English - Lesson 8
The Great Big Enormous Rock
- Vocabulary Power
Animals : There are many animals on the farm, but Mandy likes this cat best.
Island : An island has water on all sides.
Large : Large rocks like these are called boulders.
Mountain : The top of this mountain is covered with snow.
Rock : This mountain climber sits on a rock to rest.
Picnic : They are having a picnic.
Push : My aunt likes to push my grandmother in her wheelchair.
Together : The people in this family enjoy spending time together.
The Great Big Enormous Rock
* Retold by Celia Barker Lottridge
Once there were four animals who lived on a island. One was a very slow animal. A turtle!
One was a long, thin, slithering animal. A snake!
One was a small animal who hopped everywhere. A rabbit!
And one was a very large animal with flapping ears. An elephant.
Right in the middle of the island there was a tail mountain.
On top of the tall mountain was a great big enormous rock.
It was so big that it covered the top of the mountain.
The four animals looked at the rock every day.
They said, "If that rock wasn't there we could climb the mountain and have a picnic."
But every day the enormous rock was still there.
One day the turtle said, " I will climb the mountain and push the rock off the top."
So up the mountain he went, creepy, creepy, creepy.
When he got to the top he put the edge of his shell under the rock and he pushed and he pushed and he pushed.
But the great big enormous rock did not budge.
Then the snake said, "I'll try, too." So up the mountain she went, slither, slither, slither.
So coiled herself up like a spring and she pushed hertail against the rock.
She pushed and she pushed and she pushed. But the great big enormous rock did not budge.
The rabbit said, "Now it's my turn." Up the mountain he went, boing, boing, boing.
He put his strong back feet against the rock and he pushed and he pushed and he pushed.
But the great big enoumouse rock did not budge.
The elephant laughed. "I'm the one to move the rock," she said.
Up the mountain she went, tromp, tromp, tromp.
She put her shoulder against the rock and she pushed and she pushed and she pushed.
But the great big enormous rock did not budge.
The four animals looked at each other. "We will try it all together," they said.
So the turtle pushed with his shell, the snake pushed with her tail, the rabbit pushed with his back feet, and the elephant pushed with her shoulder.
They pushed and they pushed and they pushed. They pushed again.
And the great big enormous rock went bumpity, bumpity, bumpity, bumpity, CRASH!
and it broke into a million pieces at the bottom of the mountain.
And the four animals sat down on top of their mountain and had a picnic.