Learning Check – Myths, Folktales and Fables

Name______

Read the passage and answer the question:

A cat and a mouse were playing in a field one day. The cat saw something shiny in the dirt. He picked it up and showed it to the mouse. It sparkled like a diamond. The mouse grabbed it from the cat and held it up to the sun. The cat tried to take it away from the mouse, but the mouse ran away with it. The cat chased the mouse. As the mouse ran, he dropped the gem into the river. The cat was so angry at the mouse that they never played together again. The moral of this story is: don’t take what doesn’t belong to you.

  1. This story is an example of
  2. A fable
  3. A folktale
  4. A myth

Read the passage and answer the questions:

A long, long time ago, before trees had leaves, a man was walking through the forest. It was a very hot summer day. The hot sun blazed down on everything. After a while, the man could walk no longer in the terrible heat. He stopped to take a drink of water from his canteen. All around him, he noticed thousands of green butterflies on the forest floor. They were so hot from the sun that they could no longer fly. The man felt sorry for the butterflies. He decided to share some of his water with them. The butterflies were so grateful to the man that they flew up into the trees to block out the sun. This is how leaves were created.

  1. This story is an example of
  2. A fable
  3. A folktale
  4. A myth
  5. What is the central message of this story?
  6. Good deeds are often rewarded.
  7. Forgiveness is an important lesson.
  8. Hard work pays off in the end.

Read the passage and answer the questions:

How Corn Came to Mexico

Long ago, the great Feathered Serpent god looked down on Mexico at the humans he had created. They were hungry and did not have enough food to keep them alive. The feathered Serpent decided to change into a human and go to Earth to help them. He did not know what humans ate. He offered the people rocks and grass but nothing helped.

Then the Feathered Serpent came across ants carrying kernels of corn. The ants worked hard for every kernel of corn they had. The Feathered Serpent promised there would be enough corn for all of the ants if they agreed to share what they had with the humans. The ants showed him a giant mountain of corn they had collected.

The Feathered Serpent knew it would be too difficult to move each kernel to the people. Instead, he showed the people how to plant and harvest corn. And forever after, there was enough to feed all the people – and the ants – in Mexico.

  1. This story is an example of
  2. A myth
  3. A folktale
  4. A fable
  5. What clue helps you figure out the kind of story?
  6. The setting
  7. The happy ending
  8. The lesson it teaches
  9. The way it explains events in nature
  10. How does the Feathered Serpent feel about humans?
  11. He likes ants more than humans.
  12. He wants to help them.
  13. He wants to trick them.
  14. He likes giving them rocks.
  15. Which of the following could be the central message of the story?
  16. Slow and steady wins the race.
  17. Look before you leap
  18. Cook corn before you eat it.
  19. Sharing can lead to good things.