Fable · Level 1 · 114 words

The Fox and the Spring Ice

Original passage © Studio AM, written for Fluency.

In the last week of winter, a young fox came to the wide pond. Home was on the far side. Walking around would take all morning. Walking across the ice would take ten minutes.

An old goose stood by the bank. "Spring is close," she said. "The ice is thin now. Go around."

"The ice held me all winter," said the fox, and he trotted out. Halfway across, the ice groaned. Then it cracked, and the fox dropped into the freezing water. He kicked his way back and climbed out. Then he walked around the pond after all, shivering, slower than ever.

A shortcut you do not test can be the longest way home.

Comprehension questions

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4 questions
1. What is the lesson of this fable?

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B. A shortcut can cost more than the long way if you do not check that it is still safe.
The fox skips the safe route to save time, ignores a warning, and ends up making the coldest, slowest trip of all. The last line names the mistake: a shortcut you do not test can be the longest way home.

2. What is wrong with the fox's reason, "The ice held me all winter"?

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A. The season is changing, so what was true in winter is no longer true.
The goose gives the clue: "Spring is close... The ice is thin now." The fox trusts the past, but the pond has changed with the season. His fact was true once; it just is not true anymore.

3. In this fable, "groaned" means the ice:

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D. made a low, deep sound as it strained
Read the order of events: the ice groaned, then it cracked. The groan is the sound of ice straining under weight, a warning that comes just before the break.

4. How long would walking around the pond take?

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C. All morning
The first paragraph gives both times: around takes all morning, across takes ten minutes. Ten minutes belongs to the ice route, not the safe one.

Source: Written for Fluency. Original passage © Studio AM, written for Fluency.