The Girl and the Pomegranate
Persephone loved flowers. Her mother, Demeter, was the goddess of the harvest. Wherever Demeter walked, plants grew.
One morning, Persephone found a new flower. It had a hundred blossoms on one stem. She picked it.
The ground cracked open. Out came a golden chariot. Hades, the king below the earth, took her down.
Persephone was sad in the dark place. She did not eat or drink. She missed the sun.
Demeter heard a faint cry. She searched for nine days and nights with two torches.
Nobody had seen her girl. Demeter grew so sad that nothing would grow.
Leaves dropped from the trees. The wheat withered. For the first time, the world had winter.
The people were hungry. Zeus saw that the world needed help. He sent Hermes to bring Persephone home.
Hades listened. "Have a bite before you go," he said. He held a pomegranate, red and full of seeds.
Persephone was so hungry. She ate six of the shiny seeds. Then she rode up to her mother.
Demeter ran to hug her. "Did you eat anything below?" she asked. "Only six seeds," said Persephone.
So each year Persephone must go below for six months. When she is away, it is winter.
When she comes home, spring begins. The ice melts, and flowers open. Demeter is glad again.
Questions
- Zeus
- Hades
- Hermes
- She asked the farmers to dig
- She called the sea
- She searched with two torches
- Demeter was so sad that nothing would grow
- The sun was lost
- The farmers forgot to plant
- A loaf of bread
- A cup of milk
- Six seeds
- Turned red
- Dried up
- Grew tall
- It comes when Persephone returns
- It comes when Hades sleeps
- It comes with the winter
Words to know
- harvest: crops picked at the end
- chariot: a cart pulled by horses
- withered: dried up
- pomegranate: a red fruit with seeds
- torches: burning sticks
Answer key: The Girl and the Pomegranate
- B. Hades
- C. She searched with two torches
- A. Demeter was so sad that nothing would grow
- C. Six seeds
- B. Dried up
- A. It comes when Persephone returns
The story in pictures
- Part One · The Flower
- Part Two · The Winter
- Part Three · The Seeds
For the teacher: how this passage is levelled
“The Girl and the Pomegranate” is a reading level 7 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 30 words on a screen. At most 8% of its words may be off the familiar-word list. Children in 3rd grade start at this level.
| This passage | 219 words, 13 screens, 6 multiple-choice questions with an answer key, and 5 vocabulary words with kid-sized meanings |
|---|---|
| Longest sentence at this level | 10 words |
| Words on a screen | 12 to 30 |
| Skills practised at this level | phonics (sounding words out), sight words, spelling |
Reading level 7: 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.