Example of Narrative Text (Bruce and the Spider) + Questions

Bruce and the Spider

Robert Bruce, King of Scotland, was hiding in a hut in the forest. His enemies were seeking him. Six times he had met them in battle, and six times he had failed. Bruce had given up all as lost. He was about to run away from Scotland, and to leave the country in the hands of his enemies. Full of sorrow, he lay on a pile of straw in the poor woodchopper's hut. While he laid thinking, he noticed a spider spinning her web. The spider was trying to spin a thread from one beam to another. It was a long way between the beams, and Bruce saw how hard it was for her to do. "She can never do it," though the king.

The little spider had tried it six times and had failed each time. "She is like me," thought the king. "I have tried six battles and failed. She has tried six times to reach the beam and failed." Then starting up from the straw, he cried, "I will hang my fate upon that little spider. If she swings the seventh time and fails then I will give up all for lost. If she swings the seventh time and wins, I will call my men once more for a battle."

The spider tried the seventh time, letting herself down upon her slender thread. She swung out bravely. "Look! Look!" shouted the king. "She has reached it. The thread hangs between the two beams. If the spider can do it, I can do it." Bruce got up from the straw with new strength and sent his men from village to village, calling the people to arms. The brave soldiers answered his call and came. Soon, his army was ready to fight, and when the king led them in a great battle against the enemy, this time, like the spider, Bruce won.

Vocabularies:

hut = gubuk - battle = peperangan - enemy = musuh - wood chopper = tukang pembelah kayu - web = jaring - beam = balok, tiang - straw = jerami - hang = bergelantungan - fate = nasib, takdir - thread = benang - bravely = dengan berani

A.  Circle T if the statement is True and F if it is False.

______1.  Bruce was a king.

______2.  He hid in the farmer‟s hut.

______3.  He had lost in the battle for seven times.

______4.  The spider inspired Bruce to be brave again.

______5.  Bruce won the battle at last.

B.  Answer the following questions based on the text above.

1.  Who was hiding in a hut in the forest?

2.  How many times had Bruce failed in the battle?

3.  What did Bruce notice?

4.  How many times had the spider tried to spin a thread between the two beams before she finally succeeded?

5.  Who did Bruce hang his fate upon?

6.  What made him confident to have a battle against his enemy again?

7.  Did Bruce win in his seventh battle?

8.  What can we learn from the story?

Created by Nifatul Aula, an English teacher of vocational high school in Bondowoso, Indonesia.

Muhammad Ahkam Arifin Muhammad Ahkam Arifin is a Fulbright PhD student at Washington State University, US. He earned a master`s degree in TESOL from the University of Edinburgh & Applied Linguistics from the University of Melbourne.

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