Rohullah Fiction - The Star Maiden

The Star Maiden:

A Native American Legend

One night, a young boy was sleeping under the stars. In a deep sleep, the boy dreamed about the silver stars in the night sky. There was one star in his dream that was brighter than all the others. Suddenly, this star began to move across the sky, floating closer and closer to Earth. It landed on a tree just above the boy’s head.

In his dream, the star was transformed into a beautiful young woman with long hair and glowing eyes. She was still shining like a star. The star maiden reached out to the boy and said, “I have seen your world. It has called out to me. Everything is so beautiful: the clear blue water, the pretty flowers and your people. I want to live in this world. If you speak to your wisest chiefs, perhaps I can change my form and live among your people. Ask them what form I should take.”

When the boy woke up, he ran to his village and found his chief. A meeting was called and all the wisest chiefs listened carefully to the boy’s story. One chief stood up and said, “Of course we will welcome this beautiful star into our village. Tell her that she may take on any form she wants. She can be anything that makes her happy. Go now and tell her this.”

That very night, the boy went back to the tree where he slept the night before, and waited. As he looked up, the bright star descended from the heavens. The star maiden appeared. Startled and excited, the boy told the woman what the chiefs had said. He led the star maiden back to the village.

The next day, the star maiden turned herself into a gorgeous wild flower. This didn’t make her happy though. Animals came close to crushing her in their path. The ground shook all around her and she was sad.

The next day, the star maiden turned into a lovely red rose. But the garden she lived in was far away from the village. She missed the people who she wanted to be around the most.

That night it seemed she gave up. She rose back up into the sky and the people in the village were afraid she was leaving for good because she couldn’t be happy among them.

They watched as the star maiden floated over their lake. She looked down into the water and saw her reflection and the reflection of her sister stars. “Come my sisters!” the star maiden called out. “Come with me and make these beautiful waters our home.”

The people smiled, and satisfied, they went to sleep. The next morning they went back to the lake and saw something magical. The lake was covered

with hundreds of floating flower stars like the villagers had never seen. The star maiden and her sisters became water lilies.

So, every time you see a water lily, remember the star maiden and how

she came down from heaven to live among us.

Now answer these questions to show you understood what you read.   Some questions are multichoice - for these questions you need to highlight the answer you think is best.  For other questions, you need to write a FULL answer using part of the question in your answer and evidence from the text.

1. What does the star do first in the boy’s dream?

a. It lands on a tree.

b. It turns into a woman.

c. It talks to the boy.

d. It reaches out to the boy.

2. Which best describes what type of story this is?

a. non-fiction

b. biography

c. science fiction

d. legend

3. Why didn’t the star maiden want to be a wildflower?

a. She didn’t want to get wet in the rain.

b. She really wanted to be a water lily.

c. She missed being around people.

d. She didn’t want to get crushed by animals.

4. This story explains how the Earth came to have

a. people

b. stars

c. visitors

d. water lilies

5. What is the story mostly about?

a. a boy who slept in a tree

b. how a star maiden became a water lily

c. where stars come from

d. where wildflowers and roses come from

6. What are two adjectives that might be used to describe the star maiden? Use evidence from the text to support your answer.

7. Why did the star maiden almost give up?

8. The question below is an incomplete sentence. Choose the word that best

completes the sentence.

The star maiden wanted to live on earth ___________ could not decide what form she should take.

a. because

b. but

c. so

d. by

Creating Activity: choose an interesting word from this story and create a vocabulary poster.  Remember to include the word, what it means (in words kids will understand) and an appropriate image.  You might also be able to find some synonyms for the word you chose.  When you have finished your vocabulary poster, add it to your blog.