Short Stories - Guided Reading Questions

The Three Billy Goats Gruff

1. Why were the smaller goats unafraid to cross the bridge with the mean troll
under it?
2. What are two lessons that can be learned from this story?

The Place of Brotherhood

1. What was the reason for the first brother helping the second brother?
2. Why would King Solomon build a temple in the place where the two brothers
met?

The Travels of a Fox

1. According to the story, what can happen when instructions are not listened to?
2. What happened to the little boy at the end?
3. What could have happened to the little boy at the end?

The Golden Touch

1. According to the story, why is it sometimes better to not get everything we wish
for?
2. Was the king’s daughter happy with the surprise the king gave her? Why or why
not?
3. What did the king have to do to restore everything to the way it was before he
touched it?
4. What was the most important thing to the king in the beginning of the story?
5. How was what the king valued different at the end of the story?

The Magic Thread

1. What was the gift given to Peter that could change his life?
2. According to the story is it better to not have pain or waiting in life or to feel the
good as well as the bad? Why?
3. What lesson did Peter learn in the end?

A Sound for a Smell

1. Why did the baker insist that the man pay him?
2. What was the judge’s judgment?

The King and His Hawk

1. What did the king train the hawk to do?
2. Why did the hawk knock the cup out of the king’s hands?

King Canute on the Seashore

1. Why do people always seem to flatter the famous, the powerful, and those that
lead?
2. What was the king’s final conclusion regarding the flattery he had received?

The Three Little Pigs

1. What were the building materials for the three houses of the three pigs?
2. Why did the wolf not go to the fair?
3. How did the third pig finally get rid of the wolf?

The Gift of the Magi

1. Why did Della want to sell her hair?
2. What was the gift that Della wanted to buy for Jim? And Jim for Della?
3. What is the moral of the story?