Date: 8-12-15 The Winged Horse
Q 1. Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions.
This is a story from the land of Greece. The Greeks were wonderful story-tellers. They were also famous for their literature and art. This story is about Pegasus, a snow –white steed with silvery wings who lived on Mount Helicon, a sacred mountain in Greece.
Pegasus was wild, swift and buoyant in his flight. At night he slept on the mountain. During the day, he was flying high above the earth, with the sun shining on his silvery wings, In summer, when the weather was beautiful, Pegasus would often come down to the earth, fold his wings and gallop over hills and plains as swiftly as the wind. He would come to the Fountain of Pirene, drink its cool water, taste the sweet flowers of the clover that grew nearby, or roll on the soft grass.
One day, a young man named Bellerophon came to that very fountain in search of Pegasus. Bellerophon saw a little boy who was standing there and asked him whether he had seen the winged horse. The little boy told him that he had seen its shadow reflected in the waters of the fountain. So Bellerophon stayed near the fountain for days looking up at the sky and down into the water.
But why was Bellerophon waiting so patiently for Pegasus? Because he had a magic bridle. If he could put it on Pegasus, the Pegasus would obey him at once and fly wherever he chose. Bellerophon needed the swiftest horse in the world to save the people of Lycia, a neighboring country, from a terrible three-bodied monster called the Chimera. It had the manned head of a lion, a goat's head rising from the back and a snake-like tail, it breathed fire!
One morning the little boy showed Bellerophon the reflection of Pegasus in the shining water of the fountain. Bellerophon and the child hid among the trees, so that the horse might not see them. Pegasus came down, and folded his wings. He drank the water of Pirene, tasted the sweet clover blossoms and ran about playfully. He then lay down. As he was about to get up, Bellerophon jumped on to the horse's back. Pegasus tried to throw him off, but Bellerophon was a good horseman. He was able to put the magic bridle on Pegasus and immediately the horse became calm.
Then, Bellerophon, armed with sword and shield, mounted on the winged horse, was ready for battle. Soon they were flying over the hills and valleys of Lycia. 'But where is the cave where the monster lives?' thought Bellerophon.
Not far away, he saw smoke coming out from the opening of a cave, and looking in, he saw the Chimera. Seeing them, the fire-breathing monster sprang out with its huge claws stretched upward. But Pegasus was high in the air with Bellerophon, out of the monster's reach. Bellerophon drew his sword and after a long struggle, killed the Chimera.
At first, they flew to the Fountain of Pirene where they met the little boy who had helped Bellerophon find Pegasus. Then Bellerophon freed Pegasus, but Pegasus did not want to leave his master. So off they flew to Lycia, to tell the king how they had killed the Chimera.
1. Who was Pegasus and what did he do when he come down on earth?
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2. Why did Bellerophon come in search of Pegasus?
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3. Describe the Chimera.
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Application based questions.
1. Why do you think Pegasus tried to throw off Bellerophon when he jumped on the horse's back? ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Why do you think Pegasus did not want to leave his master Bellerophon?
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Language record:
Find words from the story that describe the following:
1. the water of Pirene ______________________________________
2. the grass near Pirene _____________________________________
3. Mount Helicon ___________________________________________
4. Pegasus ______________________________________________
5. the bridle ______________________________________________
6. the flowers of clover ________________________________________
Word | Word Class | Sentence |
fountain | __________________________________________________________________________ | |
wonderful | __________________________________________________________________________ |
Directed Writing
Imagine you are Pegasus. Write how you helped the people of Lycia, and saved them from a terrible three-bodied monster.
Who was Bellerophon and why did he wait so patiently for you?
How did Bellerophon and you fight Chimera?
Your feelings at the end.
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