Baby Hermes
Hermes was a baby. But he was not a baby like other babies.
On his first day, he got out of his cradle. He walked out into the sun.
He found an old shell, dry and empty. "I can make music with you!" he said.
Hermes tied strings across the shell. He plucked them, and they sang. It was a lyre!
Then he had a silly idea. He took his brother Apollo's cows for a walk.
The cows had to walk backward. Their foot marks pointed the wrong way! Then he hid them in a cave.
Hermes ran home. He got back in his cradle. He tried to look sleepy.
Apollo came and said, "Where are my cows?" Hermes did not hide. "I took them," said Hermes.
"I am sorry," said Hermes. "I will show you where they are." He took Apollo to the cave.
All the cows were safe. Hermes picked up his lyre and played a tune.
Apollo laughed and laughed. He had never heard such a happy sound.
"May I have that lyre?" he asked. Hermes gave it to him.
Apollo gave him a gift, too. They were friends from then on.
Questions
- A lyre
- A boat
- A cup
- Very fast
- Backward
- In a circle
- "I do not know."
- "Ask the king."
- "I took them."
- He liked the happy music
- He lost his cows
- He fell down
- Feeling bad about what you did
- Feeling sleepy
- Feeling very proud
Words to know
- lyre: a small harp
- cradle: a baby's bed
- cows: farm animals
- sorry: feeling bad
Answer key: Baby Hermes
- A. A lyre
- B. Backward
- C. "I took them."
- A. He liked the happy music
- A. Feeling bad about what you did
For the teacher: how this passage is levelled
“Baby Hermes” is a reading level 6 story. Every Peabody story at this level is written and checked to keep sentences to 10 words or fewer, to aim at an average of 6 words a sentence, and to show 12 to 20 words on a screen. At most 7% of its words may be off the familiar-word list. Readers reach this level by climbing, not by grade.
| This passage | 195 words, 13 screens, 5 multiple-choice questions with an answer key, and 4 vocabulary words with kid-sized meanings |
|---|---|
| Longest sentence at this level | 10 words |
| Words on a screen | 12 to 20 |
| Skills practised at this level | phonics (sounding words out), first sounds, sight words |
Reading level 6: the limits, a real sample and the free games. Peabody is a learning app, not an assessment: use the questions to talk about the story, not to grade a child.