Primary 5 LLELP2nd term

The butterfly and the kite(a Russian fable

retold by Jacqueline Thorpe)

1. The kite flew high above the hills and trees. It tossed in the wind. It looked down on the earth and the sea.

2. First it flew to the left, then it flew to the right. Zig-zag. Zig-zag.

3. “Oh,” thought the kite, “how clever

I am, to fly so high, and fly so far!”

4. Down below, quick and blue, floated a little butterfly. She danced among the flowers and trees.

5. “Butterfly!” called the kite. “Look at me! Can you fly this high? No, you can’t. You’re too small.”

6. The butterfly fluttered her wings and said nothing.

7. “Look at me,” called the kite again. “Watch me dance above the world. Watch me ride on the wind.”

8. The butterfly’s blue wings flashed in the sun as she turned and flew higher.

9. “That’s not very high,” called the kite. “No, you’ll never fly the way I can.”

11. The kite began to come down. It came down to where the butterfly was. It went lower than the butterfly. The butterfly kept on flying.

10. Down below, the small boy holding the kite’s string began to wind it in. It was time for him to go home. He wound and wound.

12. “Where are you going, kite?” she said, and laughed. “Don’t you know that you are tied? You are tied, but I am free. I can go where I please.”

13. As the kite floated sadly down, the butterfly flew away over the tall trees, turning and soaring and flashing her blue wings in the sun.

Source: New Zealand School Journal, Part 1, No. 5, 1985

The End

float(ed)

tied

wind (wound)

soaring flashing