3rd Grade Reading Comprehension

Free printable reading comprehension passage. Print for offline use (passage, questions, answer key, story with supporting text highlighted and underlined) or test comprehension with the online quiz. Recommended level: 3rd Grade and higher.

The Boy Who Cried Wolf

An Aesop Fable

There was once a shepherd boy who had the job of watching over the village sheep. It was a boring job, so the boy tried to think of ways to make it fun.

One day, he came up with an idea to trick the people who lived in the village. For fun, he ran towards the village shouting, "Wolf! Wolf!"

The villagers heard his cry, stopped what they were doing and ran to the pasture to save the sheep. When they got there, they found the boy laughing at the trick he had played on them.

A few days later the boy did it again. "Wolf! Wolf!" he shouted. Once more the villagers ran to help him, only to find the boy laughing at them again.

Then one evening, the boy saw a wolf coming closer to the sheep. The boy was terrified and ran towards the village screaming, "Wolf! Wolf! Come quickly!"

The villagers heard his cries, but they did not come to help. "He's fooling us again," they said.

The wolf killed a few of the sheep and then slipped away. The boy was angry and so were the villagers.

"Why didn't you come to help me?" asked the boy.
A wise villager answered, ""If you lie too often, no one will believe you when you do tell the truth."

Source: worksheetsplus.com/Reading/BoyWhoCriedWolf.html The Boy Who Cried Wolf

What was the shepherd boy's job?
shearing sheep
watching over the sheep
cutting grass
watching over the sheep The boy found his job
boring
difficult
exciting
boring The wolf killed all the sheep.
True
False
It doesn't say.
False Why did the boy first cry "Wolf!"?
He saw a wolf.
The sheep were acting strangely.
to trick the villagers
to trick the villagers What happened the first time the boy cried "Wolf!"?
The villagers came to help.
The villagers did not come to help.
The villagers laughed at him.
The villagers came to help. What happened the second time the boy cried "Wolf!"?
The villagers came to help.
The villagers did not come to help.
The villagers laughed at him.
The villagers came to help. What happened the third time the boy cried "Wolf!"?
The villagers came to help.
The villagers did not come to help.
The villagers laughed at him.
The villagers did not come to help. Why didn't the villagers come to help they boy?
They didn't hear his cries.
They thought he was fooling them.
They were tired.
They thought he was fooling them. What do you think the expression "to cry wolf" means?
that a wolf is nearby
to give a warning of danger that is not true
that you are very sad
to give a warning of danger that is not true What is the lesson to learn from this fable?
If you lie often, people will not believe you when you tell the truth.
It's always fun to trick people.
People will always help no matter what.
If you lie often, people will not believe you when you tell the truth.