Reading Time

Year 5 Level A1+

In this classic fairy tale, an acorn falls on Chicken Licken’s head and she decides she must tell the king that the sky is falling down! On the way she meets many other feathered friends, and one cunning fox…

Read the fairy tale and do the tasks.

Word List

an acorn – жолудь
be surprised – бути здивованим
be scared – бути наляканим
to hurry – поспішати
terrible – жахливий
castle – замок
pretty soon – досить скоро
to join – приєднатися
to explain – пояснити
to pretend – прикидатися, вдавати
to believe – вірити

One morning Chicken Licken was walking along the road when a small acorn fell, and landed right on her head. She was surprised and very scared because she thought it was a piece of the sky. She was sure the sky was falling in. She began to hurry down the road to the King’s palace to tell him the terrible news.

On the way, she met her old friend, Henny Penny. When Chicken Licken told her that the sky was falling in, Henny Penny was surprised and scared too. So Henny Penny and Chicken Licken hurried together down the road to the King’s palace. Soon they met their old friend Cocky Locky. When he heard that the sky was falling in, Cocky Locky wanted to come with them. So the three friends hurried quickly down the road to the King’s castle. Pretty soon they met their friend Ducky Wucky. As soon as they told him that the sky was falling in, he was just as scared as they were and wanted to come with them to tell the King the terrible news.

Now Chicken Licken, Henny Penny, Cocky Locky and Ducky Wucky all hurried down the road and soon they met their old friend Goosey Woosey. They told him immediately about the sky falling in. As soon as he heard the news, he wanted to come with them. So now Chicken Licken, Henny Penny, Cocky Locky, Ducky Wucky and Goosey Woosey all hurried together down the road to the King’s castle.

As they were hurrying along the road, just as fast as they could go, they ran right into their old friend Turkey Lurkey. He was surprised to see all of his friends running along the road, but when they told him the terrible news about the sky falling in, he was even more surprised. Turkey Lurkey decided to join them right away.

Now they were all hurrying along the road when suddenly they met Foxy Woxy. Foxy Woxy was very surprised to see all those wonderful animals running along the road. He asked Chicken Licken and her friends where they were going. They didn’t have time to stop, but as they were running along, they told Foxy Woxy the story of the sky falling in and explained that they had to tell the King.

Now Foxy Woxy was a clever fellow. He didn’t believe for a minute that the sky was really falling in, but he knew that Chicken Licken and her friends would make a wonderful Sunday dinner. So he pretended to be just as surprised and scared as they were and said, “Come follow me. I’ll take you to the King”. So Chicken Licken, Henny Penny, Cocky Locky, Ducky Wucky, Goosey Woosey, and Turkey Lurkey all followed Foxy Woxy and nobody ever saw them again . And nobody told the King.

Task 1. Say which of the statements are true (T) or false (F).

A small acorn fell on Chicken Licken’s head.
She thought it was a piece of a cloud.
Henny Penny joined Chicken Licken and they hurried down to the King’s palace.
Cocky Locky didn’t agree to join the friends.
Goosy Woosy wanted to come with the friends.
Ducky Wucky joined them after Goosy Woosy.
When Turkey Lurkey heard the terrible news he refused to join his old friends.
Foxy Woxy didn’t believe Chicken Licken that the sky was really falling.
Foxy Woxy took the friends to the King’s castle.

Task 2. Can you say why the story is so sad?

A. The story is so sad because the birds believed Foxy Woxy and Foxy ate them.

B. The birds didn’t know that Foxy Woxy couldn’t be a friend.

C. Foxy Woxy pretended to believe that the sky was falling in.

D. Foxy Woxy knew he wanted to eat the birds up.

Task 3. What can you tell the birds when they follow the fox?

Follow the fox, he will take you to the King.
Don’t follow the fox, he will eat you up.
Don’t follow the fox, he will not take you to the King.
Follow the fox, he is a nice friend.
Follow the fox, he will help you see the King.

Task 4. Answer the questions.

Did you like Chicken Licken? Was it clever or silly?
Is this story about a leader and others following? Do you want to be a leader?
Can you name all the characters of the tale?
What is the moral of the Chicken Licken story?

The moral of the traditional Chicken Licken story is to have courage, even when it feels like the sky is falling. It can also be interpreted as: “Do not believe everything you are told”. The phrase “The sky is falling!” is a common idiom indicating a hysterical or mistaken belief that disaster is imminent.

The sky is not falling. Always believe in yourself, believe in future, trust life, be powerful and creative.