Folktale

King
of the
Birds
A Mayan Folktale

retold by Karen Alexander

illustrated by Linda Bittner
PAIRED
The Real Quetzal
READ

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 STRATEGIES & SKILLS
Comprehension ELL Vocabulary
Strategy: Visualize boastful, confident,
Skill: Problem and Solution impressed

Vocabulary Strategy Content Standards

Synonyms Science
Life Science
Vocabulary
disbelief, dismay, fabulous,
features, offered, splendid,
unique, watchful Word count: 742**

**The total word count is based on words in the running text and headings only. Numerals and words
in captions, labels, diagrams, charts, and sidebars are not included.

Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by
any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of The
McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., including, but not limited to, network storage or transmission, or
broadcast for distance learning.

Send all inquiries to:

McGraw-Hill Education
Two Penn Plaza
New York, New York 10121

ISBN: 978-0-02-119276-2
MHID: 0-02-119276-6

Printed in the United States.

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 Essential Question
What makes different animals unique?

King
of the Birds
A Mayan Folktale

retold by Karen Alexander • illustrated by Linda Bittner

Chapter 1
The Gathering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Chapter 2
Quetzal for King!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Chapter 3
Roadrunner Betrayed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Respond to Reading. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
PAIRED
The Real Quetzal . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
READ
Focus on Genre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

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 Chapter 1
The Gathering

The forest was full of birds. Birds sat on the

branches. Some birds looked for insects to eat.
Some birds made nests. All day long, the birds
squabbled, or argued.
Hawk looked around the forest in dismay. He
had ruled the birds for many years, but he was
old and tired of the birds fighting. Hawk told
the birds to choose a new king.

tree trunk

hawk

branch

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 The birds had a meeting to choose a new
king. Each bird secretly wanted to be king.
Mockingbird thought she should be king
because she had a splendid voice. Mockingbird
sang her heart out. Mockingbird sang the songs
of crickets, frogs, and the other birds.
The birds were very impressed. They thought
that maybe Mockingbird should be king.

put in a lot of effort.

En español, sang her heart out quiere
decir cantó con toda su corazón.

mockingbird

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 crest

cardinal

Then Cardinal strutted in front of the birds.

He showed off his wonderful red feathers.
Cardinal made the crest on his head stand up.
The birds were amazed by Cardinal’s beautiful
scarlet feathers and his strong beak. The birds
thought that maybe Cardinal should be king.

Strutted is an action verb.

Find another action verb on
this page.

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 Next, Turkey offered herself as king. Turkey
puffed up her chest. Turkey said that she was
big and strong, so she could keep the peace
and stop fights. Turkey said she was watchful,
so she would protect the birds from danger.
The birds liked what Turkey said. They
thought that maybe Turkey should be king.

puffed up
turkey

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 quetzal

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 All types of birds explained why they should
be king. There were loud birds and quiet birds
and boastful birds and shy birds. As each bird
spoke, the other birds thought that maybe this
was the bird that should be king.
But Quetzal did not speak. The other birds
looked at Quetzal in disbelief. Quetzal was
usually confident and ambitious.

STOP AND CHECK

Why did the birds

have a meeting?

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 Chapter 2
Quetzal for King!

Quetzal had a problem. He was clever and

smart. Quetzal knew he would be a good king,
but his feathers were not colorful. Then Quetzal
thought of Roadrunner. Roadrunner had fabulous,
colorful feathers.

wings

tail

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 feathers

Quetzal talked to Roadrunner. Quetzal said

that he would make the best king, but he
needed colorful feathers to be king. Quetzal told
Roadrunner that she had splendid feathers.
Quetzal tried to convince Roadrunner to
lend her feathers to Quetzal. In return, Quetzal
promised to share all the riches of being king
with Roadrunner.

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 Roadrunner was not happy with the idea.
Roadrunner liked her feathers. She would be cold
without her feathers. But it wasn’t long before
Roadrunner gave the feathers to Quetzal.
Quetzal added Roadrunner’s feathers to
his own feathers. He did not give any of his
feathers to Roadrunner.

Roadrunner’s
feathers

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 quetzal

Quetzal went to the meeting of the birds.

He looked magnificent. Quetzal was a very good
speaker. Soon, Quetzal had convinced the birds
to choose him as the new king.

STOP AND CHECK

In what ways did Quetzal

show he was clever?

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 Chapter 3
Roadrunner Betrayed

Quetzal was a very busy king. He forgot his

promise to Roadrunner.
The other birds realized that they had not
seen Roadrunner. The birds searched for her.

Searched is an action verb.

Find another action verb
on this page.

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 At last, the birds found Roadrunner.
Roadrunner was cold and hungry. She had been
hiding because she had no feathers.
The birds gave food to Roadrunner. Each
bird gave Roadrunner some feathers to keep
her warm.

food

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 Roadrunner got well again. However, she
was sad because she did not have her beautiful
feathers. Roadrunner’s new feathers were different
colors and shapes. She looked strange. She
wanted to have her own feathers.

stopped being cold and

hungry. En español, got well quiere decir
se mejoró.

roadrunner

road

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 Roadrunner waited for Quetzal to return
her colorful feathers. But Quetzal did not
return them. Even today, Roadrunner races
around. She is searching for Quetzal.

STOP AND CHECK

What did the other birds do

when they found Roadrunner?

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 Summarize Problem

Describe the birds to summarize

King of the Birds. Use the graphic
organizer to help you.

Solution

Text Evidence
1. How do you know King of the Birds is a
folktale? GENRE

2. What problem does Quetzal have? How does

he solve the problem? PROBLEM AND SOLUTION

3. Find the word scarlet on page 4. Find the

synonym for scarlet on the same page.
SYNONYMS

4. Write to describe Hawk’s problem and the

solution he found. WRITE ABOUT READING

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 Compare Texts
Read about the unique quetzal.

The Real Quetzal

Quetzals live in rain forests in Central
America. Male quetzals have beautiful, bright
feathers, and a long green tail. A male quetzal’s
body is about 15 inches long. The tail can grow
to about 3 feet.
Quetzals belong to a family of birds that
has a unique feature. The two inner toes
face backward and the two outer
toes face forward. This feature
helps the birds to perch on
the branches of trees, but
makes it difficult for the
birds to walk.

Bird Feet
Michael Maslan Historic Photographs/CORBIS

the foot of the foot

most birds of a quetzal

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 People have admired
quetzals for thousands
of years. Quetzals were
important in Mayan
culture. Mayan rulers
decorated their clothes
with quetzal feathers.
The Mayans also
traded quetzal feathers.
The male’s green tail
feathers were more
valuable than gold. For
this reason, quetzals
were a sign of wealth.

(bkgd) Comstock Images/Alamy, (c) Kevin Schafer/Alamy

It is easier to hear
quetzals than to see
them. Quetzals hide
among the green
leaves of the forest.

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 awaiting Hi res image

Quetzals use their

beaks to hollow out
a rotting tree. Then
they build a nest.

Today, quetzals are endangered. One reason

is that people hunt quetzals for their feathers.
Another reason is that people are destroying
the rain forests, where quetzals live. However,
in some countries, quetzals are now protected.
Gregory G Dimijian/Photo Researchers/Getty Images

Make Connections
How does The Real Quetzal help you understand
what makes an animal unique? ESSENTIAL QUESTION
Does the description of the quetzal in The Real
Quetzal help you understand the quetzal in King of
the Birds? TEXT TO TEXT
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 Folktale King of the Birds is a folktale. A folktale
is a story that is passed down by storytellers.
Each person who tells the story changes it a little.
Folktales often describe animals as if they were
people. Some folktales try to teach us a lesson.

Read and Find Many folktales have animals that

act like humans. The animals can be greedy or
vain. The events that happen in a folktale could not
happen in real life. For example, in King of the Birds,
Roadrunner lends her feathers to Quetzal. This could
not really happen. Folktales teach us about human
nature and give us rules on how we should behave.
These rules are called morals.

Your Turn
With a partner, choose one event from King
of the Birds and discuss how you would change
it. Write sentences to describe the change you
made to the story. Then, take turns with your
partner to tell the new story.

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 Literature Circles

Fiction

Plot
In King of the Birds, Hawk, Quetzal,
and Roadrunner have a problem.
Did they find a solution?

Sequence of Events
What happened first in King of
the Birds?
What happened next?
How did the story end?

Author’s Purpose
Why do you think the author retold
King of the Birds?

Make Connections
What human characteristics do the
animals have in the story?

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 Be Unique

GR M • Benchmark 28 • Lexile [t/k]

Grade 3 • Unit 3 Week 1

www.mheonline.com

ISBN-13 978-0-02-119276-2
MHID 0-02-119276-6
99701
EAN

9 780021 192762
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