A Bell for the Cat1 / 12

Part One · A Bell for the Cat

Many mice lived in a big house. A cat lived there too.

About A Bell for the Cat

A free Grade 1 story from the Peabody library, Level 5. It has 12 short pages and about 107 words, so it reads in a few minutes.

Words this story teaches

At reading level 5, Peabody's practice works on phonics (sounding words out), first sounds, sight words; the level page says what is in each.

What it teaches

It is easy to say, but hard to do.

Where this story comes from

Aesop, a storyteller in Greece, told this about 2,600 years ago.

More like this: Aesop's fables for kids · moral stories for kids

To print it or save it as a PDF, tap the ⓘ button above the story, then “Print this story”.

This is a first reader, so it also prints as a little book or on one page: print this book. For more like it, see beginning reader books.

More stories at Level 5

All the Level 5 stories, or the whole library.

For teachers: read it to the class, questions and key
Questions and answer key (5)
  1. Who lived in the house with the mice?
    • A. A dog
    • B. A cat
    • C. A hen
    Show answerB. A cat
  2. What was the plan?
    • A. Hide in a box
    • B. Run away
    • C. Put a bell on the cat
    Show answerC. Put a bell on the cat
  3. Who asked, "Who will put the bell on?"
    • A. An old mouse
    • B. The cat
    • C. A hen
    Show answerA. An old mouse
  4. What did the mice say when he asked?
    • A. Me, me
    • B. I will
    • C. Not me
    Show answerC. Not me
  5. What does this fable show?
    • A. Mice like bells
    • B. Plans are easy to make, but hard to do
    • C. Cats are kind
    Show answerB. Plans are easy to make, but hard to do

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