380 the Whys of Weather the Colors of the Rainbow

TheWhysofWeathertheColorsoftheRainbow

Adapted froma Native American Legend

Onceupon a timeallofthecolorsstarted to argue.Green,blue,yellow,orange,red,indigo,andviolet foughtoverwhowasthemostbeautiful.Eachcolorwanted to be everyone’s favorite.

Green spoke first. “Look around you.Seethegrassandthetrees. I amthecolorofEarth.Withoutme,noanimalcouldlive.Lookatthefarmsinthecountryside.Look at the forests.I am more placesonEarththananyofyou.”

Bluebrokeinwith a joke. "YouareonlyGreenwithenvy.” Allofthecolorslaughed. Bluewasthefriendliestofthecolors. Hecontinued,“Youmaybeonland,butthink of me!I am the color of theocean andthesky. I amthewaterpeopledrinkandtheairtheybreathe. I amthe rainthatmakestreesandflowersgrow. I bringkindnessandserenity.”

Yellowdancedaroundandsaid,“Yes! Youmaybethe colorofthesky,buttheskywouldneverbebluewithoutme! I splashthe worldwithpuddlesofsunlight,notrain!I bringhappiness. Withoutme,Green,yourgrasswouldnever grow. I am sunflowers,sunshine, and smiles!”

Orangecamenext. In a veryseriousvoice,Orangesaid,“Yellow,youplaytoomuch.I amthemostbeautiful. Who has never paused to see a beautifulsunset? Ibringhappinessattheendoftheday. I amrare,butprecious,like a greatgem.”

ThenRedinterruptedwith a yell,“Listentome! I am strength! I ampowerinbattle.I amthecolorof bloodthatpumpsintheheartand bringslife. I amfireandpassion. Whocouldeverfallinlovewithoutred? Whocouldeversmellthebeautifulrose?”Purplespokeandeveryonelistened. Purplewasveryrespectedamongthecolors. “Colors, I am the colorofroyalty. Mydepthisgreat. I combinethepowerofRedwiththekindnessofBlue.Throughtheages, I havebeenthecolorofwisdom.”

Finally,thetimidvoiceofIndigojoined theconversation. Indigowasquiet,butdetermined. "I, too, amimportant. I am the color that fills theskybeforeblackness. I amthecolorinthedepthsofthesea.ThedeepestthoughtsareshadedIndigo. I bringphilosophy."

Thecolorskeptquarreling. Theyallstartedspeakingatonce. Rain heard thenoiseandbecameangry. Hemadelightningcrashfromthesky.All the colors huddledtogether in fear.Rain scolded the colors:“Whatareyoufightingabout? Youareallspecial.Youarealldifferent. Noneofyouis the best. Without all of the colors, the worldwouldbesad.”

Raintoldthecolorstoholdhandsas a signthattheywerefriendsagain. ButRainwouldnotletthecolorsforgethislesson.Fromthenon,afterbig storms, Rain madethecolorsjoinhandsinthesky. Intherainbow,allthecolorsaretogetheras a symbolofpeaceandhope.

Name:

Date:

1.Whathappenedfirst?

a.Thecolorsbecameafraid.

b.Rainlecturedthecolors.

c.Thecolorsjoinedhands.

d.Rainmade a crashoflightning.

2.Inthelegend,whatis thecauseofrainbows?

a.Rainteachingthecolors a lesson

b.Lightningcrashingfromthesky

c.Colorsunabletoagreeonwhichismostbeautiful

d.Blueisthecoloroftherain,sea,andsky

3.WhatdoesGreenmeanwhenhesays,“Noanimalcouldlivewithoutme”?

a.Greenisthefavoritecolorofanimals.

b.Animalsneedfarmstolive.

c.Animalsneedgreenplantstoeat.

d.Animalscanonlyseegreen.

4.Tobe“Greenwithenvy”means

a.tobegreen

b.towantmoney

c.tobejealous

d.to grow

5.Thispassageismostlyabout

a.NativeAmericantraditions

b.why there are rainbows

c.whyindigois the most important color

d.differentlegendsaboutrainbows

6.WhydoesOrangethinkthatheisthemostbeautiful?

7.Inthelegend,whydoesRainmakelightningcrashfromthesky?

8.Thequestionbelowisanincomplete sentence.Choosetheanswerthatbestcompletesthesentence.

Rainmadeallofthecolorsform a rainbowtheywerearguing.

a.Also c. while

b.Without d. because

9.Readthefollowingsentence.

TosomeNativeAmericans, a rainbowis asymbol of peace andhope.

Answerthequestionsbelowbasedontheinformationprovidedinthesentenceyoujustread.Oneofthequestionshasalreadybeenansweredforyou.

1.Whatisthesubjectofthesentence? a rainbow

2.A rainbowiswhat?

3.Towhom?

10.VocabularyWord: quarrel: argument or fight.

Usethevocabularywordin a sentence: