Fourth Grade
Worksheets
How Annah's Big Ears Saved the Day
Long, long ago on a faraway continent lived an African wild dog named Annah who had very large ears. Her ears were bigger than big. They were bigger than gigantic. Annah had enormous ears. They were so big that she could sit in the shade of her own ears underneath the hot sun.
Some of the animals made fun of Annah. They called her names like "Mule Ears" and "Butterfly Head." They talked about her behind her back as if she were deaf. A particularly mean hyena even made the suggestion that Annah should have her ears cut off, "but cutting off a mule's ears won't make her a horse," laughed the hyena.
The truth is, Annah was not deaf at all. In fact, her hearing was much better than any of the other animals. You see, having enormous ears has advantages. Annah heard sounds that small-eared animals could not. She could hear sounds from far away as if they were under her nose. But, because she was different, the animals made fun of Annah. So Annah felt most comfortable when she was alone. When she was alone, she could listen to grass bending, feathers falling, and dew forming on the leaves of the jackalberry trees.
One very hot summer day, Annah was sitting in the shade of her enormous ears when she heard a sound that she did not know. It sounded like "pat, pat, pat, pat." Soon Annah felt "pat, pat, pat" on her spotted fur. What was happening? Her big ears told her that something was wrong. What did Annah hear next? Silence. In an instant Annah realized the silence was a warning.
"Danger!" howled Annah.
