Hercules and His Jobs
Hercules was the strongest man in Greece. A king was afraid of him. The king gave him hard jobs.
First, Hercules had to clean a huge stable. The mess was as high as a roof!
He did not use a shovel. He dug a ditch from a river. Then he made a hole.
Whoosh! The river washed all the mess away. The stable was clean in one day!
The next job was to get three gold apples. They grew far away. A giant named Atlas could fetch them.
Atlas held up the sky. "I will get the apples," he said. "Please hold the sky."
He held the sky. Atlas came back with the apples. "What a nice walk!" he said.
"Now you hold the sky," said Atlas. He did not get cross. "All right," he said.
"Hold it while I fix my cloak." Atlas took the sky back. He took the apples and walked off.
Atlas was left with the sky. Hercules was strong, and he was clever too.
The last job was the hardest. Hercules went under the ground. He had to get a dog with three heads.
He did not hurt the dog. He gave it a pat. Then he carried it up to the sun.
The king saw three heads. He jumped into a big jar! "Take it back!" he cried.
Hercules did. The king had no more jobs for him. He had won with a trick and a river.
Questions
- A king
- A giant
- A dog
- He used a shovel
- He used a broom
- He used a river
- The apples
- The sky
- A river
- He was too tired to walk
- It was a trick to get away with the apples
- He wanted to say hello
- Quick at finding a smart way
- Slow and sleepy
- Loud and cross
- In a tree
- In a boat
- In a jar
Words to know
- stable: a horse barn
- giant: a huge man
- clever: quick to think
- job: a task
Answer key: Hercules and His Jobs
- A. A king
- C. He used a river
- B. The sky
- B. It was a trick to get away with the apples
- A. Quick at finding a smart way
- C. In a jar
For the teacher: how this passage is levelled
“Hercules and His Jobs” 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 | 243 words, 14 screens, 6 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.