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Abiyoyo

By: Pete Seeger
Reading Level: AD470L
Maturity Level: 12 and under

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Now in this town they used to tell stories. The old people used to tell stories about the giants that lived in the old days.
They used to tell about a giant called Abiyoyo. They said he was as tall as a tree and could eat people up. Of course,
nobody believed the story, but they told it anyway.
One day, one day, the sun rose blood red over the hill. The first people got up and looked out the window. They saw a great big shadow in front of the sun. They could feel the whole ground shake.
Women screamed. Strong men fainted.
“Run for your lives! Abiyoyo’s coming!”
He comes to the sheep pasture. He grabs a whole sheep. Yeowp! He comes to the cow pasture. He grabs a whole cow. Yunk!
Men yelled, “Grab your most precious possessions and run! Run!”
Just then, the boy and his father woke up.
“Hey, Paw, what’s coming over the fields?”
“Why son, that’s Abiyoyo. Oh, if only I could get him to lie down, I could make him disappear.”
The boy says, “Come with me, Paw.” He grabbed his father by one hand. The father gets the magic wand, and the boy gets his ukelele. They run across the fields.
People yelled, “Don’t go near him! He’ll eat you alive!”
There was Abiyoyo!

Comprehension Questions


1. Who is Abiyoyo?
A. A giant that lived in the old days
B. A young boy
C. The boy's father


2. Why does the boy and his father run toward Abiyoyo?
A. Because the townspeople were encouraging them to run toward him
B. They think they can defeat Abiyoyo
C. They get confused about which direction to run to get away from the giant

Your Thoughts


3. Did you like this excerpt? Why or why not?




Vocabulary


4. List any vocabulary words below.




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