its l eaves were of sil ver fringed with pearl s. Its
fl owers were gol d, and its frui t gem s from which sparkl ed the bright col ors
of the r ainb ow.

One day the sum m er breeze carried a l eaf from the Fairy Tree across the
sea to another isl and. It fel l at the fee t of the k ing.

He picked up the wonderful l eaf and said, “ I shal l never rest until I find
the tree from which this l eaf cam e.”

The king se t sail with his attendan ts. He soon l anded on the isl and where
the seven sisters l ived.

As the king and his m en were m arching through the fores t, they fou nd the
Fairy Tree grow ing at the entr ance to the cave.

The king tried to pick som e of the l eaves, bu t he coul d not. Then he heard
the sweet voice o f a girl . She was singing,

“Rainbow , Rai nbow , spe ak to m e!

Bend your branches, Fairy Tree!”

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Grade 5 Reading Comprehension Worksheet

And Fl ora cam e tripping al ong the grassy path that l ed to the cave.

The king said, “ Fair m aiden, if you can pick a l eaf or a fl ower from th is
tree, you sh al l be m y queen.”

As Fl ora reached to pick a fl ower, the tree bowed l ow, and every l eaf
trem bl ed with del ight.

The m aiden at once presented the fl ower to the king. As he too k the
fl ower, the king excl aim ed,

“ To you bel ongs the Fairy Tree ;

Pray be m y bride and rul e with m e.”

Fl ora thought she m ust be dream ing, but they were m arried the next day
beneath the branches o f the F airy Tree .

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Grade 5 Reading Comprehension Worksheet

Questions:

1. Why do you thin k Fl ora was so l onel y at the s tar t o f the s tory?

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2. Wh at does Fl ora’s treatm ent of the fish tel l us about he r as a

person?

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3. Wh at does the word basin m ean in the sentence, “She caug ht the
pretty fish and put h im into the basin i n the cave”?

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4. How does the au thor l et us know the F airy Tree is so speci al ?

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