Mouse Goes to Town
Country Mouse lived in a hole in a field.
He ate beans and plain bread. One day his cousin came.
It was Town Mouse. "Is this all you eat?" he said.
"Come to town with me!" said Town Mouse.
So they went to town. It was dark when they got there.
Town Mouse took him to a big house.
On a table sat cake, cheese, and jam.
Country Mouse had a bite of cake. "So good!" he said.
Then a door went creak. In came a big cat!
"Run!" said Town Mouse. They ran into a hole in the wall.
They sat still till the cat left. Thump, thump, went their hearts.
They went back to the cake. Then dogs came in, barking!
The mice ran to the hole once more.
Country Mouse shook from nose to tail.
"Good-bye," he said. "Keep your cake. I am going home."
He went back to his hole in the field.
He ate his beans, and he slept well.
Questions
- Beans and bread
- Cake
- Jam
- A dog
- A cat
- His cousin
- Dogs
- Hens
- Birds
- He was too scared in town
- He did not like cake
- He lost his hat
- Cats are big
- A calm home is worth a lot
- Cake is bad
Words to know
- cousin: a child of your aunt or uncle
- cheese: a food made from milk
- barking: loud dog noise
Answer key: Mouse Goes to Town
- A. Beans and bread
- C. His cousin
- A. Dogs
- A. He was too scared in town
- B. A calm home is worth a lot
For the teacher: how this passage is levelled
“Mouse Goes to Town” is a reading level 5 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 5 words a sentence, and to show 1 to 12 words on a screen. At most 6% of its words may be off the familiar-word list. Children in 2nd grade start at this level.
| This passage | 165 words, 17 screens, 5 multiple-choice questions with an answer key, and 3 vocabulary words with kid-sized meanings |
|---|---|
| Longest sentence at this level | 10 words |
| Words on a screen | 1 to 12 |
| Skills practised at this level | phonics (sounding words out), first sounds, sight words |
Reading level 5: 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.