Grade 4 Comprehension

SAVING THE BIRDS

One day in spring four men were riding on horseback along a country road. These men were lawyers, and they were going to the next town to attend court. There had been a rain, and the ground was very soft. The four lawyers rode along, one behind another; for the pathway was narrow, and the mud on each side of it was deep. They rode slowly, and talked and laughed and were very jolly.

 

 As they were passing through a grove of small trees, they heard a great fluttering over their heads and a feeble chirping in the grass by the roadside.

"Stith! stith ! stith!" came from the leafy branches above them.

"Cheep!cheep! cheep!" came from the wet grass.

 

"What is the matter here?" asked the first lawyer, whose name was Speed.

"Oh, it's only some old robins!" said the second lawyer, whose name was Hardin. "The storm has blown two of the little ones out of the nest. They are too young to fly, and the mother bird is making a great fuss about it."

"What a pity! They'll die down there in the grass," said the third lawyer, whose name I forget.

"Oh, well! They're nothing but birds," said Mr. Hardin. "Why should we bother?"

"Yes, why should we?" said Mr. Speed.

 

The three men, as they passed, looked down and saw the little birds fluttering in the cold, wet grass. They saw the mother robin flying about, and crying to her mate. Then they rode on, talking and laughing as before. In a few minutes they had forgotten about the birds.

 But the fourth lawyer, whose name was Abraham Lincoln, stopped. He got down from his horse and very gently took the little ones up in his big warm hands. They did not seem frightened, but chirped softly, as if they knew they were safe. "Never mind, my little fellows," said Mr. Lincoln "I will put you in your own cozy little bed."

Then he looked up to find the nest from which they had fallen. It was high, much higher than he could reach. But Mr. Lincoln could climb. He had climbed many a tree when he was a boy. He put the birds softly, one by one, into their warm little home. Two other baby birds were there, that had not fallen out. All cuddled down together and were very happy.

 

Soon the three lawyers who had ridden ahead stopped at a spring to give their horses water. "Where is Lincoln?" asked one. All were surprised to find that he was not with them. "Do you remember those birds?" said Mr. Speed. "Very likely he has stopped to take care of them."

In a few minutes Mr. Lincoln joined them. His shoes were covered with mud; he had torn his coat on the thorny tree. "Hello, Abraham!" said Mr. Hardin. "Where have you been? I stopped a minute to give those birds to their mother," he answered.

"Well, we always thought you were a hero," said Mr. Speed. "Now we know it."

Then all three of them laughed heartily. They thought it so foolish that a strong man should take so much trouble just for some worthless young birds. "Gentlemen," said Mr. Lincoln, "I could not have slept tonight, if I had left those helpless little robins to perish in the wet grass."

Abraham Lincoln afterwards became very famous as a lawyer and statesman.

He was elected president and became one of the greatest Americans of all time.

 

I. Tick the correct option.

1. Why were the four men going to the next town?

A.   to attend a party

B.   to attend court

C.   to visit a friend

 

2. Abraham Lincoln was elected as?

 A. President of USA

 B. Prime Minister of USA

 C. President of India      

 

3. Why did the three men stop at the spring?

A. to have lunch

B. to give water to their horses

C. to save the birds 

 

4. Is this story a _______________

A. Fairy Tale.

B. Fact

C. Fiction. 

 

II. Answer the following questions:

1.     Why were the little robins out of their nest?

  _______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

 

2.     How did Abraham Lincoln save the birds?

 _______________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

3.     Why do you think the men called Abraham Lincoln a "hero"?

 _______________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

4.     Find the antonyms of the following words from the passage:

 

1.     hard-___________               2. low - ____________

 

III. Language record

 

Frame sentences of your own. 

Word	Tick the correct word class	Sentence
Frightened	noun    verb   adjective
Narrow	noun   verb   adjective

  

 

 

 

IV. Directed writing

Imagine you are Abraham Lincoln. Write how you helped the little Robins.

·        Where were you going and what did you see?

·         How you helped the little robins?

·         How did you feel at the end?