Reading Comprehension: The Wombat



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Many, many years ago all the animals in Australia were very, very big. Especially tall was the kangaroo. It was as tall as the tallest trees which were very tall then. It was beautiful and powerful. It's silky fur shone under the sun. However the wombat was even taller. It was taller than the tallest tree and its fur was even more beautiful than the fur of the kangaroo. It was long and light and always shiny. It was the most beautiful and the most powerful animal in the whole world.

All the animals lived in peace. They often got together by the creek to drink some cold and clean water and have a chat. They talked about the latest news, the weather and their children. They let their little ones out of the pouch to play together. The joey's best friend was the baby platypus and the little bilby liked to play with the little wombat.

One day the wombat said, "We cannot live like that. We must choose the leader. I'm the strongest animal in the world so I want to be the leader. Only one other thing is as powerful as I am, but I am much bigger."

"What is it?" asked the other animals. "The sun", answered the wombat. "But it is far and it is not interested in our land."
So the animals chose the wombat as their leader. The wombat was a bad leader of the nation. He became lazy and all other animals had to bring him food every day. The wombat was big so he ate lots of food and soon the animals got tired of him. They decided to ask the sun for help.

When the sun learnt that the wombat thought he was bigger than the sun, it became very angry and came down to the earth just over the wombat's house. The sun was very hot and the wombat had to run. He had to dig a burrow to hide from the sun but his fine fur was burnt and it was not beautiful any more. The wombat couldn't leave the burrow while the sun was shining so since then it can only go out at night and nobody thinks any more that the wombat is the strongest and the most powerful animal in the world.

Disclaimer: Please note the source of the story is unknown. My little son heard it at school and told me .

1. Which of the animals was the most beautiful animal in Australia? 2. Why did the animals choose the wombat as their leader?
3. Who suggested the wombat as the leader? 4. Why couldn't the sun be the leader?
5. Why did the animals ask the sun for help? 6. Why does the wombat live in a burrow and go out only at night?
7. Why did the wombat's fur become short and brown? 8. What did the baby animals do when their parents chatted by the creek?
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