The Spider and the Bird

Target Words

actually, bite, coast, deal, desert, earthquake, effective, examine, false, gift, hunger, imagine, journey, puzzle, quite, rather, specific, tour, trip, value.

actually [ˈaktʃʊəli] adv.

Actually means in fact or really.

→ My dad looks a little mean, but actually he’s very kind.

bite [bʌɪt] n.

Bite is the act of using your teeth to cut and tear into something.

→ The boy took a big bite out of his hamburger.

coast [kəʊst] n.

The coast is the land by an ocean.

→ I stayed on the southern coast of Australia.

deal [diːl] n.

A deal is an agreement that you have with another person.

→ I made a deal with the other company to give us some money.

desert [dɪˈzəːt] n.

The desert is an area of land without many plants or water.

→ Not many plants grow in the desert.

earthquake [ˈəːθkweɪk] n.

An earthquake is a shaking movement of the ground.

→ The building shook during the earthquake.

effective [ɪˈfɛktɪv] adj.

If something is effective, it works well.

→ Swimming is an effective way to stay healthy.

examine [ɪɡˈzamɪn] v.

To examine something is to look at it carefully.

→ The doctor examined my eyes today.

false [fɔːls] adj.

If something is false, it is not correct.

→ If you think the answer is false, press the red button.

gift [ɡɪft] n.

A gift is something you give someone.

→ Dave received many gifts for Christmas.

hunger [ˈhʌŋɡə] n.

Hunger is the feeling that you get when you need to eat.

→ After playing all day long, he was filled with hunger.

imagine [ɪˈmadʒɪn] v.

To imagine something is to think of it in your mind.

→ Sally imagined herself winning lots of money.

journey [ˈdʒəːni] n.

A journey is a long trip.

→ I went on a journey across the country with my parents.

puzzle [ˈpʌz(ə)l] n.

A puzzle is something that is hard to understand.

→ The question was a puzzle to him.

quite [kwʌɪt] adv.

Quite is used to say that something is complete or very much.

→ I think typing on a keyboard is quite easy.

rather [ˈrɑːðə] adv.

Rather is used when you want to do one thing but not the other.

→ I would rather have the red one than the blue one.

specific [spəˈsɪfɪk] adj.

If something is specific, it is precise or exact.

→ Please choose a specific place on the map.

tour [tʊə] n.

A tour is a short trip in which you see many sights.

→ I took a tour of Asia and Europe.

trip [trɪp] n.

A trip is a journey to a certain place.

→ Ken took a trip to the city yesterday.

value [ˈvaljuː] n.

If something has value, it is worth a lot of money.

→ Matthew found a treasure of very high value.

There was once a very big spider. If a bug got into his web, he would examine it. However, he didn’t eat the bug right away. He asked the bug a question first. It was always quite a difficult puzzle. If the bug’s answer was correct, he let it go. If not, he ate it.

One day, a small bird on a journey flew into the spider’s web. The spider couldn’t imagine eating a bird. It was so big! But his hunger was too great. He said to the bird, “If you cannot give me a specific answer, I will eat you.”

The bird laughed. “I could eat you!” But the bird was actually scared. She had used all her energy trying to get out of the web. And a spider’s bite can be very effective in killing animals.

“Please don’t eat me,” the bird said. “I would rather make a deal with you.”

“OK,” the spider said. “If your answer is right, I will let you go. If not, you must give me a gift. It must be something of great value.”

The bird said, “You can pick anything you want to eat. I will find it for you.” The spider agreed.

“Where can you take a trip to the coast, the desert, and the mountains at the same time?” the spider asked.

The bird asked, “Does this place have earthquakes?” But the spider did not say anything. “I can see those places when I fly. Is the ‘sky’ the right answer?”

“False!” said the spider. “The answer is Hawaii! Now you must find some bugs for me.”

The spider climbed on the bird’s back. They flew and ate bugs together. They took a tour of the forest. the bird took the spider home. From that day on, they were friends. And they never tried to eat each other again.