My Kingdom1 / 4

Part One · Robert Louis Stevenson

Down by a shining water well I found a very little dell, No higher than my head. The heather and the gorse about In summer bloom were coming out, Some yellow and some red. I called the little pool a sea; The little hills were big to me; For I am very small. I made a boat, I made a town, I searched the caverns up and down, And named them one and all.

About My Kingdom

A free Grade 2 story from the Peabody library, Level 7. It has 4 short pages and about 202 words, so it reads in a few minutes.

Words this story teaches

At reading level 7, Peabody's practice works on phonics (sounding words out), sight words, spelling; the level page says what is in each.

The short version

My Kingdom is a poem about a child who plays alone by a pool and makes up a whole land there. It was written by Robert Louis Stevenson and printed in A Child's Garden of Verses in 1885.

Quick facts

Who wrote My Kingdom?

My Kingdom was written by Robert Louis Stevenson. It was printed in his book A Child's Garden of Verses in 1885.

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

More stories at Level 7

All the Level 7 stories, or the whole library.

For teachers: read it to the class, questions and key
Questions and answer key (5)
  1. What did the child call the little pool?
    • A. A river
    • B. A sea
    • C. A well
    Show answerB. A sea
  2. Why did the child feel like a king?
    • A. The child had a crown
    • B. The whole little place seemed to be the child's world
    • C. The child had many servants
    Show answerB. The whole little place seemed to be the child's world
  3. In this poem, what does "dell" mean?
    • A. A small hollow
    • B. A kind of boat
    • C. A garden gate
    Show answerA. A small hollow
  4. Who called the child home to tea?
    • A. The nurse
    • B. The gardener
    • C. The child's mother
    Show answerC. The child's mother
  5. Which words rhyme at the end of the first two lines?
    • A. well and dell
    • B. sea and me
    • C. small and all
    Show answerA. well and dell

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