In the deep green African jungle, there lived a happy elephant named Ella. She liked splashing in rivers and eating leaves. But one day, Ella got a bad pain in her ear that made her cry out loud.

Ella’s pals, Max the playful monkey and Polly the smart parrot, heard her and came to help. They saw a little bug was making trouble in Ella’s ear. Max climbed fast and Polly flew to see what was wrong.

Polly used her beak to tickle the bug in Ella’s ear until it flew out with a “pop.” Right away, Ella felt much better and was thankful to her friends. They all laughed and were happy the problem was fixed.

Ella learned to shake her ears after swimming to keep bugs away. She also showed Max and Polly how to take care of their own ears. All of them learned something useful that day.

The story of Ella’s bravery spread across the jungle. Animals everywhere learned about her kindness and the value of friends. Together, Ella, Max, and Polly kept having fun and helping others.

🎧 Listen:

Slow

Normal

📖 Vocabulary:

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. Who is the main character in the story?
2. What did Ella like to do in the jungle?
3. Why did Ella cry out loud one day?
4. Who came to help Ella when she cried out?
5. How did Polly help Ella get rid of the bug in her ear?
6. What did Ella learn to do after swimming to keep bugs away?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

In the deep green African jungle, there lived a happy elephant (1)______ (2)______. She (3)______ splashing in rivers and eating leaves. But one day, Ella got a bad pain in her ear that made her cry out loud.

Ella’s pals, Max the playful monkey and Polly the smart parrot, (4)______ her and came to help. They saw a little bug was making (5)______ in Ella’s ear. Max climbed fast and Polly flew to see what was wrong.

Polly used her (6)______ to tickle the bug in Ella’s ear until it flew out with a “pop.” Right away, Ella felt much (7)______ and was thankful to her (8)______. They all laughed and were happy the problem was fixed.

Ella learned to shake her ears after swimming to keep bugs away. She also showed Max and (9)______ how to take care of their own ears. All of them learned something useful that day.

The story of Ella’s bravery (10)______ across the jungle. Animals everywhere learned about her (11)______ and the value of friends. Together, Ella, Max, and Polly kept (12)______ fun and helping others.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.

1. What is a bug?
2. How would you feel if you had a bug in your ear?
3. Do you like swimming in rivers? Why or why not?
4. Do you think it’s important to have friends? Why or why not?
5. What is something useful that you have learned recently?
6. How do you think Ella felt after the bug flew out of her ear? Why?
7. Have you ever had a problem that your friends helped you with? What happened?
8. Do you think animals can be kind? Why or why not?

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. jungle
2. splashing
3. trouble
4. playful
5. smart
6. beak
7. tickle
8. thankful
9. bravery
10. kindness
11. value
12. helping

Meanings:
(A) A place with lots of trees and wild animals
(B) Being nice and caring about others
(C) How important or useful something is
(D) Jumping into water so it makes little waves
(E) Problems or difficulties
(F) Liking to have fun and play games
(G) Doing things for others to make their lives easier
(H) Having a good brain and making wise choices
(I) Feeling happy because someone did something nice for you
(J) Touching someone lightly so they laugh
(K) The hard, pointed part of a bird’s mouth
(L) Being very courageous and not afraid
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What caused Ella to cry out loud?
(a) A pain in her leg
(b) A pain in her trunk
(c) A pain in her ear
(d) A pain in her back

2. Who heard Ella crying out for help?
(a) Max the monkey and Polly the parrot
(b) Tim the tiger and Lily the lion
(c) Sam the snake and Emma the elephant
(d) Ben the bear and Mia the mouse

3. How did Polly help Ella?
(a) By tickling the bug in her ear with her beak
(b) By pulling the bug out of her ear with her trunk
(c) By singing a song to distract Ella from the pain
(d) By giving Ella a hug to comfort her

4. What did Ella learn to do after swimming?
(a) Shake her trunk to keep bugs away
(b) Shake her tail to keep bugs away
(c) Shake her legs to keep bugs away
(d) Shake her ears to keep bugs away

5. What did Ella, Max, and Polly learn that day?
(a) Something boring
(b) Something useful
(c) Something scary
(d) Something dangerous

6. What did animals everywhere learn about Ella?
(a) Her bravery and the importance of swimming
(b) Her kindness and the value of friends
(c) Her intelligence and the joy of eating leaves
(d) Her speed and the fun of climbing trees

7. Who did Ella, Max, and Polly keep having fun with?
(a) Tim the tiger and Lily the lion
(b) Sam the snake and Emma the elephant
(c) Ben the bear and Mia the mouse
(d) Each other

8. Where did Ella live?
(a) In the cold Arctic tundra
(b) In the hot Australian desert
(c) In the deep green African jungle
(d) In the tall Amazon rainforest

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. Polly uses her beak to tickle the bug in Ella’s ear until it flies out.
2. After the bug is removed, Ella feels much better and is grateful to her friends.
3. One day, Ella gets a pleasant earache that makes her express joy loudly.
4. Ella is an elephant who lives in the African jungle.
5. Max the monkey and Polly the parrot are Ella’s enemies.
6. Ella dislikes splashing in rivers and eating leaves.
7. Ella teaches Max and Polly how to take care of their own ears, and they all learn something useful that day.
8. Max descends to see what’s wrong with Ella’s ear, while Polly walks to investigate.
Go to answers ⇩

📝 Write a Summary:

Write a summary of this story in two sentences. Here are some hints:
Who are the main characters?
What happens in the story?

✅ Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. Who is the main character in the story?
The main character in the story is Ella, the happy elephant.

2. What did Ella like to do in the jungle?
Ella liked to splash in rivers and eat leaves in the jungle.

3. Why did Ella cry out loud one day?
Ella cried out loud because she had a bad pain in her ear.

4. Who came to help Ella when she cried out?
Max the playful monkey and Polly the smart parrot came to help Ella when she cried out.

5. How did Polly help Ella get rid of the bug in her ear?
Polly used her beak to tickle the bug in Ella’s ear until it flew out with a “pop.”

6. What did Ella learn to do after swimming to keep bugs away?
Ella learned to shake her ears after swimming to keep bugs away.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) named
(2) Ella
(3) liked
(4) heard
(5) trouble
(6) beak
(7) better
(8) friends
(9) Polly
(10) spread
(11) kindness
(12) having
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. jungle
Answer: (A) A place with lots of trees and wild animals

2. splashing
Answer: (D) Jumping into water so it makes little waves

3. trouble
Answer: (E) Problems or difficulties

4. playful
Answer: (F) Liking to have fun and play games

5. smart
Answer: (H) Having a good brain and making wise choices

6. beak
Answer: (K) The hard, pointed part of a bird’s mouth

7. tickle
Answer: (J) Touching someone lightly so they laugh

8. thankful
Answer: (I) Feeling happy because someone did something nice for you

9. bravery
Answer: (L) Being very courageous and not afraid

10. kindness
Answer: (B) Being nice and caring about others

11. value
Answer: (C) How important or useful something is

12. helping
Answer: (G) Doing things for others to make their lives easier
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What caused Ella to cry out loud?
Answer: (c) A pain in her ear

2. Who heard Ella crying out for help?
Answer: (a) Max the monkey and Polly the parrot

3. How did Polly help Ella?
Answer: (a) By tickling the bug in her ear with her beak

4. What did Ella learn to do after swimming?
Answer: (d) Shake her ears to keep bugs away

5. What did Ella, Max, and Polly learn that day?
Answer: (b) Something useful

6. What did animals everywhere learn about Ella?
Answer: (b) Her kindness and the value of friends

7. Who did Ella, Max, and Polly keep having fun with?
Answer: (d) Each other

8. Where did Ella live?
Answer: (c) In the deep green African jungle
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. Polly uses her beak to tickle the bug in Ella’s ear until it flies out. (Answer: True)
2. After the bug is removed, Ella feels much better and is grateful to her friends. (Answer: True)
3. One day, Ella gets a pleasant earache that makes her express joy loudly. (Answer: False)
4. Ella is an elephant who lives in the African jungle. (Answer: True)
5. Max the monkey and Polly the parrot are Ella’s enemies. (Answer: False)
6. Ella dislikes splashing in rivers and eating leaves. (Answer: False)
7. Ella teaches Max and Polly how to take care of their own ears, and they all learn something useful that day. (Answer: True)
8. Max descends to see what’s wrong with Ella’s ear, while Polly walks to investigate. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧