Skip to the content
Peabody TeachFor teachers and grown-ups

The Tortoise Who Kept the Ferry Rope

5th grade fiction passage about a slow tortoise keeps a ferry safe: 231 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

5th grade fiction a slow tortoise keeps a ferry safe 231 words

The Tortoise Who Kept the Ferry Rope

Every single morning, a tortoise named Orrin made his unhurried way down to the bank of the wide brown river. His job was to inspect the ferry rope, which was stretched from one shore to the other and which the ferry used to pull itself across the water. Because Orrin moved so slowly, the other animals considered it a dull job for a dull creature.

"Why not hand it over to a rabbit?" asked a young hare named Cal. "A rabbit could check the whole rope in a minute."

"A rabbit might not look closely enough," said Orrin.

Cal laughed and bounded away. Then, on a windy morning not long afterward, Orrin inched along the rope and discovered a place where the strands were beginning to fray. Most animals would have missed it entirely. Orrin touched each strand, one at a time, with his careful nose.

He rang the ferry bell, and the ferrywoman hurried over. She tied on a new rope before a single passenger had climbed aboard.

That afternoon, the old rope snapped and drifted off down the river. Cal watched it go with wide, frightened eyes. He had been planning to ride the ferry with six of his friends.

"Thank you for being slow," said Cal quietly.

Orrin smiled. "I am not slow," he replied. "I am thorough. Some jobs call for speed, and others call for patience."

Questions

  1. What was Orrin's job each morning at the river? in the text

  2. What did Orrin discover on the windy morning? in the text

  3. What did Orrin do immediately after finding the problem? in the text

  4. What happened to the old rope that afternoon? in the text

  5. Why did Cal thank Orrin for being slow? think about it

  6. What does Orrin mean when he says that he is thorough? think about it

Words to know

ferry
a boat that carries people across water
fraying
coming apart at the edges, like worn thread
strands
thin threads twisted together to make a rope
thorough
careful and complete
patience
being able to wait or work slowly without getting upset
Share

One passage, three levels

The same topic and facts written three ways, so a mixed class can read and talk about one text. Each group’s sheet shows only a shape; the key says which is which.

● Easier · 203 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3

Every morning, a tortoise named Orrin walked down to the bank of the wide brown river. His job was to check the ferry rope. The rope was stretched from one shore to the other, and the ferry pulled itself across by it. Orrin was very slow, so the other animals thought it was a dull job for a dull creature.

"Why not give it to a rabbit?" asked a young hare named Cal. "A rabbit could check it in a minute."

"A rabbit might not look closely," said Orrin.

Cal laughed and raced off. Then one windy morning, Orrin inched along the rope and found a place where the strands were fraying. Most animals would have missed it. Orrin touched each strand, one by one, with his careful nose.

He rang the ferry bell, and the ferrywoman hurried over. She tied a new rope before anyone climbed aboard.

That afternoon, the old rope snapped and floated down the river. Cal watched it go with wide eyes. He had planned to ride the ferry with six friends.

"Thank you for being slow," said Cal quietly.

Orrin smiled. "I am not slow," he said. "I am thorough. Some jobs need speed, and some need patience."

▲ This passage · 231 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 4.8

Every single morning, a tortoise named Orrin made his unhurried way down to the bank of the wide brown river. His job was to inspect the ferry rope, which was stretched from one shore to the other and which the ferry used to pull itself across the water. Because Orrin moved so slowly, the other animals considered it a dull job for a dull creature.

"Why not hand it over to a rabbit?" asked a young hare named Cal. "A rabbit could check the whole rope in a minute."

"A rabbit might not look closely enough," said Orrin.

Cal laughed and bounded away. Then, on a windy morning not long afterward, Orrin inched along the rope and discovered a place where the strands were beginning to fray. Most animals would have missed it entirely. Orrin touched each strand, one at a time, with his careful nose.

He rang the ferry bell, and the ferrywoman hurried over. She tied on a new rope before a single passenger had climbed aboard.

That afternoon, the old rope snapped and drifted off down the river. Cal watched it go with wide, frightened eyes. He had been planning to ride the ferry with six of his friends.

"Thank you for being slow," said Cal quietly.

Orrin smiled. "I am not slow," he replied. "I am thorough. Some jobs call for speed, and others call for patience."

■ Harder · 234 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.3

Every single morning, a tortoise named Orrin made his unhurried way down to the bank of the wide brown river, where his responsibility was to inspect the ferry rope that stretched from one shore to the other and that the ferry used to pull itself across the water. Because Orrin moved so slowly, the other animals considered it a dull job for a dull creature.

"Why not hand it over to a rabbit?" asked a young hare named Cal. "A rabbit could check the whole rope in a minute."

"A rabbit might not look closely enough," said Orrin.

Cal laughed and bounded away. Then, on a windy morning not long afterward, Orrin inched along the rope and discovered a place where the strands were beginning to fray, a flaw that most animals would have missed entirely. Orrin touched each strand, one at a time, with his careful nose.

He rang the ferry bell, and the ferrywoman hurried over and tied on a new rope before a single passenger had climbed aboard.

That afternoon, the old rope snapped and drifted off down the river. Cal watched it go with wide, frightened eyes, because he had been planning to ride the ferry with six of his friends.

"Thank you for being slow," said Cal quietly.

Orrin smiled. "I am not slow," he replied. "I am thorough. Some jobs call for speed, and others call for patience."

Download as one PDF

How to use it

  1. Press Read it big (or B) to put the text on the projector, or Full screen (F) to fill the whole screen.
  2. Ask the questions one at a time and use Show answer when the class has decided. A shows or hides every answer.
  3. Print student copy for the class, or Print with answers for yourself.

Ideas for class

  • Before reading, put ferry, fraying, strands, thorough and patience on the board with their meanings from the Words to know section and have students predict what the story will be about.
  • Read it aloud once while students follow along, then have them reread it alone or with a partner. At a calm 100 words a minute it takes about 2 minutes to read aloud.
  • Use the Read it big button (or B) to put the text on the projector, and Show answer on one question at a time so the class commits to an answer first.
  • Question 5 asks the reader to infer. Ask students to point to the words in the passage that led them to their answer.
  • Ask students to retell the story in three sentences: how it began, what the problem was, and how it ended.
  • Print the student copy for independent work and keep the answer-key copy for yourself.

Related

Questions

What reading level is "The Tortoise Who Kept the Ferry Rope"?

It was written for 5th grade. It has 231 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 4.8. That is a formula's estimate from sentence length and syllables, and it is not a Lexile or a guided reading level, so check it against your students.

What do the questions ask?

There are six. 4 ask for something the text says directly and 2 ask the reader to work something out from clues. Each has an answer in the key, and the answers are written as a teacher would accept them, not as the only possible wording.

How long does it take to read?

About 2 minutes read aloud at 100 words a minute. For a one-minute fluency check, paste it into the fluency timer and use the word count.

Can I print it?

Yes. Print student copy gives the passage, the questions with lines to write on, and the word meanings. Print with answers gives the same page with the answers filled in. Both are made in your browser.

Is this passage from a published book?

No. It was written for Peabody Teach, so there is no book to buy and no login to read it.

Nothing you do here is sent to us. No sign-in, no ads.