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The Mule at the Flooded Ford

6th grade fiction passage about a mule who will not cross: 220 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

6th grade fiction a mule who will not cross 220 words

The Mule at the Flooded Ford

Marrow was a gray mule who carried baskets of apples from the orchard to the town market. Everyone said she was stubborn, because she sometimes planted her hooves and refused to move. The farmer's daughter, Ines, usually just sighed and waited.

One morning, after a night of heavy rain, they came to the shallow ford where the road crossed a stream. The water looked calm and only ankle deep. A traveler with a fast horse trotted up behind them and laughed. "Is that animal afraid of a puddle? Push her along, girl, or you will be late."

Ines tugged the rope, but Marrow would not budge. She stared at the brown water and flicked her long ears. Ines was embarrassed, and she almost tugged harder.

Then she noticed a small log drifting by, then a whole branch, rolling fast along the bottom of the stream. The shallow water was hiding a strong current. The traveler's smile faded as his horse stepped in, slipped, and scrambled back to the bank, soaked and shaking.

Ines patted Marrow's neck. They waited an hour until the stream settled, and then they crossed together without trouble.

From that day, Ines never called the mule stubborn. She called her careful. Sometimes a refusal is not laziness at all, but wisdom that is waiting to be understood.

Questions

  1. What did Marrow carry to the market? in the text

  2. Why did the traveler laugh at Marrow? in the text

  3. What did Ines notice floating in the stream? in the text

  4. What happened to the traveler's horse? in the text

  5. What was the shallow water hiding? think about it

  6. Why did Ines start calling Marrow careful instead of stubborn? think about it

Words to know

stubborn
unwilling to change your mind or move
ford
a shallow place where people can cross a stream
budge
to move even a little bit
current
water that flows in one direction
wisdom
good sense that comes from understanding things
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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 · 171 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 2.9

Marrow was a gray mule. She carried baskets of apples from the orchard to the town market. People said she was stubborn, because she sometimes stopped and would not move. The farmer's daughter, Ines, just waited.

One morning, after heavy rain, they came to a ford where the road crossed a stream. The water looked calm and not deep. A traveler on a fast horse rode up and laughed. "Is your mule afraid of a puddle? Push her, or you will be late."

Ines pulled the rope, but Marrow would not move. She stared at the brown water. Ines felt embarrassed.

Then she saw a small log float by. Then a whole branch rolled fast along the bottom. The calm water hid a strong current. The traveler's horse stepped in, slipped, and ran back to the bank, wet and shaking.

Ines patted Marrow. They waited an hour for the stream to settle. Then they crossed with no trouble.

After that, Ines called her careful, not stubborn. Sometimes a refusal is wisdom.

▲ This passage · 220 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.1

Marrow was a gray mule who carried baskets of apples from the orchard to the town market. Everyone said she was stubborn, because she sometimes planted her hooves and refused to move. The farmer's daughter, Ines, usually just sighed and waited.

One morning, after a night of heavy rain, they came to the shallow ford where the road crossed a stream. The water looked calm and only ankle deep. A traveler with a fast horse trotted up behind them and laughed. "Is that animal afraid of a puddle? Push her along, girl, or you will be late."

Ines tugged the rope, but Marrow would not budge. She stared at the brown water and flicked her long ears. Ines was embarrassed, and she almost tugged harder.

Then she noticed a small log drifting by, then a whole branch, rolling fast along the bottom of the stream. The shallow water was hiding a strong current. The traveler's smile faded as his horse stepped in, slipped, and scrambled back to the bank, soaked and shaking.

Ines patted Marrow's neck. They waited an hour until the stream settled, and then they crossed together without trouble.

From that day, Ines never called the mule stubborn. She called her careful. Sometimes a refusal is not laziness at all, but wisdom that is waiting to be understood.

■ Harder · 238 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 6.3

Marrow was a gray mule who hauled baskets of apples from the orchard to the town market. Everyone in the valley considered her stubborn, because she occasionally planted her hooves and refused to take another step. The farmer's daughter, Ines, usually just sighed and waited patiently.

One morning, after a night of heavy rain, they arrived at the shallow ford where the road crossed a stream. The water appeared calm and scarcely ankle deep. A traveler on a fast horse trotted up behind them and laughed. "Is that animal frightened of a puddle? Push her along, girl, or you will be late for the market."

Ines tugged the rope, but Marrow would not budge. She stared at the muddy water and flicked her long ears. Ines felt embarrassed, and she very nearly pulled harder.

Then she noticed a small log drifting past, followed by an entire branch tumbling swiftly along the bottom of the stream. The shallow surface was concealing a powerful current. The traveler's smile faded as his horse stepped in, lost its footing, and scrambled back to the bank, drenched and trembling.

Ines patted Marrow's neck. They waited for an hour until the stream had settled, and then they crossed together without any trouble.

From that day forward, Ines never described the mule as stubborn. She called her careful. Sometimes a refusal is not laziness at all, but wisdom that is simply waiting to be understood.

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 stubborn, ford, budge, current and wisdom 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 Mule at the Flooded Ford"?

It was written for 6th grade. It has 220 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 5.1. 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.

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