The Dog and the Princess

Once upon a time Princess Ali and her mother, The Queen, ruled all of the lands. Princess Ali’s father had died when Ali was very young, so she had no memory of him and she always felt like something was missing from her life. But, many people told her tales of the great King Archie. Every story that she heard made her father sound like a jovial and fun king. Everyone always laughed when they spoke of King Archie. She thought about him often and how different her life may have been if she had grown up with both a mother and a father.

On a beautiful spring day, Princess Ali was walking in the grand gardens when she spotted a goofy-looking dog. His legs were way too long for his body, one ear stood straight up, while the other folded down, and his big tongue hung out of the left side of his mouth. He had a great big grin on his face as he ran towards Princess Ali. The dog was running too quickly and wasn’t able to stop his long legs from crashing into Princess Ali, so they both tumbled to the ground.

Princess Ali giggled as the dog covered her in kisses. When she was able to break free, she stood up and the dog began to dance in circles around her, barking happily. She saw that he wore a red collar with the name “Archie” stitched in white writing. She decided this dog must belong to someone so she spent all day walking the dog around the kingdom trying to find his rightful owners.

Throughout the day Princess Ali laughed more than she ever had. The dog spent the whole day trying to please her and make her laugh. He chased butterflies, played in puddles, licked her hand, snuggled his head into her belly, and pulled flowers out of the ground for her. As the day drew to a close, they hadn’t come across anyone that claimed to be his owner.

Princess Ali decided to keep the dog Archie, and they all lived happily ever after.

Based on the passage, what does the word “jovial” mean?

Prince Meanerman

Once upon a time, a mean prince ruled over a farming town called Summersville. The prince was named Prince Sweeterman, but he was known throughout Summersville as Prince Meanerman. The people of Summersville were very poor farmers, as the prince kept most of the wealth and food for himself. The farmers worked day and night trying to grow enough food for themselves, but still, the Prince took more and more. The sight of the hard-working farmers cracked Prince Sweeterman up as he watched from his castle in joy as the farmers struggled day after day. The Prince was warned that he should not treat his people this way, but the warning went in one ear and out the other. He never changed his ways.

One, by one the farmers began to look for other kingdoms to take them in. Eventually, Prince Sweeterman was left with no workers and no kingdom to rule over. With no food to eat for himself, he grew very hungry and meaner and meaner each day. Prince Meanerman never did learn his lesson.

As used in the first paragraph, what does “in one ear and out the other” mean?

The Kingdom of Cherry Blossoms

Once upon a time, Prince David and Princess Caroline were fortunate enough to rule over a beautiful kingdom. All over the kingdom, great big cherry blossom trees bloomed year-around, which is how the kingdom received its name. The Prince and Princess were not your average rulers. They were very kind and shared their wealth with all the townspeople. Instead of living in a castle, they lived in a regular home just like everyone else. The parties that they hosted were not just for the wealthy, but for everyone in town. Many days were spent with everyone laughing and dancing under the beautiful pink blooms of the cherry blossom trees.

As used in the story, what does the word “hosted” mean?