Once upon a time in the country of Japan there lived two frogs, one of whom made his home in a ditch near the town of Osaka, on the sea coast, while the other dwelt in a clear little stream which ran through the city of Kyoto. At such a great distance apart, they had never even heard of each other. Oddly enough, the idea came into both their heads at once that they should like to see a little of the world. The frog who lived at Kyoto wanted to visit Osaka, and the frog who lived at Osaka wished to go to Kyoto, where the great Mikado had his palace.2So one fine morning in the spring they both set out along the road that led from Kyoto to Osaka, one from one end and the other from the other. The journey was more tiring than they expected, for they did not know much about traveling. Halfway between the two towns there arose a mountain which had to be climbed. It took them a long time and a great many hops to reach the top, but there they were at last. How surprised each was to see another frog before him!3They looked at each other for a moment without speaking, and then began a conversation, explaining the cause of their meeting so far from their homes. It was delightful to find that they both had the same wish—to learn a little more of their native country. As there was no hurry, they stretched themselves out in a cool, damp place and agreed that they would have a good rest before they parted to go their ways.4“What a pity we are not bigger,” said the Osaka frog. “Then we could see both towns from here, and tell if it is worth our while going on.”5“Oh, that is easily managed,” returned the Kyoto frog. “We have only to stand up on our hind legs, and hold onto each other, and then we can each look at the town in the distance.”6This idea pleased the Osaka frog so much that he at once jumped up and put his front webbed feet on the shoulder of his friend, who had risen also. There they both stood, stretching themselves as high as they could, and holding each other tightly, so that they might not fall down. The Kyoto frog turned his nose towards Osaka, and the Osaka frog turned his nose towards Kyoto. The foolish things forgot that when they stood up their great eyes lay in the backs of their heads, and that though their noses might point to the places to which they wanted to go, their eyes beheld the places from which they had come.7“Dear me!” cried the Osaka frog. “Kyoto is exactly like Osaka. It is certainly not worth such a long journey. I shall go home!”8“If I had had any idea that Osaka was only a copy of Kyoto, I should never have traveled all this way,” exclaimed the frog from Kyoto, and as he spoke he took his hands from his friend’s shoulders, and they both fell down on the grass. Then they took a polite farewell of each other, and set off for home again. To the end of their lives, they believed that Osaka and Kyoto, which are as different to look at as two towns can be, were as alike as two peas.

What was the author’s purpose for writing “The Two Frogs?”

Once upon a time in the country of Japan there lived two frogs, one of whom made his home in a ditch near the town of Osaka, on the sea coast, while the other dwelt in a clear little stream which ran through the city of Kyoto. At such a great distance apart, they had never even heard of each other. Oddly enough, the idea came into both their heads at once that they should like to see a little of the world. The frog who lived at Kyoto wanted to visit Osaka, and the frog who lived at Osaka wished to go to Kyoto, where the great Mikado had his palace.2So one fine morning in the spring they both set out along the road that led from Kyoto to Osaka, one from one end and the other from the other. The journey was more tiring than they expected, for they did not know much about traveling. Halfway between the two towns there arose a mountain which had to be climbed. It took them a long time and a great many hops to reach the top, but there they were at last. How surprised each was to see another frog before him!3They looked at each other for a moment without speaking, and then began a conversation, explaining the cause of their meeting so far from their homes. It was delightful to find that they both had the same wish—to learn a little more of their native country. As there was no hurry, they stretched themselves out in a cool, damp place and agreed that they would have a good rest before they parted to go their ways.4“What a pity we are not bigger,” said the Osaka frog. “Then we could see both towns from here, and tell if it is worth our while going on.”5“Oh, that is easily managed,” returned the Kyoto frog. “We have only to stand up on our hind legs, and hold onto each other, and then we can each look at the town in the distance.”6This idea pleased the Osaka frog so much that he at once jumped up and put his front webbed feet on the shoulder of his friend, who had risen also. There they both stood, stretching themselves as high as they could, and holding each other tightly, so that they might not fall down. The Kyoto frog turned his nose towards Osaka, and the Osaka frog turned his nose towards Kyoto. The foolish things forgot that when they stood up their great eyes lay in the backs of their heads, and that though their noses might point to the places to which they wanted to go, their eyes beheld the places from which they had come.7“Dear me!” cried the Osaka frog. “Kyoto is exactly like Osaka. It is certainly not worth such a long journey. I shall go home!”8“If I had had any idea that Osaka was only a copy of Kyoto, I should never have traveled all this way,” exclaimed the frog from Kyoto, and as he spoke he took his hands from his friend’s shoulders, and they both fell down on the grass. Then they took a polite farewell of each other, and set off for home again. To the end of their lives, they believed that Osaka and Kyoto, which are as different to look at as two towns can be, were as alike as two peas.

Which of the following best describes the purpose of this passage?

Once upon a time in the country of Japan there lived two frogs, one of whom made his home in a ditch near the town of Osaka, on the sea coast, while the other dwelt in a clear little stream which ran through the city of Kyoto. At such a great distance apart, they had never even heard of each other. Oddly enough, the idea came into both their heads at once that they should like to see a little of the world. The frog who lived at Kyoto wanted to visit Osaka, and the frog who lived at Osaka wished to go to Kyoto, where the great Mikado had his palace.2So one fine morning in the spring they both set out along the road that led from Kyoto to Osaka, one from one end and the other from the other. The journey was more tiring than they expected, for they did not know much about traveling. Halfway between the two towns there arose a mountain which had to be climbed. It took them a long time and a great many hops to reach the top, but there they were at last. How surprised each was to see another frog before him!3They looked at each other for a moment without speaking, and then began a conversation, explaining the cause of their meeting so far from their homes. It was delightful to find that they both had the same wish—to learn a little more of their native country. As there was no hurry, they stretched themselves out in a cool, damp place and agreed that they would have a good rest before they parted to go their ways.4“What a pity we are not bigger,” said the Osaka frog. “Then we could see both towns from here, and tell if it is worth our while going on.”5“Oh, that is easily managed,” returned the Kyoto frog. “We have only to stand up on our hind legs, and hold onto each other, and then we can each look at the town in the distance.”6This idea pleased the Osaka frog so much that he at once jumped up and put his front webbed feet on the shoulder of his friend, who had risen also. There they both stood, stretching themselves as high as they could, and holding each other tightly, so that they might not fall down. The Kyoto frog turned his nose towards Osaka, and the Osaka frog turned his nose towards Kyoto. The foolish things forgot that when they stood up their great eyes lay in the backs of their heads, and that though their noses might point to the places to which they wanted to go, their eyes beheld the places from which they had come.7“Dear me!” cried the Osaka frog. “Kyoto is exactly like Osaka. It is certainly not worth such a long journey. I shall go home!”8“If I had had any idea that Osaka was only a copy of Kyoto, I should never have traveled all this way,” exclaimed the frog from Kyoto, and as he spoke he took his hands from his friend’s shoulders, and they both fell down on the grass. Then they took a polite farewell of each other, and set off for home again. To the end of their lives, they believed that Osaka and Kyoto, which are as different to look at as two towns can be, were as alike as two peas.

Why might someone read this passage?

excerpt from The Golden Windows

by Laura E. Richards

1All day long the little boy worked hard, in field and barn and shed, for his people were poor farmers, and could not pay a workman; but at sunset there came an hour that was all his own, for his father had given it to him. Then the boy would go up to the top of a hill and look across at another hill that rose some miles away. On this far hill stood a house with windows of clear gold and diamonds. They shone and blazed so that it made the boy wink to look at them: but after a while the people in the house put up shutters, as it seemed, and then it looked like any common farmhouse. The boy supposed they did this because it was supper-time; and then he would go into the house and have his supper of bread and milk, and so to bed.2One day the boy’s father called him and said: “You have been a good boy, and have earned a holiday. Take this day for your own . . . and try to learn some good thing.”3The boy thanked his father and kissed his mother; then he put a piece of bread in his pocket, and started off to find the house with the golden windows.4It was pleasant walking. His bare feet made marks in the white dust, and when he looked back, the footprints seemed to be following him, and making company for him. His shadow, too, kept beside him, and would dance or run with him as he pleased; so it was very cheerful.5By and by he felt hungry; and he sat down by a brown brook that ran through the alder hedge by the roadside, and ate his bread, and drank the clear water. Then he scattered the crumbs for the birds, as his mother had taught him to do, and went on his way.6After a long time he came to a high green hill; and when he had climbed the hill, there was the house on the top; but it seemed that the shutters were up, for he could not see the golden windows. He came up to the house, and then he could well have wept, for the windows were of clear glass, like any others, and there was no gold anywhere about them.7 A woman came to the door, and looked kindly at the boy, and asked him what he wanted.8“I saw the golden windows from our hilltop,” he said, “and I came to see them, but now they are only glass.”9The woman shook her head and laughed.10“We are poor farming people,” she said, “and are not likely to have gold about our windows; but glass is better to see through.”11She bade the boy sit down on the broad stone step at the door, and brought him a cup of milk and a cake, and bade him rest; then she called her daughter, a child of his own age, and nodded kindly at the two, and went back to her work.12The little girl was barefooted like himself, and wore a brown cotton gown, but her hair was golden like the windows he had seen, and her eyes were blue like the sky at noon. She led the boy about the farm, and showed him her black calf with the white star on its forehead, and he told her about his own at home . . . Then when they had eaten an apple together, and so had become friends, the boy asked her about the golden windows. The little girl nodded, and said she knew all about them, only he had mistaken the house.13“You have come quite the wrong way!” she said. “Come with me, and I will show you the house with the golden windows, and then you will see for yourself.”14They went to a knoll that rose behind the farmhouse, and as they went the little girl told him that the golden windows could only be seen at a certain hour, about sunset.15“Yes, I know that!” said the boy.16When they reached the top of the knoll, the girl turned and pointed; and there on a hill far away stood a house with windows of clear gold and diamond, just as he had seen them. And when they looked again, the boy saw that it was his own home.17Then he told the little girl that he must go . . . He kissed her, and promised to come again, but he did not tell her what he had learned; and so he went back down the hill, and the little girl stood in the sunset light and watched him.18The way home was long, and it was dark before the boy reached his father’s house; but the lamplight and firelight shone through the windows, making them almost as bright as he had seen them from the hilltop; and when he opened the door, his mother came to kiss him, and his little sister ran to throw her arms about his neck, and his father looked up and smiled from his seat by the fire.19“Have you had a good day?” asked his mother.20Yes, the boy had had a very good day.21“And have you learned anything?” asked his father.22“Yes!” said the boy. “I have learned that our house has windows of gold and diamond.

If the little girl were the narrator, how would the passage most likely be different?

One Fall, the people started a big fire to burn off the underbrush. A tall poplar tree caught fire and burned long after the people had gone. It burned the branches and the trunk and when there was nothing left, the fire settled in roots and burned a hole in the ground.2The next day men passed pots of water from the river to the hole. The women threw in dirt and rocks. But still the fire burned until the small hole in the ground became a huge hole.3The people peered deep into the hole. “Will this fire eat up the whole world?” they asked fearfully.4Then one of the elders spoke. “Far north lives fierce Ice Man, who sends our frozen season. Maybe cold will put out the fire.” Some of the people marched the long way north to ask for Ice Man’s help. Creeping cautiously to his ice house, they found a small man with white hair hanging to the ground.5“Can this little man help us with such a big fire?” they wondered.6“Yes, yes! I can help you.” He exclaimed, quickly unbraiding his long hair. Then he took his hair in one hand and whipped it across the other. At once a cold wind began to blow. He struck his hand with his hair a second time and light rain fell.7“A little rain won’t put out that fire,” cried the people. So Ice Man shook his hair fiercely and raindrops turned to sleet. With another shake, hailstones pelted the ground, bouncing around the people’s feet.8“Go back now,” Ice Man commanded. “When you are home, I will take care of your fire.”9So the people returned home and found the others still watching helplessly.10The next morning as everyone stood before the glowing pit, a cold wind swept down from the north. The people shivered and shook, but the wind only made the flames blaze higher. Then a light rain began to fall. But the fire laughed and hissed and threw up clouds of smoky steam.11Now Ice Man was angry. He mixed sleet with the heavy rain and shook down snow. But the fire hissed louder. When the flames had eaten up the snow, Ice Man whipped his hair and threw cold winds at the flames until hail covered the fire and filled the hole. The people shivered and cried in their lodges as that wind became a whirlwind, driving rain and sleet into the ground and finally putting out the last of the burning embers.12When it was over the people crept back to the place where fire had been burning up the world and found instead a deep and beautiful lake.13Ice Man blows down from the north from time to time to make sure greedy Fire is really gone. But some of the people say that on quiet days, from deep in the lake, comes the faint sound of embers still crackling.Swimmer, a greatly respected storyteller, gave this story to James Mooney, who recorded it in 1892.

Why did the author write this story?

One Fall, the people started a big fire to burn off the underbrush. A tall poplar tree caught fire and burned long after the people had gone. It burned the branches and the trunk and when there was nothing left, the fire settled in roots and burned a hole in the ground.2The next day men passed pots of water from the river to the hole. The women threw in dirt and rocks. But still the fire burned until the small hole in the ground became a huge hole.3The people peered deep into the hole. “Will this fire eat up the whole world?” they asked fearfully.4Then one of the elders spoke. “Far north lives fierce Ice Man, who sends our frozen season. Maybe cold will put out the fire.” Some of the people marched the long way north to ask for Ice Man’s help. Creeping cautiously to his ice house, they found a small man with white hair hanging to the ground.5“Can this little man help us with such a big fire?” they wondered.6“Yes, yes! I can help you.” He exclaimed, quickly unbraiding his long hair. Then he took his hair in one hand and whipped it across the other. At once a cold wind began to blow. He struck his hand with his hair a second time and light rain fell.7“A little rain won’t put out that fire,” cried the people. So Ice Man shook his hair fiercely and raindrops turned to sleet. With another shake, hailstones pelted the ground, bouncing around the people’s feet.8“Go back now,” Ice Man commanded. “When you are home, I will take care of your fire.”9So the people returned home and found the others still watching helplessly.10The next morning as everyone stood before the glowing pit, a cold wind swept down from the north. The people shivered and shook, but the wind only made the flames blaze higher. Then a light rain began to fall. But the fire laughed and hissed and threw up clouds of smoky steam.11Now Ice Man was angry. He mixed sleet with the heavy rain and shook down snow. But the fire hissed louder. When the flames had eaten up the snow, Ice Man whipped his hair and threw cold winds at the flames until hail covered the fire and filled the hole. The people shivered and cried in their lodges as that wind became a whirlwind, driving rain and sleet into the ground and finally putting out the last of the burning embers.12When it was over the people crept back to the place where fire had been burning up the world and found instead a deep and beautiful lake.13Ice Man blows down from the north from time to time to make sure greedy Fire is really gone. But some of the people say that on quiet days, from deep in the lake, comes the faint sound of embers still crackling.Swimmer, a greatly respected storyteller, gave this story to James Mooney, who recorded it in 1892

Why did the author probably write the story?

Returning Home

1Among the many creatures of a local zoo, two animals were most curious. Patricia the penguin lived in a section of the zoo named Frozen Friends. At the opposite side of the zoo was a section named Sunny Sights. In here, Timothy the tortoise lived.2Patricia and Timothy were displeased with the climate in their own sections of the zoo and wanted to live elsewhere. Patricia already knew what it was like to live in the ice and snow. Timothy already knew what it was like to live in the hot, sandy desert. Patricia dreamed of burying her fins in the warm sand; Timothy dreamed of burying his head in the cold snow. One day, an opportunity presented itself to both of them.3After eating her lunch, Patricia noticed the door leading outside was open. “This is my chance to live in the wonderful, warm sand of Sunny Sights,” she thought to herself. Before waddling out the door, however, Patricia scooped up a fin-full of snow and placed it in her travel bag. She wanted to be able to compare snow to sand, side-by-side. Only then would she know that her decision to move was a good one.4At that same time, Timothy encountered a similar situation. A hole in the pen surrounding Sunny Sights was his pass to freedom. “Now’s my chance to live in the refreshing, cold snow of Frozen Friends,” he thought to himself. For the same reason as Patricia, he too packed his travel bag with his native soil, sand.5About halfway through the journey, Timothy, tired from his slow but continuous pace to the west, stopped walking and withdrew within his shell for a nap. A few minutes later, Patricia, breathing heavily from her march to the east, also stopped. She sat down on a well-rounded rock to rest her sore webbed feet.6Just as Patricia was preparing to continue her journey, she felt the rock underneath her shudder. “Eeek! Are you a living rock?” she asked.7“Of course I am alive, but I am not a rock. I am a tortoise,” Timothy answered and stuck his head and legs out of his shell. “Hi, my name is Timothy. I am from Sunny Sights.”8Slightly embarrassed, Patricia stood up and held out her fin, “Hello. My name is Patricia. Please forgive me for mistaking you for something you are not.” Timothy smiled and shook her fin. Patricia continued, “I am from Frozen Friends.”9At the same time, both Patricia and Timothy shouted in astonishment, “Hey, that is where I am going!” This twist of fate led them to enjoy minutes of laughter, followed by more conversation. They soon learned that each of them had brought along a very special item.10“You have sand in your travel bag? Sand is my sole reason for making this trip,” Patricia said.11“And you have snow in your travel bag? Snow is what I journeyed to find,” Timothy replied.12“I have an idea that will save us time and effort,” Patricia began. “Let’s trade travel bags. Then you will have sand, and I will have snow.” Timothy agreed that Patricia’s idea was a good one.13And so they traded. Patricia immediately opened the bag and plunged her fins into the still-hot sand. “Ouch!” she screamed, and she withdrew her fins. “Sand is hot on my fins and rubs them raw. I like the cold snow.”14Meanwhile, Timothy sunk his head deep into the frozen snow. “Whew!” he screamed, and pulled his head out of the snow and withdrew into the warmth of his shell. “Snow is too cold and makes me shiver. I like the warm sand.”15With that, Patricia and Timothy said goodbye and parted ways. Patricia waddled back toward the west. Timothy walked slowly back toward the east. Although the outcome of their journey was not what they expected, they were glad for the experience.16From then on, Patricia and Timothy were no longer curious about other sections of the zoo but were satisfied with where they lived.

The author most likely wrote this story to

Returning Home

1Among the many creatures of a local zoo, two animals were most curious. Patricia the penguin lived in a section of the zoo named Frozen Friends. At the opposite side of the zoo was a section named Sunny Sights. In here, Timothy the tortoise lived.2Patricia and Timothy were displeased with the climate in their own sections of the zoo and wanted to live elsewhere. Patricia already knew what it was like to live in the ice and snow. Timothy already knew what it was like to live in the hot, sandy desert. Patricia dreamed of burying her fins in the warm sand; Timothy dreamed of burying his head in the cold snow. One day, an opportunity presented itself to both of them.3After eating her lunch, Patricia noticed the door leading outside was open. “This is my chance to live in the wonderful, warm sand of Sunny Sights,” she thought to herself. Before waddling out the door, however, Patricia scooped up a fin-full of snow and placed it in her travel bag. She wanted to be able to compare snow to sand, side-by-side. Only then would she know that her decision to move was a good one.4At that same time, Timothy encountered a similar situation. A hole in the pen surrounding Sunny Sights was his pass to freedom. “Now’s my chance to live in the refreshing, cold snow of Frozen Friends,” he thought to himself. For the same reason as Patricia, he too packed his travel bag with his native soil, sand.5About halfway through the journey, Timothy, tired from his slow but continuous pace to the west, stopped walking and withdrew within his shell for a nap. A few minutes later, Patricia, breathing heavily from her march to the east, also stopped. She sat down on a well-rounded rock to rest her sore webbed feet.6Just as Patricia was preparing to continue her journey, she felt the rock underneath her shudder. “Eeek! Are you a living rock?” she asked.7“Of course I am alive, but I am not a rock. I am a tortoise,” Timothy answered and stuck his head and legs out of his shell. “Hi, my name is Timothy. I am from Sunny Sights.”8Slightly embarrassed, Patricia stood up and held out her fin, “Hello. My name is Patricia. Please forgive me for mistaking you for something you are not.” Timothy smiled and shook her fin. Patricia continued, “I am from Frozen Friends.”9At the same time, both Patricia and Timothy shouted in astonishment, “Hey, that is where I am going!” This twist of fate led them to enjoy minutes of laughter, followed by more conversation. They soon learned that each of them had brought along a very special item.10“You have sand in your travel bag? Sand is my sole reason for making this trip,” Patricia said.11“And you have snow in your travel bag? Snow is what I journeyed to find,” Timothy replied.12“I have an idea that will save us time and effort,” Patricia began. “Let’s trade travel bags. Then you will have sand, and I will have snow.” Timothy agreed that Patricia’s idea was a good one.13And so they traded. Patricia immediately opened the bag and plunged her fins into the still-hot sand. “Ouch!” she screamed, and she withdrew her fins. “Sand is hot on my fins and rubs them raw. I like the cold snow.”14Meanwhile, Timothy sunk his head deep into the frozen snow. “Whew!” he screamed, and pulled his head out of the snow and withdrew into the warmth of his shell. “Snow is too cold and makes me shiver. I like the warm sand.”15With that, Patricia and Timothy said goodbye and parted ways. Patricia waddled back toward the west. Timothy walked slowly back toward the east. Although the outcome of their journey was not what they expected, they were glad for the experience.16From then on, Patricia and Timothy were no longer curious about other sections of the zoo but were satisfied with where they lived.

What happens right before Patricia leaves Frozen Friends?

Why would an author write a book called How to Draw Funny Faces?

Why would you read a book called All About Animals?