Grade 5 Reading Comprehension Worksheet

Read the short story. Then answer each question.

Susie and Rover

“M am a,” said Su sie De an one
sum m er’s m orning, “m ay I go to
the woods and pick
berries?”

“Y es,” repl ied M rs. Dean,

“but you m ust take Rover
with you.” Susie brough t
her l ittl e basket, and her
m other packed a nice l unch for her. She
tied down the cover and fas tened a ti n cup
to i t. The l ittl e girl cal l ed Rover —a great New foundl and dog —and gave
him a tin p ail to carry. “If I bring it hom e ful l , m am a,” she said, “w il l you
m ake som e berry cakes?”

Aw ay she skip ped, sing ing as she wen t down the l ane and across the
pas ture. Whe n she got to the woods, s he put her l unch basket down
beside a tree and beg an to pick berri es. Rover ran about, chas ing a
squirrel and a rabbit, but never str ayin g far from Susie.

The tin pail was not a very sm al l one. By the tim e it was two th irds ful l ,
Susie began to feel hungry and thought she woul d eat her l unch. Rover
cam e and took his pl ace at her side as soon as she began to eat. Did she
give him som e of the l unch? No, she was in a sel fish m ood and did no
such thing.

“ There , Rover , run aw ay! There’ s a go o d dog,” she said, but Rover stayed
near her, w atch ing her ste adil y with hi s cl ear brown eyes. The m eat he
wan ted so m uch was soon eaten up, and al l he got of the nice l unch was
a sm al l crust of gingerbread that Susie threw aw ay.

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Grade 5 Reading Comprehension Worksheet

After l unch, Susie pl ayed for a whil e by the brook. She threw sticks in to
the water , and Rover swam in and brought them back. Then she began to
pick berries ag ain. She enj oyed the afternoon as m uch as she did the
m orning. The sunsh ine was as brigh t, th e berries were as sweet and
pl entiful , and she was neither tired nor hungry.

Good, fai thful Rover was hungry, and she had not given him even one
piece of m eat. She tried to forget ho w sel fish she had been, bu t she
coul d not do so, and quite e arl y she started for hom e.

When she w as nearl y out of the wo ods, a rustl ing in the underbrush
attrac ted her atten tion. “I wonder if th at is a bird or a squ irrel ,” she said
to hersel f. “If I can catch it, how gl ad I wil l be!” She tried to m ake her
way quie tl y through the underbrush, but she was terrified when she saw a
l arge snake coil ed up before her p repared for a spring ! She was
frigh tened so m uch that she coul d not m ove, but brave Rover saw the
snake , and, s pringing forw ard, scared i t aw ay. Whe n the fai th ful dog
cam e and rubbed his head agains t he r hand, Susie pu t her arm s around
his neck, and burst in to tears. “O Rover,” she cried, “you dear , good dog!
How sorry I am that I was so sel fish!”

Rover understood the tone o f her voice,

al though he did not understand her
words, and ran abou t happil y,
barking al l the tim e. Y ou can
be sure that he had a b ig
supper th at evening.
Susie never forgot the
l esson of that day. She
soon l earned to be on her
guard agains t a sel fish spiri t
and becam e a happier and
m ore l ovabl e l ittl e girl .

Reading and Math for K-5 © www.k5learning.com

Grade 5 Reading Comprehension Worksheet

Questions:

1. Wh at does Rover do to show that he is “faith ful ”?

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2. Wh at sc ared Susie in the underbrush?

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3. Wh at do you th ink woul d happen next in the s tory if i t kept go ing?

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Reading and Math for K-5 © www.k5learning.com

Grade 5 Reading Comprehension Worksheet

Answers:

1. Wh at does Rover do to show that he is “faith ful ”?

Rover did not stray far from Susie whil st she was picking berries. He
al so scared away the snake w hen Susi e was in danger.

2. Wh at sc ared Susie in the underbrush?

A snake scared Susie in the underbrush .

3. Wh at do you th ink woul d happen next in the s tory if i t kept go ing?

(Answer w il l vary) one exam pl e: I bel ieve Susie woul d go on another

adventure and this tim e she wil l share her l unch with Rover.

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