10 THE SLEEPING APPLE

I

A little apple hung high up on an apple tree. It slept and grew, and slept and grew. At last it was big and ripe, but it still slept on.

One day a little girl came walking under the tree and saw the apple.

“Why does the apple sleep so long? ”said the little girl, “The world is so beautiful! I wish the apple would wake up and see. Maybe I can wake it.”

So she called out, “Oh, apple, wake up! Do not sleep so long. Wake up, wake up, and come with me! ”

But the sleeping apple did not wake. “Oh, Sun, beautiful Sun! ”said the girl, “Will you kiss the apple and make it wake? That is the way mother wakes me.”

“Oh, yes, ”said the sun, “indeed I will.”

So he kissed the apple until it was a golden yellow.

It was as golden as the sun. But still the apple slept on.

II

By and by a robin flew to the tree.

“Dear Robin, ”said the little girl, “can you help me wake the sleeping apple? I can not wake it, and the sun can not wake it. We have tried and tried. It will sleep too long.”

“Oh, yes, little girl, I can wake the apple, ”said the robin, “I will sing to it just as I sing to my little birdies in their nest. I wake my birdies every morning with a song.”

“Cheer up! wake up! cheer up! wake up! ”sang the robin in the apple tree.

But the sleeping apple did not wake.

“Oo-oo-oo-oo! Oo-oo-oo-oo! ”

“Who is that coming through the trees? ”said the little girl, “Oh, it is my friend, the wind. Oh, Wind, you wake me sometimes at night. Can you not wake this beautiful apple? It has slept so long.”

“Indeed I can.”said the wind.

“It is time for all apples to wake up. Summer will soon be over.”

“Oo-oo-oo, ”he said, and shook the tree. The apple woke and fell down, down, down to the ground.

The little girl kissed its golden cheeks. “Oh, thank you, kind wind.”she said.

“If you had not come, the apple would have slept all the summer long.”

(Folk Tale)

Word list

golden: a beautiful shade of yellow

cheeks: the sides of the face

You Practice

A) Answer the following questions.

1) Where was the little apple?

2) What was the little girl's problem?

3) How long did the Sun try to wake the apple?

4) Why do you think the robin flew to the apple tree?

5) Who did the girl hear coming through the trees?

6) What do you think the wind will do now that the girl is awake?

B) Opposites—Find the opposites to these words in the story.

1) running: w _ _ _ _ _ _

2) ugly: b _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

3) go to sleep: w _ _ _ u _

4) enemy: f _ _ _ _ _

5) day: n _ _ _ _

C) True or false? Read these sentences carefully. Write true or false for each one.

1) _____ The Sun changed the colour of the apple.

2) _____ The robin woke up the apple.

3) _____ The wind woke up the apple.

4) _____ The girl was happy when the apple woke up.

5) _____ The apple fell to the ground.