Pea Boy and Other Stories from Iran by Elizabeth Laird

Flames shot out from the sun s fiery heart, threatening to singe 2 the sparrow s feathers. Tell me, great sun, she chirped, shielding her face with a wing from the sun s blinding rays, are you the greatest power there is? I thought it was the ice, but he tells me you ll melt him away when the spring comes. The sparrow, glad to lift her feet from the ice s freezing surface, flew up and up into the sky, as close to the sun as she dared. You must ask the sun how it feels to be powerful, little bird.

When the spring comes, he ll shine his hot rays down on me and I ll splinter and melt away. How does it feel to be the greatest power there is? The ice creaked and cracked as a laugh shivered along his bright surface. There s no one else like you, who can give a poor little bird such pain. Nothing has ever hurt me as much as this. 'Untitled' by Pro Image Photography is licensed under CC0 Oh, cruel ice! she exclaimed. The ice was so cold that the sparrow s feet began to sting. But there was no grub, only a twig blowing in the breeze. A grub! 1 and down she swooped, hoping for a meal. At last she saw a movement on an icy pond. A hungry sparrow, one cold winter s day, fluttered about hunting for something to eat. As you read, take notes on what the sparrow learns from each thing it encounters. Laird is a British writer known for her children s fiction and her collections of folktales from other countries. 1 Name: Class: The Sparrow's Quest By Elizabeth Laird 2009 The Sparrow s Quest comes from a collection of Iranian short stories, retold by Elizabeth Laird.

Pea Boy and Other Stories from Iran by Elizabeth Laird