The Steadfast Tin Soldier
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Graded Readers Series Children read stories with the purpose of escaping into the world of imagination by meeting characters for the first time or those who have already established a place in their affection. By contrast, the adults supplementing the child with stories, have deeper and far-reaching purposes of developing moral and spiritual values in the child and stretching his/her intellectual capacities. In an attempt to encapsulate both these reading objectives, this graded reader series has been designed for children in grades 1-6. It brings together popular fairy tales and fables that will inspire both beginners and independent readers.
There were twenty-five tin soldiers. They all looked alike except for one who had only one leg! This was because there was not enough tin left to provide him with two legs.
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These soldiers were part of a birthday present for a little boy! The boy was delighted to open his present and then placed the soldiers in a neat straight row outside his paper castle.
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The tin soldier could see only one leg of hers and thought that she only had one leg like him. Immediately, he fell in love with her. She wore a fine frock and a blue ribbon in her hair.
There were many beautiful toys spread on the table. But the soldier’s eyes were fixed at a doll. She was a fair and pretty! She was a dancing doll and so her arms were spread and one of her legs was behind her body. 6
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The little boy came downstairs to look for his lost soldier. He looked everywhere but he couldn’t find him. The little soldier was too proud to call for help since he was in his uniform.
The next morning, the little boy had placed the tin soldier on his window. And with a loud whoosh of wind, the tin soldier was blown away and he landed with a thud on the pavement! 8
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Two naughty boys saw the tin soldier put him on a paper boat and set him sailing on a gutter that was full of dirty rainwater. The boat was moving fast, and the boys clapped their hands in excitement. 10
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The fast-moving waters rocked the boat. It started whirling and going up and down. The soldier was scared. He could see a dark tunnel ahead. ‘What am I going to do?’ he thought.
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Soon the current grew stronger. The boat moved faster, and the soldier could see daylight. He heard the roaring sound of falling water and the boat and the soldier both fell into a canal.
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He was swallowed by an enormous fish. However, he lay still inside the fish’s stomach which was flipping and flopping. Suddenly, the soldier saw daylight again. ‘It’s the lost tin soldier,’ said a familiar voice. The fish had been brought to the little’ boy’s house and cut open by the cook. The cook gave it back to the little boy.
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All the toys were happy to be together again and wanted to hear stories of the soldier’s adventures. But the soldier was the happiest to meet the dancing doll!
Activity Q1) Write 1,2,3 to show the order of these words in a dictionary. The first word has been marked for you. cartoon 1 shampoo geese piano kettle playground waffle goat fog children watch kite friend snack Q2) Fill in the blanks with ‘this’, ‘that’, ‘these’ or ‘those’. One has been done for you. a) Those boys are naughty. b) ___________ pen is mine.
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d) _________ are my pencils.
g) Darrick is the cleverest among / below his friends.
e) _________ is Mr Smith.
h) There is a theatre near / on my house.
c) Can you see _________ lady?
f) I want _________ biscuits. Q3) Find the masculine gender nouns of the feminine gender nouns from the word grid below. One has been done for you. Queen Niece Landlord Aunt Wife H U S B A N D U P U S N N T H
I
N E R N O N H E
K
I
N G K L
Y B L C O P
T
L
P C T R E A
I
L R H
L A N D L A D Y C E T E L O U D L
Y N L E V L W
Q4) Tick the correct position word to complete the sentences. One has been done for you. a) There is a fly on / below my soup! b) The rabbit hid above / behind the bushes. c) There is no sugar in / on the can.
Q5) Fill in the blanks with the correct collective nouns. One has been done for you. a) An
army
of ants
b) A ________________ of geese c) A _________________ of bees d) A _________________ of elephants e) A _________________ of wolves f) A _________________ of keys g) A _________________ of cards h) A _________________ of lions i) A _________________ of puppies j) A _________________ of flowers Q6) Choose the correct pronouns to fill in the blanks. One has been done for you.
d) Fiona sits between / under her friends.
a) William gave me (me/I) a gift.
e) The dog jumped over / below the fence.
b) Rocky is my friend. ______(I/Me) play football with ______(his/him) every day.
f) The sun shone from behind / in the clouds. 20
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c) ______ are a good dancer. (You/us)
g) Fiona ___________ well.
d) The bird is thirsty, give _____some water. (it/he)
h) My aunt _____________ delicious cookies.
e) Serena said that ______was hungry. (she/her)
i) I _________ a letter to my cousin every month.
f) That is a tall tree. ______(It/They) is the tallest in the neighbourhood.
j) Mother ___________ us to the amusement park
g) Katie is tired. Give ______ (she/her) some food. h) Victor and _____ (I/me) are going to watch a film. Q7) Choose the correct verbs from the box to fill in the blanks. Add -s at the end of the verb, when necessary. One has been done for you. drink roar eat buy read write sing bake forget take
sometimes. Q8) Colour the actions that are happening now in orange and the actions that have happened in the past in purple. There is an example. The baby was sleeping.
Mother is cooking.
Mrs Peters Nicola was is knitting doing her a cap. homework.
Gareth went to the gym yesterday.
Tina ate a sandwich last night.
She is reading a book.
Jenny is reading.
I visited my aunt last week.
He was playing tennis.
She sang a beautiful song.
Benjamin bought a new bag.
The bird is sitting on the tree.
a) A lion roars loudly when it is hungry. b) Oliver _________ juice at 6 p.m.
Father is watching a film.
Liam is dancing.
c) Brad __________ bread and jam for breakfast. d) Selena _________ a story before going to bed.
Q9) Circle the correct adverbs to complete the sentences. One has been done for you.
e) Father __________ vegetables from the market.
a) Farida writes neatly / politely.
f) My brother _________ to take his wallet every day.
b) Tom sings sweetly / wisely.
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c) My father drives carefully / loudly. d) The old man speaks wisely / gently. e) The baby cannot speak clearly / smoothly. f) James told the story quickly / dearly. Q10) Match the columns to complete the sentences from the story. One has been done for you. There were twenty-five
back to the little boy.
These soldiers were part of
frock and a blue ribbon in her hair.
The soldier’s eyes
landed with a thud on the pavement
She was a dancing doll and so her arms
for help since he was in his uniform.
She wore a fine
a birthday present for a little boy!
The tin soldier was blown away and he
tin soldiers.
The little soldier was too proud to call
by an enormous fish.
The boat was moving fast,
were spread and one of her legs was behind her body.
He was swallowed
and the boys clapped their hands in excitement.
The cook gave it
were fixed at a doll.
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